Upside-Down Christmas

How did you spend your holiday?

Don't be fooled by that scenic picture. The Blue Lake was FREEZING! When I finally caught my breathe, I was swearing uncontrollably. After the 5th dive, it wasn't too bad and became tolerable.

Really it didn't feel like Christmas at all. Way too warm. I tried my best to be festive. I baked cookies, I decorated a tree, I went shopping and the entire time I wanted to wear my scarf and mittens.

I flew to Central Otago, South Island to join my friend Mel and family for Christmas. I was delighted by the warmth, sun, and lack of wind. It really is summertime . . . .in other parts of the country. I love being on the farm with the Kane family. I have dubbed them 'family away from my family.' The food was sooo good and I ate like a teenage boy. I think I gained 5kg from all the chocolate, wine, and Bernie's homemade bread.

On Boxing Day (Dec 26th) we were four-wheeling in the countryside near Lake Onslow. Gorgeous! I felt like I should have been in LCD with Fromboluti to capture the colors. We drove through the hills, encouraged Bernie to drive through a wide stream of unknown depth by chanting "4-wheeling! 4-wheeling! 4-wheeling," and picnicked in the valley.

Everyone's Speights up in the air for the South Alps!

"We all live . . . "

. . in a Yellow Stadium, Yellow Stadium, Yellow Stadium." I love Phoenix chants. And I love attending games with Ben and Ang even more.













Ben cracks me up in how much he gets into the games. Ang and I just do some girl chat "oh what are you doing for New Years . . .yadda yadda yadda . . . sure I'll have a donut", while Ben is screaming "You're so shit it's unbelievable" and "You dirty Aussie Bastard" along with 7000 other men.

Ben's favorite is "D-I-S-C-O, DISCO!," a collective chant followed by dancing in the stands to keep warm, but with a variation for the southern hemisphere. "D-I-N-G-O, DINGO! A dingo ate your baby, dingo ate your baby!"


This time the Phoenix WON! And the crowd celebrated bareback swinging their towels over their heads. Glad I got to see them win one. My Phoenix experience is complete.

Red Rocks Coast

On my days off from wonderful Gordon's, I team up with my fellow American co-workers and head out to see the sights of New Zealand.

This week, Red Rocks Coastal Walk near Owhiro Bay outside of Wellington. Three hours of trekking along the rocky coast while swatting away the blood sucking sand flies from nibbling on my ankles.

Apparently, it is illegal to kill New Zealand sandflies within a National Park. They are indigenous species. Oops! Sorry about that . . .just my Darwinism instinct.


The best finds of the day; A clean, but abandon tub & McDonald's VIP pass. Wha??













Scariest sight of the day: A group of guys drinking beer with a semi-automatics in hand. Um . . . i started walking faster.

Gordon's Staff Room . . .no joke.

I was speechless.

Thanksgimme some Kiwi-urkey Day

Two days of food preparation and Thanksgiving, affectionately renamed "Kiwi-urkey Day", went very well.

It was a great night and I am soo happy I was able to share it with old and new friends. We went around in a circle to give thanks and being abroad made it even more sentimental.

Naturally, I was a little nervous being head chef, I've always been kitchen wing-man. Thank goodness Kiwi's eat turkey for Christmas and the grocery stores have begun stocking them. Plus I had to cook for a small kiwi and ex-pat army.

After one bite, it tasted like home. My kiwi friends lived the Thanksgiving dream; multiple helpings of dinner and dessert, people getting sleepy-eyed on the couch, and Sarany needing to change into larger pants. If only we had an American Football game on TV.