Say What?!

Part of moving to another country is learning to understand the locals.  It seems simple enough because the majority of kiwis speak English and you have to be able to do the same if you want to come live here.  That's where you get fooled.  I considered myself lucky because Ben is a kiwi, so I was familiar with his little expressions, the way he said things, his accent, and even how fast he talked.  We southerners don't get in a hurry when we speak, so imagine my surprise when I got to New Zealand and realized everyone spoke faster than a chipmunk on speed...and then you put a couple of them together having a conversation.  I had NO.I.DEA what 3/4 of the people around me were saying.  I did a lot of smiling and nodding initially, and I'm pretty sure my random smiles and nods earned me a few strange looks.

But wait, shouldn't I have had an easy time since I was used to Ben?  One would think, but then he got around his 'cuzzies' and 'bros' and he too got smiles, nods, and blank stares.  I know you think I'm exaggerating, but picture this, you're sitting at a red light, and some random dude yells "Aye, Ben!!" (yes, this happens ALL THE TIME, I swear I expected Ben to see someone he knew while we were over in Oz)  Ben leans over me and proceeds to yell back out the window to random dude "Ah, chur cuz!  Chu been up to bro?"  "Ah yeah, nah, yeah, just got back aye...shot over to Ragz for the day yesterday."  "Choooice!!" "Yeah, it was primo, but I got the chop from the kids and my wife cuz they weren't on holiday."  (they both laugh at this and I did too because laughing seemed appropriate) "Yeah man, that's us..light's green!"  "Sweet as!" "Catch!"

WHAT JUST HAPPENED THERE?!?!  Here's that conversation translated:  "Hey, Ben!" "Hey, friend!  What have you been up to?"  "I just got home.  I went over to Raglan for the day yesterday."  "Awesome!"  "Yeah, it was great, but the wife and kids were upset they didn't get to go because they weren't off of work and school."  "Gotta go, green light"  "That's alright!" "Bye!"  That conversation took place during the 10 seconds we were waiting for the light to turn, so yes, they too sounded like chipmunks on speed.  Ben claims kiwis don't speak fast, but they do...they just do! 

So, before you plan on coming for a visit or moving to another country, you should probably brush up on the local's lingo.  Luckily, you have me here to translate and give you a heads up on a few things you can expect to hear around our ways.  Like other parts of the world, you're going to get different little expressions and sayings depending on your exact location (example, other parts of the States don't say 'bless your heart' or 'y'all' nearly as often as southerners), but I can give you the gist of things.  Also, this is not THE definitive kiwi sayings list.  These are common phrases I hear.  If you're around a bunch of expats, you may not hear these phrases being said.

Oh, and one more thing...if someone asks you what you've been up to, don't say 'piddling around'.  I earned blank stares from Ben and his mother when I used this expression.  Piddling is going to the bathroom, so a few times I told them I had been peeing around the house all day. 

So, what you've all been waiting for...common expressions used around here!!

kia ora - hello
You will hear this and see this from the moment you log on to the Air New Zealand website to book your plane tickets.  This is actually Te Reo Maori, but you'll hear pakeha (not of the tribe) using it as well.

cuz - friend or cousin (non gender specific)

bro - male friend or brother

sis - female friend or sister

sweet as - you're welcome/no problem/yes (in agreement)/expression of admiration/I don't want to but I will/I'll be happy to
Example:  "Thanks for shouting lunch!"  "Sweet as!"
How not to use it:  "We're going out for a sweet as lunch."  "We're going to lunch and it's gonna be sweet as."  You may go to a sweet restaurant for lunch, but you are not going to a sweet as restaurant for lunch.  See the difference?  It takes some getting use to to be able to see how and when to use this correctly.

sweet - awesome, primo, choice
You may have a sweet new ride, you may go to a sweet new restaurant.  Sweet is used to describe a noun. 

primo or preemz - awesome
Example:  "The weather was priiiiimo!!"

mean - mean is not a bad thing, it's good! See sweet as, primo, awesome, or used as an emphasis
Example:  "You mean got told!"  "You mean got the chop" or "That party was meeeeaaaan!"

