Today, 5 January 2012 marks my 10th year in New Zealand.

There were days when it felt like it was yesterday that I arrived in this country excited to spend my married life with MrG. And then there were days when I felt like I’ve been here too long.

So much has happened in those 10 years. They weren’t all happy memories. Some experiences were awful that I’d rather not to dwell on them. Truth be told, there were more good days than bad.

I followed my heart. I followed my man.

I have no regrets

Here’s to the next 50 summers, New Zealand.

Thank you!

But New Zealand (especially the South Island) has captured my heart in more ways than one.

Lake Dunstan in Cromwell has been witness to many a summer family holiday over the years. This is where Ms14 and her cousins have spent lazy summer days biscuiting.

Can’t imagine living anywhere else now. How lucky am I to be living in a country like New Zealand?

Here’s hoping that 2012 will be a better year for us albeit in a more positive way

I hope it’s NOT the end of the world as predicted by the 2012 movie I haven’t turned 40 yet!!

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At home. In Christchurch.

It has been an incredible experience for Simon and I to go on holiday.

Night Safari, Singapore

Yes, just the two of us!

Club Med, Bintan, Indonesia

Walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, chats that lasted till the wee hours of the morning, lazy mornings spent in the pool or the beach getting much needed vitamin D while everyone else back home is freezing tee hee!

Monte Lelecita, Koronadal City, Mindanao, Philippines

While we love Bea dearly, it was good to reconnect again just as husband and wife and not just parents of our only daughter.

In the 10 years we’ve been married, this is our first time to go on holiday without Bea longer than an overnight trip!

I was apprehensive at first. I didn’t want Bea to think we were abandoning her but after talking to her about our plans, she understood.

Skiing in Mt. Hutt

After all, she got to go on a ski camp for a week in Mt. Hutt while we’re away. I also knew she would be well looked after by my sister and her husband. They love Bea as their own just as we love their son, Nate as our own

The best part of our holiday?

Kainan sa Palaisdaan Floating Restaurant, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

Apart from Simon’s gorgeous pressie to me to add to my bag collection and spending time with family and friends especially m y parents, it’s when he told me he’s in love with me more than he did when we got married 10 years ago. The amazing part is…I feel the same way!

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

That’s the best wedding anniversary gift a wife could ever hope to receive.

I feel incredibly blessed.

Editor’s Note: This was written on the flight bound home on 31 July. Only published today, 18 August.

Who knew that a chance meeting in the late 1990′s would lead us down the aisle in 2001?

After hearing that Christchurch yet again was shaken by twin quakes on 13 June, she published a shout out on her FB page asking her Christchurch-based fans to email her their home addresses as she’d like to send a little something to make us feel better.

That Leanne accomplished. I was so touched when I opened the parcel she sent me. I felt the love Leanne! Thank you so much.

Of course I had to share the loot with my sister who was also feeling down. We can’t wait to use them

I commandeered a small section of our lounge/living room as my ‘work area’ away from our temporary HQ in Harewood.

This is where I worked prior to the 22 Feb earthquake.

So many things have changed since Christchurch was shaken, rattled and rolled last year. After the September 2010 Mag 7.1 earthquake, we couldn’t access our office building in Victoria St for close to two weeks and the months that followed were a series of interruptions at work as our landlord began repairing internal walls in our building.

The repair work on the damage brought by the September quake wasn’t even completed when the 22 February earthquake hit. This time, the damage to the building was more severe and to date, we have no access to it.

We have heard from our landlord this week that our office building sustained further damage after the 13 June twin quakes.

So here I am on my own working from home while the rest of our lives carried on in our ‘new normal’ in quake ville, err, I meant, Christchurch. Hubby’s work was never interrupted and while Bea’s school closed for a month after the 22 Feb quake and a couple of days after the 13 June twin quakes, the school is back to normal.

We actually have a ‘proper’ home office (one of the rooms we converted into an office) but it’s tucked away on the other side of the house with no access to the comfort of Oprah at 2pm and the couch for my nana naps tea breaks.

I miss ‘power’ dressing. My suits and work clothes are hibernating in my wardrobe. I must admit though in cold, rainy days, I like working from home in the comfort of my ‘fat pants’ and the company of our dog Archie.

Until when is our set-up going to be like this? If it was up to me, I suppose until the ground stops shaking.

What about you? What’s  your new ‘normal’ at work?

Christchurch earthquake damage in Central City. Taken on 19 June 2011

You would think that after having 2 rounds of major earthquakes in the past 9 months, Mother Nature would leave Christchurch alone for the next 600 hundred years or so.

To be honest, when the 2 quakes struck Monday last week, I was frightened, yes. But more than that, I was overwhelmingly over the whole tremor thing.

We’ve been extremely lucky that in the last 3 major earthquakes we’ve had since September 2010, our house survived it virtually unscathed (we had very minor damage to our property), our little street free from liquefaction of any kind but the emotional and mental stress borne from these quakes are finally taking their toll.

On me at least.

So yes, after the quakes struck on Monday, all I wanted was to leave not just the city of Christchurch but New Zealand as well. We had well-meaning encouragement from our friends overseas to move to their own cities where it’s ‘safer’ and quake-free.

I even had a “spirited discussion” with my Husband about this. I wanted to leave, to escape while he didn’t. Our daughter was initially excited about the prospect of living in another city but in the end, she wanted to stay.

While I wanted to escape, I knew, in the end, we wouldn’t. Our life is here in Christchurch and I can’t imagine living anywhere else in New Zealand.

Christchurch is where Simon and I REALLY STARTED OUR NEW LIFE together. Christchurch is Bea’s hometown having lived here more than any other place in the world.

Christchurch is where our families are. My sister and her family are here. Simon’s sister and her kids are in Christchurch.

We also can’t bear to leave New Zealand. So yes, while there a lot of reasons to leave Christchurch, there are a thousands other reasons why we should stay.

I just wish the shaking would stop!

Where the CTV Building used to stand

I want to feel safe again and not have to worry about emergency kits or water storage or ensuring that all breakables are tied down.

I miss going into any building and not having to look at where the quickest exit is or where I can dive under in case of any quakes.

I just miss living. I miss our life pre-earthquakes.

So what about you? If you’re reading this and are based in Christchurch, are you staying or leaving?

So who’s my favourite super hero?

I had a number of super heroes that I admired. Growing up, the one that left a deep impression on me was Wonder Woman.

I like it because it debunks the myth about damsels in distress. You can look feminine without being fragile. You can look hot and sexy while being brainy.

Wonder Woman is my kind of woman.

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