I feel I must warn you in advance about the contents of this blog post. There is mention of sickness and plenty of it. In fact, that's what my week mainly consisted of. Well, that and recovering.
Monday my fears became a reality. I was sick. Typical on the first day of my holidays. All I had was a cold, but it got to me nonetheless. Pete managed to avoid catching a cold, however he did take the day off from work as he had spent part of the night and morning throwing up. So as you can expect, we had a very low key day. In fact, I didn't emerge from the bedroom except to visit the ladies room and to eat. Pete planted himself firmly in front of the TV for the day.
Tuesday Pete was on the mend, so went to work. I was still feeling yuck, so spent another day mostly in bed.
Wednesday I was felling better. I could taste my food again (a huge success in my books) and breathe out of my nose. I still spent the day at home though. However, as Pete arrived home, I greeted him with a kiss and then took Jelly to sewing. I was teaching another class. I had a great time with the girls and learned a thing or two myself. I made my way home happy to have got out of the house, but just as eager to get back to relax.
Thursday and Friday were both days that consisted of me sleeping in, doing things around the house, watching far too many episodes of Friends, eating and then relaxing with Pete. There was a slight change to the schedule on Friday as Pete was called at midnight to fix a truck. I decided to accompany him. The good news was the job only took 10 minutes to fix. The bad news was that the truck driver was just as chatty as Pete. So, after half an hour, we were on the road, very ready for bed.
Saturday we encountered Calgary at her finest. The weather was hot! Our day started with us making our way to a garage sale in the north. Pete had seen archery gear advertised at the sale. He didn't find any archery related stuff to buy, but go figure, I did. I found Dixie Chicks albums I have been wanting for a while. After some tooing and frooing, Pete decided to buy an elk caller. Only $2. Let's just say, I can tell you what an elk sounds like as I heard nothing but the blimmin caller all day! After the garage sale, we made our way to McDonald's for breakfast. So bad, yet oh so good. We then decided to check out a mall in the area. We got a few comments as to why we were at a mall when the weather was so lovely. My answer was the mall was cool. We then made our way home to relax for a few hours before heading to church. Church was great. We hadn't been for a couple of weeks so it was good to be back and catch up with everyone.
Sunday was another schorcher. We began planning our upcoming trip around Canada and the US, we ran a few errands, grabbed a bite to eat, and then decided to chill at home for the remainder of the day. Our apartment was surprisingly cool, so we sat back and took advantage of the slight breeze. It seemed a waste as the weather was stunning, but that heat got to us.
And so ends another week. Sorry we have no photos. The week was a pretty blah one. Next week however we are out and about a bit more, and with the Calgary Stampede starting this Friday, I will bombard you with shots. Until then...
Tuesday 30 June 2015
Thursday 25 June 2015
Week 46 - Busy week for Deb
And here I thought that with me being on holiday I would be super productive and get the blog post written and posted early in the week. Hmmm, wishful thinking.
Monday we both did the normal thing and went to work. After work, we had a quick bite to eat before making our way to the Archery Range for a work do for Pete. John (Pete's boss) hired a part of the Archery range and an instructor for us all. For 2 hours, we shot arrows and enjoyed each others company. As it still felt so early at 9 when we finished up, we then went out for a drink and another bite to eat. We arrived home after 11pm, but we had the best night out.
Tuesday I thankfully got to sleep in. I did my thing at home before heading to work. The time went quickly, and before I knew it, I was helping to set up for our prize giving the next day as this was the last week of school. Once home, we hung out for a bit, had dinner and then I made my way to sewing. Sewing was not as enjoyable as it has been as I made a few mistakes. So, to say my unpicker and I are on the best of terms would be accurate.
Wednesday wasn't a normal workday as we had prize giving for the kids, so classes were shorter. It was nice to be given gifts from the students. Even though I only assist, it made me feel special. As the rest of the week was busy, we chose to have a quiet night in together that night.
Thursday was my last work day for the next 2 weeks. We had prize giving for our 3 year old's. It felt surreal that that was it. I made my way home for a rest before I made my way out again for our end of year staff do. The restaurant was at the end of our road, so I walked. We had an awesome night hanging out. Our boss (Anne) gave us all gifts. She selected picture books that she felt related to each one of us. It was such an awesome gift. I was also given a gift as I am leaving. Even though I have only worked there for 6 months, I felt valued and that I would be missed.
Friday I accompanied Pete to work in the morning so I could have the use of Jelly for the day. I aimed to head to Fabric land to take advantage of their huge sale and even though Pete said he would willingly go on the weekend with me, I decided not to subject him to that. I also paid a visit to Value Village. However, after reading they were having a 50% sale in a few days, I decided not to buy anything, instead I would wait for the sale. I then made a few more errands before making my way home for a bit before heading in to pick up Pete. Once we arrived home, we had dinner together before I headed out again by my lonesome. Destination: Girls night. I made my way to Daphne's where I caught up with the girls. We had an awesome night of socializing, sewing and movie watching. A perfect end to the week.
