Songs In Blue

Ahh, the much needed update post.  One day I’ll make myself get into a routine of posting, although I wasn’t doing too bad until 3 weeks ago.  Don’t have much of an excuse except that there’s been a lot on my mind that I couldn’t really put into words.  But let’s recap, shall we?

My mom offered to pay for Matt and I to fly up to Canada then take us to Mexico for her birthday NEXT WEEK.  She had good intentions (obviously, it’s her 50th and she wants me there for it) but I just ended up really stressed out about the whole thing.  It was a lot of information to take in over the course of 3 days! 
 I ultimately said no because, a) we’ve had a trip to the South Island (leaving on my mom’s birthday) planned for 6 months and we’d have to cancel everything, and b) it was too last minute and the flight prices were INSANE.  There’s no way I could let my mom (who’s on a solo income as a school bus driver) spend that kind of money.  I would just feel so guilty about it. 
Trust me, it was a really hard decision to make!   It’s my family and I don’t see them often (or at all, with the whole ‘living on the other side of the world’ thing) and I want to make them happy.  I hate disappointing people.  But yeah, after lost sleep and tears (Matt got to witness the Ugly Cry a few times, awesome.) I’m ok with everything.  A trip to Canada might still be in my near future but I’ll talk about that as soon as I get some more info.

Three weeks ago, I went to my first Tweetup. Which I guess, officially makes me a nerd  but  I’m ok with that.  It was quite fun and great to meet new people which was something I felt I needed to do. 
Anyway, a few of the girls there decided we should have a Ladies Night.  So  Wednesday  night about 10 of us met at a bar for a few drinks then headed to a comedy gig!  A lot of conversation, laughter, and maybe a little too much wine was had by all – it was exactly what I needed (minus the hangover/going to work  in the  morning (Hi Mom and Dad!)).
One of the highlights for me was FINALLY meeting Alex who’s blog I’ve been reading for about 2 years now.  She’s originally from the UK (and has a lovely accent) but moved here almost a year ago with her Kiwi boyfriend.  ALL the girls are absolutely amazing and I can’t wait until we get together again!  Next time, I’ll bring my camera.

As I said earlier, Matt and I are going to the South Island for 2 weeks!  We’ve got a pretty awesome trip planned – full of walks, kayaking, and lying on the beach (if the weather gets better)!  One of the places we’re staying has free internet so I’ll make sure to post a few pictures.  I thought I’d see if anyone was interested in Guest Posting while I’m away? I have 6 dates up for grabs so leave a comment or email me if you’re interested!

I think it’s safe to say that this year was one of the best birthdays I’ve had.

On Saturday, we went to Strawberry Fare for fancy dessert.  I had the Lemon Chocolate Cheesecake and it was so rich I couldn’t finish it.

Then on Tuesday(my actual birthday), we went to the Green Man Pub for their quiz night.  I didn’t take any photos cause I was too busy competing, but our team ended up winning a $105 bar tab!  We went back yesterday to use it for dinner, and also got this yummy drink for free.

After the quiz, we had cake that Catherine made me and opened presents.

Matt bought me a sweet tripod for my camera, and here he is playing with it.  I’m pretty sure he’s just as excited as I am! I can’t wait to go out on a clear night and take some sweet photos…

Jono and Cath got me a dvd box set of Shark shows.  If you know me, you know how obsessed I am with Sharks so this present was pretty much  perfect.  I’m not going to lie, I was really excited about it…

The birthday high has started to wear off tho.  I am officially an adult.  I’ve spent the last few days doing a lot of thinking about where I’m at in certain areas of my life.  I’m content with most of it, but in the areas of work and finances something needs to change. Soon.  I’ll figure that out eventually, so for now I’ll concentrate on the things I love…and watch some sweet Shark shows while I’m at it.

Which will forever be known as the weekend I peed 247 times.  Seriously.
I ended up sleeping on the picnic tables by the bathroom because I was so fed up with having to get out of my tent and walk all the way over there every. single. time. I woke up.
I have no idea what’s wrong with me, but thankfully, my bladder seems to have calmed down.

Other than my bathroom escapades, the weekend was pretty sweet.  We were up with the sun and spent most of our time at the beach.  The waves were pretty big and the current was really strong so I didn’t last as long in the water as I would’ve liked.  I did try boogie boarding for the first time! I sucked, but it was fun and hopefully I’ll be better next time.  I also tried playing cricket…the result was about the same.

Even though we came home a day early, the weekend seemed to go on forever.  It was awesome!

