Tuesday 28 May 2013

Day 24 #everdayinmay

Today's topic- Your top 3 worst traits. Well if you ask me its not something you go ahead rating but if I had to, these would be mine:

1. Overthinker
2. Determined
3. Stubborn

Whilst these are 'worst' traits I think most people find with any trait they can prove to be positive in different situations.

Yes I overthink sometimes, but then sometimes I completely lack common sense- so I guess it really balances itself out right? And whilst I'm determined to the point of #3 stubbornness at times, I wouldn't be as successful at some things without those things so worst traits or not in part they are probably still my best!

The lessons your education won't give you..

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Nelson Mandela is a dude who knows his stuff. Education has the ability to do so many wonderful things but our minds have the ability to do more.
 
Let me explain:
 
Anything is fantastic if we allow it to be. Sounds simple right? Well Education has the ability to profoundly effect children, give them belief in themselves beyond measure but it also has the ability to tear them down, build walls instead of pathways and hearts of cement instead of plasticine.
 
You see Education isn't just in the classroom and in fact education just about what happens in the classroom, fails at being true education. We've all heard the saying 'you never stop learning'. It is true, but you have to allow yourself to learn.
 
So here's my 3 tips that a formal education, like school, can't teach you:
 
1. When an event happens whereby you, your family or people around you are hurt you have a choice to learn from it or let it destroy you. Sounds dramatic- but by being ignorant we dig our own holes that only we are responsible for.
 
2. Learning about yourself isn't always an easy task, sometimes its painful and sometimes it takes painful things to know who you are but you have to accept ALL of you and FORGIVE yourself otherwise you won't ever get to experience those great joys we are all worthy of.
 
3. People will not always understand what you do or why you do it, but they don't need to as long as you have reasons and motives that are wholesome.

4. Do what you love. Money DOESN'T make the world go around and doing a love you don't enjoy will make you go crazy. But also realise sometimes you might be on the right continent in the wrong location for you to really flourish in your job. If you are not loving life as much think why? Is it the same reason and can you seriously do nothing about it other than to leave where you are? Then leave that 'space' nothing could be more liberating and EVERYTHING about you will be better for it.

5. People will learn what they want to. Sometimes leaving them to get their act together is the best thing you can do, it doesn't mean that you don't love or care about them, it just means you recognise there is nothing more you can do to help. Save your energy.

6. People may appear to be marvellous, don't rush into giving them all you've got, while its great to have faith, sadly there are some who are hoping you have just that and are waiting to use your great personality against you.

7. Be silly, help others & laugh till you get wrinkly- people only regret lines that weren't caused by joy. Unless their vain.

8. The kids that bully your child in class need help. It might be easy to blame them for being the jackass that caused your child pain, but guaranteed they are probably suffering from low self esteem. Beat the issue by offering GENUINE help. You'll be surprised of the reaction.

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Day 20, 21, 22 Every Day in May- Politics goes head to head with respect &...read for more

So Monday and Wednesday of the Every Day in May challenge leaves me with 2 topics:
  • My pet peeve (disrespect)
  • Something I'm struggling with (politics)
And..Tuesday well yesterday was all about linking up to my best blog posts. I'm not going to decide for you what your favourites are, that's the beauty of being a reader- you get to decide what you like and spend time enjoying that. So I'll leave you at your leisure with that one.

In the meantime let's knock two days over in one. As you can see from the dot points above my peeve and struggle really go hand in hand. After all how regularly do you see a politician NOT CHOOSING to be disrespectful to the other all for the sake of a vote? We could banter back and forward for weeks (Courier Mail's facebook knows it!) but we all know that our politicians aren't different to each other, they are playing the same tactics hoping for the same gain and wondering why they aren't getting an effect.

But let's talk more about that peeve. DISRESPECT. To be disrespectful to somebody else means that you value yourself over them and that you are fully prepared to be treated with disrespect for the lack of integrity and propriety you showcased. We are all human we have all been disrespectful, whether in a huff over our other pet peeves or simply because we're having an off day, but it doesn't make it right and we should fix it! What is worse is when we do this...