Saturday (jeez, it seems so long ago). We had a relaxing morning at home before heading out to run a couple of errands. We did pay another visit to Fabric Land as the sale was still on and I wanted one more project to work on at sewing before we leave Canada.We arrived home where I crawled into bed as I was feeling like a Nana nap was needed. In no time at all, Pete came in to get me up for church. We decided to be slack and not go, so instead watched a movie and grabbed something to eat before face timing Pete's parents.
Sunday we had plans to head to Fort Macloud. We embarked on the journey and arrived in no time. There we grabbed lunch and enjoyed perusing the museum learning more about the RCMP. We then found horses, so were invited to pat them and watch the practice for the shows that take place next week. It was awesome to watch. The skies were pretty dismal though, so after warning cracks of thunder, the hail came which we took as our cue to leave. There we made our way to Okotoks to do our food shopping for the week before heading home.
And that ends another week here in beautiful Calgary. After quite a bit of rain, the sun has appeared and summer really feels like it is here. Perfect timing for the Stampede in the next couple of weeks.
Monday we both did the normal thing and went to work. After work, we had a quick bite to eat before making our way to the Archery Range for a work do for Pete. John (Pete's boss) hired a part of the Archery range and an instructor for us all. For 2 hours, we shot arrows and enjoyed each others company. As it still felt so early at 9 when we finished up, we then went out for a drink and another bite to eat. We arrived home after 11pm, but we had the best night out.
Tuesday I thankfully got to sleep in. I did my thing at home before heading to work. The time went quickly, and before I knew it, I was helping to set up for our prize giving the next day as this was the last week of school. Once home, we hung out for a bit, had dinner and then I made my way to sewing. Sewing was not as enjoyable as it has been as I made a few mistakes. So, to say my unpicker and I are on the best of terms would be accurate.
Wednesday wasn't a normal workday as we had prize giving for the kids, so classes were shorter. It was nice to be given gifts from the students. Even though I only assist, it made me feel special. As the rest of the week was busy, we chose to have a quiet night in together that night.
Thursday was my last work day for the next 2 weeks. We had prize giving for our 3 year old's. It felt surreal that that was it. I made my way home for a rest before I made my way out again for our end of year staff do. The restaurant was at the end of our road, so I walked. We had an awesome night hanging out. Our boss (Anne) gave us all gifts. She selected picture books that she felt related to each one of us. It was such an awesome gift. I was also given a gift as I am leaving. Even though I have only worked there for 6 months, I felt valued and that I would be missed.
Friday I accompanied Pete to work in the morning so I could have the use of Jelly for the day. I aimed to head to Fabric land to take advantage of their huge sale and even though Pete said he would willingly go on the weekend with me, I decided not to subject him to that. I also paid a visit to Value Village. However, after reading they were having a 50% sale in a few days, I decided not to buy anything, instead I would wait for the sale. I then made a few more errands before making my way home for a bit before heading in to pick up Pete. Once we arrived home, we had dinner together before I headed out again by my lonesome. Destination: Girls night. I made my way to Daphne's where I caught up with the girls. We had an awesome night of socializing, sewing and movie watching. A perfect end to the week.
Saturday (jeez, it seems so long ago). We had a relaxing morning at home before heading out to run a couple of errands. We did pay another visit to Fabric Land as the sale was still on and I wanted one more project to work on at sewing before we leave Canada.We arrived home where I crawled into bed as I was feeling like a Nana nap was needed. In no time at all, Pete came in to get me up for church. We decided to be slack and not go, so instead watched a movie and grabbed something to eat before face timing Pete's parents.
Sunday we had plans to head to Fort Macloud. We embarked on the journey and arrived in no time. There we grabbed lunch and enjoyed perusing the museum learning more about the RCMP. We then found horses, so were invited to pat them and watch the practice for the shows that take place next week. It was awesome to watch. The skies were pretty dismal though, so after warning cracks of thunder, the hail came which we took as our cue to leave. There we made our way to Okotoks to do our food shopping for the week before heading home.
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| Pete loving the old tools they used. |
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| Beautiful stained glass window. |
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| Pete was also pretty taken with the stoves. I swear he should have born in this era. |
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| Bison. |
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| The grounds. |
Friday 19 June 2015
Week 45 - Work, The Big Race and Exhaustion
Another week done and dusted. Our week was fairly non-eventful. The weekend took us out of our comfort zone though where we ran our first 5K race. To say the rest of the weekend was a quiet one would be an understatement as I think we were pretty shattered. (Well, okay, maybe I was just shattered)
Monday saw the start to another work week. Next week is my last week at work for a bit as school is finishing up here in Canada. It feels so weird to me to finish school in the middle of the year. I keep reminding myself that it's not Christmas as I associate summer and finishing school with Christmas. The day at work went well, I came home to eat and relax a bit, before making my way back to work for another meeting. The meeting was about summer camp. I will be teaching two classes for two weeks. The meeting was my kind of meeting - short but sweet. I then made my way home to catch up with Pete. We made dinner and then at 9pm set out for our run. 9pm may sound late, but it's still so bright then. As the temperature has been getting up there (we reached 33 the other day) we have decided to run later.
