Ants Invade and Monopoly Money

So, yesterday morning began with about two dozen ants crawling out of my MacBook computer while I was checking my email.  The ants in NZ are tiny black ants, so they were like specks of dirt with legs! There are 11 species of ant in NZ, and there are 1,200 species in the much warmer Australian climate.

White footed house ant, an invasive species from Australia.

Mike contested that he did not eat anything spectacular near the computer.  It had been placed on the floor, so the keyboard may have looked like a stellar place to build a nest. 

We decided to get the burgundy color Prius, much to the chagrin of the Ford dealer.  I think if I have to get a second car, a Ford Focus would be nice.  Mike has a three block walk to work, so he doesn't need one for the commute.

I paid $1000 in cash for part of the deposit, which looked like Monopoly money to Ben.

So, I spent a ridiculous amount of time from 9am-2pm: getting the car, returning the other Ford Falcon to the dealer post test drive, insuring our new car with AA (like AAA back in the states), and cautiously driving it on the left side of the road back to our rental house.  Exhausting to do with two kids in tow.....

In the afternoon, Ameera came to watch the kids and I made business cards for Superstar Tutoring, my business venture.  

After buying a printer at OfficeMax near my house, the store clerk decided that it would be too heavy to tote a block, and volunteered to hand drop it off at my house on his way home from work-free of charge.  "In NZ, courtesy is FREE!" he chuckled to me.  Sweet!