Homeward Bound

To some of you this might come completely out of the blue, others of you it won't...

I am moving home 😀🎉 home being Taranaki for those of you who are not sure where I call home these days.  And to be fair I call a few places home at the moment so if you weren't thinking Taranaki straight away you are forgiven.  Anyhoo... I have got a job in South Taranaki which I will be starting on Tuesday 7th April so I will be moving back over Easter weekend.  And before you ask where am I going to live, I don't 100% know yet.  I know where I am thinking of looking once I sell this place, but I am also aware I do like to change my mind so there is a chance I will end up somewhere else lol.

The job is being an EA to a general manager, and helping the executive team a bit as well, its at a iwi run health centre.  I think it will be a fun job, and the people that I have met, over Teams for a video interview and via email chats, are lovely.  I am very much looking forward to the move and the new adventure.

Got a few things to do here now of course, like figure out the whole listing a house for sale side of things, packing, catching up with friends for the last time while I'm here etc.  I am sure it will keep me busy and before I know it, it'll be time to move.  I will be sad to leave my current job as I really do like it, but it is time for me to leave HB so I am ok with it.

Not much else to report at this stage so shan't keep you any longer, just wanted to share my happy news really.  Have a wonderful day 💜

How to spot JB at a concert

So I just want to start off saying the concert was inside… so no wind or outside air temps were involved lol.

Went to see Rob Thomas last night (solo artist and also lead singer of the band Matchbox 20) in Wellington, and while the majority of the crowd were happy in single layers, there was me in three layers (tshirt, winter shirt and jumper) plus Jenny’s coat and my coat as blankets AND I was still shivering. And shivering enough that Jenny who was sitting next to me (but we weren’t touching) could feel me shivering. I know I know, my body has a broken internal thermostat, obviously 🙄😂 good thing I had my trusty usb chargeable hand heater with me, it warmed me up enough that I stopped shivering, yay.

The concert was good, Jenny def enjoyed it more than me but she is a way bigger Rob Thomas fan. I mostly came for the road trip and the chance to see my Welly friends (who are doing good btw, we had a lovely catch up before the concert). 

We are staying at Waikanae Beach and had a fun Welly public transport experience getting into town, starting with buses replacing trains for a chunk of the trip so the 1hr trip took just over 2hrs. Still worth it to stay out here though, for starters our trip home today is only gonna be 3hrs 🥳 and we didn’t have to drive in Wellington, total win lol. We wandered down to the beach yesterday, it was blowing a gale so we didn’t stay long, but it was pretty 🤩 

Some photos from my happenings the last few weeks

Too lazy to write heaps about what I’ve been up to so here are some pics with brief explanations. If you would like to know anything in more detail feel free to reach out 🙃 

Aunty Susan’s bear was a perfect hot water bottle looker-afterer during the day

It’s not every day your friends name is on a gallery sign 💜 such gorgeous work on display, very lovingly made

At my friend Betty’s wedding with Tiare 

Some new friends I made when Jo showed me around Hohepa in Clive

Beach fun with Elyse who visited from the States for a week. I went and read under a tree shortly after this while she paddled some more

Up Te Mata Peak, trying not to be blown away

Fred enjoying the view from up Te Mata Peak, she was not worried about being blown away lol

Off on an adventure, aka exploring Hobbiton after paying a fortune for the pleasure to do so… lol

Helping out by doing some washing in a hobbits home

Doing some desk work, still in the hobbits home

Helping knit some of the hobbits scarf, possibly the most fun part of the tour hehe

Picking up Elyse for the adventure, got our walking sticks ready so must mean we are prepared 😂 

Elyse giving driving on the left hand side a go

Lake Taupo

Going for a wander round Lake Rotorua with bro this morning(ish)

Boy has it been a while...

Fully intended to do a post before now but as per normal life happened and time went by faster than I expected or planned and now here we are at the shortest day of the year already.  Yay for me because it means the walk to work in the mornings will (in theory) only get brighter.  Of course being Hastings there will be those mega foggy mornings when you can't quite see to the other side of the road but for now those can be ignored lol.  I am just going to be happy about the it being slightly lighter each morning when I walk to work.  And I am enjoying that I am back to being able to walk to work (atlst most morning I do).

As some of you know my health has been doing it thing again, you know that thing, that thing where it reminds me I am not as well and healthy as I look.  It is never fun when it does it, and this time it did a solid number on me and knocked me an awful lot (I ended up needing just over a week off work, well technically the doctor said I needed more but I ran out of sick leave so went back).  I am slowing crawling my way back to my normal level of unwell, and am definitely closer than I have been for quite a while.  Its a nice feeling to be honest, though its also a little sad that where I am trying to get is still not what I would consider well but I will still be happy to get there.  Its the little things as they say, whoever they are...

