popcorn for dinner

Yes, dinner tonight was popcorn. After work today I did what I usually do and sat down with a cup of tea in front of the tv and I knitted, to just relax for a bit. I usually read a bit or knit. And around 5.30 -6ish I decide to make dinner. Well I just really wasn't hungry tonight and after doing a few other things, talking with one of my housemates, I realise it is now 9pm. Well I'm really not that hungry and definately not in the mood to cook, so I figured I'll just have a bowl of cereal. Until I opened the press and saw the popcorn, that was calling my name instead of Rice Krispies. Oh well. I had a big lunch anyway, I usually just have a pb&j sandwhich or yougurt/few crackers/apple but it is COLD out there today and the wind was just bitter, so I wanted something hot, I didn't have any soup, but I had my leftover mac & cheese from last night I was going to eat for dinner anyway. So I guess in reality, it was more like popcorn for lunch, right?

So that is all the fun for today, ohhh was trying out my idea for a Halloween costume and I think I can pull it off. I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween, I hate coming up with costume ideas. It is weird though because I absolutely love theme parties... So after some thinking and trying to do it without spending any money, I've decided to dress as Sarah Palin. I know like it is a popular idea this year, but I really don't think it will be here.I have a black skirt suit, red shirt, pearls, heels, glasses, I can kinda do the accent, I can kinda do the hair, I'm going to carry a McCain-Palin sign and some lipstick. So I figure it should work. People over here think she is crazy so I figure it should get some laughs. I'm going to a little party at Kara's then out on the town. So it should be a fun Halloween :)

i'm serious about the long emails...

So I like to write long emails to friends. And I'm serious when I say I write long emails. Like for the last year on a daily basis my college roomie and I have been emailing back and forth, and these aren't just a few sentences, I'm talking paragraphs upon paragraphs. We always joke that we write books to each other and so after writing an email to her yesterday I saw how long it was so I decided to word count it... 2006 words. And while that one was unusually long, my normal emails are quite long about 1000-1200 words, and this isn't just to amy, it is to my loves, berries, family, other friends... so if you ever email me, chances are you'll get a book back.

I got the best mail in the world today! Last week was Head of the Charles in Boston and as I was obviously not there I got the next best thing in the mail. A postcard from MARY WHIPPLE!! My rowing idol. She is the coxswain of the US women's 8 and I love her. The postcard said - Wish you were here! Have a pint for me! - You don't know hoooow excited I am! Too bad I didn't get to meet her, but I have emailed back and forth with her over a rowing project in college.

Winter is here :( I don't like it. I pulled out all the coats and sweaters out of the closet. Luckily we aren't getting snow here though, and we rarely get snow here in Cork. They got a few inches at home on Tuesday.

My conferring is 10 December! YAY! I'll officially be a Master then. Have to finish planning my parents visit, as I now know when graduation is, so I can plan everything else.

I had more I was thinking about but now I can't remember. It was random stuff anyway.
Happy Wednesday!

she's the girl from belfast city

Belfast was AMAZING! I loved, loved, loved it. A very interesting city in so many ways, historically, politically and the atmosphere. Like if you were to go in 7 years, the city would be so changed, and it has changed so much in the last 10 years. Like only in the last 7-10 years have they started building in the city centre. A brand new gorgeous shopping centre opened in the city earlier this year, there are starting to build apartments in the centre, hotels, and other people friendly activities. For a long time most of the 70s to early 90s the city centre was patrolled by armed guards and to get into the city centre you had to pass through metal dectors and the city was dead after 6pm. So with peace in the last 10 years, Belfast is becoming a place people want to live again, so a ton of development and trying to bring people and such to the city. 

