What I'm seeing

Lost my travel purse. Made a new one.
Found the old one 3 days later...

A little extra waterproofing never hurt!





Bag #1: Packed! (Sheep-shaped hot

water bottle courtesy of my grandma)



Successfully avoiding excess baggage fees since 2012

Getting close...

Oh look, I got my visa yesterday!

I have obviously pixellated the image to maintain a little privacy, but I will share that I am officially listed as a "religious migrant". Grace and I have decided this makes us feel like pilgrims.

In all seriousness, this is a very important step - since the UK visa process is notoriously difficult, and I can't exactly move there without it. Just one more thing I can cross off my list!

This morning, we were sent a "briefing paper" on Northern Ireland. While it is important to note that it hasn't been updated in a few years, this will serve as my next introduction to life in Northern Ireland (until I reach Belfast). A quick google search found a .pdf of the document sent by my coordinator, so if you're interested in reading along - here it is (although this is pretty hefty reading at 47 pages, and my copy is only 38... so I'm sure there are some differences).

Less than 4 weeks left at work. 34 days to Stony Point. 41 days to Belfast!

You rock!

I received my fundraising update this afternoon to the happy news that I have now exceeded my fundraising goal for my year of service as a Young Adult Volunteer! I feel like a broken record when I keep saying this, but I am truly grateful for your support and love as I prepare for this journey. I wish I could bake you all cookies in thanks, because that's how it makes me feel when I see your name on my spreadsheet: warm and gooey.

If you still haven't gotten around to making a donation, but wanted to support my service, never fear - all donations made here will still be credited to my account. In other news, I will be arriving in Belfast in approximately 53 days and 13 hours with these people: 

A screen shot from our message board - the 8 NI YAVs for 2012-13.
Courtney, Kathryn, Beth, T.J., David, Anna, Grace, me :)

Get ready, Belfast.