Sine that is what it seems to be these days...not sure how I managed to go from daily to weekly all of sudden but I'm working on it! I'll try to squeeze at least one back into the middle of the week too!
Let's see...where to begin...this week was pretty exhausting, working until 5:30 with the kids then rushing off to the bar course for 6pm. I was ready for bed most nights by the time I got home at 9:30-45 and fitting in training was a problem!
Monday (Feb 21): hmm unfortunately I actually don't remember too much that happened that day. Nothing too important I suppose. Oh, actually, I started to teach some of the yoga class! After dropping the kids at school I missed the 9am ferry...since they are nearly impossible to get to school on time...but got the 9:30 one from Devonport and got to Newmarket just in time for my first class. Mostly, I just helped adjust people and make sure they were in the correct position for each posture, and help set up the people who had not been before. The class was very full and with lots of new faces. The GrabOne voucher did wonders for the classes with almost 300 sold! Then I had to pick Tessa up from Kindy (she wasn't with Nan this Monday) and then get the other two from School. Turns out they wanted to have a playdate with another sibling pair their ages, so they went home with them after school. Poor Tessa wondered why we went to school to get Reuben and Libby and then came home without them! She went in her paddling pool on the deck and had a bouncing session on the trampoline and had a great time nonetheless. Oh and then of course I was off to begin week 2 of my bar course.
Feb 22: I'm pretty sure this was the morning Reuben was doing his sentences with his spelling words before school and for the word "whale" his sentence was, "The whale is big as." He's all about brevity, and Julia and I just found it too hilarious and classic Kiwi to correct it or make him say ...as what? The rest of the day was a typical Tuesday followed by the bar course.
Feb 23: A pretty average Wednesday, apart from a slight misunderstanding in getting the kids to Athletics in Takapuna. I understood that when Julia said John was on his way home, he would bring the kids there for 4:45, but really she meant he's access their state and try to convince Libby that she did want to participate, but I would still bring them there. So by about 4:40 I decided I should go upstairs and ask, turns out he was busy working in the garage and then came rushing them out of the house, a very difficult task for 3 kids who don't know how to rush! I think we were there by about 5, but because we had to rush out, I had to come all the way back home, which was very much out of the way, to change and get ready for the bar course, and of course it had to be a crazy traffic day as well, putting me through the door as my name was called...or maybe that was the day before...this week the traffic across the bridge was much worse than last week. I just don't understand why traffic INTO the city is so bad at rush hour...you'd think it would be more backed up headed north or south OUT of the city with everyone going home!
Feb 24: Thursday I did my 5k run loop and went to yoga earlier in the day so get a good stretch in. Then of course the bus took forever once again get from Newmarket to the sky tower, where I took my bar course exam. Turns out we actually had 5 min to make our 3 drinks, which was PLENTY of time. And although I haven't yet found out my results or got my certificate in the mail, I think it's safe to say I passed. Now just to finish creating a NZ-style-bar-oriented CV and I can start handing it out in the bars.
Feb 25: Early Friday morning yoga as usual, home for lunch, off to Narrow Neck to do some swim lessons with snorkel and fins at the beach, then unlike a usual Friday, off to get Libby and Reuben from school. Tessa was with her Nan, and John and Julia were away flying to Great Barrier Island for their anniversary weekend. Getting those two to sleep that night was a real challenge. At first, I let them try a sleepover in Reuben's room, in the bunk beds, but then they wanted to sleep in the same bed, which clearly was not going to work! Then they were both in Mom and Dad's bed, but again, they were just not getting to sleep. Eventually, Libby ended up in Mom and Dad's bed and Reuben in his own. It was hard for Libby because it was my first time putting her to sleep, so besides Julia, John or Nan, no one else had done that job, especially at home, so she was having trouble. Eventually, probably close to 10pm they were both asleep, most likely just because they were so sleepy! I think I was reading them bedtime stories at about 7:30...so it was a pretty long process! Then in the morning I had to make sure we were out the door by 8:20 and they came to swim lessons with me, where they were have a play on the playground until Papa met them and watched Reuben's swim lesson at 10:30.