There are a TON of other photos up on Flickr…so check them out!

I had an awesome Christmas! Yeah, it was a little weird with the nice hot weather and hearing stories of the massive snow fall back home, but it was so much fun!
The morning started with breakfast and opening presents.  I got a beach bag/towel and the sweetest gift EVER from Matt.  I wasn’t expecting anything from him since he already put some money towards my camera, but he got me a photo album and filled it with photos of my friends and family.  A note in it said, “Just in case you miss your family. Love, Matt” and the album ended with a photo of us.  I may or may not have cried.  Dude did good!

After that, we mostly hung out and watched movies then started getting dinner and drinks ready.  A few of Matt’s extended family came over for the meal and the night ended at 1am with *mostly* everyone playing SingStar (new favourite game).  I have a bunch of photos up on flickr, so go check them out!

Tomorrow we start our road trip to Mt Maunganui!  6 days on a beach…there are no words to describe how excited I am.  It’ll be so nice to chill for a week before having to go back to work.  I’m sure I’ll have a ton of photos to make you all jealous when I get back.

It’s no secret that Wellington is windy, I experienced it the last time I was here.  However, I think I was too distracted entertained by Danielle’s infamous short skirts constantly being blown up for the world to see.  Good times.   Anyway, I forgot just how windy it gets…try 130kms on a clear day.  Wanna see?

Takes resistance training to a whole other level…trust me.  One moment you’re leaning forward just to keep from flying backwards and the next you’re being pushed down the street.  Besides walking to work, it’s actually quite fun.

This next picture took forever to get thanks to said wind.  I think I hovered over the flower for a solid 7 minutes before I caught a break and shot this photo.  I like it.

Only one week of NaBloPoMo left…thank God.  It hasn’t been too bad and I’ll probably keep updating often, but every day is a bit much for me.  Plus, I don’t want to bore everyone to death with these posts I come up with.  Next year, I’ll prepare a bit better!

It’s been almost three months since I arrived in NZ.  I can’t believe it’s been that long, but at the same time it feels like I’ve been here forever!  I’m starting to get a little homesick now, especially with the holidays coming up but I’m not going to lie, I love living here.  I was so worried before I left that things would back fire, or I wouldn’t like it here…obviously it was a big decision to make, and I didn’t take it lightly.  But no matter how much sleep I lost, I always knew that I was doing the right thing…and it paid off.  Of course I miss my family and friends, but with the internet and everything it’s so easy to stay in touch that it barely feels like I’m living in another country.

The truth is, I never had a reason to doubt…everything is better that I could’ve expected it.  I don’t want to be cheesy here, there’s obviously annoyances that come with work and life in general, but I’ve honestly never been happier.

I left a lot of things behind when I left Canada.  But for the purposes of this post, I specifically left behind my two best friends, Danielle and Marissa.  Even after all my failed attempts to get them to move here, I still love them and miss them A LOT.

I’ve never been one to have a lot of girl friends, but I seem to always need one with me.  When I went to YWAM I knew I wouldn’t survive it unless I had one girl friend that I could talk to and didn’t annoy me. I found that in Tanya.  We were both from Vancouver but it took us going to Australia to actually meet and become friends.

I miss her too.

When I decided I was going to move to New Zealand, I knew I would have to find a girl friend.  One who I could talk to about almost anything, hang out with hours, and just be myself with.

I haven’t found that yet and I’m starting to miss girl time.

There are a few girls I’ve met here, girlfriends of Matt’s friends, Matt’s sister, and work chicks.  They’re all really fun to hang out with but I still don’t have that one.  I’m not starved for it since I have a lot of cool people around me, but it would be really nice.

The last time I left for a long term trip, I was going for something new.  I wanted to experience other places, and have fun doing it.  I was going to ‘play’ as my mom called it (and play I did).
I only cried once.  It was the night before I left and after having spent the last few months planning and getting excited, I had a “What the hell am I doing?” moment and broke down on my dad’s deck.

This time it’s different.

I’m going to work, pay rent, live (I’ll a bit play too) – basically the same thing I’d be doing here, but in a different country.  Of course I’ve been excited to go, but I’ve been equally sad this time around too and it’s made saying goodbye even harder (with a lot more tears).

At least it was until I walked off the ferry this evening. I realized there’s nothing left to plan or organize, and only one more goodbye to get through…everything’s DONE! I don’t have to worry and can just be excited!

