Relaxing Domestic Getaway

SB and I have just returned from a lovely mini-break to Wellington! It was great to get away from all the pressures of home (well, almost all, had the laptop with us so I could keep an eye on enquiries for the business) and just enjoy time together. We managed to catch up with a few of the people we correspond with on Twitter, all as equally lovely IRL as they are online. In the interests of not boring you silly with all our tales, enjoy our pictorial essay below!

Holidays - for action or for rest?

As a teacher, I'm in a fairly unique situation, knowing that once every ten weeks, I get a two week break. The Rugby World Cup has warped the holiday situation this year, but that's another post entirely! While most people have a sarcastic reaction ("Lucky for some", etc), the reality is that teaching is all-consuming during the term time and for the last couple of days of my holidays I will be focusing a large amount of my time prepping for next term. Some teachers spread it out so that they do a little each day but the big, solid, knuckle down time is what works for me.

With two out of the fourteen days gone, that leaves me twelve to spare. End of term has usually been a crunch time for me so there is almost always household chores (or at the moment, wedding things to do) and that takes up a couple of days also, leaving me with around ten days left.

What has intrigued me this holidays is that I've barely had any time to just sit and vegetate. Part of it has come from the surplus of energy I've had, part of it has been from obligation (pet-sitting my parents animals has involved my input with them for at least three or so hours each day) but part of it is that I've just booked myself up with a lot of socialising and a lot of projects... all of which is a choice. Does it defeat the purpose of a holiday or is it an efficient use of time? I'm unsure.

I'm going to take tomorrow a bit more slowly - while today had me rushing round to accomplish a variety of different tasks, tomorrow is just baby-sitting briefly in the morning and then having a delightful lunch with Bronwen... and perhaps going for a wee stroll around the city before heading home. Oh, and trial a new recipe for dinner. And maybe do some vision planning... and label the envelopes if the return address labels arrive. CANNOT HELP MYSELF. There always seems to be cool fun stuff to do and such a limited amount of time to do it in. I think I am scaring myself because this feels like such a new place for me.

What are your thoughts, Scribblettes? Are you the sit back and veg type or the can't sit still type? Am I normal or completely batshit insane? Let me know in the comments while I tootle off and make SB a home-made batch of muesli bars :)

I'm on a buzz...

I have SO much energy at the moment! I had a nutritional consultation on Tuesday morning and definitely got given some "food for thought". You'll be able to read more on The Shrinking Violets tomorrow about the rest of the consult, but one of the biggest changes to come out of it is my new-found love for green smoothies!

Now maybe I am totally the last one on the boat about this but wow! The recipe I'm following is so easy - one chopped up banana, two cups green leafy vegetables (any) and two pieces of any type of fruit. I whizz it all up in my "Amazing Bullet" and it's a deliciously creamy start to the day. Before anything else I've had a good solid shot of nutrients and it really seems to be putting me off on the right foot :)

So what have I been doing with this new boost of energy? It's school holidays at the moment so I've been tearing through the house on a cleaning and organisational bender. Yesterday I tackled our kitchen - it is tiny so it doesn't take a heck of a lot to make it cluttered and hard to use. Reshuffling cabinets and putting things in places according to frequency of use. One thing I won't miss when we move on from this place (don't worry, no plans to move yet!) is that tiny kitchen!

Today I ventured outside the house to get some storage solutions for a few areas in the house that were bugging me. Being winter, a lot of the outer layers of clothing I wear can get more than one use; I feel weird about putting these items back in the dresser or wardrobe. I've been using my "floordrobe" but it's so untidy. I grabbed a flexi-bin that fits neatly between my bedside table and the wall - amazing the difference that it makes!

I also tackled that abyss known as the bathroom cupboard under the sink with seven containers - we now have cleaning (mouthwash, soaps, shampoos, etc), grooming (manicure kits, creams, hair spray, etc), contacts equipment, face cloths, medical (pills, plasters, ointments, creams), first aid kit and *ahem* lady stuff (tampons, etc). I got rid of so many expired items that I am sure we have been dragging from house to house and NEVER use.