Feb 26: To add to all the hustle and bustle that was Saturday morning, the Merc decided it didn't want to start that morning! Eventually, it got going, maybe just a little cold...but it's never done that before so that was a bit worrying! After swim lessons, I had a little swim of my own and then came home to a bit of peace and quiet. The plan was to return Tessa to me that afternoon, but that changed to EVERYONE coming back including Nan and Papa for a sleepover, since sailing was early Sunday morning at Narrow Neck. But that plan changed, because poor Tessa got some kind of flu and they didn't want to travel with her. Lucky for me, I got the evening off and went to the Rugby League game in Albany.
Feb 27: I got up early and was all ready to meet Reuben and Papa at Narrow Neck with the boat shed key and sailing gear at 8:30, but as I was getting ready, I got the call saying Reuben wasn't too keen, so they weren't going to come and do the races. So I had a fairly quiet Sunday as well, went for a cycle, caught up on some TV shows. The kids were returned about 3:30 and Tessa was supposedly better, but about 2 minutes after Nan walked out the door, Tessa vomited all over the couch! I guess she was saving the last of it for me...since she seemed to be better after that. So in trying to clean that up, I had Reuben and Libby bursting with energy they needed to let out! I fed them all dinner, and was worried Tessa's would come back up again...luckily it stayed in her, but John and Julia had flight delays so it was getting very late (past Tessa's bedtime, especially since she'd be been sick all weekend) and she had had enough and miss "mummy bear". After telling her we weren't going to set up her travel cot in the garage, she started screaming, which turned to missing mummy bear, which went on and on....even when Julia was on the phone Tessa wouldn't calm down long enough to listen and I was getting clawed. She was just completely out of sorts. Fortunately, they weren't far away and we walked all the way up to the bus stop on Bayswater Ave to meet them. The only way Tessa calmed down was when we decided to go and pick flowers and leaves to give to mummy bear.
Feb 28: Poor Tessa, Monday was again an off routine. She wasn't at Nan's like usual (since she had been all weekend), but home with Daddy in the morning then woke up to me after her sleep, but heard Daddy go out the door...this put her in hysterics again for a good 25 min! John was picking up the kids from school and meeting Julia because her dad was being sworn into the high court as a judge and they were taking Reuben and Libby to the ceremony and then out to dinner afterward. Luckily, a phone call from mummy bear saying she was coming home did the trick to calm Tessa down enough for me to feed her and then keep her occupied for the rest of the night until she went to sleep. I also did some more adjusting, and also demonstrating this time at yoga. Next week, I'll be running through the first standing posture, trikanasana...no idea how to spell that just yet...otherwise known as triangle pose.
March 1 (Happy Birthday Susan and Jacques!): Finally, a back to routine day, but with Libby and Reuben exhausted from two late nights, the car ride home from school was not a pleasant one. They were getting too easily frustrated with each other and had a mini war in the boot. I also needed to bring them all to drop Reuben at Karate, which he happened to be on time for! Mom just wasn't going to make it quite in time, but she met us there, and of course the girls wanted to ride home with her. I went out to dinner with Jacques and his family for his birthday. We went to Serengeti, a South African restaurant, and I had the ribs and chicken schnitzel combo which was absolutely delicious! Cheese sauce, spinach and pumpkin (squash) veggies, and baked potato with sour cream. I ate every bit and felt kind of like I was going to pop afterward...but it was worth it!
March 2: Today was back to normal...or so I thought. The morning started out as routine, drop the kids at school, take Tessa to the park in the pram to get out of Su, the cleaner's way, come home, put her down for a sleep, but then St. Leo's (the school) rang and said they had Reuben in the sick bay with a sore tummy. Julia went to pick him up and bring him home, then returned to work. Tessa's nap was cut short because she heard her brother. It was still a pretty calm afternoon, but definitely not as quiet as I'm used to. We picked Libby up then came home again. No Athletics tonight, although Reuben definitely seemed well enough by that time, Libby just didn't want to go. Tessa and Libby helped make a gluten-free pizza (because Reuben's on a gluten-free diet). The crust was extremely crumbly and actually quite terrible-tasting so unfortunately it was not a big hit...at least they had fun preparing it! Tonight I went for a swim and run, the final training sessions before the big day Saturday morning!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
GrabOne Voucher!
Just thought I'd share with you all that I'm famous on GrabOne! Haha, I made the cut for the photo of the discount voucher for the yoga school!!
See me in white here!
See me in white here!
Bar Course
Whoa, nearly yet another week has gone by! Time certainly flies when you're busy!!
Here's a quick recap..
