just a bit of brain drool...

HOLY!!! (it's our saying of excitement in the house at the moment--- something that Chantelle started and we all copied!)
November nearly finished and i haven't told all you fans and folks anything!! what is that all about?? GEEEEZ!!

Well---- where to start-- oh yes. We had our family trip to Taupo and that was eeeeever so lovely. Wasn't all that impressed with the place we had booked with tho coz when we got there they only had one double bed and there were 4 of us. The paperwork had said that there was a double bed and a fold out couch but there were just two lame looking chairs in the TV area for the girls to sleep in -- We offered them to sleep in a cupboard but they didn't like that for some strange reason! So we kicked up a stink about it with the lady who looks after the place and booked in with another place down the road (much nicer) and made the other company pay for it! ;) RESULT! Then we spent the 3 days there looking around, swimming, watching movies, playing, eating good food and just spazzing around as you do when on holiday. Lots of fun.

Since then there hasn't been much happening really.. just the normal November build up for x-mas where i get all the presents ready early so that they make it to Iceland on time, day dream about the day when work stops and beach time starts and get ready for that mixed feeling of happiness over how good i have it in New Zealand and and how sad i feel about missing my family and friends over in good ol Iceland (and other places) and how frustrating it is that i can't have it all ! Heavy Siiiigh! But as we say where i am from SVONA ER BARA LIFID! (such is life)
Right after X-mas Matt is doing a 3 day motorcycle trip with his besty Alan. They have both got the map all marked out, the bikes ready, are getting gear together and i know they are super excited. It will be a mini version of what Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor did in their Long way Round trip. (for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about.. http://www.longwayround.com/lwr.php)
When he gets back we will be packing up the car to take the girls to Whangamata and spend new years with Matt's Sister and husband and their lil girl Molly.

We have been pretty active with going out lately. We went to a couple of quiz nights and managed to win one of them. It was only by one point but it turns out that I made all the difference there (YAY ME) coz there was a song where you were suppose to guess one of the lyrics and The quiz master asked if anybody could sing it and just change the lyric. Matt shouted out- "what does the person get that sings- will it give us one extra point?" and he said yes!! So i put my hand up and sang about how Sausages are such a lonely word but mostly what i need from you...... Good ol Billy Joel song. :)
Oh and speaking of- we are going to see him in concert on the 13th of december. Can't wait- will be awsum me thinks. We also went to Def Leppard a couple of weeks ago and i wasn't expecting to enjoy that - but i totally did and danced around while Matt sang.
Matt grew a beard for some insane dudes and dudes with cancer balls (Men's health foundation and Cancer Society). He has been sponsored by a few of our mates which is good. Actually- he has been very amazing when it comes to all that charity stuff. Swam in the Ocean race across the harbour .. full 2.8 k swim and it took him and hour and 15 minutes- where i would have drowned in the first 5 minutes! I'm so proud of him !! :) and that was only 2 weeks after he ran the Auckland half marathon across the bridge and twisted his ankle on the 18th kilometre (and kept running silly boy)- what the hell is that guy made of !?!

bored with my boring blog now- not really very entertaining and my brain is having a recession at the mo so when i think of something funny or exciting to say - I'll say it !
:)
pís át

Moley moley moley moley!!

A month ago i wrote a blog about how Karen was coming over and Matt and i were going away with work- well, The work doo was awsum and we got all dressed up, merry and rode some quad bikes which was soooo much fun. And Karen came and went (to Australia to work on a horse farm for 2 months) and we had a bunch of fun. Even went out to a slumber party and sang sing star and played eye toy the whole night with Hayley and Kylie- OMG there was so much laughing i can't even explain it- definitely a night to remember.

I have been very slack with the gym thing lately and should really give my self a big kick up my behind for not going as much as before i went to Iceland. I do have a legit reason not to go for a week now (the moles) but then that is it- and i am going to start going as much as possible with Lauren and Candice from work. Matt is nearly out-doing me at the mo with all his training for the Auckland marathon he is running on the 2nd on Nov.

