... Oh, Irish Green ...

{In honor of St. Patrick's Day}

Short Story:
Two weeks after I graduated from college, I boarded a plane set for Ireland. I convinced a friend to accompany me on my Irish adventure and we set out in search of just that, an adventure. For four months, we worked, we traveled, we lived, we learned, and we loved everything Irish. It was a blessing, a journey, a life-changing experience.

Oh, how I miss Ireland. I dream of the day I get to walk through the green fields, smell the turf, and climb the MacGillicuddy's Reeks surrounding the town of Killarney ... with my husband. I want to show him the castles we stormed, the trails we rode, the fields we danced in ... I want him to be a part of my Irish Adventure!

Ross Castle: Home of our afternoon picnics and journal sessions

The view on our drive through the Ring of Kerry

An Abbey we found driving around

An Enchanted Castle: The Killarney Castle
A friend from work took us through private property to show us this castle ... unknown to tourists ... truly, a hidden treasure!

Dreaming

Today, like most days, I am dreaming of Rome. I have been blessed with the opportunity to have walked the grounds of the Coliseum, sat on the Spanish Steps, gazed upon the Sistine Chapel, strolled along side the Vatican, and I even threw a penny into the Trevi fountain to ensure I would soon return with the love of my life. It has been 6 years and I am very ready to revisit the romance with Erik. He has always dreamt of seeing the home of the gladiators and the Roman Empire ... and oh, there is so much romance.

Someday ...

"All Roads Lead to Rome"

{LIVING & EXPERIENCING}

Being 3 months into this "new year", it no longer feels so "new". Although it is hard to believe that it is already March, I have come to realize that the year is well on it's way. The 2010 Winter Olympics have already come and gone ... and the dreams of spring have already begun to grace my wardrobe. {NOTE to SELF: even if it looks sunny outside, check the temperature before putting on that sundress}

Since we do not have T.V. (well ... we have a T.V. but its connection to the wall only allows us to watch movies), we have missed out on nearly ALL major sporting events thus far. Yes, that means we missed the Superbowl ... and the Olympics. Is it a shame? Are we Un-American? Am I depriving my husband of sports fanatic-dom? Am I depriving myself of ... anything at all? I can honestly and easily answer you ... NOPE. I love the fact that I can truthfully say this was a mutual decision. While I am sure that someday we will have T.V., for now, we love not having it. While I offered to find Erik the best venue for watching the Superbowl, he asked if I would like to go find new antique shops and thrift stores with him instead. We saw the first 5 minutes at our favorite restaurant (the gourmet, Chevy's). We shopped around, treated ourselves to a few trinkets, caught the half-time show, caught the score, then retreated to our apartment to watch a marathon of movies. First, a romantic comedy, then an action. I love Superbowl Sunday.

With February came Valentine's Day ... and a 3 day weekend! Woohoo! That NEVER happens where I work ... and Erik's boss is a real tough guy too (or Erik is just an over-achiever ... one of the 2 ... or maybe both!). BUT, since most of our friends and family were out of town, we were left to spend time with only ourselves ... and it was truly a blessing! Erik brought to my attention that Valentine's Day weekend was the first time {since we were on our HONEYMOON!} that we have spent a solid 2 1/2 days together, with no commitments or obligations! That is TOO long.
Needless to say, our weekend was amazing! We visited nearly every "old town" on HWY 80 between Sacramento and Tahoe. We drove all around the lake and back and TALKED and talked and TaLkeD. Another one of God's great blessings ...
As we are just weeks away from our 1st ANNIVERSARY, one of the greatest things we have learned is that our continual focus on our personal relationships with GOD bring us CLOSER to each other. Without that anchor, we sink. The Benson's have decided that we like our heads {and marriage} well above sea level. It's a fun adventure :) We are not perfect, therefore our marriage is not perfect ... but with God's help, we are trying to be the best we can be ... While I would like to portray the perfect little life in this little blog, I cannot. My antique-shopping, romantic-comedy-watching husband is not perfect (although I think he's pretty close) and he certainly knows that I am VERY far from perfect. So, I'll just say that we try ... it's a VERY good thing we have forever to get this right!


RECENT CULINARY UPDATE:
For my sister's 28th birthday, the ladies in the family decided to battle and CONQUER Julia Child's Boef Bourgingon. Might I say ... Julia is brilliant {and a little crazy} and we are successful adventurers.
My cooking resume is continuing to grow!P.S. I'm not entirely sure this is what it looked like when Julia made it, but who would really know that?? Right?!!