Another Vacation planned....

Yes!

I got my vacation request for Easter Week confirmed by my supervisor today, and my boyfriend and I are planning to head to Florida for the first time since Christmas 2004. His parents have a place on the west coast, in an over-55 community, and because of their failing health, are putting their winter home for the past 20 years up for sale. I had been encouraging my boy since before Christmas that, if possible, we could/should try to get down there sometime in first quarter of the year, as a last opportunity to have somewhere to stay before it's sold to another new owner...

And, we finally got our ducks in a row since earlier this week, and along with my vacation approval today, so we're all set to head to the Sunshine state. My man just has to verify the dates with his boss at work, which is not a problem, as luck would have it! We've decided to drive down to save on flights and car rentals, so we must plan our route, but that's part of the fun....

But, Florida, here we come!!!

Total Eclipse of the Moon

Just had to get out tonight to have the opportunity to see the eclipse of the moon which I had been hearing about, mostly on the radio on WYPR (88.1FM), my local NPR station here in Baltimore.

Included are a couple of my (very, very amateur) photos, which SO do not do the lunar eclipse justice, but you get an idea.

And it's a cold night here in Baltimore too - we got our 1-2 inches of snow had been predicted, so the ground was nice and white, though luckily, it didn't stick to the roads. Though that could be different in the morning, depending on the overnight temps, so we'll see what tomorrow's daylight brings.....

Trying to keep busy this weekend....!!

I was seriously considering going on a hike today with the Baltimore Hiking Group of which I'm a member through Meetup.com. But by the time I got my laundry started, coffee/breakfast made and eaten, I just didn't have time to get up to the Gunpowder Falls State Park in time for the 10:30am meetup time, so I decided to take a day trip to Gettysburg, PA instead.

I have only been up there once before, and that was over 10 years ago, back in the Fall of 1997, so I figured I was way overdue a visit again! I had certain memories of my previous visit, which I did with 2 girlfriends at the time, but have since lost all contact with (they were from my Washington, DC days, which seems like such a lifetime ago!), so it was time to make new memories for myself. There were a couple of places that I remembered, which was nice, but even better was the fact that I didn't remember enough places from my last visit, and that I was able to create what seemed like a totally new first-time visit, though old memories of my life back then came seeping back, but that's how life is......

Anyway, I came back to Baltimore hungry, and took home some Chinese, and am now here online watching 60 Minutes on CBS, so it's sooooo not a SuperBowl night for me. I had been invited to a party, but am mentally not up for it, so I'm relaxing at home instead......

Here are some photos from my trip to Gettysburg today...... Must finish up here soon, as I'm pretty beat - the drive up and down to PA, as well as some short walks and hikes while in Gettysburg have taken more out of me than I thought, but hope that'll help me sleep better tonight!

A Little "Me" Time!

Had my first weekend day to myself in a long time, and spent some time doing stuff only I wanted to do!!

Started off by having to bring my car in to have the front left tire checked out. When I got out of work on Thursday evening, I discovered (not straight away, unfortunately!), a fairly flat tire, but was lucky enough to have enough air in it to get to a fairly close gas station on the way home, and fill it up. Noticed by yesterday that it seemed to have had a slow leak, so took it to my "new" local car shop (recommended to me by Knitting friends from Stitch 'n Bitch group - thank you Sarah and Lynn!), where a nail was discovered..... Got it fixed in no time at only $15, to which I was quite relieved, as I was worried about the possibility of having to replace the tire. Due to still paying for my flight home for Christmas, and also the work done to the car right before I left on vacation, I really didn't want another added unexpected expense to add to the list!

Got to have a pleasant walk afterwards at a local park that the boy and I had talked about and make a slight attempt to walk around before (Wyman Park by JHU), but never really did, so today was my day to take that walk!! Seems to be the thing that I do when in times of "trouble".....

Got to my local Panera Bread (a few miles north of where I live) by mid-morning for late breakfast, and from there, I decided to head further north for some hiking (again, it seems to be the thing I do in difficult times!), and so I enjoyed that, and felt so much better for it. I've lucked out in the weather, as temps were rather mild today, with absolutely no rain, unlike yesterday, when it poured out of the heavens like it was going out of fashion!

