This week, Dublin got a big surprise...SNOW!    It started on Monday morning, but wasn't too treacherous until the late that night.  I headed downtown to meet up with my friend (also named Stephanie) and by the time I got back to my car there was a thick layer of ice on the roads.  My dad would have been proud at my snow driving :) 

Tuesday the weather cooperated JUST long enough for me to go to class.  Within an hour of getting home, there was 5 inches of accumulation outside my door.  After changing into my ski bibs and boots, I grabbed my camera and went on a walk through the snow! 

Other new stuff these days...
1.  I started my second class at IBI and am loving it!
2.  The Lord graciously provided me with another car.  My orange one was
    having some chronic problems...and was becoming a bit unreliable.
3.  I was recently inspired at an art museum and bought some watercolor
    pencils.  My first work of "art" was a picture of my nephews two
    favorite stuffed animals in his huge red wagon :)
4.  Driving to City Centre no longer makes me nervous!  I've pretty much
    mastered it and found a convenient place to park.
5.  My hair is a bit shorter than it has been in a LONG while.  Second trip
    to the styling school was a bit of an adventure.

So that about sums it up!  Thanks for keeping up with me...

No, Thanksgiving is not an Irish holiday, however, I celebrated it all day long here in Dublin!  The day started with a sinus headache, but that did not thwart my preparation of the green bean casserole.   Headache subsided just in time to head up the hill for lunch with some of my teammates.  I walked in the Laughlin's door to the familiar smells of turkey, gravy and stuffing.  Shortly after 2pm, we sat down to Thanksgiving dinner #1.  Delicious!

After heading to basketball at the community centre, I then took the bus downtown to the Mulholland's apartment.  They have this incredible place with an awesome view of Dublin. (check out the photos!) Thanksgiving dinner #2 was enjoyed around 8pm with several friends and a couple of new acquaintances.  More turkey, gravy, and stuffing...DELICIOUSNESS.

Following dinner, several of us sat down to enjoy the Peanuts Thanksgiving Special.  I hadn't seen the Peanuts in years.  If the writers  were historically accurate, I actually learned a couple of things :) Fun and educational!

I added some new photos from the day...click the photo tab and enjoy!

After a few busy weeks of visitors and events going on here in Ireland, I'm feeling glad to settle back down into my normal schedule.  I said goodbye to Leah and Jenn at 4:30am on Thursday, then spent the rest of the day cleaning the house before heading to basketball.  Friday was spent preparing for Bible study with the twins and Sarah.  Though I was dragging a bit, it was a fun time hanging out and discussing what it looks like to "conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel."  Big ideas coming from 13-14 year olds :)

Saturday was a first for me in Ireland...I ran into a friend at the mall!  It was a rainy, dreary day, so to fight the gloom I went to grab some coffee and spend a gift card at Liffey Valley.  While walking around I received a text from a friend who happened to be in the very same store!  We ended up chatting over coffee for the last few minutes before everything closed (the mall closes at 7pm every night but Thursday).  As we were leaving, I accepted an invite to join her family for Chinese. YAY! 

Today was a great day at Ballycullen Community Church.  During the past year or so, our church has  transitioned from a church-plant of Grosvenor Road Baptist Church to a self-sustaining church, and with that transition comes the task of electing a pastor.  The search began before I arrived and has had its ups and downs.  One of the many events during the past few weeks was a weekend spent "interviewing" a prospective pastor and his wife.  The Lord answered our prayers with the announcement today that the couple we met in July and just interviewed had accepted the position!

This coming week proves to be just a normal but busy one with Mums and Toddlers, school, basketball, Jr. Tribes, my first Irish haircut and more.  Thanks for taking time to keep up with me and what's going on over the ocean :)  Your thoughts, notes and prayers are so wonderful!

This has been the theme of my weekend :)  Two of my dear friends came to visit me from Nepal...Leah and Jenn!  We met two years ago at some classes in Pennsylvania and found that we only lived about 90 miles away from each other in Tennessee.  Since meeting and all moving away, we have remained close friends, and so our reunion was so great when I picked them up at the airport on Friday morning (way before the sun came up)!

Friday I had the task of keeping them awake until evening so they could adjust to the time change, so we walked all over Dublin...of course with a necessary stop at Starbucks.  We also had to make a quick stop at the store for gloves and hats...(I told you it was freezing here!)

