Fly Away Friday: London Calling

We're off for the weekend!  And where are we off to?

To visit:

SO excited - can't wait!

I hope you all have a great weekend!  Ta ta for now!

iPhone Photo Diary (AKA: Camera Phone Dump)

I know, I know - "Phone Dump" (taken from the root "Brain Dump") has to be one of the most disgusting phrases ever, but I couldn't think of anything else that worked quite as well.  Can you?  

Anyways, as the title suggests, I decided to upload some recent (as in, late February onward) photos from my iPhizzle to share with y'all just what we've been doing 'round here.  But first, to make you all crave your lunch (if you haven't had it yet), here's what I had a few hours ago:

A good ol' fashioned BLT (or BLTC, cause a sandwich ain't a sandwich without cheese, in my opinion). 'Scuse the crumbs on the plate, I as too focused on snapping a shot before I devoured it to worry about having a sparkling plate in shot.  It was delish and I highly recommend you try one if you haven't had one in a while - they never disappoint!  Streaky bacon, for you Irish folks, is a must - none of this thick-cut meaty bacon, it's just not the same. And I like my BLT with tons o' fresh ground pepper and mayo - as you can see.  I just can't understand you strange creatures who don't like mayo - but I love y'all anyways.

Ok back to the camera phone dump (it doesn't get better the more you hear it, does it?).  Here we go - this first one was taken at a Lebanese restaurant in Dublin - Munchers was chowing down on some pita bread and hummus, yumyum!

 

We considered entering her for Eurovision, cause she's far cuter than these two who copied her hairstyle, the cheeky monkeys.

Then there was the day I dressed her up in some of my old dresses that my parents kept for just such an occassion - I don't htink she liked those sleeves too much...

But how cute is she in this 'Bo Peep' one?  I wore those when I was 2.5 years old.  She's not even 18 months here!!

Then Aunty T came to visit in March and brought her these.....

Which even she thought she looked awesome in (which she did, of course)!

While T was here we started C's education in classic cinema (she sat like that for ages, entranced.  That's my daughter!).  Name that film, people - come on, you know it!

We went out and about with Uncle R, and to the park, too, of course.

 A year ago, on our visit Stateside, her Grandpa bought her Violet...

Who she loves.....

 

A lot!

 I dug out my old rocking chair from when I was a little one (must find a photo of me in it, too).  She loves it.  She also likes to stand up in it, but I'm too busy having a heart attack to take photos of that happening.  I want to recover the seat and fix it up a bit, so I'm looking out for some fun fabric for that project.  Note the return of the Elvis lip in this photo....

 In April, Grandma came to visit and bought C some sweet kicks....

 We also love hummus and we don't like to be interrupted for a photo shoot whilst enjoying said hummus:

Then May came, and with it came the cherry blossoms (jump for joy):

 We found out that C loves the cob.  I say the cob because she's not so hot on the corn, just the cob itself.

We also mastered climbing and going down the stairs.  Check out C on the move (down the stairs):

The Munchers has 2 men in her life - besides her Daddy,  Grandfathers, and Uncles, that is - Woody.  And Buzz.  The love affair is in full swing - she adores those two!

And here's a few more recent shots (isn't it nuts how long her hair got in a couple of months?!)

She does this when she wants me to tickle her chin.  Too cute!

Those last few photos are from last weekend when we had some seriously amazing weather.  It was so beautiful that look what happened to me:

I know, I know...cue the redneck jokes!  I am normally SO careful.  Cripes, was this sore!

So thats about it for today. Oh wait, does anyone know how the heck to scan these guys that I see everywhere?  I tried taking photos of it (obviously) but I just couldn't figure it out.  Help!!

Anyways, have a wonderful Thursday.  We're off somewhere fun for the weekend, and maybe I'll tell ya before I leave :)  If not, have a great weekend!!

Couch To 5K....Starts Today

Today I am starting Couch To 5K.

AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

I can't actually believe I'm making this public knowledge.  Actually the only reason I am is that it will force me to do it!