Tuesday I slept in and then pottered around the place before eventually getting ready for work. After another slightly challenging time with the 3 year olds, I made my way home to Face time Jayden. We chatted for a couple of hours, before we bid farewell and Pete and I started dinner. As we were busy the next night, we decided to run after dinner on Tuesday. So with satisfied tummies, we donned ourselves in our running gear and did our run. After I was done, I made my way inside, but Pete decided to push himself. He was ages and it was dark by this stage. I found out after our run, he decided to run another 5 and a half Ks (as you do). I was super proud of him.
Wednesday was another day at work. Once home, I tackled the task of making a potato bake for dinner. When Pete arrived home, he had time for a quick shower before we made our way to Peter and Carol's for dinner. Les and Val were there also. We had the best time! I am so going to miss these guys when we leave Canada. Before we knew it, over 4 hours had passed and we reluctantly made our way home.
Thursday I was thankful that I was able to sleep in. The work day was a productive one which was good. After work, I made my way home while Pete rushed into town after his day at work to a running store to pick up our race pack for the weekend. We were pretty excited to see our name with our number and our race shirt. As Pete made it home fairly late, we decided to miss connect and have a quiet one at home.
Friday came around so quickly it seemed. With another week at work over, we chose to have a quiet one at home that night too in preparation for the big race the next day.
Saturday we awoke to the blaring of the alarm. Race day was upon us. So after a quick bite to eat, and kitting ourselves out in our running gear, we made our way into downtown Calgary. The race was to be run around the Bow River. After a bit of waiting around, we were off. As Pete (aka the gazelle) runs way faster than I do, he was off. I took my time. I would love to say I ran the entire race. Sadly I didn't. But Pete did and managed to do it in awesome time. I must admit, I did love crossing the finish line to Pete cheering me on. We took advantage of the fresh fruit on offer, and waited for our times to be posted. With the race done and dusted, we made our way home tired, but feeling flipping proud of ourselves. The rest of the day was a quiet one. We lounged around home for a bit and ran a couple of errands. As we wanted to be part of Jo and Isaac's gender reveal party, we missed church to face time family. We can now say we are going to be the proud aunty and uncle to another boy Anthes. After catching up on the latest, we decided to hit the hay.
Sunday we took full advantage of the fact that we could sleep in. Our plans for the day weren't many. We ran a few errands, stopped for a coffee and the biggest cinnamon bun I had ever seen and visited a couple of shops before choosing to call it a day and head home. We were both pretty tired after our eventful Saturday morning, so we decided to spend the rest of the day at home.
And so ends another week here. A fairly non-eventful week except for the fact that we ran a 5K race (words I never thought I would say that's for sure).
Monday saw the start to another work week. Next week is my last week at work for a bit as school is finishing up here in Canada. It feels so weird to me to finish school in the middle of the year. I keep reminding myself that it's not Christmas as I associate summer and finishing school with Christmas. The day at work went well, I came home to eat and relax a bit, before making my way back to work for another meeting. The meeting was about summer camp. I will be teaching two classes for two weeks. The meeting was my kind of meeting - short but sweet. I then made my way home to catch up with Pete. We made dinner and then at 9pm set out for our run. 9pm may sound late, but it's still so bright then. As the temperature has been getting up there (we reached 33 the other day) we have decided to run later.
Tuesday I slept in and then pottered around the place before eventually getting ready for work. After another slightly challenging time with the 3 year olds, I made my way home to Face time Jayden. We chatted for a couple of hours, before we bid farewell and Pete and I started dinner. As we were busy the next night, we decided to run after dinner on Tuesday. So with satisfied tummies, we donned ourselves in our running gear and did our run. After I was done, I made my way inside, but Pete decided to push himself. He was ages and it was dark by this stage. I found out after our run, he decided to run another 5 and a half Ks (as you do). I was super proud of him.
Wednesday was another day at work. Once home, I tackled the task of making a potato bake for dinner. When Pete arrived home, he had time for a quick shower before we made our way to Peter and Carol's for dinner. Les and Val were there also. We had the best time! I am so going to miss these guys when we leave Canada. Before we knew it, over 4 hours had passed and we reluctantly made our way home.
Thursday I was thankful that I was able to sleep in. The work day was a productive one which was good. After work, I made my way home while Pete rushed into town after his day at work to a running store to pick up our race pack for the weekend. We were pretty excited to see our name with our number and our race shirt. As Pete made it home fairly late, we decided to miss connect and have a quiet one at home.
Friday came around so quickly it seemed. With another week at work over, we chose to have a quiet one at home that night too in preparation for the big race the next day.
Saturday we awoke to the blaring of the alarm. Race day was upon us. So after a quick bite to eat, and kitting ourselves out in our running gear, we made our way into downtown Calgary. The race was to be run around the Bow River. After a bit of waiting around, we were off. As Pete (aka the gazelle) runs way faster than I do, he was off. I took my time. I would love to say I ran the entire race. Sadly I didn't. But Pete did and managed to do it in awesome time. I must admit, I did love crossing the finish line to Pete cheering me on. We took advantage of the fresh fruit on offer, and waited for our times to be posted. With the race done and dusted, we made our way home tired, but feeling flipping proud of ourselves. The rest of the day was a quiet one. We lounged around home for a bit and ran a couple of errands. As we wanted to be part of Jo and Isaac's gender reveal party, we missed church to face time family. We can now say we are going to be the proud aunty and uncle to another boy Anthes. After catching up on the latest, we decided to hit the hay.
