February break = bliss!

It's Sunday night and I am feeling stress-free and very content, as I am at the beginning of a full week off from school. I'm laying in bed watching TLC on TV, I've been sewing lots of bags, going to the gym, and otherwise relaxing. This is the first time in a few years that I haven't been embarking on some crazy travel during term break, so I'm expecting it to be pretty refreshing and rejuvenating actually. Jeff and I are just enjoying our down time together, and will be heading to Saskatoon for a few days as well. Shopping, movies, cooking, baking, visiting friends.... Let me just say how much I totally love school holidays!

Life is gooooooood!

(In other news, here are the beans enjoying their holiday in Arizona! Check out the snazzy sparkly pink sunglasses! Neato!)

The next little superstar!

I stumbled upon this video on facebook and I just love her! What a little performer!

In other news, as of almost exactly an hour ago, I am officially on February break! One full week of freedom! Jeff should be here in about 25 minutes, and then the holiday starts. Ahhh, so happy. :oD

A year of bags... in one quilt!

Since I started sewing bags almost exactly a year ago I've had a ton of scrap material that I haven't wanted to throw out. I was never sure what I'd do with it, but the pieces somehow seemed too substantial to get rid of entirely. My sister and my mom have both done some quilting in the past, so I decided that I might be able to do some sort of chaotic-yet-adorable bag mash-up quilt with the remnants of many of the bags I've sewn this year.

So, in an effort to get started (and to get my basement somewhat cleaned up), I started piecing together some possibilities for log cabin quilt squares. Obviously nothing has been sewn yet, but I laid out the fabric and came up with something like this for the first 4 squares:

I don't know how many squares I will need, and I don't know how to put the whole thing together in the end either, but so far I think it looks pretty neat. I realize that it looks a bit ridiculous to most people, but the truth is that, for me, it's a fun medley of fabrics that remind me of specific people and friends that have bought my bags. I'm sure I will move things around a few times before I ever sew anything, but at least this gives me an idea of what it might look like. I have SO many pieces too, that I'm sure I could make a queen-sized quilt without using the same fabric pattern more than once or twice. Should be interesting!

The light at the end of the Narnian tunnel...

Last year our school did the musical "Alice in Wonderland Jr." It was a ton of fun, but also a lot of work, as most ventures of that kind usually are. After the success of last year's show, we decided to do another musical this year - "Narnia," based on the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We did auditions in late September, cast the show around Thanksgiving, and started rehearsals on October 25th. Since then, I have had no free weeknights - Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday have been consumed by musical rehearsals, and Wednesdays are the rehearsal days for City Band and Millennium Swing Orchestra.

Several times over the past 3 1/2 months I have longed for freedom from the show - time to do the things that I want to do - time to visit my brand new baby nieces, my sister and brother-in-law, etc., spend time with Jeff, go out for coffee with friends without having to dash out mid-conversation to make it to rehearsal on time, relax, have a nap, do laundry, paint my toenails.... some of these things are completely mundane, but that's exactly what I've found I've been missing: time to enjoy the mundane aspects of life. Now, I'm definitely not saying that spending time with Jeff or visiting Avery and Emily are mundane - I feel exactly the opposite actually. What I mean is that when I start wishing I could do laundry and clean my car after school, or go to the mall, or wash the floors in my bedroom, or bake banana bread, or hang out in my pyjamas... then I know I'm feeling overcommitted.

What keeps me going through all of it though, is that I know it's good for my students. It's good for them to have the experience of being on stage, playing a part of something bigger, escaping themselves for a couple hours and entering a world where they can be anything.... a witch, a wolf, a statue, a dancing woodland nymph. It's good for them to be challenged and to have the responsibility of learning their lines, music, harmonies, blocking, etc. It's good for them to have the bonding experience with their fellow cast and crew members. It's good for them to see that they are capable of doing something big, and presenting it to a live audience.

