Tis The Season

Today I decided that it is finally time to start playing Christmas music all day everyday until the day after. We got our Christmas tree for free from some guys who were going to chop down some trees and volunteered to get trees for whoever wanted them. So Mairi ordered one for us. Unfortunately, it was the wrong kind of tree and when Logan and I went to pick it up, it was already wilted and dying. Ha! So hopefully this weekend we will get to go hiking through the woods for our "perfect tree". I'm so excited! I LOVE Christmas time! It doesn't feel like Christmas here at all. It's warm and sunny pretty much everyday and I'm wearing shorts, flip flops, and tank tops everyday. Not to mention laying out on the beach in a swim suit and getting sunburnt. It definitely beats getting frostbite though!

The last time I actually wrote in my blog was way before Thanksgiving so I'll just start at Thanksgiving dinner. We agreed to have an "American Thanksgiving" in exchange for a "Kiwi Christmas". So I emailed my mom and got as many of her famous Thanksgiving recipes that I could think of. Unfortunately the supermarket here didn't carry some key ingredients so I only got to make a few dishes and had to put a kiwi spin on the others, but it turned out to be spectacular! All the flatmates raved about my kumara version of sweet potato casserole... it was a little different, but not disappointing at all. Thanksgiving was followed by a game of pictionary that didn't last too long because my team got BEAT BAD. Fun night nonetheless.

Andrew's birthday was on the 2nd so we went out that night and celebrated by watching our friends Shay and Pearly play at a bar in town called Pub on the Wharf. Logan took his pipes in and got to play along with them on a few songs. I have some videos that I will have to post on youtube for all to enjoy.

Monday after work, it was sunny, hot, and I had my swim suit on laying out on the beach catching some afternoon rays. Mairi, Anna, and Henry came over to enjoy with me for a while then we headed to the dock. I really wanted to try new jumps and flips off the dock into the freezing lake... like really literally the water is SOO cold! You wouldn't be able to survive more than 10 minutes in the water without suffering from hypothermia. Anyway, I convinced Henry to a backflip first and then I started with a back dive first and eventually worked my way up to doing a couple of back flips. The water was so cold... as soon as I hit the water I swam as fast as I could to get out! There were a bunch of tourists around who were all bundled up in their coats and scarfs- not used to the cold air but warm sunshine- that were taking pictures of us jumping in... thinking we were crazy of course. One girl from Taiwan took some photos of me and was SO excited to show them to me... pretty entertaining.

On Tuesday I had a day off from work and just when I turned on the TV thinking I had nothing to do and wishing I was doing something, Logan called and asked if I wanted to go canyoning with them. I didn't even hesitate to say YES! I jumped up, got my swim suit, and cycled into town as fast as I could. I got there with just enough time to grab a veggie wrap from Subway and jump in the van to go. It was AWESOME! I had so much fun in the canyon... I can't wait to do it again! I will post pictures below.

So work is going well. I got a job doing retail sales at Billabong in town. One of our girls just quit to move back to Australia, so yesterday I got "promoted" to visual merchandiser. Just means that I am responsible for all the displays in the store and making things look pretty. I'm not sure how I got voted for that job, but oh well. I referenced earlier how I cycled into town.... I bought a bike that I ride everyday into town since Logan uses the van to drive to work. It's about a 20 minute ride... 15 on a good day. I'm sure I look really ridiculous riding into work everyday- but I figure if I have to work inside everyday being NOT active, then I can at least get a quick workout in on the way. :)

I'm still loving and enjoying everything about Queenstown. It's such a beautiful place with so much to do and so many people that are loving it just as much as I am. I miss everyone back home. Hugs and Kisses! xoxo

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Picture Post

Bouldering at the Jardines

Logan

Andrew doing tricks on the trampoline at Billy's house

Mairi

Mairi and I at Billy's after our attempts at tricks

What else would you do with a kayak and trampoline??

Family dinner! Mexican night.

And a quick game of Pictionary. My team got beat BAD!

Queenstown!

It's my fifth day here in Queenstown and I absolutely LOVE it! Every morning I wake up to the most amazing view of The Remarkables. Even on a cloudy day like today, I can't get over how beautiful it really is. The weather has been perfect since I've been here... sunny, clear, slight breeze, 76.

Yesterday was the first day that I really feel like I got a taste of life in Queenstown. Andrew, Mairi, Logan, and I went into town to relax and lay out at the beach. When I say beach I mean the lake shore... just to clarify.  After an hour or so of direct UV rays thanks to the hole in the ozone layer above New Zealand, Andrew and Logan set up the slackline. It was really entertaining how many tourists would stop and take pictures of them... like it was a show. We decided that we would make an excellent circus and next time we're putting our hats out for money. With how my job hunt is going, I'm going to need that extra bit of change.

When Mairi and I started freezing due to the afternoon winds and the boys were done with the slackline, we all walked back to the car to get the boys prepared for their next adventure. Wet suits, check. Snorkel gear, check. Lake next to disc golf course, check. About an hour or so later, Mairi and I met up with Andrew and Logan along with their 10 rescued frisbees from the lake. What canyoning guides do on their day off... haha. Now we don't have to go spend 30 bucks on one frisbee! Woo Hoo!

My job hunt continues today once I make the 30 minute walk into town. But no complaints... it is starting to clear up and the mountains are looking spectacular again today.  Cheers everyone!

Farewell HP... NZ Get Ready!

I'm finally in the single digits! I went on a virtual tour of the house and also got to see the roomies, Andrew and Mairi. I have posted some pictures of the house for you all to see and of course I will take and post more when I get there. The views from the house are absolutely incredible.

As much as I'm trying not to stress out and start getting excited about leaving, it gets harder and harder as the 29th gets closer and there is still so much to get done. At least I will have a week to myself before I leave to get all the little things done that I am not able to do while I work during the day. Speaking of work, this is my last week at Hewlett-Packard and I am so glad. I will miss everyone here, all the amazing friends that I have made in the past 6 months, but I am ready to leave. It's been a great experience- got to meet great people, get "real world" experience, and make lots of connections across the US. Now it's time to live life and not worry about how much money I can make in a day's work.

Since I probaby will not post again on my last day, I will go ahead and say "Farewell Hewlett-Packard". Everyone behave yourselves in Vegas next month, hit those matrix, and when Hooper comes into town again - be careful at Cajun's.

View from the living room

From the deck

19 Days and Counting

Today not only marks the 19th day before my arrival in Queenstown. Things are finally starting to come together and slowly my to-do novels are shrinking down into managable lists. I have two weeks left of work (8 to be exact) and I'm trying to cram all of the things I have to get done into my lunch breaks and the few hours that I have to be productive when I get home in the evenings. Trying to sell pretty much everything you own is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be... and definitely time consuming! With 17 days to go until my departure, and a very long to-do list, I am starting to realize that I am ACTUALLY GOING TO NEW ZEALAND!

Stay tuned...