My parents invited me on the trip with the assignment of being the travel agent. and then proceeded to provide little input or direction to help guide decisions. With a deep breath, I admit that I can't provide much guidance in the realm of costs because I am spoiled by privilege. But I do know it was expensive.
Time of Year: We were here during the off season (until the bank holiday happened). If we had been here during the busy time of year, I would not recommend following our (complete lack of) plan.
Currency: Because it was the off season, some of the BnBs were cash only, but the booking site didn't say that. And sometimes they said they were cash only, when really they weren't.
Transportation: My dad rented a car through Hertz/Thrift/Dollar. It was a BMW with really good nav. It was a larger car because there were 4 of us. He paid a lot for insurance on the car, but was glad he did because the streets are NARROW. My dad did all the driving because he had experience driving on the left side of the road (lived in England for three years, 30 years ago). It is advised to hire someone
Lodging: My dad wanted to find places as we went. Y'all, I gots anxiety. This is NOT how I roll. It was also a banker's holiday for the second part of our trip, and a ton of places were sold out or super expensive. We spent about 50 euro per person per night. We used booking.com or stopped at somewhere we drove past to find places to say. We got better rates by dropping by because they have to pay a portion of the fee back to the website. My mom also negotiated on rates. I also think got some better rates by paying cash. But that also meant we needed 1,000 euro cash. I don't carry cash or a debit card. I should probably fix that. It's made problems for me on trips since Philly in 2014.
Most places have twin and double beds, but we found one or two that were queen sized for my parents. They elected for rooms with two twins instead of trying to share a double. I never roomed with my parents, but no joke, I could hear my dad snoring through the walls at multiple places.
Hygiene: Because we stayed at different places each night, I got to tour many different bathrooms. Since I'm remodeling mine at home right now, this was useful. The showers are tiny. TINY. Some didn't have a place to set bottles/soap and barely enough room to grab yours from the floor. Also, some of the shower heads liked to move around of their own accord. and I swear in that tiny space, it's still possible to feel like you're going to slip and die.
Monday, May 7, 2018
Ireland Final Day
Monday May 7th:
Dublin Airport to return to US
The Dublin airport has two sets of security if you are flying to the US. The benefit of this is that you can go straight home or to your connecting flight when you arrive landside without having to grab your bags, go through customs with them, and then recheck them. Once you go through the US pre-screening, you can't go back to the main part of the airport.
My experience:
1. You scan your passport into the machine and it collects your info on the screen and asks you to verify it's accuracy. My info was incorrect. The machine just rescanned and made the same error... so there was no way to actually fix it there. (The error was Country of Birth. I was born in the UK and it kept saying I was born in the US.
2. They take your picture and print off another slip of paper you have to carry through with you. They said line your face up with the box, and I am short. So I'm trying to step on my tippy toes to get my face in that damn box. Then the lady pointed out I could have taken a step back to get it right. Whoops.
3. My boarding pass had a code on it that meant I was randomly selected for additional screening. I am not joking when I say that body search felt pretty intense. It was not a light pat down and there was nearly no area that escaped untouched (they can't touch bear skin. They wear gloves.) I was wearing a dress, which is what I think made it feel worse. She felt both my legs and at one point thought she felt something on my thigh. (Sometimes I wonder why I even bring the thunder.)
4. The flight was delayed 4 hours. :(
Dublin Airport to return to US
The Dublin airport has two sets of security if you are flying to the US. The benefit of this is that you can go straight home or to your connecting flight when you arrive landside without having to grab your bags, go through customs with them, and then recheck them. Once you go through the US pre-screening, you can't go back to the main part of the airport.
My experience:
1. You scan your passport into the machine and it collects your info on the screen and asks you to verify it's accuracy. My info was incorrect. The machine just rescanned and made the same error... so there was no way to actually fix it there. (The error was Country of Birth. I was born in the UK and it kept saying I was born in the US.
2. They take your picture and print off another slip of paper you have to carry through with you. They said line your face up with the box, and I am short. So I'm trying to step on my tippy toes to get my face in that damn box. Then the lady pointed out I could have taken a step back to get it right. Whoops.
3. My boarding pass had a code on it that meant I was randomly selected for additional screening. I am not joking when I say that body search felt pretty intense. It was not a light pat down and there was nearly no area that escaped untouched (they can't touch bear skin. They wear gloves.) I was wearing a dress, which is what I think made it feel worse. She felt both my legs and at one point thought she felt something on my thigh. (Sometimes I wonder why I even bring the thunder.)
