Author Archives: LA Blogger Gal

Enjoying a Cuppa in Kinsale

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We just finished our first Irish breakfast.  I’m not a huge fan of breakfast, so eggs and meats doesn’t really do all that much for me.  Instead, I’m inhaling the pot of tea.  Our hostess just left for an appointment but will be back shortly to send us on our way to Middleton (for whisky) and Cobh (for a little history).  Otherwise, we’re just planning to drive around to see what we see.

We did pretty well sleep wise – which was great since we barely slept on the plane.  We took about an hour and a half nap once we settled into the B&B.  So sleep went well last night until we got text messages at 4:00AM from our friend Mel (who we’ll be meeting up with in Dublin this weekend). She was checking in on our cat and wanted to let us know how he was doing.  We started tossing and turning and decided to take half an ambien to finish out the night.

The hubs still has some work to do each day.  Go figure.  The good news…he was finally able to finish his big project. Now he has to work on some contest stuff with Taylor Swift’s people (and yes, everyone knows he’s on vacation and yes, I know I married a workaholic – I got a workfree honeymoon, so I don’t complain).

Believe it or not, this is the reason I brought my own laptop.  I figure I’d have to do something to entertain myself from time to time.  Plus I wanted to be able to upload my own photos each day.  He’s being good though and promises that it will only be a couple of hours each day (which he’s breaking up between AM & PM).

Once the photos import (I’m doing that now), I’ll post up a few for ya.  By the time we settled into Kinsale, it was already early evening, so there aren’t anyphotos of the area. There are some nightshots of the city centre, but they don’t look like much.

Until then…I’m off to shower and start our day. And maybe find some more tea since I’ve emptied the pot!

There she sits waiting for us…
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That’s Ireland down there!
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Herbie was going to be in Ireland?? Why didn’t anyone tell us – LOL (we see him Tues)…
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Attention!!! Drive on the leftside, dumbass! (I so need this reminder). Driving straight is easy, roundabouts are fine, turns in and out onto the street kill me!
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I Seemed to Have Had a Bit of Meltdown

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But really does the entire Dublin metro freeway system need to be under construction?!?! I mean I can learn how to drive on the left or I can drive through massive roadwork. Not both. And NOT on less than 8 hours sleep over 2 nights. A big thank you to those moms for letting their children run up and down the aisles and poke sleeping people – like me. Harumph

Had a bite to eat at the Ivy Pub. Now back on the road.

Airports Aren’t So Friendly

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Hanging out at Chili’s drinking a margarita waiting on ‘breakfast’ a burger. Who stops serving breakfast at 10?

Checking in was a pain since every customer rep told us to stand at the boarding pass line. Turns out we should have trusted our instincts and stayted at ticketing. The supervisor was a jerk but didn’t charge for our tiny pound or so overages. Thankfully

Next up San Fran to Dublin. Catch up with you tomorrow from Ireland.

I Survived Voting and the Freebies

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Or more importantly…I survived my free Starbucks coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts.  Voting was a piece of cake.  No parking, but no lines.   They found me right away, checked me off and sent me (and my CA Props cheat sheet) on my way.  I can’t stand those shakey voting booths, but it is a super easy process.

With my “I Voted” sticker I headed on over to one of the local Starbucks with the line wrapping around the store.  Really, I think the last time I saw this place so crowded, they were hosting the area job fair.  They were ready though…had hot cups of coffee ready to hand you as soon as they saw your sticker.  I will say, it’s the first time I’ve tried their Pike’s Blend and it was much smoother than their other coffees, but still a tad bitter for my tastes.

From there, I headed down the parking lot to the Krispy Kreme.  Their parking lot was insane, but there wasn’t much of a line.  It was funny to see so many folks enjoying their patriotic donut with their Starbucks coffee (especially since they have a Coffee Bean at this location).  But boy howdy, an original glazed donut with frosting and sprikles is just TOO much.  If it wasn’t for the caffeine, I’m sure I’d be napping by now.

Did you know that in NYC and Seattle, they’re giving away free silver bullet vibrators or Maverick sleeves (for men) over at Babeland?  And here in Beverly Hills, you can get half off of Botox.  Now that’s another way to feel good after voting!

You ARE Voting Today, Right?

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And for those of you that DO vote, be sure to check out the freebies that your I Voted sticker can get you on Election Day…

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Chick-Fil-A– Get a FREE Chick-fil-A sandwich if you show them your “I Voted” sticker. No purchase necessary! One per customer. Some locations are also offerring free Chick-fil-A sandwiches if you bring your election yard banner (typical yard signs pimping politicos and/or issues) on Wednesday, November 5th.

Krispy Kreme– Get a FREE doughnut if you show them your “I Voted” sticker. No purchase necessary.One per customer.  Click HERE for details.

Starbucks- Get a FREE tall cup of coffee with proof of voting. No purchase necessary. One per customer.  Click HERE for details.

Ben & Jerry’s- Get a FREE scoop of Ice-cream on Election day with proof of voting from 5-8pm. No purchase necessary. One per customer.  Click HERE for details.

