Hello stranger!

I have lots to write here, but my blog focus is currently on my 30 before 30 project.

What's that you ask?

Check out lindsays30before30.blogspot.com to find out more.

I will write more here soon. I promise.

xx

Well we all try to live in the best of intentions, which is what i have about writting this blog.

I've been reading a lot of other foreign blogs lately. Or rather, blogs about people living in foreign countries. Seems a lot of people are doing this these days. I can recall when i started this blog back in Jan 2004 that it seemed something of a novelty at the time.

Anyways, i guess in 8 years time a lot can change. While i'm not living in London these days i'm still abroad and i guess a lot of the novelty of a living in a new country has worn off after 5 years in NZ.

Not that i haven't got anything to say or comment on still.

This year, both of my new years resolutions had to do with distance.

1. Try and do a better job of keeping in touch with friends and replying to those who contact you.
2. Travel a bit more.

I've been fulfilling both so far i think. We spent early Jan in Fiji with friends and we're off to Sydney to see some others soon. We're also headed back to see family and friends in the States in July. I'm sure there's time to fit a trip or 2 more in between as well.

We recently passed a milestone in our lives - 5 years of living in New Zealand. I'm not sure if you had asked me 5 years ago if i thought i'd be here then, but, well here i am. I've now lived outside of the US for a consequitve almost 7 years. And while some people seem to think i've developed an accent, i can't help but wonder what else i've picked up.

I already use kiwi and Aussie slang - much to my mom's confusion when i mentioned what i ate for "brekky" the other morning and the strange look on my dad's face when i talked about my "flash" new office.

I'm sure to other American's i probably don't seem too familiar, but i will continue to hold to some of my American-ness. But the things i classify as American-ness are only a small part of identity.

Right, that's enough waxing philosphical for me for now.

Right! Time for an update. To keep things rather succinct the following has happened in the last few months.

1. I saw a great friend get married (and was a bridesmaid in her wedding (Steph)) in February.
2. Another birthday came and went, but this time I was lucky to have load of friends and family with me to celebrate this year (April 2011)
3. I GOT MARRIED!!! (April 2011)
4. I quit my job (June 2011)
5. I accepted a position with a new company (June 2011)

So all in all, some big changes of late.

The big one in all of that is of course our wedding. We were so lucky to have friends and family from all over the world attend. Relatives from London, Family from the US, Friends from Australia, etc...We had such an amazing day. It was lovely and to be honest feels like a dream.

We will post some more information and pictures up on our wedding website - http://www.lindsayandmatt.co.nz soon so stay tuned to there.

Now the big adventures are the new job which will have me travelling to Australia for training and occasional trips (as they are based in Oz) and planning our honeymoon to South America.

I think I'll talk a bit more about that as I'm getting all excited. We're going to Chile, Peru and Bolivia. At least that's the plan. Right now we have tickets going from Auckland -> Santiago -> Cuzco -> La Paz, Calama -> Santiago. We're going to do a shortened version on the Inca Trail (just a 2 day hike instead of 4) then on to La Paz and the Salar and then back via San Pedro de Atacama.

For the first time though, I'm challenged with obtaining a visa. Apparently Bolivia has quite a few hoops that Americans must jump through in order to get a visa (which I suppose is tit-for-tat). For the first time I'm struggling with organising parts of our trip. There isn't a Bolivian embassy or consulate (from what I can tell) in New Zealand.

None the less I'm super excited about this new adventure coming up. Stay tuned for more updates (I promise I'll be better about updating the blog now that the wedding is over!).

So i have itchy feet.

I'm really, really wanting to travel right now. I'm not sure if it's additional work and wedding stress that's pushing me to want to find some amazing secluded beach, but i want to.

It's funny looking back on things in life. Compared to my colleagues (and just in general) i'm still young, but i feel old these days. I realized something recently. Not all that long ago, i had a simple goal - i wanted to speak 3 languages by the time i am 30 fluently. And while i'm not 30 yet i feel like i'm moving backwards in my progress towards this goal. I need to figure out how to fix it, but short of moving somewhere where another language is spoken fluently, i'm at a loss.

