I started working full-time July 5, the day after we got back from Australia. It was a bit of different first day at work, having to try on 2 ocean swimming wetsuits (entry level and high end) to get a sense of how to fit people in them and how to explain the differences. If that wasn't enough to work up a sweat, next, two of my co-workers (who are competitive swimmers to begin with) got me into a racing suit...2 sizes too small as it should be. It was definitely a quick way to get up close and personal with them shoving bits and pieces of me into the tiny kneeskin. I have also needed to get used to calling swim suits of all kinds "togs" on a regular basis. I might actually be used to it now, as strange as that seems.
Three weeks down and I get my first full weekend off this weekend :) though I haven't had to work a full one yet either...that will be 2 weekends from this one. Working with all the swimming and triathlon gear and talking to all the people who come into the store may just inspire me to get back into some swimming for some of the open water competitions. We'll see...
My QuickFit (crossfit) sessions have been going well, 3 times a week 7:30-8. I'm enjoying it and I definitely like the QUICK factor about it. The WODs may be nice short, but they are by no means easy.
We've been alternating pub quiz Wednesday nights at Slipp Inn (tends to be MANY more teams and more challenging) and Tuesday nights in Albany (which is growing a little but far less teams and slightly less challenging). The first week we did the Albany one we came second and won $40 to spend on food and drinks the next time. The second time, we came first and won $60. The last time we came 3rd and won $20, so we have to keep going back!
Saturday, July 14, we went to soup night at Corelli's! A nice salad started, bowl of soup and dessert, all very delicious of course! And best of all, you got to keep your soup bowl, hand made by an artist who was roaming around and raffled off a large ceramic punch bowl as well!
Jacques and I went to Libby's 7th birthday party a couple Sundays ago. It was a yucky rainy day, but fortunately the girls were happy bracelet-making and practicing their netball shots in the house. It was so cute watching the group dance to a game on the Wii, they were all focusing so hard. It was good to catch up with all the Clinton kids and spend some time with John and Julia as well. Post-party, we headed to the Glenfield night markets for the first time for dinner. Lots of varieties of food from lots of different cultures. A nice way to eat dinner for relatively cheap and extremely delicious! We went back last Sunday as well!
Last Saturday, I was on by myself at work for the first time on the weekend and I think we had about as many people come into the store that as had been collectively the whole weeks I'd been working! It was soooo busy, I didn't have time to eat or anything during our opening hours 10-5. I had LOTS of great sales thought, so it was all worth it. Even though I was basically ready for bed when I got home, we went to go see The Dark Knight Rises at 9pm and of course didn't get home until after midnight because it's such a long movie! Definitely worth it, though!
Sunday, we test drove a car and yesterday, purchased it! It's a 2007 Suzuki Swift, dark blue. I'll post a photo when I can take one in the light. It's manual, so I'll have to readjust to driving it, but it drives very smoothly and easily. I am definitely a fan so far. I am hoping to call it Ollie, just have to convince Jacques that's a good name! :) The purchase came JUST in time as well. This morning, I picked up Astrid from the airport at 6am and returned her car we'd be able to use for the past 7 weeks! Is good to have her back and she brought us some delicious Belgian chocolates too!
We are looking forward to watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics this weekend. We'll have a breakfast/brunch along with the ceremonies Saturday morning 6:30-10:30am. Later in the day we'll head to a CrossFit expo at the ASB show grounds where 2 members of CrossFit Auckland will be competing. It will be good to go along and support them.
I think I am mostly up to date now...busy busy with work! Nice to finally have a steady paycheck, though :)
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Port Douglas
Just to preface the lateness of this blog entry...we had an overnight flight back from Australia so we didn't get too much sleep, I spent the first half of our first day back sleeping and the other half unpacking and getting everything organized, making sure I was well-rested for my first day of work Thursday July 5. Then, I had this entire post written, just waiting to add photos, but it didn't autosave when Safari crashed...so I've had to find time in my now VERY busy schedule to re-write it and catch up.
Wednesday, June 27 I met Jacques in town had some lunch, then we caught the bus to the airport and boarded our plane to Cairns. The flight was close to 6 hours so we didn't arrive until after 10pm. We caught a taxi to our backpackers where Alex and Jane let us in. We went across the street the Gilligan's for a couple drinks and that was basically all of our time in Cairns. In the morning we had some breakfast and got the bus to Port Douglas. We checked in at our backpackers right on the main street and did a bit of exploring. It's definitely a holiday beach town, everyone there to relax and enjoy the reef and rainforest. We spent a couple of days on the beach and did 2 day tours.
