Back beach, the prelude

For those of you that have seen my photos of back beach in my other blog I guess I should explain why it was a special place for our anniversary.

When Hubby and I were corresponding via internet across the Pacific Ocean, he surprised me with the following photo.

(Yes, for those of you that are romantics at heart, like me, you can say it all together now....'awwwwwwwwwwwww!')

He called himself Naki on the forum we met on...hence, the name.

Yes, it was quite a surprise to get such a sweet gesture! And, it's so neat and tidy, too, so he got extra points for that. Those footprints are size 14's so you can imagine the size of his message.

It was at Back Beach where he carried out this bit of romantic stuff, so it was one of the first places I wanted to see when we got to Taranaki.

It will always be special because it helped him win my heart across the waters.

I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic. So, sue me.

Three years!

When I contemplated my move from KS to NZ, I looked at every turn expecting to find a serious reason not to go. My wonderful, close friends all supported me, never giving me any indication that they thought it was not a good idea--except for one friend's hubby who was convinced I was stepping into a white-slavery/cult/polygamy bad situation. But, I dodged that bullet to find a new, wonderful world.

My life here is great. I don't work outside the home, which gives me lots of time to bake cookies and cakes and breads (oh, my) and take photos. Since we have shared custody of the kids, we have them 4 nights (on Hubby's days off) then they are at their mom's 4 nights while he's at work. That gives me alone time that I really enjoy, even though I love being with them.Although everything I say is important, I don't expect Hubby to pay attention to every little thing I say (cuz men are like that ). And, more to the point, I didn't think he was even looking when I pointed to a black onyx ring in a sorta-goth store when we went in for computer stuff and said, 'Ooh, that's pretty' as we passed it, without even slowing down.

But, he surprised me big time!

Ladies,you may now oooh and aaaah aloud in jealousy at my 'anniversary' gift. Ta da...

Like any relationship, it's not always easy. We have our disagreements, but they seem to be less and less as we learn how each other ticks. So, I guess I'll stay and see how this chapter of my life unfolds.

My July 4th disappeared!

In 2006, I boarded a plane at the Kansas City airport about 3pm on July 3rd.When we touched down at Auckland airport, it was about 5am on July 5th. By my calculations, it was about 21 hours later, but that pesky international date line stole one of my days. I may need it back at some later point, but I don't know where the proverbial 'they' are holding it.

So, even though I have left the US, Hubby and I still celebrate the 4th of July. This will be the beginning of my third year here and I'm still comparing things...

Like debit cards. NZ is finally getting around to giving debit cards with checking accounts. Yes, there have been EFTPOS cards [that's 'electronic funds transfer, point of sale, I think] all along, but then maybe the English were always slow to be flexible.

I think the reporting has not improved since the early days, either. Lack of important details in an interesting story is still infuriating. (Although, I must admit that the first paragraph of a report of a gay bashing that ended with a banjo handl being shoved halfway down the dead guy's throat was amazingly full of facts )

The US is the place to be for movies because the 'recent releases' in the video store here are movies I rented before I got here.

They do have a few things, that I had not tried before, like schnitzel. And lamb was never anything available to try in the States. Score two points for the English.

In the US, the customer always gets a receipt for every bank transaction. Maybe I am not very trusting of corporations, but I feel like I am going to regret not asking for one some day.

Needing dehumidifiers -- which work marvelously, btw -- probably meant that everything English was waterlogged, which is a winter equivalent of summer humidity, which is a bad thing, no matter what the season.

Hmmm...maybe I have discovered some of the things lead to the colonies winning their independence.

Celebration!

WOW! It's my 100th post!

When I first started blogging, I never thought about the number of posts that I would make. It was just an occasional update for my friend back in the US and, here I am a year and a half later with one hundred of those puppies! Thanks for all the love and encouragement.

And, coincidentally, it's less than a week until we celebrate me being in New Zealand for 3 years! That's 15,000 photos in digital years!