Dreams

~ I have so many dreams that I hold deep inside my heart ~

~ I have so many goals I want to achieve ~

~ I have so many plans for myself and my family and our home ~

The hardest part is choosing what to do first and when to do it.

My biggest and most important dream ~ goal ~ plan is to become a mummy and start a beautiful family of our own with my Rob.

Before this though I want to see, learn, experience, taste, feel and explore everything I can!

"The most important part of parenting are the decisions you make before you are pregnant"

My favourite quote - and one that I live by. I feel that before I become a mummy I need to be the best 'Sarah' I can be. I know that once we start a family my whole life will revolve around them and they will always come first - that's just the sort of person I am - which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. I want to see everything I can and experience everything I can and learn everything I can so that I can pass on this knowledge and wisdom to my children. I always always wanted to have children at a young age but now as I am at that age my views have changed and I want more for myself which in turn will be more for my children! Don't get me wrong I would love to have a baby now. All of my friends and family are having babies and I definitely get that jealous and anxious feeling inside - my 'inner mother' desperately wanting a baby - I believe it's called cluckiness actually - but I think back to my quote and know that its important for me to be me for a while and enjoy being young and enjoy my marriage with just us and experience life as just us before we become a 3.

Here are a few of my dreams ~ goals ~ plans! Big and Small - they all hold a special place in my heart!

~  Write a blog in a cofee shop in New York.

~  Swim with the Dolphins.

~  Paint my whole house white.

~  See a killer whale at Seaworld.

~  Read a book - laying on grass - in Central Park.

~  Build a wooden veranda out the front of our house.

~  Climb Mount Warning - all the way to the top - to see the sun rise.

~ Tile or put floor boards on our floors.

~ Eat Spaghetti Bol (My favourite meal) in Rome.

~ Make my family photo wall.

~ Watch a musical on Broadway.

~ Make over my office - half chocolate brown walls with a big white desk.

~ Learn to surf.

~ Road Trip north and fish off the northern point of Australia with Rob.

~ Buy a beach house - a unit or small house near the beach that we can have as a holiday house.

~ Go to a sports game in America - football, basketball, baseball - I want to experience the atmosphere!

~ Go to O'Reilleys.

~ See Celine Dion in concert.

~ Ride in a yellow cab in New York.

~ Ride my bike from Logan to the Gold Coast.

~ Visit the snow with Rob - His favourite place. 

~ Teach or Nanny in America. 

~ Visit Nimbin and its beautiful countryside. 

~ Eat an ice cream in Paris

~ Explore the New York City Library.

~ Put a bigger bath in our bathroom.

I have big hopes and even bigger dreams

This is me - who I am and what I love

My list - big and small - Ill get there ;-)

x S.K.K x

Wordless Wednesday

 For more 'Wordless Wednesday" head over to Faith Hope and a whole lotta Love

Happy Hump Day :-)

x S.K.K x

Banner Help

I am totally 100% and completely hopeless with computers! I know the basics like word and the internet hahah but that's about it...I would love to learn how to use all the fun and crafty programs especially a photo editing program! I am not 100% happy with my blog banner but that is all that I could do on word hahah I need to find a program where I can create one that I truly love! Yes I know its only the banner but this blog has become important to me and I would love it to look perfect! I want the header to describe me and really capture those 'special moments'

Hopefully I can figure it out soon and get it up! 

I just wish I was more knowledgeable about these things - any tips or advice???

Week-a-Boo

Well haven't we been blessed with beautiful weather for this weekend! The sun was shinning, there was that freshness in the air, the sounds of mowers mowing and birds chirping replaced the raindrops and silence that has been around for a few weeks! We definitely took advantage of Spring finally showing her pretty little face!

Friday night I had to work but we went to Miss 8's art show at her school! WOW! The art work by the students just blew me away! The gorgeous paintings by the preppies all the way through to the in depth drawings and the stunning sculptures by the year 12's were just divine and the talent that was showcased that night was just phenomenal.

Saturday the 23rd of October 2010 was my gorgeous sisters 23rd Birthday!

Saturday morning we went to our local plant nursery and had breakfast with our family. It was lovely to sit and share a beautiful breakfast with my family. Something different but we still shared many laughs and stories! My sister went on to spend the day with her friends but I was glad to get to spend the morning with her.