Speaking of MO- Matt has signed himself up to grow one for Movember- the month formerly known as November. I will be helping his as much as i can as his MO sistah and then hopefully we will do the amazing MO race like last year when Hrefna was over.
... And Speaking of Hrefna, I started doing her paperwork last week and took some stuff over to a JP to get it signed and sent off to her. It's just the beginning of the process to get her a working visa should she want to come over to NZ and work and see what it is like living here for a couple of years.
:) I really hope she does !! wink wink ( hehehe- i know you are reading this Fluff monster!) xxxx

Chantelle and Becky keep entertaining me endlessly. Becky with her "learning to say things right" and Chantelle with her little statements about life and everything she observes.
Matt hurt his finger at netball the other day and so Becky has been talking about his "hurt thinger" a lot. Hee hee!! She also likes to eat "Basgetty" (spaghetti) !! ;)
Chantelle is a little learn-a-holic and pays attention to everything that is going on around her. She even told me a story the other day about some lady who had her husband leave her and her kid was taking drugs but she was writing a book or something like that... not too sure whet she meant but i was blown away by all the info that came out of her. When i asked her if she knew what drugs were i just got a blank look ! ;-D hahaha Later on i found out that she had been listening in on her mum talking about some lady she knew. A good reminder for me to not think that she is still too little to know what is going on around her. She is reading better and faster then i can and she has a ton of activity books that she loves to do at home and i must say that Matt and I are both rather proud of her.

My cat had a bit of a messy couple of days last week.
On Thursday when i came home she was acting rather strange and was quiet and slept all day and didn't want to eat. For those of you who know my Kisa know that she is NEVER quiet and ALWAYS hungry, so when she didn't come to the kitchen to meow at me constantly while i was cooking i knew something was up. I had a wee look over her and found that she had ripped her paws and all her claws were split on all 4 legs. :( very sad. The Vet (who i took her to on the Saturday morning) said she had most probably got stuck in a hole somewhere and tried to get out and had such a shock that she wanted to hide and was probably too scared to eat. Poor baby!! She had to have a whole bunch of shots and medicine and also the dreaded paw rinse that stings a bit- I had to do that every day for 4 days and she was .. well- lets just say she wasn't really into that!
She is fine now tho and happy and eating again so that makes me happy.
Me- I'm just fine despite the 2 plaster on my face and the stitches in my back. I went to see a mole doctor a couple of weeks ago and he made me come in yesterday to get rid of 4 moles. It was terrible leading up to it coz i was a bit nervous. ( this is me- the person that voluntarily went and got tattoos in two different places on my body!!)
When i got there the doctor was super nice and made it feel more just like a mate was helping you out. Then he stabbed me with a couple of needles (OUUUCH!!) and started cutting- couldn't feel a thing and it was easy peasy! I'm a wee bit broken today tho- just feel itchy on my chin and sore in the 3 stitches on my back but i am sure that it was worth it.

We are off on a family trip to Taupo this weekend so i might have something to say again soon.

xxxxx
Mole Queen.

Sick and sorry for it's self.

Yuck! I'm crook and at home and my body feels like it's been kicked all over and i have sore head- pooooooor me! Kisa is looking after me and making sure i have lots of attention, a licked nose, head buts and that my neck is warm. (she likes to drape herself around it)
I just got a message from a friend of mine who has family here in NZ and she has informed me that there are actually more people here that speak my gobelty gook language. It seems to be that there is a whole club here called the Icelandic Society http://www.icelandnz.blogspot.com/ and i might try to find out if they meet or do stuff or what it is all about. I might not want to live in Iceland but i do love most things Icelandic and always feel at home when i can listen to music from home- watch movies from there or speak in my own tounge. My brother recons that i am more Icelandic then most of the people he knows back home coz of the huge Icelandic memorabilia i have here in NZ. Books, Cd's, DVDs and foods i like to make. But i think most people get like that if they move from a place they still like. I know that my sister would kill a small animal for Icelandic lollies, My best friend in New York is the biggest Icelandic book slut i have ever known of and My cousin in Washington would never say no to anything Icelandic. So there you have it- I'm not the only one with a bit of an obsession for Icelandic things.
:)
Things that have been happening lately .... I went to a mates B-day party and he put on a show with a band and we sang for the crowd. Lots of fun and i managed to release a few of my built up performance demons since it's been aaaaages since I've been on stage doing anything.
Matt and I also went to a wedding on Friday that was very lovely and romantical. We didn't know anybody but with us it never seems to matter coz we just don't seem to run out of nonsense to talk about. :)
This week we are off on a work offsite with the whole team (all 100 of us) and we will be staying at a beautiful place near Wellington. There will be some work but mostly it will be all about having fun and getting to know the people we work with so I'm looking forward to this.
Until next time.

I'm home!!!

