Share my Snaps - Summer Break

We had a pretty fabulous January - we went on a romanitc trip to Bora Bora for our twentieth wedding anniversary and then as a family went to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan.

We also squeezed in a really fun afternoon and evening in Singapore, as we transited.

Singapore - where even the airport is fun!

We also got unexpectedly offloaded in Auckland, so I've now been to New Zealand as well.

I swam with sharks (plenty of them) and both Stingrays and the majestic Mantas. A highlight was a shark playing with me on the paddle board, swimming along side and then in front of me, chasing fish into shore. Alas she left before I could grab my camera.

I saw plenty of sunrises and sunsets, both of which elate me.

I managed to squeeze in two shows for the Festival of Sydney and Field Day (As a mum and non-drug user, PLEASE start pill testing!!)  and George Ezra.

So my January will be pretty hard for me to beat...but lets see what I can do, shall we?

Not a bad airport view!

Linking with#TravelTuesday

See more on Insta or read the details on the travel blog.

All the world loves a clown. - Cole Porter

Except they don't. When you google quotes on clowns, almost all are negative.
However, as a highly under-rated art, I will stick with Mr Porter's words.
Last day of school holiday fun at TimeZone, getting the teen and tween to bond, one last time before they went their separate ways into school life.
Nothing gives me more joy than watching them play together, laughing and engaged.

Do you like clowns?

Short and sweet for #PictorialTuesday  #WordlessWednesday  #TheRandom #MySundayBest  #MyPhotoFriday #WeekendReflection

Out of Sorts

I've come back after a fabulous few weeks and a number of complications have arisen. I'll be honest, I'm not loving much this week. So scraping for a #Lovinglife post, I'm loving starting my mornings with this song in the shower (portable bose in the bathroom is giving my mornings a lift).



I have a concert tomorrow night so hopefully that will get me back into my usual headspace. Plus with the kids going back to school today, I might get to exercise more. I will definitely be making some changes to improve my lot, so to speak.

What's been your pick me up this week?

Linking with #LovingLifeLinky

“At sunrise, everything is luminous but not clear” ― Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

I never quite adjusted to the time in Thailand, which gave me a week of sunrises to admire.


There is hope and joy wrapped up in watching daybreak. You pause in reflective happiness.


















“Whether sunrise or sunset, it heralds a new opportunity to dream...” 
― Virginia Alison

 Linking with #TravelTuesday

What is Hope?

Hope is that small glimmer of desire that taints your idea of the future.
Hope fills your chest or sits in the back of your mind, urging you forward with anticipation.
Hope may be ludicrous or a possibility, yet the feeling you feel is the same.

We went to a private viewing of the Modern Masters of the Hermitage and the guide told us that at the turn of last century (1900), people were full of hope. The hope for the future, the exciting time of possibilities infiltrated the art, and that was why the masters used the bright yellows and painted their representations of the world with pink or blue hues. It is a very joyous collection, and that feeling is passed on to the viewer. (So if you haven't seen it yet, make sure you go, if only for the Kandinsky's).

I was thinking that at the turn of the century, moving into the 2000's, we didn't have the same hope and enthusiasm for the state of the world. We were on edge, slightly jaded in achievements and quite the opposite feelings to those of possibility. How have we done this? Why have we messed it all up so much?

Hope is one of the under-rated human emotions. If you have it, don't let people dismiss it. Avoid their attempts to kill it with bleak realism. Tend it like a precious flower and let it bloom. Maybe nothing will change except your outlook. See the world around you hued in pinks and bright yellows. Though maybe, if you chase hard enough, something wonderful will happen.

“Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, 
Whispering 'it will be happier'...” 
― Alfred Lord Tennyson

Linking with #TriumphantTales