So I haven't had the most thrilling holiday, but I'm feeling good with how productive I have been. How about you, Scribblettes? Does it give you a kick to see things well-organised or are you far more laissez-faire?

Holiday Photos!

I'm still working on assembling my 2011 goals post but didn't want to leave you hanging, Scribblettes! SB and I had a fantastic holiday over the New Year break in the north of the North Island of New Zealand and here are just some of the pics from that break. Click on the links below the pictures for further information :D Enjoy!

Hundertwasser Toilets

Haruru Falls

Cape Brett

Kerikeri

Cape Reinga

35 (Degrees) South

Tane Mahuta

A bientot!

Just a brief note to say I will be disconnected for the next week while SB and I enjoy our winter getaway! I'll be having dinner with the lovely Andrea, Bridey and Charlie, enjoying gorgeous mountain scenery, hot pools and long walks with the boy. And penguins!

Don't miss me too much, mmmkay?

Holiday Plans

Now that I have a full-time job and SB is able to take his vacation time, we wanted to have a nice long winter holiday. After tossing around many ideas of holiday locations, we decided on Rarotonga. We contacted our friend who is a travel agent and got pricing for the trip. It seemed affordable but we would have to save the money very quickly (from my first couple of pays) to ensure that we were able to go. Being a teacher has the downside of having to take annual leave during the holidays and it is best to book early. SB's workmate is getting married in Sept/Oct so those holidays weren't an option. July it was.

We then got the email saying that all the cheap flights had gone and we were now looking at NZ$500 more for what amounted to the same holiday. We looked at other holiday options in tropical locales and thought we had decided on one... but it just didn't sit right. SB and I were walking along in a local shopping mall a couple of weeks ago and realised that the thought of this holiday was stressing us out rather than relaxing us. We still want to take our tropical overseas getaway but we're willing to wait.

That still leaves the winter holidays and we would both like to get away - it's been a year since our last proper holiday away together and I will be coming out the other end of a long term (11 weeks, the kids will go crazy!). We wanted somewhere that we wouldn't really be able to do just a weekend, we wanted somewhere where there would be a chance of snow and we wanted somewhere where we would be able to relax for at least part of the time. So...

We're going back! We both loved the pace of Christchurch last time we were down there and with my little sister living down there we have even more reason to go. We're flying in and driving straight up to Hanmer Springs, staying for two nights and then plan to drive back to Christchurch via Kaikoura. We'll then spend another four days in Christchurch, checking out some of the attractions outside the CBD and visiting my sister at the Army Camp out at Burnham. I'm looking forward to it more than I could have hoped and I'm so glad that we made this decision. We won't be sunning ourselves drinking cocktails on the beach in a month and a half but we'll be relaxing together in some beautiful places and that's what matters the most to me.

Christmas Time!

Isn't it laughable that on my "holiday", I am busier than ever? I knew that working in fashion retail was never going to be the easiest way to spend Christmas but, like childbirth, I think the body operates to make you forget just how difficult it is. I have aching ankles - dress code requires us to wear ballet flats and I have a tendency to overpronate, bruises where I don't even remember crashing into things (and a couple where I do remember rather painfully backing into a clothes rack) and just on Monday I stood on the pin end of a security tag then stood bleeding into my shoe for another half hour until the customer rush died down. As well as that, I've been baking up a storm as part of Christmas gifts and generally trying to get the everyday household work completed.

That's not to say that life hasn't been fun. I had a few of the girls around last Friday (while SB was at the Green Day concert) and we had a quiet night of drinking wine, eating snacks and watching Love Actually. The following night was SB's work do and it was great to finally put faces to all the names I'd heard - and the Christmas comedy show was fantastic. I had a farewell lunch put on for me at work and it was a lovely way to spend part of my day off yesterday. I cooked and cooked and cooked some more last night and not only did I have the assistance of my lovely SB but then he and the boys did all the washing up.

