Teenagers

So, I just spent the weekend with several thousand screaming, cheering, praying teenagers at the Steubenville youth conference. Good heavens I love those kids. I can't even count the number of times i was moved almost to tears at watching God work in miraculous ways in their lives, and at their open honest response to what God is doing. It was a weekend of victories- God is good!! On a human side, I'm sore and tired from a long weekend, bus rides, sleeping on the floor, late nights and early mornings. but its such a small price to pay to be part of God's work in His people!

Highlights of the weekend:

• Watching 4,000 teenagers at Adoration, worshipping... wow!!
• Praying with the kids all weekend- what an inspiration! and a real answer to people who question if the Catholic church has a future- there they are- singing and praying and having a blast!!
• Amazingly beautiful weather all weekend- no rain, wonderful temps, low humidity.
• Talk about sin by Brian Kissinger... especially his video of his roommate the python
• Mark Hart- preaching the gospel and doing Catholic comedy- great combo!!
• Bussing back and forth with our kids- boy they are a lot of fun!!
• Matt Panning telling his engagement story as all the kids on the bus hung on his every word and ooohed and aaahed at all the right places.
• Hanging out with the fun chaperones from our group
• Doing the hand motions to all the songs with Matt Panning
• I can't name all the teens by name, but consider them the real highlight of the weekend

Low lights

• the free coffee (thank God i was able to buy some at the coffee shop- it could have been a desperate situation).
• hitting my head on the bed i slept underneath
• not enough sleep
• chaperone shower times: midnight to 1 am, 5-6 am
• watching a kid try to eat a can of hazelnut flavored spam in 2 bites (during a game in Brian K's talk)... seriuosly I thought I was going to loose my cookies just watching it!!

All in all, a great weekend. God is good!! and, as always, its great to be home!!

Ireland - Dublin and beyond

Weds evening (5/16) I made it to Gallway and the house where my friend Teresa was staying after my rainy drive from Connemaera. That evening Teresa, her med school friend Tania, and I went out in Gallway, which was nice. We went to a pub, listened to some live music, each had a beer, good times. The next morning we packed Teresa and Tania's stuff into the car and headed for Dublin. I must say I was very impressed with the highway from Gallway to Dublin! it was a 4 lane highway and the limit was the highest i'd seen in the country, 100 km/hour!! it was almost like driving back in the states! (except for the wrong side of the road, wrong side of the car bit ;) Anyway, we made it to Dublin, found a place to park, and wandered around the city for awhile. Dublin is a very big city city, not bad as far as cities go, but being a fan of the country, i wasn't thrilled. That evening we did find a fun pub with traditional music and had some great dinner at an irish pub resturant. and beer, they sure do have good beer :) Guinness straight from the tap in Ireland is terrific! Then back to the car to try to get out of Dublin. I do not like driving in Dublin. The street signs are nearly non-existant and the lights and people and signs make it very confusing! I also think i ran at least one red light because their traffic lights are not overhead in the middle of the intersection like ours, instead its off on the sidewalk, sometimes across 2 or 3 lanes of traffic and blending in with all the lights from the signs and buildings. thankfully, my guardian angel had us covered and we did make it back to our hotel in one piece, although we did drive circles in Dublin for longer than I had hoped.

Friday morning (5/18) Tania had to be at the airport bright and early, so we packed up and headed out. Naturally, driving into the city was horrid, traffic just stopped forever and ever. at one point we were just stopped on a side street trying to get downtown, and looked over to discover a little cafe right beside us! perfect! so we parked, had a nice breakfast, and then resumed our commute once traffic had cleared at least a little. We found the Guinness brewery and went on the brewery tour, which was fascinating. It was neat to browse their advertising history too, amazing how many cool ads they have had over the year.

At the end of the tour, you went up to the top of the tower for a free pint of guinness (not really free of course, its factored into the expensive fee for the tour). Anyway, it was a neat tower because you could see all of Dublin, an amazing amount of city!

Great smile for a girl just acquiring a taste for Guinness!

I already like Guinness, but 2 pints at 11 am?? :)

nothin' like some quizzes to determine your strengths

Thanks to Alexis, I took the quiz... I'm not sure purple is atchy my favorite color, but its currently on the list :) I like lots of colors though. For what its worth...

