Elizabeth Eulberg

My January Reads

February 1st, 2012

Happy February! (How did it get to be February?!?!?)

My New Year’s Resolution is to read 50 books this year, about a book a week. So how did I do in January? Um, okay… I read three books! Not as much as I was hoping, but I was on a pretty serious deadline for two weeks so I wasn’t able to read during that period. When I spend 10-12 hours in front of the computer working, all I want to do when I’m done is stare at a TV and turn into a zombie.

Without further ado, my January reads:

1) Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella – Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite adult “chick lit” authors. Some fun facts: Penny’s last name in The Lonely Hearts Club was inspired by the character of Rebecca Bloomwood in Sophie’s Shopaholic series (which is also why Mrs. Bloom’s first name is Becky). I went to one of Sophie’s signings last year for Mini Shopaholic and picked up this book as well. It was so much fun. Basic premise: Lara is haunted by the ghost of her great-aunt Sadie, who makes Lara find her missing necklace before she can properly “rest in peace.” The duo continually spar over clothes, guys, family – they don’t see eye to eye on anything! It’s parts comedy, romance, mystery, and family drama. Highly recommend!

2) Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link – This was my book group’s January read. It’s a collection of nine short stories. All the stories were very clever and extremely diverse. You have one where a guy accidentally digs up the wrong grave, another where a father and son are stuck in quarantine, then there’s one with a magical handbag that contains an entire village inside it. I found myself wanting more at the end of most of the stories, which I think is a test of a great story!

3) Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein – I went to a lecture given by Gabby on 11/11/11. I really believe in putting good intentions/dreams out into the universe. But sometimes I get caught up in the every day that I forget to take time out for myself to reflect. This book was a nice reminder to not give into fear, let go and forgive, not be afraid to ask for help, and to listen.

I’m not going to speculate on the books that I’m going to read this month. I already have five books set aside, but you never know what’s going to happen! I’m going to Puerto Rico next week and plan on sitting by the pool and do nothing but read and relax for a few days so I’ve got my fingers crossed for lots of reading this month. Unless I’m hit with another deadline. Which is bound to happen sometime soon (let’s just hope it’s not when I’m on the beach!) 

That’s it for my list. Have you read any good books this month?

XO, Elizabeth

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Very Superstitious or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Listened to the Music

January 26th, 2012

Hello everybody!

For those of you who have younger siblings, please be careful what you tell your far-too-impressionable siblings because seemingly innocent fibs can have lasting effects. Case in point: I saw Nada Surf in concert on Tuesday night, the same day their new album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, was released. I pre-ordered the album, but was scared to listen to it on Tuesday. Why? you may ask. Don’t you know, it’s bad luck to listen to a band on the same day you’re seeing them live.

Say what?

Um, yes. See, my older sisters took me to two my first two concerts, both in Milwaukee, which is about two hours away from where I grew up. And, for some reason, neither wanted to listen to Debbie Gibson and New Kids on the Block for the entire ride. So they decided to tell their sweet, naive youngest sister that it was bad luck to listen to those acts on the way to the concert. In fact, it was bad luck to listen to them that day at all. 

And I fell for it. Granted, I was twelve and going to my first concert and convinced that Joey McIntyre was going to fall in love with me, so best to not tempt fate.

But here we are all these years later…and I still don’t like to do it. Even though I now know why they told me that. And I know it’s stupid. I really do, but what if?

So then I had the Nada Surf dilemma, I wanted to hear some of the new album before the concert, but would I be okay if I did? Then I thought, Enough is enough, you know better, don’t you? DON’T YOU?  So that morning, I downloaded the album (LEGALLY, paid for it and everything!) and listened…and nothing happened! My day went really well, the concert was phenomenal. The only bad thing was this super tall guy who decided to stand RIGHT in front of me, like six inches in front of me. I kept having to move over and then he moved over. That was annoying, but honestly, that was it. Tall guys at concerts are ALWAYS annoying!