Life has been busy - excessively so, it sometimes seems. Christmas Day appears to be no exception, with SB and I spending time with our respective families in the mornings, going out with his extended family for lunch and then finishing the food orgy at my parents later on in the evening. No huge Christmas piss ups for me as I'm working the Boxing Day Sales - I don't know if it is as big overseas as it is here, but it's comparable to the States' Black Friday. Having only one shift next week is a blessing (however poor it makes me) - I desperately need the time to catch up on some rest.

I'm not sorry that I made the choices that I did for this Christmas (working, two Christmases in one day) because I feel that they were the right ones. Work allows me some semblance of financial stability, Christmas with families is an important priority for SB and I, as is spending Christmas with each other. I'm looking forward to going to midnight mass with SB tonight, even though I'm going to need some serious caffeine to get through it. But I can't deny that just a tiny little piece of me will be glad when things finally wind down. Roll on 5th of January and a return to a regular bloggy schedule.

To those of you who are as hectic as I am and those of you who are relaxing over your RSS readers with a chamomile tea, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a 2010 that brings you just a little bit more of your heart's desire.

Busy week, with a chance of stunnage...

This past week has been insane and the next week is looking to be just as crazy. In my absence from the blogosphere, I have been:

• completing Week 1 of my last two weeks on placement at a school. That has drawn to a close so quickly, I am almost dumbfounded by the realisation that a week from now, I'll be preparing to go back to the campus with the grown-up people :)
• rejected by the first school I did placement with for a position they had available next year. I have to admit that stings - the negative side of me is going "Wow, they saw you teach and they think you suck". I'm trying to positively reframe their decision in the light that it wasn't meant to be, I'm obviously meant to plant my roots elsewhere and flourish.
• Pink Star Walking for Breast Cancer. It was a fantastic night, raising lots of money for Breast Cancer research. SB, Papa Scribbles and Uncle G all got into the pink spirit by wearing shirts that Mama Scribbles had painted with large pink ribbons. There's just something kinda special about walking along in a sea of people all dressed in the same colour.
• arguing a bit more with SB. We've been miscommunicating this week and it has been a refreshing reminder to both of us that we need to be more clear about what we are wanting. It's also good to see that we can argue, put it aside and still love each other deeply.
• making holiday plans - SB and I have made plans to go away at the start of December and I cannot wait.We're tossing up between two (domestic) destinations and either of them will make me cheer with glee!
• having a Friday where I had to explain to different groups of students the origin of the word menstruation and the definitions of bisexual, transexual and hermaphrodite. In English and Drama classes no less. Who said that being a teacher was boring?

In the week to come, there's plenty to look forward to and also to bite my nails about. I have a preliminary interview (a meet-and-greet tour at one of the schools I've applied to teach at), an interview for a summer job, senior speeches to assess, ends to be tied off with placement duties, assignment work to try and squeeze in around the edges and drinkies with the girls on Saturday night. I'll try and keep the blog as updated as possible, but follow me on Twitter for daily updates.

What were the highlights of your week, Scribblettes?

Looking after yourself...

This blog has probably sounded like a broken record the last couple of weeks... so busy, so busy, things broken, me broken, so busy LOL. This week and next, I have the benefit of being on holiday from university (and also for the most part my job, the hours drop right back in school holidays) and I'm using the time to get my life back on track.

Big and small changes occuring in the Scribbles household. I'm moving out into my parents' internal entry garage. My abode during my teens, it gets me living at the opposite end of the house with my own private entry, making life at home far more tolerable when I'm not at SB's. For many reasons, this seems like the best option over summer so I am quite excited. However, my sister left a lot of junk behind when she moved so there's a fair amount to tackle there. This along with walks with Mama Scribs is good exercise!

Today I went and got a pedi and my brows done; after my hair cut next week (huh, just typed Hair Cute... hope it is) I think I will feel much more pulled together and professional - job interviews are hopefully just around the corner. As well as teaching position interviews, I'm currently on the look out for a job over Christmas to bring in some extra cash. I'm so picky though, and lucky that my parents are willing to pay me to be their housekeeper to cover my basic bills over Christmas. Meaning that I'm going to be staying at mine more often to be here to tidy... thus the move to the bigger, more independent summer space.

