she waits for whispers

The Hiatus continues... BUT!! {read on...}

2011-05-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, If there is anyone still out there... Im afraid to say that my hiatus from Shewaitsforwhispers will be continuing... however.... I have started up a tumblr to keep myself inspired in the mean time, so if ya'll are on there, you should come and say hi... you can find me at locketsandrubies.tumblr.com

Oh.. and ive started reading this blog.... If you are a friend of mine... maybe you should too... she sounds alot like me ;)

Buziest of all the bees.

2011-03-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Life is beyond hectic. But Im coming back. I promise. I just have a HUGE project that I am starting, and its taking up a whole lot of time. {I cant wait to be able to tell you all about it!} I really hope to catch up on all of your beautiful lives soon. Dont forget me! I MISS YOU!

Speak to my soul,

2011-02-27T23:03:00.000-08:00

Its not secret that music is a big passion of mine. I really cant imagine going even a day without listening to a tune. At the moment though, I have been listening to 3 or 4 albums, over and over and over again. In fact in the last week I have probably listened them through more than 10 times each. As I sat down after a long day at school {more about that later...} to catch up on a bit of blog reading, I noticed that a couple of my favourite bloggy ladies Jess and Claire had recently written about their eclectic iTunes collections, so I thought I would play along and shuffle up my iTunes to see what 25 songs pop up to speak to my soul this evening. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the list that I managed to compile... I have so much music on my iPod that sometimes when its on shuffle I don't even really know that songs that are being played, but this list, well it pretty much reflects me perfectly at the moment...

Wish you were here - Incubus
Hey Jude - The Beatles
All for you - Goodnight Nurse
Pure Massacre - Silverchair
The man who sold the world - Nirvana
Misery - Pink
Get Fighted - Alexisonfire
Brightest - Copeland
Painting - Blindside
Everything We Had - The Academy Is
Drink the Water - Jack Johnson
Almost Golden - Courtney Love
Saviour - Rise Against
Light My Fire - The Doors
Sunday Morning - No Doubt
Always All Ways - The Lost Prophets
Betty - Brooke Fraser
Three Simple Words - Finch
Franklin - Paramore
Breathing Room Barricades - The Bled
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
Never Take Us Alive - Madina Lake
Seize the Day - Avenged Sevenfold
Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds to Mars
Estranged - Guns N Roses

If you play along, let me know so I can check out your list! Or maybe you should just tell me all about your favourite bands, I never say no to new music, and I get the feeling my 4 albums on rotate are going to need to be switched out soon!

Disaster Strikes

2011-02-25T00:57:00.000-08:00

It seems we have had a bit of a run in with Mother Nature on this side of the world. Just after lunchtime on Tuesday, Christchurch NZ was hit with a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, a follow up to the 7.1 magnitude quake which was felt in September 2010. The city has been devastated, buildings have collapsed, Homes have been lost forever, Roads torn apart and pipes burst causing huge problems for the whole city. Unfortunately, this time around, the quake has also seen causalities fallen. The death toll continues to rise as the rubble is slowly removed. The search and rescue attempts are quickly turning to search and recovery missions. This has quickly become one of the most devastating Natural Disasters ever to be seen by my small country. The images of the desperation of the people of Christchurch will be burnt into my mind forever. These are the days that my heart breaks for my country, these are the days I wish I could do something to stop the suffering and heartache. These are the days that I mourn for the lost and grieve for the broken.

And even though, this is one of the most tragic things I have ever really encountered, its during these times, that I have been the most proud of my country. Not only have we, as a people, come together in this time of need, to donate, not only financially but emotionally as well, we have come together to encourage, and to support those, sometimes perfect strangers, who just need someone to count on. The messages of hope, and love, and encouragement that I have seen over the past few days make me so proud to be a New Zealander. My people, truly, have the most beautiful kind spirit.

I just wanted to share a few of the images that have become so familar to all of us over here in the last couple of days. I think these pictures will stay with me forever.

This one might be the most devastating of them all. The Christchurch Catherdral. One of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen. I am lucky I got to experience it, before its destruction.

This ones for you

2011-02-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

I don't really have an opinion on Valentines day. I can take it, or I can leave it. In the past I have been in relationships on Valentines, and well, of course it is nice to get flowers, or wine, or other special little gifts, but I guess the old fashioned part of me feels like its a little superficial. I mean, Isn't it more fun to come home to a surprise on the 5th of April, or the 17th of October.. Just because? I dunno, maybe I am just feeling a bit bitter because its the first time in my grown up life {I totally don't count high school valentines haha!} that I haven't been 'seeing' someone on Valentines {even though clearly those relationships didn't last haha}

So this one, this one is for you.
This is for the single ladies, the broken ladies, the ladies who are sick and tired of being alone. This one is for the hurt, and the scared. This one is for the vulnerable. This one is for the girls who love the boys they can never have. This is for the ones who have never been in love, and are afraid they never will. This one here, this is for you, the girl that sits and waits for him to call, the girl that watches but doesn't act, the girl in the background. This one is for the girls who have been told to change, or choose, or both. This one is for the times that you wanted more than anything to scream from the rooftops but held it in because it was the 'right' thing to do. This one, this one is for the regrets, the moments passed. This one is for the friends lost, and the friends found. This one is for the lovers. This one is for the tears and the laughter. This one is for the raw emotion, the heartache and the overwhelming sense of love. This one is for every time you wondered 'what if'. This one is for you.

Because you are beautiful, wonderful and quite simply perfect just the way you are. Happy Valentines day beauties. And if you didn't get anything on this silly hallmark holiday... Know this.
That this one, is just for you.

Deux

2011-02-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

Day Two.

Your longest friend.
{There are a few... But heres the one I picked.}

May I introduce to you, the most beautiful girl in the world. Her name is Dom, and she is amazing. That's all you really need to know, but, I guess I could tell you a little bit more about this special little lady. Dom and I met 6 years ago {holy moly} when our local Boys only school was putting on a production... a musical no less... called back to the 80's {imagine, big hair, star wars, 80's high school and all your favourite 80's tunes} After a bit of persuading by another friend, I was enlisted to play one of the lead roles. Dom had also been cast in the production, and the rest... well as they say was history. Air Bands, Concerts, Picnics, Hang outs. I honestly cant pinpoint my favourite memory with this girl. {there have just been too many good ones} Dom has been there for me through so much, and even though right now we live on different islands in this beautiful country, I know that she is always there for me. We may not talk every day, we may not even see each other for months at a time, but our friendship is one of those real ones, you know, where you can be absent for periods of time, and then the minute you are together again, things are just as they always were. And the most exciting thing... She is thinking about moving to Auckland! Oh boy! That would see me wearing my glad face all the time!

Oh and! Five days till I start school... I may, or may not be starting to get a little nervous!

A vent, and A first.

2011-02-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

I haven't even been anywhere, and yet, I have been oh so absent from thee blog. Maybe its because Ive been a little stressed, A little uninspired. I don't want this place to become somewhere that I just put things for the sake of it. I don't want it to be a place where I just dump sad/angry words because its an easy option {although I do love the ability to vent here... dont get me wrong}. I have an update of changing perspectives to post soon, but I didnt want to just put that up and not write anything else.. I want this blog to spring to life again, and Im hoping that once I start school {yip! its finally here...6 days and I'm officially a student again} that I will have a bit more inspiration, a few more stories, and a little more drive to keep my little corner of the web updated a little more regularly. {either that or ill be so busy you may never see me again...}

So I've seen around lately a few blog challenges. And some of them {I'm not ganna lie} seem a little boring or maybe just a little tedious, but I think I have found a little one that I quite like the look of, and well the bits that I dont like, Im just going to opt out and make up a few of my own. That way, I get to share a bunch of awesome things with you that I love, and I also get to keep the inspiration and mood of the blog on the up and up. So thats right kiddies. Its 30days, and its 30 posts. Now, Im not going to say that I will do it every day, because some days things just get to busy. But there will be 30 posts in 30 days. Maybe just a couple of double ups perhaps even a couple of triple ups {I know you will forgive me.}

So here we go. Bottoms Up. Ready. Steady. Go.

Day One.
A photo of you, and 10 facts.

Taken by my flatmates 3 year old son. Some reason... I like it.

1. I am a big fan of TV on DVD. Boxset Marathons pretty much rule.
2. I think more people should wear red lipstick. Its my favourite.
3. Chai Latte is my standard order.
4. Whiskey is my poison.
5. One of my best friends got engaged recently, and she asked me to be her bridesmaid. I'm pretty darn excited.
6. I like to make things. Cross stitch, Jewelery, cards, brooches, journals, mail art. You name it, I probably have made it, or want to.
7. I already have one degree, and I'm about to start my second tertiary endeavor in 6 days! I'm excited.
8. I'm addicted to the instagram app on my iPhone.
9. I like to change my hair colour regularly, and I think I might just be getting bored of the blonde... Uh oh!

10. I have the most amazing friends and I love that they've become my family. I would do anything for them, and I know they would do anything for me. I'm pretty much the luckiest girl alive.

x

Week Four.

2011-01-25T00:46:00.000-08:00

Week Four.

15.01.2011 - 21.01.2011

I have had such an awesome week and its been fun to reflect that in photos this week! I definitely got back into the groove of things! My good friend Alesha and I started lo0oking around for ideas for her wedding, one of my best friends in the entire world came up from Christchurch to spend a long weekend with me, I travelled out of the city to support my boys in Shotgun Alley, and hung out at the last show of their summer tour, and I went to Big Day Out, and saw the Deftones, Tool, Iggy and the Stooges and some of my other favourite bands, all in 7 days! It was crazy! I think this week coming, is going to need to be a chilled one, so I can catch up on sleep and laundry!!

Everytime.

2011-01-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It’s not a cry you can hear at night
It’s not somebody who has seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Everytime I hear this song, It moves me to a different place. Its so powerful. Of course, there is nothing better than Leonard Cohen, but this version right here... it gets pretty close. I adore it. Do you have a favourite cover of this song? or maybe another classic that you think is almost as good? Id love to hear it.

Better late than never...

2011-01-17T16:52:00.000-08:00

Week Two.

01.01.2011 - 07.01.2011

Week Three.

08.01.2011 - 14.01.2011

Oh its been a busy few weeks, so here is a bit of a double issue of Changing Perspectives. Im trying to get everything sorted for school, starting in less than a month now! Things are pretty stressful here, Ive had a couple of really bad days, but, I might just be getting my head above water... Maybe. I'm trying to keep my photos fresh and fun, but Im getting a bit stuck again, so hopefully next week is full of a bit more creative flair! Let me know what you think! I would love to hear your feedback!

x

Sweet Adventures.

2011-01-15T13:05:00.001-08:00

1. Rolling hills on the way to the beach. 2. A view, and a sign. 3. Ice cold beer. 4. A quick game of boogle or two. 5. Baking in the sun. Im starting to get brown!! 6. Waking up to paradise. 7. Beautiful beach, beautiful sky. 8. Its true. I love you! 9. Oh what a view.

It was so nice to go on a wee holiday, we decided that morning we would leave, packed a bag, and left. After a wee drive south, out of the city and down the coast, we ended up at the most perfect beach, with white sand, blue sky, a few boxes of beer and a good book. It was bliss. 3 Days later we decided to come home, but when we arrived back in the big city, it just didnt feel quite right being there. So we took off again. This time up north. Four hours later and we were at the very top of the north island, enjoying once again, the sun, the sand, and the beauty that my little country has to offer. Its little trips like these ones, that make me realise even though I often catch myself daydreaming of all the places I want to travel and the countries that I want to meet, I am pretty fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Steal my heart

2011-01-13T23:05:00.001-08:00

Im back from my little roadtrip, which turned out to be a bit of a bigger one than I imagined. I cant wait to share some of the moments with you in a little bit! But in the meantime I wanted to share something else with you... Its no secret Ive always had a fascination with New York City. To say that I love that city is well, like saying, cookie monster loves cookies. I first met this city face to face just over a year ago now, when I spent Christmas 2009 there, and saw the first sun of 2010 there too. What a magical place. The hustle, the bustle, the amazing atmosphere, the shopping, the sites, the energy. Oh its like a dream. Anyway, I found this little timelapse video, and it made me remember how much I adore this city. I thought you might fall in love with it a little bit too.

