My priorities now...

I seem to work best with a plan and at the moment I need to get back to the basics and remember what my priorites are:

• Taking control of finances:
• Limit debting - do not carry cards with me
• Reduce costs, look at ways to restructure finances such as transferring balances and re-financing
• Focus on bills
• Eat at home as often as possible
• Be clear about goals - I want to clear debt to enable saving for new home.  Remember goals as often as possible to help keep me on track.
• Focus on adventures rather than things
• Program:
• Work with a sponsor
• Eat at home as often as possible
• Widen friendships
• Well being:
• Exercise, find some new walking friends
• Adventure in the outdoors
• Check in with a professional
• Family and friends - be open to new and old connections, include my Mum in my weekends.
• Limit weekend computer use
• Take some risks - with people and places
• Work on my character defects
• Adventure:
• Camping on Cockatoo Island
• Easter 'daily' adventures
• Snorkeling
• Sydney Walks book - one a month
• Visit some new suburbs
• Aboriginal Sydney
• Creativity:
• Redfern photos
• Silvey Gifts - Books, Bag and Moo cards
• Scan photos
• Still lifes in domes
• Career:
• Find a Mentor
• Sieze training opportunities
• Watch relationships
• Minimise defects; start by owning them
• Home:
• Only key purchases:
• Fridge
• Washing machine
• Scanner
• Photo wall frames (can not debt for them)
• Improve what you have:
• Photo organisation
• Finish wardrobes
• De clutter
• Take care of my home

2011 to do

1. Camp when we have the time
2. Take care of myself - chiro, dentist, hairdresser
3. Remember to be creative when I am stressed - photography, writing, needlework
4. Minimise debt
5. Go to First Night of the Sydney Festival
6. Be open to new frendships
7. Be generous in a new way
8. 2011 is the year to be grateful
9. Prepare to be the best hosts we can be for Ron and Jean
10. Learn a joke
11. Go kayaking
12. Be kind to myself - too much self-criticsm is creeping in to my days
13. Spend more time with my Mum
14. Enter a photo in a competition
15. Work my program - have a sponsor, go to meetings, stay in touch
16. Keep nurturing my relationship - spoil him every now and then
17. Keep things simple
18. Go snorkling
19. Stay in touch
20. Find some new places to walk in Sydney
21. Relax into work
22. Re-start writing

What I learnt today - September 2010

23 - People say the nicest things when you least expect it

24 - It is possible to be helpful in situations you are resentful about

25 - I can enjoy things I've only done because they are good for me

26 - People can't guess what I need, I need to ask

27 - Bad things can come good, you just need to keep chipping away

Adventures

1. Czech Republic (Dec 2007)
2. Prague (Dec 2007)
3. Cuba (Sep 2007)
   Havana
4. Dubai (2013)
5. England
   Cornwall (2014)
   Cumbria (2009, 2014)LeedsLondon
6. France (March 2008)
   Paris
7. Ireland (Dec 2008)
   Dublin
8. Malaysia (Nov 2009)
   KL
   Langkawi

9. Northern Cyprus (Jul 2014)
10. Peru (2007)
    Cusco
11. Spain (Jul 2014)BarcelonaSan Sebastian
12. Scotland (2008)
13. United States
    New York
    San Francisco
14. Vietnam
    Hanoi

Great moments of my life

1. Getting the keys to my first apartment.
2. Catching sight of Craig at Manchester airport. Even though I'd just flown 10,000 miles I wasn't 100% sure he'd be there, I wasn't 100% sure we had a future.
3. Getting my driver's license. It opened up a whole new world for me.
4. Helping my mum because I could.
5. First meeting way back in the early 90s, changed my life and continues to change my life for the better.
6. Mum's UK trip.
7. Turning 40 in Paris, especially being with Craig & deciding that we could spend the rest of our lives together.
   

8. Watching Renee's birth and getting to cut her umbilical cord. I made her belly button.
9. Trekking with Robyn on the Inca Trail.
10. Sailing on Halong Bay in Vietnam. My time in Vietnam, and the Vietnamese, reminded me that I could be happy no matter what life threw at me. 
11. Craig getting a visa to Oz.
12. My win at Brightpoint - even though it took me days for it to sink in.
13. Meeting Scarlett for the first time as a teeny tiny baby.

Noughties Notebook

I can't believe I am just about to go into my sixth decade (born in the 60s). The noughties were an amazing decade and I want to celebrate all I experienced in the noughties, including:

Love

• After a long break, got back onto the dating market via internet dating. I had lots of fun dates, had a few long term relationships and fell in love.

• Married in November 2008.

 Home

• Bought my first apartment in Sydney's inner city (amazingly I can't remember if that was 2000, 2001 or 2002).

• Following my heart, I lived overseas in Leeds UK, (2007-2009).
  
  
   
  
  
   

Creativity

• Bought my first digital SLR camera.

Adventure

• Visited Jodie & Dean in New York in 2006.
  
• Explored Paris with a lover in 2008.
  
• Had an adventure holiday in Peru & Cuba, including the Inca Trail in 2007.
  
• Visited Stuart in the UK in 2006.
  
• Vietnam in 2006.

Work

• Made my first international work trip, to the US. 