Monday: Took, the kids to school, got a few groceries, run and swim training, Valentine's Day cake baking, pick kids up from school, make their dinner and some for me, ferry over to the first night of my bar course at New Zealand's Professional Bar and Restaurant School. I was surprised at how huge a class it was (40 people or more) and at my table were 2 English girls, one Kiwi girl and a German guy. It's pretty fun and we not only learn a whole bunch of cocktail recipes but also barista skills, coffees and how to properly steam and pour milk, customer service, licensing, where different types of alcohol come from, what they're made from, how they're normally served. And we get TONS of time behind the bar to practice. Also, we could drink everything we make to practice if we really wanted to. Unfortunately, I decided to have a "dry month" before my triathlon with no alcohol so I am unable to take advantage of all the nice cocktails we make! Oh well! After the first night, I was taken to the Chocolate Boutique in Parnell for Valentine's Day, yum yum!
Tuesday and Wednesday were regular busy days with the bar course from 6-9 so not really any time for training since I didn't want to get up super early and had Tessa in the afternoons.
Thursday, I cycled to the pool, went for a swim went to yoga early and then was off to the last night of my bar course for the week. We had to make 3 drinks in 3.5 minutes. It was pretty funny to see where people went wrong under pressure and so short on time. Jordan, the main guy running the course promises us we'll all be able to do it easily for our exam next Thursday. Then on my way to yoga, I ran into Sophie in Newmarket, she was on her way to the train to head home and she said some girls were meeting up later so I met them in the viaduct after my course for a little.
Friday, I taught swim lessons again, so nice to be teaching in an outdoor heated pool in the summertime where all of the kids are just excited to get in and willing to stay in for nearly 2 hours!! We practiced with snorkel gear yesterday and next week, the lesson will be at Narrow Neck beach and they'll be getting even more practice with their snorkel gear. After the lessons, I cycled home, went for a run, had a shower and ferried into the city to meet all the girls (for Nina's last night of her year in NZ before returning to Germany! :( ) and go to the Chinese Lantern Festival to celebrate the year of the Rabbit. The festival was PACKED with people and there were lots of really cook lantern displays, music, little souvenir booths and food stalls! I had a mini half watermelon sliced up inside with a massive amount of ice cream on top! It was super yummy, but had FAR too many seeds. Later, An and I went to the ice bar to use our grabone vouchers that the other girls had already used one night back in December. You have to bundle up in a large winter coat, ugg boots and gloves. Everything inside is made of ice, including the glass you drink from. It was pretty chilly inside so we soon rejoined our friends in the bar next door. I ferried back to Devonport at 12am but there was no bus back to drop me at the end of Bayswater Ave. There was an English couple that lived on Bayswater Ave searching for a cab home so they said I could share one with them. While walking into town a little to find one, some guy stopped asking if we were looking for a taxi. Turns out the friends he was waiting for weren't actually on the ferry and he had given the guy a ride home before! So he gave us all a ride, really nice of him and didn't want any money. He was from Malibu, CA has been flying with Quantas the last 2 years and has his Master's Law degree from UCLA (he talked a lot in the 5 minute ride home!) Turns out he lives right on Bayswater Ave as well. Of course I would have accepted a ride if the other couple wasn't there as well!
This morning I had more swim lessons, and this week had 6, straigh from 9-12. That is certainly one way to make 3 hours fly by! I had a pretty lazy afternoon and went for a cycle after dinner. I am currently watching American Idol (because it's on Friday and Saturday nights here!) and then may go for a run after that...plans for tomorrow...more training, a swim lesson for Jake, yoga teacher's son, some tennis perhaps...
Here's a quick recap..
Monday: Took, the kids to school, got a few groceries, run and swim training, Valentine's Day cake baking, pick kids up from school, make their dinner and some for me, ferry over to the first night of my bar course at New Zealand's Professional Bar and Restaurant School. I was surprised at how huge a class it was (40 people or more) and at my table were 2 English girls, one Kiwi girl and a German guy. It's pretty fun and we not only learn a whole bunch of cocktail recipes but also barista skills, coffees and how to properly steam and pour milk, customer service, licensing, where different types of alcohol come from, what they're made from, how they're normally served. And we get TONS of time behind the bar to practice. Also, we could drink everything we make to practice if we really wanted to. Unfortunately, I decided to have a "dry month" before my triathlon with no alcohol so I am unable to take advantage of all the nice cocktails we make! Oh well! After the first night, I was taken to the Chocolate Boutique in Parnell for Valentine's Day, yum yum!
