Yinzer in the Shire

Seth and I are both completely certain that divine intervention brought us to New Zealand.  All along the way doors were shutting and others were opening to lead us here to this lovely country. So many tears were shed in the early phases as there were many times in which we were certain that he hadn't made it to the next round of interviews.  We looked into other things that we could do, just to have a change of pace, but each time the answer was no.  One door actually shut itself to me as Seth was going through the long and arduous interview process only to promptly reopen a few weeks before the move as if to say, "It will be okay, you're good at what you do, and better opportunities await elsewhere."   It wasn't till the very end, after Weta had contacted us with their offer, that we were able to look back and see just how perfectly it all fit together, even when we were trying to intervene out of fear. A perfect example is the date of our move.  From the...

If you'll recall prior to the move I was a bit nervous about being a Jess without a job.  I actually wrote a post about it, but never actually published it. (I have since remedied that and you can view it here .) Fast forward a month after the move, almost every night since we have been here I have had a nightmare about PF/PCA.  Usually the dream revolves around teaching my last class and the anxiety of moving.  Once there may have even been a bomb scare that shut down the entire downtown area along with the threat of zombies, preventing me from getting to PCA to teach.  You know, standard stuff. Just within the past two days has my sleeping mind started to deal with the fact that I am no longer in Pittsburgh.  I thought, perhaps this is where the work dreams would end, but alas, my subconscious is stubborn. In my most recent dream I was sorta/kinda working at Weta, though half way through the dream I realized I hadn't actually been hired or paid.  B...

Wellingtonian's have this habit of being incredibly self-depreciating towards their city.  I can't tell you how often residents have apologized for the weather or, worse, said something akin to "But we don't even have amusement parks" when I express how much I enjoy living here.  According to them Wellington is only interesting if you enjoy going to cafes or clubs.    Ugh, and the way they complain about the insulation of their housing drives me insane!  A common saying goes, "You can't beat Wellington on a good day!" and is even used in promotional materials from the city council.  It's so depressing! What on earth is wrong with these people?  Since we've been here the hottest it has been is 23°C (73°F)  and February is the warmest month of the year.  Over the course of a month there has only been precipitation ten days and only three of those days were proper downpours.  Compare that to last August in Pittsburgh when the average h...

We are right in the thick of summer at the moment and I am craving something with strawberries and whipped cream.  At first I considered making strawberry pretzel salad for the church BBQ, but a quick trip to the store revealed a distinct lack of Cool Whip or any similar substitute.  Dismayed I set out to find out how to make fresh whipped cream, I even purchased a whisk!  Somewhere along the way,  I ended up with my heart set on making Seth                                                         .  {redacted until he finally gets to eat it.  Just trust me, whipped cream is involved} Off to the store I went again only to discover that not only do they not sell Cool Whip, they don't sell Whipping Cream or Heavy Cream either!  There are two options in the store, Cream and some sort of thickened cream that contains...

A lot of people have been requesting more photos of the new flat, so without further ado… The Lounge & Kitchen  The kitchen is by far the most complete room of the house with a microwave, matching dishes (a first for me), and bar stool.  We even have a cookie jar! This is what dinner looks like in the kitchen. The lounge really doesn't have anything in it just yet.  Just a small collection of books that we have been amassing along with picture frames from the local op shop. The Bedroom Jess' Office This photo was taken prior to our move in, just imagine a bunch of cables, SD cards, and toys scattered about the floor and you have a pretty accurate image of what it looks like now. Seth's Office Pretty much the same goes for Seth's office.  Though you should also imagine these curtains as green as I swapped out the green set in my office with the yellow set in hi...

It's late, no matter where in the world you are.  Well, it's probably not late somewhere , but here in Wellington and back in my hometown of Pittsburgh it is normal sleeping hours for most people, so lets all just agree that it is late. Landlord's cat peering through the cat door Because of the aforementioned lateness, I will keep this brief and include lots of pretty pictures for you to look at.  We have been all moved in at the new flat for exactly a week now.  By "all moved in" I of course mean we have a bed and the contents of our five suitcases.  I have never been one for buying things new that I can get cheaper second-hand, unfortunately New Zealand doesn't agree it's a good policy to sell second-hand items cheaper.  Seriously, today I saw a basket full of second-hand cloth napkins with a sign stating "$2 each", upon inspection of one of the said napkins I saw the original price tag, $1.99.  It's ridiculous.  So we pick things up...