Help!

Help is exactly what I'll be yelling for as I drown to death on the pitch tonight. It is absolutely LASHING rain outside. I don't even want to walk the 10 feet from the door to my car. I'll be drenched. At least it's not freezing out. I bought new receiver's gloves while I was home to try out for football. I think tonight might be a good test night. Hopefully he won't keep us too long, although I suppose it doesn't matter much once you're already soaking wet.

It was good to get sleep last night, but I'm still tired today. I was up for over 30 hours straight so I'm not surprised. I'm sure I'll sleep like a baby tonight. I'm planning on getting my pics sorted tomorrow night so I can post some up here. There are a few really funny ones taken of people on the trampoline.

It was good to be home. I really miss being back there in the summer time. Trips to the beach, the races, camping, rugby tournaments, bbq's... All good ol' American summertime fun. Ireland is nice in the summer, but it's just not the same. They've only had really good weather the past few years so they haven't quite perfected the art of outdoor fun. I'll have to see what I can do to improve upon that this year.

It's almost time to go and I've got to get geared up to sprint to my car. One more work day to go and it's time for the weekend. Woohoo!!! ;-)

Wow!

I just fit a WHOLE lot of stuff into a really short trip home. I think I got more accomplished when I booked the trip home 2 days ahead of time than when I plan it way in advance. Funny how that works out sometimes.

Friday night I spent in Boston, having dinner and drinks with my friend Mike and then meeting up with Alex and Andy (my cousin and her boyfriend/my former workmate). It was great to catch up and even though I didn't get a ton of sleep Alex and I managed to get up and get to a diner for a huge diner breakfast. SO yummy. From there we went Wrentham way and shopped until we were about to drop.

Saturday night I spent in Worcester, hanging out with some old friends. It was amazing getting to see so many people. It was super fantastic to catch up with my old roommate, Kelly. She had told me she cut her hair REALLY short but I just couldn't picture it. It looks AMAZING! It totally suits her - she's brave to have gone with the cut though. It's a super-short pixie cut of sorts. A bunch of the boys were around and we even went to Maywood for afterhours. Hey! What's a night out in the Woo without Maywood???

Then it was away to upstate NY in the morning. I met my family at Mass and then went home for a nice little nap. I got to go play with my best friend's babes and watch my cousin play soccer. Then it was back to the house for BBQ! All the family got together to celebrate my mom and uncle's birthday (twins!). Great night.

Monday was shopping and more BBQ with the family. Then it was packing (a pure challenge) and off to bed. Tuesday I left for the airport with just enough time to visit Crystal and the kids. I got a sopping wet swimming poll hug from Emma and off to the airport for me. I eventually made it back via Paris and it was a long afternoon at work but I survived. I'm sitting on my couch waiting for it to get late enough to sleep. I'm SO tired!

I your weekend was as good as mine! ;-)

Home Sweet Home

As if I haven't been busy enough with everything else in my life, at about 4pm yesterday I decided that a trip home was in order. This weekend. So I called my boss, got the ok, made a few calls (to be sure people are around), and scheduled my flights for this weekend. Woo hoo!! Here I come!!

I'm only off tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday so that I can be back in work on Wednesday morning. I'm really looking forward to the short break though. It's been a long few weeks and it's working out well with work. It's mom and Uncle Matt's birthday on Monday so I get to attend the birthday bbq on Sunday and my sister Anne is home which puts my whole family in the same building for the first time in over a year. And yes, I WILL win the fight over who gets the comfy seat in front of the tv. Ahh... the things you miss when you're away from home.

I haven't been back since October and I doubt I'll be back before Christmas, so I'm trying to cram a whole lot of stuff into a little bit of time. Boston, Worcester, Cropseyville, people, eating, shopping, eating, chilling out, eating. Is anyone noticing a recurring theme? I really miss the food at home. I can't wait for some yummy chicken wings and maybe some good Italian. And hamburgers and hotdogs and grilled clams. I'm getting really hungry thinking about it.

Anyhow, I have to get going so I can get home to pack and get ready and maybe hit up Gaelic and kickboxing before bedtime. Yes, I'm always on the go. I'm getting very fit for it though! So if I don't get back on here in the meantime (which I hope to do), I'll catch up next week with pics and stories. Try not to miss me too much! ;-)

Funny Stuff

On holiday in Europe, Bert noticed a marble column in a church in Rome with a golden telephone on it. As the young Italian priest passed by, Bert asked who the telephone was for. The priest told him it was a direct line to Heaven, and if he'd like to call, it would be a thousand dollars.

