Cows and such

The sky is no longer permanently overcast. The sun shines rays of golden warmth occasionally. It is finally dry but umbrellas are kept in hand. Goodbye July, thank goodness August!

I know that July was much cooler for you folks in the good ole 50 states than June was. Here in Northern Ireland we had a very wet, dark, and cold July.  We got about as much rain in July as many of you did in May, almost 4 inches. I think I have experienced almost every type of cold temperate deciduous forest rain possible.  One day I went outside and it just looked like ocean spray was falling from the sky. You'd be surprised how cold and wet a continual misting can get you.

Happy birthday to those of you with July and August birthdays, goosepoop. A special birthday shout out to my pops. I hope you had a super birthday because you're a super dad.

I would also like to give a giant thank you for those of your who wished Leo a happy birthday and sent him a little love his way. He isn't from a family that really celebrates birthdays or anything much apart from Christmas. It makes me happy when I see how loved and welcomed he feels from many of you.  Even those of you who aren't family have been so generous to us and we are so very grateful to you. With the birthday money he got from some of you he bought himself a camera filter that he has been dying to get his hands on. It is good news for those of you who were getting tried of his bird pictures because he'll be taking water and sky pictures now.

For those of you who don't know I got a job at the House of Fraser in the wedding list department. I pretty much help couples make lists of things they would want for their wedding, make sure they get all the purchased gifts and anything else they may want, and help their guests purchase items. I do not like it at all. But that's ok because I have a job :) I have heard some crazy stories about couples. One bride emailed the girls working there and said she would be canceling their list because she walked in on her fiancé and his best man together. She said it put a different meaning on the term "best man". Another bride called in asking for all her guests gifts to be refunded. When asked why she said that the groom had run off with some girl on their honeymoon.  Gives all you marriage crazy kids something to think about ;)

My first day of work I left my bus money in my jeans and ended up missing my bus. So I took a taxi…..to catch my bus. When I got on the bus the bus driver recognized me and said perplexed, "There is another bus." I told him that it would get me into the city too late and he just smiled, shook his head, and mumbled something about getting a taxi to a bus. It was cheaper than taking the taxi all the way into town. If my wallet isn't complaining than neither am I. 

According to some, I have an Irish twang to my speech. This, of course, in just a flapacrapnasti lie they have come up with to ruin my good name as an American. Don't listen to their poisonous words. They'll riot your brain and then eat it. They are part zombies that's why they like brains…..I think.

On the 12th of July, I was taken out for my first and only bonfire viewing. Watching a giant fire, that I can not start myself, surrounded by drunks is not my ideal way of spending my night. Luckily I wasn't around when there was trouble. Thank goodness for all you worriers that I am an "old person" according to some and bed time is at 10:30. I can't wait for the day when I live somewhere where I will not have drunks screaming, shout, yelling, "F*** that b****! Get your ***** out! F****** f***!" The twelfth was pretty bad as there were lots of drunks that night.

During my induction training we were put into groups to complete tasks and then we would report back to our whole group and I finally understood why non-Americans complain about us being loud. Now, I can be loud when I want, but I don't consider myself a loud person. Then again, that could just me living in a supposed quiet state of denial. That being said, I could not understand a single thing these kids said as they whispered their results to the rest of the group. I was looking around trying to find another face that showed the same desperation and frustration as I strained to here what was being said, but all I saw were faces of recognition and understanding. I don't know if they have over-developed bat-like hearing or what but somehow all those Irish kids got everything that was said. If that had been in the states the person talking generally would have projected their voice to be heard, because we are not bat people. For those of you who are, I apologize for any offence  as I didn't mean to offend but merly state you have great hearing and I do not. I have a loud American voice.

One thing Irish people will  LOVE to tell you is "Ack! You never know what the weather will be like here! We get all four seasons in one day!" To some extent this is true but only because every season is the same: RAIN. No matter what the season you can bet it will rain. Other than that, that statement is false. Coming from a part of the world where there actually is four seasons, Ireland doesn't have them. Sorry to burst your bubble Ireland.

You gotta see this new thing Tati got Lilja doing.

Tati got it from the Olsen twins when they were on Full House. I guess she went up to Bridger and said, "You got it dude baby!" For those of you who have facebook Tristan has some fun pictures up of all of them along with a funny quote from Lilja.

