One of these weeks...

One of these weeks I'm going to wise up and NOT go out on Sunday night. It's just so damn hard to say no to the girls. It's pretty much guaranteed to be a good time, which makes it REALLY hard to say no. At least I was in a bit earlier than usual last night, so I'm not all that tired today. I've learned that if I stick to having a few Coronas I can also avoid a hangover. Sweet.

This weekend was fairly quiet otherwise. I spent Saturday cleaning, shopping, and cooking. A bunch of the girls (8, I think) came over for dinner. It was something to do besides go out drinking since we had a match on Sunday. It was a big hit. I made garden salad, chicken parm, and cheesy garlic bread. Bracken finished the meal with fresh strawberries, ice cream, and chocolate sauce for desert. Good stuff. Everyone had a great time and can't wait to do it again. We decided we'll have to do it some night when there isn't a match the next day because if it's that much fun sober, we're curious to see what happens when we throw a few bottles of wine in the mix!

We lost our match against Blessington yesterday by a goal. It was a tough game and the girls ran themselves exhausted. Suzanne ran so hard she made herself vomit. Yuck. She's a tough cookie. It's been beautiful out all weekend and everyone's cheeks are a rosy red from the sun. My arms are getting pretty tan already. Who would have thought I'd have a tan by April in Ireland? The sun has been shining all the time and it's stronger here so you don't really need to be out in it long to get a tan/burn. I even had sunscreen on yesterday!

I've got to get back to work. I just wanted to drop a few lines since I was SO bad about it last week and the week before. Hope you all had a great weekend! ;-)

101 Dalmations?

Nope. 101 posts! My last post was my 100th. That's a lot of typing! Good stuff though. I like using this as a way to keep in touch with people from home. It's a great way to keep them updated with what's going on over here. Besides, Ireland is a cool place and maybe it will convince a few more people to visit!

I'm beat again today. We had training last night and then I met a few of the girls out, hoping to celebrate an Arklow United (men's soccer team) semi-final win. Unfortunately, they lost with a minute left in overtime so it was more like they were trying to drown their sorrows than anything... Still a good time though. I've been going out a lot lately, but at least I've learned to not over indulge with the drinks, so I'm tired but not hungover. Better than being both, for sure!

I get to enjoy a good night's sleep tonight and sleep in tomorrow morning. I'll probably head down to the Farmer's Market for my weekly falafel and some fresh produce. I've got grocery shopping to do because I invited a few of the girls over for dinner tomorrow night. The problem is that there are 30 girls on the team and I don't have room for all of them so I invited a few of the older gals. I think there are 7 in all, including myself. I've decided to make chicken parm for dinner. The whole idea is to load up on carbs for our match on Sunday and give people something to do instead of going out.

I'm hoping the younger girls don't find out and get offended. I want to invite one of our assistant trainers, Cathy, but then her daughter would know and the whole thing gets complicated. I may call her and explain my dilemma and say she can bring Sarah (who I think is 18) but to keep it kind of hush so as not to hurt the other girls feelings. I figure I'll have some of the younger ones over another night before a game. I haven't hosted a load of people in the new place, so I'm not sure how many I can comfortably fit. Tomorrow will be a good trial.

Anyhow - I'm going to stuff my face with leftovers and watch some TV. Give myself a nice full belly to sleep on! I hope you all have a great weekend if I don't talk to you. We're meant to go out Sunday after our match, so I'm sure I'll have some good stories on Monday!! ;-)

Geez!

Yes, I know I'm late getting this post up but life has been seriously crazy here the last few days. Crazy in a good way - but crazy nonetheless. I've had a dinner dance, people staying at my place, 2 days of training (in Dublin), a football match, and training. Yikes! It's keeping me occupied anyhow.

I had a good weekend. Friday I got my hair cut and highlighted (last entry). Saturday I went to the Farmer's Market down in Gorey for a falafel and lemonade and ended up with loads of produce, some yummy cheese (they even had smoke Gouda this week), and some garlic pesto (they were out of the red one). I went up to Partidge's (my favorite 'gourmet food store') and got semi-sundried tomatoes (fabulous in pasta), artichoke hearts, and kalamata olives. I'm making pasta with all of that tonight. Saturday afternoon my friend Liam's date, Clara, showed up at my place to get ready (we had spoken on the phone but hadn't met yet - she's from out of town so I offered my spare room up for getting dressed and made up) and then it was off to the rugby dinner dance.

