"Imagine someone you admire suddenly found themselves in your situation. What would they love about it? What would they change immediately?" Steve Pavlina.
Guess that all depends on who you admire.....
Saturday, February 21, 2009
To think about
Guess that all depends on who you admire.....
Saturday, February 07, 2009
25 things about me
I wrote this for my Facebook account, so I am cheating and using it here as well:
1. I secretly throw out tupperware containers if the leftovers inside have become too gross to touch.
2. I once went on a train trip to Cunnamulla for a break. Overnight trip there, hopped out for lunch at the local pub - then straight back on the train to Toowoomba.
3. Similarly, I once used (my mother in law's) frequent flyer points to fly first class from Brisbane to Cairns for lunch - flying back the same day. Sadly the restaurant we flew there for happened to be closed for lunch. Ah well, champagne on the runway isn't too hard to take. Afterwards, my father-in-law chided his dear wife for not thinking of doing that themselves!
4. I don't remember anything at all from my childhood up to the age of seven, when we arrived in Australia from Holland. My first impression of Brisbane airport: stinking hot. It was boxing day 1979 and there were no such luxuries as sky bridges - only traipsing across the endless tarmac loaded down with bags.
5. I love shotgun tim-tams, especially if I'm not quite quick enough and it makes a gooey chocolate mess all over my fingers. Yummmmmmmmmm.
6. I think there is no sweeter sound in the world than the laughter of my kids. This holds true even if I am saddled up with extra washing as a result.
7. One day I want to set up my ultimate dream bookshop. See http://mionysmum.blogspot.com/2007/09/my-dream-bookshop.html
8. I wish nurses still wore those starched white caps and little blue shoulder capes.
9. I have scuba-dived with sharks. Both in controlled situations and in the open ocean.
10. I loathe type 1 diabetes with a passion.
11. I have (counts on fingers) six email accounts. Wow, that's more than I realised. Blushes.
12. My most embarrassing t-shirt says < body > on the front, and < /body > on the back. It's utterly geeky and I love it.
13. I firmly believe that the best way to cook is with music, a glass of wine, and lots of uninterrupted time.
14. I flirt with Zen; or perhaps Zen flirts with me.
15. I dislike any form of exercise that makes me hot and sweaty. Give me yoga, bush walking or ocean-gazing any time.
16. I am not really "at home" until I have planted herbs in the garden. The smell of herbs and spices is one of the heady joys of life.
17. I own a small, hand painted glass that one of my aunts *stole* for me from a moroccan restaurant in Paris. Paris also happens to be my favourite city in the world - for now. I am open to changing my mind about that based on future travel. I LOVE flying!
18. I can play "Spanish Romance" on guitar.
19. I like good old-fashioned board games more than computer games: monopoly, go, scrabble, cluedo, yahtzee, canasta, sjoelen (shuffleboard), chess or mancala, anyone?
20. Having a child with cerebral palsy is damn hard going most of the time. It's also made me a better person and teaches me so much about life, love and laughter. Two sides of the same coin - makes me furious, makes me proud. Complex and exhausting and challenging and rewarding. A lot like having a child without cerebral palsy, except that some jobs never stop (changing nappies) and he just keeps on getting harder to lift.
21. If I could choose to be any animal at all it would be a cat.
22. I have discovered that some things sound nicer than they actually are, which is why I don't think I'll go dancing naked in the moonlight anytime soon. There are exceptions, however - playing in the rain is one!
23. I've learned that it's nice to fall asleep holding hands with your lover.
24. I'm wondering if anyone would notice if I skipped a couple of numbers so I don't actually have to come up with 25 things.
25. My perfect day would include, but not be limited to: waking up to the smell of coffee; finding a long-coveted book in a poky little bookstore; eating pasta and drinking red wine; curling up with a really good book; watching a movie that makes me cry; looking out over the ocean and thinking large thoughts; listening to Sarah McLachlan singing love songs; and dot, dot, dot. (think "Mamma Mia").
1. I secretly throw out tupperware containers if the leftovers inside have become too gross to touch.
2. I once went on a train trip to Cunnamulla for a break. Overnight trip there, hopped out for lunch at the local pub - then straight back on the train to Toowoomba.
3. Similarly, I once used (my mother in law's) frequent flyer points to fly first class from Brisbane to Cairns for lunch - flying back the same day. Sadly the restaurant we flew there for happened to be closed for lunch. Ah well, champagne on the runway isn't too hard to take. Afterwards, my father-in-law chided his dear wife for not thinking of doing that themselves!