4. The flight was delayed 4 hours. :(
Confessions
So, I haven't put anything up here in about 6 years. I'm back to write a series of posts about my trip to Ireland, but I feel I need to provide context and address the previous content of this blog.
Even thought I could easily delete the old posts, or start a whole new blog, I believe it is important to honor the past.
Too Long, Didn't Write:
Confession #1: I've gained all the weight back (and then some). But now I'm working on body positivity and decolonizing beauty and a healthy relationship with food that doesn't involve binging or panic attacks when faced with food.
Confession #2: I am divorced. I am very happily divorced, and the appropriate response to this news is "Congratulations." not "I'm sorry."
Even thought I could easily delete the old posts, or start a whole new blog, I believe it is important to honor the past.
Too Long, Didn't Write:
Confession #1: I've gained all the weight back (and then some). But now I'm working on body positivity and decolonizing beauty and a healthy relationship with food that doesn't involve binging or panic attacks when faced with food.
Confession #2: I am divorced. I am very happily divorced, and the appropriate response to this news is "Congratulations." not "I'm sorry."
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Protein
Ever wondered how many grams of protein you should eat a day?
This tool is so easy! Only two steps!
http://www.proteinsmart.kashi.com/
This tool is so easy! Only two steps!
http://www.proteinsmart.kashi.com/
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Shame
So, I haven't updated the blog for a long, long while. I will now confess that it is because I am ashamed. Of the 35 lbs I lost in 2011, I gained 25 back in 2012. I saw the weight gain happening. I made mental promises to stop it from increasing (see my original how to lose weight series for more on this), but I didn't actually change any of my actions. Honestly, I knew that I didn't want to stop eating my junk food. I LOVED milkshakes and burgers, and I was not ready to give it up. I am ashamed to go in public and be seen by people who saw me when I was skinny and who complimented me on the weight I'd lost. I know exactly what I did, and what I ate, that led to the weight gain.
I hate excuses. I will not make excuses. That being said, I know what changed to lead to my weight gain. I changed jobs. My routine changed. My day (and my meals and my exercise) were very structured and consistent before I changed jobs. Three days a week, I rode my bicycle to work at 7:20am. I would eat breakfast and lunch at work. Then I would get on my bike at 3:15pm and ride to my second job, where I would eat dinner. Then I would ride my bike home at midnight. This totaled an hour of exercise on these days and no ability to go out to eat or pick up junk food. On the other four days a week, I would ride my bike to work, but it was only at one of the two jobs. My goal now is to learn how to build that consistency and routine in a job that is NOT structured or consistent. When I sat at my desk all day, it was easy for me to eat 0 or low point items every 2-3 hours. Right now, it is not. Until this happened, I had not realized how instrumental my routines of doing the same things every day had been to my success. I also got very sick for a month right as spring came and the cycling season began. This put a huge wrench in my routine of riding, because I was out of commission for so long, missed my organized rides (or rode them while sick, which was not that fun), and then I was behind everyone else in conditioning because of my time out. I failed to get into my habit of going on long rides. :(
So, what would you like me to write about?
I hate excuses. I will not make excuses. That being said, I know what changed to lead to my weight gain. I changed jobs. My routine changed. My day (and my meals and my exercise) were very structured and consistent before I changed jobs. Three days a week, I rode my bicycle to work at 7:20am. I would eat breakfast and lunch at work. Then I would get on my bike at 3:15pm and ride to my second job, where I would eat dinner. Then I would ride my bike home at midnight. This totaled an hour of exercise on these days and no ability to go out to eat or pick up junk food. On the other four days a week, I would ride my bike to work, but it was only at one of the two jobs. My goal now is to learn how to build that consistency and routine in a job that is NOT structured or consistent. When I sat at my desk all day, it was easy for me to eat 0 or low point items every 2-3 hours. Right now, it is not. Until this happened, I had not realized how instrumental my routines of doing the same things every day had been to my success. I also got very sick for a month right as spring came and the cycling season began. This put a huge wrench in my routine of riding, because I was out of commission for so long, missed my organized rides (or rode them while sick, which was not that fun), and then I was behind everyone else in conditioning because of my time out. I failed to get into my habit of going on long rides. :(
So, what would you like me to write about?
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Hill Household Recipes: Pt One- Lemon Pie
After much long anticipation, here is post one of our recipes.
