♣ Happy St. Patrick's Day ♣

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

I kind of forgot about how "big" St. Patrick's Day is! I actually didn't know until two days ago that I actually HAD any Irish in me! (It was news to my mom as well when my dad "mentioned" that at dinner the other night. He said "well, my name is Irish"...and MINE is Latin...anyway, it was pretty funny to find that out after 29 years...my mom said it has been even longer for her!) I guess since I didn't know I was Irish, I never made any "extra special" plans on this night. I did, however, go to New Orleans about five years ago and was there for St. Patrick's Day. Too bad this is the ONLY picture I could find from that trip (and it isn't THAT great of one), so I don't exactly remember the year. Anyway, I had a pretty bad cold and wasn't sure about mixing TOO much alcohol with the cough syrup, but we still had a great time. (This was at Pat O'Briens for hurricanes and dueling pianos.)

Since I now know that I at least have a LITTLE bit of Irish in me, I decided I should have my first "green beer". Yes, this was taken tonight...wearing the SAME shirt (actually not the same jacket, but nearly identical!) It was a little snug, but I made it work (with a little help from a new cami with a built-in belly control-top type deal...you know, those things can only "help" so much...)

Anyway, it was another nice day here weather-wise. However, I gave my burning thighs a break from jogging and long walks today. Instead, I went out to eat for lunch AND for dinner! I went to lunch with my mom and sister before going maternity clothes/baby stuff shopping. I was actually pretty good at lunch and ordered a salad with grilled chicken, dried cranberries, and strawberries along with a muffin (I also ate my sister's cole slaw, so maybe I didn't do THAT great, but I didn't eat breakfast before that.) Dinner, well, as you can see, I definitely drank a green beer. I also had spinach-artichoke dip and a very unhealthy sandwich, but DID manage to skip the fries and got a salad which was REALLY tough! I'm DEFINITELY not cut out for The Biggest Loser...tonight they showed those people running a half-marathon...WOW! That's awesome :o)

My dinner meeting was with a friend who asked me to be her partner for fantasy baseball. She has been doing LOTS of research about this, so I think it will be a lot of fun. I already LOVE baseball, so this will be a fun way to watch it this year. I think I have my bracket for March Madness ready to go...I need to plug it in to the system before I go to bed so I don't try to change my mind (I didn't do much research and basically made sure I chose some teams it would be fun to cheer for.)

I will close this St. Patrick's Day post (my first one as an Irish woman...ha ha!) with a portion from the St. Patrick's "Breastplate" Prayer (which, honestly, I found when I Googled St. Patrick and prayer just a little while ago.)

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of demons,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

♣Happy St. Patrick's Day ♣

Good night!