Work is going well, I am still loving my role which surprises me a little (normally I get bored after a year, if not sooner).  I even am quite liking the surgeons I deal with which very much surprises me, I didn't think that day would ever come.  ED is still my fav department though, but then I see them in person more which I think has something to do with it.  Well that and one of the consultants answers my rather random questions when I have them, and that is always a bonus.  Not so sure about the last one though where she said it wasn't a weird question, paused then said for you...
My team also thinks I am very unique and I often get told I say the most random/entertaining things in conversation.  I don't see what is so random or entertaining about it, to me it's just things a normal person would say.  But they all seem to say things like that with kindness so I just roll with it lol.  Sides I like me too much to change and people always seem to think I think different so it would likely be a losing battle anyhow :)

I have had a rather large pause from crafting, see above where I have been unwell, it affected my energy levels so badly I havent been able to craft, or do anything other than exist really. But I am slowly getting back into it and am pretending I don't care about how delayed some of the projects now are.  And by slowly getting back into it I really do mean slowly, none of this spending the afternoon crafting like I used to.  But I will get there, eventually.  On the bright side my book reading is going extremely well and I have watched quite a few documentaries so it's not like I have just been sitting here just twiddling my thumbs lol.

For those who might have lost track of time this year, I have 6 weeks (minus 1 day) of being in my 30s.  Then it is on to the next decade for me.  Am I doing anything much for my birthday I hear you ask... well no, that requires having enough energy to make plans and know you can keep them which I have not been very good at this year (thankfully I have very understanding friends).  So on my bday I am going to have a very quiet lunch with a few good friends, then I will see my parents and brother a couple weeks after that for a birthday thing.  Just nice, quiet, small things this year.  But you can be rest assured that inside I will be celebrating like normal me, and I will be all excited and stoked that I have made it to another bday.  Ever since seeing someone comment that they are like video game levels and each bday is a level up I like to think of them like that to now :) and I am more than happy to keep levelling up hehe.

Well I think that is about it from me for now, hopefully it won't be quite as long between this and the next update as it was between this and the last one.  I hope you are all well and happy, stay warm my friends 💜💛💚

2024 in books

It is that time of year again, the time of year I let you know what my last year looked like in books :)

Total books - 74
Shortest book - 107 pages
Longest book - 582 pages 
Average book length* - 352 pages
Pages read* - 26,121 pages
*note the last two do not include the last 4 books I read, for some reason they tally the stats before Christmas which is not really a full year of reading but oh well.

This year I have done a graph that has previous years on it as well, just cos I wanted to.

In case the graph is too small to read properly here are the books read per genre for 2024:

Fantasy - 23

Sci Fi - 4 (one of those was the longest book)

Fiction - 19

Chick Lit - 12

Crime/Thriller - 8

Non Fiction - 8 (one of these was the shortest book)

Other - 0 (have included this cos its on the graph.  Other is either western or horror).

My superpower

I’ve decided, and hear me out on this cos it is probably going to sound like I’ve lost it, my superpower is getting sick. Told ya it would sound like I’ve lost it lol. But I’ve got reasons, maybe not great ones, maybe not even good ones, but there are certainly some reasons for this conclusion. Here we go…

1. A superpower is something only a few ppl have. And getting sick often and as badly as I seem to isn’t something that just anyone can claim. Most people probably only get laid low (like properly laid low, I’m not talking about a little cough and it’s oh I’ve got a bad cold kinda laid low, I’m talking the standing for any length of time greater than a few minutes is a mission and sitting unaided is a goal yet to be achieved kinda laid low) once every couple of years. Me, this seems to happen at least twice a year, if not more often. Therefore it’s like a unique gift (I’m looking on the bright side if you haven’t noticed already) and so I’m gonna call it a superpower. 
2. Superpowers bring out the best or worst in people, and I would say getting sick brings out the worst in me. I mean when I’m sick I do tend to swear at the world a lot, and at Glenny who goes into hiding so he doesn’t get disinfectant sprayed at the end of it. Does this make me a super villain if I go bad not good with my superpower… hmmm that is a cool pondering to be done. 
3. People with superpowers don’t share them. And no matter how hard I try no one around me ever seems to get as sick as I do and definitely not as frequently as me. Again, this is therefore a superpower. 
4. In my opinion superpowers teach you things, and I bet most people would have no idea how to work out what to make for lunch/dinner based on a mix of the food they have and how much energy they can expend and still be able to eat it before they need to rest, aka nap, again. Or even worse fall asleep while cooking, burn it and then have to start over (that ones the worst, obviously). And if you want to make enough for leftovers taking into account the energy it takes for all that (dividing the meal, finding lids and containers, getting them into the fridge etc). Doing the dishes is a whole separate adventure, and where possible you just cook stuff that allows you to reuse pots and pans, if you were wondering. 

