Updates

Here's a brief update of what we've been up to the past two weeks!

-Attended our friends Stevie and Ness' wedding on Friday the 17th (see photos below).  It was a beautiful and fun day.  The reception was held at an historic house built in the late 1600's- gorgeous! 

-We've been house hunting in Dublin.  We are considering merging Paul's office/storage and our apartment.  For what we are paying in rent for the two we could be paying a mortgage just as easily, and it's a buyer's market now!  We're looking around but still not sure what we'll do.

-Last Sunday was a beautiful day here, and a few friends and I rented bikes and cycled around the Phoenix Park, then went out for dinner.  It was a lovely afternoon/evening.

-Paul was also cycling in the Phoenix Park during the week.  He and a few of his friends are thinking about doing something called GaelForce West this summer.  It involves running, biking, rowing, climbing Croagh Patrick, then biking again.  All in one day!  

-I signed up for and got all of my course materials to do a Diploma in Wedding Planning by distance learning.  It's an area that I think I have strengths in, and who knows where it might take me.  If this course goes well, I am thinking of doing either an evening or distance course in Event Management also.

-This weekend we've been relaxing and catching up on things around the apartment.  We went out for dinner on Friday evening and rented a movie last night.  We had a couple of friends over for breakfast this morning (I even cooked black pudding- yuck!), and Paul has headed off with them to watch a race (the cars that he has raced the past couple of years).  I keep telling myself that I need to get my taxes done this weekend.  If you live abroad, you still have to file but get an automatic two month extension- therefore I'm procrastinating a bit!

-Only a bit less than 3 weeks until our honeymoon to Jamaica!  I can't wait!

The Wedding Party

The first dance- they started off on a slow song, but then it broke into little snippets of about 10-15 other songs like "The Chicken Dance", "Grease Megamix", "I Like Big Butts", and others.  They had it choreographed perfectly.  The best first dance I've ever seen!

Paul and me

Long Easter Weekend

I had the wonderful privilege of having a 5-day weekend this past weekend!  Monday was a bank holiday, Friday our office was closed, and Thursday I used as my "privilege day" (a day everyone in the health service/public service gets to take off some time around Easter).

On Thursday I made a trip up to Banbridge in Northern Ireland (about an hour and a half drive from here) to do a big grocery shop.  The prices are so much cheaper, and the exchange rate between the pound and the euro is in our favor at the moment.  An example- a 1.75 litre of Tropicana orange juice is 5 Euro here!  Ridiculous!  I got it in the North for 2.76 pounds (approx. 3.07 Euro).  I got a trolley full- I was literally having to put my whole body weight into it to steer it around the store towards the end!  Our freezer, fridge, and cupboards are packed.  I figure we should only have to buy milk, bread, and maybe a little fruit for the next month.  A new budget was announced here last week with a few different tax increases, so I imagine this will become a monthly trip for me!

Friday afternoon Marie and Brian drove down to our apartment, then the 4 of us headed down to Tralee in County Kerry.  Paul's mom was already down there- she has a house there and had gone down on Thursday.  On Saturday evening there was an anniversary mass for Paul's granny who passed away a year ago.  After the mass, most of Bridget's 9 brothers and sisters and their families got together for tea and sandwiches.  We got up early Sunday morning and were on the road by 8:30.  That meant we were back in Dublin by noon, which was great.  Paul and I spent Sunday laying on the couch, watching movies, and eating chocolate and candy that we had given up for Lent!  I had brought back a load of candy from the States- Starburst, Peeps, Starburst jelly beans, Nibs, so I broke into those.  We also enjoyed our Cadbury Easter eggs!

Paul did a bit of work on Monday, then we went out for a bite to eat on Monday afternoon and went to a shopping centre south of Dublin to pick up a few things we needed.  It was back to work yesterday, but it's another 3-day work week for me, as we have a friend's wedding on Friday.  I think I could get used to this!

One of my main purchases in the States was a new laptop- we had been using the one Paul has had for about 5 years, and it was getting to be very temperamental.  We decided on a MacBook, and we really like it.  We have become Apple converts!  If you're in the market for a new computer, I highly recommend the MacBook.

