OMG, 2 in one week!

I'm on a roll! Wonder how long this will last? :) Anyways below are a few photos from my trip to Brussels last week for work. Training and team building we were told.......Hmmmm! The first photo is all my marketing peers, one from each country, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy etc etc. We had just arrived to Ardennes after a meeting in Brussells. Here we are chatting, catching up since our last get together. The sun was shinning, we were a little tired from our trips but once we were served our glasses of champagne we started to relax (this is work by the way).

Then came the news that we would be cooking our own food.....a 3 course meal... trout, lamb, veg, dessert... We were given an apron and hat, for health and safety reasons of course, not to make us look silly. I wore mine a la Beret, here I am with Ana (Spain) & Paula (Portugal). We were also supplied with a glass of wine just so we wouldn't feel so silly.

The the French speaking chef gave us directions (translated by Anne) on how to do julianne of vegetables (properly). We celebrated by drinking a glass of wine. Then we learned how to skin and debone a fish. Then another glass of wine. We were showed a few more really great cooking tips but I can't remember them.... Then we were told to start preparing the food...... 3 hours later (maybe it was only an hour or so) we sat down to eat. We were so hungry and tired (and some of us had alot of wine in us) that we didn't care what the food was like, considering the nearest take-away was over 200km away. The food was delicious!!!

The next day we had our training session (real work). Then at about 2pm we headed off for our team building exercises.....Hmmmmmm! Wild Trails it was called. We were split into 2 groups and off we went into the forest. our first task was to build a bridge over a stream with 4 long logs, 4 short logs and 8 ropes. When the bridge was finished we had to go to the other side pushing a jeep... Yes a JEEP! And all this had to be done in 45 minutes. And what a team we were, just under 42 minutes!!!!

Next we were blind folded and ahd to find and make a perfect square with a rope, while holding it :) And loads of other tasks like rock climbing, abseiling, yadda, yadda. After all ourt hard work we were treated to a Bar-b-que and wine. We chilled for a few hours and then it was off into the forest using a torch (flame kind) to light our way. We were led to a teepee made of logs where a woman surrounded by Jamba drums taught us how to play... this i loved and now I want a Jamba drum :) At 1am we headed back to our abode for the best nights sleep.

The scenery surrounding where we were staying was amazing. I got out with Micela (Italy) for about 30 mins walk and a few photos (nothing decent as I had my small digital with me).

Our last day was more meetings and then off to the airport to wait 6 hours for my flight. I got into Bewley's Airport hotel in Dublin at 12 midnight and completly shattered.

Before I could get home to my sweetie babes I had one more engagement... The Mid Summer Mega Crop. And boy was this Mega!!! Donna and her family are so sweet and she is one talented girl! She entertained us with really witty stories and her teaching was so professional. I loved her class (pictures to follow when its done). Lance from Rusty Pickle gave an intense 3.5 hours of paper engineering. A great Kit with brilliant techniques. Thanks to Annamarie and Lainey for getting these two talented people over from the States :)

My creative juices are flowing again.... Yipee! I had this photo of Shona that I wanted to scrap for so long and I got it done tonight!!! I used the Colour-Me range from Luxe to co-ordinate with her top and the rest just came together.

Right, off to the labba. I need my beauty sleep for my one to one photo course tomorrow. Sleep well x

Where does the time go?

Back in September I did a LO about Shona's first day in 3rd class and now i'm preparing for her last day in 3rd class, namely preparing the teacher's gift, every crafters dream (pmsl). I've double checked my spellings but I'm sure there must be one wrong (LOL!). Anyways.... I've made a set of cards for various occasions, in a number of colours:

And also a mini book documenting each month of her school year, including her first day, christmas play and school tour. The kit is from Rusty Pickle's Lucky kit which I bought last weekend at the Mid Summer Mega Scrap. The papers are very Orish and I normally don't scrap in Green, so this was a challenge! I kept it simple with all the images the same size and used 1 paper on each page. I finished it off with the Bind It All (love this):

So glad I got this done, considering I was away all last week in Belgium with work.... Photos to follow soon... involves logs, ropes and a jeep :) Ciao!

