Gavin The Grey(t)

August went by in a blur! I know I keep saying it but I can't believe how fast this year is flying by. It's almost scary.

Old Man Gav turned 40 on 24th August so, being the sneaky sneakster I am I organised a trip down to surprise him for his birthday. He already knew that Mum and Dad were flying in but what he didn't know was that Kathryn was flying with them, Claire and I were driving from Christchurch, and Averil was flying down the following morning.

Being a guy who has everything, we had to put on our thinking caps for what to get Gavin for his milestone birthday. With the help of Catkin's brilliant ideas we came up with a hot air balloon flight over Queenstown, for Gavin to take when it suits, and their Camelriders blog published into a book. Result! It all came together nicely and I think Gavin liked them both.

 

On the Saturday night Catkin and Gavin had organised for Hazel to be christened which we were all very pleased to be able to witness.  It poured with rain but luckily it didn't affect any plans we had.  Hazel was so good through her christening - she hardly made a peep.

Both girls were as gorgeous as ever and we sang and read books for most of Saturday. (When I say 'we' I mean 'I'). It was great just hanging out with the Southern Barts.  As always.

Averil and I set off for the long drive home on Sunday morning, diving via the airport to drop Kathryn off for her flight on the way.  We stopped in at Twizel to visit Eru's sister who is nearly due to have a little baby girl.  We made it back to Christchurch safe and sound, and a little weary, around 4pm.

What To Expect When You're Expecting

Name: Claire Lethaby

Age: 32

Week Number: 26

Due Date: 20th November

Baby Size: 20-something centimetres in length

Morning Sickness: None

Movement: Lots! Particularly at night and in the morning when still in bed

Symptoms: Sore legs, sore feet. Nearly has an outie! (belly button)

Diet: Remembering to eat little and often as there isn't much room for food in there

Weight gain: 8kgs

Cravings: Chocolate milkshakes and milk drinks

Exercise: None - just getting through the day is enough!

Sleep: Pretty disturbed with toilet time

Milestones: Having scans in 3D and getting a photo was awesome!

Can't live without: Stretchy waisted maternity jeans - everyone should have some!

What you miss: Ham sandwiches

What you're looking forward to: Ham sandwiches! Oh, and meeting baby, and finding out his/her sex.

Best Pregnancy Advice: Listen to your body - rest when you need to. Don't worry about what the books say they can be scary!

Any Mood Swings: NO!!! WHY!!!! Shut up!!!!! Emotional sometimes before 15 weeks

Work: The more sleep the night before the better

During your 26th week of pregnancy, your baby-to-be opens her eyes for the first time. She'll open and shut her eyes as she gets used to her new ability. Your little one is still on the small side. Her body may look fully formed on the outside, but inside there's fine-tuning taking place, including her lungs and her brain. Your unborn baby still has some growing to do!

Happy Henny Kitty!

On Friday night Claire, Averil, and I flew up to Auckland for the weekend for Kathryn's Hens Party on Saturday night. Kathryn very kindly picked us up from the airport and let us borrow her new car - a birthday present from Moos - to get up to Warkworth for the night. Bless her.

Warkworth never changes much, which is fine by me. It's always so nice to go back to familiar surroundings. And to get Mum hugs.

The plan was to head back to Auckland after lunch on the Saturday and spend a few hours with Kathryn before her Henny started at 5pm. So, making good use of my time, I went and visited the Letchers (Kristine, Derek, and William) for the morning. William will be 1 on 14th August so we had a little pre-birthday morning tea. He is just delicious and SO content and cuddly. I love him. I always think that first birthday parties are more for the parents to say 'Phew! We made it through the first year!' They are having a family lunch for him this Sunday. It was a lovely morning just sitting, chatting, and drinking cups of tea.

