Today is a New Day

Today is a new day.  Today is Friday which means that it is Team Friday with Stacey-Lee at Get On With It Already, Things I Know with Miss Cinders at Saturday Morning Ogre Mum and FYBF with Grace at With Some Grace - why not join in with any of these lovely ladies and find some new and exciting blogs to read ?

Today I know that I haven't been able to finish either of the challenges for November for #bacnov3030challenge or #operationMOVE - not for want of trying - but because my body betrayed needs to heal itself.

Today I know that I am learning to love and accept myself more and more each day -  for who I am and how I look.

Today I know that eating a good healthy range of foods means that I have more energy to sit on the couch doing nothing but let my body heal and don't suffer from the 3pm slumps anymore.

Today I know that cutting sugar, wheat and dairy out of what I eat makes me feel so good. (Does this mean I will never eat these foods again ?  No, but it does mean that I have learned that when I eat these foods I don't feel that great and so eating them on special occasions is allowed, even encouraged, provided I can deal with how I feel afterwards !!!!)

Today I know that tomorrow I have my 5th appointment with the osteo in 2 weeks and I have to stay confident that he can help me.

Today I know that even though my 'baby' is 20 yo, she still wants her Mom when she is sick.

Today I know that our car just clocked over 200,000kms and we are probably going to have to start looking for a new one.

Today I know that last night I went to a camera class and learned even more about my camera - I am planning to have some more play dates with it this weekend (especially as A is working on Sunday).

Today I know that I need to be more diligent with my gratitude journal - it is a journal that I NEED to make the time to 'write' in every day because EVERY DAY there IS a list of things that I am grateful for.

What do you know today ? 

How are you preparing your body for the Christmas on-slaught ?

 

 

TFTD : An essential aspect of long term success is not being afraid to fail in the short term.

(This is totally for me today - I know I shouldn't look at an injury as failure but that is mostly how I feel !!!)

 

Too Late

Who knew I would need to phone and book dinner on Christmas Eve before 20th November otherwise we would miss out and the place would be fully booked ????????

Oh well, now I know for next year - start looking earlier than the beginning of November and make arrangements before 20th November !!

Due to the size of our family, we have always 'shared' my parents on Christmas Day.  One year with us and one year with my brother and his wife's family.  On the years that my folks have come to us, we have our BIL, SIL, nephews and girl-friends as well.  Last year things were different and it was just the 5 of us - which was great - we didn't eat too much and we didn't have left overs for days afterwards.

This year my folks are going to my brother and extended family and so we thought we would go out to dinner on Christmas Eve.  That was we wouldn't have left overs for days on end and the three of us would just mooch around at home - enjoying the time off work.  The problem is I never thought we would have to book before 20th November !!! When I rang to book for 5 adults I was advised that they were fully booked - BUGGER POO BUM !!!

So we did the ring around of hotels and we had to either pay $150 each (not going to happen) or go with a normal carvery and seafood buffet (I'm guessing the difference is - no crackers, no Christmas pudding, possibly no mince pies) for $75.  K wasn't fussed about no crackers - she, quite rightly, pointed out that we could have crackers at home on Christmas Day (as I can Christmas pudding as I am the only one who eats it so maybe I'll just buy a little one all for me !!).  When I rang Dad this morning he said he didn't care about crackers and hats (especially the hats as they look funny on him !!!) the main thing is that we are all together.

Next year I will be better prepared.  Now to see if I can find the Christmas presents that K is wanting !!  A has asked for a 6 pack of beer and I have already got my present (Nikon D5100) !!  As we don't do Kris Kringle or have littlies in our family, I just need to find the multiple photo frame that my folks want, choose some photos to go in there and I am done !  (Apart from A because I can't just give him a 6 pack of beer no matter how many times he tells me that is all he wants - but what do you buy for the man who has EVERYTHING ??????????)