Woohoo...

...Its been less than a month since my last confession, ahem i mean post. So whats been happening?

June Bank Holiday weekend: Shona, 2 of her friends and I headed to the Burren Birds of Prey in the Ailwee Caves centre, it was fantastic! The girls and i loved the display, I highly recommend it. The birds are in fantastic enclousures, plenty of room and so clean! Afterwards we went to the farmhouse to buy some yummy cheese. Then we got on the road again and headed to Lahinch for tea and a dip (toes) in the water. Then it was off to Quinn to say hello to my sister, then back home for bed (10.30), phew! We kept going all day and had such fun!

The Sunday of the bank holiday it was off to Tralee with my cousin for our Aunts 60th birthday. Shona asked to come when she heard it was a party, i jokingly said I'd be the youngest one there.... how right I was. By 11am the party was finished so us two young (ish), free (ish) and single gals headed out on the town. The Brogue Inn was brilliant, great late bar with brilliant music. I even met Maura there (* waves at Maura*). B ack in the lobby of the hotel we met a gang of other residents, we kept inviting anyone coming in the door to join us. The drink and sandwiches kept on coming. At 5.30 i headed to my labba. Early the next day (no hang over without the ciggies) we went to Blennerville, all of 2km from the hotel and I got this gorgeous image of the windmill... Look at that stunning sky, and those fluffy clouds!

The camera club has finished up for the summer but a few of us have decided to meet up over the next 2 months every other wednesday. We have a time table of places and things we would like to photgraph, our first evening was Macro in the peoples park.... but the flowers weren't in bloom :~ so when we eventually got out of the park (we were locked in for awhile) we headed down to the river and stayed there all evening and into the night. Below is my fav, as the sun was setting over my left shoulder the glass of this building acted as a reflector, cool!

Our garden is becoming a little piece of heaven. Both Shona and I have been working on it to tidy it up and bring the plants on, the wether was so bad last year that they really didn't get a chance. Last weekend we bought one ofn those swing benches with the canopy and I have to say both Shona and I love to sit, swing and talk all evening on it. Its been the best investment (paid for by being off the smokes 4 months - in 7 days it will be 5 months). Our strawberrys have blossmed with the sun and rain. I picked a crop during the week and there is loads more to be picked, not bad for a city gal :)

Scrapping at last! Can you believe it... i think Crafteire in Feb was the last time I scrapped. While taking apart the box the swing bench came in i noticed the card board and deciede not to re-cycle it all. I've kept enough to make two books. The photos are of Shona and her friends on our Clare day out. I really enjoyed tearing and painting. I aslo used the bind-it-all. This format was inspired from a mini book I saw somewhere (can't remember...)




Finally, last tuesday while driving to Galway i rang Patricia, my best friend from the age of 4. When we moved we lost contact but did meet a few years ago briefly in a shop. Anyways, Patricia and her hubby were in Kilorglin recently and she found the cottage (we would have gone down nearly ever weekend as kids). She met my dad who knew her straight away even though its been 25 years.... gosh i feel old. So she gave them her mobile and I rang her last tuesday, we talked from Bunratty to Kilcolgan (thats about an hour). We're going to meet up as soon as possible. I can't wait. I told her all about scrapping and I think she'd love it. Anyways Patricia, here is the photo I was telling you about:

So, as you can see its been a very quiet few weeks. I'm ready to chill for the weekend, if you're looking for me I'll be in my garden on the swing bench drinking cider out a champagne glass :)

Is this becoming a habit?

The monthly posts that is, lol! The last month has been a little slower than others but very eventfull!

There have been major changes in work with 3 jobs gone. i'm grateful for still having mine but it goes to show you there is nothing written in stone. With this in mind I'm looking at bringing in a little more cash for Shona and I by doing more photography. I'm building a website and will be pimping my services as much as possible :) I'll post up a link as soon as its finished!