Back in 5

2011-01-05T03:59:00.000-08:00

Impromptu Roadtrips are probably the best. I wont be gone for too long, but I am not sure when I will be back. I didnt have time to line up a guest blogger while I was away... but I thought, on a whim, how about YOU be my guest blogger. {Yip! You! Im looking at you!} Leave a comment telling me all about your favourite things to do in the Summer... What reminds you of this beautiful month? Whats the one thing you look forward to all winter long? I love the beach, cold beers on a hot day, picnics, flowers, warm nights, summer dresses and being able to just decide that you are going to take a little trip... I hope I can combine all those things over the next few days! Oh and a little birdy told me there is likely to be some little giveaways for a few of you who participate! So... what are you waiting for. Tell me your summer stories! I cant wait to read them!

Eleven Things. Vol. 1

2011-01-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

Isnt it funny how when the new year rolls around, people seem to have this thing about making lists of things they want to achieve, places they want to visit, or goals they want to complete. This whole New Years Resolution thing has always kinda got to me, I mean whats really so special about the 1st of January. Its just another group of 24 hours that makes up another day in the lives that we live. But, I suppose, New Year, New Expectation. New Hope. Well I want to have a new refreshed positive hope every month of this year, that we are calling twenty eleven. So there heres the thought {Another one... of the million that are rolling round in my head right now!} Eleven things, at the beginning of the month. It doesnt matter what the goals are, if they are general, or specific to that particular month. Just things that you want to achieve... Eleven things, for twelve months... thats 132 completed goals... well thats the theory at least! Each month Ill make a new header, and try to post in the first few days of the month... Sounds fun right? Well Here goes...

Eleven things. Vol. 1

1. Get back to the gym! Oh the holidays! Its the worse time. I wasn't on my best behaviour, but I knew I wasnt going to be. So I am determined that I will get back into my gym routine in the next couple of weeks!

2. Find a part time job for when I start school on the 14th of February. Goodness knows Im going to need the extra income.

3. Send letters to my pen friends! I have been THE WORST pen pal ever over the last few months. But I really miss sending and recieving mail! I have so much stationary and I want to use it! So that means letters for you my loves! Yay!

4. Finish reading the Keith Richards biography that I got for christmas. Man that dude is cool.

5. Not miss one day of my Changing Perspectives. Getting back into the routine of taking photos everyday is proving to be a little bit tricky this year! I need to kick my butt into action and not leave it till late at night!

6. Be patient. This applies to a lot of things I guess, and will be something I need to apply to the whole year ahead. Patient in friendships, in relationships, with people in general and with myself. Things will work out. I just have to give it a bit of time.

7. Remember that even though times get rough, times can be really good too. I guess this is about being optimistic. Im working on it, even though the natural tendancy is to find the negative.

8. Maintain my blog! This is another year long one! I wanna host most giveaways, more swaps and even some guest posts! I have so many ideas, its about kicking it into action.

9. Finish the cross stitch that has sat incomplete in my craft box for about 6 months. There is only a tiny bit to go, and then it will be done. I really want to finish it.

10. Stay on top of my bills. Another year long one, but something that is super stressful. Coming out of chirstmas and new years, my money seems to be evaporating! So working out what I need vs. what I want. And how to manage those little things that seem to cost so much!

11. Spend at least 2 afternoons every week this month out in sun. Whether it be just going for a little walk, or spending the day at the beach at the end of my road. I want to soak up the rays and spend some quality time with the sun.

So heres to something new... All of them are doable, I HOPE!! {hehe} I guess we will see in February how I went with it all! If you want to join in {and I totally think you should!} leave a link in the comments so that I can read what you want to achieve in the next 30 days, or maybe in the next 365 days!

Reintroducing an old friend of mine...

2011-01-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

We're back! Thats right kids! After a bit of a break, due to Jess not having a camera, and a few other little things, we are back! And rather than picking up where we left off, we decided that it would be much better to just start all over again. So... Here it is. Installment ONE of Changing Perspectives.

Once upon a time there were 2 girls, who decided to embark on a photographic journey. Not the kind of Journey with Dragons and Bad Guys, rather the kind of journey that requires them to take 1 photo everyday for a whole year. Thats 365 photos. A challenge? Perhaps, But these girls decided to take it on together, everything is better in pairs right? The rules are simple. 1 Photo every day for 365 days. Starting July 1st 2010 and ending July 1st 2011. They thought they would share their little project on their blogs. A little gallery of sorts. So this is it. A year of photographs. Are you ready to see what their worlds look like through a lens?

Week One.
25.12.2010 - 31.12.2010

Its exciting to be back! Im really looking forward to getting back into this project. If you have any questions about the photos, feel free to ask. They mostly speak for themselves I guess... but you never know! I hope the start of 2011 has been awesome for 'yall! And if it hasnt... well you have 363 days to make it look up!

Ooh! And on a slightly seperate note... A couple of other little things. If you are an iPhone user... you NEED to download the app 'instagram' its such a great little photography community! If you get it, or already have it! Let me know your user name, or come and find me... tilliewaitsforwhispers and we can follow along with each other! And I also just wanted to take a second to say a big thank you to all my readers! I just hit over 20,000 hits on thee blog! Eeee! Exciting! Sending out big loves to all you beauties! x

Faces of 2010

2011-01-01T14:26:00.001-08:00

Now I am not going to lie, I have a pretty amazing family {its true} but not only that, I am so so so lucky to have a second family, a family of friends who mean the world to me, and who I love more than anything. These are some of the faces of my twenty ten these are some of the best people in the world. {and by no stretch of the imagination are they all of them...but i thought 20 photos was enough hehe} Oh and a wee documentation of my hair colours for the year!

Beauties huh?

From Top to Bottom: 1. Miss Shayla and I in Oaklahoma 2. Dom and I 3. Sophie and I celebrating Jeans birthday 4. Drunking antics. 5. Evana and Me 6. Ally Lambro and me. 7. Alannah and I at her engagement party. 8. The girlies, Jacinta, Jess, Rosie and I getting ready for my 21st. 9. Rosie and I. 10. Skyping with my Alabama beauty Carol. 11. Jacinta and I 12. Party with the girls on the footpath. Chandee, Jenni, Chloe and I. 13. Ellie May and Me. She likes to kiss my face. 14 My wifey for lifey. Alesha and I at a gig. 15. one of the best boys I know. Mikey and Me, aka Murphatron and Tillius Prime. 16. Abbey and Tillie. 17. Jenni with an I and Tillie with an I and a E. 18. BB, Josh and I. 19. Sarah and Me. Im lucky enough to live with this amazing woman. 20. Abbie, Tori and I. Dorsel Fins for life.

Lets start over again

2011-01-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

A whole month since I posted... Really? Man where did December go! I feel like it seriously should be about August 2010...Not January the 2nd 2011! But hey... Looks like the second half of last year escaped me completely. Maybe I need to have my eye more firmly on the ball so to speak? Or maybe, there were sneaky time travelling elves that just brought christmas and the new year up faster than it really was... {Im going with the second option I think!}

2010 was a big year for me. I returned from a huge overseas holiday, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from one of this countries best {if not BEST} Universities, turned 21, I quit my job and moved cities, made new friends, reconnected with old ones, lost people I thought would be around forever, found crushes, broken hearts, partied alot, travelled a little, sold a car, brought a new one, joined the gym, and learnt alot! Im not going to lie, it has not been an easy one, by any stretch, but there have certainly been some amazing memories, and twenty ten proved to be, well, a year of growing. I think thats the best way to sum it up.

So. Heres to Twenty Eleven. Heres to the adventures, and the laughs. To the memories and the moments. Heres to spending the year doing what YOU want to do, seeing what YOU want to see, and living how YOU want to live. Heres to the friendships, the new, the old and the soon to be forgotten, to the lovers, and the haters. Heres to the new year, and most importantly, heres to you.

x

We Will Remember

2010-12-01T16:08:00.001-08:00

At 3.45pm on the 19th of November, in the small New Zealand town of Greymouth, news of a coal mine explosion swept our little country. 29 of our men were trapped 2.3 kilometres underground somewhere in the 7 kilometre long mine. For 6 days people tried endlessly to drill into the mine, to try to rescue our men. Hope was not lost that these men were alive. That they would be rescued. That we would be able to bring them back to their homes, their families, their lives. On the 24th of November at 2.37pm that all changes. And the hope of getting the men out alive was crushed. A second explosion occurred. There was no way that the men could have survived it. In the following 4 days two more explosions hit the mine, and flames and smoke continue to billow from the entrance. 29 men lost their lives, and 29 families lost their fathers, their sons, or perhaps their brothers.

Today, my little country mourns for the men that were lost. We mourn for the fathers and for the sons. We mourn for the uncles and the brothers. We mourn for the friends that those men had become to so many. Today, we feel for the families that have had to say goodbye to their loved ones, and try to come to terms with the fact that there may be no way to recover the bodies of their families. A remembrance service is about to commence in greymouth, and a nationwide 2 minutes of silence will be observed at 2pm. And while I didnt know any of the men personally, or any of their families, or their stories, I still feel the sadness, albeit on a scale that pails in comparisions to the greymouth community, that comes with the loss of life. The sobering reality that life is precious, and that it can end so quickly. One thing is for certain, the men who lost their lives will never be forgotten by this country.

Its situations like this that makes you realise that those little petty things that get you down in life, really don’t matter that much. That this life is so precious, and that more than anything, it can be taken away in the blink of an eye. It makes me realise that telling the people that I love, that I indeed, do love them, is one of the most important things that I can do. That showing affection and kindness, empathy and sincerity is more important than being popular or cool. That this could all be over so much sooner than anyone thinks, and that tomorrow should never be taken for granted.

Work it baby! Work it.

2010-11-28T16:22:00.000-08:00

It’s been a week. A week since I woke up and started to change my habits... a week that I have been going to the gym... a week since I ate chocolate! First of all can I just say thank you all so much for your comments and emails. Your support and encouragement means so much to me in all of this! Its like having my own little cheerleading squad rooting for me to do well... and it means SO SO much to me! So thank you all, from the bottom of my heart! So... from the beginning.

In all honesty, it hasn’t been that rough. The first few days weren’t fun, I won’t lie. I experienced some pretty intense headaches {read sugar withdrawal} and I was pretty exhausted from going from nearly no exercise what so ever, to full on body assault at the gym. But I am feeling good. Each day at the gym I feel a little less uncomfortable. I even went shopping for some proper gym clothes {haha see I can always find an excuse to shop it seems...} I think the biggest thing I have noticed, is that you have to be organised. Organised in the sense of, you have to know what you are eating, and what time you are eating, otherwise it is so easy to deviate from your plan. And organised in the sense, that you have to have a gym schedule and you have to stick to it, so it just becomes part of your life. Like you wake up every morning and go to the office at the same time, well, you have to go to the gym at the same time, and it just be the way it is. You have to make it a priority, other things can wait.

My trainer at the gym has me eating every 2 to 3 hours. 5-6 small meals a day. This is a big change for me, as I am totally guilty of not eating breakfast, and then grazing from lunchtime till I go to bed. It’s been an adjustment but it’s something that I’m working on. It’s only been a week, but it’s still a struggle to eat breakfast. I am getting there though! I think the things that I am starting to miss the most though are the sweet bits. I am a total sweet tooth! Oh yes! So this whole super healthy eating thing has left me feeling a little bit on the boring side... I’ve started to look around for some healthy sweet options, but am coming up pretty short. Although, I do see that they have produced a few low calorie ice-cream type treats, that I may look into...But before I do that, tonight I am off to the gym, to be weighed for the first time since I started the journey. Keep your fingers {and your toes} crossed that my hard work has paid off. Because it has been hard work, and its only going to get harder. And as much as I dread getting on that treadmill, I will do it. And I will succeed. Because there really is no other option this time.

P.S I was thinking maybe not everyone wants to read about my journey with this... and maybe I should make a little side blog where I can write a little bit more about what I am doing and what I am going through, maybe even turn it into a place where we can share stories, and recipes and other things to do with your own journey, and mine too... What do you think??

