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Wednesday 31 October 2007

The day the husband almost died

The husband and I have just been out to the airport to do a pick up.

As we were walking into the terminal, I was reading the security signs and very seriously (yet completely taking the p*ss) turned to him and told him "Make sure you do not leave your bag unattended".

So, he takes my hand.

Wanker.

He says I walked into it.

Ack

There was a slight situation with the blog post last night ...

I forgot to do one.

Woops.

All complaints to management.


Now, for a confession.

When the husband and I decided to go ahead with the renovations, we refinanced our floating mortgage to pull some of the equity out of our house to fund it all ...which is a little bit horrific bearing in mind current mortgage interest rates, but that's neither here nor there. So, obviously, looking at a floating mortgage facility that is twice as big as it was a week ago, I'm being very good and keeping away from all things shopping. Or, most things shopping. Some things shopping ... I'm cutting back anyway. As a general sort of goal.

...after I've been shoe shopping with a friend at the weekend.


Which is just as well really as I had a wee shopping-related accident today and placed an order at Sabato. Ahem. Technically, it was the husband's fault as he wanted posh olive oil, and once he'd sewn the seed, I started thinking about these gorgeous licorice pillows that Sabato stocks, and how I didn't know anywhere else I can get them, and from there it just kind of snow balled.

I'm such a bad person (as is the husband - we are a team after all).

But, you know, next week it's all on in the saving department. Definitely.

Monday 29 October 2007

The ring thing

It continues...

These things are never as simple as you hope they'll be.

They are progressing, though. Slowly.

As of a week and a half ago, the ring setting was hanging out with a manufacturing jeweller after Diamond & Time advised they couldn't replace the diamond. I'm not entirely sure how it took them close to 2 weeks to work that out, but the woman I’d been dealing with when taking the setting in was a bee-arch, so all’s well that ends well. The husband was lucky enough to deal with the same bee-arch when he uplifted the setting, and apparently she doubts that any jeweller will be able to restore the ring. We'll see.

So, Thursday before last I advised my insurer of the new jeweller's details, and last Thursday they arranged to have a quote sent through so that they could negotiate with the jeweller as to paying out as little as possible. From there, I haven't heard and can only assume that the necessary paperwork is being created, and that said paperwork will turn into an engagement ring at some stage before I'm ninety.

Ye gads.

So, 3 weeks down, and we've hardly even started.

(The husband is currently cheerfully running around behind me frying flies with an electric fly-swat. Jack is cheerfully running around behind him because apparently fried flies are doggy popcorn. It's very distracting.)

Sunday 28 October 2007

On seeing a man about a dog

Or, in this case, a Chinese herbalist about a fertility issue.

We finally made the trip down to Palmerston North at the weekend to visit a Chinese herbalist in relation to health and infertility. Although I'm firmly in the mumbo jumbo camp when it comes to most things alternative, this is one of those situations where I just can't be absolutely certain that perhaps there isn't some truth to it when people say it's done this good thing or that, and for the sake of that small chance, it's worth a shot. The fertility issue is definitely our priority, but even if it can help my endo, or just my general health, we'll be happy.

So, the husband and I trotted along on Saturday morning, after a Friday night flight down (thank you Air New Zealand for not bumping our sub-loading asses off either the flight there, or the flight home), had our pulses taken, our tongues looked at (??), and our medical histories examined.

Annnnd, we now each have courses of Chinese herbs to chug down, so from there we'll see what happens.

The husband's little pile of herbals ...





My little pile of herbals ...



Notice anything?

Mmmm hmmm. Exactly. All things considered, I'm a bit miffed about the inequality of it all. Apparently he just needs to relax between 5pm and 7pm and get better sleep, while I need to swallow half the plant life in China over about 8 weeks. Yeesh.

Apparently the husband is 'quite simple' *snort*, while I am 'more ....... complex' ...

I could have told her that.

Friday 26 October 2007

Summer is upon us

Ish. In theory. Sometime in the next couple of months. We hope.

And, to celebrate yon warm sunny season, I've been bikini hunting.

At least, bikini hunting in the sense that I know I need a new one and, as a result, am avoiding anything that even remotely resembles something you go near a pool in.

It seems that what I really need is something that starts around the shoulder area and finishes around ... well, realistically, my toes. Bikini shopping is a bit like jeans shopping, except there is no nice great expanse of demin to suck in all your wobbly bits, should you find a nice great expanse of demin that you can actually fit more than your big toe in.