Last weekend I brought my Mum and Sis to Menopause the Musical in Kerry and I have to say I was crying with laughter so much. Twink is a complete star, she is so funny and has a heart of gold, she also looks amazing (you go girl). The next day we gals went for a fantastic walk near glencar, i came home with some gorgeous images and a sprained ankle. My mum kept saying look down and look where you're going, we came to a clearing, i looked up to see the view and thats when i twisted my ankle in a great big whole... i found this quote for a siggie (not ciggie). “When I look down, I miss all the good stuff when I look up, I just trip over things” ~ Ani Difranco

Went to the docs on monday and he sent me to the hospital to get it x-rayed... 3 hours later they sent me out with a bandage and told me to go home and rest... not a bother. Its fine now really, just a little swollen but I'm so happy with the photographs, must send a few copies to the girls :)

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Amy and Ali made their confirmation during the week, Shona and I headed out to Bunratty after work to spend some time with the girls (and take some photos). They all look so grown up and gorgeous. We had a laugh sneaking into where we shouldn't be......

(Hi Michael, sorry to have missed you and Helen, hope you are having a fabby holiday)

Right off to visit the boys and have the girls coming over for some vino and scrapping :) Have a loverly weekend... see ya next month :)

Rachel's Communion

Rachel made her communion yesterday and today I went to Viv's to take photos of her photogenic daughter. She is such a great subject to photograph, eyes as big as saucers, gorgeous silky hair and bags of personality. My favourite photo was the 4th out of about 350 images, mind you I have loads to choose from :)


Hi grandad Michael (*waves), thanks for checking in every now and then, hopefully you enjoy the read! BTW (by the way) don't copy the image of Rachel, its too small for printing. I'll make sure you get a printed copy :)

The Party of All Parties!

The party was a sea of Black and Orange... I wonder why?! We were all there to celebrate the "Orange One's" birthday. They came from far and near to eat, drink and be very merry. It really is a reflection on Tigger and what a friend she is! We loves her and thinks she is the business~!

Thank you Tiggs and Family for making us soooo welcome! Happy 40th!

Please forgive me Annamarie, Jan and Ber! I couldn't help it.

Happy Birthday Tigger

Happy Birthday to the bounciest person I know! And from the phone call this morning she is still bouncing! Hope you have a great day babes, see you friday for your "surprise" birthday :)

Happy 69th Birthday Mum

Did we not celebrate your 70th last year? Mind you, you still look amazing no matter what age you are! Eve wanted to celebrate her birthday by chilling at the Radisson. What is the draw to this hotel? The Rain Spa and Wellness Clinic! OMG!!!!! I lurve the Relaxtion Suite and the treatments are amazing. We chilled for hours, imagine i sat and did nothing for hours... gosh did i need that. We stayed the night and had dinner in the hotel, talk about luxury! So much so I've booked the girls for my birthday in July :)

Buddy being dramatic after he saw the bill - hee hee! Such a poser!

Me with my new hair cut and necklace, we made these later on at the table, each of the girls picked out the stone they liked, which i picked up in Galway on friday :)

Lousie looking photogenic as usual! Love this girl and hope she feels better soon (*cough cough)

Johnny and Phil (aka the love birds) on a well deserved break - you've been working too hard!

Friday we had our Soiree at Viv's and the food was amazing, as ever I was in great company but i certainly had way too much to drink. I payed for it the next day having to be up early. Today Louise was volunteering at a fair in Clare doing face painting. I went along to see what was going on and ended up spending 4 hours painting kids faces besdie her, at opne stage there was a ques of about 20 kids (and their parents). It was all for the nursing home where the fair was on. It was such fun that I would love to do it again!
Before I head off this is a LO i did during the week. I "interviewed" Shona about her favourite food and it ended up being the funiest conversation. The silhouette is her profile, using a torch and a dark room. I love the photos (my little actress). Gosh she gives me great material to scrap!

