2011 - The year in review

What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before? Where to start. There were so many firsts this year I'm bound to miss something out.

1. Went to Vancouver, Whistler and a tiny snippet of coastal British Columbia; that trip saw many firsts, like having a migraine while sea-kayaking, flying first class, encountering a baby bear, going shopping for maple syrup at 10pm with an old Kiwi friend in a suburban supermarket, and eating all sorts of amazing new foods like Arctic char, clamato juice and raw buffalo.

2. On the home front, I painted my own kitchen and made a blanket out of crochet.
3. Became a runner. I joined a women's running group, ran up hills I never thought were possible, entered a running race, got injured and had my first MRI.
4. Hung out with my cousins James and Morgan.

What countries did you visit? Canada; land of Mounties, salmon and maple syrup from the supermarket.

What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? That elusive Canon award.
What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? February 22, 12.51pm. The day of the Christchurch Earthquake.
What was your biggest achievement of the year? Writing the Elsa story.
What was your biggest failure? Not finishing my first 10km because of a pesky migraine.
Did you suffer illness or injury? I had nine migraines this year, which is more than I've had in the decade. They were often at inopportune times. I have learnt to get over my panic when a migraine comes on now. I also had the aforementioned running injury.
What was the best thing you bought? My mountie tin.
Whose behaviour merited celebration? Those volunteers who dug people out, patched them up, shared facilities, raised money, and donated anything they had.
Where did most of your money go? Gardening and secret brunches at Cafe Thyme next door to the garden centre.
What did you get really, really, really excited about? The final of the RWC. Running up Mt Vic. Snow in my front yard - for three days.

What song will always remind you of 2011? The national anthem, sung with an ever changing lineup of lyrics by H R Graham. Who knew "in the bonzo love" and "God of masons" were the words? And the rainbow song, which Harper learnt from his beloved Nana.

What do you wish you'd done more of? Had more haircuts. I'm wearing a blankie of hair on my head right now.

Did you fall in love in 2011? Neh. I thought I would love the chooks, but they're a pain in the butt.

What did you want and get? Chooks. Revising that decision.

What did you want and not get? A thriving raspberry patch. A Canon award. A medal for finishing a running race.

To see 2010's wrap up, see here.

Indulged

One of my tasks as a feature writer is to come up with interesting people to profile in various set pieces we have in our magazines. One of these set pieces is Indulge, in which we ask people about their indulgences, what they can't live without, and how they spent their weekends. A lot of people answer the same things; red wine, chocolate, 'my family' and coffee come up again and again. Sometimes you get one that's a real corker, like tomorrow's one in which I talked to New Rags market founder Abbie McCall about her love of retro chairs. I have often wondered if I would make a good Indulge subject. What do you think?

My indulgence is: Time by myself. I've spent a lot of time by myself in my life - sometimes too much time. But it's the one thing I crave when the noise of the world, work and home clogs up my brain. I need time to daydream. I was thinking the other day about one afternoon when I was temping in London at a lawyer's office. I had the glamorous task of photocopying pages of exhibits for a trial. The office was somewhere in a leafy part of London I had never been before, and it being summer, was gloriously warm and light after work. I walked to the tube station through streets I'd never seen before, and when I got to the tube, I just kept on walking, all the way home to Earlsfield. I loved the idea that I had no place to be and could just take my time.
When I do get time by myself, I like to op shop, or sit in a cafe with the paper and a cuppa. Running is one way I get to have time by myself. I have little mantras I chant to myself to get me up hills or to last the distance. I find it really hard when someone in jogsquad wants to chat while we're running - I love having someone to run with, but I can't do that and talk too.
Sometimes the only time I really have to daydream is on the train. Everyone around me has they're ipods plugged into their heads, or has a book or is playing on their phone. I like to stare out the window. The harbour puts on a display each morning I find hard to resist.
I can't get by without: a cup of tea within the first ten minutes of waking. Nothing tastes as good, as cleansing, as refreshing as that first cup of tea. I spend the rest of the day trying to make tea feels as good in my mouth. It's like a junkie trying to chase that first high.
At the weekends I: am concerned first and foremost with getting my laundry done on a Saturday morning. Then it's off to the toy library to take back toys and get new ones, and I usually have to bribe Harper to leave the toy library with the prospect of a fluffy at the mall. The rest of the weekend is a melange of chores, cooking, gardening, visiting people, and going to the dump shop, all of which is done at Harper-speed or not at all depending on his mood. I often feel tireder on a Sunday night than I do on a Friday night.