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| Pre race. |
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| Pre race selfie. |
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| Post race selfie. |
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| Pete eating the huge cinnamon bun. And yes, that's cream cheese icing! |
Wednesday 10 June 2015
Week 44 - Sunshine, Starbucks and Everyday Life
Here again after what seems another fast week here in Canada. Since our time here is coming to an end soon, we have so many things we want to do and people to see. We have felt so loved as people here are sad to see us leave, and people at home are happy to have us coming home. Anyway, enough ramblings, on with the blog.
Monday we both had a fairly non-eventful day at work. People at work are sad to see us leaving which makes us feel appreciated. As the sun is out until 10:30pm at night now, we have found ourselves needing to run later as it is still fairly warm at 7-8pm. So after work, we lounged around the house together, had dinner, and made our way out for a run. As it was our first run since being on holiday, to say we felt it would be an understatement. However, with our race coming up, we slogged it out, knowing (okay, more like hoping) it would only get better.
Tuesday I had a glorious sleep in and then busied myself by cleaning parts of the apartment. I then made my way to work with the lovely bunch of 3 year olds we have. After my 2 and a half hours, I was done. What the heck am I going to do when it comes to me having kids? That night, I had sewing. It was awesome to get back into things and to tell others about our adventure in New York. I started on another project (a dress) which I will likely finish next time.
Wednesday we worked and then decided to do something different in the evening. We decided to pay a visit to IKEA. We had dinner there (set us back $20) and checked out things that we wanted to purchase before heading home. We don't have enough money to bring everything we want home, but there are some things we just can't resist. Especially when we look on Trade Me in NZ and realize how some people are selling IKEA goods for way more than they retail for. For example, a mirror I saw at IKEA was $7.99. The exact same mirror was selling for $45 on Trade Me.
Thursday I missed out on a sleep in as I was going to catch up with Daphne re sewing on the weekend. It didn't work out, so instead we Face timed. With the extra time I had in my day, I was uber productive. Let's just say the house was spotless and I was all set for teaching on Saturday at church. That night we went to connect. There weren't many people there, but it was awesome nonetheless. God spoke to me about His sense of humor and how He wanted to reveal it more to me. A little left field, but exciting.
Friday we were glad to see the end of another work week. The weather was due to be sensational that weekend, so we were keen to make the most of that. That evening, we decided to have a quiet one in which consisted of a movie for me and a bath for Pete.
Saturday dawned bright as expected. As I was due to teach sewing at 1pm, we decided to stay around home for the morning. So we picked up milk and had a frapachino at Starbucks. I then lounged in the sun on our balcony while Pete made us lunch. It was perfect for a weekend. I then made my way to sewing. I had 5 girls to teach. It was a blast. I loved spending time with them and teaching. I then made my home for a bit before we headed out for ice-cream before then making our way to church. Church was again awesome and I loved teaching the little ones about Peter (The Peter in the bible, not my Peter). Before we knew it, we were on our way home to relax before our Face time date with Allen and Tash. It was so nice to catch up.
Sunday we wanted to get out and about without spending a bucket load of money. So we decided to grab some food and have a picnic at a local park. The weather was stunning. We had the best time lounging in the sun and eating to our hearts content. Once we were all sunned out, we made our way to a shop I wanted to check out. We took a look around and before long made our way home. I think the sun got to me, as I then chose to curl up in bed for a nana nap. (Isn't that what Sundays are about?)
And so, that is the end to another week here in Canada. The weather has been awesome and is expected to get even better. We get the heat, but not the humidity... Perfect!
Monday we both had a fairly non-eventful day at work. People at work are sad to see us leaving which makes us feel appreciated. As the sun is out until 10:30pm at night now, we have found ourselves needing to run later as it is still fairly warm at 7-8pm. So after work, we lounged around the house together, had dinner, and made our way out for a run. As it was our first run since being on holiday, to say we felt it would be an understatement. However, with our race coming up, we slogged it out, knowing (okay, more like hoping) it would only get better.
Tuesday I had a glorious sleep in and then busied myself by cleaning parts of the apartment. I then made my way to work with the lovely bunch of 3 year olds we have. After my 2 and a half hours, I was done. What the heck am I going to do when it comes to me having kids? That night, I had sewing. It was awesome to get back into things and to tell others about our adventure in New York. I started on another project (a dress) which I will likely finish next time.
Wednesday we worked and then decided to do something different in the evening. We decided to pay a visit to IKEA. We had dinner there (set us back $20) and checked out things that we wanted to purchase before heading home. We don't have enough money to bring everything we want home, but there are some things we just can't resist. Especially when we look on Trade Me in NZ and realize how some people are selling IKEA goods for way more than they retail for. For example, a mirror I saw at IKEA was $7.99. The exact same mirror was selling for $45 on Trade Me.
