A happy blog

Besides my little homesickness episode, it was a pretty good week. Gordon and I did some new things together and saw some new things together. We were able to have some curry and make the most of our time together. We had last Monday off due to the Queen's birthday weekend. We decided to go and take care of some things in town. I had been talking to my neighbor about our phones and she was telling me that her and her husband just use cell phones. I decided to go and see if that was a viable option for Gordon and me. The telecom store was packed and it turns out that I didn't get my questions answered until sometime later in the week. One of the sales reps were taking down our questions and giving us a number to hold onto when a tech rep was available. The wait already was 30-40 minutes and Gordon and I went to go look at some things around the mall. We got back and waited for another 20-30 minutes while being told that we were at the top of the list. Meanwhile, many other people were helped before us and we just decided to go and have some lunch because it was already 1:45! We went back another day and I was able to get my questions answered. Looks like a cell phone is not in my immediate future right now.

I also took some time to plot out my garden for next year. Gordon is going to finish the rest of the side garden but I have some other flowers that need some space so I need more beds. I decided that the best spot would be by our wind-blown tree. That way it looked like it actually belonged there. I was able to make three plots and put bamboo sticks around to mark them out. I'm really excited to try this out and there will be lots of room for my rose bush and alstromeria now. Since the cold snap, most of my flowers have stopped blooming so they are in hibernation mode for the time being. Gordon has been preparing the garden for winter. I convinced him to lay down a layer of newspaper and put grass clippings on top of that in order to help stop the weeds from popping up. His tomatoes plants are finished as well, we have to plant those quicker in the summer. I also know that we will cut back on our number of beans and rotate the planting of our veggies this year. The broccoli and cauliflower will definitely be at the end of summer this time as well as the squash I think.

Our money has been transferred to the account and we just payed off the credit card! Next payment, that dreaded GE bill, specifically the deferred payment from Harvey Norman because we are going to keep our contract with Big Save and have it paid off by next year so we aren't charged extra for paying it off early. I have just set Mojo up for his operation that takes away his "mojo" thanks to the deposit and our next paycheck. We are going to use some of the money to set-up a savings account and put in at least 100 each month to add to it. I'm increasing my food budget by $50 and setting aside $100 each month for date night, I doubt we would use a $100 each month for our dates though.

We got to see the newly refurbished Plaza in Palmerston North. It reminds me of a mall in America. Except the food here is way better with their curry, Chinese and Turkish selection. Gordon was able to get his beloved butter chicken and I had my usual chicken korma. I was almost tempted to ask for a Starbucks but thought better of it. I must resist the caffeine temptation. The parking structure was a bit of a hassle. I haven't noticed it until recently but it always seems there's a car that is constantly trolling for a space close to the entrance. Gordon and I sucked it up and just went to the next level where there were plenty of spaces. Besides, a little bit of walking never hurt me or him. I saw that they had designated spots up front for stroller parking, I've heard of mommy-to-be parking but not that. It was nice to be out and about though for a little while to take my mind off of things.

I've also been working on some card sets to post on Etsy to see if they sell or not. I just finished a group of wedding rings and some "21" cards for my mother-in-law too. Since I haven't been feeling well I've also been doing some more embroidery, that always makes me feel better. The work and sewing help wind me down and I'm proud of what I've created afterwards. I was thinking that it is always so hard to find good stickers to put in the middle of some of the embroidered cards. Then I had a flash of inspiration! Why not put my own pictures in the center or try to make the cards so that people could put a picture in the middle if they wanted to? I have some great shots of New Zealand that would look great in the middle of them. Also, people would be able to have something lasting for their precious photos. Its in the early stages but I'll let you know how I get on.

The most exciting thing that we did this week was go on a drive to the wind farm lookout. You can always see the turbines going on the mountains surrounding Palmerston North. Gordon decided to take me to see them, probably as a pick me up. It was a great sunny day for it. I had seen wind turbines before when driving to Stanford to pick Ali up from college or going to visit her when she had the twins. I've posted them on myspace and facebook so everyone can see them who are on those applications, there are some in this blog for blogger.com as well. It was very windy up there when we stopped at the lookout and they had a turbine right in the middle that people could take pictures of. I got some great perspective shots and some pretty good ones with the sun shining through the clouds. It was a bit cold up there but we survived. I think what I enjoyed most was the drive though. Feeling the sunshine in the car, driving through little towns that I had only seen in the Property press and never visited before. It was what I needed to remind me that my life was good. We also drove through the Manawatu gorge on the way back.

I also got some prospective dates for my sister coming out to New Zealand. They are going to come out in March and I'm making so many notes of places that they can go to. Ali gave me some places that she would like to visit so hopefully Kylie can get me some good deals on Waitomo. We are probably going to take them out for a day or so to Glenn's family farm and they'll get to see Napier too! I can't wait to see them again and I was able to talk to the girls about all the playgrounds I'm going to take them too, especially the park with the train! So, besides my meltdown at the end of the week the rest of the days have been pretty good. I'm feeling lots better and the antibiotics for my infection should help a lot. I'm still praying and hoping that I won't need a more aggressive treatment. I've been drinking my cranberry juice, taking panadol for the pain and drinking more water. Now that I know what is wrong with me, I can work on getting better. It helps that I have such a nice partner too!