~ Sisterly Love ~

Our birthday breakfast celebration was followed by 2 BBQ's - told you we really took advantage of the nice weather haha - We celebrated with family and friends for birthday's and farewells and our Saturday was finished off with Rob hitting the sack and me hooking up with my cousins again for round 2 of 'Singstar' - we are a little bit obsessed with this game at the moment and I feel so so sorry for our neighbours during this phase! But once again I had an amazing night with plenty and plenty of laughs and...

~ I GOT SINGSTAR ON MY FAVOURITE SONG ~

A proud moment hahahahaha ;-)

Today I spent the morning cleaning, cleaning, cleaning while Rob serviced his fishing rods - don't ask hahah - which was a 3 hour job haha But then the afternoon was spent in our pool and spending time with our puppies. While outside I was shocked to notice our garden had just bloomed from all of the rain. Our plants were just so beautiful! 

Spending time in our garden is just so more enjoyable being surrounded by these gorgeous plants with their lush green foliage and vibrant colours. I was so inspired I took my laptop out into our patio area and spent the last hour of sunlight catching up on my favourite blogs and enjoying the views! 

~ What a way to end a beautiful weekend ~

How was your weekend? - Did you lap up the gorgeous sunshine?

Head over to Claire an join in the fun of 'Week-a-Boo'

x S.K.K x

Epic Fail...

HHHEEELLLPPP!!!!!!!!!

I knew focusing on what I ate was a silly silly idea! If I was a normal person this would be fine but I have a crazy crazy manipulative mind! This works wonders when I'm positive - the magic of my positive thinking is beyond awesome - but when I'm down gosh it hits me hard. On Monday I wrote about trying to make a healthy change and start replacing the sweet biscuits and chocolate bars and snack foods that I eat on the run during the day for more fresh fruit and yogurt and other healthier goodies. I actually found some yummy treats that were so good to eat and were quite healthy. I'm loving cut up red delicious apples with peanut butter spread on them - YUM and I love corn wraps with avocado! But I have a confession to make and I am so embarrassed for it but I have to admit it so I can see the foolishness and then move on haha

 Tonight I ate FOUR donuts!!! YUK YUK YUK

One after the other - in my car...alone - I ate four huge donuts - glazed and iced with sprinkles. I HATE DONUTS!!! They are so ridiculously unhealthy and I haven't had a donut in about 10 years. But tonight I scoffed them down like no bodies business - like it was my last meal - I then came home and ate my WHOLE dinner! I feel like I am going to be sick and I have no idea what came over me this evening on my way home from work. Like I said before my mind is so crazy - I wasn't even hungry - But because I have had NOTHING sweet over the past few days it was like my body was going into crisis mode AGAIN and just absolutely craved something huge and sweet and gross - and it was so gross - I didn't even enjoy it - but I couldn't stop - I sound like a crazy person! I was literally lining up in line at the petrol station fighting with myself - one voice was saying yes and the other was saying no - the YES won and even as I was picking up the packet I was yelling no but i just bought it and ate it. So stupid. 

BAAAAHHHHH so anyway now I'm sitting here feeling so stupid and defeated by my own self and really need to work out whats best for my body! I need to find the balance somewhere. I know they say chocolate is a 'sometimes' food. But with the hours I work and the job I do and considering I do not drink coffee, tea, coke, V, Mother or any energy/caffeine drink I think it's o.k that I have one chocolate a day! Just to give me that sugar rush and pick me up throughout the day! I still want to keep up and increase my fresh fruit, yogurt and water intake but still allow myself that little treat. Because clearly my mind thinks I'm starving myself and will turn into a crazy comfort binge eater and that DEFINITELY is not good for my body!

So once again wish me luck and lets go for round two ;)

x S.K.K x

A Healthy Change

I feel that I am in a pretty good emotional place right now. I face each day with a smile on my face and deep down I know that I can handle any challenge that gets thrown my way. I don’t think I have been in such a positive and beautiful place in a very long time. I am learning to “stop and smell the roses”. I am learning “not to take life too seriously”. I know this sounds so cliché but I truly am! Even though Rob and I are going through a rough time jobwise, I know that we will never be given more than we can’t handle and if we stick together and keep positive, we can get through anything life throws at us. And I think we have truly proved this.  I am now seeing the true beauty in this world and letting go of all the negativity around me.  Our thoughts are very very powerful and I am lucky that I have learned this quite early on in my life and if I think big then I will be unstoppable.

