My Wish for You on Christmas Day. 

Posted on December 25, 2016 by admin

Today I wish to extend my love to you. 

Today I hope you have food in your tummy and a roof over your head.

Today I hope you are sharing your day with friends and family that you love. 

Today I hope that the people you are with today are all kind to each other and respect and love each other. 

Today I hope that if you have lost someone and feel sad that they are not here to share your day that you are able to remember them with joy and love. 

Today I hope that if your day is not exactly the way you had planned it that you are able to accept the moment and know tomorrow is a new day and a new chance to change things for the better. 

Today I hope if you are sick or in pain that you are able to be comfortable for some moments during the day. 

Today I hope that if you are sharing the day with someone who cannot remember what today is about that you are able to enjoy some small ritual that gives you joy. For example holding hands or singing a carol together. 

Today I hope that you are safe. 

Today I hope if you are alone or lonely that you have some beautiful music to listen to or you are able to do something during the day that makes you happy. 


Today I hope that if you do not celebrate Christmas that whatever you are doing is joyful and full of love. 

Posted in My grateful list | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Christmas Eve’s Grateful Post 

Posted on December 24, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for all the special people in my life. I want to thank you all for the love and support you have all shown me in 2016 and I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas or just plain love for the festive season.

Posted in My grateful list | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Thursday’s Grateful Post 

Posted on December 22, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for just one thing. My chookies laid eggs!!!!!!!!


And I ate them for breakfast. 


Until next time 

Posted in My grateful list | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Wednesday’s Grateful List 

Posted on December 21, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for lots of things.

Today I am grateful Mum and Dad have moved into their new home. It is so beautiful and I hope they are very happy there.

Mum and Dad’s new view


Today I am grateful that yesterday morning I did yoga for the first time in 18months. I did it with a beautiful friend at Palm Beach. The yoga teacher was amazing, the spot incredible and I could actually manage many of the poses. 


Today I am grateful that David and I went to lunch with my son Nicholas and his girlfriend yesterday. We went to Rick Shores for lunch. The company was wonderful, the food delicious and the spot very special.

Photo from the Courier Mail


Today I am grateful that Sophia and I played Upwords last night. It is a different word game similar to Scrabble. She was very good at it. 

Today I am grateful that the girls have had friends to stay at the beach. We have had a constant stream of visitors. They have all been lovely girls.

Today I am grateful that David is relaxed and enjoying our beach holiday too.  


What is special about your Christmas holidays? 

Until next time

Posted in My grateful list | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Tuesday’s Grateful List 

Posted on December 20, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful that Christmas holidays has finally arrived for me.


Today I am grateful I have finished uni for the year.


Today I am grateful that our Christmas tree is up at home and at the beach.


Today I am grateful I have all my family in the one place for a little while. 

Today I am grateful that last night we all played scrabble – it is my favourite game of all time! 


Today I am grateful the Christmas shopping is done and presents wrapped. 

Today I am grateful the gingerbread house is made…….and nearly eaten. 

Until next time 

Posted in My grateful list | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Monday’s Grateful List 

Posted on December 19, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for Facebook. 

Today I am grateful that I can see all the lovely photos that my friends post about all the wonderful places they are traveling too. At the moment I have friends in Las Vegas. I have friends in Switzerland. I have friends in Japan. I have friends in Waikiki. I have friends in Canada. I love seeing all their photos and I love that the world has become so accessible for so many of us. 

Today I am grateful for being able to see all my friends photos of their families. Many friends have children who are graduating from university at the moment. I love seeing all the photos that show how proud they all are of their children. When Facebook first started we were posting photos of our children at primary school. Then we were posting photos of our children starting high school. In the last few years many of us have posted photos of our children finishing school and the photos of them all looking so beautiful going off to their formals. I am so grateful to be able to share these milestones that our children are going through with my friends. I am so grateful that many of us are so proud of our families. 