...and I have actually been home for a week but my head has been in 15 different time zones for the last week and there has been no end to my extreeme tiredness and UBER head spinny-ness.
It was so nice to come home to my lovely Matt and he had made the house all sparkly clean (i know i know.. i don't need much in life-- just a clean house and a made bed to keep me happy) and i got flowers and a big welcome sign (from the girls and Matt-- oh and Balloons) and endless yummyu hugs and sloppy kisses from the whole tribe- that includes Kisa.
:)
The Sif and Matt travel agenda is pretty empty now on the adventure front but we are planning things like going away with work to Wellington in about 2 weeks, going on some mini trips with the girls to just hang and play somewhere in the country (nothing like playing tourist in your own back yard) and getting a visitor in October- yes - Karen is coming over again to make some noise in NZ. ;)
That is all i have to say for now people... and i wish somebody would leave me a comment.. pleaaase!!!! comment.
luv.

Only 3 more days... :(

Good grief- i can't believe it's almost finished. EEEEEEEEKKKKK My holiday i had been waiting for, for such a long time is nearly finished and i will have to go home to normal life and work.

My sister left this morning and that was a bit sad for me. I did put on a brave face for her but when she left i felt a wee bit sad in my eyes.... if you are smart you will know what i mean. But as we are bestest friends we always stay in touch and who knows- maybe she'll be back in the lovely NZ before i know it. :) (crossing my fingers) We have had such an awsum time together going to spend time with our 2 fathers together, picking blueberries in the countryside, doing a late night ice cream mission and just generally hanging and talking about life and the way of the world. Now that she is gone my main focus is to catch up with people like family and friends and then it's off to the airport on Saturday morning for the long trip. This time it wont be so lavish as when Matt and I were able to stop in Dubai, Paris and London... this time it will be 3 hours to London- 10 hours there- 7 hours to Dubai- 3 hours there then about 20 hours to get to Auckland via Melbourne... Siiiigh- I guess since Matt managed to do this and live to tell the tale about it then i should be able to as well. ( and i have had a couple of goes at it before so I should be ok)

As much as i have been loving my holiday i am feeling the need to go home too and am missing Matt, the girls and my Kisa terribly.. as well as my bed, my house, my friends and my creature habits. I guess that is what holidays are for- getting time away lets you appreciate all the things that you end up finding routine-ish in your every day life.

Reykjavík awaits me- must dash.
xxx
Sif.

Too busy to blog...

I believe that i was complaining about nothing happening and not having enuff to blog about a few weeks ago- well now my problem is quite the opposite. I am too busy making stories to even blog about them. And here is something to trip you out completely. I have been in Iceland for a week and it is affecting my English- even my thinking English. Right now as i write this i am thinking in English with a very strong Icelandic accent!!!!!!! hahhahaha Gwad only knows how the brain works.

So far we have been pretty none stop. We spent the Saturday in the Blue Lagoon and floated around in there for a while. Then we caught up with Dísella, Kolla and Stína later that night for some drinks and a giggle. Sunday we went for a drive to a big waterfall with Kolla in her hangover and i have to give her massive credit for actually coming with us as she was not having her shiniest moment. And that night Matt met my Dad and his whoooooole clan- there were 12 of us for dinner and it was loud and crazy but lots of fun too and a real moment for me. ;)

I turned 31 on the Monday and it was a very nice day. My girlfriend Stína had made her way all the way to Iceland for only 3 days so she could spend the day with me as it is her birthday as well. We had a 2 hour lunch together and then did a bit of shopping for a dinner we were having at her mum's that night. Then i was off to hang with my man for the rest of the day and we strolled around Reykjavík a bit before getting ready to go to the dinner where we had a lovely feed and a spa.

Tuesday we started early by getting on the road at 11.30 and making our way to Þingvellir which is the oldest parliament in the world and a very scenic place. After that we headed to Geysir to see some amazing hot springs going loonie speed in the air. And after that we drove to Gullfoss- a very big and beautiful waterfall. After all of those places we had a 4 hour drive to make our way to Skaftafell where we were spending the night in a tent. It was up to my driving to get us there before dark so that the putting up of the tent wouldn't have to happen in the dark- and we made it. The place is right at the base of Europe's biggest glacier so it was a little chilly, 10c degrees actually-but we zipped our sleeping bags together and made it through the night. We were however woken up at 5 the next morning by the biggest thunder storm i have ever experienced in Iceland. That might not mean much to allot of you but we hardly ever get thunder and lightning in Iceland- I think in the 18 years that i lived here i only saw it twice... very odd!

