Zorb

Zorb Ball was fun for the kids today so I am really grateful for that, however not so grateful for the price it costs. I tell you now if you decide to go to New Zealand for a holiday, make sure you pack a little lighter and take more spending money.
Steph

Tree Ferns

It's day 4 of our adventures and I am already showered and raring to go but no one else is up yet, hmmm I wonder if I should just go and jump on them all. Have been for a walk to the beach which is in view from our camper, it's absolutely spectacular. New Zealand has such a beautiful countryside,  lush green foliage and huge tree ferns, it's like driving through a rainforest. My friend Sharon's place was nice, she lives on a property of 2 1/2 acres and a river runs along side the road opposite and there are large ferns and bamboo alongside the road. There was a sign saying 'Kiwi Zone' but I didn't spot any. I am grateful for the tree ferns as they make the rest of the greenery look so special.
Steph

Beautiful New Zealand And Reunion With Sharon

So it's day three of our New Zealand adventure and I have managed to get some Internet access. So far our New Zealand holiday has had some hiccups, one being that on arrival to Melbourne airport they wouldn't let Dave leave for New Zealand as his visa had expired. Dave has permanent residency in Australia and on an English passport but appparantly he is supposed to renew his visa every five years which he was unaware of. Go figure....how can you have permanent residence and not be allowed back into the country if you go out. Hmmmmm really confusing. Anyway we had to purchase a one way refundable ticket to England which cost $1534 to be able to go, and a visit to the Australian consulate to apply for a visa renewal which cost a horrendous $428. the same day I had a migraine and felt nauseous all day. The next day we headed up to my friend Sharon's place in Kaitaia far up Northland, Sharon lives in a beautiful surrounding of lush greenery and beside a river. When we arrived there Becca stepped out of the camper and twisted her ankle which led to a trip to the hospital and X-rays the following day to reveal a possible fracture in her ankle. We haven't had much luck however we have had fun seeing the sights as there are so many beautiful areas to see. I am grateful for the beautiful sights New Zealand has to offer and the fact that Becca hasn't hurt herself worse and for my friend Sharon whom I hadn't seen for twelve years and yet made me feel very welcome......thanks Sharon.
Steph

One Night In An Actual Bed In An Actual House

Today will be the last blog until we get back from New Zealand unless we get Wi Fi somehow and I get time to blog. However when we get back I will post the photos for all to enjoy. I still haven't worked out how to add photos using the iPad so if anyone knows let me in on the secret. Today is also the start of the two weeks school holiday break, and it feels great. So I am grateful for that. It has also now been three weeks since we moved into the camper and even though I am truly over it, I am grateful that we as a family have coped with it all, if anything it has brought us a little closer, ha ha literally and emotionally, and mind you not always in a good way, as being this close to each other has its set backs and Dave and I have at times been a little harsh with our words to one another. It's funny the things you take for granted when you are living in a house and then all of a sudden you're not, like...... Washing dishes in the dark at the outdoor sink, waking up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet in the outside bathroom in the shack, cooking on a space the size of a stable table, storing food in a bar size fridge, eating together at a table the size of two stable tables and being told to move over just a little every five seconds, going outside to the tent to get your clothes and then on returning knocking the canopy just enough so the water that's sitting on top dribbles down onto your head, down your back and wetting the clean clothes you just got out to wear so you now have to hang them up to dry and get something else to wear, and which makes you much more cautious the next time, and last but not least, packing four suitcases in a tent was a bit of a challenge but somehow we managed. So you see there's lots more to living in a camper than you think. I am grateful that tonight we are going to my sister's place and sleeping in an actual house on an actual bed as tomorrow we leave early for our plane trip to New Zealand to spend another ten nights in a camper, hopefully a little more luxurious than our one and with great views that change each day.
Steph

Thank God For Bubbles

Because its the second last day of term I thought my kids deserved some fun for all the hard work throughout the term so I took them outside and I gave them some bubble blower thingies. They had an absolute ball. Who would've thought a bottle of bubbles would be so entertaining.
Steph

Whipping Up Vegetarian Meals For The Carnivores

I wasn't so grateful for the Twisties, chocolate and wine in the middle of the night when my back was hurting and I had a headache which kept me awake. It is amazing how if you feel a bit sick just after you've eaten or drank something you vow never to have it again until you forget. Anyway I know that I will still drink Chardonnay especially the Lightfoot and sons variety and I will occasionally eat Twisties and chocolate but probably not in the quantity I had last night. There was no meat left in the fridge tonight as we dont have much space in the camper fridge and I havent bought any more because of us going on holiday in a few days. So tonight I made a vegetarian tomato based pasta sauce that we all enjoyed. It's funny how much zucchini and asparagus you can hide in a sauce. They ate it even though they found out what was in it. Unfortunately they will soon be smelling the after effects of the asparagus.  So tonight I'm grateful that I am able to whip up a vegetarian meal for the carnivores.
Steph

Twisties, Chocolate And Lightfoot And Sons Myrtle Point Chardonnay

Twisties, chocolate and Lightfoot and Sons Murtle Point Chardonnay.........that is what I am grateful for today.

