odd day

I'm feeling frustrated and that's always a good time to post,

 

 

maybe an unwise time,

but let's throw caution to the wind and ride this sucker.

 

Where do I start?

It's been an odd day.

It's my fulla's birthday so that was a good start,

if somewhat underwhelming start,

as in I was more excited about giving gifts than

he was about receiving the particular gifts I chose with care.

Well not quite,

he loved the men's personal grooming set with nose hair trimmer,

and he liked the blue wireless mouse,

but my master piece,

tickets to see the Laughing Samoans,

my fulla's all time favourite comedians that are still alive.

I'm sure he will be more excited when we get to the show in six weeks time

but I wanted him bouncing off the roof now,

not in six weeks.

Still the nose hair trimmer was a hit.

 

Then I got a phone call from my mother.

The last few weeks or months have been a bit tense between us.

I read a quote yesterday about organising your wedding:

Don't fight with your mother. The relationship between the daughter and the mother can be difficult during the planning. The mother always think it's the daughter's wedding but that it's the mother's party. So it's incredibly important to maintain that connection between mother and daughter to make it into a fun, productive wedding instead of the struggle filled with fights.

 

 

Well we didn't actually fight but my mother opted out of the planning,

probably because she wanted to be more involved,

but she opted out in the second week of planning,

we didn't even have a date by then.

Then she complained that she hadn't been included.

I do have family that usually sides with her who confirm my side of this story.

 

Anyway, I digress.

This morning she phoned because last Friday

she had a go at me,

throwing out some pretty seriously nasty quotes from other family members

to suit her point of view and ill temper.

 

She has been unwell and is not happy, at all,

which is why I had left work early to pick her up

to take her to her chemist to collect her medication.

That is leave work early,

drive to the other side of town,

past the chemist,

to her house,

back to the chemist,

then back to her house,

all in the Friday evening rush hour at the end of my work week.

It was probably made it worse that I refused to answer her

cause I'm done fighting over things that really are not her business

or things that she can not express in a adult manner.

(adult manner does not mean naked or x-rated,

I just had a flash of one of my mature in age, not in conduct workmates laughing at that term).

Anyway she apologised,

which I think may be the first time ever she has done that to me.

She has done the "I'm sorry but..." type thing before.

Or the classic apologie with a side of insult of "I'm sorry you feel that way but..."

 

So I come to work,

when all I really want to do is stay home and cook with my new recipes for the giant marrow my (different, more mature) workmate gave me.

I'm not sure why he gave it to me but

I'm enjoying the challenge of finding something to do with it.

 

That and play Farmville2,

all day.

 

 

I get to work and notice that I could do with a face wax.

I get to work and my office is a mess.

I get to work and can't get the air con at the best temp.

I get to work and need to do an asset audit on items in my work car.

Of the four assests that should be in my car, I have two.

 

Maybe just being at a job that should be cool but isn't quite is my frustration.

 

#firstworldproblems

 

Now excuse me I have to go buy my husband a birthday cake.

I thought he didnt want one.

It turns out he just didn't want a yummy marrow chocolate cake

so he will have to have a cheapo store bought sponge.

Icing if he is lucky.

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't all bad

in fact work today was pretty fab.

I got to work early and

the first hour was pretty hideous.

I kept reminding myself that I am lucky to have a job

which is a bit silly cause NZ isn't really having a serious recession.

I had a good first day of the work year meeting with Henery.

Tinky and I lolled in the park for lunch.

Which was a bit stinky cause Methven is an ag town

so you never know what kind of smell you are going have waft past.

Today was just fertiliser I think.

Then Emz turned up.

I knew she was coming but had kind of forgotten 

by the time she did turn up.

We walked down the street in the sun to Cafe 131

and sat outside only to have countless noisy tractors with trailers,

noisy trucks with trailers and even a silent pennyfarthing bike (without a trailer) go past us.

Emz got to tell me her travel plans.

Off to Oz to visit her two sisters,

then to Alaska for a month to watch the Northern Lights

and bears with tourists.

She'll be with the tourists not the bears.

Then she has a job in Cork, Ireland on a dairy farm for a year.

How exciting is all of that.

Emz will have the best time free of all responsibility

and family and with lots of plans of visiting France and Italy.

If she can keep from falling for the Irish boyos.

When I got back it was time for afternoon tea.

I did actually do some work today.

At afternoon tea I walked in to

wee Alaya writing Happy Birthday Sara

on the newly painted whiteboard walls.

They are like normal colour and normal wall but

 with clear whiteboard paint on them

so you can write and rub out stuff.
It's a scaary when you first write on the wall,
we are well brung up in our office.

Then there was a yummy chocolate cake with

those nasty non-blow out candles.

Rosie tried to help and used the cake to snuff out the candles

when one caught fire, then another, after they had been blown out already

and were lying on the plate.

Then there were presents!

A beautiful aqua bowl with a dip bowl attached inside.

