14 days.

Dia Dhuit! According to my Google search that means "God to you" in Gaelic and is a common way to say "Hello!"

I can't believe I only have 14 days until I leave. That is 2 weeks exactly, my friend. It feels like it's so close but at the same time, an eternity away. Over the next few weeks I need to find the time to pull myself from my various Winter Break activities (i.e. lazing in my pajamas doing nothing) and start packing. From what I hear, my sister waited until the night before she was leaving and that had the obvious negative effects, like frantically looking for things, etc. I have started to go through the clothes I brought back from school and I am keeping everything I'm bringing in my sister's room. Here is a visual:






So you're either thinking: A) That isn't too bad. or B) What a SLOB.

My goal is to have everything I'm bringing and can pack in that room in some type of order by the end of this week. This is an effort to make my life a little less hectic while traveling. I have never considered myself organized, but I am pulling out all the stops for this!

Here's a run down of what I'll be doing with my remaining time at home:
-playing The Sims 3 when I'm bored
-sorting through clothes to find what I want to bring
-doctor/dentist appointments complete with shots (Chicken Pox shot = ouch.)
-running/walking to prepare for the amount of walking I will do while abroad
-sleeping/lazing
-seeing friends
-visiting the shore
-spending some quality time with Rosie and Geno (my parents for those of you who don't know)
-making sure I have all the paperwork I need to get into the country
-reading for pleasure (I just finished a book about Nefertiti and learned about all the temples they were building to a minor deity, Aten and why they tore down their temples to Amun and it was awesome. It made me excited to learn about the history of Ireland, Rome, etc.)




P.S.-Yesterday, my friend Julia and I traveled into New York City. It was a lot of fun. A lot of walking. Prepared me for what a day of sightseeing in Europe will do to my body...I was exhausted! The coolest thing we did all day? Went to the Titanic artifact exhibit. It was so interesting. They give you "boarding passes" with "your" name, class, where you're traveling, who you're traveling with and why. Good news: I lived! Bad news: My traveling companion did not. He was a priest and my brother-in-law :(



P.P.S.- Completely unrelated, but: I became obsessed with the song "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train during the last week of the Fall Semester this year. It was seriously on repeat and I think I listened to it 30 times in one day, give or take. The last time I was this obsessed with a song was when I discovered "I'm Yours" by my main man Jason Mraz. If you like Jason and "I'm Yours" then I suggest this song. It's so gosh darn catchy, but in a way that you actually like knowing all of the words which is not the way I feel about "Party in the USA" by Miley. Equally catchy, but far more annoying (Although, I do enjoy nodding my head like YEAH! and then moving my hips like YEAH!).