So I'm not quite thx thx thx... but I'm still Thankful for much in my life

 If you haven't checked out thx thx thx: a thank you note a day you definitely should, it's very cute and a simple reminder of looking on the bright side.

Today is Day 8: A Thank you letter to someone who has changed your life.

Go ahead and click on the little button below to read all about this 30 day challenge.

 It was very difficult for me to narrow down who to write this thank you letter to. I have so many wonderful people in my life who I know I don't thank enough. I don't know if you know this but the thing is .... I have THE BEST dad in the whole world! Hands Down.....

To my Dad, Daddy, Papa, Daddy Dearest......

Source

I'd like to thank you,

cause heaven knows I don't do it enough. 

Thank you for letting me know that I am beautiful... 

for having this certain ability to let a person know 

you really mean it 

and it's not just something you say.

I have been witness to you

letting many people know how 

beautiful they are inside and out, 

it's amazing to see a person just shine and beam 

because my dad has 

this amazing ability 

to let them know just how wonderful they are. 

Thank you for spending time with me, 

I never felt like my dad was too busy. 

I have many fond memories with you throughout my life,

whether playing or working.

I appreciate you teaching me 

and being patient 

and letting me know that a girl can fix things too,

that it's not just mens work. 

I really did enjoy all those times 

you had me help fix the car,

and the many times you took me on a plumbing job. 

I appreciate being raised to believe I can do anything

  I want to do. 

Thank you for being so pleasant to be around, 

it is always a pleasure to be in your company,

  Often when I think of you the first image is 

of your smile,

your laugh,

of your whistle, and dance. 

Thank you for teaching me about respect,

to respect not just myself but others,

this started at a young age

with learning that 

my mother deserves my utmost respect.

Thank you for teaching me that it is ok to

stand up for myself, 

and be myself,

that I am wonderful just the way I am. 

Thank you for teaching me 

about working hard, and 

doing your best. 

Thank you for teaching me that a man should 

buy me flowers

every now and again. 

Thank you for teaching me that it is not weakness

that moves a man to tears,

but love, and 

strength. 

Thank you for sharing with me

your gentle nature,

watching the way you can calm 

and sooth a crying baby,

stranger or no,

is inspiring and beautiful. 

Thank you for teaching me about service 

and generosity,

It is because of you that I feel the need to offer

a helping hand 

even if it means going out of my way.

I wouldn't be able to count

how many times  I watched you go help

with a plumbing problem 

or any other troubles 

even in the middle of the night.

Thank you for teaching me the joy

in giving, and about

Santa Clause's true spirit.

Thank you for not just being the kind of parent I want to be,

but the kind of person I want to be. 

I have always known my father loves me, 

believes in me,

and thinks I am a wonderful person.

Being able to carry that knowledge

with me through life

has proven to be

an immense blessing.

Thank you for being a Real Hero!

Love you Dad

Photo by Studio K Photography

Source

In case you missed the other days here are

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5  
• Day 6 
• Day 7

OK so I can live without a lot of things... but chocolate??!!!?!?!

Life used to be simpler, I remember when there were no cell phones, I even remember party line when you couldn't make a phone call if your neighbor was on the phone! I remember life without internet, and even without netflix ... oh the horra! And really I think I'd change the wording on this challenge to 5 things I don't want to live without instead of 5 things I couldn't possibly live without.

In 2007 I spent a few weeks in Haiti volunteering at an orphange, and believe me that experience stays with a person and you really realize how much a person CAN actually live without.  Really I could live without a LOT of things, I really could.. but do I want to? No I don't.  I like my luxuries and conveniences. I LOVE my hot running water, and my flushing toilet. I appreciate air conditioning and heating, and really where would I be without chocolate ;)

Also let's just make it a given that we are not talking about air, water, food, shelter, and fire. Cause where is the fun in that, this is supposed to be getting to know me, not getting to know the human condition.

So my list of 5 things I don't want to live without. In no particular order.

1. Music
I Love music, it can change my mood, lift my spirits, ground me and inspire me.
There is something beautiful about words and melody when mixed they are SO powerful.
I teach Music Together classes, and it's so beautiful when I see little children singing, clapping & dancing along with their parents. It's impossible to leave a class without a huge smile on my face. At our wedding we had a drum circle, this was such a fun, and beautiful moment bringing two families and all our friends together, each person bringing their own unique style to make beautiful music together. THAT is the power of music!

photo by Studio K Photography

2. Cell Phone
I blame my mother... for my gift of gab, (as well as many of my other WONDERFUL traits).  I do know I've only had a cell phone for around 6 or 7 years but truly I feel lost without it. I love knowing I am connected to the world, that my husband, my family, my friends are only a phone call away.
I love the option of calling or texting, and although I have gotten better about not always having it on me (due to my husbands mockery) I still think it would be really difficult for me to live without that convenient connection to the outside world.

