Home

I am home. I will post more later... after my brain, body, mind, and heart all catch up to whenever the heck I am. Jet lag is a jerk. But it is so good to be home... I love my family and our house. It smells like home. That may sound weird to some people but I walked in and it smells like I really am HOME. I didn't realize I even had a true sense of smell but this was unmistakable.

well, I am going to go nibble on the 2 lbs of PUPPY CHOW my wonderful sisters made for me... oh yum yum yummers!

3:40 AM

So it is 3:40 in the morning and I THINK that I am ready to go... there is always that little feeling that there are loose ends to tie up but I think that at this point, I don't really care enough to snoop around and find them...

Peri and I have gone all night doing random things around the apartment while loading episodes of Lost. Lost is our "thing" so it is only appropriate that we have a Lost night right before I leave... Of course it is about a group of people that CRASH LAND on an Island... at least they were in the South Pacific... If I crash land (and survive) I would have to brave it on Greenland... or become very empathetic with the survivors of the Titanic. mmm the North Atlantic... Oh Good Lord...

But I am confident that the worst thing that might happen is that I will get stuck YET AGAIN with a seat that won't recline... every transatlantic flight I have had I have been unable to push my seat back to get a snooze in... But hey, I have a few things in perspective now and that ain't so bad.

So please pray that my flights will go smoothly and that God will carry me home in one piece.

Kate in Dublin, Out.

I Hate Paper

I have a filing problem, as in, I don't. I hate paper and spending more than a few seconds thinking about where it should go gives me a tummy ache. So, thanks to this problem of mine, every time I have to pack to go someplace I end up with a huge stack of random bits of paper that I have to sort and go through just in case there is anything important in the mix of old grocery and to-do lists and unreadable receipts.

Since I am leaving the apartment at 4AM this Thursday I should have sorted through my common paper mountain last week... so naturally I am doing it now... just about 28 hours before I need to be outa here.

Hi. My name is Kate and I am a Class A Procrastinator.

I feel weird.

I feel super weird after watching this movie...
I heard a couple things about it. I was told that I would like it (I am guessing because I tend to really enjoy Super Hero movies)... Instead I feel super weird and I have no idea how to react to what I just saw. I feel kind of all wobbly and top heavy inside... I feel weird.
I think I need I need a pedicure.
And my mom's Velveta Chip Dip.

Red High Heels

I just got back from a wonderful evening with two really wonderful girls that I have come to know and love during my time here in Dublin, Becca and Ellisha. Myself and Becca both needed to justify the purchase of our fancy heels for the New Years party we attended... So naturally we all went out to a "fancy" dinner! We had a great night filled with perfectly random conversation to match the yummy and random food we had (Tapas?).

I love these girls and I am going to miss them a lot.

Ellisha, Me, and Becca
(I am the Giant)

just a 2 am thought...

I am so glad the airport people don't make you step on the scale when you check in... "excuse me Ma'am, you will have to pay for your *ahem* 'excess baggage'..."

But if they did this add would make me feel better...

Conservation of Mass-Energy

Conservation of Mass-Energy:

The total energy in a closed or isolated system is constant, no matter what happens. Another law stated that the mass in an isolated system is constant. When Einstein discovered the relationship E=mc², in other words that mass was a manifestation of energy, the law was said to refer to the conservation of mass-energy, which says the total of both is retained, although some may change forms. The ultimate example of this is a nuclear explosion, where mass transforms into energy.

Fact: I just broke this particular Law of Physics.

I am so impressed with myself. If you had seen the massive piles of crap that I had to pack into 2 1/2 suitcases (the half being my carry-on) you would believe it. I am very happy that I can check the 2 larger ones... but I am still quite proud that I was actually able to get everything packed...

Tonight Peri and I are hosting a movie night... Since we work with a church we have churchy things on hand for nights like this. In this case, a projector. And the way our living room is arranged it's perfect for projecting a movie onto an entire wall for a night of cinematic adventure. We also can thank my dad for bringing a glorious amount of American Oreos for me when he came to visit. I will need to get some milk and maybe a few other snacky things for tonight but I am excited for the chance to share some Oreos with the friends I have made here. I hope it goes well as this will be kind of my last big thing before I leave Dublin and Ireland. I don't want it to be sad but goodbyes are never great.