Photo: A rare bit of by-myself-time at Madeira Park, British Columbia, late on a spring evening

It's a wrap on 2010

What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before? Saw a lawyer. For lawyer purposes. Sang along to Gigantic with Kim Deal.
Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn't make any NYRs last year, or have any goals. This year I would like to finish Harper's blanket, run a 10km, and do a head stand.
Did anyone close to you die? No, I'm happy to say.
What countries did you visit? Does Johnsonville count as another country?
What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? An overseas holiday. Somewhere sunny and warm and with easy access to Pimm's.
What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? September 4, the day fo the Cantebury Earthquake. I thought it was just a small one, until I turned on the telly.
What was your biggest achievement of the year? Running for 20 minutes on December 11. The last great thing I did as a 37-year-old.
What was your biggest failure? Not running 25 minutes on December 22.
Did you suffer illness or injury? Actually, I've only had one cold this year. Touch wood.
What was the best thing you bought? Helston Heights.
Whose behaviour merited celebration? The parents of wee Nayan Woods, the four-year-old boy killed when a car hit him. His parents forgave the driver, and the driver spent time getting to know the family.
Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Sarah Palin. Just. Go. Away.
Where did most of your money go? Helston Heights. And will do for the next gzillion years.
What did you get really, really, really excited about? When we won the tender for Helston Heights. It was our seventh offer on a house in two years.
What song will always remind you of 2010? There are so many, but as I gaze out my 5th floor window, Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind comes to mind. Also, the theme music to The Wire.
What do you wish you'd done more of? I wish I had discovered running sooner. I was also rather slack on the blogging front...
Did you fall in love in 2010? Does Jimmy McNulty count?
What did you want and get? I've wanted to see Pixies live since I was 18; I've wanted to see Pavement live again since I first saw them in 1997, and seeing U2 again was a really fun night out in the big city. Thanks Liz!
What did you want and not get? Still haven't won lotto, or set up River Cottage style gardens at Helston Heights. Yet.

To see last year's wrap up, see here.

2009: The Verdict

What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? Wore high heels to work on a consistent basis. Made bread.
Did you keep your new years' goals, and will you make more for next year?
No, but not because I didn't work at them. And no, I don't think I will. I would like to have a year without trying to do anything.
Did anyone close to you die?
Yes.
What countries did you visit?
Um, I barely left the city all year, except for this time, and that time.
What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Time to craft.
What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Sorry, there isn't one.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
The few stories I wrote that were actually really good, like this one and that one.
What was your biggest failure?
Not convincing certain people that even though there was a recession on and money was tight, spending $1500 on an outrageous great idea I had was worthwhile.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
What haven't I had this year? There are the umpteen colds (I have one now), the viral labyrinthitis, a gastro bug, etc.
What was the best thing you bought?
Sukin products. Especially the conditioner. I was hoping that I could have said "an awesome home for me and my family" but alas, no.
Whose behaviour merited celebration? Ange's. I would never have survived a year like she's had and still been able to make stupid jokes about it. Yey for Sweeney's Mama!
Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Those clowns at Copenhagen. Vendors with closed tenders and buyers with big chequebooks.
Where did most of your money go? Savings. *yawn*
What did you get really, really, really excited about? Buying that house in J'ville. Then having it ripped out from my grasp. And Harper's first steps and words (gone, blankey, milk) were pretty amazing.
What song will always remind you of 2009? This Tornado Loves You by Neko Case. It pretty much sums up the year's weather too.
What do you wish you'd done more of? Making stuff, like clothes. Walking in the hills.
What do you wish you'd done less of? Procrastinating.
Did you fall in love in 2009? I guess so, because I do love our backyard.
What did you want and get? A stunning opportunity to earn a bit more dosh. A proper vegetable garden.
What did you want and not get? Where to start. Let's just say Nepal.