Thursday I missed out on a sleep in as I was going to catch up with Daphne re sewing on the weekend. It didn't work out, so instead we Face timed. With the extra time I had in my day, I was uber productive. Let's just say the house was spotless and I was all set for teaching on Saturday at church. That night we went to connect. There weren't many people there, but it was awesome nonetheless. God spoke to me about His sense of humor and how He wanted to reveal it more to me. A little left field, but exciting.
Friday we were glad to see the end of another work week. The weather was due to be sensational that weekend, so we were keen to make the most of that. That evening, we decided to have a quiet one in which consisted of a movie for me and a bath for Pete.
Saturday dawned bright as expected. As I was due to teach sewing at 1pm, we decided to stay around home for the morning. So we picked up milk and had a frapachino at Starbucks. I then lounged in the sun on our balcony while Pete made us lunch. It was perfect for a weekend. I then made my way to sewing. I had 5 girls to teach. It was a blast. I loved spending time with them and teaching. I then made my home for a bit before we headed out for ice-cream before then making our way to church. Church was again awesome and I loved teaching the little ones about Peter (The Peter in the bible, not my Peter). Before we knew it, we were on our way home to relax before our Face time date with Allen and Tash. It was so nice to catch up.
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| Yum - Chocolate Chip. |
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| Pete enjoying his Caramel. |
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| Pete enjoying the Sun (and of course the food). |
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| Our view. |
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| Me with my make shift sun shade. AKA a jandal. |
Thursday 4 June 2015
Week 43 - Big News!!!
Well, we are officially back to reality. Back to work, back to little in the bank and back to the everyday tasks you forget about when you are on holiday.
Monday saw us both heading back to work. We were both keen to get back into things. And it was nice to know that we had both been missed at work. I was quizzed a lot about what my highlight of New York was. To be honest, I couldn't give just one, so I rattled off what we had got up to instead. After work, we decided to go grocery shopping as our cupboards were pretty bare. We had our customary dinner date before food shopping, and then shopped. I must say, I don't dread shopping the way I have in the past. Would I go so far as to say I like it. Heck no. But it's so much better than it was.
Tuesday I had a sleep in and pottered around the house before heading to work. Work was fairly non-eventful and before I knew it, I was at home, grabbing a bite to eat with Pete before we made our way to the movies. Our choice: Pitch Perfect 2. It was awesome. It totally lived up to the hype.
Wednesday was another work day. Pete and I managed to have a quick coffee and chat before I stole Jelly to head to our pastors house to teach sewing for her. As she was away, she didn't want her students to miss out. As I am not what I would call a confident sewer, I was slightly apprehensive about teaching. But the 2 classes I took went really well. So much so that I am teaching again next week.
Thursday arrived to me sleeping in again. Ahh, what will I do when I have to re-enter the real world of working full time. We decided to give connect group a miss that night. So instead, we curled up with dinner on the couch to watch a movie together.
Before we knew it, it was Friday. As a colleagues son was getting married the next day, I offered to do her shift. So I worked a full day. When Pete got home, we had every intention of getting back into the running. But alas, laziness got the better of us, so we are now behind in our training schedule. So instead, we had another quiet night in.
Saturday we decided to put our entertainment guide to use. So we headed to McKenzie Towne (I know, the spelling of some words here is strange). Our plan was to have a coffee and a cupcake. The coffee place was, it seemed, a figment of our imagination. We couldn't find it anywhere. We could however find the cupcake shop. So we sat and had a cupcake and a hot chocolate while chatting over our future. We then made our way to the mall for Pete to pick up some more underwear. I also wanted to head to Old Navy (yes, I have a problem) so we did that. We then decided to miss church (gosh we are such heathens this week) and have another quiet one in. Pete was obviously pretty tired as 7 o'clock arrived and he announced he was off to bed! I opted for a bath instead.
Sunday dawned oh so bright, so we headed north to go to a thrift store that were having sales. The sales weren't quite to my liking so I didn't get anything. Pete however, scored big and got the 7 Narnia books for $2. We then made our way to Value Village for more thrift shopping. I only found a pair of shorts. As we weren't quite ready to head home, we decided to have a milkshake at Pete's Diner. We found the place and saw the lines and gave up on that idea pretty quickly. So we opted for an ice-cream instead. We then made our way home to lounge around the house to relax before another week where we did life all over again.
Aren't I mean. I made you wait to the end for the big news! Our news is that we have decided not to stay on another year here in Canada. We are coming home. Straight away? Nope. We are going to travel throughout Canada and the States for a few months, before heading back to NZ in December. Our visa expires at the end of July, so we plan to pick up Sez (my sister) from the airport in Calgary, stay a night or two here and then road trip it across Canada to Prince Edward Island. Pete and I then intend on traveling through the States for a bit to experience more of our neighbor country.
Note: Fellow readers, what we lack for photo wise now, we will more than make up for it during the next few months.
Monday saw us both heading back to work. We were both keen to get back into things. And it was nice to know that we had both been missed at work. I was quizzed a lot about what my highlight of New York was. To be honest, I couldn't give just one, so I rattled off what we had got up to instead. After work, we decided to go grocery shopping as our cupboards were pretty bare. We had our customary dinner date before food shopping, and then shopped. I must say, I don't dread shopping the way I have in the past. Would I go so far as to say I like it. Heck no. But it's so much better than it was.
Tuesday I had a sleep in and pottered around the house before heading to work. Work was fairly non-eventful and before I knew it, I was at home, grabbing a bite to eat with Pete before we made our way to the movies. Our choice: Pitch Perfect 2. It was awesome. It totally lived up to the hype.
Wednesday was another work day. Pete and I managed to have a quick coffee and chat before I stole Jelly to head to our pastors house to teach sewing for her. As she was away, she didn't want her students to miss out. As I am not what I would call a confident sewer, I was slightly apprehensive about teaching. But the 2 classes I took went really well. So much so that I am teaching again next week.
Thursday arrived to me sleeping in again. Ahh, what will I do when I have to re-enter the real world of working full time. We decided to give connect group a miss that night. So instead, we curled up with dinner on the couch to watch a movie together.
Before we knew it, it was Friday. As a colleagues son was getting married the next day, I offered to do her shift. So I worked a full day. When Pete got home, we had every intention of getting back into the running. But alas, laziness got the better of us, so we are now behind in our training schedule. So instead, we had another quiet night in.
Saturday we decided to put our entertainment guide to use. So we headed to McKenzie Towne (I know, the spelling of some words here is strange). Our plan was to have a coffee and a cupcake. The coffee place was, it seemed, a figment of our imagination. We couldn't find it anywhere. We could however find the cupcake shop. So we sat and had a cupcake and a hot chocolate while chatting over our future. We then made our way to the mall for Pete to pick up some more underwear. I also wanted to head to Old Navy (yes, I have a problem) so we did that. We then decided to miss church (gosh we are such heathens this week) and have another quiet one in. Pete was obviously pretty tired as 7 o'clock arrived and he announced he was off to bed! I opted for a bath instead.
Sunday dawned oh so bright, so we headed north to go to a thrift store that were having sales. The sales weren't quite to my liking so I didn't get anything. Pete however, scored big and got the 7 Narnia books for $2. We then made our way to Value Village for more thrift shopping. I only found a pair of shorts. As we weren't quite ready to head home, we decided to have a milkshake at Pete's Diner. We found the place and saw the lines and gave up on that idea pretty quickly. So we opted for an ice-cream instead. We then made our way home to lounge around the house to relax before another week where we did life all over again.
Aren't I mean. I made you wait to the end for the big news! Our news is that we have decided not to stay on another year here in Canada. We are coming home. Straight away? Nope. We are going to travel throughout Canada and the States for a few months, before heading back to NZ in December. Our visa expires at the end of July, so we plan to pick up Sez (my sister) from the airport in Calgary, stay a night or two here and then road trip it across Canada to Prince Edward Island. Pete and I then intend on traveling through the States for a bit to experience more of our neighbor country.
Note: Fellow readers, what we lack for photo wise now, we will more than make up for it during the next few months.
Monday 1 June 2015
Week 42 - New York
It seems like so long ago, yet it's only been a week since we arrived back from our amazing trip to New York. Having never been to the States before, except LA airport, we were overwhelmed to begin with. But we managed to settle in and before you knew it, we (okay, more like Pete, I just followed) had sussed out the subway and where certain things were and had set out to explore this concrete jungle.
Saturday we arose early to check in for our flight that left at 10am. Mum and Dad's flight left at 12:30pm, so they had a bit of a wait before they could board their plane. The flight went by without any hassles. They were yet to come. We landed in New York and without much fuss found the shuttle we had booked that would take us from JFK Airport to Newark Airport. We managed to save $400 by flying into JFK instead of Newark. Our plan was to take the shuttle to Newark to meet Mum and Dad. We boarded the shuttle and discovered that the traffic was terrible. Naive me thought it being a Saturday we would be fine. After an hour and a bit, we arrived in New York. We were amazed at how many people there were and how crazy it all seemed. To cut a long story short, the driver forgot we wanted to go to Newark so he dropped us at another shuttle stop that would take us to Newark. Worried Mum and Dad had left as we had kept them waiting, we eventually arrived frazzled, yet intact. We then hired a cab to get us to our apartment. Within no time, we had arrived. What greeted us was a gorgeous apartment that had stunning views of New York. As we were all pretty tired, we called it a night fairly quickly.
Sunday dawned bright. As we had no set plans that day, we made our way into the city to explore a bit. We arrived in Times Square to huge crowds and lots of lights. We then made our way to Bryant Park. With seats all around, we ordered water and had a rest. Mum was then drawn to the Merry Go Round, so Dad, Mum and I went on it while Pete took photos. I picked the rabbit and got strapped in. Meanwhile, a little girl wanted what I had. She told me she wanted the rabbit. I politely told her I had it first and she sulked off. There was no way she was getting my rabbit. :-)
After that we wandered the streets and found we weren't far from Grand Central Station. So we took a few shots and grabbed more water. Side note: NY is awesome for having water fountains everywhere.
