Who is ready for the most wonderful day
of the year?! That’s right! It's time to read another of my blog posts! Ok, now
that you've finished your rejoicing, time to make some happy readers!By the time I finish this post I will
probably be back from my trip and be able to tell you all about it and all the
super fun things I did while Leo was at home moping. Poor Leo wasn't given the
time off work and wasn't able to come adventuring with me. Poor Leo.
My mom's sister will land in Dublin October 7th with my cousin and Boyd. I am going to take them around Ireland and then they will return to the dry mountain air most of you fine folk live in.Back a couple of months ago Leo got a Saturday off and we had an adventurous day. We were able to go to the top of Scrabo, that's something we haven't been able to do since I first visited this island in 2012. That was nice :) After that we picked Ronnie up and took him to a little town called Dromore. It's a little farming town that he spent part of his childhood in and hadn't been back to visit for many years. It was fun taking him around and having him show us where he went to school and where his grandma lived. Ronnie told us stories we have heard at least fifty times each but I managed to get some of them on video for those of you who want to hear them too. No Aunt Tara, you can't put him in your pocket with your Uncle Neil.
I have really enjoyed my job at Almac. Unfortunately I was told a few Mondays ago that we wouldn't be kept on at all but that there was the possibility of getting hired as an analyst in the upcoming opening position. I had also had applied for a validation technician and was asked to come and interview for that. Now we all know about my "austin" well it seems it will forever plague me or maybe I'm plaguing it. Who knows really. What happened was I didn't read the email inviting me to the interview as throughly as I should have. Otherwise I would have read that I needed to prepare a power point on why I was qualified to have the job. Instead my ability to read things right kicked in just before I was about to walk out the door and to work. I think if I was a Smedry my power would be reading things wrong. I felt prompted to bring my interview clothes even though I was planning on emailing them when I got in and letting them know I wouldn't be attending the interview due to my lack of power point preparation. When my car pool, Emma, picked me up I told her how I hadn't prepared the power point and she then helped me get a rough draft together so when I got into work I whipped up a PowerPoint, emailed it to the gal, and by ten was interviewing for the position. It was an intense morning but at least I was able to have the interview. I found out this week that I didn't get the position but they are keeping my information in case a similar position arises. I have since that interview applied for the analyst position and am still waiting to hear back about it.
Riding to work with Emma is an adventure nearly everyday. We get attacked by face hungry fluttering moths, have the windshield wipers randomly stop working, and my favorite, have the smell of death following us until it falls off Emma's car. She's definitely made going to work something to look forward to.
Aunt Tara, Sydney not Nicole Stephenson, and Boydamus came to our green isle for a visit this month. It was a quick visit but it was a very terrific visit. I picked up a rental car on Friday on my way home from work and then woke up early Saturday to drive down to Dublin to pick them up and take them around. Good thing I listened to my promptings to get my license even though it made no sense. The Holy Ghost rocks! Many of you saw our happy reunion where I discovered how small Tara is. She would fit in well with the small little leprechauns of Ireland. Once we were all together, and after much celebrating, we made our way to Rock of Cashel. It is an old monastery/cathedral. I think it was a good first thing to see. Got them walking around and seeing some of the old stuff here. After we fed Sydney so she wasn't hangery anymore we went and drove around Cork for a good thirty mins so that she would nearly pee her pants. Eventually we got to the Blarney Castle. Everyone really enjoyed it. On our way to our cozy farmhouse for the night, we stopped in Killarny National Forest. I would really love to go back there some day because it looks amazing at dusk so I'm sure with full light it is fantastic. Leo and Mick drove all the way down to our cozy farm house we rented after work and ended up beating us to it. To get there we had to drive up a very narrow country road with big hedges on the passengers side and Aunt Tara had such a good time riding shot gun. Not only was I able to keep her up through her jet lag and over worked insomnia from Brussels but we also managed to squeeze a little bit of fitness time in and tone her left side, especially the arms and shoulder. At one point, even commented casually that she wouldn't mind a cigarette. It must be all the smokers bringing her cravings to the surface and not the forever looming hedges stretching towards the car. Our house we rented was really nice and fit the seven of us just dandy. He next day we all went to the Cliffs of Moher and then drove back to Ards. The crew, minus me, went to Rice's pub that night and had a bit of craic with Ronnie. Both Boyd and I woke up the next day with a stuffed up head and a bit of a head ache. I swear were weren't snogging at all. I left that up to Sydney now-Nicole Stephenson. And now she's sick. After drugging up, we hit the road and made our way up north to cross Carrick-a-Rede bridge. Finally, on our way back down south be were able to get a chippy. Aunt Tara had some really yummy fish and Boyd had really great onion rings. It was a successful afternoon in my book. We then had a visit in Tollymore forest. Boyd and I killed some orcs and then we came home and had an early night. It was a bittersweet moment dropping them off at the airport but in eight months or less we will be moving back home so it won't be log before we get to see those crazies more often.
