Crossing The Border

We finally made the trip to Northern Ireland last weekend .

Hubby had been on call for 3 consecutive weekends in February and the month of January we were so busy moving into the new house, so there was no way we could make a weekend escape.

Just to give you an idea of the trip, below is the route we took from Dublin to the little town called Newry.

The route

It is a brilliant place to shop as the currency is in British Pounds so we get to save a lot as compared to paying in Euro.

Nowadays, the Republic is really ripping people off that people do not actually  mind clocking the extra miles to get a really good bargain.

The drive, taken with the Fuji bridge camera

Anyway, the real reason we made the 90 minute drive was to get his belated birthday present.

Hubby’s birthday was actually in January and knowing that it would cost a bomb to buy it in the Republic, he was willing to make a wait. Heheh. Hey, it saved me 150 euros! (Now I am hoping come May I do not have to wait 2 months too) He now has upgraded his camera to a D60 so I now own his old camera. And by the way, all the photos in this blog were taken by the Fuji camera, I think it does the job though.

Whilst we were there, we bought a few baby essentials too. I am now slowly ticking off the list and hopefully come April we should be prepared for the little one’s arrival. With no family support and hubby literally working 24/7 with his on calls, it would not be wise to leave things to the very last minute. I only felt comfortable buying things after reaching 30 weeks and that is why I didn’t bother catching the xmas sales even though I knew we could have saved a whole lot more.

Anyway, back to the trip –   that evening I volunteered to drive us home to let him play with his new toy. And here’s the first shot in the car…

A glimpse of my growing belly

We were planning to test the new camera this weekend but the weather forecast is predicting  snow and rain. I think it’s best we stay home, nothing beats a good book, warm socks and a mug of hot chocolate.  If  lucky, I really hope to watch Slumdog after all the good reviews!

This entry is getting way too long,  finally I leave you a shot of Pepper lounging at home

Pepper all curled-up

Mii Love Wii

Look at him- just back from work, still in his work clothes and playing boxing on the Wii. (And dinner’s waiting on the table)

If you’re wondering why I have been quiet on the updates, this is the reason why. I am in love with my birthday present!

The Wii Fit is very addictive and I am trying my utmost best to do at least 20 minutes of yoga per day.

My Wii Fit age says that I’m *cough* 10 years older so lets see if I can tone these flabby muscles to at least , my actual age.

A Charming Present!

I have every reason to be happy as my birthday came 2 weeks early this year.

I spent the last few hours of our stay in London browsing through Selfridges when an unexpected phone call came through.

Two of my best mates had suprised me with an early birthday present!

Now, can you guess which two ?

The night before, one of them had amazed me with her collection of Thomas Sabo Charms which she had collected from 2006.

So after much contemplating, I used the Gift Voucher to treat myself to a bracelet and 2 charms to represent both of them.

I absolutely love it!

Thanks a million, guys!

(Indeed one was really happy as the birthday girl herself hadn’t remembered her big day was approaching!)

Next stop – HOWTH!

I have to say, my other half took fabulous photos of this place that I have to give him some credit.

We visited Howth on my birthday last year. Just 30 minutes drive from dublin, it was the perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of dublin city.

I remember flying to London one day and from the plane, I could see views of Howth harbour. To this very day, he thinks I am making it up.

Howth is a fishing village with wonderful views of dublin bay. You have to be here to truly experience the spectacular views of dublin bay and you get what I mean.

So this is the view of dublin bay from Howth pier,  pure serenity.

And below is the photo of the village itself. I especially love the vibrant colours of the buildings in the village.

The village also plays host to the best fish and chips I have ever had and I should take a photo of the place one day.

And if you wander along the pier, you will come across this particular birdie

I think I am coming back here again on my birthday just for the fun of it ! Can we, pretty please ?