choice - may be accompanied by a thumbs up and can be a positive or negative.  See sweet as, primo, mean, shot
Example: "I got a new job!" "Ah, choice bro, that's mean!" On the other hand, if someone cuts you off in traffic... "Ah yeah, you're choice..."

shot - awesome/thank you/good on you or can be a negative when used sarcastically
Example:  "Shot bro, you're awesome" that would be a negative because someone just did something stupid or inconsiderate, but if they said "Shot bro, you're awesome!" that's a positive because they used it with a happy tone!

chur - when accompanied by the appropriate individual identifier, it is a greeting, farewell, acknowledgement, thank you, you're welcome, all good, no worries
Example:  "Chur bro, chu been up to?"

is that us - asking about someone's eagerness to do something
Example:  When getting ready to leave the house.  "Right, is that us?"  in other words "Are you ready?"

sorted - all good/ready/everything is taken care of
Example:  When getting ready to leave the house "Are you sorted?"  or "I sorted my doctor's appointment."

safe as - I've got it covered/no worries/sorted
Example:  "Can you make sure the back door is locked before you go?"  "Safe as"

got the chop - embarassed/denied/told off
Example:  You ask a girl out, and she says no.  You're buddies are in the background snickering because "You mean got the chop!"

got told - getting scolded/berated
Example:  You've been out too late with your friends, and when you get home you're partner is upset about this, so "You got told!"

cheap as - just that, cheap or inexpensive
Example:  "I just sorted tickets for our trip to Oz.  They were cheap as!"

a feed - a meal
Example:  We're heading over to mom's for a feed."

shout - pay for
Example:  "I'm shouting lunch."

good as gold - no worries/you're welcome
Example:  "Thanks for lunch!" "Ah, good as gold!"

nice one - thank you/primo/congratulations/awesome
Example:  "I scored a new job!" "Nice one, bro!"

too much - that's fantastic/that's awesome/thank you so much
Example:  "Oh, you're compiling a kiwi to American dictionary?  You're too much alright."

good on ya - depending on how it's used, it can be good or bad.  It is a call on behavior if you do something stupid or inconsiderate.  It can be used to say good job if you do something considerate.
Example:  "I've been cleaning house all day." "Good on ya, darling put your feet up."  On the other hand, if you just drop a glass and it shatters "Good on ya"

no worries - all good/you're welcome
Example:  "Thanks for helping clean up the shattered glass." "No worries, cuz"

stuffed - tired
Example:  "What's for dinner?" "I can't be bothered cooking, I'm stuffed."

she'll be right - it'll be okay
Example:  "You think the number 8 is gonna hold the muffler on?" "Yeah mate, she'll be right" (number 8 is fencing wire)

on to it - clever or getting things done
Example:  "I've been sorting through the kids stuff getting everything organized today."  "Ah, you're on to it."

church it up - exaggerate
Example:  "I'm stuffed!  I've been busy all day!" "Don't let her church it up, she's had her feet up all day!"

save it for Sunday - don't exaggerate
Example:  "I'm stuffed after cleaning all day!"  "Save it for Sunday!"  You'll also hear "Don't church it up, save it for Sunday!" or "Save it for Sunday, don't church it up!"

you don't know - whatever
Example:  "Man City's gonna lose tonight!"  "Shut up, you don't know!"

yeah, nah, yeah...(may have an 'aye' before you receive the explanation)- yes or no depending on context and tone, or may just be used to start a sentence
Example:  "Did you get out to the beach this weekend?" "Yeah, nah, yeah, we were going to but the wife had to shoot out to her mom's." or "Yeah, nah, yeah, we got out there on Saturday."

what's your buzz - what's your problem/what are you on about/what do you think you're doing
Example:  You're having a rant at the kids, and your partner walks in "What's your buzz?"

This is just a smidge of what I hear and try to understand.  It's gotten much better, and I use some of the little expressions myself.  However, I still get lost at times...let the whanau get together and start slinging around Maori words, and I am left trying to decipher through the muddle of confusion that Google Translate can't figure out.  If I get too lost, I remember to...

Football...Err...Rugby!

