This weekend we said goodbye to yet another friend! Vicky flew home to the UK on Saturday. A group of us met on Saturday for lunch (also met Jenny's replacement since she'll be going soon as well) and then visited the Auckland Museum, a perfect rainy day activity. They have a living room you go and sit in and it simulates what it would be like if a new volcano erupted next to Rangitoto, the floor shakes and you see all the ash and magma racing toward you through the sliding glass door. Basically, we'd be completely wiped out! So hopefully no more volcanoes are planning on emerging anytime soon!
I had to babysit Saturday night while Julia and John went out to an 80s party, dressed as some crazy 80s characters! Sunday morning John and Reuben and I did the Shore to Shore 5k fun walk/run with over 5000 other school kids and their parents. The race started at Takapuna grammar school and we ran up Lake Rd, down onto Takapuna beach, across the beach, up on the road along to Milford beach and then across Milford beach to the finish. 8-year-old Reuben managed to do it in 42 minutes! just over 20 min faster than he did it last year!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Smart Little Tessa
This morning, while getting Reuben and Libby ready for school, making sure their bags were packed and shoes were on, and as Julia was getting ready to head out the door for work, Tessa went all the way up to my room by herself and came back with the keys to the Merc and handed them to me in the kitchen! She knows her days and routine quite well! In spite of that, she was so well mannered adjusting to a slightly different routine today. We went to watch a couple of duckling swim classes, so I could see how they do them and learn the songs for the ones I'll be doing on Thursdays for the next 4 weeks.
I also forgot to mention that George, John and Julia's friend from Greece (from before Reuben was born) is visiting and now currently living in the boat shed for awhile, so it is definitely a full household! He goes to a lot of sailing races (that's how they met him) but he's also an architect and Libby has put him to work to complete the tree house which now has a roof and everything!
I also forgot to mention that George, John and Julia's friend from Greece (from before Reuben was born) is visiting and now currently living in the boat shed for awhile, so it is definitely a full household! He goes to a lot of sailing races (that's how they met him) but he's also an architect and Libby has put him to work to complete the tree house which now has a roof and everything!
Monday, March 21, 2011
6 Month Mark!
Crazy! I have been here 6 months today! It doesn't quite seem possible that time has gone so quickly, but on the other hand, I feel like I have been here for longer as well...
Tonight, we're going to dinner for Astrid's "temporary" goodbye, because she's going back to Belgium for 6 weeks while she waits for the wine bar she'll be working at here to get going. And tomorrow we'll be checking out some of the many St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the Viaduct Harbour. After a couple of cooler days last week that started to feel like fall, the weather has turned right back to summer again this week with nice hot sunny days.
Hmmm, I started this post and then got distracted and and now returning to it about 5 days later. I also realized I don't think I ever managed to say that I am far far away from earthquake damage, but tons of people have come up to Auckland from Christchurch to stay for awhile until things are rebuilt or safe from aftershocks down there.
Astrid's dinner was good, although we had to wait ages for the food. We told the waiters (who were all Italian guys) that it was her birthday, because we had seen the other birthday display earlier that night. They all came out of the kitchen together with their shirts off singing happy birthday in Italian and brought her a dish of ice cream.
Thursday, we went out for St. Patrick's Day and they do it HUGE here! Lots of green everywhere and mini parties going on everywhere. Bars had green beer and lines out the door, much worse than a normal night out and it was in the middle of a Thursday afternoon.
Friday night, Reuben had 4 friends sleepover, well they came home from school with him, for his 8th Birthday Saturday. I supplied Julia with a list of various camp games to help tired them out so that they'd sleep well. Saturday, was the family party/lunch and Reuben enjoyed playing against everyone on the Wii.
I taught swim lessons Saturday morning and one Sunday as well, then played some tennis because it was a nice warm sunny day. The weather feels more like fall today, cooler and rainy, so making sure to take advantage of the last days of summer while we have them.
Today, I taught a portion of the Monday morning yoga class as usual, adding a new posture or two each week. Next week, I am beginning class as well, opening with the positive vow and Ujjayi pranayama. I took Libby and Reuben swimming after school today, and then after feeding them dinner, went back to Takapuna to fill in coaching the super squad, of about 15 kids at Steve Lindsay Swim School. This will be my biggest week for swim lessons yet! Just over 10 hours of swim teaching. Reanna's Bday celebration Wednesday night and yoga Thursday and Friday. I need to do my own practice, as well and stay and observe the classes. It will be a pretty busy week for sure!