Bollocks to bikinis.

Wednesday 24 October 2007

Oh, this is gooood

First, follow the linky and check out the Banana Guard.

Then, check out the FAQs. The last one, to be precise.

Oh, my word, did I laugh.

It does raise a bit of a red flag though, that my innocence is long gone.

Still, I'm not the only one.

Tuesday 23 October 2007

It's the little things in life

You’re on the first level of a shopping centre.

There are 2 escalators. One for up, one for down. One faces North (ish), the other faces South (ish) (Could be East and West, but you get the general idea. Directions aren't really my thing). One is broken, one is not.


Imagine for a moment, if you will, that you are me, and have just witnessed the following scene:

Three people walking up the North facing escalator, grumbling loudly because it isn’t working, then, upon reaching level one, looking across at the top of the South facing escalator and realising that the ‘up’ escalator is fully functional and they just walked up the broken ‘down’ one.

Tee hee.

Monday 22 October 2007

The renovation files

We've been through the redecoration/renovation thing, haven't we? (I'm too lazy to save this post and skip back to past posts to see what I have and haven't told you, so forgive me if I repeat myself) Essentially, the bones of the house are good, it's just that things haven't changed a lot since the 50's when it was built (and decorated), so it needs some lovin'. You'll remember the pre-renovation bathroom pics? You get my point then.

The plan for this weekend was to make some decisions, or at least progress, in relation to all things renovation-y. Obviously, for the occasion, all sharp kitchen utensils were hidden in case either one of us got the idea to use them on the other to speed up the decision making process.

Sooo, how did it go?

Carpet style chosen? Check.

Carpet colour chosen? Check.

Base internal house colour chosen? Check.

Kitchen designed? Check (colours still to go though)

Everything matches so far? I think so.

Marriage till in tact? Check.

Easy peasy. Ish.

Go figure.

Wednesday 17 October 2007

Long weekends

My lazy ass is going to start its long weekend early...

See ya Tuesday!

Tuesday 16 October 2007

Kid pics

Apparently, geting the dogs to sit still and look at the camera is as simple as holding a treat in each hand. Pity Jess looks a bit freaky.



A cute pic to balance out the freaky pic.




I tried a new treat recipe on Saturday which proved to be very popular. Those brown blobs on the bench are treats. Textbook temptation.



And the temptation gets the better of the dog - risking a boot up the bum was apparently worth it. He escaped the boot though on the basis that, technically, it was entrapment.




Kitty makes a nest. If only I'd known when I bought her a bed that one of Al's uniform shirts in a courier bag would be the trick.




Confused puppy. He chased the cat into the room, and poof! She just disappeared!


Monday 15 October 2007

The husband would like to know

Yes, this is another one of those acorn things. So, I'm throwing it out there and sharing the love.

Today's question from the great enquiring mind that is the husband's ...

Why do people refer to pants as pairs? You have a pair of pants, and yet there is only one item. Where does the 'pair' come from?

What I'd like to know is not so much about the pair, as where he gets this crap from. Seriously.

And, he genuinely seems to want to know. I don't think he's doing it just to annoy me.

Thankfully though, right now, he's ensconced on the couch with an article on the New Zealand Secret Service and the pairs of pants seem to be temporarily forgotten. What a relief.

Sunday 14 October 2007

Heh. Completely, utterly, totally, hilarious.

I, for one, absolutely believe her when she says that, this time, she was telling the truth.

*Snort*

Everyone say it together now ....

Sucked in!!!

That story sooo tickles my funny bone.

Friday 12 October 2007

Anyone for a divorce?

Ooo! Pick me! Pick me! Then pick Al!

I'm not sure who wants to divorce who the most at the moment ...

We've made the decision to do some things to the house, but we've realised that before we can really get started on much at all, we need to establish a colour scheme. The combination of Al, me and colour schemes tends to get a bit messy however. We both have our ideas, usually very similar ideas, it's just that we end up banging heads long before we stopped arguing long enough to realise it and come to a compromise.

Take last night for example. It was almost World War III (both dogs were hiding in respective corners), and yet we were both thinking pretty much along the same lines for a base colour right through the whole house (it was the actual colour that we were having issues with), that we could break up with other block colours depending on the room. Badoompsh.

