The Thursday with Spin after work

 Hi,

Finally sleeping much better - woot! Caught up with Ana and Mike at work yesterday. Ana just started at Flick - next to our work. They have just bought a caravan for their adventures.

Work iced latte with Ana

I went to Spin after work. 60 mins there. Then walked back to work and rode home. Mike had tea ready for me - haloumi and egg pie. It was good.

Friday work iced latte for planning day. I do need a bucket of it to get me through

Last night's Spin

Up for planning day at work. Here's hoping it all goes well. Although a guest speaker has just told me they are sick and can't make it. I reckon I can cover that.

The weekend beckons with a cold snap all over the country. Brrrr. Park run and gym tomorrow. And maybe Epuni work. A film. Dinner out with work mates via a roadie to Paraparaumu to collect someone. Let's see what else transpires.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love,

Angela

The Wednesday with working from home

Hi,

I think it was good to WFH, to be honest. Mike had a meeting after work and was home late. I was already tucked into bed.

But I did make biscuits, make a pie for tea, and chatted to Toby (and Tessa) for a while. Mum seemed to have a good day for her birthday. She was out and about.

Wednesday morning was lovely with fog in the valley

I made chocolate cornflake biscuits

And haloumi and egg pie

I did sleep much better last night. Up early to ride in. PT session with Quentin. 67kg deads. 4 x 4. Or 4 x 5. Something like that.

Lifted a heavy thing Thursday morning

Enjoyed the sunrise this morning too

Lovely morning. I am also working tomorrow. Planning day for the coming quarter. Enjoy your day!

Love,

Angela
 

The Tuesday with two gym sessions and drinks with Anne

 Hi,

Happy birthday today to my Mum. Miss you - love you lots.

Had a few iced lattes on Tuesday. Probably a little too much. Hahah. Did enjoy my Cuckoo one with Adnan - thank you, my friend.

Manic Lewis Road iced latte pic

Thank you, Adnan, for the best Cuckoo iced latte

Lunch gym with Juliet

Also got back to the gym at lunch time with Juliet. Bench and squats. Good fun. Saw Matt on the machines when we finished up.

Back to work and stayed in my bike shorts. Even for the drinks with Anne next door at Bin44. Hahah. Left there and rode home with just a sprinkling of raindrops.

Fed the cats. Mike got home from drinks with Andrew and Josh. And off to bed.

Poor sleep for me. I blame the iced lattes. And WFH today.

Have a great day - especially my Mum.

Love,

Angela

The Monday with Spin after work

 Hi,

My day was busy (completely predictable statement) and I had fun with Moxley. She has trained Mike to feed her early by batting his headphones off him if it gets close to 5pm. She was cheeky enough to do it with me.

Readers - I did not give in. I left for Spin at 5.40pm and Mike got in at 6pm and fed them then. No need to reward that bad behaviour. Is there, Mike?

4pm and she starts lurking

Getting closer to me

4.30 and now she's batting at my headphones

Spin 6pm

Spin was good. Hard. Tracey is back from her long leave (the instructor). And she runs a tough Spin class.

The new shelves - look at that clear workbench

As I got home from Spin, I did take a pic of the shelves I built at the weekend. Quite chuffed.

I had also made a slow cooker meal at lunch time and it was ready when I got home. Roasted eggplant, zucchini and capsicum with a bechamel sauce and tomato sauce. It was pretty good. Would eat again.

Watched a few old episodes of Katering Show. Laughed my head off. And went to bed.

Up early to ride in. PB in bench with Quentin this morning. I did 2 reps at 40kg. Well, one rep at 40kg. Tried 42.5 and had to get help from Quentin. Then tried another 2 reps at 40. Got one. Then the third one needed Quentin to help. But the two I did felt good.

So, I am pretty chuffed.

Hope your day is a good one.

Love,

Angela

The weekend with me in Wellington and Mike in Ohakune

 Hi,

I had a weekend to myself, really. Mike worked from home on Friday and then headed away after work for his weekend in Ohakune. By all accounts (his) he had a great time. Good walking and good company. And... a lot of Bollywood singing and dancing. Okay! Cool!