This time there is no turning back

2010-11-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

A little while ago I posted about my weight, and my struggle with it, and my decision to join a gym, and change my patterns. That was 5 months ago. And for 2 months, I committed. I went to the gym, I ate right, and then I woke up one morning and I stopped. I didn’t go back to the gym, and I started to eat whatever I felt like {and even some things that I didn’t} I fell back into a pattern of laziness and comfort eating. Its not something new, it’s something that I have always done, and unless I change it now, it’s going to be something that I always do. The move to Auckland has been an amazing one, don’t get me wrong for a second. I love this city, and I love that I can now call it home. But at times, it has proven stressful... and what do I do when I am stressed... I eat. Not only has it proved to be somewhat stressful, at times, it has proven to test me emotionally. And what do I do when I am emotional? Oh you got it! I eat! I eat and I eat and then I eat some more.

About a week and a half ago, I struck what I am now calling rock bottom {at least I hope it doesn’t get any worse than this} I woke up on a Tuesday morning, did my hair, put on a little make up and went to put on my clothes for work, only to realise that I was standing in front of my wardrobe crying. I’m not really sure what made me so upset, but I felt like the weight of the world was {literally} on my shoulders, and I couldn’t shake it off. I have realised, once again, that I cannot go on like this, that I am not this person, that this is not my life.

So. I find myself back at the beginning and the owner of a new gym membership. This time a woman only gym. I’m back to the task of convincing myself that going to the gym is an awesome idea and that getting sweaty is going to be fun. Back to trying to convince myself that running on the treadmill is better than sitting on the couch, and that eating that salad is going to taste 100 times better than anything else I could possibly want to eat. {if you have any awesome healthy recipes... please share!!} I have support from a friend, who is also starting this journey with me, so we are in this together, but I know that it’s all down to me. It’s up to me to make the right decisions, it’s up to me to get my butt off that couch, it’s up to me to make the positive and necessary change in my life.

I went for my first consultation at the gym yesterday. I stood on the scales and as the number registered in my head, I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to run away. I don’t know how I have let myself get to this point. But I will never see that number ever again. This is the start of something. Something new and exciting. Something life changing. {it has to be... its going to be}

Now I need your advice. Do you have any great work out tips? Any delicious recipes? Any fast and easy snack ideas that won’t break the bank? Or maybe you have some wisdom that you could share with me? Because right now, Ill take any thing and everything to help make this journey a little less rough.

Knee Deep

2010-11-14T15:21:00.000-08:00

My friend Kathleen put it perfectly. This, this is the hard part. But I guess, when you're knee high in the hard part's mud, it just means that the good part is on its way. All I can hope is that it is hurrying. This sounds awfully negative, but really its not. Its just that changes are on their way, and well, most of you know my thoughts on change! Its a shift, a movement, and finally its been a revelation, that things arent okay the way that they are, and Im the only one who can change it... Its time to stop putting little band aid excuses up to cover the wound, that has been gapping. Its time to fix it. To make the decision and to take the leap of faith. I know this is all rather cryptic. But it needs to be right now. I need it to be.

Im taking life, and Im taking back control. This is my time.

Lets get Thrifty

2010-11-10T16:06:00.001-08:00

I have never been one to be careless with money. In fact, I generally am pretty sensible {read; most of the time... haha} Sure, I like to buy nice things, and have new gadgets, but I have never really thrown around money willy nilly. I suppose I have my awesome mum to thank for instilling some sense of monetary worth into me while I was younger. {thanks mum!!} This whole moving out of home, moving to a new city thing has really made me realise that things are a whole lot more expensive than I ever really anticipated. I mean I knew supermarket shopping wasn’t cheap, and I knew that there would be bills and rent and all those other factors, but I suppose it is not until you are actually living it that you realise that it is really a rather expensive world out there.

Now, lucky enough for me I have some sweet skills {queue napoleon dynamite} that means I have managed to get a pretty decent paying temp job {read; mind numbingly boring and tedious job} but I am still trying to save as well, because my first 6 weeks of living up here in Auckland have depleted my savings account a bunch! So, with that, I am setting out on a journey, that’s right folks, I’ve got my backpack and my water bottle and I’m off into the wilderness. Ok so thats a bit dramatic! But, I am going to try to be a bit more thrifty in my lifestyle from now on.

I know I know, this is nothing new or that exciting really, and I know that most of us out there are trying to make things work on a budget... so I was wondering whether you might have any tips or tricks of the trade that you would care to share with a novice such as myself? Perhaps you have some really yummy cheap to make recipes, or fun things to do that aren’t that expensive, or maybe, you are secretly a super hero saver and you have some tips on everyday saving ideas... because right now, my imaginary piggy bank is looking awfully glum!

Where is that offload button?

2010-11-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

Ive said it before, and I will say again {probably a lot} but man, people can be really really selfish, mean and well, just all flavours of not nice sometimes. I just get so frustrated. Especially when my friends are involved. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am fiercely loyal, and if I tell you I love you, it means that I will do absolutely anything in my power to protect you. My friends are my family. They are my world. So when they become the subject of malicious gossip, or nasty rumors, my instinct is automatically to protect. And I suppose sometimes that gets me in trouble, because people mistake my loyalty for something else.

You would think, that as you grow up you would leave behind the snaky high school B.S... turns out, people being mean is not age exclusive, in fact, it seems that right now, in my early 20s, the claws are out even more than I previously thought possible. I suppose, the environment I find myself in, is a breeding ground for this sort of thing, but its hasn't been until I have actually encountered it myself that I realised the extent of it all. Maybe in my naivety I believed that people could do things without having to have an ulterior motive. I am starting to question that belief hugely. People have always said that there is a reason for everything, I guess that is being made apparent, in a light that unfortunately is far more negative than positive at the moment.

Its not that I am upset by this discovery {okay maybe I am a little bit} but I am more shocked at the blatant disregard for other people in the race to the top. Its like, no one even thinks if their actions are going to effect anyone else anymore, or maybe, they do think about it, and they just don't care. And I think the thing that has made me more frustrated in this situation, is that this is not a new thing. Its not like these people woke up last week and just decided to change. They have manipulated and used people and situations to their advantage for years, and its only just recently because I have been emerged in it, that I have noticed it. And maybe even then, its only because I have become the subject of some of it, that I have noticed it. Maybe, no one notices, or maybe no one cares because they all do it too. I sure hope that isn't the case, because quite frankly, its rather depressing in a lot of ways {much like this post is getting... I'm sorry!}. The other thing that gets me too, is that these people, think we don't know what is going on. I honestly believe they think they have us all fooled. Which, leads me to the question of whether everyone else is actually unaware of what is going on, and mine is the only light bulb that has been switched on.

I'm lucky to have some of the most amazing people on this planet in my life, that I have been able to talk to this about, and I'm also lucky, that a lot of those amazing people, have been through this before and have some pretty wise and helpful advice on the whole situation. But I suppose, there is only one way that I am really ever going to learn to deal with it, and that is to go through it. Although, I do wish there was another way, because goodness, this really is just a little bit silly. In the mean time, I suppose I take each day, each rumor, each nasty comment at a time, and keep reminding myself, that I am better than that, and that I will not change who I am or what I believe in, because in the end, they dont really matter.

Check out this little dude...

2010-10-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

I want to introduce you to Aidan.

Adorable huh? Not only is this little dude the cutest thing out, he is also pretty much the strongest, inspiring little guy I've come across in a while. Yip thats right, Ive actually never met this guy, but that doesnt make him any less special. You see, Aidan loves drawing, especially drawing monsters. Oh and he has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He was diagnosed on September the 13th 2010, and has already ungone a handful of serious operations, including a spinal tap and a surgery to insert a Hickman {A Hickman is a tube in his chest that runs up to his neck into a vein and close to his heart. It is used to give him his chemo treatments.} After his forth round of chemo, Aidan went into remission {with Leukemia it takes almost no time to go into remission} So what this means now is that the little dude will undergo consolidation chemotherapy for several months to try to rid of any other diseased cells. And after this he will start his two years of maintenance chemo. {In other words, Leukemia really really sucks.. and this little guy has a long road ahead of him} I think what I love most about this little guy though, is that through everything, he made a decision that he wanted to do something, not just be a sick little guy. So. What did he do? The one thing he loves more than anything of course... Drawing! Yip! Thats right, Aidan {with the help of his family} opened an Etsy store, full of his cute little drawings, in order to try to help with the financial strain that this disease has put on his family. Can you just imagine it... "can't you just imagine that wee face, "Mummy, Daddy, I could sell some pictures to help you with me being sick??" {CUTEST THING EVER!!} So for just $12USD you can get your hands on one of Aidans Monsters, and support this family. They are super adorable, and made even more so because this kid honestly seems to be one of the raddest little dudes this world has. So why not take a look... head over to Aidans Etsy and check out his drawings! I think this one is my favourite... or maybe this one {i do love me some dinosaurs!} I love the message from the family on the etsy store too. You can just tell that they are so overwhelmed by the support that they have recieved. So. Go on... check them out, and maybe you know someone who could do with a little bit of cheering up, or maybe you just want a treat for yourself, and you might just be responsible for a smile on Aidans face.

P.S I know its been a while since I have been able to blog, there has been so much going on here, good, bad, and well otherthings too. But I am going to make much more of an effort to stay current with this blog. Over the last few months your love and support has meant so much to me, and I just wanted to say how much I love you all! Yip, every single one of you, even you in the back wearing that cardigan! And you, you reading this right now, you might just be my favourite {just dont tell anyone else! I would hate to hurt anyones feelings!}

A weekend away. Part 1

2010-10-19T03:02:00.001-07:00

So, I've officially been living in Auckland for a month! And what a month its been, I have been having such a wonderful time, and getting to do a bunch of exciting stuff. And as much as I have been loving this city... it was time to get away! My flatmate Sarah, organises a girls weekend at her family beach house every year, and this year, I got to go along. Boy oh boy! Was it madness! We had 3 nights out at one of the most beautiful beaches in New Zealand, dressed up in silly costumes, drunk a lot, chatted a lot, and just spent a lot of time in the sun. There is no television, no computer/internet, cell phone reception, or really any connection to the outside world. It was wonderful.When I thought about posting about this, I decided I would split it into two different posts, one about the antics that we got up too, and one about the actual beach, because its just so beautiful and I really want to be able to show it to you. I'm going to do the latter of the two first, because I just cant wait to show you the beautiful photos that I was able to capture. Honestly, being in a place like that just makes me realise how blessed I am to be living in such an amazing country. Just 3 hours out of the biggest city in New Zealand, Otama Beach is seriously the closest thing to Paradise that I can imagine. Oh I'm just going to let the photos do the talking... because there really aren't any words that will do it justice.

On the drive up the coast of New Zealand

On the drive...Isn't it so pretty?!

View from the deck of the downstairs batch

Oh the beautiful beautiful beach.

Footsteps in the sand

The lagoon

I sat up on the rocks and wrote in my journal for a while. It was pretty spectacular.

As the sun begins to set...

A perfect sunset.

Being back in the city is wonderful, I do love it a lot. But oh how I miss the beach already!!

Permanence

2010-10-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

Photos like this just fuel the addiction. I am booked in for my next tattoo in a couple of weeks time. This time its just something little, for a couple of my family members, but it is going to be just as important as every other one which already finds a home on my body. Im really excited about my new ones to be honest. I have a list that is getting longer and longer, each new idea telling a little bit more of my story. A little bit more of the bigger picture. I cant wait to sit down one day and tell my grandchildren all about them, about my life, and the people that meant the most. This is me. Take it or leave it.

A favor...or two.

2010-10-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

I thought I would take a second to do a little bit of shameless promotion... although not for myself today... for a couple of my lovely friends who have some awesome stuff on the run at the moment {i seem to be surrounded by some of the most talented people everrrrr}

My friend Nick is the singer in the lovely New Zealand Band Autozamm and they have just released their third studio album 5th Degree {which you can TOTALLY buy on itunes... if you wanted} You should totally check them out, and send some support their way. Im sure that they would love you for it. I would too!

Next up are my boys in Shotgun Alley... AND my girls in Litvak Attack. Bon Jovi are coming to New Zealand to play a couple of shows and are using one of our local radio stations The Rock to find the support act... Voting doesn't start until the 25th of October... but you should jump on the site and have a listen to them both. And maybe, just maybe when it comes around to it, spare a few moments of your busy busy times and vote for them. Litvak Attack can be found on page 2 at the top and Shotgun Alley can be found on page 3 down the bottom.

