still no cat.

we have cats, 2 of them!

2009-01-08T23:21:00.002Z

HEAD ON OVER TO http://jilljordan.wordpress.com TO FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURES.

________________________________________________________________
we got 2 cats, so its time to close this blog. I've moved it across to wordpress, and the new (mostly photo) blog is here

enjoy!

oh now that was just lovely (wesht is besht)

2008-07-21T19:09:00.008+01:00

I was in Clifden for the first time this weekend for Tracy's hen. After a very Wuthering Heights (except with the Twelve Bens instead of the moors) approach what with the ominous grey skies and eerie landscape we set into a bit of grub. Not that we hadn't spent the whole journey stuffing our faces with crips. But sure thats no dinner. The staff were very amusing - the girl on reception was probably actually nice, but she was very stern with us, it didn't really suit the hospitality sector in which she found herself working. She always seems incredibly busy and efficient where really she was neither. However, one thing about hotel staff - when you're in a hotel, you always seem to see the same people throughout the weekend or however long. What kind of hours are they working at all. I know i'd be grumpy. Thats why I don't interact with the public for a living! Amusing staff member number 2 was the kindly man who told me as i was settling a bill to watch out for another party of diners later on if we were going out - he said they were a vulgar bunch. Bless! Warnings heeded (and long journeys travelled) it was mostly early nights all round that night.

Saturday morning we spotted a large spherical bright object in the sky. Those that have been to Oz identified it as a 'sun'. It made me very happy. After a comedy breakfast where we had to forage for cups and the waitress brought one item at a time to the table whether it was a coffee pot or a spoon, we went for a wander. It was on this wander that we bought massive granny pants. I thought it only right to document the occasion. The only other available knickers in Clifden seem to be pheremone-enhanced disposable thongs. I think someone needs to call Dunnes and let them know there's a captive audience out here.

Then it was time for horseriding. Unfortunately for us ladies, horseriding means relinquishing handbags and all other accoutrements (and style) so there's no photos of us on the beach. But i don't really mind as I have de memories. It was breathtakingly idyllic and lovely, even if from the outside we looked like a load of hags on a load of nags. Which we probably didn't. 2 of the ladies showed us all up with their cantering - Fiona & Ann. Fiona's horse also did a bit of a bolt back in the stables, luckily she was able for it and escaped with just a leg bang. I would probably be in a full body cast by now if that happened, however my Rocky was unlikely to do anything so energetic. In fact he wanted to put his head down a lot and the instructors saw fit to furnish me with a whip. I gave him a load of pats too to make up for having to hit him a bit. Before anyone asks, the whip was returned at the end.

There's only one photo. Some of the girls had nice peaked velvet hats with wee ribbons on the back. I had something more akin to the hairmet (from scrubs)

There was a big load of sparkly boozes had back in Tracy & Fiona's bedroom to prepare us for the night ahead. We waited til we got to the restaurant til there was henniness. But seeing as we were such a classy hen, it only stretched to this lovely rig-out. Which didn't last that long anyway! Many drinks were had in the local, and back in the residents bar.

8 slices of toast and a gallon of tea later (that was just me) we went for a bit of a walk to blow out the bad before we headed off. There's a monument above Clifden which looks really far away but is only about a 20 minute walk. Good thing, there were pretty skirts & flip flops and the lot doing the trip. We like style on our sojourns so we do. Diane tried to climb the monument and failed, it had obviously been Diane-proofed. After that last bout of activity, we went on our merry way (our car load anyway). Rachael did impressive driving that got us back to Dublin in 4 hours (that was 4 hours of eating for me and babs in the back), the poor dear spent another hour doing dropping homes (ta love!).

Now, I'm henned out till next weekend!

yes, yes i see.

2008-06-29T20:30:00.003+01:00

we're probably talking about cars and houses, sure thats all we talk about anymore.

do you like my new tea cup? should keep me going anyway

in sad news, the rov's not doing so well. gears 2 & 4 are co-operating, none of the others are. the alarm lights don't work, and the clutch doesn't pop back up. prepare yourselves, she doesn't have long. at 159, 920 miles on the clock, sure it's a good innings.

not toronto.

2008-06-25T20:20:00.010+01:00

we had a lovely couple of days in belfast, and now i'm back in work. i actually couldn't take the rest of the week off as planned, i was bouncing off the walls there by sunday, which is a sign of better health i'd say. i know i've been awful moany the last couple of weeks. but you'd have to forgive me. to recap, last week:

- we got outbid on another house we went for
- we found out we didn't get affordable housing in the latest draw
- i got an ear infection and couldn't fly so...
-...we couldn't go to toronto as planned

but, coming up in july i have

-a family do
-a lovely ladies lunch
-a trip to clifen for a hen
-a trip to the galway races to a hen

so, onwards and upwards!

belfast was really nice. it was lashing rain altogether when we got there on sunday, but thats okay i got to have a bath, and prepare myself for the walking tour of "mark's belfast". you may recall a similar trip - "mark's london" when we missed our flight to iceland on our honeymoon. I sense a pattern, bad luck strikes, i get to walk around some significant places in marks life.

anyway, off we went to see where mark lived once.

I will also preface this with - mark thought we shouldn't smile in any photos because we were supposed to focus on the fact that belfast is not toronto.

and in this one i was suppose to be sad because my iced latte wasn't a tim hortons ice cap, but it didn't work and i just look pale and scared. this was in a cafe called sinammon in stranmillis which is a lovely bit of belfast i'd never been in before.

after that brekkie treat, it was time to admire some flowers in the belfast botanic gardens. i liked the wilty ones best.

there were lots of structures like this around. they seem a bit pointless - the stone inset at the base all made different tones when you stomped on them but i think that was an accident. anyway i am demonstrating the scale here.

mostly everyone that knows mark, knows his general feeling about walks. he was very amenable to the idea there on monday, but sometimes, his misgivings shone through.

i also brought my antibiotics with me. sure, drugs need holidays too.

later i saw this sign. unfortunately the shop didn't seen to be there anymore, as i have to have this dress.

we went to a beautiful old bar i've never been in before - the crown bar - it was breathtakingly deadly, and this is only a tile on the outside!

we went to sainsbury's in lisburn on the way home to get some groceries, and wine and brita filters and not feel like we'd been totally screwed financially. there were no photo's of that.

king of the snacks

2008-06-21T18:31:00.002+01:00

crisp sambidges and tae.

You'll notice we're drinking our tea out of our lopsided commemorative Canada mugs. That is to commemorate the fact that we should be in Toronto by now, but we're not because I can't hear out of one ear and therefore can't fly.

cake cafe made me cry

2008-06-14T16:53:00.005+01:00

I am not a happy bunny. we went to cake cafe for a bit of post-house hunting analysis and i ordered the tart off the days menu - tomato, durrus cheese, olive tapenade. After about a third of it, i remarked to mark that it was very salty. then i saw capers, presumed it was them and i picked them out. The tart didn't list capers - if it did i wouldn't have ordered it as i don't really like them, but i went on because i was hungry and it wasn't that big anyway. There was only about a quarter left when i asked mark did he want it and as i prodded it across the plate to him i saw something fishy. Literally. he took it, had a look and then we asked the waiter was there anchovies in the tart. He looked confused, and went off to the chef. I saw the chef do a big eyebrow raise in a 'like, duh' kinda way. The waiter came over and reported they were part of the tapenade, and that always has anchovies. The manager lady came over at this point and apologised at my being upset but reiterated the same. I argued that they might think there's always anchovies in tapenade but i've eaten plenty of it listed as vegetarian. Mark went and paid - we weren't charged for the tart, and they gave us 2 cupcakes.

But its hardly enough for breaking nearly 12 years of being a vegetarian on me. I was really upset at them, and felt like they were not really taking responsibilty for it. Mark was very understanding of my reaction, and told them they should really highlight that there's fish in something that its not obvious in. To make sure i'm not being thick i looked up several olive tapenade recipes. Half have anchovies, half don't, and jars of Sacla tapenades don't either - so from the chefs POV it might always have them, but from the customers point of view, it may never.

I had woken up with a really sore throat and sneezes today, and coupled with my teary lunch i was in a right state for going for an eye test - but, for the first time ever, specsavers made my day! It wasn't gonna get shitter anyway. The optician asked me a load of questions about my laser surgery, before doing the eye test bit. She proclaimed me to a be 'a poster girl for eye laser surgery' with my 2 very healthy eyes, and 20/10 vision. Thats better than 20/20 folks! Then I went and bought a new pair of shoes to congratulate myself on being able to see so well, and comiserate with myself on having ingested fish.

2008-06-02T18:48:00.002+01:00

i'm not even sure how much more eating i can do this weekend. i might just have to go to work tomorrow in order to stop it. the mini marathon was on today, which made mark take 1hr 15 to travel about 5km, and this was hours before the aul bints had even started huffing and puffing their way around. Ah i'm only messin, i did it one year, and it was such an achievement i haven't done it again since for fear of being slower. then to cement a good excuse for not having to do it again, i went and got married on the june bank holiday weekend, in order to maybe having better plans every year for infinity.

we went and ate in itsa4 instead. ho hum. good company, and good brownies mind! we strolled for about 15 minutes. Tom & Liz made noises about going to the Forty Foot. Madsers. We've come home to veg instead, and as a nerdy treat decided to go through the Port Tunnel. 3 yo's on the weekend, up to €12 at other times. yikes.

