Schmoozing with the stars in Wellywood

Well it looks like I hit the jackpot this week. I've been entering daily giveaways and competitions online and thought I was pretty nifty when Vodafone topped up my prepay with $50 credit after my name was pulled out of the hat. But yesterday I had a very nice surprise in my inbox:
"Congratulations! You have won the draw for the trip to Wellington for the NZ premiere of Rise of the Planet of the Apes..."

Nice! I had some vague recollection about filling in an online form and figured that I had won movie tickets. The only trouble is, I live in Auckland, not Wellington.  Turns out that my big prize consists of more than just a couple of passes to the latest movie:  

Ummm...is this movie going to be scary??

"The prize is for ONE winner and their friend to attend the red carpet NZ Premiere of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' at Reading Cinemas Courtenay Wellington on August 1st with VIP seats and tickets to the exclusive after-party at the Hooch bar.

The winner and friend will then be given a room at Amora Hotel Wellington for the night. You will be flown from Auckland to Wellington on August 1st and return on August 2nd with the fabulous crew from Grabaseat.

Errr...have I ever mentioned that I'm terrified of flying?

Beloved received a phone call confirming that all was kosher and was told that we'd be met at Auckland airport on Monday and that we're to "dress to impress". My boss has kindly let me have a couple of days off work to go swanning off with the "it" crowd and our friend in the school office is going to have 7 y/o C for the night so she can get her to school.
Great!
SO WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR??? At this stage, all I have is that fancy clutch I bought for the school ball and possibly a pair of shoes. I think I'm going to need a little more! Not wanting to break the budget, I've had a look in my own wardrobe and have come up with this:

Dog not included

And quite possibly this: 

Got this last year for 10 bucks in Farmers Red Dot Sale. Do you think anyone would notice?

Umm..borrowed this off Zeeb (who is a size 8). I'm a size 10(ish!)

Opinions???
And what does a Wellywood schmoozer wear over her posh frock to keep warm?? Meanwhile, Beloved isn't allowed to look scruffy so it looks like we're off to the shops tonight. Hmmm....somehow I have a feeling that this is going to turn out to be a slightly more expensive project than the school ball.

Never pay full price for anything!

That's my mantra. I might have a bit of a reputation for being a tight-ass (I much prefer the word "frugal") but I've finally managed to claw my way off that treadmill and tuck a little away into my savings account. I can probably stop re-using my dental floss and tea bags about now, but old habits die hard.

Anyway, I've been a bit of a party animal lately. Literally:

We had a kids' disco at church last week. The theme was Country & Western so I whipped this little number up on the old Bernina for under thirty bucks. Even if I do say so myself, my teats were udderly AMAZING! It was a bit of a nuisance being repeatedly milked throughout the evening but I have to say, it was worth it.

The school ball was going to be a bit more of a challenge and I'm afraid I did go a little over budget so I'll give the breakdown on what it cost. But first, here's a cleverly disguised picture of me and Smiley getting ready for our big night out with the Year 12 and 13s at the Ellerslie Convention Centre:

True identities cunningly concealed

Elegant, huh? Oh...and because the theme was "Frozen Enchantment", here I am with my...muff:

"Muff"...*snigger*...so much innuendo I'm considering giving it a Facebook page of its own.

So here's the lowdown on what it all cost:

Ticket to the ball:  Nothing (did Smiley's hair in exchange for the ticket)
Dress:  $15! Bought it in another town three years ago when I spotted a bargain. Thought it would look nice in my "collection"
Furry Muff (*snigger*!) and Cape: $10 + $5 postage from Trademe. Bought a couple of years ago for my "collection" (total: $15)
White Sandals:  $2.50 from the Charity Shop (had to scribble the price on the bottom out with vivid but nobody noticed)
Hair: Fake piece: $2.00, Blingy thing $3.90 - from the Asian shop in Southmall
Earrings: $2.00 from the Asian shop in Southmall - the man in there is getting quite friendly with me now.
Gloves: $4.00 (I know, I splurged to go with the theme) - from my Asian friend

And finally...I was going to use the muff to insert (*snigger* - oh, be mature will ya!?!) my important stuff into the lining but my extravagant friend R talked me into buying a flash little clutch. She is such a BAD influence on me!

I LOVE IT!!!! The thing cost me more than the dress but isn't it FABULOUS!??! Besides, I got it for 80% off: $25 (reduced from $60). I did have big plans to flick it off on Trademe (hopefully for a similar price to what I paid for it) but LOOK AT IT!!! It's FABULOUS!!!!

So the total cost for me to go to the ball: $69.40c. Did I really need that fabulous little clutch with the blingy bling? Why yes. Yes I did.

So Smiley and I went to the ball where we behaved with sophistication and decorum all night (until the coach turned into a pumpkin)

Oh, joy, rapture! I've got a brain! (almost)

 Well, I've been giving some thought to furthering my education. My halcyon days were many decades ago (even though I'm only "38"!) and I've enjoyed reliving my youth through the teenagers I work with as a Teacher Aide. But I reckon it's about time I got a few of those NZQA credits for myself. It's not the first time I've thought about it, but being the naive young thing that I am I'd always assumed that having babies and getting some learning didn't mix. I thought it was an all or nothing affair.  Then "Fabulous New Lady" started working in our department. Turns out that she's somewhat over-qualified for the job but she really is fabulous. Then I found out that FNL got her education one paper at a time!!!!  It is seriously possible to stretch a degree out for YEARS! WHY had nobody told me about this?!

 So I'm going in. I'm doing it! I am going to get me some SMARTS. If I ever finish it may take a while (even though I'm only "38) but I think I'll give it a go and start with one little paper
.

Smiley and I were having a "departmental meeting" with FNL during Form Check (aka gossip around the table instead of washing up the coffee cups) and I mentioned that I might consider studying Humanity and Arts. Naturally FNL, who seems to have done everything and anything that's worth doing, has dabbled in the classics and told us about her experience when she went to Italy and saw Michael Angelo's David for real. Is there anything this woman hasn't done? She was so overwhelmed with the wonder and beauty of it all that she burst into tears.  Smiley and I drank in the emotion as FNL's eyes misted over with the memory of this near-religious-epiphanic (I just made that word up) experience. Finally, Smiley - who I think has a higher education than myself - broke the silence.....

....."So...uh...how big is his willy?"