Name that topic!

After realizing (no, the "z" is not an error) that more than one week has passed since my last post, I desperately want to blog something. Unfortunately, my creative juices are following the Book of Genesis today ("...and on the 7th day, He rested"). So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to turn on the t.v., and whatever is on, I'll blog about. Here goes...

"Ireland has more drunks per capita than people." - Peter Griffin to his dog, Brian, prior to landing in Ireland.

Family Guy was on. I'm not going to write about the show. My personal opinion is that it's pure genius, in case you cared. I'll write about Ireland. Might be a short blog considering I've never been overseas.

To start, let me share some interesting facts with you about the 'Emerald Isle'.

1. There are no snakes in Ireland. My mom would LOVE it there!! I'm not a fan of snakes. I just found out this week that we have a family of snakes living underneath out front porch. My Baby Daddy ran over one the other day (unintentionally)with the lawnmower, but it got away. Great. Now I'm having visions of a severely scarred snake getting his/her vengeance on us. "Snakes on a Plane Part II: Dartmouth Destruction."

2. Today’s population is about 4M, considerably less than the 7–8M estimated in the 1830’s. This is a rough estimate, but holy cow! Apparently the huge decrease is due to the Potato Famine of the 1840s, as well as the approximately 2 million people who emigrated from Ireland in the 1930s. Fair enough. When I visited New York City several years ago, I felt the Irish influence on the city. Plus, St. Patrick's Day is a monumental event in North America. Irish descendants actually book this day off work and get totally polluted. I'm part Scottish and part Hungarian, and I've even done it. Such a fun day! Speaking of emigration, isn't EVERYONE in North America (except for the Native Aboriginals) an immigrant? Thought so.

3. Ireland is not a member of NATO. Wow. That's interesting. Here's another random fact (not related to Ireland): Five thousandths of a mm is the tolerance of accuracy for LEGO moulds. You know you're going to use that one in your next ice-breaker situation. That's cool.

What I love about Ireland: U2, Colin Farrell, Guinness and Boddington's beer, and The Cranberries.

So, there you have it. My random blog on a surprise topic. Hope you enjoyed it.

Sláinte!

How I spent my summer vacation (2008).

I'm home! I've just returned from a quick trip to Denver, CO. My Baby-Daddy (B-D from here on in) had to go on business, and I have family there - so we tagged along. What a great trip. I've been so lucky this summer with people coming to visit me, or having the opportunity to go and visit others.  Here are some highlights:

June: My best friend, Amanda, and her husband, Joe, came to visit for the last week in June. It was amazing. Neither of them had been to N.S., and neither had met BB1. We had a blast touring around Hali, and just hanging out.

July: I had a cavity replaced (thank you, Dr. MacKenzie!), my friend Lynn had her bachelorette party, and I got to go to Ottawa for two weeks. The trip was really special to me for a bunch of reasons. I had a chance to introduce BB1 to my grandfather, which was v. important, and emotional for me. I also got to go out for my best friend's birthday (WICKED fun time!). I had a chance to spend lots of time with my brother, which was pretty cool. He's 11 years my junior, and we've never been at the same points in our lives...ever. We did have a chance to hang out and grab some beers, though. He's a great guy.

August: August was my down-time. I was home pretty much all month, enjoying our home, our doggy, and of course time with BB1 and B-D. I managed to nail down daycare for BB1, and also confirmed my RTW date once MAT leave is done. (October 6) Oh! I also raised $1,000+ for my Support for Breast Cancer Research Run (to happen October 5, 2008). so thank you to all my sponsors (and there's still time to donate)! My Dad and Jan came out for a visit, too.

September: The whole family (sans chien) travelled to Denver from August 30 - September 4. What an amazing time! My cousin and her husband had box-seat tickets for the Rocky Mountain Showdown football game between CSU and CU (It's great, to be, a CSU Ram!!). We got to eat out at some great places, went to the Denver Zoo, REI, Red Rocks, Mount Evans, Buffalo Bill's grave, Boulder...super-fun trip. We spent the first few days with my cuz' and her husband (thanks Carissa & Zach for the hospitality!), and the last half with my Aunt and Uncle. What a spectacular city. 

Here's hoping that all your summers were sunny inside and out!