20 February 2011

Things I learnt on holiday...

It is safe to say I've learnt a lot this past week or so. And so, I share some of my new-found knowledge with you:

1. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong when you're trying to prepare for your holiday
  • The dishwasher kicked the bucket. Just when we have a much fuller house than usual. So have had to purchase a new one. Cha-ching (that's an old-school cash register sound!)
  • Two vital parts for the coffee machine got accidentally lost down the sink. So have had to replace these. Cha-ching!
  • The wireless router decided to stop working. It only (read great sarcasm here) took me 3 hours to fix it when I should have been packing for the holiday. But I did save us buying a new router. Phew...no cha-ching!
  • The upstairs toilet seat broke. My clever hubby fixed it so he did save us the cost of a new toilet seat. Also no cha-ching!
  • We woke up on the morning of our holiday to a little boy sitting up in a bed full of puke. Which meant two extra loads of washing and drying were required before we could even think about leaving for the holiday... 
So you can see why we felt completely frazzled by the time we got in the cars to leave!

And just in case we had gotten complacent whilst away on our lovely holiday, we returned home this afternoon, put on a load of washing and promptly flooded out the garage when the outlet hose mysteriously jumped out of the washing tub during the wash cycle.

2. Fireworks are REALLY loud up close

Technically, this was the night before we left for the holiday. Grandma, Noah and I headed down to the waterfront to enjoy a Kaffee Eis Gelato before settling in to some front-row seats for the fireworks show celebrating the Chinese New Year. Noah was pretty freaked out at the start but was getting into the swing of it by the end of the display talking about how the fireworks looked like wiggly worms in the sky.



3. It is actually impossible to eat Kaffee Eis Gelato without getting covered in it. But it is so worth the mess!



4. No matter where you are on holiday, a mozzie WILL find you
And likely bite you more than once when he does. And just when you finally stop itching three days later, he'll bite you a few more times just to keep you on your toes for the rest of the holiday.

5. Sometimes blogging DOES pay
Remember back before Christmas when I went to Ruth Pretty's Christmas Cooking school and had the most amazing Narnia-like experience? Well, I blogged about the day back then as you know. I wasn't really expecting Ruth Pretty to actually READ the blog though! She sent me a lovely email just before Christmas thanking me for my kind words. Which weren't that kind, just completely true about the amazing day I'd had! Anyway, as were were in the area, we took a drive out to the  Ruth Pretty kitchen shop this week and unexpectedly bumped into her in the shop. She remembered me from the blog, and was then kind enough to shout us all free coffees from her cafe. We sat in the lovely conservatory which was in the process of being all decked out for a Valentines Day High Tea that evening feeling rather grand as we sipped on our free coffees. I think Grandma and Grandad (and even Markie) were quite impressed at how even in the strangest ways, blogging does pay!


We didn't leave empty handed from the shop though. I'd had my eye on a few little goodies I didn't get time to buy on the day, including this amazing Apple peeler which makes apples taste about 100 times juicier. Why couldn't I have found this last year when I was peeling fruit by the gallon for pureed baby food. It sure has taken apple eating this week into a whole new dimension, as it peels, slices and cores the apple in about two seconds flat. Thanks to Grandma for shouting us the apple peeler! Check it out!



6. You don't have to go in for all the commercial crap to make Valentines memorable
Apologies to anyone who really loves roses and chocolates and the full nine yards. But for us, a walk on the beach, just me and my love on Valentines Day, with the gift of this sunset to share, far surpassed anything else we could have bought or given on the day.






And I've since realised all the things I learned are WAY too much for one post, so you'll just have to stay tuned for more in Part Two.......

5 comments :

PaisleyJade said...

Your photos at the beach are soooo beautiful!!! Looks like you had a fun time away despite the dramas! So cool about the free coffees.

Widge said...

Love that pic of you looking into the sea.
Our dishwasher has just crapped out too! grrr
just after having to replace the washing machine and vacuum cleaner, so annoying when it all seems to come at once.
Cool about your free coffees and being blog recognised :)

jacksta said...

Yay for free coffees! Thats aplle peeler is awesome! I love cool kitchen gadgets like that!

Mika said...

Welcome back!

Have you been enjoying the beautiful weather that Wellington has been putting on?! Sooo nice!

I think my next stop on a sunny day is some gelato and sit by Oriental Parade...mmm heavenly!

PS we drove past Oriental Parade on Sunday...and it was PACKED! Every man and his dog, seemed to be at the beach ;)

Leonie said...

glad you got a great holiday despite the lead up!! We have one of those apple slinky makers!! Im terrible at using it...haha. I wonder if I should find it and give it to my poor Dad who is peeling hundreds of apples off their tree!! lol.

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