Random - Big Boys Wish List

If you read last nights blog then you will know AmeriCARna fever is all around my sleepy little town, and what fun we are all having.

This blog is dedicated to Bernie, the whole time walking around the show all we said was Bernard would have loved it here, check that car that is right up Bernard's alley ... it is a close call but I think Bernard could have been more talked about than the cars ... LoL ... ♥

So because blokes don't do the whole reading things I'll move swiftly onto the pictures.

First are my ones I like, the ones that aren't just whole cars, pretty pics I call them :-)



Ok here is whole car views ... the kind that gets a blokes motor runnung ... (yeah yeah I am corny as hell ... bet Bernard would laugh though...LoL)

That's it AmeriCARna over and out ..

Hope Bernie enjoyed, and all you like minded blokes :-)
Mwah

I am grateful for .... Good Times

Wow, thought I better get this blog out my system while I am still on a buzz from the AmeriCARna parade (or just high from the petrol fumes). What a fun evening!! Nothing special, just pizza with friends and then a walk into town to watch the parade. Heaps of people in high spirits, the kids waving their American flags and cheering the cars. The motorists were such great sports, I flagged a few down to stop for a photo and they happily obliged. Hooters tootering ... the atmosphere was electric!! Such great fun.

The cars were awesome, the engines roared, deep belly growls. No two were the same, there were over 600 in total.

I think we can all be GRATEFUL FOR ... good times!

This is one of my favourites of the night :-) this pic brings a smile to my face, and just look at the sky *smile*

This is a short one with lots of pics ... had such fun taking them ... thanks guys, and thanks organisers!
Thanks for Good Times :-)
xoxo

I am grateful for .... My Backyard

So it is widely known I am a "city girl" I don't deny it either, but I think there is often some confusion or mis-interpretation that because I am a city girl I am not outdoorsy, NOT true, I would consider myself very outdoorsy, I just don't like "roughing it" you know camping and what not. I am all for outdoors, hikes, walks, bike rides, days on the beach just as long as I can have a warm shower, decent meal and comfy bed at the end of the day, sharing ablutions, baked beans heated on a fire and inflatable mattresses don't cut it for me. So anyway that's got nothing much to do with anything actually.

This week I was thinking how amazing my backyard is .... not the one that lies within the fence out my back door ... I am meaning my playground, the place I live. Beaches, parks, walkways, bike trails and spectacular walks around what I would consider a wonder of the world.

Last week sitting at home I was bored solid, and decided today was the day for us to see Dawson Falls. We live on the north side of Mt Taranaki, Dawson falls is South of Mt Taranaki, but only some 40 minute drive through some gorgeous country views and forest. You drive up the mountain park your car then hike down through some dense forest to the bottom of the falls. It is truly beautiful!!! Here is a photo of what surrounds you while you walk down the steep slopes to the tunes of a waterfall ...

Once you make it to the bottom you get a full view of the falls .... technically it is not the best photo for numerous reasons, but also because the cloud had creeped in and also light misty rain began to fall, but you get the idea. (I have vowed to go back better prepared and capture the full beauty of the falls)

And because I am always fascinated with water, i just need to improve on my ability to photograph it ... LoL I just snapped around the falls ...

After looking around we hiked back up to the car, while walking along through the damp, thick forrest surrounds, a single drop of water caught my eye, gently nestled gently on a leaf.

This is actually my photo for the week, just thought it was so appropriate, how it's sitting sparkling like a rare gem ... and water is just that, a very rare gem, it is the foundation of life, and there it sat carefully cradled, fragile and exposed and one slight change and this drop would fall ...isn't that just life? Priceless, fragile and exposed and over in a flash ...

So now I have introduced to yet another part of my backyard, my playground ... how can you not be GRATEFUL FOR a place like this?? Taranaki ... like no other ... the words could not be more true :-) And I get to live here and experience the best of it 365 days of the year (if I choose).

Hey all 3 blogs so far have focused on the amazing Taranaki, one would think I am looking for a job as and ambassador in the tourism industry ... LoL ...

What a mix mash rush of a blog but the sun is up, and it is a stunner of a day in the Naki, I'm off to hit the beach with the family ... because I can and that is how I roll :-)

But in ending ... don't so I am not the outdoorsy type, or that I am a city slicker ... I am just a creature of comfort who can still appreciate the little things in life ♥

I am grateful for ....

Let me start this blog with a bit of the history of my photo I have chosen ...

