Peppermint Tea

Thanking a Stranger

2008-12-22T18:24:00.003Z

I just wanted to share a wonderful thing that happened to me yesterday. Mollie, Ben, Madeline (Mollie's friend) and myself decided to go ice skating and headed off to the RDS. As we arrived at the pay kiosks a man approached me and asked if I had pre booked my tickets, when I replied that I hadn't he smiled and gave me a ticket. I offered to pay for it but he refused and wished me a merry Christmas. So thanks to that stranger I saved myself €18. I really do believe that what goes around comes around as back in July Ben, mum and myself went to Legoland. I had purchased the tickets earlier and had also bought one for my dad. Unfortunately dad was ill and unable to come so I offered my ticket to a man in the queue who was thrilled to be saving £35.

For a special Friend

2008-12-07T10:10:00.004Z

I had it all planned, a walk on the beach and plenty of photos, albeit a pebbly beach in the depths of winter with lots of ice and not a lot of sun but then wham we were hit with the lurgy (well sore throats and colds) so no long walks for me but I still wanted to write this post.

I first met Barbara when she started commenting on mum's blog. Barbara always left the most delightful comments so I had to go and check her out and boy was I glad I did. Barbara posts the most delicious recipes. I have made more of Barbara's dishes than of anyone else's and each one has been delightful. So when I heard about Bron's idea of Barbara's friends sending her virtual hugs via blogging I didn't think twice about signing up even though I seem to be on an extended break from blogging. Barbara's blog posts are positive and sunny, a touch of Oz with beautiful photography and sometimes I forget the battle she is currently fighting. Because Barbara knows mum, Sam and myself and has followed us through our highs and lows she truly feels like a family member and I want to share a big hug with her.

If I was out in Australia I would bring her a pavlova, I mean who can resist all those berries, double cream and crispy on the outside, slightly gooey on the inside meringue. We'd sit watching the sunset over the sea and sip the finest champagne.

Of course if Barbara was to roll up here she'd probably end up being offered some novelty birthday cake ( which is always chocolate).

So Barbara, consider youself the recipient of lots of hugs from us here in Ireland, xxx.

Hypothermia Hell

2008-08-19T21:45:00.003+01:00

So I'm back, I sneaked back in through the back door and some of you found me, thank you.

Too much has happened to fill you in and I know some of you were hearing my news from mum but I will say that I really needed that break from blogging and I won't be back blogging manically like before but will post as and when I feel like it and when I've something decent to post about...like how I nearly died of hypothermia. Now that got you interested.

It's August and where I was brought up that means summer, long, hot days, playing on the beach, swimming in the sea, ice cream, strawberries, ~~sunburn~~ and barbecues. Wrong, now it means rain and summer flooding and not even snow in the winter. Last week I was playing in an open tennis tournament, one I have played in several times, my memories are of sun cream, sun glasses and drinking lots of water. Last week I was lucky if I came off court dry but despite the rain we succeeded in getting to a final. I awoke on finals day to the sound of sleeting rain and groaned. The forecast was for rain all weekend so I dragged myself off with my wet weather gear and plenty of warm clothes for after. Yes, it's official, the Irish are mad and play in the lashing rain. We were sent out on court, with apologies from the referee but there was no sign of a let up all weekend and what could they do? Before the game started I was soaked and had to remove my non waterproof waterproof leggings and coat. By game six I was sloshing around in pools of water and soaked through to my knickers (not a comfortable feeling), by the end of the set (which we won) I was shivering and shaking and could only focus on how cold I was. I don't know how but my body continued to hit the ball, it seemed to know what to do, all I could think about was how cold I was. A few games later when all I could say was 'I'm so cold' over and over my partner asked me to concede as she was worried about me. I ran for the shower. After a long shower and some hot food I felt human again but it really took me about 24 hours for my body temperature to get back to normal. It was a horrible experience and I will not be playing tennis in those conditions ever again.

Experience List

2008-08-17T22:51:00.006+01:00

So I've been plurking and lurking lately, saw this on Aoj's blog and wanted to play along.

The experiences in bold are the ones I’ve done. Feel free to tag yourself!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink -at least it felt like everyone!
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree-in my hippy phase
10. Bungee jumped-never
11. Visited Paris-three times, including my honeymoon
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea-don't watch anything at sea, just lie there until the agony of sea travel is over!
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights-hope to some day
15. Gone to a huge sports game-Wimbledon semi and finals day 2006
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa (now closed to the public)-very scary on the leaning side as no rails to stop you from falling
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables-if lettuce and herbs count
18. Touched an iceberg-lettuce that is
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s nappy
21. Taken a trip on a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Got drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment-whilst reading a prayer when a girl guide...it didn't go down too well and I was nearly thrown out
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse-never bet on anything ever.
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight-back when it used to snow here
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run-if rounders counts!
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking -still do
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer -you what?
40. Visited all 50 states-only two
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends-and still have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country-was invited to a wedding in Greece, had a ball dancing the night away.
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing- including once without equipment at the age of seven...I had a lucky escape
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland-hell I live here!
52. Been heartbroken for longer than when you were in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds-well it was better than studying and it didn't last long!
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke-very badly
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain -tennis the other day and nearly got hypothermia
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight-what's D&D
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest-the children were in the costumes but as I dressed them I'll count it as me winning as well!
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason-not often enough
84. Performed on stage-ballet, tap and modern dance
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror-danced in audience at Rocky Horror...
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived-the aforementioned rock climbing incident
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds-cash or fat? Had 60 pounds stolen from our tent when asleep once
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours-I wasn't well
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states-not difficult, I've only visited the US twice
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read-The French Leuitenants Woman (I didn't enjoy it)
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language-does fluttering one's eyelids count?
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream-one of them anyway (and not the one where I'm married to Johnny Depp)
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone’s life

Introducing Rascal...

2008-04-21T09:34:00.005+01:00

We recently had the pleasure of minding Rascal for a week. When I told Joules we were minding a rat for a week he thought I had finally lost my marbles, Dillon said he was going nowhere near the rat and Ben was a little bit afraid. By the end of the week Rascal had five new fans...can anyone guess what Mollie would like for her birthday?

Knocksink Woods

2008-04-18T12:27:00.003+01:00

When mum was over recently we went for a walk in Knocksink Woods. Knocksink Woods is a nature reserve in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow and is very close to Dublin. It is a lovely place to visit with children as there is a river with bridges, woods, trees to climb, slopes to climb up and slide down as well as some small winding paths through the woods. If you venture off the main path you come to a small shingle beach where my children have been known to paddle in the icy waters. After a walk here it's only a short hop to the beautiful gardens at Powerscourt where you can enjoy a scrumptious lunch or a nice hot cuppa with a slice of tasty lemon tart.

How to stop your daughter becoming a vegetarian in 10 easy steps.

2008-04-17T11:02:00.002+01:00

1) Do not argue with her, even though she offers no argument, rational or otherwise, for this decision.

2) Do not allow other family members to argue with her (it may make her more stubborn).

3) Plan a weeks menu which is made up of all her favourite meaty meals.

4) Buy a pack of tofu.

5) Add tofu to a tomato and vegetable sauce and pour over pasta. Include plenty of said daughters least favourite vegetables.

6) Inform daughter that as you will not be cooking separate meals every day she will be eating this meal for the next five days as that is how many meals the pack of tofu made.

7) Smile sweetly and order a cheeseburger and chips when hubby offers to buy everyone else takeaway for dinner.

8) Talk about forthcoming meal out in TGI Fridays and remind daughter that she can have a veggie burger or salad but that you'll have to check out what the chips are fried in.

9) Encourage daughter every step of the way.

10) When daughter ~~comes to her senses~~ realises that she no longer wants to be a vegetarian smile sweetly and impress on her that you don't want to hear her utter those words for at least another six years!

N.B. No daughters were hurt in this experiment.

Calling all Brownies

2008-02-28T13:01:00.004Z

No not the edible ones but the ones that come in and clean your house when you're asleep. I have a very important visitor arriving in two days and have just spent the morning cleaning Mollie's bedroom, although according to Mollie she cleaned it yesterday so I'm wondering how she'll account for the two bags of rubbish and two loads of washing I found up there.

I still have the rest of the house to tackle so if there are any volunteers come on over...and yes I have the edible brownies here for all helpers.

Mollieitus

2008-02-27T09:18:00.002Z

Thank you for all your well wishes and I'm feeling a lot better although apparently I sound like a pneumatic drill when I'm asleep but I've only woken myself up a few times with the noise (Joules on the other hand has been having trouble sleeping)!

Last Friday when I felt cold, shivering and had a headache which wouldn't shift I spent the morning in A&E. Of course with Mollie. On Wednesday Mollie came home from school complaining that her toe was sore but she hadn't knocked or hurt it in any way. I had a look and it seemed fine, no swelling, no broken skin. An hour later Mollie couldn't walk, her toe was red and swollen and she couldn't walk on it. By Friday it was very sore and she had resorted to using her crutches (luckily the hospital had refused to take them back because it costs too much to sterilize them). An x-ray confirmed no fracture so the doctors decided to take blood to check for arthritis which if I say worried me slightly that would be a huge understatement, worse still, it would take a week to get the results. It was a long weekend in which I felt rotten and worried far too much. On Monday I managed to get hold of my GP who chased up the results and was able to tell us that Mollie doesn't have arthritis or any form of infection and to continue to rest the toe. We were very relieved to hear this and Mollie had named her condition Mollieitus. Today there is some improvement, Mollie is still on crutches but the swelling has receded and it is not as sore.

After that stress it was great to receive this joke from John.

Sainsbury condoms - making life taste better
Tesco Condoms - every little helps
Nike Condoms - Just do it Peugeot Condoms - The ride of your life
KFC Condoms - Finger Licking good
Minstrels Condoms - melt in your mouth, not in your hand
Abbey National Condoms - because life is complicated enough
Coca Cola Condoms - The real thing
Pringles Condoms - once you pop, you can't stop
Burger King Condoms - Home of the Whopper
Goodyear Condoms - For a longer ride, go wide
Muller light condoms - So much pleasure, but where's the pain?
Flash Condoms - Just sit back, relax and let flash do all the hard work
Halford Condoms - We go the extra mile
Royal Mail Condoms - I saw this and thought of you
Andrex Condoms - Soft, strong and very very long
Domestos Condoms - Gets right in the rim
Heineken Condoms - Reaches parts that other condoms just cannot reach
Carlsberg Condoms - Probably the best condom in the world
Pepperami Condoms - It's a bit of an animal Polo Condoms - The condom with the hole!! (VERY poor seller !!)
McDonalds Condoms - I'm Lovin' it!
American Express Condoms - Don't Leave Home Without it, or: That'll Do Nicely!
Microsoft Condoms - Where Do You Want To Go Today?
Radio Times Condoms - If it's on it's in
Pedigree Chum dog food condoms - Top breeders recommend it!
Daily Express condoms - Express Delivery
Martini Condoms - Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere
Churchill Condoms - OH,YES
Kellogg's Fruit and Fibre Condoms - They're tasty, tasty, very, very tasty
Veet Condoms - Take the bull by the horns
XXXX Condoms - Australians wouldn't give a XXXX with anything else
TV Times Condoms - I never knew there was so much in it
Boddington's Condoms - The cream of Manchester
Cadburys Condoms - a Glass and Half in every one
Mars Condoms - Help You Work, Rest & Play
Special K Condoms - If You Can Pinch More Than An Inch
Bisto Condoms - Ahhhhhhhhh.!
Fruit Pastilles Condoms - Bet you can't put one in your mouth without chewing it
DFS Condoms - Open every bank holiday
Kwik Fit condoms - you can't get quicker than a Kwik Fit fitter!
Nintendo DS condoms - touching is good
Maxwell House condoms - good to the last drop
Rice Krispies Condoms - Snap, Crackle, Pop
EA Sports Condoms - It's in the game
Ebay Condoms - Buy it. Sell it. Love it.
Capital One Comdoms - What's In Your Wallet?
Morgan Stanley Condoms - One Client At A Time
Heinz Condoms - 57 Varieties
Creme Egg Condoms - How do you eat yours?
Nokia Condoms - Connecting People
Frosties Condoms - They're Grrrrreat!!
RAF Condoms - Rise above the rest
HM Revenue & Customs Condoms - It doesn't have to be taxing
Windows Vista Condoms - The Wow Starts Now
Mac Mini Condoms - Small is Beautiful
Philadelphia Condoms - A little taste of heaven
FedEx Condoms - When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight
Burger King Condoms - Have It Your Way
Yellow Pages Condoms = Let your fingers do the walking
T-Mobile Condoms - Simply Closer
Ikea Condoms - Screw yourself!