The next morning we were packed and ready to go at 8 and drove to a meeting point where some dudes with big jeeps picked us up and took us up to the glacier Vatnajökull for a ski-doo trip. I kinda wish it could have been sunnier and not so grey but it was still pretty magic to stand on a glacier in the summer time and know that there is an active volcano right under your feet. That tour lasted about 4 hours and our next stop was Jökulsárlón or the Glacier Lagoon where for the last 70 years the glacier has been melting into a pond at the base of the glacier and then running to sea but there is also seawater running inland into the lagoon so the Ice melts very slowly in the lagoon- I would have to say that it is a must see if you ever come to Iceland- totally worth the 5 hour drive from the city. We did a boat ride in one of their amphibious car boat thingies and got to eat some of the 1000 year old ice that was floating around us. We also saw a seal!!!!!! ;)
6 hours later we were back in town (after stopping in a couple of places for photos and dinner) and we had a couple of hours to chill before racing off to the airport to get my sister who was flying in from England. It's so great that all these people have come over to Iceland while i am here since i have so far to go. (Yay for Dísella, Stína, Hrefna and Tolli)

We just got back from spending a night at a summer house with My mum, Barry (stepdad) , Tolli, Karen and Hrefna (my siblings) and we had a lovely time with them eating good food- going for walks, having spa's and playing games. Now it is unfortunately time for Matt to pack his bags and have me take him to the airport tomorrow morning so he can go home and cuddle Chantelle, Becky and Kisa while i do my social thing here in Iceland and in a week it will be my turn to go home.
xxx

The puffin is in the cliff nest.

I have just published my Paris and London blog coz we haven't really had much computer access lately- by choice really coz we've been so busy seeing everything possible in such a short time.
Rachel came and got us from the Eurostar and took us to her place to drop the bags off before taking us out to dinner at her local pub. We didn't make it a late one coz we were all tired and we also wanted to get up early the day after and go touristing. The 2 days we spent walking around were filled with none stop walking, museums, tours, trains, people, things to do, things to see and everything between. We went to Tower of London to see some castle stuff then crossed tower bridge to a pub called Horniman to have some lunch before going to a floating museum from second world war and the Korean war - called the HMS Belfast. Very impressive and when we boarded one of the men working there said to us "if you get lost just find one of us uniformed guys to help you". We didn't really take him seriously ... i mean how lost can you get on a ship, right? But wouldn't you know it- it took us ages to figure out how to get of the thing once we were far far into the belly of the ship. Lots of fun and the whole thing has been set up with wax sailors doing things all around. Very educating. Then on we went to another world war 2 museum and then after that we went to an old surgery where people used to come to watch doctors cut up patients in them olden days. Rachel's tummy was turning a bit at some of the stuff we saw in there. :-/ We also stopped at the Shakespeare Globe theatre but couldn't do the tour coz there was a show going on so we moved on a few meters down the Thames and went to the Tate modern museum. That was the last stop for that day of the touristy stuff. We had some tickets to go see a show called Spamelot that night so we grabbed some Thai food before we went to see it. I swear i have never had hot Thai food like that!!!!! My mouth was on fire and i had to send the food back and beg the staff for a glass of milk.
Spamelot is faaaaantastic and i suggest to anybody who has the oppertunity to see it, to do so- it had me in tears of laughter. Just genius!
Day two was a just as busy and we left the house just before 10 which is late compared to what we were getting used to. We had bought a London pass which got us into 3 main attractions for a small price. We started out at Madame Tussauds and hung out with some famous people- then on to the London eye for a 30 minute ride with a great view and the last one was called The London Dungeon and was a place dedicated to all the horrors that happened in London during the plague, all the serial killers of London, all the torture devises that have been used and so on and so on. Lots of scary moments. After that we found a bar for me and Rachel while Matt went to Forbidden Planet to have a look at some comic books and movie thingies while Rach and I got drunker and drunker.. to the point where we were painfully slurry and found most things very funny... even if they were just faces drawn on our thumbs. ;)
This meant that I was up at 6 this morning getting some panodol and water to ease my sore head before dragging all the suitcases and bags to the train for Stanstead airport. The Flight to Iceland was easy and Mum and Barry were waiting for us on the other side of the sliding door when we got there with big smiles for us. We waited around for my brother to arrive from his flight and then we were off on a mission to find a hot dog... I'm not just talking about any old hot dog here.. i'm talking about the ICELANDIC PULSA the one and only- I have been craving it for aaaages now- 2 years in fact.. or since i was here last time. :)
Matt and i are settled well in now and are having a relaxing time at home tonight for the first time in a week.
Tomorrow we plan on going to the Blue Lagoon! ;)
Later.
xxxx