Tuesday and Wednesday were regular busy days with the bar course from 6-9 so not really any time for training since I didn't want to get up super early and had Tessa in the afternoons.
Thursday, I cycled to the pool, went for a swim went to yoga early and then was off to the last night of my bar course for the week. We had to make 3 drinks in 3.5 minutes. It was pretty funny to see where people went wrong under pressure and so short on time. Jordan, the main guy running the course promises us we'll all be able to do it easily for our exam next Thursday. Then on my way to yoga, I ran into Sophie in Newmarket, she was on her way to the train to head home and she said some girls were meeting up later so I met them in the viaduct after my course for a little.
Friday, I taught swim lessons again, so nice to be teaching in an outdoor heated pool in the summertime where all of the kids are just excited to get in and willing to stay in for nearly 2 hours!! We practiced with snorkel gear yesterday and next week, the lesson will be at Narrow Neck beach and they'll be getting even more practice with their snorkel gear. After the lessons, I cycled home, went for a run, had a shower and ferried into the city to meet all the girls (for Nina's last night of her year in NZ before returning to Germany! :( ) and go to the Chinese Lantern Festival to celebrate the year of the Rabbit. The festival was PACKED with people and there were lots of really cook lantern displays, music, little souvenir booths and food stalls! I had a mini half watermelon sliced up inside with a massive amount of ice cream on top! It was super yummy, but had FAR too many seeds. Later, An and I went to the ice bar to use our grabone vouchers that the other girls had already used one night back in December. You have to bundle up in a large winter coat, ugg boots and gloves. Everything inside is made of ice, including the glass you drink from. It was pretty chilly inside so we soon rejoined our friends in the bar next door. I ferried back to Devonport at 12am but there was no bus back to drop me at the end of Bayswater Ave. There was an English couple that lived on Bayswater Ave searching for a cab home so they said I could share one with them. While walking into town a little to find one, some guy stopped asking if we were looking for a taxi. Turns out the friends he was waiting for weren't actually on the ferry and he had given the guy a ride home before! So he gave us all a ride, really nice of him and didn't want any money. He was from Malibu, CA has been flying with Quantas the last 2 years and has his Master's Law degree from UCLA (he talked a lot in the 5 minute ride home!) Turns out he lives right on Bayswater Ave as well. Of course I would have accepted a ride if the other couple wasn't there as well!
This morning I had more swim lessons, and this week had 6, straigh from 9-12. That is certainly one way to make 3 hours fly by! I had a pretty lazy afternoon and went for a cycle after dinner. I am currently watching American Idol (because it's on Friday and Saturday nights here!) and then may go for a run after that...plans for tomorrow...more training, a swim lesson for Jake, yoga teacher's son, some tennis perhaps...
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| Turtle Band |
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| Sky tower from Albert Park |
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Swim Lessons!
Another busy week and weekend! I did a lot of training, yoga, and swim teaching!
Wednesday I drove the kids to athletics and watched some races and events. They were learning to do relay-type things with the 5-year-olds, just with half of them on one side of a straight away and the other half on the other in 2 teams. Libby ran the whole length with her hand out ready to tag, slowing her down just a bit. At least she was helping the other person get going more quickly!! Thursday night I went to yoga, Friday morning I went to yoga, and then rushed back to get the 12:10 ferry to make sure I was at the outdoor pool at Takapuna primary school before 1pm. The Belmont Swim Academy started through Steve Lindsey Swim School. Basically, a group of 26 9-10-year-olds came for lessons as part of their school day. We somehow managed to get them oranized into three different levels so each of us had close to 10 kids! It was pretty much madness but fun and the kids seemed to get semi-organized by the end. This week, we'll be helping them practice with snorkel and fins and then the week after that we'll be swimming in the ocean at Narrow Neck beach.
