10 Day Blogging Challenge - Day 4

Day 4: Seven things that cross my mind a lot.

I don't know why but when I read this, the meme of Keanu Reeves, 'Conspiracy Keanu' came to mind Lol. And one of them actually did fit with something I wonder often.

Are all sports matches (or a large portion) fixed?

I also often wonder how people don't see an idea the same way I do. I often struggle to explain my thinking to others and wish there was an easier way.

It also made me think of the Philosoraptop meme, which often cracks me up. This one made me giggle. I would be first in line to sign the petition that changed the currency in Africa to 'Afros'.

 

I often wonder about death. Morbid I know. I try to think what it will be like, nothingness, forever. It makes my mind explode.

Food crosses my mind a lot... mmmm.

I worry a lot, about anything really. The more I think about something the more I worry about it. It's really, really annoying.

My dad crosses my mind a lot. Memories in general I suppose. I spend a lot of my life at the moment traveling, living about 50 mins drive from work. I often think about things I remember, why I remember them and not other parts of my life, and trying to remember other parts.

And just currently....I'm wondering why the hell True Blood has come to an end. Booo hooo. Must. Savour. Every. Last. Episode. 

Hehe 

xox

Day three - Eight ways to my heart

Day 3: Eight ways to win my heart.

1. Love my dog. I hate breed prejudice, so if you love my dog because he's so lovable and don't disregard him as a beast because he's a rottie, then you're in!

2. Talk nerdy to me - Photography, gaming, memes,books, disney movies.. anything I can fan girl over.

3. Clean my oven.... my most hated of all chores.

4. Lollies, 'nuff said.

5. Like/Hate the same stuff as me. I like people I agree with. It's any wonder I've stayed with my husband really, we disagree on so much stuff. It's likely that if I like it, he won't and vice versa. Opposites attract clearly? lol

6. Read. I tend to get on better with people that read.

7. Be open minded. This again is based on the fact that I hate people that are closed minded and judge to easily. If you can't see the flip of a coin then I really shy away from you pretty quickly...especially if it's to do with rottweilers (or other terrifying breeds *rolls eyes*), gay rights or racism.

8. Play some funky music white boy. Lol

"Sometimes the cure for restlessness is rest."

Yet another thing to cross off my 101 list.  I'm scared to see how I'm going by counting how many I've done/are left but alls I know is I'm super happy when I can cross one off. PS:  I know it's a 'silent sunday' but what I'm doing tomorrow fits perfectly into the theme so I'm being sneaky :D

I actually did this a couple of weeks ago.  It was great fun. It ties in nicely with my challenge to do something with my 'Mind, body, spirit' series stuff (which I'm getting to... slowly) as a lot of that stuff is for meditation-y, relaxation-y kinda stuff.

I actually didn't do it straight after Little Miss went to sleep as she's an early to bed, early to rise kinda girl but turns out a ride on the exercycle and 30 minutes of shorty street were conducive to some good relaxation. :D

Now, to be completely honest, I'm really not good at relaxing.  I always have to be doing something, I'm what you would call an 'active relaxer', which is fine, but I've always wanted to be one of these people that can feel completely at bliss doing nothing much at all but having 'me time'. Which is why I put #37 on the list. And you know what?  I loved it! I really think I could do it again, perhaps even make it a weekly/fortnightly/monthly/whenever I feel like it thing.

I had bubble bath, candles, bath oil, essential oils burning and a great book ('The land of painted caves' the last in the 'Earth Children's' series by Jean M Auel). It was really nice.  Something I might need now and then with going back to work next week after 6 months of maternity leave. Here's hoping I'm kind enough to myself to fit it in. <3

"I know I'll see you again Whether far or soon. But I need you to know that I care, And I miss you"

Having Mr. Man finish work today I had a thought that I might take a few weeks break from 'Things I'm loving' so I can possibly blog a little bit more sporadically if need be and even post about our adventures during his 2 week break. :)

So today, we work on completing this 30 day challenge :)

Day 27: A problem that you've had.