Tonight, we're going to dinner for Astrid's "temporary" goodbye, because she's going back to Belgium for 6 weeks while she waits for the wine bar she'll be working at here to get going. And tomorrow we'll be checking out some of the many St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the Viaduct Harbour. After a couple of cooler days last week that started to feel like fall, the weather has turned right back to summer again this week with nice hot sunny days.
Hmmm, I started this post and then got distracted and and now returning to it about 5 days later. I also realized I don't think I ever managed to say that I am far far away from earthquake damage, but tons of people have come up to Auckland from Christchurch to stay for awhile until things are rebuilt or safe from aftershocks down there.
Astrid's dinner was good, although we had to wait ages for the food. We told the waiters (who were all Italian guys) that it was her birthday, because we had seen the other birthday display earlier that night. They all came out of the kitchen together with their shirts off singing happy birthday in Italian and brought her a dish of ice cream.
Thursday, we went out for St. Patrick's Day and they do it HUGE here! Lots of green everywhere and mini parties going on everywhere. Bars had green beer and lines out the door, much worse than a normal night out and it was in the middle of a Thursday afternoon.
Friday night, Reuben had 4 friends sleepover, well they came home from school with him, for his 8th Birthday Saturday. I supplied Julia with a list of various camp games to help tired them out so that they'd sleep well. Saturday, was the family party/lunch and Reuben enjoyed playing against everyone on the Wii.
I taught swim lessons Saturday morning and one Sunday as well, then played some tennis because it was a nice warm sunny day. The weather feels more like fall today, cooler and rainy, so making sure to take advantage of the last days of summer while we have them.
Today, I taught a portion of the Monday morning yoga class as usual, adding a new posture or two each week. Next week, I am beginning class as well, opening with the positive vow and Ujjayi pranayama. I took Libby and Reuben swimming after school today, and then after feeding them dinner, went back to Takapuna to fill in coaching the super squad, of about 15 kids at Steve Lindsay Swim School. This will be my biggest week for swim lessons yet! Just over 10 hours of swim teaching. Reanna's Bday celebration Wednesday night and yoga Thursday and Friday. I need to do my own practice, as well and stay and observe the classes. It will be a pretty busy week for sure!
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| red skytower in the background for Christchurch, this was actually the weekend before St. Patty's |
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| Devonport, just a regular Tuesday morning with Tessa |
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| Tessa and I watching some people workout one Wednesday morning at Narrow Neck beach |
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| a little friend that decided to join me in my room... |
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| Astrid's temporary goodbye dinner at Gina's |
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| Rachel's dinner she was afraid of but chewed up bravely! |
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| Green skytower for St. Patrick's Day, from Bayswater wharf |
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Nice, Eh?
Tessa's vocabulary is just getting bigger and better by the day! She comes out with some pretty random things to say but some are just too funny. One day this week after dinner, she decided she wanted to go and bounce on the trampoline, so I went down with her while Julia sat with Libby who still had to finish her dinner (Reuben wasn't home from Karate yet). We went out the door and opened the gate and Tessa says, "Nice, eh?" It was a very nice warm sunny evening, but who knows if that's even what she was referring to...just a very Kiwi thing to say and it came out of nowhere.
I've also got back into some swim training, slightly longer distances the three days I went this week, because I think my next step is to enter to swim from Rangitoto Island to St. Helier's Bay, 4.6k. I haven't actually entered yet, but that event would be Sunday morning April 10th. I layed out and took a photo of all the swim caps I've acquired since being here from all the different events I've tried and competed in!
I've yet to get my CV (NZ Resume) out to all the bars in Takapuna, but in the mean time I'm now coaching a couple high school kids, more of a beginner swim team, for 4 weeks, for an hour and Wednesday night. And someone else is leaving the swim school, so I'll be taking over her lessons for 3 hours on Thursday mornings, also for 4 weeks. Today we started teaching the Belmont kids (who come and swim for some lessons during school on Fridays) flipper ball...a beginner version of waterpolo, which I need to read up on, rules and such so that I can teach them properly.
Yesterday, An, Rachel, Sophie and I went to this free concert for the Uni kids at Mt. Albert. It was pretty good, Kids of 88 were there as well as J. Williams (they're NZ bands actually on the radio) and some others whose songs I recognized. I also had these yummy choc chip pancakes with choc ice cream, whipped cream and choc sauce...freshly made and massive, for only $6! That's twice now I've found myself probably the best deal and yummiest festival food! They were also giving out free Lipton iced tea all afternoon.
Oh and Wednesday night we went for dinner at the Belgian Beer Cafe, ribs were on special, but they just didn't compare to the ones I had at Serengeti...yummy sauce, but super hard to eat!
I've also got back into some swim training, slightly longer distances the three days I went this week, because I think my next step is to enter to swim from Rangitoto Island to St. Helier's Bay, 4.6k. I haven't actually entered yet, but that event would be Sunday morning April 10th. I layed out and took a photo of all the swim caps I've acquired since being here from all the different events I've tried and competed in!
I've yet to get my CV (NZ Resume) out to all the bars in Takapuna, but in the mean time I'm now coaching a couple high school kids, more of a beginner swim team, for 4 weeks, for an hour and Wednesday night. And someone else is leaving the swim school, so I'll be taking over her lessons for 3 hours on Thursday mornings, also for 4 weeks. Today we started teaching the Belmont kids (who come and swim for some lessons during school on Fridays) flipper ball...a beginner version of waterpolo, which I need to read up on, rules and such so that I can teach them properly.
Yesterday, An, Rachel, Sophie and I went to this free concert for the Uni kids at Mt. Albert. It was pretty good, Kids of 88 were there as well as J. Williams (they're NZ bands actually on the radio) and some others whose songs I recognized. I also had these yummy choc chip pancakes with choc ice cream, whipped cream and choc sauce...freshly made and massive, for only $6! That's twice now I've found myself probably the best deal and yummiest festival food! They were also giving out free Lipton iced tea all afternoon.
Oh and Wednesday night we went for dinner at the Belgian Beer Cafe, ribs were on special, but they just didn't compare to the ones I had at Serengeti...yummy sauce, but super hard to eat!
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| Training cap, Harbor Crossing, Kohi swim, Stroke and Stride, Triwomen Triathlon |
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| While we were still clean...not for long! |
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Triathlon Results!
I completed my triathlon right on my goal time in 50min and 45sec! 7:06 for a 300m swim in crazy waves along the beach! Because it was in waist-deep water I was actually washed ashore and nearly beached in the middle of the swim! It was also a nice little run back up the beach, across the road and into the transition area. Then 23:58 for a 9k cycle, also after wheeling the bike across the freshly cut grass it wouldn't go when it got to the road! There was so much grass shoved in it the wheels wouldn't turn so I had to dig it all out! And then 19:41 for a 3k run...a bit slower than planned but clearly there's plenty of room for improvement in the run segment! Overall, I was very happy with that result and I finished 21st out of about 130 competitors! Unfortunately, it was raining the whole morning, and pretty windy as well.
After our successful morning, Jenny and I got all glammed up and ready to go to Auckland Derby Day. It did continue to drizzle the whole day but the races were still pretty entertaining. It was exciting to watch the horses race by, especially once everyone started cheering. And lots of girls put bets on so was exciting when their horses won! Astrid's horse won a race and so did Josie's horse! Everyone was very fashionable and it was fun looking at all the different head pieces.
From there, Josie, Rachel, Jenny, An and I went back to Rachel's (since the weather wasn't looking too promising for the night). I got an Indian takeaway to treat myself for my hard work that morning. The other girls made a dinner of mashed potatoes, fish sticks and veggies. We watched American Idol and Moulin Rouge, an excellent day overall!
After our successful morning, Jenny and I got all glammed up and ready to go to Auckland Derby Day. It did continue to drizzle the whole day but the races were still pretty entertaining. It was exciting to watch the horses race by, especially once everyone started cheering. And lots of girls put bets on so was exciting when their horses won! Astrid's horse won a race and so did Josie's horse! Everyone was very fashionable and it was fun looking at all the different head pieces.
From there, Josie, Rachel, Jenny, An and I went back to Rachel's (since the weather wasn't looking too promising for the night). I got an Indian takeaway to treat myself for my hard work that morning. The other girls made a dinner of mashed potatoes, fish sticks and veggies. We watched American Idol and Moulin Rouge, an excellent day overall!
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| pre-race start |
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| got cleaned up for Derby Day! |
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| running back up to transition after the swim |
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| after finishing! |
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