Happy Christmas!

Hi everybody

Merry Christmas! It is still Christmas at home, but already Boxing Day here (my first one!).

We had a lovely Christmas here in NZ. We spent Christmas Eve at the Preston's, and then spent a very quiet Christmas together in Island Bay. We slept in until 9, had boiled eggs in Rory's new egg cups, Skyped our families, ate Rory's fantastic roast beef lunch with all the trimmings, walked to the beach, listened to Christmas music, drank wine on the deck, and then had a simple dinner while watching Christmas movies.

It was a very different Christmas than I've ever had, but I am so grateful to be able to spend it with Rory, and in such a beautiful place.

Today we are getting ready for our big camping trip that starts tomorrow. Our flight leaves at 7am (!) so we'll have to have everything packed before we go to sleep. Sara and Nik gave us a cooler bag and waterproof blanket for Christmas, so we have all sorts of camping gear now. I'm very excited.

So...love you and miss you! Have a very very Merry Christmas (or as Rory would say, Happy Christmas)!

Love
Amy

Go see this film!

Hi everyone,

We've had a rainy weekend here, so we decided to go to the Penthouse for an independent film. Our choice ended up being a Lebanese film entitled 'Caramel' and it was so fabulous. It was in French with English subtitles, but it didn't detract in the slightest. The film is a slice-of-life in Beirut, and it focuses on the lives of five women. I'm not sure how easy it is to find it to rent in the States, but if you can, do!

We then went to Jewel of Nepal and just happened to run into my coworker Duncan and his girlfriend, so we ended up sitting together for a few hours. His girlfriend is from Vancouver and met Duncan is a way eerily reminiscent of Rory and I's story, so we had a lot to talk about.

Today has been a bit more lazy. Rory is officially on Christmas break, so he is treating me to homemade spaghetti and meatballs tonight. I have 1.5 days left of work before my holiday begins.

To all of my friends and family in the Pacific NW: hunker down and stay warm!

Love,

Ames

More Christmas parties

Hi everyone

Today was Rory's work Christmas do. We lawn bowled and drank all day long (from about 2 to 7.30). My totals:

5 Steinlager Pures
3 shrimp skewers
3 chicken skewers
3 olive, feta, and spinach samosas
2 Bowling games
2 Losses
1 good bowl
9 okay bowls
10 bowls that went off our field

It was really fun, but wow, was I terrible. I started the day at work, where we had our Secret Santa. I got some homemade shortbread and some candles, and also some mystery pressies from Lynda (the CEO). From there I met Rory and it was off to Mt. Vic Bowling Club.

Sorry that there was a two-week gap in the middle there. There wasn't much to report: just working and hanging out at home. We do have Skype going now, so I get to see Bets and Stef every other day or so. :)

Love,
Amy

Christmas parties

Hi everyone

We had our Write Group Christmas party quite early (on the 5th). It was sort of last minute, so we just had a nice meal out at Istanbul, with some drinks at the office beforehand.

From there, Rory and I met Nik and Jakob and friends at Oriental Bay, as the sun was setting. It was beautiful! But it really doesn't feel like Christmas.

Love,
Amy

More piccies

Getting back into the routine

Hi everyone

My parents made it back home last night, and both went back to work today. I know they're both pretty tired, and actually so were Rory and I. After about three nights' sleep, we're both almost recovered.

It was really difficult to say goodbye to my parents. I've been trying to keep myself occupied since Sunday morning, and things have been busy enough that I've coped alright. Sunday afternoon was Nik's launch, so Rory and I went to support him. Sunday night we did laundry and cleaned, and Monday it was back to work. Things are much quieter at work now, so I've only worked a few extra hours so far this week (which is just as well).

Today was my first Business Writing class. It was interesting, and it turns out that I've been doing a few things incorrectly for years. The most confusing thing for me is practice vs. practise...practice is a noun and practise is a verb. Of course, Americans only have one version, so I feel like I'm back in 1st grade again with those little details.

It looks like we'll be spending Christmas at home. It is just too expensive to go anywhere at this point. We've definitely learned our lesson about booking things in advance here in NZ, and unfortunately we learned the hard way. At least we have Rory's fam's visit to look forward to, and we should probably save up our money for that anyways.

I've got my company Christmas party this Friday, and then afterwards we are going to a beach party at Oriental Bay. Rory's Christmas do is on the 19th, and we'll be spending the day lawn bowling and drinking a large amount of free alcohol.

It was so nice to see my parents. I'm going to keep posting pictures, since we have so many good ones. :)

Love,
Amy