Stood in the rain without an umbrella until you were soaked to the skin?7
Coloured a picture? Or blew bubbles?
Hugged someone you wouldn't normally hug?
Ran through a water fountain? (For me, it was 4 years ago!)
Lit a candle?
Licked the bowl from the cupcake batter?
Smiled at a stranger?
Looked through old photos with friends?
I'm trying hard to spend more time doing small things that are happy and meaningful right now. It's really putting me in a better mood. :) If you have any more ideas of little things you can do to be happier, I'd love to hear. :)
Okay, I'm giving in. I'm doing the 'What's in my Purse' post. I can't resist! I am such a nosey person, I love to read these posts or watch the videos on YouTube, so I'm going to do my own post for you. Here goes. :)
These are the contents of my bag. I have added nothing, and I haven't taken anything away (except a yucky tissue- this post is about the contents of my bag, not my nose). Also my phone isn't in the picture as I used it to take the photo. Let's start with the rubbish, shall we?
1. Empty bottle of lemon iced tea, yum. I normally have a bottle of water or something like this, especially in this heat (it's 33°C in Toronto today, and this Irish girl is wilting).
2. Some receipts- one for the notebook I posted about earlier, and one for the iced tea. Wow, I seem to keep nothing from you guys.
3. The plastic off a straw from a juicebox. Said juicebox is not present as one of the children I'm minding threw it out of the stroller. Hmm.
4. A price tag from a white tank top. I don't know why that's in there...
5. The Canada flag thing. Wow, I am such a tourist. I bought that last week and it hasn't managed to make it's way out of the bag yet.
6. My video camera. I just like to keep it handy in case I feel like making a YouTube video. :)
7. My diary. I always have it with me.
8. Sunglasses. I hate wearing sunglasses, they make me look like a child... But they are a necessity here in the summer.
9. French vanilla lip balm. The heat is drying out my lips.
10. Chewing gum.
11. My little 'Moose' teddy (it's really a wildebeest) that my best friend Kate got me before I left home, I've brought it everywhere since. :)
12. Pens. Purple, blue, red and orange- I like to keep it colourful!
13. Hand sanitizer, a must-have in the city.
14. Keys.
15. My purse. Though I'm learning that Canadians and American's call this a wallet, and a bag a purse. Confusing...
16. My book. Currently reading 'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver, very interesting. :)
17. Three maps of Toronto. Yes, 3. Don't laugh- I haven't gotten lost yet!
18. My inspiration notebook. I don't write in this very often but I always have it when inspiration strikes. Sometimes ideas for songs, lyrics, or blog posts. It's quite random but I love it. Maybe it deserves its own post some time.
19. iPod. When I don't have it or it's out of battery, it makes me sad for the entire day.
20. My makeup bag. It just has everyday makeup, a little scissors, hair ties, clips and some painkillers in it.
21. Body spray. I always have this for emergencies! Oh, and I also normally carry important girly items, but for some reason I don't have any here... Oops. I'll fix that now.
So that's everything. :) I hope I didn't bore you to death, but I normally enjoy reading these posts. Maybe my readers are as nosey as I am?
+ I have learned to set my alarm early so that I get to press snooze at least once.
+ I have learned to just let myself be goofy, because no matter how hard I try to hide it, it always creeps out somehow.
+ I have learned to brush my teeth before I get dressed... Tooth paste stains just don't wipe off.
+ I have learned that tea can fix almost everything.
+ I have learned to trust my heart and not my head in making big decisions. It hasn't failed me yet.
+ I have learned that some friends are only supposed to be in our lives for a short while. And some friends will be around forever.
+ I have learned that sometimes it really is easier to express how I feel through writing a song.
+ I have learned that even though some people seem to be more important than others (celebrities, politicians, even teachers and bosses), in the end we're all just people. And no one has the right to make you feel like you're not good enough.
+ I have learned that if you stick with the things you really love, then you can make your life a really great one. For me? Spending time with people I love, nursing, little kids and babies, playing music, writing, and experiencing as much as I can. I'm going to stick with that. Nothing fancy. But I'll be happy. :)
So be on your way, and be sure that whatever you do today, make time to do at least one thing that you're really passionate about. Stuck for time? Light a candle, eat some chocolate, or listen to a song that brings back happy memories. :)
I have way too many notebooks. One of them is dedicated entirely to little things that make me smile on a daily basis. The idea is that when I'm bored/ stressed/ just feeling a little bit down, I read through it and appreciate all the good things about my life. It never fails to make me smile. :) Here are a few things that have been making me smile lately.
