timandfee

So i went to my first U2 concert last night.  I got the tickets by accident, a girl in the office was selling 2, and I just thought that while i know little of their music in the last few years, and while i would not be a big fan these days, they are someone i would like to see.  Eli joined me, it was her 3rd time seeing them - she is a die hard fan!

Unbelievably I never checked who was supporting, and we rambled to Camp Nou (home of FC Barcelona).  As we were outside i hear a song i LOVE - Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.  Yeap there were supporting.  We only go in for the last 2 songs, and i was annoyed with myself as i would have really liked to see them all.

Snow Patrol finished at 9.20, and as the place was filling up, so was my butterflies.  Camp Nou is huge.  The concert had sold out within 50 mins, there were over 90,000 people there.  The stage was 360° ( hence the tour being called the 360° Tour).  It was massive!

The band came on, the spectacular began.  The first songs were from the new album, and i only listened to them the day before.  The stage was amazing, and more amazing as the night sky darkened and the lights show got more impressive.  Eli had asked me before the concert what songs i loved, i didn’t really know, but coming into my head was  “With or without you”, “One”, “Where the streets”, “Pride” and my favourite from the time i loved U2 was “Sunday Bloody Sunday” - i got to hear them all!

Of the songs,  I loved  “Sunday Bloody Sunday” maybe best  - it reminded me of Germany the year I turned 18, and Dee Murray.  Great memories.  Pride was also fantastic.  From the last album, I really liked the version of Crazy Tonight, and I thought Moment of surrender was an amazing song to finish up on.  For One, there was some mix up between Bono and the band, and it went a bit pear shaped (in the end Bono telling the Edge and larry to STOP playing twice).  Also great were Angel of Harlem dedicated to Michael Jackson and inter dispersed with Man In The Mirror (snippet) / Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (snippet).  I loved “Walk On”, given solely to draw attention to Burmese Prime Minister-elect Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest by the Burmese junta.  They rang a space shuttle in the middle, not my cup of tea, but i guess it was kind of impressive.  The did 2 encores and the show lasted 2 hours 15 mins.

Overall i was super impressed.  Bono’s voice was great, the stage was amazing, sound perfect…hell even the weather was perfect.  I loved that i got to hear so many of my old favourite songs.  I was a bit disappointed with the crowd, the Catalans are much more reserved then us Irish, and it defo took a while to get them going.

The concert left me remembering great summers in Germany when i first got into U2…that warm fuzzy feeling was great!  Thinking of you Dee, first loves and first partying away from home, learning to appreciate Ireland more. It did not leave me floating on air (yes there have been concerts where i left feeling “high” from just the buzz and emotion of it), but i am so glad i went to see them.   If you are going to see this tour, lucky you…Enjoy!

The playlist:

1. Breathe
2. No Line On The Horizon
3. Get On Your Boots
4. Magnificent
5. Beautiful Day
6. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
7. Angel Of Harlem
8. In A Little While
9. Unknown Caller
10. The Unforgettable Fire
11. City Of Blinding Lights
12. Vertigo
13. Crazy Tonight
14. Sunday bloody sunday
15. Pride
16. MLK
17. Walk on

encores

18. Where the streets
19. One
20. Ultra Violet (Light my way)
21. With or without you
22. Moment of surrender

July 30th 1988. I have just turned 14. The night before I had being  listening to the radio where there was amazing excitement in Ireland - the biggest pop star in the world had come to Cork - and the gathering of the fans before the concert, interspersed with songs, was being broadcast across Ireland.  Michael Jackson had come to Ireland, as part of his Bad tour.  It was hailed as a huge achievement for the organisers - it was definitely the biggest concert every staged in the country. Most of the big US performers skipped Ireland on those days - “no mon’, no fun”. I was not a big Jackson fan, but as I listened to the special about him on radio 2 (not 2FM as it is currently called), I felt jealous. How I would have loved to go. Tickets were sold out months in advance, and anyway mum and dad garvey would not have let me travel that far even if i could afford it!

Around 12 noon, my uncle Mike, his fiancee Mai, and my aunt Kay arrived. They handed me an envelope. In it was a ticket to the second, and final, Michael Jackson concert in Ireland. When I got it, I thought it was a joke, the concert was last night, we would never make it to Cork (down the very south of the country) in time, there is no way I could be going….but going I was! I remember being so excited I hardly spoke - was happy to listen to mike and kay talk about the musican and listen to jackson tunes on the radio during out 5 hour journey to cork. I think I was still in shock.