So on our drive down to Auckland we had to pick up a box of stuff that Kathryn's bridesmaids had prepared for her to wear for the night. She looked BRILLIANT! They did a really good job of organising the whole thing. Mum, A Mary, Heather, and Lynne Rosandich (Krystle, one of the bridesmaid's, Mum) arrived about an hour after us so we all had a glass of wine and got Kathryn dressed for her night out.


We met the others at the wharf in the Auckland Viaduct at 5pm and off we went on a chartered boat for 4 hours of games, dancing, eating, drinking and FUN. It was a really great night out on the water. Everyone had a great time and again, the bridesmaids (Nicky and Krystle) had done such a great job of organising. The boat even had a juke box - I LOVE juke boxes!

After arriving back at the wharf Mum & co headed back to Warkworth while we carried on at a bar in Auckland viaduct. We all got given a sheet of stickers that we had to hand out during the night with things like 'Worst Dancer', 'Best Pecs', 'Biggest Nerd', 'Nicest Eyes'. Silly but still funny. Claire, Averil, and I left around midnight to head back to Kathryn's where we were staying. And Kathryn got in about an hour after us... I think.... I was fast asleep!

On Sunday we lazed around all day while Moos (Alan) cooked us breakfast and lunch and made us a gazillion cups of tea. He's a keeper! We did manage to watch the NZ womens hockey team win a game against America at the Olympics which was quite exciting.

Then it was off to the airport and back to Christchurch.

And a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a very special lady in Warkworth who is turning 21 today again again again again again....... Happy birthday Mum! I hope your day was as lovely as you are. xx

LIVE! On location at Roxy Inn

I am currently house/cat sitting at Roxy Inn while Claire and Scott are on their belated honeymoon to Port Douglas, Australia. I am hoping it is slightly warmer for them there than it has been here. I'm enjoying spending quality time with the cats and having them share the bed with me. They are such good company.

Mum was down in Christchurch for a week at the beginning of the month during school holidays, before jetting off to Queenstown for a few days so see her grandies. It was so nice having her here. We had turns at having dinner at each of our houses so it was a bit like 'Come Dine With Me' but without the scoring at the end. Averil, of course, was on school holidays as well so was able to keep Mum entertained during the days which was nice.
On the Saturday we went out to the Raspberry Cafe in Tai Tapu with Scott's Mum, Dad, and Nana for lunch. It was great. Good company, good food, good setting.
As usual it was over all too quickly. But it sounds like Mum had a great time in Queenstown.





I've had quite a few cancellations this month with Intimo parties which has been a shame. There is a nasty flu going around down here and apparently 60% of Christchurch had it a few weeks ago. The hospitals are over flowing and having to send people to other medical institutions to be looked after. I guess it's to be expected around this time of year but the bugs seem to get stronger each year.
I have been asked to partake in a fundraiser tomorrow evening for Springfield School (not the same one as Bart & Lisa go to) so hopefully that might make up for the lost parties. Fingers crossed we get lots of bookings for August and maybe even some sales too.

Saturday is Averil and Eru's moving day. How very exciting!! They are hiring a truck this time to hopefully move all the big stuff in one trip. It should be all done in a few hours. Apologies for getting the suburb wrong in the last update. They are moving to Wainoni. Translation from Maori is 'wet bum'. Ha ha. Best original joke wins a year's free subscription to The Roxy Review!

Cousin Alex has been a bit of a super star of late. He left NZ last Sunday to go and try his luck at trialing for soccer in Poland. Just from his status updates on Facebook it sounds like it has been hard work and, I imagine, a LOT of sign language. Going over to warmer weather would have been a nice break though I am sure. He has travelled with his friend, Jesse, and they had to move from the first place they were assigned due to drug dealers. Sounds like they have a much nicer place now.

I had a little op done on my leg on Wednesday. I had been burnt by a hot water bottle when I was living in Edinburgh and the scar had healed into a wart-like bump on the front middle of my ankle. I HATED it and it would turn purple when the weather was cold. So I had it removed. Now I have a big long scar to replace it! It's early days so I am hoping it will heal nicely. A bit sore though. Luckily I had the cats to look after me post surgery.
The doctor who did the procedure is a plastic surgeon and specialises in breast augmentation. Renee, being a super nurse, had said that he was a real perfectionist and is VERY particular with his work. So that made me feel better - as long as I didn't end up with a breast on my leg!

