Did Jen Disappear?

I really didn't disappear! Why didn't I blog for a month? I'm a slacker, basically. :)

What have I been up to? November seemed to just FLY by........

The most exciting event, of course, was my solo journey to Dublin, Ireland. I had a fantastic week. I met so many nice people and saw amazing things! I took a day trip to County Wicklow and loved the countryside. So beautiful!! I toured the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin Zoo, went to a comedy club, took a musical pub crawl and learned all about traditional Irish music from two musicians, toured Kilmainham Gaol, walked miles & miles seeing the beautiful city....and I know it surprises you to hear that I talked to LOTS of locals. hee hee! The trip was very empowering for me. It was nice to get away from 'life' for awhile and be alone with my thoughts...in one of my favorite places on earth. I recommend trying a trip alone...I didn't know whether I could do it until I tried. And it was incredible. I might have to do it again...sooner than later!

I MIGHT have taken 280 pictures on my trip. hee hee. I'm working on naming them and getting them ready for viewing on Shutterfly. AND...I have to decide which ones to order for scrapbooking! I'm attending a 12-hour crop on Saturday, December 30 and I want to work on my Dublin trip that day! FUN!

I also read two Jodi Picoult books while I was there (the very long plane rides assisted in this endeavor): Perfect Match and Picture Perfect. I really liked Perfect Match a lot, but Picture Perfect was not a fave. I'm still glad I read it because I want to read all of Jodi's books, but this is not on my top list.

I had book club at my house last Wednesday. We read Under The Banner Of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. Thanks for such a great suggestion Cindy! Everyone loved the book and I think we were stunned to find out JUST how 'out there' some of the Mormon beliefs are. I highly recommend you read this!!

Cookies. Yum. I participated in my first of two cookie exchanges yesterday. We shared our cookies and played Life. I hadn't played in YEARS! So much fun! I served a bunch of cookies at bible study last night and they were quite the hit! Tasty, tasty treats!!

I can't believe Christmas is in a few weeks! I get to see Susan, James, Ian and Cameron in 19 days! I truly can't wait. It will have been 4 months since I've seen them! I miss them so much! I'm really excited about being off the week between Christmas and New Year's when they are home. I'm looking forward to spending some time relaxing at home and spending quality time with my family. I think I've developed a new appreciation for the important people in my life...my time in Dublin did me A LOT of good. :)

OK. I think that's all for now. I'm going to make it a goal to blog AT LEAST once a week from now on! It's way too hard remembering what's happened in a month's time. :)

xoxo