Top 'O the Morning to Yeh!

I really couldn't resist a cheesy title like that. I mean, really. I could keep going. My inner clock is all messed up, so I still feel like it's 8 in the morning. Usually, when I get jet-lag, I crash at noon and literally can't keep my eyes open. Thankfully, that's not the case today.

My flight to Dublin was rather uneventful.  I ate my dinner, took my melatonin, and didn't wake up until we were an hour away.  I had a window seat, so I got to take some pictures from the plane.

Hello, Ireland! 

This is just outside of Dublin. 

When I landed, the first thing that I noticed was the green.  The tourism industry has really taken the "green Ireland" thing and run with it. Consisting of the huge AerLingus planes, grass in between the runways, high-visibility vests, and tinted glass of the airport, the green theme is really well done.  

And let me say, the Dublin airport is fantastic. It is clean and modern. It's also the cheapest airport in Europe to fly in and out of! There are plenty of shops to pass the time in, and the food choices vary. You didn't think that I would write a blog post without talking about the food, did you?

First things first. Believing it was still 7am, I instantly wanted coffee. So I got an excellent cappuccino in a real mug (!) and a gluten-free blueberry muffin (!!). If I had three thumbs, I would use them all to give this a three thumbs up. 

And lunch. I told myself that the first thing I would eat when I got to Ireland was a Guinness and corned beef and cabbage. Second meal in country isn't too bad. But what an amazing meal. I wound up getting bangers n mash instead, but it was amazing. The sausages were crispy and the mash was creamy. Guinness is a wheat free beer, so it's basically gluten-free. It is made with barley, but people with gluten sensitivities are usually able to tolerate the barley in beer better than wheat. Anyways, this was delicious and totally hit the spot. 

I also got my makeup done here (because what else do I need to do for 5 hours?) and wound up purchasing one of the products they used on my face. 

I am going to sit here in front of the glass wall overlooking the shamrock-stamped planes and misty mountains of Dublin until my next flight in an hour and a half.  

Some Ramblings and an Update

So I totally didn't plan on a blogging hiatus. However, an upper respiratory infection, stomach bug, and Thanksgiving had other plans.
I'm sitting here at the airport in DC waiting on my next flight.  I'm going to Scotland, but you already knew that. Here's what's been happening:

-Three weeks ago, I contracted an upper respiratory infection. That took me out for a couple of days. Exactly a week later, I got the stomach bug. Man, that one hit me like a dump truck.  No bueno. I'm not going to talk about that any more. I listened to an episode of This American Life a couple of days ago. A lady said that one thing that bores her to death is when people talk about their health.

-I am in Washington-Dulles right now. Getting here was a little bit of a harrowing experience. I left Memphis this morning knowing that I only had a 38-minute connection time in Houston. (Why United flew me to Houston and then DC, I'll never know. I'm not complaining, because I get the frequent-flyer miles). My plane from Memphis left about 10 minutes late.  When we landed, our gate still had another plane in our place. So that's another 10 minutes. Finally, I realized that we were de-planing in terminal B, and my next flight was in terminal C. I checked the screen to make sure that my gate hadn't changed, and for some reason, my flight wasn't on it. Holy cow, they've left without me. It actually wouldn't have been that bad because there was another flight leaving two hours later. BUT, I am NEVER late, so missing a flight would have stressed me out a little bit. Long story short (oh wait, this is turning into a long story), I run to the terminal train, impatiently ride it to terminal C, run to the gate, run on the plane and make it in the nick of time. SCOREEE!

-We went to the farm for Thanksgiving. I took a couple of pictures, but since I've already blogged about it, I figured you didn't need or want to see a bajillion pictures of the creek. You're welcome. Our food was less than traditional (or even perfect).  We ate at 7:30pm due to a faulty turkey fryer. I did have a good time. Next time I travel internationally, I'm going to the farm the week before. I wasn't stressed about my trip at all. I was able to forget about it for a while, and that was awesome. If you get stressed before a trip, try going to the farm. You can borrow it, if you want.

-I kind of wish that I had missed my flight in Houston. I know that airport and their food choices. Dulles is pretty small and lacking in the food department. I am thankful though that I am able to eat, because I was starving.

Here are some pictures of what's been happening:

This was at William's daycare. When you need extra encouragement, think of this. Kids are hilarious.

Speaking of kids, I saw William for the last time last night. I am going to miss that precious boy like nothing else. 

Camel selfie. 

Oh yeah, that's my cousin and I playing with baby lions. My Thanksgiving was actually pretty awesome. 

I'm also listening to Lessons and Carols 2004 in the airport. I'm in my happy place.

Oh and an airport with free wifi is basically the best thing ever. Maybe you aren't so bad, Dulles.

Next time I post something, I'll be in bonnie Scotland!