Holy Crap it's Christmas

Good Morning,

Though I stayed up late last night catching up on American TV shows that I've fallen behind on, I popped out of bed this morning at 9:30.  It already feels like Christmas morning to me.  I am beyond excited, and I'll tell you why...MY PARENTS ARE COMING TODAY!

Yep, you read that right. Momma Karen and Daddy Pat are on their way right now to the Emerald Isle.  Their plane lands at 11:05 in Dublin then they are taking the bus to Galway.  I am so ready to hug my parents. Now it really feels like Christmas to me.

Christmas in Galway has been one of the best experiences thus far.  This town decorates EVERYTHING. The streets are draped in lit up garlands, the shops stick Christmas trees wherever they can,  a giant Christmas market has taken over Eyre Square, and Christmas jumpers are worn by everyone! I must say, the festive jumpers are great, they have become somewhat of a game for me and Liz. Almost like slug bug. Some jumpers remind us of this...

Mr. Mark Darcy being a dweeb in his favorite reindeer jumper. Thank you Bridget Jones Diary

And some jumpers and the men/women wearing them make us feel like this...

But we still love them, no matter how stupid :)

One of the best things about being here for Christmas time is that I am learning all these new Christmas songs! At home it's the same ones every year, which I love of course, but here there are a few I've never heard.  One is called driving home for Christmas, and the whole country goes mad for it! 

They were shocked when I told them I had never heard it before. And to be honest, I'm not too crazy about it. But for culture's sake you must listen.

And this next one has become one of my absolute favorite songs. There is just something about it. It's on the radio every 10 minutes, and I'm not even close to being tired of it. 

Try to ignore his teeth. Maybe even minimize your screen during the video, it's not a good video, but the song is great.

Here is a little video I found that really shows Christmas in Galway. And it has a sweet message to go along with it. 

Ok, I'm done with the videos for now. I got a little excited. Can you tell that I'm in the Christmas spirit? I have watched White Christmas at least 4 times.  Which to be honest, that's kind of a slow year for me. Usually I'm at least in the double digits by now. I lied..here's another video...

If you haven't seen White Christmas, go find it and watch it and fall in love. 

Enough with the Christmas Lauren! Move on already! I can read your minds :) Life in Galway has been incredible lately. I feel like I have made some real - honest to goodness - miss them when they aren't around - can't wait to tell them about my day - friends.  Random trips to McDonald's for McFlurrys end up taking 3 hours because we just can't stop talking (yes Liz and Paul I'm talking about yall). I get to not only spend time with friends, but their family as well. Our friend Paul has had us over to his family's house a few times for Sunday dinner and to watch a movie.  I can't explain how nice it feels to be in a real family home after being away from one for so long. And his family is so loving and so fun. 

I'm sitting here in my apartment drinking my morning coffee, and waiting to get the call from my mom telling me that their plane has landed and they are in Ireland. I am so excited I feel I might cry.  I feel like up until now I have taken for granted being home for Christmas surrounded by family.  Usually, whether we are in Allen, TX or Overland Park, KS, the house is jammed with loud hungry Neats and we are just laughing for days.  I hate that I am going to be away from that this year. 

I can picture it now... We are all sprawled out in a living room somewhere, making the hardest decision known to man...what Christmas movie to put on...Dad yells "SCROOGE" from somewhere in the back of the room (he's playing minesweeper on the computer so he must yell from a distance)...Dave is standing ready to put whatever movie in we decide on.  He doesn't care what we choose, as long as we just freaking decide already.  I'm demanding White Christmas like I always do.  Mom jumps in "no Lauren, not again, we HAVE to watch something else".  Lenna and Jason are just laughing on the couch about who knows what, but Jason looks up just in time to say, "NO Lauren, no, not again." And finally Dave just puts on whatever the kiddos want (usually Buddy the elf).  Then we all sit down to watch...but spend maybe 5 minutes watching the movie, and the rest of the time just talking over it, and wondering why we even put it on in the first place. 

Man I miss my wonderful family. 

Now here's a song that my wonderful, talented, amazing friend Robert Kelly wrote and performs.  He is an amazing musician, and an even more amazing person.  This song makes me miss Texas though...listen to it and you can feel how much love is written into the song. click the link for it!   https://soundcloud.com/backdownsouth/robert-kelly-im-coming-home

Ok, love yall to the moon and back!

