Happy Birthday - Irish Rain!

This week marks our little website's 6th birthday! I can't believe that I have been updating this several times a week over the last 6 years. In fact, this is my 980th post here. I have to say that this website has really been a lot of fun over the years... and it has often given me the chance to sit back and reflect on the world around me, and to see the amazing things that are going on all around me. I want to thank all of you who drop in on the website from time to time. Your comments and feedback really keep me motivated and encouraged!


In 2009 we averaged 97 hits a day from all over the world. Here is a map showing where all you guys are coming from:




Here is a graph showing the total number of visits over the year:




Our most frequent visitor (you know who you are!) came 1346 times. This was closely followed by someone who came 1240 times!

Wow... I am feeling the love! Stay tuned... we will keep updating!




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Happy Father's Day!

I just wanted to wish my dad a happy father's day! I hate that I can't be there with you but I am looking forward to all the time we are going to get to spend together this fall! I love you lots!


Here is a pic of my dad when he was here last summer:




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Today's Random Pic...

Today's Random Pics...

the gang:






Nick on a wall:

A Few More Pics...

We played "sardines" in a ruined friary yesterday. Sardines is where one person goes out and hides... everyone looks for them... and then when you find them you join them in hiding. The last one to find the group is the loser. I have to say... it is a bit disheartening to have everyone disappear and for you to be looking on your own. The old Friary was a great place to have some fun.



This is us hiding:




Here is a picture of the Friary (that I took back in December):








Also - here is a pic of the gang... It hasn't been rainy and cold the whole time they have been here!

Happy Anniversary!

Our little website turned four years old this month! I can't believe that we have been posting so much for so long! I have had fun taking time this morning to look over past posts and seeing how the website has changed over the past few years. I wanted to say thank you to everyone that drops in on the site and to those of you that leave us comments! It is always fun to know that friends are stopping in and having a glimpse into our lives here. I can't believe that the site has had nearly 20,000 visits!

Here is a map of the visits we had in 2007:

(click on the pic to see it larger)

Slowing Down...

There is a strange time after Christmas... a time where everything seems to slow down or shut down. Clubs and classes are stopped... shops are not open... and people go away to visit family. This time of year is usually a hard time for us... a time where we are missing family and going a bit crazy with cabin fever. This year we have gone to see some old friends who live on the continent. I'll be posting more over the next few days... so stay tuned...


A picture from our first day here... This area is known for the lighthouses...

Today's Random Pic... Backwards

Pictures...

I wanted to post a few more of my favorite pictures from my parents' visit.

A Sad Day in Mudville..

Well... Friday was a sad day around here. My parents went back to the states. I chose (and I am choosing) to take my mother's advice to count my blessings... and I am so grateful that they both got to come and spend so much time with us. We did a lot of fun things... and we saw a lot of beautiful things... but in the end here are the things that I enjoyed the most:

- Quiet mornings and coffee with my parents

- Afternoon walks with my dad

- A picnic lunch by a mountain lake

- Climbing hills with my dad

- Watching my mom enjoy the wildflowers

- Seeing Ireland through my dad's eyes

- Feeding swans and seagulls with my dad

- Looking through photo albums with my mom

- Hugs

- Having help driving

- Hearing my parents laugh




We had a lot to laugh about while my parents were here... but here are just a couple of funny things that happened:

- Before my parents came I sent out an email to my co-workers to remind them that they would be here with us. I made mention that this was my dad's first overseas trip... the only problem is that instead of saying that this was his first time out of the "country" I said that it was his first time out of the "county". Sorry dad.... but we are still laughing about that one!

- I always enjoy people's reaction to driving on the left side of the road. I always get a laugh out of people trying to get on the driver's side of the car here by accident. My father, however, did a first. I was not sure if he was kidding with me or if he did it on purpose... but when he got into the car for the first time (on the front left side) he automatically adjusted the rear view mirror as if he was going to drive. He did it out of habit.

The Parental Units.... Pt 3.....

A few more pics from our time together in Ireland...

The Parental Units... Pt.2...

We are really enjoying having my parents here! We picked them up from the airport early Tuesday morning and headed on a little excursion. We drove down to a beautiful area of Ireland for a few days... we spent those days exploring the coastline, mountains, and (of course) shopping! The last day that we were there Dad and I climbed up a small mountain to see the most beautiful mountain lake. It really was something out of a dream. We stood there on the side of the mountain looking out over the valley at the rugged and barren mountains that made up the area. I was really thankful to experience this with my dad.

The Parental Units...

The little town we were visiting has a dauphin that lives in the harbor!

Looking for shells....

They Made It....!

My parents made it to Ireland! I really can't tell you how good it is to have them here with us! I'll be posting a few pics over the next couple of days while they are here with us.... stay tuned!

The Vatican...

Well..... Vatican city was not really what I was expecting.... and to be honest with you I was disappointed. Hear me out....


We started our day there in the Vatican museums. The amount of artwork was truly overwhelming. At first I found myself looking intently at every carved stone and painting, but I quickly realized that I was simply walking around hardly looking at the priceless pieces of art all around me. There was no way to see every exhibit (We would have been there for days), and a few of the galleries were closed. There really isn't any way to explain how it felt going through room after room of amazing artwork... And I enjoyed the museums, but I found myself wondering at the incredible amount of wealth contained in the halls. I found myself thinking about the billions of people living in poverty.... suffering with HIV... needing clean drinking water... and I found myself wondering about the good that could be done if some of the artwork was sold and and the money was invested in hurting people. I know... I know... someone out there is going to tell me that is crazy, that there is nothing wrong with a charitable organization (that is what a church is... isn't it?) owning billions of dollars in artwork while the world suffers... But I found myself haunted by these thoughts (sorry to be a downer).

