blarg. agu.

it's that time of year again. agu. a conference in san francisco, that aaron (and most of my friends) goes to every year for about a week. usually it isn't too bad. this year, however, i do not have a job (or friends) to keep me occupied. so it's 11 days of hanging solo.

it actually hasn't been as bad as i thought it would be. i, of course, drafted a to-do list that has been keeping me fairly occupied the entire time. there has also been plenty of knitting and genealogy as well (i have now traced aaron's family back to the 1700's). but i'm definitely ready for him to come back. as soon as i get motivated i'll add some before/after pictures to wech and barbs go south for some of the projects that have been taking up my time.

also, there are the best facebook quotes from my friends during agu. my friend, rachel, overheard someone say "sometimes i think she likes magnetite a little too much". isn't that cute? i love scientists.

last, but not least, happy birthday to my mamma (dec 16) and dad (dec 19). my dad is the person i inherited my love of history and therefore genealogy. my mother is the reason my fingers are dry and cracked now (who do you think i learned scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees from?) but she is also the reason my house is sparkling clean. i couldn't have asked for better parents. i wish them both the happiest of birthdays!

yay! for aaron coming home in 2 days!

10 years

i can't believe it's been ten years since aaron and i started dating. in a way it seems just like yesterday, but it also seems like it has been forever (in a good way). since we did such a job of celebrating last year (hoot and holler), the pressure was on for this year. we usually don't try to outdo ourselves, but we both wanted to be able to remember what we did for ten years. we decided to rent a cabin, cottage, or chalet. we relentlessly googled various versions of this to try to find something. but no. this was really confusing, because as gorgeous as new zealand is, the should have tons of these to rent. we were confused.

after a bit, we discovered that what we were looking for is called a bach (pronounced "batch"). ah ha! there are tons of them. this is the one we decided on te nikau cottage. it's a cute cottage that was perfect for a romantic celebration.

not too many pictures exist from the weekend, but there are a few...

after cooking breakfast in this kitchen

 i peeked out the window and saw two sheep that had wandered into our front lawn

cute, right? also, practically in our backyard was a wonderful nature reserve. late afternoon we decided to check it out. we bushwhacked through a thick jungley forest and reached the parata walking track in the hemi matenga memorial park. it was a gorgeous hike that climbed to beautiful views

of course, the usuals were also involved in the celebration...champagne, pizza, scrabble, etc. it was a terrific way to celebrate ten years of "us".

the rewards of running

i just got back from a run. actually, it was more of a walk/run. but i worked up a huge sweat and that was the main goal. we live close to a place called tinakori hill that has numerous walking trails all around. i went on one called the ridgeline trail today and here are some of the rewards:

i might have to keep at this running thing.