Monthly movie round up

Last year I tried to watch every movie we played at my work and failed a little. I did, however, see an excessive amount of films, probably missing only 10 or so.

This year I'm trying to see as many as possible - whether we're playing them or not - but I'm not going to waste time on the ones I know I'll hate (like last year's Twilight and Battleship).

So here's my list of films I've seen so far this year...

The Hobbit 3D HFR w/ Dolby Atmos
Loved the Atmos and it's pretty cool to be the only place in Australasia with it. Was a bit over the whole Hobbit thing by my second viewing, simply because I can hear it from our office several times a day so I know it by heart

Django
Tarantino. What can I say? It's exactly what I expected of it and I loved it.

The Impossible
Never cried so much in my life. Some brilliant performances, especially by the kids.

Rise of the Guardians
Kiddie movie. My niece enjoyed it. I thought it was so-so

Les Miserables
Loved every minute of this (loved slightly less the minutes that Russell Crowe sang for though)

Anna Karenina
Period drama. Pretty dresses. Beautiful sets. Fantastic acting. Brilliant dance scenes.


This month I'm aiming to see Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty, Safe Haven (hehe), Life of Pi, A Good Day to Die Hard.

Vanilla

I cannot believe I knitted up to this point in under 24 hours last weekend but have yet to complete the last few rows. I am to do it before I sleep tomorrow.

In case you can't tell its a woolen nappy soaker. My friends use cloth nappies for their daughter and I'm only too happy to help keep that gorgeous wee toddler's butt dry and snug. It has double feel good factor - doing them a favour as well as for the environment. 

Plus the pattern is a lot of fun. Easy enough to pick up where you left off but with just enough shaping and challenge to not get bored.

I am going to make another one or two this month.

 

A love of cook books

There's nothing quite like flicking through a pile of cook books while sipping your morning cuppa or a cheeky afternoon g and t. I've been pretty restrained lately and haven't bought many new ones at all but this week splashed out in the new Donna Hay. It's full of light and tasty meals perfect for summer. I was happy to find a heap of recipes using quinoa including quinoa sushi. Yum! 

I also spotted these gems in the bookshop shelves. Perhaps next month...

 

 

 

Auckland

Last week I got my first days off in a month so rather than hanging out at home doing housework like I should have,  I took a flight to Auckland to catch up with some family. 

First stop was mini golf as it's right by the airport.  It was my first time actually and so much fun. It appears I'm not a natural but all 3 of us managed the same score in the end -all winners or all losers depending on how you look at it.

Then it was across town to the zoo. It was easy to find with the combination of Google maps and GPS on my phone.

I hadn't been to the zoo there in 10 years. It's changed so much and I particularly loved the new New Zealand area. I saw my first antipodes island parakeet. It was also neat to see the elephant and hippos. We don't have those down our way. The orangutans were also particularly cute hiding from the sun under their sheets and vintage blankets.

After the zoo we decided to go out to west Auckland to find the house that starred  outrageous fortune. By then my phone was out of battery so no GPS to help us. We got there and took some snaps in front of it. Photos of that to come.

Then it was time to head way out east to spend the evening with family. Read: knitting time.

New habits

It was pay day today which is always nice, but even nicer when 4 stat days fall within one pay period! I splashed out a little on mince and bacon for empanadas and a nice bottle of central Otago pinot noir.

Yesterday I made the most of a sunny afternoon and walked up mt Victoria.

Next week I'll be joining the gym in the hopes of shedding a few kilos and looking after myself a little better. In 2012 I actually lost about 10kg purely by running around too much at work and eating sporadically. Not healthy at all. So 2013 heralds some better habits and fitting in exercise around my mad work lifestyle. The gym's open 24 hours so no excuses. 

Right, time for bed. I want to get up early for a walk, finish the empanadas and meet a cheese supplier at the farmer's market.

Happy weekend!

Knitting resolutions

Happy 2013!

 

My year started with a heck of a hangover and it's still a week until my next day off but nevertheless, it's time to think about my knitting goals for the next year, despite having zero time to pick up the needles right now.

 

So here goes:

 

• Make myself a sweater or cardigan. Perhaps this or this...
• Finish the other sock
• Make a lace something
• Make something awesome with the Manos del Uruguay in my stash
• Use the strawberry lemonade 4ply that's been sitting prettily in the knitting crate for over a year now.

 

Should be able to achieve that.

Spontaneous purchase of flights

I've just finished my 19th day of work in a row with 6 more to go this week at least. So I can be forgiven to feeling a little crazy (hearing The Hobbit play 3 times a day every day will do that to you - I know the music score by heart). In a moment of slight craziness this week I booked flights to Samoa for May next year. Now I have the thought of that to get me through the rest of a busy summer.

I'm looking foward to going back to Savai'i and especially Lano again. I haven't decided yet whether to hire a bike for the 2 weeks and circumnavigate Savai'i or to head to American Samoa for one week and the other week simply lazing on Lano beach.

This trip is a little bitter sweet right now due to thoughts of the damage done and lives lost in the recent cyclone over there. The last bit of news I heard mentioned that the water and power supply to Apia has been severely damaged. One of the reasons why I want to head back over is to spend my tourist dollars which is my way of helping the recovery. The other reasons are simply because the country is beautiful and the people couldn't be friendlier. There's got to be a reason I'm heading back for the 4th time in 3 years.

Cannot wait!