I am feeling a bit like the Christmas grinch - I am not putting up a tree this year and really can't be bothered with all the Christmas Hoo Haa (which is why I want to go out for dinner because I can't be ar*ed cooking !!!!) but I have noticed that without little children around, Christmas just doesn't have the same feel to it.  We are not religious people and to be honest, I am just happy to have a couple of days off work !!

Linking in with Jess for #IBOT.

TFTD : When you give it your best shot and you miss, it's not seen as a failure.  Instead, it's just another opportunity to step up to the plate and do it better next time.

Things I Know

Linking in with Stacey-Lee for Team Friday, Miss Cinders for Things I Know and Grace for FYBF today.

Following on from my post yesterday, I know that if I listen to my osteopath and my trainer I will be back training sooner than if I listen to my head (may have something to do with all the training/studying they have had/done compared to me - not sure, just saying !!!)

I know that I have given my back until the end of the weekend before I will even tackle going for a walk on Monday after work.  Depending on how that goes will determine what my next step (pun totally intended) will be.

I know that I am TOTALLY proud of K for the work that she does with SES - especially the last two nights from 6pm-2am with schoolies.  She came home absolutely shattered at 3am this morning after the incredibly sad death of a 17yr old girl who fell from a balcony onto the pool deck at Chevron Renaissance.  What a waste of a young life - when will these kids get it ?????

I know that I am looking forward to catching up with a friend tomorrow, firstly to give her a reflexology treatment and then for us to go out and have a good old fashioned chin-wag catch up - it has been months since we have got together and I know we will have a good time.  Our stomach muscles will get the best work out - laughter !

I know that I am happy with how my eating plan is going.  I feel so much healthier and my energy levels are so much better - why would I change it and go back to eating the cr*p that I was eating ?  Well, I'm not.  I am going to continue with this, with an exception, if, on the odd occasion, I feel like eating something with wheat, dairy or sugar (like on the weekend), I am going to have it - and then see how it makes me feel so I can gauge just how often I can (or can't) have it. 

I know that it is getting closer to Christmas and I am no closer to doing anything about it than I was 6 months ago.  Having said that, I have at least been thinking about what we are going to do, which is a step closer than not having even given it a thought - so I suppose, in that respect, I am just a teeny tiny bit closer !!!

Have the best day ever - take care and look after yourself.  If you know anyone coming to schoolies from inter-state - please, please, please tell them to take care and look after each other to prevent another tragedy from happening.

TFTD : You are the author of your beliefs.  You get to write and edit them continuously.  And it's really important to tend and maintain your belief in your awesomeness because when you feel terrible, the people you care about suffer too.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am REALLY thankful for two people in my life ...................... my osteopath and my trainer (bet you thought I was going to say A and K didn't you ???)

While I am thankful for A and K, these past 10 days I have had occasion to visit my osteopath 4 times and my trainer zero times - none, zilch, not at all, nothing !!!  Why ?  Because of my stupid back injury from Warrior Dash.  Not that I am slating Warrior Dash here because I'm not - in fact we have all agreed that we will be doing it again next year.  I am lamenting the fact that maybe I should have been fitter before I tackled it and thus prevented my back injury !

The bottom line is that I have a back injury that I need to manage it properly to start with so that it doesn't hinder my training down the line. 

My osteo has been great - managing to see me and doing some dry needling, which, as painful as it is, certainly does aid and hasten the recovery process. 

My trainer has been great because he totally 'gets' my injury - he keeps telling me to rest up and give it a chance to recover so that I can get back to training sooner, even when I am chomping at the bit to get going NOW.  I feel very frustrated at not being able to do anything except get home, cook dinner, get the washing done, hop on the computer, play with my camera and crochet some more blankets.  I WANT TO TRAIN but I am learning (slowly it seems !!!) that if I go back to training too soon, it will mean that I will be out of action even longer.

So for the above two people, I am truly thankful - for their care of me and for the help that they have given, both physically and mentally, in helping me to understand that sooner isn't always better.

Now if my head would just accept this and buy into it 100% and stop playing mind games that go something along the lines of

"The longer you leave training, the more unfit you are getting."
"The longer you leave training, the less you are going to want to start again."
"The longer you leave training, the more you are going to battle to keep your weight under control."

then  I should be great !!

Today I am also thankful for going to my cupboard this morning and pulling out a pair of size 12 3/4 pants from Katies and having them fit me comfortably enough to wear them to work without feeling like I am going to get cut into two !!!

Linking in with We Heart Life for Thankful Thursday - so why not pop over and share some blog love around with everyone ?

Have the best week ever !

TFTD : Act as if it is impossoble to fail and it will be.

Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom

Yesterday my folks celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary.  52 years of being married to each other, and still the best of friends.  In this day and age I truly feel that this is a huge achievement.

This photo was taken a few weeks ago on my Mom's 75th birthday.

They are a total inspiration to me.  They have provided such a stable family life for me and it is only as I have grown older that I have come to really appreciate all that they did for me while I was growing up - and how much they continue to do for us.

I love you both so much Mom and Dad - wishing you many more happy years together !

Linking with Essentially Jess for #IBOT

TFTD : Hard times will always reveal your true friends.
(I guess this means that they must be true friends because they have certainly had their fair share of hard times !!!!)

Warrior Dash 2012

Warrior Dash Queensland 2012 has come and gone and we did it !!!  Not the greatest time but for us it was never about the time - it was about the challenge and the fun of the event !!

We left home on Friday after work and decided to go the back way to Kilcoy to miss the Friday afternoon traffic into and out of Brisbane along the Gateway/Bruce Highway.  Great idea - we just kept moving the whole time so while it may have been a bit longer (km wise) it was definitely quicker than the other route.

We had lots of rain on the way up and it was raining quite hard when we got there - not the best start to an obstacle event !!!  We had dinner at one of the two local hotels, Stanley Hotel.  It was a good meal and well within what we were allowed to eat.  We had a lazy start to the day as we were only in the 12 o'clock wave.  K and I were really organised with our food, having made smoothies before we left home which we took with us.  We had also packed some frozen fritattas, nuts, shredded coconut and some 70% chocolate in case we got hungry during the day plus plenty of water to drink.

On our way to the event it was spitting with rain but that didn't do anything to dampen our spirits - we were all there to have a great time !!!!

We managed to park in the second car park and walked across the hill to the start of the event.  We got our numbers and then dropped our bag off and went and joined into the next wave - we had no idea of what the time was or if it was our wave and they had no clocks around for us to check - nobody was checking people as they started so we figured we would start rather than standing around in the rain.

Well it was quite different to The Stampede.  The obstacles were more challenging and the walking in between was more up and down !!!!  Man some of those hills were killers !!!  Luckily A had his ventolin with him this time and used it half way up the first hill.  There were fewer mud obstacles (although more mud between obstacles) - at least the last obstacle helped to get the mud from the previous obstacle off !!!!

The rain meant that there was more mud than there should have been and so it was quite difficult going up and down some of the hills because of the mud and slipping and sliding.  At the bottom of one hill I landed up sliding down the last 6-8m of the hill on my butt as it was so muddy and I was worried about hurting my knee if I tried to run down and slipped.  Unfortunately I think that was the first injury to my back !!!!!

The second was when we climbed up one side of an obstacle and had a straight fall down the otherside - I hung down as far as I could but I couldn't move my hands to the lower rung and so dropped about 4-5' instead of 2-3' - that was when I knew I had done something that my back didn't like !!!!!!

I was a little indignant when a lady went passed and said "You can get them to come and pick you up if you don't want to finish" - Don't want to finish ?????????????  Not bloody likely - I was going to finish this event no matter how long it took.  A and K were amazing at keeping me going and encouraging me along the way.

