Bebe

We got to go down and see J&L and bebe Annie over Memorial Day weekend, and got to spend a ton of time with her!  She's on more of a schedule now, that alternates between feeding, changing, playing, sleeping, changing, and repeat.  It would exhaust me but J&L have it down like champs.  And they seem oddly calm and happy with everything.  I think I'd be a frazzled mess but they're doing awesome!  I'm trying to squeeze in as much time as possible with this precious angel bebe before the move - but don't talk to me about leaving her because I might cry on the spot.  Here are some pics!

A cute pic J&L sent me.

Uncle Drew and bebe Annie.

I love my Dad!  Yay! Victory!

Umm who is this guy eating my hands?

Happy family.

Surprise!  There's a camera in my face.

I may squeeze her face off.

My Aunt Lauren is so hilarious! She makes me laugh and laugh.

Mmmmm these fingers are delicious.

There's plenty more pics of this angel where these came from, so again, stay tuned.

NYC Trip #7

My b-fri lives in NYC so I usually try to go up there once or twice a year to see her.  But this trip was different - this trip was with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law!  That was definitely a different dynamic but a fun one no doubt.  We had a great time walking around, eating, seeing musicals, and hanging out with Mere and my brother-in-law, Blakesta.

We got in on Friday night, where we met Mere at Eataly for a drink, and then on to Cafeteria for dinner - where I got the Chicken and Waffles, the size of my head.

The Flatiron Building at dusk.

Blakesta and Mere.  Young love?

The next day, we went on a Food Tour!  Which, if you know me at all, is generally something I do every trip to NYC.  Because I'm a Food Pornographer and am not apologizing for it.  It was the Nolita Tour with Foods of NY and it was awesome.

Drop love, not bombs!
(The wall outside of the Little Cupcake Bakeshop.)

Some of the best pizza we've ever had at Emporio.

Sweet corn tacos from Tacombi.

We then walked around all over NYC, got ready for the evening, and went to see How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, with Nick Jonas!  AHHHHHHHHHH!  And we had a delicious meal at Joe Allen beforehand.

Me trying to do a cool Felicity style shot by the Subway, but failing miserably cause I couldn't keep a straight face.  Oh, and I'm not Keri Russel.  

Nick Jonas!!

On Sunday, Mere and I clowned around in her apartment, and then met the rest of the gang at Peels after their visit to the 9/11 Memorial.  We had some strong Texas 75s and the Build-a-Biscuit!  DELISH!!  Then there was more walking around, more pizza, and Godspell!  The play was incredible, and Hunter Parrish from Weeds made a little cameo appearance.  And now Beth and I are obsessed with him.  Sorry not sorry.

Texas 75 at Peels: Vodka + Champagne + Lemon

Friends!  On the stoop of her fancy new apartment.

Godspell.

The last day (Monday) rained cats and dogs, but Susan, Beth, and I spent time shopping near Herald Square and we scored a new pair of shoes each.  Thanks Suse!  We then ventured over to SMAC, a restaurant that only sells mac and cheese.  Right up my alley.

Cheesy happy deliciousness.

A great time was had by all - thanks to Susan for a really wonderful trip!

FAQs

I thought I would address some Frequently Asked Questions that we get a lot about our move.

Why Dublin?

Please see the previous post.  Cause it's there?  Why NOT Dublin?  I don't know.

Have you ever been to Ireland?

Nope.  I know nothing about it except that it's green and they drink Guinness.  Which sounds like a country that I wanna be a part of.

When do yall leave?

Tentatively...Monday, July 2.  It's a lot sooner than we thought, which kinda made me panic.  But lots of things make me panic, as you'll soon learn.

Will you (Lauren) be working?

