Kathleen Smith's Blog, page 17

Never Enough Bears!

[image error]As far as I’m concerned there are never enough bears. Whether it be the animal, a teddy bear, a painting, a figurine or anything else you can think of.

One time one of my brother-in-laws asked me if I knew bears are dangerous animals. I told him I knew that, but they are still my absolute favorite animal.

When I say my absolute favorite animal that’s exactly what I mean. Sure other animals are cute, but none of them compares to the bear. Not by far!

Not to far from where I live bears have been seen. I wish I was the one spotting them. Sadly I’m not. Whenever my family and I are driving in an area where there could be bears I’m the one looking for them. I never spot one–which makes me sad.

[image error]If you could see our house you would see how much I love bears. I have many teddy bears most of which are stored away. But some of the special ones are in my bedroom. We have bear figures in our dining room and in our downstairs bathroom. We have wooden bears outside our house. AND the bathroom my husband and I use is all bear themed.

[image error]OH, yeah even our furniture has bears on it. If I could I would gladly have a bear. Yeah, I know that’s silly, but I still wish I could. People who REALLY know me know how much I love bears. Those people tend to tag me on Facebook with bear photos and sightings. I always appreciate that.

Maybe one day I’ll get to see a bear while driving or while my husband is driving. In the mean time I will continue to love bears and collect figures and whatever else bear related that catches my eye.

Feeling like a Failure

[image error]There are so many times when I feel like a failure. I know I’m not a failure, but that doesn’t stop the feeling. It’s a bad feeling too. There is nothing like the feeling of failure to make a person feel down about themselves. I imagine I am not the only person to feel this way at one time or another.

I remember when I was in school not being able to grasp most of my subjects. Seeing all the other kids around me doing well. It got to the point where I finally left school and started working full time as a cashier. It wasn’t until my youngest was close to Kindergarten age that I decided, with the support of my husband to go back to school for my H.S. diploma. It took time, but I finished High School and got that diploma and I felt good about myself. No longer a failure for that!

[image error]As the years have gone by I have felt that feeling a failure about other things as well. Sometimes I feel like I’m not a good enough wife or mom. Sometimes I feeling like I’m not a good enough author. When I try to do something for my husband or my kids and it ends up coming out wrong, I feel like a failure. When I can’t get my books promoted the way I want to, I feel like a failure. When I can’t get the exercise move just right, I feel like a failure.

I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to get things done in just a certain way. And if I don’t get it done right the first time I feel like a failure. I have learned to keep trying. No matter how hard things are I have to keep trying. Cause when I do finally get it right and I know it, that feeling of accomplishment feels so GOOD.

[image error]The thing is I’m not a failure. When I sit back and take a look at everything I’ve done I need to realize, I’m not a failure. No matter how I feel at times. I did eventually graduate from High School. I did get married and have a family like I wanted to. I raised my kids with my husband as best as I know how. I did write that first book and then another and yet again another. I did start a blog and got better at it. I have had over four hundred book sales. And my one miscarriages book has been a help to women all over the world. NOW THAT’S SUCCESS!

 

Growing Old Together

[image error]My husband and I have been married for twenty-three years. I imagine for couples who have been married for fifty plus years – twenty-three is nothing. On the other hand I’m guessing couples who get divorced after only one or two years of marriage think that twenty-three years is amazing or shocking even.

[image error]All I know is after all these years of being married to my husband I love him more today then I did on our wedding day. I love growing old with him. I personally don’t think we are that old, but still I love growing old with my husband. We did get married at a young age and I would imagine some people thought we were crazy. Maybe they even thought our marriage wouldn’t last. Oh how they were wrong!

[image error]We’ve seen friends and family separate and eventually get divorced. That has always made us sad. It also makes us more determined to keep our marriage together. To always do our best to keep the communication going between us. To talk everything out with each other.

[image error]We are a perfect match made in Heaven. Of course we have our good days and our bad days. We’ve been through trials and loss. We’ve been through three miscarriages. We’ve been through a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery. We’ve been through the loss of his dad and the loss of my mom. Through it all we have always looked to each other for a shoulder to cry on. We’ve held each other and prayed for and with each other through all this.

[image error]Are we perfect people? No, but we are perfect for each other. I love the fact that my husband and I are going gray together. That we are going through our aches and pains together. I love that we pray together and for each other. I love it when we do devotions with each other. I love the fact that we can have a complete conversation with each other with only our eyes.

 

Three Places I didn’t Know Were in NYC

You would think that since I was born and raised in Brooklyn New York, I would know all the places to go and see in NYC. After all I’ve been to the city many times growing up and after I got married my family and I still go down often.

