Mini-break

At 5:15am on Wednesday morning, my alarm awoke me quite rudely! I had a plane to catch. Rushed around getting the last minute things packed, had breakfast, and Karl drove me to the airport. I landed in Newcastle at 9:20am and was met by Clare and her hubby, Simon. We headed into Newcastle for a day of exploring. Newcastle is pretty, and we spent some time in the Baltic museum and had something to eat there.

see the seagulls in their nests - just outside the Baltic

 We went to one of the biggest malls in the UK, the Metrocentre, to watch Men in Black 3 at the IMAX in 3D. It was awesome and funny (especially when Clare literally ducked in the cinema!). I think we were all exhausted after all the action in the movie, and we headed home (about an hour long drive from Newcastle). We decided to braai for supper and Simon made delicious lamb burgers and Clare and I made a milktart (it had too much cinnamon in it though)

After dinner, we sat around and chatted (and ate milktart) and finally called it a night. I slept like a baby after being awake since 5:15am.

On Thursday, we had a pretty slow start to the day, but finally headed out to York. York is supposed to be a very beatiful place, and Phil lived there for most of his time when he was in the UK. It was nice to stroll along. There was still a festive buzz in the air. Lots of street performers and crowds, and of course tourists. We stopped off at a market in Kings Square (I think!?) and had delicious springbok burgers from a SA stall.

Clare enjoying her burger

I loved York, and can see why people rave about it. I look forward to visiting again, with my husband. I was in bed and asleep at 9:15pm, because I had to wake up at 5:20 the next morning to catch 5 trains to the Bellis-Jones'.

I woke up feeling fine actually, probably because I slept for about 8 hours. My first train was at 6:15am and I finally pulled into Chester train station at 12:40, exhausted. But it was so nice to see Martheanne and Jenny, and to finally meet my goddaughter, Keira Lilly. 

Ryan and Rox with their babies

Friday night was spent catching up with all the Bellis-Jones' and the Burton family, and I finally got to meet Jaden. He is the sweetest little boy ever, so lovable and he has the cutest smile. 

balancing act :D

On Saturday, after a bit of a lie in, I decided to get Keira's cake sorted. It was actually alot of fun, even though my back really hurt after bending down all day. Side note: Joanne and I are starting a 3 month cake decorating course in Ballymena in September, we are really looking forward to it!

On Saturday evening, Martin's brother and his family arrived and we all went out for dinner. I had a delicious streak in a blue cheese sauce and a glass or 3 of red wine. When we got home, I whipped out my famous pub quiz and we had a really good evening.

Keira and I all dressed up and ready to go out for dinner. 

We all got out of bed at around 6am on Sunday morning to prepare the food for the christneing that day, We prepared sandwiches and cold meats and salads etc. We thought we would be running around all morning, but by 9:30am, all the preparations had been completed. All we had to do was sit around and wait til noon when the hall was ready. So I disappeared to put Keira, and myself apparently, to sleep.

 

 Martheanne and I set out the food in the hall, and she decorated it, and then we headed off to the chapel for Keira's christening, followed by a buffet lunch with about 80 adults and 30 children.

Beautiful Keira Lilly

I miss them all already.

I think we left that hall at around 7pm or so and headed home. We sat around and chatted about Oranjemund and old times, and people we havent heard from or about in a long time, and we also had a few (too many) cosmopolitans. I had such a good time with the BJs, it was a slice of home for me, and I think I needed that desperately. They all headed off to the Lake District yesterday after they dropped me off at the airport. They tried to convince me to go with them, but I reminded them that I have a job AND a husband to get back to. 

I'm just relaxing and taking it easy today. Reading, unpacking and eating :D. I'm feeling refreshed and happy. Its back to work tomorrow, and I have a deadline for the end of June that I don't think I'll meet, but I'll try anyway. 

Jubilee weekend

We have just had a four day weekend. Its been wonderful. I stayed home on Friday and finished the decorations for Keira's christening cake (will post pics next week) and then spent the rest of the day in the sun. On Friday night, we went to Joanne and Willy's for Chinese. On Saturday we slept late, which was much needed. I did a whole lot of washing, including washing my car! Karl and his father managed to make some kind of suspension contraption in the garage so that our sofas are not leaning on each other ( forgot to take pics). On Sunday, Mark and Christima and Barry and Harps came down, to see the Olymoic torch. It passedat the bottom of the road, and we waited in anticipation, I must say I was disappointed, I dunno what I expected?! A bigger torch maybe?

Anyway, after that the 8 of us went out for a yummy dinner at Harry's. When we got home, we set the fire, poured some wine, put on our pjs and were subjected to anotehr quiz. It was so much fun though and competitive as always. We fell into bed at 2am. We spent Monday infront of the fire watching tv. And while the boys were away, playing golf, the 4 ladies watched the Help. Harps, Christina and I have read the book and we were eager to see it. So Karl hooked up the laptop to the tv and we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

On Monday evening, Karl and I went up to Belfast for a braai at Orna and Enda's place. We met some really cool and interesting people. And got home just before midnight. 