On that cyclical note, I'm off to finish tidying my room. Hope that you are managing to take time for yourself, Scribblettes!

Christchurch Re-cap

Warning, this post is a little picture heavy and may take some time to load... bear with me! I think it's worth it!

Hotel So - a small yet gorgeous hotel right in the Christchurch CBD and where we stayed for our sojourn. Arrived there early in the morning and we were able to check in straight away, thanks to a hotel staff member we soon nicknamed superhappyexcitedgirl :D No one should be that perky before nine in the morning. She may have even used the phrase "lovelyjubbly".

The Christ Church Cathedral - one of the most famous landmarks in Christchurch. In the top left of the photo you can see a tower - we climbed that sucker, baby!

Just one of the beautiful examples of artwork within the cathedral - the interior design could have been a blog post in itself!

Told you we climbed it! However we weren't about to fall prey to the tourist trap of buying 2 $2 pieces of paper :D Those steps were steep and disorientating but it was still fun!

The foyer of the Christchurch Art Gallery as seen from the first floor - definitely worth a visit just for the architecture. The collections themselves were the icing on top of the cupcake!

And now the reason for PianoMan's moniker change to Stunning Buns. It is in honour of this eating establishment (which to be fair, the food was fantastic at) and our holiday that he now wishes to be known as StunningBuns or SB for short. Look at that sign, the curved line even looks like a bottom!

Punting on the Avon River - divine, romantic and historically quite interesting... even though Andrea's LOML told us that he used to make up historical facts when he was a punter!

New Regent Street - on the historical tram route, I just found the colours and the vibe of this street generally quite amazing. Christchurch is such a mixing pot of design styles!

Akaroa - the only French settlement in NZ. Having been there last summer, I was amazed at how deserted it was in winter... it did however give me the opportunity to walk around more slowly and take pictures of tiny old cottages like this one. SB and I couldn't conceive of living in something that small, yet people did (and by the look of it, still do!).

Akaroa Harbour as we were leaving - the foggy weather meant that we couldn't get some of the more spectacular landscape views from the summit but I still think that this looks gorgeous.

We drove through the Lyttleton Harbour tunnel and around the harbour heads to Sumner (the head of the harbour you can see to the left of the pic). The roads were fairly narrow with sheer drops off one side - picturesque but scary in a large Holden rental car!

View of Christchurch from the top of the Port Hills - it isn't until you get this perspective that you realise how vast the city is. As tourists you only explore a small part of the area and tend to forget about outlying suburbs. It isn't as big as Auckland of course, but the laidback feeling you get here is quite appealing!

My intrepid SB continuing to take photos while I seek refuge in the rental car!

The view of Lyttleton Harbour from the top of the gondola station - such a cute little township nestled into the hill like that!

Our last touristy thing before StunningBuns had to catch his earlier flight back (damn jobs, work and general reality!) was the New Brighton pier. I'd wanted to walk the pier back in summer but my cousin had brought her dog with her and there were no dogs allowed. SB cajoled me to walk the length of the pier with him (that is the shoreline and the local library in the distant background) and while I whined and complained, I'm glad he made me do it! Certainly blew the cobwebs out :D

Some of these ladies may be familiar to you - others maybe not so much. I had the absolute pleasure of chatting about life, the universe and everything with these three gorgeous lady bloggers. It was great to make better friends with Andrea, Bridey and Charlie - plus the food at Chinwag Eathai was divine! Definitely worth another visit.

So that's a recap of some highlights of my Christchurch stay - also love Yellow Rocket bagels for breakfast, vintage shopping with Andrea, mood lighting in our hotel shower, laughing at the huge population of emos, Coffee Culture Vanilla Chai, corgi statues, sprinting down a museum hall in a dress and boots (part of a human body exhibition - measuring how fast you run), snuggling and watching movies and having some relaxing time out of AKL. Thanks for reading!

News in brief...