I know this looks really bad, but it wasn't even my phone, we were just trying to connect with my brother and sister in law for family photo arrangements. :) Also by Studio K Photography

3. Indoor Plumbing
So I know I eluded to this previously but it is true! After a few weeks spent in Haiti, sponge bathing with cold water from the well, and with out flushing toilets I have gained a very strong appreciation for indoor plumbing! I love HOT showers and Hot baths! Nothing like a shower to wake me up in the morning and a nice relaxing bath to help heal those 'icky' feeling days!

One of the toilets used in Haiti... No Door :(

A lovely rainfall shower in Haiti

 4. Vacations
I LOVE to travel. I spent a year living in London, UK and travelling around Europe! Since then I have been to Haiti, Iceland, Mexico, and a cross country trip across Canada and parts of the USA. You can say I have been bitten by the travel bug! I love seeing, smelling, experiencing new cultures, people, and history. I love standing on the cobblestone streets in Europe and imagining all the people who have stood there before me. Just a few of the pics from my travels...

At Mount Rushmore

With friends in Nova Scotia

With my hubby in Mexico

with besties in Iceland

With my besties in Paris

with Big Ben in London

One of my favourite photo's from Giggleswick, UK

When in Rome...

Sardines in Portugal

First time in Paris

Stonehenge

My favourite spot in Barcelona

White cliffs of Dover

In Sweden

In Denmark

In Germany

In Venice

5. Internet

So I LOVE the Internet... having the world at my fingertips....all the searching, pinning, blogging, diying, and more. Plus I love being able to easily connect to friends around the world. Skyping or video chatting with my Brother and Sis in Law in NYC and being able to see little moments of my new niece. Chatting and skyping with my friends in UK, China, Australia, NZ and US. Not to mention online shopping, applying for jobs and such online, and being able to submit documents online until I can get into the office in person. It really is very helpful and makes my life so much easier. So Thank goodness for my lovely macbook and wireless high speed internet!

Have a fantastic day everyone and feel free to let me know what You don't want to live with out!

In case you missed the other days here are

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5  
• Day 6

Use every moment to fill yourself up

The title of todays blog is a quote from Oprah... When thinking of the day 6 challenge I was thinking of the positive and negative context of reliving moments of our lives. I was thinking of how we often relive moments in our lives that we wish we could "do-over" and dwell on negative choices we have made .... when we relive these moments and dwell on them we are not being present in our lives. How can we press forward and put our best foot forward if we are too busy living in the past? We must remember that it is these moments that can change us, it is our choice to learn and grow from these experiences and take those moments and push ourselves to be more. I am really bad about this, I don't know why but I often will have negative moments of my life pop into my head and I have a hard time pushing them aside or rather using them as a stepping stone and remembering that every moment makes me who I am. I need to remember as well as anybody, that I can use these moments, and experiences to BE MORE! Oprah puts it so well, "You are built not to shrink down to less, but to blossom into more. To be more splendid. To be more extraordinary. To use every moment to fill yourself up."

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/What-I-Know-for-Sure-Becoming-Who-You-Are#ixzz1cWPHug00

Another beautiful quote that I found inspiring while thinking about moments in my life.

 “Life is filled with moments that change us, teach us, make us catch our breath, and sometimes make us happy just to be alive.”
~John St. Augustine

So shall we get to it.... Day 6 in my 30 Day getting to know you challenge

A moment I wish I could Relive

I tried not to be too predictable but it's just the honest truth. I wish I could relive my wedding day. 

photo by Studio K Photography

It was such a beautiful, fantastic, perfect day!

photo by Studio K Photography

And I was so happy and filled with love all day that I can't help but want to go back and do it all over!

photo by Studio K Photography

 

The only thing I'd do differently is finding a way to be able to spend more time chatting with my guests! And maybe getting Kelly in the photo booth with me another time, as well as getting in the photo booth with my mom.

photo by Studio K Photography

 

 

Although it may be predictable I can't help but wish to relive that wonderful day every so often. Here is to looking forward and enjoying many more moments of Love, Joy and perfection with my Love by my side. Taking each moment in stride and using it to be More!

photo by Studio K Photograph

I would love to hear your thoughts and any moments you wish to relive.

In case you missed them here are

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5 

walk a mile in My Shoes

What a good day! It's Day 5: A favourite pair of shoes

I LOVE shoes, own many pairs of shoes have worn out many pairs of shoes and have many favourites!

My most favourite shoes at the moment are my wedding shoes! I LOVE them, they are BEAUTIFUL!

Photo by Studio K Photography

aren't they gorgeous... here's another look just in case ;)

Photo by Studio K Photography

They are Steve Madden and the perfect shade of raspberry!

I may have to do a shoe week at some point in my blogging career to introduce you to a few more pairs of my shoes, but until then you'll just have to enjoy this lovely pair.

Looking forward to hear all about your fav shoes!

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ... and Day 4...

