Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all!

This holiday season has been so much fun. I feel like I have done plenty.

When I finished work for the year on Friday 21 December, my holiday started. That evening I met my friend at her house and we tootled on down to our local to enjoy an evening with friends and a Pink Floyd cover band for entertainment. Not only was it a lovely evening, but the weather was fantastic and it did not get cold once that night.

The next day was my friends birthday, so it was back to her house again and ready to celebrate. We spent the day sitting on her deck – in the shade though, and I still managed to get sunburnt. It was a fun day just three of us friends, her granddad and her mum, having conversations, sharing jokes, laughing. In the afternoon we got into our togs and went to the beach where we played in the ocean in a blow up boat – or should I say we rode the waves with a blow up boat, it was fun fun fun.

On Sunday I had some me and Mum time, we went to the local, caught up with some people and saw some Christmas lights. Christmas Eve was on Monday and it was $5 pints all day so one of the new friends I made in 2012 spent some time drinking those.

I must say being just Mum and I in the house this year, it didn’t really feel too much like Christmas. However, on Christmas day I started singing “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!”

Mum and I had pancakes for Christmas breakfast, then we got ready and went to my brothers house for the day. It was so nice, Tyler was so excited with all the presents he got and I was awfully excited with mine. An X-box and the perfume I've been after for a long while. Christmas lunch was yummy and scrummy – we had Ham and Turkey, and lots of salads and yum yum yummy! And the deserts were scrummy as well!

I went and spent Christmas night at a friends house which was more fun, and then was off to another friends house on Boxing Day.

On the 27/12 Mum and I went out for the arvo and then came home and spent until midnight playing X-box Kinect – what a hoot we had!

I dropped Mum at the air port of Friday. She was off to Wellington and then Picton for New Years, so I had the house to myself.

On Sunday I left for my New Years trip. A few friends and I went down to Taupo and stayed in a back packers for three nights. It was so much fun. We swam in the lake and made lots of new friends, and went to the museum and ate yummy food, and celebrated the new year. When we were out celebrating New Years Eve I ran into my cousin from Wellington which was a wicked way to end the year!

We arrived back in Auckland on the 2nd January and I have still been having an absolute blast enjoying my summer holiday. It’s Sunday now and I don’t go back to work till Wednesday – woot woot two more days of holiday!

2012

Well I made it through the “end of the world” and am pretty happy with how I spent my year and what I achieved.

In 2012, I have:

• Seen parts of New Zealand I had never seen before.
  • When Cami came visiting in April, we went on a road trip up north. I visited new places and met some new people.
  • Recently, I attended an early childhood conference down south and saw some new places again.
• Finished the first year of my bachelors degree.
  • Now I only have just over a year and a half left, compared to the two I had left in August when I finished my first year. I am rather happy with the way I finished it as I got pretty good marks.
• Attended my awesome nephews baptism in May and his first birthday in July, then in August I gained a sister (in-law) when his parents got married in Rarotonga.
• Visited Rarotonga.
  • When my brother got married in August, we all went to their wedding in Rarotonga. It was so much fun and so relaxing. We hired scooters while we were there and I managed to be the only one to have an accident, I lost balance and ripped the skin off the tips of my toes – they’re much better now!
• Made new friends and tried new things.
• Paid off half of my car loan!!
• Lost 10kgs.
• Hard work, fun, and being sensible.

I have done so much more than just this small selection of memories. I feel that I have achieved the goals I set for myself, although I could just call my 2012 goals a lifestyle.

My Goals of 2012:

Do something scary: Get out of your comfort zone and try something you don’t think you have the confidence to do.

Do something new: You don’t always have to do the same things, try something new.

Do something fun: Basically live and happy and fun life, don't allow things to become unnecessarily un-fun or annoying.

Do something sensible: This is where the adult comes in and has to work harder to be wiser with money and school work.

Do something regularly: I can throw my read more books into this category.

Do something less: Break a habit that's not necessary or good for you.

One thing I lacked in 2012 was using my blog, so I am going to aim (in general) to be more blog savvy and post about what I am doing more regularly.

How it’s been.

So, it’s been a while. That’s how it’s been. It has also been a busy while.

My nephew turned one, my brother and his partner moved into their first home, we all went to Rarotonga for their wedding and in four days I turn twenty two.

Here’s a photo from the wedding:

Love my family!

Rarotonga was amazing! We spent the time relaxing and seeing the Island. We arrived on Thursday. On Friday we took a bus ride into their main village to go shopping. Friday night my brother in law, one of the couples on the trip and I went on a night life tour of the Island. The wedding was on Saturday, we all spent the day relaxing, and swimming – most relaxed wedding I've ever attended. Sunday came and we went and hired scooters. These were so much fun, we drove round the island then us four who went on the night life tour went off on our own.

