Merry Christmas!

A very merry Christmas to everyone! I hope your day was filled with family, food, and festivity. With only 40 minutes left of Christmas day here in New Zealand we had a great day around at Roxy Inn. Annabelle and Hazel were suitably spoilt!

A brilliant day and now Mum and I are watching Die Hard on tv while Dad is snoring on the couch.

Waiting Room Etiquette

It seems I just have just enough time for a pre-christmas whinge. This morning I had an appointment with my Dermatologist. When I arrived there was no receptionist and there were two people in the waiting room for one of the other doctors. The waiting room consists of about 20 metres of seating around the walls. Lots of room, right?
So the couple already waiting let me know that the receptionist hadn't arrived yet so I said thanks, grabbed a Next magazine (great reading, btw) and sat down. Not long after the receptionist arrives, along with another lady. New lady looks around, and reports in for her appointment. I get up, leaving my magazine and bag where they are so I can report in for my appointment. When I turn around to go back to my seat New Lady has sat right where I was sitting!! Now, correct me if I am wrong BUT if you see someone has been sitting somewhere AND have left their stuff there would you not sit somewhere else?? There is another 18 metres of seating available!!! Or am I being a bit finicky?
People need to learn these Waiting Room Rules before they visit such places. (or at least if they plan to visit the places I visit).
That is all.

So Close......

Five more sleeps to go

Just five more sleeps til Santa

Five more sleeps til the big fat fella comes down your chimney and gives you presents and drinks your beer!

Five more sleeps til Santa!!

Party Party Party!!!

I'm very close to calling up Alcoholics Anonymous for a quote on a life time membership.... either that or Weight Watchers, BEFORE they call me!

The last 3 weeks have been great but I may have to regrow my liver starting after January 2nd.

I do plan on getting back on the fitness/weight loss wagon on January 4th - that's my start date. I have a bridesmaid dress to squeeze into in April!!

Party number 1 - Averil's Hens Weekend
Renee, Claire, and I got our thinking caps on and organised a great night away up in Hanmer Springs. We told Averil we were going to Las Vegas and all she would need was her passport, toothbrush, and sleeping bag. She kind of caught on after we bypassed the airport and started heading North.

Being the nasty nice people that we are we had organised a beautiful outfit for Averil to wear all day during her henny complete with veil and pink feather fan (which came to be known as the Henny Fanny). She wore it well and didn't seem to mind too much. It was pretty obvious she was on her hens weekend. We stopped for lunch at Pukeko Junction just South of Amberley which is a favourite of ours. Her first dare was to go up to 5 groups of strangers and ask them for their tips on a happy marriage. She was allowed to take a support person and she chose me. The first table of two ladies had LOTS of advice. The first being: Don't agree to anything. Another group said: To get happiness you had to give happiness. Nice, I thought. Everyone was very obliging.

There were 12 of us all up and Renee had found the perfect holiday home to fit all of us for the night. Result. Usually holiday homes have to be hired for a minimum of 2 nights over the weekend or there can be an extra charge but it just so happened that there were guests already in there on the Friday night so no extra was charged. Perfect.

After an afternoon of cocktails, laughter, and some games we headed down to the town centre for dinner. Averil completed more dares - including serenading a stranger at the restaurant with a Meatloaf song. Averil told me afterwards when she saw this dare she was VERY excited - any excuse to sing Meatloaf out loud!! She did very well.
She also had to get everyone's attention in the restaurant, tell them she was getting married in her loudest, school teacher voice, and start the applause. For some reason I thought this one was particularly hilarious. After dinner we went to the Monteiths Bar where we met up with a stag party and played beer pong with them while they fashioned a head piece out of the Henny Fanny. It was a fun night and the best bit was that no one felt ill the next day!

After a huge breakfast and a look around the shops the next morning we headed back to Chch.

We had planned to go to the hot pools but Saturday was too busy and Sunday was too hot. Next time definately.

Kazio (Dad's sister Paula's husband, for those who don't know) turned 50 on 15 November. 50!! Who even knew people got that old??!

We all went out to the Garden Restaurant to surprise him for dinner. It was a great night. Being a buffet it's quick, easy, and filling. My kind of place.