Better was to come.  Kay had a room in Jurys, the same hotel when MJ was staying!  I never got to see him, the whole corredor where he was had been blocked off, but i did get to see Paul McGuinness, the famous U2 band manager with his cigar in hand.  And there were crowds outside the hotel trying to get a peek at the start himself.  He was supposedly travelling with Bubbles and a younger companion….

The concert was  spectacular.  I remember the lights, the music, the crowd, the atmosphere.  We never got past half way in the stadium and i was happy as the crowds were overwhelming for me at my first concert.  I remember we did the people chain just to be able to keep the 4 of us together, believe me, as an attempting-to-be-cool-teenager i never thought i would be holding hands with my aunt and uncle for any reason!  I remember his dancing.  Him coming out over the stage.  Thriller, Man in the Mirror and Dirty Diana´.  I remember being in awe and so happy I was lost for words.

I dont remember the concert ending.  Or going to sleep that night.  I remember the next day going for breakfast.  Kay had bought me a program, and everyone signed it. I remember Mike saying that if we had gone to the first concert, he would have found a way to get tickets to the second - it was that good.  I remember the feeling i had, it was like i was floating and my heart was going to burst from excitement.  I had seen Michael Jackson in concert - i would not wait to tell my friends (no mobiles those days!).

Afterwards i listened to Michael Jackson records, trying to remember if he sang that song and in what order.  I was quite happy to be alone in my room for hours, listening to my favorite songs and reliving the night.  Thanks to Kay, Mike and Mai for making it happen - i have to say it is one of the happiest memories of my early teenage years.

Years past, and i never bought a MJ album, or really followed him through the trials and tribulations.  It was my first concert,  it will always be special to me, and i guess this is why i never judged him, or read too much about him, especially in the later years.

I cant say i cried when i heard the news that he had died,  I have long ceased being a fan in the true sense of hte word.  However memories of this day came flooding back, and i confess to spending the afternoon listening to my favourite songs.

R.I.P. Michael - thanks for the memories.

I like working, of course sometimes it drives me mad, but generally I like my job and being busy. I like the office environment, meeting people, bossing people :-). I am not the kind of person who would ever want to give up work after having had a baby, and in my position shorter days would not be a match, although a 4 day week would be nice! But since we went for 9 days in Ireland at the start of May, I have found myself missing Alina more.

Maybe it was because in ireland she was all about mama, even papa did not get a look in! I have to admit that felt nice. It was also great to have unrushed, unplanned days with her. Whatever the reason, since getting back to work 4 weeks ago, I found myself dying to get home….the metro seems to take forever, and sometimes I feel like running the last 5 minutes!

I am envious of Tim and even the nanny for getting to spend so much time with her. Weekends are so looked forward to, as I can have our little one to myself for a few hours, and tim is happy for a break too.

It still amazes me sometimes that one year ago Alina was not with us. And it is because she is so precious and loved, that I wish there were more hours in the day.

We’ve just entered June but from a sport point of view, I’ve had a fantastic year! The highlight came in March, Ireland winning the Grand Slam in rugby after a wait of so many decades was fantastic. I was in ireland for the match, so nervous I had to stop watching, only to come back for the nail biting end. The whole of Dublin seemed to be floating, grown men crying and complete strangers hugging. Brilliant!

The Leinster won the heineken cup (rugby) for the first time. BOD deserved it!

And finally came Barcelona - first winning the cup, then the league, and finally, to the surprise of many, we won the crown this week by crushing Man U - the champions league was barca’s again. I have seen barcelona win two champion leagues, but this one seemed sweeter. The city is still buzzing!

Now to crown it all, Galway to win hurling and football (as in Gaelic football) in September, the season for the two biggest Irish sports starts now - ok chances are very slim, but there is always hope! At least let’s get away from kilkenny - boring!!!

After the madness of Queensday in the Dam it was time to pack up again and head to Dublin for 9 days (1st to 10th May). Pepe (as in granddad De Somere) and Griet brought Alina to met us and then after lunch in the sun we jumped on a plane and landed in cold, wet Ireland. As usual the taxi man, my aunt and pretty much everyone else we met remarked on how the weather had been “glorious” and the rain had “only just started” - sure sure!