Photographers I love & who inspire me

1. Annie Liebovitz
2. Bill Henson
3. Cecil Beaton
4. David Moore
5. Dorethea Lange
6. Elliott Erwitt
7. Erwin Blumenfeld
8. Eve Arnold
9. Frank Hurley
10. Harold Cazneaux
11. Henri Cartier - Bresson
12. Jane Brown - loving the The Observer's series of her photos
13. Man Ray
14. Martin Parr
15. Max Dupain
16. Olive Cotton
17. Phil Borges
18. Tracey Moffatt

My lounge light reflected in my Trent Parke picture - my first investment in photography.  I loved having it with me in the UK, as it made me smile every day and to remember my fabulous home city.
19. Trent Parke
20. William Yang

What I learnt as a temp..

1. I need to look busy, even if there is nothing to do.
2. In a panic they want someone to be calm, and as its not your company it is easiest to be you.
3. They want to think I am confident in my abilities, it makes them feel confident in theirs.
4. They want me to make decisions whenever I can, they don't want to worry about all the same decisions.
5. Flexibility is everything.
6. Even if I don't know how to do something, they'd like me to give it a go.
7. You can do anything in 7.5 hours that would be intolerable as a permanent job.
8. Any news is received better with a smile.
9. You're a never too old to learn something - and often people really do have better ideas on how to do something you've been doing for years.
10. Kindness and manners are important.
11. Most computer systems are the same, so if you play around you'll eventually work it out.

What I love about me....

Life seems a little tough at the moment, and I realise I have started to beat myself up a little more than usual. Mostly I am telling myself that I am not enough.  Tonight I remembered a post from Definatalie about what she loved about her.  My instinct was to do that on another blog, where I write a more 'diary style' but more secretively.  However, for some reason that didn't feel right.

I need to be proud about this list.... which I am going to keep updating as

I am enough.  What I love about myself:

1. I'm adventurous and especially love travelling to places I've never been, even those in my own city, and trying food I've never tasted before.
2. I am usually pretty accepting, I really judge people on their sex, colour, race, religion.
3. My boobs, which are doing ok  for a 40+ women.
4. That I can appear very brave. 
5. I've turned into a pretty good camper.
6. I am curious. It can drive people mad, especially my love, but I never stop asking why.
7. I've got a strong design sense.  I can't draw or paint, but I know what colours look good together, what objects make a lovely still life in my home and what looks good on a page.
8. I'm a good friend.  I can handle the hard times, as well as the good.  I can listen when they need me to and I share myself with them.
9. I'm generous, not always in the traditional financial way but often with my time and my words.
10. My green eyes, which don't seem to be that common a colour.
11. My small hands, they look nice and they fit easily into my partner's hands. They remind me of my mum's hands, even though hers are larger and stronger.
12. I have great hair.  It is think and healthy, and every new hairdresser tells me how lucky I am.
13. That I have a strong sense of who I am - that I am an individual.  I give myself permission to be different, to not be like everyone else.  My family and friends sometimes lovingly (and yes it is genuinely lovingly) tease me for being odd.  I celebrate my oddness.
14. I have a really loud laugh.  It's infectious and it makes people smile.
15. That I laugh at myself.  Often. 
16. Somehow I have turned laziness into an asset.  An old boss pointed this out, and I know she really did mean it with love.  She told me that my desire to work as little as possible had transformed my role and the processes I had to do. I thought through and identified the easiest way to do so many things,  which would be passed on to people who replaced me.
17. Inspite of myself, I keep learning.
18. I've finally cured myself of my fascination with bad men.  I love and am loved by a very good man.
19. That I have an open mind.  Mostly. I am willing to explore ideas, facts and then make up my mind.
20. I take lots and lots of photos.
21. I'm smart, maybe not as much as I think but there is certainly a fair few brain cells in there.
22. My smile, it's teethy and wide.
23. I'm usually willing to smile first.  My mum always insisted on smiling at people, and now I love that I do that regularly with strangers.  At the moment I am saying hi most mornings to a women who walks by me as I go to work.
24. I can say sorry and mean it, and often be the first one to say it.

See what inspired me at: http://www.definatalie.com/2009/08/17/what-i-love-about-myself/

Life has taught me that....

1. Acting as if is good enough, and is often the beginning of the real thing.
2. Happiness from adventures last longer than possessions.
3. People don't have to agree with me to be supportive.
4. Anger has to be dealt with or it will betray you.
5. Unearthing my authentic self is tougher than I ever imagined.
6. If you can't decide what to do, the best thing to do is wait.
7. Change is inevitable, so you might as well embrace it or, in fact, encourage it.
8. Change makes me crazy, I crave it and yet it still terrifies me.
9. If you change your attitude, your life will follow
10. Nothing changes if nothing changes.  This sadly means that if I want something to be different, I have to do something differently or think something differently
11. My curiousity can lead to some amazing discoveries and therefore it is important that I continue to nurture my curiousity.
12. Sometimes it's better if I don't get what I want.
13. Enough. If I remember to be grateful, I will see that I already have enough, that I am enough.
14. Too much expectation gets in the way of experiencing the moment.
15. If I don't express my feelings (speak them out, write them out, cry them out, creatively express them) they'll blurt out at the most embarrassing times. It's therefore safer to express them as quickly as I can.
16. Fear is a waste of energy; we are powerless over so many things it is pointless to focus on them.
17. Feelings are never wrong. Understanding that makes arguing a much pleasanter experience.