Before I ramble on about the trip, the most interesting things for me was walking along Shankill (Protestant/Unionist) and Falls (Catholic/Republican) Roads. The wall murals were intense, especially a few along Shankill with the guns and just so powerful, in a bad way. I can't imagine seeing that growing up, most of them weren't too bad, just proclaiming their ties to Britain. I was mad that I was running out of time when I was on Falls road, so I didn't really get up far enough up the road to get pictures of some of the more famous ones - the Bobby Sands/hunger strike ones and a few others, but I got to see them when I was on the bus tour, but it was pouring, so I wasn't on the top of the bus and unable to get any pictures. The most intriguing bit was the peace walls, in the areas that have Catholics, they have walls erected to seperate the neighbourhoods, and it is weird becuase the city is checkerboarded, with pockets of Catholics, surrounded by Protestant neighbourhoods. So during the height of the Troubles, you knew not to walk past a certain block or risk violence, and in some of the strongest areas, the stones along the sidewalks were painted red/white/blue or green/white/orange. Along Sandy Row they are still painted red/white/blue. I didn't see as much from the Catholic areas, though I wasn't in them as much, but it seems like their murals weren't as intense, but then the murals do change. The pIRA (provisional IRA, which seperated from the IRA in the 1970s as the IRA wanted to be non-violent so a group splintered to form the pIRA, and now when you mention the IRA, it is really the pIRA) was extremely active as the pIRA set off all the bombs all over Belfast, Northern Ireland and the UK. I wish I had time to go to Derry, to see everything up there. Anyway, so enough of the history lesson. But it was really awesome walking around, and just thinking about how violent we can be. I hope as a teacher I can incorperate the Troubles into a lesson because it is just another example of how religion/political intolerance can lead to violence. It was intersting to pass a few integrated schools, and there is talk of taking down the peace walls. The whole issue while based on religion in reality has to do mostly with how the communities see themselves, as wanting to be part of Ireland or part of the UK. And while most just say Protestant/Catholic in realitly it isn't just religion. The whole history of partioning and 20th century Ireland is fascinating. Or at least I think so as I took a class on 20th century Ireland and then one on Northern Ireland when I studied abroad, so getting to see it first hand was great. I love history and travel for those reasons, getting to see these places I've studied, I love it. 

Ok, so back to my weekend. So left work at 1 on Friday, and legged it into town to get on the 2pm bus to Dublin.So the bus ride wasn't too bad... Driving through Dublin made me laugh, as I haven't been to Dublin in 3 years and seeing all the sights made me laugh and think of the crazy times I had with Emily, Becky, and Laura. So after finding somewhere close to the bus station for dinner, I hopped back on the bus for another 2.5 hours to Belfast. Got into Belfast around 10, found my hostel. Which google maps I was quite disappointed with, your walking directions totally sucked. There was a MUCH easier way, which I found on accident later on, when I walking around on Sunday and was like hey, thats the hostel where I stayed Friday night. Anyway...  so I got in and just crashed, I was tired after being on a bus for 7.5 hours and had to be up at the train station early. So Saturday I took a train from Belfast to Coleraine, about hour and fifteen minutes away up to the coast. Then I took a bus from there to the Giants Causeway. Now the forecast was quite shitty, gale force winds and rain. So I was lucky when I was at the Causeway there was just winds. So I spent about 2 hours walking around and enjoying the scenery, trying not to get blown away and taking pictures. I would have spent more time, but the path along the coast was closed due to winds. The rocks are soo cool though :) They are mainly hexagonal Basalt rocks from a volcano erruption, which how they cooled left them like this. There is a legend of Fionn mac Cumhaill built the causeway so he would have a way to get to Scotland, where he was to fight a Scottish giant, as there is similar geographical features on an island off the coast of Scotland. But they were just really cool to see, too bad the winds were crazy and it was a really high tide, or it would have looked cooler. Oh well. So I then took a taxi over to Portrush- the buses had the weirdest timetables now that it isn't tourist season, they came at 11 and 6.15... so I couldn't rely on public transport. So walked around Portrush in Co. Antrim and explored the little seaside town, one of the reasons I wanted to go was my education professor grew up here and I've heard it is gorgeous (which it was). It was cute, it forms a little peninsula so it has big beaches on both sides of the town and a lot of maritime history. It was quite dead as it was the end of October and horrible weather. Then I took a bus to Portstewart another cute coastal town in Co. Derry about a 10 minute bus ride from Portrush. I spent the night here, but the weather was miserable, so I walked around the shops, had dinner and took a few pictures, but it was lashing rain and super windy!!

I was up early Sunday morning to get to bus back to Coleraine to get the train back to Belfast. Got to Belfast, checked into a different hostel (as I only planned to come up on Tuesday, I had a hard time finding places to stay, but I figured out I'd just have to stay in different places). And then I started my adventure. I decided to do the bus tour, which I've never done, as things are pretty spread out in Belfast and they only have a bus system and public busses can be quite confusing if you don't know the area, I much prefer metros/subways, and a bus tour would be much easier. So I did the tour and it was rainy, so the bus wasn't open top. It was one of those 24 hour hop on/off ones, so I did the whole tour and then figured I would hop on/off the second time. It was still great to hear and see everything, especially since I had 3 different guides, so their commentary was slightly different. Saw the dry dock where they built the Titanic, and all the H&W shipyards, crazy that at the turn of the century they employed 35,000 men... and now less than 100. Belfast was such a working class city for most of its life with the linen industry, rope and shipbuilding, and then with modernization how fast it all disappears. So then after the tour, I decided to walk around the city centre, the city hall, the cathedral quarter, and victoria square where i got lured into h&m and bought a skirt and jersey material dress. It was only 35 pounds, and with the awesome exchange rate was only $55!! the dollar is at 1.52 to the pound, compared to the summer when it was about 2.10... and the dollar to the euro is like 1.25... over the summer it was 1.60... It is crazy how much it has dropped in the last month! So then I went to dinner and then Crown bar for a pint, this super cool pub. Light by gaslamps and totally victorian... the pictures I took in there didn't come out.. oh well. 

Monday I was up early for a walk around Queens University Belfast, omg, gorgeous campus. I could see myself at QUB. Then I hopped back on the bus to go out to Stormont- the NI assembly. Pretty awesome building, unlike most parliaments/whatevers... this one is outside of the city centre, so gorgeous gardens and everything. Hopped back on the bus and got off at Shankill Road, walked around there across to Falls Road and then back into the city to catch my bus back to Dublin. So Monday was a lot of walking around, taking pictures and just trying to get as much in as possible! Had a bit of a break in Dublin, then back on the bus to Cork. Got home around 10.30 and was exhausted!!

Overall it was an absolutely fabulous weekend, I love Belfast and the North!

Just trying not to freeze, as it got quite chilly in Cork over the weekend, and organise everything. Took out the winter clothes today and cleaned out the closet. Anyway, back to the usual.

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY KELLY!! 

pictures from the weekend will be posted later, as internet isn't cooperating.

travels

it is official! I am in Ireland until March! I booked the flight home for Christmas today! 

YAY!

So I will be stateside from 13 December to 4 January, so mark your calendars, becuase I'd love to see people. I know it is tough with the holidays and all, but it would be great to see people :) 

And then I will be back in Ireland for three more months! 

So I'm quite excited about that, also now that it is almost November I really need to get started on looking up stuff for when the parents are over and booking hotels/rental car, but first bloody UCC needs to decide on when conferring is. I know it is sometime during the week of 8-12 December, but other than that, no clue. Fingers crossed for Monday or Tuesday, just because it makes everything easier planning wise. I just love planning trips. The last two days at work I've figured out some plans for this weekend's adventure to Belfast! And started to look up some stuff about Spain for when Amy comes! I seriously would love to be a professional traveler, how does one get that type of job? 

So I'm quite excited about Belfast and the Giants Causeway! I was supposed to go up with my Early Start class in September 2005 when I was studying abroad, but there was an unusually high amount of violence that month, so my professor didn't want to take 20 American students, so we spent 4 days in Dublin instead of 2/2. So I'm finally getting to go. The weather is looking to be Irish, 10-12 and showers. Typical...So other than planning trips and booking flights, nothing much else going on. 

So  facebook has alerted me that another friend is engaged. Ahhhhhhh! This one couple in particular was quite shocking, I remember when I realised through facebook that they were dating and was like seriously? I guess though because I am nowhere near wanting to be married it just seems crazy at 23 to be even thinking about the idea of spending the rest of your life with one person... And also this weekend one of my close friends is getting married. It is crazy to think that someone I have known since I was 13 is getting married, and just how totally different our lives are, believe me I have a shoebox full of letters over the last 10 years and the ones from 8-10th grade are hilarious! I got a letter from her yesterday and just discussing things in our life and reading it I was like wow, she is so grown up, and it made me seem like a kid still. I'm not complaining at all, I love my life. And the things I want to do before I settle down, well that list is quite long. 

