Home for a visit

I'm headed stateside again this Saturday and I'm super excited.  I'm hoping for some really HOT sunshine and keeping my fingers crossed for no rain.  Please God, no rain...I can't take anymore rain.  I'm hoping to return to a few favorite summer hot spots.  Including the wave pool where I will go down these slides even though they give me supreme wedgies.

Then, I will dine on what can only be described as heaven...Taco Bell and their Nacho Bell Grande.  Yo Quiero Taco Bell.

Then, I'll chase it with some cool Iced Tea.

And, hopefully, I'll make it up to the lake.

Before eating some Pizza Hut.

Then, before I come home I'll have to call the airline and purchase another seat since I will probably eat so much my ass will expand.

Oh Happy Day

Last week I placed an order with American Soda for some American food I'd been missing.  Some of it I didn't even know I was missing until I saw it there on the website...calling to me...making my taste buds remember how scrumptious they are.

Rewind about four months ago, and imagine me shopping at Walmart for groceries...half of the crap I ordered from American Soda I wouldn't have picked up and put in my shopping cart, but now, for some reason, I just couldn't last another day on this earth without them...go figure.

Here is a photo of my order.

Since it isn't a super clear photograph, here is a list of the heavenly goods delivered to my door today:

 Kosher dill pickles, Mott's applesauce, Nestle Toll House chocolate chips, Mug root beer, Life Savers Gummy Savers, Hershey's chocolate syrup, Hershey's kisses, Crisco shortening, Aunt Jemima corn bread mix, Kraft macaroni and cheese and the cherry on top was the box of Lucky Charms!

The macaroni and cheese, a couple of cans of root beer and gummy savers have already disappeared.  Um, I'm not quite sure what happened to them. I think maybe they accidentally fell into the garbage.  Yes, the garbage.  That's what it was...I most certainly didn't sit down and eat and drink them all at once as if I'd been a starving Ethiopian...no that's not what happened at all.

Will you wash my clothes?

I'm a slave to dirty clothes. It seems I spend the majority of the week either washing clothes, pulling clothes out of the washer to dry (oh how I miss a tumble dryer) or folding clothes and putting them away. Dear God. It is only me and Barry here...I can't imagine when we have kids. I won't have time to eat for the laundry then!

Of course, I know the biggest part of the problem with the monstrous amount of laundry is my constant Zumba-ing. Because, well, I sweat like a whore in church when I'm teaching Zumba...and, I have about nine classes a week now...all of which require a change of clothes.

So, I'm sick of laundry. This week, instead of doing the laundry I said, "screw it." I was going to wait as long as possible before tackling the beast. And I did...I waited. I waited over a week before doing a load of laundry. Then, yesterday arrived and it had been one week and a day since I washed clothes. I was feeling quite proud of myself even though there was no room in the hamper for anymore articles of clothing...what was in there had already piled out of the side and onto the bathroom floor. But, I didn't care...I was proud...that was until I walked into the bathroom yesterday morning and noticed the hamper was missing. I looked around the bathroom confused. I knew I certainly didn't move it. I wandered around the apartment looking for the pile of stinky clothes and there it was...sitting in the kitchen in front of the washer (the washers are usually in the kitchens here for my American friends)! Gasp! "What the...?" I muttered.

Right on cue, Barry popped upstairs from the shop. He was whistling. "Um, is this your subtle way of telling me to do the laundry?" I ask in a sarcastic tone.

"Here we go...I knew this was goin' to turn in ti a whole handlin'." He returns the sarcasm.

"Well, it must be...you moved it from the bathroom to the kitchen." Of course, I know these clothes need to be washed...I know I've been a lazy laundry doer. And, since Barry doesn't really have time to do it working seven days a week I've usually just done it...but jeez...make it stop sometime, seriously.

"Naw! I was jist bein' nice. It was heavy and I didn't want ye ti have ti carry it up the stairs here." I believe him. "Believe me," he continues, "if ye wanna have a contest ti see who could go the longest without clean clothes I'm all fir it. I have more than enough to last me. I don't care if ye do a wash or not, sure."

And, I know he's right. I need my clean clothes so I can put them on to go and get all sweaty again, so I don't take him up on the contest. Instead, I washed clothes, dammit. And, Friday night...they are still being washed and dried.

Take That take this

Take That at Croke Park, Dublin.  June 2011.

This weekend, even though I felt as if I was at death's door with a stomach virus, I ventured down to Dublin to see the band, Take That.  A lot of Americans wouldn't know this group very well, so for you guys, it's the group that Robbie Williams got his start in.   Opening for Take That was the Pet Shop Boys.  When I figured out the Pet Shop Boys were going to be there, I was excited since I remember I used to really like the Pet Shop Boys and their songs like West End Girls and What Have I Done To Deserve This.  Of course, in comparison, Take That blew the Pet Shop Boys out of the water.  Anyway, since this has the potential to be a lengthy post, I'm going to do a list of the highlights and lowlights of the weekend, some of which are not entirely Dublin or concert related.  As tradition goes...we'll do lowlights first. Here goes.

Lowlights

• The lack of cable in the hotel.
• The general expensiveness of Dublin...seriously?  20 Euro for breakfast?
• Being molested by the Greek gentlemen at a club, before I kindly told him to stop F&$£^&@ touching me!  Yes, I used those exact words, which only seemed to encourage him to keep rubbing on me.  He eventually left. 
• Finding out that Barry had trapped one of our cats inside our sofa bed while I was away.  Yes, he's alright. I still think he's trying to kill them, if you remember this post.
• Watching a girl puke up what could only be described as chunky pink pate right in front of me and nearly on my feet. 
• The two lady lovers who decided to block our view of the concert with their own version of So You Think You Can Dance? and a little kissin' and a gropin'.