But the most exciting part of the trip was the discovery that they're building a massive pope where the Point Depot used to be, or else he's doing a show:

then i did some messing out the sunroof

happy anniversary husbag.

2008-06-02T01:37:00.005+01:00

courtesy of katherine kenny, here we are - all (drunken?) youthful exuberance - 2 years ago:

and us, pictured earlier today:

messing with the macro setting

2008-06-02T01:20:00.002+01:00

robbed roses from the bridge in brooklodge on the occasion of Mark & Sylda's wedding. marriage is in slightly healthier state i'll warrant.

One of the cacti i keep in the hall to keep burglars at bay.

thursday evening, 23:07. its E! News or this.

2008-05-29T22:55:00.004+01:00

i just came in from paulas, and decided to wind down after the hell that is the 1 lane! 4 lanes! 2 lanes! 1 lane! M50 from Leopardtown to Finglas with a nice cool beer. (Well done to Dunnes for having 4 Brahma for €3.99) How can you wind down when only 'A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila' is on. I'm not even going to provide a link to that. A man shouted at a distraught woman 'you're just a ho' and she shouted 'you're momma's a ho' and despite him having just been 'disprectin on women' (according to a 3rd party) he got all upset at yer wan mentioning his ma. Hello! Thats not relaxing. But over on RTEOne Surgeons is on and thats a bit gory. So background E! News it is.

I should really go to the scratcher and not be up eating monster munch and blogging. But having worked in the machine room since may 27th 2002, (apart from 14 months off for lovely Canada) tomorrow is my very. last. day. in there. It's all digital media nerdy stuff for me from next tuesday :) And i'm very much looking forward to it. If only to have a seat to call my own.

From this...
... to shit, i don't know how to describe my new job in words or pictures. Gimme a few weeks at it!

another weekend over, another week to wish away.

2008-05-25T18:31:00.006+01:00

boo to sunday evening. its all school tomorrow ish. Dermot had a 'not party' last night but from where i was standing (inconveniently in front of the fridge most of the evening) it sure looked like one. A while before we went home, after beer and prosecco and before wine, me and mark discovered a cake and ate loads of it. I'm a bit ashamed - someone brought that as a lovely present for maria and dermot, probably for them to tuck into today to reward themselves for a party well thrown, and we attacked it. It was the best, cake, ever. The girl who made it was gone, so i need to somehow procure the recipe. It was peachy and coconutty and had the ultimate baking accolade of being 'very moist' I couldn't take pictures of it we ate it that quickly.

We stayed in Lisa's house then cos it was nearby and this morning Mark's powers of concentration and steady handedness were severely challenged by 3 year old jenga master, Ella.

Riodhna was way more zen.

Along with my lovely new camera Steve Kiraly sent fancy tea and the nicest scented candles in the world. Oh yeah and a wife beater vest with a picture of a truck on it. I'm gonna get Mark to wear it round Biarritz in september. This is not a bundle offered by Pixmania

So with that, it is time for tea.

ah finglas

2008-05-24T14:54:00.002+01:00

there was a bit of a parade there down our road. ol laser eyes weren't quite good enough to work out what it was in honour of, but i imagine its a republican related anniversary of some sort. you wouldn't really get the volume from this pic, but there were quite a lot of them and lots of banners and flags, and a pipe & drum band that brought me to the window in the first place. The people living opposite that don't have a massive wraparound balcony like that lot in the top left were out at their windows looking at us looking at the road and even more confused.

new camera. this is not representative.

2008-05-21T23:12:00.002+01:00

i just got a new camera. i'm gonna have to do better than this. but that will also require me getting off the couch and not eating popcorn, drinking beer and watching keeping up with the kardashians. i'd say yer woman cindy sherman was a divil for that kind of thing

today i mostly

2008-05-10T21:50:00.002+01:00

- exchanged texts with a workmate re: his finding of our syndicate's euromillions tickets in his jacket and his intentions to claim our winnings. (avg: €15)

- ate the worlds best breakfast: lidl's best 'special muesli' with rice dream milk courtesy of mum's new dairy free diet. not bad. nutty. (both of them)

- watched saturday kitchen.

- ate in La Dolce Vita which is lovely food, with way too big pasta portions, and is too cramped and un-italian like, despite its credentials.

- "fixed the tv". I put this in inverted commas, because i fix one of the tv's every single time in am in wexford. there is usually nothing at all wrong with the tv.

- saw my uncle who is my godfather but doesn't know it, but he's great anyway.

- saw my cousin & her daughters as one of them made her confirmation today. realised it is wrong to be jealous of a 12 year olds confirmation outfit as i reflect on the butterfly collars, crimped hair, and straw boaters popular in 1992.

- looked for shoes for sylda's wedding next weekend. fruitless. i shall be barefoot.

offer it up.

2008-05-10T11:28:00.002+01:00

i'm not doing that well at keeping up my blog. that is because these days i'm spending my entire time doing one of 2 things almost. looking at houses - real or online - and looking at comedy cat pictures. The absolute joy of one cancels out the unbridled misery & anti-craic of the other. I'll let you guess which is which. Luckily the plan is that as soon as we overcome the herculean task of actually purchasing an abode, we then get to acquire not one but two kitties all of our own. Then, all will be right with the world.

green tea kitkat. an exploration.

2008-04-12T18:25:00.003+01:00

I've held on to this thing for a month now. I've avoided it as long as there was actual chocolate in the cupboard, but during a particularly tense episode of The Wire with a fresh cuppa, I felt I had no choice. I was appreciative of Kris's giving to us 2 x Green Tea Kit Kats, but was a little skeptical about their actual deliciousness, even though I'm an avid Pocky Stick fan. Results are in...

mmm lovely phone.

2008-04-12T12:13:00.005+01:00

i gots me a new phone and its purty. the restarting of the blog is exposing me as the avid consumer that i am. i've started reading this other website every day - Tiny Choices - and have realised i've quite a way to go. i do make good tiny choices, and i make some bad bigger choices. have a look though, its inspirational some days and other days its mental. Consider that an official review.

eff you exchange rates!

2008-04-06T20:07:00.002+01:00

I'm buying a lovely gúna for at least 2 weddings this summer, and a quick check online says "Jill You Are Being Fleeced". Dress in brands own shop on Grafton St: €220. Label also displays UK price: £150. Today, £150=€190. Jokes on you Ted Baker, I just bought it on their website for £158.50 inc delivery to Ireland - about €201 - and it gets delivered to work so I don't even have to go shopping again. Now shoe shopping time!

whats not to love

2008-04-05T00:15:00.002+01:00

the sun came out today so i bought these. fob-oh-las

then 5 hours later i brought muttley & cosmo for a walk and got soaked. luckily i was wearing my more sensible knacker chic pink & white Nike Shox at that point.

lovely dressmaking

2008-03-26T21:12:00.008Z

these are the 3 things i've made so far - the middle top in the first one in a green fan pattern, the dress on the right in the second one - didnt turn out half as slinky :( and the skirt in the third one in an embroidered black cord.

And this is the next project, except its not going to be in cheap red polyester it's going to be in black & white patternedy stuff, and in the bubble shape like the tiny black one below the main piccies. It better be nice, and I'd better get deadly and confident at dressmaking soon, I spent €60 in Hickeys alone today.

I think I'd like a 'personal pattern shopper'. I find it hard to pick them, because almost everything seems naff in the catalogues. It doesn't help when you find american pattern review sites, and the final product has been made in a pastel synthetic and is generally yuck. and the fabric selection in hickeys is very hit and miss. The ladies in there can be very helpful (if they feel like it) but they don't move fast and my lunch time is only so long. Murphy Sheehy's so far still scares me a bit, especially when i ventured in yesterday and overheard a precocious young queeny salesman grilling some women about their personal histories practically when all they wanted was some curtain fabric.

maybe some update pics when i start that dress anyway.

STOP THE PRESSES...
I'm going to make this instead for Mark. I need to rush and get it done in time for Sylda & Mark's wedding. It's a zoot suit - amazing!

10 hours in.

2008-03-24T22:48:00.003Z

10 rather tipsy ladies all just about staying upright, but with lovely style it has to be said. this was post-races, in honour of sylda's upcoming nuptuals. a brillo classy hen idea it has to be said.

a bit proud

2008-03-24T19:37:00.002Z

yesterday while i was off carousing and drinking sparkly in the back of an executive mini coach (no less) on the way to the races at fairyhouse my brother was reading the proclamation of independence at the 1916 commemoration ceremony on o'connell st.

(photo from ireland.com)

it's back

2008-03-24T19:24:00.002Z

I had a bit of a think about whether i was going to delete the blog or not. After a while I decided to do the opposite and keep it going. I've a new camera on the way and am gonna be taking more piccies. There's a plan in place to get a cat in the relatively near future, obviously everyone loves cat pictures. right? right?

Riodhna & Jill = bonded.

2007-05-02T22:18:00.000+01:00

Niece number 1 had no time for me today. not a bit of it. no smiles or hugs or anything. I think it's terrible hard being 2 years old. That's the impression I got off her anyway. Niece number 2 however. Flying form. As in kicking and looking about and smiling loads and not giving out when i changed her nappy or anything.

