The Gang's All Here!

The Gang's All Here!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Ancient History

I have news!! No, I'm not pregnant - why does everyone assume that these days? As IF I could handle another addition to the already overflowing circus that I'm "supposedly" running. I think a more accurate account would be that the circus is running me right out of town... Anyway, Steve and I finally (FINALLY!) booked all of our accommodations for Ireland! I am so gosh durn excited! We'll be staying in several different B & B's throughout our travels and our last two nights will be spent at a castle that's family owned (read: NOT restored <--- should be an interesting experience!). It was (very) tempting to try and book a night at once of the 5 star castle hotels (hello Dromoland Castle and Adare Manor) but we just didn't feel that we could justify the cost. I'd much rather spend our pounds on Guiness and horse back riding on the beach! Plus, I'm really looking forward to chatting with our hosts at their respective B & B's to get a taste of authentic Ireland. The other thing we've decided (or maybe I should say attempt) to do is carry on and not check bags. Yes, one of the top 5 biggest challenges of my adult life, but I'm up to it. Mainly because we aren't staying anywhere with elevators or door men, so I need to be able to lug my own bag. Luckily, Ireland is a super casual country and we're not heading to Dublin, so hopefully we can get away with jeans and layers. Steve says I only need one pair of shoes...well, we just won't discuss that right now. In case you're curious, we'll be touring the South and West Counties (Limerick, Waterford, Cork, Kerry and Clare).

On sort of the same page, I've decided to tackle the Riley Family Tree. I'm not really sure what I was thinking, but I guess I had some fairy tale idea that I could trace our line back to the Ireland days and then visit the town while we're in Ireland. I'd pick up the Riley tartan and share a pint of Harp with some of my great- great cousins. All well and good except that my ancestors were LAME. I cannot find ANYTHING on them before 1795. They obviously existed or I wouldn't be here, but seriously, it's like we just appeared on American soil in Virginia sometime after the Revolutionary War. So, hours of internet research into this project and I find myself extremely annoyed at my great, great, great grandfather for not being as organized and OCD as me. I obviously didn't get those traits from his side of the family! So, the search continues...

In cancer-related news, I had my PET scan today. I won't have my results until next Friday when I see my oncologist. Normally I'm extremely anxious about that, but right now I have so much going on, that I'm just going to continue enjoying floating down Denial River until further notice. I feel great and that has to count for something. Steve and I are headed to Savannah this weekend for a work trip (there's really only about an hour of work involved, the rest is just playtime for everyone, so fun!). This will be our first weekend away from the kids. Ever. Yup, just call us the most exciting people you've ever met! Timing just hasn't been on our side since having kids (you know, cancer and all that) so we're looking forward to some "us" time. My parents are driving down (so sweet!) to take care of Stella and Simon. This will be a good test for us before the Ireland trip. Cheers everyone!

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