"You tell the DA that."

CSI:NY is back!!!

This is an exciting time for me :) All good tv is coming back!!!

We had our second dance class tonight to finish off learning the samba. It was fun. Mel and Louis came along too. Bit of a smaller group than the week before - but I guess it's because we had to pay. Still, we can samba (sort of) now!

They're actually pretty fun and low key. Pity about the price though! If I didn't have other expenses/commitments on a wednesday night it would be grand for sure.

Well, we've had fun the past couple of weeks anyway :)

Other than that...nothing exciting is happening. Except that there's a mummy on CSI tonight. Ooooh!

Hmm...

I think I like being a brunette again.

I was getting a LITTLE too blonde and flyaway.

:(

The boy and I have put ourselves on a budget as both of us are somewhat in debt and need to save if we are ever going to make the grand trek overseas at the end of the year.

Stupid plane tickets. WHY must they cost so much?

This is a sad day for us all :(

Fire!!!

Our microwave started burning yesterday. Very scary!!! Lol. It was just suddenly...on fire. Lucky us quick thinkers grabbed it, unplugged everything and sat it outside in the somewhat rain.

Where it still sits today. EVEN luckier - Isaac had a microwave just sitting around that he got for his 21st. So now we have a new microwave!

We all got together for a champagne breakfast with waffles, bacon and loads of fruit today. SOOO good. Were supposed to go to the casino but it was booked out. This was SO much better and cheaper too.

It also meant that we finally drank the champagne that was given to me and Janina by work.

See...bubbly WITH strawberries! Hehe. It was soo good I haven't eaten since!! It was a grand way to start the weekend. It did make me sleepy though!

I'm dying my hair now. Just sitting around waiting for the dye to set. Hopefully I did an ok job. It's been awhile since I've had a home job!

Probably should go wash it now...

Syyydeny :) (Part 1)

Darling Habour before the world wakes up :)

Back from Sydney a little poorer, a little tired, but very happy that the sun is shining on this part of the world as well. Remember, when we left it was gloomy and rainy - just about all the time!!!

Before the tourists attack

Australia is beautiful in a very different way. It's noisy and crowded and is spectacular in it's own way. We didn't see a lot of countryside - which is what I love about NZ - but they have awesome architecture and some incredible waterscapes. Plus, they have some pretty unique wildlife too!

These birds were EVERYWHERE

One thing I find difficult about Aus is the sheer number of PEOPLE. Maybe it's just me and I love NZ and the quiet etc - but there were just so many PEOPLE everywhere. Especially in the center of Sydney. Crowds and crowds of people - it's quite exhausting!

Across the harbor

What's cool about Australia is the number of Ethnic peoples who live there. There's a myriad of different Ethnicities! (Isaac had some trouble understanding some of that) What this meant was....GOOD FOOD!! Hehe, it meant that if you went somewhere for Thai food it was cooked by REAL thai people and was AWESOME. Same goes for the Spanish :) We had great tapas!

The Spanish Quarter at night :)

It was just so vibrant. And the food was SO good. We had great meals all the time! And not too expensive. I think for tapas for the two of us it was $76 and for a fancy meal by the waterfront - when I had kangaroo rump! - it was $72 :)

And so good! The seafood was fresh (I also had Scampi), which is not surprising considering the amazing amount of sea life that Australia has. (We went to the aquarium, can you tell??)

Which reminds me, the aquarium is pretty cool. Just don't go mid-school holidays when there are a crapload of parents with families. Or worse, mothers with prams! The lines were diabolical! And I don't understand parents. WHY would you bring your kids to the aquarium when they're like 9 months old, still in a pram and really can't actually register the coolness of what's going on around you???

There were a NUMBER of women there by themselves with very young children in prams. So young that they can't sit up by themselves. What is the POINT???

Look! Jellyfish!

Anyway, the aquarium was fun nonetheless. Although Isaac said that he was never having children after one child screamed particularly loud and hand to be physically carried down to see the seals by her mother.

Anyway...should do work now :P

Exciting!!!

Sydney in oh...2 hours?? Well, that's when we check in anyway. I'm so excited!!! Not only do I have like a week and a day off work, four days of those days off will be spent in Sydney!!! AWESOME. I can't wait! Here's to better weather over there than here!!!


I'm actually stoked. Today has been great! Had an early music practice and it was great fun! The service at church went off. It was an AWESOME team. Heh heh. All the young people - excepting Alan. But he's a bassist so he rocks anyway!

EVEN better...some guy wants to look at my portfolio! Now, technically, I don't actually have a portfolio. I have a lot of stuff that I've done that I've kept just in case. Now I can use it all!! How cool is that?? Hopefully it amounts to something.

I've never had someone ask for my portfolio before. EXCITING!!!

