Acting, energy, writing

1. I realised today that my daughter is the proverbial chip off her mother's block. I was taking a small group of writers for a play writing session at school and she was in the class. She was quite the little actress - more so than I had realised. It was wonderful to see her so full of life.
2. I spent money on myself today. I needed an energy boost to get me through the next two weeks and realised it had been a while since I'd bought my favourite health product - coenzyme Q10. So when I was at the health food shop getting something for my son, I decided to indulge in my own health as well. It's about valuing myself and that's always a good thing.
3. The children played so happily this evening that I got some writing done at a time that I normally wouldn't be able to concentrate. The power of a deadline is great.

Chicken spots, apprentice, Brazilians

1. One of the kindergarten children told me that her friend wasn't at kindy today because he had "the chicken spots". I remember when my two children were afflicted. I was confined to my home for a month. One had two weeks at home with "chicken spots" and on the day she was deemed fit to return to society, the other one burst out in the dreaded things. Another two weeks at home. So the beautiful thing about that is chicken spots is a distant memory.
2. My father in law came to do some string lines for a swimming pool we are planning for the back yard. I was required as his apprentice to hold the string or the tape measure at various points. I carried out my role with ease but have no desire to enter the building trade. However, the string lines are perfectly square and we await a digger.
3. My son attended his weekly Brazilian futsal class today (indoor soccer for the uninitiated). The three coaches are all Brazilian. I think I'll leave it at that.

Deadlines, memory, love

1. It's nice to have this blog and know that my friends and family can catch up with my thoughts and news even if I'm too busy meeting deadlines to chat in person. Thanks to those of you who I know are reading this as a way of keeping in touch with me at this busy time. I appreciate you!
2. I've had cause for concern about my own memory as well as the memory of someone close to me lately. I think I took memory for granted for a long time. Now I realise it's something precious, to be prized and can be easily lost.
3. My children are always telling me they love me. I never tire of it.

Deadlines, sleep, squash

1. I am remaining calm despite an impending deadline. One of the beautiful things about getting older is realising that everything passes and there really is nothing to worry about. If I do start to panic, I remember the people who are worse off than me, such as Rove who lost his beautiful wife to cancer at the weekend. So sad.
2. I had a wonderful, deep and restful sleep after our long weekend away and feel surprisingly with it. I love sleep. It's my favourite emotion.
3. Our son enjoys playing squash and was excited to be nominated for inclusion in our region's development squad for junior squash players. He's very competitive so that sort of thing is right up his alley. I feel so proud to have produced a sporting child - definitely unexpected! I think he must have my husband's genes. However, I shall take some of the credit nevertheless.

Wedding, anniversary, home

1. My sister's wedding was beautiful. She looked incredible in chocolate brown with sparkles. The occasion had exactly the right mix of ceremony and informality. It was great to be at such a happy event with my family. We wish you a wonderful life together, Sue and Brent.
2. Today is our wedding anniversary - 11 years. We were in Auckland because of my sister's wedding, but spent the day with our nephew Kendall and our children at the zoo. The highlights for me were being the in the parrot enclosure, seeing the orangutan who celebrated his first birthday and my husband's jokes.
3. I love being home again.

Trains, family, editor

1. I love trains. When I'm in Auckland I try to take a train journey somewhere. My latest was one hour long and culminated in a rendezvous with my family. Wonderful.
2. I love my husband and children. I enjoyed my time away, but I'm glad we're reunited. Yay!
3. My lunch meeting with my agent and editor was excellent. I feel that much closer to my goal.

More rain, big city, good food

1. I'm in Auckland for various reasons including a birthday, a wedding and book research. It's cold. And wet. And windy. But the library was warm and cosy and didn't have any windows, so I was happily oblivious.
2. Auckland is enormous in relation to the small town where we live. However, I felt quite at home among the city slickers and enjoyed being overawed by the sheer volume of people, shops, signs and traffic lights.
3. I'm spending the night with my sister and her husband. They cooked me a delicious meal of roast chicken, kumara and salad. It was exactly what I needed. It was wonderful to be "treated". Thanks Jude and Tony.