Me, Moxley and my book

At the gym with Sally

Saturday saw me leisurely wander out to the Hutt to meet Sally at the gym for her first non-PT gym session. The Focus wouldn't open, but fortunately once I got into it, it started just fine. And it seemed to be okay for the rest of the day. Phew.

Hmm - need to stick my bottom out more

I stayed for tea at Sally and Andrew's place and we watched some Deadloch. And then home to watch the Super Pacific rugby final between Crusaders and Chiefs.

Snow sealed Mike's boots

Mike enjoys a sunny walk on the viaduct

Sunday saw me get stuck into some tasks around the house. Sorted out Mike's boots and put his tramping gear away in the garage. Built some new shelves to tidy up the workbench more. Yes - I used power tools!

Mike got home earlier than I thought - around 5pm or so. We watched the latest episode of Deadloch and did some washing and wandered off to bed.

Up for his PT session Monday morning and I am WFH. Spin after work for me.

Have an awesome week. It is my busiest week as we run up to planning for the coming quarter. Ooohhh.

Have a great week.

Love,

Angela

The Wednesday with dinner out for Mike's birthday

 Hi,

Mike gave me a surprise at work yesterday - two Lewis Road iced coffees. Wow! Awesome start to the day.

Got work delivery of Lewis Road iced coffee. Mmmm - thank you

Mike made me an iced latte at work

When I went to the Z cafe with Nichole (new at work), the normal barista was away. But I knew Mike was trained and he was there - so I asked him to show me how to make the coffee. Easy as, bro. It is almost like ours at home. Just need to know the right button to push. Things like the automatic tamper.

Caught up with Gray for lunch - Barb invited me along when he said he was around. And it was such a gorgeous day we went out to eat our sushi in the sun.

He is doing well. Caught up with Sam's news too (wedding in a few weeks in Bali!).

Lunch with Barb and Gray

Mr Go's for tea

After work, Mike and I walked to Mr Go's and met Sally and Andrew there. And we had a delicious dinner - lots of shared plates. And I had a Chengdu Dreaming - lychee flavoured mocktail. Mum would have loved it.

Ubered home. Fed the starving cats. And off to bed. Up for bus in and PT session. Deads 65kg 4 reps x 5 sets. Ooshh.

Long work day - but lunch with Sally (from my old work) as a huge highlight. Sweet! 

Weekend for me soon. Mike is away to Ohakune (yes, again) so I am #1 cat feeder. They will love me.

Have a great day!

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with lots of gym and cycling

 Hi,

Okay - no idea what I have included in previous blog posts and what I have missed. I finally am on WiFi and have connectivity to my phone and hence my pics.

Cat smothering

Margies Monday with Maureen

Yesterday I rode home after work and made a quick tea for me and fed the cats before Mike got home after his ski tipple evening. Then we enjoyed a bath and relaxed before bed. Lovely.

Up for a ride in - and it was the absolutely most stunning morning here in the best wee capital city. No wind. No clouds. I bumped into Maureen at the bike shed. She gave me a hard time. No - not about my terrible hair. Mainly because I hadn't opened the bike shed door fast enough for her. Hahahah.

Okay - what the heck has happened to my hair???

This is what happens ^^ when you shower at home, shove a bike helmet on, then ride like the wind to town.

Magic morning

Wellington streetscape

Pravda iced latte

I met Tiffany and Jenny C at Pravda for brekkie. It was lovely to catch up. Tiffany left over a year ago, I reckon. And Jenny has her last day this Friday! 

I hope they stay in touch.

And it is birthday dinner night tonight for Mike. Mr Go's. Yum! 6pm. Looking forward to that.

Have an awesome day.

Love,

Angela

The weekend with a race in Taupo for Mike and a day in lieu for me yesterday

 Hi,

Busy weekend for us. Friday was Mike's birthday and although he had a brand new running vest for his birthday - he'd already tested that out. But the red plaid shirt and horse's head was all new!

Yes - a horse head in the bed. 

Bwhahahah.

If you do not know, ask Mike about the bucket horse head drummer on You Tube. He loves it.