The second to last obstacle was 3 mud pools - each having a longer slide to get into them.  Managed those all fine but got out of the last pool, took about 4 steps and both feet shot out from under me and I landed flat on my back.  It took me a while to get up from there and with help from A and K I managed to roll myself onto my hands and knees and get up from there.  Of course all I wanted to do was get out of there but the good thing was that I wasn't the only one that it happened to.  I was clearly luckier than the lady who broke her ankle at the same obstacle !!!!

The last obstacle was a mud pool that you had to swim across and make sure to stay under the barbed wire that was strung over it !!!!!!  I battled to get out of there but in the end we made it !!!!!!!!  I certainly felt like I had accomplished something when I finished !!

We went and collected our bag and then had a 'shower' - well we actually just stood in front of a water truck along with I don't know how many other people and tried to rinse as much of the mud off as we could. We decided to try to save our clothes and shoes this time as it is going to get rather expensive if we have to buy clothes and shoes for each of these events !!!!!

By this stage my back was absolutely killing me so as we walked back to the car A went ahead to see if he could move the car closer and save me some walking but there was such a traffic jam that he couldn't even move so by the time we got to the car we all dried off as best we could in the rain, took our wet pants off and sat in towels on plastic packets in the car !!!!  It took us over 1/2 hr to get out the car park and we were all so pleased to get back to the unit and be able to shower !

When we were waiting in the car park K said "So, are we doing this again next year ?" and we all said a resounding YES !!!!!  I have bruises all over the place, put my back out rather badly and have sore arms and legs but I can't wait for the next event to come around - it was so good !

Joining in with Jess from Essentially Jess for #IBOT !

Have the best week !

TFTD : In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become who we are capable of being, by remaining exactly where we are.

Cranky Pants Day

Today is officially Cranky Pants Day (yes I know some people will be celebrating Melbourne Cup but I don't get it - maybe because I am from South Africa and the closest we ever got to a horse race was The July - maybe because I am not a fan of horse racing - whatever it is, I don't get the hype over a horse race where majority of the horses aren't even from Australia !!!).

Today I am cranky.

Yesterday I wasn't.

Yesterday I was motivated to do what needed to be done.

Yesterday I went shopping after work - spent what I could have put as a down payment on a new car on some fruit and veg.

Yesterday I went home and got above veggies chopped up and roasted while A cooked the chicken on the Weber.

Then I made the breakfast muffins that we needed or suffer the consequence of not being prepared for breakfast or lunch this week.

By this stage it was after 8pm and I still hadn't done my #bacnov3030challenge so off A and I set with the dogs.  44 mins later we were back home and I sat down at the table with some papers to catch up on a few things that I wanted to have written down instead of running around my head with the proviso that I was going to be finished by 10 and in bed by 10.30.

Liar, liar pants on fire - I eventually got up from the table at 10.40 still having to shower and get ready for bed so it was closer to 11.15 by the time I got into bed.

At 2am I was still awake - not because of A's snoring but because I was so over-tired, I couldn't sleep.  I had a lot of time to think and analyse what I was doing wrong.  I know my timing yesterday was way out - I don't normally do my exercise so - normally I get home and get out and then worry about dinner after that - THAT is what I need to do in future !!!

I have now set an alarm for 9pm that shouts "GO TO BED NOW" !

I feel like absolute cr*p today.  When the alarm went off I couldn't believe it.  I nearly cried.  I snoozed it three times before dragging myself out of bed.  All I can say is thank goodness the big meeting with the bank that was planned for today has been re-scheduled for Friday - I couldn't have handled that !!!!

Today is Cranky Pants Day.

Tomorrow will be better.

Linking in with the lovely Jess at Essentially Jess today for #IBOT

TFTD : You have to be courageous and wise enough to know that if what you are doing is not producing the desired results, you must take different actions.

Going Well

Yesterday we had a great day - shopping - as a family !!!  We got into the car in the morning and K said "I feel just like a little girl again going shopping with my Mom and Dad" - we all laughed !!!  Told her she was welcome to drive and we would go with her but she was happy to be a passenger !