Ummm...I think I'm going to have to skip this one. I'm quite a solution focussed person so any problem is fixed up quickly in one way or another - whether it be rising to the challenge and overcoming or doing something I didn't particularly wanted to do, or finding a solution.  No problem has really ever consumed me so I think this might be a pretty stink post if I leave it at that.  SKIP!

Day 28: Something that you miss.


Ahh, that's better. I miss lots of things.

I miss peppermint choc chip ice cream.  I miss childhood christmas excitement (although it's making a come back now I have a child of my own).  I miss being read bed time stories.  I miss characters from books I've completed. I miss my guinea pigs.  I miss Vince. I miss camping at Houhora Heads, even though their toilet facilities were disgusting.  I miss having a tight knit group of girlfriends. I miss highschool, sometimes. I miss living with my parents.  I miss those first few months of dating Mr. Man. I miss Georgie Pie. I miss playing DONKEY with Nana in her carport.  I miss playing school with Nana.  I miss Nana. I miss being able to talk to my dad when I need help with something. I miss Sex and the City.  I miss Renee and Nikki being under 5 years old. I miss Leah fitting into clothes labelled NB and 0-3 months. I miss feeling kicks in my belly. I miss being able to head out the door whenever I please. I miss my Amiga 500 and Dad bringing home 2 boxes full of floppy disks to wade our way through. I miss playing Grannies Garden at Uncle Trev's. I miss my Dad. I miss mum making me club sandwiches when I'm sick. I miss The Simpson's the way they used to be. I miss Shakeaways.  I miss work. I miss my class from 2007. I miss my bedroom being plastered with Backstreet Boy posters.

<3

"Attraction is beyond our will or ideas sometimes"

Day 26:  What kind of person attracts you?


I feel a list coming on. These things attract me to people, both friends and (when I was on the market) potential partners.  In somewhat of a descending order;
NB:  This list may be somewhat silly... somewhat.  Most things are partially true lol.

• Sense of humour that matches mine.
• A likeness of sarcasm and playing silly buggers.
• Prefers Apple Mac to Microsoft.
• Your ideal night in is playing Bomberman (or similar video game) TO THE DEATH!
• Can carry a conversation on...because more often than not, I can't.
• Enjoys watching stupid you tube clips.
• Richard Simmons makes you giggle uncontrollably.
• Upon finding out I like "The Office" you won't start going on about how the English version is superior to the American.
• Uses apostrophes correctly or are learning how to and uses to, too, two/their, there, they're/your,you're etc correctly (not 100% necessary but you get bonus points if you do)
• Logs in to Facebook every day and doesn't mind being bombarded by photos of my child or dog.
• Speaks in movie quotes.
• Is competitive.
• Will discuss nostalgia gaming with me.
• Likes food and will try my kitchen concoctions.
• Will not rat me out when I am praised for having an amazing idea when really it comes from pinterest.com
• Doesn't mind my brother in law and I singing "I just can't wait to be king" as our first choice every time on Disney Singstar.
• Will tell me when my shirt is inside out (have a FANTASTIC work colleague that does this for me far too often).
• Would rather stay in than go out...but if going out takes their fancy the Casino is their first choice.
• Will argue with me.
• Does not mind that I treat my pets like humans.
• Accepts that I'm a teacher and will constantly be talking about, thinking about or doing teacher things.
• And along that same vein will never say any  of the following sentences;
• "Man, you teachers get soooooo many holidays"
• "What a sweet job, 9 to 3"
• "Aren't all teachers bossy/condescending etc etc"
• "Jeez, you teachers.  Always think you're right"
• "Don't you just teach from a text book anyway?  You don't need to know things right?"
• Is able to discuss music, books or crafting with me.
• Likes dogs - dog people are the best people.
• Positivity or very little negativity.
• Accepts that I am a neat freak to the point where I'm correcting things being put at right angles.
• Indulges my love of pretty things.

There is more to add to this list but I do have things to do today other than being stupid. Lol

xox

50 Questions to Free Your Mind.

Phew! Another 101 challenge bites the dust:
46. Answer the "50 questions that will free your mind".

