Melting...

I can't function.

Today was the first day back at work in almost 5 weeks. I had to try and kick myself into a higher gear, and focus on the fact that there were to be no more days lounging around in the air conditioning, watching tennis and catching up leisurely with friends. Oh no, it's back to lesson plans, pastoral care and getting ready to learn the names and personalities of 150 new kids. Argh!

However, in the end, that's not the hardest part.

The hardest part is trying to cope with this heatwave that we're having. 44 degrees today, with no respite in sight. Everybody was wilting, and headaches were developing left, right and center. Oh, how I wish that there is a rule in place that schools needed to shut if the temp was higher than 38!

On another note, I have some pics of the backyard, but I can't find the cord to download them! It's gone AWOL since New Zealand. Very happy with how it's looking though, the pavers are looking fantastic. Deon is doing a great job!

44 degrees again tomorrow. Fingers crossed I make it through the day.

Time for a Change.

I decided I wanted something a little different, considering I've had the same colour hair for about 2 years now. So, I talked to Nella (my hairdresser) today, and she kept the same chocolate brown, but added in some gorgeous caramel foils all through the top layer of my hair.


Look, I tried to post a photo to show them, but they're really hard to see! I promise you that they are there! I might have to take a close up view later. Anyway, I've found that being pregnant has made my hair incredibly dry and dull, so it was lovely to see it all shiny and smooth again. The caramel has helped soften it too, and it's not so 'severe' anymore.

On another note, all our pavers came today! Yay! I'm so excited that Deon will be laying them all to create our garden beds tomorrow! I'll definitely take some pics to keep you all updated on the progress.

5 days of holidays left.. sob!

11 Days Left...

So, as of today, I have 11 days left of my Summer holidays. Apart from going 100 mph on the New Zealand trip, I've been quite lazy and laid back, preferring to hibernate and watch the tennis rather than accomplish tasks and socialize.

So, today I got my butt in gear. I've made some lists, plans and appointments. I spent most of the day cleaning out the spare room and either stacking things in tubs or chucking in the bin (I was VERY ruthless today!) and it's 90% ready to turn into a nursery.

I'm catching up with everyone tomorrow at the Sandbar for lunch to celebrate Dee's birthday, going to the cinema to see Bride Wars with Niccy on Wednesday, getting a massage on Thurs and a haircut and colour on Friday. Gotta get the last two in before school starts, otherwise it's way too hard to organise!

I also bought the book Marley & Me yesterday, and finished it today.. in tears. I will definintely have to wait until the movie is on DVD, as I can only watch movies that make me cry at home!

Lovely Surprises.

I opened up my my mailbox yesterday and found a lovely surprise. My friend Danielle had sent me a gorgeous little Lychee and Cherry Blossom soap, and it smells DEVINE. Just gorgeous.. I can't wait to use it, although I don't want to open it and wreck the pretty wrapping on it!


So thank you Danielle, it was a wonderful gift, and you made my day!

Any Excuse to Shop.

As Deon was playing the XBox tonight, I decided to kill some time before heading to bed by surfing a few of my favourite sites. After checking them out, I thought I'd have a peek at Lan's favourite online store, ASOS. I was quite excited to discover that they had a range of maternity clothes! This is the first time I've become excited about clothes since falling pregnant. This is one of my favourite pieces:

Isn't it gorgeous? It's actually funky, and stylish, and not frumpy and dowdy like a lot of maternity clothes are. Once the weather becomes cooler, and I'm bigger, I might order a few of these pieces to get me through the season.

The Beginning of the Backyard?

I can't quite believe it, but I think my backyard is actually going to begin this weekend. Deon has booked all the equipment, and has lined up all the materials we need. Can this really be happening? After 4 years? I'm very excited, but slightly jaded after so many 'potential' starts. I'll believe it when I can buy some plants to put in the ground!

Speaking of plants, we're sticking with drought tolerant ones- spiky grasses, yuccas and succulents. We're also going to go with synthetic turf due to the water restrictions. We really would love the real stuff, but we just can't risk spending heaps of money then having it die on us.

On another note, the lovely Niccy dropped around today where we chilled out and watched the Golden Globes. We were very happy to see Heath Ledger win!

Baby Blaby.

This is the first time I have mentioned it, as Deon and I wanted to keep it under wraps until we were sure all was OK.. but in July 2009 we will be extending our family to three! I'm currently 13 weeks and 3 days pregnant, and we're very excited to have little 'chickpea' in our lives. I'm posting a photo just for you Lan, you asked if my tummy was getting bigger yet? Well, here you go-

It's definitely popped out a lot more in the last week, and I'm finding it hard to fit into my normal gear. We had a scan last Monday, and it was great to see chickpea moving around, and to hear the little heartbeat again. Now that I have my energy back, I'm getting stuck into getting the study transformed into a nursery. I have lots of ideas.. It's going to be a lot of fun setting it up!

Aaaand.. We're Back!

Did you miss us? ;)

Deon and I arrived back home two days ago, and I'm missing the West Coast of New Zealand already! Absolutely amazing and stunning, it really did take my breath away. We started off in Christchurch, then traveled through the West Coast into Fox Glacier, and finished in Queenstown. Here are a few piccies from our adventure...

The city of Christchurch. Not as big as I expected, but very frustrating to get around if you're driving! The number of one-way streets is insane! Deon and I opted to walk into the city from our hotel, which only took about 20 minutes.

Cathedral Square, the heart of the city. Every day there were stalls, street performers and on the weekend is a market (which unfortunately we missed).

Cathedral Square again. A tram begins here and loops all around the city, stopping at places such as the art gallery, museum, parks, etc. Came in very handy!

On our last night in Christchurch we attended the Tamaki Heritage Village, which was amazing. It includes a full interactive re-enactment of Maori history and the invasion of Europeans. At the end, we enjoyed a huge buffet of traditional Maori food.

Arthur's Pass, on our way through the West Coast to Fox Glacier. Deon and I have decided that we definitely have to come back and stay here some time, so we can do many of the hiking trails.

Up on top of Fox Glacier! We were supposed to helicopter it to the top of the glacier, but due to the weather it was canceled. So, Deon and I made the decision to do the half day hike, and really, it was the best thing we could have done. The highlight of our trip. It was physically exhausting, in the wind and rain, but so rewarding! We were also extremely lucky in that we were the only 2 in our group, so we had our own personal guide. Every other group had 15 in it!

We made it!

Queenstown, possibly the most beautiful, picturesque town I have been in. I can only imagine how amazing it would be in winter, with snow capped mountains surrounding you.

We took a full day tour to Milford Sound, which was four hours away from Queenstown. If you ever get the chance to visit, DO SO! The fiordland is unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was Summer, but the mountains still had snow on them.

The native flowers in the middle of Milford Sound National park.

As you can see, it was raining (which isn't unusual, as it rains 200 days a year here) so unfortunately I had to be super quick taking photos, as I didn't want my SLR to be drenched and short circut on me!

On our cruise through Milford and the fiordlands.

This photo indicates just how blustery it was, as part of the waterfall is actually blowing upwards!

There's so much I haven't written about, or shown, but it's a small snapshot of our 9 days. If you ever make it to New Zealand, make sure that you do the West Coast and at least one of the glaciers. We packed so much in that we were exhausted coming home... I want to do it all again one day!