So Eileen and Meg, thanks for the emotional scars, but I have finally accepted the fact that nothing bad will happen if you listen to the band you’re about to see. At least, I think I’m finally over it. 

And to you older siblings out there, play nice! Your little sister or brother may one day be a published author and have the power to unfairly portray you in a work of fiction (although I’d never do that…but don’t push me!).

XO, Elizabeth

P.S. – For those who are interested in Nada Surf (and you should be!), the concert I saw on Tuesday night at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC is online, you can watch it here. You won’t see me though, as I was in the back apparently hiding behind a super tall and rude guy.

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Viva la Resolution!

January 1st, 2012

Happy 2012, everybody! I have a good feeling about this year, I just know it! First, Take a Bow will finally be out in the world. Second, um, do I really need another reason? Me thinks not.

Now that we’ve counted down to 2012, today starts the inevitable New Years Resolutions. Although I always start my resolutions on January 2nd. Who seriously wants to start exercising more on the 1st? I’m still tired from last night. I’m not doing the basic “eat better and exercise more” resolution this year, although I always try to do that. And I’m pretty happy that I was able to stick to last year’s resolution of writing more thank you letters, actual handwritten letters.

This year I’m going to do something that’ll help me with my increasingly stressful “to-read” pile that keeps growing and growing. My resolution is to read about a book a week: 50 books in 2012. I’m sure most people are thinking, “That’s not hard, I read a hundred books a year!” Congrats to you! This, however, would be a big deal for me. I’m always woefully behind (I just finished The Help in October and over Christmas break finally read The Devil Wears Prada). 

So my goal is a book a week. And, to make sure I’m sticking to it, I’m going to blog each month about the books that I’ve read so I can share them with you. I might even do a giveaway or two, you never know!

I’ve already got my books lined up for this month. First I need to finish Sophie Kinsella’s Twenties Girl that I started reading on the plane right home, then Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein (figured it’d be a good way to start off the new year), Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (told you I’m far behind), The Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, and my book club book, which I can’t seem to remember what it is, which may be a problem… Of course I reserve the right to change this up, but these are the books I’m really hoping I get to this month. Oh my goodness, how on earth did it get to be January 2012?

So that’s what I’m doing. Any good resolutions you’re starting? Any books you recommend I add to my woefully overflowing pile?

May your 2012 be filled with joy and sparkle!

XO, Elizabeth

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Best of 2011

December 31st, 2011

What a year! I have to admit, 2011 didn’t start out that great for me, but boy did it certainly end up being a good one. This was also a fab year for music and movies. I had a very hard time coming up with my year-end list of favorites, so in a few instances I listed a couple favs, because why not! Having too many good things to choose from is an awesome problem.

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Muppets! I don’t think I’ve ever had a grin on my face the entire time I watched a movie. The Muppets were my childhood. I had a Miss Piggy doll, one of those magnetic books, even a Muppet cookbook! I was so excited for this movie and it did not disappoint! I even brought my Beaker doll to the movie theater. Yep, I brought a doll. This how I roll. The movie had heart, laughter, joy, and the greatest cameo of all time. I couldn’t find a photo of said cameo, but this photo will give you a big hint:

I still giggle thinking about Dave’s cameo and pretty much the entire movie. I will forever be grateful to Jason Segel for not only bringing the Muppets back for my generation to enjoy, but for introducing Beaker and Co. to a new crop of Muppetheads. 

FAVORITE MOVIE FROM A SERIES: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 I had to include this movie as well because it was absolutely brilliant from start to finish. I cried four times watching the final movie in a series that I have extremely fond memories of. I think it’s safe to say that, without question, the cast of this series is the best cast ever assembled. Period. We’ve watched these actors grow up before our eyes and they’ve done us proud. I think this EW cover sums it up best.