Today I am grateful that I can choose what pages I like and I therefore have a wonderful and uplifting feed on my Facebook page. I do try and read the paper but I get very distressed as often it is full of murders and war and financial mayhem. I know it is responsible to be well informed but I also believe it is responsible to choose what toxic input does or does not come into my life. My favourite pages on Facebook are Cauldrons and Cupcakes, Maria Shriver, Humans of New York, The Satorialist, Energy Therapy and Thich Nhat Hanh. 

Today I am grateful for all the inane things on Facebook  that make me laugh and give me joy. For example I love James Corden and Car Karoke. 

‘All I Want for Christmas’ Carpool Karaoke

James caps off 2016 with a Christmas edition of Carpool Karaoke featuring Mariah Carey, Adele, Lady Gaga and other guests throughout the year to sing Mariah’s classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

Today I am grateful that Facebook is not only a place to share joy but we can also share our sadness and pain. I am grateful I am able to offer friends support during difficult times and even though it is not as good as a beautifully handwritten letter or a hug I still feel it is valuable. 

What can you do today that would make your social media a more joyful place to visit? 

Until next time 

Posted in My grateful list | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Friday’s Grateful List 

Posted on December 16, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for the lovely time I have just spent with my girlfriends Kerryn, Leigh and Michelle. 

Today I am grateful for spending three days in Sydney with these special girls. We met because we have all had children at Payne Road State School and we have now known each other for more than eight years. 

Today I am grateful that we stayed in the Sofitel Wentworth hotel. It was a wonderful spot, great accommodation and the service was absolutely superb. 

Today I am grateful that we shared the most delicious lunch last Sunday at Cafe Sydney. Cafe Sydney captures the essence of Sydney from its amazing location on the rooftop of Customs House with spectacular harbour views, delicious food, an outdoor terrace, cocktail lounge and a relaxed, contemporary interior ( this information was taken straight from their website). We had the best table in the restaurant, the food was delicious, the company fabulous and I was so lucky my sister Liz came and joined us. We finished off by having some Proseco at the Opera Bar and enjoying watching all the people. 




Today I am grateful that on Monday morning we went for the most wonderful walk through Barangaroo. We walked for approximately 8km around the edge of the harbour. It is amazing how quickly time passes when you are chatting all the way. 




Today I am grateful for the Time we spent wandering the shops in Sydney on Monday morning. We finished the morning at the Queen Victoria Building and shared high tea at the The Tea Room. 



Today I am grateful that on Monday night we went to a play at the Sydney Theatre Company called Speed the Plow. Rose Byrne joins Damon Herriman and Lachy Hulme in David Mamet’s Hollywood satire. The play was short ( an hour and a half ) and had no interval. I really enjoyed it and the whole play made me laugh. We then were able to go to dinner at a little Italian restaurant across the road called Ventuno. 

What a wonderful few days. I am so blessed to have such dear friends. I am also blessed that my little sister was able to join us for lunch and dinner on Sunday and Monday night. 

 “Girlfriend time” helps us to create more serotonin – a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being”. Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers and friends and evidently that is very good for our health. Spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym(from http://womenonthefence.com/2012/10/10/the-importance-of-female-friendships/). I can definitely attest to the truth of this ! 


Which lovely girlfriend can you catch up with these holidays to fill you up? 

Until next time 



Posted in My grateful list, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Wednesday’s Grateful List 

Posted on December 7, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for the day I had in Canberra yesterday. 

David and I started the day at the Canberra War Memorial. We did a tour of the memorial that took two hours. Our guide was a volunteer who was wonderful. At the end I asked her about Coast Guard watchers in Papua New Guinea. She was able to show me a section of the exhibition about coast guard watchers, the equipment they used and where they were stationed. I found this very interesting as my grandfather was a coast guard watcher in the Second World War. He was in the RAAF in the 304 Radar Station squadron as a Corporal. 

After the tour I went down to a volunteer who  helped me access my Grandfather’s records. The National Archives of Australia is recording all personal service records of the Australian Forces at the moment. I was able to purchase this record which I should receive in 90 days. Hopefully this will supply some information about my Grandpa that I can share with the rest of my family. I was also given an explaination of all the medals he has and how to get replicas that the family are able to wear if they would like to on days like Anzac Day. 

It was quite an emotional day. 

