December already!

Not quite sure how it happened but it's December already. Christmas Day in 3 weeks time. Wow. Where did this year go? Who knows?!

We have the advent calendar up - filled with Thorntons chocs from the UK food shop - and a poinsettia but that's the extent of the festive decorations so far. Oh, and we bought a christmas smelling candle but haven't burned it yet.

I'm working all weekend (yuck!) so not sure how much I will get festive before next week but I will try.

We are both pretty snowed with work at the moment and looking forward to the break over xmas to rest and recuperate ready for a new year and a new decade. (Never mind where did this year go, what about the decade!)

We have the proof book from the photographers and hoping to pick photos for our album and thank you cards soon.

There's lots to do and it doesn't feel like there's enough time but I'm sure we will get through it all.

Oh and somewhere in the middle of work this weekend I have to write my xmas cards cos I'm already a week past the last posting date.

Very random post but thought it was time for an update and I've not got any photos to share but will try to rectify that over the coming weeks.

Signs of Winter

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. I keep meaning to sit and find some photos and get them posted but it's been hectic. We have both been very busy with work and hardly saw each other last week. It's settled down now - for a week at least - so I thought I would make the most of being at home and near the PC to post!

I have already started writing my 28 @ 28 list (in the same vein as my 27 @ 27 list which can be found here http://kandgnzadventure.blogspot.com/2008/11/list.html) and one of the things I have added is to capture and document each season. I love watching the changes of the seasons and often take photos but have never documented them or done it with any regularity.

Of course, I am too impatient to wait until my birthday to start doing this so I have already started taking pictures of winter (it will probably be document one of the seasons on my 28 list). I have dotted a couple of the photos through this post.

I am lucky enough to do a lot of travelling and flying with work which is how I got photos of Mt. Taranaki and Mt. Ruapehu with snow on them. Aren't they gorgeous? Totally makes me wish I could snowboard or ski to make the most of them. I also recently bought some fingerless gloves which I thought captured winter well. I have been printing the photos when I order others to be printed and will probably turn them into a mini scrapbook.

So that's what I am up to at the moment. As well as arranging a UK visit, my wedding, a mass invasion of family and friends, working and a hundred other things! Busy is good though - I get more done when I'm busy.

And I hope to post sooner next time so you are not waiting so long next time :-)

Busy Bees

Wow - what a week. It's been a busy one that's for sure. Between us we spent 4 nights away from home (2 each) and I drove about 800kms. We've tried to spend all weekend catching up on....sleep, housework, washing, home cooked meals, each other, decorating, TV and the list goes on.

Hopefully this week will be a little easier. No overnights this week and with Easter Friday it's a 4 day week. Never have I needed a 4 day weekend more!

The decorating isn't going as fast as we would have hoped. We are STILL stripping wall paper in the lounge. Must be about 75% done now. Then we need to sand, prime and finally paint.

We've picked the colour and are trying to sort out new curtains. I think it's fair to say we won't be finished over Easter as was the original plan. But we are definitely planning to be done by the end of April as it's starting to get colder and stripped walls make me feel cold!

And while I was away I found a gorgeous throw at half price in Oamaru which should fit well with the new colours. It will be perfect for adorning the back of the couch ready to drag down for napping and reading on a chilly weekend afternoon.

Speaking of weekend afternoons...soccer season has offically started with G's first game taking place yesterday. They have Easter weekend off and then it's back into the regime of Saturday afternoons. All good for me - I have the perfect excuse for doing girly things like painting my toenails, watching chick flicks and scrapbooking.

Wedding plans are coming along nicely with a few RSVPs and guests booking flights over the last few weeks. We have the photographer booked (and engagement prints ordered and on their way to us...engagement photos nearly 5 years after we got engaged!) and have chosen the hotel in Wellington where we will stay the night before and night of the wedding. We're also getting there in the way of flowers and a cake.

The only thing that we haven't made any headway in and that I am slightly worried about is a celebrant. Anyone reading this able to recommend a great celebrant in the Wellington region?

Hope to get round to a Wellington and also a South Island post soon with some photos and links for soon-to-be guests.