OTHER AMAZING MOVIES: Crazy, Stupid Love; 50/50; The Beginners; War Horse

FAVORITE NEW TV SHOW: New Girl – I got to see a screening of the pilot this summer. Within the first 30 seconds I turned to my friend and said, “I LOVE THIS SHOW.” That’s how long it took me to fall for Zooey Deschanel’s quirky Jess. I’ve been looking forward to each new episode and they haven’t disappointed. It has some of my favorite lines of a TV show, ever. Just a little sample:

FAVORITE TV SHOW YOU MIGHT NOT BE WATCHING: Parks & Recreation – I’ll admit it, I didn’t really love this show during its first season. And I think a lot of people gave up on it, but they shouldn’t. The ensemble cast is hilarious, lead by a brilliant Amy Poehler. The additions of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott (who is yummerz) last season has made the show even better. And there are days I just want to run up to Ron Swanson and give him a kiss on the cheek, which he would NOT like at all. If you aren’t watching this show, watch it. NOW.

FAVORITE BROADWAY SHOW: Book of Mormon – I got to see this in previews before the reviews and Tony Awards. It was hysterical. I spent most of the second half either laughing or covering my mouth in horror/shock. I’ve seen a lot of Broadway shows this year, Wicked should probably tie for my favorite (can’t believe it took me so long to see), and, of course, I got to see Kiefer Sutherland in That Champtionship Season, which was a nice talking point when I met  him! 

FAVORITE CD: I’m doing a three-way tie on this one because I can. Adele’s 21, Florence + the Machine’s Ceremonials and K. Clark’s Stronger. Three amazing women, three amazing albums. Fav songs would be: Adele – Set Fire to the Rain, Florence – Shake it Out, and Kelly – Stronger. Other fav albums of the year: The Black Keys, El Camino; Death Cab for Cutie, Codes & Keys; Foo Fighters, Wasting Light; Foster the People, Torches; Blind Pilot, We are the Tide; Oh Land, self-titled; Bon Iver, self-titled; Marketa Irglova, Anar. 

FAVORITE CONCERT: This one was easy (and shouldn’t come as a surprise): Sir Paul. If this wasn’t a Sir Paul year, the honor would definitely belong to Foo Fighters who put on an absolutely spectacular show at Madison Square Garden just a few weeks ago. 

I honestly couldn’t come up with a favorite book. I read a lot of wonderful books, but to be honest, many are by friends so I feel like I might offend someone if I choose a favorite. So at least for this year, I’m not going to include a favorite book. BUT! I am going to do something special for the books I’ll read in 2012, so stay tuned for that.

What were some of your favs of the year?

To a wonderful 2012 filled with lots of good books, music, movies, and memories! XO, Elizabeth

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The Greatest Christmas Story I Ever Told

December 23rd, 2011

Happy Holidays all!

I should preface this post by saying that it could get me into trouble. Last year, I asked my mom if she’d be okay if I blogged about this story and she wasn’t too pleased. But I just HAD to share it as it has become one of my favorite stories, ever. But I can understand why she doesn’t like it since she technically called her youngest child a “Nazi” in her annual holiday card.

Yep, you read that right.

Every year, my parents send out of those holiday letters with news about the family, including their four kids. For years, my siblings and I each had to submit four sentences about our year. It was a little sad that as I got older it became harder to do. “Elizabeth’s STILL at her same job, STILL lives in the same place…” The only thing that was ever really different was where I went on vacation that year. It was all kind of boring, but I’d prefer boring over being defamed.

My senior year of college, I arrive home during winter break. I looked at that year’s Christmas letter and read everybody’s part. Then I got to mine. Now, I went to the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. That’s Newhouse: N-E-W-H-O-U-S-E. But according to that year’s letter it said:

“Elizabeth’s finishing her last year at the Nazi School at Syracuse University.”

I lost it. “Is this some kind of joke?” I screamed in our kitchen. When my parents realized why I was upset, they were both horrified. And, of course, the letters had already been sent out to Dad’s list. So, I spent the next day crossing out “Nazi” and writing out “Newhouse” on Mom’s pile.

My mom blames the accident on spellcheck, although I have spelled Newhouse many different ways and Nazi has never come up as an option. But it didn’t really matter, the damage had been done.