Next day was Julie, my first cousin, and Kieran’s wedding, they were getting married in New Inn and the reception was down the road. We discovered that poor Alina gets carsick if she spent more then 15 mins in the car - roads not the best around there - something else she takes after her dad in Luckily it was only 13mins between the church and the reception. We also discovered Tim (well with my help) had left his suit in Kay’s. Alina looked fab in a dress her cousin Sinead bought her, so no one noticed tim really!

Luckily the rain stayed away long enough for some pics. The bride wore a classic dress that I just loved, she looked absolutely stunning. As did the bridesmaids. Kieran wasn’t looking to bad either Alina refused to sleep, there was way too much happening, so eventually I brought her upstairs…..I passed out before she did. Tim took over at 11pm and I got to go downstairs and join in the dancing. Mum and dad were jiving - they looked great. Edel, Liz, john and I took on the new inns in a kind of dance off (thanks to Dave) - of course we won! Riverdance, rock the boat and some ceile later, I was exhausted and exhilarated going to bed! Great day had by all.

Sunday night we got to Ballyhard and just relaxed. It was cold and wet and so we had the perfect excuse for sitting inside in front of the fire and doing nothing (actually poor tim was working). I love our home, especially when you’re trapped inside. It is so welcoming and in fact fosters relaxation. We lazed, chatted, ate and drank for 3 days. Mum and dad also got to have some “Alina time” for themselves.

Then we were off to Dee and Steve’s wedding in Wicklow. This time we were going sans Alina who got to hang out with her grandparents until the aunties took over for night duty. Simon and Gill took us down with them. Also going to be there was steve and lorraine, dd and niamh, hugh and ruth, feeb and michael. We were all staying, so I was really looking forward to a night away with great friends …. Friends who mostly have kids and so we don’t get to catch up enough at all. The ceremony was outside and the sun shone just long enough to let that happen, dee looked beautiful and radiantly happy. The wedding was in an old house, so you got to wander between rooms chatting to different groups. Inevitably the girls ended up talking about birthing stories, while the boys drank at the bar! It was great to catch up, great to see FeeB bounce of some walls as she headed to bed, and mostly it was great to see Dee and Steve so happy.

Final stop was to Luxury Hotel Betson, where we got to hang out with friends, be served great food and drink red wine. And of course Mayah and Alina got to play and fight over toys I love staying with Si and Gill, they make us feel so welcome, everything is so easy, and I always end up feeling recharged. On Sunday before we flew back to Barcelona, edel, kev and liz joined and we had food outside in the sunshine in Gill and Si’s - yes I admit the day was a beautiful one.

In between we also got to met Max William Fowler, the beautiful son of Claire and Martin. He is perfect.

So all in all a wonderful trip, relaxing and filled with quality time with friends and family - sure what more do you need!

Today is day 8, i have just finished the 7 days detox. First the good news, my chest infection has all but cleared up and I lost the 7lbs (2.8kgs) the book said i would.

I have not eaten anything in 7 days! No eating at all. And no alcohol!  No caffeine.  Just certain juices and home made herbal teas.  Sometimes i did not follow the daily recipes exactly, but it was always one of the ones in the book. It said to do a 30\40 minute workout morning and evening and 15 mins during the day, i did 45 mins fast walk morning and evening (to and from work). But not the rest to be honest. I think it is still the most i have ever done!

I did not find it that hard, of course there were times when i was hungry, but never weak. I had some headaches, but then i get them often anyway. I did go out for “dinner” 2 nights, we went to juice bars each time. Not so exciting, but meant i did not feel i had no life

On the not so positive, i don’t feel a million dollars as the book (and edel) said. And I thought i would lose more - i definitely have it to lose! But after a baby it i just harder to shift!

Of course i do feel a lot better then 8 days ago! Next step is to continue on with the 14 days plan …well at least until we go on holidays in 5 days! For certain I am converting to juicing, and would like to continue having juice as part of my diet from now on.

For the last 3 nights, alina has not wanted to go to bed. She’s tired but literally starts crying getting into her pj’s and gets more upset. It is strange, she never usually cries like this.

Worse, when she is put to bed, she cries harder, and tries to stand up. For 2 of the last nights I had to leave her crying in bed and walk out - it was awful. Tim put his headset on and closed the door. I left her for 5 mins, the crying did not stop but when I went back, she would lie down and take my hand, let me rub her head, and finally the little heaving chest calmed and she slept.

She is not teething or sick - I think she got used to going to sleep in our bed for a few nights, and also maybe used to us picking her up as soon as she cries, whatever the reason, I hope it stops soon. It’s just too hard to leave her crying and walk away..

