I am grateful for ... technology, it makes the world a smaller place!

I AM GRATEFUL FOR technology making the world a smaller place!

It is something I think about often, how, as we evolve, we make the world a smaller place. I sit and think how life must have been for my grandparents, or their parents or the generation before, for them travel across the sea was an adventure into the great unknown, possibly fearing they fall off the end of earth. How, for them, it was a journey that would take months if not years. I imagine how their loved ones would feel having absolutely no communication for the longest of times. Did that make their perception of time different to ours, has technology made our world smaller and us more impatient?

I think back to my own childhood, the days before email. My sister had a pen-pal from Poland, I remember it so well! She would write and then a couple of months later get a letter back, and so they used to go on back and forth with good old fashioned pen and paper, occasionally accompanying photo’s and pictures they had drawn. I sit and think how it must have been to organise an overseas visit to loved ones, it must take years of planning, and writing letters back and forth … what if you get there before your letter?

I think of my life today, loved ones living in all 4 corners of the earth. In an instant I can have a quick conversation on whatsapp, I see them on skype, catch up on news through an email, I look at their pictures on Facebook, and follow their blogs, event he occasional phone calls … I am very much apart of their life. I don’t have to wait month for a letter in the post with pictures of my nieces and nephews which are outdated before they arrive … no no no … they go to the beach in the morning, I see their happy photo’s that night.

What about travel, in the early 1900’s people could only travel between countries by ship, and it would take weeks and months … would you ever have enough leave (from work) to visit your loved ones overseas? Now we have massive flying chunks of metal, and the longest it takes you is 2 days and that includes stop overs in a couple of countries. Suddenly the distances close in and the world is more accessible … the world is a smaller place!

All said and done … I can skype, I can whatsapp, I can chat on the phone and write and email, I stare at a photo on facebook, or the latest tweet, … but nothing in this world can replace the comfort of your physical presence.

I am grateful the world is a smaller place!

But when you are apart the distance is still great!

I am grateful for ... strong winds :-)

I haven’t done a lot of photo taking this week, it has been a bit of a bumper week actually. And as always I have so much to be grateful for … just wish I was able to capture it in a photo this week.

Let me start by saying that Dolly Parton once said “if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain”

This could not have been more true for Taranaki this week, as winds of 120km/hr cause chaos and mayhem across our beautiful city. But amidst all the debris, fallen trees … even the poor truck and trailer blown clean off the road .. the wind also bought about a rare and unique sight to our Mountain (Volcano), the cloud formed over it like a beautiful puffy duvet had been beautifully laid on top … is it not just a sight to behold?

These photo’s were taken near my house, the whole photo looks so calm and serene, the reality was me standing in the middle of the road against the fierce wind trying to take a photo J

What was even more beautiful is that as the sun set against it the cloud turned a beautiful golden colour. By this time I had popped out to a friend who was helping me out. I didn’t have my camera on me but managed to find my 5yr olds el cheapo point and shoot camera in the car, the photo itself is shocking! Taken through a dirty windscreen of my car on max zoom as this poor little point and shoot can go but can't deny it is view that leaves you in awe

I could not resist snapping the sky in all it’s glory, the sunset, the clouds, the wind …. It all made for the most magical spectacle (yes me up to me sunset / sunrise pics again)

So I AM GRATEFUL FOR the ferocious wind that battered us for 2 days, it may have caused damage but with it bought an ever changing and very interesting cloud formations which held my gaze all day, and beautiful blanket for our mountain, and a spectacular sunset!!

Once again notice how calm and peaceful everything looks, when the reality of it was realy something else :-)

I also have to share a funny story, well it wasn’t funny at the time but I can at least smile at it now looking back. The worst morning of the windy abuse I was taking the kids to school, my friends little girl is a real petite little thing, cute as a button, and when I picked her up and out of the car and put her on the pavement she literally almost blew away, the poor angel, I got such a fright, just can’t begin to imagine where to start in telling my friend that her child blew away … LoL … the kids of course thought it was great fun and laughed their hearts out!!

(and since her mum is also a photographer, and a very talented one too, I am sure she will agree that it would have made a wonderful photo opportunity, just don’t know what the grateful tag line would have been? Any suggestions?)