Bert was amazed, but declined the offer.Throughout Europe Bert kept seeing the same golden telephone on a marble column. At each, he asked about it and the answer was always the same: a direct line to Heaven and he could call for a thousand dollars.

Bert finished his tour in Ireland. He decided to attend Mass at a local village church. When he walked in the door he noticed the golden telephone, but underneath it there was a sign stating: DIRECT LINE TO HEAVEN 25 cents, "Father," he said, "I have been all over Europe and in all the cathedrals I visited, I've seen telephones exactly like this one but the price is always a thousand dollars. Why is it that this one is only 25 cents?The Irish priest smiled and said, "Son, You're in Ireland now, it's a local call."

I thought that was great. It suits Ireland anyhow! ;-)

Mini Marathon

I just ran my first 'mini marathon' today. That's just a 10k road race, but I've never run one before. I finished in under an hour, which I thought was pretty impressive considering how late I was out and how much Corona I drank at my friend Lisa's BBQ. Now I'm shattered and looking forward to crashing in my bed, but I'm still kind of awake because I was a dumbass and had a cup of coffee after dinner. I should know better but I was too tired not to. I would have fallen asleep on the table.

The road race was a lot of fun. It goes all around the center of Dublin and there were 48,000 women registered. It's the largest women's 10k in the world. They raise silly amounts of money for different charities. I'd say the majority of women walk it, but there are quite a few who were running it today. I think I probably could have done better if I was sure my legs would carry me. If I were to do another, I'd probably be better off time-wise.

I'm heading to bed now though. I've got Gaelic training and kickboxing tomorrow night. Yes, I'm ambitious when it comes to working out lately. I can't help myself. It suits me! Hope you all had a great weekend. I'm looking forward to only 4 working days this week!! ;-)

BBQ

It is so NOT weather for a BBQ today. Or a Gaelic match, for that matter. I'm becoming more and more content with not having a ticket to the match. It is LASHING rain outside. The thing about having an apartment with windows full across the living area is that no matter what the weather is, you get it tenfold. Almost like you're out in it.

It's only 9am here but it feels much later. I'm not really able to sleep since my friends Anto and Liam insisted on starting rounds of vodka and Redbull last night. It's the drink of choice at the end of the night but since I'm not a big caffeine drinker it keeps me from sleeping in the first place and then from sleeping in once morning comes. Ugh. I may set up some nice slow music (maybe my new Medeleine Peyroux CD) and try to get myself back to dreamland.

The BBQ I'm going to is at Lisa and Paul's house and should be a really good time. I've never been up there but the place looks big enough to hold people even if it's still raining. Paul's got a good group of friends so it should be a good mix. I'm looking forward to it. I just have to figure out what I'm going to drink because I have to go get it at the store beforehand. Whatever it is has to leave minimal hangover, since I have to run the mini-marathon tomorrow morning. I should really pack my bag for that tonight too. I'm meant to be at the Bay Hotel at 11am tomorrow to catch our bus. It's going to be a long day. I've been told by loads of people it's a fun one though. Hopefully the weather will pick up by then.

Anyhow - I'm entirely too tired to be typing this at the moment so I'm going to crawl back into bed and try to get a bit more sleep. Hope your weekend's going well! ;-)

Long Weekend

A long weekend for you last weekend and a long weekend for me coming up this weekend. Fair warning before I get too much further into this post: I sweetened my burgers with a few glasses of wine. It's about my bedtime but I'm not really sleepy so I thought I'd post in case tomorrow is as busy as the rest of the week.

Thanks to the weekend, my Monday was a pretty exhausted one. Work was fine but I just couldn't bring myself to do much more than crash on my couch that night. Yesterday was busy at work and then I had Gaelic training. I left training just before cool-down laps to get to kickboxing before it was too late to show up. Busy, tiring night. Fun though.

So I love my new kickboxing classes. I'm getting a little more comfy in my gloves. Well, not MY gloves because I don't own any yet. I'm going to talk to Jerry and see if I can sort that out tomorrow. The sweat left behind by other people on the shared gloves is just kind of gross. I've got class again tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it!

My weekend was pretty good. Pretty normal Irish weekend. Lots of pubs and recovering and hanging out with friends. Not a bad weekend in all. I met a few new people and danced to a few good songs. I even downloaded some to dance to around my place as I get ready.