So, you may or may not remember 2 years ago I was doing Weight Watchers and did ok losing 12 kilos. Then I went for a jaunt overseas and discovered gelato in Italy (Mmmmmm), then I came home and there were earthquakes. My way of dealing with said earthquakes was to sit in bed and eat chocolate for 8 months. SO, understandably the Weight Watchers went out the window and the WEIGHT piled on. Booooo!
It's time to start again and do something about it. Getting up off the couch was the hardest thing but I did it and have been on Optifast for 2 weeks with a total weight loss of 6kilos. Happy dance. Optifast is monitored through my doctors surgery and I go in once a week for weighing, ketone testing (to see how well my fat is burning up), and a blood pressure check. I have two Optifast shakes a day - one for breakfast and one for lunch, and two cups of non-starchy veges for dinner with 1T of olive oil. AND at least two litres of water. It is hard going but I am motivated by the results on the scales.
I have two dresses to choose from for Kathryn's wedding of which neither fits just now. The wedding is in November so gives me plenty of time. I WILL wear one of them!

The great thing about blogspot is that you can see what countries your audience is from. Yesterday I had 17 views from Latvia. Where? I had to look it up. This is what I found:
Latvia i/ˈlætviə/ (Latvian: Latvija), officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia (border length 343 km), to the south by Lithuania (588 km), to the east by the Russian Federation (276 km), to the southeast by Belarus (141 km),[8] and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden. With 2,070,371 inhabitants[5] and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi)[9] it is one of the least populous and least densely populated countries of the European Union. The capital of Latvia is Riga. The official language is Latvian and the currency is called Lats (Ls).
So there you go - The Roxy Review goes to Latvia!

Congratulations!!!

Big congratulations go out to Mr and Mrs Metcalfe who purchased a home yesterday by auction.

Congrats Averil and Eru. It's a three bedroom home with studio in Mairehau (pronounced My-de-ho although a lot of Christchurch folk pronounce it Marry-how). I can't wait to come and have a gander and I look forward to the housewarming!!

The Power Of 'Erbs

So, there's an old wives tale that says if you give someone a parsley plant, pregnancy is not far off. Our massage therapist, Jenny (who has just this year left us to move up to Auckland (boo hiss)) and her husband, Kuni, were trying for a baby and didn't seem to be having much luck. So remembering this tale I bought a little parsley plant for her and gave it to her on my last massage with her.

I got a text a few weeks ago to say that the parsley plant had worked and they are expecting a little baby later on in the year. Hooray!! It will be a gorgeous little baby too, Jenny is a kiwi and Kuni, is Japanese. Kawaii!! (that's 'cute' in Japanese for those who aren't as multi lingual as I am).

Which brings me to my next story. A few months ago Paula and Kazio (Aunty and Uncle) came for a visit. Kazio brought me TWO parsley plants. Suspiciously I asked him if he knew the wives tale and he and Paula both said yes. Ha ha - funny little people. Anyway, both plants have not survived so well and are pretty much dead. Says it all really, doesn't it.

1 + 1 = 3

The biggest news of the month by far is that Claire and Scott are expecting a baby in November. Exciting times for us all. Claire is just starting to get a little bump now (which doesn't even compare to my bump and I haven't even got a baby in there!!)
Averil is hoping for the arrival to be on 27th November - her birthday. And will allow Claire and Scott to call the baby Avery if it's a boy or Averil if it's a girl. Oh, the kindness of sisters.
They are not going to find out the sex so it will be a surprise. I like that stuff. I have a feeling it's of the blue variety BUT I also thought that when Catkin was pregnant with Annabelle. Even when Gavin said she was a girl I wasn't convinced and wanted to ask him to check again!

