#20 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for the beach - especially after spending an amazing, relaxing day there today.

 Bondi Beach, Australia

And...

possibly the closest thing to heaven on earth (and one of my dream homes!).

Bis Bald! 

#19 Gratitude

Today I am grateful to have access to food and clean water... especially when I am reminded that:

Every year, 15 million children die of hunger; 884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; 3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease; hunger is the world's number one health risk - It kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined... and there are more hungry people in the world than the combined populations of the USA, Canada and the European Union.

I know I take the food and water I have each day for granted... so while I am drinking my next glass of water or having something to eat, I'll think of those who aren't as fortunate as I am.

Bis Bald!

#18 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for the values and morals I've been taught by my mother and grandparents... as they have guided me in life and helped shape the person that I am. My mum and grandparents are a few people who have always inspired me to be a better person. I am not trying to present myself as a 'Mother Theresa' archetype and I am far from perfect, but for the most part, I am striving to be a good person every day of my life. My mother and grandparents have helped me to... see the importance of respecting and appreciating every person I meet; to not judge someone based on their appearance/religion/nationality etc.; to not stare at someone who may look a little different from you or I... as we are all the same - human beings. And most importantly, to be the best person I can possibly be each and every day. Those are only a few life values that have been passed onto me... for which I am truly and eternally grateful.

 

“Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” 

- Henry James

Bis Bald!

#17 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for my two lovely sisters. They mean the world to me!

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~ Isadora James

And seeing as the world's most famous sisters are visiting Sydney at the moment... (Who wouldn't know, right?!) I thought I'd include a photo of Khloè, Kourtney and Kim Kardashian too!

I know many people mock and/or laugh at those who indulge in reality television shows... but I am not ashamed to admit I've got sucked into watching and have enjoyed watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Actually... some E! channel addicts from my uni dorm got me interested in the show last year. I'm not a crazed fan to the point where I'd cry if I met them, they tweeted me or anything like that... Nor do I watch KUWTK marathons or own the DVDs... I don't want to have a booty like Kim, I don't aspire to be like any of them or dream of living their lives... I love living an ordinary life!
I do believe though that the Kardashian sisters project one important message - that family truly is everything!

Bis Bald!

P.S. Don't judge. (Ha!)

#16 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for the written word. There's nothing I love to do more than spending a whole day reading and getting completely lost in a book!

Confession: 'My Brown Bear Barney' was my 6 year old self's favourite picture book. I apparently borrowed it so often from my local library that when it became not so 'borrowable', it was given to me to keep!

Bis Bald!

#15 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for being healthy (most of the time!). Noone's life is ever perfect, but I feel blessed to have the life I've been given.

Bis Bald!

#14 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for my mobile phone... As ancient as it is, it is my communication lifeline and helps me keep in contact with my nearest and dearest.

I should probably thank Alexander Graham Bell for it too... Who's he? I still remember learning in primary school that he invented the first telephone in the 1870s... The telephone and mobile technology we have today wouldn't have evolved into what it is without Mr Bell's first model.

Oh iPhone 4S... How I love thee. And want thee.

Bis Bald!

#13 Gratitude

 Today I am also grateful for my freedom - the freedom to live freely... to be and express myself as I wish.

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.

- Winston Churchill

Bis Bald! 

#12 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for rainy days!

There's nothing better than snuggling up under your covers and watching your favourite films all day long (every once in a while!).

Bis Bald!

#11 Gratitude

 Today I am grateful for the Gilmore Girls... My ultimate favourite TV show.

I first started watching it in primary school... and haven't stopped watching episode after episode since. 

Bis Bald!

(Til next time)

#10 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for my beautiful felines.

'Crazy cat lady' stereotypes don't faze me... one. single. bit.

'Time spent with cats is never wasted.'

- Sigmund Freud

Bis Bald!

(Til next time)

#9 Gratitude

Today I am grateful to have a home sweet home... (Although I must admit, mine is nowhere near as awesome looking as this one below!)

Bis bald!

(Til next time)

#8 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for experiencing an education.

Around 72 million children in developing countries around the world do not have access to an education.

"Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom" - George Washington Carver

Bis bald!

(Til next time)

#7 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for my beautiful little sister, Christel.

She is so special to me... Not just as my sister, but as one of my best friends. I couldn't imagine life without her!

 I'll love her forever and always.

Bis bald!
(Til next time)

#6 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for my faith.

It has always given me hope in life and shaped me as a person.