Today, Christina, Mark, Karl and I started interval training for running. It was all going very well until Christina fell. She already has a weak ankle, which she hurt a couple of months ago. So Mark had to run home and get the car and fetch her. So today was mostly spent reading and watching tv as if started to rain a bit. We also got my mother-in-laws 60th birthday party plans sorted.

I am flying to England tomorrow morning, to meet my good friend Clare and her bump :) On Friday I head off to Ellesmere Port (near Chester) to see the Bellis-Jones' and my precious goddaughter, Keira Lilly. I am so excited. Now I just need to do my hair and pack.

I might be off the radar for a week or so, but will update when I get back. xx

The Artist

Karl was supposed to go to Poland yesterday for work. So he packed his bags and I packed mine so that I could stay over at Barry and Harps' place in Belfast while he was away. On the way to work yesterday, my car broke down on the busiest highway in Northern Ireland :( Luckily Karl was still with me. Long story short, Karl had to get to the office ASAP to sort out stuff before his flight to Poland, but his father sent someone to take me back to the Glens with the car on his trailor.I had a quick cup of tea and then took Karl's car and drove back into Belfast to come to work. As soon as I got to the office (at 1pm), Karl called to say that his trip to Poland was cancelled! Can someone say SHORT NOTICE! Well, our bags were packed anyway, so we decided to stay up here. 

The 4 of u had dinner at Pizza Hut in the Odyssey Arena,  followed by the Oscar winning,  romantic comedy drama in the style of a black-and-white silent film, The Artist. If you havent watched this movie yet, do yourself a favour and go watch it, its on at Nouveau. In the begining I was like huh? This sucks, but as you get into it, you learn to appreciate it, as well as what it was like to watch movies back in the 'good ole days'.

I'm sitting at my desk absolutely exhausted this morning. Because Barry and Harps were only expecting me, they made up the single bed in the spare room. So Karl and I shared a single bed last night.... Not an ideal situation. *yawn*

Midweek road tripping

Karl had to go away to the other side of the country on Wednesday for his work teambuilding outing. They stayed at the exclusive Lusty Begs. So exclusive, that the hotel is built on its own island! It is also a wedding venue for the rich and the famous and brides-to-be arrive by seaplane. Well, my husband went away despite not feeling well, and got soaked on their afternoon canoeing trip. The plan was to return with his colleagues on Thursday eve, but instead I set out to fetch him early on Thursday morning so that he could recover. I left for my very own road trip to the other side of the country, and crossed 4 of the 6 counties in Northern Ireland: Antrim, Tyrone, L/Derry and Fermanagh.

If you look at the map above, I drove roughly from Ballymena (North-East) to Enniskillen (South-West).

It took me about 2 hours, and I occasionally stopped to take some pictures. We really do live in a beautiful country. My road trip anthem was a song by Michael Kiwanuka, called home again. Have a listen.

After I picked Karl up, we had brunch in the quaint riverside town of Kesh. This picture was painted on the wall of the coffee shop. 

After brunch, we decided to make the most of the trip and stay over at a B&B on Thursday evening between the villages of Cookstown and Dungannon. We were lucky to have an awesome view of the lough. A WHAT? Lol! A lough is Irish for a lake, and in Scotland they spell it: loch (lochness monster).

We did plan to get up and walk around it this morning after breakfast, but as usual, it was raining, so we drove around it instead and took photos, I know I know, it’s cheating! :)

On the way home, we passed the sign to a village called Ahoghill. 

Its my new word. Sometimes when I’m in a stupid mood (which is pretty often) I say my stupid word when Karl asks me a question. So for example, Karl: What do you feel like for dinner? Tarrin: Ahoghill or Karl: Are you warm enough? Tarrin: Ahoghill. And I change my stupid word as soon as I find another one that sounds funny. Try pronouncing it: A-hog-hill right? NO! Its pronounced:

We got home just before lunch, Karl has some work to do, and I need to do my hair. Going to a Mid-Antrim (Antrim is the county we live in) Motor Rallying Dinner tonight. Even though we don’t really feel like going, we’ll go, as the rest of the group are going. It also gives us girlies a chance to dress up. Apparently its dinner, a cabaret show and then dancing :)  We’re going to stay over at William and Joanne’s tonight as the dinner is close to their house (about 24km from our house). Will post pics soon.

My gratitiude list

We all get so caught up in what’s missing from our lives or what we can do to improve it, but we don’t often stop to count our many blessings, so I’ve decided to do just that: 

STOP and think of a list of things that I am grateful for.

I am grateful for/that:

 

A wonderful husband who goes over and above the call of duty EVERY TIME!