The photo above is sunrise taken on State Highway 1 between Dunedin and Oamaru on Thursday just gone. Makes the early starts and time away from home worthwhile :-)

I blinked and when I opened my eyes again 9 days had passed...

....and other excuses about why it's been longer than a week since I last posted include:

* a 15 hour work day in Auckland + an afternoon arrival back home the next day
* two days + 1 night in Wellington for work
* walking by the river with my boys and taking photos of windmills
* fun new squeaky cow toys to play with
* taking Rhett-ster to the vets for his annual check-up and jabs and getting a clean bill of health
* deciding to decorate the lounge and dining room when the pair of us have more days away from home than we have at home between now and Easter
* making copious amounts of chocolate cornflake cakes...just because they taste good
* trying to plan a wedding
* hand making envelopes because it's really quite fun
* framing the coolest art ever - personalised especially for G from me
* baking bread
* drinking wine for the first time in ages and miraculously not getting a hangover
* spending 2 hours on the phone to an old (that's a reference to the length of our friendship and nothing whatsover to do with the fact she is older than me!) friend

It's not just Graeme that's awesome at the moment. Life is pretty damn good too. Busy as a beehive but good with it :-)

March = Autumn

As our seasons are in reverse to the northern hemisphere that means that March is the start of Autumn. It feels a little autumnal at the moment. There's a few leaves falling from the trees (more to do with the wind then the actual change of seasons I think) and it's starting to feel colder in the evenings and first thing in the morning.

In previous years we still carry on having some nice sunny warm days throughout Autumn and that's what I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this year.

I'm feeling a little cheated by summer this year - it hasn't been nearly as nice as previous years. Too much wind and rain for my liking.

But the weather is what it is. I can't change it so I shall try not to moan and just enjoy what is.




I have the day off today as I worked yesterday (Sunday). I flew up to Auckland (on an obscenely early flight) to see another group of our volunteers off. Apart from being really tired from an early weekend start it was a good day and got even better when I settled down with a book when I got home and realised I didn't have to go into the office today! On the flight back from Auckland I managed to get this lovely shot...

I think it's official - I am addicted with taking photos from planes :-)

In other news we currently have two dogs which is lots of fun! Our neighbour is away so we are looking after his dog for 3 weeks. He's quite different from Rhett. The main difference being that you have to coerce him to eat! After nearly 3 years of Rhett scoffing anything that falls in his bowl or anywhere on the floor within 3 seconds it is a big change. And we have to remember to feed the dogs at a time we can stay and make sure it's Ramses eating his food and not our greedy dog! Mostly they are well-behaved together but there's quite a few mad half hours and tugs of war just like this one....

It should be an interesting couple of weeks.

We're both fairly busy at work at the moment so we will be trying to make the most of the weekends to make up for long hours during the week. Hopefully that means we will have some good photos for you over the next wee while.

Back Home

It always feels so lovely to come home after being in the big smoke.

Auckland's okay and I would certainly recommend it to anyone visiting New Zealand but it's not home.

I flew up to Auckland on Thursday afternoon and got home yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. I had a great few days...I was working but it's a great part of my job - welcoming volunteers into New Zealand and showing them the sights.

I was very brave (or stupid...I can never tell the difference!) and drove in Auckland for the first time...not only that but I was driving a 12 seater mini van (also for the first time) and I am pleased to report no crashes or even scrapes. I had to drive on the wrong side of the road to get in a supermarket carpark and then had a couple of minutes panicking that the van wouldn't go under the height barrier but it all came right in the end...phew!

We did the usual sights and despite already having hundreds of photos from Auckland attractions I still took more!
The top photo is the Auckland sky line taken from Devonport (my first visit - it's really cute and reminds me of little English coastal towns in the middle of summer holidays) and the second photo is taken from the Sky Tower looking down.
As well as seeing the usual sights, me and my boss also took a stroll round Viaduct Harbour to see the Louis Vuitton boats....we were also lucky enough to be in the same bar as Brad Butterworth (although some New Zealanders may deem that unlucky from what I've heard!) but didn't get close enough for photos or autographs.

