dreaming flat out

something is a bit screwed up with the date setting on here, and it's annoying me. Hmm.

I think i have found the flat of my dreams, in kilbirnie. It is perfect in every way, except it's not ours (yet). I even dreamed about it last night. The gutting thing is that it seems everyone else knows it's freaking great flat for a great price so i'm stressing that we won't get it and won't find an alternative place that fits our criteria so absolutely perfectly. I do, however, have a plan of attack. I have already talked to the landlord and she knows i am in love with it, so hopefully that works in my favour. Fingers crossed...

but as usual all this flat changing stuff ain't cheap. At the rate we're going we'll probably end up setting up our own flat rather than going into an established one, which means organising things like a fridge, washing machine and couches. We have everything already except those rather major white ware and furniture things. And what with the wedding, and the fair, and after our holiday...well, i'm going to be beyond broke by the end of it. And then of course i'll make a squillion dollars at the martinborough fair and all will be hunky dory again. 

oh, and i'm going to apply for craft 2.0. And the newtown and petone fairs in the next few days i hope. That'll keep me busy! 

frankly, i love frankie...

ahh, the new frankie magazine pounced on me today. Completely unsuspecting, i walked into borders with a mind to kill some time and there she was. Happy, happy me. 

sharing some holiday photos...kinda wish i'd taken  more in napier, or at least on my camera. 

My mountain (taranaki. i used to look out my bedroom window every day and see it, all lonely like)

OH, and congratulations.

in said frankie, i read a little bit about friends suddenly being grown-ups. So this is where i stop and contemplate the year past again. One good friend (and several others i know) became a solicitor. Another graduated as a medical doctor. Another is a primary teacher and moved for love. further to the new year's eve engagement of a friend, an old male friend from my wild and drunk (haha) later school days is too engaged. (four years ago i would have laughed in faces if i was told that!) Several are mooching around on their oes. Yet another has just finished her masters after the year from hell (boy of 7 years sleeping with flatmate, mother being diagnosed with cancer, all that fun stuff). My little sister has a diploma and a proper job. I'm starting to get ants in my pants about the fact i think i'm worth way more than i'm paid. Yet, despite all this i still feel like i'm about 5 years old. More so lately than when i was still a student. Probably because i was taking myself a tad too seriously (work, study, work work work study). I've found though, that the boy has had a massive impact on this aspect of moi. I can be as goofy and stupid as i like and he doesn't care. Basically, i can be myself. Isn't that the brilliant thing about other halves? they teach you so much - how to look at the world from a different perspective, and about yourself. They bring out all those quirks that normally you'd hide away in a corner of your mind. Gosh, it's a bit grown up to claim i know myself, too. I've found that over the past year i've been so busy with other things i tend to forget to stop and have those random moments of suddenly realising what you're like.

But for now, i have to go off and busy myself being all domestic. Dinner calls.

resolutions...

It took me a moment to remember what I sat down meaning to write...but there it is, i'm going to put my resolutions down somewhere they won't be lost.

Which requires thought. oh, crap. I'll start with 2007 successes instead.

1. I got fitter and lost about 10 kg. (then put 4 back on over winter. whoops).

2. My first piece of writing was published online, and i got some great free goodies for my later efforts. Haven't submitted anything in the last few months due to things being so mad, but at i least i put myself out there.

3. I quit my horrible boring tedious under appreciated job for a much more enjoyable, busy, dynamic job where in the space of six months i acted in three different positions besides my own. woop woop!

4. I got my full license. Finally!

5. I survived (haha) another year with the boy. Now clocked up 2.5. awww.

6. i grew some of my own vegies...am a bit bummed that my broccoli (gosh thats an odd looking word!) went to flower then died completely during my week long absence, but at least i still have tomatoes growing, lettuce and beetroot that i can't wait to pull out. 

7. I sewed a whole lot more (not much clothing sadly) and got going on the ipod covers again. which led to 

8. our first market! so far, so good, with our cards - have these stocked in a few places and have the martinborough fair coming up. I really should decide if i want to do newtown, kilbirnie and petone soon huh.

9. i got good at snowboarding!

10. i knitted lots. of scarves and beanies.

so for the resolutions: 

Re: 1. Am going to get back on the bike and lose that four plus an extra two by the time winter rolls around. And keep it off. My stomach is starting to remind me that i can't eat whatever i want again. (a boring, boring start to the resolutions but i had to put it in)

Re: 2. Read more. Since our trip i have been fascinated by the things that drove New Zealand as a country in the decade or so after WW2. I think it has something to with Crown Lynn, state house design and the image of the 'good old days'

Re 3. Get a fat ass pay rise. 

Re 4. Um, i can't further myself on having my full so, in total subversion of that, i'm going to try to use the car as little as possible. Might even keep track of it on here a la the minus car project. Will help with number 1 and saving money too. $2 a litre by july! something to look forward to...