What Your Favorite Color Purple Says About You:

Intuitive --- Seeking --- Creative Kind --- Self-Sacrificing --- Growth Oriented Strong --- Very Wise --- Rare

What Does Your Favorite Color Say About You?

5/16/07 Connemeara

One of my favorite signs, that you say everywhere... "Road works ahead" ... by which they mean, "road does not work head, expect delays." My favorite sight of the drive from Castleblayney to Connemaera happened midmorning as i drove along the twisting country roads. I was passing a small lake that the road wound around, and across the lake, on the road was a huge bull, followed by a semi truck and a line of a dozen cars!! I wish i could have grabbed my camera fast enough, but oh well. A moment later, as i approached this amazing sight, the bull suddenly took a sharp right turn into a field and galloped away, as traffic returned to the normal speed! it was great!!


Connemeara is the area north of Gallway. It is very rugged, lots of rocky terrain that isn't good for much except raising livestock. I drove through the region in the pouring rain, but got a great flavor for the life there. Its rough, rugged, and yet very beautiful in its simplicity.



More of the locals that I love so much...






In the midst of driving through Connemaera, I passed a beautiful waterfall and decided to hike out to it, despite the pouring rain!! Heck, you're only in Ireland for a short time and dry pants are overrated ;) Good news, LLBean's raincoat is very waterproof, as are their hiking shoes... my pants on the other hand, not so much. I was drenched and spent the next few hours in the car heading for Gallway rather soggy, but glad I'd done it.


A soggy traveler

"it must be nice living with a man"

When my brother Donal moved in with me a year ago, lots of people (especially relatives) all made that comment "It must be nice living with a man." I was never quite sure how to take the comment- in some ways it was a little insulting since i, a single woman, have owned my own home and have done my own repairs for over 4 years without a man (except a few calls to my dad or brother Bren)... at the same time, i know people mean well when they make the comment and don't mean it to sound like they think i can't do it. Still, I am the homeowner, the repairs are my responsibility, regardless of what man may or may not live there. Not to mention Donal hasn't had an abundance of experience being a homeowner and fixing stuff. Dont get me wrong, I love living with Donal, he's a lot of fun, low key, plays piano, allows Suzie to treat him as a human (hairy) popsicle, and is a good balance for our estrogen ridden household :) However, living with said man hasn't really changed much as far as what people think- like yard work, repairs, ya know "man stuff" that i still do (and usually enjoy doing).

This weekend, it truly was great living with a man. Thursday night I began repairing the garage door... ugh... the steel hangers that hold the track on one side were twisted and bent, making the door open and close at an angle, which got worse over time and finally stopped working altogether. All the warning say, "Consult a professional. Springs and tension cords can be dangerous, etc." making me a bit nervous... but it still seemed like a solveable repair and I decided it was time. Donal helped me manually open the door, replaced a roller, and handed me tools as i replaced the steel hangers. then the fun really began, trying to get the tension cables back connected correctly and attached to the dangerous springs. It was an exhausting couple hours for the two of us, and we'd gotten it figured out, but i needed a part at the hardware store to finish the repair, so at 11 pm on Thurs night, we called it a day and made plans to fix it Friday after work. I went to bed sore and exhausted!!

Friday I got the part, we worked on it for probably another hour and half, and finally finished. I'd never realized how heavy and difficult those doors are to move when the springs are not attached... nor how difficult it can be to get the tension right and threaded through the serious of pulleys, springs, etc. I can't tell you how thankful i was / am that Donal agreed to lend his height, muscle, and brains to the project- I couldn't have done it by myself!! We both held our breath as we finally got it done, manually opened and closed the door to make sure it really worked, and finally connected it to the automatic opener. Visions of springs flying and killing someone, the whole door crashing down -totally destroyed, and other similar thoughts flitted through my brain as i prepared to hit the button... brrrrr. creeeaaakkk.... it works!!!! Yay!! God is good!

It sure is nice living with a man...

Meeting the cousins...

After a beautiful morning of driving through the back roads of Ireland with a substandard map (that doesn't show half the roads i was on), getting turned around several times and being redirected by some friendly people, I evenutally made it to Castleblayney and found the McGuigans. May McGuigan is my grandma's first cousin (my mom's mom). She and her husband John used to run the general store in town, and live in the old store building in a little apartment space. It is old and well used, but cozy in its own way. They told me how their sons keep trying to get them to move to a nicer townhouse, but they can't bear to leave their home. They were absolutely precious!! May got on the phone and called all of her sons, "Your american cousin is here, come visit!!"