18. Some things are worth fighting for
19. Sometimes you have to get lost to find yourself
20. I am fine just the way I am today.
21. I may as well forgive now, as I'm eventually going to have to do it to be happy.
22. Friendships need to be nurtured.
23. There's always time for fun.
24. Goals are important, as they help you be clear about what you want.  Writing them down helps, as does telling everybody about them.  However, its also important not to be completely controlled by them.
25. Grief has it's own journey, and it is not the same for people.
26. Gratitude is my instant fixer - it really does change my mood (gratitude leads to a good attitude). There is always something to be grateful for. If you can't remember what to be grateful for when you are feeling low, make a list when you're having a good day and leave it somewhere you won't miss on a low day.
27. It's not what happens to you that matters, but what matters is what you do with what happens.
28. My happiness is my responsibility.  It is also a choice.
29. I don't have to get what I want to be happy
30. If I want help, I need to ask for help.  People can't read my mind.  People need to be wanted so asking for help is often just as important to the other person.
31. There is so many different names, God, Allah, karma, but whatever you call it, there is a higher power looking out for us all. It doesn't matter if you understand this force, it just helps to believe it.
32. I am no more important than anybody else. I am no less important than anybody else.
33. You can't judge your insides against others outsides. We can never really know what is going on for other people, and your thoughts are just that thoughts.
34. I have to be able to laugh at myself or others will laugh at me behind my back.
35. That during laughter, nothing else exists
36. Laughter really is the best medicine.
37. There is always something new to learn.
38. If you don't learn the lesson, you'll get it again.
39. I can learn the best lessons from the most surprising people. People I don't like, people who irritate me, and people who don't seem that bright.

40. The worst lies I tell are the lies I tell myself.
41. People often like you because of your weakness.  And even more often people can dislike you for your strengths.
42. I need to live what I love
43. I have a lot to learn
44. My mind will always jump to the problems, I need to remind it to jump to the joys
45. Miracles happen, I just need to notice them.
46. Mistakes happen, no matter how much I struggle with them.  It's important to learn from them and you can only do this once you've accepted them.
47. I never get more than I can handle, so if I am feeling like that I have to look to see where I am complicating things, where I am contributing to my sense of overwhelm.
48. The pain will pass, and you'll find a way to go on.  Suffering is a choice.
49. Admitting what I am powerless over something helps me to re-group and move on and ends up being my secret weapon.
50. Reading about other people's life, whether fact or fiction, helps me to understand my own life that much more.
Smile first – it almost always makes a difference
51. The road less travlled is easier when the baggage is lighter
53. Saying you're sorry is a great start to making amends, but you have to mean it and you have to be willing to act differently next time.
54. It starts with me. If I want something or somebody to be different, I have to make the first move.
55. Everyone has something to teach me, especially those I don’t like
56. The teacher really does arrive when I'm ready to learn.
57. Everyone likes a thank you, and it is the easiest thing to give.
58. The way we think, determines who we are and what happens to us.
59. It isn’t what you do that matters, but how you treat people in what you
60. I don't have to understand everything, and I can even benefit from things I don't really get.
61. My weaknesses really can be my strengths
62. To begin something new, I don't have to be willing I just have to be willing to be willing.
63. It's OK to be wrong.

Creative projects

1. A crazy Advent calendar
2. Balloon photo series including one where someone is flying with balloons
3. Book sculpture
4. Canvas art from my photos
5. Collage -long thin strips of Leeds photos
6. Cross stitch of our family name
7. Vintage souvenir teatowel cushions
8. Embroided letter
9. Hand-made gratitude book
10. Jewellery box frame (for the wall)
11. Leeds photo book
12. Paper sculpture
13. Photo series - everything I eat in a week
14. Photo wall
15. Postcard for postsecret.blogspot.com or www.postcardsanonymous.com
16. White quilt
17. Re-purposed crockery
18. Resin pendant
19. Silhouette of Craig & I
20. Vintage souvenir teatowel pillowcase
21. Stationery set - cards, postcards, stickers,
22. Terranium
23. Tilt & shift photoggraph
24. Travel photo tins
25. UK adventure photo book
26. Yorkshire map collage
27. Wedding story book

Wash Day

2010 To Do

1. Adventure to some place I've never been
2. Re-do Artists Way
3. Make a book of Craig's love texts (done January 2010)
4. Camping in Coonabarabran
5. Finish the Silvey cross-stich (done April 2010, but needs to be framed)
6. Do the chair cross-stich (started but struggling)
7. Curate a gallery on Flickr
8. Host a formal dinner party
9. Read a book about Emerson
10. Plot a family tree
11. Frame some of my photos as art
12. Book on Leeds (Blurb, Shutterfly...) (started one on Blurb)
13. Re-join the Sydney Library & borrow some of the books on my Amazon wish list (the library was my saviour while I was job hunting)
14. Make some Redfern postcards to send to UK
15. Begin a white quilt
16. Do renovation plan for apartment - and start something (new sideboards, drawers in wardrobes, painting, lights)
17. Develop a tradition with the Silveys
18. Submit a story to SMH
19. Visit Mrs S and Mrs M (sadly I was too late and I'll never get to do this, she past away the weeks before I arrived in Oz)
20. Volunteer somewhere
21. Write something - travel story, fiction

