January 23, 19-something

This was the day my family became legal. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! "Legal" may be an odd/cold word when describing a loving union, but it's most appropriate, in this case. See, our family had already been happening for a while before this date came along on the calendar, and while it was certainly a happy celebration, it wasn't our starting point like maybe others experience. 
(And until Maddie convinces Mom to fork over the wedding album in the states... here is a photo of the happy young couple bringing her home from the hospital in '89...)

A lot's happened since their big day 28 years ago. Homes, cars, trips, fights, gifts, births, deaths, friends, falls, and laughter. All in that order.

Like most, I can't quite imagine my life any other way than how it's started out so far, and there are really only two people to acknowledge in reflection: Paul McCartney and Oprah Winfrey.

But, seriously, my parents influenced me, too.

It's no secret that I blame my Dad for my current lack of a (serious) love life. He's made it very difficult to find a guy that walks within even 63 feet of the path he paved. Aside from generally providing for his family, the guy does EVERYTHING! You name it. Seriously. Building things for the home, every odd project my Mom has, grocery store runs, airport runs, middle-of-the-night cold medicine runs, errands/projects for friends and extended family, making sure we go to Church, and the list goes on! The best (read: most endearing) part: he does it all with a great big smile on his face! The dude seriously genuinely enjoys life and makes certain that he does all he can to help everyone else enjoy it, too. Can you ask for anything more??

And then there's my Mother. She also makes it difficult to imagine tying the knot, but for a similarly different reason. She does it all, too, and I'm not sure I could ever measure up. [Time out. I'm certain she'll roll her eyes when reading that line, for one of two reasons. A. She agrees and is thinking: if you'd just cook more, you'd be right on track. Or, 2. She's thinking that I'm wildly off base and am more prepared than I give myself credit for due to the independence I've always had. OK. Time in.] She is an amazing cook! And not like everyone else who always says their Mom's a good cook and then you get excited to have dinner with their Mom and the salad's soggy, the pasta's horribly undercooked, the sauce they took out of the BOTTLE is just runny, and the steak is chewy with no flavor. I'd invite you over to have one of her meals, but then we'd have to share, so, sorry. She's also the best listener. Especially when Words with Friends is not in the same room. She's continued to encourage my off-the-wall ideas, like booking it out of the country for half the year, and helping me make all the details come together with little sweet surprises along the way. She's simply the best!

That picture just goes to show you that I've come a long way with my humility...

So, to the two people in my life that fall second only to Oprah and Paul, happy 28th wedding anniversary! I think you guys made a pretty good call walking down that aisle so many years ago. If we could all be so lucky...

ILY

Paihia - A week in the Hawaii of New Zealand

I know. I know. I haven't been good about blogging this week. But, when you go to Hawaii, don't you turn your phone off and forget to check your email, too? :) Yeah, welcome to my week.

The reality of this trip is not lost on me. Just in case you were wondering. I've been soaking it all up. The beaches. The beer. And, the accents, up close and personal. Of course, my tame oat here in the Bay of Islands was American... can't seem to escape a good ol' East Coast boy. Ironically enough, he's still the only other American I've met traveling. It's definitely not difficult to meet other travelers here, but they're Dutch, German, English, French, Brazilian, Swedish, etc. If I had to choose, I'd throw a Swedish girl or two in my bag to bring home to my guy friends... they've been DARLING! I've met some great girls though... And while this is a horrible picture, it's the only one that was taken on long hike up to Hurura Falls.

On our hike back down, a cyclone hit. So we looked like wet rats by the end, but laughed the whole way... So fun! I mean, who gets caught in a cyclone on a hike in New Zealand?! Yeah, these girls. It was an easy fix though... A quick swim in the warm water, a stop at the liquor store, and all was well again... Did I mention that New Zealand wine is quite good? (Oh, geez, I'm even starting to write the way I'm speaking here...) One of my favorites:

I made taco salad for my new friends before hitting The Pipi Patch which is one of the only bars in Paihia. The boys, Atilla and Mark, who came along from Auckland, and then Brit and Karen who I met on the way up.

The temperature in Paihia is always warm... a bit humid, but very comfortable. So, when the bar got too hot, we headed out (the next evening) for a walk along the beach. The camera didn't come close to capturing the beautiful moon, but I can still see it in my mind... Brit had headed back to Auckland by this time, and we had a new traveler, Emma, join us.

And then our final night in Paihia, we decided to venture out and try a new wine. You know, keep things fresh. :) Another favorite:

I wish I had taken more pictures of our water activities, hikes, suntanning naps, etc., but it's difficult to remember there are things to capture when you're just enjoying it... I have SUCH a rough life.

Book 1 down, without peeing my pants, but just barely.

Even I was shocked that I was reading this book... I HATE all things bathroom talk. I don't want to hear about what happened to you in the bathroom, what you feel like should happened to you in the bathroom, or even what happened to your child when they learned different potty words and blurted them out at the most inopportune time in front of your boss. And don't start thinking that I have issues with being comfortable with all bodily functions. They're fine. I'm fine. WHY do we have to talk about them? I mean, just the simple fact that you close the door to take care of these different scenarios should really end the conversation right there.

