Beer!

Some people comment about how everything is bigger here. Well, it is! In Dublin, our refrigerator was the size that students here use in college. We managed fairly well but wished that we had had more freezer space. Overall, it worked well for us because then we couldn't buy too much stuff.

Well, now we have a massive fridge! I know it is a standard size one but we just can't fill it. I know that they run better if they are full but it is just too big for the two of us because I am trying to only buy what we need so that we don't waste food.

So, this weekend, we drove about an hour to have dinner with my brother. After dinner, we realized that we were in the "the state of beer" and there was a big grocery store near the restaurant so of course we had to look for the beer that we can only get in the state. I think that we may have gone a bit overboard but at least now the refrigerator is full!

Any guesses on how long it will take us to drink it all (and yes, there is more in the door)?

Busy Weekend

It seems like we've been quite busy since we've moved back. If we aren't visiting people/collecting stuff, we seem to be organizing the house. I am really glad that I have Mondays off, too. However, my Mondays seem just as busy. During my commute, I often wonder where my time is going. I just don't know. All I can say, it isn't spent knitting (well, unless it is Tuesday night).

This weekend was no exception. I got a wonderful evening to myself while John went to a barbecue place in the city. On Saturday, we woke up, hung up art on the walls and then went shopping for more house stuff, like picture frames. We also had a pre-marriage counseling session and then went to a party. The party was good since we got to meet new people and see people that we haven't seen in a while. It was strange for us, though, that we left a bit past midnight and more than half the people had already gone home. We then dragged a friend to a "post drinking" breakfast place and finally got home about 2:30 AM. We haven't been out that late since we left Ireland. It was really nice to be out late! (bonus points if you notice what is different about me in the picture)

Sunday morning, we got a phone call at 10:00 AM from my brother asking what we were up to since he was going to a Renaissance Faire and would be about an hour from where we live. We already had lunch plans and I went to a movie with a friend in the afternoon. We then went up to have dinner with him and went shopping afterwards (that will be another post).

On Monday, I had an eye appointment at 10:00 AM and then we met with the caterer in the afternoon and did our weekly produce shopping. This weekend, Aileen is in town (she arrived today) and we should have another fun, busy weekend!

Accents

Since moving back home, people have told me that I have an Irish accent. Now, I know that I don't have a full on one because people in Ireland told me this all the time. :) When we moved back, I heard the accent a bit but now only hear the local accent in a few people.

A couple weeks back, Aileen called me from her sister's. It was so good to hear from her. I miss my friends in Ireland so much. Anyway, while talking to her, I heard her accent for the first time. I never noticed that she has a bit of a Dublin accent (sorry Aileen). A while ago, someone from Ireland called to talk to John. Again, I heard the accent. I have to say, when I hear it, I get a bit of a pang of "homesickness." I miss that accent and really look forward to Aileen coming to visit next weekend!!!!!

Public transport?

So I was driving in my car this morning thinking that I should look into public transport options to get to work so that I could knit on the train again. I miss my knitting time and really haven't been able to get much done. Silly long hours.

I was listening to the news and then on comes a piece about public transport. Apparently, because of the increased petrol/gas prices, more people have started taking public transportation. Therefore, the trains are more full. The mayor's suggestion to fix this problem: take out some of the seats on the trains so that more people can stand and fit! Of course people are upset by this idea because they want seats on the rush hour trains. I also wonder why they can't add more trains because there always seem to be a lot of trains sitting around in the exchange areas when I'm on the train.

While I'm on the topic, last week, I heard a piece on the radio about the mayor's idea to help the buses. See, there is a common problem of bunching (which I learned is a bunch of the same route coming right after each other). The mayor's suggestion to fix this problem is to put GPS in all the buses and then have someone in a remote location watch to see the spacing between buses. If the buses get bunched, he suggested sending someone out in a car to tell the drivers to wait and fix the spacing issue! Why can't they use a 2-way radio instead of adding to the traffic congestion?????

So much planning!

The big wedding planning is done and has been for a while. Now, we are getting into the details and I am starting to feel the stress. I have started dreaming about things to do for the wedding. I can feel my stress level/tolerance for things decreasing. John has told me that I have "bridezilla" moments when people disagree with me. Luckily, they don't last very long. :)

Anyway, last week, we got our invitations. That started the stress of realizing that we didn't have that many addresses and now have to print the addresses on the envelopes (we have horrible hand writing). We have gotten most of the addresses so hopefully we will just take some time each day and get them done so that we get get them mailed in a timely manner. This weekend, we also figured out some decorations for the reception and did more on our wedding registry. I know that things are getting done but there are a lot to do still...

"Cabin" fever

Tomorrow is the 4th of July and we get a long weekend! Since I work Tuesday through Friday, I have 4 days off!! I am very excited for the long weekend since it has been a bit over a month since we moved back and we haven't gone anywhere. This week as I was driving to work, I realized that it has been a month and we haven't even thought about a vacation or a long weekend away! It has been a bit over a month since I've been on a plane and I'm getting itchy.

Tomorrow we are heading out of the area to go to John's brother's house for a picnic and fireworks. It will be nice to be away but I'm getting itchy for a "proper" weekend away (no, family doesn't count as proper time away). We'll have to figure one out soon. Maybe August. I don't know if I can go until our honeymoon...