I think everyone should watch it over and over until they find themselves saying these things with confidence, too.

First there was that little problem of not having money which definitely puts a stopper on trying to buy things. As most intelligent people realize, having money and having a credit card are two extremely different things. Being the intelligent folk that we are we wanted to wait until we actually had the real money.

The other factor stopping us from our shopping trip was the fact that we live in such a small town that every time we want to do some actual shopping we have to drive a couple hours. When the heck do we have the time to do that being that we each have a full time job (and sometimes we even work on the weekends). Also, New Zealand seems to not want to keep their stores open very late at all compared to what I’m used to. If I even tried to leave after work I wouldn’t even get there by the time the stores closed.

Even when we do find the time to go, this costs us a great deal in gas which brings us back to problem number one. Petrol (gas) prices in NZ are about $2.20 per litre. That’s the equivalent of about $8.14 per gallon. With the currency conversion that’s $6.62 USD per gallon. You probably don’t feel so bad about paying what you pay for gas anymore, do you? Well, maybe not. I definitely feel bad for complaining about gas prices when I lived in New York.

I am slightly off topic, though. My point is that Josh and I finally did go shopping. We got some money and allotted some time and away we went. Yay for us!

I couldn’t help myself and went a bit crazy in the office supplies aisle. I got a bunch of great things for my classroom – some of which I probably didn’t need but will definitely use and some of which I truly needed.

Josh picked out these great new things for out kitchen. It was what he went there for, really, because there was a sale and this was some great cookware that we got. He also talked me into getting another knife (the man loves his knives) and got that cool metallic knife rack you see mounted above the stove. That little green one that you see there is the knife I have dubbed MY KNIFE. Josh’s mom gave it to us last Christmas and I love it so much. I use it for nearly everything even when I probably should be using a knife that is more appropriate for what I am cutting. I am not very good in the kitchen but at least I know when I feel comfortable using a certain kitchen tool. I’ll let Josh wield his big knives.

I picked out this new bedding set. We needed a winter duvet (blanket) and new sheets and pillowcases so I got tan/brown ones to match. I am extremely happy with it but I don’t think Josh likes it very much. He mentioned right away that we will need multiple sets and it is a good start. Oh well. I guess it’s a little girly but at least I didn’t get one with pink and purple flowers or hearts on it – it could have been WAY worse. The middle just has a small design with little blue birds.

What does your bed look like?

http://www.anzac.govt.nz/significance/traditions.html

The job actually ended up turning into a disaster and took almost the entire day instead of just being a quick job (even though it was a bit out of the way) and not only was the sun going down but Josh was a bit exhausted from spending all day on a job that just decided to go wrong at every turn.

Well, we were already out of town so we took a shorter ride than we originally planned still in search of an adventure. Josh pulled up to a tiny local restaurant near the water and surprised me saying he wanted to take me out to dinner but continuing with the day’s luck it was closed for a private function.

Caity and Josh never give up, though. We were not going to come all this way and go back with nothing! That’s when we saw the sky all lit up with the most gorgeous colours. We wandered down to the water which was only a block away from where we were.

You can never go wrong with a walk along the beach.

This little gap was actually quite wide. Josh hopped across the rocks with no problem at all but I had to jump and grab his hands to get across and I almost didn’t make it without getting my sneakers all wet. It’s not warm here, guys. Remember it’s the opposite seasons and we’re going into the colder weather. As the sun is going down, it’s starting to get really cold especially because there are mountains right on the other side of us.

Oh, and on the way back, my sneaker definitely went right in and my socks got wet. Oops.

Josh loves to take artistic pictures of the patterns on the sand, so I let him.

At high tide, the water is past these rocks but it’s low tide right now so you could walk to them.

There’s Josh, admiring the sea as I admire him and take his picture. :)

These clouds are insane. The visibility is so amazing that you can actually see so far that you can see clouds disappearing over the curvature of the earth. My camera really can’t do it justice. It’s so incredible. Those are the clouds’ shadows up there.

I told you the mountains were right there!

:)

Their relationship has taught me about love and given me insight about the more delicate things in life.

Their love for each other and for me and my sister has been something I have never once in my life doubted. I’ve always believed in it and been proud of it – and proud to call them my parents.