Merry Christmas 

Lauren

Gone with the Wind and Rain...and now I'm Back!

SHE'S ALIVE!!!
I know y'all have been waiting in eager anticipation for this blog post that I keep promise is on it's way.
Well wait no longer my friends! I am finally writing it!!!

So much has changed in the almost 2 months since my last entry.  Once you get a glimpse of what my crazy life has been like you will understand why I wasn't able to blog like I should.

Since the previous entry I have:

• Moved houses twice (in the same week mind you)
• Changed jobs twice (also within the same week)
• Welcomed a dear, sweet, beautiful, kind, hilarious partner in crime to Ireland to live with me
• Spent a magical week with one my best friends in the whole world who flew all the way from Houston to spend Thanksgiving with me...How could I be so blessed?!
• Went to Scotland!!!! 
• Had an American Thanksgiving in Saint Andrews Scotland. Just like the Pilgrims/Indians intended.
• Got to spend a wonderful few days with my lil cousin Becca. I love her so much.
• Danced in an ancient castle under the stars in Scotland
• Got a new ear piercing! (sorry mom and dad, I forgot to show you on skype the other night. Don't worry, I don't look like a gypsy or anything)

Of course thousands more tiny things have happened that I don't have the time or space to mention.  It has been a trying few months.  I have had my highest highs, and my lowest lows during this last few months.  At one point we were almost homeless.  God has taken care of me throughout this entire time, and taught me more than I thought I needed to know.  He has given me the best roommate I could ask for.  That is right, many of you have heard, but now you are hearing it from me, Liz Atwell is officially living in Ireland!!!!!

For those of you who don't know Liz, I feel sorry for you.  She is amazing in every way! Liz and I met in college during the Spring of 2009 when I was randomly added to her organization as a replacement for a girl that quit.  We were assigned to be prayer partners, and we immediately hit it off.  And now, almost 4 years later, we are roommates in Galway, Ireland.  It's amazing how things work out. 

I am now working at a place called McCambridge's. I work up in the office helping with different daily accounting things. I do some filing, answer some phone calls, randomly have psych myself up to speak over the intercom. And it turns out...

 Liz works there too! She is working as a Christmas Hamper maker. It is such a fantastic place to work. We have met some of the nicest people, and our bosses are hilarious.  Luke, our manager is from Australia and we come home every day with some new random statement he's made. 

McCambridge's is on the busiest pedestrian street in Galway City, called Shop Street.  It is a coffee shop, restaurant, deli, gourmet food, wine, chocolate shop.  Basically anything you want they  have. And we get a discount! Life couldn't be better. 

I have so much more to talk about! Ashley's visit! Our trip to Scotland.  That will have to wait till the next entry. Which will happen very very soon. 

Now for the next installment of the Dreamchasing playlist! This song is from one of my favorite bands; The Weepies.  This song really describes what the last few months have been like. Listen to the lyrics...

"I can't really say why everybody wishes they were somewhere else, But in the end the only steps that matter are the ones you take all by yourself. You and me, walk on...'cause you can't go back now."

Not gonna lie, I'm a little weird-ed out by the whole puppet situation in the music video. But we will have to deal with it together.  To be fair puppets aren't used enough in music videos.

That is all for now friends.

I promise, I will be back soon. 

Love to all

Lauren

24

Good Morning Friends,

Well, my birthday has come and gone! I turned 24 on October 12 (this day has been universally accepted by the world's scholars as the best day of the year).  I woke up laying in bed waiting to feel older or wiser or different.  But unfortunately all I felt was hungry :) Luckily my sweet roommate Kasey was game for some birthday breakfast, and we went to Lynch's Cafe and had a very filling (very meaty) Irish breakfast.

 I'm not going to lie, I have been a little worried about having my birthday here in Ireland.  Birthdays for me are about being with family and old friends.  They usually begin with an early morning "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" as my dad throws both dogs on my bed and then runs away. I was dreading having to be away from all my loved ones.  But I was so taken care of by my new friends here!

Kasey bought me all types of birthday swag for me to wear, including a tiara and a giant awesome button, tiny umbrellas for our drinks and some wine.  And while I slept my roommates covered the whole living room with balloons! It was such a nice surprise to wake up to Friday morning.  The day just continued to get better after breakfast as we spent some time (and a little too much money) at a bookstore. 

