...Oops.

Hello all,

Sorry it's been so long since I've written. Let me see if I can catch up the last few weeks.

October: I did another race in Sligo, which was very hilly but a brilliant race, and I improved my time! John went away to Germany for work, and then for a stag (bachelor) party weekend in Wexford, so I was left to fend for myself a lot. At work we had our halloween party, which went over very well with the kiddies and staff alike. Then we started working on our Christmas play right after halloween!

I also joined a running club during October, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I met some good people and its nice to be able to go out with a group. 

November: Nothing too exciting in November. Early in the month I ran a race in Athenry. It was a race only for members of Fit4Life, which is the program that runs my club and many clubs around the country. That was great, because it took a lot of the pressure off of the race. Again, we had an absolutely beautiful day. As I was approaching the finish line, I started to spring (as I always do at the end) to try to get the best time possible. Apparently the woman in front of me didn't like that, because she started sprinting as well and yelled "I'm not going to let you pass me!". I didn't even care about passing her- she needs to chill out!

After the race in Newcastle, Athenry.

Later in the month I did a 5 mile race with one of the girls from my running club. The day was gorgeous and we ran through Leenane. I had been to John's brothers 21st birthday a few nights before and I was still feeling that during the run!I was hoping to see John at the end of the finish line, but sure enough he was chatting away to someone that his family knows from a long time ago. Trust one of the Davises to find someone they knew in a random place!

Siobhan and I after our race 

The week following that race was Thanksgiving! It was very strange to be away from my family, but I made up for by going out for dinner with John's family. There is a restaurant here in Galway that is owned by an American, and he offered a Thanksgiving meal. It was delicious- unfortunately, my once large American stomach has shrunk to European standards and I couldn't even finish my dinner! The food was fantastic though, I'm so glad I found out about that place!

So much food!

The next week was very stressful for John and myself. He was best man for his friends wedding, and I was getting ready for the creche's Christmas play. We were both stressed, but everything really turned out alright. The wedding was beautiful, everyone love John's speech and the parents loved the Christmas play.

That's all for now! We are heading home for Christmas in about 2 and half weeks, and I can't wait!!!

Will try to be better about posting.

Lots of love!!

A little this, a little that

Hello readers,

The last week and a half have been pretty rough for John and I. Last week we both were really busy and stressed with work, with John having people in to review the project he's been working on and the daycare being down 3 people last week. Although it was nice to make some extra money from working extra hours, I am glad to have all the girls back at work!

Another hard thing is that John's granny Mary passed away over the weekend. She hasn't been in the best health for a long time, but it is still something you are never prepared for. We spent the last three days driving back and forth to Clifden (where John's granny is from) for the different funeral events. Although the atmosphere was heavy, it was nice to finally meet John's family! In Ireland it is customary for all your friends and family (from both sides) to visit the mourning family over the three days. So I got to meet almost ALL of John's family- which was great! Of all the Davis grandchildren, there is only one girl so she was glad to finally have another girl her age around!

We buried Granny in one of the most beautiful and unique graveyards I have ever seen. Basically, the graveyard is located on an island, and the only way to get there is to wait for the tide to go out and drive across the sand. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, it was gorgeous, sunny and incredibly warm! The ceremony was beautiful, and now Granny is in heaven with her husband.

In lighter news, I have another race coming this weekend! I bought some fancy under armour for it last week and I can't wait to break it out for this race. My running is definitely improving, and I'm really glad that I've had the determination to stick it out. I think it helped knowing that I did a long race already, and that I CAN run if I really want to!

I'll let you all know how it goes, and I hope anyone reading this is keeping well.

Lots of love,

Elizabeth

I took a run down the Salthill Prom on the day I-EH-I-EH!

So I wrote a while back that I had signed up for a 10k here in Galway. Today I ran that 10k, and I cannot feel the bottom half of my body.