In other news, Averil and Eru are still madly house hunting in the weekends. Going to open homes left, right, and centre! It's nearly a full time job by the sounds of it! I'm sure the perfect home for them is just waiting for them to find it and then move on in.


I've had a few Intimo parties this month and am still really enjoying it. My new recruit, Jane, is so close to completing her Quick Step ($5000 in sales in 50 days) to recieve her free sample kit. Her last day for qualifying is Thursday 28th June and she has a party out at Woodend. The hostess has said she is expecting 30 ladies to attend so I offered my services to go and help Jane otherwise she will be there forever!! Even if all 30 ladies don't turn up (which happens more often than not) I can answer questions in the lounge while Jane is doing fittings. I REALLY want her to reach her Quick Step goal as much for her as for myself.

I was house sitting out at the mansion in Templeton for 10 days until last Sunday. The first weekend I was there Scottish Jenni from Ngaruawahia came down for the weekend and for the bi-annual Rent-A-Crowd Templeton Pub Crawl. World famous in Templeton! This time we only made it to ONE pub. Ha - not so much of a 'crawl' as a 'sit in'. It was fun with lots of laughs. Everyone stayed the night and Eru cooked breakfast the next morning (bless him). I was on bacon duty though which was easy peasy.

I moved back home on Sunday and before I left I was writing a wee note to Grant and Nicki (the home owners) to welcome them back when there was a knock on the door. It was Barry the neighbour with a young German Sheppard. Barry had been working down the back of his section cutting down trees and had noticed a commotion with the chickens. This stray dog had been having a whale of a time chasing the chooks. He managed to kill 3 and injure 2. It was a nightmare!! There were feathers everywhere. I managed to find the two surviving chooks and made a little hay bed in an old laundry basket for them. The rooster, Johnno, had lost most of his tail feathers and was skulking away down the paddock - afraid to come back.
I had locked the dog in the shed as Grant and Nicki were due home soon and I thought they might like to ring the owners themselves (the dog was registered with phone numbers on it's tag). Not so nice to have to break the news to them after they had just arrived home from a relaxing holiday in Hawaii!!
Nicki sent me a text later that night to say that one of the damaged chickens had survived and will be fine, the other one didn't. Didn't want to know if it was put out of it's misery. The dog's owner lived 1km away. Luckily this time the dog has had a warning and won't be destroyed although I don't like the thought of having to put the dog down, I also don't like the idea of it getting out again and doing the same thing - possibly to a child next time.

I had a weekend up in Warkworth last month. After spending two nights with Kathryn (thanks Aunty Kitty!!) and going to the Intimo Showcase, I caught the bus up to Warkworth on the Friday morning. I spent the day with Kristine and William and LOVED it. William is 9 months old now and is just gorgeous! So placid and content. And cuddly.


I had talked Mum into having an Intimo party and it was a huge success. Nice to catch up with some of the ladies from Mum's last party too. And to see lovely A Mary! Kathryn came up on the Saturday and stayed the night up there too which was nice. As usual it was over all too quickly and I was heading back to Chch too soon.

We had snow!! Early June which is very early for snow. Nice, but very cold. The factory was closed on the Wednesday at 11am and we had a late start on the Thursday at 9.30am. Even starting late was scary driving to work - skidding and sliding around. Did not like that at all, at all.

We had a girls weekend in Hanmer Springs a the beginning of June. Claire, Averil, Renee, Me, and 4 other of Renee's friends. One of the girls, Lou, is with a guy whose family own a holiday home up there. Just perfect for the 8 of us. It was just after the snow so we had to park down on the road and walk up the driveway as it was too icy to try and drive up. Once inside we cranked up the fire and stayed in all night drinking wine, eating nibbles and generally talking rubbish. It was fantastic! I felt really relaxed the next day.

Well I started writing this over a week ago! Must finish here and add some photos tonight so I can publish it. Hope you are all well!