I have been busy though. I need to get to Scotland for school in a recession. It is complicated. I'm very busy applying for scholarships, basically, and so far FAFSA has been breaking my heart. I did however get almost all of my course books for my MLitt in Creative Writing at the University of St. Andrews. I love them! It's so nice to be going to school for something that absolutely enthrals me. I can't wait until September!
Also, since I was 14, I've wanted to become a certified yoga teacher at the Kripalu Yoga Center in Lenox, MA. It is a wonderful yoga school and yoga retreat center. I am convinced that dedicating myself to yoga in this way will be life changing, and I have my heart set on this center in this part of the world. But I realise that this summer is probably the last opportunity I will have to go for quite a few years since I plan on completing a PhD after my MLitt. But, the funds simply are not there. So that leaves a lot of puzzling on my part. I am determined to go, but I'm scrambling for a solution. In the meantime though, I've kicked up my yoga practice in preparation, just in case I can go. My body complains a little, but I still find it so invigorating to enjoy an even longer than usual yoga practice once or twice a day, especially first thing in the morning. It takes discipline, but I find that after I conquer the pull of my warm bed, I'm excited to twist myself in all ways imaginable before breakfast.
And speaking of breakfast, I discovered the yummiest breakfast EVER. I found it on this blog, The Gluten Free Mommy. It's Natalie Naramor's Guten-Free Apple Crisp. I have Celiac's Disease which means that I can't east anything with gluten in it because my body just can't deal with it. A lot of people have it and don't know it because the symptoms are different for everyone and sometimes not obviously connected with food. I had it all my life and have been sick all my life, and only just realised what it was about 8 months ago. The blood tests for it can't be relied on either-- often times someone with Celiac's disease will test negative, even multiple times. So if you suspect you have it, the best thing to do is cut out gluten for 6 months and see if you feel better. If you're not so sure, eat one thing containing gluten and see what happens. Something like 75% of the population are suspected to have gluten intolerance. Wild stuff! But anyway, about the apple crisp, I tried it with the cream cheese layer, except I used extra light cream cheese, and it was DIVINE!
I suppose there is a lot to talk about though that has nothing to do with my trundling life. I will be blogging about more serious stuff, hopefully today.
But before I get too serious I should mention a little story that happened to me yesterday. I woke up to bright sunshine and for no reason that I can recall or explain, I said to my husband by way of greeting, "Have you ever seen a badger?"
L replied, "On TV."
"Are there badgers in Ireland?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said. "I guess I've just never seen one."
"Neither have I! I wish I would though. I feel like they might be adorable."
The day continued as usual. I went into Cork city to volunteer at Barnardos, a charity that aides abused children, I picked up some avocados for dinner, I went home on the bus, I made dinner and ate a nice meal with L. Then I noticed that the cat's water dish looked a bit skanky. I brought it outside and flung the skank-water into the garden, at which point I heard an awful screaming. It wasn't the cat, or a dog, or anything else I've ever heard before. I peered into the darkness and saw a very angry badger shaking water out of its eyes and turning tail to hide under the shed.
My first badger.
Photo courtesy of the BBC because the badger I accidentally threw water at was too angry to photograph. Plus it was awful dark.