I've been training for a few weeks now, but my running took quite a hit when I started working because I couldn't sleep in and go running whenever I felt like it anymore. John and I have started swimming after work everyday at a local pool, which is great because its low impact and a good way to build up the cardio. It probably really helped me through this weekend, as I wasn't really tired heart-wise just leg wise. So now I need to get better with the ol legs :)

Time chip!

For the kids!!

It was absolutely GORGEOUS weather today, a little windy but for the most part sunny and not too cold. The run went down the Salthill Prom which is right by the bay. It was great running and smelling the salty air, very calming and energizing at the same time.

I was surprised how easily I got into a stride. I was steady the whole way, with a little trouble on the 8th kilometre. We had to run out on a pier that juts out onto the bay, and there was a really bad head wind on the way down the pier. Once I turned around it was much better though, and at that point I could see the finish line so it was easy enough to finish.

I finished in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 57 seconds. I was really excited, because I haven't trained as much as I should have lately and I wasn't expecting to finish under 1 hour and half. I also raised 100 euro for Cancer Care West with the help of John's mom and her co-workers.

Maybe on the 2nd mile here? Still smiling :)

Struggle bus!!!

FTK!

Yum :)

I feel like absolute death right now. Must remember to stretch before I go to bed! Thanks to all of you who supported me and gave me advice :) Now stop reading my blog and go run!!

Next race: Sligo Women's 5k Race, October 17th!

Great Danes!

Some of you may have heard that I joined a choir here in Galway. It's true! Its Cois Cladaigh and it is a choir of about 40 men and women. I've been singing with them for about a month now, and we had our first concert last weekend! A Danish choir came to visit us for the night on their tour of Ireland. It was really interesting singing with them, especially because we were singing a) a song in Danish that I had never sung before and b) a version of Ave Maria arranged by their director! Both pieces were lovely, and the people were even nicer. One girl was quite talkative, but a little bit shy at the same time. And then they did their last song, a medley of spirituals again arranged by their director. And all of a sudden this girl just belted out a solo on these spirituals and all of our mouths dropped! She was really great, and you could tell she really loved singing.

The Danish Choir!

Great Scots!

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It has been many moons since my last blog. A lot has happened since then!

I got a job at a creche (daycare) as an after school teacher! Basically, the girls come to the creche from school, put on their play clothes, do their homework and then we do arts and crafts! It's challenging at times, as the girls get a lot of homework and I haven't done long division in years!! I am enjoying it a lot though, the women I work with are all really nice and we all help each other out!

About three weeks ago John and I headed to Scotland for my 'birthday' trip! We were in Edinburgh (the capital) for about two full days and we got A LOT done. On the Saturday morning we started off with a breakfast at our GREAT hostel, Caledonian Backpackers. Then we went up the Royal Mile to the castle, which sits on top of an old volcano! We went on the tour and got some great pictures of the city from the top.

View from the top of the castle

At the top of the castle is the Scottish War Memorial, which is an archive of all the Scots lost in the wars since WWI. I was fortunate enough to find my Great Uncle R. D. Cowan Stark's name after a little research from the staff. It was humbling seeing his name there, a man I was never privileged to meet. He was a volunteer with the Royal Air Force,lied about his age to enlist and was killed in 1941. I wish I could have taken a picture, but it was not allowed as it is a privacy issue for the other people in the book. His name is on the War Memorial Wall in Stirling, Scotland, so hopefully someday I will get there and pay tribute to him.

After the castle we went on a free walking tour of the city...but not before we got to witness another William of Orange Parade! Apparently we can't travel to the UK without bringing out the Protestants and their drums.

So on the walking tour we walked (duh) throughout the entire city, seeing things such as the Heart of Midlothian (where people used to have to pay taxes, and now they spit where the heart is), The Elephant Cafe- where Harry Potter was written (some of it :P) and the Covenanter's Tomb. The Covenanter's rebelled against the Monarchy who were trying to regain religious control of the country. There were thousands of them killed in the streets of Edinburgh.

Heart of Midlothian...minutes later someone hocked a loogie on it...

