Soooo…in my first year of teaching high school, my classroom was across the hall from another new English teacher, we were friendly to each other as we stood outside our doors during the passing periods, joking with students as they walked in to our rooms, reminding them what homework was due so they could race back to their lockers before the bell rang. Anyways, I kind of always thought of him as a little bit…snooty? I don’t know if that’s the right word…but you get the idea. On St. Patrick’s Day, he came to school dressed in a kilt (alas, not as sexy as it sounds) and I was curious. “A kilt for St. Pat’s?” I asked. “I thought Scots wore the kilts.” He looked across the hall and down his nose at me and said, “Oh no, the Irish wore them first. This pattern has been in my family for ages.” I wasn’t so sure about that…but the bell was about to ring, and as I didn’t care to get into a kilt debate, I shrugged and said, “Cool.”
I had pretty much forgotten that discussion until the subject of kilts came up last night. A commercial for “Celtic Thunder” flashed across our t.v. screen and the following conversation with my husband occurred:
Husband: Oh, Celtic Thunder, you saw that group, right?
Me: (looking up from my Twitter feed) Huh? What group?
Husband: Celtic Thunder, the strippers.
Me: I don’t think Celtic Thunder is a strip act.
Husband: You saw it with your friends, remember?
Me: You mean Thunder Down Under?
Husband: Right.
Me: (Now thinking about this…) I think I like your idea better. Male strippers wearing kilts sounds good.
Husband: Kilts turn you on?
Me: Um…yeah?!?
I did not realize my husband didn’t know this about me…of course, it’s not like I go around ogling kilted men on a regular basis (though if given the opportunity…)
Which is why it was extra funny a friend on FaceBook posted an ad for THIS COMPANY today. They don’t offer service in my area (yes, I checked) but I still think it’s a hilariously awesome idea. If you are lucky enough to live in area they do have a franchise, I hope you hire them…and send me pictures.
Ok, but back to the kilt debate. So, the whole conversation about kilts reminded me about Mr. McSnooty, the kilted teacher across the hall. I thought kilts would make a fun All Things Irish post…but my doubt about the veracity of his claim was still there…so I did a bit of Googling – and whaddya know – I WAS RIGHT. The Irish were not the first to wear the kilt, nor were kilts ever an actual part of historical Irish dress. The patterns of today’s “Irish” kilts were created, for the most part, by tourist companies looking to sell more crap. If you want to see more heated Irish/Scottish kilt debate – check out THIS FORUM THREAD on Amazon, of all places.
So take that and smoke it in your peat fire mister.
And stop wearing your kilt on St. Patty’s Day—you look like an eejet.
Sidenote…if you (like me) find kilted men to be attractive (usually), you might want to check out this Tumblr feed, the title says it all: Men In Kilts.
St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching, only 5 days to go!
If you are looking for a fast, sweet, and easy treat to make for this holiday, why don’t you get the help of a leprechaun? You know the one I mean…his treasure consists of a stash of a rainbow’s worth of colorful marshmallows, let me see if I can remember this piece of my childhood: “green clovers, blue diamonds, yellow stars…” I’m stuck (I was that weird kid who didn’t like marshmallows in my cereal…or frosting on my cupcakes for that matter). I do remember at one point they added purple horseshoes to the mix. The treats are a snap to make, just use the same recipe you’d follow if making something involving a cereal promoted by 3 elves named via onomatopoeia.
These treats will give you a killer sugar buzz…you’ll be ready to hop on a unicorn and chase down a rainbow like a little leprechaun yourself in no time.
I’m not sure how well they go with a Guinness, but you’re welcome to try it out and let me know.
Can’t find a unicorn to take you to the end of a rainbow? Do you know the “story” behind why unicorns disappeared from the world? Well, as one famous Irish ditty tells it, the flighty creatures were so busy having fun they forgot to get aboard Noah’s ark. But don’t worry, with the help this item – straight out of WTF-land… unicorns can once again roam the earth. Sorta.
(Sigh) If only we could all be as happy as the dude in the picture. Unfortunately, wearing this item does not seem to have the same jubilant effect on cats—as demonstrated HERE. (But if YOU are in need of a smile, check out some of the customer product reviews).
Hooray! February is over! To celebrate, I feel like breaking out my munchkin tights and singing “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.” (OK, not really.)
March can be crappy in its own moody, slushy, not quite spring kind of way…but the promise of green helps brighten the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m talking about the green of grass and leaves that will (hopefully) be visible by the end of the month, AND of course – the green of St. Patrick’s Day.
And as it’s March 1st, it’s time to begin Drama Mama’s annual 17 Days of All Things Irish. Today I’m keeping it simple – just a little image I made of my Miss A’s dancing feet a few years back. This is the BIG MONTH for Irish dancers, with performances all over the place, and the sound of fiddles and pipes getting into everyone’s bones. Go, on – find a troupe performing somewhere, order a drink, and do a jig – you know you want to.