Back in Bama, football isn't "just a game", it's a way of life.  The SEC (South Eastern Conference for those of you confused) is THE best college football conference there ever has been, is, or will be!!  Yeah, I know there's some who disagree, and they're entitled to their opinion but they don't know any better.  It's somewhat of a big deal down south, but even MORE important is what specific team you pull for.  In Alabama, "Who you go for" is decided upon at birth.  Your choices are simple, Auburn or Alabama.  Seriously, you're born, the doctor looks at you and asks "Who you go for?"  Babies answer, well, not really, but their parents do (and that's who you'll pull for or you'll be disowned).  So, after the big decision, your team allegiance is stamped onto your birth certificate, and that's your team pretty much for life.  There are instances of people "becoming traitors" and deciding to swap teams, but it's kinda rare.  I was one of those.

That's right...I use to pull for Alabama, but now I happily yell "War Eagle!"  Well, not so happily here recently because they haven't been doing so hot, but that's another topic.  Anyhoo, since I jumped the fence, I have never been able to live it down or forget.  I'm not joking, stories are told about why I decided to abandon Alabama for Auburn.  Not only are there stories, but there are embellished tales.  The Legend of Callie's Conversion (as we'll call it) has been passed along and retold so many times, the real reason is no where to be found within the story, and nobody can actually remember how it truly came about.  I kid you not, I'm probably the only person that can actually tell you why I changed teams.  My own mother will argue with me and basically say "you don't know..."  Yeah, okay, Momma. I don't know why I no longer pull for Alabama.  O.o (that's googley eyes...it's my fave type expression)

I tell you all of this because it has a purpose.  You see it's a bit extreme, and a tad bit exaggerated (like stamping birth certificates), but it gets the point across to you.  If you had any doubts, you now know football is a big deal in Alabama.  Well, I thought our extremism couldn't be matched.  I. WAS. WRONG.  New Zealand is right up there with Alabama when it comes to devotion to their beloved sport.  The difference is, they're pulling for rugby teams, not football (grid iron as it's called here, they call soccer football).

If you're like I once was, you're sitting there thinking 'What's rugby?  Oh, that's that game kinda like football without pads!' Bingo!!  It's quite a bit like football, or at least I think.  You have a bunch of guys on a green field with lines and goal posts, and they run back and forth trying to get across one line or the other, and then they kick the ball and try to get it between the two goal posts!!  (Yes hubby dearest, I know my grammar and sentence structure was a lot worse than usual on that last one :P )  Also, like football, there's a whooooole lot of tackling and ramming into one another, and cheap head shots when they think the ref isn't looking.  Unlike football, they don't wear pads, they don't throw the ball forward, they don't get lots of time-outs, and it doesn't get drug out to last forty forevers because they're trying to stop the clock to win (it's 80 minutes with stops for penalties, injuries, and halftime).

Rugby takes all of my favorite things about football and hockey and mashes it all into a game that's even better because I don't get bored watching it!  On a side note, I know nothing about hockey other than it's pretty awesome when they start fighting.  Keep in mind, I've only been to two games, and I'm still learning about how the game is played.  My confusion is compounded by the different types of rugby.  There's Super Rugby (which are the games I've attended), there's Rugby Union (the All Blacks are Union), and then there's something called League.  From what I gather about League, it's like rugby, but rougher.  I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get bashed for not knowing the difference (I'm also gonna get bashed by both Auburn and Alabama fans, non-SEC fans, hockey supporters, and people against violence since I said I liked hockey fights). 

I'll get it all figured out eventually, and as I do, I'm sure you'll get to read aaaaallll about it.  It's still entertaining and fun to watch,.  So, since I can't tell you a whole lot about the game, I 'll show you instead.  Here we go...rugby in picutres!!!  Oh, and please forgive my blurry shots.  My phone camera has taken to being a royal pain when it comes to quality phots....

Pre-game Haka

More Haka

Scrum

Game Play

More Game Play

Now, I would like to take a minute to point out a few things.  The guy is pink is the ref, and I'm pretty sure I found that to be funnier than your average person would, hence the fact that I'm pointing it out.  I would also like you to take note that there are no pads being worn.  Those guys are hitting each other just like they do in football, and you don't hear them crying because someone was "roughing the quarter back".  Also, those guys play the whole game with the occasional substitute player.  They don't swap between offense, defense, and special teams.  I'm not saying that my beloved Auburn Tigers are falling from their pedestal, but I am saying I now appreciate other sports besides college football.

