Ireland - the collection

It's taken a couple weeks but finally you can join me on a tour around Ireland. From the streets of Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher, Afternoon Tea at Adare and frolicking with sheep on the Dingle Peninsula, I can't wait to go back! Thanks to Molly, Adam & Brennan for their wonderful hospitality (meatloaf & chocolate chip pancakes).
(Click on the image or go HERE.)

Do you Earth Hour?

If the global warming argument doesn't sway you, consider it an excuse to turn off the lights, light some candles, open a bottle of wine and enjoy a peaceful evening.

I'd rather be...hanging out with sheep.

That should be my license plate frame.

I'd rather be trailing after this mamma and her two babies.

Or having a staring contest with this guy. (Or gal. I can't tell. I wasn't going to look and be the first to crack.)

I'd rather be most anywhere else except spending an entire day working on a take-home midterm.

Oh, Practicum.

How I dislike you and your process.

I've mentioned previously that part of my clinical training includes 3 years of "Practicum" training (sometimes referred to as 'externship') followed by one formal year of Internship. I've just been through the application process for my first year of diagnostic/assessment practicum, and let me tell you, it is NO fun.

NO FUN AT ALL.

It's a process that's filled with anxiety and wondering and rejection and...Kind of like applying to grad schools, jobs or dating.

Yeah, no fun at all.

Today was "Match" day. The day that all the practicum sites are to contact their top choices and offer them a position for the coming 2009-10 practicum year. I bet the phone lines between 9-9:15am were crazy as that's the time the sites are allowed to finally call students (according to the rules of the organization that governs practicum regulations).

At 9:00am I got a call. Much like the process in applying to graduate schools, I got one call and I accepted. After much deliberation over the weekend, weighing the pros and cons, I had decided that this site was my top choice. Nice how that all worked out, eh?

Still could do without all the anxiety and wondering and rejection though.

Weekend Visitor

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Hoping for sunny weather while my dear friend Ginger is in town for the weekend.

On the agenda: a whole lotta nothin'.
(The good kind of 'nothin')

Yay!
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Driving in IE

Although there were a couple occasions where I (or Molly or Lauren) had to remind myself (quickly) that I should be driving on the left not the right (made all the more complicated by the manual gear shift on the left), I'm proud to say we returned our trusty Opel Corsa back to Irish Car Rentals in one piece with no damage whatsoever. Hurray! And despite the occasional fear expressed (or politely held back, though the grimace, gasp, arms thrown out to the sides as if to grab onto something, or imaginary foot-on-the-brake kind of gave it away), we all managed to survive my driving on the other side of the road (or "wrong side" as some might say).

(Side note: My modest pride at this accomplishment increased when I read the log upon returning the car where there were pages and pages of cars that had recently been returned with extensive damage. Strangely enough, damage was mostly on the left side of the vehicles, which doesn't make sense to me considering you drive on the left...Anyone have a theory on that one?)

This might make my day if it happened to me.

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The tin

Across the Atlantic - at least in rural Ireland - the folks there are a trusting lot. You pump your gas and then you pay; no pre-authorization or card swiping necessary to guarantee you won't pump and run. Young farm-girls let you wander their fields of sheep with a simple request that you be sure to shut the gate behind you when you leave. And local pottery-makers advertising their wares with hand-painted signs on small country roads display their pots with a brief note requesting you leave money in a tin for any items you take with you. I like that.

I realize I'm no longer a child when...

... for example, I am eager to sleep in my own bed after being away for a while. As a child I never wanted the party to end. At sleepovers I was always eager to stay at friends' as long as possible, for as many nights as we could get away with. Being away always seemed much more fun than being at home.

At some point over the last several years though, I became an adult. And now I hear myself uttering the words I remember my parents saying when we begged them to extend a vacation, "I just want to sleep in my own bed."

As much as I love traveling (Ireland was great!), I always enjoy being home.

Chicago did it's part in greeting me with blue skies and temps in the high-50's.

The Winn Family (in Ireland)

Of course while I was here, I had to snap a few of Molly, Adam & Brennan. They're too cute not to!
(Click the image to go to a slideshow or go HERE.)

Afternoon Tea

The other day the ladies had afternoon tea at the lovely Adare Manor. (It's a lifestyle to which I'd like to become accustomed.)

Bunratty

We're happy to be here.

In Ireland

Just got back from a weekend in Dublin where, among other things, we toured the Guinness Storehouse Factory. (Never seen so many men willing to go on a tour of something before.)

This afternoon Lauren & I are planning to visit King John's & Bunratty castles while Molls & B recuperate at home. Dinner with their friends tonight. (It's beautiful here. Rainy, but beautiful!)

Happy Birthday, B!

If we had more money and more free time I'd suggest we meet up in Paris for your birthday and try out all of the bakeries across town, and then maybe head into the countryside for some further taste-testing. All in the name of science and exploration and finding the best bread for our bodies, of course.

To my sister,
I wish you a WONDERFUL DAY
and much success in your bread-making!


(Image from here.)

I awoke early this morning.

School today. My long day. I'll leave the house around 7:40am and get home around 9:40pm. Yeah, long day.

Yesterday I stayed home; took a "sick/depressed" day. It was one of those days when I just didn't feel like getting dressed and making the effort to go to school when all I really wanted was to stay in my pj's, catch up on some online TV and be a lazy bum. Yes, these are the early signs of depression (but, according to the DSM-IV, only if they last 2+ weeks :-). If you think of it, please pray for clarity and purpose. I'm lacking both at the moment.

So today I'm off to school, but tomorrow I'm off to see these two.

Last time we toured the wilds of Yellowstone. This time, the emerald hills of Ireland. Let's hope noone gets stuck in a seatbelt (Lauren) or almost-gored by a bison (Kelly).

It's Sunday night.

• Still plugging away at that box of clementines. Delish!
  
  
• Just emailed off a proposal to photograph a wedding in October. Waiting to hear back about another one at the end of May. We'll see!
• Finding myself drawn to rusty chains and locks recently. So rustic!
  
  
• Didn't get a lick of homework/studying done today as planned. Bad Kelly!
• I woke up today and pulled the blinds to find a winter wonderland had descended sometime during the night; it's been snowing almost all day. Love the snow on days when I can stay cozy inside!
  
  
• Wondering why peeps rarely comment on my blog anymore. Thoughts/suggestions? Am I boring you with my narcissism?