Day Twenty One - Picture of something that makes you happy

A snippet of what makes me happy

Day Seventeen - someone you would want to switch lives with for one day & why

Oooh this is an interesting one. I didn't have to think about this one at all.  I would like to switch lives with my husband so that I can see how hard he works to support his family.  As we have already worked together in a FIFO situation I have some idea but really just want to go on a plane and eat plane food without the kids interupting me :)

Me on site in the Pit doing my job :)

Day Sixteen - another picture of yourself

Me, Bali, Indonesia 1977

My hair isn't that blonde anymore

This was the last time that I had a fringe

I'm not that skinny anymore

I am still white (avoid the sun at all cost)

I've been to bali 4 more times and would like to go again

Some of my fondest memories are of this holiday

Day Fourteen - a picture of you and your family

My family and I

This is by far one of my favourites.  'But it is missing a child, don't you have three?' you cry.  Well, it's made even more special because I am pregnant.  It is a true family photo.

Day Eleven - another picture of you and your friends



Our Wedding Day



As the days of the 30 Day Challenge pass me by I am finding that the posts are not as threatening and there is a level of clairty in my writing.  It helps that I am not at the mercy of a migraine which clouds my thought process.

I didn't post pictures previously of friends out of respect for them.  However there is no reason not to post this photo of me on my wedding day with lots of friends and family (they constitute as friends. Don't they?)

My husband loves the ocean, boats, fishing and anything to do with water.  I on the other hand suffer severe motion sickness. In the car, buses, trains, planes (not so bad these days) and the utmost hideous sea sickness that you can ever imagine.

So where else would we get married but on a boat.  An 80 foot luxury charter on the Swan River.

Did I get seasick?  Absolutely. It was not going to be a good look if the Bride had to heave over the bow of the boat mid vows.  But I didn't.  Somehow I managed not to.  And if I did?  Well thankfully I was amongst friends (& family) who would never let me forget it.  I promise you that I would never have let my husband forget it either as it was his choice to celebrate our day on the water!

It was a beautiful day.

Day Seven - A picture of someone/thing that has the biggest impact on you

My Munchkins photo by Dani of Wheatbelt Photography

Without a doubt the three munchkins in the photo have had the biggest impact on my life.  Whilst I can remember my life pre children (and it was pretty good) I can't imagine my life without them.  They never cease to amaze me regardless of whether they are being angelic or devilish!

They have put my husband and I on the path of constant learning (and promtly forgetting, thank you very much baby brain).  And, as much as I am their student, I am their teacher.  Once a career person I now spend my time guiding my children in what I hope is the right direction. Thankfuly I don't get lost often *runs looking for the UBD*.  Parenthood 101 for the rest of my life.

This is one of my favourites quotes from Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh about being a mother:

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.
She never existed before.
The woman existed, but the mother, never.
A mother is something absolutely new.

Day Six - Favourite Superhero & Why?

Batman and Wonder Woman of course!

I put this together for my husband when he was working in the back blocks of Africa.  As there was no internet access I burnt it to CD and had it couriered to him via the company mailbag.

The kids were dressed up for a superhero birthday party.

It's self explanatory why I love these two characters :)

Needless to say my husband loved it.

Day Five - A picture of somewhere you've been to

This is not a hard one for me.  I love to travel and have had some amazing experiences.  My speciality as a nurse is Travel Medicine & Tropical Disesase and this led to my passion for travel.

Whenever I travel overseas, I always take the time to visit the local hospital, medical clinics and share experiences and knowledge with the locals.  It costs me nothing yet I am enriched from the experience of being part of their community and contributing to a less fortunate society.  You can see how lucky I am to be able to combine two loves.

I have spent time in West Africa, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand, USA and the UK.



Even though I have spent time in remarkable cultures where I have had many emotional journeys and where the inhumanity questioned my beliefs about society & life, the picture that I would like to share is that of our humble shack near Cervantes in WA.



The Shack, April 2007

 

The kids love it. My husband loves it.  I tolerate it *laughs hard*.  Once again I have so many photos of the place.  Every time we go there I take photos of the sand dune behind our shack and the path to the beach to show how much it changes with the elements.  I am putting a photo book together to capture this and the family memories of our time at the shack.