A confession: I've recently becoming addicted to E!. The channel, not the drug. They show it over here. I'm becoming a gossip junkie. Tonight is 101 Best Kept Secrets.

This weekend is the 'June Bank Holiday Weekend'. It means we have Monday off and I'm looking forward to it. I'm meant to run the Mini-Marathon in Dublin. It's a 10k race in Dublin on Monday. It's NOT going to be a fun physical experience since we've got a BBQ the night before. At least I won't be alone in my pain - the other girls are all invited too!!

I should get to bed soon. It's been a long and busy day and I know I've got another long one ahead, dealing with not-so-lovely people. I hope you are all happy to be halfway through your week!!!

Dave, Sweet Dave

Went to see Dave Matthews Band last night. The venue was this place called The Point right on the Liffy River in Dublin. It's a pretty cool little spot. I certainly wouldn't object to going to another concert or two there. The traffic wasn't even bad getting there - only the last little bit which was the most assinine traffic pattern I've ever seen but you'd have to be there to understand.

I also went to that funeral the other night. People were spilling out the doors. Everyone met up at the funeral home and lined up behind the hearse. The hearse then proceeded up to the church (about 3/4 mile) at a VERY slow pace and we all walked behind. Eveyrone waited outside while the family went in and they set the coffin inside. Everyone took their seats and then it was a fairly regular funeral mass. Most people headed to the pub for a few social drinks and/or food afterwards. There were 7 kids in the family so there were quite a few people around.

Training for tonight was changed to tomorrow night to acocmodate for a graduation mass that's going on in town. That means I'm free to go to kickboxing. The only thing is that kickboxing is at 9pm and I don't know if my motivation will last that long. That's kind of late for me. I'll be boxing past my bedtime! :-) I suppose it will allow me a quick sandwich with time to settle after work. Maybe I'll take a quick nap or something so I'm not as tired later on.

No big plans in store for the weekend yet... I have a match on Sunday but it's a 1/4 final for the championship, so the odds I'll get a game are slim to none. It will be fun to watch at the very least. I should blogging again before that, but if not

Only in Ireland

This e-mail just went company wide at the pharmaceutical plant I'm at right now. A 'bullock' is a young bull, for those of you unfamiliar with the term. It just struck me as funny and I had to laugh. Wouldn't see that working in downtown Boston! ;-)

To All,

Missing bullock last seen heading towards site.

A bullock belonging to Mr. John Hughes, it has gone missing from his land, if you see it please ring Mr. Hughes direct at 086-6007363. and inform security.

Regards,
Kathleen

Where does the time go?

Seriously - I feel like I just blogged the other day and then I look and it's been since Wednesday. Hmm... time flies when you're having fun I guess! I'm exhausted today. Another Sunday night out. I met up with Frosty around 10pm, so I didn't drink a lot but we were out until 2am again so I'm pretty tired from it. I'm sure you all are reading this thinking that I must be a crazy slacker and that I don't take my job seriously, going out the night before work. Not the case though - it's seriously part of the Irish culture. I was dancing with my co-workers until close last night and I can tell you I was MUCH better off than a few others. I'm not hungover- just tired.

I'm going to my first Irish funeral tonight. Long story and line of connection and nobody I knew personally. I'm kind of curious to see how it all goes. I think the part tonight starts at the funeral home (although a lot of people hold the wake at their house) and we'll walk up to the church (up main street -the hearse goes first and everyone follows) for Mass. I believe there's another Mass in the morning and then they walk up to the cemetery for the burial. Kind of like in Waking Ned Devine. I'll let you know more in my next blog.

The weekend was okay. We drew (tied) in our match on Friday. It ties us for first place in our division. Next Sunday is the 1/4 final match. Should be good. Saturday I went to watch Arklow United play in the cup final (men's soccer) and then went out with them (my friend Lisa's fiance plays so I hang with her) and witnessed complete drunkenness unfold. I have pics but haven't had time to get them off my camera. I think they're blog-worthy though!

Today is the longest day ever. I'm looking forward to getting home from the funeral and crashing into bed. Tomorrow night is training and then Wednesday is Dave Matthew Band! Woohoo!!! Catch you soon! ;-)

Blah!

