Fitness

Well after our walk along the cliffs to Greystones, I have become a bit more motivated with my exercise.

On Sunday I went off to the pool at the gym and did 35 laps and some aqua aerobic exercises.  Then Monday I did 15 laps and 20 minutes of Aqua aerobics, the new trainer on a Monday is not so clued up and needs to find his feet.

Then Wednesday night I did 21 laps and 30 minutes of Bootcamp Aqua aerobics, wow I loved it, loved being pushed to the limits and trying to keep up with the ultra fit instructor, who sometimes goes on like those rabbits in the ever ready battery ad.

So I decided that tomorrow night I would try the Zumba class, it's on for an hour, from 7:30 tomorrow night and then afterwards go for a swim, Jacuzzi, sauna and the steam room.  What a way to spend a Friday!

I think I am getting fitter and I can definitely feel that I am more toned, however still long way to go.  So want to come along and join me?

Summer in Ireland

INSTALLING SUMMER IN IRELAND.....

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Google Earth

I was amazed at the new Google Earth, that actually shows you the house quite clearly almost like a photograph but in 360 degrees because you can move the camera around and see everything.  I first googled our address, and the satellite image was obviously taken when we weren't home, which is weird because when you do the aerial view, you can clearly see washing hanging on the line and both our cars in the drive, yet when you do the street level view there are no cars in the drive, so they must have been taken at different stages.

Our number has the cars in the drive and the front door open.  I Google Earthed some place in Australia and you can actually see the people walking in the street and almost identify them.  When I started putting in addresses in South Africa, the aerial view is quite good, but if you try go to street level is just blurs it out, the same with America, is this to stop burglars using Google Earth to see how they can access a house, then surely they should blur it out anywhere in the world, I mean after all their are burglars in Ireland and Australia too, not just South Africa and America.

It's mind blowing though, try putting in your address and then once you get the aerial view click on the plus button until it gives you the street level, you never know you might even see yourself there.

Sunny Sundays

Today was one of those days where you weren't quite sure what the weather was going to do, but we took the chance and packed a picnic basket and went off to Marlay park.  It turned out to be a beautiful hot day, and my car temp read 27 degrees.

After having our picnic and Em playing in the park for almost 2 hours and meeting a new friend Sophia, D arrived and he took Em off to a party and I went and spent a relaxing 2 hours in the pool at the gym, well sort of relaxing, I must be getting fitter as I managed to do 35 laps and exercises in an hour.  Then went off to Wild and Greene for a quick take away smoothie before fetching Em from the party.

10 Years Later...

I suddenly realised on Wednesday the 21st of June (Longest Day of the year) that I had been in Ireland for 10 years.  I remember the day so clearly, I was laden down with so much luggage on a Swiss air flight from Johannesburg via. Zurich to Dublin.  I arranged with Eva a girl I met in Australia in 1998 to meet her at the airport in Zurich as I had a 2 to 3 hour stop over.

She met me laden with all nice Swiss goodies it was so lovely to see her.  Then onward to Dublin, and D was waiting for me at the airport, he had hired a Ford Ka, which must have been the smallest car I had ever seen because he had already collected the unaccompanied luggage and had to rush home to take it as there was no room for anything else.

Anyway it was so nice seeing him after almost a month, D had left on the 18th of May as he was starting work on the 21st of May.  Well I was quite surprised by the apartment he had rented, I expected it to be really old and dark and dingy, but in fact it was Bright and lovely.  And yes he never lets me forget how long it took him to clean it and how filthy it was.  It's amazing the things we experienced in the last 10 years.

For the first year we never had a car and would go shopping walking to Rathmines from Milltown with a backpack, actually walking everywhere.
My mom came over for a few weeks and sadly she passed away that same year, we have had loads of visitors.
We've met some wonderful friends and some not so wonderful.  We have met other South Africans, some who have arrived and left either to go home or proceeded on somewhere else.
I have revived old friendships with friends I lost touch with 12 years ago and are living just across the sea - Thanks Google.  Actually thanks to Facebook, SA reunited and Google I have got in touch with people I haven't seen or heard from in almost 30 years, some who I hope I will stay in contact with for the rest of my life.
We have seen some awesome concerts, and we have traveled to places we never have even thought of going to had we still been living in SA.
We had the most wonderful addition to the family "Emily" who also may not have come along had we still been in SA.
I have learnt a lot about the Irish nation, mostly how they are ruthless in business and will smile and shake your hand while stabbing you in the back, even on your mother's funeral.
However I have also learnt that Irish people are just as friendly as South Africans and once you make a true friend they will bend over backwards for you.

Most of all in the 10 years gone by, I can finally say that I think I am now content with our choice, we made some good decisions and we have made some bad decisions, but the decisions we have made have been made and there is not too much we can do about them.

But I often wonder where will I be in 10 years time, I know where I would like to be but I guess sometimes we just can't have everything we want!

By the way the photo at the top is of my friend Bob who I started working with in 2001 so his probably one of my oldest Irish friends!

Today's Quotes

“Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it.”


“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.”


“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”


“Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you I had no control over.”


“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”


“Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep... wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky his is to have you.... The one who turns to his friends and says, 'that's her.'”

My Daily Quote

“This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.”

We walked the Walk

How I managed to get D out of bed by 8 on Sunday, God only knows but we managed and we left the house by  9:10 a.m. to meet Lisa in Bray by 9:30, we started the walk slowly from outside the Porterhouse and managed to get to Greystones in just over 2 hours, with a lot of stops on the way - we had to watch the Dolphins frolicking in the bay, listen to Em complain.

It was a stunning walk and one I will do again, and I am so proud of Em as she was the only kid on the walk and managed it.

Walk the Walk is a video showcasing the fantastic Bray to Greystones Cli...

