Random afternoon in Devonport

Soooo we were going to go surfing today, but the weather and surf forecast didn't quite make that very appealing. SO instead, we got a late and lazy start, and headed to Devonport to check out a WW2 post. It was pretty epic. Networks of tunnels all throughout this massive volcanic cone land mass. Huge old cannons and guns, as well as a stellar view of Auckland right across the water.

I also learned that Bastian Point, this nice little area that we often ride up to at the end of our group morning rides, was the other side of a lookout post across the water from where we were. There was a mine field, we discovered, that spanned all the way across the water there. Pretty cool! They tried to keep enemy ships and whatnot out of the harbour using those, as well as a huge net that they put across the water in the same spot. Nifty.

Anyway, we enjoyed exploring the area, in and out of underground rooms and tunnels, back out to the view. Really cool. Kyle took most or the photos, but I took just a few.














Pretty cool for a random afternoon excursion. We spent about two hours there.

Then we went around Devonport in search of some food, and enjoyed a little happy hour at one local spot. They apparently have a really nice looking breakfast menu, so well have to come back one morning and do breakfast. :) we enjoyed some beer, wine, and wedges.

Then we went elsewhere in search of actual dinner, cause that place was pretty pricey. We ended up eating at a local pub, which had some of the best service we've had at a restaurant! Kyle got a massive burger and I got a salad after having those wedges. Awesome food. I took some fun photos too....






















:). Good times!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch

Location:Devonport

Wasted wednesday

Hilight of my evening (besides seeing and spending time with mr Kyle :) who brought cake from his office home to share).....

GREEN mashed potatoes!!!!!!




That's right, green! Yes, I made them. I heard Michael, FOREVER ago, say something about how she put an avocado in mashed potatoes instead of butter, because it created the same creamy texture without the unnecessary calories. SO, I finally had an avocado, and an excuse to use it in potatoes! YUM.

Also, they are a mix of kumaras and regular potatoes, so not only are they green and avacado-y, but they're also a little sweet. :). Awesome! Very proud I remembered that. And thanks Michael for the suggestion!

Great ending to a frustrating day. Just wasn't motivated for some reason. Still got some substantial work done, but not like I had intended. Of course, I finally get engaged in what I'm doing toward the end of the day. oh well. Tomorrow is another day :) which will start off with another bike ride :).


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch

It's been 15 years...

:-/

Right this minute, I wish I was at home.

Today, it's been 15 years since my father's funeral. And I almost forgot.

It's so weird being over here, with the seasons different, and the places and people...time and events get away from you. But mom definitely didn't forget. It sucks...she was home alone today, and remembered that sad day. How could she forget? I wish I had been there.

Instead though, we had a little conversation over how grateful we are, at least for each other, our relationships with each other and our families, and where we are in our lives, despite the bad things that may have happened in the past. How grateful we are for the people that care for us in our lives, and those we care for in return. For the futures we have ahead of all of us, too.

Life is good...in fact, its REALLY good...and I think sometimes I need to be more grateful of how good it really is. Because time is short, and you never know what life might bring next.

Love you Mom.


And I love you Dad, and I miss you.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch

Spontaneous sunday

I love spontaneous days, and today definitely turned into one! Thank goodness the rain cleared from yesterday and actually left us with a really clear, sunny warm day.

About 9am we got up and headed to the Avondale market. Love it there, the place is huge! Like a big outdoor garage sale almost...or flea Market. Lots of new and used stuff for cheap. Kyle and I like going there, grabbing a coffee and wandering around. They have lots of locally grown fruits and veggies too, as well as a guy who makes fresh bread. So we got some fresh bagels, a couple loaves of bread, and a bunch of produce. Avocados (one of my new favourite things, I can cut them up and just eat them straight!), kiwis, and persimmons. Good stuff!

After finishing our round, and our coffees, Kyle suggested we head out to Titirangi and just see what's out there. Haha we saw this on the start of our walk:



He has a job out there with his office too, so we went over to check out the slip they are repairing. New Zealand has quite a few slips overall it seems like, all of the mountains and the rain it gets.

Anyway, this is what he is working on now:







Crazy, huh? So that is what he does at work! Well, sort of. :).

