Mexican food... Wal-mart...Sweet tea... oh my!

We are really down to the wire now! I spent most of today packing and organizing. I have also suddenly realized that I need to be enjoying those crazy little American things that I won't have when I get back to Ireland.

So today...
I stood out in the heat (it was around 70 here! )
I wore shorts .....
I ate sunflower seeds.....
I bought cheap gas.....
I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant....
I drove with the windows down.....
I at Capt'n Crunch for dinner.....

Tomorrow............ I am going to go to Wal-mart and Best buy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving! I am truly grateful for my family... and it was a real blessing to be able to spend the day with some of them! We had a quiet but fun day. This morning I went over to my sister's house and hung out while they cooked. I was especially intrigued to watch her husband (David) deep fry the turkey. I don't know if you have ever tried it before... wow! It is good! Around lunch time my family gathered at another sister's house for lunch... football... and some Wii competition! It is so good to be home for Thanksgiving!


The turkey fry




David - the master chef




The finished bird




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I had a blast today...

Today was a great day in Boston. We met up with one of my old college roommates (Adam) who now lives up here. He and his wife moved here about a year ago so that he could work on another master's degree at Northeastern. Needless to say - they love it here. They took us out to this cool little seafood restaurant down in the harbor for our first chowder. Wow! It was great! We then took the rest of the afternoon to walk around and see some sights around old Boston. We walked down through the Italian section of town and a little street market happening there. I was amazed at how quickly the Irish looking faces turned to look Italian. Everyone had long dark hair, tanned skin, and talked with their hands... There was no doubt that we were in a different section of town. I love it! We eventually went to a little bakery (Mike's) and then all four of us sat and relived old college memories (like our "Pajama's in class Fridays"). I can't believe that I have not seen Adam in ten years! Wow..... Where has the time gone? It was great to pick up our friendship right where it left off...


Adam, I know that you are reading this. Thanks again for a great day. I can't wait to see you again... hopefully in Ireland!








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I love being an uncle!

We went to a harvest festival with my sister and her family today. The event was fun... although I missed seeing the moon pie eating contest! (What a heart breaker!!!) Even though I missed every photographer's dream - I had a lot of fun roughhousing and playing with my nieces and nephew! We wrestled with each other.... danced together (with the girls standing on my feet, of course)... They begged me for stuff as we walked through the crafts section.... we shared some boiled peanuts.... and we laughed and tickled each other all day long. What a great day!












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Take me out to the ballpark...

We are in Atlanta all this week for some meetings... and I just could not resist the temptation. Dee and I went to another Brave's game. It was a midweek game and so the crowd was small, but we were able to get some of the best tickets in the ballpark.... row 4 next to the dugout! I have never been so close to the action. We could see into the dugout from our seats, and the players threw several of the foul balls/used balls into our section. One ball came so close that I could have caught it. A rather large man that was seated in front of me beat me to the catch by making a dive backwards over the back of his seat and onto his back in our row. He was about twice my size..... and needless to say I didn't get in his way... and I didn't get the ball. The second ball that came our way was a row behind us but nearly hit Dee in the head. Finally, I caught the eye of Brandon Jones (a player for the Braves) and he threw a foul ball he had retrieved right into my glove. Now....... I know that this might not be a really big deal to anyone else...... but I have always wanted to get a game ball - in fact it was on my list of things to do before I die.







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A few pics from the game...

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Things missed...

I am asked (almost) on daily basis what I miss from America. Beyond any doubt missing family (and old friends) is at the top of the list.... having said this, there are a lot of little things that I do miss. These other little things are not anything that I can't live without... but when I get to have them I really enjoy every bit of them. So... (from time to time ) I am going to start sharing them in no particular order.


BASEBALL

I have often talked with Irish friends about this wonderful sport, but unfortunately it is one of those things that can't be truly appreciated or learn about on the TV. The TV never really captures the speed of the ball... the sound of a bat cracking... the taste of sunflower seeds... the cheer of the crowd... the warmth of a summer's breeze... or the distance the ball travels for a home run. Watching baseball on TV is like reading about love... you have to really experience it first hand to really appreciate it.