First stop was to Parklands where Lifeline was having a $2 sale.  We managed to get some clothes which was great.  It was a totally different experience for us - seeing people snatching armfuls of clothing and then off into a corner, going through and trying things on, then putting what wasn't suitable back on the tables and taking another armful.  Anyway, we got what we needed as well as a bag big enough to put clean clothes and towels in to change into after Warrior Dash.

Our next stop was the Lifeline shop where we managed to get 6 pairs of shoes (which is enough for 2 obstacle races !!!) plus two caps, one hat and a pair of sunnies for $50.  So, we are all set for Kilcoy - watch out, the M Family is on it's way on Friday after work !!!!

The rest of the day was giving my opinion on K's shopping - the bag she was getting for $20 from Meyers because she had to use a Meyer's voucher ($100) from Christmas the year before last.  The only problem was that we were at Robina and, while they had two in stock according to their computer, they didn't actually have any she could buy because they couldn't find them !!!!!  But, Pacific Fair had an actual bag on their floor so we went across there and got it.

She was also looking for a dress for her work Christmas party - they are having a Masquerade Evening and she needs a dress (and shoes and bag of course plus accessories !!!!) for the night.  We found a couple that she liked but they didn't have her size or she liked it but I didn't - so nothing finalised on the dress.  This has to be a 20yo logic -

K - Hey Mom - do you like these shoes ?
Me - Not really - when are you going to wear them ?
K - To the Christmas party
Me - But you don't even have a dress yet - how can you buy shoes when you don't have a dress
K - Oh yes - maybe I won't get them
Me - (to myself) - You think ????

We got home and A was going out with his brother to see someone who was down from Darwin for the Pan Pacific Masters Games so off he went.  This meant K and I were free to watch the Breaking Dawn Part 1 DVD to complete our Twilight recap that we started a little while ago.  He got home at about 4.30 and as soon as the movie was finished, he and I took the dogs for a walk.

This was a big thing for me (thanks to Tracey at Bliss Amongst Chaos and her 30/30 challenge for November) because normally if I have spent some time on the couch, I find it EXTREMELY difficult to get up and get exercising.  There was no way I could drop the ball on the 3rd day of the challenge !! I do believe I will get back to the point where I am in the habit of exercising - every - single - day - so even when I have a rest day I can just walk with A and the dogs.  He is wanting to exercise more and I am trying to help him do a little bit at a time.  Hopefully we will get there with him as well as myself !!!

This morning I had coffee/water with my dear friend from Colours of Sunset.  We were going to go for a walk but due to inclement weather down the coast we just met for a catch up and a drink.  I had such a great time.  I was a little late because, after a slight change in arrangements, I thought I would be able to get a short run in.  And I did.  With some great times.  6:12 for the 1st km, 6:15 for the 2nd km and then the last 1.3km I was a little stuffed and landed up averaging 6:21 for the whole run.  BUT, I am not knocking that - for me it is a good time even if the run was shorter than normal.  What I hadn't factored into my time allowed before I had to leave, was time to cool down AFTER my run !!!  So with ceiling fans going fall blast and me dashing under it when I could, I managed to get there about 5 mins late.  We had a great time anyway - well I know I did and I hope she did too !!!!! 

After that I had a couple of things to do - then came home, had some fritatta for lunch and spent a few hours on the couch catching up on blogs/FB/twitter (which all seem quite quiet this afternoon which is good !!!)

A just called to say he is finished work and on his way home which is great as I wasn't expecting him for at least another 2-3hrs !  K will be home from work just now and we will be making some more fritatta and breakfast muffins for us to have next week.

I hope you have all had a great weekend and that the up-coming week isn't too stressful !!!

Have a great day !

TFTD : You don't need a reason to help people.

A Great Place

Linking in with Stacey-Lee from GetOnWithItAlready - what place are you in right now ?  Not physically - but emotionally and mentally ?  Are you where you want to be ?  Are you close to where you want to be ? Or is where you want to be not even on the horizon for you ?