Anyway, happy Wednesday. Off to the pub to join my fellow mountaineers for some craic.

film festival and soaking wet hikes

Last week was a busy week for me. Between work and life I was also volunteering at the Cork Film Festival. It was fun, though I wish I would have had more time to actually see some of the films. So it was pretty cool, I was put in the venues, so I was greeting people, collecting tickets, guarding the doors and got to see the films if I wanted. So I was at the Opera House, which was cool because most of the big films were being shown there and it really is a gorgeous building. Tuesday when I was volunteering was the coolest though, it was the silent film night. I didn't get to see the first bit, but they had Paul Merton speaking about silent films, and then the second half was the showing of Buster Keaton's Steamboat Willie Jr and they had somone playing the piano, so it totally felt like the 1920s. Watching a silent film reminded me of the Margaret movie, and made me think of camp. So I just thought it was really awesome :) The other few movies I saw, I didn't really like.  A few of the shorts I saw were good though. It was a fun week though and I got to meet and talk with a lot of interesting people. 

Sunday was an interesting hike. It was a super wet, rainy, windy, disgusting Irish day. We went to Coumsaharan, in Co. Kerry and while the forecast was wet, it was dry and overcast when we left Cork. It started to pour, after about Macroom and you knew it was going to be one of those hikes. It was super windy, like 80kph winds, so the plans slightly changed, as we reached the top, before we started along the horseshoe we were getting blown away. So we walked down the side of the mountain, through the bogs which turned into rivers and ponds. Seriously it was crazy how much water was coming down the mountain. Now where we were hiking was quite boggy, but with this much water it was like hiking though a pond! Even with my waterproofs I was still soaked, as well as everyone else. The only thing dry on me was my feet (which I am NOT complaining about) as many people had soggy feet, which isn't hard when you are walking in 5inches of water! So despite the rediculous rainyness, it was a great day :) Sometimes the super rainy days are a lot of fun, and they make you realise how amazing the gorgeous sunny days are.

So I'm going to Belfast this weekend :) YAY!! I am so excited, I have seriously been waiting since September 2005 to go, and I AM! YAY! It is kinda a spur of the moment decision, as Monday is a Bank Holiday, so I have the day off, and I felt like getting out of Dodge. So I'm leaving Friday afternoon, and coming back to Cork late Monday night and spending a lot of time on a bus this weekend. But it should be worth it! I'm also going up to the Giant's Causeway and Portrush as well so it should be fun. So I spent most of today at work looking up hostels and trying to figure out bus schedules and such, which is funny because the one thing I wanted to do at work today was write this, but yet somehow it is 10.20 at night and I just got around to writing... 

110 years of sisterhood

Today is the 110th anniversary of Zeta Tau Alpha! I love my sorority and I love thinking about how today the 9 women who founded ZTA in Farmville, Virginia met in secret and created the rituals, crest and started the sorority that has over 190,000 members in 238 chapters. It is just awesome to think these 9 women who wanted a way to make their friendship more permanent created something that is so special to so many women.

I may not have been the most active sister in college, but I love everything ZTA stands for, the history, tradition, rituals and how I am connected to so many amazing women. I realised this after being out of college and running into other women when wea

ring letters and joining an alumni group, and I want to continue to make ZTA something in my life, and not just something I was a part of in college.

I love our creed and even though memorising it was a nightmare, I think it is something special.

To realize that within our grasp, in Zeta Tau Alpha, lies the opportunity to learn those things which will ever enrich and ennoble our lives; to be true to ourselves, to those within and without our circle; to think in terms of all mankind and our service in the world; to be steadfast, strong, and clean of heart and mind, remembering that since the thought is father to the deed, only that which we would have manifested in our experience should be entertained in thought; to find satisfaction in being, rather than seeming, thus strengthening in us the higher qualities of the spirit; to prepare for service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to be served; to seek understanding that we might gain true wisdom; to look for the good in everyone; to see beauty, with its enriching influence; to be humble in

success, and without bitterness in defeat; to have the welfare and harmony of the Fraternity at heart, striving ever to make our lives a symphony of high ideals, devotion to the Right, the Good, and the True, without a discordant note; remembering always that the foundation precept of Zeta Tau Alpha was Love, “the greatest of all things.”

-- Shirley Kreasan Strout

why would she put little russian men in our drinks?

Super wet disgusting day today! Just ugggggh!

So everyone in Ireland is anticipating the Budget. The Minister of Finance presents the budget for the upcoming year and it will be on TV this afternoon and with everything going on in the financial world people are curious to see what he has to say. It is interesting because I feel in the States we don't really have anything similar, like I had to look and see when the US budget is passed, apparently the President has to submit it to Congress by the first Monday in February, and then it has to be approved by both houses in Congress and then signed by the President, and goes into effect starting 1 October. The one thing I can think gets this type of attention in the States is the State of the Union, which is always interesting to hear what the President has to say. Anyway, enough financial talk.