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe... 

- Voltaire

Bis bald!

(Til next time)

#5 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for my cultural heritage and background (Serbian, German, Scottish). I know it's not something you hear people are appreciative or grateful of often, but it's something I've realised is really important in shaping who you are. I've lived the best of both cultural worlds. I've experienced the Australian way of life/culture from my paternal family... and also the rich, European, traditional culture of my mother and her family who migrated to Australia after World War II (from Yugoslavia [today's Serbia] and Germany).

And in honour of my cultural heritage, I thought I'd switch my parting message to reflect that!

Bis bald!

(Til next time)

#4 Gratitude

Today I am grateful to have the use of my arms and legs! Being able to walk and generally move is something we all easily forget about... I know I do!

À la prochaine foir...

(Til next time)

#3 Gratitude

Today (and actually pretty much every other day) I am grateful to have been blessed with such a beautiful mother.  My mum isn't just my mum. She's my best friend and noone knows me better than her!

Ich liebe Dich mit ganzem Herzen mein Schatzi. xxx

À la prochaine foir...

(Til next time)

#2 Gratitude

Today I am grateful for my beautiful MacBook Pro. For the last 2 days, it's been inactive (and so have I, quite frankly!). It's quite sad, I know. But what can I say? I love my Mac. . .  forever and always.

À la prochaine foir...

(Til next time)

#1 Gratitude

Today I am grateful that I am blessed with eye sight. I couldn't imagine not seeing the beauty in life.

À la prochaine foir...

(Til next time)

New life perspective.

Today I came across the true and courageous story of a young British woman, Katie Piper. I have found this woman to be such an inspiration. Katie, a former model and television presenter, was the
victim of an horrific acid attack in 2008. By acid attack, I mean sulfuric acid (a highly corrosive liquid) was thrown on her face. It's unbelievable to imagine that anyone could do that to someone and that someone could suffer so badly in such an unimaginable way.

Still beautiful in my eyes: Katie, before the attack (left) and Katie today (right)

Today Katie has committed herself to increasing awareness about burn victims. A documentary which followed Katie's incredibly difficult journey since the attack called 'Katie: My Beautiful Face' was aired in the UK on Channel 4. She has also released a best-selling autobiography and taken up a regular writing gig as a magazine columnist. However, the biggest commitment that Katie has taken up is creating her own charitable organisation called the Katie Piper Foundation.

Apart from being a huge inspiration to me, Katie's story has also been a massive wake-up call. I'm not one to fuss over my physical appearance constantly (I'm not one who wears make-up daily, for example) but there are times when I feel unhappy or dissatisfied with my looks - face, body, hair, whatever. But while I was watching Katie's documentary, I really felt ashamed of myself. How can I whinge or how dare I even think about whingeing about my face, my skin, my 'imperfections?' It just really made my 'short-comings' seem so pathetically insignificant.

Importantly, it's inspired me to appreciate my life more and what I have! So for the next month, I am going to try and commit to blogging about 30 things I am grateful for in my life whenever I can!

If you are interested in finding out more about Katie's foundation and her personal story, visit her website: www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk and also check out where you can purchase her book!

À la prochaine foir...

(Til next time)

The beginning of the end...

Unlike my last Sunday... today was not lazy! I decided to be studious and have started completing my second-last university assignment EVER! (that is before I graduate in my cap and gown in December). And it just 'hit' me: this is the beginning of the end. The beginning of my new journey in life as I enter the workforce and the real world as a journalist, but also the end of the life I've made for myself here in Central West New South Wales for the past 3 years... the end of university, living on-campus, seeing the people and friends I spend time with every day (among many things). It's just hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly, as it just seems that yesterday, I had packed my suitcase and made my way to a new, unfamiliar town for the whole university experience. It's weird ...to think about your different life chapters. Looking back on mine, all I can remember is wanting to be at university while I was in high school... only to be at uni and wish I was in the workforce... and to now be on the homestretch of finishing uni... and dreaming of being a 'fresher' or 'freshman' all over again. Well, kinda.. (Haha).

I'm happy though, with where I am in life right now... And I'm grateful for all the experiences and opportunities university life has given me. Not grateful, however, for all the assignments, stress, anxiety... (hahaha just joking!). All experiences, good and bad, have taught me something about myself and I've grown as a person because of them. I'm hopeful for the future and the road ahead - especially if it looks anything like the one below.

À la prochaine foir...

(Til next time)

Meeting the family...