Choose to never say anything about anyone or anything because we fear we will offend someone. That is politics gone MAD. Must be politically correct, mustn't offend anyone...ok but when will anyone actually ever say ANYTHING? The election for the past few years is testament to this, and in several countries I'm sure, our politicians spend more time teaching youth to be disrespectful then building them up in the very characteristics we want the future leaders of Australia to have. We PAY for politicians to CHOOSE to be DISRESPECTFUL. Moral ground it doesn't exist. We can see that across and inside of individual parties. The question that begs for me the most is this...

WHEN WILL EGO BE MOVED ASIDE FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY? WHEN WE BOTH SIDES MAKE GOOD CHOICES BECAUSE ITS GOOD FOR AUSTRALIA?
Here I'm going to choose to write about a reform that has far reaching effects; since education is a foundation block for lifelong success.

Currently some pollies are signing up for Gonski and others are not, it is there prerogative but let's not be utterly senseless about this; we all know regardless of State that every teacher is going to be driven to madness with DATA & TESTING up to their eyeballs for the sake of Governmental demand not because it makes Education better...because it doesn't. 10 year old children are making mockeries of the 'Costello's' of the political world by everyday comments of 'well we know how to do a test, not another one, really why do we need to, why did we do that test if we don't get to know what we did wrong and could improve on? Or, why are we doing the test just to see if schools are the same? Seems pointless'. Children are not stupid, they are underestimated constantly.

There is not enough funding in schools, who gives a flying yo yo who gets funding in schools as long as it is done- then we don't need to keep hearing about teachers who have 12 year olds who cannot read above the age of a 5 year old because funding has been CUT by various Governments. The public is EXHAUSTED of the blame game, we don't want to hear who is responsible we want to know who is going to FIX IT, so quit the disrespect and do your job WE PAY YOU TO DO.

If one politician actually did this Australians would feel like they have a choice when it comes to election time, but right now there's no difference between our options no matter what way you look at it. Quit the disrespect, do your job and agree on stuff because its the right thing to do, not because its the popular thing to do..and for goodness sakes, if your so selfish you cannot, why do you want to be a part of running our country?

Day 19- Blogs to love

This ones all about my favourite blogs. I could really list a lot here but instead I'm going to list those that resignate with me on multiple levels. Check them out, it'll be worth it!

1. 2 Sporks 1 cup- this is a blog about travel. There are some great tips, super photography & the author loves going on epic adventures including hiking. Totally up my alley.

2. My Brown Paper Packages- this is the GO TO blog. It's a blog written by a mother who cleverly targets so many aspects of life that she really reaches a far wider audience than just Mum's. There's craft, clever tips, recipes, little muses and general 'mummy' joy that she shares. Lighthearted fun reads.

3. Meet, Plan, Go!. This is a travel & career break blog that gives you the tools to plan, prepare and deal with the return from a great travelling trip or a career break. I especially love when they discuss the options of volunteering in different countries doing significant work. They also have writers who were once travellers being supported in their work via blogging and I'm all for that.

4. Little Old Souls; a mummy blog by a great friend Bettina. What is the best about this is that Bettina has managed to achieve a niche with her vintage, classy approach to products. She also celebrates Australian blogs and Australian bloggers- which definitely deserves a shout out! If your not a mummy (which is me) you can still find the right gifts when in need!

5. Healing with Art; this a blog I stumbled across whilst using Facebook. This Australian blog/facebook page shares uplifting messages for others, great artwork (some created individually) and also occasionally has some great personal little muses- all focused on loving each other and caring for each other and I think that is just...what the world needs now!

Day 18- Challenger are you ready?!

Sunday morning, my sister, brother and I are looking for something to do. Since we don't have playstations or any other technology like many of our family friends we have become super good at inventing games. For the past month or so the three of us were avid viewers of Challengers and Gladiators- so naturally we added to concept of both games together and created our own concept in our yard.


First off the cab, abseiling off our verandah. My sister being the oldest had some knowledge of knots that my father had so aptly taught her when they would take the loads of green waste to the dump, so already we were well equipped for what lay ahead. I remember discussing carefully as a team, the design of a harness that we would make for each other out of Dad's red and white 50m extra-strong ropes. Once we had that down pat, we had decided that we would abseil off the verandah since abseiling from the roof was just crazy business. The problem was though that my brother and I (especially myself) were not so 'awake' to the task of holding on to someone's whole body weight and slowly lowering them down. Soon my sister was hanging from the verandah by her successful harness, my brother and I in stitches of laughter because our grand plan didn't work. Naturally, we re-thought the next process and decided to move away from abseiling to a zip-line approach. Problem was, where the harness accounted for safety the brick wall (to stop our fall & carefully covered in a single bed mattress- what were we thinking?!) far counteracted it. We did have successful goes- mainly my brother and sister though, I wasn't enough of a daredevil.
 