After checking out the slip, we hiked a short bit up to the top of.... I can't remember what it's called... But it had a fantastic view of Auckland. See!






You can see the sky tower...kind of



Cool, huh! Sorry the photos aren't amazing, I didn't have he camera, but the iPod was with me.

Well, we were hungry after that little hike, so we went to find where the locals ate. On our way to find lunch, we also found THIS guy just chillin in the parking lot!










How cool is he?! Huge too!

Anyway, we found this great little cafe that was serving EPIC coffees...in a BOWL. Kyle was all over that, so we got some!









Kyle's always happy with his coffee! Haha awesome.

After finishing those off, plus some grilled sandwiches, we took a drive to check out some more of the area, particularly the waterfront :)

Some of the homes out there are EPIC. And they have the steepest driveways ever!



It's like a freaking WALL! Crazy. Anyway, through he windy roads an neighbourhoods, we came across THIS










SO off we went to hike around!












This tree made it's Mark right trough the sand stone!






Awesome. We had a great time. I love days like this!!

Soon after, we headed home and went off for an evening run. It was really nice, but definitely going to be sore after it! Good end to the day.

Vancouver won in the hockey game we watched after dinner too! Haha, I liked their uniforms so I wanted them to win. Shhhhh! :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch

Location:Avondale, Titirangi

Lazy saturday

Ahhh what a good lazy day. Woke up early, for some weird reason, and then fell back asleep again, listening to the wind and rain outside. The weather here is definitely interesting in the winter, we get a lot of rain. It's often windy here too, gusting pretty heavily. Weather systems seem to move very fast, so I don't feel like we usually have too many days when it rains ALL day. But today was one of those days!

Kyle and I were goofing off and playing that scrabble game for a while in bed, and when we finally got up, he made an epic breakfast. And I mean epic. Eggs, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, onions...all mixed together, with toast and yoghurt with fruit on the side. Yum! He definitely knows how to do breakfast. :)

For the rest of the day we just hung out really. I did some design work, we both did some laundry, and relaxed. Kyle was looking up some trip information for our potential anniversary trip. Thinking about going to the Cook Islands, maybe Rarotonga......

It has been great! Haha Kyle made a great pasta dinner too (we have left overs for days after how much food was made for breakfast and dinner!), and now we are relaxing on the couch watching Bolt :).

Good day :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch

Location:Parnell

Happy Friday

Well, yesterday was a pretty good day. Got two of my longer shots on this episode finished. I could have finished all of my longest shots, but i just wasn't in the mood to get into working with the bees, so luckily my other shots got assigned and I did a few of those. Only have a solid 750 frames left for next week. Not bad! :).

Anyways, end of the day went well, and we saw a screening of the finished Robot and Monster episode during happy hour. Then hung around the office chillin with people until Kyle picked up Kate and I.

We dropped Kate off, and headed out to a spontaneous dinner at a nice little Italian restaurant down the street. It was REALLY really good. Veal Marsala, with red wine, and then tiramisu for dessert :). Yum!! When we finished, Kyle mentioned going to check out the local piano bar up the street, so off we went.

Awesome fun. Two guys playing the pianos and singing some great music. Elton John, Eric Clapton, Eagles, etc. Everyone was up and dancing by the end. I was trying to get Kyle up to dance, but he wasn't feeling it. Next time, he won't have a choice. Haha. Anyway we had a great time. Then as we are leaving, one of the pianists was outside with his wife, and they struck up a little conversation with us. Really nice people. So we will definitely going back! :)

Good times.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch

Location:Parnell

Workin out

Well, so far so good with workouts this week. Surfing Sunday, ran my first hilly 10k on Monday in months, and swam today. Nice! Sore from it all too. Tomorrow I'm cycling with the group and maybe running Friday. Pretty good!

Work was slow today, but still got a good amount done.

I'd say that calls for a steak and mashed potato/kumara dinner!




Moms mashed potato recipe (thanks mom), and Kyle did the steaks. NOM!

Time for some more scrabble, and bed (gotten addicted to Word With Friends on the iPod. :) )


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch

Location:Parnell