I know Utah is a very unique place. Not only from the LDS culture that is very prominent but it is also THE nerdiest state in the country. Here I have noticed there is a definite line between what is for kids and what is for adults. Sure, in Utah we have things that are very much for adults and kids as well, but if I, a 26 year old, wanted to play in a ball pit or a playground at a park there is nothing wrong with that. I can swing on swings next to 6 year olds. If I want to see "Inside Out" with my also 26 year old husband, that is grand. Why wouldn't I see a movie I wanted to? Here I cannot swing with six year olds or see a "kids" movie without it being really bizarre that I don't have any children with me. I was talking to a 17 year old if she had seen "Inside Out" and she said he hadn't heard of it and asked what it was about. I told her it was about your emotions and Pixars version of how they work in your head. She told me that sounded really intense and deep for a kids movie. Sure, kids will love these types of movies and they are made so kids can understand them but they aren't just for kids. But then, maybe that's my Utah nerd coming out. Whatever the reason I find it so weird I'll met you at the swings.

Life isn't about waiting out the storms but learning to dance in the rain.

That's a good reminder for myself to live in the now and live in the future when it becomes the now.

Barbara is doing much better and is in a care home now. She gets out of bed and does light walking every so often and her back is still healing. They say that it'll be awhile yet before she is home but she is making a nice recovery. Leo and Mick installed cameras around Ronnie's house and got a guy trying to convince Ronnie to let him into the house. We called the cops because we thought he was trying to get in to rob him. They took the video and the next day said they think that that same fella was involved in a robbery that happened 45 mins earlier that day. People can be creepy.

A couple of Sundays ago Leo took me to Enniskillen and we went on a four mile hike. It was one of the only days in July that it didn't rain all day. It was so nice and I loved the sunshine and the change of scenery. This island is amazingly beautiful.

Leo took these pics

Let's face it, you probably won't hear from me until September so have a great August!! :D

Tankin Yous

Hello and good evening/afternoon/morning! I hope that you have or will have a terrific day. No, I'm not jealous of your sunshine! Don't be ridiculous! Though, if you get tired of the heat I wouldn't mind if you sent some this way.

June. What a month. Pretty soon it will be the summer solstice, Father's Day, and least important, Shayli's birthday. Speaking of which, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYD! I know she probably doesn't read this but I just couldn't forget her birthday!! Here it is still very light until nearly 11 at night. It's pretty crazy and I feel like a kid again when you're parents made you go to bed at 8:30 in the summer and it was still light outside. It was as if the light was taunting you that while you were in bed other kids were still playing in the bright summer light. Also, feliz dia del padre to all those padres. I hope your chidern treat you nice. Also congrats to all the cousins that graduated. I heard Bailey, Jenna, Preston, and Dallin all graduated this year. If I missed someone, please don't take it to heart and I wish you all the best with whatever the future you's have in mind.

"Your man has a bake like a busted gutty!" "Cracker, so it is like" I decided that I wanted to teach you all some "Norn Iron" slang. A gutty is a tennis shoe (or a trainer). Bake means face or mouth. Cracker is not a white person but something that is good. Yarn is to talk. Wick means stupid or useless. Chin waggin means to talk a lot. Chuffed means pleased or very happy. Like is often used in place of a period. Kex are underwear. Poke is ice cream. Scundered means embarrassed. For more slang click here. 

Back in May I had another interview for a different job at Norbrook. To my embarrassment I thought that when the lady told me about it she was saying it was for a second interview for the same job but it was for a different job. That's probably why I didn't get that job…oops! I am still waiting to hear back about the first interview but I am not holding my breath because it has taken them so long to get back to me. I do have an other interview on Monday and have applied to some other jobs near by. I just hope that I get something soon. So does Leo. He wants to add more filters to his collection and eventually get a new camera. Have I ever mentioned that he has expensive hobbies? ;)

A few weeks ago Leo was on his way to tech and decided to pull over and pump up some of the tires because they felt a little flat while he was driving. As he was getting back on the motorway some cops passed him and then flipped a U-y and pulled him over. As soon as the officer came to the window he said, "We smelt cannabis. Have you been smoking it?" To which Leo told him he hadn't been. The officer asked him if his friends had been smoking it in his car and Leo told him that there had never been any weed in the car while he had owned it. The cop went back to his car to check Leo's id and such then came back, gave it to him, and left without saying another word or bothering to check his car for weed. Now, if they had asked for any brownies, we could have supplied him well from the trunk.

