The O'Briens in New Zealand

The O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New ZealandThe O'Briens in New Zealand

we've been in nz

we've been in nz for 3 years now

White Christmas

T-minus 8 days until we leave for our first trip back to the States since our move. Looking forward to seeing fam and friends - NOT the 20 hours of plane time and potential to get shot by some random whacko while we're there...

We are official!

Guess which nutty family was granted residency today by the New Zealand government?  Yep!  The O'Briens are now kiwis!!  Sweet as!!!

Our first year...

I can't believe it's been a year since we took off on this amazing adventure! Although we miss our family and friends, we couldn't be happier in our new country. Surprisingly, settling in at work has been way more stressful than the personal aspects. There is a decidedly different approach to conducting business than I'm accustomed to, so while my skill set is killing it, the approach to management and cross-functional interraction has been a shock to the system. I keep trying to remind myself that if I can deal with this wackiness, that I'll be just that much better should I decide to move back to a US-based company at some point.

Anyhow, we would LOVE some visitors soon so we can show off our little slice of heaven (hint hint)...

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Our first "foreign" holiday today - Guy Fawkes Day. From what I can tell thus far, it's a week of burning stuff and blowing stuff up - so we're down with that! We don't get the day off, but I'm looking forward to checking out a firework display tonight.

Here's the official scoop:

Guy Fawkes Day actually originated in England after the failed 'Gunpowder Plot' of 1605.
Guy Fawkes, also known as Guido Fawkes, was raised in York and converted to Catholicism after his mother married a Catholic.
After fighting with Catholic Spain against Protestant Dutch reformers, Fawkes travelled to Spain to seek support for a Catholic rebellion in England. However he was unsuccessful.

In the early 1600s, Fawkes was part of a plan to assassinate King James I in order to restore a Catholic monarch to the English throne.
Fawkes' expertise with gunpowder made him a key component to the plot, which took around 18 months of planning. But Fawkes was arrested at midnight on November 4, 1605, just hours before the assassination attempt.

He was captured beneath the House of Lords, and 36 barrels of gunpowder were found stacked in the cellar directly below where the King would have sat during the opening of parliament the following day. Fawkes was tortured before he eventually confessed. He jumped to his death from the scaffold of where he was to be hanged, just before his execution. Fawkes' effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire with a fireworks display to commemorate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot.

Pug-a-thon 2014

We had a great day at the Pug walk on Milford Beach with my pal Liz and her pug Newton and his Basset Hound friend Harry Potter.