Well, it's 7:10 am here in Belfast. Pitch black outside! I'll let you know when the sky finally starts brightening... I took the photo above right before I sat down. This is my favorite corner of the room. Notice I even light my candles in the morning now! Niall and I got up earlier today so I already have the place to myself.
I have a confession-- I have been really bad about sleeping in over here. Sometimes (ok, most of the time!) it is soooo hard to get out of bed. Is it the heavy black-out curtains we have in our room? Is it my sub conscience knowing that it's gray and wet outside and that my cozy bed is the best place to be? Or maybe, as Niall has concluded, it's having a very cuddly husband sleeping beside me?! :) I really don't know. But it seems as if my body is shutting down for the winter and needing more sleep these days. On Sunday evening, I was feeling a bit under the weather. We didn't get to bed exceptionally late, but still for some reason I didn't even hear the alarm go off, or Niall get out of bed and begin his morning routine. The only thing I can vaguely remember is him coming in to me and saying he was leaving for work! Next thing I know, I opened my eyes to a very drizzly, dreary day. I had this sinking feeling that it was later than I wanted it to be. I had to be down at Soul Food at 9:30 am that morning... so I pulled myself off of my pillow and dragged my feet into the kitchen to check the clock above our stove. AHHHHH!!!! 9:40 am. Crap. I immediately went into a state of total panic, rushing to put on a pair of pants and scrambling everywhere to find my phone so that I could call work. I made it down there by 9:50 am-- not bad, but I felt completely flustered the rest of the day!
The good news is, Soul Food was actually closed on Monday, so it wasn't a 'real' shift that I was twenty minutes late for. 4 of us girls had a meeting at 10 am to go to our espresso supplier's base to get our "official" coffee training done, while our bosses had to get some maintenance work done in the cafe. The girl who trained us on this big fancy espresso machine was the UK barista champion a few years ago! She said it was a completely nerdy competition-- but she must have enjoyed it, because this woman was pretty passionate about making the perfect espresso, cappuccino, latte, macchiato-- you name it. Though we had all been making coffees for months now, it was kind of fun to learn some coffee bean history and get in on some of her secrets. And getting paid for doing a bit of coffee tasting for a few hours-- not a bad deal!
*side note* ... It's 7:35 am now and I can just see the line separating the hills and the sky. Still not light out though!
My work Christmas dinner (a bit early for a Christmas dinner, but we start early over here!) is this weekend. I am really looking forward to it. One thing that my co-workers and I have been joking about lately is the Oxfam store (charity shop) next door to our work. We seriously all have a little vice about checking in there for treasures. And trust me, if you find a treasure in there and you don't snatch it while you can-- it will be gone the next day! It's a small, tidy shop and things go quick. Jude came in yesterday morning so excited because she had found a jacket for 15 pounds-- which sounds expensive for a second hand shop-- that she says is worth over 300 (that's $477)! Apparently it is a really nice British brand (I didn't recognize it). She was so 'chuffed.' I don't buy anything very often, but a couple of weeks ago I found these:
Not only were they brand new, but they were my size-- which is hard to find even in a normal store! (Apparently no Irish girls have big feet). My style is a bit different these days since the colder weather has been creeping in. I wear boots and scarves more in one week than I ever did in a full winter season in Santa Barbara! All I can say is, I certainly hope it's not cooling down too much at home... because I would love a break from this constant chill.
Other little things happening here... I joined a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) women's group here in Belfast and I am really excited about it. I've only been going for the past 2 weeks but it has been a huge blessing. It started off a little rocky because I don't have the car on Tuesday nights... but the leader of BSF has been picking me up and dropping me off which is great. I'm so lucky that the meetings are on Tuesday nights, because I have volleyball Monday, Wednesday, and Thursdays! So God definitely worked it out. There aren't many young girls there, but I am still confident that this approach to God's word and that the relationships I form through BSF will benefit me greatly. Last night after our meeting we went to one of the older lady's houses for tea and fellowship. It was nice to sit around a fire and have some chit chat. They all "ooh and ahhh" over me being from California which I always think is so amusing!
Life is good and Niall and I have so much to be grateful for. Niall is doing well in school and to be honest, I can't complain too much about his student life! I had the early shift yesterday so I was off in time to walk over to a coffee shop on Stranmillis and meet Niall for a pumpkin spiced latte after he got out of class (he goes on Tuesday afternoons). I checked our mail on the way... Heather and mom, thanks for providing us with some nice reading material. :)
I have a volleyball game tonight, the first one in a few weeks so I'm looking forward to that. Niall is the head referee so hopefully he'll make a few good calls. :) For those of you who have been asking, his ankle is a lot better now-- he's playing, but he still has to wrap it up and it is still a bit sore.
Ok, I think it's safe to say we can begin a countdown now? Less than a month until we leave for LAX!!! :)
That's all for today... love you guys, xox
p.s. Ok, 8 am... I guess you could say it's "bright" out (no, unfortunately that does not mean there's sunshine!).
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