The weather is blah. There's not really a better way to describe it in one word. It's rainy, cold, wet, and dark. Just blah. I swear I must be solar-charged because when it gets like this, my energy level drops in leaps and bounds. I'm not my normal 'chipper self' as one of the girls in the office said this morning.

The weekend was quiet. I really didn't do much of anything besides catch up on movies and tv shows that my mom tapes for me and sends on DVD. I caught up on laundry. One less thing I have to do during the week, I suppose.

Last night I made bread pudding for the first time ever. I was having this craving for it at the start of the week so I looked up a recipe, improvised a bit, and threw it in the oven last night. It came out pretty darn good. I had it warm with fresh cream over it last night and then I warmed it up in the microwave at work for breakfast again this morning. I'll be making that one again for sure. If anyone's interested in the recipe, just let me know!

Other than that, it's been pretty quiet on this side of the pond. I've got a Gaelic match on Friday night, the FA Cup Final (soccer) is on Saturday so that should be a good afternoon/night out, and that's about it. I think I'll try to make it to the Farmer's Market since I missed out on my falafel last weekend. I DID manage to get 4 pairs of shoes re-heeled though and he cleaned them up nicely when he did them. That walk across the bridge does a number on high heels!

I should be back before the end of the week. I've got loads of meetings and things to get done before the end of the day on Friday but I'll try to make time. Maybe get up from the couch (or even bring my laptop over TO the couch) during the evenings... Who knows? Hope you're enjoying the week anyhow. Halfway to Friday!! ;-)

The Sweetest Thing Ever

I think I just saw the sweetest thing ever. I'm just coming in from my morning run (intervals to help improve my speed) and the next door neighbors' door was open. I live in a 3 story apartment building, and all of the apartments have their own entrance. It saves on sharing a staircase, I guess. It also makes life easier for postmen and delivery men, if you think about it. Anyhow - the door was open to the next apartment over and when you open the door, the only thing there is a carpeted stairwell leading up. A young couple live there and I don't really know them so I'm not sure what their story is but taped to the front of every stair (the vertical part) on the way up was a piece of white paper (about 6x10") with one word in big, black marker. Each step had a different word saying I-MISS-YOU-I-LOVE-YOU-I-NEED-YOU- and that's as far as I could see!! A welcome home (but they've both been there)? An apology? A marriage proposal?? Doh!! I may have to get to know them better just so I can find out! How sweet is THAT??? And men think it's all about money and big lavish things. They have SO much to learn! ;-)

Page 3

I was just glancing through the blog of a young lady named April, who happened upon my blog and gets the humour of Irish life, having lived here for a while herself. She mentioned the naked woman in the daily 'newspapers' (aka trashy tabloids that abound here) and I realized I never mentioned the girls from Page 3.

Every issue of certain papers has a 'Page 3 Girl'. It's usually a large breasted, always beautiful young woman looking at you from a full-page photo of herself in nothing but a skimpy pair of panties (if that). It's quite alarming at first, and if one happens to be laying in the break room at work or some older person's home (which they always are) you rush to flip past that page without even reading the juicy celebrity gossip or (very rarely) informative little news bits. After a while you just stop noticing and when your boss stops by to see you, the page stays flipped open in near porn-like glory. Too funny. I should send some home to my male friends. They'd get a kick out of it.

A funny thing about the page 3 girls is that they tend to be nobody in particular. Just 'Mary, 19' or whatever their name is. Occasionally you get a former soap star or girl-band singer, but not often. Then there are the few who got their start on Page 3. Jordan, I believe, is one of those. I just read an article about her staring in her own reality TV show on E! at home, so some of you may know who she is. Incredibly large breasts and blond hair pretty much sums it up. I think she may even be preggers now.

Just a bit of a ditty on Page 3 for your entertainment. If you fly through one of the airports, you'll know exactly which page to flip to. Back to finishing this book about critical path... ;-)

Rain, rain, go away!

I can't believe I made it through an entire winter of this weather. I was getting pretty used to the sunshine and warmth of the past few weeks. It looks like the weather is going to be 'unsettled' for the next week or so, as they like to say here. I suppose it will keep the football pitch soft, which would be a plus. My left ankle (an old break) is killing me from all of the stop and go on the hard pitch last night.

I almost totally forgot about Mother's Day being this weekend. They celebrate it much earlier in the year here - at least I thought to buy a card while it was happening to have in-stock for this month! I can't get onto the website to order my gift though - I think it's probably just jammed with shoppers for Mother's Day. Oh - well. I'll have to try first thing in the morning here, when the rest of America is still sound asleep.