Oh, and those first pics I posted, the haka, well here's the All Blacks actually performing one.

No, the All Blacks are not what started the haka.  It's actually based on Maori tradition.  Want to know more about it?  You'll have to read my next post.  I know that sounds a bit mean, but Little Stevie is awake, and we're about to run a few errands.  So, on that note.  I'll be back soon to fill you in on the haka.  Until next time!

Ink in New Zealand

Yesterday, Ben and I attended the New Zealand International Tattoo & Art Expo.  Unfortunately, the air con was out, and I was rather warm.  I waddled around wishing I was one of the people getting a new tat, but then it hit me...it's hot!!  I decided I would be content with just being hot instead of being hot and in pain!  Ben looked at the artists and I could see the longing in his eyes.  Too bad, so sad....I was uncomfortable and not going to stay in one place for very long at all.  I will make mention that he and his mother are there as I write, and I'm anxious to see which of the two have the most new ink when they get back.  I'm secretly rooting for my mother-in-law so I can gloat about how awesome she is AND give him a hard time because his mother got a new tat and he didn't! :D

Back to the expo...it wasn't just booths upon booths of buzzing needles, but there were also booths upon booths of different clothing.  You could get a burlesque costume, pinup girl clothing, painted surfboards...you get my drift.  There were also makeup artists there that could make you look like a sugar skull zombie, pinup girl (complete with I Love Lucy Hair), or you could have your very own imitation tattoo.  There were lots of mohawks, piercings, wigs, and people with funky colored hair walking around.  Strollers and kids were everywhere to be seen, and in the mix of all the sights to behold, I stood out.  Yes, that's right, the baby bump earned me more looks, conversations, and smiles than any of these highly adorned people would ever receive in a crowded Wal-Mart.  I was rocking my belly, t-shirt, and shorts like it was nobody's business!  LOL!!  I probably found it way more amusing than I should have, but I wasn't the only one.  Ben found it humorous that I was the one getting looked at he didn't even earn a second glance!

Having said that Ben didn't get a second glance, here in NZ, the looks he gets are to check out his tattoos, and the comments are all along the lines of "I like that!"  Tattoos aren't taboo here.  New Zealand has the most tattooed population per capita of any country in the world.  What does that mean?  Well, it means that 1 in 5 kiwis have ink, and 36% of those 30 and under have tats.  So, even outside of the tattoo expo, tattoos aren't frowned upon.  People's tats aren't confined to places that are easily covered in order to be "professional", and they aren't all little hearts and flowers on their ankle.  A lot of the tattoos seen around NZ are Ta Moko or kirituhi.

Ta Moko is a Maori tattoo that gives that person's history.  This tattoo tells who they are and where they come from.  It is placed on various parts of the body, such as the face or legs, according to what it represents.  It was once carved into their flesh with bone/stone chisels, but the majority use less painful methods today.  This is not "just a tattoo", but this is a part of a Maori's identity.  Kirituhi, on the other hand, is literally skin art.  If you're pahkeha (non-Maori/not of the tribe), this is what you get, even if you want a "Maori tattoo".  Kirituhi resembles moko, but it lacks the true symbols and history.  In other words, even if you directly copy a Maori's tattoo, you could never have ta moko because the history and genealogy is not yours.  Sorry Mike Tyson, that face tat you have is just a pretty tattoo!

It's somewhat of a debate here in NZ.  Some people feel that anyone should be able to get the tattoos.  Understandably, some Maori get offended with people trying to copy their tattoos.  It's like having their identity stolen, especially when the people wanting these designs have no idea about the history and meaning surrounding them.  Personally, I wouldn't waltz up into a tattoo parlor and ask for ta moko.  It's a cheap imitation, in my opinion.  Okay, personal rant over....

Here are a couple of images, which do not belong to me, I might add... Oh, and be careful if you ever google images of kirituhi in hopes of finding the perfect tat to take to your artist.  A lot of the images aren't kirituhi, or even Polynesian for that matter.