A Wintry Supper

2008-02-25T12:37:00.005Z

A few weeks I bought myself a new cookbook. Now I rarely use cookbooks as I tend to get most of my recipes from the internet (blogging or recipe searches) and magazines but the title caught my eye 101 One Pot Dishes by the Good Food magazine. With a busy family life this was just what I needed, the fact that the book is small and cheap (€7.50) had me sold. I have made a number of dishes from this book and all have been really tasty and received the thumbs up. Because I like to cook food from scratch I haven't followed all the recipes in their entirety and have therefore used more than one pan but the end results have been great. This recipe has been adjusted from the book.

Chicken with Creamy Bacon Penne

1tbsp olive oil

4 skinned, boneless chicken breasts, cut up

5 bacon rashers (slices) chopped up

6 tbsp dry white wine

6-8oz frozen peas

8 tbsp cream

450g cooked penne

Heat the oil in the pan, gently fry chicken and bacon on high heat fro about four minutes.

When chicken has browned add the wine and let it bubble over a high heat until most of the wine has evaporated.

Add the peas, cream, penne and season. Stir then cover with a lid and simmer until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Enjoy.

Making my day...

2008-02-23T09:19:00.003Z

Unfortunately this is currently my best friend.

Feeling cold and miserable yesterday I was delighted to recieve my Valentine's swap gift from Briggie. I got a lovely parcel full of peppermint pattie hearts, mint chocolate, soap (mint and gingerbread flavour which I though was pretty canny), an angel and a book. Thank you so much Briggie for making my day and thank you to Kailani who organised the swap.

Gingerbread Men

2008-02-21T10:08:00.000Z

Apparently gingerbread men are a traditional Luxembourgian dish as well so Mollie baked a batch on Tuesday. She plans to take some in for her teacher so we'll see if a bit of bribrey works! You'll find the recipe here.

Ham in Hay

2008-02-19T10:48:00.000Z

Many of you who follow my blog will be aware that Mollie is currently working on a project about Luxembourg. The information from the Embassy arrived within a week and Yvonne has been so helpful with loads of information and kindly answering a few questions about life in Luxembourg. Last week we decided to try out a Luxembourgian dish, ham in hay. It really is what it says it is, ham cooked on a bed of hay. Our vedict: unfortunately the ham was a bit fatty and we found it too salty but I did like the earthy, straw like taste it got from being steamed in the hay.

Bums!

2008-02-18T09:03:00.005Z

We were all set to be wiped off the tennis court. The team we were playing were very strong and hadn't dropped a point over the five weeks of the league but I was looking forward to the challenge.

It all started so well.

I served well, my volleys were working and I was well able to rally with the girls. We won that first game.

The second game started off well with us winning the first couple of points.

Then came the lob...not a problem I thought as I raced back to get it. Unfortunately it was a great lob and landed on the back of the line so I stretched that bit more....that's when I felt it...yep I tore a muscle in my bum.

I continued to play but I was in agony and couldn't put my weight onto that leg.

Of course we lost.

I'm sitting here in a great deal of pain as it's far worse today but at least I have a good excuse to blog all day and I've just booked a spa treatment at this hotel where I'm going for a girls weekend with the tennis girls.

Grease is the Word....

2008-02-16T10:38:00.002Z

Last night was the Grease party. I didn't bring my camera (it's bigger than my bag), but Joules took this photo before I left. Lots of people made a huge effort in dressing up, the social committee were dressed as the pink ladies and the men's captain was brilliant as a teddy boy. I found it hard to dance to all the fifties music but after a vodka or five I got into it and danced till 2am!

My Valentine's Day Gift.

2008-02-15T12:14:00.003Z

What to do if you get nothing on Valentine's day?

Why buy yourself a beautiful red ring of course!!!

Arghhhh

2008-02-11T16:13:00.000Z

I have spent hours catching up on my blog reading but for some reason I could only leave a handful of comments. It didn't seem to matter what type of blog I was reading, those comment pages just weren't showing up!

F.A.M.E.

2008-02-11T13:34:00.000Z

Mollie has three very close friends and last week she was invited to Anna's house for a sleepover to celebrate her birthday. After the success of painting this, Mollie decided to paint a picture for Anna. The initials of the four girls make the word F.A.M.E (Florence, Anna, Mollie and Eve). Anna loved her painting, the other girls all want one and I've hinted that maybe Mollie could paint the family for me for Mothering Sunday.

Grease

2008-02-07T08:42:00.000Z

For those who guessed it's not a vicar and tarts party. The white and virginal was a reference to 'look at me I'm sandra dee' whilst the black and sexy was 'you're the one that I want'. Now I most definitely do not have the body to be squeezed into a black satin cat suit a la Olivia Newton John so it's on with the bobby socks and the full skirt and I'll be 'grease lightnin'!

Busy as a Bee!

2008-02-06T09:11:00.000Z

Life is very busy at the moment what with projects, exams and little monkeys! Not to mention my belly dancing, hockey, tennis and PA commitments, throw in a few birthday celebrations, nights out and books to read and I'm exhausted just thinking about it. The project is going really well thanks to Yvonne who moved from Dublin to Luxembourg as a child and has given Mollie lots of valuable information including unusual facts that wouldn't be readily available to Mollie. Dillon's exams are nearly finished, just two left on Friday then he has a week off school. Dillon is fairly confident that they all went quite well, except for the maths paper where he rubbed out every single answer (the less said about that the better)! As for me, I've been busy putting together an outfit for a fancy dress party I'm going to next week, the question is, should I go white and virginal or black and sexy? Can you guess the theme of the party?

Once again I bring you Witty Wednesday thanks to John.

Male or Female?

You might not have known this, but a lot of non-living objects are actually either male or female. Here are some examples:

FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again.They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong Buttons.

TYRES: Tires are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated HOT AIR

BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under their butt.

SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water.

WEB PAGES: Female, because they're constantly being looked at and frequently getting hit on.

TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people.

EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom.

HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around.

THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. Ha! You probably thought it would be male, but consider this: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying New Law:

Don't mention the P word!

2008-02-01T12:51:00.000Z

It looks like I made the second clue way to easy and you were all right but my mother was the first to guess correctly so I think I'll have to blackmail her. Mum when you come and visit us I will present you with your prize!

Once a year the dreaded P word is mentioned in our house.

The dreaded P word is Project.

While I understand that children have to write projects they cause a lot of stress and tension. Ben was looking forward to his first project until Mollie started telling how boring they were then it was moans and tears all the way.

Yesterday there were smiles of relief as he finished it.

Lucky Ben.

Mollie's project starts on Monday and she has two and a half weeks to produce twenty pages on Luxembourg. The children were all given an EU country and guess what? The school library has a book on every single EU country except Luxembourg. The children have to write to their countries embassy for information and guess what? There is no Luxembourg embassy in Ireland so Mollie wrote to their UK embassy, it could take a week for her letter to get there which leaves a week and half to receive their reply and use their material in the project.

I'm really not looking forward to the next two and a half weeks!

Still Guessing...

2008-01-31T08:00:00.000Z

As nobody guessed correctly it's time for clue number two: Next week I need to bring a scarf along to the class to tie around a part of my body (over my clothes)!

I just thought I'd include this picture of Ben sleeping. For some reason he's taken to removing his pyjama top (copying big brother and dad I guess) and he's sleeping on a big Snoopy which was mine when I was a girl and survived the trip back to Dublin two years ago despite being dropped in a pool of mucky, oily water in the airport carpark.

Guess what...

2008-01-30T08:36:00.000Z

Yesterday I started a new exercise activity and my children had great fun trying to guess what it was. After three clues Mollie guessed, it was very funny as they threw out wild suggestions so I thought I'd ask you lot to guess. The first clue is that it was a form of exercise, if nobody guesses there will be another clue tomorrow...and yes there will be a prize for the winner.

Witty Wednesday comes from my usual supplier.

A man was in a long line at his local supermarket. As he got to the checkout he realised he had forgotten to get condoms so he asked the checkout girl if she could have some brought up to the register. She asked; 'What size condoms?' The customer replied that he didn't know so she asked him to drop his trousers. He did. She reached over the counter, grabbed hold of him and called over the intercom; 'One box of large condoms, Checkout 5:

The next man in line thought this was interesting, and like most of us, was up for a cheap thrill. When he got up to the checkout, he told the check out girl that he too had forgotten to get condoms, and asked if she could have some brought to the checkout for him. She asked him what size, and he stated that he didn't know. She asked him to drop his trousers. He did. She gave him a quick feel, picked up the intercom and said; 'One box of medium-sized condoms, Checkout 5:

A few customers back was a teenage boy. He thought what he had seen was way too cool. He had never had any type of sexual contact with a live female, so he thought this was his chance. When he got to the checkout he told the assistant he needed some condoms. She asked him what size and he said he didn't know. She asked him to drop his pants and he did. She reached over the counter, gave him a quick squeeze then picked up the intercom and said; 'Mop and bucket to checkout 5'.

How do you solve a problem like...?

2008-01-29T08:00:00.000Z

Dillon's mock exams start this week. These are a practice for his Junior Cert exams in June, which are his first serious examinations. Although these exams aren't important in the long run, his Leaving Cert exams at 18 years will determine which university he will attend, they are a practice and to be taken seriously, ie, turn up on time with all the equipment. Fortunately Dillon will turn up on time with all the equipment, thanks to his mother. Idle chat late last night and I discovered that he didn't know which exams he had today and when he read his timetable I discovered that he had lost his calculator needed for his maths exam. If I hadn't asked him last night he would have gone into school totally unprepared, luckily Joules had a scientific calculator so he'll be prepared but I'm sure I have a few more grey hairs!

Brithday Greetings...

2008-01-25T08:03:00.000Z

Friday evening was spent making birthday gifts for a very special lady.

Happy Birthday Mum

A Snackalicious Super Dish

2008-01-24T08:12:00.000Z

When I saw Robin's post which involved the chance to share recipes and be entered in a draw to win a cookbook I signed up straight away, then spent the next two weeks wondering what to post. Well I changed my mind a few times and finally decided to submit this bacon and pasta recipe, adapted from cookiecrumb who throws together the most wonderful dishes. As I've said before my photography is not up to much but this dish is delicious and it is easy to cook up a huge bowlful for those social gatherings.

Cook up required amount of tagliatelle, grill bacon rashers so nice and crispy, gently fry red onion and garlic. Drain pasta, add some olive oil and stir in the bacon, onion and garlic. Stir well and sprinkle grated Parmesan over the top. Serve with fresh bread, I recommend this no knead bread.

N.B. The bacon, onion and garlic can be cooked in advance making this a very quick and easy meal to serve up.

Witty Wednesday

2008-01-23T17:00:00.000Z

Thanks to Terri I don't feel so bad about those few extra pounds I gained over Christmas!

And Booked...

2008-01-22T07:40:00.000Z

Our summer holiday....

..Mum and Dad are joining us for two weeks in this villa in Portugal.

Divinity from Above

2008-01-21T00:01:00.000Z

Tennis winter league started today, we got off to a good start with all our team winning their matches. As we were hosting the match we provide the tea after. I am getting a bit of a reputation with my baking so I decided to wow everyone with this.

And wow them I did. I have to confess that it is very easy and as for the icing...divine!

Angelic Chocolate Cake

(recipe taken from You magazine)

Angel Sponge

8 medium egg whites

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

250g icing sugar, sifted

110g plain flour, sifted

30g cocoa powder, sifted

Icing

100g milk chocolate, broken up

15g unsalted butter

30g cocoa powder, sifted

50ml water

1 tbsp golden syrup

Preheat oven 170C/150C fan oven, grease 20cm angel food tin (or 20cm deep loose-bottom cake tin).

Whisk the egg whites, salt and tartar until stiff peaks are formed.

