Hashtag Fail

I have failed. This year the A -Z in April has just not worked out very well at all. I had good intentions but nothing has worked out very well. So much has happened this month, so many things I would like to write about that have taken my time and mental realestate. I havent kept up because the things I want to write about just dont fit the challenge.

So...there ya go. Good luck to you all who have done better than I have and I will hopefully get a few minutes to visit you sometime soon.

Xo

M is fooooorrrrrr My superpower :)

It's really strange but I do believe that everybody has a superpower in life. I'm not talking flying or being invisible type of superpowers but just something that happens day to day that is kinda cool and something that makes your life a little easier or brighter. 

I have a superpower that works really well in the lines of work I have found myself in.  People will go out of their way not to be mean to me or offend me in any way. It's almost comical to watch it happen live.

I remember the perfect example from my days as a Librarian. It was a super busy day and I was working the issues desk. It's one of those situations where you expect difficult people and to have to spin a bit of a tale and really do your best as far as customer service goes. On this day not one but three different customers came to me, got their books issued and then waited for the other person on the desk with me to be free in order to have a go at her!!!! 

I was more than able to fix any problem that they might have had and was probably in a better position to do it than my colleague and yet nobody would complain to me. 

While I was at the library I also had people make super human efforts to apologise to me for being rude! SERIOUSLY!!! when does that EVER happen in customer service that somebody not only apologises but makes an effort to do so?

I don't quite know if people think I'm particularly fragile (I'm not) or what their issue is but on the whole people refrain from being horrible to me! 

It's a funny sort of super power but considering the work I do I LOVE it!

xo

L is for Laughing (aka boys are funny)

K is for (The) Knife of never letting go

This is a bit of a cheat but OHMYGAWSH I just finished this book yesterday and ... ARGH SO GOOD!!! This is the same book that I have a picture of in the "b is for buying books" post and wowowowow did I make a good choice. This is amazing and I can't come close to articulating how much I wish I had a 14-16 year old that I could pass it on to. I don't even know how to explain how good this book is. It's a horrible plot in so much as the characters suffer so much but the story is so amazingly compelling. I am not usually a sci-fi kinda gal but this won me before I was half way through the first chapter. It's exciting and really really hard to put down!

READ.THIS.BOOK

xo

J is for Jammies

It's almost Easter and in my family that means NEW JAMMIES :-) We've not done the whole chocolate egg thing for ages and ages instead each year we get a new pair....or two, of pajamas. This year I decided to go for just some pants as I usually just wear random singlets and tee-shirts instead of the long sleeve jackets. My family has very few traditions but I love the ones we do have :)

xo

I is for Inukshuk

Google Images

This ladies and gents is an Inukshuk. They are a symbol that I saw over and over when I was in Canada and I liked them so much I got one inked on my hip :) They were traditionally used by the First Nations hunters to indicate the presence of buffalo. They mean welcome and leadership and friendship. As with many cultural symbols that have been appropriated into mainstream usage the meaning has evolved and you can find any number of different definitions. I saw them outside coffee houses, on mountain tops, in peoples gardens and everywhere in between. To me they represent not only all of those things but also the best year (so far) of my life. I think I probably need to start a collection of them but for that I will need to return to Canada I guess... bummer! LOL :-P

xo

H is for (One) Hundred Happy Days

I have managed to get quite far behind haven't I! well I'm going to try catching up :) Today (aka Tuesday) is H is for (one) hundred happy days. I've been working on this project on Instagram and today happens to be day 66. I cant believe that I've managed to keep it up for so long. The idea is that you take a moment each day to recognise the things that make you happy, take a photo and then post it on social media with the hash tag #100happydays so the world can see what's making your day. Today for 'H' I thought I would post some of my fave pics so far :)

I've found that there are a lot of pics of my nephew and also my best friends baby. I have a few coffee and alcohol variations and then a bunch of nature and time with my friends. A few out of the box like 'Balloons over Waikato' and the Brian McKnight concert but it's pretty much the basics which are some of the best things in life I reckon :)

xo

G is for 'GO'

It's kinda strange but I find this Visa ad quite inspiring. How simple just 'GO'. Do it, Jump, Play, Yes, Dance, Explore, Kiss GO

I'm thinking that it would actually make a great tattoo if I could ever decide on font and placement LOL

GO

xo

F is for 'Falling for you' (Mr pt 2)

***I'm gonna go ahead and post two in one day today since I don't think I'm going to have the energy tomorrow. There is stuff!! This is also a Sunday when no posting is supposed to be happening but I will stop till Tuesday and then all will be right with the world ***

I decided for this post to be super honest and  take it personal... waaaay personal. Why not right?? Today a letter to Mr... (who we first met here)

Dear Mr

You're kind of amazing. You are also kind of annoying and I sometimes want to punch you in the face but ever since we've had the chance to hang out properly I have found myself, much to my dismay, really and seriously falling for you. 

I haven't told you this and right now I'm really focusing on not letting it fall out of my mouth. I really have no idea how to say it or really exactly what I even want to say so let the random stream of consciousness begin ! 

When we're together it's the most natural thing in the world. I am so damn comfortable with you and I love the way you look after me. As I always tell you, you're so smart and you have such cool stories, I am endlessly entertained and fascinated by you. You are so good at doing little things that I always notice and which always make me smile. I don't know if you know you're even doing them or the value I really place on them though. I guess I should probably tell you things like that shouldn't I?  :)

I like that we're so different and yet we get on so well. It's cool for our worlds to collide and I hope they begin to collide more and more.  I am falling hard for you but we're not there yet. I want the chance to be able to make you as happy as you make me and I don't know how to do it yet. There's a lot more to learn. 