Okay, so maybe that’s a little bit of a lie. COME ON, DAD! Why are you taking this picture here? This has nothing to do with New Zealand! We didn’t even eat here! You look like such tourists! You’re EMBARRASSING ME! GOSH!

Seriously, though. I love them to pieces. They’re great. :)

I decided that since my parents were coming to visit, I would ask them to bring me over a few bottles of nail polish in their suitcase. Hey, they asked me if I wanted anything and that’s what I wanted (as well as some girl scout cookies, of course).

My parents brought me a TRUCKLOAD of nail polish. They wouldn’t let me pay them back for any of it either and used the cheeky “it’s your birthday present” card (my birthday is in May) as well as claiming that some it was from other friends and relatives, too.

So, my friends, here is my new and amazing nail polish collection. :)

China Glaze: Aquadelic, Fuchsia Fanatic

OPI: I Don’t Give A Rotterdam, No Room For The Blues, Thanks A Windmillion, Alpine Snow, OPI Ink, Mod About You, DS Radiance

Zoya: Lotus, Meadow, Adina, Skylar

Zoya: Chloe, Faye, Opal

OPI, China Glaze, and Zoya were ones I was dying for. I couldn’t believe how many they got me! Then, they went even more crazy. They got me a whole bunch of Sinful Colors polish from Rite Aid where my sister works (20% Discount, yay!) and brought all of them for me, too!

Last but not least, don’t forget Seche Vite which was the last thing I asked for. It’s over $30 a little bottle over here in New Zealand so I begged for my mom to find it and bring it to me from the USA. It’s the most incredible top coat I’ve ever used. It is seriously the most amazing thing I’ve ever put on my nails. I’ve only used it twice and I’m already stressing over how I’m going to get my next bottle. I love it THAT much. Liquid Nail Crack should be its translation but Seche Vite is actually French for “Quick Dry.” I guess that works, too.

Here’s a shot of my entire collection! The few polishes I already owned are thrown in there, too.

I feel like I could run my own nail salon now.
What colors would you use first? :)

Right now, I’m rocking OPI – Thanks A Windmillion

My parents and sister left New Zealand today and flew back to New York.

They have been visiting for about 10 days and we had nice time while they were here. I was sad to see them go again. It can be really hard sometimes living so far away. If I could move New York and New Zealand closer together, I certainly would.

My original plan when they left was to do a bit of “retail therapy.” You know, get some shoes and maybe a nice dress for myself. I wandered around the mall by the airport before taking the long 4 hour drive home but nothing was catching my eye. I wandered in and out of three different shoe stores and not one single shoe seemed to belong on my foot. I walked through different clothing stores but everything looked ugly. One thing looked nice for a moment but when I looked at the price tag I decided that it was ugly, too.

So I decided to get a haircut instead. I am happy with my decision. Plus, I didn’t have to carry back a bunch of bags. If anything, I’m a lot lighter.

My parents brought me a bunch of nail polish over from America, too. Nail polish in New Zealand can be SO expensive. OPI nail polish is $26 a bottle (you can get it for $8 a bottle in New York) and Zoya is not even really available over here. I couldn’t believe just how much nail polish they brought me. I asked for some nail polish but my parents brought me a truckload of it! I’ll save that for another post because that will be massive!

Even my cat seems a lot more lonely without my family around. :(

We have been having a blast even despite my incredible talent to get sick pretty much right when they got here. I had to end up going to the doctor while they were here and I even had a fever on Easter. At least I’m feeling better now, though. The doctor gave me some sweet drugs.

Josh was able to do some fun things with us like eat meat pies and take sweet scenic boat rides but unfortunately he had to go back to work. A plumber’s vacation is unfortunately not as long as a teacher’s vacation. Oh well.

Hopefully now that I’m feeling a bit better I can actually enjoy the last few days a bit better instead of feeling like I want to just want to crawl up in a ball. I’ve got some fun events planned for us to do that I’m pretty excited about.

I tease my family a lot – especially my mother – but I will miss them all when they have to go back to New York.

I bet they’ll miss this place, too. Who wouldn’t?
Oh, and I guess they will miss me.