Whisk in the sugar.

Fold in the flour and cocoa.

Pour into tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool in tin.

Gently melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

In another pan heat the cocoa, water and golden syrup, whisking until smooth.

Combine the two to make a thick icing.

Gently ease the cake out of the tin and slap on the icing. Leave to set.

Make lattices by melting some dark chocolate and leave to set. Stick the lattices into the cake as the icing sets.

Enjoy.

After ~~pigging out on the~~ tea at the tennis club I returned home to the beautiful aroma of a lasagne cooking. Since Joules has finished his degree he has loads of spare time and has started making dinner every Sunday. He researches his recipes and makes them all from scratch, no bolognese sauce out of a jar for him. Today he spent two and a half hours in the kitchen and much as I hate to admit it, he made an extremely good lasagne...ok, ok I admit that it was better than mine and, most importantly, he washed up all the pots and pans whilst I sat back with my glass of wine and booked...

The Return of...

2008-01-20T10:22:00.000Z

After not one but two disastrous attempts I am please to announce that my flapjack baking mojo is back...

....Long may it stay!

Valentine's Day Swap.

2008-01-19T15:34:00.000Z

I've decided to join in the Valentine's Day Goody swap hosted by An Island Life. It's not too late to sign up if you fancy sending and receiving some valentine themed goodies. Part of the swap is to answer the following questions.

What is your idea of a romantic Valentine’s Day?

Sometimes I make Joules heart shaped sandwiches or cake. Just spending time together is good.

In reality, what is your Valentine’s Day really like?

The last five years he's been at college or studying, this year should be a good one.

If you could have a lifetime supply of your favorite sweet indulgence, what would it be?

Fry's Peppermint Cream.

Is there any sweet treat you absolutely do not like?

Nuts.

If you fell into a pool of chocolate, how would you get out?

Did you say fell? I thought I jumped!

What's on your dresser?

2008-01-18T08:32:00.000Z

John over at Publog has asked what's in your dresser? Unlike John I do not have a beautiful old dresser that has been in my family for generations, in fact I don't have a dresser full stop. My house is affectionately known as a shoe box and you'd be lucky to find room at the dinner table if you came visiting. John's dresser is full of antique silver, old photographs and plates with the willow tree pattern. My cupboards are full of cheap china and glasses from Ikea (that way I'm not upset when something gets broken). However I do have one plate that I love hanging on my wall. When I was younger my granny had four plates on her wall, three of which I thought were old fashioned 'fuddy duddy' and this one. I always loved this one and wished that granny would take it down so I could eat my dinner from it. No such luck but when granny moved in with mum she asked me would I like any of her furniture. I asked for the plate, granny offered me all four. I replied that I only wanted the one to which granny said but it's not worth anything the other three are collectibles. I wasn't looking for an antique, I just wanted the plate I spent hours looking at as a child. This plate now hangs on my wall and evokes sweet memories of time spent with my granny.

What's on your dresser?

Ben's Birthday

2008-01-14T22:40:00.000Z

Ben's birthday was nearly two months ago when my computer was broken and I was unable to post. I had promised mum pictures from his party which we held in Fitzone. The children went off for supervised play and we were given a voucher and retired to the bar/cafe where we ate a leisurely lunch and read the Sunday papers. We returned in time for the food and cake (a treasure chest I'd made the previous day), then it was home to open the presents. It had to be the easiest, most relaxing party we've held.

What to call a post when you've got brain freeze?

2008-01-14T22:28:00.001Z

Yesterday was not a good day. Well it probably was for Dillon because there was no mention of phone bills. First I had a disaster in the kitchen. As you know I introduced the USA to flapjacks...well some of you anyway. I was so good at making them I could do it standing on my head, blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back, (you want to come and see me try)? Then I lost my baking mojo. I blame it on the lack of sunlight last summer but for the last few months I've been very uninspired in the kitchen and if my family got a decent meal they were lucky. Somewhere along the line I've refound my baking mojo and have even been trying out new dishes when I remembered that I owed the wonderful Laurie some flapjacks. So I baked a batch yesterday, they looked perfect when I took them out of the oven and I was dying for them to cool so I could sample one. Then I forgot to remove them from the parchment in time and they stuck...solid...they were not budging an inch without bringing all the paper with them. On the bright side it was better than sticking to the pan, as the only place for them was the bin. Guess what I'm making today?

Also Mollie decided to have her third preteen temper tantrum in ten days. I was not the easiest of teens, in fact I'd go as far as saying I was very difficult, argumentative, stroppy and sulky. When Mollie was little she had some pretty bad tantrums but we found a way of dealing with them, she got over them and turned into a nice, pleasant, helpful girl (most of the time). I think mum will probably be smiling and thinking what goes around comes around, as for me? I'm hoping for a longer break before the next one and I'm hoping they don't go on for too many years.

Now after a bad day like that I need a laugh and who better to provide me with one than John:

THREE LITTLE DUCKS!

Three little ducks go into a Bar......

"Say, what's your name?" the bartender asked the first duck.
"Huey," was the reply.
"How's your day been, Huey?"
"Great. Lovely day.. Had a ball. Been in and out of puddles all day. What else could a duck want?" said Huey.
"Oh. That's nice," said the bartender. He turned to the second duck, "Hi, and what's your name?"
"Dewey," came the answer from duck number two.
"So how's your day been, Dewey! ?" he asked.
"Great. Lovely day. I've had a ball too. Been in and out of puddles all day myself. What else could a duck want?"
The bartender turned to the third duck and said, "So, you must be Louie?"

"No," she said, batting her eyelashes.
"My name is Puddles."

The Saga Continues

2008-01-14T20:03:00.000Z

After reading all the comments on my last post I thought I would clarify somethings:

Dillon has a mobile (cell) phone which is pay as you go. When Dillon buys credit for it he can use it, he rarely buys credit as he tends to use it up in one go. I will not go guarantee for a bill pay phone even though the call and text costs would be cheaper because....well after the last post I think no explanation is needed but I'm not prepared to stump up for his bill.

I believe Ireland is one of the most expensive places to call mobile phones from, it costs even more to call mobile to mobile and it is only since Eircom lost it's monopoly on the phone industry that the cost of calls have become cheaper and land line calls free (although we pay a monthly fee to cover these 'free' calls).

It's nice to know that I'm not the only mother of a teenager displaying lack of common sense, I did credit him with more sense but I was plainly seeing him through rose tinted spectacles as he claims that every penny was worth it despite the additional €106 bill from calling the girlfriends mobile from mum's house in the UK. That's close to €350 he spent on phone calls in two months...I'm thinking a few new play station 3 games, a new bicycle, nearly enough for the longed for laptop, a camera, spending money for the foreign trips he'll be taking this year. He is very lucky that he has a job gardening for his granny so he has the means to pay off his debt but it does mean he'll be very poor for the next six months and I hope he has learnt his lesson.

Sam, Dillon does more than enough smooching but some studying wouldn't go amiss as he's big exams this year!

An Expensive Lesson

2008-01-12T08:24:00.003Z

Land line to land line calls (under one hour) = free

Land line to mobile (cell) phones:

daytime = 21 cent a minute
evening = 15.13 cent a minute
weekend = 14.10 cent a minute

Between the 5th November and the 5th January Dillon made 269 calls to his girlfriends mobile phone at a cost of €200.02 ($293.28) and 77 calls to her house phone at a cost of €0. Now it's plainly obvious to me which phone he should have been calling her on and he does have a few braincells rattling around inside his head so why did he keep calling her mobile phone despite me telling him not to? This I can't really answer except to say that the girlfriend can manipulate him (his words) so he feels he has to call her and ~~sometimes~~ quite often her house phone is in use.

When valued added tax is added to Dillon's calls it brings the total amount of his bill to €242.02 ($354.87) that's a lot of pocket money Dillon will be stumping up so I guess life won't be quite so peachy for a while.

Was it worth it? I know what my answer to that would be.

Tag and be tagged

2008-01-10T13:22:00.000Z

I was recently tagged by my mother who tagged me because I'd forgotten to complete this meme when first tagged by Lisa (around the time I went AWOL)!

The rules:
Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts.
The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given below (family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like).
Tag 5 other friends to do this meme.
Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.
Don’t forget to read the archived post and leave comments.

I've chosen this one as my family post because it was written back in the days when only my family read me and describes a typical family day out, ie, Dillon doesn't come because he's scouting or socialising, me forgetting something and us all enjoying a day together.

This post on friendship I wrote as a guest blogger on Frannie's blog. I was very nervous writing it as I feel I can print any old rubbish here but I wanted something good for Frannie.

Me? Well this post sums me up really. Tennis, family and friends. What you see is what you get.

On to my love, well this could be my love for my children, tennis, friends or food...or Joules. Researching this I've found that I haven't posted much about him, mostly things in passing. That's because when I started blogging he said he didn't want me blogging about him. Although when I posted his first birthday post he posed for his picture. Now he often asks 'what nice things are you saying about me'? This post pretty much sums him up. He's easy going, needs very little to keep going, when he has a problem he deals with it promptly and with little fuss and he brings lots of laughter and some unpleasant smells into our house.

I've chosen this post as my other post. I often seem to write advice posts which basically mean that I've done something stupid and I'm trying to prevent anyone else from being a dipstick too. This was maybe one of my least bright ideas but hey it gave me something to blog about right?

Alix, Katy, Misslionheart, BS and Debbie consider yourself tagged but only if you want to do it.

Why she loved Carnation milk...

2008-01-09T08:35:00.000Z

Terri sent me this, I thought it was hilarious and very worthy of it's witty Wednesday inclusion.

A little old lady from Wisconsin had worked in and around her family dairy farms since she was old enough to walk, with hours of hard work and little compensation. When canned Carnation Milk became available in grocery stores in approximately the 1940's, she read an advertisement offering $5,000 for the best slogan. The producers wanted a rhyme beginning with "Carnation Milk is best of all .. ." She thought to herself, I know all about milk and dairy farms ... I can do this! She sent in her entry, and about a week later, a black limo drove up in front of her house ... a man got out and said, "Carnation LOVED your entry so much, we are! here to award you $2000, even though we will not be able to use it ... " Here is her entry:

This really made me laugh as well.

A Costly Journey.

2008-01-08T08:02:00.000Z

Joules: 'Were you driving on the M1 though Santry on the 3rd December'?

Me: (Thinking the date rings a bell as the day I took my friend back to the airport and then I could have been in Santry) 'I could have been, is that on the way to the airport'?

Joules: 'Yes'.

Me: 'Why'?

Joules: 'You got a speeding ticket'.

Me: 'What me, never'.

Joules: '€80 fine and two penalty points'.

Me: 'What speed was I going'?

Joules: '92kph in an 80kph '.

Me: 'What's that in miles'?

Joules: 'About 55mph instead of 48mph'.

Me: 'But I'm really careful on the M50, remember when I thought I got caught last time I went to the airport and was late. I've been so careful to keep within the speed limit. Anyway why was the limit so low on the motorway'?

Joules: 'You weren't on the M50 you were on the M1, Santry is coming out of the port tunnel and you have to go slow for another mile or two and you didn't'.

Here I have to concede my guilt. We were in danger of being late and as I'd never used the new port tunnel I wasn't sure how close I was to the airport. Not only did using the new tunnel cost €6 in a toll fee but it earned me an €80 fine and my first (and hopefully last) penalty points on my driving licence.

Joules: 'I'll be getting one soon, do you remember how fast I was going on the way to the airport last week, I floored it'. (To know why read here).

Now I don't feel so bad!

Happy Birthday Joules

2008-01-05T12:00:00.001Z

To answer yesterdays question most of you were correct in guessing that I had pre booked a taxi to take us home from the airport. I was very pleased that I had done this as it was approaching midnight, we were all exhausted so we were very relieved to see a man holding a sign with my name as we came through customs. We were even more pleased when the driver pointed out the queue for the taxi rank, it was more like three queues which converged into one somewhere in the middle. And yes I was smug because someone (who will remain nameless)wanted to just catch a cab at the airport although when he saw the queue he admitted that he would have been calling family members out of their beds to rescue us.

