Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I haven’t done the trip from Auckland to Wellington for a long time. Yep, I was excited about the prospect of a trip South. We picked up the van we had to drive to Wellington the night before. It’s a little van with vinyl seats and not much leg room. Mr. Munro complained the van didn’t like going fast. He had trouble coaxing it past 100km per hour, which is our speed limit. After little sleep (we had a phone call at 2.00am – highly uncivilized if you ask me!!) we hit the road at six-thirty.

It turned out that the van wasn’t too bad for leg space and a towel stopped the problem of sticking to the vinyl seats. The van loved going up hills, which was a bonus, but on the down side it also loved to guzzle gas. We had to stop three times to refill during the eight hour drive.

The weather was beautiful, without a cloud in the sky. The iPod worked well and we drove with the windows down and the music blaring – well as much as Mr. Munro lets the music blare. He’s a fuddy-duddy that way!

We stopped at Lake Taupo, which is the biggest lake in New Zealand, and supposedly the site of the largest volcanic reaction the world has ever seen. You’ve probably heard me mention Taupo before. I like it very much and have some wonderful memories of family holidays spent there as a teenager. I pointed out the street where my mother received a parking ticket and where we went to the movies. The lake was flat calm and the trio of mountains were visible across the water. That’s unusual so we took photos.

We drove down the Desert Road and managed to take some great shots of the mountains. The Desert Road is mostly tussock, but parts of it are very sandy. During winter this stretch of road is often closed due to snow and ice. The NZ army do a lot of their training here before troops are sent overseas. The terrain is certainly challenging, and while it’s very pretty, I wouldn’t want to be there in the middle of winter.

The rest of the drive was through farm land before we hit the coast and the sea. The pohutukawa trees seem to flower later down here. The trees were ablaze with scarlet flowers. Pohutukawa flowers always remind me of Christmas. We drove into the central city of Wellington and found our serviced apartment without any problem. It’s very central – just a brief walk away from most of the tourist spots. We can even see a sliver of the waterfront from our balcony.

I’ve done a lot of travelling, and I think a person would have to go a long way to see better scenery. New Zealand really is a pretty country, not that I’m biased or anything.

Do you enjoy road trips? When and where did you take your last road trip?

Hubby and I have a love-hate relationship with Ava, the stern taskmaster on our new Your Shape Wii. She barks out orders and tells us when our legs or arms are out of position. I often hear hubby cursing her. Along with orders, she dispenses health tips. One of her recent tips was to remove the icing (frosting) from a piece of cake and discard. This will mean fewer calories consumed.

Now I don’t know about you, but I think the icing is the best part of a cake. It’s the bit I enjoy most of all. I savor each mouthful. The thought of lopping it off and throwing it away… It’s just plain wrong! I doubt I could bring myself to do it. I think I’d rather forego the entire piece of cake. That would be less painful for me.

My favorite cake is carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Yum! There is no way I would part with either the cake or the icing.

Do you agree with Ava or do you side with me? For those of you who enjoy the odd slice of cake, which sort is your favorite?

Happy New Year! I hope 2010 is full of happiness and lots of good books for you all.

I don’t make New Year resolutions, but on Christmas day I mentioned to my husband that we really needed to have Christmas dinner on the beach one year and also to have a white Christmas in the Northern hemisphere somewhere. We’re in the research stage and not in a hurry, but if you know of a place that will have snow on Christmas day, please let me know. We can probably do the beach dinner here in New Zealand. The possibilites are endless.

Do you make New Year resolutions? Do you know of a place that’s guaranteed to have a white Christmas?

No, that’s not me writing, tapping away on my keyboard. That’s the noise I hear while I’m writing. Now that our trees have grown we have a lot of thrushes and blackbirds visiting our garden. At this time of the year they hunt out snails, cart them to the nearest concrete path and start thumping them to break the shells so they can dine.

I was going to take photos of all the empty shells, but Mr. Munro used the blower today and blew them away. The bird’s favorite killing ground seems to be under the clothes line. Every time I go out there during summer, I stand on the empty shells. It’s most annoying because I never remember to grab my shoes and end up standing on the sharp, snail shells.

