make my funk the pea-funk

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-02T18:42:00.001Z

I tend not to be very good at keeping up with New Year's Resolutions - maybe I pick resolutions that are too big for me to realistically keep... But I feel like 2012 has big things in store and there are some changes I'd like to make to help them along! Nothing too big, just little tweaks to help me feel better about myself, mind, body and soul.

1. Blog/document more
Well, 2011 saw 6 posts for Make My Funk the Pea-Funk! As this is my second post, I'm already 1/3 of the way there : P I also want to keep track of all the books I read, and all the films I watch!

2. Detox January
Every January, Ronan and I give up booze for the month. It's a nice cleanse after the festive period! This year, we've gone a step further, and we're going proper vegetarian for the month. I want to try and document some of our yummy recipes (once my camera is fixed!)

3. Start up my exercise regime again
When I started my new job in late 2010, I got the added bonus of a 2 hour commute each way. Now I don't get home until about 7pm, so I've definitely slacked off on the exercise-front. While I get a 2 x 30 minute walks everyday, I want to try and start running again, at least twice a week - hopefully once on the weekend, and once during the week.

4. Learn new crafts
Last year, I did plenty of crochet projects, including numerous baby blankets, scarves, hats, etc. While I still have plenty of hooking to do this year, I really want to try and work on other skills. I'd like to try knitting again, get more use out of my sewing machine and finally learn how to make a quilt!

5. Finances in order
This is always an ongoing resolution, but I feel like I'm making headway on it! I've been good about my pension, been setting aside money into an ISA account and making significant payments on my credit card. This year will also be my 4th year of student loan repayments, and it feels good to know I'm almost half way done with paying them off! I would like to be debt-free (minus student loans) by December 2012, with a decent amount of dollars set aside for our potential move to the US in 2013!

6. Plan for the future
Ronan and I first moved to Brighton more than 4 years ago when he started his PhD. A lot has changed since then, including jobs and flats, but we have known that we'd be here for at least 4-5 years. Well, we're finally coming up to the end of our stay here. There's no immediately plan to leave yet of course, but Ronan's definitely gearing up to finish this bad boy, and it looks like he should be finishing up this year. This means we can finally start looking forward, and plan the next step of our lives! It depends on a lot of things, including where he can find work, where I can find work, etc, but it's exciting to think we might be in a new city 365 days from now : )

2011 - A Year in Review

2012-01-02T18:13:00.000Z

All in all, 2011 was a pretty good year. No significant changes, but a nice slow and steady year. Both Ronan and I started new jobs in the end of 2010, and did pretty well for our first proper year. The rest of the year was spent enjoying friends' babies, travelling, not winning Olympic tickets, and thinking about our plans for the future.

Some travel highlights include:

Los Angeles

Ronan and I enjoyed another trip to Los Angeles for my cousin's wedding

While there we also had a chance to visit Disneyland! First time for Ronan

France
In early September, we went to France to visit Ronan's parents. His sister and her boyfriend were there too! Perfect sunny trip away, with lots of hikes and walks!

We also went out for a lovely dinner for Ronan's 35th birthday while we were there!

Edinburgh

Ronan and I had a chance to go up to Edinburgh this year, just before Christmas, to visit some old friends!

Claudia and me

A castle of some sort outside North Berwick

Cambridge
We also got the chance to go up to Cambridge a few times this year, to visit Ronan's brother and sister-in-law, and our adorable nephew Aodhan. I'm so happy we're able to see him getting so big! We spent Christmas-time in Cambridge, too.

Ronan had a pretty exciting 2011! In October, he ran his first ever half-marathon, in the Royal Parks Foundation race.

He also had an amazing month (or two!) of Movember, and raised over £350! Of course, it took more than 3 weeks for it to reach maturation, so it seemed like such a waste to get rid of it at the end of November. So Ronan decided to keep it for December as well. (Un)Fortunately, we have finally said goodbye to the 'tashe, and it was shaved off today! Here it is mid-December:

How was your 2011?

Celeb spotting in Brighton - of the A-list variety!

2011-04-11T19:30:00.000+01:00

So last Sunday, I was at the gym, per usual, just minding my own business on the cross-trainer. I love me some people watching, and the gym is a great place to spy. As I was looking around, I noticed a slim blond woman, and thought to myself, "Ha, that woman looks like Renee Zellweger!" I didn't think much of it and carried on with my cross-trainer.

Hmmmm, let me take another look because it's Sunday and not very busy....

"Wow, she REALLY looks like Renee Zellweger...she's a total doppleganger!"

More cross training.

More looking.

"Dude...that IS Renee Zellweger..."

"What the hell is she doing in the LA Fitness at Brighton???"

So yes, I saw RZ at the gym last Sunday, with another woman (who I believe is her trainer) and it was very bizarre. But awesome to have a PROPER celeb spotting!

I'm in the mood for....shoes

2011-03-27T17:54:00.002+01:00

Spring is in the air, and this past week, it's actually been warm enough to kick off the boots and enjoy some bare legs in the sun! I'm itching for some new shoes, and found some cuties at Schuh. Better get my butt over there and pick them up before the sun goes away!

Oh I do love to be beside the seaside

Perfect loafers for work, miniskirts and dresses!

Gah, amazing! Leopard print and red bows, what more could a girl ask for?

Red and shiny!!!

I have always always always wanted a pair of saddle shoes to complete my poodle skirt look.

Now I just need some dresses, too!

peeved

2011-03-21T20:21:00.000Z

Number one pet peeve of commuting to work?

People who friggin READ when they're WALKING.

Is that really necessary? Can't you wait until, I don't know, you don't need to see where you're going?

Worst example of above pet peeve: A man pushing his baby...in a pram...crossing a busy London road...at rush-hour...while reading his Kindle. Oy vey.

/rant

Love is a mixture of desire and misunderstanding

2011-03-09T21:20:00.000Z

I don't particularly like Valentine's Day and try my best to ignore it. This year we were going to get dirty Chinese takeaway and call it a night.

But to my surprise, I received this lovely card in the mail at work :) I was very excited indeed for dirty Chinese!

But to my even bigger surprise, as I was leaving work, who should I see but Ronan? Who travelled all the way up to London to surprise me!

We went to the pub, and then out for dim sum, and it was the loveliest Valentine's Day I've ever had!

And it only took me 3 weeks to blog about it, oopsies!

London Triathlon - been there done that

2011-02-02T20:31:00.002Z

So Monday was the last day to enter into the London Triathlon.

and I'm not on that list.

I'm a little sad about it, it's something I wanted to do every since I moved to the UK, and I've done it two years in a row (remember?)

I just honestly don't have the time or engery to put in the effort I would expect of myself. In fact, I don't think I'll be entering any races this year. Maybe 2012? Right now, my goal is just to make it to the gym, or go for a run, once or twice a week. I think once the weather improves, and the days are lighter longer, this will be easier to achieve.

But I have made it to the gym the past 2 Sundays for 2 hours each! I walk Ronan to the train station then head down, do 45 minutes on the cross trainer, 30 minutes doing weights, 20 minutes swimming and then relax in the hot tub/steam room. It's a good routine to get in, and I hope to carry on with it.

I'll also make it to the gym tomorrow after work, and will hopefuly schedule in a run next Thursday when I work from home (weather permitting, of course!)

How are your 2011 fitness resolutions coming along?

question mark?

2011-01-27T21:34:00.000Z

What's going on with my blog? That's a good question. As I've been working and commuting more, I haven't had a chance to spend time updating. Which is just as well as my life at the moment is pretty much eat, sleep, work, commute.

But even before I changed jobs, I hadn't quite grasped what I wanted to communicate. I read other blogs, and see great ideas I'd like for my own blog, but never quite seem to take the leap to actually do it. I also have lots of thoughts, opinions, persuasions in my head that I'd like to talk about, but never seem to have the time to form coherent arguments. And while it's sometimes enjoyable to just write about what happened today, especially when looking back, all in all it makes for kind of tedious reading.

So my goal for the weekend is to have a sit down and figure out what I really want this blog to be, and what I want to write about. Yesterday, I sent Ronan a work email I had sent out, with a nice comment from my boss. And he said, "That was great, I haven't read your writing in ages, and I really miss it". And this was a boring direct marketing email! How the mighty have fallen. Anyhow, I really would like to get up and running and find something I'm passionate about to take this blog in a new direction.

Any thoughts or ideas?

1st day of Christmas...

2010-12-01T19:37:00.000Z

Wow, my last blog is from 1.5 months ago! A lot has happened since then.

Ronan and I moved into a new flat...about 2.7 seconds away from our old place! What can I say, we like the area! It's purpose-built, and therefore built with purpose in mind! Very comfortable and warm and cozy.

I started a new job in London! It's with the same large company, but in a completely new department/brand. It's very exciting, but still very new. The commute's a bit of a pain, but I've done a ton of crochet and reading so it's not too bad.

And I haven't done a lick of running in a very long time. With my new commute, I don't get into Brighton/Hove until almost 7 so I haven't been feeling like gyming it lately. I'm hoping to get in a session tomorrow and definitely a run in on Saturday morning.

3/5 of our friends due in November/December have had their babies! We now have James, Freddie and Seren in our circle of friends, and they're super duper cute. We're still waiting for Hannah, as her due date was 30th Nov, and Kate, who's due the 20th Dec.

We decided not to go to Ireland this Christmas, as Ronan is doing seasonal work, so instead...we will be hosting Christmas dinner! Yes, Ronan's parents are flying down the South East England, visiting the McFannys, then coming to stay with us. It'll just be the four of us on Christmas, but it looks like we're all meeting up at ours on Boxing Day! That'll be me, Ronan, Jack, Joan, Emma, Eoin, Marga and little Aodhan! Eep! I've done a Thanksgiving dinner for that many people, but it's normally for friends. Christmas dinner is a big deal! I'm a little nervous, but very excited to have everyone around. Now that it's 1st December, I'm officially allowed to start decorating the place. I need to put up my santa sign, and get some mistletoe. We might try and get a tree this weekend, as well, as we get the potted ones which don't dry out too bad.

I've also booked a weekend trip up to Edinburgh for next weekend! Although at this rate, there's a very good chance I won't make it up with all the snow. I really hope I get a chance to see Claire and James and Claudia! And of course, the Christmas Market :)

So all in all, I'm really looking forward to December, and seeing through 2010, which has been a pretty great year! I just hope I'm able to get a few runs in before I turn into Jabba the Hut!

ho ho ho (from Neonbubble!)

Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon

2010-10-15T16:25:00.003+01:00

and they're off!

This past weekend, I had the chance to run my first ever half marathon race! On a whim, I decided to sign up for the Breast Cancer Campaign team to run the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, and I'm really glad I did. While I wasn't religious about following my training schedule (2-3 days a week average, instead of the prescribe 4), I did make sure to keep up with my long distance runs on the weekend and it was great to keep training after the tri. And it paid off! I felt calm and relaxed on the day, and chugged on to a 2:13 time. Not lightening speed, but certainly respectable, especially considered I split 1:06/1:07!

showing off my medal (and so happy it's over!)

Look at that, I didn't even break a sweat! But I did hobble around like a granny for a full 48 hours before I could even think about a swim.

I enjoyed the race so much, I'm thinking of signing up for the Brighton Half Marathon in February, to see if I can get closer to a 2 hour time. And of course, the next obviousl step is the...Marathon (dun dun dun). Unfortunately, Brighton and London are now full, but I have my eye on both the Belfast and Edinburgh Marathon (early and late May), so I have plenty of time to think about it.

Where has water-logged Kira gone??? Who would have never ever in a million years contemplated running 26.2 miles??? I dunno, but I'm really enjoying myself, and hope to keep up with the running bug :)

ch-ch-changes

2010-10-08T15:52:00.000+01:00

Lots and lots of changes!

Let's see....

Ronan's turned 34 (whoops, missed a birthday post)
I've turned 26
Ronan's quit his job...
...and started tutoring full time
And most exciting of all!

We're moving!

Our landlady is selling our flat, so we decided to take a look and see what kind of flats we could see. Well, we found one we liked, and places are going like hotcakes so the next day we gave them a deposit and we move in on the 29th!

We're super busy this month with the half marathon (Sunday), ballet tickets (happy birthday to me, from Ronan!), and Ronan's folks coming to visit on their way home from France, not to mention the gazillion baby blankets I have left to make for friends. But I'm seriously looking forward to sorting out our stuff and getting moved into this nice, clean, fresh, spacious, purpose-built flat. Did I mention it has a fire place? I GET TO HANG STOCKINGS!!!

Only downside is we'll probably be too busy to do anything fun for Halloween. Do you have any fun plans?

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-09-24T20:06:00.000+01:00

Happy birthday to my dad! I wish I could be in LA to celebrate with him - I'd take him for steak!

Visit his blog and wish him a happy birthday :)

10 miler

2010-09-09T21:05:00.000+01:00

I just ran the farthest I've ever run. Booyah bitches. 10 miles (actually 9.8, damnit gmap-pedometer, why do you have to be so precise!). I ain't fast. I ain't pretty. But I put one leg in front of the other, and, an hour and 40 minutes later, I arrived back where I started, albeit with very sore legs.

3 miles is easy peasy now. 5 miles is my normal 'go out and chug away' run, still feels good, but can be rough around the edges. During triathlon training, I got into 7 and 8 miles, and they felt okay, just a bit longer than my 5-6 milers. But I definitely felt the extra 2 miles today. By the last 20 minutes, my knees started aching, and it became more and more difficult to maintain my pace. But I pushed myself the last 5 minutes and finished strong, woot woot. My legs will be sore tomorrow, but it's good to know I can do it!

And suddenly, 13 miles doesn't seem so bad...good thing because I'm running it in one month! Sponsor me!

Relaxing

2010-08-15T17:19:00.000+01:00

It's been great to take a week off after the triathlon. I don't think I needed it physically, but I definitely did mentally. I went for a swim on Monday and the gym on Thursday for a new weight training plan, but other than that I did nada!

Wednesday, I took a couple hours off work and went to get my hair cut and coloured. I found a great deal on the Brighton Groupon site, for £33 instead of normally about £90. Woot woot! Afterwards, Ronan and I went for a nice Thai meal in the Lanes and I enjoyed a Change beer! Oh how I've missed you, you delicious amber nectar you!

This weekend has been equally lazy (only temporarily interrupted with a 3 mile run this morning). While there was talk of camping on Saturday, it rained and rained and rained on Friday/Saturday morning so we decided to give it a miss. Instead we went into town and:

had MORE beer (yay for Guinness!)

got new (matching) phones

picked up some fabric for skirts to make for France

and bought season one of

So the rest of the weekend is going to be spent crocheting, watching TV, eating and looking for local Speech and Language therapists (not to visit but to shadow!)

How was your weekend?

London Triathlon Race Report

2010-08-12T14:31:00.000+01:00

Woot woot, I had a great day on Sunday! How could I not when I had these guys cheering me on?

Just as a recap, last year I did the triathlon in 3:29.07, and was 114/122 in my age group (ouch). I was really uphappy with my time, but I don't think I realised what a big impact being sick made on me, it really made me lose my edge. This year, I dropped a whopping 18 minutes off my time (okay, I'm rounding!) for a 3:11.55! And I was 87/133 (there were 140, but 7 DNF). I'd like to be in the top half, but I definite improvement over last year!

Itching to start!

Swim

25.58
Last year: 29.39

Um, how did that happen? The one leg I certainly WASN'T working on was my swimming leg! But this year, I decided to hire a proper swimming wetsuit and what a difference it made! Last year, I was so exhausted after the swim, I barely had the arm strength to unzip myself. This year, I felt just amazing on the swim, I could have gone on forever. In fact, about 2/3 in , I remember thinking, 'Boy, I really don't want the swim to end because then I have to cycle and run.' I just kept everything nice and smooth, breathing every 3rd and sighting every 8-10 strokes. I wore a watch this year, and caught a glimpse coming into T1 and saw I swum sub 27, and it felt awesome! I think if I worked on my swimming, I could definitely knock a couple more minutes off, but I was so chuffed to knock 4 full minutes off my time from last year! And I'm pretty sure I finished in the top 15 in my age group.

And they're off!

T1
5.43
Last year: 7.24

Like I said, I felt great after the swim, and really wanted to push it through to the bike. Last year, I was so miserable at this point, but I felt really optimistic this year that I could hit 3 hours. Side note, I'm really disappointed SportCam doesn't have the women's swimming photos up! Who can I complain to???

Bike
1:31.29
Last year: 1:39.27

Last year, I had almost zero on-bike training. I literally bought a bike with less than a month to go, and had maybe an hour total time on the saddle before the big day. And boy did it show. I was so stiff and achy and sore on the day because I just wasn't used to it. And I was being passed by everyone and their mother and their dog. This year, I made sure to put in the hours on the bike. And it really helped. I only got passed by everyone and their dog. After the first lap, I was a few minutes under 1:30, so I really thought I was on course to go sub 3 hours. But coming off the bike, I saw that I was already over 2 hours at that point and wasn't going to sub an hour on the run. Looking over other people's times, I can see that the 14km/26km laps they said just weren't the case, as I split 25.31 and 1:05.58, and others were similar to that (with the second lap being a good 10 - 15 minutes slower than a double first lap). Oh well. I felt strong on the bike, took in plenty of water, and thought I would be good going into the run. Ronan suggested I might need new/more gears though, because I definitely maxed out a lot where I didn't have any range left to power through flats/downhills. Is it time to invest in a proper bike?

