Saturday Market

Early this morning I decided to head to the market. I love the food there, tarts, chocolate, humus, sundried tomatoes, cheese and bread. This time I brought my camera too with the idea of taking a few shots of the yummy produce. It is a great opportunity to photograph various food stuffs :-) The light was perfect too, a little over cast but still perfect.

After the market I headed to John & Ray's for our usual tarts 'n' coffee. I was telling them about my photography one to one next week with a view to taking portraits. They kindly said yes to act as my models over the next few months while I practice. I brought out the camera and took a few shots of them (I'm sure they won't mind if I post a two up). The lighting was really poor ('twas raining) and I didn't want to use a flash so we took the images as close to the window on a setting of F5.6 and 1/200. They had to be lightened slightly in photofiltre but I'm still happy with the images considering the conditions.

Scrapwest - Friends

This weeks theme for Scrapwest is called Friends. Such a perfect theme for me at this time as I have discovered recently true friendship. The photos below are from my birthday meal at the Red Door Restaurant. I couldn't have asked for better people to celebrate with.


Love you all xxx

Lookie-lookie

I am one lucky girl, look what I bought.... a Canon EOS 400d. I ordered it a few weeks ago and it arrived while I was away. I got the twin lens kit which comes with an extra lens and grip. Look at the bed hair, LOL! I have the flu at the moment and am as weak as a kitten, but when ever i get the energy I take out the camera and play, just like a kid :-)

The first thing I did was read the instructions - first time ever, LOL! I've been trying out different settings, one of the things I really love about this camera is the setting are on the LCD when you preview the image, so you know exactly how it was taken. The photo of baby was taken on 1/60, 5.6 - I wanted to focus on her and blur the background.

The photo of Shona was taken 0"3, 5.6 - I wanted to capture movement with a longer shutter speed. Off to play again.... well after a lie down first, I'm exhausted LOL!

Brussels photos

The quality of these shots are only ok, it was dark, I had no tripod and had a few drinks under my belt (LOL!) so I'm quiet happy with them considering. On tuesday night Joke (Yoka), Anne and An brought Nicola and I out for the most beautiful meal, afterwards the took us on a tour of Brussels. I got very excited when they mentioned Manekin Pis, my Dad had told me about him on my last trip, so I was really looking forward to seeing it.....

Manekin Pis - I was very surprised at how small he was, LOL, well Manekin means small man. I would have missed him if I wasn't with locals. Seemingly he is famous for peeing on a fire which stopped Brussels from burning to the ground - you see size doesn't matter LOL!

Janekin Pis is a piss take (hee hee - sorry) on Manekin Pis, she was built in 1985 and you would have to be with a local to find her, she's down a lane way near a few nite clubs and restaurants.

Grand Plaza is a huge square surrounded by amazing architecture, the above photo is the City Hall. At 11pm every evening there is a light show to music with the focus on this building.

This is the Gallery, a type of shopping centre in Brussels, it is very french looking. I love the height of the ceilings and the couple in the foreground show the dimension of the building.

At the end of the night the girls brought Nicola (seen on the right) and I to a little square surrounded by bars, there was even some guys playing bowls, very french. The locals really know how to live. I had a cocktail with rum, mint leaves, crushed ice and lime, it was scrummy (still can't remember the name of it).

The tour really made the trip worth while, ok I know I was there to work but I would hate to miss an opportunity to see local architecture :-)

Birthday photos

Hey there, well made it back in one piece, after delayed flights and a night in Dublin I eventually got home. I got loads of work done but I'm a home bird and was looking forward to getting back to my own place!

I've loaded up a slide show of my wonderful friends who celebrated with me my birthday last weekend :-) The company was fantastic and the food amazing. I love you all so much and feel so lucky to have you in my life! Viv, Tigger, Caroline, Ber and I finished off the night with champers back at my house (a pressie from Valerie - thanks Val it was scrummy!)