Then it was up to Auckland for an Intimo Field meeting and long weekend for me. There is always so much new stuff to learn at these field meetings. And listening to other people's stories makes me realise that the goals that I have set for myself ARE possible. It's just a matter of achieving them. I always leave there buzzing with new ideas.
Afterwards I met up with some guys I met at the Horse & Trap Tavern BEFORE I went overseas - many years ago now. Nic worked behind the bar with me while Campbell and Matty helped hold up the bar on the other side. As soon as I arrived I informed them it wasn't going to be a big night as I had to get up early to catch the Naked Bus (clothing preferred) up to Warkworth the following morning.... and proceeded to immediately forget soon after having my first glass of wine! We had a great old time, catching up and talking crap. I didn't roll into Kathryn's until about 2am and she had to wake me in the morning as I had been absolutely comatosed slept through my alarm. Thank goodness for little sisters!!


Arriving in Warkworth is always like coming home to me. Krissy and baby Wills were at the bus stop to pick me up for a roadie up to Whangarei. Rachael had the day off work so we headed up as it was her son, Rihley's 6th birthday. Fun! He had about 7 friends to play after school and they spent most of the time on the Slip & Slide with Dad, Dean, being the hose holder and occassionally spraying the kids. With a good dose of dish washing liquid it was hilarious. They loved it.
Then there was birthday cake. Yum. I had been in charge of the party food while Rachael went to pick the kids up from school and I managed to burst the skin off every single cocktail sausage except one. Epic fail. They just looked like boring, tiny sausages. The kids didn't seem to mind too much once they smothered them in tomato sauce.
William managed to woo all the ladies who thought he was just gorgeous which, of course, he is. He's a wee charmer, that boy.
Krissy, Wills, and I stayed the night up there and then headed back to Warkworth on Saturday morning.

Party number 2 - Kathryn and Moos' Engagement Party
Saturday afternoon at Mum and Dad's in Warkworth was the place to be! Kathryn and Moos had their engagement party with great friends, lovely family, and even a cake lovingly made by Mumsy. It was a lovely afternoon with bbq and yummy food (actually I'm getting hungry now writing this just thinking about all that yummy food!)
It was a really lovely afternoon.
After everyone left we got to watch Kathryn and Moos open their presents. Lots of really nice things from really nice people.

Later on we had a game of charades. Averil's charade for 'Jesus Christ Superstar' by outstretching her arms for each word was classic. Every other charade of hers seemed to have a lion involved which again, she portrayed well. Hilarious!
Always fun times and laughter when we're together.

Party number 3 - Averil's 30th Birthday
For Averil's 30th she decided to have a party with an 'A' theme. The costumes were brilliant! There were 3 angels, an aristocrat, Aristotle, an arab, an airhostess, an air traffic controller, Andrew Mehrtens, an aftershock, an Asian, an agent, an artist, an Anglo Saxon, 3 All Blacks, an anethetist, an army soldier, Aphrodite, and an alcoholic. I think I got them all. It was a great night and Averil launched into her 30's in aristocratic style.

I don't know who moved the date for Christmas forward but last time I checked I had 6 weeks to go and all of a sudden it's NEXT WEEKEND! Eeek! I'm not quite ready BUT should be by the end of this weekend. Christmas is in Christchurch this year and Mum and Dad are driving down next week. They are staying with me for 10 days before they move into a holiday home just around the corner for the new year and Averil and Eru's wedding. The Southern Barts will stay with Claire and Scott as they have two spare rooms so it makes sense. And Kathryn and Moos will stay with Averil and Eru. It worked out well for us all getting into our own places before Christmas! My place is 7 minutes walk (that's at my pace - Mum will probably make it there in 2.5 minutes!) away from Roxy Inn so Mum can dash around there for cuddles with her grandaughters first thing in the morning without having to wait for me and Dad to get ready. Dad takes forever with his hair!

Ooh exciting news - my little friend Swayze up in Whangarei has purchased her first home all by herself. I take my hat off to her as it's not an easy task to do it on a single wage. Way to go Swayze - I can't wait to come up and toast to your achievement on your new deck!