So as you can see being sick is obviously my superpower, no question about it. Now I’m not saying getting sick often and bad would be my superpower of choice, but no one gets to pick their superpower in the comics and books and films so I’m not unusual there. Hmmm I wonder if someone will write a comic about me and my superpower… lol 

Just a wee update

I recently had a couple weeks off work and boy was it good.  Did I do much with my time off, ummm no not really but it was wonderful all the same :)

It started with me heading to mum and dads after work one Wednesday (Wednesday’s are now half days for me, for health reasons as I was tired of being tired, run down and sick all the time so we are trialling me having a pause mid week.  From my point of view it is going wonderfully and I didn’t need any sick days over winter which was amazing, esp as I had none left to take lol).  Then the next day (Thursday) I headed to Tokoroa to go to institute with mum.  The activity was indoor bowls and pool, turns out I quite like indoor bowls and might even look into joining a club over here at some stage.  Mum and I were teamed up for both activities, no idea who won the most indoor bowls games but mum and I won both games of pool which was cool.  

Pretty much the rest of my stay with mum and dad was just chilling and catching up.  We went through to Te Awamutu one day, and then on the Monday when I was heading home we had lunch with bro at the gardens in Taupo which is always a lovely place to chill in, was a bit cool that day though which meant we didn’t really wanna just hang out for too long.  I also went for a couple walks with pa which was lovely.

I don’t think I did much with my days at home… well other than reading, cross stitch, crochet, sewing and watching tv/dvds.  In other words I chilled out very well hehe.

Then I headed back to mum and dads for a night before heading to Inglewood for a friends wedding on the Saturday (21st if anyone is looking for a date reference).  I stayed with Aunty Susan which was, as always, very nice.  I arrived in good on the Saturday so I did the Windsor Walkway, all fully paved now which while nice was a bit weird.  There is something about walking on the road and watching for cars/vehicles that made it a fun walk.  After lunch I headed off to see Bridie and Paul get married, it was a lovely ceremony and very nice to catch up with everyone I knew (from both sides as I went to school with Paul, Bridie was my flatmate in NP).  The reception was through in NP and it was also a very good chance for me to catch up with my old workmates.  Great conversation was had, and no dancing cos we were chatting too much and I called it early as was tired.  Though in saying that Aunty Susan and I chatted till about midnight so I wasn’t exactly early to bed lol.

Sunday saw me catching up with friends in NP, then had dinner with Aunty Susan followed by watching a movie.  Headed home on Monday then just chilled on Tuesday.  Work on Wednesday was pretty good, I think going back on a half day is brilliant.  More than one person asked why I was going back for only 4 hours and why get up for that, personally I think its genius.  A full day is soooooo long when you have been off for a while and a half day is plenty of time to go through emails and respond to the important/urgent ones and catch up with goss you missed out on.  Then its home time and you can go chill.  See perfect planning hehe.

My friend Jo is visiting from the UK for a few days now so its been a good few weeks :) sadly she goes home, well back to Auckland then home, on Wednesday but I am sure she will be back again.  We have done all the important things so far, out for lunch, winery for a tasting and to read for an afternoon, Te Mata Peak (where we discovered we are not as fit as we thought we were), chilling and catching up.  Will go out for dinner tomorrow night, to my fav Indian place, and that is also an important to do thing I think hehe.

Hope you are all doing good, and yay for good sunshine weather :)

Sometimes the quickest route is not the funnest route

In the weekend I headed to Ohakune for a friends baby shower, mum and I decided to make a weekend of it so we stayed the night.  On the way over I took the quickest route, the Napier/Taihape Road.  And while there is nothing technically wrong with this road (well not by NZ standards I would say... its pretty pot holed but where isn't these days) it was not the funnest drive to do.  There are very few cars you will meet so its a pretty lonely drive, and I am pretty sure if anything happened you would be screwed as there is also likely no cell reception.  Not tested this as I was driving lol.  Got to Ohakune in pretty good time though, and then met up with mum and we headed to the baby shower.  Nothing wrong with the baby shower but I don't think I have been to one I have actually enjoyed yet, they are definitely things I attend out of obligation and nothing else.

On the bright side though, our accommodation was quite nice and we went to the most amazing place for dinner.  It was an Italian restaurant and they squeezed us in which was very nice of them, we didn't have a booking and I think we probably should have.  But wow did they do amazing food, and were very aware of the difference between gluten free and celiac which was great.  I also didn't think it was too expensive, was middle of the road I would say which was nice. It was called Osteria and I would highly recommend it if you are in the area.

After discussing it with mum I decided to go home via a different, longer route.  I was going to go via Taupo but then we realised that going via Fielding wasn't that much longer so decided to go that way.  I've done the Napier/Taupo Road enough recently and have a few more trips on it coming up, so no need to add another one in.  So South I headed on Sunday to get home, and it was such a wonderful trip.  Fred and I just chilled and followed our noses to figure out our way back to Hastings (no googlemaps needed for us hehe), we had good music cranked up (thanks Billy Joel, Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift and Imagine Dragons), and had no time we had to be back by so could stop whenever/wherever we liked.  We took some pics to share with you guys, and just cos we wanted to :) so I would say the longest route was by far better than the quickest route, atlst for me in the wknd it was.

