A little Hello...

It has been donkeys years since I last wrote a post. It is rather sad actually. I have just been so psychotically busy, I have literally had no time to do anything I enjoy. And the worst part of it is that this insanity won't stop till end of year break. I am balancing on a very tight, fine line of work life and personal life, and most days time seems to elude me, as it vanishes right before my eyes. Anyway, I am here today...for a few minutes, stealing time. Yesterday I had such an amazing day, I went to the Food and Wine show. Ah, it never disappoints. I mean it essentially combines two of my most favorite things....food and wine, how could it possibly go wrong. I even got to watch chef Reza Mahammad in action, which was really fun. He is such a character. I ate and drank copious amounts of yummy things. And spent way, way too much money! But It was an amazing day. Anyway just wanted to share, I now must be off to do other less exciting more demanding things. Have an amazing Monday evening. G :)

Eternity

"He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise."

-William Blake

This is one of the most beautiful poems I have heard in a very long time. It gives my heart wings and makes my soul smile. In fact, how it makes me feel is better described as indescribable. G :)

Texts From Last Night.

Well today is a grey day which is never fun, the dullness of days like these always seems to make me slightly moody and depressed. They make me feel yucky like dirty bathwater...so what is better to lighten ones' mood, than a bit of comedy. And this site always makes me laugh...hard and out loud! It's called texts From Last Night, and it is exactly what you're thinking it is, please go check it out. Its hilarious!!! Here are a few of the posts just to wet your appetite, hope it lightens the mood...Drunk people are terrible but really, really funny!!

"Dear Tongue, can't touch this. Love Elbow"

"I would do laundry with you but I vaguely remember swallowing all my quarters last night as some kind of trick."

"Who was that couple sleeping in your bed with us last night?"

"Well the hot one passed out so thats that, but then the fat one made chicken nuggets....totally worth it"

"I'm not gonna lie. having my legs shaved for me in the morning was a lovely surprise."

"I'll be there in 5 min. If not, read this again."

"FYI, when you wake up, please note that I puked in your shoes because I sstubbed my tooee, not becus I was drunk."

"I woke up and someone had put toast at my feet. I was SO. HAPPY."

"You were humming mission impossible as we ran from the cops"

"I'm drinking vodka out of a coffee pot. and i'm not even mad about it."

Hope it at least made you smile :) G

Only Four More Sleeps!!!

Eeeeeeekkkkkk!!! I have to share this...I am going on a sea cruise for four days...in four days :) It is the beautiful Italian, Sinfonia Cruise Ship and it travels to the Portuguese Islands and back. I am so so sooooo excited, I can hardly contain myself. I could really use a holiday and what better than a cruise ship!? And even better I am going with all my favorite people. Ah, to be out on the open sea again. I can not wait to be surrounded by pure simple blue. I am going to do nothing but tan (a lot), eat (even more), play games, spend time with the people I love most and meet some new people along the way - I couldn't be anymore thrilled! Yay for me!!! x G

Garys' Real Life

I found this really cool blog. Its called Garys' Real Life. It's about Gary who is an imaginary friend and this blog is all about his life. It is so cute and has some pretty stylish illustrations of Gary. Here are a few of my favorite illustrations on the blog. G :)

Thought For The Day.

Black & White Delight

Here are some beautiful black and white photos I found on the site Three.Six.Two. It has some amazing photos on a variety of things from, fashion to conceptual, portraits to landscapes. Check it out, it is a delightful site. My favorite is the crow! Isn't he cute. I kind of want to take him home! G :)

Butterflies For Africa!!!

Wow. I just have to share the amazing day I had yesterday. I can not even describe to you how much fun I had. As you probably know if you read my blog often, I am an animal lover. All animals...big and small. So yesterday (as part of my Birthday present) I was taken to Butterflies For Africa. It was such a thoughtful, special gift and right up my ally, I could have burst with excitement! Butterflies For Africa is basically a walk through butterfly house. And it hosts a vast variety of different exotic and indigenous butterflies. There are a few, very clued up guides who take you on this journey and they show you the entire process of the butterflies metamorphosis, from caterpillar to beauty. It is honestly the most beautiful soul inspiring thing I have done in a very long time. As soon as you walk through those doors you are transported into a fantasy land! It's basically a jungle room filled with butterflies, birds, waterfalls, turtles, giant koi, an adorable iguana and even cuter cotton-top tamarin monkeys (who remind me of little old men...with mow hawks :)). You can literally just stand there and be transported to another world, where the most exquisite butterflies fly past your face and land on your clothes, parrots and doves fly right next to you, completely unafraid, I felt like I was in paradise. I even had one of the little moneys sit on my lap while he was fed, he was so tiny but completely greedy, I instantly fell in love with him. It was so amazing. And it's so relaxing to even simply sit there and let the beauty unfold before your eyes. I have been wanting to go to this place for years and years and now that I finally have, I can honestly say it is even better than I ever imagined. Sigh, it was so beautiful. Really recharged my battery to its' full. And what was also really nice to see was that the animals are not tame, they are still wild they have just got used to people. They will come and sit on you but you can't touch them and you have to keep really still. They will come to you but only on their terms. And I like that. The animals are also not in little cages, trapped and unhappy, they are free to roam in the large enclosure with you and they are happy, you can just tell! It is so refreshing to see people who have such a passion for animals and who care for and strive to conserve all these amazing creatures. Sigh, what a beautiful place. Hope you like my photos, much love G :)