I get to go on a 16 hour flight with airplane food and my own mini tv! I’m aware that most people don’t look forward to those things, but I was raised on an airport – it’s in my blood.
Then I get to see Matt, live with Kiwis, and have a fresh start in a country I LOVE.  So I’m in no way complaining, even if leaving my family and friends has made me cry more in the last 3 days then the last 3 years. 

This post will be very random which is a pretty accurate description of my brain’s current state.

Life is getting really insane right now.   My flight isn’t until Wednesday night, but I’m leaving the coast tomorrow afternoon and will be spending the night at my dad’s.  It’s just easier to go in the night before and not have to worry about ferries being late, plus I get to have dinner with Danielle and hang out with Dad and Gail.  The only problem is that I leave my house in less than 24 hours, and still haven’t packed.  Go. Me.

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Last night was Lance’s 19th birthday.  The dude’s awesome!  He lives up in the Okanagan with our sister, so it’s always good times when he comes down to the coast for a visit.  We went out for dinner at the pub with mom, Lance’s friend Seth (who also turned 19 this week), and Seth’s parents.  After dinner we all went to our house for birthday cake and some presents then it was back to the pub for some drinks and free pool with friends.

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I’m adding another project to my never ending list of things to do.  That might seem a little backwards, I know, but I like to have a lot of things on my plate.  This is really just to force myself to put (and keep) equal attention on each thing because if I don’t…it’ll all fall a part.  I do enjoy a good balancing act.
I’ve signed up with Bluehost.com to start hosting my own site!  And I have no idea what I’m doing! Actually, the first couple problems I experienced had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with my domain being transferred from my sister’s account.  All that’s sorted now, so when I get a few minutes of free time *cough*good luck*cough* I’ll get my site looking all pretty and hopefully, fully functional.  Cause it’s not all about looks right?

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Speaking of being hot, I made the final vote for the Hot Blogger Calendar!  I find the whole thing more funny than anything, but it is my first blog-related contest so I’m kinda excited to see what happens with it.  I’ve already been told that I’d be the hottest person there, but that was from my boyfriend and he may be a little biased.  Anyway, you only get to vote for ONE chick, so it’d be sweet if you voted for me   There’s a button on my sidebar – GO VOTE FOR ME!

I ended up spending pretty much my entire long weekend in the city.

Friday and Saturday were spent trying to find a dress for Sunday’s wedding, eating sushi, and going to the beach.
Unfortunately, my skin refuses to tan this summer, so no matter how long I was outside, I would always come in whiter than when I went out.  Go figure.

The wedding on Sunday was so much fun!  I got to hang out with a few of my girl friends that I don’t get to see very often.  Three of us showed up wearing black, prompting a lot of people to ask whether it was planned (really, really, not).

I didn’t get any good pictures of the actual wedding, thanks to my bad angle and crap camera, so I can’t show you how the groomsmen carried the groom up the aisle on their shoulders while ‘The Final Countdown’ played in the background.
Or how the Maid of Honour did not stop weeping for the entire ceremony.
Or how us girls restored to using our programs to fan in between our legs because it was so freaking hot in that building!  We’re classy like that.

After the wedding, we had a couple of hours to kill before the reception, so we decided to go to the pub for a few margaritas.  Then we ended up in a dragon boat, on the river, while wearing high heels.  Good times.

Emily, Jenah, and I

Poor Sarah had really bad allergies and ended up going home

Of course, the reception was fun too!  They had little fishes as centre pieces.  I wanted to bring ours home, but I don’t think they would’ve lasted the bus ride.

Jon and Kat

I was fully planning on being home Monday and Tuesday, but that didn’t happen.

Last week my brother, Drivemuch Lance, totalled his car.  He was fine, I think his ego was bruised more than anything.
He had to tell the hot female cop that he crashed while trying to pick up his 4 litre jug of iced tea that was spilling all over the front seat.  Nice.

Dad had been looking for a new car for a while and took Lance’s crash as an excuse to buy a brand new Malibu and sell his old car to Lance.
Since Lance lives in the Okanagan, we decided that Dad and I would drive both cars, Lance would take the bus and we’d meet halfway in Merrit.  It was a long drive for a short visit, but it was nice to be able to see Lance.
On the way back, I played with dad’s car.  The guy isn’t much for new technology, so I had to show him how to work certain things.  He caught on pretty quick, and even made a few calls on his voice activated, OnStar car phone.

But there’s got to be balance between the old and the new, so we listened to the only music station on the built in XM satellite radio that dad liked – the one that played all the songs from the Gaither Gospel videos dad owns.  The same ones that I would watch with him while curled up on his lap as a little girl.