2007-04-19T22:35:00.000+01:00

so what did happen to the rattly bike? i'm not sure really. i was on my way home on monday night, when the derailer (im told) popped up and into the back wheel of the bike breaking itself and a few spokes and bringing the bike to a dead halt. Luckily I was going uphill slowly at the time suffering from post pilates shaky-leg syndrome. I'd gone into a very easy gear when it happened, so I don't think I was in any danger of it happening during a down hill jaunt. Anyway so now i'm on my 3rd bike this year. I got it ourra de buy & sell from an american in clontarf. It looks like this:
So now i have 4 reflectors, 4 lights and 2 locks. Goodness. I won't be clipping along at any speed with all that hanging offa me.

Here is some cheesecake.
and a nice day on t'road

hands up who had any of this?

2007-04-18T22:22:00.000+01:00

Well done on the recycling of our toys ma dunphy. who needs bleedin' dora the bleedin' explorer wha'?

broke bike mountain, or, i am on foot once more

2007-04-18T21:50:00.000+01:00

The latest victim:

i don't have a good record with bikes since i entered my adult cycling years. adult cycling is not any kind of smutty activity its just different to child cycling where you zoom around to your friends houses and leave your bike in a dusty heap on their front driveway until you have to whizz home and go to bed until you get up again for summer holidays kids telly in the morning and then off you go again. Adult cycling is 15 more minutes in bed in the morning, fitting errands like going to the bank or buying birthday presents into your lunchbreak that you might not get done in time on foot. And beating taxi queues and nitelinks home -cycling on footpaths where possible) when you have had no more than 3 drinks over a long period of time. (that is my self-imposed limit).

my safety record is okay. i wear a helmet, a reflective thingy, some lights, i use signals and only break lights carefully. but the poor bikes that end up beneath me bum, with each passing one the tale of calamity jills bike related failures grows.

The Lizard:

The Raleigh Lizard. Aged 12 I bought it with my confirmation money, it wasn't my first bike but I had grown out of the one i bought with my communion money. Note to self: if ever there was a reason to baptise hypothetical children, there is 2 right there. Happily or not, I am an average, or possibly short arse height person, and had no sudden vertical growth spurts whatsoever. This bike saw me right into my twenties. I didn't cycle when i was in college. I ate 2 packets of salt & vinegar Hunky Dorys every day and thought 5km was a long way. So it enjoyed a few years retirement gathering dust in the sometimes raided Dunphy garage. It had a spell in the leafy confines of Clonskeagh & Donnybrook, then moved with me to the Liberties. It survived living in 1 Meath Terrace, something only hardy folk & vehicles could do. It made the trip to Portobello, where it had to fend for itself nightly locked to a railing in front of our flat, with only the aroma of the Bretzel Bakery for company (we lived opposite the cartoon side door in that piccy). I had gotten cocky. One fine summers day in return for hard work, and being overstaffed I got to leave at 3pm to enjoy the sunshine. I sailed home on the lizard, and propped him up against the rail. Distracted by the still trading bakery, i decided deserved a treat. My head was turned by the sweet smells and, to this day i cannot be sure if i locked the lizard or not. I trotted in home past it grubby fist gripping a muffiny delight - who knew if it creaky emmissions as i brushed by were simply the impact of the light breeze on the 12 year old chain or a cry for help from the ancient 2-wheeler?

2 hours later I emerged into the evening, helmet in hand, to go and meet my good friend Fiona. There was no lizard. And thus began my unfortunate history...

2007-04-06T10:07:00.000+01:00

Quote of the evening, which was uttered by Sylda's Mark, and came second hand to me:

"He's no Mark Jordan"

on seeing Miss Jay in the RTE canteen. I believe the quote refers to his not being as statuesque as he appears on America's Next Top Model.

the interactive dinner party.

2007-03-31T14:16:00.000+01:00

the pasta
Mark thinks he should have put more tomatoes in.

the salad dressing

the seabass
He used a good old fashioned analog cookbook. but lo! Through the magic of the interweb I've found it anyway. It was kind of a bastardisation of this recipe. You'll have to cook Mark dinner to find it out.

the garlic butter
I used half the amount of garlic salt required by that recipe and it was plenty salty. And I didn't buy italian seasoning cos thats a bit generic sounding to me.

apple crisp
I love the Judy the waitress on that page. We should have had her help out last night.

Now, if anyone wants pasta for their tea this evening, call round!

La Fheile Fun

2007-03-19T22:40:00.000Z

that was a fun weekend. i love bank holiday season. even though i was working it was only small bits of work. i had more fun at the you're a star wrap party than i thought we possibly could have. the show itself was pretty much a snooze fest but we amused our selves with a photo project at the party. i have to get the photos offa matt to put up here. we also did loads of shopping and eating and cinema and babysitting and not so happy rugby watching. score. now i'm knackered but hey presto, 8 days off!

my bad luck seems to have worn off. i left my phone in a taxi on saturday night. the taxi of rock mind. our driver was a northerner with long black hair who was playing ac/dc in his car. Considering its usually Q102 or some country station we were only delighted. Mark & Steve expressed this by airdrumming the whole way from cork st to finglas. Maybe his car is a hybrid petrol/air drumming vehicle, and he has to play that music and pick up likely lads in order to power it. Anyway i called O2 the following morning to just suspend my account cos it would be a few days before i could check the carriage office. The lovely lady decided i could have a gold upgrade even though i was due no upgrade at all. Then 5 minutes after hanging up John the Nice Taxi Driver called to say he had my phone. Sound man altogether. He worked for about 8 more hours after dropping us home with the phone on the ground in the back and no one took it. Me and my phone are reunited. Together we will go to the Garda Bike Auction next week and see if we can't find my bike to join our merry troop.

2007-03-14T23:01:00.000Z

Almost exactly the same as that 80's poster of that bloke and the baby. Almost. In fairness though, this photo should make even the hardest of hearts go wargh!

meet Ríodhna

2007-03-13T22:45:00.000Z

Here's Ríodhna with her Mammo. This is a bit dark as I took it on my phone on sunday evening when Lisa & Paul brought her home, 7 hours old. Wasn't really fair to be pointing flashes at her just yet and she only in the door!

2007-03-11T23:42:00.000Z

i have a new niece. baby x so far. she's deadly all pink and sleepy. she doesn't have a blog yet mind.

2007-03-09T23:36:00.000Z

urgh. how long exactly should I expect bad luck to go on for? 2 weeks ago my bike got robbed, then i scratched the car (that might be more bad driving than bad luck). Then yesterday I had a crappy fainting nonsense session in the blood donor clinic, and this evening i've just wiped my ipod 3 days after mark deleted rather than backed up all my music from the computer. grr.

Ella's chicken pox may be as a result of being related to me the way things are going. This weekend better get better.

update: woke up with a coldsore on saturday. FFS.
started to make scones then realised we'd finished the milk with brekkie. ye gods!

2007-03-04T18:46:00.000Z

There seems to be issues accessing .blogspot.com addresses through NTL for the forseeable future. Through the magic of technology i can post and i receive comments via email, but I can't actually view my blog. Tell me it looks pretty.

Fiona's been gone a month to Ethiopia now. I never put any pictures of her going away night here. Boo to me. I know now that she's got some internet access, though dialing up from a mountainous rural region of Ethiopia to see my wobbly photos and witterings doesn't seem like the most natural thing in the world.

Its gonna take a lot to take me away from YOOOOOOUUUU!

And then of course Sylda went and got herself enaged. This was not posed. I did not ask to see the ring. She gets to hold her hand up now like I've Just Remembered I Got Given This Beautiful Thing On My Hand And No Longer Shall I Let My Arm Hang Idly By My Side. Deadly. Swit swoo on the tan and nails too.

2007-03-03T01:11:00.000Z

Seeing as my bicycle wot was robbed out from under me isn't showing any signs of materialising anytime soon, I decided a cheer-me-up pair of shoes was in order. and these are they. however mere hours before i purchased them i was immensely cheered up by sylda & mark's engagement being announced. the shoes just added to the glee in my heart.

alas poor giant-rock i knew him well

2007-02-28T10:22:00.000Z

this happened saturday night but i haven't mentioned it yet. i was too angry and i didn't want to tell anyone because then i'd have to answer the same questions over and over. "where did you leave it?" Now, that just isn't helpful. I'm not going to just remember it was somewhere other than where I thought it was. "was it locked?" Yes it was locked. It was a public place. There were increased amounts of gardai about that night due to the rugby match. I didn't leave it untethered on a pedestal in the midst of a loada dodgy flats. It's gone. My beautiful non-rattly not really worth that much bouncy suspension bike. 7 weeks I had it. That must be some kind of record.

So I'm back on the old 2nd hand falcon explorer. Jesus Mary and Saint Joseph it's like cycling a kitchen chair it's so hard and unforgiving. I'm going to go to the viewing of the garda bike auction but if that turns up nothing, do I buy the same new bike again, and 2 locks and resign myself to the fact that bikes get stolen in dublin? Grr. Right now I'm staring out every little scummer, and some old people too, on a bike that might not be their own.