There's always the stress of "that chord was out of tune" or "that character missed her entrance" or "that person forgot his lines" or "this person never seems to stay in character" etc. but in the end I always look back on it and say that it was worth it. Not for me and for the (usually-)out-of-tune chords (which they sing beautifully in music rehearsal but forget when they get on stage), or for the amazing finished product, because, let's face it... it's a high school musical. We do what we can. But what makes it all worth it is the look on the kids' faces when they say to me excitedly in the hallways, "Miss Campbell! 4 days 'til Narnia opens! I'M SO EXCITED!" I guess this is somewhat what it must feel like to have children - you sacrifice your own time and energy so that they can experience as much as possible, and you don't do it for yourself, but for them.

So, here we are, staring down the barrel of another opening show, which is going to happen in 2 1/2 days whether we're ready or not. This weekend is consumed by 13 hours of tech and dress rehearsal, with a whirlwind road trip to Saskatoon to see Jeff and to pick up band instruments from the repair shop crammed in on Saturday night. On Monday we take the stage with full costumes, make-up, sound, lighting, set, props... the works. For me, I just keep my students in mind whenever I get stressed about the product - I need to remember that it will never be perfect. They work hard, they are wonderful people, and they will do the best that they can do. They will be better for it, and really so will I.

Come Monday, I will begin to have more free evenings as our first 3 shows are matinees. Friday and Saturday are evening shows, Sunday is a matinee..... and come Monday, I will have all weekdays free except Wednesday. Regular life will resume. I will have time to spend with Jeff again, not just on weekends. I will get to see the twins grow and get cuter by the day again. :o) And what will be left? Good memories of another show with wonderful students. Here's to hoping all goes well on stage!

"Buy My Bags" purchase #2...

... Following the first purchase of an all-inclusive 10-day vacation to Mexico with Jeff (happening in 81 days!!!), I have made purchase #2 with the profit I've made selling bags....

.... a new soprano saxophone!!!! YAY!!!! I've only had her for 1 day and I love her already. :oD She was pre-loved, but well taken care of. I got her for $1,500 and she plays like a gem.

So, if you have purchased a bag (or several) from me in the past 11 1/2 months, THANK YOU! This has been the most fun little side project ever. I had no idea it'd go so well, but business is still trucking along and I'm still sewing up a storm. I just bought a bunch of new bright colours and patterns, so if you are a "Buy My Bags" follower, stay tuned for some new ones coming up!

(Side note: I thought it would be funny to name my new saxophone Kendra or something alluding to Kenny G, but in the saxophone world that's pretty much sacrilegious, so I refrained. Still, the thought was there.) :op

Update on my buddies!

Although I start every post with something along the lines of "I have really been slacking on the blog thing," it's true every time. Now that I'm starting to teach my Grade 10 computer class to set up and use blogger, I guess I should get back into the swing of things myself. And with that being said, what better topic to update with than my fabulous nieces? :o) They are 3 1/2 months old now and stinkin' cute. See for yourself!

Miss Emily - so happy!

Little Avery being a nut

Beans in a blanket! Sleepovers: the early years. :o)

A happy mom with 2 adorable babies!

Ka mate, ka mate, ka ora, ka ora!

Well folks, the babies fit their All Blacks onesies now (straight from Taupo!), so I had to take the opportunity to showcase them for my kiwi friends. I can't tell if Avery is doing the haka or crying over the All Blacks' abysmal World Cup record. Your thoughts?

This All Black is cuter than even Dan Carter!

Photo update

Hello pretty girls with wide eyes!

And little Emily with a smiley face!

They are so cute I could just explode!

Something(s) to show off......

Introducing my beautiful new baby nieces, Avery and Emily!

Ok, granted I am a *bit* biased, but I think they are absolutely PERFECT. Avery Anne was 4 lb 10 oz and Emily Grace was 4 lb 15 oz. They were born on Monday night, and I arrived in Saskatoon about 20 minutes after Emily was born, so I got to hold them almost right away. They are tiny but healthy, and absolutely the cutest. :o) I love them so much already!

Let the (double) fun begin!!!!!

Hi from Vancouver, EH?

I am on Canadian soil and am updating my blog from the plane, but will soon have to turn off the wireless connection. A 15-hour flight and a few AirCanada mishaps later, I am leaving Vancouver and will be in Saskatoon at 2:30pm today. SO excited!

Thanks for an awesome time, friends! And to my SK people... SEE YOU SOON!!!!