Wanna meet my family? Sure, you do! (Well, I hope so). I thought it would be a good idea to introduce everybody to my nearest and dearest family members... *drum roll please*

Introducing the most gorgeous German Shepherd puppy to ever grace the planet... HEFNER! (Affectionately known as 'Hef'). I love him dearly. He can be the cheekiest boy, but no matter what he does, he still looks cute. Hefner loves to chew shoes, toilet rolls, DVDs, and socks. He also loves barking at our vacuum cleaner (Don't know why! Weird, much?!). But Hef's favourite game is chasing after our beautiful Himalayan cats, Stevie and Jimmy Choo...

And there they are...My lovely boys, Jimmy Choo (Left) and "Grandpa" Stevie (Right). They have completely different/opposite personalities from each other! Stevie is quite snobby (and rightly so, as he is from a distinguished line of Red Point Himalayans). He loves to strut his stuff around the house...But his favourite things to do mainly involve, sleep, sleep, sleep...and did I mention...more sleep?! Oh and eating dog food. He has a very big appetite (hence, his pot belly!). Never mind, "Big boy...You are beautiful!" as Mika would say. Moving on.. he doesn't really like cuddles...Unless, you're in the kitchen and he knows there is food (Sad that you're being used, but nonetheless, it's true). Jimmy Choo (a Seal Point Himalayan), on the otherhand, is very loving and affectionate... and has stalker tendencies. He follows you everywhere around the house, and I mean everywhere! (I'm talking shower/bathroom/toilet, etc). It is pretty sweet though, because he talks to you as he follows you around to let you know he's there (not that he needs to, because he is so gorgeous!).

So there you go... You've met my family. Wasn't that scary, surely! I love my little family members - and I wouldn't alter/change/imagine them different in any way at all. They are so, so precious to me.

(Above: Hef and I having some Photobooth fun! Isn't he sweet!?)

À la prochaine foir...

(Til next time)

Lazy Sundays & 'Kindred Spirits'

I love lazy Sundays... It's my favourite day of the week (besides Friday of course). Seeing as this is my first blog post, I thought I'd keep it pretty relaxed/do the usual 'what I did today' sorta thing that most bloggers do.

Anne of Green Gables was my lazy Sunday.

I've loved the book series since childhood, and adored the more recent movie series, just as much. I still remember the first time I laid eyes on L.M. Montgomery's books, and the friendly, freckle-faced Anne (with an 'e') Shirley. It was at my primary school's library when I was a little girl. Call it foolishness or judging a book by a cover, but from the moment I saw the book, I had a feeling that I needed to read it. And I did! And the rest.. as they say, is history. I've always felt like I connected with the character of Anne, because our personalities are so similar. I loved that I could relate to an imaginative dreamer with a great love for books... that also mirrored myself. As a little girl, I remember admiring her strong-will and independence (something that I still love about Anne today). But Anne's great friendship with Diana Barry would have to be my absolute favourite element of the entire book series.

"Miss Barry was a kindred spirit after all," Anne confided to Marilla, "You wouldn't think so to look at her, but she is. . . Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."

And like Anne, I also have had the pleasure of knowing a truly kindred spirit in my lifetime. Last week, I received some very devastating news from a friend of mine, that one of our friends had sadly passed away. To be respectful for my dear friend, I will call her Amber instead of actually saying her real name (Amber was her favourite name). Amber was one of few kindred spirits that I've been blessed to meet and befriend in my lifetime. I first met Amber in high school (maybe known as junior high for any Americans reading this!) and from that very first moment, I could not only see that she was a beautiful girl, but I could feel it too.

The one thing I'll always remember about my lovely, dear friend is her big, happy smile, contagious personality and kind, caring nature. But I think the most beautiful thing (among many) about Amber was her ability to befriend anyone and everyone - something that not all of us are able to do or want to do. We all know that there's a school yard hierarchy in high school. Well, that didn't faze Amber - not at all. She was friends with everyone - no matter if you were the stereotypical 'nerd', 'geek', 'popular' or 'jock' ...She welcomed you into her life and heart. And that is what I truly loved about her. She loved you and appreciated you for who you were. I know that many people affectionately call their friends 'angel'... but I know with all my heart that my sweet friend, Amber is a true angel. Spread your wings, sweet girl, because we all know that angels are meant to fly.

As Anne Shirley would say.. "True friends are always together in spirit."

À la prochaine foir...

(Til next time)