Husband back home and sunshine days are here!

Well, I received a pleasant surprise last Monday night. My husband came home a day early! Turns out that a tanker had stranded itself on the reef in Samoa and they told the Navy boat and the RNZAF that they had to leave right away from the dock, that's the short story of it. So they called the plane got it there and everyone boarded and came home. Unfortunately, I was at a church concert so I wasn't at home when Gordon called. He found a ride home so that was nice when I drove up and saw him standing at the gate. We were able to spend the rest of the week together having fun and just enjoying being together again.

Gordon had to leave again on Friday to go and get the helicopters assembled from the navy boat when it docked. He didn't get back home until Monday. I had to keep telling everyone at church that he did come home but he had to leave again to reassemble the helicopters since he was on the last rotation. I didn't mind it at all because I got to spend four days with him until he had to go away again. We did some laundry and cleaning up and also went to go check out the new section of the plaza that opened last Thursday. It was a nice day out.

The weather has been cooperating really well. We're expecting a front to come in on Friday with rain and crap but these last two weeks have been heaven with the sun shining and the temperatures comfortable. We've had some great days with no cloud at all, just beautiful blue sky. Due to the good weather I've been able to get out into side garden and free my poppies and gladiolas from weeds. Now its Gordon's turn to do the other section of the side garden. It is apparent that we are definitely going to need to get more soil to replenish the levels they used to be for the side garden and definitely our veggie garden. Looks like the compost and grass we put in have started to decompose and lower the soil level. We may be able to do that in November or December. It just means that our soil is becoming rich with nutrients so that makes me happy.

The big thing happening this Monday is Gordon's birthday. Mr. Schofield will be turning 29 this year. Oh my gosh, that means I'm going to be 28! It was also Father's day last Sunday and I sent a card to Gordon's dad from the both of us. Our gift is our trip to Tirau next weekend to spend some time with them. For Gordon's birthday we are going to have curry. We were going to have pizza but then I told him I was surprised he didn't want curry for his birthday, silly me. We may go and see a movie as well or we could just go and have some gelato for his birthday instead. Gordon isn't too concerned about gifts.

Speaking of gifts, I've been working on figuring out what to do for gifts for the Schofield family at Christmas. I know it may seem early but its better to get it out of the way right now then wait until the prices go up during the Christmas season. I was thinking board games for each couple, that would only mean buying two board games! The rest of the family is going to receive either a family tree bag or a potted flower can that we'll make ourselves. Any suggestions? Mom already has Gordon's presents figured out but I'm still at a loss of what to get for me. Honestly, I'm just happy with some nice jeans or something for the house. I've started to think about what the house needs rather than what I want. I don't think there is much I want anymore, besides maybe an ipod and a food processor, because I've learned to deal with what I have on such a small budget. The days of frivolous spending are over for me, I have to think of the future now. I must admit that it is hard to do at times though. I wish that we could get nice stuff for our house and not worry about the cost but I think I'm learning to appreciate what I do have for our house. I've also learned that DIY is the way to go when wanting to save on money as well. Besides, in a years time we'll have an extra 144 dollars a month when our GE bill is all paid off so that's something to look forward to. It seems so faraway at times though.

What's not faraway is my trip home! I'm so happy that I'm allowed back into the country with my work visa. I'm not sure if I need to apply for another work permit or not but we'll see when I get back. It can be so confusing on whether you need a visa and/or permit. A permit is for if you live in New Zealand and a visa is if you are out of the country and applying. Still very confusing, I'll just be happy when I get my residency permit. The twins are excited to have their Aunt Nene come and visit them and I can't wait to meet little Ewan for the first time! I'm also going to help Ali make a Halloween costume for Dax. The balloon fiesta will be going and I can go and see that and enjoy it. Its only about three weeks away now. The time will come faster than I realize and then I will be back in NM and enjoying everything that I've missed for a whole year like Anthropolgie, Williams and Sonoma, Lane Bryant, Cracker Barrel, Pei Wei, Red Robin and New Mexican food! I'll also be able to share with my family some of the stuff we eat here in little ol' NZ. I should take them a little thing of Nutella or something. The girls loved the chocolate biscuits that I sent them for their birthday. I should get the rest of my cookbook written and put onto my drive stick so I can assemble that when I get home and leave as Christmas presents.

I'm only bringing one suitcase because Mom wants to get Gordon a new suitcase. I just need to make sure that when I come back my suitcases meet the weight limits. It shouldn't be a problem because I'll try to pack light, yeah right. We'll see how it works out. Gordon was telling me that I may be able to check my baggage all the way to LAX which will take the hassle out of the int'l terminal in Auckland because it gets so busy and I only have an hour and a half layover there. We'll see how it works out. I'll have to pack some new and old books to read for my delays at the airports. It will be hard without Gordon there to experience everything that I'm doing but we'll survive somehow. Next trip we are definitely going together, so we'll be together at my best friend's wedding and hopefully we'll have a little one with us as well.

I've started knitting a new baby blanket. Its a sea green color and I'm coming along very well with it. I think I may be ready to start on a bigger baby blanket project. It may take me longer but we'll see how it goes. I know Ali likes the blue blanket that I gave to her. I'm hoping that knitting the blanket brings me luck in Gordon and me getting pregnant. I find myself wondering at times if I will every get pregnant but we still have five more months to keep trying until we have to go for testing to see if there is anything wrong with us. I've adopted a positive attitude lately that it will happen, I just have to be patient. Still, you find yourself going to a dark place every now and again. I was telling my sister the other day that they make it seem if you don't follow stringent guidelines when trying to conceive that your baby will come out deformed or something. No wonder I worry about healthy babies so much because they can make the issue of conception and having healthy babies so scary at times! I'm still working on my weight issue and eating healthy. I saw a show last night that said to get natural folic acid to try and eat citrus fruits and leafy greens, I can't eat fish because it makes me gag. But I've been eating lots of oranges lately so that has to be good for me as well as broccoli and brussel sprouts.

Gordon and I had a great day on his leave day Tuesday, due to him being in Auckland for the weekend, by spending time outside. We had a great time weeding, planting and composting. I found that the Christmas lily bulb I bought was sprouting in its package! So I promptly had to plant it into a tub that was devoid of flowers. I also planted a dahlia tuber as well so we'll see how it goes. If the weather is nice on Sunday I anticipate doing some more planting with the help of Gordon. Also I had bought some freesias and ranunculus, do any gardeners have any handy tips on tricking them into sprouting for me even though its not fall? The start of spring is definitely here because there are tons of daffodils blooming. Its amazing to drive on the road and see on the side of the road a whole bunch of daffodils just sprouting out from the garden. Gordon and I also made a picnic and took it to the Mt. Lees reserve which is near Bulls and Sanson. It had a nice bushwalk to take and it said in the paper that now was the perfect time to go and see the daffodils in bloom. The daffodils definitely did not let us down! As you can see from these pictures we had a good time. I wasn't very happy about how I looked but true to form Gordon said he thinks I'm beautiful. Its nice to have a husband who thinks you're pretty even when you feel like you aren't at times. I think we may go back to the gardens we went to for my birthday soon if the weather is still good one of these weekends. I like when it gets warm because it means Gordon and I get to go places and parks.

Oh my, what a lengthy blog. I hope you enjoyed reading. I'm not sure if I'll update my blog while back in NM but it is definitely a possibility. Oh congratulations to my cousin Candice and her husband Nick on the birth of their son, Blake!