Too fast for the camera man!

T2
2.25
Last year: 5.18

Wow. Spot the difference! I think this goes to show just how incredibly knackered I was last year, I had NOTHING left in me. This year, I wanted to hustle hustle hustle. I literally just dropped my bike and helmet and head for the run. My time is faster than some of the top ten girls in my AG!

Run
1:06.23
Last year: 1:07.20

This is definitely the most baffling part of the triathlon. I checked my watch on the start of the run, and I was at 10.35, so I would have needed a 55 minute run to hit my 3 hour mark and I knew that just wasn't going to happen. So my adjusted goal was to hit 3:09, so I could say I cut a full 20 minutes off my time. But the power just wasn't there. I hit the jelly legs definitely, and after a km or two, I started to feel a bit more normal. But I just didn't have the speed. It was really frustrating because I focused on brick sessions a lot this year. I had in a good 3-4 sessions in July, including 17 mile bike ride with a 4.75 mile run (which I did in 45 minutes!!!) And I ran the whole 6.2 miles this year. Which is why it's so disappointing to see me drop less than a minute off my time from last year. I honestly think I would have gone faster if I had walked a bit, but I'm proud of myself for charging through the whole thing. And the worst bit? 4 short laps instead of 2 longer ones. Mentally, 4 laps is just a nightmare. UGH! But check out that finish:

So so so glad to be done!

Overall
I am so happy I dropped almost 18 minutes from last year's time. I felt solid and strong throughout (except the run of course!) And I know with the right training, I could easily break 3 hours. Despite concentrating on my running and cycling, I dropped the most time from my swim and my transitions. I think I could easily drop another 5-10 minutes on my cycle, too. The demon? That run. I was dissapointed at the time, but can still appreciate that I had a great race overall. I've learned that no matter how slow you train, you're gonna race even slower! So, if I want to run 9.30-10 minute miles in a race, I need to be running faster than that in training. I've got the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon in 2 months, and I'm hoping to run that in under 2:10, so I've got my speed and endurance to work on!

Cherry Treats

2010-08-06T19:56:00.001+01:00

Last year, I thought it would be nice to make my friend Jen a bag for her birthday. She love love loves cherries, in all their cuteness, so I decided to adapt a bag from Stitch 'n Bitch: The Happy Hooker and turn it into a little cherry bag for Jen.

Here's the plain bag, in nice simple white.

With some cutie cherries attached.

And then finally lined, with a pocket!

I actually finished the bag part in time for her birthday last year, but it just took me FOREVER to get around to lining it. And while I finally sent it to her for her birthday this year it was still late! Whoops! But I think she liked it :)

Now enough homemade pressies for others, I need to make something for myself for a change!

My running future

2010-08-06T14:33:00.000+01:00

I haven't even done the triathlon yet, and I'm already onto my next big project - the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon on 10/10/10!

I had been contemplating a half marathon for awhile now, and wanted something to dive right into after the triathlon. I've already pushed myself to 8 miles, so I feel like I could join into a 16 week plan at the half way point. I looked at the Run to the Beat race, but it's the weekend before my *gasp* 26th birthday and I'd really rather relax that weekend :) Then on Twitter, Zest Magazine tweeted that the Breast Cancer Campaign had two places left for the Royal Parks Foundation HM, so I got in contact with the BCC and two days later....Bob's your uncle! With the triathlon on the 8th, and say 2 days off for good behaviour, that gives me officially 2 months (8 weeks and bit) to get myself into half-marathoning shape. I'll scope out a few training plans, but I already have a workout strategy in mind to be honest. I'd like to start doing yoga a bit more, and try to fit in some strength training. My tentative post triathlon workout schedule looks a bit like this:

Mondays
Gym - 30-60 minutes on the cross trainer with 30-45 minutes weight training

Tuesdays
Run - 30-60 minutes, either intervals or hill runs

Wednesdays
Yoga - my gym has a class from 5-6, plus some jacuzzi action afterwards

Thursdays
Run - 30-60 minutes, either intervals or hill runs

Fridays
Gym - 30-60 minutes on the cross trainer with 30-45 minutes weight training

Saturdays
Run - long easy runs, working on increasing mileage

Sundays
Rest!

Most HM training plans have you do 3 mid-week runs, plus the longer Saturday runs. However, I want to take that down to 2 mid-week runs, so I can give my legs a chance to recover and do some cross training as well. And I've already managed to increase my distance to 8 miles with only 1-2 runs a week.

I've finally reached the point where I (kinda, sorta, maybe) ... enjoy running. I'm not sure how that happened, but I slowly started noticing things like, perferring a run to a bike ride, or pushing Ronan to go out for a run (and not vice versa). And then one Saturday morning, I said to Ronan, 'I'm going to go a bit longer today, I'll meet you at home.' I was actually enjoying myself and wanted to push myself further. Well, Kira, you've got over 13 miles to push yourself, that's definitely further than you've done before!

sum sum summer time

2010-08-02T13:56:00.001+01:00

I've been having a really awesome summer so far! We've been really good about going out and seeing friends, soaking up the sun and doing fun outdoor activities. And even better, we've had decent weather (sorry England, you never have better than 'decent' weather!)

golfing!

kite flying!

jumping!

aunting!

eating!

puppy watching!

flopping!

wading!

I've got the London Triathlon coming up this weekend, on Sunday, and my support team (Ronan and Alicia) are getting ready! I feel really good about my training this year, so I'm hoping to shave off quite a bit of time this year. I've also given up The Booze since the end of June (with a few lapses, including a glass of champagne, and a half glass of Pimm's!), and have also lost 7lbs, too! My outdoor runs and cycles have also helped me develop my tan (funny lines included). And! On Saturday, Ronan and I went out for his boss' birthday and I fit into my skinny jeans. I haven't been able to wear them since I first bought them in 2006, BEFORE I met Ronan! Woot woot to exercise, healthy eating and no booze :)

The weekend after the triathlon, we're hoping to do a little mini camping break, and then we're off to France on the 19th, yippee! It's Ronan's dad's 70th birthday, so all the kiddos, plus partners, plus babies, are heading off to France for the week. I'm looking forward to red wine, tennis and swimming! After we're back in the UK, we're off to Edinburgh for a wedding. August is going to be amazing!

Do you have any fun plans in the works for August?

Tri training update

2010-07-19T15:44:00.000+01:00

I thought I'd do a quick update on my triathlon training this summer. It's been going much better than last year (exactly one year ago I was battling a gnarly strain of the flu and was bed ridden - less than 3 weeks before the big race!)

So how is training going better this time around? Well first of all, I'm actually getting in my proper cycling. I've done a few 20+ mile rides along Brighton, and into Shoreham and Worthing. On a nice day like today, how can that not be totally awesome? It's all along the coast, too, which is a definite (and flat!) bonus.

Here's my little baby:

Last year, I was a little frightened of the drop handles, but I'm finally starting to get the hang of them. After about 20 miles my neck starts to stiffen a bit, but all in all I feel pretty good on it.

My runs have also been going well. I was battling some leg/hip/back pains last month, but I took a bit of time off, and now I feel much better. On Saturday, I did my first ever 7 mile run! And I felt great, totally in the groove and I definitely fel like I could have kept going. I've also done a brick workout, with a 12 mile cycle and a 4 mile run, and I felt pretty good. I'm looking forward to my 27 mile bike ride tonight, and my 8 mile run on Friday.

It's still tough to try and balance in 6 workouts a week, and to be honest, I'm mostly doing about 4 a week. But as long as I make sure to get my long cycle and long run in, I'm okay. The other thing I need to focus on is a couple of outdoor swims in my new wetsuit. I'm not swimming as much as I should be, but I'm glad that I'm focusing on my weaker legs. Maybe this week I'll get a proper swim in!

I also got my start time - I'm in the 8.30am wave on Sunday morning - look for number 6664! Last year, I didn't start until around 12 or so, and I felt awful all morning, too anxious. I'm glad I won't really have time to think about it, I'll get up, eat, head out and go! All in all, I'm feeling really pumped! :)

crop

2010-07-14T22:32:00.000+01:00

On Monday, Ronan and I went to go see Breathless. How very French, oui oui! And oh, how I was taken in by lovely Jean Seberg and her beautiful pixie crop!

I have always wanted to chop off all my hair, but alas, you normally need a beautiful pixie face like Winona Ryder or Halle Berry (or Jean Seberg!) to get away with it. I've cut my hair pretty short in the past, but have always shied away from the proper pixie crop. Should I finally go for it for the summer?

Here is a pic of the sorta-short crop I've done in the past:

Should I go the full monty, or grow it out? Decisions decisions!

Rainbow Extraordinaire!

2010-07-07T15:27:00.000+01:00

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I decided to make a baby blanket for my niece/nephew to be. As we didn't know the sex, I decided to go for something bright, colourful and gender neutral: RAINBOW!

And I thought to myself, "Well, it needs to be substantial enough, with lots of colours...." so I decided on six colours. I've done stripey blankets before, so I decided on granny squares. I found a neat pattern on Ravelry called Around the World Crochet Quilt, and therefore went forward with my 13x13 blanket. 13x13=169 squares. That's a lotta squares. A lot a lot. I started this back in March, with the baby due in May. I have to admit, I slacked a bit, especially when we went to LA. But all in all, it didn't take too long to make all the squares. I was still working on it when Aodhan was born (May 10), but I finished the squares soon after. Don't they look pretty?

And I thought to myself, "Goody! The tough part is over!" All that was left was to sew them together. Easy peasy, right?

Oh. My. God. Wrong. First, I needed to sew them into 13 strips. It took me over an hour to do one strip. So 13 hours later, I had 13 strips that still needed to be sewn together. But that should be easy enough, right? No stopping and starting at ends?

Oh. My. God. Wrong. To sew one strip to another took OVER an hour. Aye Caramba! But I missed my first deadline anyway (seeing him at 2 weeks old), so I worked to my new deadline (seeing him at 2 months old). Sew sew sew. Sew sew sew.

I finally finished sewing it together and it looked bloody fantastic!!!!!!!!

I quickly added a thin red border around it (once again thinking, "Oh this part should be easy", and once again, being totally wrong), and voila!

Slightly blurry!

pre-sewn, foolishly thinking I was almost finished! Ha!

All in all, I'm very pleased with the results, but very finished to see the end of it! Now on to something for meeeeeeeeeeee!

world cup world cup

2010-06-21T21:26:00.000+01:00

I've caught the World Cup fever something fierce!

I've got my two teams I'm routing for. First (of course) is the USA, Group C. Being in England, it's pretty tough supporting a team that more likely than not might just knock their team out (after England's abysmal performance last Friday...). But I'm looking forward to watching USA v Algeria and Slovenia v England on Wednesday. And check out my USA pride (and not how gross our windows are)!

I also made a 'stars n stripes' outfit to wear, but I was too chicken to wear it out for the England v USA match! But I wore the top to the top for the Slovenia v USA game, and someone even commented on it!

My other team is my work sweepstake draw - Uruguay, Group A.

There has been some discussion on pronounciation at work. Everyone here seems to think it's Yoor-u-guay. But of course, if you actually want to say it correctly, it's Oor-u-guay, because that's how you pronounce it in Spanish. But that doesn't stop anyone from saying it exactly how they want to say it (which is the wrong way).

So far, so good, and both teams should should should qualify to the next stage. Woot woot!

2 years!

2010-05-18T15:21:00.000+01:00

This was Ronan and me two years ago today, on our beautiful wedding day.

I am so thankful I found Ronan in this big big world. What are the chances people from Northern Ireland and California could meet in beautiful Edinburgh, at the right place at the right time? I thank my lucky stars everyday :) Here's to two down, and many more to come.

Latest edition to the family!

2010-05-17T13:30:00.000+01:00

We also have a new edition to the family! Ronan's brother and his wife were expecting a baby on 5th May. The baby had other ideas and decided to stay put for awhile longer, but finally made his appearance on 10th May!

Little Aodhan John, such a sweetie!

I'm almost almost almost finished with the most fiendish blanket ever (169 squares), and will post it once I finally finish it! We haven't met him yet, but we should be able to go this weekend and finally give him some cuddles. So excited!

Getting into the groove

2010-05-17T13:24:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy old month for me! We went to LA, got stranded in LA, flew back from LA and are now just about over our jet lag. Just in time to get stuck into my triathlon training (well, 3 weeks behind, but who's really counting?)

We landed back in the UK on 6th May (in time for Ronan to vote) and I was back in the gym on Friday. I'm in the middle of a 16 week training plan, and I knew that week 4 would make or break my training. I swam/ran/cycled a little in LA, but I know I need to get serious this year. Last year, I skimped on my training and it had a huge effect on my performance. This year, I want to stick to at least 90% of my plan. And last week (week 4), I stuck 100%. Start as you mean to go on!

So today I've got a 58min cycle scheduled (still indoors as I need to get my bike sorted) plus some weights for added strength training. I ate like a fiend in LA, so have added a few extra lbs (but oh so worth it!). But now I'm ready to get back into my healthy eating routine, too. I normally eat pretty healthy, but before we went to LA, I was doing really well eating strictly during the week, with absolute freedom on the weekends. I'm back into it, and it feels good. I also need to up my protein intake, but I'm looking for more non-meat ways to do this, including beans and pulses.

Was anyone else affected by the volcanic ash (who is still erupting!)?

More Reminiscing - this time, LA

2010-03-26T15:35:00.000Z

It's Friday afternoon, and rather than work, I'm having fun doing a photo dump, and getting excited about my upcoming trip to LA!!! I know we can't really afford to go once (sometimes twice *gulp*) a year, but I would be devestated if we didn't. So we make do. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past few times we've been! (Warning: massive photo overload!)

Only 12 more days to go!!!

Back in the day

2010-03-26T14:54:00.002Z

A few weeks (months?) ago, my mom posted some old pictures up on Flickr. She had bumped in with the woman who ran the daycare my sisters used to go to, Karen. It was really sad to hear that her husband Earle had passed away, but I'm so glad she gave these pictures to my mom. Things have been really tough for my family for the past year or so, and whenever I get really upset about this, it's nice to look at these pictures.

I grew up in the epitomy of an 'unconventional family', but it was one filled with warmth and love, and it's strange to think how much my life has changed since then. And now that I'm thinking of starting my own family, I'm glad I can look up to my mom and be inspired by her amazingness :)

Me, Mom, Rick, Kaley and Kendall at the pumpkin patch for Halloween

Teeny tiny (brunette!) Kaley with Earle

Giggly girls - Kendall and Kaley

Giggle girls with mom - isn't my mom beautiful???

My fave one of me and my sisters (and a random little boy!)

And here's a picture of me with my sisters from my wedding a couple years ago (they're such posers!)

And while we're reminiscing, might as well have a little laugh at my super cool swimming style 15+ years ago!

Rainbow pancakes

2010-03-11T19:27:00.000Z

I don't take Valentine's Day very seriously. In fact, most of my life has been filled with singlehood, so that might have something to do with it. But I've always thought, 'Hey, if you love someone, why do you need a special day to show affection?' And for the most part, I still agree with that. Our first Valentine's Day, Ronan and I got takeaway Chinese (2-4-1 special, ka-ching!) and had cheap Cava. We've stepped it up a bit recently, though, and have somehow got in the habit of going to Planet India (my fave restaurant in Brighton - veggie Indian). But in the morning, I decided I wanted to do something special. Now, Ronan was very impressed and they were yummy, but they didn't quite turn out how I wanted. In fact, I'm debating whether to show the original inspiration for them. I'll post mine first and see if I've made up my mind by then...

First, I made the batter. Then I separated it into 6 bowls.

This is my favourite - it looks like an egg!

The colours were so vibrant, it looked fantastic! Then I cooked each colour individually and made a stack. But I forgot, of course, that when you cook pancakes, the outsides brown. So I was a bit dissappointed with the final ... presentation. But they were a surprise and Ronan loved them (and they were delicious, of course)!

Okay, I've decided to show the original ones because boy oh boy were they amazing. And probably (definitely?) photoshopped, so that makes me feel better.

I found them on Oh Dee Doh, one of Apartment Therapy's babies.

So lovely and thick and bright and everything mine weren't but I'm still pretty darn impressed! I will definitely make them again sometime :)

A Single Man House

2010-03-11T19:09:00.000Z

Last night, we went to go see A Single Man. I really enjoyed it, I thought it was lovely, beautiful, painfully sad, but a great movie experience. But what did I fall in love with? The most beautiful house in the world. I've already told Ronan I want to live in this house. After a bit of hunting, not only did I find beautiful pictures of the most amazing house (see below) but I found out it's for sale! Amazing! And of course, it's in Los Angeles! And only $1.5 million! Now $1.5 million is obviously about.... $1.5million more than I have. But! That's not half bad.... A lot of houses in the South East of England will cost £700,000-£1million, and not be nearly as lovely as this house.

