The Wednesday with nothing for me and tramping club for Mike

Hi,

Rode home up the usual hill (Wadestown) on my road bike and made it up just fine.  It is quite a bit harder on a road bike without the extra lower gears.  But it was all good.  Got rid of frustration from the day's lack of progress too.  Riding is sometimes pure joy!  Grabbed the car from the library and collected Toby.  Went home to start dinner.  Spaghetti Bolognese.  It was going well, despite the lack of onions to put in the sauce. I was prepared to live with that.

Mike, however, has obviously been cooking in the kitchen and changed something crucial.  Turns out he hates using the sprinkle lid on the chilli flakes.  Yes.  Well.  I like to liberally shake two good shakes of the chilli flakes into the sauce as it's cooking.  I took the lid off, and did my usual wrist flicking shake, only to shriek when I saw teaspoonfuls of chilli flakes hurtle out into my sauce.  Hahahah.  I used a spoon to try (woefully) to scoop out embedded chilli flakes.  But the sauce was very hot.

Still, Toby ate the whole bowl I gave him.  Along with three cups of milk.  As did I.  Hahahah.  It was pretty good, said Toby.

It needed milk!

We're also watching the amazing deck out the front.  Well, the amazing slab that will one day hold the deck.

Lucky our picnic table is so useful.  

It is all an engineering marvel.  The rebar is in place in some of the holes.  Others are lined up to swallow rebar again today.

In other news, the glorious weather continues.  Last day of summer today and it is a beauty.  Everyone has been completely ruined this summer by the wonderful weather.  Cruise ships full of tourists are applying for residency as I type.  Hahahah.

Have an incredible day!
Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with no Cubs

Hi,

I caught the bus to the library and collected the wee green car and then went to get Toby.  Turns out he had a bad day.  He got told off by his teacher and had extra homework to do.  Sometimes life is tough.  So we abandoned Cubs for the night in favour of getting the homework done and having a nice dinner.  Mike rushed around doing his messages (he rode to Lower Hutt and collected the car after its service) and got home nice and early to help.

We were all asleep pretty quick.  I did find some event photos on the web of our triathlon before I fell into a coma.  Take a look if you like:  Angela cycling  There are two more of me and some of Aidan in the running section.

We went shopping the other evening and they have a cool Lynx stand outside.  Toby looks great, eh?

Spaceman Toby

Tonight I'll ride home and collect Toby and sort out dinner.  Mike will go to tramping club and mingle with the other punters.  He loves it!

It's Wednesday!  Halfway through the week.  Have a wonderful day.
Love,
Angela

The Monday with complicated Gilbert plans

Hi,

I had user group last night after work so I stayed late for that.  Mike drove home (yes - he drove in!) and collected Toby and headed to Lower Hutt.  All part of the complicated plan to get the car to its service centre, Sally and Andrew's PC sorted, Toby looked after in the evening, and me riding home to get the second car to collect Toby.

And that's (surprisingly) exactly what happened.  I rode home on the new bike up Ngaio Gorge and all the way up Norwich St.  Oooossshhh!  It has slightly lower gearing than the other road bike.  Jumped in the wee green car, put the roof down, and sang all the way to Lower Hutt on a gorgeous evening.

Collected Toby and drove back, singing all the way.  This time, with the heater on because Toby was colder than me!  Roof, what roof?

We had a good sleep and got up nice and early.  It's another gorgeous day.  I drove to the library to drop Toby off at the bus stop and hopped on the bus.  In at work early.

It's Cubs night and more complicated logistics to collect the car.  I think I'll bus to the library, collect Toby, feed him and drop him at Cubs.  Home to tidy and then back to collect him.  Meanwhile Mike will ride to Petone to pick up the car.

