90 Days to go...

From today, my departure date is now exactly 3 months away , which is strange considering today is the 22nd and not the 20th  but, I guess it's because the month of September and November both have 30 days and not 31 so, there's two days counted in the following months.
It feels like only yesterday that everyone was saying Christmas was only 90 days away. Now look how close it is! If you're at all curious it's just 63 days away! How mental is that! Last  week, I had to say goodbye to another good friend of mine! Mark Brennan, a very funny, honest and hard working person who has also made the decision to emigrate to Canada. He's someone I have become close with over the past year and it makes me happy and sad all at the same time to have to say goodbye to him. He left last Wednesday so, he is living there one week now. Somehow, at the moment I would imagine it feels like he's on holidays rather than actually living there. (Hi Mark if you're reading this!) I wish him all the very best of luck on his new adventure. I'm hoping that Canada will provide you with every bit of happiness you deserve. I'll be sure to meet you in Toronto when I eventually get there myself.

Myself and Mark. Dec '13

I also got some good news this week! A nice surprise! My best friend Rachael returned home unexpectedly his week. She's been living in London for over a year and it was so great to see her again! I didn't realise how much I had missed her until she announced she was at home! Sometimes there can be a number of days or even weeks can pass by before we get the chance to speak to one another. I work, she works, our work hours can clash. We're both kept so busy all the time! Even when we're not busy, we're still busy! I only got to see her for a short amount of time but, it felt as if she had never left and we had only seen each other the other day?! The next time I see her should be at Christmas and then of course, because I leave in January, this Christmas could potentially be the last time we see each other for several months?!

Rachael and Me. August '13

My parents also returned from their trip to Canada/America and have been exhausted ever since! Jet lag is an awful thing! Could take a full week to get over in some cases! From the few photos I have seen Calgary looks like a small city (in comparison to say, Toronto) but, I'm so excited to go there! I'm hoping to see more photos of their trip soon!

That's all for now,
Thanks for reading!

Ciara.

104 Days to go...

As I sit here and write this, I am currently home alone. I have never been more bored in my entire life and a little lonely, I'm not gonna lie! My parents are away at the moment and will be for two whole weeks. Don't worry they'll be returning soon! I have only a few more days for fend for myself. Where are they you ask? Only in Calgary, Alberta, Canada! The jealousy is pouring out of me! What I wouldn't give to be there, see my sister and check the place out! I mean, this is going to be my future home and I have no clue what it looks like! Not only were they spending time in Calgary but, they actually went on a long road trip through parts of the US! Seattle, Oregon, Idaho, Montana to name a few! They had some places and faces to see! I have never set foot in America, the jealous is boiling over now! 
               Fending for myself this past week has been a real eye opener because this is exactly what I'm going to have to do when I move to Canada. Cooking, cleaning for myself doing simple things like having to put the rubbish bins out, feeding the dog, making sure I get myself up on time for because no one is going to wake me should I oversleep or anything! These are things I have done in the past but, they have never been my sole responsibility. It's going to take some getting used to to say the least. On Thursday night, I cooked a rather delicious meal that I thought I might share with you all. Creamy spinach chicken pasta! I got the recipe from Donal Skeehan's Kitchen Hero book and it was so easy! I'll be sure to include a picture of what I made and one of the recipe itself from the book so all you budding chefs out there can be inspired! I'm actually excited to be including photos on the blog, they will be my first. Hopefully, I'll be including lots more in the future! 

Huge picture! But wanted to make sure you could all read it!
Also had to take it as a landscape so it would all fit in one photo!

The water charges in Ireland are now up and running and I don't know what to make of them myself. Many countries, Canada included already pay for their water usage so, I'm surprised that water charges haven't been introduced before this? They only real issue I have with them is it's just another bill that we have to pay to get this debt stricken country back to normality. As I currently live at home, I'm not really affected by any of these charges but, my parents are and that worries me. How exactly are they or anyone else supposed to be able to survive in this country?! This is just another reason why I want to leave. Makes me so angry to even think about!

             Recently I started watching The Walking Dead and I have become obsessed with it! I really didn't think I was going to like it if I'm honest. Shows about vampires, zombies and mythical creatures fall into the same category for me. Because they are based around something that isn't real I find it hard to believe and think I won't enjoy it. I watched one season of True Blood before and yeah, gave up, didn't like it because all it was for me was blood, vampires and scenes of an intimate nature shall we say! I got bored! So, I thought The Walking Dead would be the same style of thing. If you have not seen this show, I highly recommend it. It will honestly have you on the edge of your seat! I'm already on season two and I only started watching it a few days ago! Other TV series that I recommend if you haven't already seen them would be Breaking Bad, Orange is the new black and Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is another show I started watching way after everyone else and became hooked. I found it confusing in the beginning but decided to stick with it and I would tell you all to do the same. Roll on season 5 is all I can say! 

I hope you're all enjoying reading my blog! For the next 100 odd days any posts I make are likely to have nothing to do with Canada. Seeing as I have booked my flights all I can do now is wait and hope you enjoy reading about various things I get up to for the time being.

Thanks for reading!
Ciara.