The Monday with cooking together

Hi,


Ecletic mix of photos for today's blog.  Hahahah.

I met up with Mike and Andrew for lunch at Blowfish (mmmmm, sushi) and found a new iced coffee drink so I bought that.  I am sorry to say it was yucky.  Made with UHT milk.  UHT milk will be great in the apocalypse, but I don't want to drink it until then!  I threw most of it in the rubbish bin.

Such high hopes

Rode home the long way (well, the medium way) up Ngaio Gorge.  I had to collect our passports from the courier office as we missed them when they got delivered home.  Mike and I have new passports.  Yay!  The ride up the gorge (and up from Crofton Downs and up Norwich St itself) felt easier than the last time I did it.  Which would have been about 18 months ago I reckon.  Must have been a bit of a southerly.

Got home and Mike wasn't too far behind me.  We cooked tea together and enjoyed it.  Lemon tarragon chicken thing.  Mmmmm.

Yum!

Noticed the milk date on my milk before I poured it over my Weetbix.  The year is going so fast.  It's not too far off the shortest day of the year.  Jeepers.

10th June coming already.  The year is disappearing - fast!

Went to bed fairly early and I accidentally read my book until it was finished.  Why do I do that?  Hahahah.  So it was a slightly groggy Angela that stumbled out of bed this morning for my run.  However, knock me down with a feather!  I did my fastest time in months and months.  6.07 per km.  Ooossshhh!

Rode into work and enjoyed a dry ride - albeit with wet roads.  We've got southerlies for a few days with rain.  So I made it in nicely dry and probably between showers.

I have a session at the gym after work today.  RPM class.  Apparently you ride with a bunch of people in a dark room on a bike with an instructor and loud music.  I have no idea what to expect.  Apart from lots of puffing and sweating.  I'll let you know tomorrow.  This might be what sways me to join the gym.

Have a wonderful day.

Love,
Angela

The weekend with Benjamin's 21st birthday party

Hi,

What a lovely weekend.  The weather was really quite bad - apart from most of Sunday daylight hours when it wasn't too bad.

Friday night was dinner out with work at a Thai place on Cambridge Terrace.  Toby and Mike came along too.  There were about 14 of us.  From there we went to Cafe Eis and I discovered their cafe latte gelato.  Mmmmm.  So good.

Soon it was time for the Improv night at Bats.  We went in a chatted for a while before the session started.  We trundled into the room and had a ball for the next hour or so.  Awesome fun.  Toby absolutely loved it.  And you learn a bit about your colleagues when they call out random things that come into their minds.  Jess's super power would be shooting chocolate from her hands.  Woot!

We walked back in the rain to the car and fell into bed around midnight.  Up fairly early as we had an appointment at the Wellington Chocolate Factory.  The poor weather meant the tramping part of the day was cancelled.

Edible roasted cocoa beans

Bag of raw beans

The chocolate grinders

The chocolate factory was great.  The woman giving us the tour was so enthusiastic.  We got to try a bit too.  Mmmmm.

We left early and headed to Maccas for lunch (they have an all day breakfast now, so the boys think they can lure me there.  Turns out they were right).  Then off to Wellington Beds and we bought a new mattress for our bed.  Toby will get our one.

Over to Miramar to see an Op Shop (but it was closed) and back home.  We watched a movie on Saturday night.  Slightly disturbing.

Next morning Mike got a migraine as he woke.  Bad news as he was supposed to be leading a leadership practical session and he would have been puking through it for sure.  He called in Josh and Josh stepped into Mike's shoes (as did Andrew).  Mike was very grateful and went back to sleep.  I got up for my run and Mike got up too.  Josh came to collect the stuff for the course and headed off.

After my run I got ready for my bike ride.  I met Sreejith at the train station at 1pm and we rode out to Sally's place to collect Celia and James.  From there we rode up Waiwhetu up to Upper Hutt.  Had a great time until Celia misjudged the kerb up to a bike path and came a cropper.  She actually came out of it in not too bad a shape.  Bike also survived.  But we stopped at the next cafe (Subway) and had a hot drink to recover.

We were a team of bikes - according to a wee girl we passed

We rode back home via the motorway and caned it along there.  Sreejith and I peeled off and continued into Wellington.   I winded my way up the hill towards home while Sreejith negotiated more urban chaos to his place in Kilbirnie.

The next thing was starting almost as soon as I had my shower.  Benjamin's 21st celebration.  We went to Bella Italia in Petone and there were 14 of us.  Had such a lovely time.

The deli cabinet

 I had tomato basil and mozzarella salad.  Toby had chicken.  And Mike had some yummy pasta.

We went back to Sally and Andrew's place for dessert and tea.  Mmmm.  The chocolate birthday cake was so good.  And then I tried lemon cake too.  Yum!

