Photos of the trip to the UK are now up on my flickr page in 3 sets:
Part 1 - 1-29 November (the bit with Gregg)
Graham & Kirsty's wedding, 6th November
Part 2 - 30 Nov 2010 - 4 Jan 2011 (the bit without Gregg)
Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
It's been a while (group email)
Hello! Happy new year!
End of 2010 was spent in the UK and it was a magical, special trip.
My brother got married in perfect Graham and Kirsty style in early November - a beautiful couple of days that will stick in our memories forever.
Gregg stayed in the country a bit longer than his whirlwind jet-lagged 10 day initiation in 2008, and hung around for a month before heading back to NZ, leaving me at home for a further 5 weeks. The major focus of this visit was time with family and it was great to be able to do that. The crazy snowfall definitely changed plans a heck of a lot (although if we thought that was bad, I'd still rather a 'mild' disruption than the flood hell they're going through in parts of Australia at the moment!), and it also had its upside: mum works at a school, so with the closures got lots of extra days off for us to spend together!
I still packed in snippets of the old favourites and smatterings of new experiences too - lots of trips to Boots, Marks & Spencers and Long Tall Sally; castles galore; walks with the dog; a visit to Grandie in the Lake District; building a snow fort in the garden; lots of music playing; helping Graham & Kirsty decorate their new home; a weekend in London to see Kathy and show Gregg the big lights of a real city ;o); panto; and so the list goes on. I may also have single-handedly kept the gluhwein stall at the Edinburgh German Christmas Market afloat in a short space of time...
It's always a treasure to have christmas at home and we also had the (now rare) pleasure of the original 5 Odds seeing in the new year together with 'mental' fireworks (see earlier blog post).
Despite it taking a 36-hour, screaming baby filled flight to get back it really did all seem to be over in a flash. I'm sat here in shorts and sandals avoiding the blazing sunshine outside and pondering the next 4 weeks of close to nothing before my teacher training course kicks off. Very strange. The next few months will also include a possible move of house (watch this space), plenty of outdoorsy stuff and the return to NZ of a good friend (yay!). Quietly exciting times.
Lots of new photos are up, including the trip to the UK - http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddballproductions/.
End of 2010 was spent in the UK and it was a magical, special trip.
My brother got married in perfect Graham and Kirsty style in early November - a beautiful couple of days that will stick in our memories forever.
Gregg stayed in the country a bit longer than his whirlwind jet-lagged 10 day initiation in 2008, and hung around for a month before heading back to NZ, leaving me at home for a further 5 weeks. The major focus of this visit was time with family and it was great to be able to do that. The crazy snowfall definitely changed plans a heck of a lot (although if we thought that was bad, I'd still rather a 'mild' disruption than the flood hell they're going through in parts of Australia at the moment!), and it also had its upside: mum works at a school, so with the closures got lots of extra days off for us to spend together!
I still packed in snippets of the old favourites and smatterings of new experiences too - lots of trips to Boots, Marks & Spencers and Long Tall Sally; castles galore; walks with the dog; a visit to Grandie in the Lake District; building a snow fort in the garden; lots of music playing; helping Graham & Kirsty decorate their new home; a weekend in London to see Kathy and show Gregg the big lights of a real city ;o); panto; and so the list goes on. I may also have single-handedly kept the gluhwein stall at the Edinburgh German Christmas Market afloat in a short space of time...
It's always a treasure to have christmas at home and we also had the (now rare) pleasure of the original 5 Odds seeing in the new year together with 'mental' fireworks (see earlier blog post).
Despite it taking a 36-hour, screaming baby filled flight to get back it really did all seem to be over in a flash. I'm sat here in shorts and sandals avoiding the blazing sunshine outside and pondering the next 4 weeks of close to nothing before my teacher training course kicks off. Very strange. The next few months will also include a possible move of house (watch this space), plenty of outdoorsy stuff and the return to NZ of a good friend (yay!). Quietly exciting times.
Lots of new photos are up, including the trip to the UK - http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddballproductions/.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Attention attention
When I have kids they are not going to be brought up to be attention-seeking, whinging, disrespectful brats. Not if I can help it. They will be well-behaved on longhaul flights from an early age, just like the majority of little ones on today's flight. Hopefully.
The same can unfortunately not be said of the 2 year old mogwai monster sat four seats along from me from London to Sydney. Dear god. For the (short) periods it was asleep, blissful peace to be had. The moment it woke up, the non-stop screaming and kicking started. After observing this for, ooh, the best part of 20 hours, it was very clear to all of us in the vicinity grinding our teeth, that this was a classic case of clueless and/or overly liberal parenting. The moment mum or dad gave it attention, be it food, cooling water on the face, playtime, whatever, the noise stopped. Way to go guys. It's not his fault at the moment, but I'd hate to meet the horror he will turn in to. Next time, start with a pet for practice. Or just call Super Nanny.
It's certainly provided me with a new record for lack of sleep on a longhaul flight.
The same can unfortunately not be said of the 2 year old mogwai monster sat four seats along from me from London to Sydney. Dear god. For the (short) periods it was asleep, blissful peace to be had. The moment it woke up, the non-stop screaming and kicking started. After observing this for, ooh, the best part of 20 hours, it was very clear to all of us in the vicinity grinding our teeth, that this was a classic case of clueless and/or overly liberal parenting. The moment mum or dad gave it attention, be it food, cooling water on the face, playtime, whatever, the noise stopped. Way to go guys. It's not his fault at the moment, but I'd hate to meet the horror he will turn in to. Next time, start with a pet for practice. Or just call Super Nanny.
It's certainly provided me with a new record for lack of sleep on a longhaul flight.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Another goodbye
If I can make a recommendation (and if you have a choice in the matter), try and avoid falling in love with someone foreign. Don't get me wrong, I love Gregg to pieces and now I have him I wouldn't get rid of him for the world. But the net result of, at the moment at least, living on the other side of the world from my mum and dad and everyone else is hard. I've just said goodbye to my parents. Again. And it really doesn't get easier with experience. Even though I know I'll be back at the end of the year, that Skype is a marvellous invention, and that I've got lots of very exciting stuff to be getting on with in New Zealand, there's still such a big part of me that wants to stay here. Another bigger bit though can't wait to see Gregg again too.
Like I said, don't fall in love with a foreigner. It can be a health and sanity hazard!
Like I said, don't fall in love with a foreigner. It can be a health and sanity hazard!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Resolutions
Right, new year's resolutions for 2011:
- make a career change
- get married
- write more letters
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