The British Literary Pilgrimage!!! Phase 1: SLC - Ireland

I hope you all are ready for some picture overload! Because all of these are only a fraction of the pictures I have from the first 4 days. Sorry it's taken me so long to get started on blogging all of my crazy adventures. I have a lot of pictures to get through! 

Anyway, my grand adventure commenced on May the 2nd, 2011. And Oh, was it grand! We had a little bit of a rocky start, though. We all arrived at the airport at 6:30 AM ready to get on a plane, but were disappointed to find out that our flight to Dallas was cancelled, which meant we would miss our connecting flight to Chicago, which meant we would miss that flight to Dublin. We waited on the floor of the SLC airport for 6 hours before we even heard anything! Finally, American Airlines started figuring stuff out, but it meant splitting us all into three groups. Some would be able to get to Ireland on time. Another group would be sent to New York City, where they would spend the night before flying out to Dublin, the last, and largest, group would spend the night in Salt Lake, then fly to Chicago and then to Dublin the next day. Guess what group I was in...

This is what happens when your stuck in a queue line for 6 hours- you start going a little crazy.

Yep. Salt Lake City. I was pretty bummed out about it- I'm not gonna lie. But, it actually turned out to be a really beautiful day, and I had a lot of fun! Plus, I got a chance to get to know these girls a little better:

 That's Brooke, Chelsea, Haley, Emily, me, and Liz (from left to right). They are all pretty amazing girls. We started off our afternoon in SLC at the Gateway mall, which honestly isn't the greatest if you're trying to save all your money for Europe. But it was still pretty fun and we managed to entertain ourselves, as you can see. :)

Like I said before, it really was a beautiful day. It was warm, the sun was shining, and the flowers and trees on Temple Square were in full bloom. It had been a long time since I could visit Temple Square just for the sake of visiting Temple Square, and I must say it was rather refreshing after the stressful morning we had all experienced. Plus, I finally got a chance to go to the roof of the Conference Center, which I have always wanted to do. It was worth the wait. :) I didn't think to get any pics of that though.

The next day we finally got to get out of Utah! This is in the Chicago O'Hare Airport during our 6 hour layover. That airport is massive, and has a lot to do, but by the time our flight left we were all pretty ready to get to IRELAND!!!

 Ireland is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. It was so green! Except in the places covered with rock. The picture above is an example. All the gray stuff on the hill is rock. It looks way cooler in person, but you get the idea.

 This is Corcomroe Abbey, our first stop once we finally made it to Ireland. This is the moment when the trip actually felt real, and when I realized how fantastic it was going to be. It was in ruins, and had graves everywhere, the entire inside is covered with headstones. It was absolutely beautiful

The first picture of me taken in a foreign land. :)

The whole group at Corcomroe. All the slabs of rock in front of us are graves.

After we left the Abbey we headed to the Cliffs of Moher, aka the Cliffs of Insanity!!!! I'm pretty proud of this picture because I think it actually captures how breathtaking and stunning Ireland actually is. Oh man, I LOVED it here! It was rain and a little foggy, but I think it just made the Cliffs even more amazing. They're huge, and they're beautiful. In fact, they're in the running to be on of the new 7 Wonders of the World. You should all go vote for them. :)

Kaity Lewis (she was pretty much my best friend through the whole tour. I love her!) and I in front of the Cliffs. As you can see, we got pretty wet.

Some of my other good buds on the trip: Juan (yes his name really is Juan), Becca, Kaity, me, and Sara (the leprechaun).

Another cool place we saw in Ireland was this really cool rock thing. :) I can't remember what it was called, but it's an ancient burial ground. A lot of people are buried there.

These rocks cover the ground everywhere around the stone structure. Everywhere. They're called grikes.

My token Chaco pic for the trip. Every adventure needs one!

 The next day we got on a ferry and went to the Isle of Inishmore, on of the three Aran Islands of the coast of Ireland. This was easily one of my favorite parts about the whole trip.

Me, Becca, Emily, attractive Irishman, Kaity, and Chelsea on the Ferry.

This pic pretty much sums up how I felt the entire time I was in Ireland.

On Inishmore, we took the most amazing bike ride EVER! We started at one end of the island, biked about 3 miles along the coast, then hiked about a mile up a hill to the cliffs of Dun Aengus. 