Of course though there are still trips here in New Zealand i want to do (and i really want to do the Cook Islands, which isn't New Zealand but in my American-centric view ie "everywhere is relatively close" it's relevant). The Hawkes Bay and Marlborough seem beautiful - as does going up to Cape Reinga. I think my job is probably the main thing thats holding me back at the moment. Well, time to be more specific. But i am going to do my best to change that. Afterall i'm the only person who can.

It's a little over a year (a year and 3 months to be exact) since we bought our house. It's funny how the more time you spend in a place the more things you notice about it. The same holds true for our house. We're now noticing little things we didn't before (like masking tape still lining a door where a shoddy quick paint job was done). Well it's prompting us to finally make a few changes to our house. I guess like any proud house owners there comes a time when you should start with the renovations.

Our first project, which actually took ages, was removing the pot bellied stove and bricked area. This was a random corner right as you walk in, which however charming, did not really fit. Anyway we removed the brick and Matt put up jib-board and we've made it into a new desk area (complete with modified desk so that Matt and i can both have our computers there).

Before



After



These probably aren't the best photos, but you get the idea.

The most recent project was the living room. We have beautiful maitai wooden floors running throughout the house, but in the living room and bedrooms there's carpet. So we moved everything out of the living room and then got someone to come in and sand and polish the floorboards. What a difference.

Before



After



We are really pleased with the results!

The next project is work under the house. With our wedding now less than 3 months away there are deadlines looming.

The other great thing about our house that i thought i'd share is our garden. It's spectacular - here's a few pics to prove it - http://www.flickr.com/photos/wireddream/sets/72157625269570293/

Anyways, that's all for now. x

Too long

Hello long lost friend. It has been far too long since I did any updates. I'm going to try and rectify this - call it a new years resolution.

I suppose I could spend awhile recapping my trip back to the USA and the Bahamas, but that's not what I want to cover. Not at least in thus blog post at least.

Summer is pretty much here and Auckland has seen highs up to 28 (80s).

And it's Christmas. This year seems stranger than past ones. I am not sure what it is but it's been a bit of a struggle. Sure we have put-up our tree but the festive season feels like it's eluding me. I think it's the warm weather. I can't help but wonder what kiwis and Aussies who are in the northern hemisphere do...do they eat cold food and dream of the beach?

In any even I don't really have anything to complain about, nothing valid anyways. My life is good and I'm excited that my family will be here in 4 months.

I guess that's it for now. They say you should (re) start slow. So just a short note here to restart my posts. Until next time.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Well another few months have passed and no blog entry. I suppose it's not surprising but to be honest i don't feel like we have anything particularly noteworthy to share. I'm finally finishing up with physiotherapy for my ankle. I've been doing some runs again, but being relatively unactive the last few months has taken it's toll. Hopefully knowing that i am getting married in a mere 11 months should be enough to jolt me back into action.

The wedding plans are coming along. Well coming along in that we've chosen a date and venue. We've got save the dates done and hopefully will be getting our guest list finalized soon too.

Summer was great here but now we are moving past fall and winter is nearing. Today is the first really cold day out - i can see my breath outside and am sitting here freezing inside. We've got the fire going at night and another heater in the bedroom but somehow doesn't seem enough.

My garden is continuing along and i've decided to start a food blog to share all my recipes, etc with. This can be found on - http://thetastydream.blogspot.com/ Hopefully i'll be better with updating it that i am with this one.

Work is continuing and I've had a change of bosses which i think has worked out for the better. Less stressful for sure. I remain unsure of what i want to do, but until i figure it out i may as well keep earning a pay cheque.

Not much else to report. We are going back to the states in August and i cannot wait! I'm excited to be seeing the family and it should be really good. We are going to Seattle (to see my grandparents), the Bahamas (to see my dad), North Carolina (to see my mom) and then taking a road trip from NC to Chicago (via Indiana). All in all we'll be away for a month. It's a different area of the US that Matt hasn't been to yet so i think he's quite excited.

Well i guess that's it for now. Lots more pics of recent activities up on my flickr for you all to enjoy. X