Off and Running

Dinner with Oliver was a joy. We had a very nice meal in a very posh restaurant. The food was fantastic. After dinner we went to a very Irish pub and enjoyed our first Guinness beers. Speaking of Guinness, yesterday we went to the Guinness storehouse. That got our day off to a great start. We had beers at... noon. Then we met our group at the hotel for a short drive through Dublin. When we left our group we visited Trinity College for a view of The Book of Kells. We then ventured out walking around the downtown area. It's very cold here at the moment and a bit rainy so we were forced to warm up in a pub with some of our new favorite drink, Irish Coffee. We met some friendly gents, who work as postmasters here in Ireland. It just so happens that one of the men were from Sligo which is where we are headed tomorrow. They gave us many helpful and great suggestions for things to do. We then went on to find a great little fish and chips shop. At that point it was about 9:30pm and the sun was still up..... so we couldn't go to sleep just yet. Instead we found another local pub with some very traditional Irish music and some very traditional Irish men...... After several more Guinness beers and some very interesting conversations.... we walked back to the room around 2:00 am. (The sun had finally gone down.) We had some shut eye and are back going strong today. We jumped on the bus and headed to Sligo. It was a very beautiful drive to this North West location. We visited the Hill of Tara, the ruins of several castles, the Abbey Bouyle , and a statue of the "Hunk made of Junk" . We stopped for lunch at Carrick on Shannon. We had some very fabulous sausage rolls and while eating we strolled around the town. Once we arrived in Sligo Lynda and I decided it was time to pamper ourselves. Our postmaster friends told us about a very unique spa treatment in Strandhill, a town 5 miles from our hotel. We bathed in seaweed and hot seawater. Our skin is now as soft, smooth, and as shiny as a baby's butt. After our baths we took a walk down the coast and took some very beautiful pictures and watched the surfers. We then came back to our hotel for dinner with our tour mates. Lynda and I are off the sauce today and tonight, so we are turning in early. BUT, never fear for we will be on it again tomorrow in a mean way! We miss you all and wish you were here, but your not, so we will drink your part. We would love to hear from you so just click on post... and type us a message. Or you can e-mail Tiff at thill5287@hotmail.com .

We Have Arrived!

Greetings from the Emerald Isle!!
Okay, so plans changed a bit. Our flight was canceled and we ended up flying to Atlanta and then to Dublin. All and all everything turned out to be just fine. Lynda and I took a rest in Chilli's Too and had margaritas to relieve all of our stress. We arrived this morning in Dublin at 9:45. We were forced to take a power nap before we could launch full force into our adventure. First off we headed straight to the bar. Temple Bar that is. Temple Bar is one of the most famous bars here in Dublin. It's a bit cool outside so we reluctantly sipped on some authentic Irish coffees to warm our insides. Afterwards with our buzz going strong we headed down the road and visited Dublin Castle. There was not much left as there was a fire that destroyed most of it. There were some good stories that came out of that place. We did get to view one of the remaining towers, Powder Tower, where many skulls from beheaded prisoners were found. We've just got back from our day out and we are going to get ready for a nice evening. We are going to have dinner with our new friend Oliver. Oliver is taking us to a restaurant called "Fire". The dress is "smart casual". Lynda and I are going to stop by the reception desk to ask exactly what is smart casual..... Until next time.. We love you all!

Night Before

Well, tonight is my last night to sleep on American soil, in my soft comfy bed. Just trying to pack and get things all ready has already been quite a journey. It turns out I can only take one suitcase and it can only weigh 15 kg, or about 30 lbs. Try packing for a trip that will last 38 days with one bag. You would think that I would be facing a real challenge, but alas i have overcome. After many attempts my suitcase is weighing in at 27lbs. So it looks like i am all set. Cleo is a bit upset. She can tell that something is not right. Lucky her though, she gets to go spend 38 days with her Mimi and Pops. (However, she does not like staying with her aunts, the cats, Moo and 88.) Tomorrow morning at 9:40 my plane will leave Austin, Texas! I have a bit of a layover in New York at JFK before heading over to Dublin, Ireland. That will be my first stop. I have attached a copy of my itinerary to the e-mail that you got about the blog update. Just so you'll know... Just in case your sitting around one day and thinking... hmmm.... I wonder where Tiffany is today!

