Here comes Summer!

I've got itchy feet. Literally AND metaphorically actually, but that's a whole other blog post altogether. No, my feet have been eaten alive in this weather by horrible bitey things. I think it must have been during the night, and yet they left Loverboy's great hairy plates alone, so they clearly have taste, but that doesn't make me feel one bit better. I'm not complaining though! Do you hear me? I am SO not complaining. In fact, like every other Irish person when we get a heatwave, I'm completely and utterly grateful. Coming out of Mass yesterday morning, a neighbour put it a little more graphically, 'Anyone who's not happy on a day like that should be taken out and shot!', which IS perhaps a tad extreme, and not overly Christian given the context, but I DO understand where he's coming from.
 Apparently, it was even warmer here yesterday than it was in Sardinia and Corsica. And  I strongly suspect every Irish person on Twitter retweeted THAT little nugget, if only as a delighted 'Up Yours!' to the entire Mediterranean! We're SO appreciative of a bit of sun, you see - at the first rays, the barbecues are fired up, the paddling pools are unearthed, and the obligatory wine is cracked open, even on a school night. 'Go on sure-we may enjoy it while it lasts. This is probably our summer!', the implication being of course, that we wouldn't even consider touching a drop when it's raining. Ahem.
Meanwhile, the children are only allowed inside to go to the toilet 'No, you're not playing that Wii! Are you mad? There'll be loads of wet days for that- away outside and enjoy the sunshine!' And even though we should all know by now, that this hot balmy weather is fleeting, we convince ourselves that it's here to stay, and therefore, it's time to invest properly in outside living. Yes indeed, because we'll be dining al fresco for the next 3 months, it would be a great shame not to get new patio furniture...with stripy cushions....and possibly even a bar for the corner? And of course, we'll need that new table runner and polka dot napkins to set it all off.
Yesterday for instance, I bought a lovely wooden sandpit for the children, so between that and the paddling pool, we'll have a beach in the garden! On a whole other scale entirely though, I discovered Loverboy enthusiastically sourcing ACTUAL swimming pools - like big proper 15 feet, over ground, pools with heaters! Because obviously our typical Norn Iron climate makes THAT purchase a no brainer. Trust me, when I say that it was no fun nipping THAT one firmly in the bud.
 Most annoyingly for me though, is that despite all the fabulousness of these hot balmy days, I'm just not a hot weather gal. I want to be, oh Lord, how I want to be, and over the years I've tried really, really hard to be, but reluctantly, I've come to the conclusion that I just don't DO hot weather well. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I'm actually allergic to it.
Because in addition to my itchy feet, not only do I stubbornly not tan AT ALL, I also get a MOST attractive heat rash. So whatever isn't covered in red bumps is covered in freckles instead. Lucky old me! It took years to learn that its better for everyone, if I worship from afar- preferably in the shade adorned with a big floppy hat and factor 50.
Consequently, a large portion of my life thus far, has been spent in pursuit of the Holy Grail of fake tans- one that doesn't smell of old biscuits, and works on a bluey white skin hue. Over the years, Ive had more than my fair share of disasters, spent a small fortune and our bathroom cabinet is a fake tan graveyard of half used sprays, mousses and creams, to no avail. Undeterred, I soldier on dreaming that one day I too will sport a golden, sun kissed, natural looking tan. Until then though, keep your ear to the ground for me and if you hear of any major tanorific breakthroughs, specifically for untannable sun allergic gingers, keep me in the loop. Emx



I MAY have mentioned this before ;-) but I'm a finalist in two categories in the MAD Blog Awards. If you're feeling any love at all for this wee blog, I'd really appreciate it if you could vote for me in the Family Life category (the other one is decided by judges). Here's the link- http://www.the-mads.com/vote.htm and thank you very much xxxx
PS While you're there, check out the other finalists-who'd have believed there were so many amazing blogs out there?