Where'd October Go?

I seem to have blinked and missed October. It's just a blurr now as so much has happened since I last updated the blog. Apologies to all those (and I know there are a few of you out there, and a half) who have been eagerly logging in everyday to see if I've updated. Well, BOO! Here I am.
Right, let me think back.....
I had a night in Queenstown at the beginning of October. Originally, apart from going to visit the Southern Barts, I was going to present an Intimo party for Catkin. But the Friday night before I arrived Catkin had been up all night with a vomitting Hazel so we decided the LAST thing she needed was a house full of people to host. I was quite happy just hanging out with Annabelle for the afternoon. Hazel, Catkin, and Gavin all had a touch of the bug so Annabelle and I blew bubbles, watered the garden, and went to the playground. I LOVED it! Hopefully she did too. Aunty Paparazzi was out in style but I do feel Annabelle needs to work on her photo smile. Everytime I said 'smile' she screwed up her cute little face in what she thinks is a smile. More like a grimace to me! Still gorgeous though.

I've moved. Yippeeee! It all happened very quickly. I saw a place on Trade Me that I liked, went and had a look, signed up and then moved in all within 9 days. Lucky for me Mum and Dad happened to be coming down for a few days and it worked in beautifully with my moving date. I don't know what I would have done without them. Averil was on school holidays so very kindly helped as well and Claire was home from work so made us a yummy lunch. Thanks to everyone for all their help.
I LOVE my new place. A two storey, two bedroom town house with a little courtyard out the back. Very spacious for such a small place. I am really happy here. I haven't met my neighbours yet but did get woken up last weekend by what sounded like an argument next door. It was all very muffled but didn't sound friendly. Other than that I don't see or hear the neighbours much.... except the guy on the other side who plays death metal with heavy base in the weekends....... great.

I caught up with ex-boyfriend Lance a few weeks ago too, before I moved. Averil had just picked me up from the airport after I flew back from my night in Queenstown and we were having a nice cup of tea at home when he turned up. He had mentioned ages ago that when he was in Chch next he would bring a few boxes of wine down for Averil and Eru's wedding. Well 'a few' boxes was actually 7 boxes of wine. Very, very kind and very, very generous. He's a good one. With two more weddings next year I don't think I was the only one wishing things could have worked out differently between us.

Intimo was pretty quiet in October. I had two parties which both did quite well, but with packing and moving and parties and travelling and visitors I was just too busy!
I did, however, manage to set up a few for November so am pleased about that.
I was offered a booking from my team leader who was booked up and couldn't fit it in so agreed to it not knowing that it was for a fashion parade for a clothes shop in Lincoln! I was asked to talk for about 20 minutes on the benefits of wearing a good fitting bra. It was fair to say I was a little nervous and needed a couple of wines beforehand for Dutch courage. The evening went well although I think I only actually talked for about 12 minutes but did get a sale and gave out quite a few business cards to interested ladies. Averil came with me (bless her) and handed out chocolates to bribe the audience. I think I was running on adrenaline (and wine) because I don't remember what I said but do remember laughter in the right places so that was good. Talk about getting thrown in the deep end! All good experience though.

Claire and Scott had their Christchurch engagement party in October too which was the main reason for Mum and Dad's visit. It was at the Yaldhurst Tavern, in the function room and was a really great night. There was a good crowd, the food was yummy, and the drinks were reasonably priced. The perfect combination for a good night out. It was really nice to see Uncle Albie and Aunty Lorraine, and Aunty Bev there as well (Dad's Aunties and Uncle).

The following day Mum, Claire, Averil, Kathryn and I went wedding dress shopping for Claire. I think it's fair to say I wasn't the only one feeling a little bit second hand. But we had a good day and Claire tried on heaps of dresses and managed to narrow it down to colour and style. She looked gorgeous in every single one, of course. Can't wait to see you in your hot pink meringue dress, Claire (wink wink).
Mum, Dad, and Averil left on Sunday morning to drive to Queenstown to stay with the Southern Barts. Unfortunately Averil was hit with the stomach bug on the Monday and was due to drive home by herself on Wednesday. She managed it alright but was very exhausted when she finally arrived back in Christchurch. Then Mum too got the bug for a few days before they flew home on the Saturday. Lucky they were staying with a nurse!