Friday Night

All day I was fully intending to use this evening to get one full bag packed, finished, ready to fly. But instead, I have been devouring a spur of the moment purchase... or two, reading and trying desperately not to fall asleep, and answering several emails and messages of varied importance. I am terribly tired and I have no idea why. I hate inexplicable exhaustion and I am all too familiar with it.

And there is, of course, the over hanging guilt that I still haven't finished sorting through the hundreds of photos I took the other day... which happened to be Saint Patrick's Day. in Dublin. and I was here. in Dublin. I know. If I don't sort and post them up on facebook and on here before I fly home it will NEVER happen. I am very good at totally forgetting something like that.

So anyway, I'm just gonna Cowboy Up and get some clothes sorted and folded into my big red suitcase... I might have to plug in my ipod and play some dance music though... Norah Jones is my enemy tonight...

Not Saint Patrick's Day

I have SO many St Patrick's Day photos and videos that I have decided that I am just going to do what I do best... put off sorting them and posting them until the last possible minute and post totally unrelated things in the meantime... like these youtubes below... The first one brought a tear to my eye (in a bitter sweet cute way) and the second gave me a bit of a belly chuckle...

KITTENS!

This is almost too much for me to handle at this hour... I laughed. A lot.



This too... Oh my heavens...

En Route to Dubai!

I just got back from the Post office where I sent off Flat Katie to my Dad in Dubai. I hope everything gets there in one piece. It was so much fun to have another excuse to go around taking photos of Dublin. Knowing that my little friend Katie will have a great project because of it makes me that much happier to have been involved! So off to the Middle East she goes!

Flat Katie and I in front of my Big Blue Dublin Door.

Meet Peri, My Pyromaniac Roommate.

So there were plenty of candles in the apartment... including this homemade one that had seven wicks... SEVEN.

Peri worked her Caboose off to free the wicks from the melted wax and lit it for an evening of Lost...

It was like a lovely little fire... it gave quite a cozy atmosphere...

Peri was so proud...

But when the heat of it began messing with the ambiance and it appeared to be growing a bit out of control...

Peri tried... and failed to blow it out.

It was a bit frightening... so she got a little cup of water and...

THIS happened... Life Note taken. water, camera, face and self-sustaining flamethrower candles do not mix well...

It was awesome folks. The flame jumped about 2 feet in the air... Below I have a video... I didn't get the initial leap of flame but I did get some of the cool blue sparky things after...

everything is amazing and nobody is happy

Curses on the Jolly Mexican Man!

Grocery shopping whilst hungry is a tricky beast... I have just REdiscovered this fact and I am beginning to feel the consequences in my tummy... walking back to the apartment I ate about half a bag of tortilla chips... the jolly Mexican man on the front inspired me, but now his thick face and joyfully pudgy fingers serve as a warning for next time I feel the urge to run for all the snackies!! Although running may just be the trick!


I also got a box of Pop Tarts... I haven't eaten a pop tart in ages and the boxes over here remind me of Tide Detergent so I never really made the effort to reach for a box (if the box was a technicolor headache like in the States, well, lets just say I wouldn't have any more space in the cupboard). But to lighten things (pun sooo intended) I behaved when looking at the breakfast cereals (or lunch or dinner cereals if you like). I bought a box of Special K. Yes. The Mom cereal.

(notice the bread bag says "Healthy Grain... Sandwich")

Flat Katie!

Some wonderful family friends have sent me their daughter's Flat Stanley Project... Flat Katie!
I still cannot believe that I am old enough to be the recipient rather than the sender...

I am having much more fun with it than I expected... I know I must look like a crazy person to strangers walking by as I hold a little flat person at arms length and take a photo... all over Dublin. But I really don't care, I want Katie to have the best Flat Stanley photo collection in her class... (and yes... I have actually figured out the add photos thingy)

Flat Katie in with the 46A Bus that I take down to Dun Loaghaire (pronounced Done Leary) every Friday.

Flat Katie with the James Joyce statue right next to the Spire.

Leprechauns!

Duke Special

A music video that a couple of my friends are in... and it's a catchy tune too!