Happy New Year!

And another year has flown by.

I have to say, all in all, it was a great year.

It truly has been an adventure and we have enjoyed it immensely.

Our holiday card seems to have stirred up some fun.

Apparently Eric's hair has been quite the conversation piece.

If you have been following the blog, you know that he decided to bleach it for Halloween.

Now the roots have grown out quite a bit and he has this inverse skunk look going on.

So for the Holiday party he decided to have some more fun and add purple to the

bottom layer. As it continues to grow out he will be pondering whether to cut it short,

re-colour it back or continue to experiment. Stay tuned....

We had a wonderful holiday break. (and technically are still on it). Eric is scheduled to go back to work on the 11th - but has the possibility of being called back sooner. And I am still unemployed, but hopeful that I will get something by the end of the month.

We had Xmas dinner with some close friends and then took a few days to drive up north to Napier and explore the Hawke's Bay area. The Pohutukawa trees are in full bloom this time of year. Because of their holiday coloration they are iconic here. Hawke's Bay area looks very similar to Napa, CA and is indeed wine country. The weather was absolutely amazing for about 4-5 days, before the rain came back to remind us where we live. We went to the top of Te Mata Peak for a grand view of Hawke's Bay - would have been even better on a clear day. We also went to the National Aquarium of New Zealand, explored the elegant Art Deco town, visited The Silky Oak Chocolate Company and discovered dark chocolate covered black licorice! And after spending about $45.00 NZD there were told that they have another store in Lower Hutt (about 25 minutes drive away from where we live - We are doomed).We walked along the waterfront, and had some good meals. I found a new favorite wine . (Hawke's Bay) Boundary Vineyards Matapiro Sauvignon Blanc Pinot Gris - very fruity!

We were back home before the New Year and spent a quiet New Years Eve together watching movies at home. It was very wet and the Wellington Fireworks had been cancelled. Apparently I am still trying for the "truly NZ" New Years Eve (see last years post) - or maybe that truly is a NZ New Years.

I hope that our blog is still entertaining and we will continue to post as regularly as

we can. Our hope is to both be working and to be able to visit the States again in July.

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy New Year!

Stacy & Eric

Where Did November Go?

So it is now the first weekend of December! ONLY 20 shopping days left til Xmas.

Where did November go?

It was a whirlwind of a month. And packed with fun and adventure indeed.

We got to see a special Weta screening of the movie Tin Tin which we thoroughly enjoyed and recommend. Guy Fawkes Day came and went but with nice weather and fun fireworks.

Then things got interesting. The company I came here to work for has had to "restructure" and I have been told that I am likely to be made redundant (laid off). -What?!!! And as I am trying to wrap my head around this AnimFX was looming. This is the conference that I attended and spoke at last November and was attending again this year. An industry conference bringing together a lot of local and overseas talent for 3 days of presentations and networking. Needless to say I now had a lot of "networking" to do.

The conference was a lot of fun, met a lot of great people and caught up with some existing friends from last year. I came away tired, but feeling good and optimistic that I would be able to find another job so I could continue to stay here in New Zealand.

The conference finished on a Thursday night and Saturday morning we left for Rotorua to meet up with some good friends that had flown in from Seattle to visit for a few weeks. - no rest for me.... Eric and I spent Saturday exploring the Thermal "wonderland" taking some great photos and enjoying the sunny weather. (and enduring the lovely aroma - it bothered me much more than Eric). On Sunday we all went Zorbing! well not all, 3 of the 5 of us, Eric's back was bothering him and Nyssa thought she'd get motion sick from it. It is an absolutely silly activity that I absolutely LOVE! Rolling down a hill in a giant rubber beach ball with water in it. The ultimate in water sliding/tumbling.

I then found a nice internet store where I was able to watch my niece Casey's Bat Mitzpha. I felt horrible for not being there in person, but was glad I could watch and hear the whole thing. What a beautiful ceremony it was and she did amazing. I even got to read a poem via cell phone connection that my mother wrote, so everyone knew I was there in spirit.

We then drove back to Wellington and had a mixture of work days and days off to spend with our friends before they moved on to the South island. And I continued to follow up with the job leads I had gotten from AnimFX.

So that where November went....

Now it's early December and I am looking forward to getting into the holiday spirit and enjoying some down time and trying not to worry too much about the job front until January.

Eric is still working at Weta and that is showing no signs of ending anytime soon so we are thankful for that. We are trying to figure out our holiday card for the year and hope to be sending those out in another few weeks. And if we feel really brave we may even take a few days over the break to travel up north and explore some more of this country we still have yet to see. I suspect December too will fly by and 2012 will be here before we blink!

Cheers for now,

Stacy & Eric

Halloween Party Fun

Yeah I know this is late in posting, but better late than never.