I spent the rest of the day lounging in my sweats watching my favorite old musical Gigi.  Thank you mom for brainwashing me as a young child.  I instinctively watch this movie every time I feel just the tiniest bit homesick.  I have the entire thing memorized.  If you haven't seen it, here is a nice montage to convince you to see it now. Right now...

Then after a beautiful long walk along the water with Kasey, we all went out for my birthday dinner.  I felt so lucky and I sat at a table with all my new friends! Anne, Maura, Emily, Avril, Kasey, Greer and Hannah.  Funny to think that 3 weeks ago I was worried I would be eating a birthday sandwich all alone talking on skype the whole day.  Well, we had a lovely dinner, then some of us went to go see this awesome cover band called Mass.  I can't resist a good cover band.  So much great bad dancing to see and do :)

My sweet little birthday muffin! And a beautiful Hannah in the background :)

Turning 24 reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite books, One Day by David Nicholls.  "...you feel a little bit lost right now about what to do with your life, a bit rudderless and oar less and aimless but that's okay that's alright because we're all meant to be like that at twenty-four."

That's exactly what I feel like.  And it's not a bad thing.  This is my time to feel like this.  I can't make life move any faster or make fate catch up to my timing.  Why would I even want to?  If things had gone according to MY plan I would be sitting in an office somewhere in Texas doing who knows what.  My plans are kind of boring and small compared to what life really has in store. 

Anyway, time for the real fun, because the day after my birthday LENNA AND SERGIO CAME!!!!! How much do I love my family? I can't even explain how happy I was to see them at the train station.  I love that I have officially been in Ireland for a month, and I've already welcomed visitors.  My family rocks.

We had just the best time.

One of the days they were here we got to take a day tour to the cliffs of Moher and the Burren.  It was such a beautiful drive.

And for those of you who are looking for your Irish love, come to the Matchmaker Bar during the month of September for the Matchmaker Festival!!!!

And the Cliffs of Moher were just incredible...I can't really explain how amazing they were. You feel really small standing there peaking over the edge. 

Look at that little guy up there?

And this sign didn't really help to calm your fears...

...yeah...don't get too close to the edge.

All in all, I had a wonderful time with my family.  I was so happy to share this town with them.  I think Sergio might take Irish folk dancing class once he gets back to DC, and Lenna might try to play the fiddle. They loved all the street musicians and live music every night.   I was so sad when they had to leave though :(

Since they left my life has been interesting.  New things keep popping up in my life that I didn't expect.  I know I am being vague...But it's peaking your interest right?

Anyway, So many things are up in the air right now, like job, home, Christmas oh my...I am praying that I can relinquish control of things that I have no say over.  I can't make anyone do anything, as much as I like to think I can.  This moving overseas is a tricky thing, you think you have things figured out, and then something comes out of the fog and kicks you in the shin reminding you that you haven't dealt with it yet.  This week I have learned A LOT about myself. Some not so great things I need to deal with.  Things I thought I had figured out, but I guess I haven't. 

Enough with that, lets get to what y'all really read this blog for...THE PLAYLIST!!! Oh I would never forget it. I think it's my favorite part of this.

This song is actually from the Disney movie Brave that came out a few months ago.  I saw it in theaters with my mom and just fell in love with the music.  I loved this song especially because it just sounds so Irish! And Mumford & Sons is in it...that helps too. 

It is just a fun song. Makes you feel lighthearted and free.  And that girls crazy curly hair is just inspiring in itself. Props to Disney for FINALLY having a curly headed princess.

It makes me want to find a horse, ride that horse, then dance in some meadow somewhere with a dog leaping around my feet. Can you see it? I can...

That is all for now,

Love y'all

Lauren

Oh, and tonight I will be watching the Aggies btho LSU! WHOOP!!! Just watched about 13 videos to get myself pumped up about this. I expect to hear Kyle Field all the way in Galway. Gig'em Ags!

Maroon Madness

Good Evening All!

It is a rainy day in Galway, just like every day really :) And I am laying on my bed after a long day of work.  I am pooped.  Things have been happening! I now have 3 new roommates, all from the States.  My actual roommate is named Kasey and we get along so well! We both have a love for New Girl and Once Upon a Time, this is going to work out fine :) I got transferred to the other location for work this week, so I've been trying to figure out how to get there and  back.  Long story short, the cafe I work at now is about a 30 min walk from my (temporary) apartment.  While this is very annoying, the walk looks like this for most of the way..


