dia dhuit!

Well, by now I’m sure most of you think our blog has been forgotten, never to be revisited by the Maddens again!  I’m here to ease your pain and assure you that though it has remained quite stale for some time now, we’re back to liven things up.  :)

an old photo just for fun... we're back!!  :)

Okay, I’m just going to write a bit about what’s been going on with us these past few months.  I'll post some photos here and there but I apologize, I'm not going to get too many on here because it takes forever!

I’ll start with myself.  Most of you probably already know most of what I’m going to say but I’ll say it anyway!  Last September, after returning from Holland, I started a new job at a coffee place that opened up just downstairs from our apartment.  I left Soul Food because I really felt I needed a change and the owner of this new place had talked with me about taking on the management position.  I started off on a 'trial.'  The first few weeks were, to put it lightly, extremely challenging!  Starting a new business is one thing, but I quickly began to realize how little experience and insight this woman actually had.  The first week I worked 60 hours.  SIXTY!  I was so burnt out.  It was really disorganized and a bit chaotic, but I assured myself things would get better.  As the weeks passed, so did my initial enthusiasm for the place.  I felt like I was being taken advantage of without a whole lot of financial benefits.  I could go on with some personal horror stories but I’ll spare you all and just say I was really, really unhappy.  When push came to shove, I had a little talk with my boss and told her I didn’t want the manager position; it just wasn’t worth the stress.  She seemed annoyed but respected my feelings and hired someone new.  From then on, I felt mistreated and a bit humbled.  All in all, I was disappointed that what I thought would be a great opportunity had turned out to be such a bust!  I complained daily about work and with Niall’s support set in my mind to quit before the Christmas holidays—and that’s exactly what I did.  We loved our little getaway to Berlin and Prague, and spending time with Niall’s family was great.  I was happy not to have to worry about work and SO relieved to know I didn’t have to go back to that place!

Here's some photos from our magical Christmas week in Europe :)

Berlin!

We visited a Jewish memorial museum... very moving and so very sad.

the motivation for our trip-- Christmas Markets!

mulled wine

more mulled wine... I was slightly addicted

bratwurst!

learning about the Berlin Wall

Our train ride from Berlin to Prague.  We took the cheap route and paid less without a seat reservation.  In hindsight...

our airbnb place was conveniently located about a 5 minute walk from the Old Town square

look who we found in Prague!

There are no words to describe how much I loved these tasty things!!  I pretty much had one every night.  Similar to a churro roasted over hot coals... I always got a nutella filled one :)

I found it tough not to smile :)

the three amigos!

We were very impressed by the amount of importance placed on the arts and classical music in Prague.  We took a tour of a palace which contained original works from Mozart, Beethoven, and other famous composers.

view from outside the palace

view from the top of the clock tower

the market was very picturesque

put this city on your bucket list!!

Old Jewish Quarter graveyard from WWII.

Charles Bridge

Niall and I went to a classical piano concert.  It was amazing.

They're everywhere!

I got to rendezvous with one of my lovely college friends, Molly, who was in Prague with her husband Josh!

We found a funky juice shop...

...then balanced things out by eating a pastry filled breakfast.

Our walking tour on the last day!

We flew back to Dublin on Christmas Eve and had a lovely Christmas day with the Maddens...

Avril's yule log :)

leave it to Niall to put me to shame with his gift giving!

the Madden ladies on NYE

we got to see Enda (who is currently working in the US) and meet his lovely girlfriend Orla!

Happy 2014!

New Year's Day... reunited

We had a wedding to go to on the 28^th of December, traveled back down to Naas for New Year’s afterwards, and then left for the Alps the first week of January.  We had a blast snowboarding for a week… and oh my goodness, the scenery was unbelievable!  Unfortunately I didn’t take too many photos as we were usually on the slopes, but I’ll never forget our little place situated right in between France and Switzerland.  It was a resort with no cars allowed, so you could literally ski right to your front door!  Niall and I enjoyed our time with our friend Oran and we would definitely go back to ‘Avoiraz.’  I didn't bring my big fancy camera so we just got some shots on our phones.  Most are taken from our balcony...

not a bad morning view!