This last week was the nicest it has been in a long time. It got up to 65 degree and was super sunny all day. In all my life 65 degrees never felt so good! With a few days of sun I even got a Teva tan. Shows you how white I have gotten if 65 degrees and a little bit of sun can tan my feet. Despite what the locals may say, it wasn't "roasting" but it was nice to have the sun out for so long :)

The last month or so Ronnie has been bothered by gypsies. I didn't know much about traveler when I first moved here but it is easy to see that they don't have a good reputation in this part of the world. Not all the gypsies travel, from what I understand. When we lived in Dundalk it seemed to be that there were gyspies that stayed in one place nearly their whole lives but they were still called gypsies. Apparently other Irish people can tell a gypsy just by the way they look and talk but I couldn't tell the difference. That upset some of the Irish people because they didn't want to be confused with gyspies and thought the difference was so apparent. Anywho, Twice in the last month they have come to his house asking if they could do labor jobs around his house for him. Both asking for ridiculous amounts of money. One of the times they were trying to get him to pay them to power-wash his driveway for about$160. His driveway is a lot smaller than my parents, for those of you who don't know. This last time it seemed they were trying to rob him. From what the neighbors told me, a young guy knocked on his door and was telling him how there had been sewage back-ups in the area and asked if he could take a look at Ronnie's. Ronnie, who had been on the phone previously to answering the door, told him to wait just one moment while he finishes this conversation he was having. While Ronnie was talking an the phone one of the neighbors approached this young guy and asked what he wanted. The younger man said hello but ignored his question and got on the phone and ran down the street where he got into a car that sped off. It seems that the younger guy was trying to get Ronnie in a room and distract him while a second guy goes in and takes his money and valuables. I can't be sure that's what they were after but it makes sense because in other nearby areas there have been reporting's of that kind of thing happening. One of the neighbors has a strong hatred for gyspies and told me there isn't enough petrol to burn them all.  I thought that was a very strong remark but it gives you an idea of how people feel about them here.

Disney's Gypsies

Real Gypsies

My mom will be able to relate to this next story, and for that I am sorry. Your poor nose. A few weeks ago I was eating yogurt with my breakfast and because I haven't eaten much diary the last year and half (yup, if I was on a mission I would be coming home next month :) ) my insides don't really like it and those around me like it even less. I had horribly stinky farts. At one point Michael tried to blame a fart on Leo and when he found out it was me exclaimed that he knew who wore the pants in our relationship. Leo has told me that his whole life he didn't think that girls farted or ever stank. He said that I proved that idea wrong. I don't know why a stinky fart is so funny, but have you ever had a stinky fart and not giggled at least a little even after you were done being embarrassed? The real story is that one morning my alarm was going off on my ipad. It happened to be one of the days Leo had off so I was trying to quickly turn it off so he wouldn't wake. I turned it off and picked up my iPad to leave the room and forgot that I had plugged it in to charge. As I tried to walk away I was suddenly jerked back and nearly fell on the bed. I don't know if the jerk scared me or if the sudden movement loosened my butt cheeks, but as I was nearly falling, a very loud fart broke free from my bum. Stunned from the noise of the chord and ipad being yanked from my hand and also the tremendous pressure that I had realized into the room, I picked my iPad up and was about to see if I had woke Leo up when he pinched me on the bum. For the whole week afterwards he wouldn't let me live it down and kept reminding him how rude I am to wake him from his deep slumber with a fart to the face. I fear I will be forever known as "fart-box".

We saw Barbara on Monday and while she was in a lot of pain, she seems to slowly be getting better. This month is the second month she has been in the hospital. Her bedsore is slowly healing but still hurts. She has been able to sit up in chairs and such for short periods but still will not walk. Her legs have atrophied a lot. Leo said that her legs look like his arms, which I don't know who I feel more sorry for. Her having super skinny weak legs or him having super skinny weak arms. Hopefully she will continue to improve.

Leo and I would like you all to call us by our correctly pronounced names that Lilja was kind enough to demonstrate.

While visiting Barbara at the hospital I was able to met her sister Jan who was able to give me a bunch of papers on their family history. Barbara is really weird about the past but luckily Jan seems much better about that kind of thing. It has been fun for both of us to read through the stories that had been collected. There was one story that Leo loved a lot where this servant that would watch the children on a family farm would use the sheep dogs to round the kids up and herd them into corners if they were misbehaving. With the help of these papers and stories I have been able to do a lot more family history work on Barbara's side than I ever thought I would be able to :) Miracles.