I worked at my dad’s clothing store over that break. Anytime any of his friend’s came in, I was on the defensive. The following happened more than once:

DAD’S FRIEND: Hi, Elizabeth!

ME: I AM NOT A NAZI!

DAD’S FRIEND: Um, okay. Could I get this gift wrapped?

So to clarify, a) I am not a Nazi, and b) my mom didn’t do it on purpose. Oh, and a little friendly advice: always have someone proof your Christmas letter before you send it out.

While I was horrified at the time, in the end it was one of the best gifts I ever received. Because I do love a good story, and nothing can top, “Hey, did I ever tell you about the time my mom called me a Nazi in our Christmas letter?” Comic gold!

May your days me merry and bright…and without any slander in your holiday card!

XO, Elizabeth

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The Christmas Card Challenge

December 18th, 2011

Seasons greetings! I used to send out the kind of Christmas cards to my friends and family that required me to write a little note in them. I always enjoyed that, even though my hand would cramp up by the fourth card.

But in 2008 everything changed. I met the New Kids on the Block. And there was no way I wasn’t going to do a funny Christmas card with a photo of me and the boys. So I present to you, the greatest Christmas card of all time. 

I have friends that still have this on their refrigerators. I felt pretty proud of myself for this. Until I realized that I’ve now set the bar pretty high for myself and my future Christmas cards.

Fortunately, the end of 2009 was the publication of my first novel, The Lonely Hearts Club. So I used this opportunity to not only spoof birth announcements, but to do a little publicity on it’s upcoming publication.

But then all last year, I was stressed out over what to do for my Christmas card. I could’ve done something with Prom & Prejudice, but that seemed expected (Seriously, who spends this much time thinking about holiday cards?). So last year on Halloween, I went to see the Packers play the Jets in New Jersey. I was told by a few people to be careful and that the Jets fans might not appreciate my Packer gear. And that gave me the idea for 2010′s Christmas card.

And yes, I did go up to complete strangers in Jets gear and say, “Hey, can you pretend to beat me up for my Christmas card photo?” I have no shame. I’d also like to point out that the Packers won the Super Bowl last year, so… You’re welcome, Green Bay.  ;-)

This year was the worst. I had an idea, but couldn’t pull off getting the picture taken (Thanks for never returning my e-mail, Debbie Gibson’s publicist!). I was going to make a joke about me being too busy being in Ireland to think of something clever, but that didn’t really seem Christmas card worthy. Time was running out. But then I was off to my friend Chris’s annual holiday party (also knows as my favorite party of the year). I would be in a room with about eighty guys. So pretty much this year’s card wrote itself.

My scanner kept cutting it off, it reads: "And they say it's hard to find a good man in New York."

So this is my Christmas card to all of you. Thank you for an amazing year. I hope you all have a fab 2012!

And now I’m off to figure out next year’s card. It never ends.

XOXO, Elizabeth

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Wicked Awesome PLUS Prom & Prejudice giveaway!

December 11th, 2011

Hello all! What I’m about to say may seem shocking to some of you. I finally saw the musical Wicked for the first time. I know, I know… What took me so long? I have no idea. But I do know one thing: It. Was. Awesome.

I was able to score front row seats through the Wicked lottery. Basically several Broadway shows hold lotteries a few hours before curtain. You put your name in, and if you’re lucky, you get selected for generally amazing seats for super cheap (in our case, it was $25 for front row!). Thursday was the second time I tried for the lottery and I just knew we were going to get it this time. I kept telling my cousin Susan that we were definitely winning. When I put my name in, I said to the guy in charge, “I’m so excited to see the show tonight, because I just KNOW I’m winning.” And I did!

I’ve never been in the front row of a show before. I was really excited, then I started to remember how much the Wicked Witch and her monkeys freaked me out as a child. Then I started to get nervous. Was I going to get scared?

