My goodness, is it Friday already?  Seriously, when you’re doing things like clearing your desk, getting school supplies, choosing the perfect writing music and getting your life ready for back-to-school, all of a sudden it’s Friday.  Where did the week go?

Not to mention that Mockingjay came out this week.  See, I thought I had this perfect plan.  I saved Catching Fire to read on the trip so it would last me to Mockingjay.  I knew if I read Catching Fire right after Hunger Games, I’d be in agony until Mockingjay came out so I thought this plan was foolproof.   Problem is, this perfect plan backfired because I got no reading done in Ireland and all of a sudden, I come back and I have two must-read books on my plate!  I’m halfway through Catching Fire (I’m a sloooooow reader…) and I’m reading Mockingjay right after so no spoilers, OK?  Seriously, or I just might die.  And then who will run iggi U?

Speaking of iggi U, can you believe that September starts next week?  Omigoodness, I can’t wait.  Starting tomorrow, I’ll be doing some pre-iggi U posts where we’ll talk about what you need to do to get prepared–don’t worry, it’s not too much–and give you all a sneak peek at what’s to come.

I also thought it might be fun to do a little twitter meet-n-greet for everyone who’s participating in DIY MFA.  Just tweet with the #diymfa hashtag and say hi!

Hello friends,

Didja miss me?  ‘Cause iggi and I missed you!

No, I’m not back from Ireland just yet but I am finally in a hotel that has reliable internet so I’ll be able to check in at least somewhat regularly.  Don’t worry, I’ll post pictures and share more stories soon enough (forgot the camera adapter at home so we’ll have to wait a few more days for photos).

Today iggi and I had a fascinating experience.  We went to a graveyard where some ancestors of my super-duper hubby were buried.  We found two gravestones dating back to the 1800s.  Then we went and found the house where some ancestors had lived way back in the day.  They don’t live there anymore, but there is a farmer who lives there and he remembered them and even tried to get us in touch with the remaining distant relative that still lived in that town (it didn’t work out because when the farmer phoned her, she wasn’t home).

iggi has also gotten into the Irish mood.  He’s made some friends, like his long-lost relative pictured below.  (You can see the family resemblance, I’m sure).

Later on in the trip, iggi met a sheep named Seamus and decided to bring him home with us.  I’m not sure where I’m going to put a sheep in our apartment, much less how we’ll get him into our building.  (I have a feeling that bringing barnyard animals home would make me persona non grata with the condo board.)  But iggi has just informed me that Seamus is imaginary and shouldn’t take up any space at all.  Apparently Seamus is also housebroken.

Speaking of sheep, I have not been able to hug a sheep yet and seeing as now we’ll be in Dublin the rest of our trip, I think the odds are pretty well stacked against me.  I did, however, manage to get reasonably close to a sheep and take a photo.

I recently learned about a Fit ‘N’ Healthy Challenge taking place this month and I’ve decided to join.  Now that my MFA program is behind me, I have no more opportunity for excuses not to get some exercise.

Sports have not been particularly kind to me these last few months.  Between a sprained ankle last fall and a nasty case of golfer’s elbow this spring (and I don’t even golf!) , it seemed almost like every time I started getting excited about exercise I’d get hit with an injury.  Now at last I feel like I’m back to normal and can get involved in some fun sporty stuff.

This challenge to get in shape and eat better isn’t just about being healthy, it’s about writing too.  As my friend, Missy, wisely said to me: “gabi, if you feel better, you’ll write better too.”  And I think there’s something to that.