First Kiwi Road Trip

I went on my first road trip last weekend - Rob and I went to Hanmer Springs with our friends Simon and Bridget - it was awesome!



The hot pools are great - very relaxing and so nice to have a hot soak as we don't have a bath tub so I haven't had a bath for 6 months! Moving from one pool to another was a bit nippy but made submerging myself in the lovely hot pools even more of a treat. I didn't want to get out!



We took loads of pics as the scenery is amazing - plus we stopped on the way home to inspect a pig skin someone had hung on a fence - mmm tasty!

6 months and counting...

Tomorrow marks two celebrations - firstly it's my third Wedding Anniversary - and the first we celebrate here, plus it's been 6 months since I arrived in NZ - hooray!

I've loved every minute of it so far and we're applying for residency so we hope to continue celebrating both occasions here in New Zealand for years to come.

xxx

We have wheels!

I got my Birthday present early this year ~ on Friday Rob bought me a car! We've managed for nearly 6 months without one ~ which isn't bad if you know me ~ but it's been getting tough recently, especially since the winter has started early and I've been pining for my little Peugeot.

Cars are really expensive here so we couldn't afford a newer model, so our first Kiwi car is a Ford Laser. It's an estate and we can fit a bed in the back, so we can just drive off for the weekend and explore this gorgeous country ~ cool! I think we'll wait until winter's over before we try sleeping in the car ~ though it can't be that much colder than our house ~ it's an old villa with no heating and it's currently like living in a paper bag! It's tough being a Kiwi but I wouldn't change it for the world ~ I love it!

Good gig

Last night we went to The Bedford Bar in Central Christchurch to see a couple of friends play in their bands. We saw three bands in total, The Coal Rangers, The Easy Hearts, and The Eastern. All three bands were excellent and it was a great night out.

Ed Byrne

Rob and I went to see Irish comic Ed Byrne's 'Different Class' show at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch on Thursday. It was a really great show and I ended up being picked out by Ed regarding my comment that the movie 'Hostel 2' was 'rubbish' - quite embarassing as I was about the only person to shout out my opinion but funny nonetheless. (Ed Byrne agrees BTW!)

We went with our friends Simon and Bridget, and after the show, we went for a curry at Tulsi on Manchester St, where we were treated to rude and hurried service by the staff who wanted to close up early and didn't appreciate new customers turning up at 10.15, even though they don't close til 11.00pm. Nice curry as usual, shame their attitude sucked!

New Niece

This is my beautiful niece Shauna, born in Feb.



She is my third niece - I also have 4 nephews via my other brother and sister, 2 nephews via my sister-in-law and another on the way via my twin sister! Phew, that's a lotta kids for one Auntie!

One day I'll add my own to the mix but for now I'm happy being Auntie Tan.

xxx

Kitty on a plane

Nope, not a cheesy idea for a 'Snakes' sequel, but exciting news (for me) that my lovely cat Guiness will be arriving on Friday - that's just 2 more sleeps for me! I've missed him so much and felt so bad for leaving him behind, especially as he's been in a cattery for the last few weeks and will be forced onto a plane for 30 hours, but I couldn't be without him. I've set aside the whole weekend for love and cuddles - if he's not ignoring me!

Can't wait!

xxx

Catch-up

To all my friends that have been following my adventures in New Zealand, sorry for not posting anything new in ages but I've been sooo busy preparing for my new job and settling into my new home that everything has gone out of the window - eek!

Here's a rundown of my recent activities - posts to follow with more info.

Friday - went to see me friend's band D&D Showband play in Christchurch. It was a great night and the show was fab.

Saturday - went to my first NZ crop - a 12 hour marathon of scrapbooking at my fave shop The Stamping Ground. I got to meet lots of nice kiwi scrapbookers and to top off the day I won the page of the day and $70 of booty from the shop! How pleased was I? I've booked onto the next one on 9 May and looking forward to it already.

That's it for now! xxx

Gainful employment

Yay I got the job I was after! I'm so relieved and happy as I really wanted it ~ the job sounds ideal for me as a creative soul and someone who loves working with the online industry. I'm going to be doing web copywriting and SEO (Search Engline Optimisation) and I can't wait to start!