Today is Joules birthday and Ben chose to make him a lemon cake iced with Homer (after last years cake we were under pressure). Yesterday it was just the two of us at home, Mollie had gone to an ice skating party and Dillon was out with friends so Ben played the new playstation 3 whilst I made the cake. He then had the nerve to complain that I hadn't let him crack the eggs despite me asking him numerous times did he want to help. We didn't have time to ice the cake before Joules got back from work so hid it and got up this morning to finish the cake. I then discovered that I had two bottles of green and blue food colouring and one each of red and pink but no yellow which is a crucial colour for Homer. We were then discussing whether to just decorate the cake with Joules' age when he woke up so we served him breakfast in bed and he read out Ben's card which said 'I hope you like your Homer cake' so I dashed back down to the kitchen in a minor panic. Luckily after rooting in the cupboard I found a pack of colouring icing pens I'd bought in Lakeland in the UK in the summer and there was a yellow in there. I iced the Homer, Mollie iced the writing and we can't wait to taste the cake.

A Christmas Gift...

2008-01-04T09:49:00.000Z

Before my computer went died on me I took part in the Christmas gift exchange and received the most beautiful angel to hang on my tree. Many thanks to Sarah who sent me this delightful decoration (unfortunately my photography is too bad to do it justice) but I really do love it. Also many thanks to Julie who arranged this swap.

Following my experiences this Christmas I thought I'd offer the following bits of advice:

1) Do not leave the inside car light on the night before you travel as the battery will be flat.

2) Remember to bring the camera cradle with you if you plan to download photographs.

3)Do not concur to your mother and shove the 1.1kg bottle of Daddies brown sauce into your suitcase which is already at its maximum weight. This will only result in you having to throw said bottle away at the airport.

4) Make sure you pre-book a taxi to take you home, at midnight on new years day the queue for taxis will be out the door and down the road.

5) Ensure that all the tools needed to recharge the car battery are in the house (when you know for a fact that the battery dies if the car is not used for 10 days). It is not fun having to go and search for the tool box in the back of the shed at 1am nor will your wife appreciate the mucky floor as your walk all over it in wet, muddy shoes.

Only one of these bits of advice did we follow, which one do you think it was?

Time for Reflection

2008-01-01T09:22:00.000Z

I copied this from Terri's blog last year.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

Go on holiday with Joule family.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I never make new year's resolutions, they are hard to keep and I always try to live a good life.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A friend of mine had her third boy 11 and 14 years after her other sons, and what a cute babe he is too.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

One of my closest friends lost her father suddenly whilst on holiday in France.

5. What countries did you visit?

England (of course) and France.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

A decent summer, I really suffered this Autumn from the lack of sun and warmth last summer. I need a good dose of sunshine to get me through the cold, wet and windy winter.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

May, Joules finished studying for his degree. It was five years hard slog for all of us as he completed it after work and at weekends. The icing on the cake came when he received his results: A Distinction.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Continuing to have a good, happy family life with lots of laughter.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I tend not to think of things as failing as I always try to put a positive slant on everything. I'm definitely a glass half full person.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I did, the egg sized lump that grew on my knee-nearly gone now.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I didn't buy it but I got a new bike (complete with wicker basket) for my birthday and I love it.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

At times all of ours!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

At times all of ours!

14. Where did most of your money go?

Food, children's activities and the mortgage.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Seeing my family especially Sam as I rarely get to see her.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?

Delilah by The Plain White Ts.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter?

a) Neither happier or sadder.
b) Slightly thinner, I lost over a stone in September/October but I've eaten loads this past week.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Exercise and reading.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Eating and blogging.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

In Bristol with my family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?

I was already in love.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I don't watch much tv but love Neighbours.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Hate is a strong word which I try not to use. I sometimes hate my children's behaviour.

24. What was the best book you read?

This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Plain White Ts.

26. What did you want and get?

A bike, a Nintendo ds lite and jewellery.

27. What did you want and not get?

Nothing.

28. What was your favorite film this year?

I loved Pirates of the Caribbean At Worlds End (what's not to love, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in the same movie) and Atonement.

29. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

I was 38 years young and I went out to dinner with my family and played tennis with my friends.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Feeling the sun shine on my skin in the summer.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

Diverse, tracksuit for sport, jeans for walking/cleaning etc and skirts and dresses for everything else.

32. What kept you sane?

Who says I'm sane?

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

It's a close thing between Johnny and Orlando.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Education. How come Mollie and Ben's affluent school get given loads of money (in a very short time) to add an extension when Dillon's poorer school has been falling down for years and the department of education is taking it's time in rebuilding the school despite giving it the go ahead last year? Of course it's all down to politics, Mollie and Ben's school got the money during election week and the minister got re-elected.

35. Who did you miss?

My family.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

I've known her for a few years but only really got to know her in the last few months. Her name is Amy, last year she was social secretary in the tennis club and threw the most amazing parties. This year she is taking on the Ladies Captaincy and I'm taking on the role of Development Officer so I'm looking forward to working (and partying) with her.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.

When I am ill not to expect the worse (not sure I've fully learnt it yet)!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Hmmmmm....my minds gone blank.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2008.

While the boys stay home the girls have fun away.

2007-12-30T09:33:00.000Z

Apparently four of you know me well enough to guess who left the lights on...me! Although I have to admit I'm not sure how but I was the one sorting out the car on Sunday night ready for the early start Monday morning (typical) and somehow must have turned the lights on when moving the seats.

I'm sitting here with the lyrics from The Sound of Music running through my head as we've just returned from a trip to London where we saw the show at The London Palladium. This trip was actually mine and Mollie's Christmas present from last year (only we couldn't get tickets) and mum's present this year. Mollie and I had religiously watched a tv show where a Maria was picked by the audience and we were dying to see the musical in London's West End.

We had to get up early to catch our coach to London then it was time for a quick breakfast before we dumped our bags at our hotel and headed into central London. The last time I was in London was seven and a half years ago, back then both Sam, my sister and Simon, Joules brother lived in London so we visited every year and always had a place to crash. I was five months pregnant and took Dillon and Mollie up for a few days where we visited the London Dome (which I really enjoyed) and the aquarium. All Mollie can remember from this trip was the pokemon lollipop I bought her so it was time to show her the sights. We visted Covent Garden and found a road full of shoe shops (Mollie's weakness, although she resisted making a purchase this time) then walked through Leicester Square, Picadilly and down Regent street keeping our eyes peeled among the throng of shoppers for Hamleys, so say the world's biggest toy shop. It was in Hamleys that Mollie managed to part with some of her money spent on a hospital for My Littlest Pet. By this time the rain was pouring so we hopped into Liberties for a wander before stopping off for a hot chocolate and cake before it was time to see the show.

Connie, the original winner of the tv show, was not on stage that night but another girl from the tv show called Aoife was playing the role of Maria. We had fantastic seats in the middle of the stalls and the whole cast was excellent. I had never seen this musical before and it is slightly different to the film. The set design was brilliant, my favourite had to be the moving mountain. Mollie really enjoyed the show and is busy ~~planning~~ dreaming of her next musical in London!

Yesterday, after a huge breakfast in the hotel, we decided to go on a sightseeing bus tour of London so Mollie could see all the sights in one day. Lucily we got a seat on top under the cover so we did not get too cold as we spent a few hours touring all the sights in London and learning a brief history as well. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to partake in the free river cruise but we managed to squeeze in a walk down Oxford street and a visit to Selfridges where I bought Mollie a skirt reduced to £10 from £88 (who in their right mind would spend £88 on a denim mini) and myself some kitchen tongs. We were rather taken with the jewellery in Tiffany's but knew it was out of our price range.

All in all it was a lovely break and I hope it's not another seven and a half years before I return to London again.

A Near Miss

2007-12-27T09:12:00.000Z

When catching a plane on Christmas eve it is not a good idea to leave the light on inside your car thus causing the battery to run flat. This is an even worse idea if your husband rides a motorbike and you are a one car family.

Our flight was at 9.30am and we discovered the dead as a doormouse car at 7am. The airport is 45-60 minute drive away which left us 30 minutes maximun to sort out our problem.

My solution was to suggest ringing for a taxi, calling Joules parents to give us a lift as well as hoping that Tim-Joules brother, who was driving us to the airport in our car (because we knew the battery would be flat after a week) and his car is way too small (vintage sports car) to fit us in-would have jump leads.

Joules solution is to swear, swear and swear a bit more whilst refusing to listen to my suggestions...and then swear a little more.

Fortunately for us Tim did have jump leads, we took the new port tunnel and got to the airport in 30 minutes with plenty of time to spare before our flight.

So, who left the light on?

The Wanderer Returns!

2007-12-26T09:18:00.000Z

I have just been reading the comments from my last post as well as catching up on a lot of unread emails and feel rather bad. An explanation is sorely needed now. Back in November our computer hard drive broke. Joules decided to fix it himself and promptly ordered the wrong part from the UK. When he realised this he immediately emailed them to change the order. Three days later when the company finally responded it was too late as the part had already been posted. As the postage cost more than the part there was no point in returning it so we now have a spare hard drive at home! By the time Joules tracked down the missing part and fixed the computer I had been through my cold turkey regarding missing blogging, this was quite short as I had my new toy to keep me occupied (a birthday present). Then in the run up to Christmas I was busy with school activities, hockey night out, carol services, Wednesday tennis girls night out, scout trips, book club night out, making Christmas cards, PA night out, making Christmas presents, girlfriends night out, making mincemeat and truffles, searching for Christmas presents, spending two hours queueing so Mollie got what she wanted and looking for the right pair of shoes to go with my new red dress!

The most depressing thing about the hard drive breaking was that I lost all my settings, my blogroll, firefox, addresses and my PA files. There is a huge number of man hours needed to set everything back up and I just haven't had the time and therefore just stayed away. Luckily Joules managed to save most of our photographs which was my main concern but everything else was lost. So guess what my new year resolution will be? To set up a new blogroll and try and find all the information from my missing files.

So if anyone is still reading me...I hope you had a lovely, peaceful Christmas and I look forward to catching up with you all soon.

Note to Self II

2007-11-19T20:58:00.000Z

When you find a picture of a great new hairstyle you want put it immediately in your handbag, do not leave it on the table because when you get to the hairdressers no matter how much you describe said hairstyle or wave your hands around you will not end up with the style you wanted!!!

An open letter to Deborah

2007-11-15T08:40:00.000Z

Dear Deborah

I was so excited when I saw your comment on my post last week.

Yes, I could save my beloved jumper.

I went out and bought a big bottle of conditioner which smelt yummy. Not only was my jumper going to fit me again but it would smell of lavender as well.

I closely followed your instructions, I filled the sink with lukewarm water and the bottle of conditioner. I soaked the jumper for about an hour then I ~~pulled and yanked~~ gently stretched my jumper as much as I could.

It looked bigger, I was very pleased and I laid it out flat to dry.

It was slightly bigger.

The sleeves are perfect.

Unfortunately the body is still way too short for me (and for Mollie) so it looks like my jumper will be consigned to the bin.

Thank you for the tip Deborah, I really wish it had worked for me but I guess my jumper was the wrong material.

I'm back...

2007-11-12T09:27:00.000Z

I have a secret to admit...I don't really like this NaBloPoMo.

There is a really good reason for my not liking it...my blogline posts have quadrupled and it puts me off blogging. Currently I have 383 unread posts and not enough time to read them so instead of even trying I've been turning off the computer and getting creative instead.

So today I'm going to mark them all as read then start again, I love reading your posts but only have so many hours in the day and most of them can't be spent blogging!

Don't you just hate it when this happens?

Witty Wednesday: The Value of a Drink

2007-11-07T09:22:00.000Z

John is a great blogging friend of mine who writes a very entertaining blog but I didn't realise that he had magical powers and was a ~~fly~~ spider on the wall during the Halloween party, otherwise how would he have known how I behaved...and yes, evidently I was telling a new member of the tennis club and therefore a new friend, that I loved her!

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink
I feel shame. Then I look into the glass and think
about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes
and dreams .. If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out
of work and their dreams would be shattered.
Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let their
dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
~ Jack Handy

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what the hell
happened to your bra and panties.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they
wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're
going to feel all day. "
~Frank Sinatra

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."
~ Henny Youngman

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not."
~ Stephen Wright

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can sing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk,
we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all
get drunk and go to heaven!"
~ Brian O'Rourke

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause pregnancy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
~ Benjamin Franklin

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like a idiot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Without question, the greatest invention in the
history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the
wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does
not go nearly as well with pizza."
~ Dave Barry

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a Support Group. Salvation in a can!
~ Dave Howell

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And saving the best for last, as explained by Cliff Clavin,of Cheers.
One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the BuffaloTheory to his buddy Norm.
Here's how it went:

"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not

Joules' New Trousers!

2007-11-03T11:25:00.000Z

Joules hates to shop. In fact he never shops. He'd be happy with "two socks, two jocks, two t-shirts and a pair of jeans" although I'm not sure how he get them washed and dried each day. So when I buy clothes for him I have to buy them from shops where you can return them if they don't fit or if he doesn't like them. I knew he needed new trousers and had looked recently but the shop only had a young and trendy range (he may be youngish but definitely not trendy) and an old fogies range which I couldn't bear so I came home empty handed.

Yesterday Joules came home wearing new trousers. He been shopping and bought not one, not two but three pairs of trousers (one pair a bargain at €1 in the sale) and was dead pleased with himself. So what happened to turn him into a shopper? He bent over at work, heard a tear and his "arse was hanging out"!

Some advice...

2007-11-02T09:16:00.001Z

No matter how tired you are or how busy you are, never, ever be tempted to put your favourite brown jumper in the washing machine on a cold wash. It is not the same as hand washing in cold water. It will shrink.

Your eleven year old daughter may be delighted as she will have gained a new jumper.

Scary Monsters, Super Creeps...

2007-11-01T11:52:00.000Z

...no, just my little monsters ready to go trick or treating.

If you want to see the full horrors of me in my St Trinians outfit click here.

So I went as...

2007-10-29T09:29:00.001Z

So much for promising you a photo of me. I remembered the camera and my friend took this photo before the evening even began so I can't blame too much wine for the out of focusness (not a real word I know) but once I started ~~drinking~~ dancing I forgot all about the camera so this is as good as it gets.

As you see I went as a St Trinians school girl, it was easy to prepare and involved no making. Mum says I have to credit her even though I'd thought of it before she suggested it. It was a great night, our social committee turned the tennis club into a Halloween den and everybody looked fab in their costumes. The dancing went on for hours and I won't tell you what time I got home but it was later than the last party!

School's out.

2007-10-26T08:43:00.001+01:00

Today is Dillon, Mollie and Ben's last day at school before they have a weeks holiday known as the mid-term break. It's been a long and busy two months since they went back to school so they are really looking forward to their week off. Mollie and Ben were allowed to dress up as a charity fundraiser. The photos didn't turn out too well because the light was bad and they were rushing to catch their bus.

Mollie is a wicked princess.

Ben was going to wear his uniform as he 'doesn't dress up' but I persuaded him to dress up as....

BEN

And yes he did do his button up before he left for school!

Rich Bitch

2007-10-25T13:11:00.001+01:00

Karmyn tagged me with the ~~rich bitch~~ rich and famous meme and as I'll never be rich and famous I can dream up the most ludicrous things I'd want to do if I were.

Buy a big house with more than one bathroom near the tennis club. That way Mollie and Ben would be able to walk to the club, saving me loads of time and more importantly I'd be able to walk home after parties...no more waiting an hour for a taxi! With more than one bathroom in our house Ben would no longer have to pee in the garden when someone (usually his dad) is in the shower oblivious to his banging and pleading.

Go skiing...every year.

Have an entourage of people to look after my every whim...cleaners, housekeepers, chefs, masseurs, tennis coaches, chauffeurs...but they wouldn't get in my way and only appear when needed.

Throw a big party for my family and friends in the big chateaux we saw in France.

Travel loads and maybe meet some of my blogging pals...how cool would that be?

See my family more often.

Give time and money to those less fortunate then myself (I think I want to loose the bitch label)!

I'm tagging...if you choose to accept, Emma, Catwoman, Misslionheart, Alix and Her Indoors.

Witty Wednesday

2007-10-24T09:00:00.000+01:00

A big thank you to you all for your ideas...I have decided what to dress up as and it was one mentioned but I'll leave you guessing and post a photo after the party (note to self, must remember camera)!

Witty Wednesday once again comes courtesy of John who keeps me in laughs all week...thanks John.

A Scotsman asks the dentist the cost of a tooth extraction.

"£85 for an extraction, sir", was the dentist's reply.

"£85!!!! Hae ye no got anything cheaper, lad?"

"That's the normal charge," said the dentist.

"Whit aboot if ye didnae use any anesthetic?"

"That's unusual sir, but I could do it and knock off £15"

"Whit if ye used one of your dentist trainees and still without anesthetic?"

"I can't guarantee their professionalism, and it would be very painful. But the price could drop to £40."

"How aboot if ye make it a trainin' session, hae yer student do the extraction with the other students watchin' and learnin'?"

"It'll be good for the students," mulled the dentist.

"I'll charge you £5. But it will be very traumatic."

"Ach, now yer talkin' laddie! It's a deal!

Can ye confirm an appointment for the wife next Tuesday then?"

And...

Dear Walter:

I hope you can help me here. The other day I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't gone more than a few hundred yards down the road when my engine conked out and the car
shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help.

When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was parading in front of the wardrobe mirror dressed in my underwear and high-heel shoes, and he was wearing my make up.

I am 32, my husband is 34 and we have been married for twelve years. When I confronted him, he tried to make out that he had dressed in my lingerie because he couldn't find his own underwear. But when I asked
him about the make up, he broke down and admitted that he'd been wearing my clothes for six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him.

He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless.. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant.
I don't feel I can get through to him anymore. Can you please help?

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sheila Lusk

= = = =

Dear Sheila:

A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the jubilee clips holding the vacuum pipes onto the inlet manifold. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty,
causing low delivery pressure to the carburettor float chamber. I hope this helps.

Walter.

Help?

2007-10-22T13:28:00.000+01:00

I have to dress up in fancy dress on Friday night for a party at the tennis club and being the competitive type I want to look good but I just don't know what to do. I don't have to dress up in a Halloween theme, anything will do. So I'm looking for ideas, it has to be easy yet impressive, can you help me...please.

Teenagers

2007-10-21T20:29:00.000+01:00

In this day and age when everybody is keen to moan about teenagers, their manners, their binge drinking, their clothes, their lack of respect etc I thought I would write a post about the good teenagers can do. As many of you know my children are heavily involved in the scouting movement. Dillon and Mollie are scouts and Ben is a beaver. These activities would not exist if it were not for the leaders who give up their evenings and weekends to run their groups. Dillon and Mollie's troop is led entirely by young adults who are in university. Their main leader was eighteen when he first started as a general leader and took the helm of the troop a year later taking the troop to the Czech Republic that year. These young leaders build up a great rapport with the teenage scouts as they bridge the gap between teenagers and parents and they set a great example to our children. Last week Dillon and his friend Rory were asked if they'd be young leaders with the cub troop and without hesitation they both said yes. This will involve giving up an evening and weekends to help with children aged eight to eleven which is a big commitment as they are both in Junior Cert year (their first state examinations). Of course I am one proud mama, so remember those hairy lads you may see on the bus could have hearts of gold underneath their baggy, black t-shirts.

My Family

2007-10-19T16:06:00.001+01:00

Joules, me, Dillon, Mollie and Ben

I pinched this idea from the wonderfully witty misslionheart. Go here to make your own.

Sherbert Shame

2007-10-18T16:43:00.001+01:00

If you find some interesting, small green grains on your daughters recently cleaned floor you may consider using your senses to work out what the aforementioned green grains are.

You can see that they are green, sparkly, sherbet like grains.

They are inanimate so you can't listen to them.

You may smell them but if you've a bad sense of small like me that won't help.

Touch them and yes they feel like sherbet.

BUT

Do not taste them....

You may gag and feel like vomiting, you may then half fall down the stairs and nearly break bones in your rush to get a glass of water.

My advice would be to wait for your daughter to get home and ask her what said green grains are to which she may reply 'oh yes, I spilt magic sand everywhere'.

If you're even more unlucky she'll repeatedly ask 'why did you eat it' and laugh!

Witty Wednesday

2007-10-17T12:22:00.000+01:00

The Smiths were unable to conceive children and decided to use a surrogate father to start their family. On the day the proxy father was to arrive, Mr. Smith kissed his wife goodbye and said, "Well, I'm off now. The man should be here soon."

Half an hour later, just by chance, a door-to-door baby photographer happened to ring the doorbell, hoping to make a sale. "Good morning, Ma'am", he said, "I've come to..."

"Oh, no need to explain," Mrs. Smith cut in, embarrassed, "I've been expecting you."
"Have you really?" said the photographer. "Well, that's good. Did you know babies are my specialty?"
"Well that's what my husband and I had hoped. Please come in and have a seat". After a moment she asked, blushing, "Well, where do we start?"

"Leave everything to me. I usually try two in the bathtub, one on the couch, and perhaps a couple on the bed. And sometimes the living room floor is fun. You can really spread out there."

"Bathtub, living room floor? No wonder it didn't work out for Harry and me!"
"Well, Ma'am, none of us can guarantee a good one every time. But if we try several different positions and I shoot from six or seven angles, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results."

"My, that's a lot!", gasped Mrs. Smith.
"Ma'am, in my line of work a man has to take his time. I'd love to be In and out in five minutes, but I'm sure you'd be disappointed with that."

"Don't I know it," said Mrs. Smith quietly.
The photographer opened his briefcase and pulled out a portfolio of his baby pictures. "This was done on the top of a bus," he said.

"Oh, my God!" Mrs. Smith exclaimed, grasping at her throat.
"And these twins turned out exceptionally well - when you consider their mother was so difficult to work with."
"She was difficult?" asked Mrs. Smith.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. I finally had to take her to the park to get the job done right. People were crowding around four and five deep to get a good look"

"Four and five deep?" said Mrs. Smith, her eyes wide with amazement.
"Yes", the photographer replied. "And for more than three hours, too. The mother was constantly squealing and yelling - I could hardly concentrate, and when darkness approached I had to rush my shots. Finally, when the squirrels began nibbling on my equipment, I just had to pack it all in."

Mrs. Smith leaned forward. "Do you mean they actually chewed on your, uh...equipment?"
"It's true, Ma'am, yes.. Well, if you're ready, I'll set-up my tripod and we can get to work right away."
"Tripod?"
"Oh yes, Ma'am. I need to use a tripod to rest my Canon on. It's much too big to be held in the hand very long."
Mrs. Smith fainted

Thanks John!

Misslionheart has joined in this weeks Witty Wednesday with a great joke, go check it out if you fancy a laugh.

An open letter to Mollie

2007-10-15T08:24:00.001+01:00

Dear Mollie

I love you very much.

When I have spent the day making up your new bed, finding your lost scout shirt, picking up and throwing away a sack load of rubbish (including numerous tissues) and broken toys, sorting out your clothes and shoes, washing your dirty laundry and sweeping your bedroom floor it would be really nice to receive a thank you not a full blown strop like a toddler tantrum.

I do appreciate that you've been away all weekend, camping in the fresh air, getting lots of exercise and very little sleep but surely a thank you takes a lot less energy than a toddler tantrum.

I'm so glad you woke up in a good mood this morning, I told you an early night would work wonders so maybe you'll believe your mum the next time.

All quiet on the Irish front.

2007-10-13T16:21:00.000+01:00

Firstly I would like to thank everybody who left comments on my last post and who read and commented on Sam and mum's posts. I'd also like to thank those of you who emailed me with words of sympathy and comfort. It really does make a difference so thank you.

Dillon and Mollie have gone camping with the scouts in Lough Dan so Joules and I offered to take Ben to the cinema to see Ratatouille but he turned us down. Instead he wanted to rent a DVD and eat out in TGI Fridays, so we're shortly off to gorge on burgers and chips then it's home to watch Night at the Museum. It's been quite nice not having to ferry Mollie to football and tennis and instead we had a lovely walk in Cabinteely Park and Ben got to have a play in their playground, of course I forgot to bring the camera.

Friendship.

2007-10-06T06:54:00.000+01:00

I was annoying when I was young.

In fact I think I'll rephrase that, I was very annoying when I was young.

The person I annoyed most was my sister Sam. The thing was that I adored her, wanted to be like her and be with her all the time only she was three years, five months and fifteen days older than me so once she went to secondary school at the age of 11 she didn't want a snotty little sister hanging around. Anything Sam did I wanted to do, anything she wore I wanted to wear and that didn't include wearing her cast offs when they were three years out of date *shudders, remembering grey pleated skirt*.

The thing I envied most about Sam was her close group of friends when she was in sixth form (16-18 years). This was a time when I was having friend issues, surely you remember the bitchiness of young teenage girls, so I was insanely jealous of Sam and her friends and would spend as much of my time as I could annoying the hell out of them. Yet they were so nice to me. Vicky was my patrol leader in guides (I lasted two weeks in Sam's patrol but it was most definitely not a match made in heaven), Rachel was always thoughtful and kind, she listened to me, Karen was just plain cool and made me laugh and Sheena, who I remember laughing a lot, was Sam's closest friend, they were just the best buddies.

The odd time, this group of friends would allow me into their gang. When Sam was 18 I was allowed to go to a nightclub with them to celebrate (although I was collected at midnight), I joined them for a picnic to celebrate her birthday and occasionally I'd sit and sip tea as they chatted. When I was in Bristol seeing Sam a few weeks ago we went out to dinner with some of Sam's friends. It was great to see them all, they look and sound the same and we reminisced although they were all kind enough to refrain from mentioning what a pain I used to be.

Sadly Sheena wasn't there because she was very ill and I've just heard the news that she passed away last night in her sleep. When I think of her I'll always remember the true meaning of friendship and how Sam, Sheena, Vicky, Karen and Rachel taught me about being a good friend.

More about me!

2007-10-04T09:29:00.000+01:00

The first thing I used to do after checking my emails was blog but not anymore. I'm totally addicted to Willowtrees trivia quiz and now Blue Momma is hosting one as well which is great because if I fail at one I have a second chance at the other. I must practise speed reading though because some of the players are so fast!

So I borrowed this from someone and have forgotten who:

Have you ever....?

Been out of the country? Yes, first time at the age of 13 was a school trip to France, also been to Bulgaria, Ibiza, Italy, Greece, Holland, Portugal and the US.
Been in love? Of course and still am.
Gone Skydiving? No, but I think I could do it...especially if I was attached to a hunky instructor!
Climbed a mountain? Yes, many times.
Got fired? No.
Been promoted? Yes.
Rode a horse? Yes, well if the truth be told, I've sat on a horse and clung on as it did whatever it wanted including galloping. I was young and it was fun!
Stay awake over 48 hrs? No way, I couldn't, I so need my sleep.
Graduated? Yes, BA (Hons) Humanities, Hull University 1992.
Been on honor roll? A what?
Caught a fire fly? Never.
Eaten a bug? Do you think I'm on 'I'm a celebrity...'? No way!
Been in a car wreck? No, thank goodness.
Been in a fight? No way, I'm a big wuss!
Helped a friend? Whenever I can.
Swam in the ocean? Yes, in Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, France, Greece and the US.
Swam with a dolphin? No,have no desire to either.
Been arrested? No.
Told a white lie? If I said no I'd be telling one!
Broken a bone? Yes, my ankle, on the dance floor in a nightclub whilst a student in Hull.
Played sports? Of course.
Been divorced? No.
Sang in the shower? No but I sing in the car all the time.
Loved your life? 100%

The cost of living...

2007-10-03T08:13:00.000+01:00

*Breaking News*

Dublin is the second most expensive place in the world (after Beverley Hills, Los Angeles) to buy an average four bedroom house.

No wonder I'm still stuck in my shoe box!

A Joke for Witty Wednesday

Thanks to John for keeping me laughing with his jokes.

Husband walks into Ann Summers to purchase some see-through lingerie for his wife. He is shown several possibilities that range from £50 to £150 in price.

The more see-through, the higher the price.

He opts for the sheerest item, pays the £150 and takes the lingerie home.

He presents it to his wife and asks her to go upstairs, put it on and model it for him. Upstairs, the wife thinks "I have an idea. It's so see-through that it might as well be nothing. I'll not put it on, do the modelling naked and return it tomorrow and get a £150 refund for myself".

So she appears naked at the top of the stairs and strikes a pose.

The husband says, "Good grief! It wasn't that creased in the shop".

His funeral is this Thursday

Open letter to Dillon's school.

2007-10-02T08:32:00.001+01:00

I received your letter yesterday regarding the three hour detention given to Dillon for 'changing out of his school uniform during break time'. Please could you clarify how wearing your coat instead of the school hoody constitutes changing out of the uniform and also do you expect children to always wear their hoodies even if they are wet (from our climate) or in very hot weather?

Mushy Monday

2007-10-01T11:50:00.000+01:00

Finally I'm getting better but poor Mollie now has the virus and is currently tucked up in bed, she's had a sleep and is now bored but the rule in our house is if you're too ill for school you have to stay in bed, no tv, game boy or psp whereas reading and drawing is allowed, maybe I'm a strict mother but I don't want them feigning illness to have a fun day off school.

It took me a few days to catch up on all my blogroll posts but I've been busy reading and feel ready to get back into blogging only my brain seems to have turned to mush and I don't know what to blog about. I know, I'll share the story with you of another time my brain turned to mush!

Back in 1998 my best friend Sarah from England was getting married. I was bridesmaid and Sarah decided to have her hen party in Dublin, so I booked a hotel, sussed out a club and was looking forward to the weekend which was about 10 days away. Then Sarah rang and started telling me the times of the flights her friends were arriving from various different UK airports, I said tell me next week, she said but we're coming on Friday...ahhhh....double ahhhh...triple ahhhh. Rang the hotel, no space for Friday. Rang some more hotels, no spaces. Panicked. Decided to put the 10 girls up in my shoebox of a house and kick the family out. Then I tried the youth hostel, and they could fit us in, phew! It was a very grotty hostel but also very cheap and we had a brilliant weekend so the girls forgave my ineptness.

Fast forward two months and the impending wedding. Our flight was booked for the Friday evening as I'd asked for an evening flight because Joules had to work and we were travelling without the children. On the Monday I became violently ill with stomach cramps and diarrhoea, so ill that I had to call out the doctor. Friends and family looked after the children as I lay in bed delirious worrying about the wedding. My GP said I probably wouldn't be able to go but he'd check me out on Friday and give me a decision. So I had to call Sarah and warn her, which didn't help her nerves. Friday rolled around and the doctor said I was just well enough to travel but to take it easy. The children went to their granny's, I packed our bags and checked the tickets as Joules locked up the house...ahhhh....the flight said 0700....I burst into tears said I couldn't cope and walked off down the road. Joules rang the travel agent to ask why they'd given us a morning flight when I'd specifically asked for the evening flight, their answer was that they would have listed all the flights for that day, I heard seven assumed it was 7pm and said yes! The travel agent rang the airline but the flight was overbooked so there were no guarantees, all we could do was get to the airport and hope there were some no shows.

We got to the airport and there were three places left, a couple turned up so only one place left with minutes to boarding. At least this meant that I could travel, we discussed driving but wouldn't have made it to Bristol in time for the wedding, this was my only hope...then another couple arrived. The manager came out to explain that only one seat was left but that he could fly the other person to Birmingham (90 miles from Bristol) and pay for a taxi to any destination. My ears pricked up at Birmingham, so I asked to speak to the manager and explained my predicament as I dissolved into floods of tears. He was fantastic and agreed to fly us to Birmingham at not extra cost but apologised for not being able to pay for our taxi as well. This was the best news ever and my dad drove to collect us from Birmingham and I made the wedding mushy brain and all!

Caught

2007-09-29T14:15:00.000+01:00

This was my art teacher at secondary school, makes me shudder.

Feeling Blue

2007-09-26T13:03:00.001+01:00

Just thought I'd let you know that I am alive but not well. I think the partying, tennis, travelling and children back to school have taken a toll on my body and it's telling me that it has had enough. I have a cold and sore throat and every free moment is spent sleeping. The thought of even looking at my blogroll scares me as I'm sure there are lots of posts waiting to be read. All I am managing each day is to check my email and play willowtree's daily quiz which I'm a bit addicted to. I'll be back to catch up with all your news when I feel stronger.

The Wanderer Returns

2007-09-21T16:16:00.000+01:00

I'm back but not yet recovered from my flying visit to Bristol. I had to get up at 4am on Tuesday morning to catch my flight over and I got home at midnight on Wednesday evening. I managed to squeeze in a lot in my short time, that shopping trip where I bought a dress, cardigan and gorgeous boots for the winter as well as lots of craft goodies to start making birthday and Christmas cards. I ate out both nights I was in Bristol which was a real treat for me, drank champagne, bathed in natural spring water and spent some precious hours with Sam. I just wish I could have stayed longer.

Just before I left I was delighted to receive my book swap books from the Anglophile Football Fanatic, she sent me two very different books which I have never read so I'm looking forward to getting them started as well as a magnet to join the collection on my fridge. Many thanks to Emma for organising the swap.

Happy Anniversay

2007-09-20T16:17:00.000+01:00

Nearly a year ago I jumped on the blogging bandwagon, my sister had been blogging for a few years, then Dillon started his blog. A year ago today mum then started to blog as a way to spend a few hours of her retirement, next Mollie decided to blog as well so not to be outdone I decided to join the blogosphere. If it was not for mum starting her blog I doubt I'd be here today so please pop over to mum and wish her a very happy anniversary.

Chilly Bristol.

2007-09-18T16:25:00.000+01:00

It was still summery yesterday when I packed for my trip...today it is positively wintery even though the sun is shining there is a chill in the air. So what's a girl to do in a situation like this...go shopping of course!

And the winner is...#2

2007-09-17T08:50:00.000+01:00

Thank you all for your best wishes over the weekend. I wasn't around to read them until this morning so unfortunately Pamela I have no before and after shots but I was truly spent! It was a very tough weekend, Munster had lots of new, very good players and were favourite to win. Going into day two it looked like Munster would win 11/12 matches therefore we needed to win 9 to draw. At this stage I went out to play and two hours later came off court having lost a very tight game, luckily for Leinster Munster had unexpectedly lost two games (maybe the antics of the night before were beginning to catch up with them) so now we had a chance as we needed to win 8 games to win. It was a real nail biting time and in the end there were two matches in a third set...the Leinster men won which gave us the draw....the Leinster ladies had match point in the tie break...and another match point....and another match point....unfortunately they weren't able to convert them and ended up losing so Leinster drew with Munster. I felt sorry for those ladies and the pressure they were under and was very glad I'd been one of the first to play my match.

After all that excitement I had to dash off to another club to play a league match. I was feeling pretty tired and hoped to win quickly (well I have to believe in myself), unfortunately I took the long hard slog and two and a half hours later crawled off court but as we had won I didn't mind the agony. Today my feet are still aching and my body feels weary but I don't care because this time tomorrow I'll be here and will get to see this person who I last saw 16 months ago.

Go Leinster, Go!

2007-09-14T13:02:00.000+01:00

I have a busy weekend ahead of me, I have been selected to represent Leinster in the annual Inter-Provincial veteran tennis challenge. Ireland is split into four provinces; Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connaght and once a year they play each other at tennis in different age categories. This is the third year I have been selected and each year it takes place in a different province. Two years ago I played in Galway (Connaght) and last year I travelled to Bangor (Ulster), this year Leinster is the host and luckily for me the club hosting the event is a seven minute car journey from my house (it could have been anything up to a couple of hours away as each province is fairly large). I have to be at the club at 8:30 am tomorrow morning and will spend the day there, this is followed by dinner on Saturday evening then tennis again Sunday morning from 9am. I'll barely get to see my family but I'm sure it will be a great weekend so wish me luck.

What's in a name?

2007-09-13T15:43:00.000+01:00

I have been very amiss lately in thanking kind bloggers for their packages, so here goes. Thanks for the smoked pigeon breast John, it has to be the most inventive prize I've been sent but my taste buds weren't quite so keen. Thank you CPA Mom for the box of goodies. Finally a big thank you to Elena Jane and Laurie who have kept my supplies of Junior Mints topped up. I am hugely aware that some of you are still waiting for prizes, as I am making these prizes they are taking a while to get sent out. I have to go to a special shop to get supplies and have not had the time yet to make this trip. I just want to reassure you all that I haven't forgotten.

Amy tagged me for this meme:

"You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog."

Funnily enough I have the same middle name as Amy but unlike her I quite like my middle name, in fact as a child I positively preferred it to my first name. Talking of names and children it's funny how most children don't like their names. Dillon hates his, Ben doesn't like his but we got one right because Mollie loves her name. When we chose their names we decided to give them Irish middle names Dillon Liam, Mollie Aisling (Ash Ling) and Ben Oisin (Uh Sheen).

So back to the meme:-

L=Lighthearted, I'm definitely an optimist and see that glass half full. I try to enjoy life and laugh a lot.

O=Ornery, as in stubborn but my marriage has taught me compromise and I'm quite good at it but if it means that much to me I won't budge!

U=Ungainly, clumsy as a child and an adult...did I tell about the seven bruises I managed to get last Saturday night, not to mention the two scrapes I got yesterday from Dillon's bicycle.

I=Insecure, though not as much as I used to be and that is due to my wonderful husband, thanks Joules.

S=Shy, in new situations and places where I don't know anyone. I feel that I'm a bit boring and am conscious not to talk about my children all the time.

E=Easy going, I tend to go with the flow...it's just not worth getting worked up about things you can't change...unless it involves my local grocery store or my over protectiveness as a parent then it's knives at dawn.

Farewell

2007-09-11T12:16:00.001+01:00

I was rather enjoying reading this weeks Fun Monday posts and hearing about all the good deeds people were doing until I got to one post which upset me. I am sure that I am over reacting but I took it so personally that I welled up and now feel both very upset and sick. I know it doesn't really matter to most people how I feel, I know that I have a tendency to take things too personally and I know I will get over it. One thing is certain and that is that Fun Mondays will no longer be fun so I'm officially retiring. I'm sure I'll miss it, it always gave me something to post about on a Monday and I've been with it from the start (I think I only missed one or two when I was on holiday) but life will move on and I'm only a small fish in the big sea of Fun Mondays so I won't be missed.

Fun Monday #32

2007-09-10T08:56:00.000+01:00

Nikki had a brilliant idea for this weeks Fun Monday, she is:

'...not looking for a story of when you have offered your help in the past, I actually want you in the next two weeks to go out and help someone. Go visit a nursing home, cook dinner for someone sick or with a new baby, donate to a charity or even send just a "thinking of you card" to someone who needs it. It doesn't matter what your good deed is, or how great it is. It just needs to help someone'!

When I read this I was full of plans about how I would help others but alas the hours ran out. As I was lamenting this I realised that a lot of my hours have been spent working for the Parents Association (PA) at Mollie and Ben's school. All the members of the PA are volunteers and give three years serving the PA. I am just coming to the end of my second year and spent the last year as secretary. The PA organises after school activities for the children such as football (soccer), basketball, drama, hockey, Spanish, gymnastics, yoga and swimming lessons; as well as raising funds for the school and providing social activities for the children (bingo night, sports day and a disco). This is a very busy time of year as the children return to school, we send out forms inviting the children to choose which activities they would like to partake in, these forms have to be checked, money counted and all the data inputted into the computer. Then I move into my role as drama coordinator and have to sort out the groups. This year 39 children have asked to be in one group-we have a limit of 18 per group-so 21 children have to be moved to different groups. Last week I spent three days on PA work and I have another two meetings today. Maybe not the good turn Nikki was looking for but it's helping others and the best I can manage this week.

A night out

2007-09-09T11:07:00.000+01:00

If you ever find yourself in my neck of the woods and fancy a nice Italian I can highly recommend this place soup and I had rocket and . Joules and I had the most delicious meal, for starters Joules had tomato and mozzarellaParmesan salad. We followed this with veal and Italian garlic potatoes (Joules) and spinach and ricotta ravioli served in a tomato sauce all washed down with a bottle of white wine. Then we had one of many pubs in Dalkey to choose from for a few drinks before getting the train home.

Joules New Toy

2007-09-07T09:25:00.001+01:00

Joules think I should learn to ride this, I'm not so sure, what do you think?

Who is nice today?

2007-09-05T15:15:00.000+01:00

I have been lucky enough to have been awarded the nice award four times, la bellina mamina (I can't access your site any more, can you help me please?), Heather, Beckie and Laurie. Thank you very much guys and you are all so nice too. This is a hard one as I think all my readers are nice, even John and Willowtree have their soft spots. So I have decided to gift this award to the one person who has been incredibly nice, kind and generous. A few months ago this person sent Mollie some beautiful handmade clothes to wear this summer and last week another parcel turned up on our doorstep. This second parcel not only included more gorgeous clothes for Mollie but piles of clothes for my three nieces. I tell you we will be the best dressed family in Ireland (well the girls will anyway)! Unfortunately my Picasa is not working the last few days so I have to post the pictures individually, here are pictures of Mollie in her clothes.

What a lovely camouflage outfit (excuse the weeds growing).

A bright and bubbly t-shirt. Steffi also sent Mollie the jeans which she loves and has worn daily.

A pretty top (worn yesterday).

Another sun top (worn today).

A long sleeved t-shirt, perfect for those autumn days.

A camouflage t-shirt with beautiful detail of a small cut away on top of the sleeve, (worn at the weekend).

A blouse with beautiful bow detail, (worn to a party last week).

I love the style of this dress and think it really suits Mollie.

These trousers are such fun.

Another pretty blouse.

Finally two lovely cosy fleeces to keep Mollie warm this winter.

Here are some pictures of the clothes Steffi made for my nieces.

Sun tops for Hannah (4) and Ella (nearly 4).

A poncho for Ruth (1) don't you just love the pointy hat.

A beautiful sun dress for Ruth.

A dress and matching trousers for Ruth, I love this material.

Isn't that the cutest hedgehog top for Ruth?

A fleece to match her big cousin Mollie.

Matching dress and trousers for Hannah and Ella.

And matching tops for autumn.

Cosy fleeces for the winter months.

Beautiful sundresses.

So here's a big thank you to the amazing Steffi, you are so incredibly kind, thank you very much, I hope you enjoy your nice matters award.

Steffi's daughter Nathalie also sent Mollie some lovely stuff which Mollie will be blogging about soon.

Celebrations

2007-09-04T21:07:00.001+01:00

So there were a lot of comments on my staying power. To be honest I was ~~more than a little tipsy~~ on such a high from playing all that tennis I had loads of energy. The time flew by, one minute it was 1am and we were dancing the next it was 5am and we were told to go home, it was a shame that we had to wait for nearly an hour for the taxi to collect us but we survived!

This photo is from the prize giving after the meal. Rob (my mixed doubles partner) and I are in the middle with the two captains either side. I won a beautiful necklace, in fact the necklace, bracelets and earrings I am wearing in this picture are all prizes from previous tennis competitions.

This photo was taken a good few hours later and we had resorted to helping Chloe (the blonde girl in the front) celebrate her ladies singles win by drinking out of her cup.

The final results.

2007-09-03T09:35:00.000+01:00

Lots of news and so little time...

Lost the ladies semi, the better players definitely won on the night. Lost the final of the mixed, 3-6-7 5 7-5 we should of won and were serving for the match twice but it wasn't to be ours this year. Saturday night was great fun, the theme was James Bond so all the men dressed in tuxedos and looked stunning (even the 17 and 18 year old players dressed up). The ladies were in their glad rags, I wore an old evening dress of mums and a good night was had by all. I drank far too much champagne, danced all night, the bar ran out of wine and vodka and I stumbled home at 6am.

Tennis Update

2007-08-31T17:22:00.000+01:00

I am tired.

My body aches.

We didn't get to start our mixed doubles semi final until 11.30pm last night.

We finished at 12.40am this morning.

Did I mention how tired I was?

We won 7-6 6-1.

I am very happy...

...but very tired.

Tonight it's ladies doubles semi final.

Results

2007-08-30T10:22:00.000+01:00

First I want to thank you all for your kinds words of support, Anna I'd love a hit with you some time but are you good enough for me?

Last night was the quarter finals of the ladies doubles, it took the first set before my stomach muscle loosened enough for me to feel comfortable serving without the threat of tearing the muscle any further. After the game I asked a friend, who is training to be a doctor, for advice 'rest' I was told. Fat chance of that so I guess I'll continue to rely on this completely unsexy thing to give my stomach some support!

Postscript: We won 6-2 6-1

Game, set and match...

2007-08-29T12:59:00.000+01:00

As I'm sure you are aware I have not been blogging much lately. The main reason for this is tennis. Now you may wonder how tennis can stop my blogging hours and this is how. As summer draws to a close it is the time of our yearly club championships. Last week the juniors played and I spent a good few days watching Mollie play as she reached two semi finals (singles and mixed) and came runner up in the girls doubles. The evenings were spent competing in an open championship tournament in another club and my partner and I were ~~good~~ lucky enough to reach the final where alas we fell at the last, rather good hurdle.

This week sees the climax of our club championships, I was unfortunate enough to be seeded, (1) in the mixed doubles, (2) in the ladies doubles and (3) in the singles. I hate being seeded as it puts more pressure on me and I find it much easier to be the underdog, coupled with the fact that inter club matches are the hardest to play because of people you are expected to beat. Last night I had to play my singles quarter final match, a tough match against a formidable opponent. I was carrying an injury, a pulled stomach muscle, and had considered withdrawing but couldn't bring myself to do so. It was a very tough match on a beautiful evening but within minutes of starting I knew that if I won I wouldn't be able to play another singles match along with all the doubles so when I was leading 6-3, 6-6 (6-4) with match point I retired much to the delight of my opponent who now finds herself in the semi final.

As for me, I am disappointed but I live to fight for the other titles and doubles is far easier on the injury than singles also in the back of the mind is the fact that I have been selected to represent Leinster in an inter provincial competition in two weeks time and I don't want to let my province down.

So wish me luck, I hope to be playing tennis daily right up to finals day on Saturday then party on Saturday night like I've never partied before. In between I have to get everything sorted for the children going back to school, Dillon tomorrow and Mollie and Ben next week.

Fun Monday #31

2007-08-26T20:21:00.000+01:00

Lisa is the hostess of this weeks Fun Monday and has asked us...

I’d like to know more about you, what makes you tick. I’d like to know how you started blogging. Did you keep a diary under lock and key safely hidden as a child? Do you still? Do you share the same things on your blog that you would have, or do, in your diary? Why did you start blogging and why do you continue? May as well throw in any roadblocks you have run into while blogging. If you still have your old diaries we’d love to see them.

This is fairly easy for me:

I started blogging shortly after my mum and daughter started their blogs. My sister had been blogging for a long time and my son about a year and even my youngest son wanted to get in on the act! I decided to start blogging as a way of keeping my family and friends up to date with our lives as we all live in different countries. I never once dreamed I'd make new friends, learn about life in different cultures and be sending and receiving prizes and parcels.

As a teenager I did try and keep a diary. Every year Father Christmas would leave a diary in my stocking and every January I would resolve to write it every day for a year...I usually lasted until March. I used to keep it under my pillow or mattress and it was fairly harmless and probably full of the boys I fancied and tennis match results.

My blog is not really like a personal diary. I try to keep it as a record of our lives maybe including recipes I like, crafts I've made, things we do and places we visit. Sometimes I'll blog about a situation I've been in and how I feel but nothing deep and heavy. I guess this reflects my personality as I tend to keep my emotional feelings internal trusting only a few close friends and family. I really admire those of you how lay it on the line but that isn't my way, I guess my personality is different, I'm definitely a glass half full person always seeking the best out of every situation.

Busy Bee

2007-08-24T13:11:00.001+01:00

I'm very busy at the moment and don't really have time to blog but was asked to write a guest post on another blog as Terri is busy moving her family (hubby and four children) to Alaska. As they set off on their amazing adventure you can read about my move to Ireland here.

Memories from France :Sarlat

2007-08-21T08:56:00.000+01:00

These photos were taken in Sarlat, the nearest town to where we were staying. The town centre was very beautiful and quaint with lots of old buildings built with local rock and little squares with cafes and restaurants where you could just sit and watch the world pass by. The centre photograph was once a Church, do you see those doors? Huge. Now it is a daily market selling lots of delicious local produce. Also in Sarlat was a shop selling the tastiest ice cream ever so we visited a few times. The first time we went for three scoops but it was very rich so we learnt a lesson and stuck to two scoops thereafter.