Funny, when I type that I hear little news bulletin blips in my head (does anyone know what I am talking about or do you all just think I'm crazy?)...

• I had a fantastic time in Christchurch - full recap to come! I spent time with Andrea and we had dinner with Bridey and Charlie, fantastic blogger fun! I will be in Christchurch more often with my sister moving down there so it's good to make better friends with these awesome girls.
• The one downside of our Christchurch holiday was the spectacular spill I took down concrete car park stairs on Saturday. I don't even have the excuse of *ahem* impaired judgement - I was just busy talking to PianoMan and pulling the hotel key out of my handbag - which I might add was totally unnecessary at this stage - and there she goes. The bruise on my lower back is still coming through!
• Speaking of PianoMan, he has now decided to go by the moniker StunningBuns or SB for short. The reason for this name change will become apparent in the Christchurch recap. It's not just because he has an extremely handsome rear end, people. He will still play me a mean rendition of the Foo Fighters on the piano though :D
• I've been back since late Tuesday afternoon and haven't yet had the chance to blog - bad blogger I know. I stepped right back into the breach at work and covered a shift on Wednesday (and one this morning) and went on a $500 shopping spree with mum yesterday for some desperately needed teaching clothes.
• I'm feeling a little bit blue post-holiday. Real world is not so awesome sometimes - no long sleep ins with handsome boyfriends, no Yellow Rocket bagel, no awesome hotel. I'm sure I'll snap out of it shortly LOL
• Parties for the next three weekends - milestones abound! Birthdays, engagements, housewarmings; all very different ways of moving forward but proud of all my friends nonetheless.
• About to wrap up this cover shift and have lunch with a very dear friend... ChCh recap tomorrow morning Scribblettes!
  

Girly Blogger Meet-Up!

As some of you will know already, PianoMan and I are heading to Christchurch for our midyear holiday. Due to PM's work being tight on allowing annual leave - he's only been there since Feb, and under NZ labour laws is accruing leave but not specifically entitled to it - he's flying back to Auckland on the 5th, with me following a couple of days later.
So what is a lass to do when she is in a far-away city all by her lonesome? Call on some fellow lady bloggers to dine with her, that's what! On Monday 6th of July, Andrea, Bridey and myself will be heading out to dine - most likely at Eathai in Christchurch City. I feel so lucky to be getting the company of two such gorgeous and lovely literary ladies and want to extend the invite to any of my readers that may live in Christchurch (or know of any other awesome girlie bloggers that should attend.
Are you in? Let me know in the comments :D

Quiet Day...

Usually Friday updates don't come until later in the day as I have a morning class... today, I am not there. Yesterday and today I have had a scratchy throat and I can quite frankly do without the glares from fellow classmates that think I have the swine flu.

The furore over the swine flu is bugging me. In one of my previous incarnations I worked as a medical receptionist and learnt quite a lot about infectious diseases. You want a freaky scary disease - try malaria... try yellow fever... try rabies, for goodness sake. Yes, people are dying of swine flu but people also die of ordinary flu all the time. The very young, the very old and the infirm are always the first to go... it sounds harsh but it's true.

On the bright side of the coin, which is the side I wish to dwell on, PianoMan and I have booked our flights and accomodation for our Christchurch holiday - we're so excited. It would have been great to go to Sydney but we wouldn't want to shorten our holiday to work in with his work's current leave conditions. We're going to be typical tourists - we plan on going on the Christchurch Gondola, a tram tour, punting on the Avon River and the boy is really keen to go to Akaroa (as am I, I felt like I didn't get to enjoy it as much as summer with the perishing heat). It feels exciting to be planning our first couple holiday - I know it's early but I can't think of anyone I'd rather go on holiday with.

Better go and rest and keep my fluids up... may you stay cold and flu free my Scribblettes.