To vote or not to vote

There's a bit of a furore here in NZ at the moment about a referendum with a totally ridiculous question at its heart:

"should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New
Zealand?"

The referendum has been instigated by a number of people including lobby group Family First, who claim that the repeal of a law that allowed people to get off child assault charges by claiming to use 'reasonable force' when disciplining their kids, (commonly known as the anti-smacking law even though it's not really a law but an amendment) is harmful and most New Zealanders don't agree with it.

Confused? Most of us are.

Anyway, we NZers have been lumped with the referendum, and both Prime Minister John Key and opposition leader Phil Goff have said they probably won't vote in it, and doubt it will make any difference to anything anyway.

The referendum is a bit curly because:
1. It assumes that a smack is a criminal offence, which it isn't. Police aren't hovering around your living room to see if you inadvertently knocked your kid over while trying to put his hat on, which happens in a certain house in a cul-de-sac some mornings.
2. It assumes that a smack is part of good parental correction, which it isn't. We teach our kids not to hit, so it's mental to think that it's ok to him them.

So, do you vote yes or no? Child advocacy groups are saying that a 'yes' vote simply affirms that smacking is a no-no, which is what the referendum is really asking. But its a quandary - vote yes for something that isn't correct, or not vote, and run the risk of the no votes winning the day and having pro-smacking groups feel vindicated that hitting children is an ok thing to do?

My brain hurts. What do you think?

2008 - the verdict

What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? Gave birth. Made milk. Spent time at a crèche. Had my breasts out in public.
Did you keep your new years' goals, and will you make more for next year? Harper is still alive, so yes, I succeeded.
Did anyone close to you die? No, but people close to my friends did. It’s been a tough year for some of us.
What countries did you visit? Sleep deprivation land, where the fairies live.
What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? More sleep-ins and days off. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? February 5, Harper’s birthday.
What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting the baby out in one piece. Are you seeing a theme here?
What was your biggest failure? I don’t think I failed at anything in 2008, other than beating the Postie at Scrabble more often.
Did you suffer illness or injury? When Harper was about eight weeks old, there were many things wrong with both of us. Fixing those problems made lots of things much better.
What was the best thing you bought? A pink bouncinette on trade me for $5. Harper spent many happy hours in that thing, with me singing to him, watching me cook, bake, blog.
Whose behaviour merited celebration? For the second year in a row, my hat goes off to the Postie. He’s an awesome dad, and a pretty fantastic partner. I'm a lucky gal.
Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Robert Mugabe’s – what planet is that guy on?
Where did most of your money go? Knitworld and garden centres. Knitting and gardening stopped me going around the bend.
What did you get really, really, really excited about? The day Harper first rolled over. I lay him down in a sunny spot on the carpet for some pants-off time, and when I came back into the room two minutes later he was on his tummy picking at the carpet.
What song will always remind you of 2008? Christy Moore’s “Reel in the Flickering Light”. And it will always make me cry too. Stupid song. P played it on the way to the hospital, and again when we drove home with Harper for the first time.
What do you wish you'd done more of? Taken more pictures of Harper when he was only days and weeks old, he changed so fast. I wish I had spent more time cuddling him when he was wee, rather than letting everyone else have a turn.
What do you wish you'd done less of? Worrying.
Did you fall in love in 2008? Oh yes. How could I not?
What did you want and get? I wanted a healthy, super-good looking baby, and I got one.
What did you want and not get? More time and inspiration.

Enough about me

In the absence of the energy to blog about something meaningful, I'm going to do a Meme and you're going to love it. This one comes from Ms Harland:

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was a freelance clapper loader and production person in the film industry. I had a chilly bin full of camera stuff, knew quite a bit about filters and t-stops and lens lengths. I was also quite good at going "slate 43, take 1" and banging my clapperboard in an authoratative manner.

