Weekend Adventure

Ok so after a pretty hectic weekend where should I begin? I think that I will just go in order of how the events happened.

Friday brought a nice weekend, not a cloud in the sky and the sun shining brightly at work. Got home from work and went for an hour run in the amazing weather. It was so nice I was tempted to go no shirt but later opted for a running singlet. After the run I went to the local rugby field and did some drills and striders to loosen my legs up a bit. The weather was so nice I didnt want to go home. After the run I went back to the flat quickly showered and headed out on a walk down to the super market. I bought some things to have a semi BBQ with. I got some beef patties, whole wheat rolls, cheese, pineapple, beetroot and lettuce. After the supermarket I headed home and did some brief chores. Dishes and laundry to be exact.

When leo got home from work we went for another run, this one was only a 30 minute one so it was quick and harmless. When that was done we cooked up our semi BBQ on the stove in the flat. No fire pit yet and definately didnt buy an outdoor BBQ. Afterwards we went out to get some dessert but settled on something from the supermarket. It is called a Bin Boston Bun or Sally Long Bun. The Best way I can describe it is Irish Soda Bread with Strawberry icing and coconut. Sounds like an odd combo but when mixed with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream it is delicious!

On Saturday I had to head to work again... Boring... After work I got home and we did our runs. Then we went to watch Nat play hockey. He plays on the North Harbour regional team, and they are having a 10 day long tournament in Auckland City. This is kind of a big deal because this would be the equivalent to the NHL Playoffs. Which is what they call it here in NZ, except that it is field hockey and not Ice Hockey.

The game was really good, however North Harbour did suffer defeat. They were winning 2-Nil at halftime but the second half was a different story. The opposition came out and tied the game up quickly in the second half. The game remained close the rest of the way until an untimely penalty corner was given to the other team. Penalty Corner is similar to a corner kick in Soccer. The other team scored on the penalty corner with just minutes remaining in the game. It was a tough lose and North Harbour will have to win the rest of their games in order to make sure they are a lock for next Sundays final.

After the game we headed home and went and did our full food shopping for the up coming week. That goes rather smoothly these days as we have it down to a science. However this week we needed to pick up a fe extra items because on Sunday we were attending a Pot Luck Luncheon and our directions were to bring something American. Something American you say... well Leo was the one that figured these out basically its not American, but it is something they dont do here. We settled on Candied Yams and a Bett Crocker Box Cake. So we picked up these extra items and the rest of the groceries and headed home for the night.

We baked the cake when we got home and prepared the yams for cooking tomorrow mourning before the luncheon.

After all that I decided I needed a hair cut. My longish hair was getting to warm for me at work and I chopped/shaved it all off...

Sunday we woke up and saw that it was another fantastical day out. No work, just the nice day to enjoy ahead of us. So we went for our run around 9 am and did an easy relaxed 14 mile run. When we returned we iced the cake and did the yams. We quickyl showered and headed off to the luncheon.

Some of you are probably wondering the deal with the Box Cake. Well here a box of Betty Crocker is about 5 bucks... steep I know. It comes with the powered ingredients, you add eggs and water. It also comes with a little packet of icing that is barely big enough to cover the top of the cake. Since the Box Cake is so expensive it is rarely used and home cakes are more the norm around here. So leo and I labeled the Box Cake American.

Now for the Candied yams, I emailed Gpa and Gma Maestri for some help with the ingredients. Got a reply that it was Honey, Brown Sugar, and Mallows.... no exact measurments just done by feel and with Love. So we boiled up the Yams made them soft, added them to a baking dish added the honey and brown sugar mixed that around a bit and then we added the Mallows and covered it promptly.

As soon as we added the last mallow we jumped in the car and headed for the luncheon. We arrived at the stroke of Noon and the food was ready to be eaten. We added out dish to the other ones and dug right in. There were so many different kinds of food Asian, American and of course Kiwi. Everyone loved the Candied Yams and wanted to know the recipe. Of course I tolkd them "If I tell you the recipe my Gma will kill you!" Which wasnt true but it kept her secret safe. Now however I dont know if Leo was on the other side of the room sharing the recipe you have to ask her that.

So we couldnt stay for the whole luncheon because Nat had another game that we were going to watch. I am really getting into this Hockey thing if you havent noticed. This was a must win game, a big one, no more mistakes... you could feel the pressure in the air the crowd was extra big this game as they needed all the support for Noth Harbour. At Half the opposition lead 1-nil but like stated earlier hockey is a game of two halves. North Harbour rallied with three goals in the second half for a 3-1 victory. This was very crucial for keeping their finals hopes alive. The next game is tuesday afternoon and I am undecided if I am going to attend.

After the game Leo and I headed for the fish market for our dinner. We were going to buy a whole fish and cook it up. We got a little snapper that would be big enough for the two of us. When we got home we cut up lemon and put on some spices and wrapped the fish in tin foil. We baked it for 45 minutes. We had with it a salad and some veggies and kumera (Sweet Potato). The fish was delicious and enjoyed greatly. After dinner we watched a great cinematice adventure movie... SPEED ... Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.... what a combonation. I hadnt seen that movie in years! It was great, so cheesey and predictable I loved it.... then we headed to bed because Monday Morning comes early and that means work! BOOOOOOOOOOO...