Sounds like a plan!
Have a great day!
Love,
Angela

The weekend I cannot do justice to

Hi,

I am sure I will fail woefully at describing what an amazing weekend we all had.  Friday evening I dropped Mike off at the Interislander ferry terminal where the tramping club van is parked.  No - he wasn't going south   Just collecting the van - I am sure you will hear about his tramping adventures near Whanganui.  I went to collect Toby and we had tea and snuggled in bed watching Tron Legacy.  I chatted to Mum via Facebook chat for a while which was very pleasant.

I got up early Saturday intent on doing a little bit of housework.  But I got sidetracked and not a lot of tidying happened.  I woke Toby at 9am (he has amazing powers of sleep!) and we rustled out of the house to get the WoF for the car.  There was a queue and it took ages and failed to boot.  Wonky headlights.  Hahahah.  I wasn't going to tell the chap that Mike had replaced them.  So we need to book it in for the headlight alignment and take it back.

This made us late for the movie so we rushed straight there with no breakfast.  We watched Life of Pi and enjoyed it.  We especially loved the scene with the bio luminescence in the sea at night.  And yes - our breakfast consisted of popcorn and peanut M&Ms.

Once it finished, we went back home to collect our gear for the weekend sleepover at Waikanae.  On the way up, I dropped in to get our registration pack for the Kapiti Women's Triathlon where Aidan and I had entered as a team in the duathlon.  Me cycling and Aidan running.

Then I had tuna mayo for a late lunch and a good chat with Aidan for the afternoon before she cooked up a scrumptious dinner for us.  Josh got back from his first aid course and we discussed tents.  Josh is keen on the Macpac Nautilus tent, which we have and love.  Good choice, Josh!

I took Lulu for a walk in the lovely late evening up to the blackberry patch to get my dessert. Yum.  Toby and I went to bed in the wee tent in the back yard and slept very well.

Before!

We were up early to get sorted for the race.  Josh took the boys in their Scout gear to the park to set up a sausage sizzle while Aidan and I took my bike to the start line.

Emerson with great customer service skills

Yep - we were branded

We found the Scout tent and made sure our gear was stashed there and everyone was happy.  Josh had to get away to his first aid course again so he was making sure things were running smoothly.  Josh introduced Aidan to a chap that recently joined the committee for the archery club they are keen on joining.  This coincided with her discovering she hadn't attached her iPod for her run and we were due to assemble for our start briefing.  So she was a little distracted as she met this chap, concentrating on both him and attaching her iPod.  Now, if she'd been attaching it to her shirt, perhaps it might have passed unnoticed.  But Aidan was attaching it to her sports bra under her running shirt and threading it up out the top of her shirt.  She realised at one stage that she had made the chap's eyes widen with surprise.  She likes to think it was when her hand popped out of the top of  her shirt.  But whatever it was, the man immediately said that he would ensure they get membership as soon as they can.  Perhaps Aidan has discovered a great new technique for getting what she wants from unsuspecting men.  It made us laugh as we wandered to the start line.

Aidan watching the start of my wave

We listened to the brief and I started my GPS application a minute before wave G (our wave) started its 500m run.  I am hopeless.  I was dead last at the end of that 500m.  Aidan had the good grace not to laugh at me as I jogged back to my bike and hopped on.  However, I made up for it in the cycling.  I passed loads of people and was only passed once (by some woman built like a triathlete should be built) and came in first in our group.  How chuffed was I?  Gave Aidan a high five (she wonders if she smacked me in the face but I surely don't recall that!) and she was off.

Aidan all done

I found the boys and got my camera ready at the finish line and watched Aidan run home.  We made it in 54 minutes.  Oooossshhhh!  I was very happy.  And we're planning next year already.  Aidan's course was mostly off-road and a hill or two.  She ran it just fine.  We enjoyed the medals they provided because it was the 30th anniversary of the event.

Check results here:  KWT when they come out.  We entered the Duathlon team and our team name is "Forty point nine".  And no, it is not the mean of our ages.  I would make that number a bit higher if that was the case!  Hahahah.  Think about location and you might get the name's meaning.  They might even have photos at some stage.