Five snacks I enjoy in a perfect, non weight-gaining world:
Blue cheese, smoked salmon, pate, black jelly beans, deep fried cheese Eastern European style. I justify eating some of these things with the fact I am breastfeeding and weigh less at the moment than I have since my early 20s. But I'm also on a dairy free diet and I fantasise daily about lowering a piece of kikorangi into my mouth slo-mo styles.

Five snacks I enjoy in the real world:
Sesameal crackers, toast, bananas. I can't carry on this list, it's too depressing.

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire:
For my parents and sister I would buy really nice houses wherever they wanted them, with housekeepers, lifetime opera and orchestra tickets for mum, infinite return flights to the UK and Europe for Dad, and a craft studio for Ange.
I would buy myself a really nice house with a housekeeper, with a room for crafts, enough paddock for a big vege garden to grow everything we could think of, lots of runaround space for the kid, and a studio for the Postie.
The rest of it I would invest in some worthy cause or something, learn to fly a plane and have an apartment in Manhattan.

Five jobs that I have had:
Clapper Loader, check out chick, instore make up demonstrator, grape picker, location scout.

Three of my habits:
I kicked nailbiting in 2004, but I still have phases where I catch myself with half my hand down my neck.
Hovering around Harper's door - I can't help it, when he's asleep I still hear phantom crying so am forever checking if he's ok.
Leaving half drunk cups of tea around the house. I seem to never finish the whole thing ..

Five places I have lived:
Tokoroa - oh the space of Arthur Street's backyard. I often dream about what I would do with that 1/4 acre section. It was like the vast Siberian steppe when I was a kid.
Kensal Rise, London - five months in a flat with huge subsidence cracks in the wall, flatting with people whose names I can't even remember except Siobhan who liked to play Jennifer Lopez over and over again at high volume every night for hours while she drank alone in her room. All her brothers were cross-eyed. I kid you not.
Wellington - shining jewel in the South Pacific, except in winter when it is hell windy and grey and spent huddled over a heater with gloves on.
Hamilton - yes, but it was for a job. So don't judge me on it. I remember my time in the Tron fondly indeed.
Christchurch - I wish I could have wrapped this list up with Paris or Nairobi or something, but no, just Chch.

Five people I want to get to know better:
I'm really rather eager to find out more about my wee boy - all I know about him right now is how to make him laugh, how to make him cry, how to make him stop crying, what colour his poo is, when he's tired, when he's hungry (and sometimes those are all a mystery) and what he looks like first thing in the morning. But how he takes his tea? Which Simpsons episode is his favourite? No idea.

My year of feet

The mighty fabulous Jo Hubris checks in at the start of each year by asking herself the same 40 questions. What a great idea, I thought, except in answering her 40 questions I mainly came up with the same 40 answers. So I’m reducing her extensive list to 20 questions, and this is what I came up with …

What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before? Got knocked up. Spent a day as a patient in hospital. Went to Australia. Cried at a TV commercial. Had a facial. Phoned up Michael Palin at home while he was eating breakfast. Was featured in a National Radio documentary on climate change digging a hole and panting. Stayed up 25.5 hours without drugs.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t do resolutions, I set goals. I achieved some of them – did the Oxfam 100km walk for example. I also followed my friend Susie’s advice to tie a ribbon to a tree and say ‘welcome love’, which seems to have resulted in Tiny.

Did anyone close to you die? No, but two of my parents’ cats went missing when they moved to Christchurch, presumed dead. We miss you Suzie and Oliver.

What countries did you visit? I went to Australia for the first time and fell in love with lorikeets.

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? A Qantas Media Award. This is unlikely though, so I guess I’ll just have to make do with my son being outside my body.

What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 27 May. The day we found out about Tiny. I bought a pie and a pregnancy test at the supermarket that morning, went to the costume cave and got an outfit for a fancy dress party on that night, ate the pie, did the test, and the next six hours were a blur. I remember sitting in Monique’s flat watching the tui flutter from tree to tree and thinking ‘I can do this’. Needless to say, I didn’t make it to the party.

