The morning after the night before....

This post is brought to you this morning by a very tired but happy Ruby

After getting to bed at almost 4am

The dogs woke me up at 7 30am

I decided to bring them for a walk straight away

To tire them out so they would be quiet and not wake up the sleeping visitors

So 

Where do I start?

Well

Yesterday was all go

We spent the day sitting around 

Chatting and laughing

And started to get ready at about 4pm

All the curls fell out of my hair after a nights sleep

So my sisters girlfriend re did it for me

In the end 

I decided to go with the Orange and cream dress 

Although I have to admit

It was just a teeny weeny bit tight

But that's the price we pay 

And I was ok with it

All day 

My speech was on my mind 

I had an idea of what I wanted to say

I wanted to keep it light, funny and heartfelt 

So through out the day 

I cobbled together a few sentences 

At 6 pm

My sister, her girlfriend and my brother and his girlfriend all headed in to the hotel to decorate the table

And to sort out any last minute jobs

We put balloons on the table

A banner behind 

And party poppers and little glittery words saying congratulations

We then went to bar to wait for everyone

Bit by bit

They all dribbled in

I was still feeling anxious

And just prayed for the speech to be over 

But I held it together 

And managed to be sociable

At 8pm

We all headed in to the restaurant 

We all took our seats 

I took one on the middle

So that when I spoke 

Everyone could hear me

There were 15 of us altogether

The plan was for me to make the speech after the orders had been taken

And when the champagne was being poured

I swear I was so tempted to take a glass

Just for some Dutch courage alone

Oh my God you guys 

I was so freakin nervous

I shit you not

I kept going to the bathroom

And sitting on the toilet seat

Running through it in my head

At the table 

I had so many butterflies 

That I didn't think I'd be able to eat

But I thought I would feel better when it was done and dusted

All too soon 

It was time 

I got the nod after the champagne was poured

And I stood up to speak

Here is the gist of what I said 

Hi everyone and welcome

I was kindly nominated by my brother and sister to say a few words 

So I will keep it short and sweet

First I want to thank everyone for coming

I know you've come from all over

London

Dublin

Cork

Donegal

Leitrim 

And Sligo

We are so delighted you are here to help us celebrate Mums retirement 

I want to congratulate Mum

I know she has many things planned for her retirement

Book clubs 

Film clubs

And learning to swim which has been on her to do list since 1985

So please join me in a toast

We are super proud of you Mum

We love you very much

And I'm looking forward to travelling the country with you on our respective bus passes

Oh the relief when it was over

I was just so glad to get the words out

And everyone w laughed

And Mum shed a tear

I sat down 

And could finally relax 

Then food started to arrive 

First we had an amuse Bouche 

Which was a little tea cup of carrot and coriander soup

Delicious 

Then the starters 

I had the trio of melon 

As I wanted something light because I really wasn't that hungry

Other starters were pork belly

Which I tasted and it was Devine

Soup

And chowder 

For the main 

I had slow braised blade of beef

Again

I couldn't really enjoy it 

As I just had no appetite 

I ate about a third of it

And gave the rest to my brother 

I tried my best to stay put after eating

I really tried to hang on

But about five minutes later 

I made a little trip to the bathroom

Purging in restaurants is always tricky

There is the issue of others hearing you

And then trying to clean up the mess 

Thankfully there was no one in there though

And I purged in peace

I cleaned up 

And headed back to the table

Then it was time for tea, coffee and dessert

They were all quite heavy

So I just ordered ice cream 

Which was nice

I then had three cups of tea

Which was very welcome as I was gasping for one

We had great craic at the table 

So much laughter which was lovely

And the time just flew by

At just after midnight

We retired to the bar for drinks

Here is where I have to make a little confession

I was really starting to flag and feel really tired

So I was really sneaky and had two drinks of vodka and orange juice

I tried to keep it quiet

But my brother noticed

And asked me what I was drinking 

I told him

And asked him to keep it quiet 

My brrother and I then had a really interesting conversation about escaping reality 

And why I find it so hard to live without the use of substances 

To be honest

I didn't really feel the effect of the alcohol

And I'm not even sure why I did it

I know I shouldn't drink

But I just really craved one last night

Alcohol was not my primary addiction

So part of me still thinks I can get away with having a drink or two

But I know where it leads

At about 1 30am we started to move out and head home

The dogs greeted us

And I immediately changed into pyjamas 

Put my hair up

And washed my make up off

It felt so good getting in to comfy clothes

And I was so glad that the night went well

And that Mum enjoyed it

I am lucky and blessed to have an amazing Mum

She is selfless to a fault

And has been my cheerleader, supporter, friend, confidant and carer from day one

I can never repay her for all she has done for me

That's the reason I made the speech

I wouldn't have done it for anyone else 

After chatting got a while

Everyone began to move to their rooms

I was on the couch

Which I didn't mind at all

When I first moved here 

Even though I had a bedroom

I slept on the couch for the first few months

I could sleep in my own bedroom

As an ex boyfriend had over dosed in there

It was nearing 4 40am when I finly fell asleep

Content

Relieved

And so happy that the night went week

Many many photos were taken last night

Here is a selection of them....