Then came the 'travelator'- this was easily created by a standing trampoline you would run at and hold on for dear life. I have no idea why we didn't get seriously maimed or worse during these games but they were blissfully fun and hilariously funny. Of course, being a member of our family meant that competitiveness was not a trait any of us were without. To end to Sunday morning (I think it was about 10am by this time) we decided to try zip-lining again except for some reason we thought it would be far more fun and safer to run it from the top of the verandah (the roof) to the letter box. How insane could we be?! Hahaha. We did it once before we realised that didn't work, but it was a great laugh and soon we were off satisfying other creative adventures.

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I miss those days. Kids these days don't have these kinds of experiences. My parents, yes they could have been all 'don't do that' and all the rest however thank goodness they weren't, otherwise we would have never been healthy risk takers and well rounded people. Nor would we have such great memories if we didn't spend our childhood in our yard. I will always be utterly grateful to my siblings and my parentals, after all perhaps thats why I still have an imagination!

A winter surprise

So this morning I woke to a sore throat, body aches and the fresh wooden floor freezing my feet. Winter is definitely here, I have been waiting for it for so long and now I've got the gift of winter...flu like symptoms.

I can't say that it wasn't possible working with children who have the potential to carry a multitude of germs ready to say hello to you at any given moment, but I'm not disappointed. Of course it would be better that I wasn't lying on my back wishing the pains away but I think probably I have become ill because of doing too much lately, so my body is saying, 'time out'.

We've probably all encountered it or if not, you've probably thought for hours on end why in the world did my life come to a crashing stop..hate to tell you but its probably the universe or God (whichever you believe in) telling you its time to look after yourself. Take the hint, don't be sad about it, just look after yourself before stuff gets worse.

I mentioned before that I feel like at times life hasn't begun and you would have noticed the array of extra-curricular I get involved in I should be blissfully content but for a  little while I've just felt 'meh'. 'Meh' to me is that feeling of nothing, lacking positivity and easily negative. My mind typically easy to get out of 'meh' mode has been cruising in it for a few weeks. I adopted others ideas of ways to lift your spirits, got involved in empowering/helping others, gave myself a new hobby, treated myself and immersed myself in all things positive but I kept cruising. Its mighty annoying when you feel like that and you're not sure how to overcome it.

So to save the risk of a doctor telling me I'm clinically depressed (when I'm probably really just in a rut & probably putting up those roadblocks), and need medication to be blissfully happy about everything I took to the pen. My results...


Exactly what I knew all along. Mind blown, attitude revolutionised to a new mindset. You see it doesn't matter what I created just that I was creating something and it was about me, for me and by me. It allowed a little selfishness. Result? Much better than a crazy mind now freed from its straight jacket; instead 4000 hits on this blog in 2 days. Insanity. How did I do it?...I wrote without thinking; by being personal I became 'relate-able' & I allowed myself to be selfish for the sake of my sanity. The bonus was the response I received for doing something that wasn't a task but a joy & that (until now 3 days later) I didn't know had gained the response that it did. Now that to me is...

BLISS.

Thanks to all of you who have been reading, pleased to see more people joining up as regular followers & of course I'm still stoked for those sporadic viewers- I hope that something you read even once writes a creative thought in your mind.

Ciao, Jules





Saturday 18 May 2013

Day 17- A Favourite image

This is me in my unit in Greenwich, UK at the beginning of 2012. Living in Greenwich really changed me, this image depicts how at ease I was with life and I'm sure those that I met could see it inside and out. Since I had to leave their I haven't really fully felt the same again..yet.





Day 16- plotting your 'lot'

Ahh my 'lot in life' huh...well first I must say this is an idiom of which I was not privy to so thank goodness for the Internet I now have an idea of what to write! Haha.

My lot in life I've been dealt so far I can't really complain. Even the times I thought everything had gone to poo I really had been blessed with amazing people who continue to bless me with their humaneness & I'm constantly surprised. So appreciative of that, but I do still struggle as everyone does with something.