The dinner was good and the craic was great. Everyone looked fantastic (I had a new dress that I ended up having to get at 4pm since the one I was meant to wear was ripped and I hadn't noticed). It was black-tie so everyone stepped it up a notch. Dinner finished around 11pm, the dancing went on until 2am, and the bar was open until 4am. After that a few of us headed back to my place to drink (until dawn again - you think I'd learn my lesson) and have a bite to eat. It was a great night and I cooked everyone a HUGE fry (Irish Breakfast) and then it was off to the pubs again. I wasn't drinking much but went along for the entertainment (and entertainment there was). Clara had to drive home so I walked back with her and was in bed passed out by 8.30pm. I slept like a baby! It was great.

Monday was training in Dublin. I am SO glad I didn't accept the job offer from up there. That commute is a nightmare. It takes about an hour on a good day. At rush hour it takes well over 2 hours. I was training for an advanced course in Microsoft Project (scheduling program) and the course itself was okay. I got to have sushi for lunch- it was a bit expensive but REALLY good. I hadn't had it in over a year, which made me appreciate it that much more.

Monday night was a friendly (aka 'scrimmage' in the States) that took place a good bit south of my already long drive home. I got a ride with a few of the other girls who were running late and haven't laughed that hard in ages. When we got there (in the messy rain) the other team was short players so all of our subs (myself included) went to play for them. I ended up scoring a goal against my own team, which the girls thought was brilliant because it's the first time I've scored in a regular match.

Tuesday I was back up to Dublin to finish my class and then Gaelic Football (since soccer is done, it's just 'football' unless stated otherwise) training last night. It was a rainy training, but fairly warm. I was exhausted by the time I got home. It was the kind of tired where you just sink right into the mattress and think you might actually become part of the mattress. Sleep felt good.

Somewhere in all of that, I managed to get a few pics from the weekend off my camera. And here goes!

This is Clara and I just after dinner (so fairly early on in the evening).

This is everyone at about 3am. Drink much??

And this is my friend Tracy and I (today is her 20th anniversary with her husband, by the way!)

All in all, a very good weekend. It will be so nice to just cook dinner and watch a DVD tonight. I have Brokeback Mountain and The Departed. I'm looking more forward to the Departed, but I may get Brokeback Mountain watched and sent back so I can get the next movie. We'll see. Hope you're all surviving and enjoying the fact that you're halfway through the workweek already!!! ;-)

TGIF!!!

This week went by pretty quickly but I am still SO glad it's Friday. My diet is right down the crapper today. I just ordered myself a Super Platter (garlic mushrooms (breaded and deep fried), wings, chicken tenders, and breaded chicken wings) and a things of garlic/cheese chips. The chips are french fries in American-Speak and they have a garlic/ranch sauce on them and are smothered in cheddar cheese. They look SO good. The reason I know this is because I went to the SAME pizza place for a 7" pizza and wings for lunch with the guys from work. Yep - good diet, Rach.

It's not SO very bad. I DID run crazy amounts of sprints last night at training. Well, I attempted to run crazy amounts of sprints - I wouldn't really call the speed I run at a 'sprint' but it's the fastest I can go and I have to excerpt just as much energy to do it. I'm also going running in the morning, so I'll make up for a little of it then.

I also got my hair cut and colored tonight. I would normally pay about $100 in the States to get my highlights and cut. I paid 145 euro tonight. It's a lot more, but I LOVE it. She used 4 colors (may be lost on the guys here, but the girls will get it) including 3 blonds (it's SUMMER) and a caramel colored low light. The cut is really good too (that cost me about 45 euro last time - so the rest was color). Happy enough anyhow and I don't mind paying the money for a good cut/color. I only get it done 2 or 3 times a year.