Friday Round-Up

• As those of you who follow me on Twitter will know, I got a little spendy yesterday... to the tune of almost $200 NZ. Some of it was necessary (how I expected to get through winter with two pairs of pants is beyond me), some of it was for the endeavour of making other people smile (some leggings for an eighties party I'm going to, craft supplies for a surprise for PianoMan) and some of it was purely for my own selfish ends (those purple toenails you see in the base of the picture and the Bras and Things bag :D). It felt really good to do that as I've been keeping a tight rein on finances because I thought I was going to Sydney in July.
• Thought I was going to Sydney in July? Whatever do I mean? PianoMan's work has cracked down on annual leave, with the end result being that he won't be able to go on any extended annual leave until Feb 2010. I KNOW. I know that some of you have encouraged me to go to Sydney on my own but I feel like we've done so much of the detailed planning for this trip together that it would be weird to go on our holiday with just me. Instead, we're heading down to Christchurch for a romantic long weekend around the same time and postponing any long holiday plans until next year. Gives me a chance to upgrade my dinosaur... I mean, laptop... and cellphone, both which are pretty necessary.
• I'm finding this unit outline planning assignment a real challenge, plus the teacher seems to think we won't be spending any time on it in class before we hand it in. I think that the teacher is sorely mistaken about this... my classmates and I already have lists upon lists of questions. I'm starting to feel like I can't wait until this year is over and I can actually go teach instead of do these things in class. I learnt more in two weeks of actually being in a school than I did in the first month of training college.
• Mum's surgery went really well. She's in surprisingly little pain - more so when she gets up and moves around but that's also important for her to do and this is the reason that man invented serious pain-killers LOL. The hospital she is in is sooo plush and I think she's going to be a little devastated to come home to the non-gourmet meal provider, sky TV-less convalescent home that is the Scribbles abode. Fingers crossed for appointment next Tuesday when we get the results of the pathology report!
• I received an email yesterday from one of the authors I had reviewed! It made my day... just one of those moments that make you realise that you really aren't writing into a void.

Right, off to get this house in tip top shape and then go play dutiful daughter at the hospital and take Mama Scribbles for her amble around the gardens. Looking forward to a bliss night with PianoMan - we're making our own pizzas then relaxing with some glasses of wine and a spa. Perfect end to the week!

Lists and spreadsheets - oh how I love thee...

A lovely Easter weekend this weekend - a massive drive/walk with the boy on Friday that felt like a real adventure; hanging with the family on Saturday for little sister's birthday (Aliens vs Monsters & Denny's for dinner); lying in bed with the boy on Sunday night, looking at... the computer???

I'm a compulsive planner, as those of you who have been reading this for a while will know. The boy has decided that he would like to tag along on my Sydney trip in July and with April rapidly powering along, we're deep into the planning phase. Late Saturday night I whipped up a rough budget in Google Docs (so we can share it) and last night we did more research into some more recommendations we had been given. I was content to be going by myself but it is amazingly exciting to be planning to go with someone that is as excited as you are.

So far I have a budget spreadsheet and a timetable spreadsheet and I'm struggling to decide between whether having about 8 extra hours in the city is worth an extra $50. Also in the draw is whether we head out to the Blue Mountains and whether we can justify the expense of a hire car to get to Palm Beach - we really want to go (well, I really want to go - I love me some Home and Away :D). List upon list trying to work out the best results combined with two people who have never travelled overseas as adults!

Any advice on travel to Sydney (or international travel in general) for the newbies that are PianoMan and Scribbles?

Just another manic Monday...

Actually, my Monday isn't too manic. I have uni then work and somewhere in between I have to polish off my reading log to hand in tomorrow but there's very little stress involved in that... the marking for the reading log is complete/incomplete and it either is or it isn't LOL. It will be. I had a wonderful weekend... hanging out with the boy on Friday night, we decided to go to the movies. It wasn't for a while so we thought we'd snuggle on the couch and watch TV, not realising it was a double episode... epic fail! We ended up just getting burgers and watching movies at home and it was lovely and comfortable and I wished I could stay (and so did he) but I had stuff to organise for the road trip the next day.