Yarp. Talent huh. They last few days have been sort of weird really, The weather has been packing itself back down towards winter {just as the sun had become a standard feature round these parts} and even though I have had things that I have done im sort of in that 'dont want to do anything' mood. It will pass in the next couple of days I am sure. I have a big girls weekend planned out of the city for this weekend {which is going to rule} and then its not that long until I go home and see my family for my cousins 3rd birthday {seriously where has the year gone?} And then its nearly christmas! WHOA! Soon enough, they will be playing carols in the stores... oh goodness.

Changing Perspectives Vol. 14

2010-10-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

Week Fourteen.

16.09.10 - 22.09.10

What a week.

You are my sunshine

2010-10-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

Oh the sun has been shining in the biggest amounts here over the last few days. I love that summer is on its way. Ive been exploring my area a little bit over the last few days, its been fun finding some places that can be mine, in a city as big as this. At the end of my road if you walk through a little bush, and down maybe 50 steps, you find a beautiful hidden little beach reserve. There is a little pier and a little beach, as well as some benches and a little grassy area. It is so cute and quaint and I adore it. Honestly, I am living in the prettiest little area. Its so wonderful.

I have so many plans, so many things that I cant wait to do. And I cant wait to show you either! I want you to fall in love with this city, just as much as I have. Last night I went out to have a beer at my bar {oh that bar...} and I was talking to one of my girls and she said to me "Tillie, you are home. This is where you belong. This is where your family is" I guess part of me has felt like this for a while, but to hear someone else say it, and know that other people think it just as much as I do, just made another piece of the puzzle fit together. I love everyone here so much, and to know that it is reciprocated {even though I guess I always did know it} just makes me feel like things are right. And as much as I miss home, This is the right thing for me, at the right time, and all those other good things. Life is good, for a change. And I am planning on making it stay that way.

Tell me my Fortune

2010-10-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

Ive never been one to really believe in people who claim to be psychic, or have the ability to tap into the 'other' side. In all honesty, I find it to be all a little bit of baloney... Until today that is. Sarah {read best flatmate ever} and her friend Bex had made an appointment to go and see their psychic this morning, and after talking about it with them both for a little bit last night, I decided to tag along and see what the deal was. Of course, me being me, I went in skeptical as heck. I mean, I don't really know what I expected... Crystal Balls? Gypsy Woman? {who knows} but I thought it would all be a bit of a laugh and nothing to serious. We pulled up to a little suburban house, in a quiet little neighborhood. Bex went on in first, by herself, leaving Sarah and I in the car... and to be honest, at this point I started to get a little anxious. I wasn't sure me being there was the right idea, I didn't want to mess with something that wasn't in my control. I definitely had butterflies in my stomach. Bex came out and then it was apparent it was our turn. {queue butterflies going crazy} Sarah had said that I could go with her for her reading, so that I could get a feel for what it was like, and then make my decision. A little bit of time went on and I certainly wasnt uncomfortable listening to what she had to say about Sarah, then, out of no where, she said our address. She placed us perfectly. The road, that it was opposite a pub, and that we were on the water side. {I mean WHAT THE HECK!?} How could she know that right? Any who, Sarah's reading was over and it was my turn. Now, I thought at this stage I would be freaking out, but I was really comfortable. I was still a little skeptical and kept my cards close to my chest, but within seconds of talking she starting to talk to me about something that I had been keeping hugely private. She knew it. And I honestly dont believe it was a guess, she knew such intimate and personal details of my life, both past and present, and even presented insight into the future {I guess we can only wait and see if anything comes of that} We talked about a few things, things that she simply could not have known by looking at me. This whole experience has certainly challenged my previous beliefs...I guess, I am still a skeptic at heart. But this particular woman has a gift, and I certainly wont be ignoring it.

What are your thoughts on psychics or people who claim to be able to connect to the other side? Have you ever been to a psychic? I'd love to hear all about your experiences too.

Changing Perspectives Vol. 12 & 13

2010-09-29T13:51:00.001-07:00

Week Twelve.

16.09.10 - 22.09.10

Week Thirteen.

23.09.10 - 29.09.10

Another double issue this week {i promise we are trying not to make this the norm} but last week was just so crazy for me. I am finally starting to unpack the last of the boxes and it is really starting to feel like home... although, its still kinda feels like im just on an extended holiday... I guess I really should get off my butt and look for some work... Maybe next week?

Anyway, all sorts of antics have been had over the last couple of weeks. Food shopping, the zoo, a maternity shoot, and meeting my dear friends new baby girl. Isnt she just amazing... Literally... her name is Amazing Zakiyaa Yates. Mazey for short. Oh I just love her heaps!

Welcome Home

2010-09-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hello beauties. Oh goodness I feel like its been forever...its certainly been a long time since I have had the chance to sit down and catch up on everything that has been happening in your world, but I'm glad to say, that I'm back! weeeehoooo! I still have a few boxes and things to unpack, but that's my plan for this afternoon. So hopefully my room will be all sorted in the next few hours and I can stop living out of boxes. The move went wonderfully, although, the weekend that I drove up from wellington there was a torrential storm, and most of the country experienced severe flooding, so a few detours were had but I made it alive!! The last week has been wonderful, catching up with friends, going to shows, ending up in a park at 8am with friends drinking wine from the night before, meeting new arrivals into the family and a bunch of other crazy antics too. I didn't really plan for this post to be a photo post... but it looks like that's the way its headed... its always so much easier to show you the fun isn't it? Well, grab a cuppa and take a seat, here are some photos of my first week living in Auckland.

impromtu house warming when I arrived at my new pad.

Cousin, Rosie and I after a few too many drinks haha {there were vodka shots that tasted like red liquorice and skittles! YUM!}

My cousins came up from Wellington and I took them to the zoo!

My girl Lesh. Love her face off.

Final show in the Shotgun Alley winter tour.
RJ singing a little tune.

Kisses from Miss Lewis

Found me some beauties
Decided to take a sandbag and a roadcone for a walk...

My New City.

Changing Perspectives Vol. 11

2010-09-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

Week Eleven.

09.09.10 - 15.09.10

Its a day late I know {forgive me?} but I have been so busy with packing up {I move tomorrow!!} and Jess has been equally busy if not more so with Uni. I swear that girl is super woman! And look at that last photo of hers! Talk about beautiful! Im still having heaps of fun with this project! And cant believe we are 11 weeks into it! Its great! I cant wait to see what the rest of the year of photos holds!

I might be a little bit MIA for the next couple of days, what with the move and all, but as soon as im all sorted and settled into my new place, I plan on making a nice cup of tea and sitting down to catch up on all you beauties and your blogs! I miss you in bunches! OH! And! Anyone who writes to me, of coures, I have a new address. My mama will still collect my mail and send it to me from the old address, but if you would like my new one, or maybe you would like to start writing... then just send me an email over to shewaitsforwhispers{at}ymail{dot}com and I will send it out to you! Im off to have some lunch with my work colleagues on my final day {tear} and then sort out the rest of my packing {hurray} before I head into the city to hang out with the Shotgun Alley boys for their Wellington leg of their nationwide tour. Tonight should be carnage! And then, up early for the long drive to my new home! I think I need a new word because I have over used excited this month! haha. Hope you have a lovely weekend, if I dont get a chance to talk to you before then.

Its been so LONG!

2010-09-15T15:37:00.001-07:00

Oh goodness, I am terrible. Its been such a long while since I have had the chance to write. There is so much going on, I just dont even really know where to start! Packing has taken over my life haha. Sorting things out {or rather, deciding what not to keep!} has become a nightly ritual for me. And my room is becoming more and more empty of my stuff, and more and more full of boxes and suitcases. I have to finish packing my wardrobe tonight... and pack up my dresser and then, im pretty much done. Holy Moly! Its getting so close! My soon to be flatmate messaged me this morning and told me it was approximately 60 hours until I will arrive in our house. Oh that makes me excited I tell you! Although, im not looking forward to the long drive to get up there. Its probably the best part of 9 hours, {maybe more if you count in the stops for food and the bathroom! hah} and apparently there is a giant storm coming in over New Zealand for the next three days. NOT KEEN! Oh well, slow and steady wins the race. Its time for a new start... and there is no point in rushing to it. Because it will be there, no matter what time I arrive in.

Im also going to try and become a bit better at this whole, recording thing when I move. Im going to start up my postal service blogs again, and maybe even introduce a couple of new features... who knows what is around the corner! Hopefully some new and exciting experiences and adventures... that I can be sure of.

In the mean time... I just wanted to show you something... I thought, well New City, New Direction... why not have a new hair do as well! So, I took the plunge, and after a few attempts with the bleach, the toner, and a few other colours too, I would like to introduce to you my new hair... its rather.. well... blonde.

excuse the crappy cell phone quality picture, but its all I had on me at the time, so, it will do, for now. hehe. A new start. A fresh direction.
WATCH THIS SPACE!

A Helping Hand

2010-09-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

Every now and then you meet someone, or read something, and it effects you. It makes you take a step back and evaluate your life, or perhaps your contribution to someone elses life. I have lots of people like that in my life, and recently, Ive been lucky enough to stumble across another little situation, that not only has made me think about things a little differently, but has made me smile.

Im sure most of you already know the lovely Summer B over at B is for Brown, Breathe & Believe and if you dont, well you should probably head over there now anyway because her blog is just the sweetest. Earlier this year, Summer's daddy Butch was diagnosed with Stage Three Lung Cancer. Throughout his treatment Summer talked openly on her blog about the ups and downs, the fear and the relief of good news. She also started a little letter campaign, most of us bloggers love snail mail, and she appealed to us all to write to her dad, just to cheer him up. {best idea ever I think!!}

Right now, Butch is undergoing precautionary brain radiation treatment, and it is hitting hard. Harder than any of the other treatments he has endured so far. Because of the treatment being so aggressive, and also the effect that the Oil Spill has had on Louisiana, Butch is out of work, and as you can imagine is struggling with the basics, not to metion all the added costs that come with being sick. So once again, Summer is calling on us to help out! Once again she has asked if we would take the time to write her Daddy a Card, and maybe this time, post a dollar too. {if you feel inclined and able!!} I mean really, whats a dollar? Or a few minutes to stop and write a card to honestly make someones day.

When Summer was asked about her daddy, her response was the sweetest ever.
"He's my Best Friend. Daddy loves music, all sweets (especially York Peppermint Patties), chewing gum, collecting old coins, restoring old cars, comfy socks, anything to make him more comfy during this tough time. He has two dogs that he adores more than anything. Well, not more than his fam. :) Oh and his favorite way to end a letter is by drawing a goofy smiley face with this quote-"like two fried eggs, keep your sunny side up.""

What inspires me even more about this story, is that for EVERY card or dollar that people donate to Butch, Summer is donating 1 hour of her time to do volunteer work in her community. {Um! Superwoman right there!} How amazing is that right? Seriously. And it got me thinking. And while right now, financially its a bit rough for me too, I just feel like there has to be something that I can do to help them out. I dont know why, but this story really got to me. And I have been thinking about it alot, so along with sending a card to Butch, I have decided to do a little bit more too.

Ya'll know about my Etsy Store Sparkle On line. Well, I have decided that the proceeds from three of my prints are going to go directly to Butch to help a little bit with the cost of things. It might not be much, but its something. And I also thought, hey, that way YOU can donate to this awesome cause, but still get something super delightful to hang in your home, or maybe give to a friend, to make their day. Yes? Yes!

So! The prints that are up for sale for this are...

The 'Where you Belong' Print

The 'All you need is Love' Print

The 'You're on my Mind' Print

They can all be found right here. More 'anatomy' based prints may be added to the store in the coming days...these will also be included in the promotion to help Summer and her Daddy out! For more information or if you have any questions about the donation Ill be making etc, feel free to email me at shewaitsforwhispers{at}ymail{dot}com or start a convo with me on Etsy! And in the mean time, while your deciding what Print to purchase, you should fill out a card, or a scribble on a postcard, or maybe even just put a post it note in an envelope and send it off to Butch... and if you can throw in a dollar bill, or maybe head over to paypal and send something that way to summerathena@gmail.com

Send all your loving right here!
Mr Butch Bailey
39865 Hwy. 75
Plaquemine
Louisiana 70764
United State of America

You guys honestly... RULE!

Changing Perspectives Vol. 10

2010-09-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

Week Ten.

02.09.10 - 08.09.10

Another week, another installment. And can I just ask... do Jess' photos this week make anyone else hungry? YUM! Things are pretty stressful here! I have two days until the big craft market, although things are suprisingly sorted as far as that goes! And now there is only 9 days till the big move! eek! I have definitely started packing, oh there are boxes are everywhere...But soon enough ill be all moved and I will stop complaining... I promise.