It's been a while...

It has been a while since I last said hi to you all.  I could blame many reasons for this (busy, not busy so nothing to report, sick, tired) but I won't, it is basically just simple procrastination.  The whole oh I will post about that, but I'll do it tomorrow, then tomorrow oh I'll do it tomorrow or in the weekend and then one gets busy or sick and it never gets done.  But here I am now :)

So what have I been up to since the last post (which was apparently in January, wow that is a while)? Quite a lot most likely but lets see what I can remember...

In February I went Art Deco-ing with Jo and Steve (worked with Steve at EIT).  Was good fun, mostly centred around cocktails/mocktails lol.  We did go listen to the Navy band for a while which was fun till they swapped to the movie soundtrack music which we all decided while good wasn't really what we were there to listen too so went of in search of another drink.

In March Jenny and I went to NP to see Matchbox 20 (her) and Goo Goo Dolls (me).  It rained, I got sick.  That about sums it up to me lol.  Nah it was a real good concert, we left partway through Matchbox 20 who were the main act.  Just the weather wasn't the best, and it sucked sitting there knowing I was going to be sick from the night while trying to enjoy it but I think that is a me thing as the others didn't get sick.

March also saw me head home for a second time, this time to stay up the mountain with Bro and Pa for a few nights.  Again the rain made an appearance, so much so we cut the trip short by one night, and didn't really get any tramping done.  We did one walk on the mountain on our last morning, and one of the days we went into NP and wandered around Pukekura Park.  Once the men left I went and stayed with Bridie for a few nights which was nice.  Caught up with Dons one of the afternoons, took Little Ted sightseeing on another, and hung out with Bridie and Eva on Easter Friday then headed back here,  Little Ted very much enjoyed his first road trip and I think he is keen for more.

Early April saw me head over to Rotorua where the whole family went to see The Phantom of the Opera (the one thing that was left on my bucket list).  Wow!!! What a great performance.  I highly recommend Rotorua Musical Theatre (I think that's who put it on, or some iteration of that name) if they are putting on a show when you are in Rotorua, def go see it I would say.  And now that my bucket list is clear I am happy as.  Some people have said I should add new stuff to it but I am not going to, I like that I've done and dusted it before I even turned 39 hehe.

April was also the month I helped with a kids show at Aubyn Live, and made some new friends.  One 8 year old in particular seems to be a new friend.  Me and him mimed rock concerts and fights to the death backstage most nights so I think he has earned the title of friend.  Plus I am friends with his mum and now dad (his dad was backstage too, first time) so I know he has a good chance at being a decent human and kid lol.

Also went out to a couple wineries for meals in April.  Went to Crabfarm with work for a team lunch one Saturday.  It was lovely, as Crabfarm always is.  And we had a wander through the art shed afterwards which is always fun.  Too expensive for me, but you sometimes get good ideas for projects hehe.  Then another Saturday Steph and I went to Black Barn for dinner.  This was a splurge let's save and not worry what we spend dinner which we planned back in Feb.  So good, and so worth it.  We dressed up, and just treated ourselves for the evening.  Def glad we planned it with time to save though cos it wasn't cheap.  Will we do it again, yeah I think we will :) is nice playing fancy grown up every so often.

I also got the flu somewhere in amongst all that April stuff... so that was fun... not :( am mostly recovered now though which is awesome, took about 4 weeks to go through it all so please don't catch that one anyone, it wasn't fun.

Dad visited in May, did a few things around the place which I wanted done and a few that I hadn't gotten to do cos I had been sick on and off for what felt like forever.

Last Friday Beth and I took a day off and roadtripped to Palmy to go to Munch (a fully gluten and nut free cafe, Beth has a nut allergy) and go opshopping.  It was a wonderful day and we especially loved that only could we order whatever we wanted but that we could share food.  It's the first time we have been able to.  We had so much fun we are going to do it again on a semi regular basis hehe :)

Other than all that I have had the standard coffee catch ups with friends, dates with myself (mostly at my fav cafe or Indian restaurant).  And the equally standard nights at home crafting or reading away, or doing nothing but staring into space, or dancing with a bear, or watching stuff on tv, or you get the idea... lol.

Overall, other than being sick far too often, this year has been going all good.  Work is still going well, love my job much more than the previous one even when I am tearing my hair out cos the roster is looking horrendous.  It's still more fun, and the team is fantastic (most of the time) which is lovely.  Had forgotten what a nice supportive team can be like and how much better they make work when it's busy and also just on a general day.

Anyhow hope you are also all good.  Sorry for such a long post, but we are all caught up again I think :)

Hugs to everyone xx

No idea where the time has gone...

