Hello Kitty!

Now and then, it hits home how different things are since the earthquakes.  In my pre-quake past, the most important part of visitor preparation would probably have been a serious attempt at cat-hair removal in the guest room. Today, the prime subject of discussion was how to ensure that we don't get someone accidentally squished in a serious aftershock.

The Programmer got busy, conducting test shakes all around the house to see what might break loose and coming up with such things as - the brace:

And.. the band:

In Quake#2 everything came out of that high cupboard and some of it was... for example, an enormous amplifier.  I wouldn't want that to land on Kek while she's sleeping.   If that happened she may take revenge by posting drunken party pics of me on her blog (!). OH, the humanity.

Apart from securing any potentially wayward gear, it was important to Hello Kittify the area where Miss J will hopefully sleep. Naturally, I'm deluding myself because she always ends up in our bed, but it's surely worth a crack. 

Just in case you were distracted by the enormous belly of the real kitty, here are our new cats, which fortunately don't require feeding or de-sexing:

Being an Aunty is an exercise in all things Hello Kitty, Strawberry Shortcake, Princess Lillifee and...Lady Gaga (?). However, as well as keeping up an extensive knowledge of said items of pop culture, an Aunty must also be adaptable and ready for split-second changes in what is cool to the 5 y.o. young woman. There is definitely a chance that Miss J will be over those things in a week and on to the next thing.. probably gothic art or programming computers or something.

Of course all of this activity required quality fuel:

Mid afternoon snack:

Ginger!  Woohooooo. I love these R.A.W bars by Ceres organics. For a start they are NZ made, although some of the ingredients are imported - which is not surprising seeing as NZ isn't exactly renowned for its almond or dates industry. The packet is completely comprehensible - dates, almonds, ginger.  No E numbers, no agave and yet sooo delish.  By the way, I'm not being paid to say this, and I didn't get any free bars.. although, come to think of it, Ceres, I certainly wouldn't say no. What does a blogger have to do to get a free sample these days? Beg shamelessly? I ask you...

After that, it was more mad activity and then..

Dinner, which I admit, wasn't all that photogenic. If it was a contestant on NZ's Next Top Model, this would have been elimination week:

Standard Sara fare - spicy NZ lamb (organic, animal welfare, makes your wallet cry), 'golden' (turmeric) cauliflower and a little basmati rice.  There was no training today, but I think I made up for it by (carefully.. with spine-centred mindfulness..) basically redistributing and cleaning the whole house.  Housework-ercise is a totally valid way to get your daily activity. I'm not saying it's the most fun way, but there is no point in having the guilts about missing yoga when you did six hours of scrubbin' and grubbin' (or, in my case, shinin' and whinin'?).

Disclaimer: When I say 'I', I mostly mean The Programmer and Mamasana who did the bulk of the lifting. I was primarily in charge of the scrubbing and cleaning dept. which I managed with an attention to detail and respect for the looming deadline of tomorrow.

Speaking of which, stay tuned for some very happy pics. :D Now that the rooms are ready, I'm all excited about getting some visitors and may not sleep...