The Tuesday with spin after work

 Hi,

Busy at work - and had a quick drink with a work mate leaving soon. Left there and walked to Thorndon gym and had a good spin class with Juliet. Forgot to take any pics.

Work iced latte

Cats in a cat tree

Walked back to work and rode home. Straight to bed. Cats were in a weird mood. Up to ride to work on Wednesday morning.

Enjoy your day. Last day of May. Wow.  It is June tomorrow. Birthday month for Mike and Mum and Michelle. Oh - all the Ms.

Have an awesome day.

Love,
Angela

The Monday back at work

 Hi,

I worked from home and tbh, with all those meetings, it was definitely a good call. Headed into town for Spin at the gym. Bumped into Janine who was also in my spin class. We had Chelsea - who looked like  she was going for her instructor test as she got videoed. Hope she passed because it was a great session.

Blurry pic of a nice van

Surprise Spin buddy

Mike was all day at his St John first aid course - with the second part today (Tuesday). So he was in town and met me after he picked up some groceries when I got to the gym. He sat in the foyer of the gym and got some homework done.

Back home and we cooked tea (home made burgers - those plant-based Beyond ones) and then fell into bed. 

Up for a ride in and PT session with Quentin.  35kg squats. 4x4 I think. Then 142.5kg leg press. And other torturous leg work. Including more ankle mobility.

Back to work. Busy day.

Spin after work today with Juliet @ Thorndon. Let's see how that goes.

Love,

Angela

The weekend in Wellington with a mud race for Mike

 Hi,

What a weekend. It was quite the whirlwind. Mike was up early Saturday for his Tough Guy/Gal race with Callan and Stacey.

Cuckoo with Ben

Home on the bus with Mike

4n20 vegetarian pie - was good

It had rained all night and as we drove out to Camp Wainui, it was very wet. We got there at 8.30am and we could see they had to organise different parking as some of the lower grassy area were really soggy. Lucky we had a 4WD vehicle - they pointed us up past the race start to higher ground and we found a good spot. Mike and I sat in the car for a while until Mike had to brave the conditions to register.

30 mins before the race start

Going to get wet and dirty

Callan and Stacey found us and we sat in the car until 9.40. That was when the rain eased off and by the time we got to the start line, it had stopped. And it stayed away for the duration of the race.

The organisers made some big calls. Good on them for having safety as their main concern. Everyone was doing one loop now (so all 3 got to run together!) and they cut out the big climb up a rope called Everest. So it was a shorter loop.

The punters assembled all clean

Waiting for race start

Hey Joycie!

There were a bunch of people we knew from our last workplace. So good to see them. Manisha was competing and did so well. What grit she has! Joycie was there, showing what a great supporter she is of her mates. Coffee date soon, Joycie! Saw Brendan and Lucy smash it. And Hayden (from years back and our dragon boat sweep for a few seasons) came top 10! Oosshh.

Go Manisha!

And they finish well

Filthy Mike

Mike leaps over the finish

The intrepid trio made it in under an hour. They would have been faster on an empty course - but you have to queue for some of the obstacles. I was very impressed with them all! Well done!

I made gingerbread

Mike headed off to Survivor night and I made gingerbread. They got to Corner Creek (bottom coast of the Wairarapa) and decided they could not survive there. So they call decamped to someone's crib in Caterton. Good call!

Moxley chills on me

Sunday saw Iona pop in for a cup of tea. We chatted for a bit before Mike got home from his adventure. Then Iona and I went to her ferry, via a tent pick up in town. I also got a stash of late season feijoas. I said goodbye to Iona as she got into her queue and walked back to work and rode my bike home. With the 10 feijoas in my back pocket of my jacket. Hahahah.

I ate the entire feijoa stock Iona brought me

Dinner to celebrate this guy's birthday

Then Mike and I headed out to Barry and Kath's place for tea with everyone. It is Barry's birthday on the 29th (today!) and he is 55. Woot! We had such fun. KFC and chips. I got corn nuggets. It was a treat.

Jake, Stephen, Mike, Helen, Janine, Dean, me, Barry

So much laughter. The way Barry and Stephen banter is hilarious. They asked after everyone in my family so I gave updates.

Back home and into bed for me and Mike. Mike is away on a first aid course Mon and Tue. Hope that goes well for him.

Have a good week.