Beautiful beautiful beautiful house

So hopefully the next time I live in LA, I'll be living it large in my very own Beautiful House (that's the official TM name now).

Oh Dear

2010-03-01T15:13:00.000Z

February has actually been very exciting! And I've been doing things and taking photographic evidence! I'm hoping to get some pictures uploaded tonight and put on my tin-ter web.

But in the mean time, Spring seems to have made a visit (I don't imagine it will stay long), so to celebrate, I thought I'd up the SQUEE factor and show you a Pug dressed as a Lamb (or is it a Cloud?)

squee!

West Pier lit up again!

2010-02-12T14:34:00.001Z

On Wednesday night, Ronan and I headed down to the West Pier on the seafront. It burned down several years ago (before we moved here) and now looks like this:

Picture courtesy of howzey

I think it's absolutely beautiful, and looks really haunting especially on a stormy day. There has been talk of clearing away the rubble, but I really hope they keep it standing.

On Wednesday, an event was set up to bathe the pier in green light, to show how looked before. It was too cold to stay for long (freak 15 minute snow storm didn't help!), but it was really interesting to watch! Unfortunately, my camera died, so I didn't have a chance to take my own pictures, but here are some lovely ones from eyejewels on Flickr.

Super neat!

And now I'm doing the Friday dance:

cuz I'm stoked it's the weekend! We're going to an 80's club night tomorrow with a couple work pals, and then going out for dinner on Sunday to Planet India, my favourite restaurant in Brighton. What are your plans for the weekend?

Recently Married?

2010-02-10T12:25:00.002Z

At what point do I stop calling myself recently married? I still think of myself as so, but I realized I'm planning my second wedding anniversary, so it's not really a recent thing is it? Am I just 'married' now?

By the way, any fun anniversary ideas? :)

Leashie Weekend

2010-02-05T16:24:00.000Z

I finally get to enjoy having my friend live nearby! Alicia moved to London (ish) back in November, and we've seen each other a couple of times (Thanksgiving and Christmas) but this weekend is the first spontaneous weekend we've planned! Yippee!

Don't actually have much planned (apart from yarn stuff, I'm sure!), but it will be great to see her. Now I just need to do the same with Claudia...

Ronan and I have also booked a 3-day weekend up to Edinburgh the first weekend in March. We haven't been since June, so I'm really looking forward to it. It's tough going to the 'burgh - it makes me miss it so much each time we go, and it's always tough to come back. Now that we're on course for the 'Plan' to move back to LA, we've realised we probably won't ever live in Edinburgh again. What a sad thought :(

But, check out me and Alicia in Edinburgh almost 5 years ago! Look how cute we are :)

Radio killed the Videostar...

2010-02-02T14:35:00.001Z

Late news, but one night I was walking to the gym after work and I thought about picking up a move for the evening. I went to pop into our local video shop - Videostar - and was shocked and saddened to see this:

It was just so sudden and out of the blue...We registered with the other local place, Video Box, but I just don't like them as much. They're more expensive, and you only get movies for a day, and I'm not a fan of the title arrangements. Humph. We haven't actually used them yet, but maybe they'll bowl me over with their amazing customer service. Somehow, I doubt it.

Bye bye Videostar, you will be missed!

2010 so far...

2010-01-22T11:42:00.001Z

2010 so far has been pretty frikkin good, I have to say.

* Ronan and I have given up all alcohol this month (well, a slight cheat being the lovely Irish Cream chocolates my grandmother sent over from Trader Joe's - at 3.5% they're still pretty pokey!). It's definitely pretty tough on the weekends, but I feel good and my wallet feels even better.

* I've been a monster about the gym! It's been great (especially going on Friday after work when everyone else is heading to the pub). I've made the effort to go at least 3 times a week with either a run or looooong walk on the weekend.

* I've also tried to change my eating habits slightly - well, at least not eating crap during the week, and then whatever I want on weekends. This has been working out really good, as I've cut out all the biscuits, etc, at work, but can still enjoy a burger/shake/chips, etc, on the weekends in town.

* As of last Saturday, according to my weekly measurements/weigh-ins, I've lost 7 lbs since New Year's! My goal was to lose a stone (14 lbs) by the time we go to LA in April, but at this rate I'll completely shatter my goal (of course, this may come to a screeching halt come 1 Feb when my no-booze ban is broken).

* Speaking of LA, we've booked our flights, for April, from 6-20. We were hooing and hahing about booking with BA for those dates, hooed and hahed too long, and the prices went up, so we went with Virgin. Good thing, as it now seems like BA may strike over that period.

* My 365 project has been going fab, too! Often times, I forget until about 9pm, but I've had a few moments of sheer brilliance that just would have been missed if I wasn't doing it.

* I found out we're getting our bonus from work next month! Woot woot! Such a relief to come after Christmas, etc. This is really the boost I need to help get my finances back in order. I've also opened up a new bank acocunt (bye-bye Halifax), and I'm going to finally get started on a proper savings account.

* Probably the most exciting thing is that Ronan and I have been discussing our 2-4 year plans, and we've settled on a rough course we'd like to follow. For ages, I've felt like I've been floating along aimlessly, doing my job, but not sure what direction I wanted to go in. I kept referring to 'when Ronan finishes his PhD...', thinking we'd come with ideas when that happened. But we've realised we need to starting making plans NOW for what we want to do when that happens, rather than just drifting along. That's how we'd end up stuck in the South East of England forever, even though that's something we both DON'T want. We have to take the initiate to move forward with what we want to do. And more and more for me, that's been to move back to Los Angeles. Not forever, mind you, but I really want to be close to my family for a bit, and see how that works for us. Once we live there, we can decide whether that's the right place for us. So at the moment, we have decided that 'when Ronan finishes his PhD...' we're going to up sticks and move to Los Angeles. It's the perfect break in his career to make the move, before we become bogged down with other things (!). As of now, that looks like another two years from now (plus this current semester). So we're looking at 2012. That works perfectly for us! It just gives me the sense of direction and drive I've been missing, and gives me something to work towards. All in all, I'm pretty happy :)

The first 3 weeks of 2010 have been pretty good, and I feel like I'm really on course to have a fantastic year! How are your resolutions, goals, etc, been going?

Me, wanting to dive into the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean! how I miss you!

365 Project

2010-01-08T20:03:00.001Z

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to try and learn a bit more about photography, and be better about documenting my life. This includes taking more pictures, as well as organizing and editing the pictures I already have. I also decided to try and do the 365 project this year, and I started on the 1st. Take a look at my pics, I update them everyday!

Wednesday's Photo

(click to enter the set)

So far, I'm really enjoying it, but I think I'll definitely run into trouble thinking of ideas of pics. But so far, so good!

to gym or not to gym

2010-01-08T14:54:00.000Z

The first weekend of the new year is always full of excited anticipation and new resolve for the upcoming year. I went out and bought some new work clothes, ran 5 miles on Sunday and vowed to get my butt in gear. And Monday, why Monday was even better! Off to the gym I went, and had a great workout which left me sore all week, plus a bit of hot tub action. Tuesday, I decided I needed a day of rest, to recover from my intense workout the previous day. Whoops. Wednesday brought us snow, ice, doom, death, etc, which is meant to continue well into next week. Eep! It's not that we're covered ass deep in snow. No. It's that the roads melt and re-freeze, yikes! What's a girl to do (especially if she doesn't want to break her neck???).

Running outdoors is definitely out of the question. Look what we're dealing with here, people:

Looks like I'm gonna have to ice skate to the gym today...

a to z

2010-01-07T12:10:00.002Z

My new fave cd of the moment:

Picked it up randomly at the music shop with Ronan in December. Me loves.

Buy it here.

2009 in review

2010-01-02T18:53:00.016Z

2010's already upon us, but I wanted the chance to go over my 2009, and remember some of my fave pics during the year.

January

We spent Christmas and New Year in LA last year, which was such a treat. We had glorious weather (for the most part), and it's times like these (slush, rain, sleet, snow, ice) where I really miss those LA sunshine days. This particular day, we went on a bike ride along the beach with my stepmom Heidi, and her boyfriend Jon. Look at that sky! It's January, and Ronan's in a t-shirt. I love it!

February

Back home, and back to reality. February, we were hit with the most snow I've seen in the UK (especially living near the beach!). It was really exciting at first, and Ronan and I went out the first night it fell to walk along the sea front. Unfortunately, the snow quickly turns to slush, then ice, but it was lovely while it lasted!

March

We didn't do much in March...we were going back to LA in April, and the weather had been miserable non-stop for about 3 months, so I was counting the days until we could leave again. But we were lucky enough to catch a showing of Waiting for Godot at the Brighton Theatre, with Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart. Amazing! It was a great performance, and I'm glad I had a chance to see it.

April

My cousin had her wedding in April, and it was great to get out to LA again. This is the second day we were back, and we met Jen at the Farmer's Market/Grove for a bit of a wander. It was just so nice to relax and enjoy ourselves. It gets harder and harder to come back after days like that.

May

May brought us our one year wedding anniversary. I knew Ronan was planning something, but I didn't know what he was up to. On Friday morning, I woke up to get ready for work, but Ronan said, 'Nope, no need to go in'. He had called my boss and booked me the day off work! Then he picked up the rental car, and told me we were off to Looe, in Cornwall, for the weekend. So exciting! We stayed in the cutest little B&B with the most amazing view. It was absolutely heavenly, and I was spoiled to bits. I can't wait for this year, and I get to plan our weekend this time :)

June

Ronan and I had a chance to go up to Edinburgh for Claudia's birthday. It was the first time we were both up since the wedding. It was a great mini break, and so nice to see our burger friends, whom I really miss! The day after Claudia's birthday party, a whole bunch of us went to Hailes Castle near North Berwick, and enjoyed the sunshine.

July

The marriage of the monkeys! Ronan's brother Eoin had his wedding in July, to the lovely Marga, and it was such an amazing wedding. They had it at Marga's folks' place, with the ceremony in a sheep hut and had teepees for the reception. Unfortunately, it rained like crazy, but it was nice and cozy inside.

August

I completed my first ever tri in August, the London Triathlon - olympic distance. I was sick a couple weeks beforehand, and had a pretty bad relapse the week after, so I definitely was not in top shape for the race, but it was such an accomplishment to finish. I also raised over £1000 for Fairbridge, which was astounding. This year, I want to train even harder and get a time I can be proud of!

September

Both Ronan and I celebrate our birthdays in September. He's the 5th and I'm the 30th. This year, we turned 33 and 25! He had some old gorilla slippers that I got him ages ago, but they disintegrated, so I got him these tiger ones (so he could match our pet tiger, Oscar). He was super pleased with them, and they are so so comfy!

October

I love Halloween!!! We started planning our costume in September, tee hee! Obviously, we're Kermit and Miss Piggy (we had a Kermit and Miss Piggy wedding cake topper, 3>). Jon and Kate came down and we just went out in town in Brighton. So much fun, I can't wait for next year :)

November

November was another month of birthdays. We celebrated Kate's birthday in the middle of the month, which included a very large assortment of flavoured vodka shots. Oh dear. I seem to be particularly fond of the birthday cake flavour, but I think I'm alone in my taste. It didn't end up too messy for me (surprisingly) but poor Ronan did not manage to escape unscathed. One of the very few nights where I have to look after him and not vice versa!

December

I love Christmas time, and had taken loads of photos around town of decorations, and our Christmas Party, and our tree, etc. Unfortunately, my camera was stolen in December, boo hoo. But I'll leave you with our Christmas card, which I love!

A little late, but now that I've done this, I can get focused on 2010! Happy New Year!

post christmas recap

2009-12-30T12:16:00.011Z

It's been a wonderful Christmas season! Warning: Long post ahead (with lots of photies)!

We had our office Christmas do on Thursday 17th December, which was tons of fun. Lunch at Harry's then off to the pub for the whole evening. Unfortunately, I drank far more than was necessary and lost my camera. Gutted!!! Not only am I bummed to lose the camera (which my dad gave me) but I've lost all my December photos. But in the evening it started snowing and by the time we were heading home it was a proper blizzard! Those that weren't hungover the next morning were greeted to this:

Glorious!

Unfortunately, it only snowed on the Thursday so the snow quickly turned to ice, dangerous icy roads of death! It was insane, Friday, Saturday and Sunday the sidewalks were actual ice rinks. My wellies did nothing to grip the ice! We ventured into town slowly and carefully, for sure. I saw Alicia on Saturday 19th, and we exchanged Christmas pressies! She made me the most amazing pair of mittens and a lovely lovely hat, plus a book on crochet motifs! Spoiled, I am :)

Then Ronan and I headed off to his parents back in Northern Ireland in the wee hours of the morn on Monday. We booked a nice sensible 8.30am flight and gave ourselves 2 hours. Omg, the line for Easy Jet (which probably had at least 20 flights leaving before ours!) actually snaked past all the other check-ins for all the other airlines. Luckily it was moving quickly, but boy oh boy, I will never not check-in online again! We had a lovely week back with his folks, and his brother and his preggo wife (yay for soon to be neice/nephew!). On Wednesday the 23rd, we all took the train down to Dublin and visited the Guinness Brewery:

Christmas Day was great, too. It's always strange spending the holidays away from your own family because somehow, it never feels right doing new traditions. But I love my in-laws, and they always make me feel right at home. We were back in LA for Christmas last year, so it was great for Ronan to see his folks this year. And next year, there will be a new McKinney in the family, so I can't wait for baby's first Christmas! But this year Joan absolutely spoiled us for food. Most delicious Christmas meal ever:

McKinney Family Christmas tree:

Compared to our cute little tree back in Brighton (I swear it's not really that crooked...I think):

My favourite pressie by far is the one Ronan got me. It's the Pegasus Necklace (with matching earrings!) from Tatty Devine:

I also treated myself to a new camera, the new Nikon S220 (nothing too flash, but it's shiny and blue!):

Coming home wasn't too painful, only an hour delayed (considering the travel chaos on the British Isles with the snow, we were very lucky indeed!). It's been great being home and relaxing just the two of us. We've been sleeping in every morning until about 10, and just lounging about the house. Bliss! My new project (after scouring over all of Ronan's dad's albums) is to start organizing and printing off all of our pictures. We're going to start with 2009 and work backwards from there. I can't wait! I love looking at the whole McKinney family from the last 30-40 years, and I want to make sure we have that for our family :)

Lastly, I finally had a chance to see the movie Cinema Paradiso last night at the Duke of York's. It was okay, but looooong. I don't know if I'd watch it again. A bit too schmaltzy for me. But oh my god, the actor who played Alfredo was an absolute spitting image of my Dad (he may disagree, ha!)

tee hee!

Now I'm looking forward to New Year's Eve tomorrow - we're heading out to Southend on Sea for a little mini gathering. Should be great fun! x

KHMXmas

2009-12-10T19:05:00.005Z

Just about my fave show on TV is Location Location Location. Maybe it's envy, maybe it's middle class porn, whatever. I love it! And I love Phil and Kirstie.

I love Kirstie's style. She is just lovely and so personable. Look at that grace!

Do you know what else I love?

Christmas!

So what could possibly be better than Kirstie AND Christmas???

Kirstie's Handmade Christmas!

I've enjoyed it the past two nights, but unfortunately will miss tonight's as I'm about to head out for my book group meeting. Last night was so cozy, watching lovely gifts being made with care, whilst I was crocheting and working on my own little handmade gifts.

There have been so many Christmas programmes on TV so far this month, and I just love it. Luckily, Ronan indulges me, and puts up with the endless carols and mince pies (so hard, I know!)

Only two more weeks left to get those pressies finished!

Tree Decorations

2009-12-02T14:10:00.006Z

I love love love Christmas tree decorations. A couple years ago, we ended up buying a 'starter pack' at WHSmith, and it was shite. Absolutely shite. So we're starting fresh this year (well, keeping the super cute red berry lights). Here are a few of my faves!

Embossed Metal Heart Decorations - Velvet

Glitter Wobble Leg Santas - John Lewis

I hate sprouts glass bauble - Homebase

Little London Telephone Box - Liberty

Reindeer Mini Decorations - Paperchase

I've also found a lovely tutorial from Attic 24 for these badboys (which I will be making, en masse, all night, thank you very much):

click here for tutorial

I think we're going to have a pretty snazzy looking tree, if I don't say so myself...

sleigh bells ring

2009-12-02T13:28:00.010Z

I had such a lovely Thanksgiving this year!

Lovely lovely Alicia moved down to London, and joined us for the day. I brought out my little 1.5k (3lb - hey, he was cute) turkey, and I made cranberry sauce (from scratch and AMAZING, thanks Martha), garlic mashed potatoes, buttermilk biscuits, roasted carrots and parsnips, lemon butter green beans, stuffing and gravy to go with Mr Gobble Gobble. A few pals from work came along, so we managed to feed (and more impressively, seat) 8 people in our wee flat. It was cozy, fun and delicious. And we even had a special delivery earlier in the day - my grandma in LA sent us some Peppermint Bark. We had it for dessert, what a treat! And one of my co-workers picked up some turkey napkin holders for me, boy did they look snazzy.