So it's time for the weekend. I'm looking forward to a nice quiet evening and then I'm getting up, running, stopping at the office on my way back from the run to get drawings set, and then it's off to the farmer's market for a falafel! Yummy!! I hope you have a great weekend!! ;-)

Yikes!

I just realized it's been so long since my last post. A lot has happened in the last few days, so I'll ask you to be forgiving. First and foremost, I turned 28. The girls on my Gaelic/soccer teams were all out to wish me a happy birthday as the clock struck midnight, going into Monday morning. What was kind of funny was that the female singer in the pub turned 27 at the same time. Silly coincidence.

What else? My sister got a year older. It was kind of sad not sharing a cake this year (or having any cake at all - I actually went out and bought myself strawberry shortcake last night because it just felt so wrong). Normally we bicker over what silly theme our cake will have (everything from Bob the Builder to Care Bears) and then everyone (the normal family group anyhow) comes over for pizza or a BBQ. Not this year.

I did manage to get pizza though. I went to this new place that opened - Apache Pizza. It's like an American Pizza joint (minus the blue cheese). I tried the wings last night and they were pretty damn good. Not the best I've ever had, but by far the best I've had in Ireland. I think there were about 6 in the regular sized order and I devoured them! I think they'll be seeing a lot more of me over the coming weeks. I've got at least 2 other sauces and 2 other types of dippers/wings to try out!

Another new thing since I last blogged is that I'm starting to run again in the mornings. It's not a long run - only 15 minutes or so. It's enough to get my blood pumping and turn my face very red though. I didn't think I'd ever go back to normal color today! I knew the first few days would be tough (that first minute of the run is torture between the cold and trying to wake up) but I also know that in a few days it'll even itself out and my energy will eventually build to the point where I drive everyone nuts with my perkiness during the day. It's also a pretty run along the beach and by the duck pond and then back down the street, where I can watch the town starting to wake up. Not bad, if I've got to run. Now I've just got to update my Ipod. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

What else? Not a whole lot. I really have been busy with miscellaneous things though. I haven't even been able to watch my Happy Feet dvd that I got for my birthday. It was the only thing on my birthday wish list and my mom pulled through with it! On a side note: my sister Anne painted me an awesome California sun set so when it eventually rains here again I'll have a bit of sunshine to look at!

Okay - back to work for me. I'm slacking a bit by writing my blog, but I didn't take a lunch and it's been so long since I blogged that I couldn't help it. I hope you're all having a good week! Happy hump day! ;-)

Zzzz...

What a week of madness. I am so tired I think I could sleep for a solid week straight! I just dropped the girls off at the airport this morning and it seems SO quiet here now. Maybe I'll just pretend they're napping so I don't feel quite so lonely...

We covered a whole lot in less than a week: Glendalough, Waterford, Blarney (minus actually kissing the stone - stupid gate), Dublin, London, Avoca, and they even managed to have a drink in 80% of Arklow's pubs. I've got pics of all of that, but I haven't had time to edit or organize them, so I'll pick out just a couple to share this week:

This is us the first night they were here: Me, Kara, and Crystal.

This is the next night, after a long day of walking/hiking in Glendalough and Avoca.

And this photo was just so funny and cute, I had to share. It's one of the street signs up in Glendalough.

I was planning on heading into work for half a day but decided my time might be better spent sleeping off the crazy week. It's going to be a busy weekend and I don't want to be miserable because I'm tired for everything. Anyone who knows me knows I'm NOT a whole lot of fun when I'm tired and it's my birthday weekend, so it's extra important I'm in a good mood!

I promise to get more photos sorted this weekend and I'll post a bit about all of the things we saw. It was a lot, so bear with me. We even sat through a table quiz (too late to officially join in) and won a bunch of stuff in the raffle draw. More on that in the next few days! Have a great weekend! ;-)

Let there be Guinness!

Yeah, I'm a big slacker. I know it's been a few days. I've been super busy driving my guests all over Ireland. It's been fun and exhausting and I don't have to do it tomorrow! Actually, that's only because we're flying to London at 6.45am. Ugh!!!