These questions have no right or wrong answers.
Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
I’m mature and immature in different ways so it would depend what situation you put me in and the people you put me with.  Playing silly buggers with Mr. Man you could probably put me at 16. Management meeting at work you could put me at my chronological age of 25 or older. At the stage of life I’m at most people would probably say around 30.

Which is worse, failing or never trying?
Simple - never trying, by a long shot.

If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
Personally? Fear of failure or looking stupid to others. Money restrictions. Because it needs to get done and I can’t pay someone else to do it (cleaning the oven!). Because life needs that balance, otherwise you’d turn into a spoiled little brat ala Hollywood Heiresses.

When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
No.

What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
Cruelty to young children and animals. Child and animal abuse and neglect stories on the news sicken me. I look at little Leah and I look at Jake and wonder how anyone could ever do anything to hurt them. Children and animals are such precious little things.  They have all the joy in the world on their faces and in their spirits and I love how it just exudes from them effortlessly.  I hate how this can be taken away by people that are cruel to them.  A cowering dog or one of those caged dancing bears in Asia is what it looks like when you’ve had the light sucked out of you.  It’s disgusting and it needs to stop.

If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
Doing what I’m doing now - teaching :).

Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
I’m doing what I believe in...for the most part.

If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
I’d read a lot more.  I’d bite the bullet and pay someone to clean the house so that the house would be clean (and I would stay sane and happy because of this fact) but I’d have more time to do the things that make me happy. I wouldn’t spend any of my weekend just sitting around the house doing nothing. I’d stop wasting my time checking facebook constantly. I’d make a more conscious effort to get together with friends and family more often.

To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
I’ve controlled quite a lot of what’s happened in my life. I like being in control of what is happening to me.  The only thing I feel I’m not good at controlling is my weight.  I like food, it’s a curse! But I think I’m taking control of that now too, small bit by small bit.

Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
Doing things right.
You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do?
I would like to shut it down immediately but I probably wouldn’t be able to.  I wouldn’t join in but probably just shut up.

If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
Strive to be the most positive person you can be.


Would you break the law to save a loved one?
Yes. There would be a lot of laws I couldn’t break though - speeding, yes, hiding someone who was hiding from the law, possibly, killing someone , no. I say yes because I think in the moment I would do a lot for a loved one, things I would never imagine doing otherwise...scary.

Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
Ummmmm....??

What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
I’m sure there’s at least one person out there that does everything  I do. Some of my weirder traits?  I over organise - I mean OVER THE TOP.  I have to use the same coloured pegs when hanging out washing - can’t have green and pink on the same garment. The volume has to be set to an even number if it’s a numeric set up. I get irritated if I know something needs to be done or isn’t done the way I like it and I must remedy it as soon as possible - even if someone is watching or I’m supposed to be engrossed in something else.  This becomes rude when I’m talking to someone and I have to move a book or the like to the right angle position as we’re talking.

How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
Because there are different strokes for different folks. I think this is why I was a grumpy teenager.  Why doesn’t everyone like things the way I do?  They should!  I’ve since learned ‘everyone to their own’ but what irritates me about it is that to show an opinion is often like declaring war to some people.  Problem for them is I love to argue :D.

What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What’s holding you back?
Get down to a goal weight and maintain it. I hold myself back.  My willpower is shocking.

Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
Yes. I’m slowly letting go.

If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
If I had to move indefinitely I would have to go some place that is a lot like NZ - Australia, The states, Canada.  I don’t like being too far out of my comfort zone.

Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
Yes and yes (?).  I desperately want to believe so.

Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
Worried genius.

Why are you, you?
Because if I wasn’t me, who else would I be?

Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
Sometimes.  I have a bad habit of not keeping in touch well.  If you’re not a big user of facebook it’s likely that I will only talk to you when you get in touch with me - I’m not good with the phone.

Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
From experience, losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you. I found the good friend moving away helped me keep in touch.  We probably talked more than we do now they’re back! It’s the same when my husband goes away on work, we talk more on the phone than we would if he came home for the night. Go figure! That sounds bad, my husband and I love each other’s company and are solid enough we can do so without prattling on too much :) better? Lol

What are you most grateful for?
My family and that I had the upbringing I had. Thanks mum and dad!

Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
Never be able to make new ones.  Losing my memory is a bit of a fear I have.

Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
Yes, you know your truth.  And sometimes even when another person’s truth is shared with you, you still only truly believe your truth, what you know, what you’ve seen.

Has your greatest fear ever come true?
Yes.  I didn’t know it was my greatest fear before it happened but once it did I was terrified and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.

Don’t you love how vague I’m being with some of these?

Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now?
Some do and some don’t Being upset that my father was terminally ill and was going to die? Yes.  Bawling my eyes out after my first fight with Mr. Man and whatever I was upset about concerning the fight? No, in fact.. I can remember the fight but not what it was about.

What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special?
I’ve thought and thought about this and the one thing that sticks out the most is spending time with my Nana, spending school holidays at her house and one memory in particular when we were camping at Houhora and we visited Wagner Museum and got a pie and milkshake for lunch. What makes it so special?  Nana made it special.  Nana made you feel special, like you were the only person in the world to her at that time.  I strive to be like that. I want to make people feel like she made me feel.

At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
Now. Having a newborn has made me a passionate about being a great mother.  I’m inspired by her.

If not now, then when?
Later?

If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
Nothing. :)

Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
Yes. When Mr. Man and I first started dated we would drive to Ollies for an ice cream now and then. I remember one night in particular after we’d been there, on our way home, Mr. Man driving the commodore and me in the passengers seat resting my head on his shoulder and holding his hand.  We said nothing all the way home and when he dropped me off I was on top of the world.

Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
People twist the goodness of a religion into cult behaviour quite a lot of the time. As with anything Religion is in the interpretation and those eggs that start wars have interpreted things all wrong.

Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
Most of the time yes but not always.  There are some slippery gypsies out there and differentiating which of them/it is good and which is not is a HUGE task.

If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
I love this question because whenever I get asked it the reaction to my ‘yes’ is “WHAT?!?!”
I love my job.  Whether I would do the exact same hours has changed now I have a little one because I want to spend heaps of time with her and if I could financially support that I would but being on maternity leave has definitely cemented the fact that I would miss work if I didn’t have it.

Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
Less house work please - can you banish the existence of dust, grime and mould for me please?  Thank you! <3

Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
No. Every day is a little bit different.  I like the consistency in my life and I like the little changes too.

When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
Never.  I more of a person who will let a few others march first and I’ll tiptoe behind them... and I’m OK with that :).

If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
Mum, Mike, Andrea... and I’d make sure that Leah, Mr. Man and Jake were with me. There are so many people I would want to see that I think it’s best I scrap everyone else and concentrate on this small lot that are the nearest of the near and the dearest of the dear.

Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
No, bring on the wrinkles!

What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
Being present and making the most of situations and opportunities. Making the most of the time you have rather than just existing.

When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
For me?  Usually somewhere between checking my bank account funds and the check out counter.
If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
Because at the time, it sucks!

What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
A lot of things. I don’t know why I care so much about what people think.  Even complete strangers.  Must change this.

When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
In bed the last few nights as there has been a lack of breathing and an abundance of coughing.

What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
I love my family.  I love making things and making things pretty. I love Jake. I love my iPad. Lol.  My photography expresses my love as I photograph the things that I love mostly.  So yes I have openly expressed my love because I share my photos with anyone who wants a squizz!

In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that?
Not in detail. The photo a day challenges will help me to remember parts which I think is really cool. I often feel like I’m always living in the future - organising things for tomorrow, getting this ready for the weekend, saving for... etc. Taking millions of photos a day will help me to remember what is happening and what is making me happy right at this moment.

Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
A bit of both...and I think it’s the way that it needs to be.  If you let others make too many decisions for you you’re a push over and don’t own anything you do but if you make all the decisions yourself you’re not open to advice from others and you become conceited and arrogant. I like to think I do a bit of both.  I have ideas of my own and I try to take on advice from others to shape these ideas.

"There's this little passage I've got memorised - It's called Ezekiel 25:17..."