So a good weekend but very tiring - I was up at 5am on Friday and 5.30am on Sunday and didn't sleep all that great knowing I was away from home and having to be up early.
We have a 3 day weekend coming up though so I will have plenty of time to relax at the end of this week. It's Waitangi Day. No plans at this stage other then relaxing and hopefully enjoying the sunshine.

Have a good week :-)

Mostly photos

Just a quick one tonight because I'm feeling yucky. I actually meant to post yesterday but ended up in bed early with a pounding headache. This morning I felt alright and I went to work but this evening I am feeling bleugh again so I am heading off to bed as soon as I hit the publish button on this post.

I'll just share some photos with you for now.

We went out to Ashhurst on saturday to meet up with some friends. It made a nice change from Starbucks and we met at The Herb Farm Cafe. Everyone had a piece of cake apart from me and they came with gorgeous flowers as garnish. My muffin didn't have anything so I stole Graeme's flower and took this photo...(the muffin was yummy by the way)

And then on the drive home we had the most awesome view...

And last week I came across these gorgeous little pansies (or are they violas?) in our front garden....aren't they cute?

I'm up in Auckland later this week and over the weekend for work so there may be a lack of posts this weekend. The following weekend is a 3 day-er though due to Waitangi Day and then the week after that is a 4 day week as I have the Friday (13th) and all the following week off.

I'm hoping the weather stays fairly decent for my time off and I'm hoping to get up to date with some wedding planning.

Okydoke, off to bed - hope you all have a good week!

This last week

So I go back to work and then feel everything is a bit too boring and normal to be adventurous and I don't think I have anything to blog about.

But I've just been sorting through the last weeks photos and there has been a couple of interesting things I can mention...

Last Saturday I flew down to Christchurch and stayed overnight before seeing off 18 young volunteers on their gap year. That was good. It's a great part of my job to see our volunteers off on the start of their year long adventure when I've been working with them for almost a year leading up to it. Everyone got away safe and sound and I watched their big plane take off before boarding my little one to head back to Palmy.

Side note: Airports are torture for me...I have spent a lot of my life saying goodbye to people I love. Watching emotional scenes at airports reminds me of every single time I've had to do it. It's hard. But also makes me feel much more able to see someone off knowing what's likely to be going through their head. And I didn't embarrass myself by bursting into tears so we're all good!

And I love Air New Zealand after they let me get on an earlier flight home at no cost.

After getting back on Sunday afternoon I was a free woman until Friday.

Graeme went back to work Monday so I pretty much pottered around all week watching movies, taking photos, reading books and walking the dog. It was nice and relaxing.

Then on Friday I went back to work and it wasn't as bad as I thought. Apart from my office having no air conditioning (I am spoilt at home!) and it being too hot it was fine. And a nice easy slide back into work rather than a full week all in one go!

The weather here has been hot. On Thursday it was reported that Christchurch got to over 40. Palmy was probably approaching 30 that day.

And then the weekend comes and with it the rain...no surprises there. But I am grateful I am not having to deal with the minus temperatures like the UK at the moment.

What else? Hmmm, I'm on a health kick and so far so good. All part of my 2009 word and 27 things list. I am also wading through books at a fair old pace and should have the 'read 27 books' knocked off my list fairly soon. And of course blogging today is going towards my 'blog 52 times' tally.

Still loving the new camera although the light's been yuck with the rain this weekend so I haven't been using it that much. There's only so many prictures of the dog I can take....I want to go outside and explore. If the weather is better next week hopefully we will be able to take Rhett for an epic walk and I can snap along the way. The beach would be nice - it feels too long since we were there.

Hope you all have a good week!

4 more sleeps!

Can you believe how fast the time is going? It's flying by.

We've been fairly busy with end of year and christmas stuff and looking forward to our holidays. I officially finished work on Friday and Graeme finishes on Christmas Eve and then we don't have to go back until the new year so we will be getting a good break.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for some decent weather so the dog can get lots of walks, we can have lots of BBQs and the garden can get a tidy-up!

I've been keeping up with my Christmas journal which is making me feeling rather festive.

The house is decorated but I want to get some housework done this week so we are tidy and clean before the big day.

