I’m Mairead; it’s Gaelic for Margaret. Gaelic is the traditional language that they speak in Ireland. You might see people call me Mamie on here though, because I usually go by that nickname. It started after my parents liked the name Mairead and had to change the spelling to Mauraith on my birth certificate, so that people would know how to pronounce it. (i.e. teachers at school. Yeah, that was before they knew what they would end up doing….) Anyway, my dad started calling me Mathie, but when the ‘th’ was too hard for my siblings to say it was changed to Mamie.
     I am currently a freshman at Franciscan University in Steubenville Ohio but was home schooled all of my life. I have four siblings, three older, and one younger. Here on Apricot my sisters are Aisling, and Brianna, and my little brother Joseph as well. My eldest sister is Siobhan. Yes, all of our names are Gaelic. Being Irish is one of the things I am most proud of.
     So, I live in the same ‘cozy log home in Ohio, surrounded by trees’ as Brianna describes in her bio, and pretty much all of the rest of the things she says to describe our home fit perfectly. We live in the country and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you came to our house you would probably see two cats running around the yard or lazing in the sun, hear the obnoxious cackle of 18 hens in their coop (which I have to endure as I speak…), and wonder why we named our little Leopard Gecko Ignatius.
     As Aisling said in her bio, my family and I are 100\% Roman Catholic, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My faith is such a part of me that to live without it I couldn’t be. It is the only thing that can save me and pull me through the hard times because I have an exhilarating hope in God, and I know that I can always fall back on Christ. He is living inside of me and directs my every word and thought and action. I look to see Him in everything and everyone around me. It’s one of my favorite past times.
    
     Some of my favorite authors are: J.R.R. Tolkien, Allen French, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, Elizabeth George Speare, Elizabeth Janet Gray, Jane Austen, George McDonald, Constance Savery, Eric P. Kelly, Hilda Van Stockum, H. M. Ross, Anthony Hope, Kathryn Worth, Lloyd Alexander, Lloyd C. Douglas, Louisa May Alcott, Madeline Polland, Marian Taggart, Meriol Trevor, C.S. Lewis, Nancy Bond, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sigrid Van Sweringen, William Stearns Davis, Charles Dickens and many many more. :)

     Some of my favorite Christian artists are: Aaron Shust, The Afters, Barlow Girl, Bebo Norman, Brandon Heath, Britt Nichole, Caedmons Call, Casting Crowns, David Crowder, Ginny Owens, Hillsong, Jadon Lavik, Jars of Clay, Kari Jobe, Kutless, Mark Schultz, Matt Kearney, Natalie Grant, Nichole Nordeman, Overflow, Phil Wickham, Relient K, Rich Mullins, Rush of Fools, Sara Groves, Shaun Groves, Shawn McDonald, Switchfoot, Tenth Avenue North, The Fray, Toby Mac, and Warren Barfield. But then, I’m almost always in the mood for Jack Johnson. 

     Things that I like: good novels; mysteries, classics, but I especially like historical fiction, writing a lot, people; the way they think and do things and why, people watching, laughing, the sound of the wind as it blows through the trees…especially white pine, consistency, the smell of cut grass, the smell of old books, the feeling of mud between my toes, stargazing, running in a wet field barefoot, the smell and feeling of oncoming rain, joy, late nights of fun and conversations, autumn, puffy white clouds, horses, gardening, hugs, being somewhat of a farm girl, food; cheesecake, fresh lemonade, fried chicken with lemon, avocados, rice, Italian pasta, garlic bread, basil and oregano and all kinds of different spices, apples, root-beer floats, chips and cheese, stir fry, brussel sprouts, chicken pot pie, cranberry sauce, pizza (especially homemade), pretty much everything that has anything to do with chocolate, perogies, almost everything Latin American, rice pudding, any kind of berry, kiwis, spinach with butter and salt, and just about everything edible, bright blue skies, smiles, sunglasses, sunshine through green leaves, wind through my hair, the smell and glorious sound of the sea, berry picking, doing hard work (haha, only when I want to, and only for a little while and then I’m done), sleeping babies and children, to draw, playing basketball, badminton, Frisbee, singing; night and day, old couples, getting a letter in the mail, knowing that I’m loved, climbing trees, playing the most creative games you can possibly imagine with my younger brother, Ireland; its smell, its feel, its people (and their accents!!), its simplicity, its reality, its rurality, its everything! I like making good memories, remembering the old dear ones, designing cards and posters and song sheets (I guess you’d call it graphic design), taking pictures, experimenting with random things, organizing, meeting new people, analyzing, summer, birthdays, snow, log cabins, family, good movies, trying new things, making dinner, being a girl, talking, little notes, and being apart of the body of Christ.     

I guess you would have to describe me as someone who likes nature to the extreme and loves life.


(I, like my sisters, am rather long winded. I really tried to cut this short and reading it over, I still feel like it’s only a short glimpse through a foggy window at who I am. I suppose you shall have to get to know me through my writing.)