Not so though. There are places in NYC that I have never been to. Places I didn’t know were there. It wasn’t until the other day when my husband asked me what I wanted to do in NYC for my birthday, that I found out about these places.

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Places like The Cloisters, Cathedral of St John the Divine, the Tenements Tour and Grants tomb. I had absolutely no idea these places were in NYC. What I did know was I didn’t want to do our usual walk around Times Square and fifth avenue. I wanted to do something different and these places were without a doubt different.

The Cloisters is pretty impressive. It reminds me of the old Monasteries we saw in England.  (Since they have taken rooms and other architecture from old monasteries in Europe and put them in the Cloisters that is probably why!)

[image error]The Cathedral of St John the Divine was cool to visit as well. I don’t understand why Cathedrals like this one have so many small chapels surrounding the main area of the Church, but they are always nice to walk through. This was on par with the big Cathedrals we have toured in Europe but we didn’t have to travel nearly as far.

The Tenement walking tour was interesting. It gave us an idea what it was like for Irish immigrants to live in NYC in the 1700’s. they have a number of different tours and we did the Irish one.

As for Grants tomb. We didn’t get the chance to see it. Or should I say we didn’t have the time. I really wanted to visit it. Guess that will be on our next trip to the city.

[image error]OH, I almost forgot! We also went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This place We did know about. What we didn’t know about this place though was the fact that they have a European Furniture section. This section has French (and other) hotel rooms taken from Europe and put in the museum. It made me miss France. We also got to see the painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware. (And a few Vermeer paintings, which my husband is obsessed with and I do find interesting. We played “find the map” on the Vermeers but that’s a blog for another day.)

These are just a few of the places I had no idea existed in New York City. Or knew about them, but not about everything inside them. I know there is more stuff in NYC I don’t know about.

That gives me a good reason to go back and do more exploring. I’m wondering how many of you who are reading this blog know about these places? If you’ve never heard of them either you should check them out.

 

The Differences between Ireland and Upstate NY

[image error]For the last five weeks I was in Ireland having a great time. I was walking in and around ruins and castles. I was driving on roads like Conor Pass and eating stuff like brown soda bread and yummy donuts. I was living in a cute little house in Trim, Ireland and using a very small washing machine.

It wasn’t until I got back home last Sunday, August 6th and was driving home from JFK on the New York State Thruway that I really noticed the differences between the two places. When I got home I noticed even more differences!

I didn’t realize how many trees are along the thruway until our drive home Sunday. When I was in Ireland I was getting used to seeing mostly empty fields or fields with sheep.

When I walked into my house it felt massive. I guess I got used to living in a cute small house across from Trim Castle in Ireland.[image error]

When I went to do my first load of laundry in my house I couldn’t get over how big my washing machine was. For a minute I was convinced that I could fit in it (haha). In Ireland I used a tiny washing machine. It worked and I was thankful for it, but it was definitely tiny.

I was taking a look at the green grass and trees around my house. Then I thought about the greens of Ireland and knew without a doubt there was no comparison. The green colors of Ireland are so much more greener. Ireland has dark green, light green and even a neon green that I’ve never seen before. It was beautiful. Upstate NY has the color green. That’s about it.

Then there is the food. While I was in Ireland almost every morning I ate one or two slices of brown soda bread with Irish butter and some coffee. Here at home I eat an English Muffin with butter and a cup of coffee. Yeah, I think I prefer the soda bread.

When it came to taking showers I used a small shower stall in the house I was staying in. That house did have a big bath room with a tub and shower head, but it was easier to use the little shower stall in the tiny bathroom near our bedroom. Here at home I’m back to using my shower head in my bathtub. On the bright side I think my hair is appreciating the NY water.

Oh, Lets not forget those donuts I mentioned earlier! Ireland has the biggest and best tasting donuts I ever had. I couldn’t believe it. My husband and I had our doubt the first time we tried the donuts there, but we were pleasantly surprised. I had Boston Cream, Nutella, chocolate ganache and my favorite: jaffa cake donuts. The donuts in NY State don’t compare!

Today I went to our local Stewart’s which is a gas station that also provides coffee, donuts, ice cream and other stuff. I went in to get a cup of coffee and realized I needed to pour a cup for myself. In Ireland the gas stations have coffee machines that I was getting used to. All I had to do was put my cup under the machine, press the button for Americano and the machine poured the coffee. I also got used to using fresh cream in Ireland. Whereas here at home I use half and half. I’m thinking I might start using fresh cream here too.

[image error]I almost forgot to mention the mountains! Okay, so both places have mountains, but I have to say there are way more mountains in Upstate NY. And I’d also have to say the mountains in Upstate NY are larger then the ones in Ireland. But the New York mountains lack the castles, cathedral, priories, passage tombs and other ruins that Ireland has.