Make Me A Mixtape Vol.7

2010-09-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

Like many young punk bands, All Or Nothing have had their fair share of line-up changes, since their inception in 2004, having first come together through a mutual love for all things punk-rock and a passionate interest in local shows in and around their native Birmingham area. But 2010 is certainly the year they are making their mark! Now with more than half a dozen full UK tours under their belts, plus a bit of overseas exposure after their EP and vinyl releases All Or Nothing are ready to take on the world. The summer 2010 period has been spent writing their long awaited new full-length, with plans of an American release via No Sleep Records. Tim (bass) takes a few minutes out of his busy schedule to come over, have a cup of tea, and make a mix tape.

Opening Track - Your Theme Song.
DEAD RAMONES by Modern Life Is War My theme song huh? This is a tough one. Is this like a song to describe me, or like my theme song if I was a wrestler? I think it would be easier if Ii did it as my entrance music. I would want something hard and fast so I’ll go with that. It even has a bit of a clunk at the start which is a bit like the glass smashing when Stone Cold Steve Austin used to enter to give Vince McMahon the stunner. The song isn’t really about me because I wasn’t touring when I was 15, but I do identify with its themes of wanting to be on tour when you’re not on tour and then not wanting to be on tour when you’re actually touring and working hard to make something happen and it being worth it.

Favourite sing along.
Sink Florida Sink by Against Me! It’s such a simple song in terms of instruments (there’s only guitar) but the lyrics and vocals are fantastic – as they are with most Against Me! Songs and the heartfelt woah oh’s in the chorus just make you want to belt it out back to them. I’ve seen them live a bunch of times and it’s always a highlight of their set, especially when I’ve been down with a bunch of my friends and we’re screaming it back at them along with the rest of the crowd.

Song that reminds you of high school
In this Diary - The Ataris Wow, there are so many but not one sticks out in particular. I used to catch the train to school and take my discman (yes a discman) on it with me so I could listen to music as it was a pretty long trip so there are a lot of CD’s that are ingrained in my memory from that time: a lot of the drive thru bands, the ataris, alkaline trio, sum 41, blink 182, less than jake.....that kind of stuff. I guess I’ll go with the ataris as they are the quintessential high school band singing about falling in love with girls and hanging out with your buddies and having a good time. I guess ‘In this Diary’ sums up that whole mood pretty well of looking back on high school. It probably isn’t my favourite ataris song though, it does make me think about those days though. I think it came out just around the time I was finishing high school because I remember I saw them and Alkaline Trio play at Reading Festival on the Lock Up stage with a bunch of my friends and they played it.

Best band you have seen live
Hurt by Nine Inch Nails. This is probably another weird choice but I have been a big fan of Nine Inch Nails since my early teens but had never got the chance to see them live. I thought I’d wasted my chance when I saw they were doing a club tour (admittedly of 2500 capacity venues) when I was about 20 as it sold out in about a day but I luckily found a ticket on ebay a few days before that was less than face value. Wow huh. Anyway I went down on my own and I have never heard such good sound at a gig as I did at that gig - especially at the old Birmingham Academy which had notoriously bad sound. Even though I was on my own I still remember it as one of the best gigs I ever went to and Hurt in particular was ridiculously powerful.

Best Love Song
97 by alkaline trio. I used to love this song back when I was at school and I remember breaking up with my girlfriend and sitting on my bed listening to it on my stereo over and over again and probably crying a bunch about it too, thinking ‘yeah I don’t deserve this either matt skiba, I know what you mean’. It was only later that I found out that the song was about how matt skiba couldn’t smoke weed for 18 months whilst he was on probation, and how it wasn’t actually about a girl. This only made me like the song even more as it can quite easily be interpreted as a breakup song of a relationship. I also love smoking weed now so it’s taken on a different meaning for me since then as well. I can definitely understand matt skiba’s mindset in writing the song.

Song guaranteed to make you get up dance
‘Steal My Sunshine’ by Len. I used to love going out to clubs and getting wasted and dancing to my favourite punk songs in the club but I find it a lot harder to do that kind of stuff now so this is a harder question for me to answer. I think this is a song that I was into when I was growing up, along with a lot of my friends and whenever we actually manage to see each other these days we still always stick it on and if we’re hammered we’ll all probably get up and dance to it a bit. It’s just got a great laid back groove to it. I listen to it a lot on my own too and I’m still not bored of it. Great song. I found out recently that the male guy in the group used to be in Sum 41 too, which makes it even cooler.

Band you would most like to play a show with
Linoleum – NOFX. I always wanted to play a show with The Lawrence Arms but I did that this year so I guess now I would really like to play a show with NOFX. Everyone knows NOFX and although people will say they are one of those bands that gets more boring with each record, I still feel that their older material holds up, whereas there are a lot of bands from that era that I really have no time for anymore. Also, if I actually bother to check out their new records they’re usually fairly decent. Fat Mike is a great songwriter and has some snappy lyrics to match. Linoleum is my favourite because it sums up what NOFX are all about, fast, snotty, socio-political and PUNK ROCK.

Guilty Pleasure
Closer To The Edge by 30 Seconds To Mars There are so many stupid songs I listen to and love so this is a tough one. I really love this song which is really funny because I used to hate that band so much because I thought it was such a stupid idea but I guess Jared Leto proved me wrong. To me, this song is all about the video. I think it’s one of the best videos I’ve ever seen and makes 30STM look like the hugest band in the world. In the bridge where everyone is going ‘no no no no’ in different arenas looks SO GOOD. I hope one day I can make a video like that for my band but I guess it’s a long way off. The song is decent too, although it isn’t really the same without the video though.

Therapist in a Song
The Small Golden Eyed Dog by Andrew Wk. Most people think of partying when they think of Andrew WK but this song sums him up for me, and always, always makes me smile. We listen to it a lot on tour when we’re bummed out for whatever reason and it always makes us laugh. Not many people have heard it as it only features on his album ‘close calls with brick walls’ which I think was only released in Korea so I’ll explain it. Basically it’s just a bass guitar playing a couple of notes, not even a riff and Andrew WK sings over it ‘the small golden eyed dog......with a body shaped like a cat’ and that’s it. You have to hear it to believe it. It’s bizarre and I can’t believe he even bothered making it, but every time I hear it I can’t help but crack up.

Closing Track - The old faithful
self esteem by the offspring This is a tough one as I find music can often be so fleeting; there are very few songs that stay with you. Having said that, the song that really got me into punk rock was self esteem and I randomly heard that in a bar at the weekend (it came on on the jukebox!!) and I went back home and listened to the whole of the smash record and I still knew every word and I still thought it was awesome. I realised recently as well that that song was pretty much just the offspring writing a nirvana song.

Be sure to head on over and check out All or Nothing out. You know you want to!

Introducing Mason Phoenix

2010-09-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to share this post with y'all {and I know Rachael is so excited to see this post! hehe} Just over three weeks ago now my dear darling friend {read practically sister} gave birth to her beautiful baby boy Mason. Not only was I lucky enough to meet the little man only hours after he was born, I was also lucky enough to photograph Rach while she was pregnant with him! So, exactly 3 weeks to the day, after the little man took his first breaths Rachael, Josh, Mason and I got together for a little photoshoot. Heres a sneak peak... I hope you love it!

He is such a precious little man, I truely do adore him. Rach, you and Josh are doing such an amazing job, and you my darling, are such a good mummy! Keep showering your beautiful boy in love and adoration, because he is truely the most precious thing on this earth. I hope that you love these photos, and I cant wait to do it all abgain in a few months time when I come home to visit you all!

And of course, I couldnt resist getting in on the action either! Cheese!

Spring Forward

2010-09-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Oh Hello Spring! Its so nice to see you! The weather is sorta all over the place here at the moment, its sunny one minute, and then pouring down with rain and thunder and lightning the next. Its a bit crazy, but hopefully the sunny spells will become longer and everything else will slowly but surely fade into the memory of winter.

It was such a nice day on Sunday so Rosie and I decided to have a little bit of an impromtu adventure... we started off by playing a little bit of golf {mini putt so counts!} grabbed a bite to eat at a new pub on Jackson Street and finished it all off with a stroll on the beach and a sneaky icecream. Then we went home, got a little bit dolled up and meet our gorgeous friend Anna-Maria for the 3 ds. Dinner, drinks, and most importantly dancing.

It was really nice to just unwind and hang out with the girls, its been the first weekend I have had off in Wellington in a long while, what with the recent 2 jobs, 7 day working week fiasco I somehow managed to talk myself into! Ive only got one more weekend here in Wellington, which is going to be filled up with selling at our biggest yearly craft market on Saturday and then working with an amazing couple for a photoshoot on Sunday. Then the Saturday following that... Im driving to my new home. Eeeek! How exciting. In packing news... Its going alright, I have managed to sort the first lot of boxes, and my new bed arrived at my new house last night too! So thats kinda exciting! Actually... its very exciting! Cant wait to decorate my new room and start my new adventure!

HELP!

2010-09-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

Its that time. The time when I have to undertake the arduous task of packing all my things into boxes, deciding what I will take and what I wont, and cleaning up my current space. And truth be told, I have no idea where to start, or what to do, or how the heck I am going to get my life into the backseat of my car. Holy smokes. 15 days until I move, and I figure, its really about time that I started to get things in order, otherwise, I am never going to be ready to move in two weekends from now.

I knew I was a bit of a hoarder {read: Keeps everything. And I mean, everything} but man. I have ALOT of stuff. Lucky for me, My mama is allowing me to keep some of it at her home while I sort my life out and work out what I can and cant fit into my bedroom. You see in this move to Auckland, Im downsizing my space quiet considerably, which means my already over cluttered room is going to have no chance of fitting into my new space. And I dont want to fill up my new space with stuff just for the hell of it. So! Does anyone have any suggestions? Ideas on where to start, what to pack, what I can potentially live without... Eeeek! Not looking forward to this at all. {I wish my boxes were going to be full of new Ikea products like the dude in that photo...lucky begger!} Or maybe I should buy a lotto ticket, win the lottery, give everything away and start all over again? Yes! I like the sound of that.

Changing Perspectives Vol. 8 & 9

2010-08-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

Week Eight.

19.08.10 - 25.08.10

Week Nine.
26.08.10 - 01.09.10

Hopefully next week we will be back to weekly installments, hoping that all technology and everything goes with us rather than against us. I was lucky enough this morning to have a little photo shoot with a very adorable little baby boy and his mummy and daddy. So hopefully there will be pictures of that to share soon. Only 16 more sleeps till I move, which is a little scary seeings as I have so much to organise! Ah well, Hopefully it all falls into place and things go according to plan! If you have any moving tips...chuck em my way! Goodness knows I could do with the help!

Make Me A Mixtape Vol.6

2010-08-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

Tell it to the Marines are 5 boys from a place called Suffolk, United Kingdom with big dreams and an even bigger future ahead of them. With a fun and catchy sound this atmospheric rock band has alot in store for future, including currently recording their debut album while drinking beer and eating pot noodles while on tour.

To celebrate the return of Make Me A Mix Tape Timi (vocals) and John (guitar) both stop in for a double mixtape! Hope you love it!

Opening Track - You're Theme Song

Timi - Head Rolls Off - Frightened Rabbit. Frightened Rabbit are one of these bands who just seem to write lyrics which sum up everything about my life - this song in particular contains some of my favourite lyrics.

John: Me vs Maradona vs Elvis - Brand New. Brand New are just one of those bands that you can always come back to and listen to their albums in full each time. They are incredible on record and even better live which is refreshing! The album this song is off - Deja Entendu, really changed the way I listened to and wrote music and it will always be one of my favourite albums.

First album you owned
T: Parklife - Blur. I creeped into my Brothers room when i was about 11 & sneaked out that CD & Travis' - Invisible band album. I didn't stop listening to them in our rubbish little CD player that was in my Mum's bedroom.

J: Say It Aint So - Weezer This song had the formula of loud-quiet-loud that I was used to from listening to Nirvana and it had this huge chorus that just hit you so hard.. I can still listen to the blue album from start to finish today without getting bored.