Destitute, April 2007

Some of my favourite photos that I have taken are from at the shack and I am sharing a few of them here.



Emu , August 2008

The wildlife is prolific. From blue tongue lizards to seals, from sea birds to emus and of course, kangaroos.  All within cooee of the shack's front door.

Flies. Did I mention the flies? 



Friendly seal, October 2009

The Shack runs off a generator which means that we lights *awesome*, fridge, huge freezer (for all the fish we catch), fans, satellite tv (doesn't work, we don't have time to watch it anyway), toaster, microwave, oil heater.  



Shell, September 2009

It also has flushing toilet x2 *bliss*, pot belly stove (great in winter), hot water *bliss* and even a twin tub washing machine which comes in handy when you stay up there for a bit.   



Sheppards Lane, April 2007

There's lots to do to. We are never bored.

Sand boarding, swimming, fishing, snorkling, building sandcastles, reading books, exploring, chasing seagulls, collecting seashells, doing nothing.

Relaxing with a vino or beer and some pretezels *ahhh*   



Beach fishing, April 2007

  

Crazy Sea Bird eating fish, July 2009

 

Day One - A recent picture of me & 15 'interesting' facts about myself

The picture is 8 months old so it is not that recent which leads me into the 15 facts about me:

1. I am the photographer in our family so I am rarely in any photos unless I pay someone else to take them.  That way I always look half decent. I am a crappy photographer but am working on trying to be better.  I have the eye but not the technical detail.
2. I am also a crappy writer which is pretty bad considering I used to be so good at it and actually won a Young Writers Competition back in my day.  I still have the book that I won with the typed (yes typed) piece of paper announcing my win.
3. I love to dance.  I have done a bit of ballet, jazz, tap, modern & ballroom.  I have done lots of gymnastics & callisthenics.  I did 10 years of competition callisthenics and went out on a bang when our club won the state title.
4. I can't sing and absolutely have no idea about music although I love it.  I have an iPod that has the strangest array of stuff on it.  Looking forward to doing day 15 to see what comes up.
5. I have driven across Western Australia in an Ambulance. I know, a little strange but it was my job and I loved it.  In fact it has to be my all time favourite job ever.  I was one of the first women to work on a Gas Pipeline construction. Man did it rock.
6. I have given Taj Burrows a jab in the bum so that he could travel to South Africa to compete in a surfing comp.  Best & whitest butt I have ever seen.
7. I have regularly had my nog in the paper since I was about 10 years old.  It's been a while now but always in the local paper, the West Australian, a couple of defunct social magazines and even a piece in the Australian Geographic (refer to point 5).  Mustn't forget the kids school annual. Yep even managed to make it into that!
8. I was a career orientated person until I had kids.  Now I consult & administrate Travel Health to a small consultant mining company.
9. I love my kids and although I'd like to say that this is given I am not sure that it is for some people.  They are unique individuals and they bring me great joy.  So does my hubby.  I am very lucky.
10. I travelled to Nepal and hiked to Mt Everest base camp.  I got altitude sickness at Lobuje (5000m) so never made it to the base camp with the rest of the trek group. I spent two days in Periche with the Nepalese family that ran the only hostel on a fur rug in their kitchen while I got better.  The time spent with the them was worth more than making it to base camp.  I burnt my socks on the pot belly. I also lost 10kgs in about 20 days from all the physical exercise (about 8 hours a day) - I had to pin my knickers to my pants so that they wouldn't fall down (no joke).
11. I have spent most of my career helping whoever I was working for improve their 'paperless' image.  Forms, forms and more forms.
12. I am a super organised person and one of my friends thinks that I should be Peter Walsh's (google him) apprentice.  Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
13. I just swatted a fly with my non dominant hand.  It had been annoying me for most of this post.  There's not even a bzzzzz left in him.
14. I'm on the countdown to the big 4-0.  My sister still thinks that I am 26 & I love her for that. She lives in the UK.  I miss her terribly.  Our phone conversations are never under an hour.
15. I am a Gemini.  That should just about explain everything about me.