Then Monday came. Us four woke up early to go for one last ride around the island and I ended up getting injured. As much as the island is round, there is only one real corner. I lost my balance and could feel myself falling. I knew I had the option between coming off completely or putting my feet down to try and save myself. My feet went down, I regained my balance, I looked down at my feet and had to stop. I had ripped a good 1mm deep, 1 inch long and wide strip of skin off my left big toe, and small amount off my right big toe and a patch off my heel on my left leg.

From the time this happened we had half an hour before we needed to be on the bus for the boat cruise we were going on for the day. So, luckily, the car we had hired had not been returned, so another person came in the car to get me and take my scooter back and the car took me back to the resort where my mama was waiting. She cleaned me up and we made it to the bus.

The boat cruise was beautiful, I was gutted I couldn’t go snorkelling though – I didn’t want to risk getting caught on the coral with the luck I had had that morning. We ate lunch on an island off Raro, and got taught some things by the locals running the cruise – how to climb a coconut tree, how to get the juice and cream out of the coconut, and how to tie sarongs. It was a wicked day.

We came home on the Tuesday, arriving back in NZ Wednesday 10pm. Thursday morning Mum and I went to the doctor. They re-dressed my wounds, having to shave some of the skin off one – but they were looking good. Went back Friday and they were still looking good. When I went back Saturday morning I had to get IV antibiotics because I had cellulitis. It’s much better now, but I’m off work till Wednesday and have to keep my legs elevated – so boring.

Well that’s me for now.

New Abode

These last two weeks have been oddly busy. We moved two Tuesdays ago and I don’t think I have even unpacked half of my things. It is a permanent item on my to do list: “Unpack boxes = find places for things”. However, that doesn’t mean I have found the inspiration to do it.

Our new abode is nice. It is a lot smaller than our old place; it is the perfect size for two people. In our old place it was so big that it felt really, really empty and lonely when no one was home. I have not felt that once in our new house, it’s nice!

My new room is relatively the same size as my old room. The problems is that it is a different shape and laid out differently. Deciding how to arrange my furniture for the best fit, it is a hard decision. And, it doesn’t help that it has been quite pleasant having a rather empty room. But I’m missing all my books and decorations.

I got sick on Thursday, it wasn’t pretty. Now, I am much better. Although I had two days off work, I was so tired and in pain that I couldn’t do to much so not even then did I find the time to sort my room out.

Maybe I’ll go and work on my room now. Or, maybe I’ll look at some more rubbish on the internet.

My Bedroom

I have been meaning to share pictures of my bedroom for about a year or so, but I have always forgotten to take pictures. Only now that the landlords are selling our house, and we have to move, I have decided I had better share before there is no bedroom left, the way it is.

I love knick-knacky items and my room is filled with them. I made the coat hanging rack thing (black with white knobs) that is on the wall opposite the door, and I made the Dream and Love canvases.

I plan on decorating my new room slightly differently, but we shall see…

And….

I have finished Year One of my Bachelors!!!!

I am waiting on the mark for my final paper, but other than that I’m done for the next two-three months! It feels so great having one year down and only two to go.

It’s time to Pour-Tea, and celebrate!!!

An awesome visit!

On the last Thursday of April I had my friend Cami from Idaho come and visit me. She stayed for two weeks and we had so much fun!

On the day she arrived we drove straight up north and stayed in Paihia for two nights. On the way up to Paihia we stopped in Mangawhai, at one of the beaches. Cami was out of the car and frolicking in the water before I was even out of the car. While we stayed in Paihia we visited Kerikeri, Waitangi, Russell, and the falls in the area. Paihia was awesome, we stayed at a backpackers for the two nights and met so many interesting people.

For the next two nights we stayed at my friends poppa’s house in Kaitaia. On the way to Kaitaia we stopped in Monganui for fish and chips, and took them up the road to Coopers beach to eat them. Then we drove the rest of the way to Kaitaia. The next day, Sunday, we went on the long drive up to Cape Reianga, the top of the north island.

The next week and a bit that she was here in NZ was just spent doing things around Auckland and catching up. I miss her now she’s home but I hope I can visit the land of the potatoes soon!

The beach in Mangawhai at 9am

The Stone Store in Kerikeri

We went on a walk at Cape Reianga, the walk down was a breeze, the walk back up was insanely steep!

Me and the Cape Reianga Light House!