This post was meant to be a pre-Christmas how is your year going kind of post, then it was going to be a pre-new year wow where has the year gone post, and then it was going to be a new year we made it post and now its a well and truely in the new year post.  Atlst to me we are well and truely in the new year.  I feel like I have been in my new role for ages (I started on Monday so it's been 3 days lol).  It's not that I know everything I need to know already, cos I sure don't.  It just feels like the routine of the year is already there.  Is that a bad thing...?  I don't know, but I hope not.

So my year ended with me still not being able to do a full week of work thanks to post-covid fatigue or whatever you wanna call it.  And ok so I wasn't diagnosed with anything cos that would have meant seeing my doc and I didn't wanna be 'that' person.  Thankfully the two long wknds (which I spent very chilled) and the two short weeks seem to have helped.  While I am not all better yet I am getting there, yay.  I am confident I will make it through this week without needing any time off which is awesome.  Am I napping every night after work then doing not much in the evening, ummm yes but I am making some great progress on some craft projects which is cool.  And so long as I ignore two which I started many moons ago and have been shelved then I am almost completely up to date so mega yay there lol.

Christmas saw me and Glenny just chilling here, with a book, tv series and a bottle of wine hehe.  It was actually a struggle to drink the whole bottle in the day and I had to stop partway through as I was rather drunk.  Seems that happens when you don't really drink any more... go figure lol.  Quite by accident I seem to have started drinking loads of water, and I actually really like it.  Am not really noticing any differences but others are and I've been told I am looking better and much healthier which is always lovely to hear.  Also has meant I can buy more treat food at the stupidmarket, that I am loving hehe, esp cos I can buy some of my expensive but amazingly tasty treats on a more regular basis, YAY lol.

New Years wknd Mum and Dad came over for a few nights, and Bro made a day trip over.  Did we do much, no not really but it was lovely all the same.  We did go out for dinner, to our fav Indian place in Havelock North om nom nom.  Dad and I got up for the sunrise on New Years morning as well.  Bit cloudy and probably not the best I've ever seen but it was quite cool in the sense it was very similar to the sunrise Mark got up and saw in Scotland.  I am taking that to be a sign that 2024 aint gonna suck lol.

Also here is my reading summary for 2023, with a lovely pic/graph with genres splits:
Total books - 54
Total pages read - 20,692
Shortest book - 105 pages
Longest book - 871 pages (Wilbur Smith, shock horror lol)
Average book length - 383 pages

Some other pics for your enjoyment :)

Work gave me a lovely bunch of flowers when I left the SMO Admin team 

Glenny and I celebrated 33 years together on Sunday, we have fun together as I'm sure the photo collage shows

Some rando watching the sunrise... (hehe I know its dad so not a total rando)

It's been a weird few weeks...

My last few weeks have been a bit eventful and a bit weird, well kinda.  Started with me getting new carpet in the lounge, just before Labour Wknd, and Pa was here so I didn't need to take the day off work, thanks Pa.  Then we hung out on the Friday cos it was HB Anniversary, can't remember what we did but am sure we did something lol, pretty sure we went out for dinner nom nom.  Then on the Sunday I headed off to Mangakino for a few days, just to chill.  I had the week after Labour Wknd off plus a couple days of the following week, cos why not.

Mangakino was fun.  Didn't really do much, but that's what I like about visiting there.  Caught up with Bro in Taupo on my way through, then we both headed to olds.  Went for a walk along the lake with Pa one of the days, then another went running in Tokoroa while Mum met up with a friend, who I then met.  Then Mum and I went shopping.  

Then I came home for a day before heading to Chch for a long wknd with Bridie.  We may have both under packed for that lol, I put my beanie back and she put her gloves back before we left.  Both agreed that was dumb when we got there as it was cccccooooollllllddddd.  Felt a bit warmer after we went and bought beanies from a souvenir shop lol.  Overall it was a good long wknd, we did lots of chatting (shocking I know lol), some exploring, lots of eating, watching stuff, some shopping, some reading, played on scooters and I went for a run while she watched the All Blacks game.  Slight disruption on our last day when I got a msg that my flight had been cancelled and I was now flying home via Auckland the next day.  Not at all what I had planned but I went with it like I had to.  Air NZ put me up in the lovely Novotel at the airport and gave me a food allowance, which seemed nice and high till you realised how much the hotel restaurant charged and this is where you had to eat to get it charged to room and therefore for Air NZ to pay.  Oh well, I made it work and spent $2 less than my allowance which is all I cared about, I didn't want to pay anything hehe.

Then after coming home and working for two days, I had a wknd which was lovely.  Took myself out for brunch then to the beach to read on one of the days, the other I have no idea what I did lol.  Then work again for 2 days, one of which I didn't feel so great, then was even more meh on Wednesday morning so took at a rat test and have been isolating with Covid since.  Day 5 today and still feel kinda meh, wouldn't be well enough to work even if it was a work day, so tomorrow shall be off work again and go from there I think.