Judge Caren Fox - moko kauae (chin) and ngutu pūrua (full lips)

Traditional Carved Ta Moko

Moko - done with needle

Kirituhi

Random tribal tat...he started claiming it was Maori inspired after meeting some girl in Vegas who showed him her butt tattoo.

Kirituhi

Now that I've given you a little history lesson, I'm about to wrap this post up.  Oh, and for those of you interested, Ben has returned.  He nor his mother got new ink.  She was hot, too!!! :D :D :D  Until next time! :D


  

Weekend Beach Trip

This past weekend was another public holiday weekend, meaning everyone from around here was off to celebrate Auckland Anniversary Day.  I was a bit confused over why Hamilton would be celebrating the foundation of Auckland, but I decided okay, if they want this as another excuse to have a holiday I am all for that.  Curiosity later got the best of me, and I had to find out why in the world this was a holiday.  A bit of research later, and I discovered that it is actually a day celebrated on the Monday closest to January 29th in celebration of the formation of the Auckland Province.  That made a bit more sense to me being that Hamilton would have been part of what was the Auckland Province.  Satisfied with my discovery, I was able to happily do what everyone else around here was doing...heading to the beach!!

That's right, it's summer and a holiday weekend.  Remember what I have said before about kiwis and holidays?  They make for the beach.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we decided to head out for sand and sun!!  We had originally discussed heading out to the Coromandel Peninsula, but it was decided we would save that for a day when we could leave out at 5 o'clock in the morning due to me wanting to stop every couple of kilometers to take pictures.  I browsed a map trying to decided where I wanted to go, and I finally decided on Waihi, which is on the east coast.  We packed the car and away we went! 

After arriving in Waihi, Ben said, "Here or do you want to keep going and head up to Whangamata?"  We made a quck trip to Waihi when I was in NZ back in June, so of course I wanted to go where I have not been before.  A short, but very curvy drive later, and I was pleased by the site of an artsy little beach town!  We made our way through town and found a beach access spot that wasn't crowded.  By beach access, I mean driving down a street and parking at the edge of someone's yard and walking down the beach path.  This beach is much more easily accessible than our little west coast hidey hole, there is no stream to cross, and the path is actually marked so you're not blindly wandering around some Mr. Random Farmer's land.

Here are a few pictures of the path down to the beach.

And here is the lovely view we were greeted by!

Sadly, we were not the only people on this beach.  It was "crowded" according to Ben.  He of course was grumbling about "all the people".  Here's how "crowded" it was.

I will admit, I too started grumbling when this annoying little group settled within 30 yards of us.  I couldn't figure out why they chose to come to our little section and play Impress My 12 Year Old Girlfriend With My Football Skillz.  Yes, that was an example of the not so nice things Ben and I uttered as the two guys kicked and tossed the football in an attempt to look cool while wearing muscle shirts.  I really wanted to tell them that they lost cool points because they were wearing those shirts, but I didn't.  We were happy when they decided to leave 45 minutes after arriving.  :D

We continue to nap and sun in peace after their departure, and I am pleased to report...there was no sunburns associated with this trip!  My ankle is finally recovering from our last beach excursion.  I missed a couple of areas, and I ended up looking like I had a horrid run in with self tanner.  I was blotchy with dark patches here and there.  I giggled every time I looked at my feet and ankles, but I'm glad to be uniformed in color now.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get a bit more sun time in before our little one makes her arrival and the summer comes to an end.

I hope everyone back home is having a great week, and I will update again soon. The rest of my week will be low key, and then we'll be getting ready for our trip to Australia next week.  My camera is charged and ready to go!  Until next time, everyone take care and stay safe with the weather headed your way! XoXo

"THE Incident"

I've been in my new home for a little over a month now, and so far, settling in has been going great.  I know everything I have written about so far has been on the positive side, but there have been hiccups along the way.  Hiccups are to be expected, right?  Of course they are, it's what makes life funny..well, not at that moment, but in hindsight at any rate.  Looking back, I'm having a laugh right now as I think about what Ben has started referring to as "THE Incident".