When we first moved to Ireland I had some baseball withdrawals. It was just strange to not know what was going on, and to not even realize that the world series was going on... There was one particular day, however, during our first summer when I thought that I had made an amazing discovery. We had the 'North American Sports Channel'! It was a beautiful summer's day... we had all of our windows open... I was wearing shorts... and I even had some sunflower seeds! I settled into our little two seater couch.... propped my feet up on the coffee table and started to watch the game! I can't tell you how excited I was! That is.......... until the end of the first inning when the 'free view' ended and the channel turned off.

Since that time I have really had to let go of baseball. I know that I could pay to watch it online... or I could pay for the channel and watch live games at 2 am.... but it just wouldn't be the same... and I just wouldn't have any other baseball fans around to talk about it with.... :(

Wipe the tear from your eye... I have survived without baseball. In fact, I have adapted and found a love for other sports (rugby, soccer and the gaelic sports).

This summer, however, I really have fallen back in love with the game. I have gotten to see my nephew play a few games (in fact we are going to one tonight), and while in Atlanta last weekend I was able to go to my first Braves' game (but more about that later)!



My nephew (Brandon) saving the game by striking out the last batter of the game while the bases were loaded!




My niece (Brooke) on her tippy toes watching the action! She is a baseball fan in the making!


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Fishing with dad...

I had a great time fishing with Dad on Thursday evening. We went to his favorite little spot down on the Tennessee River. This rocky bend in the river is a sacred spot to my family. It is where my dad's uncle would take him when he was a child…





Each summer (from about the age of 8 onward) my dad would ride the bus from the inner city Birmingham up to a little town for a week of county life with his extended family. My dad has told me many stories about these yearly adventures into the countryside of Alabama, but I think the most meaningful moments were the evenings he spent on the river.






My dad has passed down his love of fishing this little bend of the river to me and now also to a couple of my nephews. There is something amazing about sitting there on a rock… cane pole in your hand… several fish in the basket… watching the cork dance on the waves as they reflect the pink skies… I only wish that I could go more often.



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The results:

Dad with his prize fish...







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Fair play to Walmart…

Many of you know that I am not a fan of Walmart… actually I despise Walmart. I hate it’s “take over the world put out the little guy” mentality. I am repulsed by it’s cold warehouse feeling… and yes, I detest the way every store looks exactly the same!

But… like a moth to the flame or like a dog returns to it’s vomit I am always drawn in by the lethal combination of convenience and low prices. Inevitably I hang my head in shame and end up “running to Walmart”. The sting of going to this leviathan of shops was lessened a bit this week when I noticed that they are replacing some of the rarely recycled plastic bags with cloth reusable bags! All of Ireland made this change several years ago by taxing the customer for each plastic bag used. The change was amazing… Less rubbish on the side of the roads… and less non-biodegradable rubbish to deal with.

So... this morning I am a step closer to liking Walmart!

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In a coffee shop...

I am sitting in a little coffee shop with Dee. We are struggling to get some work done this afternoon.... so I decided that I would take a break and update the site (It is well overdue)... but Dee does not know that I am working on it... ;)

It is hard to believe that a week ago we were sitting on the beach with my family. We had such a good time... and I am really sad that it is over. For those of you that don't know my family there are a few things that you need to know. 1. It is big. 2. We love to go to the beach. 3. We meet up at a small beach community in FLA every two years for a family reunion/vacation. This is the third time that we have done this little vacation together... and I think that it was my favorite one yet.

Our first trip was a birthday surprise for my mother. The second one had the highlight of a family talent show (which I, Jason, and TJ won). This year we had the family Olympics. Yes... family Olympics. It was like something out of the 'Brady Bunch'... but a lot of fun. We had men's horse shoe competitions, water balloon tosses, hula hoop competitions, sack races, and a tug of war. We had a few bumps and bruises but more laughs than anything! Unfortunately, Dee and I did not place in the top three teams......... I asked for a recount........



Here are a few quick pics from the competition.

More lightning pics...

Here are a few of the better pics I took during the storm two days ago.











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One of the things I miss about America...

It is a funny little thing... but I really miss thunderstorms. There is something awe inspiring about them... and such a familiar part of my childhood. It is a rare thing to get them in Ireland... and when we do they usually don't last very long. It has rained everyday that we have been in the states... and usually the rain has been in the midst of a thunderstorm. I stood out in the front yard of Dee's parents' house last night taking pictures of heat lightning.

Here are a few pictures that I took of the clouds: