Up Close, and very personal....................

Oh - MY GOD! I am too old or too stupid for this nonsense! I swear, what the hell was I thinking when I decided (yes, by myself, and no one held a gun to my head) that I would be smart enough to not only go back to school to earn a degree, but think I could graduate too?????

OK - so maybe I am overstressed with all the family wedding business etc. from last week, and maybe I am blogging and procrastinating because I know I have to hand in some homework that may or may not be done to the best of my ability - but come on!

I found out last week that ALL EXAMS are HANDWRITTEN??? Only one thing to say here -WTF????? I do not have any rhythm or flow to my writing when I hand write. I can't get my juices flowing with an ink pen??? Is there a doctor I can see for this literary impotence that I suffer from?? There are loads and loads of writers that are the complete opposite - they cannot get their game on without a piece of lovely paper seeping black ink on the page..............stimulates their every essence of writing........................... I am not one of those people. Am I alone?? Will there be others alongside me in the English Exam faced with a TWO HOUR PAPER suffering from writers block because we have been torn away from our trusty tap tap keyboards??

After a rotten attempt to practice and practice and practice with the old handwriting and inky paper thing, I found no enjoyment or love for the drivel I wrote only frustration and disgust over my lack of inspiration that was blocked because I could not feel the heat from my little red laptop that I had hidden away for the weekend.

Upon returning from a few days off on Inishboffin Island for my brothers wedding - I decided to collect my rubbish from the bin and throw a few efforts at getting it all typed up and orderly and see what came from it.

You be the judge!

Going Home

Grey dark clouds came all too fast

Greens and blues of ice water, blast.

Mist and fog may never clear,

Summers gone and Winter's near.

Autumns where we stay for now

whilst heavy leaves lighten on boughs.

Skies are aching with heavy loads

and whipping winds will soon explode.

Comfort comes, so warm and nice

as homeland beckons, scents of spice.

Keys unlocking my front door,

throwing bags upon the floor.

Glowing flames, warm cheeks and nose,

Home sweet home, it's what we chose.

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

Wedded Island Bliss

Well, there you have it folks. My baby brother Kenneth finally took the plunge and tied the knot! He has joined the rest of us in happy domestic wedded bliss and how happy are we!
Last week was just a little fecking crazy around our place as the Swiss Family Dempsey (older brother Shane, his Wife Sylvia and their offspring - Keira/Reamonn) came into town for some pre-wedding partying, followed fastly by my elder sister Tracy and only one of her babies (GéGé). The night before we headed out to Inishboffin Island where the festivities took place Ron whipped up an enormous Mexican Feast and even though this has nothing to do with the actual wedding, I thought this photo (above) needed to be shared with the group just to remind you that the pizza oven is 'fired up' and we are enjoying it immensely!

For the record, I usually take pretty decent photographs and even enjoy playing around with them to make sure the essence of what occurred is evident and even vivid. This past weekend, I took the worst photos of my life, due to the fact that I cried my eyes out for most of it and the SUN was so strong for the entire weekend, there is just no point in trying to photoshop that out of these images! Right before he took the plunge, the boys all indulged in a little of the 'Irish Courage' a glass of whisky to whisk him away to wedded bliss (and a bag of potato chips for the munchies).

Of course, my brood were out in style and as this was the first wedding the children have attended - it was a HUGE deal, esp. to the likes of a certain 6 year old who spent more time fussing in the mirror than Mum (or Dad)!

The whole event from dawn till dusk could not have turned out better. I think that is a fair statement coming from one that has planned and executed over 3,000 weddings to date. I cannot imagine 'how' it could have been better. (I suppose only if Dad had been present).

My amazing Mother decided it was time to 'speak out' and let everyone know a few home truths about my baby brother, after outing him as a 'Mammy's Boy' and letting everyone know that after he got to 'big' to sit on her lap, he would just have her sit on his! She received a standing ovation from the entire group. Mum has been in the closet for the last ten years mourning Dad and leads a fairly private life - but let me tell you folks - she blew us out of the water!

I AM SO PROUD of my Mother and so happy to see how confident she is today. I want to be just like her when I grow up!

For us it is a 'Wynne-Win' situation. We get another Sister to the fold, and God knows you can never have too many of those and we get to be part of her already amazing family. Sinéad's family (all from Dublin) are just the best! The merging of these two families has been so emotional and wonderful, we can't wait to see where it goes..............................

So we wait, and we wait, and we wait.....................................................and as soon as I hear something I will let you know!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

How's it going???

My first week is over and I am all the smarter for it! What a great way to feel after my first week of entering NUIG as a mature student. I suppose I can use the word 'mature' lightly as I was neither the eldest or youngest of the group, but more happily plonked right in the middle of a bunch of pretty cool people from all over the world. Yes, not just Irish people - quite a diverse bunch are we!

My first day or two were a little overwhelming actually. I was really pre-occupied the first day as it was Jack's first day at school (Rory's too - but she is a veteran at this stage), it would also have been my Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary (38 years - I think) and I still never know what to do on this one, because Dad has been dead ten years this year. Mum is still alive and kicking however. Note to everyone out there - do not ignore it. It is still the most important day of my Mum's life (aside from the day she had me of course!) and even though we are all madder than hell with Dad for not sticking around (may he rest in peace) it should still be celebrated as such. Sorry Mum........................

By the end of the 2nd day I was hypnotised (literally) into thinking that I could change the way I study and learn at University. We had a hypnotist for the entire day retraining our ways of thinking and helping us adjust to a new style of Memory Techniques. It was actually really really interesting and I am certainly going to utilise some of those techniques I learned when it comes time to start studying for all these exams I will have!

Day 3 was spent in the company of a guy that looked like the dude from Sex and the City (think his name was Aiden) and this was a most interesting day indeed. This lecturer/writer was from somewhere in County Mayo (that is cool in itself as most of my family were born in Mayo) and spoke with an accent that reminded me of my Sisters husband Tom (years ago) before he moved to France and became so posh! Anyway, this guy was lecturing us on academic writing, telling us the best thing about college is that you go in with an empty mind and come out with an open mind! I really hope that I took solid notes and learned something from the day we spent with him - because I found out later that afternoon he is going to be my Creative Writing teacher. GAWD - I hope I did not make an idiot of myself!

So, after touring the old and new areas of campus and getting my feet very wet because it was raining most of the week - the general consensus is that National University of Ireland Galway, is probably the nicest University in the world, filled with a very engaging faculty that have very high expectations for their Mature Students and offer an amazing support system to each of us, in order to see us reach our full and true potential.

Feeling totally overwhelmed and under a fierce amount of pressure already!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna

Bread Porn and Pizza Love!

We have some very good friends that are living in Victoria, BC. They are serious foodies and one of them started uploading some 'bread porn photos' earlier this summer. My handsome Chef as we all know is quite the talented man, and since leaving the US a few years back, he has not really gotten back into his baking (at home). His oven, that he has lovingly laboured over for the last 5 weeks now, has finally been christened (for want of a better term) and he finally feels like it was 'worth it'!

Last week, we lit a wee fire in the 'cave' daily just to prime it for the weekends "Pizza Party Pizzaz''. Friday evening we had a blazing HOT fire in it which may have been a little too hot, as it produced a few hairline cracks, but nothing to worry about as he was able to 'mud it up'!

Yesterday in a kind of harem scarem way, we managed to pull off an evening of Pizza fun with some of our friends. One of our friends wondered what would happen should the Pizza oven not work?????? Admittedly he did wonder about this confidentially with his wife - she jokingly shared his concerns with us! Others showed up feeling a little shocked that we were not 'ready' as I am usually in complete control and have every little detail accounted for - like tables set, drinks ready etc. however having been 'at school' all week, and a mountain of homework/housework/laundry/shopping to get through, all I had time for was a quick race around the kitchen to help prep the pizza toppings and a jump into the shower at ten till seven, five minutes before the first of our friends arrived!

Thank God for good friends that bring covered dishes and delicious desserts! Needless to say and much to the relief of all of us, the oven performed amazingly and the first bite of Pizza was mouthwateringly delicious!

The plans for friends ovens are being drafted and the 'honey do' lists are growing as I write this little story. Ron will be scraping together all his receipts, drawings and thoughts so he can put together the whole package for anyone that wants to attempt this.

All in all, it took about 5 weeks and cost less than two hundred euros.

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

WiseMóna