My presents are all bought apart from one more for Graeme which I hope to get tomorrow.

And then I just need to wrap Graeme's presents and we will be all ready to go!

I've been watching Christmas movies this week. I own Elf on DVD (how could anyone not?!) so watched that last Monday when I had a day off.

TV here has Christmas movies every day up until Christmas now and tonight we have Bad Santa which I seem to recall being pretty amusing so we will watch that or tape it tonight.

Shrek the Halls was on a wee while ago which was great fun!

And even though I've seen it countless times I will be tuning in for Shrek when it's on over Christmas!

Christmas dinner is decided too - a leg of lamb (organic if I can get it - we will see) with some BBQ'd veggies followed with lemon meringue (made with lemons from the garden). Should be super tasty - all I have to do is fight the crowds out at the shops to buy the ingredients!

And I'll leave you with this picture - the gorgeous Christmas bouquet my boss got me to say thank you for all my hard work (which will be hard for some of you to believe I am sure!)...isn't it beautiful?

Getting my weekends back!

I've had to work the last 3 Saturdays and it's been strange having one day weekends. I get time off in lieu but it's just not the same as having Saturdays and Sundays off. It was a good part of my job that required me to work though and I got some great shots of the mountains from the planes to Christchurch and Auckland so it wasn't so bad.

It will be nice to get my 2 day weekends back though!

And it's not long until I finish up for the Christmas break. I will be off from Saturday 20th December right through to Saturday 3rd January so will have a nice long break.

I've been decorating a bit for Christmas already - I have 2 stars up in our large front window (see photo above...and how amazing does that sky look?!) and some red felt Christmas trees out in the lounge.

I've also made a button tree and have put that on the dining table with a snowman ornament that Graeme's mum bought us a few years back (and it miraculously got half way across the world without breaking when we emmigrated to NZ!)

The Christmas twigs haven't emerged yet - I am waiting to de-spider them while Graeme is around before I bring them in the house.

I'm also keeping up with my Christmas journal...all this Christmas spirit is making me feel really jolly!

Ridiculously early has it's benefits

I had to be up at 6am this morning in order to drive to Porirua (near Wellington and about an hour and a half from home) for a payroll training course.
Getting up before the sun is out or any time before 8.30am generally makes me very grumpy indeed but I managed to get through the day.
Being the good student I am I whizzed through the course and finished before 4pm enabling me to stop once or twice on the drive home and be a tourist....

Here's Kapiti Island taken from the State Highway (I promise I pulled over into a lay-by to take this):

and here are the ranges (Tararua I think? Correct me if I'm wrong...the ones that go towards Wellington) looking all lovely and snow-capped:

Not bad for a days work!

Snapshot from the weekend

Phew - we are busy lately but hopefully things will take a little more of a relaxed pace soon.

Graeme was in Auckland last week, we were in New Plymouth at the weekend and I got back from a 2 day trip to Auckland tonight.

Here's a photo to tide you over until I can get on here for a longer post:

It's Mount Taranaki (a.k.a Mount Egmont) taken from New Plymouth...pretty awesome huh?

And in other completely unrelated news I bought the cutest pen ever today...not only is it pink but it is also covered in little doodle giraffes! (Select 'Giraffe' from design to see just how cute it is!)

Back soon (I hope!)

Random photos to give you an update (I'm too tired for lots of words!)

Here's something I made on my week off which is meant for the spare/craft/treadmill/junk room but which is currently on top of the mantle piece making me smile because it's glittery and covered in bling...

There's not much been happening other than work, work, work!

This is what I was doing all weekend:

which was actually lots of fun! And me being me I still managed to spend money as well as 'woman' the stall! Here's the goodies I bought home with me...

...including a delicious reserve red wine for Graeme's birthday and the most yummy handmade belgian chocolates (all gone already of course and yes I did share them!).

It's not all about work though - we did manage to fit this in on Sunday....

And that's all I have for you right now! I'm off to laze in a hot bubble bath and have an early night! And working all weekend will be made up by a 3 day weekend approaching (Queen's Birthday - woohoo!)