Then I went window-shopping at a local mall, and managed to bump into a friend, which was always a nice surprise (2nd time that's happened so far this year, and I love it!!). Didn't get to hang out with her for too long (she introduced me to her daughters who were shopping in the store we all were at), as I had bought a movie ticket a half-hour previously, and the movie was starting 10/15 minutes from when I bumped into them, so ended up having a more rushed conversation with them than I would have liked........ But I did get to see "27 Dresses" which I thoroughly enjoyed, as I really needed to see a "girly" movie, and this was the one for me. Two movies at the movie theater in 2 weeks - not at all typical of me, but as it's winter, and the best time of the year to be watching/going to the movies, I figured, why the heck not?!!

Anyhow, got in a little bit of grocery shopping too, so felt good about that, but am now at a point of slowing down, as I'm getting rather sleepy - I did wake up very early this morning (around 6:20am!), but then again, I was falling asleep way too early last night (around 8:30pm - how sad on a Friday night!!). It was largely due to not having slept too well all week, so it finally caught up with me by week's end. I was glad to have finally gotten the sleep I needed, and did feel quite refreshed today, so hence that helped me feel pretty good, at least for the most part anyway!! Weird what some stress will do to you, but such is way of life sometimes.

Gotta take the bad with the good, and how one deals with the stresses/strains one's dealt with is a test of one's character. I have to admit to not being good at with dealing with life's knocks, so it's something I have to work on (along with plenty of other "issues" I feel I have!), as I "could always do better"!!! And with that, I'll say goodnight, as I really am starting to fade...... zzzzz-time is here, so gotta go!!

Rough Week

It's been a pretty rough week, both on the personal front and at work, and so I'm not in the best of sorts at the moment...... I'm hoping things will pan out for me sometime sooner rather that later, but it's hard going through these tough times, especially with what seems like so many negative things going through my head (and heart) right now.

But, as someone at work told me yesterday (and in the best way possible), just to "soldier on", so will do what I can, though at times, I just want to curl up and sleep, and hope it's all gone by the time I wake up. I guess I can keep dreaming.....!!

Oh well, such is life sometimes, and I'll just have to ride this wave out, and see where I land when all is said and done!

First Movie of the Year

We finally got to see our first movie of the year yesterday, as we decided to head up to Hunt Valley to got window-shopping. The boy needs new hiking boots, as the pair that he's had for about the past 15 years finally fell apart last weekend (at least the left boot did - the sole finally broke away from the shoe while we were out for a walk in a local neighborhood, and luckily it happens on our way home!)....we found a new pair at a decent price at DSW, but will have to wait 'til next payday in the hopes they'll still be there. In the meantime, I was able to buy a new pair of slippers to replace the pair I had bought at DSW about 4 or 5 years ago, that have been showing their age in recent months. I am pretty pleased with them, and they were very inexpensive too! A photo is included to show off my new "furry friends"!!!

Anyhow, as it was so cold outside, and we weren't into doing too much window-shopping due to post-Christmas budget constraints, we decided to catch a matinee at the movie theater, and got to see "Charlie Wilson's War". We enjoyed it, and are always glad to catch a movie at the theater, as it's something we don't tend to do as often as we'd like to..... I just have to take more care in the amount of buttered popcorn I eat, as it seems to not sit as well with me the older I get :-/ But it was a fun time!

Snow....

We've gotten our first snow of the year today, and were able to get out of work a little early too, which is always an added bonus! I had a hair appointment for this evening, and luckily they had called me right when I had found out we could leave work early, so I was able to get that appointment squeezed in, and still got home close to an hour earlier than I normally would have even left work. So that was nice. Unfortunately, I didn't have an opportunity to take any photos, but I'm hoping that there'll still be enough snow on the ground in the morning, that I may be lucky enough to take some then, all going well......

Changes....

....I know there's going to be some changes (all good, by the way!!) this year, as I start to settle back to living and working in Baltimore again, and even though transitions are always unsettling, it's always good to make some changes, especially when way overdue......

Nothing negative in the works anywhere in particular, just very, very unsettled in one aspect of life, which is bothering me enough to get into action, though just one step at a time.....I'm not always the quickest mover in many respects, which is always a regret, but a side of me that I'm still dealing with and struggling to accept.