Image property of Melonie Jonson. May be used with permission.All Things Irish
“Luck of the Irish!” That’s how the saying goes, right? Well, even though I’m not a full blooded Irish lass, I seem to have been lucky enough to get a full dose of traditional Irish looks (red hair, pale skin, freckles), and my fair share of luck too.
For instance, I’m lucky enough to get to treat myself tomorrow to a mani/pedi and I’m planning on something St. Patty’s themed. Any fun ideas to “Irish” up my nails? Let me know in the comments! Here are some things I found around the interwebs:
I prefer lighter colors on my finger nails, and this frothy mint color looks just like a yummy shamrock shake!
3. Dark Emerald and a White Clover
Definitely could do something like this for the pedicure.
I’ve also been lucky enough to win some lovely prizes in blog contests. I’ve mentioned before that Veronika’s Kandy Koated Dreams hosts some of the best giveaways ever, and St. Patty’s Day is no exception. Check out her awesome Giveaway of All Things Irish! You could score some really sweet stuff, including:
Did you notice the MAC nail polish that's included? You can give yourself a great St. Patty's Mani/Pedi too!
So, are you feelin lucky? Go comment on Veronika’s post HERE for your chance to win the whole pot of loot! It’s worth a visit just to see how she proves that freckles can be sexy. Contest closes Friday, March 9th at Midnight (FYI – she’s on Texas time).
Happy March! If there’s one thing to celebrate today, it’s that another February has gone away (actually, compared to Feb of 2011, this Feb wasn’t so bad).
March means spring and green! Green means…St. Patrick’s day! The one day everybody suddenly remembers they have a wee bit of Irish in them.
Last year I started the annual tradition of posting all kinds of St. Patty’s themed stuff from March 1st – 17th. I didn’t quite make it to 17, but I didn’t do too bad for my first attempt, and since I did say “annual” I’m back again to give it another go with all new stuff! If you missed the fun last year, you can check out the first annual posts HERE, or just click on the tag ALL THINGS IRISH from the tag cloud on the left sidebar.
Today we’ll start with something sweet and simple that I found while indulging in my latest addiction – Pinterest. One of my favorite Pinners – Pam from Over the Big Moon, pinned this fun little printable, courtesy of A House Full of Moxie:
How cute and easy! Get the free printable at Moxie’s website (you’ll see it in the right sidebar).
Take the kids to the bank and cash in a $1 for 100 of the shiniest pennies the bank teller will give you. Then let them have a blast passing out a little bit of luck to all their friends on St. Patty’s Day!
Now that you’ve a bit of luck in your pocket, I hope the days leading up to the 17th keep you smiling!
Oh, and if you can’t wait to see what else is in store for the 2nd Annual 17 Days of All Things Irish, then check out my ALL THINGS IRISH pin board. You can bet a few things will be hopping on over here from there! (And that’s a bet you’ll win, lucky or not!)
1. If you started your St. Paddy’s day morning extra early with eggs n’ kegs you might still be feeling a bit green today. Any hangover cures you have found to work? Worst hangover I ever experienced was New Year’s Day. I won’t tell you the year since I think it was my first time drinking on New Year’s Eve. I was still in the experimental phase of things, which means I tried stuff I wouldn’t touch now like a shot of Goldschlägerthat made me drop to my knees (literally, I recall holding on to my boyfriend’s belt loops) once it hit the back of my throat. A friend was home from Hawaii and brought a bottle of blue stuff that kind of tasted like kool-aid, don’t know what was in it, but I vaguely remember french kissing one of my husband’s (the boyfriend of whose belt loops I had been holding on to for dear life) best buddies. It was kind of a dare, and everyone knows you don’t dare drunk girls (or maybe you do). Anyways, I was supposed to open the coffee store I worked at the following morning. I managed to get to the store on time…but less than two hours later I was begging to go home. My boyfriend (you can see why I married him) despite feeling like death warmed over himself, came to pick me up, and we crashed on his waterbed and slept the next 8 hours or so away. I really think sleeping it off is one of the best ways to deal with a hangover.
A little more experienced now and a little less stupid (I hope), I don’t have the option of lying in bed all day to sleep it off. So I have found on the rare occasions I do over imbibe the best thing to do is drink lots of water.
