We’re back. My birthday surprise was a flight to Auckland and a night on the harbour at the Westin hotel overlooking all the really spiffy sail and motor yachts.

It was devine. This photo was taken from my hotel room. We went shopping and my sweetie bought me a beautiful gold chain that I’ve had my eye on for a year or more and a bottle of nice perfume and a few other things best left to the imagination.

In the late afternoon we went for a long walk along the harbour and saw the most magnificent sailboat. Launched on the 13th of December, it’s just getting ready for its first sea trials. It’s being built for Guy Ullens, a very wealthy Belgian man.

The boat, the Red Dragon, is 52 metres long.. over 170′. One of the workers on the boat said the price tag was $50 million dollars! I can’t get my head around earning that kind of money.. not just yet anyway. If you have ideas, I’m all ears.

We also saw the boat Twizzle parked around the corner from the hotel. It’s a measly 182′ Feadship that has won all sorts of awards. My god, what a boat!

I know, I know, I should have taken photos but I was too busy drooling. In the photo up on the left, you can see the bow at the end of the walkway. Here’s a peek from the twizzle.org website.

You can charter Twizzle at $325,000 US dollars a week, but not til next year because it’s fully booked for this year. Holy cow!

Last night we had dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant Mai Thai and our meal was SO yummy. I wanted to walk back to the hotel but I forgot that the night before I had a little accident.

I’d come out of the bathroom and tripped over my sneakers and crashed into an open drawer and then took a header into the glass wall and I only ended up with a very purple and sore toe. My ring toe. So walking in heels wasn’t a good thing. I took my shoes off and decided I could spring for new stockings but even that was tough so we took a cab back.

Today we bought a new office chair for me. The one I have doesn’t have any oomph any more and I have to reach up to the keyboard. I’ll be glad when it’s delivered next week. I’ll tell you the rest of the story in another post.

Today is my birthday. Ok, so it means I’m “officially” old. The man I adore woke me up early and said, “Pack a bag and be ready by 9:30.”

So it’s 9:11am, I’m packed and ready to go but I have no idea where!

There are advantages to being old, it seems.

When Aristotle said:

If women didn’t exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.

Don’t rush to the conclusion that all relationships are a money pit that sucks the life right out of you because that’s not what he meant at all. That might be your personal situation but that wasn’t his.

If women didn’t exist, then men wouldn’t compete for the best one. They wouldn’t be looking for better paying jobs to attract a kinder, more attractive woman. They wouldn’t strive to learn more so they could keep up their end of the conversation with an intelligent woman.

So all you men out there, be glad we exist and love us and cherish us and then we’ll wait on you and spoil you in ways you never thought possible. However, we need to wooed first – and well.

This is for my pal, Speedcat Hollydale, who has a thing for chickens. I like chickens. I love having a small flock to eat scraps and provide eggs and poo for the garden, but I don’t love chickens the way Speedy does. Anyway, here’s a photo of Henrietta, just for Speedcat.

My mother always told me that the way to a man’s heart was a good meal and a clean house. That was SO yesterday. Today’s woman follows the path that leads directly to a man’s ego. She compliments him. The more sincere compliments she gives, the better he likes her.

When giving him a compliment, look into his eyes and smile when you say it. He’ll know you’re being honest about what you’re saying.

Which compliments mean the most? It’s different with most men but there are a few that seem to work with every man.

Compliment his looks, even if there are bits that aren’t quite perfect, find something that you really like about the way he looks.

“You have such great legs.”

“You look so hot in that shirt.”

When he does something for you, like carrying a computer or killing a bug, give him a compliment!

“Thanks, I could never have done that without you.”

“You’re my hero, I just hate bugs.”

If you need to make a decision about something, ask for his input. He’ll appreciate playing a part in the final choice.

“What do you think? I’d like your opinion.”

Finally, the best compliment you can give a man is this:

“I want you… right here… right now.”