I have a confession. This is awkward. On Monday, this box was full: Today, Thursday, only 2 of the original 10 sachets remain. Well, make that 9 now. Clearly I cannot keep these in my house. I bought the box on a whim (never impulse buy!) while at the grocery and brought it home. I’d… Read More Confession
I’m often asked whether or not I think that Kiwis are less violent than Americans. The answer is yes. And no. More accurately: it depends. What do you mean by violence? Do you mean something measurable, like a statistic? If so, then yes, Americans are more violent (and this is where the importance of context… Read More Living in New Zealand: Violence
I was asked how things were going, re: weaning Joe off nursing. I’ve been hesitant to share for a lot of reasons. However, I recently realized that you can disclaimer yourself into never saying a thing, and that’s no fun. Here is what we do for Joe. And note that when I say “I” in… Read More Weaning Joe
Someone is growing up… Becoming a bit more independent… And learning how to feed himself with a spoon! He still feeds himself primarily with his fingers, but we’ve begun to introduce self-spoon-feeding with me handing it to him this past week. Generally it’s only with sticky foods, such as oatmeal or avocado, but he’s doing… Read More Sips and Spoons
Please tell me that I am not the only one who does this… I’m notorious for it. I get to the grocery, find myself asking, “Was there anything that I forgot to put on my list?” and inevitably end up in the baking aisle. Something about the spices. I apparently… Read More A Spicy Secret
I’ve mentioned TradeMe on this blog a time or two. Some of you know what TradeMe is, but I’m guessing that many of you have only a vague notion. image via If you’re moving to or living in New Zealand, then you ought to know about TradeMe. Sort of Craigslist meets eBay, Kiwi-style. You can… Read More Living in New Zealand: TradeMe
I have a pretty straightforward email address, and I’m happy to say that I’ve had that address for nearly 8 years. No spamming. No lock-outs. No need to change. I guess you could say that I’m about as happy with it as one could possibly be with a free email account. The only thing that… Read More My Email Doppelganger(s)
Let’s play a little game called “Opposite Day”… Today, I actually remembered to eat breakfast. The courier service for our groceries delivered my order on time. It did not deliver my order 3 days late. The order of eggs was not entirely broken and dripping into the potatoes. I did not argue with the courier… Read More Opposite Day
According to my “Frommer’s: New Zealand” guide, no part of this country is more than 79 miles (128kms) from the coast. Safe to say that, over here, being in the water is an expected part of life. We’ve got the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. The point where… Read More Living in New Zealand: Swimming
I’ve seen the recipe for chocolate avocado mousse floating around for the last few months. I even considered making it when I was doing my “30 Days, No Processed Sugar” challenge, but the thought of mixing avo + chocolate put me off. Then, I met a friend who made it and I thought, “If she… Read More Chocolate Avocado Mousse? More like Chocolate Avocado Fudge Frosting (and only 3 Ingredients)!
Sometimes, I really want to write a “venting” post, one where I let it all out and just complain, complain, complain. A post where I seek justification for my hurt feelings and maybe a little commiseration when I share a negative experience. Usually, a negative experience brought on by someone else. I’ve written some of… Read More Sometimes…
Excited to go to the beach… Gorgeous view of Rangitoto in the distance… My wonderful husband My beach babies – Chris and Joe! Valerie, this one’s for you! My sweet baby – a sleepy end to a great day
Just a quick, short post of things that I’m thankful for before we head out to the beach this morning… My mother-in-law – It’s her birthday today (well, her birthday in New Zealand) and I’m so glad that I get the opportunity to know her and have her in my life. She did a wonderful… Read More Thankful Morning
Many New Zealand businesses do a great job, in my opinion, of catering to families. Case in point: the parent room, or family room, or changing room, or whatever you want to call it. Changing stations with nappy bins underneath I know that there are changing rooms at many businesses in the States, but it’s… Read More Living in New Zealand: Child and Parent Friendly
Dear Joseph, It’s unbelievable to me how much you’ve grown and changed in such a short period of time. How is that you’re already 10 months old? You’ve gone from this: Less than 2 hours old To this: Just shy of 10 months old You’re alert and moving and growing in independence every day! Movement… Read More 10 Months
It’s official: I told my boss today that I would come back from mat-leave on a casual (as needed) basis rather than on a regularly scheduled week. It wasn’t an easy decision. I batted around several possibilities with both Chris and my manager, but in the end, this option (doing casual) is the best one… Read More Casual
Most people think of scary, terrifying things when they hear the word “monster”. I’m sure that some of you might be a bit surprised to hear that I have my own personal monster, and I actually like it. I’m talking about a green monster, of course. A green monster monster smoothie! In my journey to… Read More My Monster
Hello, my lovely readers 🙂 I hope that your week started out as well as ours did – lots of sunshine and lovely weather. Celsius Fahrenheit I was reminiscing about last Easter weekend – I was roughly 2 months away from delivering Joe and in the thick of my antenatal classes. I remember that my… Read More Living in New Zealand: Easter Weekend
I’ve heard about overnight oats before. Thought, “Eh, that sounds interesting” and then moved on with my day. I’m not sure what inspired me this time around, but I decided to give them a try. Before Joe, Chris and I had a fairly even split as to who decided what we ate. I did most… Read More Overnight Oats: Vegan Version
It’s Thursday night here in NZ. I’m stressed and tired, and part of me wants to have a worry-wart session where I think about a lot of things that are way off in the future and that are in my control. It’s really easy for me to worry. Please tell me that I’m not the… Read More Thankful Thursday