My Japanese penpal, Sayaka Enomoto came to NZ for 2 and a half weeks in October. She managed to fit in a weekend in Christchurch and it was so lovely to see her again. On the Friday after she arrived we went out for dinner with Claire, Scott, Averil and Eru. Even though I only had a salad and one piece of pizza I was VERY full and Sayaka and I were home and in our pyjamas by 9pm. We are middle aged ladies, after all.

On Saturday Averil and Eru shifted from Roxburgh Street over to a nice 3 bedroom house in Linwood. Sayaka and I were on lunch duty so took that around for the workers and had a tour of the house. It's a really great house and I think Averil and Eru will be very happy there.
On the Sunday night I had a House Warming/Konnichiwa Sayaka/Rugby World Cup Final party. Those who wanted to came early and we had a shared meal and then the rugby was on. The All Blacks won - for those who have been living under a rock for the past month - and we celebrated in style. We played a wee game during the match - I chose Richie McCaw and everytime his name was mentioned I had to drink. What a stupid game - I was drinking every five seconds!!! It was a fun night with great food and good people.
Monday was Labour Day so was a public holiday and I had to say sayonara to Sayaka at the airport for her midday flight.

Averil and I had another weekend in Auckland at the end of October. We had booked tickets to the Meatloaf concert in Auckland on the Saturday night so had one night in Warkworth beforehand. It just so happened that Sayaka was flying in to Auckland that same night so she came up to Warkworth with us for the night and got to meet Mum and Dad again after something like 22 years.
I went to see Krissy and baby Wills on Saturday morning for about 3 hours. Time just flew - it felt like I had just arrived and it was time to leave again. Babies are such time wasters! Gorgeous though.
We headed back to Auckland on Saturday afternoon and dropped off Sayaka on the North Shore before invading Kathryn and Moos' house for the night. Kathryn very kindly dropped us off in town for the concert. I have to say it was a little disappointing. Meatloaf just doesn't have the voice anymore. He struggled. Nevertheless, Averil and I were singing our hearts out anyway. The back up singers and the band were absolutely brilliant. And we still had a great time.

Unfortunately after returning from a great weekend in Auckland, I came home to a leaking hot water cylinder. There were drips coming through the ceiling in the dining room for who knows how long so the carpet was quite damp. I called the property manager who called the plumber who called me and then came around within the hour - now that's service! The cylinder had to be ordered in and replaced which was done on Wednesday. So only 3 days with a leaking ceiling.
A good result.

And THAT was our October, in a nutshell.
Tune in next week for a recount of Averil's Henny!

From Boxes to Briefs

Everything is great.

The end.

Ha - got ya! As if I would leave it there and not waffle on for a few more paragraphs telling you about the mundane details of my life!

So, where do I start? Right, I lauched my Intimo business on September 9th - Averil was my first hostess (with the mostest!) and the party, although there were only 3 other ladies, was brilliant. It was the perfect way to ease myself into it. Sales were low BUT I had a great time and was amped for my Sunday party at Paula's. AND it was great practice.

Sales at Paula's party on Sunday were slightly better and I began to get the hang of it and was feeling more confident. My next party was Tuesday night for my bestie-at-works wife, Julie Hampton. Her party was a resounding success with sales of $1300 AND a booking. I was on the board!! Claire's party the following night was way up there as well and was fantastic.
Then it was up to Auckland on Thursday for an Intimo field meeting and a party for Kathryn, Mum, and my friend in Warkworth. Phew!! Busy busy.