Our first tour was to the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. We were picked up from our backpackers at 7:45am and not returned until about 5:30. Our tour only had 8 people on it (that was the maximum) so it was very personal and informative. The first stop was Mossaman Gorge and then a boat trip down the river for some croc-spotting, where we saw some males, females and some babies! We had morning tea and coffee and some muffins at a sort of hidden beach along the side of the rainforest. They even catered to my vegan eating. I got a nice fruit box for morning tea instead of cookies and muffins. We carried on to Cape Tribulation where we got about 30 min to explore the views an beach. We drove back into the rainforest for lunch and sat at a picnic table in the middle of the trees. Lunch was a feast of steak, fish, sausages and about 4 different salads and damper (Australian bread). I had 2 vegan patties consisting of some grains and veggies perhaps. They were tasty even though I'm not too sure what they were made of. After lunch we had the option to swim in a chilly mountain stream, which the 4 of us did. The water was about 64 degrees. Very refreshing but a nice little spot. Next we went for a guided walk though the forest. We all piled back in the van and stopped off at a little ice cream place before heading back to Port Douglas. They only served a sampler of the 6 flavors of the day which were all named after foreign Australian fruits and things. I just sampled little bits of Jacques', but most were pretty tasty. Instead, I had a dairy-free fudgesicle of my own.
We had some nice beach-weather days and did a bit of poking in the shops around Port Douglas, mostly relaxing days. One day when Jacques and Alex went to do a workout in the evening, I decided to go for a run along the beach. It was the perfect temperature and since the beach faced east, the sun wasn't beating down on me, but nicely hidden behind the trees, just a nice warm breeze to keep the climate comfortable. There were so many others out running and walking along the beach as well, definitely a popular evening activity for vacationers and locals alike.
Our other big day trip was a snorkel tour out to the Agincourt Reefs in the Great Barrier Reef. All three spots were beautiful and we saw some amazing colors and sea life (including 6 white-tipped reef sharks!). Although a couple of the sharks were decent sized, the guides telling us they were harmless was enough convincing to swim up close to get some photos. They were pretty hard to keep up to though! Once again, we were fed very well throughout the day and my vegan needs were catered to.
All in all, we had a fabulous trip and lovely weather! It was nice to have a week of summertime after going from one winter into the next.
Wednesday, June 27 I met Jacques in town had some lunch, then we caught the bus to the airport and boarded our plane to Cairns. The flight was close to 6 hours so we didn't arrive until after 10pm. We caught a taxi to our backpackers where Alex and Jane let us in. We went across the street the Gilligan's for a couple drinks and that was basically all of our time in Cairns. In the morning we had some breakfast and got the bus to Port Douglas. We checked in at our backpackers right on the main street and did a bit of exploring. It's definitely a holiday beach town, everyone there to relax and enjoy the reef and rainforest. We spent a couple of days on the beach and did 2 day tours.
Our first tour was to the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. We were picked up from our backpackers at 7:45am and not returned until about 5:30. Our tour only had 8 people on it (that was the maximum) so it was very personal and informative. The first stop was Mossaman Gorge and then a boat trip down the river for some croc-spotting, where we saw some males, females and some babies! We had morning tea and coffee and some muffins at a sort of hidden beach along the side of the rainforest. They even catered to my vegan eating. I got a nice fruit box for morning tea instead of cookies and muffins. We carried on to Cape Tribulation where we got about 30 min to explore the views an beach. We drove back into the rainforest for lunch and sat at a picnic table in the middle of the trees. Lunch was a feast of steak, fish, sausages and about 4 different salads and damper (Australian bread). I had 2 vegan patties consisting of some grains and veggies perhaps. They were tasty even though I'm not too sure what they were made of. After lunch we had the option to swim in a chilly mountain stream, which the 4 of us did. The water was about 64 degrees. Very refreshing but a nice little spot. Next we went for a guided walk though the forest. We all piled back in the van and stopped off at a little ice cream place before heading back to Port Douglas. They only served a sampler of the 6 flavors of the day which were all named after foreign Australian fruits and things. I just sampled little bits of Jacques', but most were pretty tasty. Instead, I had a dairy-free fudgesicle of my own.
We had some nice beach-weather days and did a bit of poking in the shops around Port Douglas, mostly relaxing days. One day when Jacques and Alex went to do a workout in the evening, I decided to go for a run along the beach. It was the perfect temperature and since the beach faced east, the sun wasn't beating down on me, but nicely hidden behind the trees, just a nice warm breeze to keep the climate comfortable. There were so many others out running and walking along the beach as well, definitely a popular evening activity for vacationers and locals alike.
Our other big day trip was a snorkel tour out to the Agincourt Reefs in the Great Barrier Reef. All three spots were beautiful and we saw some amazing colors and sea life (including 6 white-tipped reef sharks!). Although a couple of the sharks were decent sized, the guides telling us they were harmless was enough convincing to swim up close to get some photos. They were pretty hard to keep up to though! Once again, we were fed very well throughout the day and my vegan needs were catered to.
All in all, we had a fabulous trip and lovely weather! It was nice to have a week of summertime after going from one winter into the next.
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| White-tipped reef shark |
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