Now, i'm going to go and reverse the car around the car park. Lets hope my vehicle karma has improved.

2007-02-23T10:38:00.000Z

pancakes twice this week. i do enjoy st. pancakes day.

2 questions.

2007-02-15T20:11:00.000Z

how is it possible to spend 40 minutes cleaning a shower & it still not to be clean?

it's rare i've said it, but i need my mother and her steam cleaner. Still unlikelier i even said f**k the environment and bought some Cif Bathroom / internal-organ-stripper over the 10 Ecover cleaning tings we already have . (I examined some Cilit Bang. BANG and the dirt is gone, BANG and so is the lining of my lungs from the quick read of the back of the bottle).

Why are there no pictures of this on the internet?

There was a swan on the Whitworth rd this morning at 845. I suppose that's not that surprising seeing as the road runs along a swanfull canal. But there was a garda car parked funny across one lane and the garda was sort of shuffling around giving the swan a wide berth but trying to stop it going out into the other lane. Kinda sweet, but I cycled on all worried about Swanny the Swan fate. Luckily Mark was running later than me and he witnessed gardaí trying to escort the Swanny canal-wards with sheeting that they usually cover crime scenes/dead bodies with 10 minutes later.

I was ruined.

2007-02-11T22:40:00.000Z

FIXED VIDEO!

gosh. I went to the IFTA's on friday night. That is all I can tell you till I go to work tomorrow and find out what happened. I found this on my phone:

It looks like we were having fun in the jacks anyway (thats jen and mary). Found a couple of things I had no recollection of beside the bed on saturday. 1: bar reciepts for vodka. oops. obviously free champagne & wine wasn't enough for me. 2: a mac goody bag. Now, i rolled over in my hungover stupor and mumbled at Mark that we'd gotten mac goody bags. Then i realised I was about to sorely disappoint him. 'i mean the makeup...' Very decent it was too. Look away now boys - tinted lip conditioner, spice lipliner, teknakohl eyeliner in brownborder, prolash mazzy in coal black and trax eyeshadow. Worth wasting an entire saturday for. Except maybe that I had to cancel a yum dinner out for us in Chez Max due to definite poisoning of self. Mark has refused to rebook for another night yet, and i have the fear that he will hold it over me forever.

Today we vowed to be more productive that meant brunch in Il taverna di bacco. What did we do before Italyally? Then disappointing rugby watching in lisa's, where we were unexpectedly babysitting for a few hours. But you know what, I can sacrifice my sunday evening cinema for a couple who've probably just paid their last trip to the cinema for a year. Muhahaha, parenthood wha'.

De child was good fun though. But sure when isn't she. Up till I started to video her, she was vigoursly playing glockenspiel and Baa was airdrumming along like nobodys business. Soon as the record light came on all she wanted to talk about was teddy's stinky bum.

Out.

Beep beep mm beep beep yeah!

2007-02-08T21:29:00.000Z

well yet another of my blog distractions is coming to fruition. Tonight, for the first time ever, I drove Mark around. I had a little lesson in Our Car yesterday with Dessie, the deadly driving instructor cos its a good bit bigger than his dual-control yaris. And guess what? Me and Mark, the John and Mary of the real world, didn't have so much as a cross word between us! We came home both safe and still married. Now I can finally start my Prius fund :)

due to popular demand

2007-02-08T00:06:00.000Z

...well, kk.

i've been coming up with a list of pro's & cons. the motion being End This Blog.

cons:
1.not doing anything very interesting. for example, i baked

(white choc & cranberry, v. tasty)

then i brushed my teeth,

and thats a summary of what i've done this week.

pros:
1.fiona's just moved to Ethiopia, where her precious internet time will be spent checking out what her friends are doing. I'm sure that waiting 10 minutes on dial-up to see me brush my teeth will have been worth it.

I guess this list is a work in progress...

Oh hang on, i've spent quite a bit of time filing off the tops of my fingers in metal work this year so far. ouch i tell ya. And i'm going to the IFTA's this week so maybe i'll have some hob nobbing with de hob knobs stories by the weekend. Unlikely though.

large mound do 80's night...

2007-01-13T22:26:00.000Z

...mark approaches costume wearing a little half heartedly.

Good news, Bad news

2007-01-06T12:21:00.000Z

GN: I bought a bike. It's a Giant Rock, which I think is an appropriate model name for a bike for me.

BN: I'm in work and I came straight from the bike place so Mark had to take it home cos I'd no lock with me.

BN: Work is non-committal about how long I need to be here, so I had to cancel my driving lesson for today.

The bike!

Just took it for a spin round our car park. Nearly went over the handlebars with my enthusiastic braking at speed - you can tell I'm really not used to brakes that work well. I haven't had a shiny new bike in 15.5 years, its so deadly not to rattle and squeak all over the gaff. I have a wee bell, and a basket (not pictured cos it's a bit girly but necessary so I don't have a squillion accoutrements hanging offa me like I usually do) and 21 gears. Of which I will use 3 probably.

new year new bike

2007-01-05T21:38:00.000Z

I thought I'd have more to blog over Christmas, but I spent most of it in the land of dial up/hungover/sitting on my arse/playing with my new ipod (rest in peace 4th gen 20gb, long live 5th gen 30gb). Now Mark's poor ol mac is spending all its time wheezing through torrents looking for bundles of video for me to squint at on said new ipod with me 20:20's.

Then tomorrow my big mission is to buy a new bike. Wahoo. The free Falcon Explorer of indeterminate age I got last year from freecycle is truly about to fall apart under my boney bum one of these days. My only criteria for the bike, apart from being ridonculously cheap, is front suspension, then all the potholes and mounds of Whitworth road and Gardiner st will just melt away. Paradoxically, if that's the right word, I also having driving lesson number 4 tomorrow. I'm a menace to society, and my driving instructor's car. The aim is to have my licence by september for the Great Group Trip to Tuscany. The more people I tell, the more likely it is I can't shirk it. My friend Paula said the same about doing the marathon this year* but that's probably harder than learning to drive. So with all the cycling and driving, and thinking endlessly about my first jewellery commission (actual hard metalwork not just la-di-dah beading business) sure it's a wonder i have a minute.

If I get the bike I'll pose beside it and stick a photo up. I'm going to bring it into the apartment and all, just to get it used to its new home.

*she bleedin' better now me and mark have booked flights to go to Edinburgh and stand on the side of the road whooping at her.

babysitting

2006-12-14T11:09:00.000Z

i was babysitting last night. We had this much fun.

making jigsaws...

...many of them, over and over. jigsaws were one of my favourite things too, that and make and doey stuff. Which in fairness, is what I still like to do. I'd say Santa will have some relevant stuff for Ella. I used to ask for Mr Frosty and I never got it. They were discussing things you wanted and never got for christmas on the Ray Darcy Show this morning, and someone else texted in Mr Frosty too. They deduced it seemed to be related to the colour of the carpets in your house whether you go it or not, but I think it was the lack of educational value that stopped me getting it. Having said that, mum and dad always picked cool stuff. (i may have been a bit nerdy though)

still got them matching fringes.

So I asked Mark if he'd like to do my hair

2006-12-14T11:06:00.000Z

ps. if anyone has some plain curtains they'd like to donate, please feel free. you can see our plight.

evolution

2006-12-01T11:10:00.000Z

before

after

oh no! i like hairy better!

dark fairytale goodness

2006-11-27T23:08:00.000Z

go see Pan's Labyrinth. not since (insert something tragic that happened in The Land Before Time) did i close my eyes and cover my ears in the cinema. Seperately, the eyes in the hands thing reminded me of my freakiest irrational fear, which is - of course - waking up with my the backs of my hands covered in fingernails like scales, and then someone pushing them back the wrong way.

I mitched off pilates for the cinema. thats the first time all year i've spontaneously skipped it, the winter rot is setting in i think.

sure since you asked nicely

2006-11-23T23:41:00.000Z

owly the owl.

look what i made

2006-11-22T23:15:00.000Z

kk did this over on her blog there a couple of weeks ago. and because im a big plagarising copycat, i did the same tonight. It took me 3 hours, because I'm a bit of a photoshop spa.

its an alright first effort i think. It's from photojojo.com which has some really fun ideas, and I promise from now on to try do one of their projects a week. I'm on a bit of a creative buzz, cos i finished my silver owl brooch in metalwork last night too. It's very 'now', so i'd better hurry up and wear it because it'll probably be naff by next week. I would take a photo, but i can't be arsed. You'll have to see it in the flesh.

This is the photo that I made the Julian Opie-ish pic from this (he's not looking so scornful in my version mind):

bored of sick

2006-11-18T22:23:00.000Z

Thats it, i've finished the internet. the sofa has a large jill-shaped dent in it. dave fanning is on tubridy tonight. I'm going to either a) go to bed now, or b) head out to donnybrook to blow up RTE. The former would benefit me, the latter would benefit the world.