Recapping my last day in Auckland (and New Zealand!!)

Well folks, it's my last night in New Zealand! I spent yesterday just chilling out with Jude, then stayed at Aidyn's place last night. Aidyn and I spent the day together today - it was SO good to see him again after 3 years apart! It was totally like nothing had changed.

While we were out on Queen Street getting my last-minute souvenirs and gifts, Aidyn made some comment in passing about how there was some huge high school choir thing going on here this week. I was like, "Wait a second, there IS a huge choir thing here this week... it's The Big Sing! STEPHEN IS HERE TODAY!!!!!" So I texted Stephen right away, he called me, and we made plans to meet for literally a 10-15 minute visit at the town hall before his choir went in to listen to some other choirs perform. What an awesome little reunion!!!!

After our Queen Street adventures, Aidyn and I went to the Auckland War Memorial Museum where, strangely enough, we ran into one of the girls I had met on the Kiwi bus in Kaikoura. The three of us checked out the museum together for a couple hours; the most amazing thing for me was to see all of the incredible ornate Maori carvings. The highlight was definitely the Marae in the Maori court area of the museum (I took my shoes off and went in for a few pictures):

I also got a ton of pictures of the various tiki statues around the museum. It was really cool to see the full-sized ones, as their eyes are made of full paua shells (as opposed to the tiny paua shell pieces that the eyes in the souvenir-sized statues are made of):

So now I'm at Jude's place again, where I will spend the night before starting my journey back across the Pacific at 7am. We're going to aim for 4am as a drop-off time so I can get comfortably checked in before my flight to Sydney. In my journey home, I first fly to Sydney (3 1/2 hours), then to Vancouver (14 hours, 5 minutes), then to Calgary (1 hour, 18 minutes), and finally Saskatoon (1 hour, 4 minutes). Total estimated flying time = 19 hours, 57 minutes. Total estimated layover time = 5 hours, 32 minutes. Total time between take-off in Auckland and landing in Saskatoon = 25 hours, 29 minutes. 28 1/2 hours if you count the 3 hours I'll be spending at the Auckland airport before take-off. So, long story short, it's a long journey home but it will be well worth it.

In no particular order, here are some of the things I'm excited for about coming home:

- Jeff

- mom and dad

- Karyn's belly and the musical beans

- summer weather

- my room

- no backpack!!!!

- different clothes (living in the same ones for 5 weeks gets old)

- giving Jeff, his parents, Karyn and Nook, and mom and dad their NZ presents :o)

- taking my braids out and getting a proper haircut

- going to Waskesiu with Jeff

- the chair and a half!!!!

- ketchup that tastes normal

- my bed

- a quiet sleep that's not on a bunk bed with strangers as roommates (and no drunk people making lots of noise in the hallways after the bars close at 3am)

- my sewing machine

- a proper shower (no more hostels!)

- not having to carry my groceries around in a bag from city to city

- my car!!!

- payday (soon!)

- scheduling viewings for some of the cute starter homes I've been checking out online

- going to the gym

- taking a trip to Winnipeg to see the family at Scott and Jenn's wedding social

- unpacking and doing laundry without having to pay $8 per wash and dry cycle

- cooking proper food in my own kitchen, and eating with dishes that haven't been shared by backpackers around the world

- hearing the Canadian accent again :o)

I could go on... but that's it for now. It's 9pm, so I'll be heading to the airport in less than 7 hours. It has been an amazing month, but I'm very ready to come home. :o) See you soon, everyone!

Backpacking....

..... the image.....

.... and the reality!

Very excited to unpack when I get home in a few days. :op

A rainy evening in Taupo....

.... is the perfect time to update the blog about the past week in the Hutt. :o)

Lazy holiday mornings... ahhhh, how beautiful they are. I spent lots of time in my pyjamas this week - in fact, on 2 separate occasions I spent the better part of the day in them, and I make absolutely no apologies for this fact. It was fantastic. I watched daytime TV (Dr. Phil, Oprah, Rachael Ray, and even a cheesy kiwi teen soap called "Home and Away", which is embarrassingly addictive when you're lazing around in pjs on the couch...), made an iMovie of my Kiwi Experience trip, wrote a few postcards, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed that sort of holiday mode time, and am looking forward to more of it when I get home next week (only next week I get to laze around with Jeff which makes it that much better!!!!).