For those of you who wanted to read about how my talent would play out, here is a little excerpt from the latest book. Those of you who have no interest can stop waiting for pictures because you won't get any with this post. You will have to wait until I get back from my adventure. Until next time!!!
Alcatraz and his weird second cousin thrice removed, Kaiya, were running down the halls of the Highbrary, they had to find the remedy for Bastille and all the others that were in coma. They passed a hallway branching from the main corridor they were in when suddenly there was a startling sound like a cat being stepped on. Alcatraz, not being a cat or penguin lover, but not enjoying stepping on any animal, leaped in the air. "Wow, I didn't know you could heel click!" Kaiya exclaimed as she came to a stop near Alcatraz. "What?" He asked. "I didn't know you could heel click. That was almost as good as my Aunt Tara's." "I wasn't heel clicking. I jumped in the air because I thought I had stepped on a cat." "In the Highbrary? Yeah right. And I'm a bumbling fool," she laughed. That's not too far off from the truth, Alcatraz thought. He still didn't understand why Grandpa Smedry insisted on these not really related relations getting involved in such a dangerous and serious mission. They were like a full deck of cards if all those cards were jokers. No really, they do have some pretty excellent jokes. You should ask to hear the zebra one if you ever survive reading this excerpt. "Well what was that cat noise?" Alcatraz asked. "I didn't hear a cat noise." "Then what was that noise?" "What noise?" "A noise like a cat was being stepped on. " "Oh that noise!" "Yes that noise. Do you know what it was or not?" "Yeah, I know what that noise was." "…….and what was it?" "Oh that was me. I saw a sign down that hallway that said 'potion room'. I thought that might be a good place to look for a cure for the Mokians." "And Bastille." "Yeah, and Bastille." "Well, let's get down there and look," Alcatraz responded. We turned back around, cautious of any cats, and ran down the side hall. As we neared the room we ran head first and collided with a librarian moving a third century Grecian vase. Even though Alcatraz no longer had his power, he broke that vase really good. It was pretty much just dust. "Wow, cuz, you sure you're power is gone?" I asked incredulously looking at the vase poof surrounding the dazed librarian on the ground. "What kind of potion room is full of pots and vases?!" Alcatraz asked as he came out of his dusty daze. Kaiya looked around, suddenly realizing he was right. "Oh, my bad!" Kaiya said with an innocent face, "the sign really says 'pots n' vase room'! Sorry Alcatraz! At least now we've wasted enough time you won't die in that one part of the book with the screaming and the blood and the malnourished goldfish." "Shattering glass! Spoiling the ending of a book is just as bad as skipping the the end or eating crapaflapnasti!" "So does that mean I've won a competition?!" Kaiya asked a little too enthusiastically. "No," Alcatraz sighed standing up. "It means this excerpt is finally over."
My mom's sister will land in Dublin October 7th with my cousin and Boyd. I am going to take them around Ireland and then they will return to the dry mountain air most of you fine folk live in.Back a couple of months ago Leo got a Saturday off and we had an adventurous day. We were able to go to the top of Scrabo, that's something we haven't been able to do since I first visited this island in 2012. That was nice :) After that we picked Ronnie up and took him to a little town called Dromore. It's a little farming town that he spent part of his childhood in and hadn't been back to visit for many years. It was fun taking him around and having him show us where he went to school and where his grandma lived. Ronnie told us stories we have heard at least fifty times each but I managed to get some of them on video for those of you who want to hear them too. No Aunt Tara, you can't put him in your pocket with your Uncle Neil.
I have really enjoyed my job at Almac. Unfortunately I was told a few Mondays ago that we wouldn't be kept on at all but that there was the possibility of getting hired as an analyst in the upcoming opening position. I had also had applied for a validation technician and was asked to come and interview for that. Now we all know about my "austin" well it seems it will forever plague me or maybe I'm plaguing it. Who knows really. What happened was I didn't read the email inviting me to the interview as throughly as I should have. Otherwise I would have read that I needed to prepare a power point on why I was qualified to have the job. Instead my ability to read things right kicked in just before I was about to walk out the door and to work. I think if I was a Smedry my power would be reading things wrong. I felt prompted to bring my interview clothes even though I was planning on emailing them when I got in and letting them know I wouldn't be attending the interview due to my lack of power point preparation. When my car pool, Emma, picked me up I told her how I hadn't prepared the power point and she then helped me get a rough draft together so when I got into work I whipped up a PowerPoint, emailed it to the gal, and by ten was interviewing for the position. It was an intense morning but at least I was able to have the interview. I found out this week that I didn't get the position but they are keeping my information in case a similar position arises. I have since that interview applied for the analyst position and am still waiting to hear back about it.
Riding to work with Emma is an adventure nearly everyday. We get attacked by face hungry fluttering moths, have the windshield wipers randomly stop working, and my favorite, have the smell of death following us until it falls off Emma's car. She's definitely made going to work something to look forward to.