+ Baby Taylor recognising herself in photos
+ Watched Beauty and the Beast
+ Icecream with Kate
+ Went to visit Nana
+ Sampson playing with a giant branch
+ New book smell
+ Painting with the kids
+ Tried to drink an espresso- ew!
+ Skyping Raine and Liv
+ Half-price notebooks- love.
+Made chocolate banana muffins
+Dean (age 5) fell asleep on my lap
Have a lovely day, and remember to appreciate the small things. :)
{1} My friends and I sometimes have to google phrases that younger people use because we are so out of the loop that we don't know what they mean. Things like 'totes awky mo-mo' (which apparently means 'totally awkward moment') and 'so weak in life' ('This is so funny!') aren't phrases we are 'young' enough to understand...
{2} I have to worry about things like paying the deposit for my apartment, and where I can buy the cheapest milk. Imagine!
{3} My dreams are finally coming true. I'm working as a nurse. :)
{4} Adult conversations no longer bore me. I don't know when this transition happened, but I now get a thrill from hearing about shopping for new curtains or certain current affairs. Huh??
{5} My friends and I recently went to Paris. All by ourselves. No adult supervision- we were the adults. What is going on?!
{6}Having friends over and just chatting over a cup of tea is one of my favourite past-times. :)
{7} I get such a kick out of learning new things. I want to go to lectures, and I love hearing what my friends are learning in their courses too.
{8} We are so excited about buying flowers and cushions for our apartment next year. And we talk about how we will organise cleaning and grocery shopping.
{9} I actually like the taste of wine.
{10} Having children is no longer way in the future. 2 of my close friends are already mothers. And it's not very scary either. :)
Of course, I am not fully grown up and I doubt I ever will be! I still love all things Disney, my friends and I still skip around in public, and we go crazy for playgrounds haha. :) But I'm not afraid to grow up a little either. It's exciting. :)
I have been given the wonderful gift of a chest infection this week. Not fun. That is until you find ways to make it a bit more interesting...
Things To Do When You're Sick +Drink hot tea +Watch The Ellen Show +Attempt to sing, and laugh at the 'noise' it makes +Sleep for a while +Read lots +Blow bubbles +Colour +Watch a really old movie that you haven't seen in years +Write in your diary +Make a 'Sick and Tired' playlist on iTunes +StumbleUpon on your phone- kept me amused for hours! +Walk around with a blanket like a cape +Look through old photos and home videos +Eat an entire box of chocolate fingers without feeling guilty +Paint your toenails +Repeat the same word over and over until it sounds ridiculous +Watch Youtube videos +Sport the no make up and ponytail look +Text a friend and annoy them for a while +Have a bubble bath
Hello there. :) So I have been tagged by this lovely girly to do a post called "11 Odds, 11 Questions, 11Answers". How sweet is that? I'm pretty chuffed, I have to say. It has made me this excited...
And this happy :)
So, what do I have to do? Here are the rules...
1) Post these rules
2) Post 11 random things about yourself
3) Answer the questions the tagger set for you
4) Create 11 new questions
5) Tag new people
Randomness?
~I dunk every kind of biscuit in tea, and I am the master biscuit-dunker, I never drop any of it into the tea.
~I hate photos of me with my hair up, I think I look like a man.
~I can't watch TV without having something else to occupy myself, I am too fidgety. I normally have my laptop (right now I'm watching Ellen).
~Sometimes when I'm stressed or I have too much pent up energy, I like to dance around my kitchen screaming silly songs in a British accent.
~My fingers are double jointed, and constantly look like they are broken.
~I worry that people think I have split personalities because I can either be very mature, sensible and sentimental, or very silly, dorky and weird...
~I can cross my eyes and roll my tongue, but all I really want to do is wiggle my ears.
~I live off praise from others. One nice comment can leave me feeling elated for days. :)
~I have an unexplained obsession with names. For no reason. I just love them.
~I cannot dance. I look like a meerkat mixed with a piglet, both of which are lovely animals, but let's face the fact that they cannot dance.
~I secretly wish that I lived in America, in the South at the time of Gone With The Wind, when boyfriends were called 'beaus' and corsets were all the rage.
11 Questions
One. My favourite celebrity... Well, at the moment I am caught between 2. Taylor Swift and Kina Grannis.
Two. Favourite Android/iPhone app? I don't have either. I think I saw someone with a bubble-popping game, that looked fun! But then maybe that's not an app... I am so bad with technology.
Three. My full name- Orla BrÃd Patricia Harrington. Very Irish. BrÃd is pronounced 'breed'.