I LOVE Halloween! It is so fun for me, I love costumes and dressing up and it just feels festive and crisp ... not to mention the smells! Halloween smells like pumpkins and crisp leaves and candy. Oh the sweet, sweet joys of the season! Plus it was Halloween when my husband and I first kissed, so that adds a little more magic to the season as well!
We went to a fun Halloween party on Saturday night and there were so many fantastic costumes, I love it when people put effort into dressing up for Halloween. I wish I would have been more diligent in my photo documentation of the evening. I didn't even get a proper picture of my wings - I'll have to remember to do that when I dress up to hand out candy this evening! I did get some pictures though and decided to whip up a little digital scrapbooking page to display our lovely fun filled evening.

as you can see I was a Parrot and my hubby was a Pirate.

I hope you all have had wonderful Halloween fun so far!

Now onto Day 4: A favourite Quote. If you click on the little button below it will take you to where I explain these 30 days.

I read this quote in a book in my teenage years and it's always stuck with me.  I have seen a few different variations of this quote fly around but this was the way I originally read it.

"When you reach the end of everything you know, and the next step is into the darkness of the great unknown, you must believe one of two things. Either you will step onto firm ground, or you will be given wings to fly."
           --unknown

This quote always brings such beautiful imagery to mind. What a beautiful message of faith and hope!

Enjoy

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3

Let's take a looksee in my library...

On to Day 3: A favourite book

So you may all be thinking after reading my last post that all I do is sit around watching DVD's but it's not true, yes I do love movies but I also LOVE a good book, or even an ok book for that matter. Yup reading is like the same as movies for me, escape, relaxation and good thinking!

One day I'd love to have a library... Have you ever searched "library" on pinterest? If you haven't you must go do this I drool everytime, as I scroll through the images you can just hear me repeating over and over "pretty....pretty....ooooo....pretty". Here is one of the lovely library images I found on pinterest and am very inspired by.

in'nit puuuuurdy

Now on to a favourite book!

I love going to the library and just randomly grabbing books off the shelf, I've found some lovelies that way.... including p.s. i love you from way before the movie came out!
But one of my favourite books came from this method of book choice.

Bad Girls, Good Women is a novel by Rosie Thomas I loved this book so much that I actually went out and bought it afterwards, in fact I think it may be time to pick it up again for another read.

A little Synopsis on the book from www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

The gospel of freedom according to Mattie Banner and Julia Smith. In London, on the brink of the Sixties, two runaways plunge into the whirl of Soho nightlife. Mattie faces the hard slog of repertory companies and a sleazy strip-club in search of fame as an actress. But, when it comes, stardom is not enough, and the love that Mattie desires seems to elude her. Julies chooses marriage and Ladyhill, a beautiful Dorset manor house. Then, after the tragedy, she realizes that to achieve true independence she will have to risk her marriage and her child. Though each has to make her own choices, their friendship - despite the guilt and betrayal - endures over three turbulent decades.

It's one of those stories that I felt grief when I finish reading it. I became so involved in the story and characters lives that I couldn't believe it was over, almost as though I had lost someone dear to me.

This time I will leave you with this one book. I mean, I could list Harry Potter, The Help, Little House on the Prairies and many other fantastic books I have read but I am thinking these are all books you have read or at least heard of. Bad girls, Good Women is likely one you have not heard of and I think it's a treasure so go read it! Please share some of your favourite books in the comments, I look forward to your choices.

With How many to choose from.....

We are back with Day 2: A Favourite Movie

I have a confession to make, I LOVE movies! I am the type of girl that can watch the same movie over and over and over again. I can relive a moment in my life just by watching a movie. For example watching Anne of Green Gables always reminds me of my childhood, likely around 12 years old. And also My Fair Lady reminds me of my Grandma and Grandpa, we would borrow My Fair Lady on VHS from them cause we didn't own it. I wonder how many times they lent it to me?

I own 100's of DVD's and I even still have movies on VHS and a VCR to play them on, replacing all the VHS I own will take time so until I do replace them all I will continue to use my VCR.

- this isn't my collection - When I find my camera charger maybe I'll snap a pic of my DVD's

I'm a sucker for a chickflick, it doesn't even really have to be good lol, for me watching movies is about escape and relaxation. Or sometimes thinking, I love movies that make me think as well. There are few movies I don't like, but usually any gory movies I don't appreciate. Although I do enjoy the cheesy horror movies that make a person laugh more than jump.

So which would I call A Favourite.... I don't know if I can narrow it down so instead how about a list of movies that I am always in the mood to watch at any given time.

In no particular order...... my favourites :)

Dirty Dancing

In Her SHOES (good book also!)

The Shawshank Redemption

Anne of Green Gables

Harry Potter (any of them)

My Fair Lady

Now and Then

 P.S. I Love You

 

Ever After

Benny & Joon

Mr. Brooks

Can't Buy Me Love

Edward Scissorhands

 Little Women

Shall We Dance?

& last but not least... Swing Kids

all the movie pictures came from Rotten Tomatoes website

Ok I think that's quite the list, I could probably add to it, but I think it's fairly accurate for some of my favourite movies. What about you? Is it easier for you to narrow down to just one?