2006-11-18T11:11:00.000Z

2 posts in a week i'm spoiling yis. This is from my sick bed. I'm the worst patient ever in a feel sorry for myself and try boss mark about way. My favourite colleague-quote yesterday was 'what do you mean you're a bit better? better than suicidally shit?...state o' you' (shortly after i threw up). I went home shortly after that. When I'm sick-sick, like yesterday, I just lie about and whimper and sleep and sweat and all manner of nice things. But this morning, when I'm still feeling crap enough to not eat or do anything but am well enough to be bored I'm like Whingey McWhingerson. Mark should count himself lucky that Large Mound are recording all weekend and he got his ass outta here by about 930 this morning. He has however gone to the shop and bought me the paper and some bread should i decide I really want some dry toast. I also sense an internet spending spree coming up in this long saturday...

In consumer related matters, its buy nothing day next saturday. This is something I think we should do, but in reality is kinda hard. Can i pay for a bus into town? If I cycle into town, will i not buy so much as a drink or a newspaper while I'm there? If I can't meet my friends in a cafe, can we do buy nothing socialising by sitting outside in a park in late november? Maybe I should call over to someones house where we can consume things only purchased on the friday. Why is that any better? Ah, I'm only making excuses for my weak willpower. They've also suggested Buy Nothing Christmas. Yeech! I'd be a crap hippy.

2006-11-11T00:50:00.000Z

yay for snuggly birthday pressies. at the grand old age of 27 where did i think i was going without a dressing gown? the pose is to show im still down with the kids.

too cool for creche in my hat

matchin fringes, different colours.

that was the halloween that was -borat, flava and wally

and a sneaky 'tache update photo. (november 9th) won't somebody please think of the children?

the lillis's's's's wedding

2006-10-18T23:19:00.000+01:00

ah, he said, i do like a bellini in the afternoon.

bridey goodness

mairead and hugh are bemused by pondering new groom.

my wife! why are her eyelids green?!

watch out old-man-dancing about. (see: marks raised thumbs)

do you like my necklace? i made that i did (commissions taken)

nothin like a fresh pair of wedding converse

Then on sunday we went for my favourite hangover cure of all, an afternoon with Ella

stop the hurt

2006-10-11T00:47:00.000+01:00

Yeah, my hurt. Mark's doing this fundraiser in november for ISPCC. I will do something like match the donations he has received by the middle of the month for him to shave it off early*. That, or move out.

*Er, let me think about that a bit though, i don't have much money.

Oh Sweet Jesus

2006-09-28T09:24:00.000+01:00

Anyone who ever darkened the doors of 1 Meath Terrace, check this out.

look this way

2006-09-16T15:30:00.000+01:00

alert to a new lovely blog of foreign adventures. i think was a deffo at my blogging peak in canada when i could spout tales of mundane happenings and quirks of our life in toronto/on t'road for the amusement of people back home. now, its random photies, and generally i'm hungover (like now) while posting. So fear not, I have a new place for you to go. Lovely Joss & Lovely Giita (who's charity shop giveaway bags I got to have a rummage through) have bolted to Japan. So they have a new blog, where I can expand my knowledge of japanese life & styles beyond M&S sushi and Lost in Translation.

http://www.jums.net

This week I babysat ella and we had the craic. Here she is just before we started dancing along to N*E*R*D*. There was only so much Dora the Explorer a 26 year old can take.

I love the word rummage.

2006-09-08T08:17:00.000+01:00

lovely legs

lovely ladies

(there's loads more click through...)

in spikey news.

2006-09-04T23:41:00.000+01:00

it seems in a strange colliding of news and real life, both me and Steve Irwin (rest him) have suffered similar injuries. I came off better anyway. The top of my big toe is chock full of sea urchin spikes that no amount of fingernail pinching, pin prodding or tweezer shenanigans will remove. They're stuck. But sure I'm here to tell the tale. My Croat colleague tells me they were par for the course when he were a wee lad, but that I should maybe get them out all the same.

the offending creature

Hvar pt.1

2006-09-03T22:41:00.000+01:00

ah de holidays. i've been on a blogiday (that is a holiday from blog) and an actual holiday, that is Croatia with Sylda, Rachael & Fly. First there was Snakes On A Plane madness. See the terror on Catherine's face?

the sea was beauts green and clear

there were loads of alleys and lanes winding through hvar, all very charming the day a wee bit spooky at night.

these are just from my camera phone ill do the proper ones during the week. Now, I know i got back yesterday but i'm unpacking just tonight cos we were down in wexford for dad's 2nd anniversary :( Still there was many Ella-related shenanigans that made it fun. And Cork lost an all-ireland, what more could i ask for?

the businessman, in his Suit and Tie

2006-07-29T12:24:00.000+01:00

It's been the summeriest summer known to me in Ireland. It finally rained yesterday I got soaked. Never did I think I'd look forward to such a time. It meant I changed 3 times in work I felt like a walking fashion show. But I wasn't. There was loads of drinking in work after work yesterday which I can never decide if it's a good thing or not. Some people just seem to take it as immediate licence to violate section 23b (or whatever) of the newly issued company handbook and thrust their asses in the air for all the camera phones to capture in a a vigourous game of twister. I was encouraged to take part "because you do pilates", but my dignity prevailed and I just tutted from the sidelines. However on a good note there was lots of prosecco on offer. Fizzy shizz is my favourite drink these days. The wedding era got me into it. I also drank too much fizzy in catherine's gaff for her birthday t'other day for her birthday (HBC!) where I gave her what I believe to be the best life-affirming greeting card ever:

In other news on how our budding marraige is going, this pretty much sums it up. He may say other wise but I think I captured the inner Mark here. You can feel the love, see how happy he is: to be with me; to be getting his photo taken; in general. Never mind, we've recently found out the registrar that married us lives in the apartment block next door, so any fights we have I'm going knocking on his door "you married us - you bloody solve this! Who should make the tea?" Ah no, I'm only kidding. It's like this all the time now really. (Somebody should have told me that I'm such a shortarse, I got a bit of a fright when I saw this photo)

Now, does anyone else's mothers do this in photos? Sort of tends to the flowers, almost like she had grown them herself, and also to draw the viewers eye in to the wonder of nature. Mine does, obviously, and this photo is an homage to her.

Another example of summer here - a post work jaunt round Howth Head a couple of weeks ago with the ladies. A wonderful coming together of hiking and style I think you'll agree.

That's it now, and there yissers were thinking I'd given up the blogging. Keep you on your toes you see. (it's raining and I'm hungover, i'm at my peak)

just a few to whet yissers appetites

2006-07-17T00:03:00.000+01:00

shur i had better things to be doing today in the sun (aerobie and drinking to be precise) than be at home sifting through hundreds of photies and putting them on dinternet. But i couldn't resist a few, the computer-in-the-bedroom setup being evily tempting as it is. I tried to go to bed 90 full minutes ago. Grr.

Eeeezer good eeeezer good, woooah oooh oh! he's eben-geysir good!
(you better have laughed at that. I did that dancing purely so i could sing that, and relay it back. the other tourists thought i was a mentallist.)

post wedding hullaballoo & general love in.

wedding fun

harbour art. harbart. metally reindeery boaty goodness.

double bubble.

many more to appear on flickr in next couple of days i imagine.

Honeymoon - The London Leg

2006-07-08T11:58:00.000+01:00

Well, we missed the flight to Reykjavik. Entirely due that STUPID FUCKER that decided a good thing to do was was to leave an unattended bag in Dublin airport at 0730, our 1700 flight took off at 1930, and as we taxied in to the gate in stansted we could see the iceland flight boarding. Our neighbours, with whom we had bonded, knew the whole story and nodded sympathetically. So we waited forlorn for an iceland express in Stansted airport 7 hours after we had arrived in dublin airport. The next flight is 24 hours after that one. Luckily she wasn't as mercenary as a Ryanair worker, even though they are a lowcost airline (if such a concept can exist in iceland), and charged us the flight change fee instead of the £180 each one way that it looked like it was going to cost us. She made notes like 'honeymoon couple' 'lady very distressed' as I gave her a winning smile. In fairness I had been fairly distraught on and off. The new gate area in Dublin airport was like one of those dodgy ITV 'Airline!' shows. Screaming kids, 3 toilets, felt like a giant portacabin...not a fun place to sit for 3 hours with no information at all. Anyway, its the silver lining now - Sinead couldn't make it to our wedding so we rolled up to her and her drunken friends at the National Film Theatre after 11pm last night and were greeted like celebraties. They whooped and hollered and treated us all special cos we were the poor honeymooners who should have been in Reykjavik. Top people all, even if we met them briefly. As we left the bouncer told us if anything happened in the next 9 months, we had to name it Late Lounge (the name of the bar). Which we figured was a goer as said child could feasibly be nicknamed LL Cool J. So there you are, this is the london leg, and I can do this blogging now cos Sinead is a big brother addict and has to catch up on who's evicted last night this morning. Hopefully you won't hear from me again. Nails are still intact btw.
x jill

It's all gone a bit WAG

2006-07-07T11:54:00.000+01:00

I just applied false nails. You should hear me clacking away on the keyboard here. What better way to distract yourself from a bomb scare in the airport. Ah we should be okay, i wouldn't mind so much if we were just flying A to B. I feckin hate connecting flights, its all a bit stressful.They'll probably just melt off in the blue lagoon tomorrow. Ah well.

the most exciting thing to happen in premier square since we moved in.

2006-07-03T21:27:00.000+01:00

i wolf whistled at them and mark called me a slut. when we made a half hearted attempt to evacuate (there was no fire btw), mark tucked the powerbook under his arm and exited ahead of me. Ladies and gentlemen, my new husband...