For halloween Eric and I dressed up as alien, vampire, space pirates.

It was for a party thrown by some of the guys at Weta Digital themed "Out of This World".

They rented out the San Francisco Bath House on Cuba Street here in Wellington.

And if you are wondering......yes, Eric bleached his hair white for the occasion.

We had a fun time!

Boo!!!!!

All Blacks Parade in Wellington

It was a rainy Wednesday (Oct 26th, 2011), but that didn't stop close to 100,000 people from gathering to cheer on and thank the All Blacks for a great Rugby World Cup Victory.

The parade went right past the office building I work in so I was able to take my lunch hour to join the crowd, cheer, (get wet) and grab a few photos.

Halloween Decor at Casa Heath

Wishing everyone a very Happy Halloween!!!!!

A special thank you to everyone who sent things to help decorate our place.

It has been a very festive October.

Love to all,

Eric & Stacy

ALL BLACKS World Rugby Champions 2011

Wow! What a great way to be introduced to a new sport.

I was not sure about the sport of rugby when we moved here. (still not sure about Cricket)

What I knew of the sport was that it was supposedly rougher than NFL football and played without all the protective gear. When I had the opportunity to watch the NFL Superbowl here with some co-workers, I was amazed to hear that they found it slow and boring. and of course they did not understand all the rules.

Eric and I are still learning the rules to Rugby -even after watching many of the World Cup matches. In some ways it is a very simple sport yet it has a very complex set of rules. And I now have an understanding as to why the NFL games might seem slower and boring by comparison. I am happy to say I still enjoy both sports.

Even before we began to try and learn about rugby, the tickets for the Rugby World Cup had gone on sale and we thought - "hey, it's here in our own backyard and who knows when we might ever get another chance to see something like this" - so we decided to buy tickets to a game. We would have liked to have seen the All Blacks play, but the tickets were quite pricey starting at about $300.00 each. At the time we thought that was a lot of money to watch a sport we had no clue about. In hindsight we probably should have splurged. Anyway, we decided to see the USA team play against Australia. (Didn't even know the US had a team) Not being a match with the All Blacks, the tickets were much more reasonable and we figured the crowd would be fun because they too would be routing for whoever played against the Aussies.

It turned out to be quite the slaughter. The US team while we are told they played quite well, were no match for the caliber of the "true" Rugby teams. But we had a fabulous time and there was great US support throughout the stadium. Much the way the kids in the US grow up throwing a baseball or football around from the wee ages of 3 and 4, here and where Rugby is king, the kids are playing Rugby very early and I believe that is what makes them so much better.

We also watched many of the other matches on television and saw some remarkable rugby played. When played well there is a speed and fluidity to the game as well as some amazing passing and maneuvering. It can be quite beautiful to watch. The All Blacks reminded me of the Harlem Globetrotters on several occasions. I was also amazed - being the American that I am, that there was not an ambulance parked on the field and that when there were injuries, and THERE WERE injuries, the "medics" would run out on the field to tend to a player while the game continued on around them. There are no time outs for injuries. I was also told by one fan that there is no "Mercy" in Rugby either.

The victory is made even sweeter by the fact that in working on the Rugby Challenge video game over the last year I was able to meet and work with several of the All Black Players, including Aaron Cruden. Eric even photographed Andrew Hore.

Eric and I also found it surprising that after the big win last night there were no baseball style hats brought out or champion t-shirts handed to the players. Even now, the day after, the websites which "will" have some championship apparel have still not posted images. Another reminder that we are in a country that is not focused on consumerism.

By the way, one of our earlier blog entires talked about the controversial "Wellywood" sign that was being proposed. I am not sure it will get stopped at this point even though most are opposed to it. For the Rugby World Cup the space was utilized to say "All Blacks" and while I still do not support any signage on the hillside, I think that it is better used to support the All Blacks then Wellywood.

It is truly a great time to be here in New Zealand!

If you get the opportunity to watch the All Blacks play, we highly recommend it.

Cheers,

Stacy & Eric

Good things come to those who wait

...and patience is a virtue. Some of us are better with it than others (I suck).

But the good news is that Eric is now working at and enjoying himself at Weta Workshop.

And I am excited for him.

My work also continues to go well. We have a new tenant in our house in Seattle, and spring is beginning to show hints of arriving here in Wellington.

The Rugby World Cup will be starting in another week and I suspect it will be an interesting time in the city with a bunch of sports fans gathering for the fun. We have tickets to one match at the end of the month. We will be cheering on the US team as they take on the Aussies. We are looking forward to it. Even if we are still trying to learn the rules of the game.

My Company's Rugby game was just released and is doing well. If you are interested, check out:

www.rugbychallengegame.com

That's the latest update from here.

Hugs to all,

Stacy & Eric