Not even kidding...ocean with a view of cliffs and islands in the distance.

So it is hard to complain about that. Work is going well, I was a bit sad to leave the shop in city centre because I had started to make friends with some people there.  One of my them even invited me to watch the All Ireland Hurling match with her and her friends last weekend! What is Hurling you ask?  No it is not something you compete in after you've had one to many pints.  It is an Irish sport, said to be the fastest sport in the world!  And this year Galway was in the finals! The whole city was decked out in maroon and people were pumped! It was Galway Vs. Kilkenny in a finals rematch (you see, the original finals were 2 weeks ago, but the game ended in a tie, so they had to play the game again).  Unfortunately, Galway was defeated by Kilkenny, I learned that Kilkenny wins almost every year, and everyone is sick of it. Here's a look at Hurling...

Imagine a mix between Lacrosse, Gaelic Football, and some random Basketball rules thrown in.

Since the last blog post, a holiday has come and gone here in Ireland.  A lesser known, very celebrated, definitely non-church holiday.  Yes you guessed it, the day known as Arthur's Day! A day dedicated to celebrating the birth of Guinness beer and the wonderful man, Arthur Guinness who created it.  Basically the town went a little crazy and people started celebrating with breakfast.  Initially the first Arthur's Day (the first Arthur's Day was back in 2009, and it was celebrating the 250th birthday of Guinness) was celebrated with a series of music events.  That's still what happens in Galway, and bands were EVERYWHERE! There was a secret band playing at one of the music pubs that night, a pub called Monroe's.  And I heard it on good authority that Mumford and Sons was going to be the secret band....I'm sure you're thinking "yeah right Lauren"...I know, that's what I was thinking. But I had to go anyway and make sure I wasn't THAT girl. You know, the girl that missed out on the secret Mumford and Sons concert in Galway.

Well, I went with my new friend Emily and we were all pumped up to see who it was. Up until the very last second I thought Mumford and Sons was coming on.  Until this band walked out.

The crowd went wild! People started freaking out! Dancing ensued and cameras started rolling!!!! Emily and I just stared at each other wondering who the heck this band was.  Turns out it was a very famous Scottish band, ironically enough named Texas...This of course had me a little bit giddy as I felt very special to be from the place this band decided to call themselves.  They were very good, and the girl had an amazing voice. But alas, I was let down when it wasn't Mumford and Sons.

Things have been a little crazy lately.  With moving in to a temporary apartment, changing jobs, making friends and really settling into this country.  I feel very at home, and safe in this city.  People are so nice, I may look like a tourist every day, but I don't feel like one.  I have friends :) Real friends...That ask me to dinner and movies, and who want to make dinner with me.  Friends that want to throw me a birthday party and take me to their hometowns.  I feel so blessed.  How did I walk into this adventure?  It was worth every ounce of fear to be here. 

Don't get me wrong, I am still afraid.  But their is an overwhelming peace that overshadows the fear.  This feeling that I will be able to handle whatever it is that gets thrown at me.  God has protected me and guided me through everything, and every doubt I had was worth this feeling of knowing he is near me and taking care of me. 

Ok, for the next song from my Dreamchasing Playlist......This one is from one of my FAVORITE bands, Needtobreathe. I saw them live last March (with Laura!) and they were phenomenal.  This song is called Slumber, and it just plain rocks.  I love the way it starts out kind of quiet, like he's waking you up from a nap, then it just grows and booms into this big loud song.

While I'm walking down the street I like to pretend I'm in this song's music video.  Like it is my personal theme music.  And yes, I always make sure and open my eyes right when he says, "baby open up your eyes". Because he is talking to me...because he is my boyfriend...right? Right.

Ok, that is all for now. I love you all. Thanks for reading! I love getting comments and your encouragement goes a long way. 

Love,
Lauren

Heading West

Hello dear friends, we meet again.

So much has happened since my last posting! I really should have done one sooner.  Life has been moving fast, and I've barely been keeping up, but it's been amazing.

So to start...I'M IN GALWAY!

