My blog plan

Hi guys,

So I've been trying to post three times a week recently; as I'm currently not working. However, this isn't working for me.

I'm going to now post once a week. It could be any day of the week. I might post more. It all depends on inspiration and what I get up to etc.

Instead, I'm going to try my hand at different activities. I might do some crafting (you never know, I might actually finish something). I'll try out some of the recipes I've pinned over the years. I might even do some writing and sketching. I also want to get the house and garden in check.


So that's my plan. I hope you'll stick around :D

10 things that make me happy

1. My husband. He is my soulmate and I love him so much. I don't know what I'd do without him.

2. Cuddles. Especially with family members. There's just something about a hug that automatically makes me feel better.

3. Tea. I love tea. I have a shelf dedicated to my different types of tea. It makes me so happy to sit down with a cup of tea. Currently, I have 18 different types.

4. Chocolate. I absolutely love chocolate and when I'm feeling down in the dumps, chocolate will always make me feel better. I'm loving all the new flavours that have been coming out recently as well.

5. Driving. I love driving. Especially in the country. There's just something so freeing about being in control of a car. I love accelerating, going around corners and having the music turned up loud while I do so.

6. Music. I have a very broad taste in music. I primarily go for metal and rock of different types though. Turning the music up loud and singing along (while possibly doing a silly dance) really makes me happy. 

7. The Beach. I love going to the beach. Living in Auckland we have the choice of so many. Sometimes I want the tranquility of the East Coast beaches - where you can look over to the Coromandel Peninsula. There's no surf, and they're generally surrounded by Pohutukawa trees. On the West Coast there's the ones where there's the pounding surf. I love going to both and they make me release the stress of whatever's happening and get happy again.

8. Mountains. I don't get to see them often, but I absolutely love it when I do. I love their magnificence. The towering over everything else. AJ and I dream of living someplace where we can have a view of the mountains. 

9. Snow. I just love the look and feel of the snow. I don't see it very often, but when I do I get incredibly happy. We used to make a trip every year to the Central Plateau for my birthday so I could see the snow, but circumstances haven't allowed recently :(

10. Board Games. This is a relatively recent discovery of mine and it is so much fun! We have quite a collection of board games now, and playing them is so satisfying. You can pretend to be different characters and relieve stress. Just choose who you play with wisely, as you don't want it to get so competitive that things get awkward.

Make sure your husband sees the Doctor!

Last year, my husband AJ was feeling extremely run down. He'd had a few bouts of extreme sickness (throwing up etc) and was very irritable. He couldn't concentrate properly at work and no matter how much he slept, he was still tired.

Finally, after lots of hassling from me, his parents and even some of his workmates, he finally made a doctors appointment. He was told to have a blood test and they would see what resulted from that.

A few days later he got a call from the doctor to make another appointment as there was something up. I actually went in with him this time - scared that it was going to be something serious. The Doctor said that he had a form of hyperthyroidism - possibly Graves Disease. His thyroid hormone levels were 3-4 times what they should be and the thing that regulates them had stopped working. He got prescribed some pills that he had to take twice a day - three at a time. He was also told to make an appointment with an Endocrinologist. About a month later, after another blood test, we headed to the Endocrinologist who confirmed that he did indeed have Graves Disease (though without the bulgy eyes thank goodness). His muscle strength wasn't what it should have been and he was prescribed more of the same.

For the next few months AJ kept getting blood tests and the Endocrinologist would call and tell him how his hormone levels were and that the medication was working. His dosage went down to one pill, twice a day and now he's been taking only one pill a day.

The Endocrinologist has now handed AJ's care back to his GP. AJ has to get a blood test every month and stay on a maintenance dosage of his medication for at least a year.

He's now much better. Still tired, but I think that's just because he's a light sleeper and has to get up really early every day for work. He's not nearly as irritable and his energy levels have increased. It's made us both much happier.

If you or your significant other aren't feeling the best - and it keeps happening - then see a doctor. It's worth it in the long run. The worst they can say is "we can't find anything wrong". But if there is something, then surely it's worth it.

If I won a million dollars...