On the weekend, our friend Glenda's son turned one and we went to his little birthday party. I guess one year olds don't really have friends, so it was actually a bit of a boozer (no other kids in sight), which I can never complain about. How cute is James hanging out with his daddy????

We've also just stepped into the month of December, yippee! On the dot, out came Father Christmas for our front door, and Elvis Christmas Carols on Napster. I've also had a chance to make some new festive cushion covers:

Hmm, they look a bit wrinkly...but trust me, they are festive!

First mince pies of the season:

And out came the advent calendars:

Hopefully this weekend, we'll finish our christmas cards, pick up a little tree and get it decorated. Bring on the festivities!

Going Rouge/Rogue aka Why Me Not President?

2009-11-24T14:55:00.005Z

I don't follow many political blogs, but my three faves are Bob Cesca, Michael Tomasky and Robert Reich.

At the moment, Bob (well, his lovely underlings Elvis and Redmond) has a brilliant chapter by chapter analysis of Sarah Palin's tour d'barf, Going Rogue (aka Why Me Not President?) clicky clicky

Elvis and Redmond save me the hassle and headache of actually having to read the thing myself (not that I would anyway), and with far more intelligent (and amusing) commentary than anything else I can find. I have to say, it's people like Bob (and Elvis and Redmond) that make me remember how much I miss and love Americans. I need reminders like this after I see Sarah Palin and the teabaggers faces painted all over the news. Why lord, why?

Anyway, enjoy your Hilarious Liberal-biased Socialized Communistic Fascist Nazi-esque Cliff Notes on Going Rogue - and bring a diaper cuz you'll be wetting yourself!

I'm still here...

2009-11-11T13:25:00.004Z

I've been absolutely rubbish on the blogging front. What have I done recently?

*been locked out of Facebook (still feeling the pain...please let me in!!!)
*applied for law vacation schemes
*started on birthday and Christmas pressies
*planned my Thanksgiving menu
*thought about moving to London
*not started on my book group book, Wolf Hall
*saw Up, in 3-D (I'm such a sucker for these Pixar films - tears streamed down my face the WHOLE film)
*comforted my mom when she told me my sister was expelled from school for being a drug transaction stooge

This weekend feels like the kick off to the Christmas season. It's Kate's birthday, so we're heading into London. Ronan has a seminar at uni on Saturday, so I'm going in early and having a wee peek at Christmas Land at Harrods:

Then we have Thanksgiving, James' first birthday party, Christmas lunch at work, The Pogues concert, with a few Christmas meals with friends/family thrown in, then off to Ireland with les parentals. Should be a hoot, and I will be up to my eyeballs in yarn for pressies! I've already started on YOURS!

Halloween come and gone

2009-11-03T13:34:00.008Z

I had a very lovely Halloween here in Brighton. Ronan and I carved our pumpkins last week, and had fun with that.

my pumpkin

Ronan's pumpkin

Halloween decorations in our window

bats

For our costumes this year, we decided to go as Kermit and Miss Piggy. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with our costumes! They look particularly cartoonish with all the bright colours.

While I was cooking dinner, we put out our pumpkins to let trick or treaters know we had candy. Unfortunately, our doorbell doesn't work, but Ronan quickly came up with an ingenious solution, and put a sign on our door, "Dear Trick or Treaters, our doorbell doesn't work so if you want some candy, you have to scream really really loud". The kids loved it ... neighbours, maybe not so much.

We went out for a few drinks with our friends Jon and Kate (Elvis and Marilyn), and it was great to see so many people out in fancy dress. Having Halloween on the weekend makes such a difference and I had lots of fun. Next up, I have Thanksgiving planning in the works. I think I might be controversial, and do it on a Friday rather than Thursday. We'll see, it depends on how many people we will have around.

But I have definitely gotten started on my Christmas pressie list! And next weekend, I'm going to take a little visit to Harrods and see Christmasland! Super duper excited :) We've also started working on our list of Christmas movies, which we'll probably have to start viewing mid-November (hey, there's a lot to go through and we'll be busy in December!)

halloween spirit

2009-10-29T18:29:00.002Z

I've tried to get into the Halloween Spirit here, but I have to admit, it's pretty tough when you live in a country who basically IGNORES it. I went into town last weekend to buy some pumpkin and ghost cookie cutters, but all I could find were angels and hearts. WTF? Christmas is EVERYWHERE here and it isn't even November. Folks, this is why you need Halloween and Thanksgiving: to stop Christmas overkill (this coming from someone who (kinda) joked about getting a Christmas themed sleeve...).

So, throughout the month, Ronan and I decided to try and watch some scary movies. We haven't been super successful, but definitely more than we would normally watched. So, in chronological order, our Hallween movie fest!

When Alicia was down for my birthday, we decided to get our first Halloween film. Not really Halloweeny, actually, but still fun. Well, Alicia sang along to every song and Ronan fell asleep. But I had fun! But after this, Ronan set his foot down, and we had to start watching scary movies. So next we moved on to:

I haven't seen this since I was about 14! Just as funny (and slightly spooky) as I remember. Definitely plenty of opportunities to shout at the characters for their sheer stupidity. ED 2 and Army of Darkness will be watched soon (I hope). By the way, did I ever mention how much I love Bruce Campbell? A LOT.

In keeping with our 70s retro theme, the next film on our list was:

I was surprised at how not scary this was. Normally, creepy kid = scary as hell (The Ring, anyone?) Definitely some spooky bits (the birthday party in particular), but pretty tame. I'd be curious to see the newer one.

After a wee break, we got back into our film watching, and our latest movie has been:

I have to admit, I've been a bit of a baby about this one. We showed it at the Cameo when I was working there, and I heard it was freaky as hell. I had no desire whatsoever to watch it. So when Ronan suggested it (nay, selected it), I was not best pleased. In fact, it took over a week before I could watch it. I actually think the freakiest parts where the cave bits, rather than scary humanoid bits. Watching girls grapple with and stab flesh-eating monsters just isn't that scary. Getting trapped in a tightening tunnel with no means of escape? FREAKY DEAKY. So I'm glad I conquered my fears and watched it, because really, it was pretty tame.

Which leads me to...

Doesn't look too scary, does it? Well, how about this:

Remember what I said about scary children? Jeebus, it gives me the willies just looking at it. so we haven't actually seen this yet, because I'm too chicken. Maybe Friday night...

To distract Ronan from super scary, we bought this last week:

I haven't seen it in years, and Gary Oldman is sexy as hell in it. Fingers crossed Ronan will let me know wuss out and watch this tomorrow night instead...

We've also put up a few decorations, and plan on carving our pumpkins tonight. Pictures tomorrow!!!

What are you dressing up as for Saturday night?

Mama needs a new pair of shoes

2009-10-20T19:15:00.006+01:00

Last week, we had Ronan's parents stay with us for a few nights. They do this every year, on their way home from France to Northern Ireland. They take the ferry over, stay with Ronan's sister in the Isle of Wight, then with us in Brighton, then with his brother in London, and then make their way home. It's a nice little tradition.

On the Wednesday night, I made delicious leek and tattie soup, with homemade bread. YUM YUM YUM! I've really gotten into the habit of making soup from scratch and it's amazing. I followed up with chicken and bean soup on Friday when Ronan was sick, too.

On Thursday, the parentals were super keen to do a pub quiz.

The one we normally do is on a Wednesday, at Zuma, so I went a-huntin' for a quiz on Thursday night. Hmmm, turns out there aren't many in Brighton. Luckily, I managed to find one in town, at a slightly shady looking pub, called the Chequers. We went for some greek food at a lovely restaurant called Estia, and then headed over about quarter to nine. Boy, has it heaving. We had to stand in the dark corner! It was actually really nice to branch out a bit and try a new quiz, just for a bit of change. We started off really well, with a perfect round, and kept doing good on each round. As he would mark about 2-3 rounds a time, you didn't actually know how well you were doing for big chunks at a time. We finally handed in our last 3 rounds, and were several points ahead at this point. But it was getting late, close to midnight, so we were tempted to head off. But the jackpot for the night was pretty big, as they do a roll over each week if it isn't won. So we decided to wait and see how we did.

Finally, we got our paper back, and we hadn't done that well. Made some silly mistakes. Oh well, we thought, it was a fun night. He started doing the scores, from lowest to highest, and turns out....we tied for first place! Holy moly!

So we had to do a tie breaker - the question was "In 1970, how many children in Britain were members of the Tufty club?"

???????????????????????????????

Ronan and I just looked at each other and said WTF. But! Ronan's parents are teachers! So Joan leaned over and said, "In 1970, EVERY child in Britain was a member of the Tufty club - your school was automatically registered. Put 3 million." Hmmm, sounds a bit off to me, but what do I know?

So we handed over our answer, and waited to see....and the answer was 2 million, with the other team guessing only 300,000! WOOOOT WOOOOOT!

thanks Tufty

But it doesn't end there. Once you finally win, you still have to go through the gauntlet of...the draw. So I stepped up, and looked at the three straws - one for a bottle of wine, one for a case of beer and one for the jackpot - which hadn't been won in a month. I decided to go with the left one, for our 2 lefties (Ronan and his mom). Everyone around me was chanting WINE WINE WINE WINE. I looked and.....

we won the friggin money! £132! Yippee! I haven't won that much money....ever? Brilliant! Ronan (too?) generously put £20 behind the bar for the quiz master and bar staff, and off we went. We've decided to put the money aside for Christmas funds this year, which is such a relief.

Zuma just doesn't seem as exciting now....

WTF post office?

2009-10-08T16:27:00.002+01:00

Last week was my birthday, yippee! The big 25! So how excited was I when I came home on Friday afternoon and saw the postman had been by, and had a package for me! Even though it was addressed to Kira M----- rather than Kira S-----! As a recently married lady, I'm used to people assuming I've changed my name and using my husband's last name rather than mine. And I've changed my name in my head, anyway, just not on any important documents (can you tell where this is going?)

So on Monday, I grabbed my little red card, my ID, and a bill with mine and Ronan's names on it, and went to work. At lunch, it was bucketing it down, but I was so excited for my birthday pressie, I trekked the mile to the depot to pick it up. I handed the man the aforementioned red card, ID and bill and said 'Can I please pick up my package?' The man looked very confused.

'This says Kira M----- but your ID says Kira S-----.'

'Ah yes, sir, I thought that might be a problem, as I'm recently married and often receive post in my husband's name. Luckily, I remembered to bring a bill with his name and our address!'

'But this says Kira M----- and your ID says Kira S-----.'

'Yes. I understand this. I am recently married and I haven't changed my name. But see this bill that shows a Kira S----- and a Ronan M----- living at the same address, which matches the address on the package?'

'Don't you have ID that says Kira M-----?'

'No. Because my NAME is Kira S------.'

'I need ID that matches the package.'

'Yes, of course you do, BUT THAT'S NOT MY NAME SO I DON'T HAVE ID THAT SAYS IT. Please see, again, this bill, with a Kira and an M----- on it, at the same address.'

'Why don't you have ID with Kira M----?'

OH MY GOD. This went on for ages and ages. This old man could not fathom that a recently married woman might receive mail with a different last name, and REFUSED to hand over my birthday pressie. You see, they don't accept 'letter head' (funny, it looks like a BILL FOR MONEY to me), and as my ID didn't match the package, I was not getting nothing. A bill is good enough to open a bank account, but apparently isn't good enough for Royal Mail. Apparently, his job is to 'protect people's post', and insisted on redelivering the package.

'But I work. And won't be home. And will receive ANOTHER red card with Kira M----- on it. And I will have to come back to this depot to pick it up. And we will have this SAME IDIOTIC conversation again.'

So, he settled on sending it to my work address. Yes, you heard this right. He wouldn't GIVE me the package (to a possible thief) but he was willing to send it to a random address I gave him. So if I really had gone through this massive charade to pretend to be Kira M----- and steal her post, but luckily had this OBSTINATE man to protect it, I still would have succeeded in stealing her post.

COMPUTER SAYS NO.

The next day I hear Royal Mail is going on a pre-Christmas strike (way to get the people on your side!) and has lost their second largest customer, Amazon, in a £25mil contract. Are we starting the countdown to their demise? With service like this, I am not surprised. Again, WTF post office?

Winter Hat numbero uno

2009-09-25T19:09:00.002+01:00

I did a nice and easy winter hat project last weekend, and I'm quite pleased with the results. I used the leftover wooly cream yarn from Ronan's skull and cross bones jumper, so it's super warm, but it doesn't have much stretch to it. I like the little puffs on it, but I might try and make a simpler beret, or a nice beanie, as well. At the moment, I'm too skint to buy a new winter coat, so it looks like I'm stuck with my plain black pea coat. As long as I keep up with nice bright accessories, like hats, scarves, and gloves, it won't be too dull!

Terminator eyes will KILL YOU

Ronan's Birthday

2009-09-24T22:13:00.010+01:00

Man oh man have I been crap on the blogging front. I keep having ideas in my head about what I want to write about, and then keep telling myself 'Set some time aside to write, Kira!' But it never seems to happen.

Anyway, Ronan's birthday was 5th September, the big 3-3! We had a nice little Saturday, heading off for lunch at Woodie's Diner for some good ole' fashioned American food and shakes (not really, they really just don't quite do it right here!). Then we headed into town, and I got stuff to make for dinner for him. I cooked the most delish cheese enchilads and the most AMAZING brownie cake I have ever tasted in all my 25 years on this Earth. Devine.

For birthday pressies this year, we've decided to be a bit more frugal and not spend more than £25. I went slightly overbudget, but well worth it, methinks!

Tiger slippers! How cute!

super stoked

I'm pretty proud of this! I made the whole thing in secret (and it took FOREVER) but it fits him so well! And it's super warm and soft and looks fab. I can't wait for it to get colder so he can start wearing it to work/uni. He'll be the most bad ass PhD student ever :)

The following weekend, we did a bowling birthday bonanza at Bloomsbury Lanes, an(other) American themed place, that has bowling lanes, karaoke and diner. We bowled for an hour, and then ate/drank ourselves silly. A good night out, even if the food wasn't great. Lots of photos, none of them good, so I won't bother posting. Low point of the evening? Aggressively grabbing the bacon beer (yes, bacon beer) from Jon, calling him a pussy for not drinking it, and downing it in one go. Yes, Uncle Kira made an appearance, and it was not pretty. At least I managed to avoid the tequila, unlike Ronan.

After waking up feeling slightly worse for wear on Sunday, it turns out Ronan's brother Eoin got us tickets to see Everton (Ronan's absolute favourite football team) play Fulham, whose grounds happen to be about 1/2 mile from theirs. Yippee! Even though Everton lost (boo), it was so great for Ronan to finally get to see them play, after being a loyal supporter for so long.

Next is my birthday, on Wednesday. Shady Ninja will be here to share in the festivities, yay! I booked for Wed-Fri from work, so I have a 2-day work week, woot woot! Can't beat that.

PS - we're already looking into booking flights back to Ireland for Christmas. Can you believe it??? It's like the holidays are just around the corner (although, it's still too early to play Christmas music according to SOME people, bah humbug)

autumnal

2009-09-10T20:59:00.007+01:00

After our camping trip a couple weekends ago, I was amazed to realise how quickly the seasons are changing. It seemed only yesterday the sun was only setting at 9.30. But in my guitar class the other day, I was shocked to have to turn the light on by 7.30.

Summer is by far my favourite time of year, but autumn does provide a lovely segue into winter. The end of summer always lead to the chain of holidays leading up to Christmas and I love it! It means you always have something to look forward in the not too distant future, and you don't really mind the drop in temperatures because it means Christmas is coming soon (and you get to wear cute jackets and boots!).

September always excites me because it means my birthday is coming up! (Big quarter century one this year *gulp*)

Then after my birthday, time to bring out the cobwebs and candy corn, because Halloween's just around the corner! We've already started thinking about our costumes this year!

After the candy slump, all of a sudden it's time to start planning your Thanksgiving meal! The past two years, I've cooked an entire meal for guests, including mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread, cranberry sauce, stuffing and of course, the big bird!

After all this build up, we finally arrive to the biggest holiday of them all! Christmas! Now, my family is not religious at all, but Christmas has always been my fave holiday. I love decorating the tree, and attending carols, and dressing up for family dinners, and getting pressies for all my friends and families. Since I've met Ronan, Christmas has been very different, and I actually love developing our own family traditions. By the time we have kids, I think it will be a nice blend of both our families :)

But before I get too far ahead of myself, I have this weekend to enjoy! As Ronan's birthday was last week, and mine is the end of the month, we've planned a joint birthday bowling bonanza (where I will kick some ass) this Saturday at Bloomsbury Lanes, and I'm super excited. I even bought a new dress for the occasion! And in the immortal words of Bill Murray:

Sometimes a bowler just has to face the music.