I had started thinking about things like, food in general (thanks Pinterest)...which in turn lead me to thinking about grilled chicken, which in turn made me start thinking about side dishes for grilled chicken.  Side dishes...hmmm...potato salad!!  Yes, and potato salad has pickled relish in it.  Pickled relish, oh I needed that, because then I could make tuna salad, egg salad, deviled eggs, and chicken salad...you can see how my train of thought quickly derailed and honed in on the pickled relish and all things surrounding it.  Needless to say, I spent the rest of the afternoon fantasizing contemplating all the wonderful things I could do with one jar of pickled relish. 

Fast forward a few hours... My amazingly wonderful dear hubby walked through the door after he got off work, and announced he was going to the market.  I nearly squealed with delight!  He asked THE question I wanted to hear "Do you need anything?"  Why yes, yes I did.  I looked at him with eyes full of hope (much like a child as they sit on Santa's lap and whisper their Christmas wish list) and said, "Do y'all have pickled relish here?" He was thoughtful for a minute and then proceeded to tell me how they have aaaaaallll kinds of relish here.  Yes, that's great...but that did not answer the question of if New Zealand has pickled relish.  I tried again..."ummmhmmm...do you have pickled relish?" He looked at me and said, "What do you mean by pickled relish?"

I quickly realized that we were about to have some cultural difference issues, and decided that I would personally oversee the purchase of  the relish.  I told him it was okay, I would check it out when I went, and requested a Milky Bar instead.  Milky Bars are basically white chocolate bars, and it was just what I needed since my relish dreams were smashed for the moment.  One Milky Bar and a couple of days later, I had all but forgotten my pickled relish infatuation. 

Life continued on, and I found other things to obsess fixate occupy my time.  The weekend rolled around, and we did our normal errands like, grocery shop.  We were fighting the crowd and participating in buggy wars, and I had still not thought about my beloved relish...until we walked past chicken.  You guessed it...the wheels in my brain started turning, and everything in my head stopped and immediately returned to zeroing in on pickled relish.  I became possessed...must have pickled relish NOW!!!  So, we immediately went to where all things relish was located.

I happily pranced up to the shelf, and I surveyed the many different types of relish.  Nope...no dill pickled relish...no sweet pickled relish...no cucumber pickle relish of any kind.  I was slightly disheartened, but hey, it's okay...I'm from Alabama...I can improvise!!  I can dice up my own dill pickles!  Problem solved!  I march myself down to the pickle section, with Ben in tow helping me search, and I see all kinds of pickled vegetables.  The one thing I did not see was dill pickles.  How can New Zealand NOT have dill pickles?!?!?!  I was heartbroken!! 

I start to rant and mutter about not having dill pickles, and who eats stupid gherkins...much less bread and butter gherkins, and come to think of it, why are their no dill gherkins, does New Zealand not know what dill is?  Ben was wanting to know what's wrong and what did I mean by a dill pickle.  Ummm...you know, a pickle that is dill flavor...NOT bread and butter and NOT a gherkin.  "A pickled what?" he asks.  Apparently, we were having a cultural difference, but I was too distraught to notice, or care. "A CUUUU-CUM-BER!"  At this point, I noticed that I was on the verge of becoming irrational and I just wanted to go before I started crying in the middle of the grocery store. 

Ben, bless his heart, was trying his hardest to help me out, and he continued to look for pickles.  I was becoming more agitated by the second because I knew it was futile...all of my hopes and dreams were ruined, and all I wanted to do was bawl my eye balls out.  "I don't want them, they're not here, let's go home." He looked at me like I had lost my mind, and I had...I wanted pickles, they weren't there, and I have pregnancy hormones running through my blood stream...need I say more?  He continued to look and explain to me that it helps when I clearly describe to him what it is I'm searching for.  My irrational emotions make it harder to contain my tears, and none of this is what I want to hear at the moment, so I do like any woman, and quickly repeat that "I want to go home" before saying nothing. 

He finally gives up on the pickles, and we make our way through the rest of our shopping with me replying "no" to everything he asks from that point forward.  The ONLY thing I wanted was dill pickles, and they did not have them.  I managed keep my composure, and we got in the car to head home.  At this point, I'm still not speaking because I know how silly it is that I'm this upset by the pickles, but there's nothing I can do about it.  I just wanted to go home and wallow in my sorrow.  Poor Ben, he just wouldn't give up, and he pulled into a Mediterranean specialty store to see if they had them.  I knew from the moment I saw what type of store it was...there were not going to be any pickles, and I was not going to be any happier about the whole situation.  After my knowledge was confirmed, we then once again, made our way home.