 We then went to dinner with the walking tour, and sat with a nice German man doing his engineering degree in Edinburgh. So what came from that? An hour and a half of engineers boring me to death. But we did try Haggis!!

Haggis! It actually wasn't that bad, kind of like sausage. The pepper sauce on it was WAY strong though, John struggled finishing it...I only had a bite :P 

 We went back to the hostel after dinner and then headed back up to the old town for the ghost tour! It was run by the same company that did the walking tour, and it was great! I did one when I was in Edinburgh last spring, and I was terrified afterwards. That tour had people jumping out at us throughout the walk, while the one John and I did was more about the history of the city and its hauntings and less about scaring people, which I appreciated!

The next day we went to the Elephant Cafe (where JK Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter books) and had a nice a lunch...and I got a cool mug :)

Elephant Cafe :)

We finished our trip with a trip to the Museum of Scotland, which has artifacts dating back from the days of our favorite Scot, Robbie Bruce! It was interesting to see the fusion between Irish, Scottish and English heritage, as Scotland has been influenced by both of these cultures. It was also a good mix of kid-friendly activities and things that interest us older folks :P

We ended the trip with a dinner at TGIF's...I know I know, I should be enjoying the local cuisine. But seriously people it had been over THREE MONTHS since I had buffalo wings and blue cheese dressing. So step off my wings, and let me fly :P

More to come soon, I promise!!

Yikes!!

Hello all!

So since I've been in Ireland, I have taken up running more often. It started off as more of a thing to do when I was bored, which is a lot since I am unemployed. It also started off as more of a very slow jog, as I haven't really been in the shape that I should be in since maybe high school and even then I wasn't in great shape.

But I've taken action now! I signed up for the Galway Bay 10k, which is a race that benefits Cancer Care West here in Western Ireland. Its on October 2nd and starts in Salthill down by the bay, and actually ends right outside my house! This is the first race I've ever participated in, and I'm very excited to have a goal in mind for when I'm training. It helps knowing that there is something I'm working towards and that I really can't stop until I complete my goal. And then after that there will be bigger and better goals!

John and I are also trying to be more healthy...apart from the occasional mars bar :P My running has definitely improved though! I can run longer and faster than I could when I first moved here. If I just stick to it, I know I'll be able to finish the race! None of the runners/walkers/joggers are allowed to wear headphones and listen to music, so I am nervous about that bit. Music is one of the only things that helps me run, since it distracts me from the pain :P I'm going stop listening to my ipod the week before the race, so hopefully that will help!

One of my healthy meals :) Spicy glazed salmon, cous cous and sugar snap peas!

If anyone is interested in sponsoring me for the race, please email me at eahstark5@gmail.com! It's a flat rate donation and all of the money goes towards Cancer Care West!

Ketchup!

Hello all!

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything, I've had a busy last few weeks!

Last week I had a bunch of job interviews, some at daycares and some at hotels. I've got a few promising leads, but I don't want to jinx it so just stay tuned to find out if I get a job! (Dun dun dun!!)

Earlier in the week John hunted down and bought me some Frank's Red Hot sauce so I could make buffalo wings for the upcoming Penn State game...too bad they don't sell chicken wings in Ireland!

This may look like a lot, but anyone who knows me and the 119 girls will understand that this is maybe 2 months worth of hot sauce :)

So last weekend Liam and Joy came down for a night so we could see them before they head off to Australia in a few weeks. I cooked a yummy dinner of salmon, mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas :) And then we started off with some pints...John had Beck's, Liam had Captain Morgan and I had Ben and Jerry's :)

We ventured our way into town, after Liam yelled at the taxi driver to a. Stop hitting on Joy and b."Stop swerving the car, ya taxi bastard!". If that gives you any indication as to how the night went, I shouldn't have to tell you much more than that!

The boys were so fascinated with the whiskey glasses that they didn't even notice Joy!

Yay girly drinks!!

After almost being thrown out of the Supermac's at the end of the night, I deem that night a success!!

More to come soon!!