No Hobbling For Me

Today I'm grateful that I didn't hurt my toe worse than I did this morning. I knocked my middle toe on some furniture and it is now really bruised, the nurse said even if its broken they can't do anything with it. So now I shall just have to wait till it heals. It doesn't feel too bad at the moment so I'm thinking that I didn't break it but badly bruised it. Thank goodness. I could just imagine hobbling around New Zealand next week. Not a good thought.
Steph

Excitement Ahead

Whilst living in the camper, my motivation to blog about grateful things is slowly dwindling. I am absolutely over living here in this camper. I am one who loves to cook yet I can't get motivated because of the lack of space to prepare the food on and the lack of space to store the food in. My house sits unfinished only meters away and there is so much to do in it but we can't do it yet. Poor Zoe is now not well and she's supposed to be going to school camp tomorrow. It doesn't help getting out of your warm bed and camper into the cold air to go to the toilet. It's only one more week until we are boarding the plane to go to NewZealand, so hopefully everyone will be well and excited. That is one thing to be grateful for......a bit of excitement ahead.
Step

Funny Things

I'm grateful for being able to write funny things and laughing at them.

Steph

Little Things To Be Grateful For

-Good old chats with your best mate that you haven't spoke to for a while.
-getting in touch with a friend on facebook whom you used to work with and haven't seen for quite some time (about 9 months or so).... Who happens to be a great chef with a funny, down to earth and honest personality. Can't wait to see her again.
-having a laugh after a really stressful and mentally exhausting day at work.
-finding out that I can Internet share via my mobile phone so I can blog using the iPad which is much easier and doesn't take me as long to do.
Lots of little things to be grateful for today.
Steph

Sesame Wheat Biscuits

Not sure whether I should be grateful or feel sinful about eating 'Sesame Wheat biscuits'. They are delicious and were my savior when I had pneumonia two years ago. They were my main staple as I couldn't stomach much else, and now I just love them. And unfortunately for me, everyone else in my household loves them as well.
Steph

Blogging At 5am

Due to the fact that I am living in a camper and have no landline or internet other than on my phone it is hard to attach any photos to my posts. So it will be a while, unless I work out how to do it, before you all see any pics on my blog. Sorry! However I will endeavour to blog about something I'm grateful for. Like right now I am grateful for the fact that I can blog on my phone because after waking at 5am I can never get back to sleep, so this gives me something to do and keeps my mind from wandering and catastrophising or worrying on just about everything. 
Steph

My BED

My bed.
Steph

Dry Warm And Sheltered

It's been a week living in the camper and I am completely and utterly over it. My new house sits empty about 15 metres away from the camper and it's teasing me.....the power is on, the gas is on, the water is on, the ovens are connected and usable, yet I am sitting in the confined space of the camper. Last night I longed for a soak in a hot bubble bath but didn't as it wouldn't have been right. There is so much to do in the house, like painting and decorating but we can't do it, not yet. Not sure what to be grateful for really because I'm not feeling so grateful at the moment ......I suppose I should be grateful that even though we are in a camper instead of our beautiful home, we are dry and warm and sheltered.
Steph

Surviving The First Few Days And Kind Weather

I feel bad that I haven't blogged for a few days, it's because we've been in the camper and without the usual laptop and internet and being a completely different set up to being in a house. Today I am grateful that we have survived the first few days without too many dramas and that the weather has been really kind to us.
Steph

Norm

Thanks to our friend and neighbour Norm, we got finished moving stuff today. Norm is about 72 or 73 and he is fitter than all of us or any 20 year old, he just went and went and didn't seem to tire at all. He's amazing! . . .thanks

Tomorrow Is Another Day

So we are sitting here in the camper on our first night in our camper and the power has gone off twice as it's overloaded. It took us all  day to move stuff and there are still bits and pieces left in the house but not much, we will get them tomorrow. Not quite what was planned, I thought we would have at least tomorrow to rest and do whatever but no, we will have to do more moving and cleaning before we can relax. Tomorrow is Fathers day and Zoe and I were meant to go shopping this afternoon to get Dave something for Fathers Day but we ran out of time, so Dave may miss out tomorrow. Oh well, desperate times, desperate measures and tomorrow is another day....and that is what I am grateful for.
Steph