It’s been many years since we’ve seen so many Christmas trees in the build up to Christmas. Visiting Disneyland in the festive season was, as you’d imagine, mind-blowing in a sensory overload of lights, baubles, ribbon, glitter and a touch of fake snow – even in sunny southern California – for good measure. It’s also…
Author: BritMumInNZ
Feeling Festive | The Photo Gallery
It’s been so many years since we’ve celebrated the festive season in the northern hemisphere. It took me well over a decade to adjust to celebrating in the southern hemisphere – and just when I thought I’d finally done it… I went and jinxed it! Spending Christmas in Santa Barbara is a wonderful ‘best of…
Burning some rubber with the kids on the Santa Barbara waterfront!
With three children constantly at home it’s not easy to fit in exercise (well, not in the way I’d like – though I do get plenty of movement cleaning up after them and running around playing crazy games… and moving the wine glass to my mouth…). This week, with friends visiting from New Zealand, we…
Things I’m Loving | A little Christmas sparkle
A little bit of Christmas cheer has picked up our spirits and cast a light on the dark nights of winter. A little Christmas fairy fluttered into the house and sprinkled some magic on the Christmas tree, which will be covered in her little offerings of hand painted snowmen and snow flakes over the days…
Lost my happy place. Seeking energy to find it!
I’ve lost my happy place. The light outside is bright, but muffled through my eyes. If I could be alone, I would just curl up & not worry, But my ever present children make such thoughts pitiful & guilt fuelled. I have dreams of crawling away (no strength to run), to no where in particular,…
Silent Sunday
Moments of happiness with friends from NZ on Santa Barbara’s Waterfront
It’s been a lovely week shared with friends. We returned from Disneyland on Tuesday evening and have been enjoying a quieter time back at the house in Santa Barbara. The children have been playing in the pool a lot and we’ve had a couple of trips out and about, including a gorgeous little boat trip…
Loving: A bunch of Kiwis doing Thanks Giving USA
With our NZ neighbours visiting us in our temporary home in the USA we had the perfect reason to celebrate and feast. So we spent a relaxed day at home, preparing the table, for a Thanks Giving feast. Young Miss 3 delighted in sticking cloves into oranges, Miss 10 made up some name-places for the…
Disneyland & California Adventures all decked up for Christmas
We visited Disneyland and California Adventure Park at the end of November, everything was decked out for Christmas. We stayed at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and it was breathtakingly decorated for the season. We holidayed with wonderful friends; our neighbours from New Zealand flew over to join us! They landed in LA, after some 14 hours of travelling…
The Photo Gallery: November
When I read the challenge for this week’s ‘Photo Gallery’ at ‘Sticky Fingers’ blog I was stumped – one photograph for the month of November! How could I possibly sum up a month in one photograph? Then I had my light-bulb moment. This year we are in the USA for November and our contribution to…
LOVING our New Zealand neighbours being here with us in the USA!
They arrived today! Our wonderful New Zealand neighbours. Our children are ecstatic and it’s magic for us adults to see them all together. Their ages span from three to ten, but all five children (three of them being our crazy girls) are like a little family in their own right. They mix up play between…
Prose for Thought – Rain in the Black of Night
It’s been months since we’ve had consistent rain in Santa Barbara, Southern California. As much as I adore the sunshine, I do miss the ever-changing weather of our home in Wellington, New Zealand. Last night, and this evening, we’ve had proper rain – that lasts for more than an hour and leaves real puddles behind!…
The Photo Gallery: Nature
I don’t enjoy seeing elephants in small enclosures. I’m thankful that the majority of zoos across the world are no longer breeding elephants. The ones that remain in zoos, are hopefully the last. They belong in the wild, or in large landscapes of protected land. They belong with their kin. When I do come across…
He understands. He loves her. He will stand by her. She loves him.
So many people don’t understand. They make her feel weak for depending on medication. It’s not just the medication though – it takes much more than that. She has a family who understands, who appreciates her, as she is. She was born with strong sensitivities. Life, in her youth, was always a see-saw. Little things…