Sometimes I feel like life hasn't started. Sounds crazy, I've travelled to 8 countries, played semi professional football, started my own fitness group to motivate women to mingle and support each other towards happy health goals, I've received an audience with parliament over desired education reforms, become a sports trainer, an Australian football coach, a lifesaver, had a book dedicated to me, write this blog & lived in another country. Even when I say it out loud I think..your crazy look at all that, but it doesn't really change much.

I think I'm what magazine quizzes would deem as an 'overachiever'...I fill my time up with so much stuff to fill a void but it doesn't fill the void that as silly as it might sound my biggest goal is to be a wife, mother and have a happy house. I suppose being so goal driven in sport since I was 12 has built this drive in me that if I set goals things will happen, for the house yes but finding the right person...no. Having kids...no (I could if I didn't care about child stability and a father figure but its too important to me).

So what does an overachieving, goal driven psycho maniac do? Cos lets face it your probably thinking I'm the girl with the scary eyes in a pub hunting. Actually I'm pathetic.

A guy would literally have to poke me in the eye with a sharp fork for me to know they are interested..instead ill be thinking he might be nice but I'm paralysed by the metaphorical glue on my seat. Instead...I've set a goal to travel the world falling in love with cultures and experiences (its way too easy) until I'm lucky enough for my 'lot in life' to be filled with a person who proves super-dooperdom.

Day 15...a day in the life

I thought this would be easy as but it turns out I'm way busier than I thought I am. So here's parts of a day and Thursday cos otherwise you'd have nothing!

See if you can piece the jigsaw together...

























Monday 13 May 2013

10 Things to lift your spirits #everydayinmay #day13

10 Things to lift your spirits

List. List. List. We do it all the time, but do we ever list the things that make us feel truly at peace. Here I have compiled a list of 10 things to lift your spirits, that have been tried and tested & I encourage you to also give them a go & let me know how you feel!

1. Hang out with a pet- a dog is the best. Just walk, throw a stick, talk to them if you like. Pay attention to their mannerisms. NOTE: A happy dog vs a grumpy barky companion is best for this.

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2. Sing loud and proud- who cares who is listening, its not their spirit your trying to lift its your own.
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3. DO something for someone that you DO NOT know. It's amazing how great it makes you feel when you walk outside your zone to help someone else, it could be little things like giving a tissue to a stranger with a sniffle. See Random Acts of Kindness post for ideas if your stuck.
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4. Let your legs hang free. Sit on a swing or a bridge somewhere high, sit quietly and let your legs dangle. You are immediately transported to your childhood, plus the feeling gives you an immediate sense of freedom.
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5. Buy yourself some flowers (yes men, you too!) and have them on clear display in your office or your room. Colour makes ALL the difference.


6. Jump on to Spotify and listen to Soul tracks there's some classic tracks there to get bopping to and their lyrics are predominantly clean.
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7. Do something brave/insanely stupid for 20 seconds. Its only 20 seconds out of your life and you never know what positive effects you could have on others and yourself.

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8. Exercise. Yeh I talk about it a lot, but why would I talk about it if it wasn't my life. I live it.

9. Laugh. If you have no funny friends get the Youtube comedian reel going- Stephen K Amos, Ross Noble, Carl Barron will start you off.

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10. Be spontaneous. I LOVE this...being spontaneous awakens your senses so much, it gives you excitement, makes you feel free and in control of the chance of new possibilities. Its even better if you know someone who is typically NOT spontaneous- give them a 'no get out' card so they have to be spontaneous, the reward/outcome is twice as good.
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11. Now..I know I said 10 but this is more so an extension of 10...get off the beaten track. Everyone has been to the popular places. Boring. Get brave, go different places, try different things and even just drive somewhere and see where you end up when you go (just take enough fuel)- it feels great. Worst case scenario you end up on a highway, its dark as and you end up having a superb conversation whilst checking out some awesome tawny mouth owls (true story).

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Day 13- Monday's public apology

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Hello all, I hope you are having a grand day. Today the #everydayinmay challenge is a public apology. So here goes...

I apologise that when you woke up this morning you had to go to work & I had a day off and that I in that statement alone have made you want to stab me in the eye with a sharp fork. I know you're not a violent person, you just don't like Mondays. Sorry that I represent what your Monday could be...chilled relaxation with a book, a kickboxing lesson, singing and shopping followed by 2 naps simply because I can. I will endeavour to hide my 'day off' so that you feel more capable of dealing with Mondayitis. I will also ensure that on the Monday that I do work I do not overdo the Mondayitis conversations.