Maybe mark actually set off the alarm, I have been making him assemble a good few flatpack furniture items this last couple of days. Wouldn't be surprised is he was trying to escape at this point.
Exhibit A:

Fancy eh? That's taupe microfibre that is, argos's finest. (surprisingly good back support mind) It's to go at our new desk. See how he looks like he's busy doing important stuff, like considering a merger, or closing a deal? Except that he's wearing my school PE tshirt, school, that I left 10 years ago. And he's nigh on a foot taller than me. Them Loreto nuns really loved us to show off our budding lady curves.

2006-07-02T02:38:00.000+01:00

George doesn't like that he hasn't appeared on the blog. So we brought him - and Ruth - here this evening to wine and dine him and make him infamous, as much as i can right here. By god, we have drunk, and we have eaten. And the lads are talking shite, and I think it is time to go to bed...

painting cheesecake

2006-06-30T00:53:00.000+01:00

if i can't make you laugh, well this should. The Beverly Hills 90210 tennish year reunion catchup.

i've been a bad blogger lately, but a busy lady. I painted the bathroom last weekend. That is the first time that I've ever done that class of thing all on my own-i-oh, and i think i did a pretty good job. Then Mark gets out this gigantic red and navy beach towel with a rasta dude smoking a massive joint on it (please don't ask where it came from I'd hate to have to embarrass my mother in law like that). He hangs it hanging massively on the towel rail, which is high up above the loo where it proceeds to clash madly with my lovely paintwork and thus ruining any notion of classiness I may have had. While on this buzz I have also done tester patches in the bedroom. Feature walls are where its at, cos we want a dark colour. but the lovely choc-o-holic brown colour looks a bit pooey for the 2 entire big walls i think. and the 'horse & hound' red is a bit pinky. Any suggestions?

We ate white chocolate & ginger cheesecake this evening. And I made the definitive declaration that cheesecake is definitely my favourite dessert. Mum's used to be my fave, and so I never ordered cheesecake anywhere because it wouldn't be as nice. Then I had to stop eating it, because her recipe in her head uses gelatine (which I since found out is entirely unnecessary for cheesecake) and I have gone stricter on me in the last 18 months or so veggie-wise. This freed me up to eat hoof-friendly cheesecakes from other sources, and I discovered you can bake cheesecake, and it is in fact the more common option. So, if anyone has a tried and tested recipe, I'd like to give it a bash, and more importantly, pass it on to mum so she can once again be top of my dessert pops.

sexy tea

2006-06-28T23:17:00.000+01:00

well it was worth getting married for the ability to go into brown thomas with vouchers and buy the sexiest teapot ever! That was my tagline not theirs, but I reckon mine sums it up.

Then to congratulate ourselves for successfully buying a skillety grill pan, a teeny coffeepot, said sexy-teapot, and a knife block with built-in cookbook stand (yes really!) in the BT deadly sale we went and ate in Italially with Mal and KK, young people about town that they are. Well KK, or Mal, or both, is a mad person magnet. In close proximity there was a man begging with a 'no food, no home, no dignity' sign written in permanent marker to the left of the mouse bit on a mac powerbook not dissimilar to the one i'm typing on this second, except his was bigger. Then sharing our table was a middle aged madser who asked 'do you like the queen?', 'do you like mary mcaleese?', 'do you like israel?', 'do you like communism?', 'do you like morocco?' and told us that the EEC, yes the EEC, is too white and christian. He also invited us to go on a British Navy aircraft carrier with him on friday afternoon, and to meet Mary Mcaleese on saturday morning. When I remarked that he was fairly well connected and told me to relax. Ah a fine wednesday evening in dublin, sure where else would you be? (well I'd say Take That in the RDS was fairly good too, but I wouldnt like that sort of thing oh no.)

Happy 30th Mal - thats him there in the corner

2006-06-18T11:42:00.000+01:00

L-R sunglasses & tshirt - models own; yellow polo tshirt - €14.99; stripey polo tshirts from a selection at Jack & Jones; all prescription glasses provided by i-valu superstore

mini-moon

2006-06-08T07:45:00.000+01:00

If we are making you puke already, then look away now. You have to forgive us, we're married less than 24 hours here.

Sunday night was good craic. There was Motherfudge, Large Mound, Omelette & Dudley Corporation there...it was the ghosts of Mark's rock past present and future. Here's the Omo boys looking all cute.

Mark lived on several portions of Guinness & oysters on the mini-moon. Well, that, and a sea bass, and a whole lobster and about 40 other meals in 2 days.

Carlingford is bee-your-ifull. Because I didn't get to do the mini-marathon this weekend, we went for a 12km walk instead. Up hill and down dale, through forest, down boreen. The sweat, the muck, the deadliness.

...but we still had time for messin'

Windmill Lane sent champers to the Oystercatcher for us. Yay work! (never thought I'd put those 2 words together)

This is cool.

2006-06-05T11:05:00.000+01:00

we're heading off on the mini moon to carlingford shortly. by the time we come back i want to know what songs we're playing when these photos were taken.

also if the bonsai is dead when we get back, then the marraige is over. When we got home yesterday (having been given it last wednesday) we had to get out the water filter and start soaking it roots for exactly 4 minutes and follow all these very particular care instructions involving full moons and 7th sons of 7th sons. Character building, this responsibility stuff.

(thanks kk for wedding pics)

in non wedding related matters

2006-06-04T18:47:00.000+01:00

new link (bout bleedin time wha?) in the things i like bit. Its Jon Pack Approves. Trust this man - some of you know him and all that do, do. (he can be found in the NY post from May 2005 - can't be arse finding link.

2006-06-02T12:31:00.000+01:00

go on then you can see one.

2006-05-31T16:42:00.000+01:00

thanks to marks mate baz for that. sums it all up nicely.

i looked like that this morning come to think of it due to a spot on my forehead the day before my wedding. Good thing I can't be arsed being bothered by it. I just got my nails done, feet and hands, sure I'm proper bridaly now, tap tapping away on the keyboard like workin' 9 to 5.

I have to pack now. Last single blog deffo. Though I may be on hand for comments.

2006-05-31T10:20:00.000+01:00

I don't know if I can even try to get across how excited I am about tomorrow now. My only regret? That I only found indiebride about a month ago and I had to post queries on other crazy bridal websites first.

I Can't Believe It's Not A Hen Night

2006-05-28T17:21:00.000+01:00

my only concession to hen night behaviour. worn strictly only in the brothel like surroundings of the karaoke booth

goodness

(Click through to flickr for more)

so i took out my gun and said girl! write that blog!

2006-05-27T00:32:00.000+01:00

bridget! there's a midget

there was a time when i would have come home from something like ATP, breathed a big sigh and have had nothing to do for the next week except a big blogorific recollection of it. This is not that time, and don't worry, you didn't scare me off. but this is not that time, and i was busy being sick, being over worked and doing weddingy prep things. It'll be all over soon, and then you can relax. And more importantly, so can I.

ATP was only massive mind. First we got to go on our holidays to Brighton. Remember that time in Brighton Catherine? Oooo I do Jill, that little caff we used to go to? Plus it contained our first sighting of the southern england version of Centra...'Budgeons'. The same branding, frontage, slogan all that malarkey. Except rhyming with bludgeon, or with a stretch of the imagination, dungeon. A perfectly harmless mini supermarket interior however.

Then second we discovered that while indie rock boys are generally tall, white and polite in manner in most ways, they are too skinny to be of any use to a damsel in distress. Take the poor girl on her own lugging a giant suitcase up some steps, down some steps and then back again as the station announcer pointed us from one platform to the other. 'The rock train will now be departing from platform scruffy...' Not a one of the converse clad hairy feckers tried to help her. Me and Catherine did, but she said she was okay as we all tutted at the lank haired lovelies scurrying by.

Rye has great bangers and mash, but they'll serve it to you in their own time (much like this blog post). Rye is picture postcard cute, the kind of small town that your mother loves, full of crafty shops and period houses and nice boutiques. And they do a mean pastry puff.

I'm such a wuss, that I missed a lot of the very late night shenanigans, so Catherine will have to do her guest blog about them, but they mostly involved a large amount of 80's singing and a big stick.

Oh Sweet Jesus. Have you seen R. Kelly's Trapped In The Closet? (You must read that link first if you haven't) We have. Twice. Followed by the South Park parody of it, with Tom Cruise in the closet, and the scientologist shenanigans. Followed by going round most the the day singing lines at random and at random people, and all of them knowing whats going on. ATP-TV is a great leveller - every hungover punter was staring in amazement at the same madness the curators had chosen to broadcast. There was a little person (is that the right term nowadays?) working there for Pontins, serving hotdogs one day, and in the canteen the next. So, if you've seen RK's TITC (to abbreviate), you'll know that that poor fecker was groaning oh no, not that stupid child molesters ridiculous american daytime soap style sung drama involving a midget and white trash named bridget...

gosh i've not even mentioned rock yet. but i have to go to bed. tomorrow night is 'I Can't Believe It's Not A Hen Night' (tm)

its not like we don't wanna go to work...

