Package bliss

     With an early 5:45am start to the day I was off on a bike ride. Without any eggs or milk it was going to be a rough breakfast. Not especially wanting to make a trip to the grocery store I figured I'd just make do. Yesterdays lesson of tangible love and service hit me, if I were Abby C. I would love to wake up and find milk for my cereal and eggs for breakfast. Rather than go for my normal run I decided I would bike this morning enabling me to bring home groceries. Heading out on my normal running route I was able to get much farther with my bike and eventually found the countryside! Yes! I've been waiting so long for this. Thankfully I brought along my head lamp because the fog covered the moon making pitch black winding roads a bit tricky. Sunrise isn't until 7:45am meaning it was a kind of creepy, but I decided to continue on and explore. As I rode, I prayed for loved ones and those on the Camp prayer list through the eery black roads. Excited to take pictures for you to see I brought along my camera, but pictures of pitch black roads aren't all that exciting...better luck next time. Maybe a 7:30 bike ride will produce nice sunrise photos.

    On my way back to the apartment I stopped to get groceries and received my fair share of odd looks. Considering Irish don't wake up early they must have been baffled to see a customer at 7am, not to mention one with black spandex tights, hat, mittens and headlamp. Thank goodness I remembered to shut off my headlamp just before entering the store. Can you imagine how dumb I would have looked walking around the grocery store with it on!

    Mondays aren't too bad with only two classes Gaelic and Castles. Both of which are quite easy, especially when my Irish professors response to whether or not be we need to complete next weeks homework is "hmm homework? Geez I'm dreadful when it comes to giving out homework..well I suppose you can do it, just turn it in whenever, I don't really bother as to when you give it to me. Whenever you feel like it." How about professors in the states adopt this attitude? Not going to happen, but it was nice to entertain the thought. During today's class flashbacks of Mrs. Wagners second grade class came to mind,  where I learned to tell time. She used big yellow clocks with stiff red arms pointing to numbers as she asked us to shout out the correct time displayed. Today wasn't much different as we learned how to tell time in Gaelic with pictures of clocks in our Irish handbook.

Clock work

     In my inbox an e-mail concerning a yoga retreat informed us about a weekend away with professional instructors. While here I've been taking a yoga class and enjoying it quite a bit. A nice relaxing weekend filled with yoga? Sounds good to me! Not so fast...as I read on, it explained "it's a silent retreat, so we'll be expected not to speak to each other while we're there" Bahah this will never work. As I explained in a previous post I can hardly manage to get through a regular yoga session without getting the giggles. An entire weekend of silence?!? Guarantee I would be the first to get kicked out.

     An hour and twenty minutes separates my last course on Mondays with my yoga class. Staying on campus to eat lunch, journal and relax, is easier than speeding back to the apartment. Today was a bit different, because I was expecting a package. Our apartment office, where packages are delivered, is only open from 10-2pm. Therefore not coming home for lunch meant no package until 10am tomorrow. A speedy bike home was well worth it considering it was 56 degrees and I wore capris and a t-shirt on my return ride to campus. As I entered the building the package sheet read Abby J. x 2. What?!? two packages? Collecting my precious parcels I eagerly ran up  the stairs to open them. The most accurate description of my reaction would be a 7 year old on Christmas morning. My eyes lit up as I let out a shriek of excitement at all my goodies. Was this really happening?!

Reeses, almonds, glue, glitter, colored pens, tic tacs, sharpie markers, Valentine's cards and more!

It came! My face in this picture doesn't do it justice.
 Clearly I had yet to open the package. Then came the shrieks.

Before leaving for school my desk was cleared...
not so much after opening my packages!

My goodies!

    My only reason for attending yoga was the fact I had already paid for the course. Had I not, I would have been home crafting all afternoon! Wasting little time I've already put my new supplies to good use making a birthday card :  )

Tea tip:

         Yesterday during church Joanie informed me I've been making my tea incorrectly. To make a good cup of tea you must first boil water and swirl in around in your mug. You'd never want to poor fresh hot tea into a cold mug...ooops! I've yet to try this new technique, but Joanie knows her tea, I'm learning from the best.

With Love from Galway