I like to dream

I like to dream. About things that most likely may not happen.

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Is it silly to waste my time, thinking of something out of my reach? Not for me!

I like to dream about houses. Ones out of my budget.
This has been a part of me since childhood.
My parents still have sketchbooks of mine with picture upon picture of house plans. The house plans show furniture and the gardens are landscaped.
I love looking at house plans and pictures of the finished product. I even like changing the house plans to suit my situation. I think this has boosted my creativity and imagination skills.

I also love renovating shows. Whether it be the shows that change one room, or the shows that start with a mess and come out with a masterpiece. I love the garden reno shows too. As well as the auctions shows and shows of people looking to buy a house. I love them all. Is it silly to be so infatuated by something that may never be mine. I don't think so. To dream is to live in hope. To keep the imagination alive.

Did you know that there are many suggested benefits to daydreaming?
It is said that daydreaming can be thought of as a form of meditation. Taking the mind away from current issues and thoughts.
The more you daydream, the more you may see the possibility of making your dreams happen.
Daydreaming can also help to find solutions and brainstorm.
Daydreaming is a way to boost your mood by taking yourself to a happier, nicer place.

What do you like to dream about?

What's your number?

I was listening to a session of Fifi and Jules on the way home from work. I love these guys and enjoy their radio show on a regular basis on the way home from work.

 Today, Fifi and Jules were talking about the release at Cinemas of
What's your number? The movie . In short, a lady reads the statistic that a person who has had 20 sexual partners or more is so much less likely to get married. As she is nearing this number it worries her greatly.

This got me thinking about numbers and how we place great importance on certain numbers in our lives. Some numbers mean a great deal to people while other people don't find them significant at all. On the radio show there was a lot of oohs and ahhs about the people in the room and what their number might be.

Society tends to judge people on the numbers in life, like age, how many times you have done something, how many of something a person has. Some numbers are lucky for people and some unlucky. Some numbers come up in peoples lives many times.

I thought I should throw some numbers out there for you to think about. I would love to know what you think about these numbers. What do these numbers say about me? Were you surprised by the numbers? Do these numbers mean anything at the end of the day? How do they compare with your numbers?

Current age - 36

Number of employers I have had - 3

Number of work locations - 7

Houses I have lived in - 10

Numbers of towns of I lived in - 1
Piercings - 4

Number of children - 2

The age I became a mother for the first time - 29
Traffic infringements - 1

Pieces of Jewellery I wear every day - 5

Numerology Birth Number - 4

Pairs of footwear - 21

My first nomination! The Versatile Blogger.

Thank you so much to Lene @ musings of another mother for nominating me for this award. It's my first nomination for any blogging award and I am very honoured.


Now, to accept one of these awards there are certain rules you have to follow;

1) thank the blogger who awarded you and link back to them (see above!)
2) share 7 interesting facts about yourself
3) pass the award on to 15 newly discovered blogs

So here are 7 interesting (or boring, depending on how you look at it) facts about me;

1.I have never been tattooed or in jail
2.I AM addicted to chocolate
3.I will choose comfort over fashion most of the time
4.I like to eat Cashews
5.I have been playing Netball since I was 9
6.I like my music LOUD
7.I have lived in 10 different houses, all in the same town

and now you MUST check out these blogs which are favourites of mine (in totally random order, of course) and are my nominees for The Versatile Blogger Award;

Jodi @ The Scribble Den 
Michelle @ A Red Envelope
Sam @ At Home With Sam
Kim @ Faith, Grace & Giggles
June and Bear
Life 4 Me by Me
Sarah @ Molly's Maison
Nicola @ Nurture The Little People
Chantel @ Pink Elephants And Lemonade
Kelly @ Our Foot Prints On The World
Our Gang of 7
Natalie @ Winter Love
Sarah @ Oesch and Doots
Jen @ JemiKaan
Zita @Matt and Niamh

Take a walk - Write on Wednesday

Joining up with ink paper pen for

Can you believe we are back already for another week of Write On Wednesday? This week we have an exercise taken from Mark Tredinnick's "Little Red Writing Book" as suggested by Karen at The Rhythm Method. I'll jump straight to it...

Read the excerpt from Tredinnick's book below:

"To write well is to make your sentences well. Whatever you want to write, it's sentences you're going to need to master. Your task is to get to the end of each sentence, one after the other. But not just any old how. You have to get somewhere and take your reader with you: and you want to get there well - elegantly, economically, gracefully, reasonably. You don't want to trip, and you don't want your reader to stumble. .. a sentence is just like a gravel path through a forest. It's a track, not a road; it's a trail, not a footpath. You want it to feel finished, but not mass-produced. You don't want it to be anonymous. You want it to have a bit of personality, preferably its own, which will resemble yours. You want it ... to rise and fall. And you want it to take a sensible, and reasonably straight, path to wherever it's meant to be going. So, if you have something to write, concentrate on your sentences and take them one at a time. Put down the burden of the whole huge book, the suite of poems, the letter, the report or the essay. Don't carry that monster on your back. When walking, as the Buddhists say, just walk. When writing, just write. Specifically, write that sentence. And then write this one. Walk it elegantly, and let it suggest, let it even express, everything you mean to say, in the way it tells its own short story - for every sentence is a short story. The way it takes the bends."