The Parlotones - Stars Fall Down

What a life ...

I was just thinking what an amazing life my child has, she has been around the world, she has traveled extensively, and she really does have a wonderful life.  Last week was her birthday party and we did Movies "Kung Fu Panda 2" with her friends, and then went off to Eddie Rockets for a kiddies Meal.

Then on Sunday we had the adopted Grandparents over, Joe, Carla and Lisa and some kids from the neighborhood for snacks and cake.

Monday we did something but for the life of me I can't remember now, oh yes we took the LUAS into town to go and explore the new Disney store on Grafton street (what a disappointment, but I will leave that for another post).  Then on the way home, I took her to the gym for a swim.

Wednesday was sports day at school, I took the afternoon off and that night she had a sleep over at a friend (mid-week) only because D and I were off to the Def Leppard Concert, and then Friday she had a Birthday party after school a "pajama party".

Friday night I got a call from Granny Yvonne, who's daughter is here from SA, and her granddaughter Sarah wanted to spend time with Emily, so Saturday I went and picked her and her daughter up, who is a year younger than Em, took them Marlay park, then to Dundrum for some retail therapy, ice-cream for the kids, Coffee for the moms and a walk around Hamley's (so way over priced)!


Then back to our place for lunch and playing and finally dropped them at home on the way to our concert, and as it turned out D went and got Em a ticket for the Journey Foreigner Concert so she came with us.  We stopped at Milano's on the Quays for dinner first.  Then walked over to the O2, well I should do a post about that separately because my child was head banging standing clapping waving her arms just like a really Rock child (mum a wee but embarrassed)  - lol but I got over that :).

Today has been a home day because we got home so late and it hasn't stopped raining the whole day!

Journey to a Foreign land competition

This morning I was in the kitchen listen to Radio Nova  as usual except this time we were childless, Em had a sleep over at a friend while D and I went to the concert at the O2, anyway in the mornings they have all kinds of competitions and this morning they had "Journey to a foreign land" and they played a recording in a different language and you had to phone and tell them what country the language came from, so the recording was: "Ons kantoor is nou toe, skakel asseblief .... blah blah blah", like hello why wouldn't I know where that was from.  So D said phone and I did, but I never expected it to ring or for "Pat" from Radio Nova to answer, and I said "Hi, Pat it's Rose here" and he said "aaaah, I know you are going to know this" he recognised my accent.  So I got it right and got into the draw.  Well I the winner was going to be chosen at 9:50 and they would get tickets to see "Journey & Foreigner" at the O2 on Saturday night.  I left my phone on my desk sort of hoping I would win, but never expected to, but lone behold at 9:50 my phone rang and it was Pat to tell me I had won.  So I was on the radio twice in one morning!  He kept me on the phone for a while and also told me what a beautiful voice I had and he bets I get told that all the time ... a bit of flirting going on there you think?

Anyway D is going round to pick up the tickets from them tomorrow and I have to get a baby sitter.  Looking forward to it.

Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Alice Cooper

Well the main aim of the concert was to go see Def Leppard, but after seeing them in Belfast in 2008 I thought last nights gig was not that great!  However, I have a new appreciation for Thin Lizzy and Alice Cooper - wow what a show.  It started at 7 with Thin Lizzy coming out and belting out some of them well known hits, The boys are back in town, Black Rose and Whiskey in the Jar along with some other really good hits.  They played for over and hour, then after a half hour break while they changed the set, Alice Cooper came on and although I know some of his songs I did not expect him to be the performer he was, the sets were amazing and the python wrapped around him was like a female Glenda Kemp except he kept his clothes on.

The last act was Def Leppard and they definitely did not keep the best for last, because although the songs from their new album are good and they belted out some oldies they just did not perform up to the standard we had seen in 2008.  I also think coming out and telling the audience that they were not as great as the audience they had in Belfast really pissed some people off.

Between D and myself we took some amazing pictures.

Alice Cooper ~ Poison (with lyrics) AWESOME VIDEO

Looking forward to an awesome Concert at the O2 tonight, Def Leppard, Alice Cooper and Thin Lizzy!!!

Lost Continent: Cinema of South Africa - Movie List on mubi.com

Lost Continent: Cinema of South Africa - Movie List on mubi.com

Happy Birthday Em

The final product that took 4 nights to make!

Suicide

Why?

A dear friend of mine came to work yesterday and was really upset, a friend of hers in her neighborhood had committed suicide by hanging himself.

Of course when she told me so many memories came flooding back of people dear to me who had committed suicide, and although she was really upset I had to tell her that it is so selfish, because they don't realise what they do to the people they leave behind.  She was beating herself up about it, just as I had done when Norman committed suicide.

I know that when you are in that moment of depression you are only ever thinking about yourself, and you think the world would be a better place without you but that is never the case.  90% of the time suicides are related to Alcohol.  That was the fact in every suicide that I know of, which makes me think that alcohol like cigarettes should be banned.

Most suicide victims are just shouting out for attention, wanting someone to show them that everything is going to be alright, why also are majority of suicide victims "male"?

If I could have 5 minutes with each of the people I know that committed suicide, would I be able to change their minds?

Often I have been in the situation where I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel and things just keep going wrong, but I realise there are people worse off than me!  D also always makes me think, what is the worst thing that can happen in your situation?  I could get fired?  then what?  I look for another job?  What happens if I can't find one? I go on the dole? then what?  99% of the time there is an answer and there is always someone out there willing to help - the problem is a Suicide victim would never go up to someone and say "I am thinking of committing suicide", because majority of the time these things are done in haste and if they could have woken up the next morning, I am sure they would have regretted what they had done the night before!

The worst funerals I have ever been to have been because of Suicide and I think it is something we need to tell our children about.