100 Things I am grateful for

1. My adventures - in the UK, overseas and those to come in Oz
2. Our apartment and all the things we are dreaming of doing to it
3. Blogging - it helps me get my thoughts out and to see in print what's important to me.
4. My camera and the opportunity to express myself in all I see
5. My creativity and being able to express myself creatively - my photography, writing
6. My education, especially my ability to read as it contines to open-up the world to me
7. Financial freedom
8. My true friends who have loved me, especially when I couldn't love myself
9. The help I've got along my way - friends, family, counsellors, program, strangers, teachers
10. My HP
11. My Hubby - who he is, that we sees life like I do, that he helps me to be a better me.
12. My in-laws - they are supportive, loving and fun. Much more than I asked for!
13. The internet, every day it tries to open my mind to something new
14. The life lessons I've learnt, though painful have made me the person I am today
15. My Mum as she has given me such a lovely framework to live life within
16. Program - and all it lets me be
17. Public transport and the spare time it gives me every day
18. My sisters who make me feel loved and supported no matter how I behave or what I do with my life.
19. My sponsor who's approach to life teaches me something new everyday.
20. Knowing how to swim, nothing makes me feel as alive as a swim in the ocean
21. Trash TV
22. My treasures - and there are lots and lots of them, the abundance is embarrassing.
23. My hubbies visa - we wanted it so much we were afraid it would never come. It means we can live in the country of our choice.
24. Whitegoods - I would have never survived in a world without washing machines, dishwashers, toasters etc etc
25. My work - I feel excited, engaged and challenged.

On returning to Oz

1. Artist Mentor - I want to find myself an artistic mentor, to help me move beyond my creative blocks
2. Get a bike
3. Do a class - writing, photography
4. Enough artwork for my wall
5. Open an etsy shop
6. Open a savings account for flights to UK
7. Find a home group
8. Photography group - start a group like Digital Thursday
9. Make some postcards to see back to the UK
10. Re-connect with Kodie
11. Have a re-union with my loved ones
12. Get a sponsor
13. Find a walking partner
14. I need a work / career plan, short term to get some money behind me and long term plan for more fulfilling career
15. Begin saving for our biking trip to Vietnam

100 Moments of History I've Witnessed

1. Kevin Rudd’s apology (on behalf of the Australian Government) to the Stolen Generation
2. Fall of the Berlin Wall
3. First black president of the USA
4. Australia's first female prime minister
5. Invention of the internet
6. Freeing of Nelson Mandela
7. September 11 attacks on World Trade Centre
8. Sorry Walk across Harbour Bridge

100 Books that are special to me

1. A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
2. A Thousand Splendid Suns , Khaled Hosseini - Reminded me how loved I have been by women in my life.
3. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
4. April Fools Day – Bryce Courtenay
5. Artists Way, Julia Cameron
6. Big Book
7. Beloved, Toni Morrison
8. Bliss, Peter Carey
9. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
10. Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
11. Cider with Rosie, Laurie Lee
12. Cloudstreet, Tim Winton
13. Dirt Music, Tim Winton
14. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
15. Illywhacker, Peter Carey
16. In the Cut, Susanna Moore
17. Like Water For Chocolate, Laura Esquivel
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott - I was sure I was going to grow up to be Jo.
19. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
20. Miss Smilia Feeling for Snow
21. Monkey Grip, Helen Garner
22. My Brillant Career, Miles Franklin
23. My Fortunate Life, AB Facey
24. Pastures of the Blue Crane, Hesba Brinsmead
25. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
26. Rebecca, Daphe du Maurier
27. Songlines, Buce Chatwin
28. Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson
29. Sybil, Flora Rheta Schreiber and Shirley Mason
30. Tales from the City, Armistead Maupin
31. The Artist Way, Julia Cameron
32. The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Thomas Keneally
33. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
34. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald - I recently re-read this and reminded me what a tragedy love can be.
35. The Harp in the South, Ruth Park
36. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
37. The Man Who Loved Children, Christina Stead
38. The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan
39. The Riders by Tim Winton
40. The Secret River, Kate Grenville
41. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
42. Thorn Birds, Colleen McCulloch
43. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee - I really related to feeling uncomfortable with an older father, then slowly realising all I had to be grateful for.
44. Tully - Paullina Simons
45. When Jays fly to Barbmo, Margaret Balderson
46. White Teeth, Zadie Smith
47. Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula Le Guin - Showed me the thing I fear the most is myself.
48. World According to Garp, John Irving
49. You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay

My favourite words

1. Balderdash
   
2. Curmudgeon


3. Decadence


4. Elixir


5. Oscillate


6. Persnickety


7. Shenanigans


8. Serendipity


9. Ubiquitious


10. Supercilious

100 things I am grateful for my Mum for (in progress)

1. Teaching me to catch. She spent hours with us all in the backyard, encouraging us in the basics of catching and throwing. People continue to be shocked that a clumsy girl like me can catch so well.


2. Role modeling to me that commitment was everything - if she said she was going to do something, she did it. That flowed through to her children's commitments - especially sport - keeping your commitment to play was paramount.


3. Her cooking style. Long before it was fashionable, she did healthy no-fuss meals.


4. Sharing her love of craft - teaching me how to knit, cross-stitch and generally express myself creatively.


5. Giving me to permission (ok encouraging) to cry over a movie, TV and books.


6. My education - my Dad was from an era where a girl's education wasn't as important as a man's. My mum insisted that wasn't the case - and worked terrible jobs to pay for the education of her five daughters. Of her 8 kids, 5 went to university.