Some more South Island pictures (blogger permitting)

Fingers crossed this post isn't in vain. Here are some more South Island pictures for you to have a gander at:

On the ferry across to South Island

Coming into the Marlborough Sounds

Some Christchurch architecture
...and more to follow later on!

And in other news - I have tooth ache - uh-oh! Never a good sign and this isn't the usual twinge of my wisdom teeth - this is full-on-I-can't-drink-water-because-it-hurts-too-much pain so methinks a trip to the dentist is required. Funnily enough though, I seem to be able to drink warmed up fizzy lemonade without too much pain...as long as I hold my head on it's side so the liquid doesn't touch the sore bit!

And I have next week off work - woo-hoo! And it's all lieu time so no annual leave required - even better! I have big plans for sleeping, watching chick flicks, some baking, being crafty and generally being lazy! Plus maybe a blog post or two if you're lucky...or unlucky depending on which way you look at it ;-) I can't remember the last time I had a week off work for no reason other then to chill out so I am reeeeaaaallllyyy looking forward to it.

A Trip down South

I'm quite lucky really...I got to travel around South Island this week and work paid for it :-)

My new boss started on Monday and on Tuesday she decided we should go to South Island on Wednesday to get a few things sorted out. So we had a mad Tuesday trying to get the arrangements sorted and we were on our way early Wednesday.

It was a fantastic few days! We drove to Wellington and then took the ferry across to Picton.

From there we drove down to Christchurch with a brief stop in Blenheim and also Kaikoura - to take pictures of the seals right next to the road!

We had a full day of meetings in Christchurch on Thursday and then on Friday we got up at 5.30am (yep, you have read that right!) to attend the Dawn Parade as it was Anzac Day. It was an amazing experience and well worth getting up early for. It was held in Cathedral Square in Christchurch.

From there we spent some time looking around Christchurch and then headed South in our wee hire car towards Dunedin. We stopped along the way to take pictures of the war memorials with the wreaths on them which was fascinating. Sometimes it was the smallest of towns that had made the biggest of efforts.

We stopped in Timaru for a lunch meeting and in other various places along the way including Oamaru to see some penguins, Moeraki to see the curious boulders on the beach

and Shag Point to see some sea birds and penguins.

We arrived late into Dunedin on Friday night and had a busy day of meetings on Saturday before flying back to Wellington late Saturday night and driving back up to Palmy. A very busy few days but it was good fun and a very inspiring trip.

Please note: Unfortnately blogger doesn't seem too happy about uploading all my photos tonight so two will have to do for now and I may need to try again in a day or two to get the rest up for you.

Baking - part deux (sort of!)

I went back to basics with the baking this weekend...chocolate cornflake cakes - yum! A throwback to my childhood. I remember making these with my Mum when I was wee...except I was too much of a weakling to break up the chocolate (same goes today - G did it for me). And for those of you who think that is Smarties on top - you would be wrong...they are pebbles - how totally wrong is that name?! Even so, they are very yummy and such a comfort food! The chocolate is Belgian style and delish. G refuses to take any to work to eat for morning tea but will happily eat them at home. I have no shame and will be taking one to work with my packed lunch tomorrow!

And here's another photo for you - from a walk along the river last weekend:

The dog actually run straight into the water for like the first time ever!It was nice and sunny and we had a good walk. Didn't get out this weekend for a walk though because it's been so cold. We put the electric blanket on the bed today - that's how cold it's been. Freezing....it seemed to change so suddenly and it's not been a great week weather wise (unless you like heavy rain and chilliness). It did give me the perfect excuse to curl up on the couch and watch a DVD yesterday afternoon though while Graeme was out getting muddy at the soccer.

Hoping for a good week coming up - it's all change for me at work with a new Manager starting tomorrow and also it's a 4 day week due to ANZAC day on Friday. Fantastic - I'm ready for a long weekend!

Nelson day trip

I had to travel down to Nelson this week for work. I hadn't been before but had heard that it was lovely so as well as lugging all my work stuff there I also took the camera.

I hadn't taken pictures from a plane before so decided this week was as good a week to start. Here's my first glimpse of Nelson. It was very green...

