The Tuesday with Cubs

Hi,

Happy birthday Toby!  12/12/12 and he is 10.  And what an amazing day here.  Not a breath of wind - blue skies.  We were all up early as Mike and I had hidden a present for Toby in the house a month ago.  And.  Well.  We can't find it.  We looked for about thirty minutes, turning closets inside out.  Now I have some tidying to do when we get home tonight.  Lucky for Christmas presents stashed away.  Toby now has a Kindle - for his birthday.  Because we have lost his true birthday present.  Hahah.

He is also now at Wellington Airport heading to Auckland for a week with Jack.  He is going to be happy - they have a pool.  And they accidentally switched the temperature of the spa with the pool.  So the pool is hot, hot, hot!

I am riding the long way home tonight - to start training for the Kapiti fun and games in Feb.  Oh yeah!  Bring it on.

Mike is flat out at work.  Poor chap.  He'll be working late tonight.

Cubs went really well.  Last den night for me.  Next week is on the beach.  Choice.  I invested three Cub leaders, one Cub and gave out about 15 badges!  Woo hoo!  Busy.  We also ran the Entertainer Badge night and it was amazing.  Three piano concerts, three plays.  All pretty good.

Have a marvellous day!
Love,
Angela

The Monday with dinner out

Hi,

John contacted me saying Jack was bored and could he play with Toby for the day.  When I said that Toby was in a computer course for Mon and Tues, I thought that the chap running it would probably be fine with an extra boy turning up.  Sure enough, Jack is now on the computer course too.  Choice.

Mike and I rode home together up Glenmore and then Garden into Northland and home along Pembroke and Mairangi.  I love that route.  You can fly along the top easily - even with a strong headwind like last night.

And John took us all out to dinner afterwards.  We went to Heaven Woodfire Pizzas in Cuba Street and they were lovely.  Pretty sure it is the same pizza place that the Waikanae connection uses whenever we eat pizzas up there.  Mmmmm.  Can I book in pizzas on the beach on a hot summer evening again?  Haven't done that for a while.

When we got dropped off back at John's place I spotted a road bike hanging up in the garage and asked if I could try it out for the Taupo and Kapiti adventures next year.  John said he was going to get rid of it, so it is all mine!  I have a road bike now!

Happy about that.  It is possibly a little tall for my legs, but only just.  And it is an old bike, so it has a heavy frame compared to a more modern bike.  But it has proper skinny tyres and handlebars to allow me to hunker down.  It needs some grease and a service.  But I am hoping it will do just fine.  Time to practise - lots!

Cubs tonight.  Should be good fun.  Second last one of the year.

Have a wonderful day!
Love,
Angela

The weekend with Toby's party

Hi,

I was late to Toby's family birthday party on Friday evening because of a work party.  I got away just after 8pm and got home in time to drop people off home.  Oh well.  And I missed Vivienne and John entirely.  But Toby seemed pretty happy.

We had moved Toby's party to Sunday morning because there was a suitable movie on at that time.  So Saturday was tidy the house day.  Which took ages.  Maybe because I had a bath mid morning when I really should have been tidying.  That bath!  Still not over the novelty of it, obviously.

Jack came to play in the afternoon and William came to play for the evening and a sleepover.  Nice fun for Toby.  I went grocery shopping quite late for Sunday.  At least there was no one in the supermarket.

Sunday morning up early to get ready.  We caught up with Aidan and Josh (who are both looking well after their holiday) and they went out to a date movie.  Mike and Christine took all the boys to Queensgate to see "The Regular Show".  Unfortunately it was not a movie, but cobbled together episodes.  Toby was disappointed.

I got the party ready and it kicked off as soon as they got in.

Missed icing the cake with Karen!  Hahahah.  Toby opened up his presents and was very pleased.  He especially singled out his t-shirts (Minecraft - ta Emerson and Duncan) and a Skylander toy (ta Thomas).

Had a cup of tea with Josh, Aidan and Christine afterwards and then we went to buy a Christmas tree.  Toby and I put that up while Mike popped into town to do some messages.

Then we gave Toby a birthday present of our own.  Toby now has a cellphone of his own.  His number is 022 4TOBYG1

Hahahah.  He loves it.  Text him a hello!

Time to get stuck in for the day!  Have a wonderful week.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday with a work dinner

Hi,

Mike is picking up the slack from his wife's social whirlwind week.  After work I went to Leuven for dinner with work colleagues and had a great time.  I ate my way through three quarters of a pot of mussels.  Yum!  Drove a colleague home and headed home to my boys.  They had cooked up a storm (and left the evidence in the kitchen - but that's okay) and were watching a fascinating documentary on Curiosity on Mars.

 To bed - woke up early though - 4.30am.  Oooooo.  Bit too early.

Nice ride in.  And I need to get a bit of riding in over summer as I have said yes to a cycling leg of a duathalon with Aidan T in late February.  Hahahah.  Bit of fun.  It is quite short so it'll be absolutely fine.  Apart from the 500m run I have to do at the start.  Uh oh!

I have another work function tonight that I will try to get away early from.  It's Toby's family party tonight.  Whoops.  Yes - I have accidentally double booked.  But Mike will salvage it with takeaways.