As "coy" as this post is, it's unintentional, but will probably come out later, whenever the (positive) changes do get to happen!!

Happy New Year!

Just a quick post - am still in the process of recovering from jet-lag even though I've been back in the US since Monday; largely, I'm still waking up a little earlier than usual (around 6am yesterday and the day before, but have been awake & up since right before 5am this morning!) and hence, getting tired earlier than usual every night too (from around 9pm onwards). But such is life, and I'm hoping that I'll fully recover over the weekend!

Anyhow, had a quiet New Year's Eve celebration with my boyfriend. I slept for about 2-3 hours after getting back to DC late in the afternoon, and managed to stay up for another couple of hours, before my boyfriend sent me back to bed 20 minutes before midnight hit. Jet-lag at it's worst! I think I was brushing my teeth by the time midnight came and went, so not a huge celebration on my part! I had enough energy to go downstairs to have a quick "New Year's kiss" and headed right back to bed, and was out cold in a flash!

OK, off to get ready for work!! Later.....! And by the way, my trip to Ireland was a very relaxing, family-oriented trip, and I loved meeting my new nephew!! More news in a later post, I hope!

Getting caught up with the Holiday Shopping....

.....and stressing out a little with not quite having gotten everything yet, and also with the financial strain of it all too... BUT, have also to spend time cleaning up my room, start packing, sort out some gift-wrapping, figure if I have a realistic opportunity to get 2 last items that I know I'd like before my return to Ireland for Christmas, and trying not too worked up about it all, as I'm starting to realize how little time there seems to be!!! It'll all fall into place, I hope!! Realistically, I'm not stressing out too much, but am just a little anxious about what it is that I think I'd like to get done beforehand....I'm also feeling down about my boyfriend not travelling with me next week, largely for financial reasons, and that's understandable, but I'm going to miss him so much, as I know he will me, but such is life. All will be fine, and I am looking forward to seeing my niece and nephews next week, and spending time back in Cork at Christmastime, which is the first time in 5 years that I've been home this time of year! Should be fun, I hope!

Changes of the Season and Christmas

I've been enjoying the changing of the seasons as best as I can, and Autumn is still my favorite, and Winter being my least favorite. I'm not a huge fan of the cold, but I do love snow, so I'm continously conflicted, but such is life...

Here are a couple of shots taken from my bathroom (!!) window - one taken recently when we still had leaves on a neighbor's tree, and one taken just now, with absolutely no leaves.....what a difference a couple of weeks can make!!

And I've also been getting into the Holiday season, listening to Christmas music, doing some shopping, not doing very well at staying on budget, though my purchases are not altogether dreadfully expensive :-( I do love this time of year, though, except for the financial pressures, which never seem to fail me!! I've decided to include a photo of the Christmas tree down at Port Discovery, which I took last night. I was meeting friends at Howl of the Moon for the Happy Hour that a girlfriend had won, so it was nice to get down there for a couple of drinks! Didn't stay long, and was out of there not long after 7:30pm, but it was still fun! It's been a busy week, with having had birthday celebrations on Tuesday, and other holiday celebrations for the remainder of the week, but makes me appreciate the down time too, and I am certainly glad to have friends to do things with, unlike when I first moved to Baltimore in late 2000.




Well, I'm going to tidy up here, and get ready to head out to meet my boyfriend and other sailing friends for drinks and dinner, as I am getting hungry!

'Til next time!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to Me,
Happy Birthday to Me,
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday,
Happy Birthday to Me!

OK, I don't normally 'sing' greetings to myself, but as I'm alone this morning, I figured I would..... Heading into the end of my 30's by celebrating!!

Quiet birthday celebrations over the weekend

Spent the weekend having a fairly quiet time with my boyfriend, and hanging out with friends on Saturday evening for the Lighted Boat Parade in Baltimore's Inner Harbor - we hung out at Captain Larry's bar in Federal Hill after it was discovered that our usual haunt of Little Havana's was closed to the public for a private party. It was nice for a change to be somewhere different, and I like Captain Larry's, as that's where we went to for our friend's baby shower back in September, which was a great time! We also got for a short walk around Fort McHenry on Saturday afternoon too which was nice, though it was soooooo cold all day.

