It's been awhile...

Sorry for the delay.  It's been three weeks since our last post and I would like to report that we are still alive and well!  :)

Hope everyone at home is doing great.  This week I keep telling myself to get on the computer and update our blog, but the weather has been amazing these past few days!  I've been able to break out a couple pairs of my shorts... I'm soaking in all the sun I can get while it lasts (it's supposed to cool back down to "normal temperatures" this weekend).  Irish people really do appreciate the warmer weather when it comes around.  Yesterday I was in the city sitting out on the lawn in front of City Hall writing a couple letters.  There were loads of people around me-- young people having picnic lunches with friends, old men sitting on park benches with their eyes closed just soaking it in.  The sunshine really does lift your spirits.

Let's see... where to start.  The weekend after Niall's last post was St. Paddy's weekend.  It was also Niall's dad's birthday on the 16th, and then Mother's Day here was on Sunday the 18th.  So, it was the perfect weekend for the Madden family to come visit us!  Niall picked up the Madden clan from the train station on Saturday.  We enjoyed a nice lunch at the apartment before going for a walk around Stormont Parliament Buildings, home to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the legislative body for Northern Ireland.

Afterwards, we watched the Ireland v. England rugby match.  Unfortunately for these types of events, it is a bit of a bummer that we don't own a TV!  However,  we always make do, and getting the live stream on Niall's laptop worked out okay.  :)

Notice where the Irish flag hangs... that is where Niall would like to mount a flat screen... Mrs. Dohm, you may need to get him on the phone to talk him out of it!  :)  (though I'll admit, I'd like to have one to watch the summer Olympics in London!)

That night we took the family out for Benny's birthday and Mother's Day.  We had so much fun!  Here's us ordering some drinks and starters before we got seated at our table.

We got home and played a ripping game of charades (like we always do) before hitting the sack.  Sunday we woke up to a BEAUTIFUL sunny day.  It really does light up the whole living room.  We made a big Mother's Day breakfast, got a coffee in the city, walked around, then watched the Grand Prix before the Maddens got the train back home.  We loved having them.

That week I worked a lot which was really nice for me.  It always helps to stay busy and I like being around people.  I'm getting more familiar with all the regulars that come in and I don't feel quite as clueless anymore!  Here's a couple photos from work... don't worry, we usually do have customers, but I took the one of the inside after we were closed.  :)

As soon as I got off work on Friday, Niall and I headed down to Mallow, Co. Cork to visit Tony (Niall's good friend from college and one of his groomsmen) and his fiance Fiona.  It was great to hang out with them and see their lovely new house.  We drove for about 30 minutes into the city on Saturday which was cool because I had never seen Cork before.  It was a big, bustling city with lots of people out.

Driving through some Irish countryside near Tony and Fiona's house.

Niall is considering leaving his engineering career for something a little more hands on...  :)

We stopped in Naas and enjoyed time with the family before arriving back into Belfast on Sunday night.  It's always nice to get back home and into the usual routine.  Yesterday after Niall got off work he took me to Helen's Bay, a nice area on the coast, just a 20 minute drive from the city.  Although it's a bit different from the familiar Pacific Ocean, it was so nice to see the beach!  The days are getting longer and longer here, and since we had our daylight savings it stays bright out until about 8 pm now.  After our walk we grabbed a beer and a bite to eat at "The Dirty Duck," voted best pub food in Northern Ireland.  As you can see in the photos, the sunset last night was unreal!