A group of us were heading down to a bach in Waihi Beach for some fun in the sun before it disappears for the next six months (okay, that's an exaggeration, I live in NZ not Antarctica) and it was a bit too soon in the scheme of things to bring down the boy so I was travelling down with Curvette. It was good to have someone to chat to on the ride down and we ended up breaking the trip in both Ngatea (so Curvette could buy some booze, it's actually cheaper out of Auckland) and Waihi (lunch and a little bit of an explore). Waihi township, not to be confused with Waihi Beach Village, has a really rich goldmining history which leaves you with some crazy gorgeous ruins like the one below...

That's an old pumphouse... if you spin around from the vantage point where I took this picture, you can look right into the modern-day gold mine that operates there. Talk about some serious vertigo... nothing like a massive hole in the ground to make you feel like an ant.


Anyway, as Curvette and I were geeking it up we were getting texts as to why we weren't at the bach yet so we packed it in for the twenty minute drive the rest of the way. Had a nice time hanging out with friends and for some reason, this was the weekend that Ex-S actually decided that it was alright to be mature enough to talk to me. Whether he felt enough time had gone by, he heard me talking about the new boy or he just decided to be a man and grow up, I'll never know. I can't say we'll ever be friends, but it's nice that he can be civil - makes the whole thing a tonne less awkward. Had some drama going on with Gothika in Aussie that had me a little concerned all evening but was still able to relax and have a great time... even if I kinda wished the boy was there to have a little snuggle with. Thank goodness for cell phones and surreptitious text messages.

Had a lazy start to Sunday with bacon (and eggs for those who eat them) done on the BBQ... munched on the bacon sammie, drove to the village for coffee (mmm, soy mocha) with my fellow addicts and then lazed on the deck while those who could get their ears wet went for a morning swim. Drove back to AKL with Curvette, stopping to have a look at a house that one of the couples has a conditional offer on (because we're nosey and we roll like that) and then went out last night to catch a movie (and a cuddle) with the boy. Awwww... cuteface. Is it wrong that two weeks after meeting him, I can already be missing him?

2008... a retrospective.

2008 has certainly been one heck of a rollercoaster ride... gasping heights, screaming lows... times where I just gripped onto that metal bar for dear life. Here's a completely honest recap of my year - Scribbles uncensored, if you will.

January-March:

The start of the year saw me leave full-time employment to take the leap into the tertiary education path that will see me fulfilling my passions in 2010. I was still recovering from the blindsider that was Ex-S and I breaking up. I got totalled at a friend's engagement party after seeing my "replacement" for the first time and being felt up by the future groom. I freaked out about what I had done with my life, starting to doubt whether I should have left a fulltime job to be a poor student. I lost about six kgs, purely from not eating (not recommended). I got to a point that I realised I was going through the floor and I started seeing a therapist - I'm grateful that I have parents that brought me up to feel that there is no shame in doing this. I turned 23 and did absolutely nothing to celebrate it.

April - June:

I moved back in with my parents for the first time in five years. I had a rebound relationship, which true to form ended badly. I learnt to stop looking for men to make me whole. I knuckled down with my study and realised that I had possibly made the best decision in my life returning to study. I got annoyed with myself because I still wasn't over what had happened with Ex-S. I worked on building up my friendships outside of the insular group of couples I hung out with in 2007. I started this blog (possibly another one of the best decisions I ever made!). I began my new job at the Arts Centre and soon realised how much I loved it compared to my old job! I started dating again.

July - September:

I went on my first proper holiday in years to Christchurch. I had a session with my cousins, who then proceeded to tell their parents about it *cringe* in the middle of a Thai restaurant *cringe* after which my aunty started complaining that her children never ask her to get stoned with them*oh Lord help me shrink into my chair and die*. My mum got diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. I joined a church (and yes, those things are totally as related as they seem) and made a whole bunch of new friends. I made net friends with the most gorgeous girls I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. God (or the universe, whichever you believe) sent in the largest influx of positive people in my life I think I've ever had. I totally laxed out on my university studies yet still seemed to get passing grades. I spent more time with family, things hitting home that time is precious and life is too short. I lost some friends that didn't understand that.