Dogs, dog parks and the like

Doggie friends!

Last sunday Isaac and I took Jaz-dog to the dog park. It was great fun. The dog park is basically out at Styx Mill and hence the northern end of Christchurch. It's a big fenced area where owners can let their dogs run loose.

Heh heh...excited dog

Even though it was this cold, windy sort of day - there were actually quite a few people (and dogs) there. Jaz loved it. She loved it even before we got there because she doesn't get out much. She was SUPER excited when we got her leash out and couldn't wait to get into the park. Also because she likes making doggie friends :)

*sniff sniff* Ok...we can be pals!

It was just exciting to see all the different breeds and personalities of dogs as well. There was this little brown and black dog that kept causing trouble and was basically fighting with this other dog the whole time we were there. And this really energetic collie with here little old lady (with walking stick) owner who kept running round the park. I felt so bad for the old lady because she was basically just doing laps of the place!

See? That's the poor old lady - that black blur is her dog :)

Jaz loved it cause there was so much space for her to run round in. She gets tired pretty quick though. And after about 45mins she was ready to go home. Lol. And she's really obvious about it too. She stops playing and starts heading for the gate. Hehe. Our dog is so smart!

So excited she couldn't wait to get off the leash!

Unlike the other dog I met last night in the place Jennifer's dog-sitting. Coda, who's this big-ass Alaskan Marmalute/Husky. This is what Coda would have been like as a baby:


Extremely cute, right??? Look at it - it's so vulnerable and little!!! And it's got that pretty fur like it's part wolf. Gorgeous!!!!

This is kinda like what Coda looks like now:

(Please note that these are not actually pictures of Coda - I've "borrowed" these from Wikipedia)

He's HUGE. He's twice the size of my dog. It's already a pain the ass when Jaz jumps on you because she's reasonably big and heavy. Imagine when a big Alaskan wolf-type creature tries to jump you!!! Coda's just about as tall as I am when he tries to jump. It's almost scary!!! And for all his pretty looks, he's unfortunately not too bright.

We tried playing catch with him but he got so excited that he ran circles round the outside table. EVERY TIME WE THREW THE BALL! It was kinda funny. Poor dog. He's WAY too big for city living - their back yard is pretty small. It's smaller than my parents' and theirs is barely big enough for our dog.

Huskies are such pretty dogs though! I think I want one. But I might be smart and get one like the Alaskan Klee Kai:

Which is a little smaller, and hence probably won't need quite as much exercise. (Although Isaac's great at taking dogs for runs...)

Also because it might be kinder to them in the heat of summer. Coda's fur was SO thick. And, granted, it's currently pretty cold as far as summer standards go. But still - it's like wearing a heavy fur coat no matter what the weather.

That's enough to drive ANYONE loopy. I might run circles around a table if I had to do that!!!

Holiday snapshots indispersed with random text

The long road to Wanaka...via Ohau. :)

I really must be having a lazy weekend! It still feels like I'm on holiday - even though the prospect of WORK looms heavily in the background for tomorrow. The boy's parents are still in Wanaka, so have been spending a lot of time there - inevitabley watching E! or The Living Channel and eating junk food. (I have also been too lazy to cook lately - it's like all the industry has gone out of me)

Lake Tekapo on a cloudy day

To be fair I mixed it up a little last night and watched Sky 1 - which had comedy on offer. It was almost nostalgic watching Two Guys and a Girl. (I'd seen the episode before) I miss comedy in light of all the crap reality tv we get these days. Also caught the pilot of the Pamela Anderson show 'Stacked'. The acting was paltry but it had it's moments. That, and I was too lazy to change the channel. Lol.

The lovely lake Ohau

Speaking of reality tv though...I've developed a terrible addiction to House of Carters. Well, it's not an addiction as such. It's just horribly fascinating. Such dysfunction!!! Who would have ever thought that superstar families don't have it all figured out?? The logical part of my brain insists that it is utter crap and yet I can't stop watching!!!

Trying for some scenery

Anyway, between that and Antiques Roadshow - ALSO strangely interesting. I manage to keep myself entertained. I don't know what I'll do when his parents come back and I have to give up sole possession of cable tv. Although hopefully by that point I'll be busy again...

Pretty flowers!!

Which reminds me...I really should get onto some web design work. I'm so lazy and I don't actually feel like doing anything at the moment. It's kinda boring. I've been helping the boy with his work - which is interesting. And it's not really help. It's more like: "Oh, you want a font similar to that? Try this." See? Not helping. Lol.

Koru

There is a lot I want to do in the new year though. The web design stuff is only part of it. I want to open my own gallery. Online, obviously. I don't have the capital for anything else. But hopefully it takes off. All I need is a name. I already have the willing hands to build it for me. (I love my baby, he's so talented!) But yes, just one of many ideas. It's scary, it's like I'm a grown up. I think I'm just acutely aware that I can't be a call centre CSR for ever. That would actually kill me. Probably literally.