Four. My favourite thing to do. This is going to sound incredibly cheesy and fake, but I am being 100% honest. My absolute favourite thing to do in the entire world is to help people, to be loving and caring. That's why I chose nursing as my career. In a way, you could say it's selfish. I do it for the buzz I get from it, I love having people depend on me, and I love the feeling of people appreciating what I do. Well that's my silly answer, I'm kind of embarrassed now.
Five. Savoury or sweet? Sweet, most definitely.
Six. Favourite scent. I love, love, love the smell of vanilla. I love everything vanilla! Hence the blog title Escape to Vanilla.
Seven. What makes me feel beautiful and sexy... When guys actually respect me. I love when I meet guys at clubs that talk to me, get to know me, and don't instantly try to put their hands in places they shouldn't be. When a guy respects me, it makes me feel classy, elegant and sexy.
Eight. Favourite Starbucks drink. I'm a student, I can't afford Starbucks! But... I love mochas.
Nine. AT&T or Verizon? I had to google.. I saw technology, and I clicked 'x' to save my head from hurting, so I have no idea which I would choose.
Ten. What gives me that feeling? What feeling, Hannah? I'm going to go with a feeling of... overwhelming happiness. The feeling that makes your heart flutter, that makes your tummy do flips and you are so happy that you almost can't stand it. How about that for a feeling? I get this feeling when I see babies and children. Thinking about someday having my own children makes me so happy that it hurts. I long for the day when I will be able to love my own babies. :) Yes, I am a weird teenager. You didn't know that?
Eleven. Favourite word. Serendipity. Finding something positively lovely while searching for something else. Doesn't it make you happy? :)
Who to tag, who to tag... Well Hannah already tagged a few I would have tagged, so I will choose different people. :)
And the newest follower of my little blog, Jess Leigh!
Here are your questions.
{1} Describe yourself in 5 words.
{2} Favourite colour combination?
{3} What would be your favourite part of having a relationship?
{4} Do you walk around home in your bare feet?
{5} Biggest pet peeve?
{6} Is there a phase you went through in your younger teen years that you now regret? (Eg. Saying a word too much, txtin lyk dis, wearing neon colours)
{7} What would you name a boy? And a girl?
{8} What is your worst habit?
{9} Soup or salad?
{10} Where are you right now while answering these questions? Describe your surroundings.
{11} What was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you/ done for you?
I do apologize if that was boring to read... Maybe I can make it up to you with this?
I was just doing my regular creeping on other people's lovely blogs, and I found Hannah. I'm going to copy one of her ideas. I will be turning 18 on 16th February. That doesn't leave me a lot of time, and I know it will be a tight squeeze to get all of this done, but I am pledging to complete all of the tasks on this list before my 18th birthday. Wish me luck!
18 Before 18 1. Read 3 books 2. Stick a note to the bottom of someone's shoe 3. Try 5 new foods 4. Have photos taken in a photo booth 5. Complete 18 random acts of kindness 6. Surprise someone with an unexpected gift 7. Write a thank you note for someone who won't expect it 8. Put a video on Youtube 10. Have 20 followers on my blog 11. Write a letter to my future children 12. Complete the '30 Days of Pictures' project (which I will explain in my next post) 13. Learn to wrap the entire Fresh Prince theme tune (I might even provide video evidence) 14. Write a Time Capsule entry in my diary 15. See how many marshmallows I can fit in my mouth 16. Write a letter of support to Kate & Gerry McCann 17. Write a list of what I have learned in 18 years 18. And this one hurts me... Go without chocolate until my birthday. Eeek! I can be strong.
So, there's my list. They're not major goals or anything as I only have a month to complete them all. But I think they could be fun. :)
Christmas has passed, and we are all slowly falling back into a routine. But I must admit that I say this with a hint of satisfaction. Now that I have left my school days behind and I've started college, I really love my routine. It was nice to get back to G-Town and start nursing again. Now, how about a good old love list? This January, I can't help but love...
1. My beautiful guitar. Her name isHarper, and together we make music and forget the rest of the world.
3. Walking with my iPod. I spend most of my college days walking. Walking from the apartment to college to town to the hospital to the supermarket to the apartment, etc etc. And everywhere I walk, I have my trusted iPod to keep me company and to provide a feel-good soundtrack to my rainy/ windy walks (I live in Ireland!).
4. Escaping to the world of books. Sometimes my life gets too busy, and I have to miss out on reading to make time for my music instead. But since our little trip to Kerry, I have reconnected with my books. Currently reading: Madeleine by Kate McCann
5. Nursing. I'm back in the hospital, and I'm enjoying every precious moment of it before my placement comes to an end. I'm getting to know and care for every patient, and I'm trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can from every experience. The immense pleasure I get from taking care of these people is just indescribable. I know that this is what I will spend my life doing, and I couldn't be happier. :)
This week was catching up with old friends. It is one of life's finest pleasures to have those friends who you can meet up with after a year, and talk to as if you see them every day. And I find that hot chocolate and heart to hearts go hand in hand.
This week was journaling on the go. I have been keeping a journal for a year now, and I've noticed a very inconvenient pattern. The more time I have on my hands, the more I write, but when I'm busy, my journal is neglected. This means that there are gaps left in my journal for the times that are most exciting! But this week when Kate and I traveled to Kerry to meet up with cousins/friends, I wrote at every opportunity so that the precious memories wouldn't be lost.
This week was swapping music. The only thing that brings me more joy than finding new music is sharing it with those who I know will appreciate it. :) This week we swapped some Drew Tabor, Sarah Crummy, Taylor Swift, A Rocket To The Moon & Ally Rhodes.
This week was cosy reading. I love how simple my life can be when I'm away from home. I had no internet, no TV, no distractions from life's simple pleasures. All I had with me was what I had packed in my little rucksack, so while the girls slept in in the mornings, I enjoyed some quality time with my book.
'This Week' Playlist
1. Safe & Sound- Taylor Swift
2. Tragic- Drew Tabor
3. Like We Used To- A Rocket To The Moon
4. New Soul- Yael Naim
5. Dark Blue Tennessee- Taylor Swift
6. Coney Island- Good Old War
7. Small Bump- Ed Sheeran
8. Don't Worry, Be Happy- Bob Marley
9. Jaded- Sarah Crummy
10. Your Winter- Sister Hazel
I hope you enjoyed your first week of 2012. And if not? Well let's make next week simply wonderful. :)
It's common knowledge that I want to travel as soon as possible, and experience as many different cultures as I can. I can't wait! I am dying to live in America and Australia and maybe even Italy one day. But I will always remember where I came from, and I will remember the things that make me proud to be Irish.
How can you not love it? Valleys and hills, patchwork fields, and tiny little houses peeking from behind the trees. I get to call this 'home'. And of course, we have music. Listen to this amazing singer-songwriter, Sarah Crummy!
We have traditional music too of course, and though I have kind of abandoned my flute, whistle & bodhran for my guitar, I will always love trad. And St. Patrick's Day!
Yes, I am driving a tractor. And don't you dare laugh at my wellies. Aren't I lookin' well, lads?
Other reasons I love being Irish:
Amazing writers. W.B. Yeats, Eavan Boland, Brian Friel, Bram Stoker (Dracula!), Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels), Cecilia Ahern & Maeve Binchy.
Food. Tayto crisps, Brennan's bread, sausages, cadbury's chocolate, and good aul tea.
Music.The Script, Snow Patrol, The Coronas, Van Morrison, The Cranberries, Maura O'Connell, Mary Black, Julie Feeney, Damien Rice, Glen Hansard, U2 and lots more.
There are so many reasons to love being Irish. I just wanted to capture a taste of it. :)
It's the 1st of January 2012. Really? 2011 went so incredibly fast. And so much has happened.
I did the Leaving Cert
I finished school
I wrote music
I learned to drive (kind of!)
I got my exam results
I got into college to do my dream course
I moved out
I've made so many new friends
I started nursing
And I started a blog where I can write about it all. :)
It was a pretty big year! So now for 2012. Every year, there's a big hype about new years resolutions, and about a week into the new year, they are forgotten for the most part. I am one of the worst offenders! I think the problem is that the goals people make for themselves focus on cutting out the bad things- but the bad things they try to cut out are often things that they love! They try to be healthier, to cut out fizzy drinks and junk food, to quit smoking, to lose weight, etc etc. And these are good things to try to bring into our lifestyles! But they are often unrealistic, and they get packed away with the Christmas decorations until the following year when they're dragged out again.
This year, I won't fall into the trap. The main reason people set goals for the new year is to make their lives better. So I will do that, but I'll try it a different way. Instead of blocking out the bad, I will bring in more of the good. I will do more of the things that I love doing and I will focus on really having a 'Happy New Year'. :)
This year, I will try to...
Read a lot more
Write/ play more music
Spend less money on day to day things (food, living costs) and more on presents and time with friends
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