7. Broadening my horizons when it came to food, she was way ahead of other Mums when it came to embracing the world of food.


8. Her hands; each day when I look down at my hands I am reminded of my mum and her strength.


9. Showing me that helping others, whenever I can, will make me a happier person. My Mum spent her life being of service.


10. Insisting I 'look it up' when I didn't know something. When I was a little girl she made me look up the dictionary every time I came across a word I didn't know. Today I instinctively google something when I come across it for the first time.


11. Sharing her love for moving her body - especially walking.


12. Sharing her love of reading with me.


13. My siblings - yes I know it takes two to make babies, but it was my mothers Catholicism that resulted in me having 7 siblings. Growing up I desperately wanted anything other than having so many siblings, but today I couldn't choose which ones to give up. My life would be so much poorer without them.


14. For how she makes me feel when I feel sick - no one makes me feel like everything is going to be alright like she does. She'd give me her cure-all, a lemonade ice block and I'd feel instantly better.


15. Her insistence I smile first - especially if I wasn't sure how I knew people.


16. So many of my values come from her.


17. Mum has always walked everywhere, and on good days I am reminded that walking is a great way to see the world.


18. Flying half-way around the world to come to my wedding - in her 70s!
    
19. Weekends Away in 2015

100 Things to Do Before I die (76-100)

76. Make a small animated movie
77. Run a fundraiser for my favourite cause
78. Have $10,000 savings buffer
79. Take a Volunteer holiday where I help someone for at least a week
80. Subscribe to a theatre company
81. See Afghanistan
82. Photograph a magnolia
83. To sleep in a tepee
84. Have a chair upholstered
85. To have the weekend papers delivered for 1 year
86. Swim in a waterfall
87. Renovate a home
88. Plant a tree in a home of Craig and I
89. To have a hammock
90. Own a beautiful world globe
91. Have a photo wall in my house
92. For 6 months buy used for whenever possible
93. Learn some origami
94. Learn how to screen print
95. Have a singing lesson
96. Do a workshop with Julia Cameron
97. Honor someone I love (or admire) with chair or tree in a park
98. Do a retreat in a monastery or Buddhist temple (not through programme)
99. Read the books on a Top 100 list (ABC, BBC, Guardian or something like that)
100. Be part of a Artists Way Creative Cluster

100 Things to Do Befre I Die (51-75)

51. Walk in Tasmania (hopefully with my sisters)
52. Build a dry stone wall
53. Visit the Pacific – Polynesia,
54. on a retreat at a Buddhist temple
55. Go island hoping in Greece – including Santorini
56. Re-visit Venice
57. See the Vitra museum in Basil, Switzerland
58. Take a bath in something besides water – milk, mud,
59. Go white water rafting
60. Take a belly dancing class
61. Meet someone with my own name
62. Find a signature perfume
63. Make a quilt
64. Make a sculpture/ scene for outside
65. Make a still life under a glass bell
66. Have a party outside and fill the space with beautiful lit lanterns
67. Make a xmas tree on my wall from all my life’s little treasures
68. Write my life story
69. Send a letter in a bottle
70. Weave a basket
71. Write my life story
72. Own a few acres
73. Mentor someone
74. Go to greece
75. Invent a holiday & celebrate it every year –

100 Things to Do Before I die (26-50)

26. Host Christmas day
27. Buy something at auction
28. Throw a surprise party
29. Do a ikebana or a flower arranging class
30. Teach someone to read
31. Make a pilgrimage to ?
32. Sail the Whitsundays
33. Have a dog
34. Make my own bonsai tree
35. Have my own writing/craft studio
36. Have my own exhibition
37. Have a season ticket to a film festival
38. Travel in a long boat or a house boat
39. Own a design icon – chair by
40. Sponsor a child
41. See Morocco
42. To make my own quirky advent calendar
43. Drive a campervan in NZ
44. Own a diamond, earrings, ring or both
45. Organise a charity ball
46. Volunteer at a community radio station
47. Catch a sea plane to lunch
48. Write a movie script
49. See the great wall of china
50. Own a 1st edition To Kill a Mockingbird

100 Things to Do Before I die (1-25)

1. Write my life story
2. Build/ design my own home
3. Do a 5 day trek
4. Write my mum’s story
5. Do my family tree
6. Upgrade family home
7. Own a dinner service
8. Have a holiday home
9. Put up Christmas lights outside my house
10. Grow a herb garden
11. To have a tree house in the garden
12. Grow Chinese lantern flower
13. Make amends to David White
14. Take a ride in a hot air balloon
15. Drive around Australia
16. Own a design icon
17. Run my own business
18. Be an extra in a film
19. Take dance lessons
20. Ride the Ghan across Australia
21. Having a high tea party (doesn’t have to be sweet)
22. Sit on a jury
23. Make a candle – ideas include in a china tea cup
24. Make a micro loan – change someone’s life
25. Own a vintage typewriter (Got one for Xmas 2010 as a surprise from my hubby)

100 things to do in the next 5 years (1-25)