3. For awhile last fall I tried the Atkin’s diet – there were things about it I loved and things I just hated – I am considering giving a modified version of it another go…but one thing that resulted from my 2 week hard core stint was it changed how I drink my coffee. On Atkins, you can’t drink milk – and I was a skim milk junkie. I’d brew a big pot of coffee in the morning, pour the husband a thermos full to take to work, then let the rest of the pot cool off to make a giant glass of iced coffee for yours truly. My version was about 2/3 coffee and 1/3 skim milk…sometimes that ratio went closer to 1/2 and 1/2. With Atkins, I couldn’t have milk, but I could have heavy cream (I know, it sounded weird to me too). So I experimented with drinking hot coffee with a bit of cream in it. Wow, it was awesome! I never drank cream in my coffee before, always milk, and it tasted so decadent. There was a good and bad side to this change – on the good side, the flavor is so strong, a little bit of heavy cream goes along way, and my overall calorie count was probably less than all the milk I put in my coffee. On the bad side, this is heavy cream we are talking about, and not exactly good for you. Hence, my search for something in between the two…which is why when I saw all the promo-bits on BlogHer for La Creme I was interested. La Creme’s angle is that their products are made from real dairy – not the artificial stuff you’d find in “non-dairy” creamers. I bought a bottle of the Cinnamon Vanilla to try and I don’t know if I’m sold – the texture and taste is not as decadent as heavy cream, but the calorie content is comparable, so I don’t think it’s a worthwhile indulgence. Currently, BlogHer and La Creme are hosting a series of Giveaways to win a $100 Visa gift card. To enter, just visit one of these 10 blogs and leave a comment.
4. On the subject of contests and comments, a few weeks ago I mentioned a giveaway for a really cute 4 Leaf Clover necklace from Cap Creations. I thought the necklace was darling (yes, I just used the word darling) and was sad I didn’t win. (Don’t worry, I got over it). Imagine my surprise when I find out today that Cap Creations has decided to award their favorite 3 comments from the contest a $25 gift certificate to their shop! Looking back at my comment – this year I didn’t get to have corned beef and cabbage at my mom’s since everyone at their house is on a diet and I don’t make it here at home because neither my husband or Miss A would touch it. The husband and I didn’t get our Guinness in a pub yet either, but I’m hoping soon. I have a gift card to an Irish pub we’ve never been to burning a hole in my wallet.
So, I’m telling you people, it never hurts to take a moment to enter these contests I mention. It must be good karma, since even though it decreases my chances of winning by upping the odds, I like sharing the info with you . Take a look at Cap Creations and help me out by letting me know what you would spend the prize money on. I am considering getting one of the four leaf clover necklaces that I didn’t win, but there is also this cute Eiffel Tower necklace, which I might put away as a present for Miss A.
Miss A and I have plans to learn French together at our local community college, then celebrate by taking a trip to Paris. Of course, this is a few years away…but it’s fun to dream!
5 . Tomorrow night is a full moon, and not just any full moon. It’s called a Super Moon, and only occurs every 18 years or so (which means I was still in high school when the last one rolled around).
If you are curious to learn more, I’ll let the experts at NASA explain. I plan to get out there and take a whole bunch of pictures, I love pictures of the moon, if you happen to take a few shots of your own, please let me know where I can see them! Last year we looked at the moon a whole bunch, since one of Miss A’s first school assignments as a non-homeschooler was a moon log. She did several video journal entries, you can check them out HERE.
Enjoy your weekend, try not to drink too much, maybe write a limerick or two, enjoy a great cup of coffee whatever way you like it, and make sure to check out the SUPER MOON!
I am a little bummed I ran out of time these last few days and the 17 Days of Irish was cut short…I have had several long days and nights in a row doing quintuple duty and hence, website posts dropped to the bottom of the task list.
I hemmed and hawed about cramming the last 3 or 4 posts I still needed to do in – but the rest of my week is about as busy as the first half was so I’m going to give myself a free pass on this one and save the posts I had planned for next St. Paddy’s day. This way, I’m even giving myself a bit of a head start. Look at me, turning negatives into positives.
So while I try not to feel guilty about not having finished what I started with the posts this month, and also try not to berate myself for skipping the gym this morning so I could finish a few things around the house – here are some pics from my St. Paddy’s Day so far…
After starting the morning in a very unlucky way with Lil’ G spilling chocolate milk all over herself, the floor, the cabinets and me – I was able to whip up a quick batch of Paddy’s Day pancakes.
Green pancakes for Miss A's breakfast
Next, I had a verbal wrestling match with Miss A to sit down and complete the homework we forgot about since she was dancing in a performance last night and we didn’t get home til around 9. While she was working on that, I packed Miss A’s lunch, hiding a few surprises in there for her.
Yes, there were other items in her lunch besides chocolate gold and a shamrock cookie - but she probably didn't eat any of that.