The next day Tigger, Caroline, Ber and I spent the day scrapbooking, we had a blast, chatting and being a bit creative too! When the girls left I had to go and pack a bag for Brussels (photos to follow)

Bonjour from Brussels

Just a quick post to say bonjour from Brussels. Training has finished and I have a few hours in the office here before my flight tonight. Mind you its not all work and no play!!!! The girls in the Corporate office brought Nicola (UK) and I out last night for food, drink and sight seeing, photos to follow :-)

The birthday meal on saturday was fantastic with loads of fun, fantastic food and wonderful company. I'll upload those photos when I have a moment to spare. A big thank you to all who were there Viv, Fiona, John, Ray, Tigger, Caroline, Louise, Valerie and Ber. I was spolit rotten with wonderful gifts (of course I deserve it), what a lucky girl I am to have such wonderful friends, love you all!

Right, signing off now, looking forward to being in my own bed tonight, even if it will be late.

Au revoir :-)

ok go

I love Ok Go, especially A Million Ways to be Cruel. The video is so clever and funny, it spawned a huge competition on You Tube where you had to load up your version of the video, some were really weird and others sooooo funny but there is nothing like the original. So sit back and enjoy :-)

Whats another year?

Well last night at about 12:30 I got a text from a friend wishing me a happy birthday... thats right I was 35 for a whole half hour and I didn't even realise, LOL! I didn't feel any older actually I felt really good, as if my whole life is ahead of me, that a new adventure has already begun. I love my life!

As well as the adventure, there are a few things I would like in my 35th year:

1. Another Tattoo
2. New Camera and photography classes - both of which have been organised
3. Keep up my fitness regime
4. Constantly make time for me

I didn't want to make a huge list just a few things that were important to me at this time.

I'm really looking forward to Saturday night, a gang of us are going to Lenny's restaurant, The Red Door for me birthday, check out the website www.thereddoorrestaurant.com (imagine i did that page for them over a year ago - cripes). The food is glourious, the atmosphere so relaxed and the location is breath taking!!!

For the time being can you raise your glass/coffee cup please, and wish us all a happy day!

Comfort

I find great comfort in sharing with people how I feel, not just the sharing to lessen the burden but also with them sharing similar stories with me. The comfort comes from knowing I am not the only person who has ever felt like this, it comes from seeing them happy now and knowing they got through the pain and are living life to the full. It comes from knowing that with each passing day the hurt will become less and less of what i actually feel.

I found a huge amount of comfort from something Orla said at Curves this week. It was time for me to be weighed and measured and I wasn't sure how I had done. When she told me that I had lost 6lbs, an inch off my waist and an inch off my abdomen I wasn't really surprised, as my appetite has not been the best recently. She asked how did I manage to loose that amount, I replied with tears in my eyes "heartache". She told me that when she last had her heart broken she lost a stone in 2 weeks, this felt like another revelation, I'm not alone, others have been through this. She quickly followed it up with "look at me now, I'm putting on weight because I'm so happy and in love" Hee hee!

Already I smile more with each passing day. I think less of the person who hurt me with each passing day and I know one day I will realise it has been weeks since I last thought of him. This is life. Bring it on!!!

S.O.S.

I have a history of when things get tough, climbing into my shell and trying to deal (or control) whats going on in my life. This has been my so called strenght, not bothering friends who have enough on their plates and of course I didn't want to be seen as weak, not being able to cope..... this led to major problems emotionally for me but I have been working on it with loads of help!

Yesterday and for the first time in my life I sent out a distress signal to my friends, just letting them know that I wasn't the best, that I was feeling alone and needed comfort. I was taking a gamble that they might not return my S.O.S. and I would feel even more alone but I needed to do this.

I still can't believe it, the text's, emails and calls from near and far. My Friends telling me they love me, that they are thinking of me. They listened to me, and how I was feeling, they let me cry without hushing me. We talked about themselves too and things going on in our lives... I heard myself laugh about something funny, it was like a revelation! Even in the pain I was in, I could still laugh, and I will laugh again. I have to go through this pain, experience it, but it will subside and I will laugh again.

Yes I am weak, yes I cry, yes I feel like crap, YES I am HUMAN!