Off to Waikanae to get more lunch and strike the tent.  Then Toby and I were off (stuttering as Toby left his iPad there and we returned to get it).  William popped over to play and we gave him tea and sent him home and then we went to collect Mike.

So we all had a fantastic weekend.  The week looks lovely.  My ride in this morning was gorgeous!

Have a marvellous week!
Love,
Angela

The Thursday with nothing but packing

Hi,

Mike cooked dinner for us when we got home and we had a lovely meal.  Toby was moping at the table initially and when we asked him what was wrong, he said he was missing being at Aunty Sally's house.  I think he is quite partial to attention from his Aunty Sally.

Mike packed for his weekend tramping while Toby and I went about our evening activities.  I was asleep in seconds last night.

Friday today and the weather is overcast and a bit cooler.  But it looks nice for the race on Sunday still.  Good to know.

This is our plan for the weekend.  Mike leaves this evening.  Toby and I watch a movie tonight at home.  Then we get up and get the car its WoF and head to the Life of Pi at the cinema.  After that we will drive to Waikanae to pitch the tent in the Ruru St campground.  This is so we're nice and early for the race on Sunday.

Toby will help Josh and the boys with the Scout tent at the race and Aidan and I will have some fun cycling and running around.

Hope your weekend is as action packed as ours!
Love,
Angela

The Wednesday with a new bike and tramping club

Hi,

Another stunning day in Wellington - I had a great ride in this morning from Lower Hutt to town.  But, before I was lyrical about my new bike, let me tell you about Wednesday evening.  I drove home to collect Toby and we went to Nandos in Johnsonville for tea.  Toby loves it.  He had two meals!  I think he is spurting.  I have upped his lunchbox to two sandwiches in the past two days because he said he was hungry still.

We went to collect my new bike, but they weren't ready.  So back home to wait for 8.30pm when they would be ready.  Fortunately Andrew was keen to join us and he gave the bike a good inspection.  It looks lovely and Andrew was happy so we paid and took it home.  We collected Mike from work (with the trombone as Toby has lessons on Thursday) and went home to Lower Hutt.

The big news from home is our plumbing is fixed and done.  We can move back into our house tonight.  Yay!  It all looks great.  Well, there are pipes for Africa - but they are all connected and carry waste away from the house instead of pooling in a deep hole.

This morning I got up, got dressed and hopped on the bike for the ride into town.  It is such a lovely bike to ride.  So nice.  I popped into iRide (bike shop) on the way in and it had a good assessment.  I have booked it in for Wednesday for a service and possible replacement parts.  But they say it has nothing major wrong and just needs some parts replaced.  The back wheel is the biggest thing, but that was apparent to us anyway.

Have a wonderful day!
Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with stunning weather

Hi,

Happy birthday to Scotty.  I hope he has a great day.  Happy birthday to Tim (Michelle's fiance) - have a great day too.  And February 20 is a bit like January 17 - everyone has a birthday today.  Happy birthday to Richard F and Alistair M!

What a glorious Tuesday that was.  Mike and I rushed home and collected Toby and I jumped in the car and we drove to Island Bay (well, between Island Bay and Owhiro Bay) via McDonalds to get Toby some sustenance.  I dropped him off at Cubs where they went rock pooling and I went for a great bike ride around the bays.  I made it as far as Ataturk's memorial and back.  Nice ride.

Looks cheeky, doesn't he?

My camera can't cope with the sun - but the view is stunning over to the South Island

Cruise ship leaving Wellington on the horizon

Toby and I went home to collect Mike and then home to Sally and Andrew's place.  Toby practised his trombone for a bit.

It's loud!

It might be a long year

And we all collapsed into bed.

Another lovely morning this morning.  We pick up my new road bike this evening and we have tramping club commitments tonight too.  We're touting for new family tramping prospects at the New Members night.

I can't wait to try the new bike.

Have a fantastic day.
Love,
Angela