I'm falling for you fast. Someone like you is a totally new experience for me and I like it. I don't want to tell you this yet because it feels like we have a lot of adapting to each other and each others lives to do before my cynical and overly analytic brain can accept it as real. I am beginning to learn that sometimes it's good to lead with your heart instead of your head but it's not easy to change the habits of a life time.

I promise to be as patient as I can with you if you do the same for me. I want to be careful not to change you and I don't plan to change who I am either but when we get to the point that we can evolve in little ways together and find real, mutually satisfying compromises then that will be the time that I can and will confidently tell you that I love you. Until then it will be a secret that I just share with the internet ok? :-P

xo

E is for Ear Candy

*** I had this post all good to go yesterday (Saturday) so that I could just upload it as I knew I'd be out most of the day but then...you know.. life. So this morning (SUnday) I'm going to fix my first fail of the month :)

I started with the PussyCat Dolls as my perfect example of pure ear candy but on this sunny morning I just have to add what I'm currently listening to. A vaguely related but really totally different genre but still simple, easy listening ear candy!!




***and now back to our regular - pre-scheduled programming***

Ear Candy... !!!

I love this song. It's the perfect definition of perfect POP :)

I say lock the pussycats in a room and don't let them out till they make more!  
xo

D is for... David Beckham

I just re-posted this picture on my face book page from one of my fave Kiwis Polly Gillespie. She was asking incidentally if he's better with or with out the art and I absolutely have to say WITH. It's so weird but the dude I've been dating a little didn't seem to like the picture... 

BWA-HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

:-p

XO

C is for Charming Country Boys

I live in New Zealand where Country music and Death Metal are about as popular as each other. I think One Direction are much more likely to get to the top of the charts than any Country artist. I've always been a little bit of a sucker for it but I really fell pretty hard for Country music when I spent a year in Alberta Canada. I kind of think it's the law there that everybody owns at least one country CD and has a stetson somewhere in the garage :)

I first heard Toby Keith and Carrie Underwood and Trace Adkins. I love the way that the music tells stories and combines real musicianship with all the fun and light heartedness of pop music. I know that the purists don't put much stock in most of the 'country' that's popular these days but you're always going to get your music snobs right?

Last night I was really bored ( have you seen television recently??) so was trawling You Tube and enjoying some country boys. I really noticed something...

Country music videos and more specifically Country BOYS are so charming! What is it about these boys? They're not all super good looking but when they start drawling through some of these super sweet songs and telling these stories ... Well ... hmmm what was I saying again?? LOL

I used two from Mr Shelton because I couldn't embed the best example of this phenomenon that I've found recently which is Luke Bryan's 'Crash My Party'. Now there's a charming man singing a charming song LOL

Now I must get off You Tube and be productive but ... maybe one more? hahaha

xo

B is for buying books

This past week I was staying with my mum in Thames. She was awesome and decided to buy my sister (who was also staying) and I a book each. What she didn't know was that this lovely gesture is really stressful. Books are so incredibly expensive that I've come to the point where the only time I want to own a book is when I really think that I will read it over and over again. I like to not own too much 'stuff' but I do like a good bookshelf....within limits. Generally I'm all about the Library. GO TO YOUR LIBRARY PEOPLE!!!!

Carson's is a beautiful store in Thames. They have an amazing selection of great books. It's so unusual to actually find a store that is about books and not stationary+toys+lotto tickets+music++++++.  The focus really brings that quality. I told the manager of the store I wanted to move in!

We had to go back twice and I think I must have picked up 50 books before I ended up with 'The knife of never letting go'... THE STRESSSSSSSSS I wanted to make sure I got something good and didn't waste my mothers money. When you read as much as I do and with such an A.D.D palate this is quite a hard ask. I've seen this book gushed over on book-tube a lot and the premise sounds pretty great so I went for it. 

Yes. This is my life that A - I can pack up and head out of town at a moments notice to hang at the beach with my mum and B- this amazing luxury stresses me out! LOL. This is the definition of a First World Problem hahahahahaha

xo

A-Z in April. A is for Auntie

I decided to do the A-Z in April blog challenge again this year. I've participated twice before and it's how I came across some of my all time fave blogs and also it's just a great challenge to make you think about interesting and different posts. I was planning to have a snazzy theme and work out some cool posts before hand but that didn't happen so I'm going to have to wing it. I'll probably just think of something appropriate for each day as I sit down to write and go for it :)

These are pics from last weekend. I stayed with my sister and my nephew. What a great weekend! This is my first time being Auntie and as he gets older it's getting more and more fun. I have to admit that babies do nothing for me, even when they're super cute and well behaved. He's 15 months now and so just beginning to be pretty awesome :)

In these pics we're hanging out in the gardens and he stole my drink and goobered in it. For some reason that I cant put my finger on it was sooooo hilarious and of course my sister managed to capture my hysterics!

This was also the first time that he's really noticed me and was being so friendly. It was absolutely lovely and I just cant wait to hang out with him as he grows and learns. I may be a lil bit biased but by my reckoning he's the most handsome and the smartest little guy in the world...EVER :-P

xo