Unintentionally I am cleaning out my life.  One Step at a time – but I’ll get there!  My next big challenge that I want to focus on is my health. On Sunday I had a relaxing day which was spent in bed and on the couch. It was lovely to relax and regroup after a long week but I still felt sluggish and just a bit blugh. Today I had a day off and I felt the same. I struggled to up before 11am just feeling yukky and not myself. I am craving chocolate, chips, lollies, sugar, anything that’s greasy and totally not good for you. This is the sign that my body is giving in and going into crisis mode. And my weight is definitely suffering. I am getting a little soft around the edges. I am certainly not a dieter…I absolutely love my carbs and couldn’t live without my pasta during the week and my toast and cereal for breakfast. I also could not live without my cheeky milo at night, a chocolate bar during the day (my substitute for coffee haha) and my spoonful’s of nutella here and there! So I am definitely not a dieter and cannot give up on my foods I love but I have decided to add in a few foods that is missing from my diet that I have researched should be an essential part of our daily intake. I will take it slowly because I feel that a lot of people go on these fad diets and start hard and fast and burn out within a few weeks. I’m going to take it day by day, week by week. 

I feel our night time meals are sufficient enough and we eat a wide variety of meats and vegetables but my downfall is my daily foods. Because I am on the run all day every day, as all mums are aware, I don’t get the time to sit down and make a lunch and eat it. I don’t get a lunch break like a normal job so I’ve been skipping the lunches and compensating with biscuits and treats…lots of sugar to keep me going. This is what I need to change. I need to make the conscious decision, to make the choice about what snacks I am going to have. I am going to start eating more yoghurt, and more fresh fruit. I’m not a big fruit eater…I cut up A LOT of fruit every day for the kids so it won’t be hard for me to eat a banana or some watermelon while working. I am super excited about all the new summer fruits coming out so it won’t be hard eating those delicious goodies. Mangos to me are WAY better than a piece of chocolate anyway. I am going to start making daily smoothies in the morning - this way I can get my daily fruit and yoghurt intake in a yummy delicious treat before the day starts just in case I don’t get to get to it during the day. I think the trick for me is to find yummy healthy snacks that I can eat on the go – that is not a block of chocolate.

My next biggest goal is to drink more water. I am quite disappointed in the amount of water I DON’T drink throughout the day. At the maximum I will only drink a few glasses of water which is terrible when we are supposed to drink 2-3 litres minimum a day. I have to really make a conscious effort to drink more water…every time I walk past the kitchen – grab a glass of water – and keep a drink bottle in my car. Hopefully this will get my daily water intake up!

By taking these few little steps of yoghurt, fruit and water I am hoping it will be the start of a new and healthier me…my mind and body will be at peace. 

Wish me Luck

x S.K.K x

Week-a-Boo

I had a wonderful weekend that had a well rounded balance of excitement and adventure and lazy pure relaxation. The perfect combination that I am learning to appreciate more and more everyday.

Friday night we headed into Southbank and went to a gorgeous little Turkish restaurant for dinner with friends. Some of my husbands friends were over from Perth so it was nice for me to finally meet them and for Rob to spend some time with them. I am very lucky to have met some beautiful people through Rob. He has met and grown up with some truly amazing people in the scouting movement and although I sometimes 'give him a little' about being in the scouts (which I am not proud of) I am now truly appreciating the skills, knowledge, common sense and most of all the friendship he has made from the scouts! They are so genuine and down to earth and accept me for me - this is a rare find these days!

This weekend we were suppose to go camping at Somerset Dam, however because of all the rain we have been having, our dams have hit full capacity and on Thursday last week they open the walls and released them into the river! Our camping grounds actually closed for the weekend as they didn't want to risk flooding so camping was called off. We decided to take a few cars up and make a day trip of it and check out the dams and have a picnic lunch at one of the parks. It was such a gorgeous drive out west! It thankfully had stopped raining for the day - the wind however was sticking around and was blowing a gale. It was so glorious traveling - just me and Rob - the open road and our friends following while all communicating via radio. The views that I saw were just breath taking! It has really inspired me to start looking into a better camera to really capture the beauty of the outdoors. My digi cam just couldn't capture the picture of the seeded grass blowing in the wind. I fell in love with the old wooden fences with endless acres of land behind - the old trees that have died from old age but still stand so tall and so beautifully - The cows grazing in the grass and strolling with their calves - and then we got to the dam wall! What a sight! I was so blown away by the magic of the water! It was so amazing to see! As I said before my poor little digi cam couldn't capture the true beauty of what my eyes could see but I did the best I could...ENJOY!