Daily Grill – Get a FREE appetizer on Election day during Happy Hour with proof of voting. They are also extending their happy hour prices on both drinks and food until the restaurant closing that day

Books-a-Million- Get a FREE cup of coffee on Election day. No purchase necessary. One per customer.

I’m Bored. And Tired.

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I feel like it’s 2:30 in the morning.  In reality, it’s just 10:30.  I’m tired, but it’s too early to go to bed.  I’m bored, but there’s nothing on TV but repeats or politics.  If I head to bed to read, I’ll probably fall asleep in mere minutes.

I should pack.  But to be honest, I just don’t feel like it.  Since nearly all of the hub’s Ireland clothes are new, just for the trip, packing shouldn’t be too difficult.  Everything is in one place ready to go.  My stuff is all stacked up in the bedroom.  But we don’t have anywhere to lay out the two suitcases.  So instead I just look at the piles of stuff that need to be packed.

The good news…tomorrow, all I have to do is vote, get my brows done, hit up the bank for some cash, and pack.  Nothing all too major, thankfully.

So bored.  Really.  Even writing this didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would.  Oh well.

Well Now, That Was a Good Waste of Two Hours

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Who knew that 8GB on an iPod just wouldn’t be enough?  I mean it sounds like it’s plenty of room.  Maybe it is…for other people.  But it turns out I had to delete a good chunk of my iTunes library (mostly my husband’s stuff and it’s all in his iTunes library).  On top of that, I still had to leave a bunch of stuff off the Nano’s play list.

Totally not what I was expecting.  I still need to make a little room for some teleseminars and podcasts. I guess that’s the price we pay for such a modern convenience.  I mean, if this was just 10 years ago, I’d have to choose between which CDs to take and let’s be honest, that would take up WAY more space.  So I guess there’s no point in complaining.

I do feel better about what’s left to do.  Turns out there’s not that much left.  Tomorrow I’ll vote, get my brows down, pick up the dry cleaning and finish the actual packing. If there’s time left (I’m sure there will be) and I’m so inclined (no comment) I’ll also give a quick vacuum through the place.  We come home to enough cat hair, no sense making it worse by not vacuuming up the old stuff, right?

I left figuring out our travel arrangements to the hubby.  Looks like we’ll park at his office and then taxi to LAX.  That should work out just fine, though it will be on early morning considering we have the stop the pupster off first thing.

And now, I really, really need to get that Press Release taken care of.  later.

What’s Left to Do…

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We leave first thing Wednesday (man is that going to be a crazy long day).  Tuesday, being Election Day I figure the husband will be glued to the TV all night.  Needless to say, I figure we have to basically have everything gathered and be pre-packed before bed on Monday.

Of course, there’s still stuff that needs to be done…

  • buy cat food and cat litter
  • do the last load of laundry (no promises here) – not gonna happen
  • strip the bed
  • add light to a timer
  • move extra lamp out of office to front rooms
  • organize the heaping mess of prizing – half-assed, but done
  • pay bills
  • call bank re: vacation travel (in the past, Wells Fargo has been known to cut us off while on vacation – simple phone call fixes it, but what a PITA)
  • write & send interview questions to MG
  • get battery for travel clock (hell, first I need to find it) – can’t seem to find it, guess we buy a new one *sigh* DONE
  • touch up roots
  • bring in luggage from the garage
  • get brows done
  • vacation messages on phone & email
  • organize all the computer equipment to go with
  • organize my iTunes library for my new-to-me iPod – work in progress, seems I’ve hit a glitch or 3
  • do last minute work regarding contest event marketing and thank you’s

I think that’s it.  It’s totally doable, just a pain in the ass.  Funny how it’s always the little things that take all the time and effort when going out of town.

Let the NaBloPoMo Begin!

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nablopomo2

It’s officially day one of NaBloPoMo.  No, I won’t be counting off each and every day.  I just wanted to let you know that November 1st it all starts.  So while I sit and wait for the cat sitter to arrive, I’ll get in a quickie post.

How about a brief introduction for those newbies that might pop in?  Eh, better yet, just head on over to my About LA Blogger Gal page over there on the right (see the linky?) and check it out yourself.  Just know that I’ll be on vacation for part of NaBloPoMo (again, this year) so I can’t promise a new post every single day.  But I will what I can to get it done (hopefully, with the time change, time will be on my side).

November 1st is also the day that our 50 Days of Giveaways officially begins over at ConstantChatter.  But since I need to have plenty to post about while I’m gone, I thought I’d hold off on posting our press release here for a bit.  No biggie anyway since every contest will run for 4 weeks.  So there’s plenty of time to enter, regardless of when I post the specific details – but I will post it all in a day or two (probably the day we fly out).

I’m so thrilled that it finally looks like fall is here. We’ve been overcast and grey with spots of rain, both yesterday and today.  Mind you, we’re still forecasted to be in the mid-70’s, but cooler weather is just around the corner (as we leave, of course). First morning in a long time that I can really enjoy my morning tea.  Love that!

Okay, quick post is over. Must love the cat (and the jealous dog) a bit before the stranger arrives.  Hope to see you throughout NaBloPoMo.  And remember to leave comments (activating Comment Luv) so others can follow you back to your own blog.