It's hit me like a tonne of bricks.

I'm actually leaving. Like, I'm leaving New Zealand and I don't know when I'm gonna see it again.

My flight leaves in eleven and a half hours. I'll be back home in the UK in less than 48 hours.

To say one is on the verge of a break down would be an understatement.

I can't sleep.

On a lighter note, this is what I did this weekend. More details to follow.

"The follies which a man regrets most, in his life, are those which he didn't commit when he had the opportunity."

- Helen Rowland, A Guide to Men. 

Bootycamp.

For the past four weeks, on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturday, the view in my mirror has looked something like this at 5:30 in the morning.

Minus the smiling.

No smiling allowed at 5:30am.

The reason I show you this picture is not because I want you to see me without make up. 

But rather because I want you to see my sweet t-shirt with my name on it.

I've never had an article of clothing with my name on it.

Mostly because I never joined a sports team. 

And because I have an uncommon name they never sell tacky merchandise with my name brandished across it in souvenir shops. This was very traumatising as a child.

Those who haven't had the wonderful pleasure of hearing me complain or brag about something I did in boot  camp were probably unaware I was engaging in regular exercise. Don't worry, I would never have expected it of myself either.

But I've made it 4 weeks and I've finally completed my bootcamp.

Those four weeks were hard work and I'm actually proud of myself. It may not have been a big deal to some, but to me the improvement I've felt in myself is priceless.

No, I didn't lose any weight. I put it on.

Don't know if that's how it's supposed to work...

But in the first and last session we did a fitness test.

It involved doing as many push ups and sit ups as you could and then running 2.4km.

I couldn't do any push ups at the beginning.

And four weeks on, I still can't do any. But I'm getting there...

With the sit ups I improved by 80. And I managed to shave a minute off my running time. 

Go me. 

Katniss Everbean

If you haven't already seen or read The Hunger Games and don't have the time, you should watch this.

Even if you've read/seen it you should still watch this.

They manage to do in 11 minutes what took Hollywood two and half hours.

Supplies!!

On Thursday night Maureen picked me up after I finished work.

I thought we were going for a nice catch up over dinner.

I was right about the dinner and catch up. I was wrong about it being just me and Maureen.

At La Porchetta were the YSA from my ward and I had no idea they were going to be there. I should probably have been suspicious when Maureen confirmed with me three times that we were definitely still on for dinner.

We had, I believe the phrase is, a mean as feed.

You can never go wrong with pizza and pasta.

After dinner we went to the Wynyard Quarter on the waterfront and were really mature on the playground.

Maureen announced she would buy ice cream for whoever completed the assault course she just made up the quickest. 

There is a video of me doing it but all you need to know is I bought my own ice cream.

via PassiveAggressiveNotes.com

I keep changing the font I use on this blog. 

I just can't find one I like.

Suggestions welcome.

All I know is, I hate comic sans. 

So awesome.

Yesterday I was walking through the supermarket car park with Matthew and Sienna.

My mind was a little preoccupied with ensuring the kids didn't get run over and trying to remember whether I actually had the shopping list of mince and cucumber memorised or if there was something I was forgetting. 

Matthew pipes up.

"Marianne?"

"Yeah?"

"Is the Easter Bunny real?"

"No."

Without thinking I just flat out told him that EB didn't exist. 

Guilt begins to set in and I begin to brain storm how I can back out of this one. 

Thankfully his response was: "I didn't think it was. I told the people at school and they don't believe me. They say he's real."

I obviously didn't upset him too much as he made me a treasure map today to find two notes he'd written for me. 

The funny part is he asked me how to spell awesome. And Marianne. So I was a bit suspicious.

Sienna wrote me a note too.

I'm gonna miss these kids.