1.5 years after my wedding...

2009-09-06T18:58:00.006+01:00

and I still get it.

Yes. Wedding dress envy.

Don't get me wrong, I thought I looked absolutely lovely on my wedding day. But part of me still regrets getting pursuaded into getting a 'proper' dress, rather than following my instinct and getting a tea-length dress. I was told I couldn't show my tattoo, or it looked to informal, or I wouldn't look like a bride. Bullcrap. But then I found a long dress I loved, so I bought it, and didn't really think about it again.

But every once in awhile, I find dress and gasp and go THAT'S WHAT I SHOULD HAVE WORN!

This is the latest dress to bring out the green eyed monster:

Charlotte Balbier's Marilyn.

I especially love the little sleeves and lacey back bit. How cute would that have been with my red shoes and rose in my hair, with blond curls! Sigh. Even Ronan said I would have looked amazing in it. I am so tempted to go to the shop in Brighton and try it on, just to see. That couldn't hurt, right? I know SUCH A BAD IDEA. Maybe for our 5 year anniversary? Nah, we're planning a Vegas shindig, with a leopard print dress :D

But then, looking back, I realise I looked pretty darn good on my wedding day!

walking with dinosaurs

2009-09-01T19:24:00.013+01:00

Last Wednesday, I was booked for a surprise early birthday treat! I left work a bit early and met Ronan at the train station, and we headed into London. I couldn't think for the life of me where we'd be going. We headed towards Wembley, and I realised he was taking me to Walking with Dinosaurs! (hint: the train was crawling with children)

My co-worker Gerald booked tickets for this MONTHS ago (again, for his children) for the show, which had sold out as it was only showing for a week at the O2. I was so sad, as I love dinos, and would have loved it. Luckily, due to popular demand they brought it back, at Wembley, and Ronan got some tix for us!

Basically, it's a 'live' dinosaur show. So yes, they are animatronic, but they look amazing and life-like! Some of the smaller dinosaurs were actually sort of puppet suits for people (a bit like The Lion King), so they could race around the stage. It was also educational, and they had a 'paleontologist' do a narrative about the flora and fauna and life. It was so adorable to see kids so interested and amazed! There were so many gasps and giggles and just plain fun in the air.

Afterwards, I was treated to fine dining, and we had dins at McDonalds. With an 'I <3 Dinos' shirt (me) and a foam dino head (Ronan). Great fun and a great more-than-a-month-early birthday pressie :D

PS man, if you ever want to steal cute kids, get yourself a dino head! We had so many kiddies staring at us in amazement and awe, and they loved trying it on. So cute!

LA Movie time!

2009-08-25T13:11:00.007+01:00

A couple years ago, Ronan and I watched a documentary at the Tate Modern about Los Angeles, and the movie industry. While many films are shot in Los Angeles, there aren't actually very many films about the city. Many of my british friends have noted that there aren't many landmarks in LA - that is to say nothing particular distinct or distinguishing. New York has the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and that very lovely skyline. London has Westminster, Big Ben, the Eye and the Thames. Even San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge. But Los Angeles is just street after street, lined with palm trees. Perhaps it's that bland, general feel that works so well as a backdrop for movies. I happen to disagree, but I also realise I'm very biased! I absolutely love the views from the Hollywood HIlls at night, homes sparkling in the flat sprawl of the vast city. And did I mention, we have the most beautiful sunsets?

Well, I've been pretty homesick this summer, so Ronan and I decided to do a 'themed' video rental week. This week: Los Angeles. We rented:

Chinatown

LA Confidential

Laurel Canyon

We finished Chinatown last night, and I really enjoyed it! Being as young as I am, I only remember Jack Nicholson as being 50+, so it's great to see him in the heyday. And my lord, is Faye Dunaway gorgeous! I'd also like to read more about the history of the city. Great noir mystery, though, with beautiful costumes and scenery. The only thing that turned me off was Roman Polanski. Not a fan of statutory rapists who flee their sentencings. Tempted to not watch, but glad I did. I just hate giving money to that jerk.

I saw LA Confidential years and years ago, and don't remember much at all, so I'm really looking forward to re-watching it (and understanding it a bit better!)

I remember Laurel Canyon coming out, but I don't know much about the premise. That was our wild card, as we needed a third film!

What's your favourite film about Los Angeles?

been pretty un-busy

2009-08-17T21:05:00.008+01:00

I haven't been up to much recently. The weekend of the 8-9 was spent doing nothing, and boy was it lovely. We were both recovering from the lurgie, so I finally ventured out of the house on Saturday and walked along the beach (coughing the whole way).

As I had taken 2 days off work (for being sick), I was so so rammed when I got back. And it didn't help that I was going on a trip to our printers for a tour for a couple days. Eep! But it was beautiful! A few of us from work left Tuesday afternoon, and drove up to Shaftesbury to our little BnB, and a curry. We spent the day touring the printers and learning a bit about print production. It was great to be out of the office for a few days (and all on expenses, you really can't complain!) A few little pics of the trip - we were in proper English countryside!

view from the pub

Golden Hill, where they apparently filmed the famous Hovis advert in the 70s

gorgeous English countryside

On the weekend, we took a trip to Westcliff in Essex to visit our friends Glenda and Dave and their little boy, James. We haven't seen them since March, and James is now 9 months old! It's amazing how fast they grow - he even has little teeth now! His hair was much darker when he was born, but it's turned pretty blond, and is super fluffy like a little bird!

doesn't that make you go, 'oooh I want one of those?'

James n' me, chillaxing at the beach

Babies, when they're newborn, are terrifying, but at this age, they develop such a sense of personality and curiousity about the world. I can definitely feel the broody factor growing after trips like this, but I also know we're just not in any financial position to consider kids right now. In the meantime, I love our friends having babies!

This week is pretty relaxed - but I need to get back into the exercise groove. I have done zero exercise since the triathlon, and it's starting to get a bit pathetic. I'm going for a swim tomorrow after work, and now that I have my bike back, I'll go for a little ride on Wednesday before my guitar class. And maybe, just maybe, we'll even go to the pub quiz that night! Oooh the exciting life of a married 20-something :)

sick again!

2009-08-06T17:28:00.002+01:00

So by Wednesday after the triathlon, all my aches and soreness were gone, but were replaced by headaches, coughs and sneezes. By Wednesday night, I felt worse than I have in years. My pre-tri cold has most definitely come back bigger and badder.

So today I've stayed home, sleeping and trying to recover. Looks like I'll do the same tomorrow.

Maybe one day I'll feel normal again :(

Mazda London Triathlon 2009 race report

2009-08-05T13:41:00.004+01:00

First, the stats:

Swim: 29:39

I felt pretty good for the swim, but the wetsuit made a big difference, methinks. I used my brother-in-laws surfie hand-me-down and it just didn't fit properly. There was A LOT of water getting caught in the arms, and it had a big effect on my pull. But I felt fine in the open water - the docklands were pretty good because although it has the mad rush of an open water swim, it's effective a giant swimming pool, so there wasn't too much impact from currents, etc. I finished about 20-30 in my wave out of over 200 so not too bad!

T1: 7:24

I couldn't get my wetsuit off! It was actually a bit comical. I was yanking on the strap but nothing was happening. The actual transition was pretty on par with the rest of the ladies. I could have been a bit faster wheeling my bike, but overall, it went okay.

Bike: 1:39:27

My big downfall. I felt pretty strong on the ride, to be fair, but I just didn't have the speed I needed. Considering I was hoping to go around 1:20, this is obviously where the majority of my added time came from. I wasn't prepared for the hills, drinking from my bottle, racing with others, etc. This was the leg I was least prepared for and it really showed. However, that also means it's the leg I can make big improvements on and really drop some time! Both my laps were pretty much evenly split, as well, so I kept it consistent.

T2: 5:18

I was just so knackered at this point, I really felt like I couldn't have run with my bike. This was much slower than most people, and I could feel it at the time. Hopefully, as I get better on my bike, I won't be so tired for the transistions.

Run: 1:07:20

I was hoping to run around 10 minute miles, so this wasn't too bad (considering I was absolutely dead coming out of the transition!). I averaged just over an 11 minute mile, so I know I can bring this down a good 10 minutes or so. I also walked (much more than I should have!), so that's another area I can shave time. It was two 5km laps, so I just kept imagining I was running to the King Alfred Centre and back, which really helped. As did seeing my cheer squad! I still managed a sprint at the end, too.

Total: 3:29:07

My goal had been to beat 3 hours and I was obviously no where near that. I also knew during the race that I was going much slower than I should have. I kept thinking, as long as I finish, that's okay. And I felt like that afterwards for a bit. But I just couldn't help but be disappointed.

A few days on, I think I'm feeling a bit better.

On the actual day, I was amazed how tough it was, and how much my body just couldn't cope. At the time, I thought, oh my gosh, I'm never doing this again! The days following (Monday, Tuesday), I was really upset about my time, and lack of strength, and really felt like I hadn't put in the effort I should have. But in hind-sight, I realised a few things.

1. Being sick took a major toll on me. In fact, I don't think I was fully recovered, because following the Triathlon, it's come back with a vengence. I also only trained about 3 times in the 2 weeks leading up to the race.

2. I really need to get a swimming wetsuit! While I did fine on the swim, carrying the extra water in my suit really dragged me down, and knackered my arms. I was surprisingly tired after the swim, and that shouldn't have happened.

3. Waiting until less than a month before the race to get a bike, and then only doing 1 proper run on it = super bad idea. It was the cycle that killed me, for sure. I just kept getting passed, first by my wave, and then by the wave of big blokes that started 30 mins after us!!!

So I'm feeling better about myself, and I'm looking foward to getting stuck into the next one.

Here's my glorious (stolen - but will purchase soon) picture following the race:

new bits of reading material

2009-07-30T22:45:00.005+01:00

I picked up a couple of books from Borders today that I'm pretty excited about!

The first was on sale, and I thought too good of an investment to skip. While we don't plan on having babies for awhile, lots of our friends (and family, soon!) are well on their way to increasing their family, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a crafts book for baby pressies.

find it on Amazon here

It has some super cute things in it, like hooded towels and mobiles. I can't wait to get started on things other than crocheted blankets. Don't get me wrong, I love the crochet hook, but I need some new projects!

The other book will help fill my time now that triathlon training is almost finished (one more swim tomorrow, and that's me until Sunday!!!)

find it on Amazon here

I want to focus on getting my body into tip top shape, so I'm going to start a new exercise regime that centers around units (30 mins), trying to fit in 10-15 a week (closer to 15), and doing at least 3 weights-based workouts a week. This book has a lot of good tips and exercises for ladies, so I'll definitely be getting a bit of use out of it.

In the mean time, I have a few crochet projects sitting around, waiting to be finished, including two bags for friends and a shawl project for my mom (I found the most delish merlot coloured cotton yarn in DK weight, can't wait to get it started!)

Only 3 more sleeps until the Triathlon!

piggy flu

2009-07-23T14:34:00.004+01:00

by Madison Underground Press

I woke up last Friday with a sore throat and thought, 'Oh no, hope it goes away for the weekend'. Wasn't too bad, and I was able to go to London for my friend Janine's birthday and enjoy a curry. But it probably wasn't the best idea to go for a night of (light in my case) drinking, and then walk around in the rain to feed duckies on the Sunday. By Monday, I was feeling well and truly ropey and came home early from work after lunch. By Tuesday, I thought I was a bit better, so I headed back to work, but really really wasn't. After work, I napped until about 7, and then Ronan and I went out to see Harry Potter with my boss. Wednesday, I thought again, I was feeling better, but really had to come home for lunch, and napped again until about 6, skipping my guitar class. I've finally realised I'm not going to get better if I keep sabatoging myself. So here I am at home, watching the Tour de France, and now I think really feeling better, but still resting resting resting.

On Monday, I found out two co-workers' daughters both have swine flu, which they caught last week. As I didn't feel flu-y, just like a cold, I didn't really think much of it. But Ronan's heard on the radio that quite a lot of people have just described it as a bad cold. I would definitley call this a bad cold, since I'm normally not sick for more than a day or two max, and I have felt pretty rough. So maybe I have the piggy flue, maybe not, but it's kind of exciting to tell people I'm part of a fad! (once I'm better, of course)

The really dissapointing thing is the effect this will have on my triathlon. I'm so glad I'm sick this week, rather than next, because I would have really had to consider not doing it. But I had a great week last week for workouts including an open water swim in my wet suit. And on Friday, I picked up a two piece tri suit which I was able in run in on Saturday (a short run, since I was feeling dodgy). But this week, the penultimate week, where I should be pushing hard, I'm not out at all, and it feels crap. I know it will have a big effect on my time, and I feel nervous. But there's nothing I can do but help my body get better. But next week, I definitely need some time getting used to my new bike! Strange to think it's only about 10 days away!!! Fingers crossed I make a full recovery in the next few days.

triathlon coming up!

2009-07-17T20:20:00.004+01:00

I haven't been particularly good about blogging about my triathlon training, but at least I've been a bit better about actually DOING the training (sort of). The tri's coming up in just over 2 weeks, so I've started worrying about what I need for the big day.

I haven't received my pack yet, but I've found out my number is 8446, and I'm in the 12.40 wave (so lucky, as I could have been in the 6.30 wave!!!).

I was finally able to get a (beautiful) bike, as my co-worker's boyfriend is a bike mechanic. It's amazing, and a proper road bike!

I also took a trip into Eastbourne today, and got myself a two piece tri suit, with a separate top and bottom, which can be worn under my wetsuit. They're pretty snazzy! I also picked up a number belt so I don't have to fiddle with my 8446.

And yesterday, I went for my first ocean swim in the UK!!! I'm using Ronan's hand-me-down surfing wetsuit, which actually fits me pretty well (it's a little loose, but does the trick). I forgot how tiring ocean swims can be! While the waves weren't too big, the water in Brighton is always quite choppy, and the current was pretty strong. I drank a lot of water, and got a lot of kelp in my face. Blurg. But all in all, it felt good to stretch out in the sea, and practice swimming outdoors. It was good to train in this, as the water will be much calmer and smoother on the actual day, as I'm swimming in the docklands.

Claudia will also be around for my tri, which makes me very happy! This is the first big race I've ever done, so it's great to have some support (Ronan's coming, too, of course!) I'm already planning my big milkshake and burger when I finish. Yum.

(this will be me in 16 days!)

marriage of les monks

2009-07-16T13:49:00.007+01:00

This weekend we got to celebrate Ronan's brother Eoin's wedding to the lovely Margarete. They were married on her parents farm on Saturday in a sheep hut. They rented teepees, which were AMAZING! to have the reception in. There were all sorts of lovely treats like opera singers, a musical saw, a ceilidh band and much more. All in all, it was an amazing day, despite the rain. In fact, the ceremony was particularly romantic with a bit of mist about. I did end up getting horrendously drunk (open bar!!!), but I don't think I was too badly behaved. Just lots of dancing.

The next day there was a BBQ for the guests and we enjoyed a lovely day around the pool. Now they're enjoying their honeymoon in Ecuador! The McKinney family really is just so so lovely :)

Some pictures of le marriage of Eoin and Marga!

all by myself...

2009-07-07T22:29:00.003+01:00

Ronan's away in Wales for a conference where he's giving a paper (smarty pants). He left this morning. It always feels really strange behing home alone now, especially sleeping by myself. That's probably when I miss him the most (although I love sleeping diogonally).

I've filled my evening with phone calls back home (side note, apparently my cousin is dating a Tunisian dude - my grandma must be wetting herself with excitement! the rest of us are married to white boys!), crocheting and crap property shows - and will probably do the same tomorrow (replace crap property show with fave movie ever, A Fish Called Wanda). I think 2 nights will be enough - nice to be able to be boring and do my boring things, but I do miss my husband tons.

4th of july

2009-07-05T23:02:00.009+01:00

Fourth of July has always been one of my favourite holidays. I've always been a summer girl, and Independence Day was the official kick off to the summer. The weather was always glorious, and we normally spent the day at the beach, or playing baseball, or having a BBQ, before heading over to Culver City high school to watch the fireworks display. Me, my mom, my stepdad and my sisters would pack a light picnic dinner, bring a blanket and get our American paraphernalia ready for the big show. Fireworks always make me feel so happy, even to this day, and I just love big booming music to go along with it. Although I've taken a lot of flak for it, I still play my Stars & Stripes cd every 4th of July!!!