Saturday morning I went back to the Takapuna primary school pool for lessons from 9-12, much more manageable with classes of no more than 5 kids for me to teach. I've come to the general conclusion that Kiwi kids just do not listen. They just sort of do what they please. They are more polite, but don't listen well, whereas American children listen better to instructions but are more rude as well. Strange comparison, but I guess they all have to find their own ways of being challenging! After the lessons I came home for some lunch and then headed down to Narrow Neck for some tri training. I met Jenny and we did a swim in the choppy seas out to a marker buoy and then back at an angle then did the run course and then I showed her the cycle route in her car since she didn't have her bike. I did the cycle route after and then cycled home, showered and went to Jacques' friend's leaving bbq. Later on I met Sophie, Astrid and Jenny in Takapuna, where not a lot was going on. There was a pretty cool party at Cafe Massimo with an outdoor dance floor, but other than that, the Takapuna nightlife was pretty dead as usual!
This morning, I taught Jake, Sharon the yoga teacher's son, a swim lesson at Takapuna, something we'll continue every week from now on! Then she brought me into the studio where we met some other people for a photo shoot. They want some new photos for their website, and they are also making a GrabOne voucher for beginner classes, so I may end up on the advertisement for that online! Watch HERE to see if it appears!
Tomorrow, I start my bar course in the evening, and doing some beginning yoga teaching in the morning after dropping the kids at school. I think I'll mostly be helping make adjustments to people who aren't in the correct positioning. Looks like another busy week ahead! Oh I'll have to start doing some early morning swimming as well, since I won't have time in the evenings! Yikes!
Wednesday I drove the kids to athletics and watched some races and events. They were learning to do relay-type things with the 5-year-olds, just with half of them on one side of a straight away and the other half on the other in 2 teams. Libby ran the whole length with her hand out ready to tag, slowing her down just a bit. At least she was helping the other person get going more quickly!! Thursday night I went to yoga, Friday morning I went to yoga, and then rushed back to get the 12:10 ferry to make sure I was at the outdoor pool at Takapuna primary school before 1pm. The Belmont Swim Academy started through Steve Lindsey Swim School. Basically, a group of 26 9-10-year-olds came for lessons as part of their school day. We somehow managed to get them oranized into three different levels so each of us had close to 10 kids! It was pretty much madness but fun and the kids seemed to get semi-organized by the end. This week, we'll be helping them practice with snorkel and fins and then the week after that we'll be swimming in the ocean at Narrow Neck beach.
Saturday morning I went back to the Takapuna primary school pool for lessons from 9-12, much more manageable with classes of no more than 5 kids for me to teach. I've come to the general conclusion that Kiwi kids just do not listen. They just sort of do what they please. They are more polite, but don't listen well, whereas American children listen better to instructions but are more rude as well. Strange comparison, but I guess they all have to find their own ways of being challenging! After the lessons I came home for some lunch and then headed down to Narrow Neck for some tri training. I met Jenny and we did a swim in the choppy seas out to a marker buoy and then back at an angle then did the run course and then I showed her the cycle route in her car since she didn't have her bike. I did the cycle route after and then cycled home, showered and went to Jacques' friend's leaving bbq. Later on I met Sophie, Astrid and Jenny in Takapuna, where not a lot was going on. There was a pretty cool party at Cafe Massimo with an outdoor dance floor, but other than that, the Takapuna nightlife was pretty dead as usual!
This morning, I taught Jake, Sharon the yoga teacher's son, a swim lesson at Takapuna, something we'll continue every week from now on! Then she brought me into the studio where we met some other people for a photo shoot. They want some new photos for their website, and they are also making a GrabOne voucher for beginner classes, so I may end up on the advertisement for that online! Watch HERE to see if it appears!
Tomorrow, I start my bar course in the evening, and doing some beginning yoga teaching in the morning after dropping the kids at school. I think I'll mostly be helping make adjustments to people who aren't in the correct positioning. Looks like another busy week ahead! Oh I'll have to start doing some early morning swimming as well, since I won't have time in the evenings! Yikes!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Mini Hilltop Reunion! (and Happy Birthday Daddy!)
Today, I was luckily enough to see Steve and Shanita on their last day in New Zealand before flying off to Argentina! They'd been in NZ (down in Wellington) just 1 month longer than I have, but I had yet to see them since I've been here! Luckily, I was able to catch them today for a couple of hours. They ferried over to Devonport and met Tessa and I in the park, then we came home, watched Tessa have trampoline sprinkler session and then had a chat down by the water while Tessa had her sleep. Then they ferried back to the city form Bayswater. It's actually kind of crazy to think that the last time I saw them was 5 years ago in Glasgow!! It definitely didn't seem like it had been that long at all!