We had Sunday Brunch at Gecko's Bar in (Upper) Fell's Point yesterday which was our first time there in several years - a place kinda close to our hearts, as it was our first "unofficial date" together, though it was well before we started dating..... We wanted to take a walk around Fell's Point, but it was raining, so that detered us from hanging out for as long as we wanted to, but we did get the opportunity to hang out at one of the antique stores down there..... Fun times, and more celebrations tomorrow for my actual birthday itself - will be planning to be at Little Havana's, as our sailing friends have their social get-together's there on Tuesday nights in the off-season, which we're now well into the swing of....

Car break-in...

To the idiot(s) (I'm being too nice....) who broke into my car on Friday night, thanks....! Just what I need right now is to spend extra money on fixing a broken window, and the after-effects of now not feeling quite as safe in my neighborhood.

Thanks for nothing....

California

Am glad to note that the few family and friends living in Southern California have come out relatively unscathed from all the wildfires occurring there at the moment, so am feeling relieved for their sakes.....

Photos of my new computer

Thought I'd post a couple of photos of my new computer - the lack of which had me out of the loop on and off during the summer, and definitely for the bulk of September. Am so glad to have a brand new machine! Am now in the process of trying to pay for it, and I've just sold a couple of items on eBay that I haven't used for ages (my old walkman, and an old Nikon camera that got water-damaged, and hopefully will be good for parts - they've both been purchased and paid for within the past day or two, so hopefully, these folks will enjoy their new purchases!).

Great news - I'm an Aunt again!

Found out yesterday afternoon that my older sister has had her 3rd baby, a boy, as yet unnamed, who came in at 7lbs, 7oz. at 2:30pm local time (they're back in Ireland), on 11th October 2007. He follows his older brother and sister with honoring me with Aunthood again! Looking forward to hearing more about the little man, and getting photos and a name once they figure that out!!

Great to get some good news in the midst of some uncertainties elsewhere in my life, but nothing that time won't help in waiting to see where things go....... Hard to keep positive sometimes when feeling a little too anxious, so hence getting news of my sister's baby helps a LOT in relieving some tension!

Lack of Computer Access

OK, so now my old laptop has finally bit the bullet as of a couple of weeks ago, so I now have no readily available internet access or computer usage, and so am not blogging as often as I thought I would get into, hence my lack of chit-chat and photo uploading.

We had a GREAT time at Elk Neck State Park - highly recommended for those who may enjoy camping. I'll try to remember to post photos, once I get my new Gateway laptop which is currently in the process of being ordered and sent to me - estimated arrival date 10/01/2007 according to their records. It was either going to be Gateway or Dell, and I did prefer the look of the Dell overall (and could get a corporate discount through work, but not a huge one, but every little helps), but the Gateway worked out to be ever so slightly cheaper, so money talks.... Hope I won't be extending myself too much by taking out this computer loan through my credit union, but it'll just be for a year, unless I can pay it off far sooner, which is my hope!!!

Anyhow, am at my local library, the Waverly branch here in Baltimore's Enoch Pratt library system, and it's just around the corner from home. Don't come here too often, as I tend to go to the Central library close to work on a regular basis instead.

Have only less than 2 minutes left, so must rush off!!

Going Camping!!

OK, we're heading off on our first (!!) camping trip of the season next weekend for Labor Day weekend, America's unofficial ending of summer. We won't be travelling far, just up to Elk Neck State Park, which should take only about 90 minutes or so, so should make for an easy drive. A beach location was initially preferred, but due to our late planning, it didn't happen that way, and we lucked out in finding some openings still available at Elk Neck, right at the top of the Chesapeake Bay, and there's a beach of sorts there, according to it's map.

Camping became a new hobby last summer when I got involved with a local group, and I went on several camping trips last year - himself even came on a couple of them with me, until we went on our own last Labor Day weekend. That group has since disbanded, and hence I haven't been since, and as he isn't as into camping ("I'd rather be sailing"), he's still happy to appease by going on at the least the one trip together, just him and me!

Looking forward to being out in the woods/wilderness (or at least kind of, anyway!), and being close enough to the water too!! Will hope to post some photos of our camping trip too....

'Til next time......

Life as it is...

Life too busy with everything and nothing recently, so haven't posted, but will try to get back soon!