Very earthen and plain

just the way I like.

And rosemary and lavender bath salts

(which I've just used and I smell great)

and a delightful tin with a cool body loofah thingy that isn't a loofah

and yummy body wash.

How lucky am I?

More than the presents and cake and wall art,

it's the love with which it was given.

I feel cherished by my workmates

and that's how we roll in the Young Farmers office.

It's not actually my birthday today.

It was about 10 days ago

but cause its between Christmas and New Years

there is usually nobody about

and mostly people are holiday busy with their lives so forget.

I had a great day on the 30th.

Lovely gifts

(Rush perfume, red earrings, plastic containers and

a divine perfectly white linen tablecloth and napkins)

a relaxed day with a simple supper with family

and they had driven 45 minutes into Christchurch,

battling the sale shoppers to get me a gluten free chocy cake.

No dramas or issues just a pleasant, peaceful day.

But to have two birthdays.

What a delightful day it turned out to be!

birthday party

Saturday night was a party, party night.

Tinky and Rozzy had a combined 30th birthday in Tinky's woolshed.

This is Tinky

(she's slight older than 30)

 This is Rozzy

(she is not quite 30)

For those of you who don't know what a woolshed party is

it's an excellent venue for a party for many reasons

Let's see

there's the space, there is a 'stage', room for chairs and dancing (girls only of course),

room for an ice filled bath tub and tables of food,

best of all there is places for kids to run wild close enough for the adults to hear but out of sight.

There's even loos.

This is not Tinky's woolshed

There would be photos but I forgot my camera and then couldn't get my flash as new phone to work

but this basically what Tink's shed looks like except with out the shearers, rousies or sheep.

Hers was decorated with fairy lights and balloons in Waikato colours.

Being a Waikato girl, Rozzy was staking her claim. 

Very controversial move on her part. 

Cantabrians do not like other teams' colours anywhere near theirs.

Rozzy had to pull birthday girl rank.

The cutest thing about the party was Tink's wee boy Harry

who spent a few hours pretending to be a shearer.

Opening the gate, dragging an invisible and very small sheep to the mat,

letting the gate slam and giving the imaginary hand piece a yank.

Then granddad would rousie for him and sweep the make believe wool away.

No imaginary sheep were shorn, I think they may have been let loose in the shed

by the look of a few of the punters when I left.

There were few unsteady fellows tripping over imaginary sheep.

Happy kind of birthday Tinks and Rozzy!

happy day

Happy birthday Dad!

I can't remember having this photo taken so it must be a couple of years old but that's my dad, Greg and it's his birthday today for the 69th time, though I suppose it's really the 70th if you count his actual day of birth.

See I look like him and yet I'm the spit of my mother - how weird is that?

It was my birthday and I

laughed and wanted to!

There were balloons...

and pin the tail on the donkey...

then birthday cake with candles...

all before 9am...

with family and friends...

and a bowl of fresh fish from the lake...

lots of chocolate and DVDs as it was dark and stormy day...

fresh raspberries and brandy snaps...

ahhh a wonderful day!

'tis the season... for birthdays

So weird thing (amongst many) about my family is that we tend to be born at the same time of year, the best and worst time of the year too...

December

The birthday season starts with the beautiful, smart and sporty Mem - December 3rd she turned 14 and you how important that birthday is, the threshold of becoming very useful to her family and neighbourhood... yes she can babysit!

Next is Mags - her birthday is December 12th.

December 12th happens to be a very popular birthday date and I knows about 10 people born that day and many seem to be in a similar age bracket as Mags. She can also babysit.

Next on the December birthday roll is ......

Neps!

The very next day, the 13th is Neps birthday.

He too could babysit but he is quite busy caring for an entire Ward.

Then a bit of a lag, much to Red Mum's relief until we get to Kade, our newest addition.

The Stealth Bomber turned 1 last Saturday, the 19th.

An almost Christmas surprise for Nep and Red Mum (you gotta come up with a nickname!) and Mem, Hannie and Tommy Te (and the rest of us). That's the Stealth Bomber in the middle but he doesn't look like baby Mr Blobby now. He can be babysat..anytime I'm sure.

Then it's Pippapotamus and Joshua Stick Snake's turn on the 20th. Both very sweet and thoughtful people who like talking on the phone, at least to me, must be the birthdate!

Here's Smeggy, Joshy and Samu - a wee while ago - send new photos Nahiree!

And the semi-famous Pippapotamus..

This is a very recent pic. Pippapotamus will feature on roadtrip posts in the near future...and still plays with dolls but in an arty way.
Then there would have been my Pop's birthday on the 25th but his birthdays stopped sometime ago. There is way more famous fulla than my Pop and the 25th is his commonly recognised birthday and this is my favourite picture of him with his mum by Liz Swindle

And then there are a bunch of cousins who I've lost track of and then there is me.

on the 30th... yes the 30th of December... enough said.