We were definitely both on the same page over the $23,000.00 oven though. Probably a little steep for our wee budget. If only it'd been $22,500.00 though, things might have been different ... (It's almost as funny as someone I know spending $600.00 on a toaster once upon a time ... and no, it wasn't me).

Anywho, watch out for thunder storms and lightening over the next few weeks - we have carpet to choose and a kitchen to design as well.

Still, since all my jewellery is with jewellers getting fixed at the moment, I won't be able to lose any more precious stones ... that's got to be a better start to the weekend!

Thursday 11 October 2007

You know it's not completely over when ...

And, I've drawn a blank.

The plan was that this would be a similarly long list of things that remind me that youth is still firmly within my grasp, despite the evidence to the contrary, but it all fell over when I realised that the only thing I could think of to put on the list was that farts are still funny ... and that pretty much solely relates to Jack farting on his nose by accident when he's cleaning himself (I'm presuming i's an accident, because he always looks so offended).

So ...

Subtle topic change - I read this in the Herald online yesterday about a new IVF clinic which has opened in Auckland. I wonder if a) it's any cheaper, and b) whether it will impact on the public waiting list?

Wednesday 10 October 2007

Eek

I just went to put on my Sapphire necklace, and that bollocksing I got on Monday started ringing in my ears, so I checked to make sure all the claws on that were ok since it's about 2 years old. They're not! Well, three are, but one is fatally wounded (it looks like it may have just worn away, although since it's a necklace, I'm not sure how it could have because it wouldn't suffer the same wear as a ring). Eek! So, that's not going anywhere either until it's fixed. Poo. Now I have no jewellery. Better that than losing it of course - even more than my rings, the necklace is my most treasured thing because Al chose it himself while overseas.

Still, as I said, Poo.

You know you're getting older when ...

... if you kept pulling grey hairs out of the husband's head, he'd also be having bald issues.

... you bought a skincare item which entitled you to a free gift with purchase, and there's a range of gifts to choose from. The sales person bypasses the body scrubs and hand lotions and recommends the eye cream.

... it almost seems like a good idea to give up shopping in favour of a new kitchen.

... you have a sexy nighty folded up on your pillow. You also have a pair of socks and a cardi to go with so you don't freeze to death.

... you're hairdresser uses the term 'age fade' whilst staring intently at your hair.

... sensible shoes. That's all I'm going to say.

... you went shopping, had brunch, got pampered, but it was a fantastic weekend because you managed to get all the washing dry. And folded.

... you used to get asked for your ID at the supermarket (6 months ago) when buying wine. Now, they just get a good look at your face.

... you're talking to a Generation Y-er and you hear the words "you're probably too young to remember this ..." come out of your mouth.

... you think this guy is a turkey.

... you have a whole new take on vintage cartoons, TV programmes and movies ... and they're insanely dodgy most of the time.

Shall I go on? Probably not. It's depressing enough as it is.

Tuesday 9 October 2007

Ring go bye bye

Temporarily of course.

I went to see my insurer yesterday, filled out the requisite paperwork and spent about 15 minutes trying to explain to the girl that no, I didn't know where the diamond was, and yes, it was lost... gone ... poof ... ta ta ... never to be seen again. They required me to tell them exactly what happened when I discovered the diamond was gone, which I did. Except, the girl got a bit stuck on the cardi bit and couldn't seem to get her head around that it wasn't the getting stuck in the cardi that caused the diamond to come out, getting stuck in the cardi was because the diamond had already come out and that's how I found out it had. We all know how patient I am with these things. Yeesh. I should have just said that the ring felt lighter. Much easier for everyone involved.

Anyway, next step, I took the ring into Diamond & Time who are going to quote on replacing the diamond, and that's that for about a week until I get the quote back (oh and the lady today at Diamond & Time was a complete cow ... just thought I'd throw that out there. Among other things, she told me off for not having my rings serviced annually. Doh! I had no idea you're supposed to).

Monday 8 October 2007

Oh good. How Helpful.

Just as I had run out of things to blog about ...

I had a gorgeous day planned for myself on Saturday. I'd been having pain on and off all week, and I was sooo looking forward to Saturday and treating myself ala happy credits. I had a hair cut booked, followed by a trip to my beauty therapist to get my eyes done, and the ever-fun bikini wax. From there it was to be home to wake up the husband, and then take the puppy monsters to the park for a good frolic. Dinner was planned as a nice lazy soup (Thai coconut curry with lemongrass and coriander courtesy of le supermarket) and bread affair, followed by an early night for moi (the husband got to go to work, lucky him).