2006-05-19T00:44:00.000+01:00

...but we'd rather be rockin. (TM LM)

it is but hours to ATP. our parents have met properly for the first time, we have served a gluten free vegetarian feast, no one has been poisoned or killed each other. All is right with the world. and so to bed (as we are being picked up in 5 hours.

2 weeks to big day folks.

2006-05-16T17:21:00.000+01:00

"rather than a mushy slow dance, the couple had secretly been getting dancing lessons and had learnt some amazing 50's style rock n' roll dancing. everyone was gobsmacked.

do it! on rollerskates!

to tigerfeet "

dudley's comment deserved a post of its own to be addressed properly. That is possibly the best wedding related idea ever (except of course the idea of actually getting married). Unfortunately it is 18 days to our wedding, and I'm really not sure we have time to learn the moves - or Mark to learn to skate. Unless of course, we practise at ATP this weekend...so I guess it won't happen.

And Lisa - as for the alternative public displays of affection for the cameras, i'd say we'll be making yissers puke we'll do so much kissin'. And we're gonna sing together, sure how much more camera-tastic could that be?

Yis haven't really suggested many songs. I won't hear any complaining about TQ/me/Marks's list so. Mwah hah hah hah. MWAH HAH HAH HAH. cheeseorama

It Lives!

2006-05-14T13:36:00.000+01:00

at last. Mark performed about 4 hours of open-mac surgery yesterday and now the computer is purring along nicely. My god, it was like having an limb missing there for the last couple of weeks. Bills remain unpaid, tickets not booked, transfers not made, flights not organised. What did we do before the internet? On the other hand, I've been able to get up and leave the house in about half the time compared to when the siren call of firefox is screaming out. Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going blind trying to make a bracelet and I have to get it done. Later today is also wedding-choons playlist meeting with TQ. Any requests stick em in the comments now...

2006-05-03T22:34:00.000+01:00

den de de deh, den den DEH!

2006-05-02T08:56:00.000+01:00

ah sorry. the hard drive died/fryed. its not like i havent had anything to blog about. shoes for one. racking up Auntie hours (tm) with the best babysitting experience ever (in anticipation of hot competition from Emma's imminent arrival) mark making wicked paella (i gather). the wettest barbeque ever. climbing beach trails in a 1970's Range Rover while singing the ATeam theme tune.

but im in work, and i have to go clear the cache now.

(maybe i'll start a 'new hard drive' fund on t'blog)

closed until further inspiration.

2006-04-26T11:39:00.000+01:00

i think i might have reached my pinnacle there in the boobs post.

if you are a boy you just won't get it.

2006-04-18T22:54:00.000+01:00

...or how I went out for shoes and came back with new boobs

Today i was traumatised. it was shoe shopping day as me and paula both had the day off and currently have lovely dresses but no shoes.

Let me make an aside here: i'm sorry but for the next month or so I reckon my blog is going to end up having a few wedding related rants (amongst the regular rants). and probably happy stuff too. end of aside.

I decided sure I might try and get an aul bra to go with my dress too, seeing as I was lugging it round with me. The use of the word lugging is to throw Mark off the scent, my dress is not the type you could lug if you tried. Anyhoo I queued (queued! on a tuesday afternoon!) for the Arnotts ladies, for there are multiple busy fitters, to measure me up. I got your standard middle-aged Arnotts sales person - a reliable model I would think, a trustworthy type. Now i don't think I'll relay the exact results to you - I've had a look at our massive new census and I reckon there's a line in there that calls for that particular statistic.

Suffice to say I was surprised. Imagine if you will finding out you were having triplets when you thought you were having one, or looking under your bed and finding a monster, or I dunno, finding out your boobs were an ENTIRELY different size than you thought. Both measurements, gone out the window in different directions. I laughed. I *pshawed*. I snickered as she pinged my current bra straps and said 'no way'. She gave up anyway after a bit, as nothing worked with my dress. I was all set to abandon this particular shopping quest but Paula insisted I was in for a penny, in for a pound (and she thought it was hilarious and wanted to see my face if BT's confirmed this awful truth).

I am shocked, I am awed, and I am not entirely pleased. In BT's much more plush lingerie bit, I found a young French lady, and if anyone knows about these things, the French do. She curled her lip in a Gallic style when I told her what size I was wearing and pretty much told me before she went near a measuring tape what I was - concurring with her frumpier counterpart. In fact, when I had my dress on and the brand new wonderfully fitting bra, the staff of the BT lingerie department assembled to coo at both my dress and my boobs. Which was nice...

Tomorrow the acid test: M&S

2006-04-16T16:01:00.000+01:00

Why is 24 hour tesco shut on Easter Sundays? Tesco are heathens. We hung pictures and shelves in a fit of bank holiday home-improving, and following that flurry of activity we had high hopes for getting more frames and replacing all the tall glasses we've broken in an amazingly short space of time. And I am on an eternal quest for the perfect spice rack. Still all was not lost, we bought a Brita filter and a million of the expensive cartridges to go in it.

Tonight is more dog walking and games night. And sadly, work tomorrow for a bit. But sure I'll get over that.

not a good friday a great friday

2006-04-15T14:45:00.000+01:00

i love long weekends. especially 4 day ones, when after 2 days its like you've had a normal weekend, and then you've got a whole other weekend straight away. I'm working for a bit on monday, but then i've tuesday off so thats okay.

I worked late on thursday, but made it to the pub for the last hour and a half of drinking before one of the only 2 days in the year when pubs are closed here. And then wahey catherine proclaimed the presence of wiiiine in her gaff so we trooped back there and were regaled with tales of the mental health profession (all patient confidentiality kept entirely intact.) Then, cos I worked so very hard on thursday night I didn't have to go to work on friday - yay! So instead I went into town for some hardcore hanging out. It was perfect, sitting in the sun in Itali-ally, eating ciabattas and drinking posh coffee, and then as if we were locals our friend Lara walked by and we were able to go dahling! join us! And The Hairy Wallace was wandering around. Me and KK decided at exactly the same time that he probably keeps his money in his hair. But that was only messing, he is a Good Man. While Itali-Ally was being built by him, he put this small sign on the front of the site in reference to the refuelling stops by the US army in Shannon.

The only shadow cast over my day was a brief one, where Sylda and I were 1st hand party to extreme bridal rip off prices. We went to this really trendy salon/make up place just to enquire on my behalf how much it might be to get 'done' on the day of my wedding. €150. €75 for hair, €75 for makeup. Oh but it includes a 'suite' for the bride, ie you get done in a private room. Big swinging mickey. She was also very reluctant to give me a price for a trial, and sort of mumbled €50 for each at me finally. So it seems crossing the threshold of what it normally the salon storage closet costs an extra €50 on the day. Nice. We then enquired of Catherine how much she had paid to get her make up done in the same salon on her birthday. €30. Now, I would still like to go there, but I will not be part of the ridiculous rip off wedding industry of this country, which undoubtedly exists. Cha-bleeding-ching, big windows n all that. So I think I'm gonna ring and make an appointment for the day with no mention of brideyness and see what they quote. grr. seeth. Just one street away I was in a lovely shoe shop (Cherche Midi) where upon hearing I was looking for wedding shoes were showing me deadly shoes all round, nodding sagely at my looking for probably colourdy shoes and presenting me with 'these ones, they're reduced from €310 to €60' No hard sell, just enthusiasm. Now thats customer service. (and one of the girls asked was i "Mrs. Dunphy's daughter?" That is always going to be the result of your mother teaching infants for millions of years in the same school. Half of wexford learned 'teddy beag alainn' from my ma)

So after some skit in Sylda's, i pedalled furiously to Lisa's to look after Cosmo and Muttley. God those dogs love me. We went to the park - sure they could be cute for ireland that pair. mark joined me after dog walking (lazy fecker) and he was followed by Steve and Sue, over to clonskeagh from the wilds of Navan(avan) for the night. We watched Extras, and drank lots of beer and wine in honour of the supposed crucifixion of our Lord. Mark also ate 3 types of meat yesteray. Screw you jesus he may as well have said*

*non-irish catholics, you're sorta supposed to fast between meals and only eat fish on good friday.

This morning, we strolled to Ranelagh again with the doggies. Mark only agreed to come because put 4 rashers on the grill for him this morning. I have NEVER done that for him before. I have NEVER, repeat, NEVER cooked meat, or handled meat for him (yeah yeah wheh wheh smutty joke here). But he hates walking for no reason so I had to bribe him. For a bit we held hands while walking the dogs. We were trying to see if we could make someone crash from puking at the sight of us. Did I mention we're getting married in less than 7 weeks? (i'm getting excited). Then we sat outside a cafe with our michievous (read: bold) doggies drinking posh coffees ruminating on how we were playing at being a well to do and perfect young hip couple. Then a little girl got excited and pointed at muttley telling her dad he's a dalmatian. Bless.

So anyway, time to continue this weekend of socialness... There is afternoon pints with Matt From Chicago today, then dinner in Greystones in Catrionas new gaff, then tomorrow I walk dogs again, then its GAMES NIGHT! in mal and kk's. Sylda got the new Buzz, she has 8 controllers. We are ready to have the most fun ever. Did I mention I love holiday weekends...