Yours Sincerely,

Blogger Jules :)

Sunday 12 May 2013

Day 12 #everydayinmay

Hello peoples! Today, I am writing about what I miss, who I miss or a place I miss. This is simple:

INDEPENDENCE

TRAVEL

They are intertwined. When I lived in London I woke up and walked around somedays in complete bewilderment that I had the courage to move to another country on my own knowing no one when I did it and at Christmas time. I loved that with travel I became a better person with more well rounded ideas, rich knowledge and worldwide awareness of differing cultures. To me that's important & I crave it more than chocolate during sooky mood time when I don't have a boyfriend.

Independence- that comes about because I'm living with my parents to save for more travel. It's definitely not ideal but I have a goal in mind and that's what I'm focussing on. So I guess I just have to suck it up and deal with that for a bit, but that's life!

Anyways, I'm off for now, but you'll be hearing from me soon! Have a great Saturday, no matter where you are and make sure you tell me if you are a Every Day in May challenger too! I want to follow you!

Bon Voyage xo

Happy Mother's Day!

First and foremost I must say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all those mummy bloggers out there! I think its so inspiring that you get the time to blog, network and raise children. For those who are not, I hope EVERYONE has a fabulous day with their mother or talking to their mother on this very special day.

Being a mother is such a huge job, right from the start there is so much to consider and then mum's keep it up all throughout our years. This year, like every other year I have to say thanks to my mother, Christine.

She's one lovely lady. If you could spot a women in a room just helping people because she could it would be my mum. She doesn't demand recognition for what she does and it speaks so clearly with the relationships she has with others. Mum hasn't always had it easy with family and with 'friends' but she has always stuck true to who she is and I'm proud of that. I'm super proud of her for breaking the mould she was worried to perpetuate with us as well (from how her Mum was with her); that's one hard task.

Today, there's plenty going on for me, I'm starting off by gifts with mum (once she wakes), then I'm off to support a friend who is running 8km run for a breast cancer charity, followed by a surprise lunch and the best gift yet..good quality time. So speaking of that...best be going.

Enjoy the special moments today. Till next time (day 13 haha)...

Jules :)

Saturday 11 May 2013

Day 11- A sell

I gotta say I feel quite uneasy about today's post since its not overly my style. Just in case your not sure what I'm writing about, as part of the #everydayinmay challenge for writing Day 11 is to sell yourself in 10 words or less, so here goes...

motivated

funny

pretty

adventurous

kind

stubborn (clearly not a good trait always but it's best just to recognise it & be aware of it)

down to earth

The days go by...

Well it's the weekend already and I'm looking forward to putting up my feet after a well earned few days rest. Before I can thought, here's the posts for #everydayinmay challenge. I hope you are enjoying it so far. Is anyone else out there doing it?

Day 8- Come sit on my couch...its 'give some advice' day

I've learnt so many things so far in my life and I'm looking forward to learning more as I see more of the world, met more people and learn more about myself. For now though here's what I've got...
-Every moment, everyone is a gift. They are selectively chosen to be part of your life and they all play a role, minor or major they are all significant.
- Things ALWAYS happen for a reason. We don’t have to understand why, but always trust in the knowledge that it’s shaping us towards better things.
Life has hardships and they’ll hurt, tear down your emotions, break down yourself and make you want to give up but they’ll be what you remember most as the things that made you ‘you.’
- Love is something that we are gifted to receive and enjoy. It presents itself in the form of one time encounters with strangers, family, special loved ones, friends, our pets and most of all through everyday grace we seemed baffled at times to receive. It never tears us down or makes us feel small.
- No one is better than the next. We all need each other- hardship teaches us our own humanity.
- People will always surprise you, pleasantly. Never stop believing in that.
Focusing on one thing always never gets you anywhere; invest time in several interests and places for the most fulfilment.
You can do anything you want. No one is stopping you, you just need to get off your gluteals and do it! After all regret is only your friend, not your partner’s/parents’. 
-  The world is your oyster, you are missing out ENTIRELY if you do not go and see it. It will broaden your horizons and your mind. Plus if you have lost love for something travel always gets zest back.