A small taste of some of the scenery on my bike ride.

A rocky beach along the way. It was full of sweet tide pools. The rocks were like staggered steps all the way down to the water.

I don't know why I love this picture so much, but I do. It reminds me of the amazingness of Ireland I guess. This was taken at Dun Aengus, and I was kind of overwhelmed with how beautiful everything was.

That's me lying on the edge of a cliff. No biggie. It was so cool! This was at Dun Aenghus, and below us there was a sheer drop. There was nothing below me, and the wind was blowing like crazy. It kind of felt like I was flying. 

On our way back from Dun Aengus to our ferry, we rode through sheets of rain. It was very wet, but between that, the gorgeous sky, and the beautiful ocean to my left, it was kind of like a dream. That day was pretty perfect.

On our last day in Ireland :( we spent our time exploring Dublin. We started at Trinity College, where we saw the Book of Kells and the most extraordinary library I have ever seen. After that we just shopped around the city. Dublin is pretty great. I wish I would have taken more pictures of it. My favorite part of the city was its parks. The picture below was taken at the most beautiful park I have ever seen. The rock wall behind us is a fountain with a big gorgeous pond. It was pretty great.

That night we left Ireland, and my heart broke a little. It felt a little like home. But, the rest of my trip was pretty incredible too. :) Coming up: Wales!

Me Souhaiter Un Bon Voyage!!!!

I'm off, and I can hardly believe it! 48 hours from now, I will be walking the streets of Dublin. Never in a thousand years did I ever think that I would get this opportunity. Ever since I started thinking about going on this trip, I have felt that I was supposed to go, and have said that if I was supposed to go it would work out. Well, it did work out and I am more sure that ever that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Over the past two weeks, I have been going to class after class after class preparing for this trip, and I have met 45 other girls and a guy who I already feel that I know really well. It has been physically and mentally exhausting, and emotionally draining. But even more than all of that, I have an even deeper testimony in my need to be a part of this trip. I am SOOOOO excited. :) And I wish I could take you all with me. When I get back, I promise to post the dozens and dozens and dozens of pictures that I will have taken. Wish me luck!

Finally!!!

I have a very important announcement to make! After over a year of searching, praying, applying, interviewing, and getting rejected... I GOT A JOB!!! I cannot tell you how relieved and happy and excited I am. My unemployment was the one thing that could have possibly stood in the way of the Brit Lit tour this coming May. But, thanks to my amazing and incredible sister-in-law, Rachel, I have finally left the irritating class of unemployment.

The job is at the Piano Gallery in Idaho Falls, working with Rachel's former piano teacher, Lisa (that's how I was so lucky as to happen upon this opening- through Rach's awesomeness). The job will deal with some customer service, but for the most part I'll be organizing and stocking and pricing. She does the ordering and I get it out on the floor. I'll kind of be like her own personal assistant: getting the things done that she hasn't really had the time to. It's only 15-20 hours a week and minimum wage, but that is WAY better than nothing. Way better. I am really nervous, because I've never worked in any kind of retail before, so I will have a lot to learn, but it will be dealing with the stuff that I have a great deal of passion for: music. It will probably be a good lesson in self-restraint as well. I'll want to buy everything I touch, but I can't. I have to save my big spending for Europe. :)

In other news, today also served to be very beneficial in that I was finally able to go apply for my passport! Huzzah! The Brit Lit tour is pretty official, but in 4-6 weeks when my passport comes in the mail, then it will be REALLY official! Before I know it, there will be four new stamps in it from four different countries. Ahhhh... happy times! :D

Call Me Crazy...

But I LOVE snow! It may be cold and slippery and wet, but it's beautiful. When it falls from the sky it's like little fluffy pieces of Heaven coming down to earth. It places a layer of magic on everything, and makes everything beautiful and pure, even if only for a little while. That's all. :)

Anyway, I have failed to post anything about my semester really, so I decided I should at least post something, so here you go:

That's me with 60% of my roommates, Breanna, Tia, and Erica, from left to right. We're great buds, and we have crazy fun all the time! Maybe too much... My other two great roomies are Jules and Caitlin, but somehow I don't have any pics with them yet. Hmmm...

i have an obsession with cheese... aka queso. ^.^ ME GUSTA MUCHO! (*My roommate is psycho...)