Also while I was in MN, my sister gave me the first 3 books in the Twilight series.  I've finished the first two, can't wait to get through the third, and have rented the movie.  I was a bit skeptical before starting them, but they are great, quick reads.  Not just for teenage girls!  

Here are a few pics from this past weekend!

Paul on the way down to Kerry- we thought we were never going to get there!  With traffic and stops, it took around 4 1/2 hours.  (Less than 3 1/2 on the way back on Sunday!)

These two were taken in Moneygall, County Offaly.  Barack Obama's great-great-great grandfather left there for America in 1850.  As you can see, they are quite proud to have a claim to Barack!

My Easter egg (next to my water bottle to give you an idea of the size).  It came in a box with 3 full sized chocolate bars.  Like the egg wasn't enough!

Trip to MN

On Saturday, March 14 I flew back to MN for a little over a week.  The main purpose of the trip was that my mom had rotator cuff surgery in Duluth on the 17th.  Her surgery went well, and she's now in a shoulder immobilizer and starts physical therapy tomorrow.  I was glad I was able to be there and encourage her to do her exercises!

I spent most of the time between my parent's home in Floodwood, MN, and my sister and brother-in-law's in the Cities.  I made a couple side trips to North Branch and Duluth to see some friends, and I was also able to see some extended family.  It was great to catch up with people I hadn't seen in months!  Shopping was also on the agenda.  I still marvel at how much cheaper everything is in the US!  An example- sunscreen is on sale in the drug store chain Boots here for around 20 Euro a bottle.  I got two bottles at Target for $10!  I also did a bit of shopping for summery clothes for our honeymoon to Jamaica, which is coming up in May.  Yay for Old Navy!

While I was in the States, Paul celebrated St. Patrick's Day in Louisburgh, then took the ferry over to England on Thursday to visit some of his family there.  He got back Monday morning around 6am, just in time to pick me up from the airport around 8!  I spent Monday getting unpacked, doing laundry and other stuff around the apartment, and I went back to work yesterday.

This weekend I get to be a guest speaker for the current College of St. Scholastica students who are spending the semester in Louisburgh!  I did it last year also and talked about the whole process of moving over and the differences I've noticed between living in the US and Ireland. 

Here area  few pics of my time in MN!

Margo found some goggles on sale when we were shopping (to use at the pool at the gym), and Justin and Margo had to model them!

Me and Margo

Our attempt at a self-portrait using the timer on the camera!

Stamp 4!

Yesterday morning Paul and I got up early to join the queue at the Garda National Immigration Bureau. I had my new passport (with my new name) and our marriage certificate in hand. After waiting for a little over two hours, I left with my passport stamped with a stamp 4. The stamp 4 means that you are married to an Irish citizen, and you can get a job wherever without having to have a green card or a work permit. And, they stamped it for 5 years, which is great- I don't particularly enjoy having to go to the Immigration Bureau!

We haven't been up to too much out of the ordinary. Last weekend Paul went to a friend's bachelor party in Bristol in England, so I enjoyed some chick flicks and some time to read. Paul is fighting a cold this weekend, so we'll be laying low. We already have a few movies rented. A couple of weeks ago I was hit with a flu/chest infection and missed 4 days of work, so I'm keeping my distance and trying to stay healthy!

The house is progressing slower than I had hoped. We were waiting for awhile to get things from the engineer that we need to fill out paperwork before we can start clearing the land or anything. Patience is a virtue though, right?!?!

Paul has decided not to race cars this season. And no, it has nothing to do with being married or anything I said! We want to focus our resources (time and money) on building the house, and the racing can be a rather expensive pastime.

I leave for MN one week from today! I'll be there for 8 days, and will split my time between the Cities and Duluth/Floodwood. Mom is having rotator cuff repair surgery in Duluth on the 17th, so I'll be around to help for a few days. I also have plans to be back in July for my friend Meghan's wedding, and I know I'll have a bit more free time then, so I'll be able to get together with more people during that visit!

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!