October - December:

I completed my GradDipArts. I got a new look for the Scribbles website. I joined Lady Bloggers of Australasia and made even more fantastic friends! I grew closer to some unexpected friends who help me on my path to awesomeness. I kissed a boy I shouldn't have but find it difficult to regret it. I took a dating hiatus and spent December just laxing out, taking time for my life and myself without the pressure of "looking". I enrolled in my papers for 2009 and started making solid '09 plans. I stopped caring what other people think - summed up in the song by 3LW "Playas Gon' Play"

Playas, they gonna play

And haters, they gonna hate

Ballers, they gonna ball

Shot callers, they gonna call

That ain't got nothin' to do

With me and you

That's the way it is

That's the way it is

If you're gonna be a hater... see ya later. I don't want to waste my time and precious energy on you. I went on a couple of delicious mini-breaks and got to see more of this beautiful country that I live in. I came to terms with the fact that I am not at a place where "Little Me" always thought I would be, and I'm okay with that.

So there is my 2008 in a nutshell (Ahhh help me, I'm stuck in a nutshell!) - the good, the bad and the extraordinarily ugly. Here's to 2009 and all that it brings!

Change of scenery!

Photo Credit

Hey Scribblettes!

I'm off on a wee holiday... clear over the other side of the town that I live in! I'm housesitting for PP and PW while they are down south and taking some time to breathe and mooch. Will hopefully get my laptop up and running there and continue posts as usual, but just a little heads up that until Jan 01 posting may be a little sporadic.

Enjoy the sun if you're a fellow antipodean, and make snow angels for me if you are not!

Lots of love,

Scribbles

Jealous?

This was the beautiful sunset, as seen from the beach on Friday night. We were staying just across the road from this *sighs with nostalgia*. It was amazing that it was only half eight and the beach was deserted (we stayed a little further on from the main strip) - it was my own little patch of paradise.

The good - Swimming in an incredibly warm ocean, not getting too sunburnt, fish and chips in Tairua that were the perfect sized serving (go the kiddie meal!), stargazing both nights that I was there, tips from my new bikini waxer about the hot spots in town that proved correct, feijoa vodka cruisers (I have a feijoa obsession), complements on my skirt in the bathroom of the bar (a long black and red gypsy skirt) and being out of AKL for a wee while.

The funny - the bartender who kept coming to collect our bottles and yelled "Chug, chug, chug" for me to finish (it was very cute), a girl walking out of her loo cubicle without doing up her fly because the girl next in line was screaming she was going to pee herself, being hit on by a fifty-year old walrus (well no, he was a man but you get the picture), jumping on beds, PCock being peed on by a stray cat and hogging the fake boat at the children's playground.

The not-so-sparkling - Getting stung by some weird sea creature at the beach (I had an allergic reaction the diameter of an orange on my inner thigh - weird!), stargazing both nights alone(feeling a bit like a third wheel at times), a really average spare ribs meal (that should have been fantastic for how much it cost), driving back through to Tairua slightly hungover (but I managed to keep breakfast down) and having to leave to come back to AKL and real life.

Overall holiday rating - about a 7 and a half... I really did need the breathing space from real life, and it was nice to do it in such a gorgeous area. PCock and I are already planning a couple of other little get-aways over summer... make the most out of what little NZ has to offer :D

P.S. - funniest moment upon arriving home: when I told mum that I'd been hit on by a walrus, she asked whether he'd used the line that he was looking for his "bukkit" - someone got her mummy addicted to LolCats :D

Just a wee note...

Photo Credit: Kimi353

Hey Scribblettes!

As you'll know if you follow me on Twitter (and if you don't, follow me!) I'm off to Whitianga, a lovely little beach town on the Coromandel in NZ. Hopefully the weather is just as stellar as it has been for the last couple of weeks but should be a fun time even if it's not.

I've scheduled posts to run for the three days that I'm gone and I look forward to reading all your delicious comments when I get back. I'll hopefully get on the net briefly each day to catch up but this weekend is all about tuning out, switching off and going crazy!

Peace out and loving you always,
Scribbles.