4. I don't remember anything at all from my childhood up to the age of seven, when we arrived in Australia from Holland. My first impression of Brisbane airport: stinking hot. It was boxing day 1979 and there were no such luxuries as sky bridges - only traipsing across the endless tarmac loaded down with bags.
5. I love shotgun tim-tams, especially if I'm not quite quick enough and it makes a gooey chocolate mess all over my fingers. Yummmmmmmmmm.
6. I think there is no sweeter sound in the world than the laughter of my kids. This holds true even if I am saddled up with extra washing as a result.
7. One day I want to set up my ultimate dream bookshop. See http://mionysmum.blogspot.com/2007/09/my-dream-bookshop.html
8. I wish nurses still wore those starched white caps and little blue shoulder capes.
9. I have scuba-dived with sharks. Both in controlled situations and in the open ocean.
10. I loathe type 1 diabetes with a passion.
11. I have (counts on fingers) six email accounts. Wow, that's more than I realised. Blushes.
12. My most embarrassing t-shirt says < body > on the front, and < /body > on the back. It's utterly geeky and I love it.
13. I firmly believe that the best way to cook is with music, a glass of wine, and lots of uninterrupted time.
14. I flirt with Zen; or perhaps Zen flirts with me.
15. I dislike any form of exercise that makes me hot and sweaty. Give me yoga, bush walking or ocean-gazing any time.
16. I am not really "at home" until I have planted herbs in the garden. The smell of herbs and spices is one of the heady joys of life.
17. I own a small, hand painted glass that one of my aunts *stole* for me from a moroccan restaurant in Paris. Paris also happens to be my favourite city in the world - for now. I am open to changing my mind about that based on future travel. I LOVE flying!
18. I can play "Spanish Romance" on guitar.
19. I like good old-fashioned board games more than computer games: monopoly, go, scrabble, cluedo, yahtzee, canasta, sjoelen (shuffleboard), chess or mancala, anyone?
20. Having a child with cerebral palsy is damn hard going most of the time. It's also made me a better person and teaches me so much about life, love and laughter. Two sides of the same coin - makes me furious, makes me proud. Complex and exhausting and challenging and rewarding. A lot like having a child without cerebral palsy, except that some jobs never stop (changing nappies) and he just keeps on getting harder to lift.
21. If I could choose to be any animal at all it would be a cat.
22. I have discovered that some things sound nicer than they actually are, which is why I don't think I'll go dancing naked in the moonlight anytime soon. There are exceptions, however - playing in the rain is one!
23. I've learned that it's nice to fall asleep holding hands with your lover.
24. I'm wondering if anyone would notice if I skipped a couple of numbers so I don't actually have to come up with 25 things.
25. My perfect day would include, but not be limited to: waking up to the smell of coffee; finding a long-coveted book in a poky little bookstore; eating pasta and drinking red wine; curling up with a really good book; watching a movie that makes me cry; looking out over the ocean and thinking large thoughts; listening to Sarah McLachlan singing love songs; and dot, dot, dot. (think "Mamma Mia").
Friday, February 06, 2009
Why I gave up on War and Peace
I tried to read War and Peace, I really did try. I got through 208 pages of the 696, which is not a bad effort. If anyone reading this has gotten further along, I'd love to hear how you managed it. Anna Karenina was not hard to read, so why have I conceded defeat in W&P? Surely classics are classics for some enduring reason.... the thing is I fail to see the point in this case. Maybe I didn't get to the "good part" yet - but if I have to work this hard at it, I prefer to move on.Before giving up, I read the wiki article about W&P, searching for a reason to keep going. Apparently Tolstoy broke numerous conventions when he wrote it, making it significant due to style rather than content. I am no literary critic - I read for pleasure, to widen my horizons, to gain insight into other ways of being in the world. W&P certainly does manage to paint a picture of a culture and time I know next to nothing about. The thing is, I am simply not interested enough to wade through this one any longer... and the characters are so darn irritating! I admit this book has me beat - and that's a rare confession on my part.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Paul Smith
No doubt you've had numerous "inspirational" emails over the years, many of which I admit to sending merrily into my email trash. A recent one caught my eye (thanks LGG) and I decided to check if the story was true... skeptic that I am.After all, how could anyone create artwork using a typewriter? Not just any artwork, mind you, but stunning pictures. Even more amazing - the artist in question had cerebral palsy. To see more of his beautiful work and read about his life, click here. There are video clips as well, including one in which he jokes "I'm a self-made man, but I goofed". Truly inspiring.
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