Craig and I loved owning a campervan in the UK and we hope to own one in Oz

1. Buy a campervan
2. Design and make a piece of furniture
3. Have an ongoing volunteer job
4. Make a sculpture
5. See Uluru
6. Have a board game party
7. Carry my camera with me everywhere for a year
8. Re-enact some photos from Craig and my childhood – have fun!
9. Make a flip book
10. Live a month without buying anything
11. Do a still life series – coffee, table settings, vases
12. Have laser hair removal on my chin
13. Do a light installation in our home (like we saw in NSW Art gallery)
14. Write my version of program – program tin, program guide
15. Make a time capsule to open in 2050
16. Do a Photoshop course
17. Do a resin class in view of making photo jewellery
18. Do a photo family tree of Craig and my family
19. Go to the Grand Canyon
20. Get a creative mentor
21. Have laser eye correction surgery
22. Do a barista course
23. Sell a photo
24. Make a Christmas garland
25. Make bread

Things I love (1-25)

1. That I am madly in love with my life – probably the for the first time in my life
2. The abundance in my life – daily I have more than I need. I need to remember ‘I have everything I need’.
3. Nicorette – it is helping my love face his addiction
4. I love that recovery is part of our life every day. Gratitude lists, calling program people, sponsors, sponsees
5. My hubby – He’s loving, thoughtful and kind. And he sends me beautiful texts each day.
6. My wedding ring – I love the words engraved around the ring – Silvey, love & adventure. It reminds me I am part of the Silvey family, that my love for my husband is the most important thing
7. My in-law’s – they are supportive, loving and fun
8. My laptop – keeps me in touch with everyone, and lets me be creative
9. My digital SLR
10. My earrings from Peru – their little scenes are beautiful, and lovingly hand made
11. My scanner
12. Grand Designs – inspires me to build the house of my dreams
13. My rement collection – and the fact that the desire for more has finally left me
14. My red & black glass collection
15. Flickr – opens my eyes so much to what is out there & what I can do
16. Online banking – it makes my life so much easier
17. My big UK adventure – learning about the UK, really getting to see where Craig is from, living overseas for the first time
18. The handmade movement
19. The little still-lifes we make in our lounge room – Craig’s shelf, the red book case, the love sign
20. Books as presents – giving & receiving
21. That I still have the desire to learn
22. That my husband likes spoiling me – presents, breakfast in bed, buying the paper for me on weekends
23. Learning about myself each day
24. That I don’t have to know the answer to all of my problems. There are heaps of things I can do when I don’t know the answer. Craig always starts with Google it.
25. Sponsoring – sharing my recovery

Things I love (26-50)

26. How the teacher arrives when I’m ready to learn
27. That I have a partner to have adventures with
28. That my resolution list isn’t just about me losing weight
29. My recovery writing
30. Preta Manger soup – now it also reminds me of my Mum
31. Beautifully designed things
32. That I don’t expect myself to be perfect – most days anyway
33. My electric blanket
34. Gratitude lists – so simple, but such a strong reminder of all the ways I am blessed
35. Blogs – they are my daily inspiration
36. My relationship with Jodie
37. My collection of handmade silver jewellery – I can feel glamorous in any outfit
38. All the adventures I’ve had recently
39. Jacket potatoes
40. I’ve books on my shelf that I haven’t read yet
41. My Mum’s recent visit to the UK – I feel blessed to have been able to share the adventures with her, including my wedding
42. My photography group – they keep me inspired to take photos
43. My Photos – Trent Parke, my Paris photo, my photos of musicians in Cuba and the photo of the Chelsea evacuation. I am so inspired every day I look at them.
44. My North Face coat
45. My jewellery hooks – at a glance I can see all the beautiful jewellery I own, and be inspired for what to wear that day
46. My brothers & sisters – they continue to show me how amazing love can be, that it can be unconditional.
47. Cuddles before work – on cold mornings they are the perfect way to start the day
48. Watching Gilmour Girls - I feel like I’ve watched Rory grow up, and reminds me of my time with Robyn & Renee
49. SMH online – makes me feel like I know what is happening in Australia
50. Muji – that store continues to inspire me every time I visit it

100 things to do in the next 5 years (26-50)

26. Make my own book of quotes – inspirations
27. Buy a scooter
28. Put built-in wardrobes in my Redfern bedroom
29. Complete a cryptic crossword
30. Have my own website
31. Make my family tree
32. Have a herb garden
33. Do an artwork (book, photograph, collage, moo mini cards, ) showing why I love Craig
34. Have a weekend away by myself
35. Re-work my Redfern balcony
36. Eat at Tetsuya’s
37. Embroider my initials
38. Have a weekend away with my sisters
39. Help feed people in the park in Cope Street in Redfern, on Xmas day
40. Give up technology for a week
41. Do a silversmith course
42. Have an afternoon tea party using china cups
43. Send a thank you letter to someone – for just being who they are
44. Create a gratitude journal for my husband
45. Have a week free of television
46. Record my favourite texts from Craig
47. Restore my Australian desk
48. Make a book of gratitude for my brothers & sisters
49. Start a vintage globe collection
50. Photograph some beautiful flowers for artwork

100 things to do in the next 5 years (51-75)