That's okay though. I'm sure it will be an awesome time. It can't possibly be any worse than driving all the way to Blarney to find that the castle gates closed 5 minutes before we got there. No joke! We all decided that if that's the worst that happens this week we'll be doing well. Tomorrow will be jam packed with all of the London usuals... Big Ben, London Bridge, London Tower, Buckingham Palace. We'll get the added bonus of lunch with Sion - my old housemate from Worcester. He works in London and is meeting us there. I'm really looking forward to seeing him again - last time was when he was over in Dublin for a rugby game!

I'm heading to the airport at 4am to catch that flight so I'm heading to bed. When I get back I'll tell you about the Guinness Storehouse tour, the rest of our trip to Blarney, the fun nights at the pub, and the Waterford Crystal tour. Pictures on Thursday or Friday. Until then, enjoy your week!! ;-)

Let there be Guinness!

Yeah, I'm a big slacker. I know it's been a few days. I've been super busy driving my guests all over Ireland. It's been fun and exhausting and I don't have to do it tomorrow! Actually, that's only because we're flying to London at 6.45am. Ugh!!!

That's okay though. I'm sure it will be an awesome time. It can't possibly be any worse than driving all the way to Blarney to find that the castle gates closed 5 minutes before we got there. No joke! We all decided that if that's the worst that happens this week we'll be doing well. Tomorrow will be jam packed with all of the London usuals... Big Ben, London Bridge, London Tower, Buckingham Palace. We'll get the added bonus of lunch with Sion - my old housemate from Worcester. He works in London and is meeting us there. I'm really looking forward to seeing him again - last time was when he was over in Dublin for a rugby game!

I'm heading to the airport at 4am to catch that flight so I'm heading to bed. Pictures on Thursday or Friday. Until then, enjoy your week!! ;-)

Another fine day!

It's gorgeous out again. I was going to go into work for a while, but it was way to nice to sit in an office without windows. I spent the morning cleaning and making beds and finishing all the little things for Crystal and Kara's visit instead. I walked over to work to drop off a CD for the guy I share an office with (the Grammy Nominees 2007 cd is really good, by the way) and ended up staying to go out for lunch. We went to the Bay and everybody who could eat (a bunch of them went out last night but I was saving myself for the weekend) ordered Cajun grilled salmon salads. They were REALLY good.

Anyhow - that was lunch. I came back and finished all the little stuff around here, watched Team New Zealand win the Americas Cup (prepping myself for when I start sailing later this month) and now I've finally poured myself a glass of Captain and Coke with lime, to kick off the week of vacation ahead of me! I'm also working on cooking a whole trout. I've never done it before, but one was (kindly) given to me (freshly caught last night) so I thought I'd give grilling it a go. It's sitting in my kitchen, stuffed with garlic, butter, onion powder (I was running out of room), parsley (overgrowing plant on my window sill) and lemon slices. I'm wrapping it in foil and attempting to grill it. I'll let you know how that turns out. Keep your fingers crossed, pleased!

All of the pubs are closed today and I don't think stores can sell alcohol either. I'm not really sure what everyone else is doing today. It's a holiday weekend but no pubs? Such a strange thing in Ireland. The only other day they close is Christmas but there's dinner, presents, and loads of other things to keep you entertained that day. It's a shame because even though I'm not one to frequent pubs on Friday afternoons, it's perfect weather for Kitty's Beer Garden. They just don't do house parties like at home. If I were in Worcester, everyone wold be around a fire or beer pong table, wearing sunglasses and jamming to music. Ahh... I miss home days like today!

Speaking of home: I got a birthday package this morning!! I was getting ready to go running when the bell/phone rang. It was the mailman and he had a package from Mom (unmistakable writing) so I ripped it open on the way up the stairs because she didn't tell me NOT to open it, but she's a clever one. The present were wrapped up inside. :-p Silly Mom!!! That's okay. It give me something to look forward to. It's worse than Christmas though because I have to wait over a WEEK! SO not fair!

Ok. Back to watching Celebrity Oops on E! for a while. I'm tired after my run and walking and house cleaning. It's a well deserved Captain and Coke I'll be sipping (it's already close to 6pm here). The girls get here tomorrow so if I have a chance I'll blog, but you may not hear from me for a while. I'll be sure to take loads of pics to put online. Have a Happy Easter!!! ;-)

Save a Horse...