Re 5. clock up another year.

Re 6. Expand my garden when finally get into a new flat. I wouldn't mind improving my vegie gardening knowledge to the point i may one day be able to grow all my own vegies. Saving the planet and all that.

Re 7. Sew more clothes. 

Re 8. Make a mint at the markets, and develop more products, and take over the gift card world

Re 9. Get better at snowboarding. I want to make it to the top lift at Ruapehu and make it all the way down. And love it. 

Re 10. Finally learn how to knit something that isn't a scarf or beanie. Tim thinks i should knit a dress. Think i'll start with a big fat jersey for apres ski. 

11. (some extras here) save money. I have a number in my head. I am determined to make it. In the same strain i want to focus on not being as materialistic this year. It starts to get me down knowing all my 'wants', when really, i don't need that much to get by. I had thought i could go totally overboard and say that i'll go a whole year without buying anything new (that is, second hand is ok) , but maybe i'll hold off on that one.

12. oh crap what was 12. ummmmmm oh i don't know. I'll probably think of it later. How about, just do more things that scare the shit out of me. I've done plenty in the past year, why stop now?

baaaaack!

Unfortunately i am no longer on holiday. Back to work today, technically, as i have to get my ass in to gear for the martinborough fair - now only three weeks away! uh oh!

The boy and i headed away on our little summer meander a bit sooner than we planned. It was a case of, um we're not doing much but sitting around, so why don't we go sit around somewhere else? Like New Plymouth for instance? And then Tim got a bit confused between Napier and New Plymouth as he knew of some people heading east, so we went there too. 

It was the most relaxing fabulous time. Apart from all the freaking crazy drivers that were out. I am constantly flabbergasted at the amount of people who believe that 100ks an hour is too slow. One of my agreements with Tim was no speeding, and he stuck to it, most of the time. I honestly can't understand speeding for several reasons: 

1. It uses something like 13% or more fuel than if you stayed at 100. And the petrol prices aren't going down, that's for sure. Let's save the planet eh?

2. You have to brake a whole lot harder for corners. More petrol, people?

3. I have known too many, and seen too many accidents due to excessive speed. Why do drivers thinks that being one position further up the line of cars is going to get them somewhere faster? Unbelieveable.

4. Why work yourself up at the need to go faster and then get stuck behind slow cars/trucks/trailers/tractors. How about relaxing and looking at that beautiful, beautiful scenery instead? (while still paying attention, of course).

anyway, rant over. 

We managed to stop every few towns on our travels and check out the second hand shops. It was interesting. Tim has revived his vinyl addiction and seems to acquire a huge new pile at every place we go. I seem to have got more selective in my choices. I scored some great old girls' annuals, and another polaroid. But there didn't seem to be much around of what i really wanted - great fabric. I'm trying to avoid picking up too many things that clutter my life at the moment. It's getting to rationalise buying things like beautiful ceramics that realistically, are just going to sit around gathering dust. Instead, i'm going to try and save some money this year - i was very tempted by real estate in the 'naki! 

We picked up a couple real estate brochures and some of the house prices were just incredible, compared to what we're used to here in Wellington. Houses that go for around $400k here were about $250-300 there. There are still many around, that are perfectly decent, for $170 odd thousand. And i still love Taranaki even though i only lived there til i was 8. That majestic mountain, the moody black sand beaches, the wide, wide streets. The art. Pukekura park. It's too beautiful for words. 

I treated tim to all the usual naki sights - we went up the mountain, to the park for the lights (the neon section, sadly, isn't the same without the neon gravel. that was magic when i was 7), the bowl of brooklands, my old school (it still has the giant tree that i was always petrified would fall on the school with all the kids inside), my old church with the Michael Smithers murals. And we took loads of evening walks along the beach...

our road to Napier was endless - because we kept stopping for second hand shops. Typically, one of us would spot one, yell shop! the other would say, do you want to? the answer was always yes. And we'd walk out with more vinyl...

We stayed out at Waipatiki beach - tim's pick, from the advertising photo. He didn't realise it was 30k out of Napier, but by the time we got there, it didn't matter - it was the most amazing place. White sand beach, decent but not intimidating waves for our swims. The sun dropped behind a cliff in the evening to relieve us from the heat (which was pretty full on). We had a potter round in Napier itself, taking photos of buildings, looking at antiques (as you do). And the today we had to come home...which meant last night i started thinking. Of all the things i have to do in the next three weeks. Find or make a dress for the wedding. Make a load of stock for martinborough fair. Find a new flat. Pack up current flat. Attempt to find a way to pay for dress/hair cut/flat moving/wedding shoes all before Martinborough fair (if only it was after the fair).

So i  should go and get on to it. Dishes need doing. Dinner needs cooking. Embroidery needs to be done. Sigh. Holiday is over. Back to work on monday...Hopefully before then i will do a new year's goals post. And  add some photos!

ephemera

Am a bit hungover today. Shall i share the exploits?