~ Spectacular! The spray was so large we were getting wet! ~

~ Going out to the river ~

 ~ You can read all about why we had a snake in our car here ~

Today was spent cuddled up on the couch or in bed watching movies and reading while my husband worked in the yard - I have tomorrow off so I can get some cleaning done then ;)

I hope you all have a fantastic week and don't forget to head over to Claire and check out some more 'Week-a-Boos'

x S.K.K x

My Wildlife Hero

Well Well Well where do I start...What a gorgeous day I have had today. A group of us were suppose to be camping at Somerset Dam this weekend but because of the rain and the flooding and the dam release the park was shut down and we decided to take a rain check on the camping - pardon the pun. And thank goodness for that because we are having CRAZY winds here at the moment so I'm not too sure how good our tent would have held up against the cyclonic winds! We decided to still go for a drive out that way today though and have a picnic lunch near the dam. My Oh My I didn't realise that half of Brisbane also had the same idea. I knew they were releasing the dam into the river last week but it didn't quite sink in that this was a very rare occurrence so people from near and far traveled to see the view! And what a view! The amount of water gushing over the dam wall was truly amazing and photos from my little digi cam - which normally takes decent photos for a $100 camera - just could not capture the beauty and brilliance of the sight. It was a gorgeous experience and I am glad we actually took the time to stop and wait in line - yes we had to wait in line for 15 minutes just to get out onto the lookout to see the view - but it was totally worth it! If you are a Brisvegas blogger you must go check it out!!!

Somewhere between Wivenhoe dam and Somerset dam we came across a little scene happening on the road. There were a few cars here and there and we thought there may have been a small accident but driving past sticky beaking slowly for safety, we realised that there was a large snake on the road. My country boy/bush man/wildlife lover could not just drive by he had to help. So a passing comment of "I should help that poor snake" turned into a quick u-turn - the road was blocked off by our car and the hazards  were turned on and out he jumped.

There in the middle of the road was a very angry very scared 1m + python that my husband was desperate to save. I knew I couldn't stop him - it's who he is - it's what he lives for - adventure and wildlife so the best I could do was plead for him to at least have a stick in his hand "just in case". A quick assessment and then with no hesitation he put the stick on the snakes neck and picked him up - nice and safely with no one getting hurt - YET...

My darling wildlife boy couldnt possibly just put the snake into the bush beside the road we had to drive yes DRIVE with the 1 METRE PYTHON to a far away road where he would be out of danger and not be near the busy main road where he could risk getting run over again. I am very supportive of Robs love of wildlife and I love that he cares so much about the animals and doesn't want them to be hurt - BUT THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GETTING IN THAT DAM CAR WITH THAT SNAKE AROUND HIS ARM!!!!

Ok so I sucked it up and got in the car - what else was I going to do - I just kept telling myself it was worth it for the pictures haha - We drove a few k's and turned down a few roads until Rob was satisfied that it was further enough away from the main road that the snake couldn't get into anymore trouble...plus the snake was starting to cut the circulation off in his arm so he knew he couldn't go much further without getting into trouble himself.

By the time we got out and took a few photos Robs hand was turning blue so he walked off road a bit and released him back into the safe arms of the bush. 

I love my husband. He sees the beauty in everything and truly believes that every person and animal is special and has a place in this world - even huge scary snakes. The majority of people today would have driven past the angry snake in the middle of the road or even worse - ran over it - but not my Rob. He takes the risk and the chance to help an innocent creature and does everything in his power to ensure it is safe and out of harms way. He is pretty special - My Wildlife Hero x

x S.K.K x

p.s This was my 50th post - what a special moment to blog about!

Remembering Our Babies

  October 15^th

~ Wave of Light ~ 

Remembering our ANGELS who are looking down on us and protecting us on our journey! 

Like this candle flame ~ their memory will always be a sparkle in our eyes.

Raising awareness and giving support to those who have lost their baby – always in my thoughts x

x S.K.K x

A Greener Cleaner

Firstly...

~ YUUUUUMMMMMMMM ~

One of the biggest things I love about Spring/Summer are all the yummy fruits that come into season! This was my first Mango and oh my gosh it tasted just as good as it looks! I am also excited about peaches and nectarines but at $13.99 a kilo I am going to wait a few weeks before I tuck into those!