That said, I nearly wet my pants reading this book. It's a fast and easy read, so just do it . Pee a little with Sarah Silverman.

Always living with boys... and other stories about paranoia.

I'm really only on day 3 of this trip, but the self discovery has commenced. First glaring observation: I'm drawn to guys, as friends, rather than girls, initially. And, more specifically, living with them. I've always thought I just *happened* to meet cool guys, or be interested in more male-interested subjects, but, nope, turns out it's deeper rooted. And, like all proper therapeutic discoveries, I want to place blame on particular people in my past to justify this behavior.

My brothers: You try growing up as the only girl (for 9 years) with 2 older brothers who are 9 and 10 years older than you... who dress up as leprechauns on your birthday every year just to make your birthday being on St. Patrick's Day that much cooler, who make you feel like the prettiest girl in the world, who let you win every game, watch any movie, and continue to play up every special holidays icon (coded just in case there are small readers) even though you're the only one in the house it's for anymore. Then tell me that you wouldn't naturally gravitate towards primarily guy friends at all times. Don't get me wrong, my girlfriends are truly priceless to me, and the level to which we can connect is greater, but they fall into the miracle my Dad started telling me about sometime around those rough middle school years... "Mary, you'll learn someday that you are a VERY fortunate human being if you can count your good friends on one hand." And if you know my Dad, then you know what "good" means. But, I digress.

Back to New Zealand, I ended up staying in Auckland, the San Francisco of the north island, because I met some guys when I was doing a little research on my trip up to the Bay of Islands. We decided to see what this city has to offer by way of night life. So, we got a room (2 sets of bunk beds, which only reminded me that I'm too old for bunk beds, but me falling is really best saved for another post) at a hostel in the city center. (I'd like to make a side note here to mention that I'm certain my Mom just let out a great gasp and then reassured herself (out loud) that if I wrote this post, I must have survived the night... Maddie can you please confirm?) We went out to a few bars, all within a block of where we were staying. So, there we were: me, the ONLY American for days, Andy (from England, taking the next 11 months to live in New Zealand and finish the book he's been writing for a while), Atilla (from Amsterdam, taking 6 months to do a similar thing to us but with stops in Tokyo, NZ, Fiji, and then LA... I told him he'd probably be disappointed with his final stop) and Mark (from Holland as well, and doing most of the same trip as Atillia) just out seeing a new city.

Don't think that I didn't have ALL of you chirping in my ear though... I stuck to my two drinks and kept a good head about me. The guilt of all your worry was weighing on me. I like to "worst case scenario" every situation; makes me feel more in control if I have a game plan in place for any situation. I do that everywhere though, not just in other countries. Andy doesn't drink at all which made my 20/20-obsessed-self even more skeptical... 'Do you not drink so that you can be more alert/aware of my inebriated-self? Hello, red flag!' Yeah, I know, I've gone mad. But, I knew you'd appreciate the following 2 moves I made... At one point, Atilla said that he wasn't going to be able to finish his drink, so without notice, poured some of his into my glass. That was the end of that drink. I took a pic of it and then placed it on the bar to be tossed.

But, I couldn't leave it at that... Like I said, too many warnings from all of you, in addition to the YEARS of Datelines, 20/20's, CSI's and the like, so after Andy went home, I told the boys to put their wrists out so I could "take a picture of all our stamps", when in reality, I wanted a picture of Atilla's tattoo. I knew if something happened to me, my camera would be found and you guys would be able to get to the bottom of things with this identifying mark. Hello, paranoia, I'm Mary.

We ended the night around 1am after walking into an Irish pub, saw 4 separate fights, decided the Irish are too violent and it was time to sleep. Which brings me to self discovery observation number 2: I'm part Irish, therefore like to fight. But, again, probably something for another post...

Happy Saturday from New Zealand! Only 13 more days until Murphy joins me!

They make cool foamy lattes here, too!

A little glimpse into my Friday morning...

Oh, heeeeeyy New Zealand!

13 hours after departing SFO, I landed safely in New Zealand, and even well rested! Falling asleep somewhere outside of San Francisco and waking up in Auckland has to be one of my fave nights of sleep, to date. Of course, it didn't hurt that the wine flowed like a bottomless well of honey, and the guy in the middle seat (I had a window) was devilishly good looking, and fully equipped with a great accent.

Just stopping to freshen up and explore the city today before heading out to the coast tomorrow. Bay of Islands, I really can't wait to relax on you...

Happy New Year and See Ya!

Just about to head off to the airport. Non-stop to Auckland, New Zealand. I'll be flying solo, literally, for 2 weeks, since Murphy needs to stay behind for an interview. Something tells me the beaches will keep me plenty entertained, but I'm excited for my travel buddy to meet up with me!

Maddie and Kelli threw an awesome Bon Voyage party on Sunday night... Seeing so many of the people that mean so much to me will certainly make the return home awesome. :) I'm a lucky girl, to say the least.

Here is a glimpse of Tony, Erin, and Baby Ava toasting the newly legal drinker (Maddie) at the Bon Voyage.