Here Is A Challenge

I challenge you to duel.

I will...

...impart wisdom onto a room full of students

...meet friends for lunch

...enjoy an ice cream

...bask in the sunshine

...get my gym face on

...see friends from far flung places

...get coffee and cake

...sleep happy

What will you do to make today amazing?

Try It

Is It Sunday Yet?

I completed my golden week in the Arena in Limerick

I made it to all three training sessions last week

We won the NUIG InterVarsity on Saturday and beat the home team on their own grounds for the first time in four years

I brought home a bronze medal from the 2011 National Barebow Championships

All in all I call this week a success. 

'gives self a pat on the back'

Hmmmm....

I'm not too sure how this has actually happened, as I'm not a fashion blog per se, but I am still delighted to find out that I was nominated for Ireland’s Most Influential Fashion Blogger 2010.

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You can vote for me by clicking HERE.

I'm number 23 on the list, and what a list to be part of. I am so humbled to even be in the same room as some of these people some times let alone to be considered one of them.

What a great finish to a great birthday.

Just A Little Ink

Have you ever thought of getting a tattoo?

I love the idea of having a tiny little inked image hidden away on my person. Something just for me, something to make me feel special and to smile about every time I think about it. The kind of tat that you almost forget you have until you get a glimpse of it in the mirror when you get dressed and you can't help but smile to yourself. I don't know if or when I will get this done but I do know that I really want something that is just mine.

Things I Love Thursday

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Summer Blossoms - I love when the blossoms are out on the trees. Everything looks so so pretty and fresh and new. It turns the college very 'Memoirs of a Geisha' for a few days and makes me want to put my hair up into a pretty 'do' and wear something ornamental in it.

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That Sense of Achievement - You know the one! The one you get when you finally get through a bout of work - you sit back, take a look at what you have just achieved, give yourself a proverbial pat on the back and congratulate yourself for getting through it all. S got a new job, Raymy finished her PhD transfer thesis and I am one step closer to completing my research. Things are looking good today ladies.

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Surprise Shopping - Monday I went to the shops with the girls, yesterday I went to the shops with the guys and tonight I am going to the shops with S. Now I don't go to buy something every time, most of the time my shopping trips aren't even planned - someone just decides to 'go to the shops' but lately I have been finding some really great, inexpensive buys. Yea!

Honourable Mentions - too much coffee (just like Lady Smaggle), my new cuffed sandals, winning beautiful make-up, floral patterns on a black background, The Vampire Diaries, real coke - not diet

I Done Good

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After 9 years of building up the courage I donated my first unit of blood last night.

It took 6 friends, 5 other 'donatees' and 1 to hold my hand, 2 hours and 30 minutes out of my day, an amusing questionnaire, 2 glasses of 7up, a purple snack, a bag of cheese and onion Taytos, 2 plasters and an IBTS employee who thought that I was strange for bringing a friend with me to talk about shoes while they were inserting and removing the needle.

And I thought that I would feel better afterwards. Everyone said that I would get a warm, fuzzy feeling from doing something good, and to think of all the babies, motorcyclists and sick people that I would be helping. But I feel nothing - well not true, my arm feels a little heavy and I have a square bruise on my right arm - but I don't feel like I have done anything extraordinary at all.

Please tell me some of your stories from the first time you donated blood. Did you feel all warm and fuzzy?

Learning To Sleep In The Middle Of The Bed

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Right so... I've been single for about 4 months now and some aspects of the single life are fantastic and some are a little lackluster.

I can't say that I miss having to try and co-ordinate our schedules in order to spend some time together, shaving my legs regularly, and cooking for Mr T. I do miss having someone to talk to, having someone who 'gets' me and I really miss hearing a familiar voice on the other end of the phone. BUT... the most difficult part of being single for me is as follows...

... learning to sleep in the middle of the bed.

When I came to Limerick, before I met Mr T, I decided to stick with student accommodation for my first year in UL - hello single bed - and out of laziness I spent my second year in the same student village. I started seeing Mr T in November of that first year and he also had a very single bed in his accommodation. So we learned to snuggle - and I learned to sleep on my side, with my tummy held in, in fear of falling out of the bed if I dared to turn over in my sleep. In my third year I finally found the holy grail - a room with a double bed! I reveled in the new found space, I had a whole side of a bed to myself - and four months later I was back in a single bed - crap! In fact my next encounter with a double bed wasn't until I graduated and moved in with Mr T in Galway and I've never looked back since (I choose to just ignore the 3 months I spent in a box room in 'cardboard city' on starting the postgrad, it didn't really exist).