This is the fifth 4th of July I've spent in the UK. Even though I'm so happy it's summertime, I always feel a bit upset that I'm away from home. It's just a strong reminder that something so close to my heart is so foreign here. While more and more places are starting to do a fun UK version of '4th of July', it obviously isn't a big deal here. I guess it just makes me a feel a bit homesick. Ronan's really great, and will do BBQs (even though it's normally raining), and will even wear red, white and blue, but it just isn't quite the same. Oh well! To make myself feel better, I found some various pictures of America, Stars & Stripes and red, white and blue.

the american flag fish! by ~Kim's Picture Gallery~'s

Fireworks over Los Angeles by Naked_Eyes

Red, White & Blue Dog Democrat by Visualist Images

American Flag Pennant Bunting by Olde Glory

It's funny, but I was never particularly patriotic when I lived in America. I felt the over the top brand of patriotrism (particularly favoured by the republicans) was tacky and tasteless. But living abroad has definitely strengthened my feelings about America. I don't think you can truly appreciate a place until you put some distance between you. I love the UK, and love living here, and there is every chance I may stay here for good, but my love for the US has grown in a way I didn't think possible. I really do feel it's an amazing country and feel proud to be an American.

Sailor Jerry 16 by whoppertan

This is the next tattoo I'm hoping to get. I've always wanted to get a pin up tattoo, but was waiting for the right lady. I think I've found her. I want something to remind me of home and my roots, but something that doesn't take itself too seriously. Maybe for my 25th birthday?

one more thing

2009-06-29T22:08:00.003+01:00

awww thanks Alicia :) An award from The Knitty Gritty recognising all my hard work! I'll try to blog a bit more about my crochet adventures, I've got tons of projects queued up at the moment.

5-a-side

2009-06-29T21:52:00.002+01:00

Oh man, I'm knackered. My friend from work, Hannah, texted me this weekend to see if I'd be interested in playing 5-a-side football (soccer) with some folks on Monday. I didn't really know what to expect, but thought it would be fun to change up my work outs a bit and have some fun. We actually played down at the beach, on dry sand and barefoot. It was really fun! But I haven't played soccer since I was about 10, so it really tired me out. It was only 3x12 minute sessions, but we didn't have any subs, so we played the whole match. It was 3 blokes (who knew how to play) and me and Hannah (who didn't), so we were a bit crap, but it was nice to run around at the beach having a laugh! I'll definitely go again to play, and hopefully Ronan will come along next time.

They also do beach volleyball at this place, so I think I'll drop in for a Saturday session. I actually used to play beach volleyball a bit during my swimming/lifeguarding days, so it would be nice to play something I'm actually good at! Here's to summer and summer sports, yippee!

summer days

2009-06-25T14:32:00.003+01:00

I've really been enjoying the weather recently. It actuallys feels like a proper summer! *fingers crossed I don't jinx the rest of the summer*

Everyday for lunch, we've headed out with sandwiches in tow to the lawns on the square outside our building. I've even had the chance to work on a tan for the wedding coming in a couple weeks!

My big project at the moment is a shawl I'm making for my soon to be sister-in-law, Marga. It's from my fave crochet book, Stitch'n Bitch: Happy Hooker, and it's the Sweet Pea shawl, which luckily, Alicia has already made:

I'm doing it in a lovely taupe cotton DK yarn, togged with silver sparkly. I'll add fringe on to the one I'm making, but I love the colour Alicia used above! I've done 8/20 rows, but as they're tapering down, I'm about 2/3 done. It looks fabuloso!

On the tri front, I'm not doing quite as well...I blame it on the nice weather! Who wants to go to the gym when it's gorgeous out? And there's cider to be drunk??? I'm trying to get back into it, though, so discipline thoughts please!

I want to try and finish making a bag for the wedding, too, and another bag for my friend's birthday next month, but I don't think I will have time for all these projects. But as long as I finish this shawl I will be happy! I have until 4th of July - I've arranged lunch plans for my sister-in-laws on the Saturday before the wedding here in Brighton. I'd like to give it to Marga then. Then, it's wedding time!!!!!!!!! (I <3 weddings, by the way)

teensy weensy itty bitty hangover

2009-06-20T11:46:00.005+01:00

Blurg, feeling ever so slightly rough this morning. But well worth it, I had a great time last night! As an old married lady, who lives far away from all of her lady friends, I just tend not to go out as much. So it was fun getting ready last night, putting on cute dresses and doing my makeup, having a few drinks. Ronan and I met Laura from work on the way down to the Great Eastern pub near the station, where we met up with some more co-workers, Natasha and Tom (Tash n' Tom, so cute!). Super cool pub, by the way, with all sorts of American whiskeys and bourbons available, and different rockibilly and bluegrass music nights on. I'll definitely go back!

Then we were off to Born Bad which is billed as:

A wild and sexy night of delinquent rhythms.
Red hot rockabilly, 50s rock'n'roll, 6Ts garage and girl groups,
surf, sleaze, bop and exotica for discerning hep cats and kittens.

Very fun! Ran into a few more peeps from work, Lottie, Chris and Ruth, and danced the night away. My feet are very sore indeed! And with £2.50 pints, my head's feeling slightly tender. The robe is on, the crochet is out, and the tea has been poured. Ready to nothing at all today!

crochet ttm

2009-06-18T13:14:00.009+01:00

I first learned to crochet when I was about 10. I made a little square for my mom (a pot holder, I'm sure I called it), and that was the end of my crochet career for the next decade. I picked up a crochet hook again during my first year at college, and made a few scarves for my mom and grandma (the only people interested in handmade knitwear). This went on for a few years, with random scarves for people (all in the same heavy chenille yarn from Michael's - I'm not one for messing with a good thing!).

Then last year, we found out our friends Glenda and Dave were having a baby boy. I decided to get cracking and make a nice blanket for him. It took me months, and while I'd probably have done it slightly differently, all in all, I was pretty happy with the results:

cute patootie blanket

and apparently James still sleeps with it everynight :) Glenda even said they have a little song for it, sung to the tune of Puff the Magic Dragon: James' Special Blanket - knitted by the sea (*sniff*, so sweet!).

I also practiced some hat making skills and made this cutie (isn't he SOOO CUTE???):

James in his wee hat

It was so much fun making stuff that wasn't just scarves! There is such a great sense of satisfaction for making something yourself, and seeing other people enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Then, last month, we found out our friends Stephen and Donna (who went through some serious tough times last year) had a baby girl, Grace, in secret! No one even knew they were pregnant (they live in Northern Ireland so we don't see them that often). So I knew what I had to do and jumped on making another blanket. I worked at record speed and finished it in a week! (the other blanket took me at least two months). But boy oh boy and I proud of it, it is so soft and so sweet and looks like neopolitan ice cream, yum yum!

zig zags galore!

close up of yummy blanket

With my leftover pink yarn I decided to make a little cardigan, too. Let me tell you, our house has become overfilled with cuteness. I can't stand it! (yes I can, please can I make some more??)

even the little wooden button is unbelievably cute!

So now that those are out of the way, it's time for me to move on to 'big girl' projects. I need to finish my fat bottom bag for my brother-in-law's wedding coming up. I also want to make a shawl in a lovely lacey/sparkly yarn for my sister-in-law to be. Their wedding is outdoors, so I thought it would be nice to have a shawl to cover up as we dance into the night. I'll definitely post my finished projects!

Alicia has been trying to convince me to move into the medium of knitting, but I'd rather get better at my crocheting. I'm starting to get properly into it, and want to see what kind of stuff I can make with my hook before I start moving on to needles! BTW, Ravelry is my new love affair. (I'm solstice930, look for me!)

Trip the 'burgh

2009-06-16T16:34:00.009+01:00

Last weekend, Ronan and I headed up to Edinburgh for my friend Claudia's birthday. It worked out really well, we took the first flight up (7am) and the last flight back on Monday 8th (9.30pm). So we had three full days to enjoy Scotland! I've been to Edinburgh a couple times since the wedding last year, but Ronan hadn't been back since, so it was nice to go together again.

We were really lucky, the weather in Edinburgh was nicer than down south in Brighton (never ever happens). After we arrived on Saturday morning we had breakfast with Alicia at Two Thin Laddies and then went our old haunt, The Cameo, for a few sunny drinks. That evening, we went to North Berwick for Claudia's birthday BBQ. So so yum! We had burgers and chicken and sausages and cupcakes and potato salad and much much more!

birthday cupcakes!

Alicia and Claudia

Claudia and me

Then on Sunday, we enjoyed the sunshine and went to Hailes Castle by a little river. We went for a little double date meal at the Curry buffet (classy!). So delish! I haven't had Indian in forever!

Alicia, Claudia and me, in the 'window'

enjoying the view of the river

Then on Monday, we had a lovely posh breakfast for Claudia's birthday with AMAZING sausages, eggs, toast and champagne! Yum yum. Afterwards, we left North Berkwick and headed back to Edinburgh to do a picnic on the Meadows with Claire and other Cameo folk. It was so great being back. Even though we left Edinburgh 2 years ago, it still really feels like home. We haven't seen a lot of Cameo folk (Pascale, Jon, Aimee, etc) since the wedding last year, but it's just so great to to slip back into it. I really miss all those folk, and I really miss Edinburgh!

cross training: pros & cons

2009-06-03T20:27:00.002+01:00

Part of the reason I decided to train for the London triathlon was to start doing a bit of cross-training for my workouts. Well, maybe just to start working out. Same difference. Anyhow, cross-training seemed like a good idea for fitness and weight loss. But overall, I'm not sure if it's the way forward for me. Like any good libra, I've decided to weigh up the pros and cons of multi-faceted training.

Pros:
-Enjoying a little bit of everything: it's great to have variety in my workouts
-Less wear and tear as you use different muscles
-When I feel like blowing off a run, that's okay! I can swim or cycle instead!
-When I feel like blowing off a run, that's okay! (I think this point needs to be stated again, as it's a biggie)
-I've enjoyed cycling, and I wouldn't have gotten into it at all if I didn't have the triathlon as an excuse

Cons:
-Limited weight loss: running is really what I need to be doing to lose pounds, and as good as swimming and cycling are, they just don't cut it
-I feel like I'm not able to focus on anything. By swimming once or twice a week, I feel like I'm just maintaining my fitness, rather than improving it. The same goes for running - I don't feel like I'm improving as I can't focus on it.
-Sometimes, I just want to do something different, like the cross trainer or the rower, but I feel like I'm spreading things too far anyway, and there is no benefit to it if it won't improve my triathlon training

Overall, this has been a really good experience, and it's pushed me to exercise 4-5 times a week. I'll have a better impression once I've completed it, but as things stand, I'm pretty sure I'll continue to try and do more triathlons. I'm really looking forward to doing a sprint event, too. But I have to admit, it will be good not having to stick to a precise schedule, and have a bit more freedom with my fitness.

tatty devine

2009-06-02T16:38:00.007+01:00

One of my favourite shops in Brighton is Pussy (there are two of them in the Laines). They stock a brand of jewelrey I absolutely love, called Tatty Devine. They make necklaces, bracelets, brooches, cuff links, you name it, all with a twist. Feast your eyes below!

This is my all time fave necklace ever. It's magnificent. It's also £96. Yikes! So, while it remains high on my wish list, alas, my wish list is where it must remain. But isn't it fantastic???

I got this necklace for Lauren for her birthday last year. I secretly wanted to wear it before I gave it to her. But don't worry, I didn't! (how rude!) But it's seriously cool, and wearable as an actual mustache (see Facebook pictures for reference).

This little guy is part of the new Spring/Summer 09 collection, and boy is he cute. A little brooch, perfect for summer cardigans. At £44, he's perhaps slightly out of my price range, but I love it!

Check out their current collection, as well as their Best Of to be majorly awed and inspired!

Anniversary part two

2009-05-31T21:53:00.013+01:00

So after having an enjoyable Thursday off last week to visit my Uncle and cousin in London, I woke up on Friday, thinking I only have one more day of work until the bank holiday. So the alarm goes off at 7, and Ronan asks me to set the alarm for 8. 'Well, how about 7.30? I have to get to work'...'No you don't'. Whaaa? Ronan secretly booked the day off work for me. Very intrigued....

So we had a nice breakfast, and Ronan said he needed to pop out for a bit, but he'd be back soon. I wasn't sure what he was up to, I thought possibly getting lunch supplies, or even picking up secret guests??? Anyway at about 10, he comes back, and tells me to pack a bag. Whaaa? He rented a car and we were going to a secret destination! Then he realised I needed to be map girl, so I get to know where we're going. A lovely 4 day trip to Cornwall! Looe, to be precise! Yay!!!!! Once again, I was completely and utterly spoiled, and am the luckiest gal alive.

We decided to take the costal route, and drove along the south of England from Brighton to Southampton, to Poole, to Dorchester, to Exeter, to Plymouth and finally to Cornwall. It was lovely and sunny and fanastic. He had booked a little guest house, The Gulls Hotel, with the most AMAZING views out the bay window.

We spent Friday night enjoying yummy pub food, fish n'chips and scampi!

On Saturday, we did the coastal hike to the next village, Polperro. It took about 4 hours, and was sunny the whole way. We even ran into some horses!

The big one in the front came up to me - I was worried he was going to headbutt me but apparently he was just being friendly (sorry, I get worried when big animals come near me, basic human instinct of self-preservation, methinks). Unfortunately, I didn't have any carrots or food for him, but he appreciated a little nose stroke.

On Sunday, we went a bit further into Cornwall and visited the Eden Project. It's basically a multi-million pound hippy dream. They've built two 'biomes', one with Mediterranean flora and one with Rainforest. They are definitely pretty cool, but I'm not really sure the point? I thought the information about local produce and plants was much more interesting because it showed what you could actually do in your own backyard, and how to source local and organice fruits and veg. They had a great allotment center, and it really inspired us to get our butts into gear to get a garden! (someday...sigh)

It was such a lovely weekend, and really great to do a romantic holiday. We're lucky in that we get to travel a lot back home to LA, or out to France, but they're always 'family holidays', where we stay with our parents. This was such a beautiful trip to spend alone.

It was funny, seeing so many families around, because it makes you appreciate the 'alone' time we spend together. Once we have kids, we won't get to do these kinds of holidays anymore. I think a trip to Looe with a few McKinneys in tow would be brilliant and so much fun, but just a totally different experience. It's nice to take advantage of just the two of us for awhile

Here are a few more pictures of Cornwall. I can't wait to go back :)

Anniversary part one

2009-05-30T12:05:00.004+01:00

So 18th May was our one year wedding anniversary. We had such a fantastic day! I woke up early and made Ronan a nice big breakfast, including pork and apple sausages, scrambled eggs and toast! He gave me my present, and it was an amazing ink drawing he did of El Campello, where we went on honeymoon, mounted and framed. We've put it up in the bedroom and it looks great.

I headed off to work, and went about my business when I received a call downstairs from reception that I had something waiting for me - I went downstairs and there was the most amazing bouquet of flowers! Well lucky me, I thought, as I carried them upstairs. Everyone oohed and ahhed over the flowers from Ronan, and asked about our plans for the evening. 'Oh, I don't know, it's a surprise'. Then, after lunch, ANOTHER call downstairs - something ELSE waiting for me! How sweet, Ronan's parents sent me a basket of flowers, too! So spoiled, let me tell you.

Anyway, I told Ronan I was going to the gym and that I would meet him at the train station for 6. Unbeknownst to him, Gerald from work was helping me bring in the enormous framed photograph of New York I got for him, from a local artist in Brighton. I wrapped it up in leftover Christmas paper, and headed off to meet him. When we came home, it was so great to surprise him with a pressie! He really liked it; I can't wait to put it up! (It's so big, we're going to need something a bit more substantial to hang it!)

Afterwards, we headed off for dinner at Food for Friends! What a nice surprise! It's this really posh and nice veggie restaurant in Brighton (I will say that for Brighton, they have great veggie options!)

food for friends!

Our food was delish! We had organic cider, brewed in Sussex, a great mezze dish with all sorts of hummus, babaganoush, etc, with pita bread. Then for a main, I had mushroom baked with feta cheese and pine nuts, with sweet potato fries and, all topped with a pesto sauce. Omg, amazing. For desert, we shared the truffles. I have to say, I'm not a big money person - we live comfortably, and enjoy what we do. But friggin heck, I would love to be loaded, just so we could eat like that everyday! I'd also be a bloater. Maybe that's why I'm poor - to keep me healthy!

After that, it was a few cheeky bevvies at the Fiddler's Elbow, and off home! A great night, and just reminds me (as if I need it - I'm reminded everyday) how lucky I am to have found Ronan, the Irishman and American Lady, in the middle of Scotland! The world works in mysterious, and amazing, ways.

Little did I know, there was much much more in store...

learning how to cook

2009-05-14T17:20:00.008+01:00

I am was a horrible cook. Growing up, my stepfather was the chef (as he had owned several health food restaurants before, he was pretty darn good at it). As a result, we had delicious and nutritious meals plopped in front of us, day in and day out. Score! But, that also meant I never ever learned how to cook for myself. That was okay for the first two years of college. Living on campus meant I had to pay for 'meal points' and eat in the dining halls. Hey, that's fine with me! The big test came when I went to Edinburgh to study for my third year. Huh. I have to make my own food. How does that work? Well, it didn't. As my flatmates will confirm, my third year at college, I lived on cereal, Guinness and cheese on toast, with some Diet Coke thrown in for good measure. And while I lost 15lbs (wahey!), it was probably due to malnutrition rather than any amazing lifestyle improvements.

