So much sport, so little time!

Wow, what a summer for sport. Euro 2012 finals, Ireland's rugby tour of New Zealand, Wimbledon, Olympics... maybe it's a good thing that we're away from the end of July. Otherwise I might not step foot outside! I was very surprised that Germany lost against Italy in the semi-finals of Euro 2012 - I had said that it would be Germany v Spain in the final from about the first week. Sometimes surprises happen. Another such surprise is that Rafa Nadal is out of Wimbledon already - does this give Andy Murray more hope of winning Wimbledon? We'll see - there are still quite a few matches to go. I noticed that while watching sporting events on TV, I'm always hoping that the underdog will come back and win against the run of play. Take Greece for example in Euro 2012 - I was always hoping that they would win their games, and I was delighted when they qualified for the quarter finals, and well, Germany were just too good for them in the end. It would be great if some Olympic medals were brought back to Ireland this summer - we definitely have talented athletes - here's hoping that all goes to plan on the day. Now, back to this Murray v Ferrer game...

A nice welcome home...

I came back on Monday evening after my hen weekend in Dublin and found a lovely surprise waiting for me :o)

Hen party Dublin

Just back from a brilliant weekend in Dublin which included my hen party organised by my sister. She definitely knows me well - in the morning we went to a pottery session at the Artworks café, where everyone picked out what they wanted to paint, and then we got down to business! The creative vibes in the room were amazing - the finished products were fantastic! I chose a (really big) mug, as I know I'll definitely use it to drink huge quantities of (Irish) tea and maybe even a calming tea during the year. Before we started being creative, we had a catch up over tea/coffee and enjoyed lovely scones, with jam and cream made by my Dad the previous day (thanks Dad!). Lisa also gave me a Hawaiian lei (garland) to wear during the day, which matched my dress perfectly, and a pink hat/feather hair clip to be worn all day. After the pottery session we drove along the sea front in Portmarnock, and stopped off at middle rock for a lovely sea swim. I was presented with a cool vintage style swimsuit and swimming hat - very classy, and it meant I didn't get my hair wet! It was great to see some beginners getting into the sea, with my mum leading the way :o) Not sure how, but the rain stayed away, and blue skies appeared. And then it was a quick trip across the road to a lovely café - Gourmet Food Parlour, Malahide, where we had afternoon tea. The perfect thing after a dip in the sea, or even just the perfect thing to do on a lovely afternoon out in Malahide! It was great to catch up with everyone, and the food was so yummy! The staff were also super nice and couldn't have done enough to make our visit very pleasant - the time just flew by. And then came the evening activities - to enjoy a lovely meal at Saba restaurant on Clarendon Street. And we certainly did that! After leaving there at about 1am, we headed to a bar for one, and in bed by 3am. It was just the perfect day, and everyone there made it so special - thank you!