I finished work on Friday, headed home and then picked my brother and his new(ish) girlfriend up from the airport. It is so good to see him again, even though it has only been about 6 months. But still. From there we had fish and chips, all the 

kids in one room - man we take up a lot of space now! All bar one are out of school and over 5 foot 9, it's bizarre. Had a few too many wines, did some grocery shopping with my sister and had the best sleep ever...

Saturday involved cleaning and baking pre-afternoon tea, which was meant to be reasonably posh like until tim came home with a box of coronas. Out of all the people who came, only one had a cup of coffee and one had tea. All the rest of us were boozing. Good, good times. Too much food, lots of sun and catching up. 

Eventually my older brother turned up after a day of shopping, and invited us to go for dinner at Nicolinis, not only the best italian restaurant around, but his old place of employ. Of course we'd all eaten too much already and hadn't booked so we didn't get there til around 10, so had the wait staff sitting with us eating their dinner, and then Raffaele himself joined us. I treated myself to the most divine banquet of pescatora - seafood, beautiful seafood. Tim hates anything you have to shell that comes from the ocean so it was a rare moment where absolutely had to take the opportunity. we wobbled home around midnight, and we paid for it this morning...to the point where i succumbed to a pie, an extreme rarity.

We've just been to yet another of the boy's family's houses for nibbles and drinks and sweltering in the sun. I think Wellington is a bit confused and has decided to provide us with weather that is more appropriate for Nelson, but it is wonderful for all these afternoon events we've been going to. 

Am now biding my time before going out to meet some old school friends for dinner, one is here on a flying visit from Auckland before heading off to the Philippines - lucky thing! So have finally managed to get labels done for all my presents, and the boy is about to learn just how carried away i got...hmmm....

I'm sure there was something deep and meaningful i was going to mention. Hmm... Despite all that i've been trying to do to get myself to actually 'feel' like it's Christmas, it still hasn't sunk in. My presents are almost al organised, there have been myriad family and friend gatherings, and yet...it just isn't the same from when i was a kid. I'm sure when all the madness that is present opening is under way, and my nine year old brother is running around going nuts on chocolate, and my stomach feels like it will pop, and we go for a walk to look at the Christmas lights to work it off, then, i am sure it will feel like Christmas. But i think once you get a certain age you really have to make an effort to feel that true vibe. In an odd moment of insight, I said to tim that Christmas only really happens if you make the effort. I get so sick of these people who go on about how much they hate Christmas, all the stress and what have you. By forcing myself to start making presents in early November, this year it has been a breeze. And i actually enjoy Christmas shopping, and baking, and cooking, and hanging out with all my favourite people. Yes, all those parties get a bit tedious, but i've taken advantage of every single one and used it as the only relaxation time i've had in months. Just sitting back quietly, watching everyone else and listening to their conversations, talking to people. it's the same reason i love the markets - i don't have to do anything at all but sit there. I feel like a total marshmallow after all that food and alcohol, but i'm going to use my two week break to make sure i get back in the exercise habit. Really people who tell everyone who will listen how much they hate this time of year need to get over it. I could go into a whole other reason as to how that can be seen as entirely selfish, but i won't.

on a final note, i happened upon the most fantastic garage sale yesterday. Check out what i picked up for $2 (and she didn't even want that much for it!). I honesty could have walked away with a giant box of fabric. Thank goodness i had that rational thought of...oh, um, where on earth would i store it all?!

A painted velvet cushion cover...
And this fabric. No idea what to do with it, of course...

And the fabric i bought in Paraparam the other weekend. How cool are the trucks!!

righty-o i better get on to tidying myself up for dinner. Have a fantastic Christmas...hopefully will post shortly after. :)

all the good intentions

My good intentions for this blog as follows:

take photos of great stash of stuff purchased at the Statue Barn two weeks ago
take photos of freaking cool fabric bought in Paraparaumu two weeks ago
put up photos of pretty coloured jingle bells bought a week ago from borders
post every day (pfffffffffft)
take photos of just completed christmas craft presenty goodness

clearly none of this has happened. In between Christmas parties, my body shutting down on me and forcing me to spend a day in bed (and miss the one Christmas party i was really looking forward to) and Tim's brother and family arriving from Canada, it's all got a bit lost in the wash. I have, however, very nearly completed all Christmas crafting/shopping, have a tidy house and even managed to seriously diminish my massive pile of work. Admittedly i did just move part of it, but cos it's filing, and can wait til January, it still counts right?

So now i am hanging out for Friday afternoon when i get to finish at the oh so wonderful time of 1, and get stuck into some serious cookie baking. Not that our house needs any more sugar...

i heart christmas

especially because i just had a work lunch. along with said lunch i imbibed perhaps two glasses of wine more than i should have. All attempts at work are rendered futile. Must abort. More work drinks commence at 1800 hours. uhoh.