J

Cancun

Well Trisha and I are back from our beach trip to Cancun. We had a really good vacation just wasting time in the sun and swimming in the blue Caribbean sea. On our first night we both got a bit drunk, well okay a lot. It was a tequila night, need I say more. I don't think we have any pictures that are appropriate for public viewing from that unmemorable night. I say unmemorable only because the details are still a bit fuzzy! On Friday we spent the day (hungover) relaxing in the sun and swimming. Ask Trisha about her beautiful sunburn..... We went in for an afternoon nap and ended up having a beauty party. I brushed up on my toe polishing skills. Lets just say there are some English lads (kids) running around with shiny red toenails and one with a beautiful toe ring..... It ended up being a really wild and crazy late night. You know we stayed in, ordered pizza, did not drink a drop, and then it was my turned to be pampered. I got a great mani & pedi!! On Saturday we were back ready to go. We headed to market and picked up a few souvenirs and then drank a few beers at Hooters before going back to the hotel to enjoy our last day of sun and sand. That evening we joined a pub crawl to several bars and drank like fish. It was a vodka night. This was a memorable night. I remember being tossed into the swimming pool at 2am.... We left the camera at home that night so we have no pictures from the bar. Maybe our new friends will share some of their shots! This morning we headed home bags packed and heads throbbing.... bad. All in all it was one good trip! I am home tonight unpacking and repacking so that I can head back to the airport to fly to Amarillo. I have to say that I have discovered something out about myself.... I love myself... After reviewing all of the vacation pics half of them are pictures that I took of myself... What the hell is that all about.


By the way, WAY 2 GO Phil & Laurie. They ran a 5k in Melbourne Australia, just cause you know they were in the neighborhood. Proud of you guys, especially doing it after having jet lag! You Rock!!! Laurie, are you down for the triathlon in August... BRING IT ON!!! This time we will really work on those transition times!

Congratulations Mom!

Yesterday I drove up to Nacdoches from Austin to attend my moms State Napus Convention. (post office stuff). Mom didn't know I was coming in. I surprised her. My Aunt Joe and Uncle Teddy, who live in Nacadoches, were also able to be there. Her good friends had all gotten together and nominated and voted for her for the Member of the Year Award. Well she was completely surprised. Lots of tears of joy! She deserved it more than anyone I know. She works so hard for the post office. They are lucky to have her. Congratulations Mom. We love you!!!

Triathlon Weekend

This past Sunday, June 10, was the date of my 1st triathlon. It was the Danskin Triathlon.The race was here in Austin out at Decker Lake. Our group met at HEB at 4:30 am. We were some of the first ones there, but that was a really good thing. It was really crazy. This was my first open water race, and man did it smell fishy! It was only a half tri, but hey I'm still proud! It was a half mile swim, a 12 mile bike, and a 5k or 3.1 miles. If you are interested in looking at the results you can see them at http://www.danskin.com/raceresults.html Just to let you know... my time was 2 hours and 34 minutes including transition times. We had an awesome time. I know that Laurie and I feel a bit down now. It's over and we have all been working so hard for this for so long. I guess we need to refocus on next year. We are also looking forward to running a half marathon in Jacksonville Florida next February. It is the National Breast Cancer run. www.breastcancermarathon.com/

Creating the Blog

So I am trying this out for the summer. I think that i am going to be very busy and I know that a few of you would like to keep tabs on me. So on your mark... get set... go!!

Let's see.... the first weekend of summer I headed north to Waxahachie to see Country Thunder. Four days of country music with my mom, aunt, and friend Susan. The unfortunate thing is... it rained and rained..... and rained. We headed down to the tractor supply and bought ourselves some tall plastic boots to go wading into the mud. We did it for one day...Then the music festival was canceled... but have no fear... As it turns out the National Polka Festival was also being held that same weekend in Ennis. So whats wrong with some beer drinking and polka watching. We never got out of our seats, but let me tell you... Donna and Pat can do mean chicken while sitting down! We all laughed so hard. The thing is, when your with mom and Pat... there is never a dull moment!!
















We came home on May 28th.... you know ... just in time for me to turn 30. For my birthday my mom,some friends, and I went to the Melting Pot for dinner. It was a good night and I think...... I think.... i am pulling 30 off with plenty of grace and style. I owe all of my friends a big "thank you" for welcoming me into the 30's club. I'm so glad to be here.


















That brings us to last weekend... June 2 & 3rd. Well seeing how I have turned over a new leaf with my aoa... (adult onset athleticism... ask Laurie O about it) I ran a 5k on Saturday and did a 25 mile bike race on Sat.. It turns out I got really really lucky. My bike was very unsafe for riding... The brakes went out and the frame started falling apart. So I bought myself a nice new trek hybrid. LOVE IT!!!!! Now I'm going to rip it up! Okay maybe just shake things a little bit.



So this is my blog to date. This is my first stab at blogging. So, if you like it... well great... and if you don't.... then stop reading it. Don't forget to wish my buddies and I (Laurie, Ang, & Jackie) Good Luck this weekend. It's our Triathlon. Go Girls!!