So yeah that's my kinda weird few weeks, started off really well but then took a bit of a nose dive.  Am still doing Marathon in a Month but might not make (probably wont if I'm being honest) the full distance I challenged myself to do.  I think I will make a marathon but not the half again on top of that.  Still happy for donations if anyone is still thinking of donating.

And to finish off here are some pics from Christchurch :)

And a random extra from the fancy dress party I went to recently, am rocking the70s chick look in terrible lighting lol

Marathon in a Month 2023

November is Marathon in a Month time again.  Marathon in a Month is a fundraiser for Cancer Society NZ, where people sign up to walk/run/swim/bike a marathon (or other selected distance) over the duration of a month.  If you choose to do a marathon this works out to be 1.4km a day.  

This year I have roped mum in to take part, she is going to walk a marathon over November and I am going to run 1.5 marathons over the month.  

If you would like sponsor us this would be amazing, but we are also after people supporting us with words of encouragement throughout the month so don't feel like you need to donate money to be supporting us, sending us msgs to keep us motivated will also be needed.

To check our progress, and donate if you would like to, here are the links to our pages:
Me - https://marathoninamonth.org.nz/jilly-miller
Mum - https://marathoninamonth.org.nz/christine-miller
Team page - https://marathoninamonth.org.nz/maycontainnuts

If anyone would like to also sign up and join our team then let me know, the more the merrier I say :)

Ps: you may start noticing that I am changing the spelling of Jillie, I have decided that I am going back to how I like it spelt not how my friends chose to have it spelt.  I don't mind which spelling you use though, and please also keep calling me JB if you are someone who does as that name is still my fav, its just not really used any more... dunno why but am happy for us to bring it back hehe.

It's crazy the difference a year can make

Just thought I would do a positive gluten free update, cos I think my last few have all been kinda on the not so fun side of being gluten free.  Small side note on that, did you know paper straws and laundry detergent can contain gluten?? I know, me neither.  This world is just ridiculous at times.

Anyhow, onto the good stuff.  I have decided it is time I do up my lounge, paint it specifically, so I borrowed a couple of sanders off dad to save me doing all the sanding by hand.  And this time last year I am pretty sure I wouldn't have even been able to hold onto one of them with it going, let alone sand the whole lounge in one go, then follow that with washing my hair cos someone forgot to wear a hat so her hair was covered in dust (whoops lol).  I then did some knitting in the evening cos why not :) Then today I spent most the arvo (well just over 3 hours of it) painting the undercoat layer.  This also would not have been possible this time last year, no way could my hands have held a paintbrush for that long.

So while my super strict gluten free diet might suck, and quite badly at times, it is so absolutely worth it.  Just thought I would share that with you all :)

Anyhoo how are you?  I hope you are well and happy.  I am pretty good, feel like I'm not really up to anything at the moment but I am just sorta doing me things.  Me things like crafting, reading, hanging with friends, going for run when have the time and I feel like it.  Decided against one this wknd but that was cos I wanted to get lounge to the stage that next wknd I can just paint it and not worry about any of the pre-proper-painting stuff.  Am very happy with progress though I did miss getting a run in.  And ok if I hadn't caught up with Penny and Bex ystdy morning, Jenny this morning and Maggie and Paul this afternoon then I prob woulda been able to fit one in.  But me give up catching up with friends, haha yeah that aint so likely to happen lol.

I have survived

Survived what you ask, well another full trip around the sun of course :)

That's right, I aged again last week.  And if I may say so myself I am getting the hang of this aging thing I think, definitely getting better at it.  This year it was a 4 day event.  On Wednesday Bro and I took the day off work and hung out.  We ran some errands, played some Switch and some N64, drunk some cocktails and ate fish and chips (not in that order).  Thursday I went down to Feilding to get another tattoo, this one is a biplane and is very awesome (in my opinion).  Friday Jenny took the day off work and we went out for brunch then treated ourselves to massages, then Jenny and a few friends came round for cocktails and pizza (nom nom slurp slurp).  Saturday Mum and Dad came over and Mum and I went to a Celiac NZ event in Havelock North which was actually pretty good (and I got a bag filled with groceries just for attending, mega score).  For dinner all of us headed round to Jenny's for dinner and she put on a scrummy dinner for us.  And no I am not mean taking my visitors to Jenny's instead of cooking for them, Jenny actually likes cooking just not for only one person, so she likes having more than herself to cook for.  Plus she likes my family (I know, she is weird... lol).

So anyway that sums up my bday for 2023.  And I hope you all had lovely days on my bday as well <3

Just when you think you have it figured out life throws you a spanner...

Wow, it's been ages since I've posted anything.  Sorry about that, time just got away on me (like it does sometimes).  This is another gluten free themed post, I know I am getting so good at these.... lol.