That's right folks - my favourite movie is "Pulp Fiction"

Day 24: You favourite movie and what it's about.

Pulp fiction is one of those movies like 'He's just not that into you' or 'Valentines day' in that they have big celebrities coming out their ears.  Pulp fiction has all the big names of it's day (1994) - Bruce Willis, Samual L Jackson, John Travolta, Harvey Kietel & Uma Thurman as well as a supremely excellent list of other actors. In 2007 The American Film Institute voted it the 94th best movie of all time up there with the likes of "Goodfellas", "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Ben-hur".
If you're interested, the top five on the list are as follows: 5. Singing in the rain, 4. Raging Bull, 3. Casablanca, 2. The Godfather, 1.Citizen Kane.

Pulp fiction is set in suburban America and essentially follows the story of two gangsters in search of their bosses missing briefcase. The events in the movie do not happen in sequence which has many characters back on the screen when they have died only 2 scenes earlier.
There are basically 3 parts to the story - Jules and Vincent finding the briefcase, Vincent's date with Mia (Marcellus' wife, their boss) and the story of Butch, a boxer played by Bruce Willis who throws a fight deliberately. All the characters are in some way, shape or form intertwined with one another.

For what is toted as a very violent movie there are actually a very small amount of deaths - 7 I think.  Especially when you consider an action movie nowadays has kills of anywhere into the hundreds and is gory to boot. The fact that their is a lot of conversation before the violence and killings I think make it more notable and you know that something is going to happen creating a lot of suspense.

We never actually find out what is in the briefcase that Vincent and Jules (Travolta and Jackson) are so hell bent on acquiring, looking after and getting back to their boss. When the two are in the apartment with Brett and the boys picking up the briefcase in the first scene, Vincent looks into the case and is mesmorised the brightly shining gold light that is inside.  Many forums on the internet are devoted to fans arguing about what they think is in the briefcase with ideas anywhere from the tame - gold bars - to the extreme - An Emmy Award that Marcellus has stolen for his wife Mia who starred in a failed TV Series. My favourite idea is that of 'The inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men' is stored in the briefcase and that Marcellus is infact The Devil. Many parts of the story which are left unexplained back this theory up.  Easy ones to spot are the sticking plaster on the back of Marcellus' head which would be covering 666 as well as how Lance the drug dealer resembles Jesus.  If you have time one day I can go on and on about this but I'll spare most of you the boredom. We never actually find out what is in the briefcase and genius director, Quentin Tarrantino says that we will never know.

Great movie.  One that can and needs to be watched over and over again.  Not with me though, I'm really annoying and can and will recite the whole movie as it is happening.

"Everyone believes In how they think it ought to be"

Day 18: Your beliefs:

Well, as previously discussed I don't prescribe to any religions.

My beliefs stem from ethics I suppose.  What I think people should do and what I think living a good life means based on what you put out into the world and how you make everyone else feel.  In saying that I strongly believe that everyone has reasons for doing whatever they do and doing it however they please and that's OK by me - as long as you also give me the same courtesy by letting me express my opinions, strong and annoying as they are.

I believe people should try to be the most positive person they know.  I read that on 'Life's little instructions' which I have posted here and I couldn't agree more.  I think the reason 'Life's little instructions' speaks to me so well is that I believe in a whole lot of it.  Along that vein I also like William W. Purkey's quote, "You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching, Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like there's nobody listening, And live like it's heaven on earth." Now I sing in the car but the other day stuck in Auckland's awesome traffic I saw a girl bopping along in her car, singing at the top of her voice and having a great time.  She looked incredibly happy and I bet she was.  That's what I aspire to with my vehicle concerts.

I believe in kindness and thoughtfulness.  Two things that I feel I need to improve on myself.  I think I'm fairly kind by nature but my thoughtfulness lacks because I am so unobservant. I'm working on it! In fact lots of my 101 challenges are based on this fact.

I believe in striving for excellence (not perfection :) Right Rere?) in everything you do.

I believe in having a laugh and not being too uptight.