So, come Saturday morning, I peeled myself out of bed (first appointment was 9.15am - a rude start, but meant a leisurely day with lots of time left over), had brekkie, hung out the washing whilst marvelling at what appeared to be a glorious day for a change, picked up the dog poo off the lawn (may as well start the day with the glamorous stuff), had a shower and then got ready for my hair cut.

I was just putting my cardigan on with about 10 minutes spare to do my hair before walking out the door, when my engagement ring caught on my cardi (at this point, you're probably thinking that I put a hole in a new cardi, and I was a bit pissed about it, right? Wrong). I detangled the ring without needing to pay a lot of attention, and went to adjust my wedding and engagement rings back together (the wedding ring fits around the engagement, but sometimes it spins off the engagement ring and it's viciously sharp when it does because of the shape, so I'm always adjusting them back together) with my thumb ...... eeeexcepppt ...... it felt ...... kind of ...... odd. Almost like ..... there was no diamond in there!!!!!!

AAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

Obviously, this was not a good start to the day.

By the time I'd hyperventilated, several times, used a string of very, very, very bad words, and stared at the gaping hole where a rather expensive diamond used to be hoping it would magically reappear, I had negative minutes to get to my hair appointment. There wasn't really a lot I could do about the diamond, save tearing the house apart, and I couldn't place when I was last sure the damn thing was in the setting anyway. Even if I'd lost it that morning, it could have been anywhere on our property. When you think that it could have dropped on Friday morning even, Jess (who is always close by when I'm home) could have even lain on it, picked it up in her coat and transferred it outside or even to the park (you'd be amazed what that dog can pick up in her coat!), I might have lost it at work (and the cleaners come through on a Friday night), somewhere in the middle of Newmarket, at Botany on Friday night ... the only thing I could really do was ring the insurance company. Plus, crawling around the house (later in the day) on my hands and knees had its own hazards - the husband kept sneaking up behind me.

So, early Saturday morning, 2 stylists, a hair washer, a salon manager, my hairdresser and another client, looked a bit cross eyed and a little afraid as a semi-manic, hyperventilating redhead tore through the door with her hair sticking very much on end (remember - the lost diamond was discovered before the hair was done, and after that, doing my hair wasn't really a priority). I did get an extra long head massage though, once all was explained. Bliss.

Sunday was an improvement - we went out for brunch (mmmmm eggs benny), to look at rings (depending on what the insurance company says vis a vis fix or replace, we at least wanted to know what we'd do in either instance, and what jeweller we'd use), and to a kitchen place to look at new kitchens in case we decide to do the kitchen at the same time(ish) as the windows (depending on how the quote for those comes out).

All in all, an eventful weekend, don't you think?

Friday 5 October 2007

Castle Walmsley and the new window fun

Long story short (and actually, for a change, when I say it's the short version, it really is), our old (wooden) windows are rotting out and something needs to be done about them, as disgusting a thought as that is. And, when it comes down to it, if we're looking at spending significant money getting them fixed properly, we figure that we might be better to replace them entirely.

Which is all well and good, but my brother is a builder, and when I ran it past him yesterday he said that the general rule of thumb with a house lot of windows is $1,000.00 per window (set, not individually, thank heavens) and $2,000.00 per door (eek), which, when one counts up how many sets of windows one has in one's house ... it's quite a lot. I seriously hope that that's an installed cost. Ug.

Why can't these things just be free? Sort of like a bonus for ... something. I swear, as a child and teenager you spend that much time fantasising about being a grown up, and how much fun it'll be when you'll be the boss of you, and yet here we are. It turns out that it's much more preferable for someone else to be paying the bills and grinding their teeth over mortgage interest rates and the like.

Still, it's very exciting to think about how completely broke we'll be at the end of it.

Thursday 4 October 2007

Pet peeve number .... who knows?

People who can't spell.

(We all know I'm anal - you're just lucky you haven't had to sit through this one earlier)

Typos (and being a bit dense temporarily) aside, the inability (or, even worse, the lack of desire) to spell words correctly annoys me something wicked (mental note - spell check blog entry before posting).