My other of my several grateful moments was competing in my first mountain bike challenge, the Mountain to Sea bike ride, a 40km mountain bike challenge from the base of Mt Taranaki to Opunake beach. I was feeling a little anxious about it since I hadn’t really trained properly, and the morning of it was pear shaped which is not always a good start to any challenge! I didn’t get to take any pictures before / during or after, but I did finish!

I AM GRATEFUL FOR surviving ! The view of course is stunning, it is after all part of my “back yard”, the challenge was tough going and after the first 10km I was almost ready to throw in the boot, but my DNA dictates that I am too stubborn for quitting and pushed through to the end. Not only did I survive it, I enjoyed it and I actually did pretty good time too.

I lost my phone along the way though but I AM GRATEFUL FOR it not falling into one of the endless mounds of cow poop that had inevitably splattered up my leg and on my water bottle and caked onto my bike, and was in fact picked up and handed in … that kind of honestly is not common. So to the rider who picked up my phone: BIG thank you.

I didn’t get any photo’s on the ride, I was too busy clinging on my bike getting my butt bounced and beaten around my bike saddle to take pictures, but I am hoping to get a couple from the organisers (non of me thankfully) and will post them when I do.

My appetite has been wet for more MTB challenges now and I am already browsing around for the next one J

In closing and with these pictures taken with Leah’s El Cheapo special I want to prove a point a camera does not make a good photographer! Don’t let anything hold you back!

I am grateful for ... children's laughter

You know what I love? I love the sound of my children having a good deep down belly laugh! Nothing in this world can beat that sound. I can be in the worst of worst moods, or have the most horrid day and all my girls need to do is laugh ... it is infectious! You can't help but at least crack a smile at the sight and sound of a child's belly laugh.

Something happened this week that had me thinking about the relationship between a parent and a child, without question the single most important relationship in the universe. And no matter what is going on the sight of a child leaving can bring a mother to her knees, look at this picture of my girls .. carefree riding their scooters ...

... and while I know they are only going that far just the idea of them riding away has me wanting to chew my nails ... LoL ... I am grateful that coming back towards me is downhill so they come back faster than they go :-) and coming down the hill is normally met with shrills of smiles and laughter, a wonderful sound, oh so sweet music! I love the sound of my children's laughter, I am grateful for it everyday!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

You know what I have learnt, that often the world greets you the same way you greet them, so when I am feeling glum, and I smile, and the world smiles with me. When I cycle down the walkway and I feel like every passing inch is a mile up Everest I smile at the other walkway users, and they smile back and suddenly the distance shortens and the uphill levels, and before I know it my journey has ended ... a smile has magical powers ... I am grateful that even in my hardest moment something inside me can still bring a smile to my face :-)

Sshhh don't tell the kids I actually wrote on smarties with a black permanent marker, and then had to throw them away ... bet that would kill their laughter and I don't want that ...LoL

Now as you go about your day remember a smile is the start of a laugh ...and both are infectious, so go out and infect the world today!!

I am grateful for .... People

Forest Gump may have said "life is like a box of chocolates" and I say friends are like a bag of marbles, I just chuckled out loud thinking of my sister while I typed that. Yes friends are like marbles, all different shapes and colours, you retain some, you loose some, each holding a different value, maybe more, maybe less, maybe just different. Yep friends are like marbles ....

I got to thinking about the influx of people in my life recently, I really have met some interesting people, all different in their own right ... I even almost swapped telephone numbers with a women in the ladies toilet at a restaurant :-) It is amazing where you can meet people and who can come into your life if you only open yourself up to new things and people.

And isn't it absolutely thrilling when you can meet someone who you can either share a common interest, or someone who inspires you, or someone who you can feel so truly comfortable with you open up to like a weight lifting off you. I have so many people in my life who inspire me, people who I find easy to keep company with, people who I share a common interest with that I find myself talking a mile a minute these topics with. Even ones that complete me, fulfil me. Some are near and I get to see, some so far my heart yearns ... but near all far they are all apart of my life ... and I am grateful for the people in my life ♥♥

This week I want to talk about a new friendship that has formed, one that has and is blossoming to be very dear to me, and with it comes a friendship with an amazing young girl. It can be said that some people have talent, some people have passion, and some have inspiration, you can have an combination of those, and you can also loose some along the way ... but real and amazing God given talents is are a really rare gem ....

... and young Zoe Wallace has it!! She has a true talent, and it is complimented by passion and inspiration ... to the point that she inspires me. She is a singer song writer who at the age of 11 years old writes and sings songs that make the hairs on my neck stand up ... I could listen to her sing all day long.