We were later joined by their youngest son, Kieran, who also had great stories to tell. He took us out to the farm my grandma's father had grown up on, and currently 2 of my gram's cousins, Kathleen and Peter, live there. Kathleen's health is failing, but she welcomed us and was happy to meet me. i think she was a little disappointed in me since she went on and on about how wonderful my mother is and that she played guitar and they had a sing-song of the old irish songs with her. sorry guys, no guitar, and i don't know most of those songs :)


That evening, John and May, Kieran, and another son, Noel and his wife Mary, took me out to dinner at the local castle. Noel is an architect and runs an architecture business in town, so we had a lot in common and i got to ask all my engineering questions, which was fun (and yes, i admit, very nerdy). Noel also gave me some background on the northern ireland situation, which was fascinating to hear from a local, and one who grew up just 6 miles south of that mess. Noel was so friendly and such a welcoming and comfortable person to be around. He and his wife Mary offered their guest room for the night, and after dinner we headed back to their house for a cup of tea, more visiting, and finally bed. Noel and Mary have 3 sons (high school/college age), and i met two of them, trying to explain how we are related... "um, your grandma and my grandma are cousins... so we're... uh... distant cousins" :) After an amazing night of sleep in Noel and Mary's beautiful home, I had a wonderful breakfast with them, and then hit the road to head back toward Galway where I was meeting Teresa that evening.


I think meeting the cousins was one of the best parts of my trip! They were each so wonderful and so familiar and part of who i am, although i'd never met them before, what a great experience! God is good!!

the ordinary things in life

So, I'll take a moment from trying to catch up on Ireland to revel in the victories of last night:

• I pulled apart the garbage disposal and fixed the problem (a penny jammed under the blade part). and i got it put back together, all without a trip to the hardware store!!
• I also pulled out the refrigerator, opened up the back, and fixed the leak from the ice maker... again, without a trip to the hardware store!!!!!
• I went to Lowes to pick up the parts i need to fix the garage door... which i think will be a much more complex repair than the previous mentioned ones. we shall see...
• I got a haircut - its different than the last several, shorter and easier to take care of, and feels great.
• I walked with the BOC for a good half hour before bed, and there was only a small amount of pulling (thank you Maggie). this is a victory for a few reasons, 1. i've been wanting to start walking more for exercise for both me and the BOC, but have a hard time finding / scheduling the time. 2. walking both dogs used to be like a walking circus, but last night was a very pleasant and relaxing jaunt through the neighborhood. 3. we passed 2 other dogs (on the other side of the street, but passed nonetheless) with only slight pulling and no barking or freaking out 4. it was an incredibly beautiful evening for a walk.

And those are just my publishable victories! God is good!

5/14/07

After going to bed on Sunday night at 7 pm, totally exhausted, i slept amazingly well in this very scenic B&B just outside Dingletown. That morning I drove around Slea head drive, the coast of the Dingle peninsula- for some incredible views, side hikes, good prayer time by the ocean... it was awesome... and if i move there, i'm moving to the Dingle peninsula to be a sheep and cow farmer along the ocean... it really doesn't get more beautiful than that!!



Around 3 pm that day i'd finished the scenic drive and it started raining, so i headed north across ireland toward Castleblayney to meet my Grandma's cousins.

My Gram has been writing these cousins for some 60+ years. Nonetheless, it was very strange to arrive in Ireland and call your long lost family who have no idea who you are or that you are coming and introduce yourself over the phone and ask if you can come meet them. But I somehow managed to do just that and they were very excited and told me to come.