First Exhibition

Just back in door from my first photo exhibition :) I was excited all day, couldn't wait to see my photos up and i have to say it was fantastic!!! I've really been bitten by the bug, I'm already planning my next collection!!!!! :) :) Ber, Mary, Phil, myself and of course others from our club had our exhibit in Watch House Cross library . The room is perfect for showing work! The following are just a few photos of the gang :)

Ber and her wonderful Photos:

Photographer from Limerick leader, Mary and Ber with some of work the background :)

Phil and his fantastic photographs :

Shona was with me and I'm hoping that the LL photographer got a nice photo of us two with her holding a photo of herself :) Here are 3 of my Photographs at the Exhibit:

Anyways off to my labba to dream about giving up the day job and becoming a full time artist!:) Ciao x

*lurve*

lookie what i treated myself to :) i lurve my iPod nano sooooo much, i've loaded up a few of my favourite albums and downloaded an audiobook too, you can even watch movies on it, how cool is that! I love using out walking and would recommend it to anyone who loves music! Another little treat for myself to celebrate 2 months smoke free. I can't believe it, not one ciggie but you know what, i knew the day i stopped that i would never smoke again. Boy is the mind a powerful thing.

Happy Easter :)

February - A Feast or a Famine?

Definitely a feast but boy am i looking forward to the famine in March!

Photo Club - Back at the begining of the month a few of us from the photo club decided to go out for the day to try and capture some photos... It really was a blast, plenty of fresh air, plenty of photos and alot of getting to know each other! We plan on doing plenty of these during the rest of the year :)


These are some of my favourite shots from the day:


Season - I was looking out my kitchen wondow one very frosty morning when i noticed this stunning web which up close actually looks like crystals. Its funny how you can see a photo op anywhere and everywhere! I love the colour combination of the frosty web against the blue of the swing. i even love the rusty bolt just about in shot.



Another UL shot, imagine about 2 weeks ago there were daffodils!!! I couldn't believe it, even with the frost there are signs of spring everywhere :)


Frosty Sunrise in Barcelona, I woke up to this view last week, amazing to be looking out your kitchen window one day and then upon a misty morning in Spain the next.


Crafteire - Another wonderful event! This year I met up with most of the crafty girls and met some new ones too (*Hi Girls*). I was teaching again this year (2 classes), and hope the girls learned a thing or two from them. The kits used were scrummy (supplied by Crafteire). I loved the classes I signed up to but I wish I could of taken all the classes as each one was wonderful!


The only photos I took at Crafteire were of Tigger and Bronwen, as ever Tiggs was orange and black and look at her hair, how cool is that - she is my biggest fan - LOL! And look at the beautiful young woman Bron is becoming! There are 5 or so photos I loved of the two of them but the orange strip is a real Tigger photo.



Ber and I stayed until Monday, taking the day off work :) Sunday night dinner was sooooo funny with Gertie, Noelle, Bron, Louise, Tigger, Donna, Izzy, Ber and I (Itchy what? Ewwww) I haven't laughed like that is aaaaages, we all had tears rolling down our face and aches in our tummy's! Roll on the next time we all meet up - Crafteire 2009!


On the way home on Monday, Ber and I got caught in a Blizzard, at times it was a little scary but we were the only mad people on the road, so even if we lost control we wouldn't of hit an other car for at least a mile, lol. We decided to check out Birr Castle - and to take a break (30 km in one hour). The photo below captures the wonderful blue sky that lasted about 20 mins before it got dull and grey again. The snow was so bright we nearly got snow blindness - hee hee. I love the direction of the tree, pointing to the seat, to me there is something magical about this photo.

Right that was most of Feb and little of March... There is a Soiree this weekend, Ray's Birthday, and hopefully after that there might be a little famine :) but not for too long hopefully just enough to catch my breath :)