The White House, BBQ Sauce, and Cheesy Cards

So Saturday morning we got up at 6am, packed lunches, and headed to the DART by 7:30am. I am not a fan of early mornings. The DART trip was about an hour long and I slept for most of it. Then we walked for another half hour (at least) to the Irish president's house. Well, technically we walked to the visitors' center and then took a bus to the house, but you get the idea. Oddly enough, this house was also white! We got a tour of the main entrance, the ballroom, dining room, tea room, and the president's office (which was square shaped... not going to lie, I was kind of disappointed.) But the whole house is full of really old stuff from people like Queen Victoria and King Louis XIV. It's pretty much a museum. One interesting thing is for the past 21 years, the president of Ireland has been a female. As a result, many Irish children are surprised when they learn the first 6 presidents of Ireland were male! But the role of the president here is different than in the United States. The Prime Minister is the one who is in charge, and the President serves as a figure head, but she still has certain limited powers. Sorry, that's probably boring stuff. We've just been learning a lot about the political system here since they're holding elections in a couple weeks.
So after going to the President's house we hopped back on the Dart and went to Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Leary). They have a store called Penny's which is basically girl shopping heaven. Everything is really cute but very cheap. So it's not high quality, but for those of us looking to spice up our wardrobes for the semester, it's a great place to find accessories.
I only shopped for a little bit because I had to make it back to cook dinner! Not going to lie, I was kinda nervous. This was my first time being completely in charge of the meal and I had to direct 3 other people through the cooking process. We made BBQ chicken sandwhiches, crisps (french fries), and corn. It was a cinch.. and dare I say it... kinda fun! I actually don't mind cooking when it's with a group. Plus, when you have a recipe you can't really screw it up. Everyone loved the food. I think we got a 9 1/2 out of 10, which I will take any day! Plus, someone said it was the best meal thus far! 
Today, I went to a church called Hillside. It reminded me a lot of my church at home. The worship was good, the sermon was straight out of the Bible, and the people are really nice.  I'm thinking I might just go there this semester. The rest of today was very uneventful. They try really hard not to plan much on Sundays so we actually have a day of rest. So all we did today was a little homework and then I went and lifted weights. But this evening they threw a Valentine's Day Party for us! We just frosted cookies, made cheesy homemade valentines, and played games. It was a great chill way to hang out as a group.