Oh, it would be amazing to win a million dollars. I'd want to do so much with the money but I'd have to be sensible first of all and do the following:

• PUT THE MONEY IN THE BANK! Extra interest would be great :D
• Pay back both sets of parents all of the money we owe them
• Pay off the mortgage
• Pay back my student loan

After all of those debts had been paid off, I would probably do the following:

• Hire someone to fix all of the things that need fixing in the house and re-do the bathroom.
• Build a carport
• Landscape the garden
• Put the house on the market
• Buy a house that has enough room for our future family - hopefully closer to AJ's work
• Donate a certain amount to a charity (would all depend how much I had left - a certain percentage of leftover money)

Then, if there was any money left after all of that, I would:

• Buy an Audi R8 (my favourite car)
• Do AJ's dream trip of California and SW USA
• Go to Europe again
• Visit Geneva, NY (where I lived as a kid) and tour around the Eastern US
• Visit Canada
• Go on an Alaskan cruise

I definitely wouldn't have any money left after all of that (especially because I'd probably be shopping as well :P ). So since we'd have more savings, I'd put it towards buying a holiday home somewhere in the North Island where I could see the mountains.

Of course, once we have kids, these dreams could change...

Random tag thing

Here's a random tag thing that I got from here:

http://www.alwaysmadewithlove.co.nz/20-things-might-know-blog-tag/


Question 1: How tall are you? 175cm

Question 2: Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what? Nope

Question 3: What’s your biggest blog-related pet peeve? Bloggers who don't put arrows to go from one post to the next.

Question 4: What’s your biggest non-blog related pet peeve? People who break promises.
Question 5: What’s your favorite song? Glitter in the Air by P!NK

Question 6: What’s your favorite Etsy shop that isn’t yours? I don't really go on Etsy, maybe I will when I have more money.

Question 7: What’s your favorite way to spend your free time when you’re alone? Watching youtube videos

Question 8: What’s your favorite junk food? Chocolate. Don't care what kind. Any chocolate will do.

Question 9: Do you have a pet or pets? If so, what kind and what are their names? Unfortunately not. Though AJ and I are big kids with lots of stuffed animals.

Question 10: What are your number one favorite nonfiction and fiction books? I don't really read much non fiction but favourite fiction would probably be anything by David Eddings. I'm currently re-reading the Belgariad (for like the 5th time) and absolutely love it.

Question 11: What’s your favorite beauty product? Mascara

Question 12: When were you last embarrassed? What happened? I really can't remember. I get embarrassed so often and normally blush that I lose track.

Question 13: If you could only drink one beverage (besides water) for the rest of your life, what would it be? TEA!!!

Question 14: What’s your favorite movie? The Notebook. And I cry every time.

Question 15: What were you in high school: prom queen, nerd, cheerleader, jock, valedictorian, band geek, loner, artist, prep? I was myself. I was in the clique that didn't really fit any of the stereotypes.

Question 16: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? Ireland or Scotland. Somewhere in the countryside.

Question 17: PC or Mac? PC

Question 18: Last romantic gesture from a crush, date, boy/girlfriend, spouse? Bringing me home chocolate :)

Question 19: Favorite celebrity? Right now I really like Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day and am obsessed with Geek and Sundry

Question 20: What blogger do you secretly want be best friends with? None. As much as I would like to be friends with lots of them, my best friend is and always will be; my husband (corny I know, but it's true!)



So there's a random tag thing. I tag whoever wants to do something random like this on their blog or whatever.

Lament to my Favourite Tree

When we first bought this house, one of the things I loved was the flowering cherry tree that was hanging over to our side of the fence. It also gave some privacy from the neighbours.

The house next door was sold recently and the new owner decided to chop down the beautiful tree. Apparently it was too close to the house or something. Nothing trimming the occasional branch wouldn't have solved.

So here's some photos in memory of my favourite tree.

Yes, I have an overgrown yard (we're working on it - bit by bit).

Now that the beautiful tree is gone, I want to find something to replace it. I'm thinking of either a jacaranda, pohutukawa, or another (possibly fruiting) cherry tree.

Thoughts?

