Violent pandemonium

#97 'Run' from home to my home town
Completed! I'm amazed at how quickly the numbers started to add up once I'd started proper training. Yes, I'm a bit tired now. Please to tick another one off the list though.

And really that's it.

in the name of all that is sweet and buttery

7. Visit all Auckland Regional parks
Waitakere Ranges. The Oxfam team did the Montana Heritage trail on Saturday. Major hills up and some quite dodgy footing. Very interesting bush to look at, lots of mature kauri. We whipped through it so fast I didn't even have time to take any pictures.

Awhitu on Sunday. An older, more established park than some we've been to, it has lovely paths between the manuka and other plants. Lots of wetland planting which has even spilled over to the rest of the peninsula. A very hot day which made the dry dry dry paddocks look even drier. Very safe beach for swimming as it stays a fairly regular depth quite a way out. Advice - swim when the tide is in.

The ARCpark count is getting quite good. There are a few parks in development which I'm not sure that we can get to. Another one is a stadium and the only way to visit is to go to something that's on. That leaves about 6 to go. They are mostly south of Auckland and will mean a bit more travelling time for me. (Although hopefully not as much as when we visited Tapapakanga. Too much talking. Not enough navigating.)

#97 'Run' from home to my home town
With all the training for #60 Take part in an event for charity (Yay! we have a team! Sponsor us!) the numbers are steadily ticking up.

Sniffles of boredom

#97 'Run' from home to my home town
I've done a couple before work runs this week. Nothing too major - only 20-30mins but every little bit counts right? It's a bit of a struggle. I definitely need to do more running than walking. Plus I need to get new shoes so I don't get blisters which slow me down and give me an excuse (which I don't need and don't want) to stop.

Summering on the cape

#97 'Run' from home to my home town

Clocked up a few more kms this evening. To be honest I was all keen at work then I found I didn't have any socks, so decided to flag it and cycle instead but then I came home and saw a couple policemen parking their cars and getting out their stab-proof vests so I thought I'd run past only to discover that the stab-proof vests were probably bullet-proof vests and the police ment were standing behind the treeline next to the pavement and they were still there when I got back only there were two! police! men! with! big! guns! instead! of! one! which meant they were there for a couple hours at least. Not sure what it was all about - I was trying to look cool on my way past, y'klnow, like I wasn't a bit interested when really I was gawking like a little kid. No shame.



#74 Cook risotto from scratch

I thought there was a recipe in the Edmonds but it turns out the recipe is something like 'Start with a packet of pre-prepared chicken risotto...' which is absolutely useless for my needs. I thinks there's one in the Jamie book.

NB. I think Boyfriend and I are in a bit of a competition over who can cook the best chicken. i did one last night which he loved and tonight he did one that I loved... Maybe it's not really a competition but just using up what's in the cupboard because there isn't any food left in the house.



#42 Send a snail mail postcard to nieces

I'm starting this one tonight and will hopefully get the postcards off tomorrow. I was going to use the cute slightly bug-eyed kiwi but I sounded a bit manic on it so I chopped it up and used a yellow heart instead. I'm not entirely sure of the address for the australian lot so it might take longer than I'm hoping it will.



Update #100 Send Power company the key to the house

You may remember this as a particular challenge of mine. Well, the meter reader turned up on Saturday sans key. He hasn't received it yet. He was very cheerful about the whole thing and said that he used to have our estimated meter reading filled out before he even drove past our house. :)

This is your last spoiler warning

Ive made things on the list that are still to be done bold, things in progress italic'ed and complete ones normal font. I think this will help me choose which ones to do next.

I'm going into work late tomorrow so I might have time to do this one #88 Watch the sunrise from the beach (bugger, actually it's more difficult to track down a particular task with the bolding.) I love starting early. I might start in the dark but at least there's an hour or two in the afternoon when it's light. That could of course be because the weather has been dry and not very windy for the last few months. I can't believe it's only about a fortnight until the shortest day of the year.

Walked home from work so there's another 5km off #97 'Run' from home to my home town. I know it's not technically totally running but I need new shoes before that happens. AND to remember to take my inhaler.

Been doing some research into #36 Spend a night on Tiritiri Matangi Island...have I blogged this before? It feels like it...

#54 Write a book for my niece
Here are the details
What are the names of the characters? Alane; Kery; Mia; Sera Princess; Puse (not entirely sure how this last one is supposed to be prounounced...)
Where are they going? Mall; Beach; Home
What are they doing? Playing; Sleeping; Shopping (at the mall?); Swimming; Relaxing; Reading; Looking; Eating
What animals do they encounter? Cat; Dog; Rabbit

#43 See a performance that doesn't include anyone I know
This is going to be King Lear at the ASB theatre with LoM and G. Should be fun.

I've offered to meet LoM for brekky (which is one of her 101/1001). Maybe she will join me on #51 Visit North Shore literary locations on the day. Not all of them of course but it MUST include Mr Sargeson's house. I'm not sure if it's open after the road works yet. It should be possible to get in a Devonport walk before hiving off to some of the North Shore ARC parks.

do not leave your longings unattended

Progress!

#87 Complete A-Z reading challenge - titles 3/26 and started #86 Complete A-Z reading challenge - authors. Reviews to come.

#97 'Run' from home to my home town. 4/160km. There's a long way to go.

#93 Watch 'Dark Angel' on DVD. Complete. Mental note - next time watch Season One BEFORE Season Two. A whole lot of things made so much more sense. Verdict to come.

#2 Make alphabet cubes. I have a niece who is only new - she will be 1 in september. I'm planning to make her some alphabet cubes which I have never done before. But of course I have to do something tricky - I want her to be able to spell her names out. That means I need at least 6 cubes for the longest name. Then I want her to be able to spell the names of her friends and family which means that certain letters can't be on the same block - e.g. D and J and O. Add to that the fact that I want to include the Maori alphabet making it 28 letters rather than 26 and it all gets a bit complicated. I think I've figured out what I need to do to ensure that it will work. I'm thinking of mocking some up in paper before I start cutting and sticking. Plus I have to buy some fabric scissors. I do have the fabric and a sewing machine!

#50 No black to work for a week. Done and laundered. This was an interesting experiement. I had to combine clothes that I normally wouldn't wear together. Surprisingly this went down quite well with my colleagues. What did I learn? That you should always try new combinations of things. (Thank god it's over though!)

No progress - We didn't end up going to Tawharanui on the weeknd. My friend's family came up and she hung out with them - and had a great time by all accounts. So #7 remains unfulfilled.