Run Natalie Run...

Or walk! I am taking part in the Flora women's mini marathon on Monday. It is the largest women's race of its kind in the world. Wow. I tried to do a bit of training, walked home from work a couple of times and attempted (poorly) a run around Marley Park. I THINK I managed 1.5 km's....and walked the rest. Two hockey tournaments in May have to have helped right?

This morning I spent a very pleasant morning with Katie, we went to the R.D.S and collected our race numbers and then wondered around sampling all the things on offer. They had a Wi Fit section and I had my weight and BMI checked...my BMI was in the ideal range - woohoo!!! I did a whole lot of little tests and eventually my fit age was revealed...32! Happy little camper moi!!!

Perhaps a 32 year old version of me will manage a jog? Worst case scenario...a scenic walk around Dublin at 15h00 on Monday, and at least we raised money for our charity through work! I will actually try to jog a lot of the course, wish me luck!

The LATE Friday song

What can I say, last night at Dicey's this song played and I thought, oh I like...good Friday song - I know it is Saturday but I heard it on Friday!

IT'S BAAACK

Wow all hands on deck for a crazy weekend at Three Rock and lots of hockey. I am beginning to question my enthusiasm of being on the committee...so much to do and so little time! Who am I kidding? I love the rush! Tomorrow my day begins in a Desperate Housewives type fashion with a trip to the hairdresser for an overdue highlight session and after that the fun begins, programmes to be collected, envelopes to be stuffed, food to be bought, glasses to be collected and somewhere in between I have to get myself semi glammed up for our Friday evening get together - guess that means I should go and put myself to bed, was hoping to find a Friday song as I have been neglecting that but what's another week eh?

Calm before the next storm...

A glass of wine, a joint of beef in the oven, football and the sound of pages turning in the background. Welcome to Sunday in my home today. The page turning is my eldest preparing for junior cert, the football, we duh ... and the glass of wine? Well just a glass of wine really, but it does create a warm fuzzy glow as an added bonus.
Weekends as a working mum are very different to what I am accustomed to, but I have found my rhythm, Saturday is cleaning (oh OKAY...unless something more appealing rares its head) and Sunday at some stage is the hunting and gathering for the week ahead. To this end I have to just say...I L-O-V-E Aldi. My budget remains intact and generally I even have a little left over grocery money at the end of the month, how great is that! I have also discovered frozen mashed potato (in three varieties) which is fab for the working mom, and today I am testing out the Maris Piper roast potatoes...we will see. My potato ricer has not been forgotten I hasten to add, just not as utilised as in the past!
Blissful weekend it may be, but I do have to confess that I am also really looking forward to next weekend. TRR Vets hockey festival time of year again and as my family have learnt....I'm here, but not really ( a stop over for a change of clothes and spot of beautifying) as most of the weekend (OK...all of the weekend) is spent playing hockey and then evenings socialising. This year I am on the organising committee so a bit more work will have to be done, but hopefully it will just add to the buzz of the whole weekend.
Sadly it flies by so quickly, this morning I woke up thinking ... "This time last week I was in Black Pool" and in some ways it already feels so long ago! I guess I just have to make every minute count and then hold onto the memories I create for as long as possible! (The wine talking???)
Wow, this afternoon really is peaceful, wet and cloudy, lots of rain but feeling so content.

James how could you?

A while ago I went and bought a new hand beater, this is a rather necessary appliance in my kitchen even though it does not get as much action as it once did. I popped into House of Fraser and was rather amused to see that James Martin has added his smiling face to the boxes on the Wahl products. The price was very similar to all the others so I decided to get it - even though I did not know the brand, James had me convinced that it would be a long lived kitchen appliance.
WRONG.
Sadly it lost the battle with the brownie mix and died a slow and agonising death (well it SOUNDED painful) while trying to beat the batter. Wimp! Sadly I have seen a few more appliances with his name, but I am not going to be tricked into buying another Wahl product by one of my favourite TV chefs.
I guess buying quality only applies to the actual ingredients when cooking with James.

Eastern Promise

I sat in the lounge area of reception yesterday morning after checking out with a heavy heart, but that was a good thing because the reason for my gloominess was the end of an absolutely awesome weekend!
Black Pool Fylde Fillies Hockey Festival did NOT disappoint. In fact if anything it was even better than last year because some of the faces were now familiar and it was great to catch up with people from a year ago. I left having met even more people and 2010 will no doubt be another great reunion! See I am already planning to attend next year.
Paula has a wicked sense of humour and to this end I was made team captain for the weekend, just goes to show the spirit in which we play…i.e. not very seriously!