I believe in letting things happen and letting people be who they want to be and be how they want to be.  I can't change anybody else but I can change what I do and how I react to things. This is something I try to instill in all the kids I teach - to make the world your own by changing yourself and the way you see things, don't waste time trying to change others.



I believe in happiness. Whatever it is that makes you happy I think you should make time for it. We're all busy people, and I love being busy - it keeps me sane - but I think part of that busyness needs to be staying busy with what you love.  For me that's spending time being out and about with family and friends, taking copious amounts of photos, reading, writing my blog, laughing at silliness, playing ball with Jake and (believe it or not) working. Which brings me to my last belief - you need to love what you do for a living.  Sure makes life  a lot easier if you do.

"Memory is a diary we all carry around with us".

Day 14: Your earliest memory.

My earliest memory took place when I was around 2 years old (so I'm told). It was the night our border collie, german shepherd cross Toby ran out on to the busy road we lived on and was hit and killed by a car.  What a night to remember huh?  I don't remember the whole thing.  I just remember being outside with my dad letting my sister's car in as she came home from work. That's it.  But family members tell me this was the night Toby died.  I have faint memories of Toby (which would probably be my earliest memories) but they're very fleeting and it's this night that I can actually remember stills from.

From my childhood I remember spending lots of time with family, especially my Nana - I went to stay there during school holidays-, I remember annoying my brother when he was playing on the computer, it was always my turn if he was on there and I remember dressing up as a fairy to go to my kindergarten bike off! Thanks for the loan of the tinsel mum!

I like to think I have a fairly good memory for both things recent and past but I must say since being pregnant and being the mother to an almost 3 month old I've had a few of those memory brain cells fried.  One thing I'm also terrible at remembering are colours.  I can remember a moment perfectly and describe all details to you but I will remember something to be green when in reality it was red - block in the processing cortex perhaps?  The brain is a strange thing.

"Astrology is just finger pointing at reality"

Day 7: Your Zodiac sign and if you think it fits your personality.

My birthday is on the 19th of January (just) making me a Capricorn, the goat.

We are responsible, patient, ambitious, resourceful, loyal, dictatorial, inhibited, conceited, distrusting, unimaginative so the website I'm currently looking at says.  To these I would say yes, sometimes, somewhat, yes, somewhat, YES (bossy), somewhat, not at all, somewhat and I find it difficult but I wouldn't say I'm unimaginative.

The site goes on to say "Capricorns are very independent because they know their capabilities and therefore they rarely trust others to finish details, they like to do it all themselves."  This can be quite true.  I usually hawk eye Mr. Man if I've asked him to do something to make sure he does it right and have found it difficult to delegate jobs to those in my team at work.

More pearls of wisdom - "The Capricorn friend is deep and mysterious and full of intrigue, there always seems to be something going on in their mind." Haha.. 'mysterious and full of intrigue'.  I'm a bit of an open book most of the time but there is often a lot going on in my mind...usually something like, 'right, I'll put bubba down, get the washing out of the machine, pull out them meat for dinner then I can write on the blog.'

We are said to have a "personality [that] is geared towards that of leadership and achievement, they always want to climb the corporate ladder and be the best they can be."  This is somewhat true.  I strive for perfection at work, and often hit excellence (my work colleagues will understand that, lol) but I haven't always just wanted to climb the 'corporate ladder'. I genuinely enjoy doing a good job at work and at home.  It's satisfying to do something well and I will often strive to do so.

Reading through the material about Capricorns it seems that we're known as a little bit hard arse and quite cold.  I don't know about this.  I would say I'm stubborn and hard headed at times and by jingoes will I argue for something that I think is right but I'm also very loving and caring with my friends and family and although I am driven and like things well structured I wouldn't say I'm too boring (maybe a bit!) or neglect the people around me.

 Hahaha.. Green - yes. Red - not me.

So I suppose I'm half/half.  :)

“I don't like myself...I'm crazy about myself”

Day 6: Write 30 interesting facts about yourself.

I don't know about terribly interesting, but here are 30 facts;

1) I met the love of my life (again) on the 15th of March 2006.

2) I own way too many books. Probably close to 500. Many of which are children's books that I purchased before I became a mother.