Probably not a surprise to most of you...but still. any excuse for a funny animal pic :)
Let me tell you how I got here...

It all started on Monday at 1:00 PM.  or 13:00 for all you Europeans.  I found out that I got the job at the lawyers office in Dublin as a junior law secretary.  I was very flattered, because I honestly didn't think I was going to get it. But right when I found out I got the job, I had this feeling of sadness.  Not because I didn't want the job, it sounds very interesting and I know I would enjoy it, but because I knew that meant I would be staying in Dublin.  Don't get me wrong, Dublin is awesome!  But I came to Ireland to see Ireland, and I had only been in this one city...

So I asked for a few days to think about it.  I told him I would decide by Thursday. Keep in mind this was Monday.  I knew before I said yes or no to the job I needed to see western Ireland and Galway to see how I felt about it.  So after spending a (sleepless) night in a Dublin hostel, I jumped on a train with all my belongings and headed west to Galway.

The whole way I just kept thinking, "Ok Lauren, if you can find a job in two days, then it is ok if you don't take the job in Dublin.  That is your time limit, 2 days. Please God, help me decide what I want."
Let me preface all of this to explain, it is very hard to get a job in Ireland right now.  I am being told that by every Irish person I meet.  So the fact that I even got an office job in Dublin is a big deal, and here I was, a pushy American girl who might possibly turn down a great job.  I just had to have a backup to justify moving to Galway with a job waiting for me in Dublin.

Let me just say God is AMAZING. Seriously and truly amazing.  He is so faithful, he makes his presence known! The second coffee shop I walked into in Galway hired me ON THE SPOT! So bam! I not only got a job in 2 days, I got a job in 20 minutes!!! I can't take any credit for this, it was the big man upstairs working his magic.  I wouldn't have even known about the shop except that the man working the front desk at my hostel told me to go there.

So with a job in tow, I felt so free to roam about the city.  Getting a feel for it and taking it in.  I fell in love that day.  I fell in love with Galway :) It is just so wonderful.  It feels so different from any city I've ever been in.  It is so small, yet has everything you could need.  You can walk anywhere in 15 min.  People are so very nice.  It is a college town, so there are a lot of people my age.  It is a great fit for me.  I've never felt more sure of a city.

After my walk about, I went to this coffee shop I read about online called An Tobar Nua (I still can't pronounce it correctly). And again, the Lord answered another prayer!  I met about 5 girls and a few guys who work there/hang out there a lot, and they immediately became my friends! They are so sweet and funny! Most of them are from America and they are working there or working nearby, but a few are from Ireland.  I also got invited to this to very interesting Bible Study class that night, and we took an in depth look at Romans.  I prayed (and I know many of you have been praying too, Thank you so much!!) for community over here, and I feel like I have found it.  I am going to church with some of them on Sunday.  Sometimes I can't stop smiling...

I had this feeling yesterday walking down the street here, I have never felt so completely blessed before.  I had set a near impossible goal for myself, and the Lord provided.  Nothing is impossible for the Lord.  It just proved that the feelings you get from your gut, the ones that sway your decisions and you don't really know why, you should listen to them.  I have always known I wouldn't set up camp in Dublin, and I didn't know why.  My gut told me that it wasn't going to be my home this year.

Go with your gut people.  Those feelings of wrong and right, those are from the Lord! We ignore them so much because they seem inexplicable, but isn't that what God is?  I mean, I even had dinner last night with my FRIENDS! My friends!!! Can you believe it?! Two blogs ago I was whining about not having eating companions, and a few short days later, I'm meeting friends for dinner.  Thank goodness because I was running out of things to stare at as I awkwardly ate alone.

Ok, I'm done for now. I have so much to say, but I will have to write another blog soon.  So many hilarious Hostel stories to tell.  sheesh...Hostels are weird. But I love them :)

For my next song on my Dreamchasing play list, I am going to go with a tune from my dear friend John Mayer.  I know he's got a lot of haters out there, but hey, haters gonna hate, that's fine.  I love him.  I have always loved him.  And I will always love him.  The man can play the guitar.  The man can write some catchy tunes.  But most importantly (for me) the man can write beautiful words that lull my heart into a coma. 