There is only 1 direct flight from Palmy to Nelson each day so I had quite a convuluted journey. I left Palmy at 7.10am and flew to Christchurch then had 20 minutes to get to the gate for my flight to Nelson. Coming home I had a 25 minute stop (and a long walk from one gate to the next!) at Wellington. The landing and take off at Wellington was pretty rocky (which it was the last time I landed there...I think it has something to do with all the wind they get there!)

You can see from this picture that the water was a little rough.

I also got some great views of the Manawatu going and coming back (Manawatu is the region where the city of Palmerston North is). In this photo you can see the Manawatu river winding it's way out to sea.

That's all I have for you right now! It's been a tough couple of weeks but we're working our way through it. Hope you are all safe and happy :-)

An audience with Kate!

It's been brought to my attention that I do, indeed, have an audience (waving to Kelly and to Dad!) so I better do my jolly best to keep posting here!

I spent last weekend up in Auckland with work (Thursday to Sunday) so this week has been spent quietly trying to recover from early starts and long days! Wednesday was a public holiday in New Zealand - Waitangi Day - so we had a nice quiet day and took the dog for a long walk along by the river.

Yesterday (Saturday) we spent doing housework (yuck!) as I have realised we need to have a bit of a clearout. It's not my favourite job (far from it) but it's well overdue! So yesterday we had a clearout in the bedroom and I found pairs of shoes and bags I had forgotton I owned! Which is good as I should be able to get some use out of those for a while and forego the need to buy anything new! We finished yesterday off with a BBQ dinner. We had homemade herb burgers (which are yummy) and BBQd corn on the corn and pineapple with salad and fresh bread!

Today, we had a lazy start and met friends for a coffee. Our plan to have a 2nd BBQ in 2 days was almost scuppered as it's been raining today so we were back to our old style BBQ-ing....

Yep, that's right - BBQing in the garage! I'm sure we have used that BBQ more in the garage then we ever have outside!

We are grateful for the rain though as it's been stinking hot lately and we were in need of some water for the garden.

The tomatoes are coming on well - we've already had a couple and there's a few that should be ready this week...

And one last picture....during Graeme's foraging in the garden he discovered some mysterious grape like berries on a bush behind the lemon tree and we are wondering if they are grapes...
...Dad, any ideas? If you can't view the picture - let me know and I'll email it to you instead!

Technically minded? Plus Back to Work

Koh Lanta Beach, Krabi Province, Thailand

Well I think I just successfully updated the links bar at the side of this blog. All seems to look and link fine from here anyway. If anyone notices any problems or links not working please let me know.

I deleted some links that weren't working and pages that weren't really relevant anymore and added in some links to blogs/journals I read regularly at the moment. I am pleased to see Dog Blog is still up and running and recommend a look if you like dogs and have a strange sense of humour like me!

So that's the technical side of things dealt with for the time being!

As for being back at work, it's not so bad really.
I suppose it's good to have structure to your day and a sense of achievement from crossing things off the ever-expanding list of work to be done! I'm fairly up to date with the book-keeping side of my job after today so now I just need to start getting ready for this years 'campaign' of bringing in the applications and getting them processed. Plus we have 35 (or so) incoming gappers arrive next week so I am up in Auckland from Thursday to Sunday at orientation...not been to one before as I missed the August one when I got the chicken pox (yes, you are reading that right, a childhood disease at the age of 25!) So I am busy on the work front.
Graeme seems to be settling in well back at his clients too although we both still have the leftovers of the colds we brought back (thanks UK!) and are trying to shake it off.

Plans for this weekend? We are thinking about making a big batch of tattie scones to celebrate Burns Night on Friday and then maybe hire a DVD to watch or maybe go and see Sweeney Todd at the cinema. I'm hoping the weather will stay fine (but not too stinking hot!) so we can take Rhett for a walk along the river and I really should get back to the gym this week and it's likely to be Saturday morning now before I get there.

So nothing too stressful then...back to relaxing Palmy life!

I am wondering if people are still reading this blog and think it's not likely after my abysmal journal keeping in 2007. If you are around, please leave a comment or drop us an email to let us know! I will keep updating though as I quite enjoy having a ramble on!