Best Duet
T: Stan - Dido & Eminem. I love both artists ridiculous amounts. I remember hearing 'Stan', falling in love with Dido's voice & being blown away by Eminem's lyrics. Everybody needs to have Eminem in there lives - he's second to none lyrically & his style is so unique.
J: I honestly think that Timi has already listed the only duet worth mentioning.

Karaoke song
T: The Smiths, Anything by The Smiths, they have that on karaoke machines right? Reason being, well, Morrissey is an absolute genius. As a frontman, i'm still yet to find out how the hell he writes lyrics so good. It'd undoubtedly come complete with me throwing around a bunch of flowers with my shirt undone.
J: 180 By Summer - Taking Back Sunday Whenever i'm at a party with my friends we always seem to end up either singing along to Killing In The Name Of by Rage Against The Machine or Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, god knows why! But i'd probably choose 180 By Summer by Taking Back Sunday, mainly because i'd just love to be Adam Lazzara.. If I could have just half the talents and looks of Adam Lazzara I would be very happy!

Love song
T: Crush'd - Say Anything. Max Bemis is a brilliant lyricist & sums up that realisation of finding that 'perfect girl', which is a feeling i'm very familiar with. It's very tounge in cheek, but so relatable - which is what Bemis is best at. It's so raw and honest, i just love it.
J: First Day Of My Life - Bright Eyes. This is an incredible song, and I personally think that Conor Oberst writes the best love songs. It's rare that a song is written about love without a negative tinge on it and this is one of those rarities. I often play this album on my ipod when we're driving to a show in the van and I want to sleep away the journey, it always relaxes me.

Therapist in a song
T: Buffalo Gals - Everytime i Die.For some reason, this song always gets me pumped up & motivated. Actually, saying that, any ETID song gets me pumped. Musically they are fucking insane & this song in particular is one of my main 'party songs'

J: This Very Moment - Set Your Goals is a song that really motivates me is. It's a really positive song that always cheers me up and gets me going.

High School Hit
T: Work - Jimmy Eat World I think the music video does add to it, being in a high school and all but I was huge on Jimmy Eat World when i was about to get out of high school & move on to other parts of my life

J: You Know Who's Seatbelt - The Bled. I was about 13 at the time and used to wear a Bled hoody to school every day which was about 10 sizes too big for me, infact I don't even think it fits me now! I used to walk through the corridors an hour late everyday listening to this song on my shitty mp3 player and at the time it was probably the heaviest thing i'd heard.

Guilty Pleasure
T: Dido or Lily Allen. I personally don't find either of them guilty pleasures, but every time i mention either one, someone says something mean. That kind of stuff is my 'listen to on trains' music.
J: N-dubz and Jason Derulo. I listen to a lot of modern pop music. The music that they make is actually really good and if you ignore the over-used autotune and all the dollar-flashing it's actually really enjoyable! Another guilty pleasure of mine would be Cyndi Lauper, her songs are literally incredible and even the stuff she puts out now isn't too bad.\

Song that will Always give you Goosebumps
T. Play crack the sky - Brand New. They played it live when I saw them & it was the most incredible thing i have ever seen. Lacey's voice is one of these distinct voices which can just give you goosebumps very easily.
J: Untitled #1 (Vaka) - Sigur Ros. The song is about 7 minutes long and uses the bands own language 'hopelandic', which means you are totally taken over by the music without any distractions. There is an acoustic version of this song on youtube filmed in between some mountains in Iceland in which you can literally hear the wind blowing around them, it's very moving and it gives me goosebumps everytime.

Closing Track- The old faithful
T. Human Punk - Miss Black America. Miss Black America were from our area & made quite a name for themselves a good 10 years ago. If it wasn't for them, none of the Tell it to the Marines would be playing music. When i saw them live, i had never seen anything like it - and from a local band, that is rare. They got named Rollings stones album of the year 2002. I remember seeing the frontman Seymour in a local record shop and being totally winded from the shock. He was a complete idol for me, the reason i picked up my guitar and sang.

J: Closer - Protect The Target. They're a very under-rated local band and very good friends of mine. This song really sums up the past 12 months for me, because everytime Protect The Target play a hometown show, all my best friends and I go down and have the most amazing time. We get drunk, stage dive, grab microphones and just generally ruin venues! You should check them out.

Ya'll should go and check these boys out! And if you are lucky enough to be in the United Kingdom check out their myspace four tour dates near you! Oh yeah and for a free download of the Tell It To the Marines EP Bridges click here. Go on! you will love it I bet!

Pencil vs Camera

2010-08-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

being sick is actually the pits. Its been a rough few days at this end. My goodness, I have been all flavours of unwell, but enough about that. I know that today I was meant to have a Changing Perspectives post to share with ya'll but both Jess and I have been having some technical difficulties so next week we are going to have another bumper issue...two weeks of goodness, so you have that too look forward to yes? {YES!!}

Anyway! I wanted to share some more amazing talent with you today {there is just so much of it out there. YAY!} Thanks to a gorgeous friend of mine I was introduced to the wonderful works of Ben Heine the other day. And boy oh boy they are amazing. {that simple!} I really dont have a lot of words to describe his work, especially his body of work Pencil vs Camera... my goodness. Talk about, incredible. Okay, enough words... Have a perve at these!

Isnt it so neat? These are just some of my favourites. But you should check out the rest of this incredbile collection here. I just la la love it.

Alphabet Soup

2010-08-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

Oh A little bit about me today... I have seen A-Z quizzes around the place, and they always seem like a bit of fun. I never really do this sorta thing, but I thought today, why the heck not! You might even want to play along too, although, not suprisingly, I am breaking all the rules, and making up my own A-Z... whats new right?
So here is my ABC.... a few of my favourite things.

Auckland. Yup, quite simply one of my favourite places in NZ. and only 25 days until I move there! yay!
Bows. Recently I have been making a lot of bows... and wearing them almost everyday.
Colour... I wear alot of black, but I love love love splashes of colour. Red Lips, Bright Jewellery. Just something fun.
Design. Yip. Love it. Even started an etsy with some of my bits and pieces... oh hai!
Exploring. The world, my country, even just my little town. I love to get out and find things, do things, and experience things. Im a bit of gypsy you might say.
Fruit. Pineapple! Mangoes! Apricots! Oh Yum, i freaking love fruit. Cant wait for summer to roll around again! YUM YUM!
Girlfriends. I have the best girls in the world in my life. They are so wonderful, and even though I sometimes get down at the state of girls in this world... my girls ALWAYS make me smile!
Hugs. Seriously dont care who they are from! ahha, I have always loved cuddles. Seriously. When your down get someone to hug you. I promise it will make you feel better.
Inside jokes. Oh how I adore these. Currently my facebook page has been under siege of
Jack. Oh im a sucker for a good Jack Daniels. He is delicious hehe.
Keeping a Journal {it totally counts!} I love looking back on what I was thinking, or doing, or who I had a crush on haha. I guess its like the physical version of blogging. Thats why I love hanging out here so much!
Live Music. Nothing beats a gig, or a large scale concert. I love music, but honestly having it right there infront of you, with other fans. is seriously thee best.
Mail! Duh! I love love love mail. lets be penfriends? hehe
Nicknames. There is something super satisfying about having little nicknames given to you by certain people.
Outrageous Fortune. Good old New Zealand Television. Ah I love this series! Its just quite simply brilliant!
Photography. My true love, and my escape. I just love being able to capture memories. Its kinda very special to my heart.
Quilting. Well, im not sure its a favourite, but ive started one... I wonder if I will be able to finish it any time soon.
Roadtrips. Nuff said really. So much fun, music, the open road, and you and your besties. Nothing beats it.
Singing. Yup. Im definitely not the best singer this world has ever seen, but hey! I love it, and other people dont seem to mind when I get up and belt out a tune or two!
Tattoos. Another no brainer. um, I just kinda love them. infact, im planning my next lot of new additions. So good!
Uganda.... Well. It fits. I promise. Invisible Children is one of my favourite charities, Working with and for the displaced and children soliders in Uganda. To find out more hop along here!
Victoria University Graduate... Maybe not a favourite thing, but something I am really proud of! Yeah whos got a degree? haha.
Whiskey. A double up? Perhaps. But still my favourite. haha.
Xavier and Harvey {ooh sneaky} My adorable little cousins! How can they not be my favourites! I mean, they are so wonderful and always make me feel better.
You. Yip. You make my day everytime you leave a sweet word of encouragement or love. I adore ya'll!
Zzzzzz. {totally not cheating...} I like to sleep in! I stay up late and wake up just as late haha.

That was actually a bunch harder than I thought it was going to be! haha. Oh and before I go, I cant forget to mention... My gorgeous and super rad cousin Jess is having a giveaway... and its of some of my new stuff! So! You should all go and say hello, and enter! Go on, it will be good for you!

A winner, some promotion, and a welcome back.

2010-08-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the lovely Miss Meghan from The Perfect Compliation Tape. You are the lucky winner of the Miss Sparkle giveaway! YAY! Head on over to the shop and pick out a print for me to send your way, along with a few other sparkley goodies! How fun!

And seeings as we are talking about the shop... heres a bit of shameless self promotion! Woot! Ive put a couple of new prints, a series which Im still working on...

Im working on a couple of others to go in this series... Snow White and Tinkerbelle are on the cards at the moment. And I thought, why not get you guys in on the action. Who were your favourite childhood cartoon characters? Maybe, Ill be able to ink them up too!

Im also really excited to welcome back Make me a mix tape. I have heaps of great new interviews coming your way soon! So... if you, or someone you know, is in an awesome band, that might be interested in being featured, you can get at me at shewaitsforwhispers{at}ymail{dot}com. send me a link to their music and who knows, you might just see their faces, and their mix tapes here soon!

This. Is. War.

2010-08-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, songs come into your life, and you just think, wow. This is pretty much exactly what I am going through right now, or this song was written about/for me.

For a while now, I have followed Thirty Seconds to Mars. Not on a scary front, I don't subscribe to their twitter, I don't have posters of Jared Leto in my house, and I don't have any werid symbols tattooed on me professing my love for the band. {some of their fans are hardcore} But I do have a respect for the epicness that has become Jared, Shannon and Tomo.. Their music is cleverly crafted into a commercially viable sound, but they haven't strayed from where they began. And there is just something, relatable about their music I guess... even if it is on the most epic scale. I recently saw them play at a rather intimate gig at the Logan Campbell centre in Auckland. The show was wonderful. Shannon, Jared and Tomo pulled together a tight and well presented show, it was loud, abrasive, and in your face, much like the band itself. Shannon killed it on the drums, pounding the crap outta his skins. Tomo really is the glue, talented as hell and pulled it all together perfectly with his amazing riffs and rhythm Jared's voice is certainly incredible. He sang from yesterday with his acoustic guitar up the back of the venue on the sound desk {right where i was standing *sigh*} and boy, was it powerful. Yum is one word that I would certainly use. over and over again. haha.

Lately, I have felt really drawn to "Closer to the Edge" The boys newest release of their album This is War. There is something so true in the lyrics, something I guess that I am feeling more and more as each day seems to pass. I have been trying to work out exactly what it is that I get from them... and, the truth is, I'm not entirely sure. But something clicks. Something connects, and not everything has to make sense. I thought I would post the lyrics anyway.. Maybe you might like them. Or maybe you might hate them. And that's totally up to you, But this. This is me. And this makes sense.

I remember one moment, I tried to forget
I lost myself, is it better not said
Now I'm closer to the edge

It was a thousand to one
And a million to two
Time to go down in flames and I'm taking you
Closer to the edge

No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again
No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again
NO NO NO NO

Can you imagine a time when the truth ran free
The birth of a song and the death of a dream
Closer to the edge

This never ending story
Paid for with pride and fate
We all fall short of glory
LOST IN OUR FATE

No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again
No, I'm not saying I'm sorry
One day maybe we'll meet again
NO NO NO NO

NO NO NO NO
I will never forget
NO NO
I will never regret
NO NO
I WILL LIVE MY LIFE

I guess it kinda helps that all three of them are quite delicious and fun to look at too. I mean, check them out.

Thirty Seconds To Mars... Thanks for existing.