And of course, what was the first thing that came out once the show started? The monkeys. Right in front of me. I turned to Susan and said, “I do not like this.” But fortunately, I started acting like an adult and became totally mesmerized with the show. Being close-up you really get an appreciation for everything from the intricacies of the costumes to the background players staying in character the entire time. And of course, there’s the music. I knew a few songs (mostly thanks to Glee) and bought the soundtrack the second I got home.

I also loved how the story of The Wizard of Oz, something we all grew up with, was re-imagined thanks to Gregory Maguire who wrote the book that the musical was based on. I love origin stories and the author in me was super jealous of his brilliance. Looks like I’ve got another book to add to my ever growing to-read pile.

I highly recommend Wicked to anybody who comes to NYC or if the traveling show comes to your town. You will NOT be disappointed!

GIVEAWAY TIME! As some of you may have noticed, my comments have been shut down for some time. First, I was getting too much spam, then I wasn’t getting legit comments. BUT! I’ve called in the Big Guns (aka my friends Laura and Kevin) to fix it and we think we got it to work. So what better way to celebrate (and make sure it’s working) by holding a contest to win a signed copy of Prom & Prejudice! All you have to do to enter is to post a comment below. That’s it. It’s open WORLDWIDE too! I’ll pick a winner by Tuesday, December 13 by 6:00 pm EST.

Please note, I will be approving comments, so your comment will be held for moderation. I’ll be in and out on Sunday, so don’t worry if it takes me a few hours to approve.

Good luck! XO, Elizabeth

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What I Have in Common with Kelly Clarkson

November 20th, 2011

Greetings! I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am with all the great new music that’s out. I’ve been listening to two albums on repeat this past week: Florence + the Machine’s “Ceremonials” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger.” I love that women are having such a great year in music. Adele’s “21″ is currently in the running as my favorite album of the year, but both Kelly and Florence are making a very strong case. It’s going to be a tight race!

I love me some K. Clark (that’s my nickname for Kelly Clarkson and I’d like it to catch on, so Kelly hears it and thinks “that’s awesome, whoever thought of that should be my best friend.” It could happen, right?). Anyways, when I read USA Today‘s review of “Stronger,” I had to laugh. It starts, “Guys, if you start going out with a girl who tells you how much she loves Kelly Clarkson’s latest album, run away. Fast.” Odd enough, I’ve heard pretty much the same thing about The Lonely Hearts Club.

Kelly sings songs about not putting up with stupid guys (one of my favorite lyrics on the new album is “Dumb + Dumb = You” from the song “Einstein”). Or that walking away from a bad relationship will make you better in the end. (“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller. Doesn’t mean I’m lonely when I’m alone” from the title track.)

In The Lonely Hearts Club, Penny Lane Bloom decides to stop dating guys in high school because they’ve done nothing but cause her and her friends heartache and trouble. I recently had a high school boy write to me that I am “what’s wrong with the world.” Um, I’m pretty sure there are other things that are wrong with the world besides someone standing up for themselves. But thanks for giving me so much credit!

Writing (or singing) about strong women can make it hard when you’re dating. When Matt Lauer read Kelly that USA Today review when she was on Today, her response was “Which is funny because I haven’t had a boyfriend in so long, maybe I’m scaring them!”

I’ve had more than one person ask me how I handle talking about my books on a date. Well, I have a tendency to not give out too much information when I meet a guy (like my last name, because one Google search can give him so much information about me and I believe in an equal playing field). This is pretty much how I handle questions about my books on a first date:

GUY: So tell me about your books.
ME: They’re contemporary teen fiction.
GUY: So what are they about?
ME: Stuff.
GUY: Oh, okay… What’s the title?
ME: One is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice.
GUY: Um…

It’s not like I’m embarrassed about my books or not proud of them, I am very proud of them. I have received so many wonderful letters from girls about how The Lonely Hearts Club has helped them get through a tough relationship (the best compliment ever was “it helped stop the tears at night.”) And I will continue to write books about strong girls who will not compromise themselves for a guy (or if they do, it’ll be with consequences). But let’s face it, some guys can’t handle a strong, independent woman. I’m not talking about all men, of course! There are plenty of amazing guys out there. And I have complete faith that I’ll meet one someday (and so will Kelly). But, for now, I think I’m in VERY good single company.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I once met Kelly?!?!?! I DID! AND I gave her a copy of The Lonely Hearts Club because I’m that big of a nerd. (I do think I look like a drag queen in this photo, but Kelly is adorbs as always!) And I already snapped up tickets to see Kelly at Radio City in January (I totally jumped around like a lunatic once I got them. Again: nerd.)