The station was massive, so after taking a brief look around, we decided to move on for food. We grabbed some food at a market and then made our way back to Bryant Park to eat and relax more in the sun. As the public library was right next door to the park, we made our way there. Unfortunately we couldn't see the main room in all its glory as it was closed for renovations. But the rest of the building was pretty impressive. As we were feeling the heat, we decided to make our way home. There we relaxed more and then decided to take the owners advice (owner of the apartment we were renting) and go to the local Mexican restaurant. It was amazing. Fresh gaucamole was made right in front of us. The views of the city were spectacular as well. So with full tummies, we made our way home for bed.
Monday we decided to tackle our bucket list. First stop was the 911 memorial and museum. I learned a lot about the events of that day. The monuments (see below) were huge (1 acre) and very impressive. There was a presence of sadness there. But the way in which each life was remembered was so well done.
After the museum, we stopped for food at the Amish Market. It was awesome to sit and eat. Especially as we had decided to walk towards and across the Brooklyn Bridge that day too.
Pete was estatic to be walking across the bridge. We had all watched a documentary about the bridge prior to our trip and he loved seeing it in the flesh. Mum and Dad walked halfway, but we decided to walk across the bridge (1 mile I think) and back again.
As Mum and Dad had done their dash, we decided to carry on to the Converse store while they took the subway home. We walked all of Broadway (I think it went over 50 blocks). The converse store was a let down, but we did manage to find an awesome coffee shop for a breather on the way. By the time we hit Times Square, it was dark. So we marveled at the lights for a bit before boarding the bus to head home.
As the weather was average the next day, we decided to head to my beloved Target on Tuesday. Mum loved it as much as I did, so after 2 (okay maybe 3) hours, we called it a day. As we had walked there, we decided to take a taxi home. Best $8 we ever spent. We then decided to have a quiet night in.
Wednesday we had the Statue of Liberty booked, so we made our way (via subway) to the bottom of New York to catch the ferry where we could see Lady Liberty in all her glory. Pete and I decided to take the stairs to the top, and I managed to handle the height pretty well. It did help that there was a shoulder high border. We then ate and did what Mum and I did best. Shop in the gift shop! Before we knew it, the island was closing. So Pete and I dashed about in a mad rush to get photos of Lady Liberty from the front.
After the Statue of Liberty, we took the subway to Times Square. There we went to M and M World. I loved it. Mum did too. Then we took more snaps of the bright lights before heading home.
Thursday we decided to hit Central Park. As Mum and Dad had booked a carriage ride, we decided to bike it. We managed to ride around the whole thing in an hour and a half. It was beautiful.
We then headed off to the Empire State building. Mum, Pete and I decided to head to the 80 somethingth floor. Dad opted for the first option. I was pretty good with the heights. And thank goodness the very top was enclosed.
After the Empire State trip, we made our way home to spruce ourselves up for a Broadway show that night. We were seeing Chicago. It was magnificent. We then headed out afterwards for a spot of desert before making our way home.
Friday Pete and I left the house early in hopes of visiting another Target. To cut a long story short, we arrived at the right street, but the wrong end. As we were due to meet Mum and Dad at the Museum for the Native Americans, we quickly jumped on the subway. The museum was great. It was free (a huge deal in NY) and full of information. We were told off quite a bit though. Maybe us Smith's are what some may call rebels. I would more likely say the security guards were bored. We then grabbed a bite to eat before heading to do the Sky Walk. As it had clouded over and started to rain, we decided to leave it. So Mum and Dad made their way home, and Pete (being the amazing husband he is) lead me to the Target store we had originally looked for that morning. I found a few items (as did Pete) and arrived home a very happy girl.
As that night was our last night in the big city we had planned to get dressed up and head out for dinner and cocktails. However, as we were pretty tired from all the sightseeing, we decided to hang out with the owners of our apartment and their friends.
Saturday Pete and I got up at the crack of dawn to cram in one last thing before we made our way home. We made our way to the Sky Walk. We found the best coffee shop ever (I'd say on par with New Zealand) to refuel, and then walked the Sky Walk. It was awesome to see so much green.
We made our way home to finalize packing before being picked up by a cab. As we were departing from different terminals, we were forced to say a quick good bye before heading in to relax before checking in.
There you have it. Our week in New York. It was overwhelming at times, but completely amazing. Will we be heading back anytime soon? Probably not as we have the rest of Canada and the US to explore. But we had the most amazing time and feel so blessed to have seen it all with our parents.
Saturday we arose early to check in for our flight that left at 10am. Mum and Dad's flight left at 12:30pm, so they had a bit of a wait before they could board their plane. The flight went by without any hassles. They were yet to come. We landed in New York and without much fuss found the shuttle we had booked that would take us from JFK Airport to Newark Airport. We managed to save $400 by flying into JFK instead of Newark. Our plan was to take the shuttle to Newark to meet Mum and Dad. We boarded the shuttle and discovered that the traffic was terrible. Naive me thought it being a Saturday we would be fine. After an hour and a bit, we arrived in New York. We were amazed at how many people there were and how crazy it all seemed. To cut a long story short, the driver forgot we wanted to go to Newark so he dropped us at another shuttle stop that would take us to Newark. Worried Mum and Dad had left as we had kept them waiting, we eventually arrived frazzled, yet intact. We then hired a cab to get us to our apartment. Within no time, we had arrived. What greeted us was a gorgeous apartment that had stunning views of New York. As we were all pretty tired, we called it a night fairly quickly.
