How to earn Brownie Points from your wife

Go to dinner with her and one of her crazy friends. And I'm not talking nice-crazy here. I mean full-on damaged-goods-chip-on-her-shoulder-that-comes-with-its-own-dip-loud-abrasive-argumentative-angry-crazy.

And don't complain about it. Not even once. In fact, mention the next morning (through gritted teeth and a hang-over) what a good time you had the night before.

Thanks Con! You are genuinely the best person in the world. Smoochies. Massive brownie pointage for you this weekend.

Famous Captains

Captain Nemo
Captain Scarlet
Captain Ahab
Captain Hook
Captain Bligh
Captain America
Captain Buck Rogers (biddy-biddy)
Captain Sensible
Captain of my Heart

Captain Sinéad?

Yes, I've been asked to take over as Captain of my Guide Company. Well, one of the other leaders, Emma, and I have been asked to decide between ourselves which one of us will take on the role in September when the current Captain retires. (She's only been doing the job since 1978, so no pressure!)

Anyway, Emma's been there longer than I have, so I reckon that if she wants it, she should get it. Emma reckons that I should take it. I'm not fully sure why.

Meanwhile, I'm just trying it on for size. Any other famous captains out there that I've overlooked?

A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke

An almost sterotypically British Englishman goes to live in Paris and is met with a very stereotypically French reaction.
Some of it is a bit hit-and-miss, but some of it makes me laugh out loud. On the bus.

I can't believe it's been a year already

I'm a bit late with this reportage, but can you believe that David is already a year old?
No, really, he is. He's nearly walking, chats and sings away to himself and is currently cutting his fifth tooth (yes, he's a bit of a late developer on the dental front!), which has made for some incredibly unsettled nights' sleep for Conor and I over the past couple of weeks.
(cf: Con's blog)

Anyhoo, better late than never, check out how cute my li'l boy is!

Miss Garnet's Angel by Sally Vickers

A curmudgeonly old bird's friend dies, so she goes to Venice and realises that she's a curmudgeonly old bird. Beautiful story, beautifully told. Made me want to go back to Venice to see all the bits that I missed.

Reading Lists - for posterity

How this works
Why didn't I think of doing this before? I certainly read enough to make it a regular feature... From now on, there will be a note in the side panel about what I'm reading at the moment. Once I've finished it, I will move it to this main listing.

I have an owwiee (another one)

Well, I did it. Yesterday, along with 7,499 other gluttons for punishment, I ran the Great Bupa Ireland 10k Fun Run in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. It was also David's first birthday. But mostly, I ran 10k.

Granted, it was the first time in 3 or 4 years that I'd done the full 10k but to be honest, I was a little disappointed with my time of 1 hour 2 minutes. That already takes into account the time lapse between the starting gun and my crossing the starting line. Congratulations to my pal Ann Marie Brooks who finished it in 47 minutes - there's a time to be proud of. Gerry Gainford didn't start. So, even though I went more than 15 minutes over my target, I still beat Gerry. Go me!

I was also a little horrified by how shattered I was for the rest of the evening. After we got home, I lay in a hot bath for ages and then just vegged out on the sofa until I crawled back up the stairs to my bed at 9 o'clock.

Anyway, it was a great day and I really enjoyed it. Conor and David came out to cheer me on. My friend Aiveen and I ran nearly the whole course together until I had to take a break between 7 and 8km. I almost caught her back up at the end though, finishing just a minute behind her.

I got a bit emotional towards the end as I turned onto the home straight - just 600m to go - and I looked at my watch. It was 2.30 pm... a year to the minute when my beautiful brand new baby was handed to me and I remembered the feeling that I could do anything in the world that I wanted to. So I straightened up and dragged every last bit of my energy up from the ends of my hair to my toenails and I ran those last 500m (it took me 100m to gather my energy!)

My legs hurt today.

There was something on my mind...

There was something that I thought of this morning and it was accompanied by dinging klaxons, whirling lights and a little man dressed as a ringmaster that all yelled: "BLOG IT!"

I can't remember now what it was, but at least I did remember to blog it!

Dib-dib-dib

While I was growing up I was a Girl Guide (and quite a good one too - good in the sense that I got loads of badges, knew first aid, was able to tie knots, had plenty of practice building outdoor fires and cooking on them and could build a bridge or an overnight shelter with a piece of 4x4, a couple of branches and a length of twine, that is; not good in the sense of being, well, good.) Anyway, between the jigs and the reels, I left Guiding far behind me when I went to University (because, even though I wasn't good per se, the two lifestyles are very different!)

Last year, I moved back to the town where I grew up. One Wednesday afternoon in September, I was out walking and I met up with my old Guide Captain, who lives very close to where I do now. We were chatting away and I asked her if Guides was still going.

The long and the short of it - from that day on, I have been a Guide Leader. I'm back at my old company, working with a great bunch of girls (most of whom weren't even born when I left Guides). I got my warrant a couple of weeks ago - a nice shiny badge! - and I've just been on my first camp away in almost 15 years! (It was indoors - it's still far too bloody cold to camp out.)

Ooops, I got it again!

Oooh! That stomach bug!
I spent Sunday in a wretched heap.
Couldn't eat a thing.
Didn't even have the energy to stay awake through American Idol.
No fair.
Woe is me.