Ireland Honeymoon Day Two

Day two started bright and early with a 6:45 wake up call! Luggage to the door by 7:45 and breakfast at 8:88, full buffet with whatever you could imagine. White and black pudding however, not what you would imagine! Waffles, scones, juice, porridge, all delish!

First stop today, The Bungalow B&B, for fresh scones with raspberry jam and cream. Oh my gosh, if I could eat these the rest of my life I would. The jam was fresh (she was picking berries as we arrived) and if you wanted ore cream they had to whip it up (literally). Our hosts Jim and Greta (scone baker extraordinaire) are the fourth generation to run the farm.

Next stop, Kilkenny! In Kilkenny we take a walking tour of the small town with loads of good times and just as much history. The tour guide leads us around town showing us The Black Abbey (a beautiful church that has survived the roughest of times) and then on to our hotel, Kilkenny Ormonde, where we can check in before heading back out on the town. We chose to head back out for a little walk and then to check out the Smithwicks Experience. These tours just started about 4 months ago and are totally worth it! At the end of the fun and informational tour you get your own pint which you can have engraved with your name and the date. Very cool, we opted for a t-shirt and magnetic bottle opener due to luggage space and breakability. We ended up chatting with our tour group afterwards, a couple from Ottawa and another from Sweden. Dinner was had with Tom and Nancy from North Carolina in the restaurant Savour just off the hotel lobby. Brett had the roast pork and I had the penne with tomato sauce. Dinner drinks and live music was enjoyed by all at Kytelers! It was raining some but umbrellas didn't do much good with the wind, now we know why they sell great raincoats with hoods. Note to self!

Kilkenny is a compact little town with loads of history and fun (70 taverns)!

Fresh scones from a Freshford farm kitchen

Mixing up the mash at Smithwicks!!

October YL Essential Oils - Sleep Aids

Hey Friends,

Brett and I are back from Ireland (for about two weeks) and as always we hit the ground running... we lead very busy lives and because of that we often have long days and find it hard to shut our brains off. That being said...

Who doesn't like a good nights sleep?! I know the people in our house do! This email is all about essential oils that aid sleep and sometimes snoring too. 

Items of Note:

• Lets learn together!! ​I would love to get to talk about any questions you might have! If you have any questions or are interested in getting together one on one just let me know. Lets grab a beverage!
• In November I'll be placing my order the evening of Sunday, November 2 and my email/blog will be on essential oils to aid anxiety and emotions.
• I'm not a doctor and neither I nor the oils make miracles, the oils work differently for everyone.
• Always do a test spot when trying new oils (the underside of the upper arm works best, and one drop will do).

Sleep Aids:
Tranquil Rollon - a blend of lavender, cedarwood, and Roman chamomile essential oils blended with coconut oil. This blend is effective in reducing restlessness, decreasing anxiety, and inducing a calming feeling to the body and mind.
RutaVaLa Rollon - a blend with lavender, valerian, and ruta blended with coconut oil. This blend promotes relaxation of the body and mind, soothes stressed nerves and induces sleep.
Valerian - An oil clinically tested over the last 30 years for it's tranquilizing properties. This oil is know to exert a calming effect to the central nervous system and is often used for insomnia and anxiety.
Orange - An uplifting oil known to boost immunity, induce relaxation, and reduce depression. It's also very tasty in my daily water bottle!
Idaho Balsam Fir (can aid snoring) - This oil is known for it's ability to aid in healing respiratory conditions and relieving upper respiratory system infections and fatigue. IBR is also known for stimulating the mind and relaxing the body!
Ylang Ylang (Flower of Flowers) - The flower was once used to cover the bed of newlyweds on their wedding night. Diffuse this oil throughout the night while sleeping or massage 2-4 drops of oil neat* onto the soles of your feet just before bedtime. *Neat = straight from the bottle, no carrier oil. You can add a carrier oil if you wish, just put socks back on after.

Young Living Essentials > 

• Spotlight oil of the month Blue Cypress!
• The 2014 Young Living Holiday Catalog is available! Just digital for now so check out a sneak peek ​link below​. Click here > ​2014 YL Holiday Catalog
• Check out the brand new 2015 Product Guide (online) today and get a free copy* ($2 value) with each order placed in November or December! *1 per person, available in December. Click Here > 2015 YL Product Catalog
• The Seed to Seal promise from Young Living (one thing that makes them great) is available here: http://www.seedtoseal.com/en

-- 

Talk To You Soon,

Lora, LA, Lo, Layla

Young Living Independent Distributor # 1774576

Check out what Young Living Essential Oils are about: 

Discover What Essential Oils Are!

'Like' my Facebook page: LO.VE.

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​​

LAtravel80

Ireland Honeymoon Day One

Written from Loras perspective.

9 days in Ireland starts in Madison on a shuttle bus to O'hare, International Terminal 5.

Kevin and Keegan dropped us at the park and ride and the first bus that got there was FULL... so after waiting 20 minutes the next bus that arrived was on the road and 5 stops from O'hare. Traffic on the way down was slow and upon arrival at 6:15/6:20 (45 minutes behind schedule). Get checked in, through security, grab some food and water, and boom wait to board the plane. This plane (Aer Lingus) is 6 seats across plays movies, music or TV in the seat backs and serves you two meals. We caught up on the movies Blended, Edge of Tomorrow, and X-Men. Longest. Flight. Ever.we were so glad to land in Dublin, get through the check points, claim luggage, and wait for our shuttle to the hotel, Doubletree by Hilton, only to wait a couple more hours before getting into our actual room. That's just enough time for me to freshen up, and Brett to nap for 15 minutes, and we're back out the door to get on our tour bus!

In Dublin we got a full driving tour of the city (which is huge), and a walking tour of Trinity College (which is tucked in Dublin, and old) a beautiful college with a great history. We got to see the gate to the residence of the US Ambassador which is right next to the residence of the President of Ireland. Amazing.

Back to the hotel - it's time to drink! Literally, we have a meeting with our tour guide, John, and they buy us a drink! YAY! By the way, not impressed with the ciders I had in Ireland. After said drink and a quick low down of how things work on the your we're free to find dinner on our own. Some opted to stay at the hotel but we ventured out with Joe, Celia, Larry and Carol. After trying three restaurants we ended up at Doheny and Nesbitts for a few pints, veg soup, and shepherds pie.

It's been a long way, and we just walked around a strange city after dark so we hit the hay shortly after returning! A 6:00 am wake up call comes quick when you need to have your luggage outside the door at 7:00 am.

One of the many beautiful colored doors in the Georgian district.

A year, and then some

We made it to our First Anniversary! (Brett's wearing his Lucky Guy shirt)

Yes, this post is a bit delayed. We've camped, flown, gotten passports, played baseball, went to baseball games, thought about a different house, stepped back from thinking about a different house, thought about another dog (still occasionally do), the list goes on.

We also went across the pond to visit Ireland! Best. Trip. Ever. My next several posts will be on our trip/honeymoon. We were there for nine amazing days. Things I loved the most: culture, food, Smithwicks (pronounced smid-icks), Irish Coffee, Jameson Whiskey, the land, the history. Many thanks to our family who watched Baxter and fed Fred while we were gone, in addition to taking us to the shuttle bus and picking us up from the airport.

Here we are back in Chicago!