Saturday we visited Kilkenny.  This has quickly become one of my favourite towns near Dublin.  They enjoyed their first tour of a European castle!  Then we went for coffee before heading home.  So much talking and laughing along the way...such an encouragement.  Still several more days to their visit, so more fun to come!

Pictured below...
top:  Leah and me in Dublin
bottom: Jenn and me in Kilkenny

Have you ever mentally "rehearsed" how an event or conversation would go only to have reality kick in and bring you back to the planet Earth?  That happened to me this week...

Several of you MAY remember me talking about seeing this cafe in 2006 when I made my first visit to Ireland.  I looked for it when I returned this past January, but never found it.  Well, the other day, I googled it and actually found it on the map!  Monday I set out to find it so I could catch up on reading for my class while drinking some coffee.  Somehow I ended up day-dreaming about my day at the cafe...here's how it went!

I imagined myself enjoying a leisurely bus trip into town listening to my Ipod.  Then after arriving at my stop, I walked to Stephanie's Cafe which happened to be situated on the coolest street in City Centre.  There were shops and outdoor produce vendors all along the way.  I arrived at the slightly aged building that had been converted into the quaint little cafe.  Tables were neatly arranged and beautiful flowers were placed in the centre of each.  Sort of a cross between The Cupcakery and Starbucks.

I imagined a sweet Irish lady named Stephanie (of course) working behind the pastry counter and several other girls busy serving the other patrons.   It smelled of espresso and baked goods.  Before being seated, I was warmly welcomed and then struck up a friendly conversation with the owner.  The fact that my name was also Stephanie, of course, procured me a free latte which I enjoyed while reading for a couple of hours.  And since the latte was free, I bought a delicious pastry.  I left with a promise to return soon and enjoy another delightful day!

So here's what really happened...
The bus trip was pretty peaceful and I did enjoy some music on my Ipod, but that's about where the similarity ended.  After getting off the bus at the stop closest to the cafe, I began to walk...and walk...and walk.  Yeah, it was a bit further off the bus route than I figured.  It wasn't a bad part of town at all, but nothing really notable about it either. 

I walked for several blocks and finally found my destination!  The building was a bit old but on the inside it looked more like and Italian bistro than a cafe.  I was greeted by two eastern European guys who were running the place.  (I don't think either of them were named Stephanie.)  So I sat down and began reading the menu, which had a typo on the cover :)  I decided on some pasta and a coffee.  Both were good and reasonably priced.  I happened to notice, though, while eating that only one other woman entered the cafe the entire time I was there, the rest were guys.  I had a moment of wondering if I had somehow stumbled upon a "Guy's Only" restaurant, but no one told me to leave, so I stayed.  I never did have a chat with the owner, other than to tell him it wasn't necessary to close the front door because the cold air didn't bother me at all.   After reading an entire chapter, eating lunch, and turning down a date from a guy who had clearly already had too much to drink...I went on my way!

All in all, it was a reasonably NORMAL event, but I laughed at myself as I remembered how much more romantic my day-dream had been compared to reality!

Ok, so it's been SEVERAL years since I have darkened the doors of a public library.  This is mostly because I'm somewhat of a "library-fugitive" back in Tennessee.  Long story surrounding an $80 fine for a book on CASSETTE that I returned in 2001, but they have no record of it.  I'm probably on a "10 Most Wanted" list at the Lawson McGhee.

Since I've been doing a lot of reading with all the bus trips and such, I decided to join the local library here in Tallaght.  I have to say, it was the most amazing experience I have ever had at a library.  First of all, they have much more than books there.  From the rows and rows of CD's and DVD's (new stuff too...not just from the 1940's) to beginning Polish lessons, it's a different world than I remember.  They even have a website for downloading audio books to your MP3 player, and your library card acts as a debit card for library fines and printing fees. 

After wandering around in awe for an hour, I made my few selections...three books, a CD and a DVD.  I took them to the counter to check them out and was surprisingly redirected to a "self-checkout" desk.  As I followed the instructions, I stood there dumbfounded!  I inserted my library card and laid my stack of books (etc.) on the counter, and then just watched as the computer began listing each item on the screen.  I didn't have to scan anything!  It knew what I had!   Then before I knew it, a receipt printed thanking me for visiting and telling me what day all my stuff needed to be returned.  I think I closed my dropped jaw sometime before I got back to my car...