Moxley on Mike's birthday morning

Weird and wacky birthday presents

Mike worked for the morning (and I attended one meeting) but after he finished up and packed, we were off. Maybe 12.45pm, as we left.

Stunning day

Buried by cats

Eye healing

Lunch at Waikanae bakery

Called in at Waikanae for some late lunch. Got a mushroom pie - delicious as always. Grant had told us about the SpitFire fly by and as we neared Ohakea we actually saw them flying south. Apparently there was some mix up and the Spitfire did not fly over Wellington. It buzzed Lower Hutt though.

The spitfire flyby on its way to ... Lower Hutt

Ohakune nice and early. Went out for tea with Callan and Stacey as they were very close behind us. Mountain Rocks cafe - their business is for sale. As is a lot of business in the town. Uncertainty is taking a toll.

Bharat and Anna and Janine got in later - I was already in bed. But I did have a great sleep - which was nice after a restless week.

Up to tidy and leave. And Mountain Rocks for brekkie. Before heading to Kinloch to register for the race and then onto the Lake Breeze motel in Taupo.

Nice iced latte

We tuck into tea in Ohakune

Famous eclair from Ohakune Saturday morning

After a famous eclair from Ohakune, of course.

We got to Kinloch around 2pm and found the registration tent. Mike picked up the bibs for Bharat and Anna and Janine as they had gone via the east side of lake Taupo. Kinloch is on the west side. We turned left into Tokaanu - but they turned right into Turangi.

They were at the motel when we got there. Two big rooms. One with 3 single beds and a huge King double. So we all went in there. Callan and Stacey in the other room.

Odd decor in the unit

Callan admired the stag head in the stairwell. Very odd.

Kitchen in a cupboard

I watch rugby while they all race in Kinloch

As the race was in the middle of nowhere and it was cold and wet, I stayed in the motel while the punters took two cars to Kinloch.

I watched the SF for the Super Rugby - Brumbies versus Chiefs. Such a tight game. The punters all did the 21 km run from 3 - 3.5 hours. Well done. Stacey did her 14km run in a good time too.

They got home at 9pm and we ordered Thai and tucked into that before bed.

Next morning we tidied and left and enjoyed brekkie at Replete. Good as usual.

Replete iced latte

Hey Bharat

We left Taupo at 10.30am and we got to Southern Cross at 2.15pm for Laura and Ben's party for wee Flo. Also got to meet Jean - Laura's mum! Flo is such a good wee baby.

Mike meets Flo

Then home to unpack and wash and get ready for the week. Huge weekend. Well done to Mike. He is so strong.

Have a good week ahead.

Love,

Angela

The Wednesday with lunch with Barb and Spin after work

 Hi,

I really need to sort out data. Imagine a beautiful harbour backdrop for my iced latte from yesterday morning.

:-p

I did go out for lunch with Barb yesterday - and enjoyed my tofu bowl. :-) Headed to Thorndon gym for Spin after work. Did the 30 min one because Juliet is giving excuses like her family needs her so I decided to do the shorter one and head home to the cats. Hahahah.

Fed them. Fed myself. Went to bed to read before Mike got home. Slept well - except up early for PT session. It was hard to get out of bed. 

But worth it. Right? 

37kg bench. 3 x 4. Super good.

Right. Time to start the day.

Take care. Especially birthday boy tomorrow.

Love,

Angela

The Tuesday with not much

 Hi,

So I do not have any data and my phone can't connect to WiFi at work. That means no pics. You will have to imagine my iced latte at work yesterday.

Busy day at work. Juliet was going to Spin with me afterwards, but got waylaid by drinks. Mike was WFH, so he said I should totally go straight home and enjoy the evening with him. And the cats.

Sounded pretty good. And with no data, I could not join the Spin class. So... off home I rode.

Got home and Mike made steak, mash and broccoli. Yep - same as last night and just as delicious. Then off to bed. Mike was asleep in minutes - by the time he woke at 6am this morning I think he had 11 hours sleep! Power sleeping.

I couldn't sleep. So turned my Kindle back on at 10.15 and read until midnight. Up for brekkie today with Khemry and Kate - and Mike. He's off to see Quentin.