I'm hanging it around the neck of text messaging myself. A lot of people shorten words by missing out a letter, especially if you're stretched for space and trying to condense it, but seriously, why change a word completely for the sake of saving a letter? If you're comin over for dinner, I can survive, but if you're cumen over for dinner? Not so much. The thing is that evidence is popping up all over the place that there are those among us that actually think that these new versions of words are the actual way things are spelled, and because it seems to be largely phonetic spelling, it just kind of sticks.

Sooo, what set me off this time?

Sitting on the motorway yesterday behind a car, beautifully sign written, for a cleaning business called ‘Mr Sparkel’.

Uhhh … last time I read a dictionary (today, to make sure how you spell 'sparkle' as it happens), that’s not how you spell it. In fact, it’s not even in there as a variation to the spelling of sparkle (as in, dispatch/despatch kind of thing). So, it begs the question as to why? Did no one check a dictionary before they plastered it on all 4 sides of the vehicle in enormous, brightly coloured writing? Seriously? I suppose at a long (loooong) shot, it could be the owner’s last name, and therefore a loose play on words, but I’d say not.

OK, fine, I searched the Companies register (we've agreed, I'm anal, just go with it) for the Company details and checked that the owner’s name wasn’t actually Mr, Mrs or Miss ‘Sparkel’ before I posted about it (because then I'd feel a wee tad stupid if it turned out it was), which it wasn't, of course ... although I wasn’t entirely surprised to see that the company had been placed into liquidation. Getting the spelling of your name wrong isn’t exactly a good start now, is it?

It really does bug me though that there seems to be an entire culture/emerging generation of people that can't spell, but don’t realise that they can’t spell because they’ve essentially been brought up on this bastardised version of our written language and anything seems to go.

In the end, I had to overtake Mr Sparkel so I didn’t have to look at his car.

Wednesday 3 October 2007

Still good

I arrived at work yesterday at the much more civilised time of 7.50am, only almost fell off my chair twice, didn't smack into the wall at all, and continued to enjoy leaving at 3pm.

All's good in this here little world my friends, just a little on the I-have-no-news-which-is-incredibly-boring side of things.

Unless of course you count the gorgeous toilet bag that I found while out for a quick 10 minute walk at lunch time yesterday? Al wasn't quite convinced though that it was a bargain at $245.00, regardless of how long I've been stalking toilet bags and how earnestly I presented my case. Honestly, I don't know that he processed anything much at all beyond $245.00 because from that point on in the conversation it was all wide-eyed staring, and mouth opening and closing like a landed fish. I half wonder if, since we were at the park with the dogs at the time, he didn't consider drowning me in the stream and being done with it just for a brief minute there (I'll pretend it was brief anyway).

I think he knew this was going to happen though ... me, in Newmarket. It's a recipe for Visa-associated disaster.

Nothing but good times ahead.

(As a side issue - did I mention by the way that courtesy of blatant trickery and deception at Pak'n'Save (and possibly a failure to read the label on the product on my part), I ended up coming home with onion bagels last week, instead of my usual, beloved, plain ones? How on earth am I supposed to put cream cheese and jam on an onion bagel? Bollocks)

Tuesday 2 October 2007

Also ...

This little guy spent the night in hospital with pneumonia.

Get well soon Gus!!

(Notice how I took the photo before he started the food? Clever Aunty!)





AARGH! What have I done?

No, no, just kidding!

...

Maybe.

...

No, I am.

(I told you, they read the blog!)

Aside from arriving in Newmarket a 7.20am (!!! blimmin school holidays - I'd forgotten what a ridiculous difference it makes to the traffic in Auckland), sticking my finger through my brand new stockings (am a little unused to stockings, obviously), almost falling off my chair a couple of times (it hasn't got any arm rests to hold my butt on, and it seems my butt is a wee bit bigger than it was the last time I sat on that particular chair about 7 years ago) skidding across the office and into the wall (slidy plastic mats under the wheely-chair, and just sort of launching oneself into said chair is a bit of an OSH hazard ...although I suppose it could be argued that at 28, I should have learned to place myself on a chair in a ladylike fashion), and having to dig my poor brain out of cold storage, my day yesterday was great. I felt very naughty leaving at 3pm ... but that lasted about as long as it took me to get out the door.

And even better - since my clothes for work are either new, or haven't been worn ... well, since the last time I worked in this office! ... I don't have to do any ironing ALL WEEK. Happy skippy joy! (plus, and my clothes were actually still clean when I got home last night!)

(Bollocks. There's one drawback to blogging and eating bagels for breakfast ... jam on the laptop. Oops.)