I wasn't lazy ALL week though. I did go to Fiona's school to visit on Tuesday, then I borrowed the car for the day which was fun. I did turn the windshield wipers on instead of the signal twice, and I reached for the seatbelt on the wrong side once, but I was definitely better than I was last time! Success! Haha. I also borrowed the car on Friday and went to visit Vicky and Danielle, Aidyn's mom and youngest sister. It was so good to see them again!

Now I'm in Taupo for the night, and tomorrow I'll be off to Auckland to spend the day with Jude, then with Aidyn on Monday. Then I fly home on Tuesday! Unreal. In a sense I feel like the time has absolutely flown by, and yet in some ways I feel very ready to come home, and like these last few days are taking ages.... in any case, I've had a great holiday and am looking forward to capping it off with a visit to some more great friends in Auckland. I'm even seeing friends from home along the way - Rayne in Vancouver and Danny in Calgary! Yay for layovers! (I never thought I'd say that!) :o)

Here are a few photos to sum up the week in the Hutt:

Little Miss silly Charlotte being a goof at suppertime

Introducing Kelly! (Fiona's youngest neice)

Miss Megan had a great time bouncing around on the big yellow ball at grandma's house... can you guess what happened right after this picture was taken? HILARIOUS!

With Fish and Carol :o)

A reunion with (half of) the Rasmussen clan!

Molly and Eleanor (2 of Sam's neices)

And then, finally, the sight that made me cry as I was leaving Fiona and Sam's house one last time so that Richard could drive me in to Wellington.....

AROHANUI, Halls!!!!!!!!

Back in the Hood... erm, I mean Hutt! :o)

Here I am, safely back at Fiona and Sam's. I spent 10 hours in transit yesterday to get back exactly where I started from, which was definitely frustrating (counterproductive doesn't even begin to explain it). In any case, I'm back, I'm warm, and I'm in the company of good friends. Life goes on.

8 more days until I head back home to Canada. I've had an amazing time over here for the most part (minor glitches along the way, but SO many amazing moments, people, experiences, etc.), but I have to admit that I never really realized how much I would miss Jeff, being away from him for over a month. It's time to come home. :o)

I'll be in the Hutt for most of this week, if not all of it, and then I'll hop a bus to Taupo likely on Saturday morning, stay the night, then head up to Auckland to spend the day with Jude on Sunday and Aidyn on Monday. My flight home leaves from Auckland early Tuesday morning.

I can't believe how fast this summer has flown by!

A bummer of a 200th post

Sigh. Hello from Taihape. What a day it has been. This also marks my 200th post, and what a bummer of an entry it will be... oh well. Long story short, here's the deal.

I was in Lower Hutt this weekend (Friday/Saturday). This morning, I got up at 6:30am and packed my bags, ready to head out to Taupo and then on to travel the east cape of the north island, which is supposed to be just an awesome, scenic, cultural experience. Fish and Sam both got up early with me and drove me to my bus pick-up point in Wellington for 7:45am. We said our goodbyes and I got on the bus. We drove 2 hours down the road to a small town called Bulls, at which point my driver got a phone call from the office in Auckland to tell him that my East As trip had been cancelled. AWESOME. So now I'm 2 hours down the road, going in the wrong direction, I have nowhere to go, I have 9 days left in the country, and I've just left my friends in Wellington/the Hutt.

Gutted. So we try to figure some alternative plan out (I even temporarily contemplated flying to Fiji or Australia for a week, but realized that financially that would be quite difficult). Instead I decide I'm going to hop a bus back to Wellington tomorrow. Fine, I'll stay on the bus for 4 hours to Taupo, then catch a public bus to Welly.