Do you have any interesting wildlife at your place?

This is the present hubby and I received from his mother.

And this is what it contained.

Do you think this is a hint to exercise?

Today I visited Newmarket (an upmarket shopping area not far from the inner city) and then stopped at Sylvia Park, one of the local malls. I was peering out the window on the way there and I saw it…

An ad for a magazine. I noticed one of the headlines on the cover and had to have a copy of my own. I was seduced. The story title?

2 Weeks to a Flat, Sexy Stomach.

I tell you, a little voice inside my head screamed, “Buy me!” so like the good consumer I am, I purchased a copy of New Zealand Women’s Health. I now have all the details at my fingertips: the quick, toning moves, the no-fail rules of flat abs and 12 fat-blasting foods.

Along with the flat, sexy stomach article there are ones on making love last, a guide to a stress-free life and motivational secrets for real women to get and stay fit. I tell you…I’m set for the holiday season.

Do you purchase or read magazines? If so, do you have any favorites?

I met two girlfriends for coffee this week and the subject of handbags came up. I’ve been thinking about doing a blog post on handbags and their contents for ages so I con…ah, persuaded them to let me photograph what they were carrying in their bags. Note – they both censored their contents a little!

This is what my friend Tessa Radley had in her handbag.

This is what my friend, Jo had in her handbag.

I’ve been carrying around my briefcase this week. It contains my alphasmart, wallet (credit cards, driver’s licence etc), house keys, flash drive, camera, Palm PDA (e-reader), small makeup bag, canvas bag (instead of using plastic bags), chewing gum, about five pens, notebook, a library book about Distance Relationships, bus ticket, iPod, tissues, sunglasses, business cards in silver case, and cell phone.

Maybe you should call me Gadget Girl.

The typical handbag of a typical woman in 1945 contained:

One or two lipsticks
A compact(the won’t close)
1 fresh handkerchief
2/3 crumpled handkerchiefs
A package of letters
The laundry bill
3 tickets from the cleaner
1 nylon stocking to be repaired
1 address book
1 pack of cigarettes
3 packs of matches
1 leather picture folder
All ration books (including expired ones)
Several cards with address of a furrier,
a wholesale place for children’s coats, a beauty parlor, a graphologist, etc.
2 scraps of paper with telephone numbers
and no names
1 hairnet
1 bottle of vitamins
3 samples of slipcovers
1 fountain pen
2 pencils
1 parcel of V-mail letters covering
several months held by a rubber band.

The typical handbag of a typical woman today:

ATM Card
Cell Phone / Blackberry
Change Purse
Checkbook
Crumpled Tissues
Hand Cream
Hair Brush
Keys
Lip Balm
Nail File
Makeup case filled to capacity
Pens
Wallet and credit cards

One bag is not enough
Our contents spill over into our totebags,
where you will find:
Agenda
Bottled Water
Paperback Book/Magazine
Newspaper
Shoes to change at work
Umbrella

I thought the differences were quite interesting.

Source: Accessory Web

Do you carry a handbag, and if so, what do you have in it? (note – if you’d like to send me a photo of your handbag contents I’ll post them next week)

This shot was taken at our local Botanic Gardens. Mr. Munro and I don’t get there as often these days, now that the little dog is gone, but it’s a lovely outing for a Sunday morning.

In New Zealand news, an Invercargill woman was fined $275 for disorderly behavior after she flashed her boobs at motorists and caused an accident.

Mr. Munro has just learned he might have to go to work in Wellington for two weeks early next year, and I’ll get to go with him. Wellington is at the bottom of the North Island, and it will be a nice break from Auckland. I might even get some writing done. I’m finding it hard going this month with all the other Christmas distractions. I definitely want to visit the Day in Pompeii exhibition at Te Papa museum and we’re thinking we might do a quick trip to the South Island if time permits.

In book news, I have three more Ellora’s Cave titles available in the Kindle format: Fringe Benefits, Fallen Idol and Fancy Free are now on sale. Whisk out your credit cards and grab your copies today!