And isn't she beautiful?? I asked her if I could do a photo shoot with her to use on my blog and we had such a fun evening, she is such a natural, just eased into it.

These are just a very few of the photo's taken, I had such a hard choice .... out of 288 photo's 202 of them were amazing!!

Zoe has a very bright and beautiful future ahead of her!!! And I love having her Mum and her in my life ♥

I am going to sign off with one of her songs she performed at the Festival of Lights earlier this year, I let her choose which song she wanted me to include, basically she could have chosen any because I love them all.

I'll end with saying thank you to all the people in my life for bringing something to it in some way, shape or form. I am grateful for each and everyone!

This song is written and performed by Zoe, Zoe retains all copyright.

I am Grateful for .... the ultimate love story ♥

Ah…. Where to begin this week. What an exciting week for me J

Ok let me start by saying all of New Plymouth, and now the rest of NZ will, think I am certifiably insane, but that is ok, it is a hat I wear proudly … especially in this instance!

On Wednesday morning we found a wee little hedgehog in our driveway, through the morning while getting ready for the school run and work I tried to give it water and food but the little chap was in bad shape. I know if hedgehogs are out during the day it is generally not a good sign. As time to leave approached I could see it wasn’t going well, so gently put him in a box, dropped the girls off at school and went passed the vet.

FOR THE KIWI’S READING THIS: YES I TOOK A HEDGEHOG TO THE VET J It is called compassion.

Here is Hedgie (our name for it …. Original huh) before getting put in a stretch and carted off in the ambulance.

The whole day my mind was on Hedgie, so I called the vet (yes I know … call the mental hospital already) and they said the wee thing was still in bad shape and not looking good L My heart was heavy!!! The next morning could not come quick enough for me to call the vet again, and before I left for my Mom’s Taxi round I rang the vet again (Kiwi’s here is where you get over it already) and they told me the Hedgie was looking good, the wee critter had eaten and had some water and that if it (I don’t purposely want to call it and “it” but I don’t know whether it is a pink Hedgie or a blue Hedgie) continued to improve I could fetch it after work. I AM GRATEFUL FOR … Hedgie pulling through the night.

So after lunch I called again. A love affair was starting to blossom. And so I got the good news …. I could bring Hedgie home J So began the afternoon clock in slow motion …. Tick …… tock ………….. tick …………………….. t o c k …………………………………….   t  i   c   k    ……  and then race to the vet to get my baby. I AM GRATEFUL FOR … Hedgie making a remarkable recovery and being allowed home again.

When I got Hedgie home it was now a debate, where do we set it free? I was given instructions to put it back where we found it, but my inner voice was screaming that maybe the middle of the driveway was not the best place! We have garden but not a lot of sheltered foliage. Eventually I decided the best place was a bit of garden area behind our shed (that is a garage in the rest of the world) it has bush and shrub and trees, Hedgie was sure to find some yummy slugs and snails to much, it was sheltered from the elements and from most of the human world … yes that was prime piece of real estate in hedgie world, of that I was certain!

Here is Hedgie about to be set free again …

This is definitely the first, and probably the last you will see a photo of me included on the blog, but a love so strong needs to be shown to the world ♥

So down Hedgie went and off he scurried, a complete picture of health and a drastic improvement from the previous day. My heart was happy. Later that night I went to put out some food and saw hedgie rustling around it’s new piece of earth, happy!

So a whole day passed and last night I went out to put more food down and see if Hedgie was around or moved on, my eyes got more than they bargained for … 3 times as much in actual fact. My heart lept for absolute joy!!! There was not only my little Hedgie, but 2 others the same size as my wee one. I want to believe that they are maybe family, brothers and or sisters perhaps … who really knows. But Hedgie is there and happy and not alone … and for that I am really GRATEFUL … ♥♥♥

So that is my Hedgehog tale … Kiwi’s are welcome to commit me if they like, if my worst crime is loving and saving hedgehogs then I guess I have a lot to be grateful for.

Now something completely not Hedgie related … I know I do a lot of sunrises, but what a beautiful time of day. Look at the beauty that greeted us as we began on day on Wednesday … (the very day Hedgie got better and got to come home I might add)

Spectacular in word … I AM GRATEFUL FOR … each and every new day!

I have a lot to be grateful for this week!!!