I don't know - that's a great question.  We initially thought I'd be able to work through Drew's green card, but evidently that's not the case.  I have to get an Irish company to give me an offer letter and then it shouldn't be a problem getting a permit to work.  The only problem is actually GETTING that offer letter.  They're in the middle of a recession and I have to convince them that they won't have to sponsor me!  (Which costs them money.)  This looks like it may prove difficult.  Which makes me panic.

Drew and I are both stressed about this aspect for different reasons.  Drew is worried I'll be bored, alone, depressed, and won't meet anyone.  That I'll spend my days sulking and waiting for him to get home.  And while he DOES have a point and those ARE valid concerns, I'm just...not as worried about that.  My main concern is MONEY.  (Surprise!  Who knew.)  We need two incomes.  We want to travel.  I want to travel.  I want to go all over Europe/the world while we're there and we need MONEY to do that.  Drew said "If you don't have a job, you'll be bored and depressed."  To which I replied: "No, I'll be depressed if we can't TRAVEL!"  Which is true.  I. WANT. TO. TRAVEL.  I feel the need to qualify that statement because others may be reading this now, but...I can't.  It's my life damnit!  I need to live out my dream!  So sue me.

What are you going to be doing over there?

If I'm not working, then...I don't know.  Yet again.  Drink Guinness or Jameson all day?  Join a women's group?  Drew has already looked up Expat blogs and groups and organizations to join so I'll probably have to force myself to do that.  Which gives me anxiety.  

Where will you live?

Who knows.  We'll stay in a PwC sponsored hotel for 2 weeks and are expected to hit the ground running, trying to find a flat.  Drew's new hobby is researching apartments and neighborhoods over there.  We think we know the area in which we wanna live but our place will most likely be the size of a closet.  Oh well.  It's a Dublin closet and that's what counts!  

What's the weather like?

It evidently stays mostly in the 30s and 40s in the winter, and 60s and 70s in the summer.  It rains a lot.  I don't love the rain.  That will be an adjustment...like everything else in my life I guess.  Ah well.

What are you taking?

Most of the apartments come fully furnished, so we really aren't bringing any furniture.  We packed up a bunch of kitchen stuff, wall decor, tons of clothes, air mattresses (for our guests!), barware (duh), shoes, pictures, books, DVDs, a DVD player, and tons of random items we didn't think we'd find in inexpensive abundance over there.  Items such as...ranch dressing packets, taco seasoning, bulk shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, Q-tips, makeup, blah blah blah.  It'll take about two months for our stuff to get there by sea, so we gotta do it soon.  

Is Drew bringing his golf clubs?

Yes.  Absolutely.  Ireland has some of the best courses in the world evidently.

Can we come visit for St. Patrick's Day?

YES!  Or any other time of the year!  We have a luxurious air mattress for company, and maybe one day we'll even have a two-bedroom apartment.  Come one, come all.

I think that covers most of them we get.  If there are any others, just ask!

I Guess It's Official

I told my bosses and coworkers last Friday about Ireland.  And that I'm leaving in a month.  It was hard and not pleasant.  I thought about waiting until Monday but I figured I better get it over with and not have it hanging over my head all weekend.  

I nervously walked into my boss' office:

Me: Can I talk to you for a second?

Boss (her face dropping):  Oh shit.  When are you leaving?  Where are you going?

Me: Um, well, it's not like that, I...well I...

And then I promptly burst into tears and sobbed and squeaked my way through the rest of the meeting, explaining that Drew was going to Ireland for his job, I was going with him, my last day will be in a month, we leave in July, etc.  She was very nice and very supportive.  And then I had to do the whole thing over again with my other boss, the rest of my coworkers, our Executive Director, and then my clients - where I may or may not have teared up again.  I'm relieved it's over and everyone knows and it's out in the open (and I can openly blog, Tweet, Facebook, etc.) but it's still hard and GOING to get harder, the closer I get.  Goodbyes always hang over my head and cause me major anxiety - and usually the anxiety is worse than the goodbye.  It'll be a busy next few weeks so I better get my shit done and make it count.