Once we got to the house, I was finally able to console myself.  I sprawled across the bed and cried before having a nap.  4 1/2 hours later, I woke up feeling a bit better.  I had a little more sense about me, and went to the source of all knowledge...Google!!  If there were dill pickles to be had in New Zealand, Google would know!!  Apparently, this has been a topic of interest from others that moved over, and I did manage to find a couple of recommendations as to where they might be carried...including an American specialty store in Auckland.  Ben, checked them out online, but unfortunately, they don't have online shopping.  It's okay, we're headed to Auckland in a couple of weeks, and if I have not found pickles by then, I will be checking them out while we're there!

So, there you have it....the story of my temporary insanity and my unsuccessful quest for dill pickles in New Zealand.  My Momma had to hear this story shortly after it happened.  She did NOT make me feel better...she laughed at me, and then she told my Granny.  I found out about Granny knowing when I called to see how she was doing, and after exchanging pleasantries, she said, "So, tell me...how are the dill pickles in New Zealand?"  She immediately cracked up laughing. 

Now, every time I say something positive about New Zealand, I'm quickly informed of how tasty the pickles are back home...LOL  I can get a laugh out of it now, and I think someone in my family is going to take pity of me and ship me some.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I find them here, but if anyone wants to send pickles my way, I'm willing to provide my address! :D  Until next time...everyone take care and eat a few dills in my honor!!

Catching Up...Boxing Day & The Belly Excuse

That's right....I said Boxing Day, celebrated on December 26th.  I'm pretty sure you're having the same reaction that I had the first time I heard about Boxing Day.  I couldn't help but think, "Sheesh...a whole day devoted to the sport of boxing?!  Mike Tyson fans much..."  (for the record...I don't think NZ is all to keen on Mike, considering they banned him from entering...click here to read more.)  

Okay, okay, back on point.  What exactly is Boxing Day?  Well, there's two theories as to its origins.  The first theory is that back in the day, servants had to work Christmas, but were given the day after off in order to celebrate with their families.  The servant's employers would present them with gift boxes on the day after...hence the term Boxing Day.  The second theory is that the collection boxes in churches were opened up, and the proceeds were distributed to the poor on the day after Christmas.  Today, it's like Black Friday, except you don't have to request off work because it's a public holiday!!  Oh, little side note here...Boxing Day isn't just celebrated in NZ.  Canada, Australia, and the UK all celebrate BD, too.

We got up bright and early, just like everyone else that hadn't participated in the mass exodus to the beach, and prepared to go shopping.  We didn't hit the "early bird" specials, but instead we waited and hit the shops around noon-ish.  The traffic was insane, and there was nowhere to park.   The Base. (one of the malls) has this nifty little feature telling how many parking spots are available.  Well...there weren't many, and everyone was having to park out in the middle of nowhere.  

Security was directing traffic, blocking roads and areas that were full, and indicating where you needed to go to park.  We WERE being directed to the great abyss, but what did Ben do?  He decided to use my bulging belly to get us closer.  Yep, he pulled right up to Mr. Security Guard and said something along the lines of  "My darling is pregnant, is there any way you can get us closer?"  Mr. Security laughed and said "Yeah, she has had a bit too much Christmas pudding!  Go right over there, and we'll get you in."  We ended up with front row parking!!  

I was really thankful for the great spot once the rain set in.  To be honest, I was really grateful I didn't have to waddle any further than necessary...I had shopping to do and couldn't be bothered expending all my energy navigating the parking lots trying to get to the mall!!  Let me rephrase that, I thought I had shopping to do.  It turns out, after visiting nearly every store at The Base, we went home with 1 purchase.  That's right...it took 5 hours to find one thing to buy, AND it wasn't even on sale!!!!  

In summary, Boxing Day was spent fighting traffic and crowds just to NOT get a good deal.  Sounds about right huh?  It wasn't a complete waste though...we did manage to get a great laugh out of the parking arrangement....and yes, after 5 hours of walking around that place, I was even more grateful to have the awesome parking spot.  Thanks again, Mr. Security Man!! :D