My Yukky Experience

 (picture)

The other day I cleaned out my oven...this does not happen often however I put some time aside, got out my 'oven cleaner' and got to work! OH MY GOSH I am surprised I am still alive! I forgot how terribly potent that cleaner is and how strong it is! Yes it cleaned my oven but I think it also cleaned my insides out...and not in a good way...SO I aired out my kitchen and finally got rid of the smell that had my eyes watering. Tonight when I used my oven the smell was so strong still and made me sick to my stomach.  It got me thinking! What on earth do they put in these products that make them so horribly potent that we can not even breath or see when using them. They surely can not be ANY good for us... so why do we use them???

This got me searching, researching and learning about alternate, greener and safer cleaning products for around the home, instead of using those god awful CHEMICALS that are surely eating away at our insides every time we use them. Over the past few months I have started the process of changing over all of my beauty items to all hand made and natural products. (You can read about these gorgeous products and the store I am in love with here.) I do not know why it never occurred to me not to look into changing my cleaning products as well. My research has presented some interesting arguments...both for and against unfortunately but the positive surely does outweigh the negative. The main negative feedback was that all the "market products" have been trialed and tested where as the "alternate cleaners" haven't and they question weather they are actually cleaning the germs etc properly. After the horrible experience I had with my oven cleaner...I am willing to take the risk I think. Most of the 'recipes' use 6 basic ingredients which can most likely be found in your household kitchen pantry. Baking soda, lemon, soap (which I am a little hesitant about using but hey it can't be any worse than my oven cleaner I guess), borax, white vinegar and cornstarch. The recipes range from glass cleaner to multi-purpose cleaners, to dish washing cleaners and even air fresheners. I think I am going to give this a whirl and try and change my whole house over to 'greener cleaners' It will take time and a lot of trial and error but I think in the long run it will be so beneficial to my husbands and my health and we will have a safe and green home to welcome our children into.

Are you a supermarket brand cleaner or have you tried a greener cleaner???

Do they work? Are they safe? Do you have any advice?

I'll keep you all updated on how I go!

Have a beautiful Friday everyone - The weekend is almost here!

x S.K.K x

Wordless Wednesday

Loose yourself in the world of "Wordless Wednesday" here

If you had 5 minutes...

Tonight my husband came home from cricket and asked me to do him a big favour over the next few days. Great I thought - feed the chickens, feed the snake, clean his smelly shoes, the endless 'yukky' jobs that he normally takes care of ran through my mind. But nope, not this time. He wants me to pack up a few small boxes of irreplaceable and special items of ours that can be picked up and thrown into the car in a single minute. Bless his heart he is so thoughtful and serious about our life together and knows me all too well. As he grew up in the scouts he is very world smart and is the man of the land. He has the biggest green thumb I have ever seen! With all this rain we are having and the threatening floods that have been surrounding and happening around us he feels we should be prepared,,,just in case. He told me that it wasn't too serious and he didn't want me to get too out of control but you never know what is around the corner and because of the weather and the location our house is in he doesn't want to take the chance.

Well well well...have you ever been in this situation. Have you ever had to sit back, look around your home and think what on earth can I select that can fit into a FEW small boxes. I am such a hoarder sentimental kind of girl and the thought of having to choose my most special possessions really stresses me out. The chances of our house flooding is probably 4:10 but just in case that 4 happens I guess I am very thankful for my husband for thinking of me and preparing us. He knows I am a keeper and if any of our stuff gets ruined he knows that I would be absolutely devastated. So tonight we sat down and made a "just in case our house gets flooded what will we do and what will we take" plan. Even though we were laughing the whole time thinking how ridiculous it all sounded it was good to sit down and work as a team and make a plan. Of course the first things we would get together and take are our SIXTEEN pets. OMG robs car will be packed with the animals - the chickens the dogs and the cat better learn to get along and fast hahaha. Robs main concern was his fish haha im sure the bucket will do! Our next task is taking pictures of all of our belongings and furniture etc for insurance purposes...yes when we do a task we do it well haha nothing will be left unturned. Although when writing this I am actually feeling a little silly but then I think back to the news reports of people up north with their houses flooded and their homes and possessions destroyed by the water. I guess you can't control mother nature but we will try and be prepared for the worst.  My next task over the next few days is gathering our VERY SPECIAL items that can not be replaced. Photo Albums, birth certificates, wedding certificates, passports, diaries, journals, drawings - oh my gosh my list goes on. Rob and I have different views on whats important and replaceable. Rob said our encyclopedias can be replaced but they are my grandmas and she gave them to me out of 20 grandchildren because she knows they are special to me...how can I leave them behind in a flood.