We get back on the road and not 10km out of Bulls we hear this huge BANG! .....The emergency exit panel on the roof has just ripped off in the wind, and it's freezing out there and about to rain. The driver pulls over, we get delayed by about an hour altogether with all the stops he had to make to call the Kiwi Experience office, pick up screwdrivers from gas stations to try to temporarily fix this gaping hole in the roof of the bus, etc. In the end, we drove all the way with the emergency exit dangling from the roof, freezing cold winter air coming in, yadda yadda. Just the icing on the cake after I've just found out that I got up early after only a few hours of sleep for nothing, found out my trip was cancelled, etc. On the bright side, my driver and I come up with the idea to just drop me off in Taihape so that the next Kiwi Experience bus coming south can pick me up and take me RIGHT BACK TO WELLINGTON, where I started at 7:45 this morning (only I won't get there until 6pm, so essentially it has been a totally wasted day).

Stupid, stupid, stupid day. I am freezing, I'm gutted that I'm not going to do the east cape trip, and I've wasted a day on a cold and windy bus with no roof in the middle of New Zealand winter.

The southbound bus from River Valley should be pulling into Taihape to pick me up soon so with that I'll sign off. Better moods ahead once I get back to Wellington and get to see more friends.

Ka pai.

Pics from Kaikoura

Hello from the lovely little east coast town of Kaikoura! In Maori, "kai" means food and "koura" means crayfish. Dad will remember this fondly as the place that he enjoyed a $100 crayfish dinner at the White Morph restaurant in 2004. I walked past the restaurant twice today and did take a photo, although sadly it's not making an appearance on the blog tonight (sorry dad).

I went with a couple new people I met on the bus today to the seal colony, or "kaimokehu" in Maori. It was about a 3-hour return journey so I was pretty exhausted when I got back, as I didn't get much sleep last night due to our 7:25am departure from our hostel in Christchurch.

A couple pics from the walk to the peninsula seal colony:

These seals (see picture below) were having a bit of a quarrel at one point, which was quite interesting to watch. I don't think I had ever really heard seal noises before, but the one on the left sounded like it was about to vomit every time it opened its mouth, while the one on the right whinnied like a horse a couple times. Very strange, but entertaining nonetheless. The one on the right was pretty much top dog due to his size, I think.

My favourite part? This adorable little seal pup who was hanging out for ages right next to the boardwalk. If he wasn't so stinky and potentially dangerous, I would have just scooped him up for a good cuddle. :op

Tonight we went out to a pub quiz at a little place called "The Whaler." My team came in 4th, but we held 2nd place for quite a while, until the photo round in which we mistook CoCo Chanel for the Queen Mother and a young Hillary Clinton for Shannon Doherty. It was pretty brutal actually, haha. We rocked the general knowledge and history rounds but couldn't manage to pull ahead after the last 2 rounds. Still a ton of fun though, and I met some more cool people on my bus and at quiz night today so it's all good. :o)

Now it's almost 11:30pm and I've just had the BEST HOSTEL SHOWER in the world (so warm!) and I'm in a crazy comfy bed, and generally loving life. Toasty warm and cozy, and ready for a good sleep! Our bus departs tomorrow for Picton, then I catch the ferry to Wellington and arrive mid-afternoon. Tomorrow night we're having tea (supper) at Sam's parents' place, which I'm super excited about! I can't wait to see them after 3 years. On Saturday night we're doing tea at Fiona's mom's house. Yay, family reunions! :o)

Catch you back on the north island! Arohanui!

Photo updates from Christchurch

Hello from Christchurch! Today was a long day on the bus, but I'm here safely and have just gotten back (about an hour and a half ago) from an awesome reunion dinner with one of my former HVHS students who's here in ChCh studying music at university. It was so great to see her again! Now it's just after 11pm and I'm checking in with the blog before having a (hopefully warm) shower and then heading to bed. Our last hostel had crappy lukewarm/coolish showers and it was almost painful to stay in long enough to get clean.... crossing my fingers that these ones are better!

Anyway, here's what I've been up to for the last couple days (click to enlarge the pictures):

I posed for a self-portrait at Lake Pukaki today on our lunch break. It's SO beautiful there, and we were really lucky to have very clear and sunny (but still chilly) weather!

I love Christchurch at night. These pics were taken on my walk home from dinner with Alex (former student).

Cathedral Square in ChCh = beautiful

This is the sign on the ladies' washroom at the Nevis bungy yesterday. Too funny!

Mid-bungy! SO COOL!