This one joins us from his new album entitled "Born and Raised".
The song is called "The Age of Worry" and it is wonderful. My favorite line is "Don't be scared to walk alone, Don't be scared to like it".  It reminds me that sometimes you have to do things that don't make sense, and everything tells you to think and to make the safe decision, but you have to take the risky route.  Which is really what this whole blog entry has been about... I also like the catchy little doodeedooodeedoo sound that it starts with. 

And say "Worry! Get out of here"
Until next time my friends,
Lauren
p.s. Pictures will come soon...I promise! I need to upload my new camera stuff onto  my laptop. 

Dublin Ya Fun

I have arrriiiiiiiived! I am sitting in Dublin right now. 

It has been a weird few days. It's strange to actually be here when I've been planning on it for so long.  But  here's whats been happening

I was in Toronto for a week layover. By a week I mean 6 hours, and by layover I actually mean layover. I was so restless I was kinda sprawled on the floor at the Toronto airport.  I enjoyed a chicken Caesar salad in one of their restaurants and I almost choked on it. I had this moment where I thought, "my goodness I'm about to be taken down by a big piece of romaine lettuce. That's so lame." But no worries, I made it through.

Anyway the actual plane ride to Dublin was great! I sat next to this nice Canadian who is spending 3 weeks traveling around Ireland playing the bagpipes with his friend and fellow band member. He kept referring to them as "pipes" and I kept nodding along like it was perfectly normal for him to do this, when in reality my mind was yelling "THAT'S SO COOL YOU BAGPIPIN CANADIAN!" 
-sidenote- anytime I think of bagpipes, this classic Friends scene plays in my head...

and then there's this guy's face.... I love Bagpipes

My happiness as I arrived in Dublin was diminished slightly when the airlines informed me that only one of my bags made it on the plane...the other was arriving the next day on a different flight.  So, because I didn't prepare for this little hiccup,  I was left without uhh....undergarments?  And my interview outfit became a lot more difficult to put together with only half my clothes/goodies.  Anyway, I bought some essentials at this cheap little department store so all was well :)

So now I am here and I have been spending a lot of time with Queva, the girl who is so selflessly letting me stay in her house for a few days.  I had my interview yesterday, and it went very well! I'm really not sure what will happen though. The guy was very nice, but he was interviewing other people as well.

After my interview I went to a little cafe for lunch.  Let me tell you, there is nothing more humbling then when you realize that the majority of your meals in a week have been eaten alone. The realization hits you like a punch to the gut.  This meal started out like that, then finished very differently.  Halfway through my sandwich it started to rain outside.  This woman, in her mid 50's walks in out of the rain and over to me, and just out of nowhere I look at her and say, "please join me!". It seemed so very normal to do this. But I'm so glad I did!

Her name is Cliona, (Like Fiona with a CL..she told me that) and she is the kindest, funniest lady! She has traveled all around the world and did just what I'm doing now, but she went to San Francisco when she was 23.  She was full of funny stories and really great advice. Made me feel a lot better about things.  After she took me on a walk about the city where we ran into many of her friends who also gave me their business cards and were very kind.  You gotta love those Irish.

After I said goodbye to Cliona, and promised her I would text her as soon as I got an Irish phone to tell her I'm alright, I went home to get ready to go to October fest with Queva and her friend Olivia.  What a weird night! It was an insane crowd and everybody danced their heart out.  They play all this American music that you wouldn't expect. Songs that we barely play on the radio anymore, they are all screaming the words with their arms wrapped around each other. I heard the macarena, mambo #5, Greased Lightening, Achy Brakey Heart...my face was a big smile the whole night listening to the cheesy music.



They were better dancers than this. I just want any excuse to share this photo with people.

But...sadly...somebody had to ruin the party.  Sometime during the night a total fartface reached into my purse and stole my Iphone.  I didn't feel a thing, I just noticed it was gone.  Thank goodness they didn't steal my wallet or my passport, which I accidentally forgot to take out :-/ This reminded me of something Cliona had told me earlier.  She said that during her 40ish years in Dublin, she has had 8 cars stolen...EIGHT CARS STOLEN. So, yeah. Don't flaunt your Iphone, and don't buy a car.

Anyway, the night went on and we met some nice guys.  One was named John, and I nearly flipped for joy when he started talking to me about American Football.  He started talking about the Indianapolis Colts and I could have cried. So we became best friends. Except I don't know his last name.  So he was my best friend for the evening.