National elections are going on over here. It's kind of a funny process to watch. It's so different from everything at home. It's more based on local politics and party platforms. The candidates are all walking door to door for community support and they've got big posters with their ugly mugs hanging all over the place. I think the funniest (not really though) story I heard is the Labour Party sending out leaflets about how they want to save the environment. Instead of sending one packet to each house or using recycled paper, they're sending one to each person - so my friend Frosty's house got FIVE sent there. Way to save the environment, Labour Party!!!

Just thought I'd drop a little post today. I'm reading a novel about project management and lead time for critical paths at work. I know - sounds fun, doesn't it? It's actually kind of interesting but I needed a break anyhow. Happy Wednesday! Halfway through the week already!!! ;-)

Oh my!

I knew it had been a bit since I posted, but I was thinking it was Friday or something. Ooops!! It's been almost a week! Well, as you can tell from my perception of time and how quickly it's flown, it's been a fairly busy few days! We had a bank holiday yesterday so today is more like my Monday and it was a long weekend of drinking to kick off the summer fun.

Here's an interesting little tidbit about Ireland and Europe in general. They don't start 'summer' at the same time we do - whereas we go by the solstice at home, they go by calendar months here. In other words, the first day of summer is May 1st. That makes the seasons break up into four neatly arranged three-month intervals. They were talking about how it's a bit different on the radio the other day, which is what brought it to my attention. So this past weekend was the first weekend of summer here.

There was no lack of people to hang out with this weekend so most of the holiday weekend was spent meeting up with different groups of people in different pubs around town. I did a bit of shopping down Wexford way on Saturday with Frosty (she wanted to visit a new store that opened down there and it turned into quite a productive day of summer shopping) . Then there was a fun group of Americans in town that I ran into Friday night and kept bumping into throughout the weekend. They were over for a racquetball tournament (I'm also scheduled to meet up for a match with Frosty this week, whenever I manage to squeeze THAT in). It's always fun to run into people from home - to get their take on Arklow, if nothing else. They got along just fine from what I could tell!!!

The window in my room lets in way too much sunlight so I kept waking up early each morning - it made me want to scream. Yesterday was a bit cloudy - so between my slight hangover, the cloudy sky, and the sleep mask I had from one of my flights, I was able to get a decent amount of sleep. It felt AMAZING.

We had a match last night and beat Clara 9-5 to 0-3 which is equivalent to 32-3. Ouch. At least the weather was nice for a match. Tonight it's back to training and getting run into the ground. :-) I'm working on my sprinting form, which seemed to help a lot the other night. My calves were kind of tired though so I've been walking around the apartment on tip-toe trying to strengthen them a little. Yep - I look a bit mad but I'm hoping it will work!

Time to get back to work. Hope you all had a good weekend and that your weeks seem as short as mine actually is! ;-)

One Year

Holy cow. I've been living here for a year! The time has flow and yet I feel like so much has happened! I've had 2 jobs, lived in two towns and three different houses, learned a new sport, learned to drive standard on the wrong side of the road, earned a license all over again, and did it all in 2 different vans and 2 different cars. That's a lot to cover in a year.

I don't have much time to write today (it's nearly the end of the day) but I thought it was important I get that into my posts. Kind of cool though. Didn't picture that happening as part of my life plan... Maybe as a vague idea of 'living/working abroad' to add to my life experiences. Anyhow, my friend Noush (the American one or 'yer one the American' as they'd say here) sent me a really cool wine glass to take a proper celebratory drink! I thought it was very cool so I posted it for you all to see. Wish I could find a real one for my apartment! Great conversation piece!

Anyhow - I'm off to get some yummy steak from the local butcher. He's also a farmer and supplies all of his own meat and 99% of the time it melts in your mouth. Very tasty. I've got a great marinade I picked up at the Guinness Factory that I'm dying to try.

I'm also looking to get a bit faster in Gaelic (yes, I realize that eating the above-mentioned steak won't help) so if anyone's got any good sprint workouts or ways to increase speed (I hear hill runs are really good), I'd appreciate the advice.

I'm off! By the way - it's been a full year and there are a whole LOT of people over there who still ow me a visit! If Crystal can pull it off being married with 2 kids, then you most certainly can! You know who you are!!!! ;-)

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!! ;-)