Being an Intimo 'New Start' I have been encouraged to complete Quick Step which means making $4000 of sales in my first 42 days for an incentive bonus of a $100 Intimo voucher to use to increase my kit, or as hostess rewards, or for personal use. I completed Quick Step in my first 8 days (thanks again to my lovely hostesses) and am totally chuffed. The next goal is to make $5000 in sales for the month (any consultant can do this in any calendar month) to recieve a further incentive bonus of $125 voucher to use as I please. At this point I am $185 short of that goal so am confident that I will complete it before the end of September. Achieving goals is new to me and I've got to say, I love it!!
Averil and Claire have been my biggest cheerleaders and I really don't think I could have done it without them. Their support and help has been my most valuable business tool. Much love to you both. xx

Averil flew up to Auckland on Friday night so was in WW for the weekend too. We were both very busy AND important and it must have felt like Mum & Dad had teenagers in the house again - borrowing the car and getting dropped off and picked up.
I got to meet 4 week old Wills (Krissy and Derek Letchers wee boy) who, can I just say, is GORGEOUS. And I'm not just saying that because I am Mummy 2. He has very fair hair and is a thirsty little fella. He had dressed up in his little 'My First World Cup' onesie to meet me. Bless. Gorgeous gorgeous. Krissy and Derek both look fantastic and are loving being first time parents. As am I (he he). Jack the cat apparently has changed into a smoochy loving cat too but keeps his distance from the new addition.

Averil and I flew back to Christchurch together on Sunday evening and had a nice roast dinner at Roxy Inn on our return. MMmmmmm... how I love roasts. Thanks Scott - you'll do!

Now for something quite exciting: Claire and Scott have set a date in April (yes, THIS coming April) for their wedding day AND have decided to get married in Warkworth. Well, Puhoi to be exact. Mum and Dad couldn't be happier! Mum has already starting her planning and we have lovingly nicknamed her MOBzilla (MOB stands for Mother Of The Bride, of course). She does need a clipboard, whistle, and visor to complete the look though.. Who has Mum for Christmas this year??? Just a suggestion.

Mum seems to be delirious with wedding fever and even asked me if I would consider getting married in Warkworth. Now, I know what you are thinking because I was thinking the same thing: Richie McCaw will probably want to get married in Chch! But we can discuss it closer to the time. Our relationship is a secret - even he doesn't know about it!!

I'm still keeping an eye out for a new place to live. I saw an add for a two bedroom flat on the internet yesterday which described it's positive aspects then stated 'Shower and parking on the road.' Hmmmm... that's a 'No' from me.

AND we have a new follower to the Roxy Review. Kylee is a Kiwi who married an American and now lives in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. And is expecting a wee boy in December (I hope I've got my dates right)
Kylee and I first met when we worked part time together at The Horse & Trap bar in Auckland before we both headed overseas for our big OE's. During that time we had a lot of laughs one in particular being at the expense of the Tongan bouncer every Friday night coming up to the bar asking for a 'Bannable Chutse' (pineapple juice). It's become a common saying between us which can mean almost anything but is generally used for a welcome or for signing off. So I hope you will all join me in sending Kylee a great big BANNABLE CHUTSE!

I Do's & Baby Blues

What an exciting time of late. Claire turned 32 years old on 3rd September and Scott whisked her away for a mystery weekend up to Warkworth and proposed to her. Wow!! I think she was still in shock when she rang me to tell me the good news. Apparently her first words after Scott asked her to marry him and pulled out the ring were 'Is that real?' So romantic!

It was also A Mary's 70th birthday so the family up in Warkworth went out to lunch to celebrate. I wish I could have been there too. I suffer from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) so was eager to hear everyone's account of the day AND see photos. It sounded like a really great day.

I could nearly not sleep in anticipation of Claire and Scott arriving home on Sunday night. I invited myself around for dinner at Roxy Inn and we waited... and waited.... and waited.

Averil had made the most delicious Red Velvet cake with cream cheese icing for Claire's birthday which we enjoyed with bubbles to toast the newly engaged. It was worth the wait. The ring is beautiful and Claire has had a smile from ear to ear all week. Bravo Scott!

I snuck away for a night in Queenstown for the last weekend in August and it just wasn't long enough. After being met by the whole Southern Bart family, Annabelle started crying and wouldn't look at me.. I had planned to go swimming with them in the morning but decided against it after Annabelle got so upset. Instead I had a lovely walk to the Farmers Market with Catkin and Hazel. It was such a beautiful morning.