Spin after work today. Sweet.

Then home.

I hope you have a fantastic day.

Love,

Angela

The Monday with working from home

 Hi,

After a hard day at work, I fed the cats and drove down the hill to Spin. I missed Mike by 4 mins. He was bussing home to head out for a night run. But he got stuck inside. Probably by a cat.

Spin with Juliet

Spin was good. Some sneak preview of Jan 2024. The mic died halfway - so I did everything by just following actions. Could not hear a thing. She probably should have turned down the music volume if she meant her shouts were to work.

Anyway, popped in to get some urgent cheese block from New World on my way home. And just happened to notice the Lewis Road iced coffee on special, so 5 of those happened to find their way into my trolley.

I did not go just to buy iced coffee. 

Nope.

Anyway, home to meet Mike. And we cooked tea. Venison steak, mash and broccoli (that I had purchased, as a matter of urgency).

Off to bed. Up early (5.30am) to ride in for PT with Quention. Deads: 62.5kg 4 x 5. Not too shabby.

Day at work in town. Spin after work. And hopefully some iced latte in my near future.

Take care.

Love,

Angela

The weekend in Wellington

 Hi,

Big weekend of fun. Met Maureen Friday morning at ... wait for it... Johnsonville mall. At Muffin Break, to be exact. And it was humming. Quite the place to meet for the locals, I see. Chatted to Maureen for a bit before she had to hoon off back to work.

Muffin Break iced latte with Maureen

Moxley snuggles

Chilled at home before Mike was finished work and we headed into town to meet Sreejith and Anjali (and Matt and Josh - and later, Andrew) at Fork n Brewer for some drinks.

It has been ages since I have had a proper catch up with Sreejith and Anjali. Stupid covid. I have bumped into Sreejith over the last wee while at random times (gym or cycling). But so good to catch up and hear their news. Anamika is growing up. She's 15! What???

Friday drinks with these guys - I have missed them!

The Rainbow club was next to us

Up early to catch the worm. No, to catch the fish. Picked up Khemry and dropped Mike at his Park Run. Then we continued to Evan's Bay and set up to haul in the huge fish.

Well, that was how Khemry sold it to me.

Stunning day. Like, totally the best sort of crisp winter morning you get here. But the fish slept in. We caught a lot of really tiny fish. The first one was so small it couldn't actually swallow the bait. Hahah.

I caught two all up. Khemry caught a lot - but released most of them.

Saturday morning stunner

Manic fisher

Marina is calm

I wait, expectantly

First catch was a tiddler

Khemry enjoying herself

I caught a slightly bigger tiddler

Here I am, faking a slightly bigger catch. It was Khemry's.

But it was lots of fun. An excuse to get up early and enjoy the morning. Mike found us, after over-running and onto Cobham Drive!

Mike runs to meet us after his Park Run

Maranui for brunch

Then Kyle came by and we all drove to Maranui for brekkie. Ana and Daniel (and Moko) came in after about 50 mins and joined us.

Awwwww

Watching Ana, Daniel and Moko

Beach fun

Moko is such an adorable pip. He's 3 or 4 months now. And a little mouthy. But I love English Springer spaniels and he is so cute.

After brekkie (which was delicious - we had two breakfasts! - one at the start with Khemry and Kyle and then a shared one when Ana and Daniel arrived) Ana went out for a surf. But Moko was having none of that!

They will need to work on that, slowly.

Dropped Khemry and Kyle off in Haitaitai and headed home.

Monday morning stunner

More snuggles from Moxley

Sunday at the Dowse

Sunday saw us wander out to the Hutt for some gym. And then caught up with Sally and Andrew at the Dowse cafe.

Back home via Mitre10 (to find a way to fix the chains - missing a link). Mike chatted to his mother for a while - she has caught a cold. Not covid so far - I hope she is okay and let's us know if she needs any help. Fingers crossed.

Moon and sunrise

Up for Monday morning. Another gorgeous day. Will WFH today. Got Spin after work though.

Hope your week ahead is a good one. 

Love,

Angela