Well that pretty much sums it up.  Once again, overall life here is going well.  We're coming upon the three month mark now and I feel pretty settled in, though I'm still getting used to the idea of Belfast as "home."  The sunny days we've had this week are constantly reminding me of Santa Barbara.  There are a few girls at the cafe who are leaving soon so shifts have been a bit inconsistent of late.  I only got two shifts this week, one on Monday and one tomorrow.  So the days when I'm not working can sometimes be difficult.  I try to stay productive and fill my time, but I still get lonely and wish so badly that once in awhile I could just zap myself back to CA and be with friends!  This whole transition is a process and I'm still learning about patience and new beginnings.  Some days I wake up and feel great; other days I wake up and feel really down.  Luckily I have a great husband who encourages me and is always willing to listen when I want to share my heart or just have a good cry!  Hang in there Niall.  :)

I love you all dearly and not a day goes by that I don't miss everyone.  Heather, Taylor, Mom, Dad... I'm counting down the days!!!   :)

xox
erin

This WAS a Man's World!

Times are a changin'. We've got to adapt. Men aren't the men of yesteryear. And women are morphing into a new creature. The line between the sexes is getting blurred.... and I like it!

Househusband is a term that has been born of this transition. Men, have you ever considered wandering down this delightfully emasculating path? I tried it today. I got off work at 3pm and headed down to Soul Food café to mooch off my wife's industrious disposition. I sat down with my semi-skimmed, extra-hot, easy on the foam, double espresso shot vanilla latté with a slice of carrot cake and passed the time journalling, reading, considering what to cook for my wife that evening, and debating over furniture arrangement in our living room. What an enjoyable role reversal.

It was fun seeing Erin work, even more to see her happy and chatting to work-people I didn't know. 

Since adding Erin to the payroll tips have increased 83%! Clever marketing strategy by the management at Soul Food!
It pays to have a blonde bombshell on the frontline.

My wife's first weekly wage

They pay in cash :)

Interesting side note: Not all Northern Irish bank notes are the same. For example, observe the 2 different £20 notes Erin received.

So men, I call you to bask in the spoils of female empowerment. We've had centuries of hard-work and breadwinning. How hard can affairs of the house be?

Oops, better go! The missus has got the dinner on the table :) Hey babe, can you grab me a beer?

This is a Man's World

Sit back and relax, this one's long!

It's funny to think that as I type this you are all probably snuggled in bed sleeping!  I constantly do that throughout the day... we're eight hours ahead over here, so I'm always subtracting time and thinking about everyone going through their usual routine back home.

It's Wednesday at half eight in the morning.  I've got my cup of joe and a few interesting updates I'd like to share with you.  First off, praise the Lord, I got a job!!!  It's nothing extravagant, but I am excited about it.  This job was on the horizon last week, but I didn't want to jump the gun and say anything until it was official.  As you know I have been dropping in my resume to countless coffee shop/cafe/restaurant type places. I don't even know how many I've turned in or where exactly, there were so many!  On one particular day a couple weeks ago I remember feeling pretty down.  I hadn't done any job stuff that morning, and in the afternoon I walked over to our post office on Ormeau Road to mail a few letters.  I brought some of my resumes with me and thought, "what the heck, I might as well just walk up our street and turn a couple of these in so I can say I did something on the job front today!"  I probably turned in 3 or 4 even though most of the places said they weren't hiring.  Long story short, last week I got a couple calls back, the first one being from a place just a few blocks up from our apartment building called "Soul Food Cafe."  When the guy told me who he was and where he was calling from, I literally couldn't remember at first!  But then my memory was triggered, and I recalled halfheartedly handing in my resume to a young girl who was in the process of sweeping and closing up shop.  Later that day I walked two minutes down the street and went in for a quick chat with him.  Jason started the business with his wife years ago.  He was very genuine and humble.  His wife came over to meet me (they both work there... Jason is the chef and Mary works out front) and was also very sweet.  I went in for a "trial day" on Monday this week and really loved it.  It's waitressing in a small breakfast & lunch place, so it's a bit different from my familiar Enterprise Fish Co. job back in SB.  We're open 9 am - 4 pm (which is perfect, I get off before Niall!) Monday through Saturday (you'd be surprised how many businesses are still closed on Sunday here).  There are usually 3 of us girls working at a time and we all share tables and make sure everyone is helping each other out.  Sometimes one person stays on the coffee machine because people are always ordering lattes, americanos, etc. and those take longer to make.  Another bonus is the food is good!  It's kind of a health nut place--- so Paul Dohm, when you come to visit you might want to hit up Boojum with Niall instead.  :)   (that's a burrito joint that Niall took me to last week!  Similar to Chipotle... I got my mexican food fix).  Everything at Soul Food (dad, I can't say the name if it anymore without picturing you saying it in your funny voice!) is made from scratch... mom you may have some competition, their carrot cake looks amazing!  :)  Haven't tried it yet but I'm planning on it.  Anyway long story short Monday went well.  I enjoyed taking some orders at tables, running food, learning more of the menu, and being around people... afterwards Jason sat down with me and said they'd like it if I stayed with them which made me really happy.  I'm working again this Thursday for training and then a real shift on Saturday.  Niall doesn't mind that because he gets to have a man date with Oran.  :)

