Thursday, February 26, 2009

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Hey Everyone (or anyone who's still popping in here) ~~

We're back!

yeah :|

Back to work, kids, housework, cold wintry weather...

Well, at least I still have a job ~~ although things are not all hunky dory on the work front ~~ another drastic pay cut, supposedly temporary.... yuk.

Anyway...

Saw lots of beautiful places, met lots of nice people, took lots of pictures (somewhere around 800). It's going to take a while to go through all the pics (edit, compress, caption, etc.) and get our adventures written down, so to tide things over, here's a pic of Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. Enjoy.

Monday, February 9, 2009

We've Made it Safely to NZ

Sitting in our hotel room in warm, humid, rainy Auckland. Loving the warmth ~~ the humidity, yeah, not so much :)
But I understand the rain is very welcome as they've had a fairly hot, dry summer. They haven't experienced the wildfires like Australia, but the fire danger is still extremely high along the east coast of both the North and South Islands.

What little I've seen of Auckland is beautiful ~~ it's very lush here. Lots of trees, bushes, flowers everywhere. The view from the plane as we flew in yesterday was gorgeous ~~ green everywhere, rolling hills, beaches and seashore...

Our hotel is right across the street from the University and a beautiful park. We've done a bit of walking about, yesterday and today, down the hill, through the Chancery and along nearby streets, windowshopping and just enjoying the area.

With all the overcast, we're not seeing much of the surrounding area...

It's odd when we call home ~~ It's Tuesday morning here and Monday afternoon there. Kids are doing ok with Grandma... so far :P

Anyway, we'll be heading off to the ship shortly, so I've got to get everything packed up and tagged properly.

Hope to be able to post more from the ship.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Just a brief check in...

before we head off on our vacation. I can't wait to be warm. I am so excited to see New Zealand and Australia. I've always wanted to. I realize going on a cruise means I'll get just a teeny tiny taste of what they're like, but it's better than not going at all. And it will be warm! I am so tired of subfreezing temps....

We head out at noon on Saturday and don't get back 'til the 22nd. Not sure how much online access I'll get ~~ we'll be at sea most of the time and Internet access on the ship is not cheap.

So, if I can, I'll post. If not, well, I'll try to get some things written so when we get back I'll have stuff to post.

Monday, February 2, 2009

MicroFantasy Monday ~ Week 13


Thank you, Ang at Sweltering Celt


Meredith shifted nervously as she waited in the security line. She had been dreading this part of her trip ever since Jason had sent his list of detailed instructions.

She already knew that she would set off the metal detector, thanks to her collar and matching cuffs. And there was no way she could remove them herself, even if Jason had given permission. They could only be removed with a special tool, a tool that Jason kept securely attached to his key ring.

Meredith moved forward a few more steps, pulling her carry on behind her. The carry on that was not full of clothing for the long weekend... The carry on that was almost completely full of 'toys'. Sex toys ~~ paddles, floggers, cuffs, ropes, vibrators, clamps, etc. Everything that Jason had insisted she pack.

Setting her purse and the carry on on the conveyor, Meredith stepped through the metal detector, smiling shyly at the security person as the detector went off. She pointed out her collar and cuffs, and with an apology explained that they couldn't be removed.

As she moved to the side and stood as directed, she could clearly see the person monitoring the bags as they went through the x-ray machine. He squinted his eyes, concentrating... then they went wide and he motioned the other security personnel over to take a look. Meredith knew, with a sinking feeling, that they were looking at her bag. She wanted to just sink in on herself and disappear, but she stood still while she was wanded.

"Ma'am? Ma'am? If we could please see you over here?" Meredith looked towards the voice, seeing that it was a security person with her bag. Pasting a wan smile on her face, Meredith squared her soldiers and walked towards the table as her bag was unzipped.