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Walking 100km for charity – the Oxfam Trailwalker, and raising nearly $5000 with my team in the process.

What was your biggest failure? Not doing the Trailwalker in under 24 hours, but really, completing the thing without needing to be booked into a mental institution is not to be sniffed at. I also did a pretty bad job of keeping away from the snack drawer at work.

Did you suffer illness or injury? I lost some toenails on the 100km walk and had some blisters in unusual places, but compared to the man in the first aid station who hadn’t changed his socks for 80-something kms, I was in relatively good shape.
I also had a rough few months with morning sickness, which let me tell you, has not much to do with the morning. The worst incidence of it was about 11.30pm at the after hours medical centre, where the nurse continued to ask me my symptoms while I vomited into a rubbish bin. Not my most glamorous hour.

Post 100km-walk feet - bruised and blistered, but with toenails intact. They later came off in spectacular, not-for-blog fashion

What was the best thing you bought? My stretchy waistband jeans that enabled me to keep looking like a slim hipped rock star even though my belly looked like I’d had too many pancakes.

Whose behaviour merited celebration? The Postie – for being so calm, reliable and awesome in the face of such a life-altering curve ball. He also continued unflinchingly in the 100km walk despite having severe blisters from about the 10km mark.

Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? I saw a movie called Jesus Camp a week ago. It made me despair for the human race. The documentary is about evangelical ‘Christians’ who use the word enemy far too often and believe it's ok to brainwash children because that's what them Muslims do. They were so sure they were right about everything, and that kind of closed-mindedness gives me the willies.

Where did most of your money go? Tiny’s savings account, walking shoes and a raincoat.

What did you get really, really, really excited about? The 20 week scan, where we found out Tiny is a tiny boy. Feeling his first kicks, which was like having a lava lamp in your belly, all soft and floaty-like. My pal Janna's wedding was pretty exciting, and seeing old faces at the Tokoroa High School reunion also rocked.

What song will always remind you of 2007? Into My Arms by Nick Cave. It made me cry on the bus to work one morning.

What do you wish you'd done more of? Jumped up and down, done cartwheels, ridden my bike. I wish I’d walked and tramped and done more physically active stuff more while I was able. Now it’s a major achievement to make it down to the shop and back without an ambulance.

What do you wish you'd done less of? Vomitting.

Did you fall in love in 2007? Um, yes. With two boys at once. And with fizz-it lollies and lorikeets.

What did you want and get? A good payrise with accompanying rave reviews from my bosses. A pretty choice partner. Phoenix Foundation’s Happy Ending for Chrimbo.

What did you want and not get? An Asia New Zealand scholarship to do stories in India and China. Getting pregnant kind of put paid to those aims. I’m now looking at applying in 2010.

A de-lurk ...

Howdy readers,

Thought it might be time for a de-lurk ... I know you're out there, you anonymous commenters. Show yourselves!
This is me ... I'm a 34-year-old journalist and aspiring crafter, world's greatest aunty and soon to be mother. I like eating anything French, fizzit lollies and crab sticks. My current obsessions are The Sopranos, making a book for my flatmate Chris out of vintage children's books and making a Christmas stocking for my nephew Sweeney. I am a compulsive list maker, I hate stereo cords and I'm never far away from a hot cup of tea.

Now tell me about you ...

Ok hot mamas and papas

I need some help. It's not glamourous, but these questions need to be asked. I'm in a nappy dilemma. It's not something I would thought I would EVER care about, but suddenly, as I am looking down the barrell of dealing with poos and wees for the next coupla years, the question of nappies has become all important.

Of course, being a white liberal right-on kind of girl (and skint) I'm going to use washable nappies. But which ones? I'm told the old fold-them-yourself nappies aren't as absorbent as disposables, and they look like such a hassle, but there's a whole load of cloth nappies out there with names like Funky Bunz and Eco-bots that are shaped and easy to put on and washable. Problem is, they're a bit of an investment to get started and I don't want to get ones that turn out to be duds.

What do you mamas and papas recommend?