51. Scan all the photos I took on film – and ditch the ones not worth keeping
52. Camp in the outback
53. Make a great cities shelf – NY, London, Sydney, Paris
54. Camp at Coonabarabran
55. Have a formal dinner party
56. Practise looking deeply at the world of everyday things
57. Do a self portrait of Craig & I that I fee confident enough to hang
58. Make a birthday (and more) book – everyone I loves special dates – birthdays anniversaries
59. Visit Baradine
60. Embroider something
61. Make some Moo magnets
62. Make a wreath
63. Make a brag book
64. Try a new recipe once a week for 90 days
65. Have fresh flowers in the house everyday for 3 months
66. Join a book club
67. Paint a saying on my wall
68. Do a sewing course
69. Address my nose issues
70. Sleep overnight on a boat
71. Do a picture book of Leeds using all the pics I have, and with a fictional story
72. To make/buy a heirloom
73. Do a heart photography series
74. Make an alphabet of letters (photograph)
75. Make a human calendar – loved ones holding signs for month, year etc

Things to do in the next 5 years (76-100)

76. Create a signature salad
77. Own a neon sign
78. Write a poem
79. Make a book of my nieces & nephews
80. Own a new piece of Aboriginal art
81. Hold a garage sale
82. Make something with silver clay
83. Track down Noelene Thurston
84. Buy a dressy hat
85. Pay for someone’s parking anonymously
86. Ride a bicycle
87. Try to have a baby with Craig
88. Leave a book on a bus/ coffee shop seat with a note saying ‘for you’
89. Help on a ‘clean-up’ day
90. Leave $50 anonymously in someone’s letterbox who desperately needs it
91. Leave ‘hello, have a nice day’ cards in the letterbox of 30 local old people
92. Be a vegetarian for 30 days
93. Cook all my meals for 30 days
94. Live in a house with Craig with no television
95. Go to a show in Sydney Festival
96. Have my own ‘letter box’ including my own collection of greeting cards (made on moo or somewhere) – Thank You, Happy Birthday, New Home, Merry Christmas, Sympathy, New Job, program cards etc etc), but have other things like ribbons, stickers, quotes for ideas for cards.
97. Own a sewing machine – and know how to use it
98. Make a terrarium
99. Participate in http://www.nanowrimo.org/ - a 50,000 word novel in November
100. Participate in http://sundayscribblings.blogspot.com
101. Have a dirty weekend with Craig

Things I love (50-75)

51. Bourskin cheese spread – reminds me of my time in Paris and the beautiful breakfasts I had 52. Every day I discover something new about myself, Craig or our relationship – the good and the bad are both as amazing to uncover
53. That my life is full of generous people – generous with their time, their money, their wishes. Lately I have been reminded that by Jodie, Mum, Sarah, Tree, Craig, Jean, Ron, Chrissy, Dawn, Sarah
54. My Design Notebook – it’s full of ideas for my perfect house
55. My leather jacket
56. Saturday’s with Craig – lunch in town
57. On-line Tesco – eliminates all the arguments Craig & I had about grocery shop
58. Blue winter skies
59. Facebook contact with people back home - status updates make me feel like I am part of their life
60. Silly Yorkshire sayings
61. My bare feet touching Craig’s bare feet in bed
62. My African mask, bought with money from my family for my 40th birthday. I think I might have been misled, that it isn’t authentic, but it is still beautiful and reminds me of my time in Paris with Craig.
63. My beautiful new underwear
64. My handmade books from Anne
65. Flexibility with work – I can do whatever I like while I am away from my ‘career’
66. Our campervan
67. That I get to be of service a little bit in program – in order for me to receive it, I need to give it away
68. My nieces & nephews – watching them embark on life
69. My Jonathan Adler love jar – which is filled with wedding wishes from my wedding
70. My quilt made by my sister Anne, it’s beautiful and it reminds me of her love for me. Who else would go to so much trouble for me. It also shows me I can have both pink & red in my colour scheme.

Trexi's on display in our home

71. Craig’s trexi collection – it reminds me each day life is for fun
72. The beautiful buildings of Leeds – I never tire of photographing them
73. The little canvasses of Craig dressed as Tarzan – they remind me of the adventurous little boy inside my love
74. Baths

75. My wedding photos – the ones Asha took and the ones everyone else took

Things to do in 2009 (76-100)

76. Send a thank you note anonymously
77. Watch the sun rise & set in the one day
78. Send flowers to someone for no good reason
79. Complete 5 random acts of kindness in one day
80. Make a tote bag or handbag
81. Celebrate our marriage outside our anniversary
82. Get a new hairstyle

Friday (left), Saturday (right)

83. Make Craig brekky in bed
84. Write before bed one night a week for 3 months
85. Invite someone new for coffee
86. Use what I have as much as possible
87. Do a Wainwright walk
88. Train trip to somewhere I’ve never been
89. Meditate regularly
90. Send Craig a love letter (in the mail)
91. Take a photo every day for 90 days
92. Make a list of all the things I am grateful to/for Craig for
93. Find a way to celebrate the miracles

Photo taken by Asha Munn at http://www.ashamunnphotography.com/ - I wanted Leeds to feature in our wedding shots, which I think it does!

94. Get some large photos of our wedding (they've finally arrived yeah!)
95. Make a plan with Craig for the next 5 years
96. Make some artwork with my photos
97. Submit something to http://www.welivenow.org/
98. Make something to celebrate Craig’s non-belly button birthday
99. Listen to the podcasts I have in by rss burner
100. Use all my things here in the UK, really take advantage of all we have

Things to do in 2009 (51-75)

51. Keep a step-10 diary and write in it every night
52. Swim in the ocean
53. Make some program cards
54. Burn through our candles - we have burnt some beautiful candles.