There are probably many other things that I can compare the difference of–like the shopping malls, restaurants and who knows what else, but I think you have the idea. Without a doubt I miss Ireland, but I suppose I had to come back home to reality. Ireland will always be in my heart and I look forward to going back again some day. Until them I will be enjoying my life in Upstate NY.

 

My Stay in Trim Ireland

[image error]Up until last June 2016 I’ve never heard of Trim, Ireland. I knew about Ireland, who hasn’t, but not Trim. I knew a little of Trim Castle because of the movie Braveheart, but that was my extent of that castle.  I wouldn’t have known that if it weren’t for my husband telling me.

[image error]So When my husband suggested going to Ireland for our first overseas trip I was nervous, but willing. We only had ten days to do and see everything we wanted to. We quickly found out that wasn’t nearly enough time. That only gave us one afternoon to walk up and down one street in Trim and take the tour of Trim Castle. It was also important to us to find a place to worship on Sunday and we ended up finding a nice little church in Trim– Living Hope Church— which welcomed us with open arms and we spent a Sunday morning at the church service there.

[image error]Here we are a little over a year late July 2017 and my husband, youngest daughter and I are in Ireland for five weeks. Four out of those five weeks we stayed in a cute little house in Trim, right across the street from Trim Castle.

[image error]We quickly found out there is more to Trim then meets the eye. We had the chance to walk all around Trim, look in the different stores, get lunch at Spar and a cute sandwich shop on one of the corners (Harvest Home Bakery). We had some iced coffees at Costa which is kind a European version of Starbucks. We did our food shopping at Super Value, and each Sunday morning we attended Church at Living Hope Church.

An important part to our life back home in the US is going to our local church and worshiping God. Living Hope quickly became our home away from home to worship and fellowship. We made a number of new friends at Living Hope. Without a doubt Trim, Ireland is one of the nicest, friendliest places I have ever been to. The people in this town are friendly and make you feel like you are at home.

[image error]We also had the chance to walk around Trim Castle and walk to the ruins just beyond the Castle on the “river walk“. What a site that was to see! I absolutely love getting to explore ruins. Whether they be Cathedrals, Priories or Castles I love it!

Another nice thing about staying in Trim for my family and I is the location. We love to drive to different places so staying in Trim was ideal for us. Within a very close drive we visited Bective Abbey, Monstairboyce, Slane Castle, Loughcrew Megalithic Cairns, and more! (Check out my video blogs to see more about these sites) It allowed us to drive to Dublin, Belfast, Wicklow Mountains, Giants Causeway, Dark Hedges, and tons of other places. We even drove to Dingle. We spent a week in Dingle and drove to places like the cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry and other places. Then we came back to Trim for another three weeks and did more exploring.

[image error]Staying in Trim also allowed us to visit St Nicholas in Dublin where my great, great grandparents (McCann) were married. That was something very special to see. Even if it was only the outside since that Church was closed on the day we went.

I absolutely love Trim! I would highly recommend it to anyone who is visiting Ireland. Whether it’s your first time, second or even fifth. It’s a great place to stay and it has everything you need. There are many things to see in Trim and in the surrounding County Meath, and it’s easy enough to drive to Dublin or Belfast or almost anywhere on the island. Also if your looking to stay in a small house I would recommend the one we stayed in. It was perfect for my husband, our youngest daughter and myself. Being able to look out our front window and bedroom window and seeing Trim Castle was always very cool to see. (If you need a larger house in Meath, last year we stayed in Nobber, which isn’t far from Trim– this house sleeps a lot more people, this year we wanted to stay in a less rural setting where we could walk to places during the day–which is one of the reasons we chose Trim.)

All in all I think it’s safe to say we had a great time staying in Trim (even with all the rain) and visiting as many places we possibly could.

Ireland Video Blogs

Hey There! So I was suppose to add my video blogs here each week for you all to see. Guess what? I forgot! Sorry about that. My family and I have been super busy having fun. So What I decided to do is put all the links in this one blog post. You can easily click on the links below and they will take you to each weeks video. Enjoy!

Ireland Week One!

Ireland Week Two

Ireland Week Three

 

Preparing for takeoff

[image error]At this time last June my family and I were in Ireland. We had an amazing time! Before we got there we needed to make sure we had everything we needed for our trip. My husband and I decided three weeks before hand to start gathering what we needed that we weren’t using and put it all in a box. The closer we got to our trip the more stuff went into that box. We also made a list of everything we needed and wanted to bring with us. I also like to lay our suitcases down and put our folded clothes on them that we plan to pack. This way I don’t have to go crazy with laundry the week we are flying. This worked out well.