Besides forgetting the name of the team we were playing while doing a ‘Three Cheers’ all went fairly smoothly, although I did not do much and elected Fiona as my mouthpiece because she is very good at encouraging everyone!
I did manage to sustain a few injuries; my beautifully swollen foot has done my injury proud! When it first happened and I was hobbling about I felt like a bit of a hypochondriac but now I am vindicated and have proudly showed off my bruises and scrapes – a wonderful astro burn on my left arm also generates a suitable wince to all who see it!
On Saturday night we all dressed up in the same outfits, and I must say it was pretty cool dancing in the turquoise circle that made up the Dolly Mixtures.
As usual all the teams rose to the challenge and some of the outfits were absolutely amazing.


After all the dancing a whole bunch of us ended up curled up on chairs and couches chatting until after 04h00 and then we all felt satisfied that we had met the magic hour and now had bragging rights for Sunday morning as to how little sleep we needed. Pulling off a win in the first game of the day on Sunday, was the highlight of our hockey games, especially as we had to get up earlier to get to the pitches!
Sunday evening was a repeat of last year with a visit into Black Pool to watch Funny Girls which did not disappoint. Afterwards we walked over to a bar called Roxy’s were the music drew us all on to the dance floor and we had a fantastic time.
More chatting ensued back at the hotel and another early morning bed time was the result! Somehow we still managed to make breakfast before the 10h00 cut off and then as the sun was shining and the whole sky was painted blue we even had a walk on the beach.

Black Pool here I come AGAIN

Wow I cannot believe a year has passed me by and I am off to Black Pool for the hockey tournament. This year the dinner on Saturday night is Eastern Promise - our outfits are...actually you can see the pictures when I get back!
It has been a manic week, Monday being a public holiday has thrown me off a bit and I found myself madly grocery shopping and getting bits for tour on Tuesday night.
Wednesday night (tonight) we proudly watched as Jess was presented with her award for Artist of the year 2009 at her school.
Tomorrow night we will be looking for a school in East Glendalough to enjoy seeing our youngest in action on stage and then somewhere in between I need to pack -WHY am I blogging? I have to go and pack!!!! Sorry folks but airport at 09h45 on Friday so adios!!!

Busy little bees

Friday - Lost the plot in Marks and Spencer - tatty teddy (blue nose bear as I fondly call him) pink dressing gown and slippers proved too darn irresistible and THEN I saw the most beautiful embroidered pajamas and then and then and then...€75 later I made a hasty exit hoping that the fact that the gifts were for my husbands SISTER'S baby would be a good enough defense.
Evening spent with family in front of the TV with Pizza Hut pizza, popcorn, Ben and Jerrys newest flavour - Chocolate Macadamia and DVD's.....ahhhhhhhh.

Saturday & Sunday - Spent the entire day up at the hockey club volunteering during the Irish Hockey League finals. Jess and Kirstin joined me and ended up pitching in too - Kirstin gleefully took up parking attendant duties as it required the use of walkie talkies - over and out!
On Saturday evening we had drinks at the club and a taxi home...car left in car park - on the bright side it was a fabulous spot for Sunday when Kirstin and I reported back for duty after I had done some necessary house work and a pleasant stroll up to the club. Sunday night was more wine...but only one glass and then home for a spot of couch surfing.

Monday - Bank holiday wooohooo!!! Went to Dundrum with Jess and replenished my work wardrobe with a couple of things. Jess ordered some jeans and then made a lunch stop - food was not fabulous but the setting is pretty cool - basically a HUGE glass wall and I am sure on a sunny day it must be fabulous.
Next on the list was a mad dash into town to meet Don and Maura, Maura is working in Dublin for two weeks and we wanted to say a quick hello to Donovan before his flight back to London. We went to a place called Lemon Jelly where Jess Kirstin and I had pancakes - I could make better but they were not bad...and the others had bagels, Malcolm said his was amazing..to me the name Lemon Jelly evokes imagery of fantastic pancakes and all good gooey sweet things, but what do I know? Don left to catch his plane and the rest of us had a little wander around the shops and then called it a day as the kids had to get everything ready for school!