Salut mes amis!

Yes I'm still alive and incredibly sorry for all of you who check so regularly for news! Life has been... busy, shall we say!

Somewhere in the last 2 weeks I managed to add another year to my life officially and a HUGE thank you to all who came out for dinner on the night and to those who sent wee packages - you all made me feel special amidst the chaos. My mantelpiece is currently covered almost from end to end with cards and makes for a nice view in the evenings.

I've had a million and one little things to do and the checklist just seems to be growing as opposed to shrinking... it's like a flashback to my teaching days - just the thought at how that list grows faster than mould is enough to make one shudder! I'm sure that just made all my teaching friends out there think about how long their own list currently is... a thousand apologies! Somehow we get there don't we?!

The highlight of my week would have to have been a message left on my phone by a sweet lady from Telecom NZ who had the closest thing I've ever heard to a real life Lyn of Tawa/full-on Kiwi slang accent in a long time! There's a thought to ponder in itself! We all know how badly we can say 'Fish 'n' Chips' if we're tired! All of a sudden it turns into 'Fosh 'n' chops' complete with high squeak on 'chops'! I was in fits of giggles by the end of the message because at the end of every sentence, the lady's voice went up and did the high squeak thing! - Just try it and you'll see what kept me on the floor for a good while!
*Note - the pitch and squeak are only added on the last syllable of the last word in any given sentence!*
Apparently it's what they think our language will sound like in another 10 years according to a documentary on TV (Monday night a few weeks ago).

For those of you wanting the update on the catwalk, the big day is fast approaching - only 2 weeks away. I chose my outfits this afternoon and don't all die of shock but there are 2 skirts in there somewhere! Other than a few funky accessories and a very cool winter jacket (dusty pink, to the knees, textured and dead cool!) I can't say it was all right up my alley but I've never had 3 shop assitants wait on me hand and foot let alone do all the running around for me! Comes a close second to having your make-up, hair and nails done all in the same day by someone else!

Well, if you're nice and no more tongue-in-cheek comments appear on my blog... yeah on second thoughts, no promises! The big day might just come and go!

Must fly... the rest of the checklist just won't tick itself off! Don't forget me... I love hearing from you all even just the emails from time-to-time.

Á bientôt! ... around July!
(See you soon!)