You could easily walk by and not realize how bustling it gets inside!  Hmm... maybe my first goal will be getting them to find the missing "u"  :)

I took a menu home to study a little.  Thought I'd share a sample of the breakfast section with you.  The filled bagels looked really good...

Anyway so that's the job story for me.  The shifts are 6 hours and I will probably get 3 - 4 of those a week, so hopefully I'll be able to find some extra babysitting jobs... or maybe start painting... they have a section to hang art in Soul Food and Jason said if I brought some paintings in I could put them up!

*side note*  I did get another call back from California Coffee in the city centre but it didn't have the same feel as Soul Food.  Also, working in the city sounds fun, but it's a hassle to get there, especially since parking is really expensive so I'd probably end up walking.  Another side note-- Niall dared me to apply at Hollister!!  It was a complete joke-- I am way too prideful to ever work somewhere that is associated with Abercrombie & Fitch!

Yikes, this post is going to be long.  I'll try and keep everything brief from here on out.  Yesterday I volunteered working at a primary school volleyball tournament that Nick (our coach at Jordanstown) put on.  It was fun reffing and being around the kids.  Last week Jasmine from Niall's work took me on a beautiful hike up "Cave Hill."  I will for sure do that with anyone who comes to visit!  We got lucky with a sunny day, and the views of Belfast were amazing.  Here's a couple photos from that:

Another girl from Niall's work, Rebecca, has been a blessing.  She came to our wedding so some of you may have met her there.  She invited me to lunch over the weekend and we had a coffee date a couple weeks ago after she got off work.  It is really nice to hang out with other girls my age here, even if it's only once a week.  Hopefully I will continue to meet more friends through work!

So, some of you may know that Niall has taken yoga before.  I originally made fun of him for it and said it was a "fruitcake" thing to do.  However, now it appears that he may have the last laugh!  I am always complaining about not stretching and feeling tight and sore as a result.  So, Niall took charge and signed us up for an eight week yoga session on Tuesday nights with his old teacher.  In the hour and a half class last night, I nearly died!  I was by far the worst one there and the teacher had to modify several of the poses for me because I simply couldn't do them.  It was a humbling experience to say the least!  It was a good workout and everyone in there worked up a sweat.  You guys should have seen what this teacher could do with his body!  It was crazy.

Anyway, one more thing... I met more of Niall's family over the weekend.  Niall's dad grew up with 4 other brothers so it was fun meeting more of the uncles, aunts and cousins.  We did that Saturday night and I really enjoyed it... They were all so nice and welcoming, I hope to go back soon.  They live out in the country about 50 or so minutes away from Belfast.  Niall and I had so many biscuits and cups of tea by the end of it!  It's pretty standard to get offered something of that sort as soon as you step into anyone's home here... I've been trying to limit my tea/coffee intake to 2 cups a day, but it can be challenging.  And now that I can get a free latte whenever I'm working, I could be in trouble!  :)

Still missing all of you but this has by far been my best week yet.  God is good and I never would have guessed that I'd be working right down the street!  I'm so happy about that... Church is also still going well, it's probably one of my favorite times of the week.  Niall's work sent him to a composites course in the city this week so he has been getting off around 3:30 or 4 pm which is also great.  I can't believe it's already March 7th... time flies... Heather and Tay you're going to be here so soon!!!  :)

Love to everyone, thanks again for all the emails, photos/videos (Evan, Andy, Paul!), and letters.  I can never get too much of Santa Barbara love here in Belfast.  :)

All marriages endure difficult times....