I didn't realise just how directionless (I think that is the word I am looking for) I was until I looked back over the past few months and realised that apart from a couple of events and a holiday to NZ, I really was just marking time.  No concrete goals to aim for.  Just marking time.

I was thinking about myself recently and realised that now I have direction - I have goals I want to achieve and I am following specific paths to achieve those goals.

1.  I committed to the LEANing Challenge with We Are Slimming
2.  I committed to Tracey's 30/30 challenge for November at Bliss Amongst Chaos
3.  I am involved in research for a book that involves all different areas of my life
4.  I committed to Kate's #operationMOVE for November at katesaysstuff (which I am doing in conjunction with point 2 above)

Looking now I see it is just 4 points - which to my way of thinking previously - was a bit piss-willy - really, all I could come up with was 4 ??????  But now I realise that maybe the smaller the number the more chance I have of achieving them - I tend to be an all or nothing kind of girl so often would tackle a million lots of things at once and then burn out without finishing most of them. 

I can't tell you how different I feel on the LEANing challenge  - no sugar, no wheat, no soft drinks, no dairy and I feel fantastic.  My energy levels are up and I feel so much clearer in myself (not sure that is an expression but that is how I feel !!!).  Yes, it takes a lot of preparation.  Yes, it means I have to be more organised.  Yes, I have to have a plan.  But, between K and I, we are doing it.

My newest 'sweet' - 70% cocoa chocolate

My child who is normally a grumble bum about most things that don't revolve around her - has become (for now anyway) a helpful, considerate, thoughtful young adult to have around the house.  She has been amazing - so much so on Wednesday night she came and sat next to me with her computer and said "Let's do a menu plan for next week so we can get the shopping done and we know what meals I'm cooking and which one's you are cooking." - as I said before whoever has swopped out my child, please don't swop her back anytime soon !!!!!

It looks like A might be getting a bit more interested in exercising and eating healthy food.  He has been for a run for me one night and was going to run last night but into our walk he was light-headed and didn't feel well so we walked home and I just went for a run by myself.  I hope that our good habits start to rub off on him - he used to be so fit and healthy.

Next weekend we have Warrior Dash at Kilcoy - I am hoping that it will be just as much fun as The Stampede. Tomorrow we are going op shopping to find clothes and shoes to wear because once you are finished, the bin is really the only place for your clothes / shoes !!

I am choosing to embrace the positives.  I will acknowledge, then let go of the negatives. This is the time for me to look after ME.  It is the time for me to accept that I may not get to be the weight that I think I should be but I can still have a healthy body - one that I nurture and nourish and treat with respect - not only with how I dress / look but how much I exercise and feed it.

I am off to have my next lot of water - have the BEST day that you can and I hope that your weekend brings you whatever it is that you need !

Also joining in for FYBF with Grace from With Some Grace - hop over and meet some other bloggers !

TFTD : Success is not a skill, it's a persistent attitude

Happy Birthday Mom !

Dad, A, K, Mom and myself

Yesterday my Mom celebrated her 75th birthday.  We are very blessed to have her living just 5kms around the corner given that we come from South Africa and had to leave my folks behind when we left in 2000.  They applied for a Parent Contributory  Visa (at a cost of $65,000) and came over to live here in 2006.  Those 6 years without having them around, except when they were on holiday, was tough.  I used to talk to them every day when we lived in South Africa but we couldn't afford to do that once we moved here.

My Mom, who up until 2000, had only used golf ball typewriters and very slowly upgraded to an electric typewriter.  She didn't 'do' computers.  I told her she was going to have to learn as I couldn't afford to phone her every day but at least we could mail every day.  She was very hesitant.  She was scared.  She didn't like technology.  Luckily my Dad was reasonably computer literate so he started to teach her.  We lived with them for the last 2 weeks before we moved here and every night we would sit down and I would try to show her what she could do.  She didn't like it but she knew that she was going to have to master it.