In March of this year we went on our second overseas trip. This time we went to England and France. Once again we had an amazing time. The idea we had for putting everything in a box that we wanted to take with us to Ireland worked so well we decided to do it again for England. And yes we started three weeks before we left again.

That trip to Ireland was also my first trip overseas so I was a nervous wreck. When I say I was nervous, I mean I was NERVOUS ! It was so bad that my stomach was getting sharp pains. I was getting pains in my sides and the right side of my jaw hurt. I was convinced my gums were going to get infected and swell up on me and I was convinced my tooth was going to exploded. If that isn’t bad enough I was scared my husband was going to have to take me to the Hospital.

[image error]He kept assuring me none of that was going to happen. He kept telling me it was all nerves. I never did go to the Hospital thankfully. All of the stress and nerves started about three weeks before the day we left and didn’t stop until I got on the plane. The same exact thing happened to me in March. And once again it didn’t end till I was on that plane.

So now we are in June 2017 and I am getting ready for my third overseas trip. I have all my nervous symptoms and I am trying to keep myself relaxed. This is not easy for me! I know once I get on that plane I will be fine. I am super excited again.

By the time you read this blog my nerves will be calm. My stress will be gone and I will be on my second trip to Ireland. Yep, my family and I missed it so much we decided to go back again. Last time we were there for ten days. It’s impossible to see all of Ireland in ten days. So this time we are staying for four weeks. I am looking forward to taking you all on our journey in July. I will be blogging about the different things we see and do. I might even try to do some video blogs if I can figure out how to do them.

Pool vs Beach

I was having a lot of trouble coming up with this weeks blog. I asked my husband if he had any ideas and he couldn’t come up with anything either.

[image error]Then yesterday (Saturday) while my daughter was swimming she suggested I write a blog post on swimming. I told her I didn’t think anyone would care to read a blog about swimming.

While I watched her I started to think about when I was growing up. How much I loved the pool, but didn’t care much for the beach. Then I remembered how my husbands family thinks a lake with some sand is considered a beach. That got me wondering. What do people like better the pool or the beach.

You see growing up we didn’t have a pool. Wait I take that back! We had a pool for a brief time one Summer until we found out our landlord was allergic to chlorine. That was the ONLY Summer we ever had a pool.

[image error]Anyway! Other than that Summer the only times I got to swim in a pool was on vacation or at my uncle’s house on Long Island. My mom would take me to Coney Island beach once or twice. We always had a nice time, but man were those beach days hot.

[image error]After I got married my husband and I would go to the “beach” with his family. Really it was a lake. I would go in the water with them, but in all honesty I didn’t like it.

After years of being married my husband finally agreed to buying a Walmart above ground pool for our family. It was nice, but they don’t last long. About three years ago we bought a real above ground pool with a heater. I love this pool!

[image error]I still don’t care for the beach. I don’t mind going to the lake every once in a while. But I will forever be a pool girl. What about you? Do you like the pool or do you prefer the beach?

Did You Get Your Drivers License from a Gum Ball Machine?

Today’s blog might sound like a rant about other drivers. Not something I normally do, but today I’m okay with that. Why might you ask? Because lately more often than not the other drivers around me have been driving me crazy (no pun intended)!

[image error]So here’s the deal. I know I’m not a perfect driver. Not by far. And yeah like everyone else I tend to go above the speed limit. I know, shame on me. I do my best to obey the speed limit. I slow down when I know I’m in a low speed limit area like thirty-five or forty MPH.  When I’m in a fifty-five speed limit I tend to do about fifty-eight.

My problem is when the drivers in front of me are doing about five to ten miles below the speed limit in a forty and then when we get to a fifty-five speed limit they start doing sixty-five to seventy. Or when someone is behind me and passes me and then goes slower than I am going. What is up with that!

Then there are the times when I drive to my local town. I don’t understand why other drivers insist on cutting me off or going much slower then needed. I do tend to yell out “did you get your license from a gum ball machine!?!” Obviously they can’t hear me from their cars, but it does make me feel a bit better.

[image error]Then there are the people–for some strange reason–who love to back out of their driveways when they see me coming. They look both ways. They see me coming and yet they feel the need to back out and go. Seriously-they should wait for me to pass before they do that.

Oh, lets not forget the people who are leaving a grocery store parking lot and don’t bother to look both ways to see if anyone is coming from either direction. That happened to me only yesterday!

Since I live in the country I would like to know, do people out in the country even bother to read the drivers manual? Or do they wing it? I think they should take their road test in a city like Brooklyn and then see how they do. I’m going to guess not so good. I’m still convinced some people or should I say some country folk get their drivers license from a gum ball machine.