Well, I hate to be so personal with you blog but you are the only one I can vent to.... Let me be honest with you....

I slept in the spare room last night!

Yep. You heard me right. I know what you are all thinking. Marriage on the rocks already?! And you're not wrong.






She slept there too ;) I just don't understand how she didn't have the bed sheets dry by last night!

Commenting on Blog Posts...

To Mom... and any others who have tried writing on our blog... try it now!  Niall changed a setting so hopefully it will work :)

Good morning Blogosphere!

It is a Saturday morning, very subdued in the Madden home. We had a full-on 12 hours of sleep last night! Talk about lazy bones. We feel pretty good about it. Last night we entered ourselves into a burrito-induced coma. I took Erin to this Mexican place in Belfast, Boojum. It is the closest thing we have to Mexican over here anyway. She seemed to approve.

Now you may think I am joking but we have the same breakfast pretty much every morning. I'm a fan of BIG breakfasts. Erin used to not eat breakfast at all. Now we enjoy a feast consisting of:

Porridge with honey, milk, and wheatgerm

Homemade Smoothie

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, and peppers

Finished off with a nice cup o' tea or coffee

I've got to be honest. The scrambled eggs are mostly for me :) Erin is getting kind of fed up making them every morning but she is a loyal and committed wife. She'll usually ask me how many eggs I want - I'll answer 3 - and she'll then make it with 4 to make sure she gets a bite, although thats not always guaranteed. I'm sorry I'm a monster baby :(

There have been some interesting developments this week with regard to Erin's employment status. Plenty of call backs from Nanny-type jobs. One call from Hollister to be a model! (Her interview for that one is March 6th) And lastly a couple of calls from coffee shops. We were strolling around one Friday and I knew of this coffee shop called California Coffee (come on, she'd be a shoe-in!). So I urged her to drop in her resume and guess what, they wanted her. I almost want her to work in there just for the laugh! She'd be the only Californian thing about that place!

I'll let my wife divulge her short-term career prospects with you in her next post but before I get flamed by her on this blog, I must add a post-script to the Hollister job comment. Firstly, it was I that persuaded her to go in there and apply. Secondly, the position of model is not what you'd understand it to be in the traditional sense. You know I'd never let that fly! Thirdly, it might be a little pretentious for my modest, humble wife. (For the uninitiated, Hollister is a sub-division of Erin's favourite store - Abercrombie & Fitch)

Back to this morning then. It has been so calm. I enjoy these days the most with my lady. Snoozing, getting up late, eating a huge breakfast. We spent a good hour this morning picking through Revelations trying to make a little more sense of it. So interesting. We feel like a good team when it comes to trying to understand challenging scripture. She is quite wise. We read a back-to-basics passage from 1 Peter that I wanted to share with you that will hopefully re-align your paths with God. It was refreshing to us in the face of juggling worldly priorities. Paraphrasing John MacArthur here,

Christians are to cast all of their discontent,

discouragement, despair, and suffering on the Lord,

And trust Him for knowing what He's doing with their lives.

1. Submission

2. Humility

3. Trust in God

These are the three 'attitudes' necessary for victorious Christian living!

Erin and I have had a few attempts at movie nights thus far. Primary causes of failure are her falling asleep, not having a TV, eating too much ice cream.... Tonight though I am determined to complete a full movie. The title? In the name of the father. 

Until next time blogonauts!