Highlights

• The Mexican salad I had for dinner Saturday night at Elephants and Castle right down from Temple Bar.
• Being told by a drunken bar patron at Temple Bar once he heard we were going to see Take That that he had something better than Take That...it was called Take This (as he motions towards his crotch of course).
• The comfy beds at the hotel.
• The good weather.
• Seeing a taxi man run over a keg of beer in the middle of a street.  Yes, a keg of beer in the middle of the street.
• Seeing the aforementioned lady lovers being scolded by security for blocking the view of other concert goers.
• The fact that the aforementioned puking girl was not me.
• Being at Croke Park, which holds 80,000 people.  And, it was sold out, folks.  

Now, enjoy some music.

Happy Father's Day

Since I will be in Dublin this weekend for Father's Day, I won't have time to post this then, so I'm doing it now.  This weekend, I'm going to see Take That and do my best to remember their one song that was popular in the U.S., which I think I really liked I remember.  Back for Good it was called.  Nice wee tune.

Anyway, this post is for my Dad  since it is Father's Day on Sunday, June 18th.  So, Happy Father's Day, Da (that's how we say it here in Ireland).

There we are at my first book signing this past January.

Here we are at my wedding.

And of course, I couldn't forget my grandfather who passed away in February 2008.  That's him down below there.

Unfortunately, this is the only photograph I have on my computer of him.  That's him there in the middle.

A future Mr. and Mrs.

I received a phone call last week at approximately 3am.  Normally, a phone call in the middle of the night would scare the freakin' bejaysus outta me, but since my friends and family are living five hours behind me (which technically means that I live in the future), I wasn't too extremely startled.  I run to answer the phone.  It's my best friend Kimberly.  She starts with a quick, "I'm engaged!"  I wasn't too surprised by the statement as we've all (including her) been expecting it.  Of course, I was very happy for her and her fella (he's a good un).  

Now, this means, I get to be in a wedding.  I haven't been in a wedding (not including my own) since I was a two time five year old flower girl (which by the way, I rocked that role).  So, here's to the happy couple.  I'm going to post a picture of them even though I know the bride-to-be will not be super thrilled about it, but hey, its on here and once its on here I can't delete it.  Um, its not possible :)

I should have been a graphic artist.  Look at the talent in that photo there...the immaculate detail of the veil and top hat?  See it?  No?  Just me?  

Anyway, in other news.  It snowed in parts of Ireland today.  WTF?  So not fair, especially since I'm hearing from everyone back in West by God Virginia that it is sooooooo hot and humid.  I would love some hot and humid right now.  That is all. 

I feel like a sixteen year old again

But, not in a good way. Its amazing how moving to a new country can cause you to backtrack in age.  Let me explain.

Before I moved to Derry, I, of course, had a driver's license and a car and I had these things for a long time...about 16 years.  I also had a bank account with MY name on it and a debit card I could use anytime I wanted.  I was very independent.

Now, not so much.  I have no car OR driver's license here.  Which means I walk or take a taxi most places, which is fine.  But, oh how I miss driving a car with the music blaring and the sun shining in the summer time!
But, the kicker is, for me to be able to drive here, I have to RELEARN all the rules of the road and get lessons and take the test!  But, I already did this!  I did this when I was 16 years old!  Don't make me do it again!  Of course, if I had to do it again in the U.S., I wonder if I could pass again.  The only reason I passed the first time was because the guy giving me the exam had the same last name as me.  But, I mean, I wasn't a bad driver or anything (shut up Barry).

And, let me get started on the whole bank account thing.  Wow, the hoops I had to jump through to open a bank account were shocking!  I have to have my identification and proof of residence here like some sort of bill or invoice in my name.  I have my i.d., but no bill or invoice in my name.  I tried to get it worked out!  But, to get the electric bill or even my cell phone bill in my name they need two forms of i.d., one of which needs to be some type of bill!  Seriously?  I was going in circles. I finally found a way to work it out, but it took quite a long while. 

 Plus, I have no credit here. All the credit I've built in the U.S. doesn't transfer here.  I couldn't even get a cell phone in my own name because I have no background here.  Hmm...if I would have known that before I left the States, I could have went to town charging and not paying credit cards...hehe.  No, just kidding. Although, I coulda showed those credit cards who was boss!

So all the headache without the beauty of a sixteen year old. I certainly don't have the skin of a 16 year old!  Nope, my laugh lines are much more defined now.  And, what the hell happened to the pores on my face?  Wait, is that a skintag on my neck?  Where did that black hair come from?  When did that gray hair come in? No, my body is definitely not sixteen again, dammit.

So, anyway.  I wouldn't mind too awful much being 16 again, if it were the good parts of being 16...you know, like the slu...um, or the um....well.  Oh, I know...like the foo..., no the hom... Wait, what are the good parts to being 16? It seems I can't really think of any.

Oh, I know!  A sweet sixteen party!  That is a good part!  I wonder if I could talk Barry in to throwing me a sweet sixteen party?  I'll work on that.  Look for it on MTV 'cause it'll be a bangin' super sweet sixteen!