3) I've never missed someone as much as I miss my Dad. Not having him walk me down the aisle at our wedding was probably the most painful thing I've had to ever deal with.

4) I LOVE being a teacher.  I hope  my enthusiasm for my career never dies out.  At first I was sure I was in it for the stationary!

5) I have an unhealthy addiction to any reality television.

6) I have taught some children with very strange names, including on that was names after a Rugby World Cup match.

7) Getting an apple mac was one of the best decisions I ever made.

8)  I enjoy the fact that I get off to sleep in a matter of minutes and Mr. Man has to listen to me sleep while he tries to drift off :D

9) I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day.

10)  Mr. Man says I'm a natural mother and often asks me, "How do you know to do that".  My best friend who's expecting also asks me that question.

11) I'm glad we got a mortgage when we did, but sometimes I wish you could have a 'paying the mortgage holiday'.

12)  I sometimes wonder if it's strange that I get along with naughty children better than I do well behaved ones.

13) I don't understand insurance or stock markets. Nor do I wish to....

14) I always have to be doing something.  Even in front of the TV I need to read or play on the iPad or cut and glue something at the same time.  It's what I've learned is called being an 'active relaxer'.

15) As much as I try not to I am drawn to cars and racing and actually find that I now have quite a big knowledge base about the whole hobby.

16) My 3 favourite inventions are - the laminator, digital cameras and the cheese grater.


17) I wish I went to more concerts and that there was a time machine that would take you to concerts of the past.


18) It would be good if my drum playing was as good as my guitar playing..... and my guitar playing was better.

19)  I think Mr. Man is the 2nd best father in the world (My dad being the 1st).

20) Baby animals have an effect on me that makes me make stupid noises.... ooo boo boo baby, hewo baby, tutie tutie... etc

21)  I think it would be great to have a party with Quentin Tarantino, Dave Chapelle and Harvey Kietel.

22) I'm afraid of flying insects.

23) I've attended more funerals than weddings in my lifetime.

24) I enjoy a variety of immature things. Teasing my cat with cheese, Southpark, laughing at silly words people say on the news, anchorman... stupidness is what keeps me sane... does that make sense?

25) I adore Channing Tatum.

26) Online shopping will be what bankrupts me in the future.

27) I'm am a HUGE Mario franchise fan.  My favourite game is Mario World.  I'm a big nintendo fan in general and think the premise for the Pikmin series of games is one of the most original ever thought up.

28) I like making up songs about what I'm doing and sing them to Mr. Man.  Now poor Little Miss has to put up with is aswell!

29) I want to go traveling when I'm older.  I'd love to go to New York and Rome mostly. I'd also like to go on Safari but I need to talk a certain husband into it.

30) I don't know how someone can be cruel to children or animals and I hate hearing about it on the news etc.

Wordless Wednesday (Kinda...)

It's only kinda wordless because this is the first one and I'm wanting to set all (my 3) viewers up well.

My ultimate goal is to blog every day.  With a couple of big, meaty ones in there somewhere.  Unfortunately my schedule hasn't got the email about this and continues to be full so I need a way around this.  A way that I have see used quite easily is themes for different days.  I've started the 'Things I'm loving' which is an 'end of the week sometime' post and have found that really easy to implement.

So let me introduce to you - Wordless Wednesdays and Silent Sundays.  I've seen many people use the Wordless Wednesdays and I think it's a fabulous idea.  After coming across the site pintrest.com I couldn't help but use a challenge I found to help me along here - and also to keep me completely wordless or silent on these days (difficult much?).

So I'll be using this;

I know it's a 30 day challenge, but I've done them before and I already do Project 365 on my facebook page so was wanting to give this one a little twist.

What makes me extremely happy is that I'll be able to fulfill what was one of my major goals when starting this blog - to care a little bit more about my photography.  Again, something else that gets left off because of time.  Let's hope I even get Aperture out to play with some post production tools on this one! :D

So today I present to you........(completely wordless of course)

Day One: A Self Portrait

You tube + Twitter + facebook = 'You Twitface'.