LEMON PIE!
2 Medium Lemons
6 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
2.5 cups sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 unbaked 9-in pastry she
Garnishes: frozen whipped topping (thawed), lemon wedges
Grate rind from lemons; set aside grated rind. Remove and discard pith from lemons. Quarter and seed lemons.
Combine lemon quarters, grated rind, eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in container of an electric blender; cover and process 1 min or until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides. Add butter; cover and process 30 seconds. Pour mixture into pastry shell.
Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 mins or until slightly firm in center. Let cool on a wire rack. Garnish, if desired.
LEMON PIE!
2 Medium Lemons
6 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
2.5 cups sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 unbaked 9-in pastry she
Garnishes: frozen whipped topping (thawed), lemon wedges
Grate rind from lemons; set aside grated rind. Remove and discard pith from lemons. Quarter and seed lemons.
Combine lemon quarters, grated rind, eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in container of an electric blender; cover and process 1 min or until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides. Add butter; cover and process 30 seconds. Pour mixture into pastry shell.
Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 mins or until slightly firm in center. Let cool on a wire rack. Garnish, if desired.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Microwaveless Meals
I learned yesterday that my husband also hates to "eat out of a microwave" and thinks that it is "unhealthy." So, I have a new challenge of coming up with lunch ideas that he can take to work and eat (so he's not going out to eat every day.) He also says that although it's nice that I'm coming up with lists of food for him, I should be getting up extra early to prepare them for him too. Grumble grumble-not gonna happen.
Today, however, I got up on time and packed both of our lunches. We had fat free cottage cheese (1pt per serving), quinoa salad from Costco (value unknown) and cilantro lime shrimp from Costco (2 points per 4 oz serving).
Trying to find no heat needed meals has left me really frustrated. I have this thing where "everything's a side dish." Salads, even meaty salads, are not a main course. Same goes for soups. Speaking of soups, I'd never realized just how many low calorie options Progresso has. Holy cow. Eating a broth-based soup as a first course helps increase feelings of fullness. Maybe when I'm packing our lunches in the morning I should put the soups in a tupperware? Maye if it's in a Tupperware vs a can he'll feel better about it? Plus, each can is two servings anyways.
Wraps: http://www.hungry-girl.com/weighin/printable-recipe/419
Beef Jerky: Costco's "Steak Strips" are 1pt per ounce.
Sandwiches: Chicken Salad Sandwich Turkey Club Sliders
Salmon Salad (I would probably make it into a salad sandwich) Egg Salad (also would make into a sandwich)
Salsa-fied Tuna Stacks - Mix 1/4 cup flaked albacore tuna (packed in water and then drained) with about 3 tbsp. salsa. Divide the mixture between two rice cakes (or crackers, if you can't stand rice cakes). The whole thing has only about 150 calories!
Hard-Boiled Egg Whites
This just in: He changed his mind. He'll eat leftovers, just not frozen foods. I guess now I have to plan what we're going to cook for the week...
Today, however, I got up on time and packed both of our lunches. We had fat free cottage cheese (1pt per serving), quinoa salad from Costco (value unknown) and cilantro lime shrimp from Costco (2 points per 4 oz serving).
Trying to find no heat needed meals has left me really frustrated. I have this thing where "everything's a side dish." Salads, even meaty salads, are not a main course. Same goes for soups. Speaking of soups, I'd never realized just how many low calorie options Progresso has. Holy cow. Eating a broth-based soup as a first course helps increase feelings of fullness. Maybe when I'm packing our lunches in the morning I should put the soups in a tupperware? Maye if it's in a Tupperware vs a can he'll feel better about it? Plus, each can is two servings anyways.
Wraps: http://www.hungry-girl.com/weighin/printable-recipe/419
Beef Jerky: Costco's "Steak Strips" are 1pt per ounce.
Sandwiches: Chicken Salad Sandwich Turkey Club Sliders
Salmon Salad (I would probably make it into a salad sandwich) Egg Salad (also would make into a sandwich)
Salsa-fied Tuna Stacks - Mix 1/4 cup flaked albacore tuna (packed in water and then drained) with about 3 tbsp. salsa. Divide the mixture between two rice cakes (or crackers, if you can't stand rice cakes). The whole thing has only about 150 calories!
Hard-Boiled Egg Whites
This just in: He changed his mind. He'll eat leftovers, just not frozen foods. I guess now I have to plan what we're going to cook for the week...
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