Day 6: Moving?

Before anyone gets too excited, the February Expat Blogger Challenge prompt for today is, I would or would not move to another country after this... I'm not moving anyone, at present...

This is a question I get ALL.THE.TIME. From family, from friends stateside, and from friends here. As well as workmates, and people I have just met! It doesn't bother me, but it is a question I can't answer. If I have learned anything in life, it is that you don't know what is next around the corner for you. Even the best laid plans need adjusting...

Yays:

• I love the fresh produce and wonderful food in New Zealand. Albeit expense, I love how I know what I am buying. I love that I have learned to cook from scratch, because it's a quite spendy to buy pre-packaged meals. Making muffins from scratch is from scratch, not a box mix. I love that there are market gardens all over with fresh fruits and vege. Year round. 
• The scenery is AMAZING. Enough said.
• I love being so close to a beach. And the mountains. 
• Relaxed, laid-back lifestyle.
• Child-friendly and child-orientated lifestyle.
• Amazing work/life balance.  

Nays:

• It's SOOO far from Minnesota. And expensive to travel back to the middle of the country! 
• All my family and a lot of my friends are back stateside (or Germany), and I miss them! 

I think home is wherever the heart is, and at the moment our home in is NZ. You never know where the future lies, even though we do have a rough estimate... 

This one time at the airport...

This one time at the airport, I met Glen Campbell...

<<I have photos and a story to go with this, but I am EXHAUSTED. I will update as soon as I find my photos!!>> :)

Keeping up with February Expat Blog Challenge!

Reflection

I'm not naturally a reflection or a 'dear diary' type of person, so this particular day of the challenge is not as appealing to me. However, I'm dedicated to finishing this challenge!! :)

Today's February Expat Blogger Challenge is looking at the 5th post I wrote, and discuss my frame of mind and my style of writing.

My 5th post was about Mother's Day - I started this blog to keep my friends and family updated on our lives and whereabouts. So, I guess my frame of mind was keeping people informed. :) I was a bit used to describing our lives with Degen's Caringbridge Site, and enjoyed the fellowship it brought. I also liked that I could update everyone at the click of a button. 

My 2014 goal is to spend more time writing and blogging, so long may it last! February is also my birthday month, and blog revamp month. Here's hoping!! :)

At Home...

Day 3 of the February Expat Blogger Challenge! 

Todays topic is an object that makes me feel at home... 

I arrived in NZ in December 2006 with 3 suitcases! I now have a 3 bedroom, office, kitchen, dining room, bath/toilet, garage FULL of stuff. 

While I love the occasional Corn Nut or Peanut Butter Cup, nothing makes me feel more 'at home' than talking to my friends and family on FaceTime or SKYPE. I love it and it makes the distance seem that much less!! I also love to have lots and lots of photos around the house to showcase my photography and get the occasional glimpse of my loved ones. 

My gorgeous niece Kiki (nickname given by Miss G) and Miss G on FaceTime! So cute!! We 'see' each other weekly for our chats! Sooo cool! 

My home - being with my loves. 

What makes you feel at home? I think it's the people!! :)

“Not all those who wander are lost.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

Day 2 of the February Expat Blogger Challenge and today's prompt is...

“Not all those who wander are lost.”  ― J.R.R. Tolkien


A co-worker once said to me, 'Some people grow roots, others grow wings. You, my friend, have wings.' 

I had a goal in my 20s to see 30 countries before I turned 30 years old. While I didn't quite achieve that goal, but I came very close. <<Maybe I should revisit this for 40 by 40? ;)>> I love seeing new places, experiencing new cultures, new foods, new ways and means of living. I love it. And, while I love to wander, by no means am I lost. While I continue to seek new adventures, learn new skills - I am by no means forgetting the roots of who I am and how I came to be. 

Growing up in rural Minnesota, I always had grand dreams of 'escaping' and seeing the world. And, thankfully, with my family and friends support - I have made a good effort of it. I was quite lucky to have seen Europe as a 13-year old, travelled the USA with family, backpacking Europe with friends just out of college at 22, and exploring the USA with friends on our vacations and long weekends. 

I met and married a Kiwi bloke, and we have been creating our own adventures ever since. We went to Europe on a 5-week honeymoon - a combination of backpacking, and visiting family and friends as we travelled. Awesome adventure! 

Iceland. Amazing country - beautiful. Raw. COLD. 

We had to very carefully walk out to the falls, because it was sooo icy!

Austrian Alps. Awesome views. Awesome coffee. 

Venice. Romantic. Beautiful. 

France. Gorgeous views, awesome food! 

We traveled a fair amount of the upper Midwest and Canada via Ducati motorcycle, which was an adventure in itself! Our latest overseas wandering was in Australia with our beautiful Miss G in 2012.

And, of course we wander around gorgeous New Zealand quite a bit too. I'm so thankful to have a bit of a tourist mind here in New Zealand, even after 7 years of living as an expat here. We continue to explore this beautiful country every chance we get. 

Cheers everyone, and happy wandering! :)

The view from where I write...

Kia Ora, Happy Saturday! It's the WEEKEND!!! My parents are en-route to New Zealand, we've just been to a 5th birthday party for a gorgeous little girl, and I'm catching up with some girlfriends tonight for dinner. Bliss.

One of my goals in 2014 <<life>> is to keep in <<better>> contact with my friends and family in the USA, and around the world... So I've decided to join up with a fellow expat blogger In an Opal Hearted Country and get my writing mojo flowing...

Today is the 'The View From Where I Write'... Now. I rarely write at a desk anymore. <<Love you new 2014 version MacBook Pro!>> I'm usually scattered somewhere around the house and garden- so I thought I would share what our lovely 1/4 acre looks like. <<Obviously, minus the messes and anything that would make it look like it does, lived in, on a fairly daily basis...>>

Here we go! Love our place on this Earth we call home, and I'm still working on making it ideal... We'll get there eventually...

Here's where I'm sitting now... My little corner of the sofa...

Through the front gate into the gardens... Love my swing, so relaxing... 

Care for a swim? The pool area has lots of strawberries, flowers, lancewood and vege growing around it! 

Miss G's fun area - our old tent makes a perfect 'camping' spot on sunny days! And, she absolutely loves her tire swing that daddy and granddad built! Hi Lenny! Our awesome rescue dog that has slotted into our whanau perfectly. Love him! The back yard also have lots of pumpkins, squash, grapes and lemons! Yum! Totally loving  my 1/4 acre plot and all the yummy foods we can grow. So lucky!

I'm also linking in with the adventures of MNMs with Things that I'm Loving!