True friends who are there for you when it really matters

My parents (all five of them!)

My siblings and all the laughter they bring

My best friends

Hot baths

Decaf tea

Internet shopping

My part-time job which allows me to have pocket money AND me-time :)

Cold weather when I have to do my hair

Skype so I can catch up with my friends and family

Being able to read and finish my book in my own time

Coke Zero!

That I got to attend one of the most prestigious universities

My warm fleecy socks :)

Blackberry messenger

Learning to let go the things that don’t matter

Freedom to do things I am passionate about

Not having to do life alone

Chocolate

New beginnings

That I live in a beautiful area with easy access to the most amazing scenery

My swing cd set (4 cds)

My kindle

Date night ;)

My fireplace in the cold winter

That I have learned not to second guess myself and to stop ignoring my intuition

My health and the good health of those I love

For friendships: past, present and future

My toaster

Snow

My electric blanket

Nap time

Being able to travel

The little things

Today

Try it, it really helps/works.

Plans change...

Tonight, I should've had a romantic 3-course dinner with my husband at a restaurant in the next village (He was given a voucher for his birthday), and right about now, I should've been running around trying to pack a bag for my 5 day trip to England to visit my dear friend Clare. But instead, I'm stuck in bed with the flu :(

My throat started to itch and then burn on Monday, and despite drugging myself and try to get better, it hasn't worked. I got up to go to work on Wednesday (bad idea) and ended up coming home shortly after lunch. Been in bed ever since. Karl is going to Chicago and Detroit for work. He leaves on Saturday and returns  next Sunday. When we first heard he had to go, I booked myself a ticket to visit Clare from Friday (tomorrow) til Tuesday night. Jo-anne was gonna pick me up from the airport and I was gonna sleep at theirs on Wednesday night as I work in their backyard (not literally, but in a building on their property). The reason for this trip was two-fold: firstly, I have been threatening to visit Clare ever since I moved here, and secondly, I have never been in Northern Ireland alone, without Karl, so I was running away so as not to feel his absence so much.

Clare and her hubby, Simon had all kinds of plans lined up for us, walks in the Lake District, a shopping trip to York and many others (some of which I believe included amarula and merlot). I sent her a message today to say I'm not well enough to walk just yet, and she said it was ok as she's stressing about her research proposal which she has to have ready by next Friday. After a lot of to and fro-ing, we decided it was probably best to cancel the trip so that I can get better and she can get this PHD proposal off her chest. While I am happy to be at home so that I can make a full recovery, I am sad as I was really looking forward to spending quality time with her, and see where she works, where she calls home etc. I guess we just need to delay the gratification and bite the bullet. Luckily we will be refunded the airport tax, which is half the price of the ticket!

I will drop Karl off at his colleague's house in Belfast very early on Saturday morning, and then come home to wash all the bedding and tidy up the house before moving in with the in-laws for a week. Will be weird not having my hubby around, but hey, what's that saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

2011 at a Glance!

Wow, I can't believe we are at the end of another year, and how much has changed for us over the last 12 months!

I turned 30!

We had our wedding blessing in the Glens of Antrim

We went to Italy on our honeymoon

Melissa moved back to South Africa

Karl got the job in Northern Ireland

We packed up our flat and sold our car

We moved to Northern Ireland

Jimmy and Fionnuala got married

I got a new car :)

We visited Ryan and Jenny for his 30th

I went back home for a wee holiday in Oct

We moved into our own place and started to nest

 Natasha came to visit

Our besties, Robyn and Andel are PREGGERS!

My brother got married

Christina and Mark got engaged

I got my Masters!

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary!

Weekends away to Dublin, Dundalk and Malahide

I got a part-time job

I discovered very hidden baking and creative talents

I got to spend Christmas with the Graham clan for the first time.

And thats the year in summary. It seems like so much time has gone by in a blink of an eye. If thats 2011, I can't wait for 2012! While I miss home, and everyone is making me naar with comments about the heat and the sunshine, I am happy, and know that moving here was a good decision for us. Looking forward to the new year, challenges and all/ Have a happy and safe one! xx

Anniversary weekend away

On Friday, the eight of us headed to the Rep of Ireland to a place called Dundalk, where Christina is from. Half of us stayed in a hotel (compliments of groupon!) and the other half stayed at Christina's parents place on Friday night. We went out for dinner to a place called the Windsor, and did our Secret Santa draw, with Barry dressed as Santa!! I don't have pics on my camera but Barry has some on his, so will upload them another time. Needless to say we had quite a late night, and only surfaced at around 10am. We left for Newgrange at about 11am, and the journey which should have taken us half an hour, took us 2 hours! Thats what happens when you leave the gps at home! :( We passed the time by having a few competitions along the way tho. Christina, Mark, Barry and Harps in one car and Karl, Jimmy, Fionnuala and I  in the other, and  both cars had to write down the names of all the counties in ireland, and the other one was to name all the states in the US. there was some fierce competition, but thankfully, we tied, otherwise there would have been some kind of revolt. The Grahams are a competitive bunch!


