Truth

"The best among us are not more gifted than the rest. They just take little steps each day as they march towards their biggest life. And the days slip into weeks, the weeks into months and before they know it, they arrive at a place called Extraordinary."
- Robin Sharma, The Greatness Guide.

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Remember When...

I was at Bondi in June 2006 for some MASSIVE surf. I havent seen it like that since this day.

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Remember When....

...I was in the Cinque Terre, Italy in October 2006.

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Remember When....

Hearing that its snowing like heck in London reminds me of the London part of our holiday last year.


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Firework - Katy Perry

http://www.lacrosseplayground.com/post/laxtrack-firework-djhemi-remix-katy-perry/15812

This song seems to be my anthem at the moment and it has a great video clip (see it here). It reminds me of my time in Prague, with the Boy, back in January 2010.

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2010/katy-perry-firework/

Firework

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
Six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you?

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

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More Craft

Some more great Christmas present ideas include these fantastic wooden objects that you build from scratch. You can find them in your local $2 bargain store or for better quality ones, to your craft store. They are in decently sized pieces, you following the numbered instructions and then you can paint them however you wish.

I did the windmill...

But some friends did this Lion and coloured it by using coffee and tea stain (which I thought was a pretty awesome idea!)

Great fun to be had!

Christmas Craft - Prick and Stitch

This year my christmas cards are going to be all hand made, so here are some examples of what I am going to make them extra exciting!

These ideas come from http://prickandstictch.ismycraft.com and also from http://www.stitchingcards.com.

All you need is some nice card paper, some glittery thread and a needle...and bingo! A lovely Christmas Card for your loved ones to enjoy.

You can do an angel....

You can do candles and holly....

I chose to do one Candle...

And then you stick extra Merry Christmas stickers on it to make it the perfect Christmas Card!

Its not difficult at all and it doesnt take long.

Remember When...

....we've already had this Remember When, but it was such a good memory (and I found another funny photos from it) that it counts as another Remember When...

...when we went on an awesome photography trip to Abungun, Bali in Indonesia. It still remains one of my most memorable trips in Asia for so many reasons.

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Remember When....

.... I picked out the colour scheme for my room in Singapore... (thanks to Carli for still looking after my stuff... I'm coming your way, I promise!!!)

....and I was eating Beef Noodle Soup (SGD3..bargain) just down the street and sipping my 100 Plus drink and gross Asian coffee....

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Vast Land

So this was pretty much the landscape that I looked at for six days, going 25 km per hour behind 24 bicycles. Its very Australian, but it got very boring. I expect to see a lot more of this scenery when I travel in the next couple of weeks....but also... the Australian Desert!

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The Outrigger Twin Town Resort, Coolangatta

Well, you all know that I have a love of nice hotels, and so of course I took the time to quickly photograph the Outrigger Twin Towns Resort in Coolangatta while I was in Coolangatta for the Charity Bike Ride. Its a 4* (I'm such a snob) so there were a few things that were missing that I love about the 5* hotels I've stayed in over the last 2 years (reminder: can't afford to now! ha ha), but nonetheless, it was a lovely hotel and it was worth photographing.

Decor which was quite lovely. I loved the dark wood, apple red and lime green combination. I didnt take a photo of it but opposite to the bed was a sitting area where there was a nice dark brown lounge suite, dark wooded table and bit flat screen TV (why didnt I take photos of that?).

Again, liked the dark wood/red/green combo.

The annoying part about it all was that I had the view of the back end and not of the beach :(

My only complaint (not that i was going to complain because the Outrigger gave us a massive discount because of the Charity Ride - thanks Outrigger!).

The Outrigger from the Beach (I think its the Outrigger on the left).

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My Journey...

So in under three weeks, I am leaving and I dont know when I'll be back. I love saying that. I love saying that I don't know where my travels are going to take me, who they are going to take me to, howI will find my way but there is something so wonderfully exciting waiting around the corner for me and I cannot wait to share it all with you via this journey.

I fly to Alice Springs and then I travel around the area of a couple of weeks before taking the famous Ghan railway up to Darwin, where the world will meet me. Will I decide to take a flight up to Indonesia and further up, or will I stay in Darwin and travel across to Cairns? Who knows. I don't know. I don't know where I am going to head and this is the exciting part about what I am going to do. This was what I had planned to do eleven months ago but couldn't because I was unwell. Now, I have the opportunity to do what i had planned - to put the backpack on and let the world take me away.... far away....

Banalasta - A Visit One Afternoon

One of the other stops we had while on the ride was at the Banalasta Visitor Centre, which provided some nice warmth, tea and coffee for the riders. The Banalasta, Blickling Estate and World Forest 2000 Visitor Centre is located on the 3000ha Banalasta plantation in Bendemeer, on the New England Tablelands of NSW.

While everyone was rugging up, however, I was outdoors, looking around the lavender and eucalyptus plantations and my favourite part - the rusty old farm machinery.

Inside, there was the opportunity to try or buy their extensive range of home grown certified organic eucalyptus and lavender oil based health and skin care products. I mananged to nab a few different types of creams for some presents and some for myself.

A few of the riders took the opportunity to buy some wines.

Pots and Pots of Body Butter!

My favourite blend, Rosemary and Lemon.

All of the different eucalyptus and lavender blends, all to be enjoyed!

The good old Lavendar Bags...

Strange Wrought Iron Animals

An array of farmyard machinery!

The trusty rusty old Bedford.

The different types of lavender (I didnt know there were different types!)

If you are out, on your way to Armidale, New South Wales, a stop off at the Banalasta Visitor Centre is a must.

http://www.banalasta.com.au/Visitor-Centre-sp-5.html

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Murrurundi - A Tidy Town...and A Cute Cottage

While we were on our way up to Brisbane in the recent 1200kms ride, we were forced to stop off at a tiny little town called Murrurundi because of a severe weather front. The town folk were kind enough to put on some sandwiches (and they would have put on coffee and tea but the power was out due to the massive storm) and they also opened up "Pioneer Cottage", their pride and joy, their oldest building in the town.

By English and European standards, our history anywhere in Australia really isn't that "historic". We are only a relatively newly founded country, dating only back to 1788. This cottage was "born" in 1889.

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The front door, reminding everyone of its age!

In 1998, the community rallied together to raise funds to "rebuild" Pioneer Cottage because it was heading towards ruin. So, they agreed to it being pulled down from its original location, transported and then rearranged in the main street of town near the town's Local Information Centre. They were able to rebuild the cottage with almost all of its original parts, except for the odd floorboard or structural beam. They also added a few structural parts to ensure it lasts another couple of hundred years.

Photos of it being transported and rebuilt. What a fantastic community initiative, given Murrurundi only has about 1200 people in its community. It looks like everyone was invoved and when speaking with the locals, you could tell everyone was so proud of their efforts.

The town is as equally proud of its award as Overall Tidy Town Award 2009 Winner of the Keep Australia Beautiful Tidy Town Awards. A well deserved win, I say.

Inside the village, they have kept as many remnants as possible.

Back in the day, lanterns and candles were all they had. Now, of course, they replaced the candle with a light bulb.

Old books from the children's schooling (the town was so remote, children were home schooled, I expect).

The bedroom, with its original lace work and crocheted work. You can imagine how hard it would have been, doing that kind of intricate work by candlelight!

Old Rocking Chair and Doll...

Reminders of the Past.

Another picture of the bedroom....

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We featured in the local news:

http://upperhunter.local-e.nsw.gov.au/news/pages/6152.html