I haven't worked for a while due to my recent operation and preparations for travelling to New Zealand plus since I've been here on a holiday visa I haven't been allowed to work so being stuck at home alone every day gets boring ~ believe me!

Now I have a job offer related to my experience I can apply for a temporary work permit before I go through the full immigration application. I'm still gathering up the documentation required for the immigration process ~ you need copies of all sorts of things from birth and marriage certificates, to proof of address, passports, references about your work experience etc. plus a police check and medical ~ it's not cheap and not easy but I hope we'll be successful as we have a mortgage now and want to stay.

My first job interview

I went for a job interview at a web promotions company last week and I've been called back for a second interview on Thursday! The job is for web copywriting and search engine optimisation - I've always loved anything to do with the Internet and my last marketing role involved a lot of digital marketing so its right up my street.

Fingers crossed that I get this job because I really want it!!!

Tan xxx

Sparks in the Park

On Thursday Rob and I met up with some friends in Hagley Park, Christchurch for the ASB Classical Sparks - an open air concert with fireworks set to live classical music plus showsongs from several musicals and live jousting!!!


The river in Hagley Park

The weather was warm but windy, but that didn't spoil the atmosphere or spoil the fireworks, and we had a great night.


The gang: Rob, Roger, Rosie, Vicky & Sarah


The sunset


Bang, bang!


Whizz, pop!


Finale!

UKS Jan wk1 Challenge

This is my entry for the UKS Weekly Challenge for week 1 Jan-09. It's of me and my hubby in our new garden in New Zealand on a very sunny summer day.


12 {Thousand Miles}

The journalling reads: "This is me & my husband Rob celebrating the start of our new life together in New Zealand. Rob moved there 2 months before me and being 12,000 miles apart for so long was tough! We're so happy to be reunited & still celebrate a little every day!"

I made the title from a free font called Mia's Scribblings and glossed the number and brackets using Anita's 3-D Gloss Finish (similar to Ranger's Glossy Accents). The floral paper is Imaginisce - Loves Me - Love is in the Air and I made the journalling strip and distressed brown paper myself using white A4, my printer and some inks. I bought the flowers from The Stamping Ground in Christchurch and the buttons are from a Kiwi general crafts shop.

Thanks for looking!

Tan xxx

UKS Dec wk2 Challenge

New Start

This is my entry for the UKS Weekly Challenge for week 2 Dec-08. It's about my new home in New Zealand where I am now living.


New Start

The top photo is my new house, the middle one is the street next to ours taken last May (Autumn) and the bottom one is the view from my friend's hot tub!! The mountains can also be seen at the bottom of my street and all round the city - they are breathtaking - more photos of those will surely follow!


New Start - journalling

The journalling reads: "This is my new home in Christchurch, New Zealand. It belonged to my father-in-law and I will be joining my hubby there on New Year’s Eve. It’s such a wonderful place and I can’t wait for us to start our new life there!"

I made the white flowers from layers of hand-cut tissue paper, edged in grey chalk ink, and coloured silver brads using white embossing powder and the same grey ink. I defined the skeleton leaves using Brick Red Distress Ink and the punched flowers are highlighted using Walnut Distress Ink applied with a latex sponge and Turquoise Stickles. The title is printed using Mia's Scribblings font and the journalling is Love Ya Like a Sister, both available from dafont.com.

TFL xx

Tan's Kiwi Adventure

At last I'm here in the land of the long white cloud!

The flight went well (as well as sitting in a confined space for 30 hours can go!) and I arrived in Christchurch on New Year's Eve to a beautiful hot, sunny day. My hubby took me into the city to meet his colleagues, who were all waiting to meet me as he hasn't stopped talking about me since he started working there (no pressure on me then!!) Everyone is really nice and I reckon we've got some good friends there - looking forward to getting to know them better.

I'm still quite jet-lagged (Rob said it took him 2 weeks for his body clock to adjust to being turned upside down!) and I slept right through the New Year (I had demanded that Rob find somewhere for us to go out and celebrate - silly me!) Rob says I woke up at midnight and gave him a New Year's kiss but I have no recollection of it!

I haven't done any scrapping recently so I'm starting to have withdrawl symptoms - but my priority is to find a job so it has to take a back seat for a while - sob!