55. Start a new tradition of date night with Craig
56. Buy something special with our wedding money- we are the proud owners of beautiful glass.

57. Do a job I’ve never done before
58. Apply for a visa for Craig - it was lodged first week of May - so fingers crossed.


59. Send Cath A a card about why I think she’s so fab - 30-Mar-2009 while writing my letter to Julia Cameron (see 1-25 series) I knew I wanted to send my fan letter to Cath.
60. Make my own Blue List on Lonely Planet - 29-Mar-2009 I started doing what I call Megslists on my adventures blog, my start of bluelists.
61. Find a coffee friend
62. Do a series on Yorkshire images – pork pies, Yorkshire puddings,
63. See the movie Australia - We cheated and did this 24-Dec-08 at a preview session. Craig slept through it, as I cried thinking of home
64. Send a photo into the Guardian
65. Make a gratitude book - photos
66. See a football (soccer) match in Leeds
67. See a Shakespearean play at the RSC in Stratford
68. Learn a poem off by heart
69. Knit a scarf
70. Read the unread books on my bookshelf - a few camping trips,a tighter budget, the impending move and determination have seen all but a few books read.  The last couple will be happy holiday reading for our Langkawi trip.
71. Send myself a letter for my 50 year old self

72. Write a fan letter

73. Do a deal with someone – I’ll do something for free, if they’ll do something in return
74. Celebrate our first wedding anniversary in style
75. Learn a joke

Things to do in 2009 (26-50)

26. Make a photography portfolio of letters (a,b,c) - I've started one, but there are letters missing and lots of letters in similar fonts. It's the beginning of a long journey. 27. Learn 5 new recipes
28. Join an organised walk – say through a walking club
29. Make a paper sculpture
30. Visit Yorkshire Sculpture Park - visited 7 August 2009 for a photography exhibition organised by Asha Munn.

Sculpture on the roof of the YSP Visitors Centre

31. Visit Blackpool - visited weekend 24-26 July 32. Write a long letter to a long lost friend
33. Volunteer
34. Delete all my bad photos
35. Take photographs that don’t come easily to me
36. Take a still life that includes a coffee 37. Take a self-portrait
38. Have a bubble bath with Craig
39. Do something from Operation Nice
40. Do a yoga class
41. Make an advent calendar for Christmas 2009
42. Get myself on the Campervan insurance
43. Make yorkshire puddings for Craig
44. Sponsor someone
45. Re-do Artist Way
46. Send my mum a thank you letter for just being my Mum
47. Write up my adventures in 2008
48. Get in touch with Christine S
49. De-clutter
50. Explore a maze

Things to do in 2009 (1-25)

1. Make a 100 things book
2. Stay in bed a whole day
3. Make myself a piece of jewellery
4. Start a blog - never content to just do 1 thing, I've started 3 new blogs so far including this one.
5. Start a novel - I'v started one but lost my connection to it, and my characters.
6. Make a daisy chain
7. Have an artist date with my husband
8. Make savoury scones
9. Take photos using my miniature camera people
10. Use up film of medium format camera
11. Make a necklace
12. Call Jodie at least once a month
13. Take a weekend international train trip
14. Learn something new
15. Organise a surprise weekend for Craig
16. Make a book with burb
17. Make 5 amends
18. Hand make a book – I still love my online books, but I want to play with paper and beautiful things
19. Send a letter to Julia Cameron - 30-Mar-2009 I sentJulia my card (below), telling her that her book Artists Way sent me on my jounery back home to me..


20. Cook a new soup each month
21. Send a letter to a newspaper
22. Make Craig a pastry
23. Upcycle something bought from a vintage store
24. Write a page a day for 7 days – then do it again

25. Do a Silvey ‘arty’ word picture - Did for Valentines day 14-Feb-09

100 things I love about my life right now (76 - 100)

Even the new buildings in Leeds reflect all the old beauty around them

My shelf with some of my city memorabilia

A viaduct somewhere in Scotland - note to self, better records of where I take photos

76. My city memorabilia – muji city scapes, ny tea light, paris tea light
77. Calling home – I can be 1000 miles away but I always feel better after calling someone from home
78. Mail addressed to Mrs Silvey – I want to keep my old name but the odd letter to Mrs Silvey is sweet
79. That my mum spent the little money she had on being here with me for my wedding
80. Living so close to Leeds city – I can walk to work, nothing is ever really too far
81. Viaducts – I love them not just for their ingenuity, but for their stature and beauty
82. Mondays & Tuesdays to explore
83. For small miracles – the first that I met Craig, the man I need not just the man I want, in Australia.
84. Elle decorating magazine – it’s replaced my Australian Inside Out
85. Postcards
86. That for the first time I feel safe with my partner, even when we fight
87. Learning new Yorkshire and English sayings
88. My commitment to my life – even if that is just learning to love the life I have
89. RSS feeds – waking to an inbox of ideas each day is inspiring
90. My Moleskin books – need to update them more
91. My desire to change, to keep moving forward
92. That there are so many creative minds in the world – what people can do and achieve never ceases to amaze me
93. Victorian architecture in Yorkshire
94. Tiled Room in Leeds Art Gallery
95. Opportunities for all the little adventures I have
96. Seeing different animals than in Australia – deer, possums
97. Reading in bed
98. Craig & I learning each day how to be husband and wife
99. The hope of parenthood
100. Feeling well