Got some gluten free soy sauce in a recent grocery shop, and decided to have some with dinner last night.  Which I would say went rather well, until I was partway through my run at the gym and realised something was not sitting quite right... got home in time (thankfully), turns out the gluten free claim on the bottle was not something my body agreed with.  Spent a fair chunk of the night awake with a crock gut, thankfully didn't vomit too many times as it wasn't that much gluten that I consumed, but there were plenty of moments when I wasn't sure that I wasn't going to.  Needless to say I had today off work, have been mostly napping and finding energy to get up and get something to drink/eat.  Not sure I will ever get used to how drained eating gluten makes me, the effort it took to just get up this morning was incredible.  And to think before I was diagnosed that was my standard day, no idea how I coped back then but I guess you do what you have to so I just did.

I did some investigating (thanks Celiac NZ website) as I was curious as to how something labelled gluten free wasn't totally gf and it turns out that products made in NZ and Aus have to meet strict criteria to be able to put the words gluten free on their labels here.  However foods imported from other countries have no checks and it's basically a trust thing, I get to trust that they are actually telling the truth and it is gluten free.  Seems like a big trust to me... And I'm not sure I am down for it at the moment, to be honest.  So for the next wee while atlst I think I am going to be a NZ and Aus product only celiac (with a couple exceptions of tried and true brands of course). 

To end on a happier note I have just finished being stage hand for the show Company done at Theatre Hawkes Bay.  It was a fantastic show, great cast and boy did they have good voices (it is a musical).  And unlike some shows I have been involved in, the cast chatted with us backstage helpers which made each night real fun.  Some shows the cast feel they are above us and we don't get spoken to at all unless it's something they aren't happy with.  This one thought we were included, of course we had our own jokes and whatnot, like backstage crew do hehe.  My next show is Jungle Book which is being done through Aubyn Live in September, it should also be a good show.  As much as I say I don't like kids, it turns out kids in a theatre are tolerable so I'm looking forward to it lol.

Take care all, eat some gluten yumminess for me please (pink iced buns, the long ones, with butter on them is what I'm craving at the moment (moment being the last few months lol)).

Another weirdness in my gluten free life

I have been reacting to the plasters that I wear in the last few months, and while it is annoying I didn't really think too much of it.  Then last night I decided to Google if they were gluten free, for a bit of a laugh cos come on why wouldn't they be.  Well it turns out that the brand I like is not gluten free!! I mean what on earth... How is that even possible??!!  But according to Google the companies response to is it gluten free is 'not gluten-free', and according to the celiac forums I am not the only one reacting to this brand.  The good news is that most others seem ok with other brands, just not Band-Aid brand, so I should be all good to just find another brand I like.  A few can only handle medical tape, though am guessing they are reacting to something else as well, not just gluten.

But yeah, just when you think life can't get any more complicated or weird something like this comes along and shows you that oh yes it can.

On the bright note I am finally back to my old average pace for 5km, being 6 minute kilometres.  So I am happy with that and it gives me to confidence to push for further :) just no falling over till I find me some new plasters lol.

My hair is everywhere...

It's not even what I would call long yet but my hair is already getting everywhere, it's insane how much of it is apparently not on my head lol.  I had totally forgotten (as you do) what my hair is like when it is longer so it's been a bit of a surprise that it is getting into everything.  Even the brownies I made couple weeks back managed to get some hair in them, as have some dinners.... doesn't mean I am going to be cutting it again, cos I am growing it, but I may moan about it sometimes lol.

Anyhow this is a gluten free update for you all, cos I figure the world always needs good news and it is now at the definitely good news stage :) I know yay right.  I have been on the strict as gf diet for a couple months or more now, and while it is still tiresome and tedious at times it is proving to be worth it as I have been able to start running again (am up to 5km which I think is still not very far but I try to keep reminding myself its still a good effort lol) and I definitely have more energy at the end of a work day than I used to.  Total plus that :) Have even found that in wknds I am getting way more done than I used to be able to, and the amount of time to recover from doing something is less than it used to be.  Also a total perk, and def a reason to stick with the boring strict gf diet.

I think even my hands are improving, not in everything but I can def knit for longer than I could before and can sew for a decent period not pin then break then sew then break then overlock then break then pin etc.  Now can do pin sew overlock pin sew overlock repeat.  Not endlessly, still need breaks but the improvement is there.  Sadly driving is still not great, but I also don't have a steering wheel cover and used to need one of them before all the other stuff got bad.  Freddie is one of those cars, the ones with the weird sized steering wheels that you can't easily find a cover for, I do still love her though, so have ordered her a cover from overseas and hopefully this will help when it arrives (fingers crossed).