Today I bought an Irish phone. It is really weird having a different number, even if it is only temporary. 

But these few days have been hard.  Harder than I expected.  I think the problem is, I don't feel like I belong in Dublin.  I don't think I want to stay here.  As cool as it is, it's not for me.  I need a smaller city.  I want to be outnumbered by Irish people, not travelers.  I think I have known this for months, but I didn't know how to live somewhere other than Dublin.  So now I am looking, for real this time, in Galway, and the west coast of Ireland.  That is where I feel called.  So that is where I'm gonna go :)

I decided I am going to finish each post with one of the songs that is on my "Dreamchasing" play list.  This is the play list I listen to when I'm feeling down, overwhelmed, and scared.  Music has been a huge comfort to me over here.  It crosses oceans and borders, and nobody cares you're a stranger when "Sweet Caroline" starts to play over the loud speakers.  We're all just friends.

So here is my first installment of the Dreamchasing play list.  Keep in mind, I am a lyrics person.  I fall in love with lyrics like they were puppies. Weird way to put it, but oddly accurate. This song just makes me feel confident in my decision.  It makes me walk a little bouncier and smile even bigger.  "don't pay no mind to the demons that fill you with fear." Good advice Phil Phil

Phillip Phillips - Home

Well, until the next post.
Love y'all!
-Lauren

What, Where, Why in the World??

So here I am, on the eve of my departure, and I am writing a blog....

I should be learning how to work my new (amazingly awesome) camera, picking out the next book I'm going to read, or stuffing 20,000 packets of Splenda into a space saver bag, but I'm not.  I keep hitting this physical and emotional wall and it is almost paralyzing.  I just stand and stare at things with a bag in my hand, unsure of what to do. 

Then the questions start to flood my brain. Do I really need 6 scarves? I have never lived anywhere but Texas...there are maybe 12 days in a year where a scarf serves a purpose....what is winter? Is work canceled for snow? Will I be able to find ranch dressing?  These are the things that get my heart racing and my anxiety amped. 

I am jumping ahead of myself.  I must explain. 

Tomorrow I am leaving for what I plan to be a year long move to Ireland.  I have a work visa that is good for a year, I have some money saved, and I am going.  I have been reluctantly planning this move for about 5 months now.  I say reluctantly because this was a backup plan that I never planned on using.  I was supposed to graduate college, take my month long backpacking trip around Europe, then settle into a nice job in a nice office building, where I wear slacks and fashionable jewelry every day and of course, get benefits. 

But nothing ever goes according to plan.

I didn't get that elusive "job" I have heard so much about, and what I felt was owed to me.  I had a really hard year of rejection, aimlessness, confusion, anger and boredom.  I just couldn't understand why life was moving on for my friends and classmates, but not me. 

Then one day, while randomly googling things ( I enjoy reading my old google history, it is full of weird 24 hour obsessions like, "how to become a librarian" and "Jonathan Taylor Thomas 2012" ) I stumbled upon a Working Holiday Visa   program for recent college grads.  And, well...it became my backup plan.  You see, while backpacking through Europe with one of my best friends Angela (check out her awesome blog as she travels on The World Race ) I fell in love with Ireland.  The people, with their friendly sarcasm, and the place, full of old, beautiful buildings and picturesque scenery.  It was very different from my hometown of Allen, TX.

So that brings me here.  I applied for the visa, bought the ticket, and boom! I'm leaving tomorrow.  How this happened I'll never know.  This move was God ordained and planned from the beginning, I just know it.  Things have worked out in ways I never could have hoped.  I am filled with fear and hope as I plan my next few weeks of life.  I say next few weeks because I do not know where I will be once I land in Ireland.  Right now I'm thinking Dublin, but we'll see how it goes.  It feels strange to not know what I'm doing next, but I know it is exactly what I need to do...

Here in this blog I hope to share more of what I'm doing on this adventure I find myself on.  Tune in to read about my life overseas and about the ridiculous things that WILL happen to me.  I promise, ridiculous situations follow me around. {Insert magician's assistant story here}. And if you want to leave an encouraging comment, I will read it with a big 'ol smile on my face, because I am a words of affirmation gal.

I am so very scared of all the unknowns that lie before me.  However, I keep finding strength in the timeless words of Julie Andrews...
watch this
and Stewie...

See y'all soon,
Lauren