Big news for us …

For a long time I’ve been that duck analogy; attempting to look like I’m calmly paddling on a lake but in reality, my little feet have been paddling furiously under the water. After months [and in reality, a lot longer than that] of dreaming and planning, Robert and I are excited to finally share that we’re leaving our Dublin apartment and are moving to Canada. In 2 weeks!!!

Our rented apartment here in Dublin is sold, Juniper and Toshi are caught up on their vaccinations and vet checks, we start packing this week and we already have an apartment waiting for us in Ottawa [which I cannot explain how excited I am to see IRL].

We’re so excited, but I’m very nervous now. Really nervous. Like, wake up at 04:00 every night and think about the many ways of WTF are we doing?! kind of nervous. I know it’s natural, but I can’t help it. I’m probably so nervous because it would be so much easier to do nothing. It would be easier to stay and not move. And it has been. We’ve done that for a long time. But the reality is it’s no longer easy for us to stay. I’ll share why we’re moving in my next post because it’s the real life behind our move. But for now, we’re excited.
And nervous.
Very nervous.

Three years deep

It’s hard to believe that yesterday was our 3rd wedding anniversary. It only dawned on us a couple days previously that our anniversary was fast approaching, so while we didn’t do much yesterday it was still a lovely day of comfort food, couch cuddles, movies and mulled wine; Robert adores mulled wine and mince pies and therefore both were served after our ceremony to our guests on our cold and rainy wedding day three years ago. However, since Robert and I were rushed off to have our photos taken immediately after our ceremony, not a drop or crumb was left for us to enjoy when we returned indoors. Massive welp. So yesterday we celebrated with a killer batch of mulled wine made by Robert and some mince pies. Patience is a virtue?

Today is also a great day as it’s Canadian Thanksgiving, so I think we’ll indulge in another round of mulled wine with pumpkin pie and a bit of a feast with my family. Hell yes. 

If you’d like, you can see a bit more about our big day way back when here. And happy Thanksgiving if you’re celebrating! 

#DirtyThirty

I don’t usually share when it’s my birthday online, but seeing as today is a bit different as I’m now IN MY THIRTIES, I figured now would be the best time to buy some obnoxious balloons and write about it.

I’m not worried about turning 30. I’m actually quite looking forward to it. Most of my 20’s were spent worrying about what other people thought and doing what other people expected of me. In the past year I’ve notice my priorities change and I’ve started doing things I want to do and what’s the best for me [politely, of course]. It’s probably what most people consider a normal level of self esteem, but I for one am looking forward to feeling a bit more confident in my decisions. Dare I say, attempting to adult. 

For the day that it is, I thought it might be fun to share 30 random things you may not know about me. Fun, or it’s boring. Terribly, terribly boring. You be the judge …

– When I was 15 I had my nose broken at my brothers baseball game, needed surgery and had to wear a cast on my face for a month [you can hear more about it here].

– There’s only one thing that terrifies me; ET.

– I was on the grooms side of my friends wedding in high school.

– In high school I gave myself a smilie piercing, but had to take it out for said friends wedding and then it healed over. Welp.

– I was a dental hygienist assistant and a dental assistant in my teens. I know how to extract a tooth with the least amount of bleeding.

– 98% of my friends throughout the years in high school were guys. I think I have them to thank for my potty mouth, nothings-off-topic sense of humour and the inability to understand makeup, fashion or traditionally girly things to this day.

– I graduated high school on the Ontario Honour Roll. Meaning, my overall average was above 80%.

– I was the biggest Lord of the Rings nerd in my teens. I made costumes, wore them in public and wrote in Elvish.

– When I moved to Ireland at 18 I had no friends so I passed the time by teaching myself Russian, playing The Sims and walking to the library.

– The first conversation I had with Robert when we first met was I taught him how to say hello in Russian [“zdra-stvu-ee-tyay”].

– We met at a cinema where we both worked [in the Blanchardstown Centre]. He was 18 and I was 20.

– Seven years later, we honeymooned in St. Petersburg, Russia.

– While talking to my grand-aunt at our wedding I found out my grandmother always wanted to go to Russia. It makes sense as my dad [and subsequently I] have Russian names.

– I have a crippling fear of heights. Even standing on a chair terrifies me.

– People always think I’m a vegetarian. I guess I just look like one?

– I’ve been approached to work on television a handful of times in the past year, but have politely declined. I just can’t. Yet. We’ll see. I’m getting ballsier.

– I can wiggle my ears.

– I’m becoming more introverted as I get older and realise it’s perfectly okay to stay at home. As Anna Dorfman perfectly puts it, “I don’t have social anxiety on the Internet.

– I used to have two microdermal implants in my chest. I nearly fainted getting them, would get them caught on everything and they got infected many times [sorry], but I loved them. Unfortunately, my skin eventually rejected them.

– I’ve never been able to spell ‘definately’. I just can’t.

– I have an ultraviolet tattoo the length of my left forearm that can only be seen under a black light.

– I’m not afraid of insects or ‘creepy crawlies’. I’ve caught wasps with my hands to rescue distressed men, and once [when I was getting said black light tattoo] rescued a snake that got out of its cage in the tattoo studio. A grown man covered in tattoos basically standing on his chair in fear.

– Hypodermic needles make me faint. Every. Time.

– To date the only sectors I haven’t worked in is the military and agriculture. I’ve worked in everything else. The health sector, child care, education, security, laboratories, food preparation, hospitality, animal services, publishing, construction etc. I could go on but this post is already quite long [that’s what she said].

– My hair is naturally blonde. I dye it every 5 weeks otherwise I look like a skunk.

– I’ve always been fascinated with darker things. I was never a princess or anything pretty for Halloween; I was always something that involved a black wig. Now I have one permanently attached to my head.

– I’ve had pneumonia three times and swine flu once.

– I have a lot of anxieties about things I can do nothing about. At the moment I think a lot about over population and over consumption. It’s where my mind goes when it’s idle.

– I can move my eyes independently of each other.

– If I wasn’t involved with interior design, I’d probably be working in astrophysics or the likes. The only thing stopping me is going to university full time.

And there you have it! 30 completely pointless points about me. I don’t know about you if you’re also 30, but I don’t feel anywhere close to it. Maybe just a slightly more responsible 18 year old, but definately not 30. I can barely adult.

I’m going to finish this now as I have cake to attend to and a messy afternoon planned with family. See you on the other side! xx