It is written that on 5 January 1903 (that like over 100 years ago) on voyage from Onehunga to Kawhia, Raglan and Wanganui, the steamer ran aground at 11.40pm on a dark and moonless night, narrowly missing her sister ship, the Ngapuhi. The captain and crew rowed to New Plymouth breakwater where they stayed the night.

The bow of the SS Gairloch is slowly crumbling into the sand near Oakura on Taranaki's coast. This rusted iron skeleton is all that remains as storms, time and tides gradually claim what left of Gairloch.

I have read that a short wade out at sea are the bottom plates and parts of the ships engines which has now become home to an array of sea life ... I haven't seen that bit though.

So now that you know what my picture is of, here it is:

So where am I heading with this? Am I grateful for shipwrecks and disasters? Noooooo Was this the ships end, yes, but in ending it created a home for sea life, and created some history to witness in our current day ... it also created a beautiful photo opportunity of course ;-)
You this week marked the end of something for me, something I was and am very passionate about, and while it is not the final end I would hope, it just got me thinking how the end is not the end it is a change, I AM GRATEFUL FOR  having had that experience, having been given the opportunity to learn and grow, and I am very grateful for Karen and Tanya for always having faith in me and my abilities, under their guidance I blossomed. May I never stop learning and growing!
So this week was the start of a change, something new again ... the winds of change are blowing in my sails ....

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” - Andre Gide

I am grateful for ....

So the last blog ... crash, boom, bang ... I guess that would be one description for it. So I am going to be following a rapidly growing blog trend. you see I would class myself as a positive person, I come out of most situations smiling, people often tell me I am an positive and always optimistic. Sadly that science guy who says positive and negative attract was somewhat right, how is it that negative gets drawn to p!ss on a positives parade? Well this positive is not going to let a little p!ss on my parade short my circuit :-) anyway where was I ... oh yes positive ...LoL

Well you see the last couple of years have been exciting to say the least, things always changing, I have come to realise though that is my life, I am drawn to change, often drastic ones, but at the very least minor ones, but the last couple of years it would seem that I am also constantly surrounded by drama, not always my own, but people dragging me into their own little miserable personal drama's. And while I don't mind being a shoulder to cry on, and ear to bend, I don't really want to become the topic. As last year drew to a close and I sat quietly for a few days watching my FB feeds, and listening to friends and family and noticed message after message after wish after wish came ... "goodbye what a tough year .." and  ..."lets hope 2012 is better than this one .." and really, was the whole entire year so miserable or do the majority of the human population focus more and remember most the bad times and forget the good times? Soooooo .... bugger it all, I had a lovely 2011 and a 2010 and a 2009 ... yes there were some hair raising, draining and never want those moments back moments ... but there were also some Hell yeah, that was awesome, lets do it again sometime moments to, and those are the ones that I will allow to flavour my memories of that year!!

Oh wait did I get sidetracked telling you what my new blog was going to be about? positives ... oh right, so in following the new blogging trend, and in light of my conscience decision to ignore the negative draining bits of people's life, every week I am going to post a photo of something I am grateful for.

Well of course the natural start for most of these blogs is pics of their kids, and families and all that warm mushy stuff, ABSOLUTELY a RESOUNDING yes I am grateful for my beautiful children, food in my belly and a home to live in, my fluffy pillow and my comfy duvet .... but this is about stopping and smelling the roses and looking beyond the obvious ...

without further hesitation here is my first grateful photo ...

This is a section of the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge which forms part of the New Plymouth coastal walkway, also part of my cycling route which I do several times a week, while this is probably one of the most photographed spots in New Plymouth (in my opinion) even I have to admit is a beautiful site, I am just so grateful I get to ride one of the best walkways in all of New Zealand gazing out to sea or seeing some of New Plymouth landmark sites, makes for easy riding, I am grateful I get to do it safely whether it be with my girls (seldom I will admit) or on my own (more often the case - this is my alone time thing I do), I never grow tired of the same old route.

This is a full view of the bridge:

Every time I go to photograph the bridge the clouds cover the Mt Taranaki peak, but still pretty to look at ;-)

So that is the first of my "I am grateful for ... " blogs, I am off to start my weekend and stop to smell some flowers ...

and in ending ... roll on 2012, bring it on, my the winds of change forever blow in my sails ....

Through the eyes of sisters; theme: That's different!

Ok so I chose this theme, just because life sure can be ever changing so why not look at the different in the crazy world of ours.