These thoughts didn't leave me as we left the museum. In fact, they only intensified as we went to St. Peter's Basilica. This massive church (the second largest in the world) is the heart of the Vatican and is the seat of the Pope. The size of the place was awe inspiring. It was rebuilt in the 1500's and was one of the sources of major controversy in the Catholic church. Martin Luther, a German monk/priest/teacher, came to Rome in 1510 and came to a crisis of faith. While on pilgrimage up Pilate's stairs (an act of penance and devotion done on the knees while repeating prayers and the rosary), he became frustrated and stopped midway up the staircase. Luther became increasing frustrated with the lavish lifestyles of the church leadership and with the massive amount of money that was being spent on St. Peter's. He returned home but the frustration only grew as he watched people purchase indulgences (an "indulgence" is the remission of punishment because a sin already committed has been forgiven; the indulgence is granted by the church when the sinner confesses and receives absolution. When an indulgence is given, the church is extending merit to a sinner from its Treasure House of Merit, an accumulation of merits it has collected based on the good deeds of the saints. These merits could be bought and sold - (info from Wikipedia)). The sell of indulgences during Luther's day was financing the building of St. Peter's.

I couldn't help but think on these things as we walked around the massive (an understatement) church... and in a way it was because of it's beauty and extravagance that I found myself frustrated and disappointed.

Dee with a Dali Painting

Inside the Vatican Museum

The ceiling of Sistine Chapel
(from the left - The creation, the making of Eve, the temptation)

Us with St. Peter's Basilica in the background

Me - Seeing the light in St. Peter's

The front of St. Peter's Basilica.
I collected water from the fountain

So... you might be wondering... what did I love most about Rome? Stay tuned...

Rome - More Pics

The heart of ancient Rome: The Forum - home of the temples and the Senate

The gang at one of the many ancient arches

An ancient temple to Venus (I think)

A not-so ancient gladiator waiting to pose with tourists

Modern Gladiators in the Colosseum - Me and T

Most of the gang (again). On our last night - hanging out in a square that Michelangelo designed.
(Byro, Rae, Dee, Dena)

Rome

We eventually did make it to Rome... When we left Ireland the temps were in the mid 60's and there was a nice cool breeze... We arrived in Rome at noon and the temperature was already in the mid 90's. To say that it was a shock to our system would be an understatement. We immediately began drinking water bottle after water bottle. (Thankfully there were public drinking fountains all over the city where we could refill!) Although the weather was HOT (Usually over 100 each day) we really enjoyed our time in the city. We got up early each day - took a nap in the afternoon - and then enjoyed the city in the cool of the evening. It all worked out really well.

There are no words to tell you how amazing Rome is. I was shocked at how many ruins were all around us. We stayed in a little apartment just 10 min (walking) from the Colosseum. I never got over seeing it! Historical spots really were around every corner. "oh, look... there are the roman baths... oh, look! there is the ruin of Nero's house... Oh, look... there is the church that Constantine built!"


Here are a few more of our pics.

Lunch in Rome - Colosseum in the background.

Colosseum at night

Inside the Colosseum

Us in Rome!

The Road Trip... The Beginning

As many of you might know.... Dee and I are having a rather big birthday this year. Yes.... we are hitting the big 30! To be honest with you the idea of no longer being in my 20's has really been a hard one to swallow. I don't have any regrets about how I spent the last decade... it is just the idea that it has come and gone so quickly. Enough about that.... I'm sure that I'll write more when my birthday actually gets here. All of that to tell you about our trip. We have been kicking around the idea that we needed to take a good road trip to celebrate this momentous occasion. We have been kinda talking out loud about it for well over a year, but we really didn't start making firm plans until this spring. We along with Dena & T and Rae & Byro decided to go somewhere none of us have ever been. We decided on the 'eternal city'.... Rome.

We flew out of Dublin on Sat afternoon. Well, I should say that we attempted to fly out of Dublin on Sat. afternoon. We ended up sitting in the airport for a couple of hours which made us miss our connecting flight in Paris. So.... (said with a sad sigh... and a smile) we had to spend the night in Paris (at the airline's expense). Being the adventurous people that we are, we jumped in a taxi and headed into the 'city of love'. We had a couple of hours to walk around Notre Dame, the Louvre, and to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle (at midnight). The day happened to be Bastille Day ( a national holiday celebrating the French Revolution) so the city was alive with street performers and spectators. Here are a few pics from our night in Paris.

(as a side note: I did see the Paris' Hilton)

A street performer juggling fire:

The gang in front of Notre Dame:

Fireworks in front of Notre Dame:

The Eiffel Tower at midnight!

Visitors!

Good news: Dena and T made it to us! Dee's sister and brother-in-law will be with us for the rest of the week... and then we are going to be off for a quick holiday together. All of us along with another couple of our dear friends are going to celebrate our birthdays together this year by going on the ultimate road trip.... So stay tuned for some more pictures!


Here are a couple of pictures from my walk with T last night.

This picture is of the blooming thistle growing wild beside our house.

The Longest Day...

Yesterday was the summer solstice (or the longest day of the year). It was a real overcast cool day here, but the clouds broke in the evening and we were able to see a beautiful sunset that seemed to last for several hours. I took a group of students on a small road trip over to the Cliffs of Moher to watch the yearly sight. Here are a few pictures from our time in this extremely rocky area.