Ahhh...Lord of the Rings. Where would we be without you?

I have a lot of South Island scenery here. Mainly because it really is beautiful down here. That and I've never really gone farther south before. (Well, I have once but it doesn't really count because it was a church trip...) So it was actually really nice to take lots of photos. And it really is very pretty. I'm looking forward to being able to play around with the shots I have. So yes, it looks a little like a "Visit New Zealand" ad for the moment.

But then again, I'd recommend visiting New Zealand to anyone. Unless you're one of those people who like staying indoors and/or shopping all the time....

Whoops!

Sales? And orana park

Us biking along Lake Ohau

I've been having no end of problems with blogger. Oh well... I'm really tempted to go spend up large (money I DON'T have) at the New Year Sales. Unfortunately I head to Australia in like a week. Argh. Must. Resist. Temptation. !!!!

I'm being plagued with superficial worries like: "What happens if I get to Oz and all the sales have ended???"

Yeah, I'm so deep.

Anyway...New Years!!! Yay. It was a little different for me this year as we went to Wanaka, with a stopover at Ohau. Fun times, fun times. It was nice, lots of sun (it rained the whole time in Christchurch) and I even got very sunburnt. Took LOTS of photos though. Maybe a little too many...

Back at work for the last three days and it's been pretty boring. I've finished a book and have managed to get quite a bit of knitting done. Meanwhile, I stare enviously at the sun outside. I can't wait till March and part time work!!!

Orana Park!!

The friday of New Years weekend we went to Orana Park - which is basically like this wildlife reserve, right here in Christchurch!! I'd never been there before and Isaac was - mildly - surprised that I hadn't. Since I was still off work we decided to make an afternoon of it.

It's VERY cool there. They try and keep all the cages etc to a minimum so you really feel like you're getting (somewhat) up close and personal to the animals. The only animals that are kept somewhat at a distance (for good reason) - are the big cats.

See? Imagine what those puppies could do to you! Lucky for us the lionesses seemed pretty sleepy. (Must be the heat!) It does send shivers up your spine when you think that the only thing between you and those teeth is a fence. Creepy!!


Apart from the bad ass big cats - the tiger was sleepy and right in the middle of it's HUGE enclosure, so no pictures sorry! - there were tonnes of cute and cuddly (looking) animals.

Like the lemurs. They were SO CUTE! And they made me think of Madagascar.

I just wanted to take them home. Unfortunately, I believe this is not allowed by park staff.

Haha.

That and I'm not too sure exactly what it is that lemurs eat.... anyway, there were lots of them and even little baby ones and they were just so gorgeous!!!!

The really great thing about Orana Park is that they have quite a few animals that are either endangered or threatened. Like the tigers and the African Wild dogs. The tiger exhibit is new and very, very cool. There's a viewing room with a HUGE-ASS glass panel and it basically puts you IN the exhibit. Unfortunately for us there was no big cat pacing around on the outside. Lazy thing! And it's got a pool on the other side complete with underwater fence. Again, the tiger was asleep so we didn't get to see him up close and personal swimming in the pool. But still, VERY COOL.

The otters were also very cool. And very cute. They were swimming when we got there but then they got out and decided to gambol along the grass. Excellent show! It's like they knew we were watching them :) Teehee.

Basically, I went to the park and came back with an intense desire to adopt all creatures - excepting the deer as they are kind of boring. *sigh* Oh well, can't have everything. I'm sure it's very nice to watch them eat grass all day but I must say I wasn't amused. Plus, they are not interesting to look at.

Unlike the giraffes, who are tall, gangly looking, extremely close because they are being fed and HAVE BABIES. Baby giraffes are the cutest little things ever!! Seriously. Haha. They're like half the size of big mummy and daddy giraffes. Basically they are mini-giraffes and as we all know, miniature things (such as graters, whisks and spoons) are all very cute and super-exciting. (well, maybe just to me....)

See?? Meerkats are small and miniature and they also stand peering towards the sky looking for predators. HOW IS THAT NOT CUTE?????? Lol. If I had a meerkat, I would, completely unoriginally, call it Timon. Because the Lion King is possibly the awesomess movie EVER. And Simba was so hot. Reorw...

Though that's pretty hot too!! Lol. He's a geek, but I love him :) Haha. I told him to pose with the ostrich. Unfortunately you can't actually see the ostrich in the photo!!! Muwahaha. What a poser.

And that's just a small sample of the photos! Haha. Well, I should probably get off my lazy ass and get something to eat. It's lunch time!!! New Year's photos to follow...