Fun weekend :) Thursday I went with Brenda to see How to Loose Friends and Alienate People. It was funny and made me laugh. It was good to catch up with her, I miss our movie nights in the house, relaxing and watching whatever bad movies were on TV, and catching up on our day. Friday was a usual day at work, nothing too interesting. So Kara, Lorna and I decided to go out. I haven't been out in a while as I've been sick and busy finishing up the thesis and Kara was home for a few weeks. So Friday night was supposed to be a quieter evening, I had to work the Open Day on Saturday for prospective students.

But of course that was the opposite of what happened. So we started out at costigans, but it was a weird night there as the general age was quite older, as there was a Munster rugby match one (really good game, munster won 19-17 with like 2 minutes left) . So we decided to go to the Quad, so we get our drinks - this beer called Desperado, it is beer with tequila (quite good) and so we just got our beers and started people watching and talking. So then a girl comes over and goes do you girls want a pint of miller? So we go yea, why not. So she leaves and we laugh and go I hope it is a promotion, and we better not have to pay then Lorna then says I hope she doesn't put any KGB in our drinks.. Kara then asks, why would she be putting Russian men in our drinks? So we all laugh and she brought over the pints, and we decide to start drinking the Miller and save the good beer until later. So a super drunk guys comes by and we ignore him, he was trying to talk with us. So his friend - seriously the tallest guy I have ever seen in my life, comes over to appologise. So we were just like whatever, so they bloody sit down next to us.. we were like uuughhh. So we start downing the Miller, reminded me of the Bird, except I was drinking out of a pint glass, and not a pitcher. So then we drank the good beer quite fast and booked it out of there... that was bad idea #1. Especially since the last time i drank was 3 weeks ago when i went out with work friends (and that night I had 3 pints and was fine) so we wanted to go to the Brog. So walking there a group pf guys starts talking to us, and I don't exactly remember how this started, Lorna goes we are in a band, I'm Frankie, this is Kiki to Kara and Lulu to me. Our band was called KGB, so they were like where are you going, and we replied i'm not sure yet as trying to elude the second group of sketchy guys. So we decided to go to Old Oak... i haven't been there in 3 years! i wasn't a fan of it when i studied abroad. So nothing fun really happening there so we head to the Brog and i was getting tired so at like 1 i decided to head home. So it was a hilarious evening :) And a lot of fun!

Saturday morning, not so much fun. But the Open Day went well, I gave out lots of information about accom to prospective students, and then after it I ran into town to do my errands. I finally bought knitting needles and yarn, and have decided to start knitting again, so lets see how long this lasts.

Sunday went hiking :) We went to Gougane Barra, the source of the River Lee. It is usually a very pretty hike, but the weather wasn't really co-operative, so there were no views. It was wet and misty, and bogtacular, so the usual Ireland hiking weather. It was a fun day, despite being wet. I did manage to get a few good pictures of the lake and the monastry though :)

I love the reflections!

The monastry

:)

personal history, fees and life

I was reading the news yesterday on CNN and came across this story and it really caught me. I love little stories like - Oxford Project - this because I guess in a way it really does capture the essence of local history. It captures the everyday person, the daily life in a town, who most of us will be in history and what I personally like studying. I'm interested in the everyday history, seeing how people lived 100, 200... years ago, because despite everything we all are the same. the same ideas of love, hurt, hard work, stress, problems, happiness. But what I think is awesome about this is structure of a photo, then one 20 years later and just recording life. I would love to read this, I think oral history is such an interesting tool for finding out about the recent past and a way to record everyone's personal history. Because somehow everyone's lives are connected and just by reading about someone's life whether they live 3 miles, 300 miles or 3000 miles you learn more about someone else. I think everyone has an interesting story, even if they don't think so.