My Special News... :)

*Ahem* I have an announcement to make!!! I have made a very important decision, one that I am very excited about and that may change my perception of the world forever! It is something could fulfill many of my deepest life-long desires and dreams! Any ideas of what it could be? Anyone? Here, I'll give you a hint:

             It involves this...

And a little (or maybe a lot) of this...

Add a dash of this...

And we'll throw in each of these...

Does anyone have it yet? Probably, but just to be clear, these photos are of (respectively) Jane Austen's house, the cliffs on the Isle of Inishmore, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, and Stonehenge. I think it's time for me to just come out and say it...

I'm going to Europe!!!

...probably. I have been accepted to the British Literary Pilgrimage, a travel study program offered through Brigham Young University-Idaho. The tour goes through most of May, with a few weeks of intensive study on campus the last two weeks of April. It begins with a few days in Ireland, jumps over to England, where we will spend the majority of our trip, and ends up in Paris! Sites include those in the aforementioned photos, the Globe Theater, Chateau de Monte Cristo :), a ride across the Irish Sea, a walk through Sherwood Forest,  the Bronte home, etc., etc. That's barely skimming the surface of all the places I'm going to see. Needless to say I'm a little excited!

The problem (and it's a big problem) comes in when one considers the cost of the tour. I have enough financial aid to cover the actual program fees, but that doesn't include other expenses like tuition, books, passport, and some souvenir money (let's face it- we all know it's a necessity!). It would also be nice not to have to use all of my financial aid, which I probably will. Oh, and I have to come up with a $500 deposit by the end of the semester (Dec. 18) or it's adieu to the entire fantasy. So what am I do about it? First, praying for help. A lot. I've also been job searching like crazy. I spent four hours last night trying to find online job applications. The next step is phone calls and going to some businesses personally. The problem with the job hunt is that I am in the midst of my busiest semester ever, and that I don't have a car. So, I either need to wait until this semester ends before I get a job, or find some miraculous position somewhere that fits into my insanely weird class schedule and allows me to get all my homework done. Then I'd need to engineer some ingenious way to find transportation to and from my workplace. In the time being it would be great if I found a job within walking distance of my apartment, but (unless I can come up with an extra thousand dollars for rent in Rexburg) that will prove to be difficult next semester, which is when my break is. Money is so complicated and challenging and really kind of mean. 

I have no idea how I'm going to do this, but in the meantime, I'm very open to suggestions of where I can find work. I would also be really thankful if prayers were given on my behalf. I don't know how this is going to happen financially and if I can make it work. But I do know one thing. I have spent a lot of time on my knees and in the temple asking if this is the right thing for me to do. With the answers I have received, I have come to know that, even if this Brit Lit tour doesn't become a reality for me in the end, Heavenly Father want me to work towards it, and to try as hard as I can to achieve this goal. Wish me luck!

My Drug...

Can I just say, that there is no feeling in the entire world better than the one you get being a part of good music. I think that I literally get a buzz off of it. My arms start tingling and I get chills down my spine, then my heart starts beating faster and faster until I get so pumped that I just want to sing out more, but I can't, so instead the Spirit overflows out of me and my eyes get all watery and I can't help but smile and wish that I could give more. I feel so blessed to be able to be a part of something so magical, and to be part of such a conduit for the Holy Ghost. After I finish a good, successful performance like the one I experienced tonight, I feel like I am on a cloud all night. It helps to make me a better person, and it makes me feel so close to Heavenly Father. I only hope, and wish, that the audience is able to feel what I feel. "A song of the righteous is a prayer unto me" are some of the truest words ever spoken! I hope all of you have something in your lives that gives you this feeling, because it is the best feeling in the entire universe!!!

Also, I am officially convinced that my Grandma Clark is there to help me when I perform. I have felt her every single time that I have performed since singing at her funeral. At the funeral, I shouldn't have been able to get through that song. I almost didn't. In fact, the second I finished singing and sat down, I started bawling. She is the reason I got through it, because she was helping me. I am fairly certain that she is frequently with me when I perform. In fact, sometimes I feel like she takes over. Anyway, I'm not bragging about my voice by any means whatsoever, it's just how it feels. Just a side note... :)

It's Official!!!

I'm in my twenties!!!! Happy Birthday to ME! :D

I finally posted again!