I do want to make one final comment: K. Clark is not fat. This makes me so mad. Just because she isn’t an emaciated skeleton doesn’t mean she’s fat. She’s a beautiful, talented, and healthy young woman. I’d love to have an ounce of her singing ability. So all you haters out there making fun of her (or anybody’s) weight, take a look in the mirror, because you’re the one with the problem.

And with that, I leave you with the most played song on my iPod. Enjoy!

XO, Elizabeth

Comments still closed. Sorry, we are still trying to figure out what’s wrong. I may have to call in a professional!

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My Sweet George

October 30th, 2011

Last night I watched Martin Scorsese’s documentary “George Harrison: Living in a Material World.” It was a three-and-a-half hour long intimate look at George’s public and private life. It was personal, it was touching, and to put it simply, it was amazing. I highly recommend it to anybody who loves The Beatles (it’s currently playing in repeats on HBO in the US).

I mentioned briefly in my blog about seeing Sir Paul McCartney this summer that I have a very special place in my heart for George. I always hate when I’m asked who my favorite Beatles is because it really is a hard question to answer. I absolutely love Sir Paul, he can do no wrong in my eyes. His post-Beatles career has been filled with so many wonderful songs. I have nothing but the utmost respect for John Lennon, it is such a tragedy that he was taken away from us so early. And of course, Ringo has this charm and humor about him that he just makes you smile. And then there’s George. Sweet, sweet, underrated George.

What it must’ve been like to be surrounded by the songwriting genius of Lennon/McCartney. How could you even compete? But then quiet George comes in and gives us such brilliant songs as “Taxman,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Here Comes the Sun,” and, of course, “Something.” As Sir Paul has recalled on more than one occasion, Frank Sinatra once said to him, “‘Something’ is my favorite Lennon/McCartney song.” To which Sir Paul cheekily responded, “Mine too.”

I burst into tears last night when “Something” came on. Every time I hear the song, I have (and I mean HAVE) to sing aloud loudly to my favorite part: “You’re asking me will my love grow, I don’t know… I don’t know.” This just gets me every time. Such passion, such honesty, such beauty… It is not only one of my favorite Beatles songs, it is one of my favorite songs, period.

When I was in grade school, George Harrison came out with a new album. I didn’t know a lot about The Beatles back then, but I did like it when their music came on the oldies station my mom listened to. “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You” was the big hit from that album, but I remember loving the second single, “When We Was Fab,” more. I guess it was the soon-to-be-realized Beatles fangirl inside of me getting ready to come out. Click here to see the video, which I love because it has Ringo, an homage to Sgt. Pepper’s, a walrus, an apple, lots of Beatles references that I didn’t “get” when I was little.

George was also extremely spiritual. He’s responsible for bringing in the sitar and other eastern influences on the Beatles later albums. This also influenced his solo work. Probably George’s best known solo song is the one that I’ll leave you with, “My Sweet Lord.” I’m happy that George is getting the recognition he deserves through this documentary. And hopefully, it’ll make it harder in the future for a lot of people to answer the question, “Who’s your favorite Beatle?”

Dear George, I send you all my love. I find comfort in your music and words on a daily basis. And as you once said, “Here comes the sun and I say, ‘It’s all right.’”

XOXO, Elizabeth

Please note: my website is currently being updated, so I wasn’t able to embed the videos (hence the links) and comments are closed until update is ready.

