The F's of February

It's been really a crazy week over here in Frantic February, but now most of the frantic is out of the way, with only one planning fail..

The first mission involved a trip down South for my oldest friend's 40th. We hadn't seen each other for seven years, but it never takes long to catch up. I think this is the result of shared childhood experiences. 

I didn't pack lunch, and of course, small town NZ is not really the place to be on a special diet (especially gluten-free), on a Saturday afternoon.

The bagel pictured was really the best option.

It required some deconstruction.

You can probably tell by my face that I was having a difficult time turning it into something I wanted to eat (thanks, Programmer for capturing my sour puss look on camera..haha).  As for the new hair, I'm trying out a darker look but am not really sure if it's a keeper yet.

The party was great, there was lots of catching up with people I haven't seen for many years, a band, and a horse called Ally (or Ellie?). He didn't quite get the idea of self-camera action, but we gave it a try. As for me? Again with the face... sheesh..

A few days after that the big, exciting moment happened!

The arrival of Miss J, Sistasana and Baby G!  (again, the face.. I don't know.. it's just not a photogenic week, I apologise). Miss J arrived full of party planning mojo. But first, we had the only fail of the week.

We were driving along, with plans to visit the temporary city in Christchurch (container shops, which currently represent the City Mall), when a thought pinged into my brain that there was something I was supposed to do today.  Pretty much at that moment, my phone rang and it was our property manager wondering where I was. 

CRAP! The house inspection!

It takes about 40 minutes to drive to our rental property, so I apologised and asked her to do it without me. So much for my organisational brilliance. Here's a tip: planner diaries are only reliable if you look inside them.

I felt bad for hours about missing that appointment, but by the evening, was fully occupied with the next big event of the week: The Programmer's coming of age. First up, the cake.

I did the baking and the writing. Miss J did the decorating.  The sprinkles went a bit wild, but otherwise, it was total success. This was a Death by Chocolate. I think it's the best one yet. I ran out of cocoa and just replaced that with an extra 150g of chocolate. Basically it is melted chocolate held together by butter, eggs, sugar and four tablespoons of flour (in this case, 50:50 corn starch and buckwheat flour). 

It was another amazing night, but we had to call it early because the next day we had an important job to do. As you know, The Programmer is a keen and very good photographer (his dad is a professional, so he grew up camera crazy). When our friend, Jo (of MVM Plus naming fame) needed a wedding snapper, we offered to do it - my role was restricted to holding the reflector disc - which nearly carried me away, parachute-fashion in the strong wind(!), and trying to arrange the guests for pics ('herding cats' comes to mind). 

The Programmer was initially reluctant, as nothing can go quite so badly as messing up someone's wedding pics, but Jo's alternative was someone with a 'point and click' so I convinced him it would be all right on the night (or, in this case, the day), and it was.

I can't show you any of those piccies yet, as the bride herself has not yet seen them, but I can report that everyone looked amazing. The bridal party was made up of the couple's kids (all five of them), and during the ceremony there was not a dry eye in the room.

Excuse me, there was a dry eye, in the form of a certain jetlagged little niece that was lying on the ground and quietly proclaiming the whole thing "soooo langweilig" (boring). Later she amused herself by locking me in the toilet. Who puts an outside lock on a toilet at the height of a child?? Halswell Domain, I'm looking at you.

That was yesterday. So, you'd think today would be all about relaxing, right?

Oh no. First thing, that switch got flicked back to party mode! Today was another big day, but for a littler person.

When Uncle Programmer hit the big four-oh, Baby G was a few days from the big oh-one.

We copied Heather Eats Almond Butter's idea of memory photos.  Then we stuck the cards on the window.  

Of course, Baby G was thrilled with his traditional kiwi present of a Buzzy Bee (on the tray table), but even more interested in the cupcake tower. I have to say, this boy can eat. Everyone says he takes after his Aunty Sara in this area. :-/

It was another great day, just hanging out with family.

The Programmer and Programmer's accomplice managed to figure out how to stop the bubbles popping when they hit the grass. Clever with physics, those two.

Needless to say, with the constant partying, my nutrition has been a little less than 'normal' and training has consisted of one yoga session and one ZWOW, along with about six hours of Wii Just Dance. I introduced Miss J to it the day before The Programmer's party and then proceeded to suffer the embarrassment of losing to a six year old, repeatedly. 

She is really good. Also, very dedicated. 'Walk Like an Egyptian' is her favourite, and she practiced it non-stop until attaining mastery. This gave me time to bake that cake, so no complaints there. I'd recommend Wii as the perfect digital babysitter.

So, that's my week. Fun, Frantic, Fantastic and Full of Friends and Family (+ one Fail)

I hope yours was as Fabulous.