This continued on for my final year at college (I did improve slightly - I could now cook rice, pasta and occasionally chicken). I moved back to Edinburgh, and met The Man of My Dreams (Ronan). Suddenly, I didn't just have to cook (ha) for myself, I had someone to share meals with. At first, it was great, because he offered to cook all the time (real meals for the first time in 2 years probably contributed to my stone weight gain - that and being in lurve). But then I realised I was going to have to start cooking myself *gulp*.

Ronan's favourite story is the time I offered to cook dinner and shoo'ed him away and said, 'I'm FINE'. Two minutes later, I had to ask him to come in and show me how to chop an onion. Yes, I had never before in my life chopped an onion.

Luckily, I slowly but steadily began learning how to cook. It really was a completely new experience to me. I was a stickler for following recipes - because lets face it, you can't go 'off book' unless you know what happens when you go 'on book'. And I didn't. I didn't have a clue how long it took to boil an egg, or roast vegetables, or cook beef. So if a recipe said 'fry for 10 minutes' I was fine, but god forbid it said 'roast until tender'. ??!?!?!?

Now, 3 years on, I have come to the realisation that I finally know 'how to cook'. I still follow recipes, but know what I like, and how to change recipes to suit my needs. I can create a meal using leftovers and bits and bobs, off the top of my head. When I go to the shops, I don't need to cart around books with me, because I know what goes into a home cooked meal. It's such a liberating feeling, and I've been really lucky to have Ronan support me along the way (even with not so yummy results!).

Last night was a prime example of my confidence as a cook. I was following a recipe for 'Prawn and Rice Salad', but realised a) we didn't have rice and b) I don't like raw courgettes. So instead, I used what we had and adapted the recipe and BOY OH BOY was it yum.

I soaked some lemon and coriander couscous in hot water. Then I fried up the diced courgettes, and threw in the prawns to warm them up. Combine the prawns and courgettes with the couscous, add some lemon juice and pepper, and serve on a bed of rocket, topped with torn basil and a little bit of olive oil. YUMMY!

Next on my list is following in Alicia's footsteps and learning how to bake!

Star Trek

2009-05-10T20:36:00.005+01:00

I have to admit, as a trekkie, I was slightly apprehensive about the latest Star Trek film (aptly called Star Trek 90210 in the Guardian). I've been watching Star Trek for at least 15 years now - I started with The Next Generation, and loved watching it after dinner with my mom on Wednesday nights. I remember when they started showing The Original Series again, I was so surprised by how gimmicky it looked (funny how TNG now looks like that to me!). But my mom told me how amazing and wonderful it was to watch the show growing up in the 60's, a more optimistic view of the future rather than the doom and gloom dystopias normally used for science fiction/future worlds. I started to really enjoy TOS, and could see how great the show was with the limited effects they had. The point wasn't the amazing sets or fight scenes or technology, it was about normal life - racism, fear, adventure, sexism, compromise, diplomacy, etc, just set in a different time. The same is true for the series that followed (my faves being TNG and Voyager - although how could I not love Major Kira in Deep Space Nine!)

So 5 series, 10 movies and several book later, I was nervous that in the effort to 'mass market' Star Trek, they film would lose the essence of what makes it Star Trek.

But I did really really enjoy it. I had a few niggles with it (what's the the RANDOM aliens??? This isn't Star Wars and Mose Eisley, there are established aliens in Star Trek!) but all in all, I thought it was a great transfer, and I thought all the characters were awesome (Bones and Scotty being my faves!). It was definitely more action packed and technically 'cool' than previous films, and it worked really well. It managed to keep the same relationships and comedy and nerdiness of the series, and still be a summer block buster hit. I'm looking forward to future films with the 90210 cast!

But of course, now I'm excited about watching the first 10 films all over again, starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture! Ronan's not very excited about this (he liked the movie but not that much...) but I'm sure I can convince him :)

Training's going well

2009-05-08T22:23:00.004+01:00

I had a good gym sesh today. I'm 8 weeks into my 20 week plan (culminating, of course, with the Olympic distance triathlon on 2nd August - you can sponsor me here), so I thought I'd try a mini triathlon this fine Friday evening.

I did 40 minutes on the bike, which came to 17.5km and burned 360 cals (you gotta take those with a pinch of salt!)
I then ran 20 minutes on the treadmill at 10min/mile pace, which came to 3.3km (or 2 miles) and burned 275 calories.
Then I hopped in the pool and did 900metres straight, in about 15 minutes. I took it nice and slow, trying to stretch out my arms. I like doing 50 or 100 laps without stopping, just cruising, but I also know I need to work on my speed. Anyway, that came to just under half the distance of the tri, and I was fine for that, so I know August will be no problem! I did this in 1.5 hours, so I should be course for my 2.45 tri time *fingers crossed*

I also managed to put together a photo montage of our wedding - only took me 51 weeks! Well, just in time for our one year anniversary. We hadn't used our vouchers for Habitat yet, but I finally decided to get the 55cmx55cm black frame with a multi-photo mount. I got some photos printed today at the local print shop and they look great! I'm inspired to prance around in my wedding dress on the 18th!

Hopefully we'll get some sunny weather this weekend, as Ronan and I are planning on doing a pub walking tour in Sussex. Walking and pubs, two of my favourite things! All in all, I'm getting super excited about summer and can't wait for it to be here so we can do more outdoors activities. A year ago exactly, Lauren was here in Brighton and it was absolutely sweltering! Here's to hoping for a bit more of that kind of weather soon!

LA Bliss

2009-04-28T19:46:00.006+01:00

Los Angeles was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. I've been so lucky to be able to go home twice within about 4 months, and it makes me sad now because I don't know when we'll be able to go back again. Hopefully next summer, for Ursela's wedding. I think it should be in the Bay Area, which will be great, because I've been meaning to do the drive up PCH with Ronan the past 3 trips, and we never seem to have enough time! Even for this trip, it just flew by, and we were doing stuff every single day for 10 days. You always need a mini-vacation after your proper vacation.

We arrived Friday night, and enjoyed some La Cabana with Dad, Heidi, Lauren and her new man, Andy. Saturday, we spent the day in the sun, and went to the Farmer's Market with Jen, near the Grove.

Sunday was Easter and it was great to see my Grandmother, aunt and cousin. My sisters were pains and declined to attend, but it was nice to be in Malibu. And while we thought we were over our jetlag, falling asleep at 7.30 made me realise we most definitely were not!

Monday, we went to Universal Studios, and it was so much fun! I haven't been since I was 10, and it's totally different. I was bummed they got rid of the Back to the Future Ride, but Krustyland was pretty cool, too. A lot of it has been so commercialised (hello, it's basically an advert for all Universal Studios films), but I was so surprised how Access Hollywood basically sponsors the tram ride.

Tuesday, we went whale watching with Heidi. I say whale watching, but 'common dolphin' watching is perhaps a bit more appropriate. Friggin hell, death winds on the boat! But Ronan was having the time of his life whilst Heidi and I clutched to anything we could to stay upright! That night we had a nice double date with Jen and Nick at Kifune - man I was craving some tempura. You just don't get nice Japanese food in Brighton. London, probably, but not Brighton.

Wednesday was windy, too, so our beach plans got postponed as did our mini golf tournament. But lunch with Dad was nice, as was dinner at Tata's. Thursday, we made it to the Getty Villa with Nana, Mia and Remi. I don't think I've been since I was about 7, and they closed it to refurbish it. It had re-opened by the time we went back for Christmas but we never made a trip over. It was pretty cool, especially the outdoor bits in the sun, but the art was a bit limited. They've stuck to Greco-Roman-Etruscan art, and I love Greek mythology, but after a few rooms, you feel like you've seen all you need. Also, the 'Roman Villa' feel is a bit tacky, and would probably look a bit more in place in Vegas. By contrast, the new Getty complex is just stunning, built completely in marble, with a huge variety of art, and an amazing garden and view of LA. I'm glad we had a chance to go, but next time, I'll probably be back at the new Getty.

Thursday night! BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE!!! Heidi was so amazing and had spare tickets to see the Boss, so we went with her, Dad, and a few of my my dad's friends, and even Pat. Pat's going through chemo/radiation for tonsil cancer, and actually planned his sessions around this show. We were definitely not disappointed. Not a bad seat in the house, I guarantee!

Man by Friday, we started to realise it was all almost over! Ronan and I did a swim sesh with Lauren and Andy at the SMC pool. It's so strange, that's where I used to work out, everyday, sometimes twice a day, for about 4 years. But I stopped swimming with TSM when they closed the pool for refurbishment, and I just never made it back once it re-opened. It's a really nice facility; if we move back, I'd definitley do master's workouts there. It was great to get in a proper swim workout (er, or splash about...) outside! I even got a hint of my former swimmer's tan - let's see if I can keep this up in Brighton!

Friday night was the rehersal dinner, and Saturday was the big day! Karina's wedding didn't start until 5.30, but we needed to be there for 4 for pictures. We got to do a nice big brekkie at Dad's beforehand. The wedding was absolutely stunning. The nicest, most beautiful wedding I've ever been to, most definitely. And it was great to see family, too, and introduce Ronan around to people. Even if they couldn't get his name right. At all. We got Roland, Roman and Rowan all night, but no one seemed to be able to manage a Ronan. It's okay. Ronan's dad called me Clara for about a year.

Finally, Sunday, we had a post-wedding BBQ at the Siam's, and it was hot. I mean like 100 degrees F/ 35 degrees C hot. And I love it! We chilled by the pool and ate yummy fruit. On Monday, we just went to the beach, and took in the warmest weather we'll probably have all year. A long flight back home, but it's always nice to sleep in your own bed.

I miss LA so much, but I don't know if I can live there again. I've never lived there as an adult, so part of it feels really foreign to me. I know we won't even think about moving there until after we have kids, but it's tough saying goodbye to my parent's. I'm such a wuss! How did I ever make it to England! :)

Pre-Holiday Jitters!

2009-04-09T18:18:00.006+01:00

Courtesy of alanbradyie.

There is nothing sweeter than logging off your computer at work right before a nice lovely holiday. That is exactly how I felt about 2 hours ago - the rush to make sure everything was finished, and being able to tick off the final thing on my to do list. My boss is so sweet, and left me a chocolate bunny to have for Easter when I can finally have sweets again!

We have all the pre-flight panic of trying to check in early (can't because we're flying Virgin, but booked through Continental), checking if I have my passport (I will most certainly check about 23 times en route tomorrow), making sure I packed my contact lense solution (check) birth control (check) dress for wedding (check).

But I just love that excitement in the air! So I've stocked up on pizza for tonight, eggs and veggie sausages for the morning and plenty o'beers to watch our last episode of The Wire for the next 10 days!

Last time we went to LA, it was for Christmas (not that long ago) and I had a great time, but it still feels weird going back. Like it's going home, but not quite familiar enough to be home. We're so lucky to be able to go back so soon, but I also know we won't be able to go back for awhile after this, so I have to savour it while I can. It's always really hard for me because I'm so close with my family and this just reminds me how far away I really am. Saying goodbye is going to be really tough because I don't know when I'll see them again.

We have lots on the agenda, including whale watching, mini golfing, Bruce Springsteen, wedding rehersal, cousin's wedding, post-wedding pool party and trying to stuff in friends and family! I also have to make sure not to slack on my triathlon training, so I'm going to try and get a couple ocean swims in if it's warm enough.

Hopefully, I'll be a bit better about taking pictures this time!

wooo it's been awhile

2009-04-06T19:44:00.003+01:00

I have to throw my hands up and admit I'm pretty lame when it comes to keeping up with my blog. I keep thinking, 'oh gosh, I'll wait until something a bit more interesting happens' and then when it does, I'm too busy doing interesting things to blog!

The most interesting thing I've done since my last post is seeing Waiting for Godot with Ronan, Jon and Kate at the Brighton Theatre Royal last weekend. We were lucky enough to see the production with Gandalf and Capt. Picard, er, I mean Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart!

What a fantastic performance! I saw a production of Waiting for Godot back in LA when I was in high school, and I was really struck by the despair and hopelessness of it. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see a production that was a bit more lighthearted throughout, and really concentrated on the bond between Didi and Gogo, because it made the final scenes so much more effective. All in all a wonderful day at the theatre!

This weekend was also really enjoyable. We planned on doing some spring cleaning before we leave for LA so we can come home to a clean house, but got slightly distracted and ended up at the movie theater to see Monsters vs. Aliens, in 3D! We even got Buddy Holly specs to wear! It was great hearing all the kids go, 'wooooah!' when things would pop out, watching all the little hands grab at the screen :) And it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. Afterwards, we had the chance to meet up with Janine and Steve who were in Brighton celebrating their one year wedding anniversary (guess who else's is coming up soon? wink wink). Sunday was lovely and slovenly, and we had a yummy fry up in town and watched Chicago and The Wire (double dose of McNulty, score!)

Now we're getting prepared for LA, and I'm so excited about heading home on Friday! It feels really strange going back so soon - we'll have seen my parents twice before we've seen Ronan's parents, and they live a one hour flight away! But it's going to be a great trip, and I can't wait for my cousin's wedding.

On the triathlon front, training has been going okay. I haven't been great about sticking to my plan, but I definitely feel like I'm getting in proper training sessions, which is good. My swims are feeling strong, and my cycles are definitely improving. I feel strong and steady through them. Runs have been a bit more difficult - I'm getting better at the the distance, and can now run the full 6 miles, but I'm starting to get twinges which aren't good and are most likely a result of an uneven gait. Normally after about 1-2 miles, I get twinge below my left knee, and I've had a constant bruised feeling on the ball of my right foot for several weeks now. When I say constant, I do really mean ALL OF THE TIME, even just walking around in chucks or boots. It's really frustrating, but I'm going to take a week or two off from running and see if that helps at all. Luckily, I've given myself enough time that two weeks now won't seriously effect my training, and as long as I keep up the swims and bike rides, I should be fine! *fingers crossed*

20 week plan, 1 week in

2009-03-24T13:29:00.003Z

I have to admit, I'm not off to the most brilliant of starts for my 20 week triathlon plan. There was the unfortunately coincidence of St. Paddy's day falling on day 2. Whoops. Cue 2 day recovery, which of course equates to zero exercise.

I think I'm off to a bit of a better start for week 2. Ronan and I went for a 40 minute run on Saturday, felt okay, but I keep getting pain in my left foot, around the arch, as well as my left knee. As I'm not a runner, it's hard to tell what's a 'normal' running pain, and what I need to watch out for.

I did a 52 minute bike ride yesterday at the gym, that felt pretty good, and I got in some crunches and weights. Unfortunately, my double workouts are on Mondays, but it's impossible to get a swim in. I'll have to start going for a swim before work, but this week, I'll just make it up on my 'off day'.

So, what do we have left for the week? I've got a 26 minute run today, I'll do my 26 minute swim tomorrow, the horrific 88 minute bike ride on Thursday, and get in a nice long 44 minute swim for Friday. I'll go off track on Saturday, and try to get in a nice long run with Ronan, I'll be aiming for 6.5 miles. Whew, Sunday will be a well deserved rest day!

On a side note, I'm looking to get my hair cut before I go to LA, hopefully early April. I'll definitely being going blonde blonde blonde for the summer, and I think I'll just go for a nice short bob, with a short fringe, something easy to straighten and easy to muss up with some wax. Perhaps a bit 'Katie':

but without Mr Cruise

smoking

2009-03-09T21:02:00.006Z

photo by Lara May.

I'm trying to decide if I miss smoking or not. I don't crave cigarettes, per se, but I often miss the experience of smoking. I miss the act of deciding 'yes, I would like a cigarette now', whether it was to relax, or take a break, or chat up a cute boy. I miss pulling out a cigarette from my amazing silver jolly roger cigarette case. I miss coyly asking a young man for a light, even with my lighter buried in my bag. I miss the first, brilliant, deep breath, and the smoke filling my lungs, the nicotine coursing through my blood. I miss exhaling through my nose, and attempting (and failing) to make smoke rings. I miss the social aspect of smoking with mates, having special 'smokers' conversations, as you obviously can't smoke indoors where the rest of your non-smoking mates are. I miss accidentally lighting a cigarette backwards because I'm too drunk to realise otherwise. I miss going onto a balcony, or courtyard, or backyard, to have to light up. I miss smacking a new pack against my palm, and opening up the packaging. I miss laughing at the messages and pictures on the packs to convince us why we shouldn't smoke. I miss being a smoker, what that entails, how that identifies you.

But all in all, I don't miss smoking one bit. The whole concept of paying a company I despise to poison my own body really does just seem mad. You are truly powerless to the control it has over you. I decided, after 2 and a bit years of smoking, that I no longer wanted to be a smoker. And I better quit while I still had the power to do so. All of my parents smoked when I was a child. And despite numerous (innumerable in fact) attempts to quit, they all still smoke. I didn't want that to be me. I didn't want to set that example for my kids, and I didn't want to punish my body like that. I am learning to take pride in my body, and what it can do for me, and smoking is one of the most disrespectful things you can do to it. So yes, I do still crave cigarettes, I do miss the comfortable routine of smoking, how it relaxes me, how it helps me in social situations, but everyday, I thank myself for not punishing my body like that anymore.