Last Night's Dream

Last night I had an amazing dream. I can only remember one part of it but that was enough to make an impact on me. 

I remember carrying a little girl - only about 2-3 years old. She looked like a cross between me as a toddler and my little cousin Riley. I was wearing sparkly shoes and the little girl was saying 'pretty! pretty!' Then AJ said to her "Let's go get you some pretty sparkly shoes so you can match Mummy". The little girls smile was amazing. My heart melted.

Then I woke up.

Sexism in Sport

Sexism in sport has been on my mind for the past few months. I live in New Zealand, a country who loves its sport and treats sportsmen like heroes. Note I said sportsMEN. We currently have the best mens rugby team in the world and second men's cricket team. These guys get so much attention and glorification from the media and general public.

But what about the New Zealand women's teams? Our women's rugby team were world champions in 2010, but did they get parades or any sort of recognition by the media? Not that I can remember. In comparison, when the All Blacks won the men's rugby world cup in 2011, there was a huge celebration. I'm surprised the government didn't declare the Monday afterwards a public holiday there was so much fuss made about it. The website that I got the below picture from makes some very good points about gender inequality in sport (see link below).

Source: http://www.teara.govt.nz/files/40408-pst.jpg

Earlier this year, New Zealand was joint host with Australia for the men's cricket world cup. There was so much fuss made about the men's cricket team and all the matches being held (the fact that our cricket team were doing well helped as well - but that's another story). At the same time, there were several international women's cricket matches going on in this country. Did they get any media attention? No. Despite the fact that they have previously been world champions (the mens haven't).

I remember a few years ago, AJ and I went to Eden Park for a day watching cricket. There were two games on and you didn't have to pay any extra. There was an international women's game first, which was very entertaining cricket. There were a smattering of people in the stadium - despite the fact that it was a nice close game. The further on in the match, more people started to arrive to see the men's match that was on afterwards (in which NZ got demolished).

I just don't get it.

Another Update

Here's another update on things in my life right now.

I finally have a new computer! It's very exciting. Now that I have things worked out, I'm going to try to stay up to date on things again.

As for my goals that I set at the beginning of the year, here's how I've been going.

1. I'm still hunting for a teaching role, and relief work hasn't been cropping up as often as I'd like.

2.I terms of cleaning, I've been kind of naughty with this one. The last couple of weeks I've managed to keep up to date with the washing, dishes, keeping benches clean and I've been putting away at least 50 things a day (that proves how much of a mess things have been). We've got friends coming to stay at the end of August, so I'll have to get the place tidy by then.

3. As for my crafting, I've made a few cards. I made my sister one for her birthday and my Mum one for Mothers Day. Then I ran out of card when I went to make her one for her birthday so I used one out of my stash. Rest of the year will have handmade birthday cards though.

4. Budgeting just hasn't worked out for us the way we'd hoped at the beginning of the year. We've been trying. We really have. But a few spanners have been thrown into the works. In addition to the things I mentioned in my last update post (see here) my old laptop crapped out completely. So getting a new one is the latest big expense. We also need to replace the car stereo (I really miss music while driving) that broke last month. Also, the weather has been very cold the past couple of months, so the power bills have been higher.

5. Because of extra expenses we haven't been able to pay back much.

6. I've finished and passed all the credits for a Diploma in Business from Massey University! :D :D :D Just waiting to receive it in the post. I've gone through two graduations already, I don't really want to hire the gown etc again.

7. In terms of exercise it's been hit and miss. For a while I was doing well, then I stopped. I've recently started up again and let's hope that this time I can make it last.

8. I haven't been eating the healthiest. I really need to get better with this.

9. I've caught up with a few of my uni friends in the past month. My friend Jess was visiting from Australia and because of that I caught up with my friends Elke and Febe as well which was nice :) I'm also going out for dinner with some old Farmers friends on Saturday and next month we're having a Hower (from John Howe forum) friend and her bf stay.

10. I enjoy blogging and hope that now I have a new computer I will post more often. Initial goal will be once a week. Probably Fridays. But will also post on other days as well if I have posts ready. I do have a few in the works.