Family dessert session

The desert trolley was amazing

My feet with lying socks

Back home via a mad dash to the supermarket to get essential groceries.

And into bed.  Toby didn't sleep well though.  Kept coming into our room to say he wasn't sleeping.

Hope your week ahead is good fun.

Love,
Angela

The Thursday that was so like a Wednesday

Hi,

Well, I went to the gym after work today.  It's just down the road from my work.  It was a trial pass for the day, just to check it out.  An instructor called Tom showed me around and gave me a few exercises on the leg machines to try.  I also checked out a bike they had.  It hooks into TV.  You can ride while watching Sky movies or TV.  How funny.  Or - get this - you can choose a course in Europe and it switches to video of the road and you can pretend you're in the Tour de France.  I think I was sold right there!

The bike computer

But - I have a follow up meeting with an instructor on Tuesday evening at 5pm.  I think I want to try their cycle classes.  Apparently they are really hard work.  Sounds like something I want to try.

I went back to work and hopped on my own bike and rode much less like I was in the Tour de France back home.  Mike had almost finished making tea by the time I got in.  Just for Sally, she can see our Chicken Tikka Pita Pockets meal.  It was ok.  I personally wouldn't rush to make that one again.

Looking as good as the recipe photo

Tonight is some Moroccan Lamb dish.  Mmmm.  Hold any raisins!  (If they are mad enough to add them in!)

The weekend looks relaxing - for me anyway.  Mattress shopping early tomorrow.  Followed by a chocolate factory tour and a day walk.  Then possibly dinner out with some people we know moving to the UK.

Sunday is Mike's leadership day.  I am hoping to get a bike ride in on Sunday afternoon.  But in the evening we have dinner out with Benjamin to celebrate his 21st!  Woot!  How cool!  Looking forward to that.

Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are.

Love,
Angela

The Wednesday that felt like Tuesday

Hi,

Oh - I am so confused this week.  I am a day behind.  How does that happened.  I am quite convinced that today is Wednesday.  And yesterday I was sure it was Tuesday.  My only consolation is that tomorrow, when it's Friday, and I think it's Thursday - and then I find out it really is Friday - I will be so happy!

I nearly didn't wear my purple shirt today.  That's how tricky this is.

Anyway, I rode home and avoided the torrential rain and wild weather.  I actually enjoyed my ride home - it wasn't too bad at all.  I had a headache for most of yesterday at work, but when I hopped on my bike, it disappeared.  And stayed away even after I got home.

It probably helped that the boys cooked tea.  Toby is cooking dinner for us one night a week and it started last night.  Toby was the sous chef and did most of the work while I read and Mike issued instructions and did a wee bit to help.  Next week Toby can do the whole meal.  Ooohhh.  It was good too.  Spag bol.  Mmmmm.

Off to bed pretty early and I slept like the dead.  It was hard to get out of bed for a run, but I am glad I did it.  Good pace this morning.  But I can get better.  And with that in mind, after work today I am visiting a gym to check it out.  I want to see if getting fitter can make a difference in my Round Taupo event this November.

Right.  Time for tea.  Have an awesome day.  Gee - May is almost done and dusted.  Weird how fast the year is going.

Love,
Angela

The Tuesday with date night with Toby

Hi,

I managed to get away from work to catch up with Celia and have an iced coffee.  it was a strategic move because Toby and I had a social club movie night with work that started at 8pm!  I might need caffeine to get me to stay awake that late.

Mixed Business iced coffee

Toby came to work around 5pm and I got a little distracted with work things.  But we left and caught the bus to Courtney Place.  We wanted Mama Browns for tea, but they are closed Monday and Tuesday.  Gah!  Off to Joe's Garage and we had a great meal there.

We played a game on IMDB where we'd ask questions about actors and the other would have to guess who they were.  Toby might have inherited the genes on my mother's side because he knows an awful lot about actors.

From there we ducked into New World and bought goodies for his lunchbox and the movie.  But what I didn't know was we were in Gold Class.  So I bought Toby a supply of food for the movie to arrive at key times.  Hahahah.  He loved it!  Although he knocked his big bag of Maltesers off the arm rest between us and had 50 chocolate balls beneath his jeans for a while.  We were both rummaging around in the dark picking up chocolate balls from under him.  Lucky we were at the end of the aisle and at the back.  No one was distracted.  Much.

We saw X Men Apocalypse and I enjoyed it lots. Went for ages.  Mike was waiting to take us home after it (he had come back from Auckland and then finished his beer brewing session and dropped Andrew home).  We got home and fell into bed and 10 mins later there was a huge thunderstorm.  Toby was running around very excited.  I refused to open my eyes.