Aunt Tara, Sydney not Nicole Stephenson, and Boydamus came to our green isle for a visit this month. It was a quick visit but it was a very terrific visit. I picked up a rental car on Friday on my way home from work and then woke up early Saturday to drive down to Dublin to pick them up and take them around. Good thing I listened to my promptings to get my license even though it made no sense. The Holy Ghost rocks! Many of you saw our happy reunion where I discovered how small Tara is. She would fit in well with the small little leprechauns of Ireland. Once we were all together, and after much celebrating, we made our way to Rock of Cashel. It is an old monastery/cathedral. I think it was a good first thing to see. Got them walking around and seeing some of the old stuff here. After we fed Sydney so she wasn't hangery anymore we went and drove around Cork for a good thirty mins so that she would nearly pee her pants. Eventually we got to the Blarney Castle. Everyone really enjoyed it. On our way to our cozy farmhouse for the night, we stopped in Killarny National Forest. I would really love to go back there some day because it looks amazing at dusk so I'm sure with full light it is fantastic. Leo and Mick drove all the way down to our cozy farm house we rented after work and ended up beating us to it. To get there we had to drive up a very narrow country road with big hedges on the passengers side and Aunt Tara had such a good time riding shot gun. Not only was I able to keep her up through her jet lag and over worked insomnia from Brussels but we also managed to squeeze a little bit of fitness time in and tone her left side, especially the arms and shoulder. At one point, even commented casually that she wouldn't mind a cigarette. It must be all the smokers bringing her cravings to the surface and not the forever looming hedges stretching towards the car. Our house we rented was really nice and fit the seven of us just dandy. He next day we all went to the Cliffs of Moher and then drove back to Ards. The crew, minus me, went to Rice's pub that night and had a bit of craic with Ronnie. Both Boyd and I woke up the next day with a stuffed up head and a bit of a head ache. I swear were weren't snogging at all. I left that up to Sydney now-Nicole Stephenson. And now she's sick. After drugging up, we hit the road and made our way up north to cross Carrick-a-Rede bridge. Finally, on our way back down south be were able to get a chippy. Aunt Tara had some really yummy fish and Boyd had really great onion rings. It was a successful afternoon in my book. We then had a visit in Tollymore forest. Boyd and I killed some orcs and then we came home and had an early night. It was a bittersweet moment dropping them off at the airport but in eight months or less we will be moving back home so it won't be log before we get to see those crazies more often.
For those of you who wanted to read about how my talent would play out, here is a little excerpt from the latest book. Those of you who have no interest can stop waiting for pictures because you won't get any with this post. You will have to wait until I get back from my adventure. Until next time!!!
Alcatraz and his weird second cousin thrice removed, Kaiya, were running down the halls of the Highbrary, they had to find the remedy for Bastille and all the others that were in coma. They passed a hallway branching from the main corridor they were in when suddenly there was a startling sound like a cat being stepped on. Alcatraz, not being a cat or penguin lover, but not enjoying stepping on any animal, leaped in the air. "Wow, I didn't know you could heel click!" Kaiya exclaimed as she came to a stop near Alcatraz. "What?" He asked. "I didn't know you could heel click. That was almost as good as my Aunt Tara's." "I wasn't heel clicking. I jumped in the air because I thought I had stepped on a cat." "In the Highbrary? Yeah right. And I'm a bumbling fool," she laughed. That's not too far off from the truth, Alcatraz thought. He still didn't understand why Grandpa Smedry insisted on these not really related relations getting involved in such a dangerous and serious mission. They were like a full deck of cards if all those cards were jokers. No really, they do have some pretty excellent jokes. You should ask to hear the zebra one if you ever survive reading this excerpt. "Well what was that cat noise?" Alcatraz asked. "I didn't hear a cat noise." "Then what was that noise?" "What noise?" "A noise like a cat was being stepped on. " "Oh that noise!" "Yes that noise. Do you know what it was or not?" "Yeah, I know what that noise was." "…….and what was it?" "Oh that was me. I saw a sign down that hallway that said 'potion room'. I thought that might be a good place to look for a cure for the Mokians." "And Bastille." "Yeah, and Bastille." "Well, let's get down there and look," Alcatraz responded. We turned back around, cautious of any cats, and ran down the side hall. As we neared the room we ran head first and collided with a librarian moving a third century Grecian vase. Even though Alcatraz no longer had his power, he broke that vase really good. It was pretty much just dust. "Wow, cuz, you sure you're power is gone?" I asked incredulously looking at the vase poof surrounding the dazed librarian on the ground. "What kind of potion room is full of pots and vases?!" Alcatraz asked as he came out of his dusty daze. Kaiya looked around, suddenly realizing he was right. "Oh, my bad!" Kaiya said with an innocent face, "the sign really says 'pots n' vase room'! Sorry Alcatraz! At least now we've wasted enough time you won't die in that one part of the book with the screaming and the blood and the malnourished goldfish." "Shattering glass! Spoiling the ending of a book is just as bad as skipping the the end or eating crapaflapnasti!" "So does that mean I've won a competition?!" Kaiya asked a little too enthusiastically. "No," Alcatraz sighed standing up. "It means this excerpt is finally over."