Sunday dawned bright. As we had no set plans that day, we made our way into the city to explore a bit. We arrived in Times Square to huge crowds and lots of lights. We then made our way to Bryant Park. With seats all around, we ordered water and had a rest. Mum was then drawn to the Merry Go Round, so Dad, Mum and I went on it while Pete took photos. I picked the rabbit and got strapped in. Meanwhile, a little girl wanted what I had. She told me she wanted the rabbit. I politely told her I had it first and she sulked off. There was no way she was getting my rabbit. :-)
After that we wandered the streets and found we weren't far from Grand Central Station. So we took a few shots and grabbed more water. Side note: NY is awesome for having water fountains everywhere.
The station was massive, so after taking a brief look around, we decided to move on for food. We grabbed some food at a market and then made our way back to Bryant Park to eat and relax more in the sun. As the public library was right next door to the park, we made our way there. Unfortunately we couldn't see the main room in all its glory as it was closed for renovations. But the rest of the building was pretty impressive. As we were feeling the heat, we decided to make our way home. There we relaxed more and then decided to take the owners advice (owner of the apartment we were renting) and go to the local Mexican restaurant. It was amazing. Fresh gaucamole was made right in front of us. The views of the city were spectacular as well. So with full tummies, we made our way home for bed.
Monday we decided to tackle our bucket list. First stop was the 911 memorial and museum. I learned a lot about the events of that day. The monuments (see below) were huge (1 acre) and very impressive. There was a presence of sadness there. But the way in which each life was remembered was so well done.
After the museum, we stopped for food at the Amish Market. It was awesome to sit and eat. Especially as we had decided to walk towards and across the Brooklyn Bridge that day too.
Pete was estatic to be walking across the bridge. We had all watched a documentary about the bridge prior to our trip and he loved seeing it in the flesh. Mum and Dad walked halfway, but we decided to walk across the bridge (1 mile I think) and back again.
As Mum and Dad had done their dash, we decided to carry on to the Converse store while they took the subway home. We walked all of Broadway (I think it went over 50 blocks). The converse store was a let down, but we did manage to find an awesome coffee shop for a breather on the way. By the time we hit Times Square, it was dark. So we marveled at the lights for a bit before boarding the bus to head home.
As the weather was average the next day, we decided to head to my beloved Target on Tuesday. Mum loved it as much as I did, so after 2 (okay maybe 3) hours, we called it a day. As we had walked there, we decided to take a taxi home. Best $8 we ever spent. We then decided to have a quiet night in.
Wednesday we had the Statue of Liberty booked, so we made our way (via subway) to the bottom of New York to catch the ferry where we could see Lady Liberty in all her glory. Pete and I decided to take the stairs to the top, and I managed to handle the height pretty well. It did help that there was a shoulder high border. We then ate and did what Mum and I did best. Shop in the gift shop! Before we knew it, the island was closing. So Pete and I dashed about in a mad rush to get photos of Lady Liberty from the front.
Thursday we decided to hit Central Park. As Mum and Dad had booked a carriage ride, we decided to bike it. We managed to ride around the whole thing in an hour and a half. It was beautiful.
We then headed off to the Empire State building. Mum, Pete and I decided to head to the 80 somethingth floor. Dad opted for the first option. I was pretty good with the heights. And thank goodness the very top was enclosed.
After the Empire State trip, we made our way home to spruce ourselves up for a Broadway show that night. We were seeing Chicago. It was magnificent. We then headed out afterwards for a spot of desert before making our way home.
Friday Pete and I left the house early in hopes of visiting another Target. To cut a long story short, we arrived at the right street, but the wrong end. As we were due to meet Mum and Dad at the Museum for the Native Americans, we quickly jumped on the subway. The museum was great. It was free (a huge deal in NY) and full of information. We were told off quite a bit though. Maybe us Smith's are what some may call rebels. I would more likely say the security guards were bored. We then grabbed a bite to eat before heading to do the Sky Walk. As it had clouded over and started to rain, we decided to leave it. So Mum and Dad made their way home, and Pete (being the amazing husband he is) lead me to the Target store we had originally looked for that morning. I found a few items (as did Pete) and arrived home a very happy girl.
As that night was our last night in the big city we had planned to get dressed up and head out for dinner and cocktails. However, as we were pretty tired from all the sightseeing, we decided to hang out with the owners of our apartment and their friends.
Saturday Pete and I got up at the crack of dawn to cram in one last thing before we made our way home. We made our way to the Sky Walk. We found the best coffee shop ever (I'd say on par with New Zealand) to refuel, and then walked the Sky Walk. It was awesome to see so much green.
We made our way home to finalize packing before being picked up by a cab. As we were departing from different terminals, we were forced to say a quick good bye before heading in to relax before checking in.
There you have it. Our week in New York. It was overwhelming at times, but completely amazing. Will we be heading back anytime soon? Probably not as we have the rest of Canada and the US to explore. But we had the most amazing time and feel so blessed to have seen it all with our parents.
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