Day 9- A moment in time
Photo: 5am...when the day begins #everydayinmay
The moment in time that I am sharing with you for day 9 is actually a moment in time that is repeated each day, kind of like my groundhog moment if you like. It's where I get in the car at 5am, hit the gym, the pool or both for a couple of solid hours of exercise. Sets my day up just perfect. :)

Day 10- A highly embarrassing moment

In my second year of University I began on journey towards skinny-dom by indulging myself in the ever so tasty fruit and vegetable diet. For 6weeks fruit and vegetables was all you were allowed to eat. At week 7, 2 glasses of red wine a week, 2 serves of fish and 2 serves of bread were introduced. That was like gold; the previous weeks left me hungry, tired and throwing down supplements just to keep my body going. One night on campus college mates were having a party, I got excited at the prospect of enjoying a glass of wine though my University mind took over. You see, I thought it would be far more logical to buy a cask of wine as opposed to a bottle because I would be saving money..go figure what I was thinking there.

Needless to say when the game of Kings began and I arrived to the party in a Hollywood taped shirt with no back it all took a surprising and embarrassing twist. I decided at one point it would be a great idea to join my friends who were dancing on their tables and chairs, 'cept I couldn't quite figure out why all of a sudden everyone was staring at me and no one was talking. (You can probably fill in the gaps). It wasn't until my lovely friend Ben came along, swept me up and took me away and gave me a shirt that it all clicked.

As for me I'm glad it happened after a couple of wines (you turn cadbury when you haven't had a sip of anything other than water, milk and 1 glass of pure juice a day!) and without my knowledge because there's NO way I'd do anything like that by my own choosing. Hahahaha. Ahh old days.

Wednesday 8 May 2013

Day 7- What are you afraid of #everydayinmay

Being afraid or fearful of something is a horrid feeling. People have a whole range of different fears. My fears aren't different to anyone else's I have some serious fears & some stupid fears. I could go on about them for ages but I'd rather talk about this question....

'What are you really afraid of?'

When we think of fears (ending up alone, dying and loved ones not knowing how much you cared for them, never having kids, losing an eye from a magpie or getting a lumpy face from a moth attack) there is always something irrational about fears. Despite that, fears are our own. We own them. To me that is MAGIC.

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This means, fears can be unlocked, removed, banished even. And when fear truly goes you leave that question begging, 'What are you afraid of?'

Growing up & losing my best friend, my uncle in the same year made me so scared of death (most people's biggest fear I daresay) but through it all I learnt a GREAT deal about LIVING. Fear DOESN'T allow you to LIVE. It STOPS you from doing things, which means only YOU can blame yourself for not experiencing something you desired. FEAR didn't force you, you chose to listen to your 'inabilities' as opposed to ABILITIES!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not about to hang out with 50 magpies in swooping season or become the sole light beacon for moths of my town to prove I'm fearless but I will still eat outside, walk outside in Spring (even if that means I'm ready to throw myself to the ground for half the day crying my eyes out).

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NOTE: This picture is from a book called 'irrational fears'- why thank you! hrmm. :p

It's not something I generally talk about but I feel its significant to this topic so I'm going to go there. 3 days before my best friend died (I was 14) we were looking through the Women's Day magazine, it was an extended edition, we decided it would be fun to deface some of the images as we went through the magazines...immature right? Anyway, at one point we got to a picture of a plane crash. Kym stopped immediately as did I, she said "That's really sad, but at least it happened quickly. I can't imagine how the family would feel." Kym then preceded to tell me that if anything like this ever happened to her she'd want sunflowers at her funeral and Celine Dion's 'That's the way it is' playing..the song she used to sing crazily each morning. She said she wanted people to wear bright colours to her funeral because she didn't want it to be a sad affair, the notion of people crying about her, she thought 'sucked'.

3 days later Kym died in a car accident, she was 15years old. I was rocked to the core, I couldn't speak. It took a very long time to come to terms with the weekend we had spent together before she passed away and what she had said that day. What was remarkable though, was that I never said anything to her family, but she had all her wishes on her funeral day; like the conversations had been had. It was amazing.

Like I said it took me a long time to figure a lot of that out and to not be scared of death and it was easy to be cranky with a God I thought was a 'good dude' but I hadn't accounted for the fact that life just...happens. It is how it is. In all of that craziness, I couldn't not have HOPE...and to me HOPE is the acid that attacks FEAR.

