Hi De Hi campers! It’s the lucky last day of March…birthday month galore in our family…and when my life from England decided to arrive back in New Zealand…FINALLY.
Places I’ve Visited this Month
At the start of March, we hopped over to the Viaduct in Auckland for a birthday treat for Lisa…a Whale and Dolphin Safari…
…it was a stunning day to be out on the water!
Robyn and I popped over to Waiheke Island last weekend to see the Sculptures on the Gulf…
…the views were stunning back over to Rangitoto Island and Auckland City…we thought we arrived early to beat the heat but the heat almost beat us…it was stinking hot with humidity!
Then there were birthday parties…one for Georgie who celebrates on the same day as Lisa…we blinged ourselves up…and I’m wearing my Nana’s vintage dress that she wore to her eldest sons wedding (it fits perfectly as I struggle with vintage clothes due to my height and boobies!)…
…and Daddy’s!
^^Country Road Pleated Knit Skirt and I shopped the top from Mama’s wardrobe!
Books I’ve Read
Summer with Love by Sarah Morgan – a summer read really, easy to get into on your commute. I’m a huge fan of Sarah Morgan as she writes Chick Lit really well…she normally writes a series hence the books cross over which I love…this book is about a set of triplets and their screwed up love lives…honestly a great book for a restful holiday away.
One Summer in Italy by Sue Moorcroft – I’ve come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t read books set in beautiful destinations as I just want to book a flight! Set in Italy…surprise, surprise…it follows three characters who all end up being connected in various ways. Another easy read for the commute. What made me smile was that the story actually started in Bedford, the market town that I used to live in…so I knew a few of the places that she mentioned.
The Oyster Catcher by Jo Thomas – like Sarah Morgan, Jo Thomas writes Chick Lit really well. Another easy read for the commute set in Ireland…about a blow in who ends up falling in love with an Oyster Farmer and saves the day…predictable but comfortable.
Easy reads this month while I get the hang of my new role!
Ex-Expat Update
My household contents arrived mid March…
…we heard a beeping coming up the driveway and boom there was a rather large container sitting in the driveway. Thankfully my sofas, chairs and lanterns were put to use at my daddy’s birthday party the following day.
And no I didn’t full up a whole container…less than half of it…15 years of my old life!
I’ve spent this weekend clearing through a few boxes of clothes, clearing out items that I no longer require and hopefully they’ve all gone to a good home.
I did purchase a few items from Country Road this month as I was pretty desperate for work clothes…
…I really wanted to buy this dress…I felt like I was an almost 40 year old trying to be 14 again! I bought three items which I could mix and match for work and home…and then my clothes magically turned up the following week…story of my life! I bought the skirt that I’m wearing in the birthday photos at Daddy’s party…can be dressed up or down…and it’s stretchy, lined, well made and versatile!
Thank you Christine for the Country Road voucher for my birthday.
My little smurf mobile is home as well…it does receive a few giggles and side glances when out driving but I do love having a bit more freedom to get around.
^^Jumping on a giant waterbed isn’t as easy as it looks or very becoming…plus you have to be wary of boobies flying it all directions and rolls of belly fat escaping the jeans…it wasn’t easy folks!
New Zealand Life
It’s the start of Feijoa season…15 years without feijoas! I might be overdosing of these babies at the moment and I have a blister injury on my finger already.
The 15th of March was an extremely sad day in New Zealand’s history and it’s interesting to see how as a country we are dealing with the aftermath…the good stuff i.e. how New Zealand has come together is obviously shown all over the news however there is a lot of bad shit that has only gotten worse since…just read a comments string on facebook about the attacks and it sums up things nicely…the good, the bad and fucking ugly.
New Zealand isn’t fucking perfect…as a child, a murder would be in the headlines for weeks…now you’ll be lucky for a brief 30 second slot on the news unless of course there is a human interest side to the murder.
Poverty, casual racism that is no longer casual, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, gangs, sexual abuse, youth suicide, over crowding, adults having to work after retirement just to cover rent costs as rental and house prices and living costs are so bloody ridiculous here…as a country and our government (past and present), we should be ashamed of all these things.
We aren’t utopia and we need to stand up and admit we have a number of issues.
I, like many others in New Zealand disagreed with our Prime Minister…this is New Zealand…many New Zealanders are very naive to our countries issues especially around racism and religious hate!
It’s time to face facts, we have issues and they need to be sorted.
Exercise
I had hoped to actually do more exercise this month but it didn’t materialise…unless eating lollies in bed counts as exercise!
I’m still walking to and from the train but I am going to get back into P.Volve…they currently have free shipping to New Zealand and Australia until this evening so am going to finally buy the P.Ball.
Health Update
The iron levels were slowly improving with the iron tablets however my poor colon wasn’t in a good place…internal piles, excessive bleeding and the constant need to go to the loo…welcome to my world of taking iron tablets for the past 9 years!
As I was slightly over the two numbers required to receive a free iron infusion…I paid $470 for one instead through the GP as my mood swings were pretty horrendous, my memory was shit and I was started to feel anxious as I couldn’t tell if the excessive bleeding was a sign of colon cancer…it’s hard to see the signs for colon cancer when you’re taking iron tablets.
Something that doctors forget when you’re high risk for colon cancer.
So this is me pulling a face with a red nose…the infusion didn’t go to plan at all i.e. they couldn’t do my infusion on the day…there were loads of tears and mama called the doctors surgery and sorted them out…
…lesson of the day…don’t bloody mess with my mama!
I felt achy for days and just wanted to cry, my mental health started to crash on the Sunday evening after the infusion but thankfully I started to feel better mid week…the whole experience bought back terrible memories from my battles with the NHS which there were many.
Plans for April
Keeping it free and easy in April however there is a road trip planned.
So that was March 2019…over and out!
xx
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