Fly or Buy

It's the besties Hens night in Auckland on Saturday night and as soon as I knew about it I was straight online to book flights to get me amongst it. Unfortunately even weeks ago airfares were on the stupid side of not right. I refuse to pay $299 to get to Auckland when I could get to bloody Australia for less than that. So figured I would pull a 'Wilson' special and bowl on in to the airport early and grab a standby fare. The husband does it all the time with no drama and its only $69. Why oh why universe am I still sitting here 5 hrs later. Such Murphy's Law the one time I decide to throw caution to the wind, live for the now, spur of the moment and all that...every other person on the planet is traveling to Auckland from Christchurch as well *sigh. Don't they know I've got some serious Girly shit to attend too, which may or may not include shoe shopping, booze and plenty of quality blah blah! What to do when faced with 5 hours of waiting at an airport. Well I had a double cheeseburger combo for breakfast so I can't go back to Burger King without a disguise or at least until the staff change shifts. The husband has forbidden me to go into that gorgeous shop downstairs called toi toi but maybe that's a good thing cause the lady behind the counter was starting to look at me suspiciously due to how long I spent salivating over the jewellery and bags just before. It's a funny thing, at home I could easily spend 5 hours reading if my pesky family didn't keep interrupting me for food and other ridiculous attention seeking ploys, but now that I actually could sit and get stuck into a few chapters I'm just not that into it. The husband has also made matters worse by telling me that I should get a bus from the airport to the besties workplace as it would be cheaper than the shuttle/limo I had envisioned. God I can see that ending in tears. I sux at directions and buses, i don't cope with strangers and personal space and I never know which bus to get on and which stop to get off...Fark ill probably end up in Whangarei. But back to life at the airport.. I have secured a spot beside a wall with a plug so i can keep my phone on full battery which has enabled me to facecrack to my hearts content and to catch up on the last couple of weeks of 'Ellen' on YouTube.
Perhaps if I go buy a hat from the tourist shop, I can go get another burger?!

Help! The bugs seem to be winning

Our house is being held hostage by a disgusting Spew Bug.  I went down first on Sunday morning followed by the 7yr old 12 hours later. You forget in between bouts of death sickness like this just how suxy and violent vomiting can be.  It was hot sweats, tears rolling, nothing left to puke puking.  and spending a whole day lying down with nothing going in and everything coming out, your pretty much left with just a shell of a person.    I'm so pleased that I was heading towards the end of my dose when the 7yr started his and I knew he was going to be next cause he was all teary and extra cuddly at bedtime.  I had kept myself quarantined with the door shut all day and when he did venture in to say Goodnight I even cuddled him with the duvet over my face to try and prevent the bugs from spreading but Noooo.  10:30pm a little body came in already heaving.  Its amazing how your mothering skills take over even when your feeling like you've been run over by a bus. There is this energy store that kicks in and I was straight out of bed not unlike someone off a special K commercial bowl in hand ushering him to the bathroom.  I'm holding the bowl with one hand and wetting a cold face cloth with the other.  Once that was sorted I had to get him a drink, put a towel on his bed for him to sleep on.  Didn't want to risk poo stained sheets at 1am and tucking him back in.  Which unfortunately was exactly what I did end up with at 1am.  Once I had time to collapse back into bed my brain caught up with my body and started screaming "What the Fuck just happened...Thanks for the warning lady...I thought we were out of action!?".  It was like I had run round the block 7 times.  I was heavy breathing, smelt like a foot and had some pretty impressive hot sweats its fair to say I wasn't at my most attractive When your still recovering from the bug its bloody nice to have a set of husband hands to help and help he did but while he was dry retching in our bathroom after wrapping the boy in a towel and carrying him to the toilet I'm actually surprised he didn't opt for a tarp out of the garage someone had to change all the sheets and clean the 7yr olds legs, make a new bed up and clean the spew bowl for the 4th time.  God I'm a solider! Right?! So no first day back at school for the son, bumma cause pretty much that's the one and only day all kids want to go to school.  Spew Bugs officially Sux!

2013 the Year of the Deck Chair

How many Outdoor Chairs of the deck variety should a family own?  We have the standard table and Chairs outside plus a couple of others but not nearly enough for a medium to large gathering.  I have often decided to head to Bunnings or The Warehouse with the intent of purchasing more but I get there and they cost so much when buying a multiple amount that I end up walking away with Batteries, more coat hangers and a couple of light bulbs but no chairs.  Then we have a party and I have to resort to asking guests to bring their own seats cause I know we will have insufficient seating options to go round.  So this year I'm biting the bullet and making a New Years resolution to start buying fold up deck chairs, which will be stored in the garage when not in use just like my olds used to do when I was growing up Maybe I should plan for 2 per month.  That's 24 Chairs for next Christmas.  That seems excessive.   I'm not sure the husband will be pleased with 24 deck chairs in his garage.  How many do you own? God what a first world problem?!