If you’re a writer, how is your writing coming along with all the Christmas razzmatazz? And readers, are you managing to relax a little with some of your favourite books?

Today is the last day of my Soldier of Fortune tour. I’m visiting Kaye Manro and talking about communication, the war zone and letter writing.

I’m also visiting Romance Roll Call where I have an interview.

Last year my younger sister was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It’s a disease that affects the nerves and eventually sufferers end up in a wheel chair. At present there’s no cure. It was a shock to us all, and I really feel for her. We (the family) all suffer from a sense of helplessness because there is nothing we can do, except to offer help when it’s needed and to be available to listen when necessary.

She works in a bank, and since the world economy has declined, it has become a very stressful job. Not only do employers put pressure on staff to meet targets, but customers shout at the staff and expect them to work miracles. My sister has reduced her hours, but the week before last, a customer returned from overseas, went into the branch and shouted at her for twenty minutes nonstop. She’s good at her job, is efficient, and customers follow her whenever she moves to a new branch. She felt she hadn’t done anything wrong and was very upset when the branch manager and those higher up backed the customer. She was so upset it triggered her MS. Her shoulders ached, and when I rang her, she couldn’t get up to answer the phone. Her body didn’t work.

When we talked she said she was so disillusioned, she’d decided to hand in her notice. For her it was a matter of principle. I agreed. Last week she handed in her notice, and in the new year, she’ll start job hunting. She said it felt as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders, and after a couple of days off work plus a doctor’s visit, the pain faded. She’s getting around again and seems a little better, at least for now.

Last week the doctor told her about some new clinical trials for MS sufferers. Even though the trials won’t help her, she’s decided to participate in the hope the research and results will help others in the future.

I’ve discussed stress in the past. It’s is a terrible thing, and we all suffer from it at some point. I remember coming out in a full body rash because I was so worried about some upcoming exams. These days I’m fairly stress free. I’m a big believer in regular exercise. Go for a walk, take the kids to a nearby park and get some fresh air. It really does help reduce stress levels.

People who are under a great deal of stress feel as if their lives are out of control. If I ever get to this stage, I find that lists are a good idea. Write down all the things you need to do, prioritize and tick the items off one by one. A list really does help with a semblance of control.

For my sister, she needs to slow down a little. Hopefully, she will find an enjoyable job–one that won’t send her into meltdown. My fingers are crossed.

The run up to Christmas is usually busy and it can be stressful. What strategies do you use to cope with stress? And if anyone has experience with MS, do you have advice?

The other day when hubby and I visited his mother we ended up talking about gyms. Hubby and I said we were going to the gym.

My MIL immediately said, “You must go together. My neighbor went to the gym to get fit and lose weight. She met someone and now her marriage has broken up. You MUST go to the gym together.”

After a startled silence hubby and I both grinned at each other and burst out laughing. The gym we were talking about is in our spare bedroom. Heck, I could go naked to our gym and no one would notice! And about the comment – I’m still deciding whether to be insulted or not.

My MIL’s comment made me think about where people met their partners.

Emily Scarlet met Saber Mitchell at the Middlemarch Single’s Ball – Scarlet Woman.

Anna Tietjens met Sebastian Brady at the airport when their plane was delayed – Wanderlust.

Hayley Williams met Sam Norville at her girlfriend’s work function – Tea For Two

Joanna McGregor met Louie Lithgow during a holiday in Fiji – Soldier of Fortune.

Rafi Mura met Roberto Azam when they were kids in Melbourne, attending the same school – Fallen Idol.

I met my husband in a bank. I was a bank teller, and he was a customer. I’m not sure where I’d look for a partner if I was in need of one. Maybe the gym!

Where did you meet your partner? If you were looking for a partner, where would you search first?

In Soldier of Fortune tour news, I’m doing a guest spot at Love Romance Passion today and talking about contemporary romance. I’m also doing a giveaway.

Tracy at Bootstrap Marketing has been very busy organizing book tours for me. I’m trying something new with my promo and taking some of my backlist books on tour.

See my sidebar for full details of the upcoming tours for Tea For Two and Fancy Free.