David and I then drove to Black Mountain and had a wonderful view of Canberra. 

In the evening we decided that dinner was in order. We didn’t book anywhere and were guided by our taxi driver. We ended up at a beautiful restaurant called Aubergine – a two hatted restaurant. It was very beautiful. 




Back at the hotel later that evening it was Christmas! 


What a lovely day.

Until next time

Posted in My grateful list, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Monday’s Grateful List 

Posted on December 5, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful I have spent some time in our National Capital, Canberra. 

I have never been to Canberra. 

Today I am grateful that I have visited the new Parliament House. David and I had a behind the scenes tour of Parliament House. It was wonderful. Our guide was a man who had been a teacher and he had lots of interesting stories about all the personalities of our members of the Senate and House of Representatives. I loved that the Parliament is filled with amazing Australian art, that the building has been designed to reflect our Australian landscape and culture and our way of life has been considered and incorporated into the design and functionality of the building. One of the quotes that I loved that was part of the building was 


Today I am grateful I have visited the National Portrait Gallery. My favourite portrait was the newest one – Quentin Bryce by Michael Zavros. 

Today I am grateful I have visited the High Court of Australia. Dozens of Australia’s top legal minds  gathered for a ceremonial sitting of the High Court in Canberra today  to farewell Chief Justice Robert French ahead of his retirement next month. We just happened to be at the High Court today when this ceremony was about to happen. He will be replaced by Justice Susan Kiefel, a Queensland woman who will be the court’s first female justice. 

Today I am grateful I have visited the National Gallery of Australia. Unfortunately Blue Poles was not in the gallery today but we did see an amazing exhibition of Ned Kelly artwork by Sydney Nolan. 

Today I am grateful that we finished our day with a meal at Monster. The restaurant is in the new hotel called Hotel Hotel. We had beautiful food in an amazing setting in a very interesting building. 



Our day was very special. 

Not only did we see some very interesting places but back at our hotel a little family of magpies was making a nest and a family and growing up on our room window sill.


Until next time 

Posted in My grateful list, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sunday’s Grateful List 

Posted on December 4, 2016 by admin

Today I am grateful for the amazing day I had yesterday. 

David and I came down from Brisbane on Friday, flew into Canberra, picked up a car and drove to Thredbo. 

David did the L’Etape race yesterday. L’Étape Australia by Le Tour de France is a cycling event run under professional conditions for amateurs, with closed roads, a challenging route, a Sprint and a King of the Mountain section. It was run around the Jindabyne Area of the Snowy Mountains. This was the route: 

 
 I had a wonderful day. 

I am grateful I got to watch David start. 

I also grateful I managed to catch up with two lovely friends Jen and Mason Cowle. They did the ride too and I saw them start also. 



I am grateful David had an awesome race and finished in 68th place out of about 4000 competitors. I think this is an incredible achievement and I am so proud of him. 


I am grateful Jen and Mason also finished with very good times and I am very grateful that Jen and Mason rode together and looked after each other. 

I am grateful the three of them all finished safely. 

I am grateful I was able to get a photo of me and Chris Froome, the three time winner of the Tour of France. He came and rode the race and was a wonderful ambassador for the sport the whole day. He even caught the train after the race. 


I am grateful that I met a lovely lady called Ananda at the start. She was supporting her partner who was doing the race. We got chatting and she was very keen to do a walk and have breakfast. It was lovely we managed to walk 5km around Thredbo and had breakfast together. She was fit and healthy and we both had very similar interests. I really enjoyed her company and was thrilled to be able to share my morning with such a nice person. 



I am grateful that Jen, Mason and David and I were able to catch up for dinner after the race. We shared a lovely meal at a restaurant called The Terrace Restaurant in Thredbo. We were very lucky that we actually got to share the meal as the whole area lost power earlier in the afternoon. Luckily the power was restored and we got a beautiful meal. It could have turned very ugly if the power hadn’t come back on – the area was full of 4000 hungry and tired cyclists and the only place that had power was the pub in Thredbo because it had a generator! 

What an amazing day! 

Until next time

Posted in My grateful list, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment