More Snow!

Well, we made it up to Northern Ireland, near Ballymena, to visit Marie and Brian on Friday afternoon. It stopped snowing long enough for us to make it safely there and back (last night), but we woke up to more snow this morning! We celebrated Marie's birthday (which was last Friday), Marie and I did a bit of shopping, and Paul did some odd jobs on their house. There is a really good exchange rate when exchanging Euro into Pounds at the moment, and everything is generally cheaper in the North, so I stocked up on non-perishable grocery items. I compared the same items in the same store, and saved 35 Euro by shopping up there. I'll definitely be doing that again!

Marie and Paul

Marie and her little birthday cake

Paul got up early and went to mass this morning, and he called me after it was over to say that the roads were like ice rinks- he went up onto a curb before he even got out of our estate! Luckily there was no injuries and no damage to his van. He got a few groceries on his way home, stopped to pick up some McDonald's pancakes for me, then I taught him how to make a snowman when he got home! He didn't think rolling the snow into a ball on the ground actually worked. While we were out in the snow, he said "I'm kind of getting sick of this snow!" We've only had snow for about a week here! He should go to MN for a few weeks in January! The sun came out and most of it has melted now. There's more in the forecast for the week ahead though.

Paul making the snowman's head

Me and our rather sad looking snowman- he does have really small branches for arms, but we didn't have any coal or carrots for his face

A self-portrait in our backyard.

Snowy Days!

I know this has been a pretty common site in Minnesota and other parts of the US this winter, but Dublin has had more snow this week than it has had in about 20 years. And, it's only been about 3 inches at a time! Unfortunately it seems to hit right about the time everyone is on their way home. On Monday I left work early enough that I made it home in a reasonable amount of time, but Paul left his office (only about 3 miles from our apartment) around 6pm and didn't get home until 9pm! He did stop and get something to eat for about an hour because he was going nowhere fast and was getting hungry! On Tuesday I was headed home from work and Paul was headed home from a meeting in town, and we both ended up stuck on the same road- Paul was in the fast lane, and I was in the slow lane. We would occasionally pass each other and wave! It was two hours and forty minutes for me to get home, about 8 miles! Yesterday wasn't bad, but it's been snowing again today. The Dublin airport has been shut down all afternoon.

It is just kind of funny to me to see this little bit of snow crippling the eastern part of the country. I know it's all relative though. There are no snowplows here, road surfaces are different, tires are different; they just aren't accustomed to snow! As I've been driving around the past few days, kids throw snowballs at all the cars because it is such a novelty. In County Wicklow, south of Dublin, a few people had to be airlifted out by helicopter from some hilly areas because they were stuck, and cars/trucks couldn't get up the roads! Below are a few photos I took on Monday night outside our apartment.




Other than surviving the snow this week, we've been doing the ordinary- work, gym, keeping up with stuff around the house. We've seen a few movies- Bride Wars (typical chick flick), Yes Man (not too bad, basically brain popcorn), The Wrestler (good but depressing), and Slumdog Millionaire (I really liked it). We went to some friends' this past Friday for a Texas Hold 'Em night, and somehow I ended up being the overall winner! Talk about beginner's luck- I had never played it before, and the last time I played ordinary poker was about 10 years ago!

We're supposed to be heading up to Northern Ireland to visit Marie and Brian tomorrow, but now we'll have to see what the weather does!

Happy New Year!

My apologies for not updating sooner- our computer and internet has been a bit dodgy the past few days, so this is the first time I've been able to get the photos uploaded and log on to my blog! I hope 2009 is treating you well so far! Here's a re-cap of our holiday!

Christmas Eve morning- my car, AKA "The Popemobile" (because of its funny shape) all packed up and ready to go. There is a dining room table, two chairs, gifts that we were delivering for one of our friends, and all of our stuff for a 10-day trip!

I'm ready to hit the road! We stopped for breakfast for McDonald's pancakes (my favorite, and the only real "American pancakes" I've found so far in Ireland) before leaving Lucan.

Paul wasn't too thrilled when I put my scarf on him as he was driving! We listened to Christmas music along the way.

We arrived in Louisburgh in the early afternoon and did some visiting to friends and family's homes. The Irish are great for "visiting"! At one of the houses I got a very large vodka and coke, which I'm pretty sure was mainly vodka. I was a bit tipsy even before dinner and church! We ate dinner, went to church, then returned back to Paul's parents to open gifts. Paul's parents (PJ and Bridget), sister (Marie- her fiance, Brian, joined us in Louisburgh on the 30th of December), and Paul and I opened our creative gifts to each other- we each spent only 5 Euro on everyone! It made for some entertaining gifts! It's only now that I realize the only photos I took are of the dog, Lucky, and Paul testing out the "smile sensor" on our new camera!

Lucky with her Santa hat. Unfortunately she was limping around all of Christmas- the vet thinks she has damaged one of the cruciate ligaments in her hind leg. Usually she's outside, but it was quite cold, and with her limp she spent a lot of time inside!

Cheesy grin- testing out our camera's setting that only takes a picture when the subject is smiling!

On Christmas Day the five of us had dinner in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing. On the 27th we flew from Knock in Mayo to Coventry, England for Paul's great aunt's 80th birthday party. We got back to Louisburgh on Monday the 29th. That night Paul had a 10-year class reunion in one of the pubs in Louisburgh. The rest of the week we slept in, read, watched some movies (including Madagascar 2 at the cinema in Westport- I thought it was great!), went for a couple of walks, and Paul did a bit of work. New Year's Eve was pretty low key. Marie, Brian, Paul, and I got Chinese food from the restaurant in Louisburgh and watched a DVD. We were all in our pajamas by midnight, just waiting for the clock to change!

We left Louisburgh on Saturday the 3rd to get back to Lucan and get settled in a bit before heading back to work on Monday. Last night we went to the cinema and saw "Role Models"- I highly recommend it for a couple hours of mindless entertainment! My New Year's resolution is to get back to the gym more regularly, and so far it's going pretty well- I've been there 4 days so far this week. I have good incentive to keep it up- we booked our honeymoon for a week in Jamaica in May! I can't wait for a bit of warmth and sunshine!

Merry Christmas to All!

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday. Paul and I both finished work today and will be heading to Louisburgh early tomorrow morning. We'll spend Christmas and St. Stephen's Day in Louisburgh, then on Saturday, we're flying to England for 2 nights. Paul's great aunt is having an 80th birthday party in Coventry on Saturday night, so Paul, his parents, sister, and I are going over. We're flying from an airport in County Mayo, so when we get back on Monday we'll be in Louisburgh until Sunday the 4th. We're very lucky that we don't have to go back to work until Monday the 5th! Best wishes for 2009!

December Fun

It's been a busy couple of weeks with various activities! Last weekend (December 6-8) we went to Louisburgh. We saw the movie "Four Christmases" (which was very good in my opinion, and I think Paul was pleasantly surprised!) and did exciting things like get new tires on my car and dropped off my wedding dress to get dry cleaned!

This past week we went to the cinema again and saw "What Just Happened". To give you an indication of whether or not we liked it, Paul turned to me in the middle of the movie and said, "I'm sorry for bringing you here"! It just wasn't our type of movie. Tuesday night found us rock-wall climbing at a local university with friends Dermot, Sean, and Jean, and Thursday night we met Paul's cousin, Mike, and my friend, Stephanie in town for dinner (and Stephanie and I did a bit of shopping too!). Below are some pictures of the rock-wall climbing.

Getting ready to climb

That's Sean at the top of the blue section!

Jean and Dermot

This weekend Paul's parents, PJ and Bridget, and I made a trip to Northern Ireland to visit Paul's sister, Marie, and her fiance, Brian. Brian turns 30 on Monday, so we were celebrating his birthday a bit early. Unfortunately Paul is swamped with work at the moment, so he couldn't make the trip. I picked up PJ and Bridget at the train station when I was done with work on Friday, and we made the 4-hour drive to a small village near Ballymena. Marie and Brian bought a really nice house there earlier this fall, and this was our first time to see it. We also got to meet Brian's family, as we all went out to dinner, then had cake and ice cream back at the house on Friday night. PJ did a few jobs around the house on Saturday morning, then we headed out again at around 12:30.

Brian and Marie

Me, Brian, Marie, and PJ

So, it was bed early for me last night! The drive was tiring, but it was really nice to see where they live. I'll just be staying longer next time! Paul and I did the typical weekend things today- grocery shopping, laundry... then he headed down to County Kerry around 3 this afternoon- he has some work to do in Kerry and Cork tomorrow, so he's staying with family down there tonight. The week ahead holds last minute Christmas preparations. My apologies to all of you that your Christmas card may be a bit late this year! We were waiting to get the professional wedding photos on CD before we got our cards printed. It will just extend the holiday, right?!?!? Hope you all have a good week!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend! Paul and I celebrated Thanksgiving by having dinner with Dermot and Mike at Captain America's restaurant in Dublin on Thursday night. Unfortunately there was no turkey or pumpkin pie on the menu, so we settled for burgers and banana splits!



Before we met up for dinner I did a bit of Christmas shopping in the city. The lights are on all over town, and there is certainly a festive spirit in the air!

O'Connell Street

Grafton Street- it says "Nollag Shona Duit" which is Merry Christmas in Irish. There are chandeliers with strings of twinkling white lights all up and down the street- beautiful!

Yesterday I put up our Christmas tree and decorations in our apartment. Paul had a couple of friends over to watch episodes of Entourage last night, so I introduced them to the American delicacies of cheeseball and taco dip. Judging from the very little leftover, I think they enjoyed them! We spent most of the day today finishing up the thank you notes from the Irish reception. What a relief to have all of them done!

Us with our little tree!

Irish Reception

Well, I was back to work just shy of two weeks after the American wedding when the festivities began again! The first guests (my mom, aunt Paulette, my mom's cousin, Pat and her husband, Tom) arrived on Thursday the 6th. My friend Molly arrived on Sunday the 9th, and my mom, Paulette, Molly, and I travelled around the south of Ireland for a couple of days- Cashel, Blarney, Waterford, and Kilkenny. A few more arrived (my friends Sara and Kyle, Meghan and Lauri, my dad, uncle Byron, and cousin Heather) over the next few days, and everyone was in Louisburgh, County Mayo (Paul's hometown) by Thursday the 13th.

Below are Meghan, Sara, and Kyle in one of the pubs in Louisburgh on Thursday night.

The Americans took a mini-bus tour of the area around Louisburgh on Friday, then Paul's parents hosted a great meal for everyone!

Paul, Meghan, Pat, Heather, Tom, my mom, Molly, and Lauri after dinner

PJ (Paul's dad), my dad, Brian (Paul's sister's fiance), Bridget (Paul's mom), my aunt Paulette, and my uncle Byron

Saturday was the big day for the Irish reception. We spent most of the day relaxing and getting ready, and the guests started to arrive at the hotel (The West View Hotel in Louisburgh) around 7pm. The meal was served around 8pm, and the first entertainment, a "one man band" played from 10pm-1am. THEN the dj started! He finished around 2:30, and everyone mingled until 4!

My hair- it took her quite a few tries to get the comb to stay in this time since I cut most of my hair off after the Minnesota wedding!

The West View Hotel Dining Room all ready for the reception

The Menu

Molly and Me

Half of the head table- Martin, Marie, Dermot, and Molly

The other half of the head table- Paul, Mike, David, and Sean

Cutting the cake- we broke the knife!

The last dance of the night- "Love is in the Air". Everyone formed a circle around us while we danced.

And, to end the evening, the Irish National Anthem (played at the end of all dances/events/discos)!

The next morning on the balcony of our hotel room. Paul was so excited to stay in the hotel in Louisburgh!

Everyone started to fly back to Minnesota on Sunday, and the last guests flew out on Wednesday the 19th (I also went back to work that day). I can't thank everyone enough for joining us for take two!

This past weekend, Paul and I took another "mini-moon" as our Christmas gift to each other. We spent two nights in a hotel in County Leitrim, a two hour drive north and west of here. We got to the hotel on Friday around 5pm, and I didn't step foot outside until when we left on Sunday! The weather was cold and rainy, so it was perfect for sleeping, reading, watching a bit of tv, getting a massage, and enjoying good food! It was so nice just to relax and do nothing after a busy month and a half!

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy a piece of pumpkin pie for me!