Don't be misled by the simplicity of this title, for me this has NOT been an easy task since I arrived almost two months ago.  Shortly after moving into my apartment I realized that my washer was not working.  It would fill with water, drain, then fill up again but never spin...all the while holding my clothes hostage for about 24 hours! 

Finally after a month, my landlord gave me permission to buy a new washer and deduct it from my rent.  I ordered it THAT DAY, but as I was scheduling delivery realized that I was going to have to disconnect the old washer and install the new one all by myself! 

Fortunately, I have a dad who knows how to do EVERYTHING when it comes to home maintenance and repair.  (He and a few friends built our house from the ground up!)  Throughout my life he has instilled in me a healthy knowledge of how to fix things and a sense of confidence to just figure it out. 

So that's precisely what I did.  It took a little while and entailed a trip to the hardware store because they have changed a few things since my old washer was installed.  But it's working just great!  Four loads of laundry down and no explosions or floods...so I'd call it a success.

This weekend I had my first chance to show a friend around my new home!  Tim came for a visit on his way home from business in Vienna.  On Saturday after leaving the airport, we explored downtown Dublin, ate some fish and chips, and ended with a cup of coffee at Insomnia Cafe. 

Sunday, after church we headed on my first road trip in my little orange car.  We traveled about 1.5 hours south to Kilkenny to see Kilkenny Castle.  It turned out to be great weather almost all afternoon, and to add to the charm of the castle, there was a "Heritage Festival" with all kinds of booths for food and crafts :)  We ended our day at the most famous pub in the area for some authentic Irish food--DELICIOUS!

It was a short visit, but packed with the sights...and good to see a face from home.  (more photos under the "Photos" tab)

Let me introduce you to my little orange car.  We're becoming fast friends as I've been driving her around for about a week now.  And, NO, I'm not sitting in the passenger seat for this photo! 

I have to admit that driving on the other side of the road made me a bit anxious, so I started out last Saturday with just a short drive in a nearby neighborhood.  To my surprise, it really wasn't that difficult! I guess sitting on the opposite of the car made everything else click.  I did graze one curb, but I was still proud :) 

Every other day or so, I take a short drive in a different direction to see where it leads.  Next week I plan to conquer driving to the airport so I can pick all of you up when  you come for a visit! 

They say (whoever "they" is) that you learn something new every day.  If you ever feel that this statement isn't true in your life, do me a favor and move to another country!  It's amazing all the little things I've had to learn in just one month.  None have been really earth-shattering, but they all require even the slightest shift in my thinking.  I'll fill you in on a few items of interest...Enjoy!

Vocabulary:
"press" [noun] - a large cupboard, usually with shelves for holding clothes, books, food, etc.
"flat" [noun] - a set of rooms for living in, including a kitchen, usually on one floor of a building (aka. an apartment)
"chips" [noun] - a long thin piece of potato fried in oil (aka. french fries)
(potato chips are call "crisps" here)
"chipper" [noun] - a shop selling fish and chips
"tea" [noun] - the cooked meal eaten in the evening, especially when it is eaten early in the evening (aka. dinner or supper)
"whinge" [verb] - to whine or complain
"slag"[verb] - to bug or pester

Other little lessons about Irish life:
1. Get your shopping done early in the day.  Most shops close here at 6pm each evening, except for Thursdays...then they stay open until 9pm.  You can find your occasional grocery story open around the clock, but there aren't many options.

2. Buses are a reliable means of transportation.  I have only missed one bus since arriving here a month ago.  I've found the Dublin Bus system is pretty punctual and easy to figure out.  The one lesson I did learn unexpectedly, is that on a bank holiday they run on Sunday time tables (about one an hour) instead of the weekday schedule.  Only one 40-minute walk home and I had that lesson learned!

3. Take your shopping bags with you.  In an effort to cut down on waste, many stores here in Dublin do not provide those hundreds of plastic bags we're used to toting our groceries home in.  I have purchased three tote bags useful for shopping, but on several occasions have left all three sitting in my kitchen.  America's Funniest Home Videos would have loved to see some footage of me juggling parcels as I walk the two blocks home from the bus stop.  Sometimes I just laugh outloud!