A couple hours down the road, i was cruising along, when a huge semi whipped around one of those delightful blind curves, taking up 75% of the road (including where i was driving). I swerved to the side as far as i could, which was only about 12 inches onto the weedy strip between the edge of the pavement and the rock wall conveniently located there. Crunch. Apparently a rock from said rock wall was hiding in the weedy patch. Ugh. there was no place to pull off and stop right there, but the flat tire forced me to get around the bend and pull off in front of a little irish house. Stomach in my throat, worried about the damage, i climbed out and checked it out. One very very flat tire, with a bit of a bent wheel, and no hub cap... not to mention being a stranger in this country, no cell phone... i knocked on the door of the house, and a very sweet (and familiar looking) lady Katherine invited me in and listened sympathetically as i explained the problem. She got right on the phone with Michael at the tire shop and said he'd be by to look at it momentarily. I thanked her profusely and went back to the car to wait, until she came out moments later and insisted on making me a cup of coffee so we could visit while we waited!! What a sweetheart!! Michael came with his son, put on the spare, and led me to the tire shop before disappearing to take his son home. The tire had a huge gash and had to be replaced, oh well, it could definitely have been worse and i must say it was the friendliest, most pleasant flat tire i've ever had!

Two hours later, I was back on the road headed north again. I stopped for the night at a B&B along the way, and had to ask the poor woman to repeat everything she said at least 3 times because not only did she have a strong irish brogue, but she didn't open her lips to speak, hmmm. She did, however, make a great breakfast in the morning, and even agreed to make it early so I could get back on the road, so all was not lost :)

5/13/07

I have to keep my Ireland posts relatively short because i'm not very good at formatting the pictures in the post and it starts wigging out if i put too many in. Anyway, back to Sunday... Mass was wonderful. I must say, one of my favorite parts of being Catholic is the universality of the Catholic church and that no matter where I go, I feel very at home in a Catholic church, because Jesus is there waiting for me. It was no different here, and I felt blessed to be there, to be celebrating Mass with a community of believers, and to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.


Once Mass was over, I got back on the road heading south toward Dingle. I did stop briefly in a small town called "Reens" because I thought it was fun to have a town named after my nickname and because i was desperate for some caffiene. At the Reens bar, the owner made me a cup of coffee, and a couple locals asked me where i was from, what i'd see, etc. They were soooo friendly, and I felt terrible having to ask them to repeat nearly everything they said because of the thick brogues. The owner said coffee was on the house and to enjoy my stay.

I arrived on the Dingle peninsula to find that it is truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I began driving around the peninsula, just taking in all the beautiful scenery- the green green pastures, going right up to the ocean; the mountains on the other side, quaint irish homes all very brightly colored, cows and sheep grazing in every direction, rock walls separating the fields... it was breathtaking.




The other thing that was breathtaking was getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road. I should also mention that the roads in Ireland are about half the width of the roads here in the US. A 2 lane road in Ireland is really more like 1.5 lanes here, with rock walls on both sides, very sharp blind curves, and the locals that like to drive very fast around said curves on said narrow roads. Anyway, for my first 24 hours on the Ireland roads, every time a car would tear around the bend, my heart would stop for a moment, because in my head, they were not only tearing around a curve, but on the wrong side of the road. I would begin to breathe again as i realized they were on the correct side and so was i and that we were not about to collide. Thank God!! it made for a rather... um... thrilling commute though, feeling a little like the roller coasters at cedar point!


At one point, on my way to the town of Dingle, there was a small road, that ended right at the ocean, with cow pastures on each side. I needed to stretch and wanted to see the ocean, so i pulled onto this road, finding that it ends literally on the beach. So I got out and walked along the shore for a few minutes, just taking in the beautiful scenery and the salty smell of the sea. I backed up to near the cow pasture to take a few pictures, and before i knew what was happening, the whole heard crowded to the fence, trying to see what was going on. It was hilarious to watch as they all pushed their way to the front for a better view.


I'd met my second local friend, or friends, i should say, since the entire herd stepped right up as to introduce themselves. The seagulls flew overhead, sea grasses swishes in the wind, a few drops of rain fell, and I stood there telling this friendly herd of cows that I was rather envious of their view, and they probably didn't even appreciate it fully, etc. Again that stark realization hit, "I must look like a crazy person out here on my own talking to a herd of cows."

Ireland Highlights

May 13, 2007 - I arrived in Ireland, bright and early on that Sunday morning (after travelling all day Sat and having slept all of 2.5 hours on the plane), I got my rental car and headed out, scared to death driving on the wrong side of the road and SOOOOOOOOOOO thankful it was 7.30 am on Sunday morning so there was hardly any traffic. I headed south toward the Dingle Peninsula, looking for a Catholic church for Mass along the way. I passed several churches, but all were locked and no posted Mass times.

