Thanksgiving

I adore Thanksgiving. I love the cooking and baking that starts the day before and often times continues right up until dinner is served. I love going to my Granparent's house for a meal and being surrounded by family and friends that I know care about me and are genuinely just fun to be around. My family is really close (which apparently freaks some people out, but we never let that bother us) so needless to say any chance we get to come together and eat and just hang out, we take it. Although I was of course sad about missing the "normal" Thanksgiving routine this year I was still looking forward to the smallish dinner we had planned for people that we had met here. I was even going to make pumpkin cupcakes with cream-cheese icing!!
And then...Glandular Fever hit.
That's just a weird name for mono. Yes, I have mono and I'm not really sure how it happened. But, that is besides the point. Unfortunately this nasty sickness kept me from going to dinner last night. I didn't realize just how upset I was about that until I was sitting alone in my room watching Pocahontas (because Google recommended it as a top Thanksgiving movie) and chewing on ice-cubes to try and numb my throat.
But, there isn't anything that I can do about it and the best thing for me to do while I'm sick is to rest and not infect other people. So, I'm going to say that I made the right decision (and ignore the fact that I didn't think I could stand long enough to actually make it down the street) and beg my Mom to make her Thanksgiving ham for Christmas when I get home.

Dublin and Howth

Ireland is gorgeous. Ireland is expensive.
These are the two main things that I learned this past weekend. That and Ryanair is cheap for a reason. After a mini struggle with baggage at about 6:30 Thursday morning, Jess, Megan, and I were off to Dublin for the weekend. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. I was fully prepared to be welcomed by a hectic, touristy, same as all the others, big city. That is not what I found. Dublin is gorgeous and everyone is willing to help three very confused looking girls with a map. The buildings were beautiful, the weather was perfect, and a fun time was had by all.
We began the trip with a walk around the city just to familiarize ourselves with everything, followed by a "no more than two" hour nap that turned into three, and then a trip to Temple Bar for dinner. Temple Bar reminded me a lot of Ashton Lane here in Glasgow, just much bigger.

St. Patrick's

Friday, we went to the Guinness Storehouse and the Kilmainham Jail. The Storehouse was really interesting, definitely worth the walk and cost to get in. The Jail was probably my favorite thing that we did within Dublin. It was only 2 euros (making it the cheapest thing we did all weekend) and the amount of history that we learned on our tour was incredible. The Jail closed in 1916, but the family members of those that had been prisoners there petitioned to have it conserved as a memorial to the former prisoners. I suggest it to anyone who finds themselves in Dublin.

Guinness Gate

The Jail

Saturday we made a day trip to Howth, a little fishing town not too far north of Dublin. While it was cold, the adventures we had while there made the weather seem not so important. There was a moment where we thought we might have to call the coast guard or something to come rescue us from the top of the steepest stairs in the world, but we made it out alive and covered in only a little mud.

All in all, it was a very good trip. Hopefully I will be able to go back to Ireland and explore a little more of the countryside!

Mixed Signals

Everyone receives them, and most people send them without intending to. However, I personally believe that we should all strive to do our best to no longer hinder our lives with mixed signals. I know I'm guilty of it. I'm the worst for not telling someone how I feel about something and then acting like they should just know what I'm thinking. When in reality, no one knows exactly what someone else is thinking or feeling. Yes, we can glean a good bit by watching a situation unfold, or feel sympathetic (I've officially been spending too much time in Scottish Enlightenment) to a friend who's going through something that we know is difficult for them, but that's about as far as it goes. Only they know what's really going on underneath the outermost layer.
That being said, some people, and I'm speaking mainly towards Scottish men at this point, need to really work on reigning in their mixed signals. I think that's probably where most people's complaints about dealing with mixed signals comes in, relationships. And that's definitely where they would be the most confusing because any relationship is difficult enough already without the added stress of being told one thing and shown another. I found a picture that pretty well represents what I'm talking about, I think...

I don't think that men and women are always on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, but there does seem to be a tendency for the different sexes to have totally different ideas about how to go about presenting their feelings on certain things. And honestly, I don't like it. If you want someone to know something, no matter how trivial it may seem to you, do your best to get your point across clearly and succinctly. There's no need for all of this beating around the bush, avoidance, middle -school crap.
So, fellas of the Scottish descent, and anyone else who finds themselves guilty of sending even more mixed signals into the world, can we make a promise to not confuse others to the best of our ability? It would be greatly appreciated.

Speaking of mixed signals...it finally stopped raining about 30 minutes ago and the beautiful sun returned to the sky, and now, at 4:30, it's setting. Thank you, Scotland, thank you.

Time Change

We gained our extra hour over here in Scotland last week, and as much as this time change usually excites me, my body is still being thrown off by it. I feel like I should be able to go to bed and then realize it's only 9 o'clock. Everyday has been spent doing something recently, and I'm starting to feel the repercussions.
Recently, I just want to sit in my bed all day and snuggle up with a movie. It doesn't help that it's been raining for about 4 days straight. And, it's now starting to get dark outside around 4 in the afternoon. I love Scotland, don't get me wrong, I just need a day or so of sunshine to get me feeling better...I think.

On a brighter note (look at me, being witty), Jess and I ventured to Loch Lomond yesterday. It was quite the adventure. First, we made the 25 minute walk to the bus station in City Centre in a very cold drizzly rain. Only to discover that we had to catch a bus on Jamaica Street...which we then had to find. After locating the right bus and ensuring that it would get us to where we wanted to go, we enjoyed an hour bus ride through a more rural part of Scotland, which is always nice.
It was still a little misty when we arrived in the town of Balloch, where Lomond Shores is located. But, the town was adorable, the people were friendly, and there was hot chocolate. Needless to say, our day got exponentially better quickly. After seeing what we could of the virtually deserted Loch (Scotland in November doesn't exactly seem to be a tourist destination..weird) we headed into town to one of the many pubs to enjoy a beer and chips. We had to bring our chips in with us, but it was well worth it to sit and watch a rugby game in a pub. It was all very Scottish. Jess and I have decided that from now on we're only dating Rugby players. I have never seen so many tall, muscly men in one place. We should probably learn the rules of the game at some point....


Loch Lomond



Seagulls