I know! I'm terrible! Only four weeks left in the Spring Semester and I've only updated twice. Oopsy... But it's okay, because I'm back now! This semester has been crazy busy, with its high points and low points. But to sum it all up, I guess the best word to use would be CRAFTY! Goodness, between my Home Decor class and my cooking class, I feel like the queen of Relief Society. :) Plus I've been doing a little crafty on my own. Anyway, the stuff I'm most excited about is my Home Decor class. My very first project of the semester was this-

And I'm kind of really proud of it. It's not only the first quilting project I've done by myself, but it's also...

...the first project I have ever machine quilted! See all those little curvy lines? Those were all done by me on the schools ridiculously amazing sewing machines. I didn't use a pattern or anything, I just did it! It was terrifying, and... it was at that point that I sacrificed a small chunk of my fingertip to the sewing machine, but I think it turned out great!!! I'm really happy with it, and it is now sitting comfortably on top of the Steinway upright grand piano that my dad inherited from my Grandma Clark. I wish I had a pic, because it looks great! Anyway this is what I'm working on in Home Decor now:

This is the finished product of the first piece of a nursery set that I'm making! You can't really see it very well, but the center fabric is little smiling suns. My mom and I found this pattern for a nursery set and I immediately fell in love with it. Now I'm working on a baby quilt that matches this pillow. It will be exactly the same, just bigger and flatter, AND... it will be backed with yellow barbizon satin (sp?)!!! For those of you who don't know, barbizon is this amazing silky fabric that my grandma used to put on the back of most of the quilts she made, and I have been in love with it since I was a little girl. I'm really excited about it! Anyway, before the semester is over I will also be making a matching valance at the very least. I also have the materials for bumper pads and a crib dust ruffle, but we'll see how fast I get this other stuff done. Those may be a project for the break in August. In case anyone is wondering, I love my major so far. I think I made the right choice. My cooking class is still going great. It's fun and relaxing and I'll be coming out of it with some delicious new recipes, which I will soon be posting on my and my sisters' recipe blog, For the Love of Cooking! Yum yum! Speaking of cooking, this is the first cake I've ever decorated, and it was really fun! Am I good at it? No. But I think it turned out ok. Next semester I'm taking a baking class, then I will finally get to take Cake Decorating in the spring. I can't wait!

Also, this is totally off topic and completely old news, but I think it's cool. I got to meet Kirby Heyborne and Corbin Allred (comedic stars of the Mormon media world) with my friend/old roomie Charlotte. I'd met Kirby once before when he taught the young men and young women of my cousin's ward way back when I was a Mia Maid, but yeah. I guess it's kind of lame, but I think it's fun, so there! :P

Finally, I would just like to say goodbye. Why? Because this is the last time you will hear from me as my teenager self. That's right! Tomorrow I am finally turning 20 and leaving the teenage world behind forever. And it's about time!

New Recipe Blog!!!

So, my sisters and I all love to cook. And we're pretty good at it. ;) Plus Tiffany had a recipe blog, so we decided it would be fun to have a sister recipe blog!!! It's called For the Love of Cooking, at allfortheloveofcooking.blogspot.com. You should all check it out!!!

Spring so far...

Well, I have successfully completed two full weeks of Spring semester 2010! And so far, I am basically loving it! At first I was really nervous about my schedule. I'm taking 17 credits, and my schedule is different every single day, which is REALLY unusual for BYU-Idaho. I didn't know what I was actually getting myself into- thus, I was very very nervous. But so far, I'm having a blast! I have a nice balance of hard and fun classes, and it feels amazing to get back into the swing of college life. My favorite classes thus far are Home Decor Sewing, Intro to Foods, choir, and New Testament. I have a great feeling about the first one. I get to make curtains and quilts and table linens and pillows, but the greatest part is that I can make things that I like. In Clothing Construction, she made us make what she wanted, and I didn't always necessarily think they were the cutest things. I'm really excited to be able to sew something that I will actually want to put to use someday. My Intro to Foods class is equally amazing. It's only once a week, but I get to spend  a huge part of that day learning how to make new things and learning a lot of cool cooking techniques. Our lab manual is full of really delicious recipes including this quiche and fruit pizza:

...which, may I say, were delicious!!! I have never been the biggest fan of quiche, but this recipe is really yummy. If you want the recipes let me know.  Anyway, this semester's great!