Finally in a small town called Askeaton, I found the church and decided i'd ask around till i figured out when Mass was so I wouldn't miss it altogether. I arrived in town around 9.30 am, and found out that Mass wasn't until 11.30, so I decided to explore the area while I waited. It was a chilly and blustery morning, but not raining, so i wandered around the small town, checked out the castle ruins, and then drove a mile or so out of town to see the monastery ruins.

It was amazing to me how many ruins you see while driving through the country- everywhere you look a crumbling tower, a quaint abandoned cottage, monastery ruins, etc. Another interesting thing I found was that in all the old church and monastery ruins, there are graves- both very old graves and very recent graves... they are scattered throughout the courtyards, inside the church ruins, everywhere you look.

So on that drizzly morning, my first day in Ireland, I found that Askeaton had monastery ruins to explore and there I met my first friend...

Meet my first Irish local friend... we'll call him Seamus. A friendly old horse, who grazes outside the Franciscan monastery ruins in Askeaton. He appeared to be guarding the place and made for great company on that Sunday morning. It only occured to me after about 5 minutes of conversation with said horse that there I was, alone in a strange country, talking to a horse... hmmm... "I probably look like a crazy person" I said to Seamus, and then quickly looked around to make sure i was really alone, and then continued talking to the friendly horse.

I'm lovin' it!

Things I'm loving about life right now (not in any particular order)…

Maureen is loving this spring / summer weather!!!! Seriously I don’t think it gets much better for me than sunshine, long days and evenings, and being outside a lot (sigh of contentment). I do, however, need to fix my ceiling fan in my bedroom, which I think is off balance, so the nights aren’t so stuffy since I am holding out on the A/C as long as possible.

Maureen is loving being home again after a wonderful trip to Ireland. I love traveling, but there is nothing better at the end of a trip than coming home. And after being gone, there are about a thousand things to catch up on, people to see, projects to finish, house to clean, sweaters to pack away, etc. but its still great to be home. There truly is no place like home.

Maureen is loving the munchkins in her life. At the risk of leaving out any important munchkins, I’ll leave out names… but seriously, God has blessed me abundantly with so many absolutely terrific nieces and nephews and honorary nieces and nephews. I am so blessed! And there is nothing like a kid grinning from ear to ear and running to give you a hug, just because they are excited to see you, to make you feel just great about life!!

Weds while having lunch with Ben and Ellie, I said to Ellie “Who’s a pretty girl?” and Ben responded, “I am a pretty BOY!”

Then later in the day I had my monthly ‘dinner and a haircut’ night with Geno and Lucy, which is always fun. I always call macaroni “Mac and mac” to which Geno always laughs and corrects me that its “mac and cheeeeesseee.” Lu didn’t miss the humor in the situation, and she grins, looks at Geno, then at me, and says “Mac mac,” laughing at her own great joke. For the rest of the evening, every few minutes she’d get that glint in her eye and say “mac mac”. She’s a funny one, that girl; even with very few words, she can tell a good joke.

(Please note these pictures are just a very small sampling of said munchkins... I just couldn't possibly upload all of them right now :)

Maureen is also loving her adult friends and family (not just the munchkins). Going away and coming home again is such a great reminder of God's blessings in my life- terrific friends, an amazing family, a wonderful parish, the list goes on and on...

Maureen is loving the garden. My flowers are all in bloom, the fragrant smell of the lilacs wafts in through the open window, and the vegetable garden is begging for some attention. This weekend’s tasks include tilling and finishing planting the veggies, adding in some compost, and harvesting the first crop of lettuce. And there are a few strawberries ripening that I need to get before the birds do.

Maureen is loving her young people… and agonizing about what to do next year. I do love my teenagers (many of whom have grown into wonderful young adults) and I am constantly amazed at how God blesses me through each of them. Another year at Life Teen is ending, and its time to figure out what to do next year. There are so many pros and cons to continuing my involvement, so ultimately, I’m waiting for God to send the golden telegram and tell me what He wants- its His decision anyway.

Maureen is loving cows... and after a trip to ireland, where she met several very friendly cows, she is considering adding to the menagerie... although i'm not sure cows are allowed within city limits in Saline (they are allowed in towns in ireland, incidentally), so she may have to find a more suitable location prior to obtaining said cows and sheep, and horses, and donkeys, and barn cats, and...