My pic in my opinion is ... well um ... different. Let me start by telling you that does not come from a good "that's different" but rather a sad one ... but different none the less. I am the only person in my entire family that actually likes zoo's, in fact back in SA this was a regular outing for the girls... I love the zoo! But here in the land of the long white cloud, not so much. Not because I don't like walking around the zoo under a blanket of long white cloud because NZ has more good beautiful sunny days than gloomy ones, but because the zoo's are so small and the enclosures are so small, and for a zoo lover to admit that you must know it is tiny!! Our local zoo here, the ones the Naki'ians rave about is really heartbreaking. Firstly not much except a bunch of farm animals and some monkeys, with the "highlight" being 3 white tigers and 1 lion and 2 lioness's, their enclosures are nothing short of minute in my opinion. I have been assured that the the animals have been bred in captivity so don't know any better but that is little comfort if you ask me. But what makes my pic of Lions qualify for "that's different"? well it just doesn't gel!!!! Here is a the king of the jungle, who belongs in the plains of Africa sitting in the beautiful lush green grass ... look even some pretty yellow daisies in the background ... now that is different!!

No look what happens when I take that same daisy licking lion and drain the colour to wash away the daisies and kill the grass .... he actually looks like the king again and not a domestic lap kitty!

S'true ... it is the same lion!! and enclosure!!

Pam's pic shows how people can be ... ah ... yes questionable ... I mean different ... oops did I just type that out loud?? This is sure to offend someone! LoL ... she took her challenge on the road with her to snap what she calls "the Barney House" ... it needs no further explanation!!

Bet if we drained the colour from this pic it would be a cutsie little home ...LoL ... but Pam growing up in Boksburg surely you should be used to seeing the Avo green home next to the turquoise one and the pink one and the ..... Eish!!

Ok so there was our That's Different ...

Pam the next theme is .... *insert drum roll* ...

Through the eyes of sisters; Theme: TREASURE

I am so far behind on the blog that even my behind is behind ... but hey that's how it goes. I will go on and on with excuses, life is too busy, feeling a little un-inspired .. blah blah blah ... it is just how it goes.

This theme is one Pam chose, I liked it. There was a lot happening at that time which opened me into getting something.
Pam's pic
Here is what Pam said:
I love sharing things with my children, things about the world around them, the gift of life and how precious the balance is.  I want them to know where things come from, how they are made or grown, and to value it all.  Our earth is in so much trouble, we choose not to pay attention and immerse ourselves in every day problems like bills, appointments and finding the car keys - but she needs our help and they only way she is going to get it is if we start appreciating her bountiful gifts, stop taking them for granted, and start finding a way to live more harmoniously with her.  I treasure the planet we live on, its one of a kind, and I treasure my family

In this photo is my beautiful niece April and Pam's newest treasures ... her chooks.

I have a funny story along the lines of Pam's notes on her pic, I too like to teach my children about where things come from, it started a couple of years back when Rachel had to take fruit and veg to school and decided to tell me late one afternoon on the only day ever I didn't have fresh in the fridge, so I took them on a walk to our complex's community veg garden and let them pick them out the ground ... it took a bit of convincing that veggies actually grow from soil and do not just appear in supermarket fridges. Another funny story is we were discussing where does XYZ come from, wool from sheep, meat from animals etc etc ... Leah tried to convince me milk comes from CHICKENS!!! Wonder how many chickens you need to milk for a litre ...LoL

My pic is also more about treasured moments. My pic was not initially what I had set out for, but things all hit me on one day. Leah's kindy had cornered me about her Celebration day (her last day of kindy that they celebrate her going off to school), the primary school had set dates with me for her school visits and her starting date, my oldest had just had a bday, my youngest has a pending bday ... was all too much too fast. Little over a year ago I left SA with to pre-schoolers, now I am days away from have too primary school kiddies in just over a year!!!!! Where have my babies gone??? I feel like I have been shoved into this and I am not ready to let go. My photo is my footprints and Rachel's foot prints on the beach one sunny afternoon ... a reminder that we should always treasure the moments we have when we have them, they are over too quickly and yes there will be more but they will never be the ones we had.

Now that Pam and I have sown the seeds of thoughts ... here is another treasure picture, I took this one at the festival of lights last year, a treasured memory of course, but this is a pirate ship. Ai me hearties, cast the sails and head yonder in search of treasure ... even if they they are a box filled of treasured moments on a lazy sunny afternoon :-)

and let us not forget to ....