And I think we're having Toby's party on Sunday morning now due to a suitable movie on at that time.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with nothing

Hi,

Well, not really nothing because it was our wedding anniversary day.  I was on the early Toby (and Alex) pick up from the library.  I cooked tea and then read a bit while Toby played on the computer.    Mike went to tramping club after work so Toby and I drove in to get him and caught up (briefly) with Ilske (freshly back from her holiday to Italy and Netherlands, the upshot of which she is now freshly single).  Then the three of us went to Strawberry Fare for dessert to celebrate.

Toby had an awesome chocolate madness, Mike had chocolate/lemon cheesecake and I had banoffee pie (which was lovely but I could only manage half of it).

Back home and a very pleasant sleep, despite seeing a massive spider crawl alongside the bed fleeing from the horrible weather outside.  Didn't keep me awake.

This morning is lovely (if still breezy) and my ride in was great.  I have a Christmas dinner tonight after work for work, and another function after work tomorrow (and yes, it is family Toby party time tomorrow and Mike knows he'll have to run the show).  Then a hectic weekend.  Well, a hectic Saturday.  Sunday is free!  Free!  I might do some Christmas shopping and get most of it over and done with.

Have a wonderful day!
Love,
Angela

The Tuesday that feels like Monday

Hi,

I had a bad case of Monday-itis yesterday at work.  After my fantastic three day weekend it was hard to knuckle down.  However, eventually reality seeped in and I got my work done.

Happy anniversary to us today.  13 years married (and twenty years together).  Yay!

Tuesday evening is Cubs night so I rode home early-ish and battled a vicious head wind.  So much so that I was completely worn out by the time I got to the bottom of the hill, let alone the top!  Christine passed me on the way up and it was a tired (but happy) "hello" that wafted up in her wake.

Cooked tea for me and Toby (and leftovers for lunch today) and off to Cubs with Jack.  We were up on Wrights Hill in the gale and occasional rain.  Jo and I "volunteered" for making hot chocolate and nipped back down the hill to make litres of the stuff.  A perfect Cubs night.  Toby had a blast playing Capture the Flag (or CTF as he called it).

Dropped off Jack, picked up Mike (he was working late) and home to bed.  We slept so well.  Great!

This morning's ride was hairy in the wind and slightly damp roads.  But it is supposed to dry up towards the evening.  Good!

We have a piano in our house now.  Mike called up a piano removalist and tuner chap and it was installed yesterday.  He took away the action (whatever that really means) and is re-conditioning that piece and then we're good to go on Friday.  I can't wait!  I may have to take lessons too!

Have an incredible day!
Love,
Angela

The weekend with three days off

Hi,

Happy birthday today to Tyler!  Woooooo hooooo!  Nine years old today.

Wow - what a great weekend!  Can I have them like that every weekend?  Friday night I left from work and dropped Mike home (I needed sunglasses and tea bags) and drove straight to Feilding to meet Christine.  I eventually found her among fifty million other horse people and their horses (slight exaggeration).  She had already put the stretchers up in the horse float and it did look comfy.

We went into town to an Irish pub and I had a scrumptious beef and Guinness pie and Christine ate her way through a Guinness (yuck) and an eye fillet.  Back to the horse float and bed!  And I slept well.  No complaints about sleeping in a horse float.  I'd do it again.  And possibly that might hap[pen Wellington anniversary weekend in Levin.  Hahahah.  Next horse event.

Up early and sort out Victor.  I tidied up his stable and got him a big tub of water.  Driving back to Christine in the wee green car with the roof down and driving very slowly over the rough road to avoid sploshes in the passenger footwell, I got wolf whistles from young men in a ute.  They don't get out much in Feilding, do they?

I walked Victor while he ate grass and Christine cleaned his saddle.  Then I held him still (well, I tried) while Christine plaited his mane.  Apparently she wants me back for more so I can't have been hopeless.

Jumped in the car and drove back to Wellington!  Lovely.  Had lunch and a shower and then off to my day spa appointment.  We had to cancel the BBQ we'd said yes to because we had to buy presents and make things for the family dinner.  I walked into town and Mike met me and we bought some things.  Home to wrap them and make salad.

Then into the car to Sally and Andrew's house for the most amazing dinner I have had in ages.  Scallop mornay starter, Beef Wellington main and cheesecake dessert.  I am still recovering from the excesses.

And they put on a great fireworks display in the backyard afterwards.  Well, the Lower Hutt City Council did.  Awesome!

Home to bed!

Up Sunday to do ... something.  What did we do Sunday?  I tried to tidy the house.  It got a littler tidier.  William came to play.  I went grocery shopping.  The day past.

Monday was our day off to celebrate twenty years going out (and 13 years married).  We got Toby away to school and then drove into town for an iced coffee at Joes.  Oh yeah.  Met up with some folks from the client site to say hello.

Went to see Skyfall and we both enjoyed it.  Then off for lunch at Eastbourne.

I got my first bit of sunburn for the summer.  Oops.  Never mind.  Dropped in to see Mike's parents and have a cup of tea and then home for a nice BBQ dinner.

Great weekend!  Such a lot of fun.  And the week looms.  Last week of the year for Toby.  He got his literacy award over the weekend so he should collect that!  Good on him!

Have a wonderful week.
Love,
Angela