paaar-tay!

So as we get closer to leaving, we're starting to get all sentimental and mushy about the people we're leaving behind. That said, we want to hang out one last time... with ALL of you.

We're calling all local Santa Barbara-ians, LA and San Diego friends, Northern peeps, former Westmonters, co-worker bees, small groupers... come one come all. Grab a friend, spread the word and show up at Dargan's, Saturday the 26th at 8:30ish... Totally casual - just grab a pint, hang out with some old friends you haven't seen in awhile, give us a hug and then be on your way if you must... or hang out and who knows where the night will lead!! We just would love to get to see you one last time before we go on our grand adventure... we hope to see you there! Mark your calendars! This Saturday at Dargans!

movin' on out...

When thinking of the daunting task of moving, I tend to get really bitter. I hate packing everything up, lugging it out, up and down stairs a bazillion times, cleaning 20 month old dust build-up and shower grout (yep... gross...), then carrying it back to wherever it may be going next, unpacking, creating a mess, hurting my body, etc, etc. I know I know. Me=wuss.

But then I had a brilliant idea - let's get movers! Then Josh (and our bank account) said no...

THEN, I got really excited about moving (well, kinda excited) when I heard about UsedCardboardBoxes.com - they rescue truckloads of quality used boxes from large companies that might otherwise recycle them or simply throw them away. They then "resell" those boxes to customers all across North America, via their website. It's free shipping and you get it in 1-2 days! And they're not soggy, holey, gross boxes -- most of them are brand new boxes that just have typos or can't be used because the company changed its logo or what not...

You basically order what you want online based on how much you have to move, and then 2 days later you have all your moving odds and ends... boxes, packing tape, markers, box cutters, packing paper... pretty sweet, right? Best part is - they're cardboard boxes that were going to be thrown out or recycled anyway, so you're saving a tree... and on top of that, a portion of their proceeds help plant trees via TreePeople.org.

As my cardboard peeps like to say, "you don't have cut down a tree to make a used cardboard box!" Wise words indeed...

how to avoid the sun...

No... I'm not talking about Steven Colbert's nemesis Rain's R&B Korean Hit "How to Avoid the Sun" - (that was for you dear Josh...) but I'm talking about me avoiding the scorching sun while in New Zealand!

New Zealand has one of the highest UV ratings in the world. The clear, clean environment makes the sun extremely harsh, no matter what time of the year or weather conditions. The New Zealand sun can give sunburns even on a cloudy day...

So bring on the big floppy hats, sunglasses, and umbrellas... lube me up with that uva/uvb protection goodness... New Zealand here we come... in 22 days!!

miss universe

So I've seen Miss USA falling over and over and over again (thanks to every morning show's painful looped coverage of the poor girl's fall), but it got me thinking... does New Zealand compete in these kind of events? Or are they too peaceful, pristine, and tranquil for such silly competitions hosted by none other than Jerry Spinger and Scary Spice? Heck no -- check out Miss New Zealand's national costume... Like Xena (which - FYI - Lucy Lawless is a New Zealander and the show was taped partially in New Zealand - yes please!), she's a Warrior Princess... ey yiyiyiyiyiyiyi!!

And of course - a little love for both the Native Canadian: and the USA... the snowflake?:

with a kiwi on top!

Happy Birthday to BOTH

Josh and Audrey!!

Back to back b-days... woo woo!

Although we won't be spending our birthdays in New Zealand, if we were, we would celebrate double the amount of time because of the international date line... that said, bring on the holidays while we're down under -- double the Christmas presents, the New Years kisses, and the Halloween candy!!

It's good to be semi-kiwi... temporarily...

hurts so (not) good

So we've started to pack up our little apartment... there are boxes scattered around our tiny place marked "Books" and "Clothes" and "Mirrors" -- oh the mirror box... We have these big ass mirrors on our walls... I'm talking probably 50 pounds each. Ok - so as I type that it doesn't sound too heavy, but still bigger than your ordinary mirror. Well this past Saturday it was the mirror vs. Josh... and the mirror won.

Josh bent over to pick up this mirror so we could roll it in a blanket and pack it... he leaned forward to blow a little dust off and I hear "AHH!" - immediately Josh hobbles into the bedroom, tries to lay on the bed, but can't straighten his body -- it was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. Then, he starts to strip off his clothing (because he's profusely sweating partially because of our heavy-lifting day in the Santa Barbara heat and partially because his body is now in panic mode) and then curls up into the fetal position... so now I have a naked husband that is both wincing in pain with spurts of giggling on the floor of our bedroom... and I cannot stop laughing... I mean helping...

Anyway - we eventually got him on his feet (and obviously that's when we took the picture up above... yep...) and since then he's been on the floor of our living room, legs propped up, popping IBuprofen, and icing with frozen peas... and all for the sake of a freaking heavy mirror... poor baby!

you could be a part-time model

My dear friend Sam introduced me to a New Zealand favorite... Flight of the Conchords. In fact, they dubbed themselves "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo" -- and rightfully so... I think anyway.

When I first watched this video I couldn't shake the feeling that the main singer looked oddly familiar... What do you think? Could my older brother Tyler be a glammed up (of course better looking - hey, he's family!) version of Jemaine Clement?

Jemaine

Tyler

Huh? Huh? Maybe if you step back from the computer and squint... and after a margarita or two, right?? I think what made me think of Tyler is in the video when Jemaine does his dance moves... dance on, brother, dance on...