...Ride a Cowboy!!! I love that song. I played all the way between this site and the site I work on in the mornings. Sunglasses on, singing away... I'm sure anybody who saw me must think I'm totally off my rocker. I don't care today! I'm in a FANTASTIC mood!

Who wouldn't be? The sun is shining, it's in the sixties, I'm getting out of work at 3.30pm (Irish tradition before holidays), I'm off for a week, and Crystal and Kara are coming in less than 2 days!!! Oh - and I've got a match tonight in the wonderful weather. It's going to be nice to be warm in my uniform.

Seriously - I'm practically bouncing off my chair right now. Only an hour to go but it seems like forever. As you can tell, I'm getting LOADS of work done. I've been trying to ring a bunch of the engineers to get answers but apparently they're out enjoying the weather because not 1 of the 15 people I tried calling answered their phone or called me back. Oh, well. Gives me an excuse to blog.

This morning I downloaded 'If I Had a Million Dollars' by the Barenaked Ladies to bring into work. I had been telling my co-worker Alan about the song and promised I'd bring it in for him to listen to. He laughed through the whole thing and announced that Americans are all crazy. I think he had decided that about me already but the song helped confirm his suspicions about the rest of the country. I don't think it's THAT crazy. Besides - they sing about Kraft Mac and Cheese. How can you not like a song about Kraft?

Okay - I need to get a little more work done before I head out of here today. May head in to the office once or twice if I get time just to save the holidays for later this year and get a bit of work done. Should be a very laid back week down there, since it's the only site open! Catch you later!!! ;-)

Faster! No! Slower! No, I mean Faster!!

Get your head out of the gutter. I'm talking about TIME. This week is crazy. I want it to slow up a little because it's been insanely busy, but at the same time I want it to hurry up and get over with because Crystal and Kara get here early on Saturday. SWEET! Now to figure out how to fit in everything I have to do before they get here!

I'm trying to get a quick post in because I have a Gaelic match tonight. They couldn't play over the weekend so we have to hurry up and rush to Kilcoole after work because they don't have lights on their pitch and if we get there late, we'll be playing in the dark. Ugh. Good thing it stays light out until after 8pm now. We should JUST be able to squeeze it in. Hopefully the rain will stay away until then too.

Tomorrow night I'm going to try to get my grocery shopping done for the weekend and start of next week. Friday would be the only other day I could do it and I don't know what's open since it's Good Friday. It's the only day besides Christmas that the even the pubs close down so I doubt much else will be open. I think I'll head into work anyhow though to try to save a vacation day.

Thursday is training and my co-worker Dave's unofficial going away party. I think that means the younger crowd gets to go out with reckless abandon and not worry about embarrassing themselves in front of company directors.

Friday is work and then last minute getting ready for the girls and early to bed so I can get them in Dublin in the morning. Saturday morning I'll pick them up, bring them back for a big ol' home cooked Irish breakfast and then let them take a nap. Then it's off to the rugby match and drinking!! How's THAT for a very Irish first day in Ireland?

I booked our flights to London yesterday. It's been decided that we'll fly over early on Wed., take the Express train into the city and get hop-on/hop-off bus tickets. That will let us see everything a tourist would want to see in the city and includes 3 walking tours - one which starts at 6pm and is a ghost/haunted pub crawl. We'll get done with that just in time to take the train back to the airport and catch our flight to Dublin, where we'll land at 11pm. Not bad for a day of country hopping! Oh! Somewhere in the middle there we're meant to meet up with my old roommate Sion for lunch! He lives and works there now. So excited!

The rest of the week is still pretty much up in the air but there's Waterford, Dublin, Glendalough.... Loads of things to choose from. I'll leave it up to the girls and what they feel like doing on any given day. Makes you want to visit, doesn't it?

I'd love to write more but I've really got to get back to work. This whole going between two sites is killing me work-wise, but at least the day goes by faster!!! More later this week!! ;-)