I hope you've enjoyed the read....Day 8 is next...

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I love a good challenge! #everydayinmay bonanza!

What's one way you challenge yourself during a challenge? That's it! By not completing posts on time and making an EPIC challenge! Lots in store for you today. I hope you enjoy. Ps: Day 7 & 8 is on its way after work today in their own separate posts because I WILL get back on track to individual posts! Enjoy xo

Day 4- Favourite Quote

Asking a writer what your favourite quote is, is like asking a single woman to pick the best bodied AFL footballer in the league, your gonna end up with ooh and ahhs but really so many are equally delicious. So today I share a plethora of my favs; I think you'll find a common theme. Can you guess it?
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Day 5- Admiration Station

You may have spotted this woman before, she has stellar blue eyes with particles of green, a pixie blonde haircut and a fearless attitude. A baby won't stop here from achieving everything at once, no no no. She's the supermama from down under, fellow blogger Bettina Rae from Little Old Souls.



Creative designer, blogger, sewer, HTML guru, group coordinator, events manager, teacher, master & last but not least mother and great personal friend. What she does is inspiring, her attitude is inspiring. Being a stress head it's lovely to have a friend who is a cucumber. Cool, calm & collected yet a little crazier than you at times. Bettina will burn herself to the ground for her friends and family before she's realised her health is gone; completely selfless & certainly a blogger to look up to. If you haven't checked her work out, purchased her good or asked to join her group for Aussie Bloggers what are you doing? Seriously.


Day 6- What am I?

I sing in cars, kitchens and bathrooms. I fill their whole spaces with melodious tunes, sometimes their high, sometimes their low, sometimes their ridiculous too.

I sit around reading faces, watching bodies and watching spaces; listening for their stories and listening for their tunes; they all create their own stories for you.

I write in books and napkins too, anywhere, anything I can find I will use.

I'm not typically a poet so ill break now to say... Aside from singing and writing, Ill go exercising & make sure I have quiet time sometime during my day. But basically if I had another title other than what my quals & degree give me, I wish that it says that I infect others with a little HAPPY.

-ps: no intention for rhyme there it just happened, I'm actually pretty terrible at it so apologise for the hilariously appalling attempt.

For Day 7 & 8...stay tuned!



Monday 6 May 2013

If life was a melody...


Do ever wonder what you life would sound like if it was a melody? Would it be the calming strum of an acoustic guitar, the banging of drums, or a combination of instruments that build up over the bridge of a song, then intricately tied together with the sweet ticklings of violin strings?



Some days life seems like the drum kit made out of saucepans eloquently provided by my mother. At the time I really thought she wanted to hear all the clanging, clashing and wooden spoon plonking but actually now I'm convinced perhaps the saucepan drum kit was a metaphor for the insanity she felt in her mind when we spoke, argued or couldn't figure out what to do. 'Bash those pans together kids and for goodness sakes shut up' I daresay was a phrase that has entered parents' minds a few times. I've even employed it in my workplace before, the old 'make noise but don't talk' business. Clever aren't we?



Removed from the chaos and nestled up into a great book, drizzly weather & a delicious woollen snood delicious folk music awakens the senses, whispering quietly in the ear and reminding you that music will over take your mind if you let it. Well it does for me anyhow. The fantastic ability it has to change your mood is astounding, its the same with words. A phrase once written well can affect your thinking profoundly, the length need not matter. Take these lyrics for example, 'Don't worry be happy now.' One of the simplest songs ever, great lyrics popped with a hip go-lucky tune and you've got the ability to make anyone smile. Clever. On a side note...



Ever been in the car and suddenly your not only singing but orchestrating to the 'occupants' of the car the highs and lows of the song's melody? So entranced the volume only makes it better, your heart encapsulates the song and your transported to some place else; meanwhile the passes by see you waving your hands and your mouth wide open singing so seriously as if someone cared what you were doing. It is a little embarrassing but that kind of music I love.



I remember going to work one day and a child saying to me, 'Miss I saw you travelling and your mouth was open, it was like you were yelling but no one was in the car, what's that about?' Hmm yes well embarrassing to say the least, but at least I was doing it proudly I guess....

I adore music. I does take me on a journey, aside from writing regularly, singing is one thing that makes me feel truly sane; removes the craziness of any day and levels me back down to happy Jules no matter the mood in seconds. I just love it.

What do you love?