After getting picked up by Gavin, Annabelle started crying again - I was beginning to get a bit of a complex BUT when we got home I gave her a jigsaw I had bought and we were friends from then on. Not hugging friends, but friends none-the-less.

Hazel, on the other hand, was cuddly and squidgy and I couldn't get enough of her. Poor thing is not quite crawling (although she does a fairly impressive Commando crawl) so it was easy to catch her and give her hugs.. She can't run away! Yet. Ooh and she has the cutest chuckle. AND she smells delicious. I could go on and on and on....

After lunch on Saturday we went for a drive over to Arrowtown. By the time we got there the girls were asleep so Gavin stayed in the Land Rover with them while Catkin and I went for a wee walk around the town and then went to the museum to see the Anne Frank exhibition. It was a good, but so sad.

Saturday night old Nana here was tired from her big day and I was in bed by 9pm!

Sunday morning was a nice morning of more jigsaws and stories which I loved just as much as Annabelle did. Mum had sent down a woolly hat that Gavin had worn when he was little. She put it on straight away and kept it on while doing her jigsaw puzzle. Gavin had a turn of the hat too. Then it was time to go off to the airport to fly back home.

On Monday I have to admit I had a touch of melancholy and really missed those two little faces.

Getting ready for my first Intimo presentation tomorrow night at Averil's has been keeping me pretty busy. I just have a few things to do after netball tonight and then I will be as ready as I'll ever be. I'm not feeling too nervous... unless I think about it and then I get the cold sweat, the racing heart, and the feeling of nausea in my stomach, but other than that I'm all good to go..

I just have to remember to keep breathing...

I just today had a friend call to ask if I would do a personal fitting for her work mate as she is rather big busted and doesn't want to go to one of the parties, but would prefer the privacy of her own home. Great - if I do well perhaps I will become her personal lingerie stylist!

Last night was the last night of my Beauty Skills course and I passed! We had a little shared supper afterwards which was nice. One of the girls brought sparkling grape juice which was so yummy. Maybe I'll change it to my poison of choice - no hangovers, it's cheap, and it's scrumptious. Oh and it holds up my image of total poshness.

So now I have my Wednesday nights free again to hopefully do Intimo parties!

More exciting news: My friend Rachael Easterbrook in Auckland is expecting a baby with her partner Ant in March. Early days but they are totally stoked. Congratulations Rach and Ant!!

On Sunday Averil and I went daffodil picking out at Leeston. Hadstock Farm opens it's gates for two weekends a year for the public to go, pay $10, and fill a bucket with daffodils. It took us longer to get there (we might have got a little lost on the way BUT it was a beautiful day for a country drive) than it did to pick the daffs. But it was fun and there were a few people there with the same idea. We filled our bucket in record time and had enough to give some away as well. Daffodils really brighten up the place.

More birthday news - Alex turned 21 years old on Tuesday so we all went out for dinner on Monday night to the Garden Restaurant. It was yummy food and great company. I ate wayyyy to much and had to loosen my belt. Alex decided not to have a party - what the..? His girlfriend Sam is away in Australia at the moment for 3 months and she turns 21 this month too so possibly they may do something together when she gets back. I was MOST disappointed he didn't share my enthusiasm for a party bus! Oh well, maybe I'll have to have one for MY 21st!

Feeling The Fear And Doing It Anyway

First up, and most exciting, I am pleased to announce the arrival of Krissy and Derek Letchers wee boy born Sunday evening. Named William Munro Letcher. I'm not sure of weight or time of birth because every time I speak to them I am so excited I forget to ask! I do know he has a good set of lungs though as he was very vocal this morning when I had a quick chat to Krissy. Derek said they are all well and Krissy is doing an amazing job. As I knew she would. I'm so proud to be William's 2nd Mummy and can't wait to get up there next month to meet him.

I was up North over the weekend HOPING to meet the new baby but he had other ideas and didn't arrive until after I had left on Sunday. I spent Saturday with the Letchers though and had a great day catching up with them, making raspberry leaf tea, running a hot bath for Krissy, and generally trying to coax the little fella out. Krissy's parents even took us for a bumpy drive out to Matakana to drop off some sheep. Once there the car decided to die. And Krissy had a few contractions... Krissy's Dad, Don, was slightly stressed and had visions of having to deliver his grandchild in a paddock. LUCKILY Derek came to the rescue. Phew, an awkward situation avoided.