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End of the Road: Edinburgh and Belfast

October 18th, 2011

Greetings from… America! Yes, I am home. I honestly can’t believe how quickly four weeks go by. I woke up in the middle of the night last night and was really confused where I was. At one point I thought, “This duvet cover looks familiar… am I home?” But as they say, all good things must come to an end. So before I put myself on lockdown to work on my next book, I thought I’d wrap up my vacation blogs with my last stops: Edinburgh, Scotland and Belfast, Northern Ireland.

My friend Amy came to visit during the last week of my vacation and we headed to Edinburgh. I visited Edinburgh when I was studying abroad in college and remember liking it, but as an adult, I LOVED it. It’s such a beautiful, old city with lots and lots of hills. And I mean lots of hills. We certainly got a workout taking in the views. Case in point:

See that giant hill (more like mountain) behind me? Yeah, we climbed it. Proof:

Totally worth it! And that wasn’t the only hill we scaled, this is from the much smaller Calton Hill:

That's Edinburgh Castle in the background on yet ANOTHER hill!

From Edinburgh, we went to Belfast. Belfast has a troubled history, but is now a safe city to visit (I won’t get into “The Troubles” here, but if you plan on visiting Belfast, I highly recommend taking a Black Cab tour that delves into the history). I’ve heard a lot about Belfast and suggested to Amy that we go. We are both so glad we did as it was a highlight of the trip for both of us. A lot of that has to do with the Northern Irish people, who are seriously some of the friendliest, funniest people you’ll ever meet. Just an example of Northern Irish humor, on a sign for a Titanic walking tour: “She was all right when she left here.” The Titanic was built in Belfast.

We went to visit Giant’s Causeway on our first full day, which is an extraordinary rock formation on the coast. There are tens of thousands of these perfectly formed, nearly hexagonal rocks that are all natural (from a volcanic eruption). It’s over 60 million years old and ancients believed it to be the work of giant’s, hence the name.

The gorgeous view walking to the rocks

Just chillin' on the Giant's "boot"

One of my favorite quotes from the day came when Amy and I were taking in the view. She said in a New Jersey/Soprano’s accent: “This is freakin’ beautiful right here.” After laughing for about twenty minutes, I started talking for pretty much the rest of our time there in a very bad New Jersey accent about bringing my cousin Vinny over for some cannolis and pasta to fully enjoy the view (by the way, I am not Italian nor do I have a cousin named Vinny). If you ever go on vacation with me, I will not only burst into different accents, I occasion like to spontaneously bust out dance moves (the running man was a favorite this trip) and songs. It’s amazing that Amy keeps agreeing to go places with me. Thank goodness for friends who do not embarrass easily…

On the way back from the Giant’s Causeway, we got to go to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge (or what I kept referring to as “crack-a-rack” for no other reason than I’m an idiot). Now, some people choose not to cross over because it’s 250 feet high and a little unstable (it is a rope bridge after all), but I’m not really scared of heights, so…

Look Ma, no hands!

Now both the guide book and the bus driver suggested you don’t look down. But do I listen? Of course not, I had to take a picture!

See, that's not scary? Yawn.

The next day, we explored the city of Belfast, including the beautiful City Hall.

Amy in front of City Hall

We took a tour of City Hall and they even let you sit in the Lord Mayor’s Chair.

I'm crazy with power!

Belfast is a very walkable city. But that didn’t stop two competing bus tour guys fighting over me. I always enjoy two boys fighting over me, sure it was to sell me a ticket, but in my mind, it was all for love! (Do we now see why I need to write fiction?)

We ended our time in Belfast with a little pub crawl (when in Ireland…) that a local (Hi Aaron!) offered to take us on because again, Belfast people are super nice! Especially since I first talked to Aaron because  he was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers hat so I just had to go up to him and say, “Hi, I’m from Wisconsin. Go Packers!” Not the best start to a friendship, but sometimes I just can’t help myself…

These last four weeks have been so much fun. Thank you to those who have e-mailed, Tweeted, Facebooked, etc. me about how much you’ve enjoyed these posts. I enjoyed writing them! Now it’s back to work (and reality) for me!

XOXO, Elizabeth

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