But man oh man, a fag sure does taste bloody fantastic!

10 reasons I can't wait for summer...

2009-03-06T14:53:00.008Z

I was born and raised in LA. I've been a swimmer since age 8, and a certified beach bum. My summers were spent either at the beach or at the pool, or going between the two. My swimming tan was so dark and so pronounced as a teenager, I thought it was permanently ingrained in my skin. I've snorkled, surfed, boogie boarded, and everything in between. I am also part Arab, and therefore have a deep glorious affinity for the sun. (I know, why do I live in England?)

As the days get longer and the weather warmer, I cannot wait for summer to actually arrive! Living by the beach does have its perks, and Brighton during the summer is lovely (if not hot...). So to celebrate its impending arrival, I give you my top ten reasons I love summer!

10. Summer fashion
I love ditching the jumpers and boots for the summer! Give me tank tops, short skirts, summer dresses, I love them all! There's nothing better than getting your skin out to soak that lovely summer sun! I especially love have a bit of a tan and looking fantastic in white!

9. Ice cream
I didn't realise how much I'd miss ice cream when I came to Britain. Of course they have ice cream here, and Ben and Jerrys is ALWAYS amazing. But they don't have the same outdoor ice cream culture here, ie, the ice cream truck! I miss the slightly tinny, definitely creepy music that you could hear down the street. I remember it getting louder and louder, and running inside to get a dollar for an ice cream, and getting it all over my hands and face! Nothing cools you off better than a lovely fresh ice cream during the summer!

8. Swimming pools
Growing up, the local swimming pool (Mar Vista) was my second home. My mom would take me at 9am and pick me up 8 hours later at 5pm - I was a certifiable pool rat! I learned how to swim, dive, play water polo, do synchronized swimming and even started going junior lifeguards, all at my local pool. I always looked forward to the first day the pool opened, saying hi to all my lifeguard coaches, and doing my first canonball off the diving board!

7. Flip flops
If I could, I would live in flipflops. In fact, while I lived in LA, I did. I had pairs and pairs and pairs, and would wear them in until nothing was left. I wore them with shorts, skirts, dresses, even jeans. And while I have a lovely pair here in Brighton, they just don't get the same kind of mileage - it's just far too cold. Luckily, it does get warm enough during the summer to wear them, so I'm going to stock up when I go to LA in April!

6. BBQs
The best summer parties are always the ones that centered around barbecues. Hamburgers, sausages, peppers, everything is yummy charbroiled over a flame! Throw in some beers and tunes and you have an awesome evening, watching the sun go down! We'll get our little disposable one for the summer, and take it down to Brighton beach (can't forget our gay frisbee, either!)

5. Surfing
I was never much of a surfer growing up, I always preferred to be swimming. But as I did more beach Jr. Guards, and got more confident with paddling, I enjoyed venturing out on my board more. I haven't been in at least 10 years, but as I'm married to a surfer, I better get my butt out there! I don't know if I can handle the British water temperature, so it might have to be a trip down to Portugal, but I'd love to get out there this summer. Either way, I love being at the beach!

4. Summer Holidays
The best summer vacation I ever went on was our girls trip to Oahu the summer we graduated from high school. There was something so freeing about a proper girls holiday, just us kids waiting to have a great time. I've had so many great summer holidays, including Dublin with Claudia and France with Ronan, and I can't wait to go someplace this summer!

3. Sunglasses
I love my shades! There's nothing worse than being out and about and squinting in the sunlight (talk about premature wrinkles!) As a lifeguard, I had to make sure my eyes were protected and that I could see clearly, especially against the reflection of the water. Now, my sunnies are more for aesthetic reasons, but that's just as important! A great pair of shades can totally make an outfit. I'm looking forward to getting myself a pair of lolitas this summer!

2. Tanning
We all know the perils of sunbeds and smoking and booze and everything else under the sun. That doesn't mean tanning doesn't feel amazing. Nothing feels nicer than baking under the sun, feeling its warmth all over your skin and getting the finished product of a fantastic tan. And tans make everyone look great. As Lauren says, tan fat ALWAYS looks better than white fat. I'll definitely be baking while I can during my lunch breaks.

1. Summer drinking
Nothing in the world beats drinks in the sun, getting slowly pissed as the sun sets. My poison of choice is a corona (with lime, of course), but your summer drink choices are endless! Cider, rose, pimms, anything goes! The summer I lived in London, my absolute favourite thing to do was walk down to the southbank and have a nice cold pint on the river front in the sun. This of course is everyone's favourite thing to do, but I think the more the merrier! As the weekends get warmer down here, Ronan and I are finally starting to venture out of the flat and enjoy our sunny Saturdays at the pub. Bring on summer!!!!!!!!!

What are your fave things about summer?

smug married couple

2009-02-28T15:11:00.003Z

Today, I am smug. I am one half of a smug married couple. This awesomely bodacious smug married couple woke up this morning and went for a 5.5 mile this morning. Upon our return, we had smoothies (mango, pineapple and papaya, with apple and mango juice) to replenish our smug selves. Then, we devoured our homemade bread from our homemade bread maker. Yes we are so smug we even prepared our bread BEFORE our run to be ready for lunch.

After cleaning the flat (more smugness) we are now watching the rugby and drinking beer, waiting for friends and bangers and mash for dins. Life is good.

Revolutionary Road

2009-02-25T13:44:00.005Z

For our bookgroup meeting this month, we read Revolutionary Road. Love the cover!!! I really enjoyed the book, too, but it took me a little while to get into it. It's set in the 1950's, American suburbia, about a couple dealing with the banalities of the American Dream, and deciding to do something about it.

We saw the film the day before our meeting, and I was very very impressed. Although it was faithful to the book, I feel the best book to film adaptations need to translate the material into a different platform - what works for a book, and makes it a great book, more often than not doesn't make a good film. However, the film found its own voice, and the two leads were great.

I also thought the film was a bit more intense, and definitely more harrowing. I ALMOST cried, but not quite :) And the costumes were amazing! I was totally born in the wrong generation (apart from loving feminism, working, sports, etc...you know what I mean...) I actually just wanted Kate Winslet's entire wardrobe. And hair. And makeup.

So, our next book is White Tiger, the latest Man Booker Prize winner, and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into that! Although I sometimes feel reluctant to go to the meetings (ugh, it's cold out, I'm tired, blah blah) I do always enjoy myself, and I'm really glad I'm getting to read things I would never have thought to pick up.

It's not everyday you get to watch your dad get shot on TV...

2009-02-17T20:41:00.004Z

But that's what happened yesterday! While we were in LA, my dad was filming a small (ie, opening scenc) role for The Unit (what looks to be a really crap show).

Click here to see the Prosperous Fellow get shot!

Looking a bit further back, I had a fantastic time on Friday night watching the opera Die Tote Stadt. Crazy bald dancing lady was really cool, and I sat next to a purple hair lady!

We stayed over with the Monks and had a lovely 3 hour train journery from Gatwick to Brighton, via the entire friggin English coast (due to rail replacements, so they say).

I'm not really one for valentine's day, but me and the Po-ster went for a lovely meal at one of my fave restaurants, Planet India, which does amazing vegetarian and vegan curries. Our entire meal, drinks included, was £22. Ridonkulous. We left 30 squid and went to the pub. Best V-day EVER.

Sunday was a lazy day, and we watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. A-mah-zing.

really really enjoyed both Robert Downey, Jr (wtf, nominated for an Academy Award for Tropic Thunder?!?!) and Val Kilmer. I spent the first 20 minutes of the film trying to remember the last thing he was in. Whatever it was, this was better. Go see it!

Finally, we finished season one of the Wire. Intense. I have to admit, I'm not really into coppers/bad guys tv shows, and at first I wasn't convinced. Boy, about 6 episodes in, I was friggin hooked. Bring on season two!

Love you McNulty!

get your cycling butt into gear!

2009-02-09T18:56:00.004Z

I've had such an amazing weekend! As per usual, we did fuck all on Friday night (well, I was frantically sewing away in order to finish Claudia's bag before she arrived), but I still love doing fuck all on a Friday. It's lovely. Anyway, we went for our run as usual, this time 5 miles (5.5 including the walk back from Tesco!) and saw Woodie's diner which I really want to explore now. I love American diners in Britain. They're never remotely authentic, but brilliant in their own kitsch way. We also had my amazing strawberry, banana and organe juice smoothies!

But we got to chill with Claudia this weekend, which I've been looking forward to for so long. It all goes so quickly! I can't wait for her to get her butt down souf.

Then I got to see Claire on Sunday, who's just returned from her around the world travels. Also really good to see her, she looks fantastic. Maybe I need a trip, too....hmmm.

Did my measurements again, 2 weeks on:

Chest: 41.5" -0.5"
Waist: 34" -1"
Hips: 40.5" -.05"
Thigh: 27.5" +0.5" :(
Arm: 14" same

It's good to see some inches coming off the waist and hips, but damn my quads! Well, I'm heading the right direction, so I need to stop skiving the gym when the weather gets a bit wet. Because lets face, I live in the fucking rainiest fucking country in the world, so I better get used to it!

BTW! Looks like good things come in twos.
Shady Ninja and I both got our visas returned to us last Friday! Lets celebrate! Only took the bastards 4 months!

tattoooos

2009-02-04T22:24:00.003Z

This weekend, Ronan and I went to the 2nd Brighton Tattoo Convention. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I actually ended up having a really good time. We saw some really cool artists from all over Europe and the UK, as well as some from the US. I also think I've found the artist I'd like to work on my backpiece, once I decide I have enough money!

We got to watch a bit of the 'competitions', where people show off their pieces and judges decide which one they like best. This was one of the coolest ones we saw:

It was just great seeing so many wonderful tattoos. There were definitely some crap ones, but all in all, people just seemed really comfortable in their skin. As I get a bit older, I'd definitely consider getting bolder, bigger pieces, including sleeves or a chestpiece.

i <3 snowy days

2009-02-02T18:09:00.003Z

As you may have heard, Britain's had it's biggest snowfall in a bazillion years. Awesome! And it's even settling in Brighton, on the beach! We enjoyed our snowy evening by visiting the beach last night. This morning was so amazing, the roads were empty, and it was just powder everywhere. Unfortunately, by lunch, it's just turned to slush, and by evening, ice. It's supposedly supposed to continue tonight, but we'll see. Anyway, it's awesome!

And the best part? The decision to get Bailey's and make naughty coffees! 4 down, who knows how many to go?

take THAT pifco

2009-01-30T15:53:00.003Z

What is this, you may be asking yourself. Well, that is exactly what Ronan and I were thinking Wednesday night for the pub quiz. Luckily, it was this little bad boy that won us the quiz.

After an okay Science & Nature round (10/16 points), and a great music round (32/32 using our joker) we get to the picture round. Now we know everything else, but we can't for the life of us figure out what this film is. That definitely looks like a picture of a naked man at the bottom. And in B&W we couldn't figure out if it was the beach (looks like sand) or snow (they all seem dressed in big coats). A bit more squinting lead us to realise perhaps they were asian (hey, she looks like Lauren!). More thinking, more thinking. The only asian british stuff I could think of was Bend it Like Beckham (which this most certainly is not). Then Ronan said, well isn't there an asian film called Bhaji on the Beach? Ehhhhh, what? 'Is it by the chick who did Bend it Like Beckham?' 'I dunno'. 'Is it on a beach?' 'I dunno'. 'Should we just go for it?' 'I guess so...'

Lo and behold, we got it right. How on earth?

After a shaky sports round (10/16), we were up by 6 points, feeling pretty good. I wanted to win, but as long as we beat PIFco (they are the fugly team that drink lots of wine and laugh horrible obnoxious fingernails on a chalkboard laughs, with 6 people on their team compared to just little ole me and Ronan), I was happy. Felt pretty good at the end, looking forward to seeing our score.

Quiz master hands back our sheets, and I'm so bummed to see we only got 27/36, for a final score of 95 - and we're told PIFco got a perfect score. I HATE PIFCO! I HATE THEM WITH THE FURY OF A THOUSAND SUNS, YOU BASTARDS! So as he reads the scores in reverse order, I sit there sulking the biggest sulk possible, muttering madly about my hatred for PIFco. 'Tied for third, with 93 points...blah blah, and in second...' 'i hate you PIFco, i hope you get attacked by rabied monkeys' 'with 94 points....' 'whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?' 'PIFco! and the winner tonight....with 95 points....the Pea Funks!'

So, as you can see, we owe our win (and the pot of £25) to little ole Bhaji on the Beach, worth 2 beautiful points, that allowed us to finally kick PIFco's ass. Long live Gurinder Chadha.

I'll save my harrasment by the lisping frenchman later on that night for another day...

Tuesday's swim

2009-01-28T14:43:00.005Z

After work, I headed over to the gym (and their 18m pool - who makes a pool that's 18m???), and decided to do 10x10laps. It was great because the pool was almost totally empty, only 3 people, so we each had our own lane. After 5 sets, it got a bit busier, so I moved from the slow lane (which had been empty!) to the fast lane, and did 4 more sets. Just as I was finishing the 9th set, a big bloke waited until I was 2 feet from the wall to jump in the water ON MY BLOODY HEAD! What is wrong with people??? This is the second time this has happened at this pool (and I've only swum there 3 times!).

Even worse, the guy, because he's a guy, decides he's a 'fast' swimmer, even though he is quite obviously not. And rather than letting me go in front of him, he likes to wait until I'm just about to flipturn to jump out in front of me, swimming 0.03miles an hour. Dear lordy. I don't understand why boys feel so threatened by girls who are faster/better/quicker than them. Get over it! Although I did notice later, from the hot tub vantage point, that he did eventually move to the 'slow' lane (a bit too late for my liking!).

My stupid goggles broke on lap 99 so I took it as a sign from the gods above that my swimming set was over and hopped into the hot tub. Yum. So 17820m swim in about 20-25 minutes, felt pretty good, definitely going to try to work on speed sets (note - buy yourself a watch, kira!). Also had yummy fishcakes for dinner, and used up all our leftover greens (runner beans, green beans and asparagus), and made a delish lemon butter sauce with rosemary to top it off! *smacks lips at deliciousness*

On a side note, I've noticed quite a few of the men (and women) in the gym have tattoos. This was also the case at the King Alfred center. Like way more than I see in LA...but then maybe I just don't normally see people in LA in swimming gear? But then I was a swimmer for years and years! But then that was when I was like 16, and people don't have tattoos at 16 (well they shouldn't really, should they?). But then actually quite a lot of my friends have tattoos, too, so maybe I'm just making this all up in my head.

Anyway, I want another tattoo, but I should probably wait until a) I have money and b) I'm not training for a triathlon where I need to swim several times a week!

Monday's Gym Sesh

2009-01-26T21:01:00.004Z

Had a really good gym session, just felt really strong. I did 45 minutes on the bike, including my 8x(5x1) minute sets, increasing the level for each 5 minutes, repeating 8 times. I was going to do some weights afterwards, but I wanted to see how I felt springing right onto the treadmill (an early attempt at 'brick work', stacking your training for swimming right into cycling, or cycling right into running), and was surprised at how good I felt. I thought I'd just do 5 minutes, which turned into 10, then 20, and I would have stayed for a full 5k, but there was a big queue for machines (gym memberships skyrocket in January - uh, hello Pea-Funk - but I can't wait for the massive dropouts to start. I'm banking on first week of February?), so I let some other people get on. But it was one of the few times I felt like I could 'just keep going'. I think it's because I don't normally get warmed up enough before I go for a run. The blood was pumping, and I didn't have any tenseness in my quads - just a bit in my calves, but I think they would have worked themselves out.

I made sure to stretch properly, and got in a few crunches. Then, I was treated to my favouritist dish ever, made by my lovely, amazing, chef-f Po, prawn tagliatelle. So so so yum, it totally made my day :)

I definitely need to update the pod - this playist is about 1.5 years old, and includes some major crap (ie, Ronan's music) since we did a combo mix for the drive down to London. But I got a few goodies in there, and they always remind me of special times.

The Killers - Somebody Told Me

Without fail, this song always reminds me of my first year in Scotland, particularly Eve, my fellow American in crime. There's even a little Eve dance that goes with, which unfortunately cannont me translated into html. In general, it just makes me think of studying in Edinburgh, going out and getting pissed (and possibly snogging Irish men). Good times. Good times indeed.

Sugarhill Gang - Apache

Sun God! My university, not particularly well known for it's social aspect, had one redeeming feature - Sun God Festival. Every year, on one special day in May, you get pissed, go to campus (note, campus, not class), and enjoy the concert at night. My favourite Sun God was the one I went to once I was no longer a student. Lauren and I headed down and gate crashed at my old flatties, Artie and Alicia. Gin n' tonics, taboo, fags and Apache (on repeat). What's not to love?

Now I just need to get together an awesome playlist so I can rock out to my bad self at LA Fitness!