There are two kinds of Irish movies. The kind Americans love and the somewhat realistic kind. Leap Year falls into the former category. Once in the latter. It's like any movie filmed in a city/state/country you know well. Location discrepancies or flubbed accents can detract from an otherwise well-told story. And while I'm no expert, Gerard Butler's accent in P.S. I Love You is a prime example (or Julia Roberts in Michael Collins or Tom Cruise in Far and Away... you get the idea).
I hesitate to even list my favourite Irish films - pronounced fil-ims - as I'm sure there are some unrealistic aspects to them, but for the benefit of my massive world-wide audience (amiright?!), here's my top five:
Read moreIn the mornings, the children and I listen to the news over our cereal and coffee. Today is a big day. It is budget day in Ireland and it is release day for John Gilligan. We didn't live here when he was sent to prison, but we had read the stories and seen the footage. We had heard...
Read moreEveryone dresses so well here. It is both adorable and infuriating. I'd fit in well among them as I'm under 5 foot 4 with this rusty brown hair... if it weren't for these boot-legged jeans or my new balance sneakers ("runners") or my hair being forever in a pony tail or my burgundy hoodie.
This is what Moms wear in the Midwest! Everyone just be cool about it, ok?
Read moreSo as I sat down to write yesterday's post, I didn't realise nearly everything "different" about our new home in Ireland involved heating water. It's amazing to me this one small thing affects so much of our every day life. I know it's a perk of the first world and I am always overflowing (get it?) with thankfulness that we have easy access to hot water. Many of my friends living in other parts of the world do not have the same luxury.
Now how about the quirks I love?
Read more