Lil’ G, Having completely soaked her pajamas in chocolate milk, spent the rest of the morning in her robe – which she apparently really likes. It took a great deal of wrestling, this time physical, for me to get her dressed. I had a cute St. Paddy’s day outfit for her and really wanted her in some clothes! Then we headed to Miss A’s school to volunteer for lunch time and recess (oh, yeah – I also baked 2 dozen cookies for the class that morning to pass out while Miss A and a school pal who also dances put on a mini show for their class).
Luckily, the last couple of St. Patrick’s Days have been incredible weather wise. Today was no exception, nearly 70 degrees out, it’s the warmest weather we’ve had in over 4 months, and the kids were fully engaged in the happy-go-lucky spirit. Lil’ G had a blast running around in her new Irish duds.
The tutu is from BitzyBowz - an Etsy shop owned by a friend of mine.I asked her to make a St. Paddy's day tutu for Lil' G, and it turned out so cute! She made the bow too.Playing outside lifted Lil' G's spirits - she even humored me and posed for the camera!
The day is not over yet – I never got around to drinking my coffee this morning, and I really feel it now…maybe I’ll treat myself to a certain green logo’d purveyor. I’ve still got classes to teach, and Miss A is in another show tonight. Though I’d love to kick back with some friends in a pub, it will be just as fun to settle in at home for some wine and Irish cheese with the husband after we get our two red heads to bed.
Irish or not, I hope you all have a fantastic St. Patrick’s Day full of luck!
Pronounced “fesh” a feis is a festival of Gaelic arts. For an Irish dancer, it’s a dance competition where they get a chance to perfect specific steps of their dances to be judged – there’s a lot more to is than that, if you’re interested – here is the WIKI page on it.
Miss A attended her first feis last year, and to help soothe her nerves (not that the girl gets a great deal of stage fright), I let one of her best friends accompany her:
Her American Girl doll, Nellie, put on her Irish Dancing Duds too.
It was interesting to walk around and see all the various competition areas set up – there was dancing and music going on all over the place!
Miss A didn’t score high enough to place, but she got a ribbon for dancing, and that was fine with her!
I loved the fact that many families brought items to sell – from brand new class costumes and wigs and hair accessories to gently used dresses and SHOES! (I got a great deal on her current pair of Ghillies). It was a great place to look for bargains on all the stuff a dancer needs. All they needed was someone selling stuff for Miss A’s American Girl doll.
Actually, there are quite a few Irish costumes for AG dolls – we’ll cover that as part of day 14, which is full of ideas for the little people in your home!
Day 12 of 17 Days of Irish and we’re still dancing.
Created by GoodGran on Zazzle.
After learning the beginner’s jig, the next dance to be mastered is the reel. Somehow Miss A started to learn the Slip Jig first (which is often called the ballet of Irish dance and is very pretty and delicate), but this semester she got around to learning the reel. Miss A loves the reel, in fact, just a few weeks ago she cried after practice one day when she didn’t get a chance to dance it (I’m not kidding, girl has her own fair share of drama). I can understand why she likes it so much – it’s fun to dance! There is more movement and twirling and the music is very lively…most Irish music inspires toe tapping and hand clapping – but reel music really gets you itching to get up and dance too.
Created by Sallbergs on Zazzle
I found this video of a beginner’s reel from a Feis in Moscow. Irish Dancing in Russia? Who knew! And what’s a Feis? Come back tomorrow for day 13 and I’ll tell you!
Day 11 of 17 Days of Irish and it’s time to dance!
The seeds of Irish Step dancing as we see and know it today were planted over one hundred years ago, just around the turn of the 19th century. Of course, Irish dance has a much longer, deeper history than that – but the style and nature of Irish dance as we enjoy it now took shape around 1900…and really kicked into full gear in the 1970’s (and exploded with Riverdance in the 90’s).
Miss A’s dance school began in the 70’s and her teacher is is accredited by An Coimisiun, the Irish Dance Commission in Dublin – which means the best dancers in the school can qualify to compete in the World Irish Dance Championships (I have no aspirations or expectations for Miss A to get that far, but would never say no to a trip to Dublin!).
I love this picture, Miss A looks so serious!
During the summer, the dancers wear parade clothes (a troupe t shirt and skort) and usually as they march in the parade will attempt to stop at various points along the route and perform steps of the jig (one of the easier dances to try and perform while walking).
The first dance every new performer learns is the Beginner Jig – and it’s so cute to see all the little tiny dancers come out to perform for their first time.
Here a little dancer tries to follow Miss A's feet.It's wonderful to see how the older dancers help Miss A, and she in turn helps the ones younger than her...soon it will be Lil G's turn up there too!
The following is Miss A and several of the other young dancers at a recent performance. Often, at a show, they will break the dance up and assign each dancers a step or two, which is why you see some standing still while others are dancing. Check out the girl to Miss A’s right, she has awesome high kicks!
Melonie Johnson 
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