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!