Winter Highlights

I have to say that at this time of year in NZ.......freezing winter...........where we don't have central heating throughout our houses and we can't sit at the window and watch snowflakes falling outside,

that i miss USA and YVR very much.  Over there winter is bareable because it's so beautiful, and inside we are always kept warm.

So i'm trying to think of the things in NZ during winter that i am grateful for and to keep with tradition, i have come up with a list (and maybe a few snapshots i found online).....

- my electric blanket
- cappucino's/coffee's
- cinnamon tea
- a cup of chai tea
- a cup of wildberry herbal tea with a slice of orange in it
- woolen scarves
- woolen sweaters
- boots
- tina's mexican bean dish
- a good novel - "the memory keeper's daughter" by kim edwards (going to bed early to read because it's too cold to stay up)
- our heat pump in our lounge that mostly heats up our whole downstairs living areas
- ug boot slippers
- my woolen leg warmers
- my porcelain take-away mug for hot coffee on-the-go in the mornings
- my puffer jacket
- granny blankets
- thermals
- mittens
- big open fireplaces........at friend's places
- vegetable soup
- comfy sofa chairs

90 Years Later

My family and all my extended family celebrated my lovely nana's 90th birthday in the weekend.

She is the last grandparent I have left and she is still as strong as anything.

I didn't quite realise till now how cool it is that she has lived 90years of life.  Not many really make it to 90 these days......

but I am glad my nana has.

We all had such a good time - catching up with all my cousins I don't get to see often and honouring a lady that many of us know as either our nana/mom/sister/great-nana.

I wonder all she has seen in her lifetime and all she has watched change and progress...........it must be pretty insane.

But she is fabulous.........and I am blessed to have seen her make it to 90............here's to another 10years!!!

Happy Birthday Nana. xxxx

dusk sky-lovin

coffee+water = all you need.

can't get enough of a good ole' cappucino. #addicted

amazing Kiwi Designer

the below link is just one of my fav numbers from the http://www.piaboutique.com/ website........such a talented, young Kiwi designer! (she also happens to be like a little sissy to me, so i am super proud of her!!) check her out!

love this dress! - http://www.piaboutique.com/product/pink-kaleidoscope

some of my snaps from Melbourne

as you can see i was a little obsessed with the alleyways right in the heart of Melbourne..... such a creative, artistic city.  I just loved it.

words from a wise judge....

my job as a Residential Youth Worker with CYF teenagers for the last 9months has been something of an emotional rollercoaster.

Every day different, every day forcing you to leave behind the happenings of the day before.

Every day forcing you to start fresh and squashing down those feelings that are still waiting to be acknowledged from previous work days.

I have shed many tears and let out many of my loud laughs over the last 3/4 of a year working with these kids. 

I have had unimaginable words (of the explicit type) spat at me in ways that are hard to let go, I have had a few 'physical encounters' and yet I have also had many, many special moments. 

It's those moments that I choose to remember most. 

These kids keep me up at night as I ponder the day I've had with them, they distract me on the days I have off, and they always remind me of the struggle to love and be loved.  The battle to be important and noticed.

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Today I came across this article that I so wish more of our kids would not just hear, but listen to.  Words for them to not beat them down but lift them up, words to make them strive for more, to work hard, to accomplish their dreams. To realise their potential.  To realise they are needed.

"Northland College (NZ) principal Jahn Tapene has offered the following words from a judge who regularly deals with youth........... "Always we hear the cry from teenagers 'What can we do, where can we go?' .........My answer is, "Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons, and after you've finished, read a book.  Your town does not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun.  The world does not owe you a living, you owe the world something.  You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in poverty or sick and lonely again."  In other words, grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone, not a wishbone.  Start behaving like a responsible person.  You are important and you are needed.  It's too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday.  Someday is now and that somebody is you!". 

welcoming myself back to the blogging world

It's been too long since i last blogged, hoping to get back into the habit of it over the coming months.  There has been a lot going on in my life and things happening that i'd love to process as i blog about them.

here's to making a comeback................or something...........