Changing Perspectives Vol. 6 & 7

2010-08-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

Week Six.
05.08.10 - 11.08.10

Week Seven
12.08.10 - 18.08.10

Its been quite a couple of weeks. I am so jealous of Jess, and her travels to far away tropical islands... though, we did have one beautiful sunny day that I just had to document haha. Last week was a busy one, New Babies born, babysitting my cousins, and getting ready for the big craft show in a few weeks time, not to mention, opening my etsy store! Things are definitely keeping me busy. Oh and its not less than a month till I move. Time to get my butt into gear I think. Do any of you have any awesome tips about packing up your life and moving cities? Haha, I just have so much stuff! I have no idea where to start!

You still have a few days to enter le giveaway! So off ya go...

Shawn Barber Fame

2010-08-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

Holy moly. I am excited to be able to post about this AMAZING artist. and when I say amazing, I am not kidding one little bit. I am forever scouring tattoo magazines, for new ideas and pretty images to stick into journals and things like that. Yesterday, I picked up one of my annual reads, and was so stoked with what was inside. A feature on Mr Shawn Barber. Now, prior to opening this magazine I has shamefully never heard of this amazingly talented {read OFF THE HOOK CRAZY TALENTED} dude. But since checking out the article and being totally wow-ed, i have been sitting on his website for the last few hours, going through his portfolio. Im only more than happy to share some of his delicious work here... feast your eyes on these wonders....

Seriously... It is mind boggling. I tried to select some of my favourites, but honestly, I adore them all... so I reckon you should probably just head over his website... and check out his work {I particularly love this body of work...no suprises really}

Oh! And thank ya'll all for the support of the opening of my shop! Dont forget to go on and enter the giveaway to win yourself some Miss Sparkle goodies.

Open for Business... and a giveaway!

2010-08-16T19:13:00.001-07:00

Ah! Im so excited to announce that my Etsy store is finally open for business! waaahooo!
Right now, there is limited stuff up and available, I am hard at work putting together even more bits and pieces to get the store choc-a-block... but in the mean time, go and feast your eyes on the wonder that is sparkleonline! I have a run of new prints that I am excited to be able to share with you, and of course, everyones favourite, my sparkle cards are now available for purchase! So what are you waiting for... truck yourself on over there and have a lookie! I would love your feedback! And keep an eye out for the new stuff that is going to be going up in the coming weeks!

And... I mean what is a celebration without a present right? Well, One of you lucky beauties is in luck! Because to celebrate the Grand Opening of Sparkle Online... I am giving away a Miss Sparkle pack, which will include 1 Print {of your choice} 1 pack of Sparkle cards and a few other Miss Sparkle bits and pieces, that have yet to be released in the shop! Yay!

Heres the Rules:
1. You must be a follower of my blog.
2. You must leave your email address in ALL entries!

How to enter:
for ONE Entry - Head over to the Miss Sparkle shop and pick your favourite print.
for ONE extra entry - Suggest an idea for a print that you think would be perfect in the Miss Sparkle shop.
for ONE extra extra entry - post a blog about this giveaway, and link it back in your comment
for THREE super extra entries - simply purchase something from the Miss Sparkle shop and leave a comment here with your etsy username and what it is that you purchased!

A winner will be drawn at random on Monday the 23rd of August... and will be notified through the blog, and via email {which you will have left in each of your comments right??} GOOD LUCK and I cant wait to hear what you guys think!

Oh BOY!

2010-08-14T01:56:00.001-07:00

You might remember a little while ago I did a maternity shoot with my BEAUTIFUL friend Rachael and her boyfriend Josh, when she was around 34 weeks pregnant. Well that was a little while ago now, and I am so excited to say that 2 days ago, Rachael went into labour, and a little over 8 hours later, on the 12th of August 2010 at 12.44pm, Mason Phoenix Evans was brought into the world weighing a gorgeous 6lb 10oz. And boy, is he perfect! My mama and I went down to the hospital in the afternoon and got to meet the little fella. Oh my goodness, he is beyond adorable. Seriously, he is so beautiful. And tiny! Seeing a baby who is hours old, is really something else I tell you! I mean look how sweet he is...

See what I mean!! I cant wait until Rachael and Josh are a little more settled and at home {rather than the hospital!!} so that we can get together and take some great family photos. To my darling Rachael. I know you are going to be the most amazing Mummy! Your son is so so beautiful already, and I just know that he is going to grow into such an amazing little human because of the amazing strong and beautiful woman that you are. I am so proud of you, and am so blessed to be a part of yours and Mason's life.

Oh I cant wait for more baby snuggles.

Oh Ms Rice

2010-08-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

I have always loved everything about Anne Rice. She is just, wonderful. All throughout my intermediate and high school days I read her books, I fell into her world, of new orleans and vampires and the supernatural. I have read all of the Vampire Chronicles, and the majority of her other novels... I think Violin might have been one of my favourites. I still love her, even though I havent read one of her novels for years. I even quip to the twihards about reading real vampire stories, and direct them to the Anne Rice section in their libraries and bookstores... {because she write about REAL vampires...obviously} In 1998 Anne returned to Roman Catholicism, from which she had left when she was 18, leaving because she began to question her faith and the reasons that she held her beliefs. She defended her writing of the Vampire Chronicles when many within Roman Catholicism called them out on anti christian values. Her response, as with much of what she says, impressed me hugely.

"My vampire novels and other novels involve a strong moral compass. Evil is never glorified in these books; on the contrary, the continuing battle against evil is the subject of the work. The search for the good is the subject of the work. Interview with the Vampire is about the near despair of an alienated being who searches the world for some hope that his existence can have meaning. His vampire nature is clearly a metaphor for human consciousness or moral awareness. The major theme of the novel is the misery of this character because he cannot find redemption and does not have the strength to end the evil of which he knows himself to be a part.

She goes on to say "In 1976, I felt that the vampire was the perfect metaphor for the outcast in all of us, the alienated one in all of us, the one who feels lost in a world seemingly without God. In 1976, I felt I existed in such a world, and I was searching for God. I never dreamed that the word, vampire, would prevent people from examining this book as a metaphysical work. I thought the use of the word was a powerful device... The entire body of my earlier work reflects a movement towards Jesus Christ. In 2002, I consecrated my work to Jesus Christ. This did not involve a denunciation of works that reflected the journey. It was rather a statement that from then on I would write directly for Jesus Christ. I would write works about salvation, as opposed to alienation."
Source

Recently she has been the center of some rather interesting religious debate. {Oh gosh thats a bit serious for this blog... but stay with me.. its interesting I promise} Two weeks ago, Anne released a statement renouncing her dedication to the church...

"For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become."

There is something that rings so true in her courageous words. I actually love what says about Following Christ does not mean following his followers. Im not sure that I have made it known, but I am a believer of Christ. I wasnt raised religious but came to a relationship with Jesus in 2005 {but thats a long story for another day} However for the last couple of years, I have struggled with finding a church that accepts me for me, and finding a church that has a pure heart after God. You see, Im not the cookie cutter christian a lot of people are looking for. I have tattoos, I drink, I am opinionated and educated and Im not afraid to tell you what I think. So much of what Anne Rice has to say resonates in my heart. Like her, I refuse to be Anti many of the things that 'christianity' {read, the church} calls for. I refuse to see myself as better because I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and I refuse to pressure people in my life to have that relationship too.

come on over

2010-08-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

That funny mood that I talked about in my last post is still lingering a bit. I think it might be trying to make a way into my pysche permanently. But I am working on sending it back to whereever it came from as fast as I can. In spite of still being a little off center, things are ticking along at a rather alarmingly fast pace. I only have 36 days until I move to Auckland... which I know sounds like alot, but there is really a bunch for me to organise - and yet, even though I know this I seem to still be procrastinating about things like no ones business {why do I always do this!!} Im also busy working on getting all my bits and pieces assembled and made for my craft fair coming up at the start of september, I have a couple of major projects on the run {i still need your photos!!} and because Im a total sucker for punishment im working on getting my etsy store up and running {though, im having a problem with my banner...colours are inverting when its uploaded...any ideas?}

I wanted to thank you all for the beautiful and encouraging words that you have shared with me recently, whether it be via comments on this here blog, personal emails, even mail through the post. I have been so so blessed to have meet you all and I love you all heaps! Seriously, you brighten my day endlessly. So, I thought today, that in amongst the chaos that is my life, I would take a second or two, to get to know you better. I mean, I know some of you well, and then others of you, I dont know if we have even shared a hello... and who knows, if I get a few replies {and I oh so hope that I do!} I might even make this a semi regular thing. So, how about it?

Lets see!

Who is your celebrity crush?
What is your favourite thing to do with your friends?
When is your favourite time of the year?
Why did you decide to name your blog what you did?
How do you take your coffee?

And to start things off... here are my answers!
Who is your celebrity crush?
Oh man! I have too many! haha. Dallas Green, John Mayer, Johnny Depp, Caleb Followill, Charlie Hunman, Elvis {totally counts!!} Ryan Gosling, Johnny Cash {Also counts!} Man, I could go on and on and on. Yum!
What is your favourite thing to do with your friends?
I love doing everything with my friends, but recently, getting dressed up and going out for dinner and drinks, followed by a bit of dancing just cant be beat... unless of course its a pj party... thats also pretty much the best!
When is your favourite time of the year?
I think it would have to be spring, no wait, autumn. Oh um, summer and winter too? haha I cant decide!
Why did you decide to name your blog what you did?
I was sitting on the floor in a backpackers in Boston just after new years and I just sort of thought of it. There isnt any real special meaning to it, Although, Im always waiting for the whisper. Always.
How do you take your coffee?
Recently I have been drinking ALOT of chai... but I like a good latte every now and then too. I like it even better with a shot of vanilla or caramel. Oh yum

Oh I do hope you will play along. xo

decided.

2010-08-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

Im having one of those day. You know those days that are more introspective than out. The ones where you kinda stay in your head for the day, and just think about things... {does anyone else get like that... maybe its just me?} Ive been thinking about a lot of stuff lately, I get like this every now and then especially when I am going through change. Its not a bad thing, infact really I think its probably a good thing. Its during times like these that things start to make sense, or, something blearingly obvious to the rest of the world clicks into place in my muddled up brain, and I suddenly understand things a little clearer.

I have come to a realisation...Plans change, People change, and sometimes things just dont make sense. Maybe I'm just a little slow off the mark to come to this realisation, but I guess recently it has really stood out to me. Sometimes we are so set on something happening, or someone being in our lives forever that when something happens and the master plan gets thrown off... well we become a bit of a mess. And by we, I mean me. I like to be in control, or at least, know that I can rely on the person that is in control {It took me a while to admit it... but there it is} and recently, I have had to deal with being let down, and hurt, and things that were meant to be set in concrete, disintergrating before my very eyes. Lucky enough for me, I have been supported by some of the most amazing people {you know who you are!!} in the last few weeks, and having their support has meant that I have been able to take a step back and realise that this time, not only did things not make a lot of sense, and things that were meant to be 'forever' {whatever that means} ended... I have also changed. And Im okay with that. Its not a physical change, its more an emotional one I suppose. Though, Im not even sure that accurately describes it. Maybe its an intellectual change. I dont know. Something has just clicked. And things are feeling a bunch better than they were.

Ive decided. Its time to start believing in myself again.

Lovely Ladies Vol. 2

2010-08-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Its certainly about time I got around to posting another lovely ladies post! I actually cant believe that it has been two months since I posted the first volume {does anyone else feel like this year is slipping away?!} For this edition of lovely ladies, I would like to introduce to you some of the woman that I love, that I dont get to see very often, due to big distances between us, but who I love ever so much. These girls, are some of the most wonderful friends, and I miss them ever so dearly.... But without further ado, let me introduce you to some VERY lovely ladies...

This beauty is Alannah... You may remember her from a little while ago when I posted about her and Michaels engagement and was lucky enough to be able to photograph an engagement photography session with her. Lana, is one of my best friends. Without a doubt. She is the most genuine, kind and loving girl I have ever met. We bonded over the show Rockstar INXS and quickly realised that we had a bond that was pretty rare. Lana has lived away from New Zealand for long periods of time in the past, but its always the same, the minute she comes home, we hang out and its like nothing has changed. I think our souls just get each other. I miss her a little bit more every day, but am so so so thankful that this amazing, inspiring and loving woman is in my life.

Introducing my Alabama Sweetheart Paige. Oh boy, she is just so wonderful. Truely. I met her years ago... on Myspace! {hehe!!} and we became virtual friends emailing most days, helping each other through tough times, and all that other lovely stuff. We met face to face for the first time just over 7 months ago, when I flew from NZ to the US for a trip. I spent a week with Paige and her family, and it instantly felt like home. This girl is more than a friend, she is family. I adore her with my whole heart, and she never fails to make me smile.