I have never been a runner.  EVER.  I was that kid in P.E. (gym) who came in last one on the day they made you completely humiliate yourself by running - in competition with your classmates, no less.  Mortifying.  I have never been athletic and I'm not ashamed of that anymore (when I was 13, that was different) - playing sports is just not my thing, never have been, never will be.  Dancing always was.  But I'd like to learn how to run and I had a little 'trial run' (pun intended) with my sister a few weeks back and surprised myself at how - if I took it slow and steady, like she said - I was able to run for short intervals.  Very encouraging, it was. And I'm not totally new to cardio - spin is my current cardio love and I won't be giving it up so hopefully I'll improve all round.

Then, two weeks ago, with my encouragement (ha!), my Mum started Couch To 5K and she is doing so well with it.  It has really encouraged me to try it too.  So today I'll put on my running shoes, load my C25K iPhone App (which is awesome!) and head out the door to fight against the experienced, super-fit runners on the Dublin streets to begin week 1 of what I'll imagine will be 6 challenging weeks.  But I can do this...right?!  I just have to do it.  I am about to start back at the gym too, after my 6 week forced hiatus.  Between that and learning to run, perhaps I'll lose those pesky, annoying, unsightly last few pregnancy pounds that I just can't seem to shake.  I have to don a bathing suit in 6 weeks - desperate times...   :)

ALSO - can't believe I forgot to mention this before I published the first time - my sister, Mum and I are doing a 5K race this summer - AGHH!  I can do it I can do it I can do it!

Yesterday I read my dear friend Sarah's blog entry about how she has just run her first 5K race.  I am totally inspired by her achievement!  What about you?  Have you (or anyone you know) done Couch To 5K?  I could really use some words of encouragement!!!

President O'Bama In The Emerald Isle

We have had a heck of a couple of weeks here.  First we had Queen Elizabeth II's visit, which I wrote about yesterday, and then the Obama's popped in to say hello.  Or Barry O'bama and his wife Michelle, as the President has been renamed.  :)  They were here for less than 24 hours but they sure packed a lot in.  I was anxious to see what the First Lady would be wearing (shocker!), and I have to say I wasn't overly impressed.  She wore two outfits for her visit and neither of them wow-ed me.  I know she's the most fashionable First Lady since Jackie, but I find her choices very hit-or-miss.  This Tom Ford gown from her visit to London, however - perfection.

Anyways, Dublin - and Ireland as a whole - had a great time preparing for this Presidential visit:

I couldn't help but laugh when I passed the Paddy Power on our street, which looked just like this one!

Dublin Busses get a presidential makeover.

The Obamas arrived in Dublin airport bright and early last Monday morning.  I do think the blue of Air Force One makes for a lovely backdrop, don't you?

From there, the Obamas were whisked away to meet our Presidential couple.

Meeting and chatting with President McAleese and her husband Martin

A tree was planted....

Then it was off to meet Enda Kenny:

Having a couple of words with our Taoiseach (Prime Minister...

...who then taught him how to use a hurley, which Obama joked could come in handy in Congress sometimes...

Then the Obama's hopped over to our 'hood to have Lunch with the American Ambassador at the Embassy, where as they left, "The Beast" embarrassingly got stuck.  It left a huge scratch on the pavement, too!

From there, it was off to his ancestral home, Moneygall, where people couldn't have been more excited:

Meeting some seriously excited people in Moneygall

And the President enjoyed a nice cold Guinness (the First Lady, I'd imagine, not so much)

Then it was back to Dublin where celebrations were in full swing and the President was greeted by - they say - 100,000 people in the streets around College Green.  The first two shots were taken by my husband on his phone - he was stuck up by Christchurch and couldn't get any closer, despite being there a good 5 hours before the speech even started!

(Side note: not really loving Michelle's outfit here.  The dress might be cute but trench just looked too sloppy over it.)

He and our own Taoiseach gave rousing speeches (here's the video in case you're interested):

After his speech he spent a good half an hour greeting fans and supporters in the crowd:

That secret service agent on the left does not look happy...lol!

And then they were off...

Whether you love him or hate him, it was an exciting day to be in Dublin and I think his visit gave our country just the boost it needed.