Living in Northern Ireland is awesome. To me, the quality of life is so much better, even if the economy is the worst in the UK, compared to the Republic of Ireland. Everything is so much cheaper here and there are a lot more things available here than compared to the south. Ireland, as a whole, is a fantastically beautiful country, especially this time of the year. The culture can be a bit rough but the people are generally nice. It is a quaint place to live with it's bakeries, butchers, and fresh veggies and fruit shops. Life does seem a bit slower here than anywhere else I've lived. We are much much happier up here and are so grateful that we were able to make up here when we did. With that said, I miss Utah a lot. There are lots of things (and people) that I miss. Some days are worse than others but overall I am glad to be with my husband living life together. I felt like I was wick because I just haven't fallen in love with living here because all over the internet there are people who move abroad and fall in love with it and never want to go back to the states. I have found very few people who didn't like abroad that much and moved back. Until the other day when I found a blogger that was married to a Belfast man and had lived here for a year but couldn't hack it and moved back to San Fran. As silly as it is it made me realize that it's ok to not love living here, but to enjoy the difference in scenery while I have it. I am very grateful for those of you who have continued to give your love and support. I know that without strong family ties this would have been so much harder than it already has been. I hope that you all have a fantastic week. Live long and prosper!!

Who makes a better baldy?

Birds But Not Byrds

Alrighty! It's Cinco de Mayo so let's get this party started!!

After a month of applying for jobs galore, I finally got a request for a job interview!! Huzzah! The job title on the application was Analytical Science Graduate. What is that, you may have asked no one in particular. Essentially it is a chemistry graduate position, specifically analytical chemistry aka separating and identifying components of a compound.  I don't know what you'd do without me. You'd still be puzzled asking no one what an analytical science graduate was. You are welcome from saving you from asking walls, pens, computer monitors, and other stationary objects those deep soul searching questions. Don't want your superiors seeing you acting like a fool do you? (All those with Brewer or Morris blood, I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do to help you…)

My interview was April 30th in Newry, about 30 minutes north of Dundalk ironically enough. I prepared as best I could but still flubbed up on a few of the questions. The worst was when they asked how to make a mole. I know! I messed up on that!? But I just couldn't remember the math for it. Other than that I think it went pretty good. They said they would get back to me in two weeks. Hopefully that is a good day. If not it's back to the hunt! For my interview I was going to wear some of the clothes that I have but Leo and my dear young mom convinced me to get some new clothes. Thankfully Leo has more sense of style then I do (scary thought when you see how he dresses!) and was able to help me pick out a nice set of clothes.

I found out that in January of 2015 Northern Ireland's unemployment rate was 6%, December 2014 the UK's is 5.5%, February 2015 the USA is 5.5%, and Utah is 3.4%. Pretty interesting I thought.

Newtownards in spring.

Speaking of my tallish, dark haired, handsome man, he is so kind. Ladies you'll be envious when I tell you a few nights ago I asked him to do the dishes for me since I had cooked and he asked if he could do them the next day. I told him that I would rather that he get them done that night because every time he says he'll do them the next day I have to nag him to get them done because he just keeps putting them off and that I hate nagging him to do things. To which he responded, "Ack! I'll give you the night off of nagging! I promise!" Who needs RV's and boats?! My fella gives me nights off of nagging! ;)

Leo thought my choices of clothes were horrible for an interview. I thought they were pretty decent considering I was working with what I have and we all know how fond I am of fancy and/or nice clothes.

The other day Leo and I sat down and talked about his schooling and how much more he has left and that sort of shtuff. It looks like that we will be here at least until 2017 but it is fairly probably that we won't be back until 2018. It all depends on if Leo gets accepted to do his masters at Queen's University or not. He came to me in shocked dismay that the masters program costs about £5,000 ($7,600). I couldn't help but scoff at him and tell him that he'd be spending about $40,000 (£26,400) for a masters program in the states. Once he heard this he felt much better about is £5,000.

Living in the country that has 17/25 wettest cities in Europe in its borders, I have come to know a thing or two about rain that I never experienced growing up in a desert.

1. It can rain on a sunny  cloudless day. This has happened more than once since I have lived here.
2. Rain storms 90% of the time don't have a lightening and thunder storm with it.
3. People don't melt in the rain. A little bit of falling water doesn't stop people from getting out and doing things.
4. There are more types of rainfall then types of peanut butter in Tesco. My favorite is bizarre sliver or particle rain. 
5. Rainbows don't happen every time it rains, but maybe that's just because all those pots of gold have been found already.
6. Particle rain (Leo calls it 'wet rain') will get you wetter than downpour. I don't even know how this one works.
7. There is an umbrella made for those windy rainy days. I would like to know if they work.
8. Rain drops don't have to be big to fall fast. Fast rain hurts.
9. Final fact, rain can be really depressing.

Who woulda thunked that a desert kid could learn so much about rain?! Especially one that already knew everything!

Leo is becoming very birdy and wanted me to share some of his latest photos with you.