More inspiration from Mama Kat's Weekly writing promts;If Social Media died tomorrow, describe another hobby you might get into.

If there's one thing I love, it's social media.  I love Facebook.  It's not so much the fact that it's such a good communication tool (which it is) but the fact that it enables me to express myself  - photos, status updates, voicing my opinion, challenges. To be honest, I don't think I'd be so fussed if no one saw what I was posting... hmm, that might be a lie... but really.
I'm no extrovert!
So why do I like it so much? Maybe I'm a closet extrovert..wait...surely that's a paradox.

And recently I've taken up blogging, which already has been so rewarding in so many ways. I've enjoyed getting comments from other people, correction, I love it! It's been good to sharpen up my writing skills, both for my personal satisfaction and my job (teaching) and I didn't think I would but I just like sharing things with people.  The last post about my dad wasn't so much about sharing the story as it was good for me - I cried almost the whole time writing it but felt SO good when I was done, being something that I'd never shared with anyone in that way.

But what if it all died tomorrow?

Another good spin off from blogging is that I'm able to share my photos creatively and with a purpose and the blog provides a place for presentation.  
In the past that's always been covered with my scrapbooking, which I love but is;

• Time consuming
• Money hungry
• Does not reap rewards as the albums get dusty in the cupboard
• Not enviro-friendly.

 Scrapbooking would definitely be something I would fall back to if social media died tomorrow. Baking and cooking would too.  These are other things that I like to do but it just seems so convenient to let them fall off sometimes, and doesn't every woman like to guilt trip herself with the lovely internal dialogue? "Why haven't you used all those great scrapbooking bits and bobs in the cupboard Kate? And what about all those unused recipe books? Jeez, you're poor husband, what a terrible wife you are!"

So after all that rambling, in conclusion - with no social media I would probably delve into the hobby of 'doing all the things I want to do while I'm wasting time with social media'. DONE!

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."

I have borrowed this idea from Simone (www.greatfun4kidsblog.com/) who I believe got it from here.

I am also getting HEAPS of inspiration from Mama Kat too (www.mamakatslosinit.com/) - have even signed up to the writing prompts :).

Today's post:
What would your 85-Year-Old Self say to your Today-Self?
Imagine. Pretend you are 85 and look at your life from that lofty height.
And give yourself some advice.

I decided being fairly young (although I don't feel it at times) and often feeling guilty for not doing or being enough that taking some advice from what will be a very wise old lady would be a great idea.  Here I go;

4.6.2071

Dear Young Self,

First things first, slow down! Things will get done. It's not going to be the end of the world if you don't get everything done the minute it gets put in your lap and trust me, the house will get tidied up at some point. Take in the scenery around you, make sure you make good memories and for gods sake take lots of photos, yes, even more than you already are.  I'll be glad you did!

Get out there, there is still so much not only of your own country you haven't seen but of your own city. Get out from behind that computer, get out to new places and slow down and take it all in. Take that gorgeous dog and gorgeous husband with you.  Enjoy it.  Enjoy life.

Eat more vegetables! It may seem like a good idea to skip on the greens now but what will those children (plural!) think of you? And what are you doing to your body?  You're a creative cook - get in there and find a way that you're going to enjoy eating - again, I'll thank you for it. And on this vein, how about you get doing some more exercise huh? Get moving you! Funnily enough, just having the gym membership doesn't make you exercise more does it? Get rid of the membership and just get moving more - take that dog for a walk, go play a game of cricket at the beach with your brother and sister and their families - anything!  Your future arthritic joints thank you in advance!

Forget about work now and then, you'll still do a great job. It's OK not to be thinking about it and doing things for it every day of the week! Spend some more time with that amazing husband of yours, take the dog for more walks, spend some times with those kids (that's right, plural).

Worry less.  Things work out, they always do. Again, enjoy life. Don't worry about what others think of you - sing like a dork in the car, speak and write your mind, update facebook a thousand times a day, let the weeds grow and don't care!  The people you think are watching probably aren't and the ones that do watch you don't care.

Live every day as if it was your last, and every breath as if it were the same. Hmm.. is that from a song?

Love
Old you xx