VG

2006-04-09T00:49:00.000+01:00

ah the wit of O'Connors Shopping Centre Nenagh. See, this actually houses shopping trolleys - prevents them getting rusted, or you having to walk too far to return them. But I laughed. In fact, I made Mark drive into the car park of this shopping paradise so I could photograph it. You can see a lady in pink a bit. She was old and was sheltering from the shower with her bicycle, and not in fact smoking.

Shazza, I reckon Riga was probably a more glamourous mini-break than Nenagh (though I have no Bridget pants, let it all hang out I say) Mark had lovely sea bass earlier, and there is a very high nice deli-cafe-type-place per capita as far as we can see. We are bringing luxury chocolate spread and yum tapenade back to the big shmoke with us.

7 down is sliver.

mini-break mini-update

2006-04-08T13:18:00.000+01:00

feel best way to blog on mini-break is like bridget jones, as she popularised said term in my mind:

lbs lost: none
fags smoked: none
drinks: 3
pain au chocolat consumed: 1

am on mini break with Mark Jordan. have had manicure done as feel it is suitable as preperation to be bride. yes, manicure is most bridelike thing to do. Manicurist was also vegetarian called Jill (note: she was one of those fakes, that eats chicken and fish, shall not go into annoyance over that now in bridget jones style blog entry).

Feel best way to show off manicure is jazz hands pose. Unfortunately, hair assumed helmet like position in this picture, please ignore as hair is usually better.

Whilst i was being manicured, Mark Jordan read the paper. He's fabulously intelligent and likes to read about international affairs and suchlike. However feel that red boxers ruin image as future husband/boffin-type.

off to wander country town now, have expectations of ruddy organic farmers markets however imagine will meet same be-tracksuited types seen everywhere.

filthy IFSC scum

2006-04-07T13:27:00.000+01:00

you would think in our glittering bastion of financial services they could manage to keep the water a bit cleaner.

Post Op

2006-04-03T22:54:00.000+01:00

check out the hair. it's called 'op-chic'

come to bed eyes

i can see. but not enough to type much.

the wooziest post ever

2006-03-31T10:42:00.000+01:00

you'll have to excuse my typing i'm testing my touch typing skills tot he max, as my eyes are closed againest hthe glare of he computer screen and i have very dark sunglasses on. but i can see. im heavily drugged as the docotr pointed out the valium from yesterday (!) will still be taking its toll otday on a small person like me. Oh yeah and the strong painkillers combined have made me kinda floaty but freaked out. ANyway thats nowt to do with if my eyesr are working. which they are. rembarkably well. Last night was a bit of a trial, sleeping etc. but the op itself is a tripply lightshow of weirdness. I, well enjoyed is too strong, but was really fascinated by it. The valium totally did the trick as when the lights were movinga bout and doing funny things i was too out of it to be aware of right this is where he's rolling back the top surface and this is where he's cleaimng stuff. etc.

i have to go i dont feel too good. nut

T minus NUTTIN'

2006-03-30T09:10:00.000+01:00

i have made my peace with my gammy eyes and it is time to move on. i have had 20 years of glasses, most of them very reluctant. i begged and cajoled my parents to let me get contacts when i was 15 because Sinead had got them, and she was my glasses-friend. Once she shed the disadvantage (as we saw it) i insisted mine had to go too. Of course I was double-disadvantaged with my orthodontics too, but we won't get into that cos it still brings on shudders in me.

i have foregone mascara for 3 days, and will for another 7. Make no mistake - this is a big committment.

for mal

2006-03-27T21:33:00.000+01:00

can you handle the cheese - XTREEEEEEME CHEEEESE

2 more days to eyes. this is short i'm saving them.

bedazzled

2006-03-21T22:11:00.000Z

Went to my first beady class tonight. I love it. I'm leaving stupid techy work to be an artiste. So far I have made a hair clip probably most suited to Pippa in Home and Away, and hair grip for a girl making her communion, a keyring for one of those spanish students that flood Ireland in the summer, and a ring, wot I love. Well, from little oaks n all that...
Sorry for the poor pic, maybe a course in camera-phone photography should be next.

What KK was trying to tell you down there in the comments below was that Mal made up a charade for her to do called 'Wobbly Mickey and the Spastic Wheelbarrow'. He convinced her it was a real 90's Channel4 5 minute late night cartoony thing that would have been on after The Word or something like that. She acted the whole thing out. Charades. How very bourgeouis of us

its not a problem if i tell you about it

2006-03-19T21:14:00.000Z

I won at chelthenham. I don't know what each-way means, but thats what I bet anyway. It happened on a whim after watching the sports news on the telly. A SURE THING they said. So I said fair enough. Once I went to the racecourse in Wexford with some schoolfriends. After placing the bet I remembered how much I hate horse racing. But now that I'm a gambling addict, I'll be needing your tips. Anyone know anything about the colour frequencies of the Lotto bonus balls?

4 day weekend

2006-03-19T18:20:00.000Z

janey i have a mammoth blog post burstin to get out but im way too hungover right now.
in bullet point form:

galway
530am
train
luas mullets
charades
530am
half my breakfast
triple crown
430am
hysterics
puke

Our apartment block, oh yeah in Toronto, is the main focus of Top Left Pixel today, Sunday

donkey work

2006-03-16T11:29:00.000Z

theres an exhibition of donkey pictures on in the IFSC as part of the St. Patrick's Festival. They're lined up beside the CHQ building (i always see them setting up events in there, yet have never seen an event actually taking place there - there was a big banner about Meath Tourism flapping away all lonely in there on its own there for a couple of days last week). I'm not that enamoured by the pictures or anything. There's about 30 of them maybe, a couple of metres high and wide, all lined up. Last night I was walking through the IFSC about 1015 on my way home from work and I saw 2 security guards patrolling the donkeys.
"we need you to mind some donkeys"
"ah here now bud, i'm no farmer"
"no no they're only pictures"
"but sure what are they doing outside then?"

as the rain and the hail fell.

and also for the duration of the festival, Tracy is serving up crepes here. She must be deadly at it by now. Tell her I sent you.

2006-03-14T23:06:00.000Z

2 posts in 2 days - it must be the baileys coffee Catherine's flatmate Liza just made me after dinner. Dinner of curry, and dahl and rice. All low GI we nodded sagely as we downed probably double size portions. I am so full, its a good things Fly's new car is a smooth ride. wheh wheh. Dinner, schmancy coffees, lifts. Don't know I'm born.

I've turned into a vampire. A vampire with 2 coldsores. Did you know they won't perform eye buzzing surgery if you have a coldsore? I am poxed. I am tempted to bring my workmates in berocca and multivitamins, we're a bunch of snuffling headachey pale faced yolks with the stupid stress these last few weeks. I need no infections now. It feels like I'll never be healthy again. I walked in to the main office in work other day and had to shield my eyes cos the sun was streaming in the window and it was all warm and sunny. Need to get used to daylight again i think. I have thursday off, I may spend it sitting on a windowledge taking in the bright. And preparing myself for the inevitability of a late one in the Roisin Dubh, combined with Paddys Day. Okay, no plans for friday, but there is definitely sociablility needed on saturday, sure it's a long weekend.

I have no idea what Lisa would say that would invoke my ire. "Her bum looks big in that dress" perhaps...

(yesterdays photos was an old one from toronto last august)
(i'm using firefox now. you may notice me trying out silly things)

yisser a pack o' bullies.

2006-03-13T20:40:00.000Z

Ah sure look it you're due a post. Will I make my excuses, go on then do. Overlapping with the copious amounts of guests, was the 7 days of work, my life taken over by the closing stages of You're a Star. (it doesn't merit a link, if you don't know what it is you're lucky.) Then I had one day of sleep, 4 more days of busy busy busy then I went to wexford, where - although the internet exists - I only step near the computer to do whatever mum has decided she needs from the internet this time - (prepaid long term quickpark at Dublin airport if you're interested) at chugga chugga chugga dial up speed.

But I'm here now and sure isn't that what matters. I have new projects though - mostly involving the colourification of this apartment. I had better check with the almost-in-laws first though, but I'm guessing Mr. J. leaving a drill here on my request means I'm good to go. Zig zaggy shelves. Floating shelves. Lots of picture frames. (Loving teeny tester pots of paint with sponge applicators) Goddammit FEATURE WALLS!

***den den den den***Wedding bit***den den den den***
(thats sorta news bulletin music that is)
So I guess I could keep you up to date, on wedding stuff. Emma and Jamie are going to be home a couple of weeks before the wedding so that is deadly. We pretty much decided on the schoolhouse I think for our dinner and staying over and drinking in the bar there after the ceremony. Its really close by the registry office. We're doing the small bit of driving on the day in a 1998 Paul Smith Mini Cooper, courtesy of George the Greek. It might be worth gate-crashing the day of the wedding just to see Mark fold and unfold himself in and out of that thing. Me, I'll probably rip my dress trying to get out. I bought one of them, a dress. Its pretty. But that's all I'm telling yissers about that. Our rings are ready, they're sitting in the shop to be picked up. Can someone go pick them up for us and gissa loaner of the balance? I'm bursting to go get it, but we have to wait til pay day. Mark says I can't wear it until he puts in on my finger, the big meanie.

ps. eye surgery delayed to the 30th march. can't be arsed changing ticker thing. maybe that means I'll stay blog-blind slightly longer. new scrubs and dinner time now.