Batteries

I try really hard to not compare NZ and the US so that I can give my life here a real chance at succeeding. Never mind that the cost of living is much higher and the salaries are much lower, never mind that customer service is on island time and most of all, never mind that we don’t have central heating or insulation in our homes. Like I said, I try not to dwell on the negative….

I don't mind paying extra for meat, butter, milk, and vegetables because it tastes far better here, BUT the fact that a 4 pack of AA batteries are $11.89 is appalling! That’s about 3 bucks a battery! I mean really, come on people. I can get a 10 pack of batteries from Target for $6.99. That’s right, 70 cents a battery.

I can usually cope with things being so expensive here but, every once in a while something like the price of batteries just blows my mind.

(The photo was taken from my phone. Sorry it's so fuzzy.)

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Another birthday here and gone.

I was surprised by the number of emails, e-cards, texts, facebook messages, phone calls and visits (workmates stopping off at my desk to wish me a happy birthday and/or placing surprises on my desk) I received for my birthday. One of the things that was truly an unexpected surprise was receiving flowers from Holming’s longest and dearest friends, Zoltan and Emma (Photo is above). It’s just what I needed to lift my spirits about being away from home on my birthday and about living here in New Zealand. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by such good people whether I’m here or there.

Thank you all for being the good people in my life.

Who looks more pitiful?

Yes, that is me under all those layers. With a 10.5 °C temperature,
winds up to 46 km/h and random heavy showers, the show must still go on. Sunny needs to pee and I need to take him. So, we both had to wear our rain coats. Too bad we're not matching.

New Zealand is the third fattest nation

"New Zealand is the third fattest nation in the developed world, a report has found.

The obesity rate among adults in New Zealand in 2007 was 26.5 per cent with only the United States at 34.3 per cent and Mexico at 30 per cent higher, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Health Data Report 2009 released this month said."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10584163

OMG..... I am Mexican American and living in New Zealand....... Should I be concerned?

Does this make me a kiwi?

I finally did it! Does this make me a kiwi? Probably not but it makes my husband a very happy man.

A quick description of a New Zealand meat pie is that it's a hand-sized pie containing minced meat and gravy. Hey, America has pot pies, the UK has steak pies and we have meat pies.

In all the years I have been visiting New Zealand, I didn't understand what was so appealing about buying a packaged meat pie from a dairy (corner liquor store), a petrol station or a sports game. I mean what possible nutritional value can be found in such a thing? None, right?

Wrong! Thanks to Donna Hay and her magical art of cooking, and my added touch, I have finally made my husband a good quality homemade meat pie that is healthy.

Ingredients: 1Tbsp olive oil; 1 onion; 1 potato; 1 1/2 kg eye fillet; 1Tbsp tomato paste; 4 cups beef stock; 1/2 cup red wine;m 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 2 Tbsp cornflour; 1/4 cup water; sea salt & cracked black pepper (if you want a copy of the recipe email me)



Aren't they cute?!?!?!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary!

Well, happy 1 year anniversary. I can't believe that I left home a year ago. Unbelievable. To refresh everyone's memory, we moved here to be closer to Holming's family since he had been away for 13 years. We hoped to develop a closer bond. The other reason we moved was for a better quality of life. Healthy living, better quality of food and a more relaxed environment.

We don't quite have the bond that we had hoped for yet but everything else is going quite well. We'll keep working on the family bit, it will happen. I just come from such a strong family background where I actually enjoy seeing and talking to my mom, siblings, aunties and cousins, it's just such a different family lifestyle here. I so appreciate the continued bond and connection I have with my family, no matter how far away I am. Thanks!!!

Our lifestyle is a lot simpler here, which is good for us. Holming was convinced I would get hypertension before I was 40, but now that we have moved here I am a lot calmer and not so intense. I must say that I still apply every ounce of passion that I have into everything that I do. That's just me. I just don't have expectations of the outcome which has mellowed me right out.

So I had to move all the way to New Zealand to learn not to have any expectations.

Holming, on the other hand, has turned into a Leslie. Ha! He seems to stress more and always worries about my happiness. Poor guy. He's finally home and all he can hope for is my happiness. Honey, I'm happy as long as we are together.

With all that said, even though I have found happiness here, I still miss my family (even though we talk all the time), I miss San Francisco and I miss my friends. Thank you all for the support over the last year. I wouldn't have made it through the year with out.

I love you all!
xoxoxoxo

Afro-Cuban Dancing in New Zealand

Holming and I came across advertisement for a Cuban Carousel Dance Show a couple of months back. Being lovers of Latin Jazz and Latin Dance (and also desperate for some culture), we decided to buy a couple of tickets. We thought we would make a date night out of it...go to our favourite restaurant, watch a show and possible play a few hands of blackjack, since the show was at Sky Tower (the casino).

We went to Hammerheads, which is our favourite place to eat when we want to spend a lot of money. But this time we had a voucher for a free main dish, that’s $40 off the bill already. He had seafood chowder and seared tuna, I had a rocket salad with the snapper fillet. Note to self.... appetizer not required. The food is worth every penny (we don’t have those here in NZ but, you know what I mean), whether we have a voucher or not.

Went to the casino to kill some time. As we wandered down an aisle Holming decided to play a 2c machine. We sat down and put $5 in. He picked maximum bet which, we realised after we hit the “spin” button, was $4. Some pictures came up and the counter started going up. We thought it might stop at $20, but it kept going to $40, then $60 and finally stopped at $80. Not bad for a single bet! Mama didn’t raise no fool. We took the money and bought a drink.

So finally it’s show time. The show started 30 minutes late and was not worth the wait. Where should I start? Let’s see...was it the cheesy low-grain video playing in the background, or the really bad Cuban accent, or the horrible sound that sounded like a car stereo with the bass blown out?? There was also the dancer who was supposed to be some African God doing something resembling a Maori dance...he should have just done the Maori dance instead....or maybe it was all the white female dancers that looked like cheerleaders doing a routine when they were trying to dance earthy Afro-Cuban style. We stayed for 30 minutes...only because we were hoping to see something authentic. We got home and looked up this show on the internet, to find that they are a New Zealand dance company with mostly New Zealand and Australian dancers. We should have done our homework before getting excited over experiencing some real Latin culture.

Although we were disappointed with the show, we had a great dinner, stayed up way past our bedtime and won 80 bucks.