1000 Awesome Things

1000 Awesome Things, is this classic little website that posts a new awesome thing each day, simple, everyday occurrences that we would normally not even give a second thought. It helps to remind us just how awesome things are and it also forces us to be a little more optimistic in this world. It is like a count down of life's little joys! Check out the one below. And please do yourself a favor and go check out the site... it is hilarious.

#382 Catching up to the car that just passed you at the next red light

Wind whips through the windows, trees sway slowly outside, and music beats through the car stereo as we cruise calmly down empty streets on a long drive home. Then suddenly blurs flash in our mirrors and zoom past us in an engine-roaring rush, disappearing into tiny red dots over distant hills. But then suddenly we catch up a couple minutes later at the red light. And it’s just like hello old friend. Good to see you again.

AWESOME!

Happy Birthday To ME!!! :)

Yay, yay, yay!!! I love my Birthday! I am sort of like a kid with birthdays...only I am much, much worst! I am the princess in my family and I really do get treated as such. Indulged and pampered to the point of lunacy! So this morning as per usual I woke up at 5 and waited, not at all patiently, for my ambush from my (simply the best) family. Like every year since I can remember, they all crowded into my room and jumped on my bed with tea and way too many presents...and there we sleepily sat till as late as we possibly could, laughing and enjoying each others company. (I know...amazing) It is always on my Birthday that I realize how truly lucky I am. I honestly have such an amazing family. They take my breath away often and I literally just sit there stunned and in awe of them, wondering how I got so lucky! And then just when I think I couldn't be any more lucky, I think of my friends! Wow, I am one spoilt girl when it comes to the people I love and those who love me! I would kill the figurative bull for these few people and they would do the same... probably even more. I am so happy. (and most likely on a sugar high as all I have eaten today is cake, :) and lost of it) But Life is amazing, wondrous. I don't need anything more than what I already have, the love I have in my life right now out weighs all the gold in the world. The passion I feel for life right now supersedes any feeling I have ever experienced. I am so lucky. And lately I count my many blessings, every single day. So think about it, you don't need a birthday to realize your luck. You don't need flowers to realize just how much you are loved and you don't need presents to say thank you to those you love, for all they do for you. I am so in love with life and the people in my life right now, I feel like a Care Bear :) (remember Care Bears...awseome!) Anyway, i just wanted to share, enjoy each day. G (the Birthday Girl) ;)

Thoughts For Today!

I have recently read the book Eat Pray love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and it really was a spiritual journey. I have always felt a deep connection with Italy, mediation and even more so, love, so this book simply blew my mind. I sort of submerged myself in her life and story. This book spoke to me, especially because of where I am in my life at the moment. So I am not even sure if it would move others as it has me. But here are a few quotes from the book. I hope they inspire you and speak to your soul. x G :)

"Smile with face, smile with mind, and good energy will come to you and clean away dirty energy."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.

A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.

A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master..."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

"So now I have started living my own life. Imperfect and clumsy as it may look, it is resembling me now, thoroughly."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

"I have a history of making decisions very quickly about men. I have always fallen in love fast and without measuring risks. I have a tendency not only to see the best in everyone, but to assume that everyone is emotionally capable of reaching his highest potential. I have fallen in love more times than I care to count with the highest potential of a man, rather than with the man himself, and I have hung on to the relationship for a long time (sometimes far too long) waiting for the man to ascend to his own greatness. Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

"You gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughtta be."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

"When I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely, Liz. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

"Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

"He was powerful, she says, and I died of love in his shadow."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

" l'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle " . . .
"The love that moves the sun and the other stars. "
— Elizabeth Gilbert

The Temple

I am here on hands and knees,

Scrubbing at the floors of the temple of my heart.
Every part of my body aches at the effort.
The floor is covered.
Blackened with dirt and suet.
Slowly over the years this temple has been abused,
Vandalized by others but even more sadly by me.
I am ashamed as I look at its neglected beauty.
So I am here on hands and knees
pouring my soul into this.
Scrubbing till my fingers bleed.
My tears mixing with the water as I frantically cleanse.
And just when I am close to giving up,
on the verge of jumping off the edge into the darkness,
A single ray of sunlight makes its way
though fogged glass and shines onto
the floor of this temple.
My breath is force out of my body in a long shuddering gasp.
A single tile on this massive floor shines under the light.
It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
It is like pearl, changing colour under the sparkle of the sun.
Its glimmer holds the answers and whispers the truth.
And in that moment,
when everything had just felt so hopeless,
I realize that everything is going to be ok.
I will be ok.

G©