We put so many tracks in this powder.  I don't know if you can see me, but I'm in this photo... I got stuck at one point and it took me forever to get up and going again!!  The boys thought it was funny but I was so annoyed by the end of it.

cheers

Looking back, I wish I had brought my nice camera... ah well.  We left the resort early Saturday and spent our last day exploring Geneva, Switzerland before flying home that evening.  Two days later Heather arrived!  I was so happy to see her and felt lucky that I didn’t have to work during her stay (thanks Niall :) !  The weather wasn’t great—I mean, it was January—but we made the most of it.  I enjoyed our lazy mornings, talking, catching up on wedding gossip, going to the gym, and just hanging out.  We got a last minute deal with our air miles so we paid 2 pounds each for return flights to Barcelona (with a 2 day stopover in London)!  By the time we got back into Belfast, Heather had a few more days with us before flying back to CA.  I’d say she had fun but was ready to get back to Marky poo :)

Cave Hill hike

overlooking Belfast

we had some good laughs while we froze our butts off on this open-top tour bus ride :D

LONDON LONDON LONDON

I cried so many times.  It was so good!

bienvenidos a Barcelona

our fancy date night-- paella!

We rented bikes on our first day and rode everywhere!

one of Heather's many jumping shots :)

Las Ramblas

famous Gaudi architecture

we rode uphill a LONG time to get to this point at the top of Park Guell

how embarrassing :)

Whew… okay… almost up to date!  After Heather left, I had one week of covering shifts in Soul Food (my old café).  I was grateful Jason gave me a call because it was nice helping him out and good for me to put on the old apron again.  Before that week of work, I had decided to start a 4 week intensive course for a CELTA (certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) qualification.  I was nervous but it was something I had been thinking about for quite some time.  The course was offered at a language school that is just a ten minute walk from our apartment, so it was really handy.  I started my Monday through Friday school week on February 10^th and just finished up this past Friday.  It was a LOT of work and really challenging, but I so enjoyed it and looking back can’t believe it’s done!  We took classes for the first half of the morning (9am-1pm) and then taught our own students (who paid less for classes because they knew we were student teachers!) in the afternoons (2pm-5pm).  I usually got home around 6 and had a few hours of work to do before going in the next morning.  It was rough at times but I really think it was worth it.  Most of you know I’ve had a tough time getting my foot in the door with school assistant jobs and the like over here.  I’m really hoping this will open up some opportunities for me… most job options don’t start until the end of June so that’s what I’m shooting for right now.  In the meantime, I’ll still be going for other opportunities should they arise.

our classes had anywhere from 5-12 students

just a few students with some of us teachers

There were 9 of us 'trainees'

Sarah, from Canada, who I met on the course

my usual spot on the sofa during those 4 weeks :)

view from our classroom window

International House Belfast

coffee helped get me through some tough times...

... and I'll admit, so did take out Indian food!  (Heather you know how good Cafe Naz is!)

Bless his heart.  I think he still loved me by the end of it :)

 So what am I doing now you might wonder?!  It’s my first official week ‘off’ so...

Ha ha :D  Just kidding.  Well, sort of.  I had a free haircut yesterday because a woman I know has a daughter who is 'in training' at a nice salon.  I was in there for 2 hours while she tried out some tricks on me!  Don't worry, I only came out of there with a trim, nothing major.  :)

I’m still covering for Jason once in awhile.  During my course I worked on Saturdays because he needed someone… it worked out because Niall has been working on Saturdays too.  This week I worked Monday and I’m covering a shift on Friday too.  It’s a good situation—Jason knows I’m available, but he also knows I’m trying to spread my wings a little so I don’t necessarily want to go back to waitressing all the time.  This weekend we are going down to Naas (it’s been too long... can’t wait to see the fam!) for a family visit and for Benny’s birthday so we are looking forward to that.  Overall, it’s definitely hard for me to not have something solid during these next few weeks before flying home.  I’m good at staying busy with painting, practicing piano, meeting up with people, etc… but there are days when I still tend to get a bit down with all the free time.  I’m praying that I will not be anxious during this time.  I am SO excited to see everyone in April… I can’t believe it’s just around the corner :)

Okay, I’m going to stop there.  Hopefully that gives you a better idea about what’s been going on with me lately.  It took me forever to do this so hopefully some of you will still be checking the blog to read!  I’ll leave Niall’s end of it for later… he has been very busy too so I’m not sure if he’ll be able to get on here before we’re back in CA!  Love you all and thinking of you...

xxx

erin