Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

  I thought this Irish Blessing seemed appropriate.  :)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  I am beyond thrilled that I am able to 'take off' today and tomorrow (but sad I am not standing in line at Target!) to celebrate and skype eat with my mom! I can now start watching Christmas movies and decorating my pink tree! I am truly thankful for this opportunity. I also received a lovely surprise this morning when I turned on my phone, as I had messages from the other PhD students wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving. Very thoughtful, and I am very thankful for them making me feel at home for the next 3 years.

Like in Dundee, I bought some Turkey Lunch meat, some GF rolls, veggies, mashed potatoes, and found some Thanksgiving-ish dessert (GF Dark Chocolate Maple Pecan cookies--they are a little too sweet, so I think I may be adding peanut butter to them from here on out).  And for breakfast I had some Gingerbread GF yogurt!  So good!  I love Thanksgiving.  I love the families we spend it with, the food we eat, and yes, I love standing in the line at Target for Black Friday.  I hate shopping, but there is something about Black Friday, I absolutely love!

Nothing major has happened...no more hiking, or anything that extreme.  I have already been lost in the next city over (didn't take long), and like Dundee, I switched doctors.  This one is closer and my first time walking back from them I got stuck in the weather I love!  I was soaked through my jeans and sweatshirt, and my backpack was soaked, and I was freezing.  But it gave me a good excuse to buy a bubble umbrella and a coffee on the way back from campus.  I love the rain and all, but not when I am being drenched in it...

I got to see my first UK Ice Hockey Game!  A 2nd year PhD student, whom I have been getting to know (and he has the same supervisors), went with me.  I love hockey, and honestly I didn't think I really understood all the technical stuff, such as slashing and hooking, but I did and I was explaining it to him.  My brother would have been proud.  Now, this game was definitely not a USA Ice Hockey Game.  For starters, there were no fights.  I was highly disappointed, and my friend got to see a side of me, I don't think many people get to see.  LOL.   Second, there was no National Anthem.  I was kind of looking forward to hearing, "God Save the Queen."  Next, every time Belfast scored they played this really catchy fun drinking song....sorry, but it is so much better than the NHL scoring "Na-Na-Na-Hey" song.  Lastly, they don't hand out free food tickets.  They hand out free food.  I'm serious.  Boxes of pizza, trays of cookies, a subway gun that shot subway sandwiches....  It was crazy.  If you come to one of these games, come hungry.  I am pleased to say Belfast won 6-3 over Edinburgh.  Belfast is top in their league, which in the first period I could see why.  Their goalie was on fire.  I really want to go back and see them play Dundee...and I really want to see some fights.  The Canadian guy that sat a few rows above me was just as disappointed as I was, but he was way more vocal about it.  There was one point where they were about to fight and instead they hugged.  I am not joking.  The two players, embraced in a hug near the goal.  It was the oddest thing I have ever seen at a hockey game.

Oh well, in terms of work update... I keep hearing I am making the other first year students nervous.  Good?  Bad?  I have sent in my proposal and waiting the changes I need to make.  It is basically done, but I know I will need to add/take away some stuff.  I have outlined my power point for Jan. 14 and started to outline my literature review.  I have exceeded my training credits that are needed for year 1.  Not sure why no one else is where I am.  Maybe because they all have families, or they are not going into the office every day, or maybe they just seemed shocked that I am where they are.  I don't know.  We have had 3 months now, I don't get it.  Oh well.

I probably will not update till the end of December, so until then....

Happy Hanukkah!
Happy Christmas!
Happy Holidays! 

Enjoy the Holiday season everyone! 

Ain't no mountain high enough...

Sorry it has been a while.  I have been sick, and beyond busy reading, writing, and going to training seminars.  So, I decided to have a little break.  On Saturday, I usually walk to a near by town about a mile away, however this past Saturday, Halloween, I did a little more walking than 2 miles.  I met up with an old flatmate from Dundee and she and I, along with her boyfriend headed up to a small seaside town called Newcastle to the Mourne Mountains.  Now, if any of you know me, I have a horrible relationship with rock climbing.  We are talking panic attacks, high anxiety, and just plain fear.  So, as much as I wanted to catch up with my mate, I almost let fear get the best of me.  Turns out, we were just going to walk around a few mountains.  (Sounds easy, huh?)  So, anxiety left and I was thinking bridges and rocks, fun, peaceful, simple... yeah, not so much.  
We pulled up to the mountains, and needless to say, my anxiety came back. 

   The view at the top of the mountain!  (550 meters).  I was in tears due to the wind slapping me in the face. But it was also tears for the accomplishment.  As I climbed higher the air became crisper and felt thinner.  My lungs were becoming colder.  However, I managed not to fall on the way up, which I was sure I would do.  I did manage to fall on the way down, twice, but I did manage to keep my face intact, so I am pleased.  :)  I wish I could post more photos, but the computer is not allowing me to do so.  :(  If you put yourself in this photo, to your right is Northern Ireland's Highest point.  It you care brave and climb to the top of it (which can be done), you can see Scotland from there.   Like the blessing pictures says...nothing is so bad that it couldn't be worse...It wasn't as bad as I thought climbing that mountain...but I know it would have been worse if I traveled up that highest mountain! :)  To the left, we continued to climb around the mountain before heading back down.  I am quite proud of myself.  I am not a hiker, a mountain climber, or an athlete...and I managed to climb 550 meters and then some.  It was wonderful catching up with my friend and meeting a new person.  After our hike, we went to the pub, so I got to go to my first official Irish pub!  :)  

As far as today, I am sore.  Not as sore as I thought I would be, but let's just say I wish I didn't live up 4 flights of stairs.  :)  My arms are sore, my back, and lower limbs are sore, but the worst part is this odd pain on the bottom of my left foot.  My poor left foot.  I have torn ligaments in it, twisted it in Scotland, and now something weird going on with it...this is when I am so glad I have a podiatry major for a flatmate!  :)   

So, Halloween was a wonderful day! (Which is a major holiday over here...I am talking about school children getting a week off for school and restaurants only serving alcohol at night, and the campus cafe dressing up).  I loved catching up with Amy.  It was nice talking about the fun times we had in Dundee.  She and Brian also pointed out some places in NI that I need to go and see, so those places are definitely on my list!  

I hope to post again soon, and hopefully I can figure out is going with the photos soon.  Until then, I have a busy month coming up, filled with seminars, training, and hockey games!  (Can't take me away from that wonderful sport...I hear they fight just as much too!)  Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween...and Happy November!