So this morning there was a march against fees through UCC and into the city. The Irish government is trying to reintroduce fees for third level universities and it is coming under protest. How it currently is set up, that students are only responsible for their registration fee each year and for UCC it is like €1000. They get free tuition for their degree. If they have to repeat a year or start a new course or already have a degree they have to pay, and the fees are around €6000 a year. And people complain about the registration fee, and many students get grants to cover the registration fee and some even get cost of living grants. So people are really against the reintroduction of fees, and I guess just coming from the states I don't see the big deal. I see it as by paying to go to college you are getting better facilities, equipment and everything. I was pretty much shocked when I first found out they pay nothing to go to university. And I guess it is just because it was my choice to go to a college where the tuition was $25,00-30,000 (the years I was there) and I see scholarships/college loans as a part of life. I could have gone to a state school, but in NJ the in-state tuition was comparable to what I was paying with scholarships and my parents were willing to help me pay for some of college. I just don't see the outrage, especially if they were to charge €5000 a year tuition. I guess it is just one of those things I'll chalk up to being American.

Went to the pub last night, it was a fun night. Good to see everyone, especially those who are just social members now. Some interesting conversations, lots of laughs. Not too many new people. I can't wait to go out this weekend. I hate not hiking on Sunday! Going to the cinema tonight with Brenda to see How to Loose Friends and Alienate People, so that should be fun :)

Ummm, so there is traffic outside and a car has 'favourite things' from the sound of music playing super loud, windows rolled down. It was quite amusing. Not the usual windows down, music up song.

So I was bored this morning at work, so I decided a layout change was in order. I like all the blues/greens and i thought a picture would be a good idea. Yay :)

today was my election day!

i voted today!

YAY!

yesterday when i popped home for lunch there was lots of mail waiting for me including my absentee ballot! a letter from holly! a thank you from coop for her wedding! and an insurance card from my mom... yay for mail, i only wish it could spread itself out more, so i get one thing each day instead of 4 in one day... anyway so this morning at work i voted and looked up some info on the senator/congress election and i signed and sealed the envelopes and put it in the post!

anyway not much else interesting. went to immigration again yesterday and i'm now legal until november 30th. so once i get my results and go back to immigration i get a six month permit to live here. kara and i did dinner last night and then sat around chatting last night talking about everything and her crazy weekend. i'm going to meet people at the pub in a few, as i can no longer get in the gym. must go down and apply for a memebership.  it is looking like my roomie will be coming to visit me in january, and a little trip to spain with her! 

it is now cold! and it just feels like winter is coming. especially in the mornings walking to work, you can feel the chill in the air. not agreeing with this. i'm still looking for summer. 

and in sad news i finished the last bag of sour patch kids. they are way too addictive. 

random...

it is a gorgeous sunny sunday and i am not on a mountain :(

stupid being sick. i'm getting over a bad cold/sore throat fun... i was pretty miserable wednesday through friday, super congested, coughing, throat killing me, kinda loosing my voice, slight fever, so i decided to be smart for once and not go hiking today. and after talking to amy tonight she laughed and said i must have been sick to not go hiking as it takes a lot for me to admit i'm sick. though i still went into work all week. and when i got home i cuddled up with my blanket and hot water bottle and a cup of tea (or eight).  so it has been a quiet week. didn't go climbing on wednesday, the thesis pub crawl is postponed until next week. 

so i've slept a lot the last few days, read, ran errands in town on saturday, watched a lot of crappy tv and today i've cleaned... so i must be feeling better. 

so some random thoughts from the week.

sweatpants are driving me crazy! seriously. 

how old are we people? last time i checked sweatpants were not worn out on a daily basis in public after 4th grade. i remember the guys who constantly wore sweatpants being made fun of in 4th grade, i swear bobby did not own a pair of jeans... 

irish guys wear sweatpants EVERYWHERE. class, the shops, pubs, work (my jaw dropped when i saw the guy who works in the city library wearing sweats) out in town... how hard is it to put on a pair of jeans, ok.. even on a lazy day tracksuit bottoms? ok i admit they are comfy, after a day at work and it is pouring out there is nothing i like better than putting on my big black ones but that is once i am home, and not going out again... they are marginally acceptable at a 9am lecture friday morning or in the dhall on sunday morning brunch, but 3pm on a weekday = NO. 

duvet covers. 

i did a lot of laundry today, i need to make my bed. i am not looking forward to wrestling with my 2 duvets to get the covers back on. seriously i have to crawl inside them to get them right. and i am tired. this isn't going to be fun. 

sour patch kids. 

i opened the last bag on friday evening. i must hide them, as i am eating them too quickly.

birthdays.

there are lots of birthdays in october, cards are expensive. and now i have lots of letters to write and post. 

talking on the phone makes me happy. 

anyway, must go wrestle with the duvet so i can get some sleep. its monday again!