Vinyl and a biplane

Finally got some vinyl for my kitchen and bathroom/laundry areas.  Was thinking for ages that it is just a stupid cost and not worth it, then something happened late-ish last year and I decided to go for it, can't member what it was now and it doesn't really matter.  I did have to wait about 3 and a bit months from accepting the quote to getting it laid which gave me time to think oh do I really need it, can I be bothered getting it.  But the part of me that doesn't like talking on the phone decided it was easier to go ahead with it than to call and try and cancel and gotta say its a good thing that part of me won out.  Didn't realise till it was there how awesome it would look and how much it would feel like such an improvement from carpet offcuts on concrete.  It's also rather surprising how quickly I have gotten used to it and now it feels like it was just always there lol.  As I am sure you will agree it looks pretty awesome :)

Now I know some of you think I am a tad spoiled... soooooo this next part might not help with that but just so you know in advance I am more than happy to be spoiled if it gets me things like this :D

A while back, not sure how long ago now, I asked Doffy (aka dad) if he would be able to make a biplane for Glenny, with room for Fishy to be the gunner at the back.  There were of course other requirements, as I am me and it wouldn't be a me request if it was totally simple lol.  And Dof has done an amazing job, and not only my bear loves it but so do I.  

In the pics Big Ted is the gunner, but right now he is on the couch with me and Little Ted is winging it as the gunner (he can't actually see over the walls so he is shooting blindly lol) and Smudge is wing-walking/'helping' Glenny pilot.

Bro is going to paint it for me at some stage, would say its cos he also loves me but is probably more cos I haven't really given him much of a choice lol.  Hey what can I say, I'm a little sister, its what we do hehe :)

note: sorry bout the bad lighting in the photos, I took them the night we put it together and haven't got round to taking any more, mostly cos have been either playing with it or chatting to Glenny instead lol.  The last photo is for size reference, obviously being for my bear it aint a tiny plane...

Last week....

As many of you are aware last week was a bit surreal over here in Hawke's Bay.  We had a cyclone come through (Cyclone Gabrielle if you are keeping track) and it definitely left its mark.  While I was one of the lucky ones who still has a place to call home with nothing in it water damaged there are many out there who are not so lucky.  I also lucked out with the power situation and only lost mine for 6 hours or so.  We did ponder if this was cos I live so close to the hospital but turns out I am not quite that close as I know some people who only lost theirs for 1.5 hours, which is how long the hospital lost theirs for.

Now even though I am lucky, and I might have been playing it cool when people asked how I was, I just thought I would let you all know a few things (don't worry I am still all good).  For starters, Monday night was no fun, AT ALL!!  That wind and rain, just wow!!  I never want to experience anything like that again.  Each time I got up to check stuff I was honestly expecting that my feet were going to touch down on wet carpet.  And the experience of having your concrete house shaking and rattling is not a fun one.  Concrete is meant to be sturdy and not shaky.  Am very surprised the tiles on my roof are still all there (technically actually haven't checked cos not sure I wanna know if they aren't, but there were none on the ground and there are no leaks so I'm assuming they all there still lol).  There was a moment when I thought it couldn't get any worse, then the next gust of wind made me think it was giving up moving just my place and wanted to take the two units somewhere new.  Even if I had been allowed to work Tuesday I'm not sure I would have been any good as was shattered from the lack of sleep.  

I know I am lucky cos I could (and did) go to work from Wednesday.  But there were still the mental side of things to deal with, such as how your friends are.  I knew most my friends were ok, but there were some I weren't sure about as I hadn't heard from them. And I knew it was probably cos they had no reception but it still stresses you out a bit, the not knowing, esp as each day passes.  Finally heard from the last one I was waiting to hear from on Friday evening and it lifted a weight I hadn't realised had been there.  It is also rather surreal and weird going to work like everything is fine when you know that just over there its not, and that quite a few of your friends don't have power, and then work is a bit of a ghost town and there are people on your floor sleeping at work as they can't get home and are pulling crazy shifts to help out cos doctors can't get over, and you know, just stuff like that.

Now for those of you wondering, my lemon tree is fine.  That sucker will survive anything I have decided.  It lost two lemons, that's it.  No branches down, no leaves missing, just two lemons on the ground, and they were two older lemons that were probably just ready to go anyhow.  Typical.

The only item of mine I know of that got damaged is a book I had loaned to David.  It was on his nightstand right underneath the hole in his ceiling that formed when a tree branch fell through his roof/ceiling bringing loads of water and tree debris with it.  So the book is now a bit waterlogged but I figure that just means it has a story to tell hehe.  And no it is not in my place which is why the statement up the top about nothing in my house being water damaged is true :)

But just to reiterate I am fine, I am annoyed mum and dad are temporarily (it better be temporarily) further away now than when they lived in Inglewood but thats a very minor problem.  
Glenny would like me to add that he is fine as well, and that he wasn't scared Monday night, he was just clingy to me cos he was worried I was scared.... (believe him if you like, but I know the truth hehe).