(Screaming my head off at this point, FYI)

Here's how I felt before and after the jump! Heh.

And for good measure, here are a couple pics from the Swoop in Rotorua! We did the Swoop about 2 weeks ago but I didn't get the pics until last night in Queenstown, as the girl in the middle had the picture CD and we left each other in Taupo before I could remember to snag them from her. We ran into each other last night so that was perfect timing!

So fun!

And there you have it! Not much else to report tonight, as all I did today was sit on the bus from 8:30am-4:15pm, writing postcards like my life depended on it (I think I wrote 30-35 postcards to my students today?!), visiting with the people in the seats around me about our bungy jumping/canyon swinging/glowworm caving/white water rafting etc. experiences, and taking pics at the various "Kodak moment" spots we stopped at en route. The end. A very long day on the bus but am glad to be having a relaxing night in Christchurch before heading off to Kaikoura in the morning. It's an early start tomorrow, 7:15am, but I think the drive is pretty focused, with not too many stops on the way, so that should be alright. I'm sure I will sleep well tonight.

Hope all is well at home or wherever you are reading this from! Arohanui!

NEVIS!!!!!

I DID IT!!!!!! I FREAKING DID IT!!!!!!

Ok, UNREAL. The biggest thrill of my life. Beats the crap out of jumping out of a plane at 15,000 feet, even. I was terrified for I'm sure at least 30 minutes before I even jumped. I was pacing around and figuratively bouncing off the walls of the jump pod. I wasn't the only one though - there were quite a few people out there with me who were completely paralyzed with fear as well. There was a whole lot of nervous laughter out there as well, but without fail, every time somebody would come back up from their jump, they'd be all smiles (and nervous/exhiliarated giggles). SO AMAZING! I had to pull my foot release cord 3 times before it worked, but was glad that I was able to turn myself upright, as at least 3 or 4 people before me ended up coming back up upside down.

Alright, so the moment you've all been waiting for...... watch me bungy jump here! (Turn up your speakers for full screaming effect)

And now, just out of curiosity, in a word or two, how did you feel watching that? Impressions? Comment away! I want to know how that was for you viewers at home! I remember watching my first Nevis bungy video (posted by my friend Maddie on her facebook profile) and I literally felt weak in the legs just sitting at my computer. :op

I DID THE FREAKING NEVIS!!!!!!!!

Nevis bungy in 45 minutes and counting....

I have just paid for my Nevis bungy jump here in Queenstown and am going to be boarding a bus in 45 minutes to take me out to the jump site. This is by far the most insane thing I've done, and I'm totally terrified! I've heard great things about the bungy though, and I'm sure I'll love it, especially once it's over! Haha.

Yep, breathing shallow already in anticipation! 134 metres above the Nevis River, 8.5 seconds of freefall......... HOLY....... CRAP.

When life hands you lemons (aka a missed bus to Milford Sound).....

..... cry for 5 minutes, then say F*%&@ it, go spend $200 buying a lift pass and a new pair of goggles, and renting skis, boots, poles, ski pants and a ski jacket, and GO SKIING!

* Editor's note:

To make a long story short, Kiwi Experience printed the wrong pick-up time for my departure this morning to Milford Sound, and I missed the bus. I called the office, and while they were stumped as to how the wrong pick-up time could be printed on my itinerary (they did acknowledge that it had been printed in error), they were still unable to do anything about it as there would be no more busses leaving Queenstown today for Milford. I was super gutted, as Mangee, my bus driver from 3 years ago, was going to be driving and I was really stoked to be able to catch up with him. Anyway, hopefully we will manage to get together to party tonight or tomorrow, as that's all I was excited for anyway - I've already seen Milford so that's not a huge deal.

Anyway, so I was standing there with the realization that I had missed my bus (frustrating, since I was up at 7am and could have easily made the earlier pick-up time), and I had no plans for the day. Another friend was already up the mountain snowboarding for the day, so I decided to follow and try to find him. I never did end up running into him on the hill, but I got a day of skiing in by myself and it was all good. Budget schmudget... I'm spending lots of money but having a great time doing it. :oD A great (and unexpected) day at Coronet Peak in Queenstown!