Ok, so I failed to start super juice detox as planned - it was down to a mailfunctioning juicer and then being unable to start on friday - lunch was too appealing!  Anyway i am now 2 days in, so have finally started.

Process so far - day 1 was awful!!  It started when i stood on the scales!!  I am heavier then i have ever been (except when 5 months pregnant) and it is beyond time to take action!  I am hoping to loose at least 7lbs.  Apart from that maybe it was the spirilina or maybe the super chute juice (which included lots of greens and some beetroot), but i had bad tummy craps, and felt like i could vomit for a good few hours.  Instead of having 5 juices, i had 2, and went to bed at 4pm, asleep with alina by 8pm and woke up when tim and ailbhe stumbled home at 4am!  At least i felt better then.  I won´t be having the chute one again if i can help it - i think tt was just too healthy!

Day 2 was relatively easy, as i wasn´t hungry i had 4 instead of 5 juices (11am and 2am became 1pm, and i missed the chute one!).  I also did not take the spirilina.  I felt fine, slight headache later on, body probably not used to such health. But all in all it was fine, and i did the exercise too.

The rest of the week will be a bit harder, as i am back to work and have to prepare all, but hopefully i can stick to it!

So tomorrow is day 1 of the “Super Juice Diet” (by Jason Vale). Edel, my sis, did this and said it was wonderful - she had loads of energy, felt great, and lost 8lbs! Sweet. It is for 7 days. We were supposed to start yesterday, but no juicer, no super juice diet - thanks to my hubby i am now a proud owner of a juicer (thanks babe!!), and with that go the excuses!

Truth is that I have a wedding (well 2 actually) in 2 weeks. I have nothing to wear, and nothing fits me. But apart from that, i like to do a detox every once in a while…good for the liver before the summer starts

This diet (or should i say “way of healthy living”!!) involves having lots of fruit and veg juices and smoothies, and is supposed to be very good for you, you are not supposed to get hungry, and you get to loose unwanted lbs if you follow it and do at least 30 mins exercise per day. I am not a believer in fad diets, but as I said a detox is always good, and this one seems healthy if nothing else!

I have roped poor Ailbhe into joining me….we’ll keep in touch about our progress!

Last week i went to San Francisco and Phoenix for work. I was gone 9 days. It is the longest time i have spent away from Tim in years, never mind Alina. . It is actually my second work trip away, but of course this is longer.  My reasoning behind going for so long was that if i spent time there now, i would not need to go back for a long time. I was dreading going, sad and lonely. And honestly feeling like a bad mum. Tim´S sister, Griet, and my sister Ailbhe were coming to help out, so Alina was going to be spoilt for the week, but that was little comfort.

When i was gone, i was not as lonely as the last time while there, and Phoenix was good fun. Of course i thought about her, and every child i saw made my heart strings tug, but tim kept me updated with daily pics and videos so it was not too bad.  But 2 days after i left she started to crawl forwards (she had the backwards shuffle down for sometime!) and 1 day later she got her first tooth!! I would not believe that in 4 days i had missed such milestones!

As usual i was dying to come home, the plane journey was oh so long, and in the taxi i hardly spoke to claire, my thoughts were just on my little one.

Alina was peacefully asleep when i came home. When she woke up there were no big smiles, and even when she had woken up fully, i honestly cant say she was excited to see me. But i expected that - 9 days is a long time in a babies life! I could not believe how much she changed. She looked so different, maybe even a bit more like the garvey side of the family. She was way more agile, and she has that pout down to a fine art now! And as for the little white tooth…so cute!  She was even more beautiful than when i left.

The hardest part emotionally wise came the next day - when i had gone she was really clinging to her papa, probably more so because she was getting her first tooth.  The next day when i was feeding her and tim left the room, she started to roar crying. I felt disconnected from her in a way that is hard to describe. I think i could safely say i was jealous of tim and his closeness to her. I wished then that i was the one at home most, able to spend more time with her. I know that i said before, if she is a close to her dad as i am to mine, she is a lucky child. But i have to admit that at that time it was hard to watch her need her papa so much more than her mum.

This was a few days ago, and now things have evened out more (althoguh i am still not number 1 in the picking order!). I am no longer envious, she needs her mum too! But no matter what, i can say that not for a long long time will i go away for so many days again. A break is always good, and absebce does indeed make the heart grow fonder, but in 9 days you just miss way too much in the life of an 8 month old!