She made copious notes of what to do at every single step and yet still she managed to battle to do it.  Dad would have to log on and get everything to the point where she just had to type into the body of the mail.  12 years later she can log on and send her own mails - she is very proud of this fact and I am extremely proud of her for learning this new skill at the grand old age of 63 !!

When we were growing up, my Mom worked at the University of Durban, for the engineering students running a bookshop for them.  She finished work at 1.30 every day to make sure that, after year 1 and 2, she was always at home when we finished school.  I don't recall that she ever did anything with us when we got home as we normally dashed in from school, changed and went out to play with the other  kids in the neighbourhood.

What I do remember are the cakes and scones she used to bake - they were as light as anything and so yummy.  Her chocolate cake was to die for.  Sadly here the flour seems to be quite different and so she doesn't bake much anymore.  She still makes milk tarts and I can never have too much of that - it is delicious and I am so glad I have mastered the art of making milk tarts that taste just like hers.  I guess that happens when you have a great teacher.

There is nothing that my Mom can't sew / make / knit / crochet.  She has amazing skills when it comes to these crafts.  For all the years we were here and they were there, she and my Dad would make, and then sell, table cloths, placemats, aprons, library book bags, cushion covers etc at craft markets each week and this was their "Sew To Go" business - their logo was a map of Africa, a map of Australia and the route of the airplane !  Every year they made the trip in July for 4 weeks - I used to absolutely hang out for those 4 weeks of the year.  After they left to go back home, I felt like I had lost an arm or a leg.  One of the happiest days of my life would have to be the day they were accepted to immigrate to Australia.

My Mom has knowledge she doesn't even realise.  When I start a knitting / crocheting project, she is the one who checks my needle size to make sure my tension is right - I am getting better at this but only because she is such a great teacher.

We bought new doona covers ages ago and they have been in the cupboard ever since.  We put them on the other day and they doonas never seemed to stay put in them because they were a bit big - no trouble, she altered them so that they fit so nicely I would love her to do our other doona covers !!!  Any sort of bag or holder she can make.  If anything breaks / needs to be mended, she is our go to person - not because I can't do it - more because she is so much better at it than I am and more importantly, she LOVES to help us out.  I would say that at least 5 days a week they call to see what they can do for us and sometimes I have to make up things for them to do !!!

She has a heart of gold.  There is nothing she won't do for others.  She has done such a huge amount of knitting / crocheting for charity I think she should get a medal.  But she doesn't do it to get a medal - she does it because she wants to make someone else's life better - even if it is only a handmade jumper in winter.

They feed wallabies in their back yard.  I cannot imagine how many kilos of carrots she has cut up for the wallabies that visit.  They all have names and some of them are so tame, if there is no food in their bowl (because she won't leave it out as it dries out so she brings it in after they leave each time !!) they will tap on the door to let her know they are there and there is no food there !!

When she comes to visit Alfie and Rosie love her to bits !  (Yes, they do love everyone who comes to visit but sometimes I think my Mom gets an extra special welcome when she comes)  They buy them bones when they are out and love to spend time just watching them either playing in the Broadwater when we take them down or jumping up and catching the water when A has the hosepipe out.

Mom, you are an amazing woman, who I am proud to call Mom.  I know that there is going to come a day when you won't be here anymore and when that day arrives, it will be too soon. 

I love her more than she will ever know even though I tell her every time I see her but I don't know that the words I say can convey just how much I do love her.

For those of you who still have Mom's with you - I hope that you love, appreciate and validate them while they are still here.  For those of you whose Mom's are no longer here, I believe they are still watching over you.

I am so glad that you had such a great birthday Mom - you deserve nothing less.

I am hoping to link in with WeHeartLife for TT but there is no post there at the moment because I am so thankful that my Mom is who she is and she has helped make me who I am today.

TFTD : Happiness is the vehicle we travel in, not our destination.