Love,

Angela

The Thursday with lots on

 Hi,

Well, here I am on Friday, finally. Felt like it should have been Friday since about, oh, Tuesday. Hahah. Anyway, all good.

Friday brekkie iced latte date with Celia

Popped into Bin after work to listen to the planning for Possum Run weekend (Fri 16 June). Bharat and Stacey turned up - so it was a full on plan. Over beer and chips. They also planned a bit of the Poaukai trip and maybe Mike mentioned some hare-brained idea to ski from the top of Mt Hutt, MTB down the road and run to Methven pub. Peak to Pub. I am trying to dissuade him.

Saturday sees him racing with Callan and Stacey in the Tough Guy/Gal race. He and Callan have got 12km to tackle. Stacey chose a much more sensible (but still ridiculous) 6km option. Then he is off to Survivor night that evening. Corner Creek - at the bottom of the Wairarapa. Goodness. It can blow a gale there. We had two nights there 2 years ago. First night was superb - no wind. Second night saw me up every hour or two to find more rocks to weigh the tent down. Hope they get good weather.

I am hopefully going to catch Iona in the ferry queue Sunday morning as she heads back home after a weaving weekend up here. Yay!

Hope your weekend is a good one.

Love,

Angela

The Wednesday that surely was Friday

 Hi,

What do you mean, I was only halfway through the week yesterday? Sigh.

Wednesday was busy at work. Mike also had his Meetup after it so he was quite late getting home. So I rode home and fed the cats and had some tea and went to bed. Pretty boring.

Toby sent videos of him doing karaoke with some young man who probably had no idea what he was letting himself in for when he agreed to sing with Toby. So funny.

Mike got home and actually came in the bedroom French door. Totally confused Moxley. She was tucked up under my duvet and didn't hear Mike coming down the outside stairs like I did. I turned on the bedroom light as Mike just got to the door. He unlocked it and then she heard him. So she shot out of bed - but went to run up the stairs, expecting him at the front door. When he just appeared like magic in the room, she was astounded.

Made me laugh quite a lot. Mike was fizzing from the session - yay! And then he went to bed. Honestly, I slept like a log. Morning came and the alarm went off so Mike turned on the light. But it was my early morning - not his. He was 15 mins ahead of his schedule. Hahah.

Rode in - lovely, cold morning. Went to PT session.  37kg bench. Then ankle work.

Lovely Wellington morning

At work. Busy again. Then home to get ready for Mike's adventurous weekend. 

Work iced latte

Taste test

Have a great day!

Love,

Angela

The Tuesday that totally feels like I have been at work and it is now Thursday

 Hi,

I totally have no idea what day it is - I keep having to consciously think about it. And that is usually based on when I have gym sessions. Hahah.

Anyway, yesterday was Tues, May 23 and I got my covid booster and flu jab! Yay. Went to the Unichem on Cuba and got it all sorted.

It was such a lovely day - the harbour looked amazing.

Harbour in the morning

Hey wee Flo

Lana and Flo

Laura also popped into town to see Lana (at work) and I got the chance to see wee Flo. She was just over 4 weeks old. She is such a wee cutie. She slept in my arms and in Lana's arms without any bother at all. Laura is so chill. Lovely to see them both.

View from top of cable car

Then work took me out for lunch - for a free ride up the cable car, for $10 on my Snapper and for a free lunch up there. It is because I got involved with the app to track commuting for staff. And apparently May is Public Transport month.

Me, Allana, Anna and Myra enjoy a sunny autumn day

What a great lunch break. Thank you for organising it, my workmates in sustainability.

Back to enjoy the afternoon at work. Stacks of meetings. The lure of V - which I did not succumb to - and a walk to Spin class at 5.30pm at Thorndon.

The Jill lure

Juliet was meeting me there, early. But at 5.30 the class kicked off with no sign of her. Then at 5.50pm she turns up outside the door. She thought there was an early class. But no. I waved her in. She did 30 mins, and she hasn't been well, so it was probably for the best.

I walked back to work and got on my bike and rode home.

Up for a spontaneous brekkie with Mike. We caught the 7.15 am #22 bus. Went to Machete and had eggs and iced latte.

Iced latte at Machete. Can you see Mike?

Mike has a Meet up for architects tonight after work. But I will wander home and chill. Another 2.5 days left in the working week. Yes, I am working this Friday. I do not know how anyone manages 5 days a week at work anymore.

