Thankful, 2012

This week, if I were still living in the US I would have been celebrating Thanksgiving. During the couple of years I did live there I was lucky enough to have Thanksgiving fall on my birthday and really got to see how well North Americans know how to celebrate the good stuff, those long harsh winters become so much more tolerable with all those festivals and events.

 Here in Australia we are on the brink of Summer and tomorrow it's my birthday. Last birthday I lost track and thought I was turning 33... Maths has never been on of my strengths and the years all seemed to blur into one... when my mother reliably informed me (she was there at the event after all) that I was only 32 I felt like I had gained a bonus year! 

And this year really has been a bonus. My best so far. The biggest blessing. 

Usually I get so excited about birthdays, I'm one of 5 kids so as you can imagine my Mother didn't have a whole lot of time for individual attention. Birthdays were the days that we got to shine, got to be celebrated and cherished. This year I'm feeling, for the first time ever, fairly ambivalent, there's no pressure to make it a special day and I know why... this year there's no need to be celebrated on my birthday because for the past 366 days of this year I have been celebrated every day of the year and I have my wonderful Mr Mark to thank for that.

So I think it's only fitting that I make this birthday post about the things I'm thankful for, because there are plenty of them! 

First, and most importantly is my Mr Mark, as I have told you before he's awesome. I couldn't even begin to try to tell you how awesome he is so lets just leave it at that... I know, I'm a mush-head.

I'm thankful for another year. I know now not to take my well-being and health for granted and cherish every extra year I get.

I'm thankful for my amazing friends. I love you, thanks for loving me too.

I'm thankful for my creative talent, it makes me so happy and enriches my life, every day in so many ways.

I'm thankful for living in a country that is not only extraordinarily beautiful but also one which respects my right live a peaceful life, my civil liberties and human rights. 

I'm one very lucky lady and this birthday I'm sending my love and thoughts to those less fortunate. With so much to be thankful for it's the least I should be doing.

Here's wishing you many more years to be thankful for too.

XXX Steph

4 Simple Goals, an update

About a month ago I shared with you my '4 simple goals', aimed to be achievable, enriching, process focused and achieved before the end of 2012. My goals were as follows....

1. Celebrate life and my achievements' of the last 12 months.
2. Make a book.
3. Take more photographs of people.
4. Enjoy growing things.

It's now almost a month later so I thought I would give you a little update on how I have been going so far, some goals have been whizzing along nicely, some are in progress and some well... have come to an absolute standstill. Oops.

To start with the positive I have been a MANIAC in the garden, building raised beds, raising seedlings and potting up perennials. This month has been a frenzy of gardening activity. With both veggies and flowers on the go I'm really looking forward to the summer months where I will get to reap the rewards of all this hard work. I have been so absorbed in this process that I have been entirely remiss in blogging. Another 'oops'. 
But never fear, my creative juices have been flowing like crazy even though I haven't been sharing it here and goal 4 is seriously ticked off the list, I even got myself an awesome plant for my desk,a 70's classic the 'Monstera Deliciosa'. Hells yeah, what a name.

Goal 2 has been coming along nicely too, my Blurb book is nearly complete and just a few tweaks in the layout it will be good to go. A friend also mentioned that she made herself a Blurb/Instagram book, tapping directly into your Instagram account to upload photos it sounds as easy as pie and something I'm keen to try out. 

Goal 1 is a biggie as it's more about a frame of mind than anything else, I have made a good start by helping one of my closest friends celebrate her birthday. It's been a big year for Kim and it's wonderful to see her so happy and loving life. How cute is this idea of dancing with strings of lights! Love it!

It also helps that October holds lots of things to celebrate including my man and I having a wonderful first 12 months together and my 7th Aussie-versary... I can't believe it's been so long since I first arrived in Australia! Worth celebrating don't you think!?

So here's where I'm not doing so well, goal number 3 has been a total flop... not only am I not taking more pics of people but I have been hardly taking any photos at all! I'm not sure what that's about, my camera is normally attached to me like an extra appendage! Perhaps it's sightseers fatigue after our trip overseas, or I'm just being lens-lazy! Either way I'm going to bust out that SLR asap and get inspired again, it's the only goal to go so I have no excuse! 

Have you any simple goals on the go?
X Steph