One's friends are that part of the human race with which one can be human.

~George Santayana

Thank you all!

Eva x

Crop 'n' Shop

We were so tired last night after a fabby weekend in Youghal that I didn't have the energy to post up some photos. Tigger had asked Shona and I down to her place for a Crop 'n' Shop, and knowing Tigger's (& family) hospitality we said yes straight away. On our way down on friday we collected Caroline in Mallow. It was brill to have adult company for the journey and to catch up with Caroline too :-)

On Saturday morning Ruth and Donna arrived at Tiggers and after a few hours of scrapbooking we all headed to the Craft Mills in Lismore for a little retail therapy.... ok alot of retail therapy. We were like children in a sweet store!!! Laura's shop is amazing! She has some wonderful papers, embelisments, inks and stamps. Gosh, Its so much nicer seeing crafty stash in real life. Once we left a wee fortune behind us it was off to have a yummy lunch in Foley's.

After our feed we went around the corner to a Church of Ireland, where I got some gorgeous photos not only of us girls but of course of the church itself (surprise, surprise!) The light under the trees was delish and I got some gorgeous photos. I love the one of Ruth, Tigger, Caroline and Donna!

We got loads of scrapping done, well most of did ;-) alot of the LO's are for Scrapwest over the next few weeks so the only one I can show is the one dedicated to the weekend. I used the yummy Basic Grey Pheobie collection, really loving these papers!!!

Oooops - this is an 8x8 DLO (thanks Audrey)

Thanks Tigger and family for looking after us! A huge thank you to Eugene for supplying our tummies with the most scrummy food over the weekend. It wasd a fab weekend catching up with the girls and I'm looking forward to the next one :-)

Tags

This weeks Scrapwest was set by Annamarie and was called 'Tags' incorporating them into a LO, mini Album or card. I made this mini album using the yummy Pheobie papers, chipboard flower, ribbon and lovely pink envelopes. The mini book is to celebrate Shona's Communionn with photographs of her at various times of the day (the later ones are so funny), the tags in the pocket have even more photos.

Open Road

There is nothing better than the feeling of freedom with just a simple thing like the open road and no plans to where you will end up. After spending the week in the hospital with Shona all I wanted to do this bank holiday weekend was hop in the car and drive. Luckily for me I had a driver who kindly obliged to let me sit back and watch the scenery.

The first place we ended up at on Saturday was the Cliffs of Moher along with a 100 or so other soaked to the skin tourists. The sign below is dedicated to the last person I was with at the Cliffs, way back in the late 80's (LOL!).

Can you imagine all those tourists who stop to look at one of the most famous landscapes in Ireland (with one of the most expensive car parks in Ireland) only to be met with nothing but mist. Lucky for them there was plenty of plastic tourist ornaments to purchase in the shop to make the journey worth it! Oh and lovely wax hats to keep the rain off too :-)

On one of the bi-roads we came across one of the most breath taking views (of course there would have to be a building included). I got a close up shot too of the castle but the private sign we noticed might indidcate the owners wouldn't want us posting it up, or evidence that we were on private property :-o

Doolin had the most spectular natural elements. I am always amazed at how anything grows in the Burren. Peeping through the rocky landscape you can always find a little bit of nature thriving....

... but what Doolin offered the most was nature at its best!!! We stood there totally spell bound by the strenght and power of waves crashing against the rocks. After a few photos I had to put the camera down and just experience it. If the weather had been better we wouldn't have known this :-) thank goodness for the Irish weather!

After our car picinic in Doolin, it was back on the road to Ballyvaughan. On the way I really made the moat of being a passenger. The scenery in Clare is so rough and rugged and truly beautiful! We had a nice meal in Monks followed by a walk and a drink in a local where there was some trad music.

The next day it was off to Galway for a few hours, coffee on Shop street, just chilling and making the most of the better weather. There was loads of street entertainment, music, markets and street artists all competing for customers. The guy below had the right idea, it made him stand out from the crowd sitting on the australian's lap (LOL!).