Have a wonderful day.,

Love,

Angela

The Monday with work and spin

 Hi,

Yesterday was busy at work (and I worked from home) but once the end of the day clocked over, I was in the car and down to Thorndon gym for a 6pm Monday evening Spin class. Well, I did set my bike up to ride in today before I drove down the hill. Needed my pannier rack back on. Remind me to tighten it up.

My Spin pic looks like I have a loaf of bread on my handlebars! Hahah.

Spin evidence

I used to go to this one fairly often - but given the long gap since I last did it, it was not surprising that there was a new (to me) instructor. I can't remember his name. Todd? Just making that up, I think. But he drove a tough class! I was quite sweaty as I wandered the aisles at New World after it, looking for iced coffees. I mean, ciabatta rolls.

Back home to unpack. Mike was putting out the rubbish as I pulled up and helped me. We relaxed, had something to eat and went to bed.

Slept well. Up to ride in for the first time in ages. Off to the gym. Dead lifts (55kg) 4x4 and leg press (122kg) 10 x 4 and then ankle mobility exercises. Gah! They were terrible. Mainly because - tight ankles! Hahahah. On my way back to work, I had to run for the lights to get across the quay - and my legs and feet failed to get the memo from my brain about running. They were like: you want us to do what???

Tuesday morning work iced latte

Back to work. Showered and ready for the day. Mike has Snow Lovers meetup after work. I have Spin at 5.30 for an hour - then back to work to ride home. Let's see what execution of said plan pans out.

Lovely day here. I like weather like this. Autumn is making its presence felt.

Have a grand day.

Love,

Angela

The weekend in Wellington

 Hi,

Friday saw me doing very little, tbh. It was wet! But I did have tea ready for Mike when he got home - so yay!

Cat smothering

Saturday saw us up to head to Lower Hutt for Mike to do the Park Run there - and add on another 5km to that. While he ran, I went to CityFitness to try my running out on the treadmill. 2km and it seemed fine - if slow.

Start of Park Run Lower Hutt

I see his jacket in the start line

Meanwhile I run on the treadmill

Raced to the finish line after my run and saw Mike complete his first 5km. He looked very strong and took off for his next 5k.

He's off

And in the finish line - halfway through his 10 km run

Bruises from massaging

I met Andrew at the cafe - to allow me to pick up the Subaru they had borrowed for logistics on Thursday. But I had to drive the Focus back to 40WLW. So - after a lovely iced coffee, observing the Baby Expo punters arriving for the expo, we drove back in separate cars, via the coffee cart. Andrew also picked up Mike on the way, as he had finished his second 5k by then.

Sally made us brekkie and I tried wild venison bacon! Wow! First time eating bacon for years and years.

Iced latte at the convention centre

Sally made brekkie

Huge iced latte from the coffee cart

Mike and I popped into Noel Leeming and bought our new lux. A Miele Blizzard Cat and Dog model. We got home and I luxed the entire house.

Unwrapping the new lux

Trying it out

Moxley looks happy

In the evening, we went to the new pub on Molesworth St. Chapman something. We met Greg, Nicola and Grant for a rollicking good catch up.

Random selfie at the new pub

Food was ok. One vegetarian option. But the haloumi burger was good. Grant had brought some pics from our previous holidays and work together. Hilarious. Good fun. So good to see Nicola again too.

Off to bed. I did get up at 10pm and put bread on, while Mike slept. So in the morning, it was a surprise for him to get fresh bread for brekkie.

We left just after 10am to head to Masterton. We'd seen some tweet that showed cheap Allbirds at a shop there. All giant sizes. Which meets Mike's needs perfectly.

Memories for Mum and Toby

What???

He bought 3 pairs at $55 each. And he found me 4n20 pies - vegetarian style. What? Yeah - I will try it and review for you.

Cafe - Trocadero

Taking a pic of the picture on the wall

World famous in Masterton iced coffee 

Grabbed lunch at Cafe Trocadero. Very nice - would recommend. Mike tried their world famous iced coffee. It was huge!

Drove back. Relaxed at home then headed to Lighthouse Petone to meet Sally and Andrew and watch Guardians of the Galaxy vol3. It was good - a lot of Rocket's back story. Awwwww.

Home and to bed. Up to WFH for me. Spin after work today at Thorndon.

Take care!

Love,

Angela