Now we can rewind a little bit...Thursday night I had a major yoga session...stretched every possible muscle in my body and deeply. I stayed 2.5 hours in the studio and was the last one to leave. The door has a code entry lock thing so the instructor doesn't have to be the last one out, and people who go frequently can use the studio whenever they like, although I haven't learned the code yet...I was very sore Friday morning, but still went back for another session. I decided that I'd start taking the train instead of the bus because they run more frequently and each ride is 20 cents cheaper! Of course I had to get on the wrong train though...after getting the earlier ferry over so that I could take an earlier one back, I managed to get on the one of the two trains to Papakura that didn't go through Newmarket. There are 4 lines of trains running from Britomart and 3 go through Newmarket...so I really just had bad luck with that one. Instead I had to get off at the first stop in Orakei and wait for the train BACK to Britomart and then hop on the next one to Newmarket. At least the ticket people were understanding and didn't charge me for the two trains I didn't mean to take!
I also went for a swim that Friday and then out for after work drinks in town with Jacques and some of his friends that work in town, I didn't quite fit in with the "business" crew...and then we went to a flat-warming/birthday party for another friend and ate the absolute spiciest curry EVER!! Ordering hot was a huge mistake and even having just returned from India, Jacques said it was hotter than anything there...it was just not eatable at all! I used practically ALL the rice and had a sip of milk after most bites!
Saturday (oh and by the way all of these days have been seriously hot and humid!), I went on a run midday and felt like I was melting. I think I sweat out every drop of liquid in my body! Then Sophie and I cycled to Takapuna beach where we met some of the other girls into the late afternoon. Some stayed for a flat party/BBQ and then more time on the beach later that night. I went to one of Jacques' friends' leaving party at a Uni bar in Albany. I didn't have my passport, because we weren't going out in town and the bar was hired out for a the private function, still they almost wouldn't let me in with just my Massachusetts license. I showed them my temporary NZ one, with no photo on it and persuaded them that I was plenty old enough and it would be fine to let me in! Luckily, my NZ driver's license came in the mail yesterday so I will not have any more issues or have to worry about carrying my passport around! It almost feels like a fake ID, knowing I'm not from here but having a full NZ driver's license...strange!
Sunday, I went back to Muriwai for my 3rd surf lesson! It was amazing!! Really hot day and the water was really nice. I didn't actually need the instruction again, but this time the instructors were helping me progress to going faster and steering! I managed to stand up and ride in almost every wave that I caught! It was a lot of fun! Although we were just catching the already broken waves in the white water. Next time I want to learn how to successfully catch the bigger, unbroken ones. I did have a few attempts at that the last lesson I had, but you have to get to your feet a lot quicker or they throw you off the board much easier!
Yesterday, Monday, I had my MoleMap appointment. Basically, a dermatologist skin check, but the woman who does it, isn't the dermatologist, just a qualified mole spotter in a sense. She takes photos of your entire body and then close ups of a whole bunch of freckles and moles of concern and normal-looking ones just to have a baseline. They are then sent away to be analyzed so hopefully the results are all fine when I get them back! They even gave me a special mole-measuring ruler with different sized circles and other mm measurements down the side and even a color spectrum to keep track of spots myself! After school I took Libby and Reuben swimming at Takapuna pools and didn't get home until 5pm they were having so much fun in the pool! Libby even went in the big pool willingly which was a first for her! After dinner, I cycled back to the pool and did my swim training.
Today was just a regular morning until meeting Steve and Shanita, which was a nice treat to have a mini Hilltop reunion and catch up, and then it carried on to be a regular afternoon. I took Reuben to his first Karate lesson tonight and it was pretty amusing watching and listening to all the little boys learning the moves. Then I cycled down to Narrow Neck and cycled around the actual race course for the triathlon and then cycle the run course, ran 1 lap of the run course and then cycled home. So far training seems to be going pretty well. So I haven't been neglecting to post because of a lack of things going on, more because of a lack of time to do the summarizing! Soon that time will be even less when I start teaching swim lessons this Friday and then start my bar course Monday-Thur, 6-9pm for 2 weeks. Keeping busy, but also have to save for another adventure/sight-seeing trip sometime!