Then I had a lovely visit from Rachael and her daugher Alexis on Sunday all the way from Whangarei. Such a great day catching up with them even though it was raining and hailing outside. Always guaranteed a good laugh with Rachael - she's like chicken soup for my soul!

Averil also had 4 days in Warkworth during her school holidays and had a great time. She had a couple of fittings for her wedding dress which apparently she is VERY happy with. I can't WAIT to see her in it on her special day in January. I know she will look absolutely gorgeous.

Kathryn turned another year older on 30th July. Unfortunately she was full of the flu but Mum, Dad, and Averil went to Auckland to celebrate over a birthday lunch with her and Moos before Averil flew back home. And they even took a birthday cake for her. Bless.

I have decided to start looking for a place of my own to rent. I absolutely love living with Belinda but think it's time to get my own place and have my own stuff around me. It's proving a little more difficult than first thought though - a lot of the places available are over the East side of town which was hit hardest by the quakes AND they are further away from work. Ideally I would like a 2 bedroom place in roughly the same area I am in now - half way between work and the girls. Somewhere warm and cosy. There's no hurry so I can take my time to find the perfect place.

Big scary news: I have gone ahead and signed up to become a lingerie consultant for Intimo. I launch in September so am excited and nervous. The support of other Intimo consultants in my team has been amazing though so I feel ready... ish. I still have a few things to complete before I feel completely competant. And I have to remember to keep breathing through the panic attacks! My first party is on Friday 2nd September. Eek!

http://www.intimo.com.au/

We had a lovely visit from Moos last Monday night. He flew to Christchurch for work and stayed the night at Roxy Inn before heading to Invercargill the following day. It was good to catch up with him.

And today and yesterday the whole of Christchurch has come to a stand still due to more snow. This week was worse than two weeks ago. Yesterday was bitterly cold with snow, rain, and hail. Brrrr! Today is slightly warmer but has been snowing this morning. I haven't even ventured outside this time. It's far warmer in my bed!

Wishes DO Come True!

A very exciting day in Christchurch today - well, for me anyway. It was my first Snow Day (day off work because of snow). I've been waiting 5 1/2 long years for this day and it finally arrived. I was up at 6.15am for a normal day of work and had my shower before I got a text from my supervisor saying to stay home as the roads were dangerous. He didn't have to tell me twice! I got straight back into my pyjamas. Then, after taking some photos out of the kitchen door, I had to wait - like a kid at Christmas - for my flatmates Belinda and Toby to get up so they would come outside and help me make a snow man. So much fun was had!! Our snow 'lady' (as it turned out) looked RIDICULOUS but it was a good time building her. Toby even gave her some boobs. And we had a snowball fight AND I made a snow angel. I was SO excited. The rest of the day was spent keeping warm and staring out the window at the falling snow. Amazing.

So, what's been happening around here lately I hear you ask... along with what the hell has taken me so long to update.. well, let me tell you, we have all been busy AND important!

I went up to Warkworth for a weekend at the end of June for my friend Krissy's baby shower. I was supposed to fly up on the Thursday night but Mother Nature (bless her) had other ideas and sent a big, fat ash cloud over NZ so my flight was cancelled. I was determined to get to Warkworth as I had helped organise the baby shower and there was no way I was going to miss it AND I needed a Mum hug so I headed out to the airport on Thursday morning (lucky I have a very understanding and kind boss) to try my luck at a stand by flight. Air NZ are brilliant and have $59 one way stand by fares available daily between 10am and 3.30pm but you have to be there to get them. Unfortunately I couldn't get up to Auckland as all flights were fully booked but I managed to get a flight to Hamilton. My plan was to catch the bus to Auckland or even Warkworth if possible BUT my dear friend Krissy (yes, the 8 month pregnant friend) offered to come and get me as she (and I quote) 'had nothing better to do'. Now, I told her no, she told me yes, after about 2 minutes of arguing she quickly said yes and promptly hung up. She's naughty, but really nice. I was VERY appreciative of her kindness. I ended up getting to Warkworth before I would have had I caught my original flight.