On the bus with the boys this morning to get a few more minutes sleep after the excesses of the night.

The weather is amazing.  Heavy rain.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Love,
Angela

The Monday back at work

Hi,

Well, after being cold at work most of the day I rode my bike home and it wasn't too bad.  Maybe it was a slight southerly.  Cold, but not too bad at all.  Enjoyed my ride home.

Started making tea.  Mike has ordered  My Food Bag and I made the first meal last night.  It was yummy.  We all ate it.  Toby tried to eat Mike's before he walked in the door.

Almost looks like the picture

We really tried hard to tidy up downstairs after tea.  But the lure of a documentary proved too much and Mike and I went to bed and watched The Celts.  Great stuff.  Although I did fall asleep sprawled over Mike's lap.  No idea what the Celts were doing in Germany now.  I'll have to watch it again another evening.

Rode in this morning in the rain.  But no wind, so it's all good.  Mike is boarding his flight to Auckland about now for the day.

Toby and I have a movie date with work - we're seeing the X Men movie.  Oooohhh.  And it's a late one.

Right.  Time for a cup of tea.  Have a fantastic day.  Stay dry!

Love,
Angela

The weekend with Toby

Hi,

Oh - I had a fantastic weekend.  Mike was scheduled to be busy most of the weekend with tramping related things.  So Toby and I had organised a weekend away for the two of us.

We left early Friday and got stuck in diabolical traffic and then horrendous weather as we drove to Otaki.  Toby ate Maccas at Plimmerton and then we crawled our way to Waikanae.  How anyone bothers with that car commute is beyond me.  The rain then lashed down not far out of Otaki.

We stayed at the Cottage Park Motel, on the north side of Otaki on SH1.  It was a cute wee unit, but only had Freeview on the TV.  And no free wifi.  But we enjoyed the accommodation.  Such a cute wee unit.  Like a log cabin.  With a mezzanine for overflow.

Our wee unit -  very cute

We were in bed super early and so we played the animal alphabet game.  Made it all the way to the letter T before we switched to naming States of America.  Toby (with a small amount of prompting) got to 25.  I was quite impressed.  How on earth does he even know Delaware exists?  This game sent us into a coma.

Up fairly late and showered.  We left to have breakfast in Otaki around 10am.  I bought my Icebreaker pants and Toby got a beanie.  Then at Kathmandu we got Toby a replacement jacket which made him happy.  It's funny, I knew his current jacket was small, but until he tried the small Mens size on, I didn't realise how small it was on him.

We went to the $2 shop and Toby loved the bootleg merchandise.  We bought a Sherk mask!  Toby loves it!

A Sherk mask

We left Otaki around 11am and drove past Shannon (remembering Owlcatraz for a later visit) and we were soon in Palmerston North, catching up with Iona and Col for lunch.  Great iced coffee at the Cafe Express (somewhere on the square).

Great iced coffee

We ducked into an art exhibition and they had art installations that worked off the electricity in your body.  By closing the circuit, something cool happened.  The umbrella was my favourite.  You held the handle and LEDs dribbled "rain" off it.  There was a dark room with paintings made with bioluminescence.  Awesome.

Off to the mall and more bootleg stuff and a quick trip to JB Hi Fi.  Then we said goodbye to Iona and Col before heading to the new Captain America movie.  Ooosshhh. Civil War.  It was good.

Dodgy bootleg

More dodgy bootleg

It was dark when we left Palmerston North and headed through the Manawatu Gorge to Masterton.  A few slow vehicles but we got to the Copthorne by 6.30pm. Checked in and I had a bath.  Then we went to dinner and Toby got the steak.  Mmmmm.  Back to our room and Toby then had a bath.

He came back to bed and wanted to play the animal alphabet game again.  But I was asleep and I am unsure if I actually answered any - or maybe I said "turtle" 5 times.  Not sure!  Hahahah.  But we were soon both asleep.

Next morning we had brekkie and then checked out and Toby tested his skills on the confidence course.

Balancing

Climbing

More balancing

Turns out my son has awesome skills.  Yay for Toby.

Hopped in the car and headed home.  Mike was out doing Meetup things but got home soon.  Toby went swimming with Josh and the boys.  Mike tidied the laundry up and it is now amazing!  You don't have to climb over anything!  Wow.  Hallway is clear too.

Did my ironing.  Groan.  Mike did grocery shopping.  And we had a lovely tea together.  Woot!

Up early for my run and I felt good after a bit of a slack time recently.  Made a good time and did my 5km.  Yay for Mike kicking me out of bed.

The week stretches ahead.  Not sure if next weekend will have as much fun in store as this one did.  I loved Toby's company.  I am a lucky mother.

Have a wonderful week.

Love,
Angela