Fun Monday #30

2007-08-20T09:49:00.000+01:00

Theotherbear is hosting this weeks challenge and had the brilliant idea of asking us to post...

...a little white lie that you may, or may not, have gotten away with. Perhaps it's something more sinister than a little white lie - maybe even a deep dark secret that you've kept buried for years! All the better! Now's your chance to get it off your chest and confess: "Yes, I did eat that last slice of cheese cake", "No, I wasn't washing my hair that Saturday", "Those pants do make you look fat"!

Well that was easy I thought (unlike my mother who tells me she never told a white lie)! So where do I start?

'No dad I did not cycle through the brambly lane', uttered when dad found 13 punctures in my bicycle tyres aged 14.

'No mum, we didn't watch daytime tv', promised when we were children and she had to work during the holidays. In those days there was only childrens programmes on for an hour or two so it wasn't like we were glued to the screen all day, we also completed our chores and played outside.

Then there was Mrs T's skirt. Mrs T lived opposite us, had huge dyed hair (I later found out she wore wigs), had a bar in her lounge and was a barmaid. My mum would have thought her a bit tarty. One year we were collecting jumble for the annual tennis club jumble sale and I found a skin tight, knee length black skirt which I pronounced suitable for school. Mum said no way was I wearing such a tarty skirt to school and promptly popped it back in the black sack. What could I do? The skirt was calling to me! Yes I sneaked it out and wore it every day to school until I could squeeze into it no more. If you're wondering I used to wear this horribly grey, pleated skirt that had belonged to my sister over it and would slip it off in the brambly lane!

Then there was the case of the pink shoes. I had maroon/brown shoes for school (the uniform was black or grey clothes and black, blue, brown shoes). I hated these sensible hush puppies so started wearing my baby pink moccasins. I got away with it for two weeks then my year head caught me and asked me why my mother let me wear them to school, I mumbled that my mother thought they were ok. That day as I left school I was handed a note to give my mother about my pink shoes. I told mum the year head was colour blind and thought my maroon shoes were pink but that another teacher had said I could keep wearing the maroon shoes, phew, got away with that!

Finally, mum when I told you 'I have one beer then drink coke all night' I omitted to mention that there was some rum in the coke! (I was over 18 at the time).

My Fireplace Revealed.

2007-08-19T10:31:00.000+01:00

Thanks to John I won a prize for my sign so when he asked to see my mantelpiece I could only oblige. Before I go any further I must warn you that my fireplace is disgusting. I hate it. But it is way down the list of things that need doing.

So here it is in all it's glory. Gross, gross, gross. A horrible brick fireplace. Dillon took the photos for me and I see that he did not even straighten the candles! We have a gas fire thanks to my mum who paid for us to have the heating converted to gas after a terrible winter when I was pregnant with Mollie and the oil fired boiler kept packing up. I used to try and heat the house using the real fire and the back boiler. It was hard work and the house was not that warm so we used lots of hot water bottles instead. The painting above the fireplace I have blogged about before, my mother-in-law painted it of Mollie and myself.

These are all my nick knacks on top of the mantelpiece. None are antique or family heirlooms. Starting from the left:

A silver candlestick, (not real silver) I choose it because it went with the room.
Orange vase, given to me by friends I cooked dinner for with red fake poppy, I love poppies.
Small picture frame, Dillon bought me a few years ago but I haven't found small enough pictures to put in it (I can't print my digital photos as we only have a black and white printer).
A pig picture/jigsaw, Mollie found this recently and somehow it found its way up there.
A photo of a very young Dillon.
Here is a closer view of my clock. Mum brought it back from her first visit to Sam in San Francisco. She liked the plane because we all have to travel that way to visit each other.
Another photo of Dillon with a larger one of Mollie behind waiting to be framed.
A pretty candle, a gift from my aunt.
A photo of Mollie and Ben.
An angel candlestick, a gift from my granny who loves angels.
Ben's piggy bank, not sure what it's doing there but now I know where to go if I need a couple of euro!

Finally a close up of the hearth, more candles. The crystal candlesticks were a prize for runner up in singles and the crystal bowl (with fairy lights in it) was a runner up prize in doubles for a tennis tournament. The small painted candle cup in the foreground was painted by Dillon about six years ago (Mollie's is tucked away behind another candle). They made them as gifts one Christmas. The big black candlestick was another tennis prize. In the distance is Joules lava lamp and Ben's toy.

So what's your fireplace like?

To E or not to E.

2007-08-16T11:08:00.001+01:00

After John saw some road signs stating the obvious he challenged us to find our own and even hinted there may be a prize in store. Not that I'm ~~desperate to win~~ competitive or anything but I did resort to trying some blackmail. That didn't work so I started reading road signs. This is not the best thing to do when driving your dad's new car for the first time, through tiny country lanes in the English countryside. I even found a sign but due to the confines of the small country lane and the tail of traffic behind me I was not able to stop and take a photograph. The sign, at an entrance to a road (which was big enough for cars and struck me as an average country lane) said "Motors not allowed", I wouldn't like to live down that lane as it would be a long walk with the grocery shopping.

The only other sign I saw was in Wookey Hole Caves. Obviously the sign writer could not spell and when the mistake was noticed they just slipped in another E. So John does that win me a prize?

One last joke to share with you courtesy of John, I hope it doesn't offend anyone but it made me laugh.

The Value of a Catholic Education and a #2 Pencil

Little Mary Margaret was not the best student in Catholic School. Usually she slept through the class.

One day her teacher, a Nun, called on her while she was sleeping. "Tell me Mary Margaret, who created the universe?"

When Mary Margaret didn't stir, little Johnny who was her friend sitting behind her, took his pencil and jabbed her in the rear. "God Almighty!" shouted Mary Margaret. The Nun said, "Very good" and continued teaching her class.

A little later the Nun asked Mary Margaret, "Who is our Lord and Savior?"
But Mary didn't stir from her slumber......Once again, Johnny came to her rescue and stuck Mary Margaret in the butt. "Jesus Christ!!!" shouted Mary Margaret and the Nun once again said, "Very good," and Mary Margaret fell
back asleep.

The Nun asked her a third question..."! What did Eve say to Adam after she had her twenty-third child?" Again, Johnny came to the rescue. This time Mary Margaret jumped up and shouted, "If you stick that thing in me one more time, I'll break it in half!"

The nun fainted...........

Summer Secret Swap Revealed

2007-08-15T15:28:00.000+01:00

I was lucky enough to receive my secret summer swap parcel organised by CPA Mom. Beth over at ice cream mama sent me the most wonderful summer package full of lots of lovely goodies:

Silly face candles. I don't what the weather is in Ireland but here in New Jersey it can be pretty bad. Citronella candles help a bit. (It's been a long wet summer so far but I'm hoping for an improvement if not I'll save them for next year. We used these candles in France and they were great).

Uv protection for your lips. I sent you a few because if your kids are like mine you'll be lucky to get one. (Or I could keep one in different bags then I'd always have one to hand)!

Marble mix ins. Great ice cream topping-well I am the ice cream mama.(Looks delicious).

Mints, junior mints. Not much to do with summer but you love them and I can get them. (A huge box as well).

Even more mints. Enough for the whole family. Yeah, a lame stretch I know-I blame pregnancy brain. (Even more big boxes, lucky me! OK so I may share one box with my family...if they're good...very good).

Receptacle's for ice cream. I would have sent the ice cream too but I'm afraid you'll have to provide that. (Glad you didn't because it would have melted over all my other gifts).

Beth, thank you so much for my parcel, I love it.

If you want a peek at the parcel I sent it arrived last week.

Fun Monday #29...on Tuesday!

2007-08-14T10:28:00.000+01:00

Beckie wants to know:

...what your favorite treat is. Is it sweet or sour? Is it plain or salty? Is it candy or chocolate? Is it homemade or store bought? For instance, if your favorite is chocolate, tell us what kind specifically - sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes not so much. I have heard a lot of talk about Junior Mints, but is it your favorite or just a tasty treat? It can be anything, popcorn, peanuts, ice cream or chips, maybe you have more than one favorite - that is ok, just show us your favorite(s) and tell us why you like it so much. C’mon, what gets you all juiced up?

A bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk eaten with a hot cup of tea, dunked into the tea so it melts and I suck all the melted bits off before dunking again, mmmmm...

While we're on the subject of treats these would come a close second. Thanks Karmyn for making my day with this delightful package I received in the mail.

A Family Gathering

2007-08-12T09:34:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy week here in Bristol and I'm just too tired to tell you all about it. Yesterday we had a small family get together for my dad. The food was delicious (apart from the diabetic birthday cake I baked), the children got on great (despite either having never met or only met a few times), some of the adults drank lots of alcohol, we saw some hot air balloons from the fiesta, a neighbour let off fireworks (not for us) at the end of the evening and I taught my Uncle David this Irish, pog mo thoin. I think mum is going to post photos of the soiree as I didn't take any.

And the answer is...

2007-08-10T23:11:00.000+01:00

First of all I'd like to thank all of you who stopped by to wish my dad a happy birthday and for those who commented on the photo, it was taken in December 2003 on my granny's 80th birthday.

Further thanks to all those guesses on what daps were. Some of you were close but only two were correct. Daps are gutties or plimsolls so congratulations to Sally and Sam who both knew the answer. For those who are still completely lost, daps are canvas shoes with rubber soles and may be known as sneakers or chucks in the USA or tennis shoes in Australia, for a more detailed description read here. Willowtree was on the right track when he asked: "I've got no idea, but while we're asking questions: do you say runners, sneakers, joggers, tennies or tennis shoes"? In answer to WT's question I called them daps (even though daps are officially the canvas shoes), even when I lived 230 miles away in Hull. Once living in Ireland I taught Dillon the word daps but no one else knew what we were talking about as they called them runners, a word I couldn't stand. So I taught Dillon and Mollie trainers because at least people knew what they were. By the time Ben came along I was Irish enough to say runners. I think some people in Bristol still call trainers daps but they are a dying breed. Small prizes will be winging their way to Sally, Sam (even though I said no family guesses, she's my sis and it's my blog so I can change my mind) and Willowtree because he sort of guessed it without knowing (if you send me your address).

Birthday Greetings

2007-08-08T09:45:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday Dad

70 years young!

Eeee bah gum

2007-08-08T00:01:00.000+01:00

Conversation overheard in the swimming pool changing room in very Bristolian accents.

Her "Di' I tell ya I go' the list for school?"

Him "Nah"

Her "It ha' daps on them, I din't know what daps were"

Him "I do they're...."

I wanted to butt in at this point and tell her as well but I didn't. So who, besides my family, know what daps are? They are an everyday item and I taught Dillon the word but it didn't stick as no one in Ireland knew them by that name. There may even be a small prize if anyone can guess the answer.

Holiday # (I'm too embarrassed to tell you)!

2007-08-07T03:45:00.000+01:00

I know, I know, you've heard it all before but I'm off again. I feel like Swampwitch always jetting off on her broom, unfortunately I have the chaos of Dublin Airport awaiting me at 4:30am today. Myself, the three children and Dillon's friend are heading over to Bristol for a short break and to help dad celebrate one of the bigger birthdays!

While I'm away maybe you'd like to partake in my quiz (in the side bar) inspired by a fellow English girl who's also residing in Ireland, never fails to make me laugh with either her posts (did you see her Fun Monday yesterday) or comments and assures me she's going to win the lottery one day! The quiz involves you voting on Gary Barlow and whether you think he's aesthetically pleasing on the eye or not.

Fun Monday #28

2007-08-06T09:25:00.001+01:00

Mum is the host this week and wants to look at our aprons. I think she chose this challenge to catch me out but about three months ago I finally grew up (a bit) and realised that it was easier to wear an apron than have to wash all my clothes every time I whipped up ~~a mess~~ something delicious in the kitchen. So I took myself off to Dunnes and purchased this rather bright apron for €10.

Unlike my mother I do not have any decorative tea towels and only a few working tea towels, I use the dishwasher and anything that needs hand washing is left to drip dry (I decided this as I wasted many hours drying up as a child because we weren't allowed to leave the dishes to dry)!