Moving Time

So, it is officially less than a month before we fly away from London for life in Wellington.

AHHHHhhhhhh.

On May 5th, after 2+ years for me and 10+ years for R, we fly back to New Zealand. We have a week in Auckland with R’s family and friends before heading down to Wellington to start our new life. R has a job which starts on the 16th – which is fantastic – but currently I will be unemployed. And living with my parents. Dealing with my second winter in a row. Talk about stressful!

There are a couple of things still left to do – the boxes get picked up on Monday, so we’ll be saying goodbye to the computer, xbox, books, pasta machine etc for up to three months, which is quite a long time! We also need to finish up financial stuff – cancel the Sky subscription, move out, close down bank accounts. We have to say goodbye for now to the friends and family we have here – including Ange, who’s only been here for 6 months, and R’s 3-y-o niece. I’ll probably cry a lot. It’s different moving this time – when I moved to London it was always only temporary – there was always an end date on my visa. Moving back is permanent.

I am looking forward to going home – I haven’t seen my best friend in over two years, and I miss my family. I also miss New Zealand’s significantly cheaper rent, and a city in which buying a house is not a complete pipe dream.

There are lots of other exciting things to look forward to – R’s buying a car while we’re in Auckland, so we can road trip down to Wellington, and go on lots of little day trips. We’re planning to do the Otago Rail Trail in October-ish – ride a bike at a leisurely pace for three or four days while enjoying LOTR-type spectacular scenery.

In the meantime, we’re trying to see as much on London as possible – Royal Albert Hall tomorrow, Cambridge next weekend, York last weekend – and I’m trying to get fit before we leave. After all, the best way to see the beautiful New Zealand countryside is to be in it – which means tramping, long walks, and camping. I ran 5km in March, but I haven’t really done anything since, so it’s time to kick it up a notch!

All my lovely books are packed into a box – anyone want an ikea bookcase?

Underthings!

I have been mildly obsessed with making my own underwear/bra’s for a good month now. I entirely blame Madalynne, everything she makes just looks so amazing!

Couch to 5K – Look Mum, I’m a runner!

I have always detested running. Until recently, I think the most running I’ve done in my life was the dreaded beep test in High School. In September, some kind of switch just flipped for me, and I was raring to go for the Couch to 5k program. I’m sure you’ve heard someone talk about this in the last couple of years, it’s responsible for thousands of people – my mum included – becoming runners. You know, that friend who comes to the pub, and tells you how fantastic they felt after their 35 minute run this morning. Yeah, the one you roll your eyes at (not judging, I did too). Running can’t make you feel that good, can it?

Well, get the eye roll ready, because I’m about to become that friend: it really does.

MisFit

 

I’ve been trying to be healthy and fit for a couple of months now, and last week, after some research (read: price comparison) I bought a fitness tracker. It is… a MisFit!