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