Our Red Gloves

 I have these Divine soft Cherry Red Leather Gloves and I love them.  I will always love them.  You gave them to me. Without hesitation.  Just because I said I loved them while you were wearing them, that day at my house.  That time you stayed with us.  We drank bubbles together.  We laughed and talked late into the night.  I knew I'd see you again.  I'd always see you again.  At the next show.  I'd turn the corner from our stand and you would be there.  Dressed up all gorgeous.  Huge smile on your face when you spotted me.  Straight over for a catch up hug.  A see you after the show for a drink promise.  I'd always see you again.  But now I can't.  You decided that.  I didn't get a say.  I'm sorry you had to fight so hard to stay with us.  I'm sorry you couldn't fight anymore.  I'm sorry that all our love and light couldn't keep you here with us.  I hate that under that amazing smile was a darkness you couldn't chase away.  We couldn't chase it away for you.  I wish I could remember the last thing I said to you.  Was it important enough to be the last thing.  Ever.  Was it just goodbye.  That's not enough.  Did you know how much I loved being around you, your strength, your spunk, your sass, your cheekiness.  Did you know?  Do you know?  So I will wear our gloves.  That you wore.  I will say my Goodbyes with many tears and many smiles and try to understand why your not here anymore.  Not at the next show.  I miss you already.  It hurts but you don't anymore and that's what matters now.  Be at peace and take all our love and light to get you there lady.
RIP Anna xxx

Ours

 I'm sitting here watching my dogs sleep.  They do that a lot.  They like to do that where I stop.  Near me makes them happy.  It makes me happy.  That's the thing with having animals, they are unconditional, they don't need much.  Mine like food and their people.  So what about when the years fly by and suddenly I see that my first proper ever grown up pets, my dog Starfish is 10 years old?! and the one who rules the place, my Cat Moon Goon is 19! Realistically that means that probably in the next 5 years I may not have them anymore.  My brain doesn't completely get that.  Our world works because each of my animals plays there part.  We can't be without any of them.  So then what?  To put yourself out there to Love so much is to put yourself out to hurt pretty deeply when the time comes too i guess.  Would I give them up to save what is inevitably coming? Not for a second.  At times I feel like all I do is yell at my dog to shut up or move from under my feet or I'm too busy to give Moon that attention she wants but then all i have to do is look at them looking at me, following me, waiting for me and I feel that connection.  They love me anyway. They get me and I get them.  I get what stresses Star to the point where shes loud and aggressive to other dogs so I don't put her in that situation.  She is what we created.  Shes ours.  We're lucky.
Moon was mine before.  Before our Christchurch life.  When it was just me and the girl baby and our cat.  She moved with us. Lots.  She slept with us. Always.  She has put up with and sorted out more animals that came along.  Shes the boss.  She has my heart.
 Its cliche and cheesy but true.  Animals make you a better person.  They make you give a shit about someone other than yourself.  They make you love something more than yourself.  Its nice to know my family are loved and protected by more than just us.  My family has 30 legs.  I'm happy.

Airbeds Sux

If ever you are offered an airbed to sleep on just reply with a "No thanks I'll just throw my blankets on the ground and save time" I have never slept in one that didn't go down by morning.  They are such a camping nightmare.  Whoever invented them are sitting back pissing themselves laughing at all of us.  Air beds are shit.  Its a fact.  Even when you first get onto one and it hasn't yet deflated which it will  If your not the same weight as your sleeping buddy its just a bloody seesaw every time someone rolls over or has to get up to take a leak in the middle of the night.  I get the convenience of being able to roll them up and carry them around but for fucks sake whats the point really when your just going to end up ridiculously uncomfortable, cold and sleeping on the ground anyway.  Save the room in your boot for another chilly bin or extra towels.
This rant is because I just experienced the hell that is a bed made from air for only one night recently. Luckily I had a few ciders pre-bedtime so the first few hours of sleep was deep enough to not notice the slow but steady decline of Oxygen from under our bodies but woke not long after freezing on the ground with the semi deflated plastic surrounding me like a inflatable coffin.
Nobody can start a productive happy day from the depths of a deflated bed.  Its just not physically possible. 
Feel free to correct me if in fact you have a miracle bed which stays up all night....point me in the right direction and I'll happily invest...but I'm not holding my breath.

This lady is a liar...nobody smiles like that if they are sleeping on an airbed

This is what you end up on by morning

Just call me Pig Hunter

Well our first week with the Devine Miss Ruby has been anything but boring.  I have learnt a few things about Pigs.  They are stubborn and Wiley little buggers.  If they want to go exploring, not much will put them off or stop them.  They are mental for food.  They grunt alot and are sooo freaken cute. You should see this girls eye lashes.
But when they go walkabout, you end up resorting to high pitched pig calling for hours on end, just waiting for that little face to come through the bushes.  Xmas day was spent stressfully trying to achieve exactly that.  Day two of having her as part of our family and the little Houdini decided 5 mins before we had to leave for Xmas lunch to go bush.  This resulted in us being an hour and a half late and me to be an uptight wreck all day.  Straight home for 2 more hours of calling and walking the neighbourhood.  What a way to meet your neighbours.  The weird lady wandering and yelling out "Ruuuubbbbbyyyyyyy, here Ruby girl" whilst rustling a bread bag like it was a freaken musical instrument.  Long story short she came home.  Although with a small cut on her back and very nervous.  Since then its all been Happy Days, I'm not sure if the walk has scared her enough to realise she is living Pig Utopia at our place or if the 20 large pieces of wood I have placed on every slight hole I can find is keeping her in but either way she is staying put.
I now have another body to follow me around with the dogs and the cat.  I have a shower and they all sit on the floor and wait for me to get out.  I've got a wee grunting buddy who sleeps down by or under my bed and who loves to join the competition to have a tummy scratch.  She squeals when shes hungry or can't find us and is completely house trained.  I can't imagine what life was like before she joined in with our crazy world.  I do keep having to remind myself that at some point she will probably triple in size but hey there are bloody big dogs out there and they are allowed inside so we will just wait and see how this all plays out....watch this space.