Even thought Mr T and I dated over distance for most of our relationship I still always slept on one side of the bed, I never had a fondness for one side over the other but I would always make sure to keep within my allocated space, two piles of pillows letting me know of the imaginary dividing line in the bed. Even when we broke up I still slept on my side of the bed for a few weeks.

One of the most definitive moments of being a single woman was when I realised that the whole bed was now mine. I got some new, very feminine, bed clothes, remade my bed and put all of the pillows into one pile at the head of the bed. I spent the entire day looking forward to going to sleep, having a ocean of bed all to me, being able to stretch out my legs without feeling like I was taking someones space.

I didn't sleep that night - I just felt strange. I felt a little lost in my bed, like I almost didn't recognise the space around me. Over the past few weeks I have slowly gotten used to having an entire bed to myself, and I now love the feeling of stretching out and not touching the edge of the mattress. I feel like a princess, with my own special, selfish place to hide away! My bed is now mine and for me alone, I don't want to share it at all.

What was the one moment that you realised that you were single, and how did you deal with it? Let me know readers.

First Time For Everything

Here's me, because I have never put up a photo of myself on my own blog. I shall face the fear head on. I will warn you all though - I rarely smile in photos. The one above is a rare exception.

It was taken at the UL Archery October Bank Holiday Shoot, it was fancy dress (I was the Ringmaster for the day)

Yea For News

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Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for nominating me for an Irish Blog Award. I feel pretty special to have even been nominated. You have made my week. Whoever you are *hugs*

xx

Mr T's Day

I was absolutely bursting with pride on Wednesday watching Mr T receive his M Tech parchment. Doesn't he look gorgeous in a suit?

All A.O.K.

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Geoffery has a clean bill of health. All certified and good again.
YEA!

Things I Love Thursday

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Dinner - We're taking Mr T out tonight to celebrate the end of his Masters. His presentation is this afternoon and I know that he is going to do amazing. I'm so proud of him.

Feeling better - I was sent home from college on Tuesday with a fever but I feel much better today. Yea.

Facebook - Changing my language to Pirate English was very entertaining. Try it!

Strawberries - I bought my first punnet of the season and had them for breakfast with some vanilla yogurt. Yum.

Flexible

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Wow... Imagine being that flexible!

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Yea on this being my 100th post.

Congratulations

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Mr T has finished his masters and is handing in his thesis today.

He is so great!

Weeee....

image courtesy of ecx.images-amazon.com

I'm back. There was a little trouble with the servers in the college and I was internet less for the last few days but all is restored and repaired now. Woo hoo.

Oh, I got my gift from Pop ( and Fredrick, now do you feel better?) over the weekend. It was Banana Nectar.... a bottle of banana nectar! What am I supposed to do with banana nectar? I've heard that it's an 'acquired' taste at best, and horrible at worst. Bloody banana nectar! But, oh God, did I laugh when I saw it.

The rest of the weekend was great. I competed in the Irish Student Championships on Saturday in Carlow and finished in 13th place in the advanced category. I was pretty chuffed with myself, but I was so proud of the rest of the team - they brought home 4 medals from the event.

• Michael took 1st place in beginner barebow
• Craig took 3rd place in beginner barebow
• Anna took 3rd place in beginner recurve
• Rory took 2nd place in advanced recurve

I then spent the rest of the weekend lazing around T's 'home' home in Carlow, listening to his sister play the piano and chatting to his dad about the state of the economy. It was entertaining.

The last 3 months..

image courtesy of www.rightbrainterrain.com

I've just come back from a meeting with my research supervisors. They wanted a run down on what I have achieved in the last 3 months. I, of course, panicked and thought that I haven't done enough since I started my research but it got me thinking... what have I been doing over the last 3 months?

• I've started a Masters in research
• I've moved house - twice
• I spent Christmas at home with my family
• I went for a romantic weekend to Paris with Tom
• I booked a summer holiday for August, well Sonya did it for me
  
• I started training regularly for archery
• I've started this blog

When you look at what you can do in such a small space of time it really makes you think...

I'm proud of what I have achieved since November...

Whether you have climbed your proverbial mountain in the past months, or or just keep the ball rolling in your life, be proud of each achievement you accomplish.