Newgrange is pretty amazing, since it was built 5000 years ago. whats weird about this site is that archaeologists are not sure why they were built, and only few human remains were found in them. There are also several of these types of structures all over Europe. Whats amazing is that the roof box was constructed so that on the days of winter solstice, it aligns with the rising sun, which illuminates the whole dome for 17 minutes. How people so long ago, with little equipment managed to construct this thing is incredible! Especially considering that their lifespan was approximately 25 yrs! There are also interesting drawings on the stones, and there are many different interpretations.

After Newgrange, we stopped off to get things for dinner and we all headed for Christina's parents place, as we all stayed there on Saturday night. We made dinner, watched x-factor, played cranium, and had a little bit more wine, and laughed til it hurt! I think we were all burnt out from the night before though, and were in bed before midnight.

After breakfast and the handing over of gifts for our anniversary, Harpinder, Barry, Jimmy and Finn headed for Belfast and Karl and I left for Portmarnock at around midday. It was about an hours drive from Dundalk and its beautiful! The hotel is also a golf estate, and the view from our bedroom window was the first tee!

After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we headed out for a walk on the promenade. Despite the sunshine, it was pretty chilly, but it didn't seem to bother anyone, people were out with their baby strollers, dogs, and toddlers, and some even ventured into the Irish Sea!!! I love this sleepy seaside town. It reminds me so much of Cape Town.

After the walk, we showered and changed and got ready for our dinner at the greedy goose. its was a 5 course meal! But they cheated as tea/coffee was also included as a meal, but the food was AMAZING! I had a prawn and shrimp platter, lamb hotpot, and duck in phyllo pastry and ended it with raspberry and white chocolate and raspberry sorbet. Karl had deep fried mozzarella sticks with tomota jam, a pork platter and a beef rib dish and dessert was chocolate parfait with butterscotch and hot chocolate. It was the perfect ending to our first wedding anniversary.

We got home yesterday afternoon, and Karl went with me to the forest to collect acorns and small twigs for my next project. I am starting a flower arranging course with my mother-in-law on Thursdays, and we are making xmas wreaths, so we collected a few bits yesterday. We are also having a very early Xmas dinner on 10 December, because the fiances and girlfriends are going to spend this xmas with their families this year, so we decided to have a big formal xmas party with everyone where we exchange our secret santa gifts etc. Just another excuse to eat and dress up really! Everybody is bringing a dish etc, so I'm trying to co-ordinate that at the moment. Thats about all from my side at the moment. xx

Weekend away

The weekend at Ryan and Jens was just what I needed! We had such a good time. Arrived at about 6pm on Friday eve, just in time to see Ryan. He was off to his leaving/birthday do with colleagues in Liverpool. Karl and I opted out of that one because we knew the next eve would be a crazy one! Didn’t get to sleep late because of the rugby, and let me tell you, I’ve never seen Karl get so worked up EVER, let alone for the Ireland match on Saturday, it was funny to watch him squirm and shout! Ryan made us the most delicious chocolate croissants and bacon butties and we were set for a bit of shopping in Cheshire Oaks. Was looking for some drinks, and came across these cans, which I think are super-awesome and super-convenient!

Ryan's gift

cool photo icing cake

After an afternoon nap, we were ready to celebrate. Think there were eventually about 40 friends and family that arrived. It was a braai, and people were lounging about outside in short sleeves and skimpy dresses, while I had on 2 layers, boots, a scarf and my coat. And it wasn’t my imagination, because eventually Karl got up to get something warmer to wear too! Karl got these really yummy fat angus aberdeen burgers-AMAZING!

yummy Angus Aberdeen burger

Got to meet a lot of Ryan and Jen’s friends from Tenerife and saw all Jen’s family, including her brand new nephew :) There were three Karls there that night, including my Karl, and the weird thing is that they all spell their name with a K! Had to get a pic of them!

The 3 Karls

 Ryan got a shot gun as a gift, which I tried to stay well away from. You basically fill up the magazine with a shot of alcohol and then choose your victim. Jagermeister is not my friend, and after one shot I played dead! I'll stick to my G&T thanks!

Do I really have to? :(

Ryan, saying his prayers

I’m slowly but surely starting to get my things together to come back home. Need to find my suitcase though. All my visa paperwork has come through, so I have an appointment on 29 September to submit. Let’s hope its smooth sailing! 

My turn to cook tonight, gonna make Ina Paarman’s cottage pie :) and Karl has requested death by chocolate cupcakes, so that should keep me busy. Off to the gym and then shopping for my cook/bake-off :)