The Write On Wednesday Rules: Feel free to get creative with the writing exercises - there isn't a right or wrong. Please do try to visit the other members of Write On Wednesdays and leave a comment. You can grab the button for Write On Wednesdays from my sidebar.

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 11 - Take a Walk: "Come back home and write what you encountered. Try to write so that your sentences feel the way the walking felt." Let's toss the 5 minute sprint aside this week and instead take a lingering stroll through our exercise. Participants are encouraged to write a first draft (the point being to get it out on the page), then to go through and edit their piece before posting. We're aiming to get from one place to another, taking the reader with us - economically, gracefully, elegantly.

Perhaps start with the usual stream of consciousness exercise if you are having trouble getting started. But then stop and take a look. Edit your sentences and try to get them "feeling" the way your walk felt.

This may seem challenging. But remember, as always, try to enjoy the exercise. Post what you can and rise to the challenge. After all, that's what we have to do if we want to write and write well. Don't forget to thank Karen for the writing exercise. I think I am going to have to buy a copy of The Little Red Writing Book!

As I set out at a brisk pace I inhale and shake off the day.
My route takes me past houses where families are doing their end of day chores. I can hear children's feet, voices, televisions, the clatter of cutlery, the yell of a disgruntled parent, a dog barking.
The breeze is gentle and cool but not cold, so it feels quite refreshing. Having been cooped up in the office all day, I feel as though this is the first chance I've had to inhale. As I walk into another street I feel the freedom in movement and being outside.
My minds becomes wistful as I ponder whether I will get an early night. Surely it's a possibility, I just meed to make it happen. I am getting rhythm as I listen to my music and walk.
The sun is dipping behind the hill and the Earth seems to sigh at the feel of it. Another day done and dusted. The sun is bowing to the moon as it rises for it's shift.
The breeze is picking up the smells and swirling them around. Smells of cooked dinners, wood fires, pine trees and flowers opening with the onset of Spring.
I stop at the curb and wait for a car to pass. People on their way home or on the way out? Is their day ending or just starting? People zipping this way and that. It encourages me to stay still for a moment longer as I don't need to rush anywhere at this moment.

I have missed a couple of weeks of W.O.W so jumped at this exercise which was a comfortable one for me. It felt good to be "back on the horse". I'm not sure if this writing was as smooth or as elegant as it should be.

Walking adventures

Refreshed, energised, happier. This is me after my walk today, and most days.

What is it about walking that does this for me? Is it the exercise, the music in my ears, the fresh air, or a combination?

Today is the first day in a while that it was SAFE to venture out around lunchtime for a walk. The neighbourhood around my work is ideal for walking. Predominately flat, with a few streets that have a little rise to them, many route combinations and lots of streets to discover and explore.



I'm not a sticky beak. REALLY!

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I enjoy walking past houses in a neighbourhood and seeing the differences between them. Some are dollhouse neat, some are dishelveled, some have interesting colour combinations, some have gardens, others have weed patches. I imagine that each house has it's own story, whether it be of the it's history or of the people in it.  I always discover something I haven't noticed before on my walks. I also try not to be judgemental about the state of the house or the people that live there. Everyone is different and has different cirmcumstances.

Today for instance, I was happily walking along, the radio bopping in my ears. The tunes that were playing encouraged a good walking pace. As I picked my route (I always like to mix it up a bit) I took in the houses I passed. I noted a house with a good colour combination, and then another that looked like the painter had puked on it. I saw a house with coloured crystals hanging along the front room window. That would look pretty with the sun at the right angle. There was a house that had obviously recently been renovated - they had done a fantastic job. Everything was neat and perfect.
Then I noticed a house on the corner ahead of me.
I hadn't noticed it before. Was it because the front garden was so overgrown? The house certainly needed a lick of paint and a good working bee. The part of the house that drew my attention was a gorgeous bay window popping out the the roof that was to the front of the 2nd storey. It was a nice looking house once you stripped back the clutter, but none of the other houses looked like this one. It was an older style, and possibly one of the originals built here. That window was unique though - the sort that said "the stories I could tell".
I was tempted to pull out my phone and take a pic - but I TRY to respect people's privacy.

What will I discover next time?