I guess I really have to be serious and have to think if I had 5 minutes to grab all I can...what would I take. everything in our home is special to me. Everything has a place in my heart. Everything has a memory. Ill see how I go! But I know this job is going to be very very hard. WISH ME LUCK!!!

Have you got an emergency plan? or are we the only crazies!!!

x S.K.K x

Week-a-Boo

I haven't written a Week-a-Boo in a couple of weeks as I was a bit absent from the blogging world so I am pleased to be back and ready to share my weekend with you all :)

For the past week I have had my cousin and her gorgeous daughter staying with us! My cousin lives in America and has come back home to visit for 2 months. It was lovely having her here for a week and it was so nice having house guests! On Friday as the rain had really set in we decided to go to 'Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. My cousin collects the hurricane glass' from the Cafe's all over the world and she really wanted one from her home country Australia. We had such a lovely time down there and the food was fabulous and it was so interesting seeing all the memorabilia from all the different bands and singers throughout history. I am no Rock Chick but I enjoyed sitting for a few hours listening to all the Rock Songs.

 

 ~ Yummy 'Berrylicious' drink in our take home cup ~

Friday night once the kids were asleep it was GIRLS NIGHT IN!!!

There is nothing better then a platter of cheeky treats (all lollies/chocs that you can not buy in America) and a bit of singstar! We sung for hours singing and dancing and laughing the night away! Once 11 hit we decided to tone it down so we sat down and talked until 4 AM! SO CRAZY! but hey we did have 15 years to catch up on! We talked about our marriages, our jobs, our families and our secrets. I will really miss her when she goes home but I know she is happy over there and that's all that matters!

After a few hours sleep I braved Saturday but took it very slowly as I was quite tired from my night before ( oh gosh Im getting old haha) so it was a slow day of cleaning and reading and snoozing! Saturday Night I had planned a GIRLS NIGHT OUT - it was a bit of a girls weekend for me actually haha I had planned for an 'EAT PRAY LOVE' night. In true Eat Pray Love style we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner and then went and saw the movie in StarClub! I absolutely love this book - which you can read about here - and I was so excited to see the movie! I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I think they portrayed the novel extremely well. There were a few differences that I noticed but nothing overly major that ruined the storyline! Even in the movie I had to get out my notepad and pen and write some notes! I'm so in love with the movie and love all of the sayings and lines that I just never want to forget them!

Sunday it was PARTY TIME! My cousins daughter tuned 4 on Saturday so we had a special dress up party for her on Sunday! She loves fairies and princesses and all things girly so it was right up my alley and we had such a wonderful afternoon! There were fairies and army men and scouts and football players and G.I Janes - and that was jsut the adults ;) and of course there was me.....the ballerina! 

Here is her gorgeous cake that her mummy made - A fairy garden cake! The best thing about my cousins cake is that they not only look AMAZING they taste even better! 

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Head over to Claire to enjoy more Week-a-Boo's

x S.K.K x

Eat Pray Love

 I have just finished reading and seeing the feature film of the spectacular book written by Elizabeth Gilbert called Eat Pray Love. I am sure that you all have heard of this amazing book and many of you will know more about it if you see it at the cinemas. I was totally hooked from page 1 and I have found myself reading pages twice or three times over ,totally loosing myself in the world of Elizabeth and her gorgeous journey of self-discovery. The braveness, creativity and flare that is portrayed in this book is contagious and I have learned so much about myself and about life just by reading this stunning novel.

I am a big reader! It is my main hobby! There is nothing I love more than sitting in a lavender bath and loosing myself in a novel. I can read books in a matter of nights and often find myself loosing hours as I read ‘just one more chapter’. This book however has taken me a lot longer than I expected! The book is split into 3 sections…Italy ,India and  Indonesia. The first section – Italy – is very easy to read! It’s very fun and interesting and I learnt a lot about Rome and all its beautiful surroundings and most of all the amazing food! The second section is lot more intense as she travels to India and stays in an Ashram. This part has just absolutely fascinated me and I have found myself reading pages twice or three times over just to understand and take it all in. By the 2 page of section 2 I took out the highlighter. I loved learning about Yoga and its teachings and methods and how the devotees to this Yogi tradition practiced this wonderful  meditation. I have highlighted different quotes that she has written. Descriptions of places, people and things at the Ashram.  Information about Yoga and its teachings. All the things that I loved learning and never want to forget! I would like to share some of these with you that I have just found so fascinating. They are just so inspirational.

It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.

Yoga is to find – between mind and body, between the individual and her God.

You are what you think. Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions.

You should never give yourself a chance to fall apart because, when you do, it becomes a tendency and it happens over and over again. You must practice staying strong instead.

A true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that’s holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.

As soul mate will tear down your walls and smack you awake.

You gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughtta be.

 There’s no trouble in this world so serious that it can’t be cured with a hot bath, a glass of whiskey and the Book of Common Prayer.

Most of humanity, he said, have eyes that are so caked shut with the dust of deception they will never see the truth, no matter who tries to help them.

You have no idea how strong my love is.

The Zen masters always say that you cannot see your reflection in running water, only in still water.

In our real lives we are constantly hopping around to adjust ourselves around discomfort – physical, emotional and psychological – in order to evade the reality of grief and nuisance.

Eventually everything goes away.

Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch. Faith is walking face –first and full speed into the dark.

Destiny I feel is also a relationship – a play between divine grace and willful self effort. Half of it you have no control over; half of it is absolutely in your hands, and your actions will show measurable consequence.

I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore.

As smoking to the lungs so is resentment to the soul.

Over the centuries people have tried to hold on to that blissful state of perfection through all sorts of external means – through drugs and sex and power and adrenaline and the accumulation of pretty things – but it doesn’t keep.

Your treasure – your perfection – is within you already. But to claim it you must leave the busy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart.

Happiness is the consequence of personal effort

We must get our hearts broken sometimes. Having a broken heart means we have tried for something.

This book and movie was just so inspirational for me. As I said before I have leaned so much about myself from this novel and have been inspired to live my life differently. The past few years I did a lot of blaming, making a lot of excuses, I had a lot of negativity in my life which effected my happiness. I feel I have had two big influences that have helped me turn the corner. The book ‘Eat Pray Love’ and my blog. The book has taught me how to be happy and what the true meaning of life is and my blog has helped me to sort out my thoughts and feelings and truly appreciate life and its beauty. The negativity has lifted and I find I am constantly surrounding myself with beauty and looking beyond the shallowness of the world. We are so lucky to live in this gorgeous world and I am amazingly lucky to have such an amazing husband, a handful of genuine friends and a one of a kind family. I cherish every part of my world and I feel I am very lucky. Life is so special. 

x S.K.K x

MISSING IN ACTION!!!

Well I am back! Finally! I have been M.I.A for the past 3 weeks. It has been school holiday time and school holidays mean Sarah doesn't have time to sneeze! It is Go Go Go with little 'me' time! I had a fantastic 2 weeks with the kids on their school holidays and even though it was busy, it was full of long days at the beach, laughter, beach footy, surfing, fish and chips, bubble blowing, swing rides, swimming lessons, shell collecting, kite flying, sleep overs, rock pool exploring, fishing, ice creams and happy faces. We spent a week up in Noosa and then a week at Palm Beach and the grey clouds did not stop us from having fun! We did have to go see two movies as the beach was no fun in the rain but even though it was cooler then previous years it was still extremely pleasant on the beach. We had a bundle of laughs, experienced a lot of new things and created special memories that will last a lifetime! 

It is now 1.20am and I was just about to go to bed 2 hours ago when its starting raining - there is nothing more beautiful than the smell of rain - so I hopped into bed and decided to read for a bit and enjoy the calming sound of the rain on our roof as I read my fav book snuggled in bed - it then started storming and I just couldn't resist it...we haven't had a storm in a while and I didn't want to miss it! Storms are so amazing. So I took my book and a cheeky midnight snack and went and sat on the 70cm x 1m concrete square that was protected by the rain and sat and watched the sky light up and listen to the thunder rumble. As I was staring out into the street and watched the raindrops fall in the street light I realised how much I missed my blogging and its moments like these that I love sharing with you all. How beautiful life is. Some people view storms and rain as bad and annoying but if you ever have a spare couple of minutes just stop and listen and watch. It's so magical how the lightening can light up the entire sky, it is so magical how loud the thunder can be rolling across the sky. Most things in our lives that we view as negative can 'most of the time' be something truly beautiful. Remember after the rain there is always a rainbow.

x S.K.K x