Danielle 1 - Ash Cloud 0

It was great to be back in Warkworth for the weekend. On Saturday Mum and I had a morning tea date with A Mary and Heather and were delighted when U Fraser, Greg, Scott and Debbie came around as well. I was really nice to catch up with them all. Lots of laughter as always. I also got to have a guided tour around the house that Dad is building for Jim and Ingid Wheeler. Very impressive! The baby shower was on Sunday morning and went really well. Krissy's sister held it at her house and organised all the food. It was great. Rachael and Swayze from Whangarei made it down for the day also and brought along some brilliant games.

I was due to fly back to Christchurch on Sunday evening but surprise, surprise my flight was cancelled .... again. So instead Mum, Dad, and I went down to Auckland on Sunday afternoon and had dinner with Kathryn and Moos and then they very kindly put me up for the night for me to again try my luck on Monday morning with Air NZ stand by. Which, I was very happy to be able to get a flight for 10am and made it to work by 12.33pm. Apart from having to take an extra 10 hours off work, it was a brilliant weekend and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Claire and Scott have also been happy travellers and went to Rarotonga for the second time this year for Scott's brothers wedding. They had a great time and highly recommend Rarotonga as a holiday destination. It sounds devine and I am already planning a wee break there perhaps for next year. A week of rest and relaxation and warmth sounds amazing to me.

I did another stint of housesitting out at Templeton a few weeks ago. It was great. Lots more chickens this time (a lot of the babies from last time are now fully grown hens! They grow up so fast) And Johnno the rooster was there also with his harem of females. Ha! He's such a proud co rooster.
On the first Friday night there Averil came out for dinner/pyjama party/wine/NZ Next Top Model/sleepover. It was great. I made a couple of vegetarian pizzas which, can I just say, were delish! And we ate chocolate with our cups of tea. Fun times!

The second Friday night was another Templeton Pub Crawl with Rent-A-Crowd. That was a good night. Again, like last time, we only made it to two of the three pubs but unlike last time no one fell over and hit their head on a rock. Did they, Scott?

A few weeks ago we were all invited to Renee's for a sophisticated pot luck dinner and drinks.. Well, that all turned pear shaped as soon as dinner was over (which was so yummy, by the way) and Cameron McInnes introduced us to 'The Vagina Game'. Crude but so, so funny. For those who are more than a little interested in this game, basically you get a group of people and go around the group, each person starting with 'My vagina is...' and they have to say a word beginning with the letter A. Everyone has a go until someone either can't think of a word or says something that has already been said. They drink and you move to the next person, and the next letter of the alphabet. Now, you might be reading this thinking "Oh Danielle!" but it is hilarious especially when the boys describe their vaginas. Try it - I bet you will laugh. Best to have a couple of drinks under yer belt first though. We got all the way to Z. That's how dedicated we are to our vaginas.

Moving on to something a little more respectable. Averil's wedding plans are coming along nicely. We had a little working bee, if you will, around at Roxy Inn on Saturday.

Paula did some sewing of drapes, and I attempted mini trial wedding cakes. The place that Averil and Eru had chosen to get the cake from is closed over Christmas and New Year SO we are seeing if it's something we can perhaps make ourselves. So I busied myself in the kitchen conjuring up a couple of different prototypes - in mini form. I love all things mini. The recipe is one of Mum's that has been used for 21st cakes in the past and has been a hit! but I couldn't quite get it right. The cake had quite a bitter after taste from the baking soda used. So obviously I'm going to have to sort that out. But otherwise they didn't look too bad. As a rough guide. Plenty of time (and willing taste testers) to try to perfect it.

After going out to Ohoka to try the drapes at the hall on Saturday we went up to Pukeko Junction in Amberley for a late lunch. Yummy as always.

Mum and Dad have been in Australia for a 10 day holiday. They flew to Cairns and were catching the train down to Brisbane to go and stay with Uncle David and Helen for a few days. They are due back tonight so I am looking forward to finding out all about it tomorrow. I'm sure they have had a good (and much warmer) time away.