And Happy 60th Birthday Daddy!! I hope you continue to get excellent skiing conditions...but maybe not as much on the driveway to have to clean off.... :)
Now we can rewind a little bit...Thursday night I had a major yoga session...stretched every possible muscle in my body and deeply. I stayed 2.5 hours in the studio and was the last one to leave. The door has a code entry lock thing so the instructor doesn't have to be the last one out, and people who go frequently can use the studio whenever they like, although I haven't learned the code yet...I was very sore Friday morning, but still went back for another session. I decided that I'd start taking the train instead of the bus because they run more frequently and each ride is 20 cents cheaper! Of course I had to get on the wrong train though...after getting the earlier ferry over so that I could take an earlier one back, I managed to get on the one of the two trains to Papakura that didn't go through Newmarket. There are 4 lines of trains running from Britomart and 3 go through Newmarket...so I really just had bad luck with that one. Instead I had to get off at the first stop in Orakei and wait for the train BACK to Britomart and then hop on the next one to Newmarket. At least the ticket people were understanding and didn't charge me for the two trains I didn't mean to take!
I also went for a swim that Friday and then out for after work drinks in town with Jacques and some of his friends that work in town, I didn't quite fit in with the "business" crew...and then we went to a flat-warming/birthday party for another friend and ate the absolute spiciest curry EVER!! Ordering hot was a huge mistake and even having just returned from India, Jacques said it was hotter than anything there...it was just not eatable at all! I used practically ALL the rice and had a sip of milk after most bites!
Saturday (oh and by the way all of these days have been seriously hot and humid!), I went on a run midday and felt like I was melting. I think I sweat out every drop of liquid in my body! Then Sophie and I cycled to Takapuna beach where we met some of the other girls into the late afternoon. Some stayed for a flat party/BBQ and then more time on the beach later that night. I went to one of Jacques' friends' leaving party at a Uni bar in Albany. I didn't have my passport, because we weren't going out in town and the bar was hired out for a the private function, still they almost wouldn't let me in with just my Massachusetts license. I showed them my temporary NZ one, with no photo on it and persuaded them that I was plenty old enough and it would be fine to let me in! Luckily, my NZ driver's license came in the mail yesterday so I will not have any more issues or have to worry about carrying my passport around! It almost feels like a fake ID, knowing I'm not from here but having a full NZ driver's license...strange!
Sunday, I went back to Muriwai for my 3rd surf lesson! It was amazing!! Really hot day and the water was really nice. I didn't actually need the instruction again, but this time the instructors were helping me progress to going faster and steering! I managed to stand up and ride in almost every wave that I caught! It was a lot of fun! Although we were just catching the already broken waves in the white water. Next time I want to learn how to successfully catch the bigger, unbroken ones. I did have a few attempts at that the last lesson I had, but you have to get to your feet a lot quicker or they throw you off the board much easier!
Yesterday, Monday, I had my MoleMap appointment. Basically, a dermatologist skin check, but the woman who does it, isn't the dermatologist, just a qualified mole spotter in a sense. She takes photos of your entire body and then close ups of a whole bunch of freckles and moles of concern and normal-looking ones just to have a baseline. They are then sent away to be analyzed so hopefully the results are all fine when I get them back! They even gave me a special mole-measuring ruler with different sized circles and other mm measurements down the side and even a color spectrum to keep track of spots myself! After school I took Libby and Reuben swimming at Takapuna pools and didn't get home until 5pm they were having so much fun in the pool! Libby even went in the big pool willingly which was a first for her! After dinner, I cycled back to the pool and did my swim training.
Today was just a regular morning until meeting Steve and Shanita, which was a nice treat to have a mini Hilltop reunion and catch up, and then it carried on to be a regular afternoon. I took Reuben to his first Karate lesson tonight and it was pretty amusing watching and listening to all the little boys learning the moves. Then I cycled down to Narrow Neck and cycled around the actual race course for the triathlon and then cycle the run course, ran 1 lap of the run course and then cycled home. So far training seems to be going pretty well. So I haven't been neglecting to post because of a lack of things going on, more because of a lack of time to do the summarizing! Soon that time will be even less when I start teaching swim lessons this Friday and then start my bar course Monday-Thur, 6-9pm for 2 weeks. Keeping busy, but also have to save for another adventure/sight-seeing trip sometime!
And Happy 60th Birthday Daddy!! I hope you continue to get excellent skiing conditions...but maybe not as much on the driveway to have to clean off.... :)
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