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Tag: ireland

Discovering My Irish Roots in County Galway, Ireland

Discovering My Irish Roots in County Galway, Ireland

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Kylemore Abbey in Connemara

Countless Americans make the journey across the Atlantic for one reason alone: discovering their Irish roots in the homeland of Ireland.

I’m no different.  When my father first told me that I was Irish (around six years old),  I went to the library and checked out every book on Ireland I could find.  Each page was filled with green pastures that stretched out to the ocean, castles dotting the rolling green countryside, and cobblestone streets in cute seaside villages.  As a young girl growing up in the deserts of coal-mining Utah, Ireland looked like the setting of a faraway fairy tale from a Disney movie. read more

Why 2017 Was the Craziest Year of My Life… With a 2018 Surprise

Why 2017 Was the Craziest Year of My Life… With a 2018 Surprise

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I just have to say that 2017 was undoubtedly the craziest, yet also most unforgettable, year of my life.

My aunt told me that I had more life events happen in 2017 than people have in their entire lifetime.  She’s totally right, because…

I Had Lots of Big Life Events…

Getting married on a mountain… no big deal

In 2017, I planned and executed a wedding while concurrently completing an intensive graduate degree in international relations.

Graduate school, as I mentioned, was really hard but worth every penny.  Learning about international relations changed my life for the better, and now I suddenly see the whole world with a new lens.  I don’t regret grad school one bit. read more

Traveling Off The Beaten Path in Ireland’s Rugged Northwest

Traveling Off The Beaten Path in Ireland’s Rugged Northwest

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Off the Beaten Path in Northwest Ireland

Northwest Ireland is sadly passed over for its southern cousin.  Most people skip County Donegal, Mayo and Sligo and take a beeline from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher in Southern Ireland, bypassing this part of the country entirely.

I’m here to tell you that Northwest Ireland is a must-see.  Thanks to the expert vacation planning of my husband, I was able to discover a charming and grossly under appreciated corner of Ireland.  The rugged northwest may be known as Ireland’s no-man’s-land, but after setting foot in the region I soon realized this is one of Ireland’s best kept secrets. read more

Graduating, Leaving California, Traveling to Ireland and Getting Married

Graduating, Leaving California, Traveling to Ireland and Getting Married

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I apologize for the long, silent hiatus on this blog.  I usually try to update once a month, but since May ’17 my life has been absolutely crazy.

Graduating

I honestly thought going back to school would be a nice break from “real, work life,” but it was actually more demanding and taxing both mentally and physically than my previous 8-5 office job.  In graduate school I literally spent 10 hours a day in the library reading (and comprehending) the 500+ pages of literature, as well as write an average of 2-3 essays per week.  Graduate school was a repetitive schedule of sleep-study-eat-study-sleep.  That was my life for ten months. read more