We finished off our tour by heading to Salthill to soak up the sun and have a little fruity tart picnic. I came home feeling completely relaxed and ready for whatever the world holds! Thanks goodness for bank holiday weekends :-)

Scrap West

This weeks Scrap West theme was set by Ruth and is called Birds of a Feather. I love this photo of Shona and I, she thought it was soooo funny to wear my glasses, which I think makes her look so grown up! I used the gorgeous Piggy Tales collection from Crafteire which includes tags and the most gorgeous coloured chipboard letters.

I also used buttons, the Heidi Swapp flowers and white chipboard letters that Tigger got me as a b-day gift nearly 12 months ago (its the gift that just keeps on giving). I hi-lighted the flower on the tag with glossy accents. Thanks for looking and have a wonderful weekend!

Have you tried....

... cheese and onion Taytos and chocolate TOGETHER? Well I have for the first time and all I can say is YU-UM-MY!!!! In work we just happened to be talking about chocolate (as you do...) when one of my work girlies mentioned the combination. My first thought was YUCK, but I was persauded to go purchase the ingredients, assemble the combination and then devour. So if you have not tried it out yet then rush out to the local shop and purchase your favourite choccie and a bag of cheese and onion Taytos.

P.S. If you have a favourite weird combinations can you leave a link please :-) I'm feeling very adventurous!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Found this on Elsie's blog and thought it was cool. Check out the "get your own" for a bit of fun

:-)

R & R

My little woman and I rested up today, we chilled watching TV, we shoped for treats and had a fab lunch in the Pizza Hut :-) I got this gorgeous photo of my babes chilling on the couch and had to scrap it straight away (any excuse for me to relax too). Believe it or not this is a 12x12 ... I used the scrummy Oodles Of Doodles from Upsy Daisy Designs (check out the Crafteire shop), chipboard shapes, felt and buttons.


The flower chipboard was done by covering with white acrylic paint (a trick from Tracie is to use baby wipes to apply the paint in layers - it dries very quickly!). I then applied dots of glossy accents for a little bit of texture.

Kirsty's Photo

Last sunday the wonderful Tigger hand delivered the CD of photo's from Kirsty. They look grand but I think I prefere the untouched ones, wrinkles and all (LOL). Anyway it was a wonderful oppurtunity to get photos done by Kirsty.




Shona and I are going to spend the day relaxing, ok we do have to do some food shopping and maybe a few treats for the little woman too :-) but the rest of the day is just chilling :-)

Have a lovely day all!

Life is a Rollercoaster

... isn't it though! So much has happened since last I posted, well not so much, just one major thing really.

My little girl has been in hospital since last Sunday with pneumonia. I thought it was a bug as she has a temperature and was constantly sick. When we brought her to the doc on sunday he thought it was appendicitis, so straight to the hospital. The poor babes was really out of it with a fever so as soon as they put her on a drip I felt more relaxed. The blood tests showed she had an infection but they couldn't tell where... She had no cough or sniffles so it was a huge surprise when after the chest x-ray the docs said it was pneumonia.

Two days after the anti-b's and about 13 hours straight sleep, she awoke nearly back to herself (what a relief!). She came out today, yipee!!! I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight with my little girl. As alot of you probably know its impossible to sleep on the ward with beeps going off through our the night and the pull out bed isn't the most comfortable! Anyways, she was let out today, which was really a good thing as last night she woke up and asked me to sneak her out (LOL).

There was very little to do in hospital except wait, read and watch TV, but one of the days I brought my sketch book. I haven't sketched in aaaaaages so they are a little rough and Shona decided they need a little work and added her own little touches :-)

Twilight Racing

Yesterday evening myself and 2 other girls from work headed to a Twilight Race Meeting in Limerick Racecourse... talk about hilarious!!! None of us had a clue what we were doing and hadn't a clue how to read "the form" either but sure that didn't stop us from betting big money (€2 to place or each way ).

We picked our horses by their horsey names... we quickly scanned the list in each race to see something that would pop out or mean something no matter how obscure. I was very dissapointed, any of the horses I picked didn't place very well, whereas the 2 girls were picking winners each time... So by the 5th race I got very excited when I saw the name Crafty Eyed. I thought the gods were smiling down on me or giving me a sign that this was going to be my winner!!! ..... well all I can say is that Crafty Eyed is still running (@#%*^%)

After the races the Hot House Flowers played in the pavillion, Liam and the boys were soooooo cool, giving it loads! Mind you so was Ailis and I, we danced most of the evening with poor Ann minding our bags (she didn't want to be seen anywhere near us). I didn't realise how loud the music was (or how old I was) until we left the pavillion and I kept asking the girls "am I shouting?" the two girls kept repling "what?" LOL!

Anyways, we had a blast and I would recommmend it to anyone!!! The next one is on the 16th June and Jack L is playing after the races (coooool!). Check out Limerick Races for more info.

Ciao and have a lovely weekend!

First Holy Communion

My little princess is growing up sp fast! Yesterday was her First Holy Communion and what a wonderful day it was. From the moment she woke up to when she eventually went to bed she was so excited, which was a relief considering how nervous she was during the lead up to it.


The ceremony itself was very special, with each child playing a part. Shona brought a gift to the alter, you could see the concentration on her face. One of things Shona was worried about was the taste of the eucharist. When she did receive it and turned to walk back down to her seat, she glanced over at me, screwed up her face and mouthed the word "yuck", you could hear a little murmer of laughter throughout the church.

Of course there was a few emotional moments for me, how proud I was of my beautiful young girl. I really felt part of a special occasion, sharing it with my Mum and Shona's dad. When the priest talked about the children being so open, trusting and forgiving it really tugged at my heart. The tears were freely rolling down my cheeks :-)

The party back at the house was so relaxed! Our guests started arriving at about 2pm and kept coming all day. Everyone commented on the gorgeous food that my wonderful sister prepared for us and the wine was just delish!!!

I have to say, there was no stress for me even with the run up to the event. When people offered to help I siad "yes, please", I even asked for help on a few occasions, which as my family know can be very difficult (being stubborn and independent). The day would not have been the success it was without the help of my Mum and Dad, my sister and John :-)

On a serious note, the cosmic forces were working over time yesterday. After my parents left the house to go to Kerry, they were envolved in a very serious accident at the Dublin roundabout. They were hit from behind by a jeep, which got caught on my parents jeep. The driver seemed to be accelerating rather than breaking as he was pusing them at speed towards an ESB pole. Only for my dad having the presence of mind to pull on the hand brake I don't think they would have made it. As they broke free and my Mum got control of the jeep, the other vehicle flipped over twice and landed up-side-down.

We're not sure how the other driver is as he was taken away by ambulance but my Mum and Dad are ok, just very shaken up. My poor Mum said to me last night, all she could think as she was being pushed towards the pole, was that they were going to die on Shona's communion.

I know that sounds very depressing but I am feeling thankful to who ever was looking after my parents yesterday. Its times like this you become grateful for what is in your life. Shona and I tell my parents how much we love them everytime we see them. At least that is one thing I am thankful for!

Life can change in a second, so please if there is someone you need to pick up the phone to and tell them you love them, do it now!

I would like to dedicate this post to....

..... a wonderful woman, mother and scrapbooker, whom I never knew had a blog until today! She lives on an island off Donegal and eveytime I hear her stories about travelling by boat to the mainland in all kinds of weather, I think to myself, what a fantastic adventure this woman and her family are having! Here's to you Noelle. Check out her Blog with gorgeous photos of her kids and sample what life must be like on Tory Island.

Basic Grey

Well I am so chuffed, I submitted The Invitation LO to the Basic Grey gallery and I've just got an email to say the LO was selected for the gallery, yipee!!! I'm so excited, its the first time I submitted something to them :-) Below is the LO, you can check out Basic Grey for a peep.

Below is the LO for the Scrapwest Blog. The theme was My Craft, which was to celebrate the wonderful weekend we all had at Crafteire. There is a common feel on this weeks theme, our love for our craft. Something we all understand only too well :-)