Check this babe out! Carol is also an Alabama Sweetheart. One I hold VERY dear to my heart. This girl blows my mind, she is so smart, talented and super super kind, seriously, PACKAGE DEAL! I am so so so lucky to call her a close friend. I love our skype chats, and the little love notes she leaves me on facebook. Without fail, every time I talk to this beauty, I am left feeling happy and loved. I miss her alot.

Oh hey miss Shayla! Some of you might know this beauty from her blog. I met this darling when she came and lived in New Zealand for a year, a few years back now. We only met once, and it was only in passing. But when I made my trip through the states, I spent some time with her and her boyfriend in OKC... my goodness. It was such a great few days. She is so warm and delightful. Honestly, when you are around Shayla, you just cant be sad. She is one of the sweetest girls that I know and I am so lucky to call her a friend!! Lovveeeee!

So there you have it. A few lovely ladies from around the world, that i love, and that I miss terribly! Maybe you have some Lovely Ladies in your life that you want to celebrate. Join in! And don't forget to link me back by the linky below... so I can read all about the women in your life that rule!

Projects...Projects...everywhere

2010-08-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

Im up to something. Well maybe, I should say, I am working on something! {Sounds a little less mischevious I think} and well, I need your help! Right now, I have about 20 ideas in my mind, but im hoping that that they will start to come to life. Im such a sucker for a project! And I keep thinking of things that I could do, so the list just keeps getting longer and longer. And so I thought, Why not get my blogging buddies involved in a couple of things that I have in my head! I know ya'll are super talented... so lets see what we can get a rolling huh?

The first thing I am after here... is a photo... of... YOU! mmhmm! You read it right! I want you to be the star of my project...sounds good right? Okay well here are the specifics...

Hi res photo....the bigger the better!
Photo including 1 or 2 people... Sitting, standing, running?! Anything you like!
Plain background needed. Preferrably white, but any light colouring would be okay
The more background space the better... but its really up to you!
Please no "myspace" style photos...

Keen?! Oh I hope that you are! Email me at shewaitsforwhispers{at}ymail{dot}com or leave your interest with a contact email address in the comment section! Woot.

The second thing {and much more cheeky request} is... do you have any old band shirts laying around that you dont wear/use/like/want anymore... well... im working on something rather ambitious, and I need as many band shirts as I can get. Now I know, sending things in the post to New Zealand includes $$ and so does parting with your shirts... so of course, I would love to trade with you. Im going to have my etsy store open soon and would love to send you some of my art, or some stationery or perhaps even a little goodie bag full of various bits and pieces... I suppose you could say, this is like a goodie swap! haha. Anyway! Flick me an email at the above address, or leave me a comment with your email in it and we can maybe work something out? I think it might be fun?

I think that might be all for now. Im back to working 7 days a week - so I probably shouldnt over exude myself in the creativity department... although, it is just so fun!

P.S If you wanna tell your friends... I think that might be rad.

Ink Stains

2010-08-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

While I was away visiting my lovelies in Auckland, I dropped in to see the super talented Miss Karla and got a new piece of art tattooed onto my left leg. A little while ago I posted a wee blog about my tattoos and some of the stories and/or reasons behinds the ones that I already have. I still havent really worked out a way to describe the process of tattooing for me. I mean, this art seriously means so much to me on so many levels. I guess I find the whole process beautiful. Not only visually but emotionally too. It is pretty special to be able to have these constant reminders of life on me, and they fact that the work is stunningly beautiful is also a bonus hehe. Any who, here are a few photos of the work in progress. I thought the pain would be worse than it was in all seriousness, Right under my knee was pretty intense but the rest of the shin was pretty bearable for the most part. After about 2 hours in the hot seat, I was all swollen, bloody and red. But I also had the most beautiful new piece of art collected forever.

There you have it! Isnt it beautiful? The story behind this one is kinda strange I guess. I mean, since I started getting tattooed {about 3 years ago now!} I have wanted to get a ship tattoo... My legs are starting to slowly fill up, and there was a nice prominent space on my shin that was just waiting to be filled. I decided, it was the perfect place. So I booked it. No real specifc meaning behind it, other than moving forward and keeping strong. A reminder of life. Typical Sailor style. Then, things started to happen.I guess the last 6 weeks or so have been interesting for me. They have been filled with really crazy happenings, some good, and others really not so good. I have felt attacked, betrayed and without sounding all dramatic and lame, pretty violated by certain situations which have come my way. I realised, that this tattoo has become the perfect symbol to remind me of this time. That the stormy waters of the situation are behind me, and that hopefully I will keep moving through situations with the same dignity and respect, That throughout everything, I stayed true, That I will Always stay true to the ones that I love, and the ones that love me, and that, that is the most important thing.

Though, now I feel uneven. My right leg looks all bare and naked! I think I might have to try and remedy that soon.

Another wee trip and some news...

2010-08-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

So Im back, and decided that two posts in one day was okay! Because I need to make up for my super neglectful nature! Oh boy! It was really nice to get away for a few days, just up to auckland {I move in 46 days...but whos counting right?} I got to hang out with some of my favourite people, drinking a lot of jack and a little Heineken {mixing it up a little never hurt...} making new friends, eating great food, getting inked pushed into my skin {more on that later}, attending a killer concert, laughing so much that my sides hurt, personal jokes, sharon, making new decisions, letting go, and getting excited about the future.

Photos perhaps? They tell a better story than my words ever could.

We celebrated my 21st again in Auckland with some of my pals up there. Needless to say, it was alot of fun, got a tad messy, and ended with us in Burger King and me permenantly borrowing {read:stealing} the menu from the counter.

Dinner at my favourite resturant in the city. Tanuki's Cave. Um. YUM! I wish I could take every single one of you there. I flipped a chopstick and it landed in Brigettes glass haha.

New ink was acquired.

The reason for the visit. Rosie and I went to the 30 Seconds to Mars show. Jared, Tomo & Shannon, You are just quite, delightful. Nom Nom Nom.

AND! I have news! Exciting news! Remember a while ago when I announced that I was moving to Auckland, and that I had an interview for Graphic Design school up there, well! I got accepted. My interview went amazingly and they are really really impressed with my skills and portfolio, and said that they believe that I have huge potential! {ah so stoked!} so! in 46 days, ill be packing my bags, moving to the big smoke, hopefully finding some work for a few months, and then ill be starting my new course. I can not wait.

Ooooh! And! More good news! I have a winner for the Our City Lights giveaway. DRUMROLL PLEASE.... The winner is the most lovely Krystal. Congratulations sweetheart! I will be in touch with you soon to sort out shipping your prize to you! Yay!

Changing Perspectives Vol. 5

2010-08-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

Week Five.
29.07.10 - 04.08.10

IM BAAAAAAAAAACK! I know I know, I have been a terribly neglectful blogger over the last 6 days! I went on a little trip to Auckland and I had planned to blog there because I knew I had internet access... except, well, I just got busy doing things and seeing people and hanging out, so I didnt end up having much time on the computer at all! I have lots of exciting news however, and will be sharing that all with you soon, and of course, posting some of the debauchary that was partaken in while I was away! So kiddies, you can expect a bit of a blog bombardment, after the drought of the last few days!

Oh! I almost forgot. We are going to take a little break on the changing perspectives post for a week. The lovely lovely Jess is running away to the sun, sand and cocktail haven that is Rarotonga for a few days {im not jealous at all...}, so we thought rather than worrying about getting all the uploading and things done while she is away, we will just have a MEGA changing perspectives on the 19th of August for you. So never fear when you dont see a post next week! It will be back... we promise! Now, time for me to get a cup of tea and catch up on your blogs! Ive missed you bunches.

Get busy living

2010-07-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

I remember being told once that some old, and wise dude once said "a life half lived is a life wasted" Ive decided that, that dude must of had a pretty sweet beard, because I think he was onto something pretty smart.

For those of you that know me personally, {or have been reading my blog for a while at least} you will know that Im not the kinda girl who does things by halves. I mean, I got all out, and thats one of the traits that I am proud of, one of the things that I love about myself. I give 100% in everything I do, whether its school, work, love or friendship. I guess I just dont believe in doing things half heartedly. Its not in my DNA to give up, or give a little. I am also the kind of girl who likes to be busy. And Im not talking about a little bit busy. Im talking about, doing 7 different things at once, while working 2 jobs, trying to run a business and starting different projects on the side just to keep me on my toes {I cant wait to share some of these with you!}

Though, I have come to learn, that with giving yourself completely to everything that you do, comes risk. Great risk sometimes. Now, Normally I would say that the risk is worth it, it might not appear it in the beginning {in fact it almost never appears it in the beginning}, when you are nursing a broken heart, drowning in a sea of uncompleted tasks or counting on someone else to make your life make sense but when it all passes and you are left with that feeling of satisfaction that you created something wonderful, or were part of something that might just make someone elses day, or that the memories that you have with that person are irreplaceable, and that they actually really did shape you into the person that you have become today, it all becomes worth it. At least, thats what I am telling myself.

There is a bunch that is going on in my life right now. Somethings that are awesome and make me really really happy {like the fact that on tuesday im getting tattooed...again} somethings that are making me a little bit stressed {like this meeting next wednesday that is going to decide my future plans} and somethings, that are making me a little upset. However, I guess its times like that latter, that test your character. And I know who I am. And I will stand strong in that. Thats the most important thing. And so, I keep telling myself that as long as there is balance between these different aspects, that I cant really complain. That there are people in this world that have it a hundred, a thousand, a million time harder than I have it, and that they manage to stay alive, to stay focused, to stay smiling. With that, I keep moving forward. I keep finding new things to busy myself with, I keep pushing the boundaries on what I can do with my existence, and most of all I keep hoping that I am making a difference.

Changing Perspectives Vol. 4

2010-07-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

Week Four.
22.07.10 - 28.07.10

I cant believe that its thursday already! This week has gone so fast! I get excited on thursday mornings because I get to see the week of photos that Jess and I have done. This might sound a little bit weird, but I feel like we are totally connected in this! Like on the 22nd, both of our images are super red! On the 25th we both have alcoholic beverages, and on the 26th Coffee and Chocolate! I mean what goes together better. Its been really good to get the first 4 weeks done! Only 48 to go!

While you are here, you should go and enter the wonderful giveaway I have running at the moment! our.city.lights is generously giving away some of her amazing products! So quick! Go and enter before time runs out.

Our City Lights... and a little giveaway!

2010-07-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

Im so very very excited about this! our.city.lights is one of my favourite blogs ever {no lies} If you havent already, you need to check it out. {Seriously CLICK THE LINK NOW!!!!} Diana is potentially one of the most lovely girls ever, kind, sweet, tattooed, super talented photographer and a lover of books {she hit the cool jackpot I swear} Its been a while since I have done one of these little features, but I was so excited when Diana agreed to pop by and have a wee chat about whats in her handbag, slow cookers and a band with my name!

Hi my name is Diana But you can call me D My blog is ourcitylights.org The best thing I have learnt in the last 7 days is that my college sleeping schedule does not work for me at 29. In my bedroom you will find piles of books on my reading list I really like to cook something as easy as possible. The slow cooker and I are best of friends. My favourite book is The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls One of the things I cant live without is my heavily prescribed glasses. I take my coffee french-pressed, hot, sugarless, a little cinnamon. In my handbag you will find my ipod, my cellphone, kindle, and a camera or two. In 1999 I was graduating high school and enrolling in beauty school. The last song that I listened to was Tilly and the Wall's Lost Girls. It's been on repeat lately.Last night I dreamt about babies, and thankfully it was just a dream! Not many people know this about me but I am a huge fan of the show JONAS (no judging!) I think everyone should know that I'm painfully shy.The best advice my mum ever gave me was your worth is not based on others opinions of you. I am inspired by fellow bloggers, bike rides, and music. In the second half of 2010 I will finally start my to-do list for 2010

A little while back, I treated myself to some of Diana's most ADORABLE products from her shop. Infact I think I got my hands on one of almost everything! I just couldnt choose what I wanted to purchase! Its all just so dreamy and delicious. Diana, has ever so kindly offered to give away one of her packs of postcards AND the lucky winner will also recieve one of a beautiful 5x5 print that Diana is will select just for you! Talk about awesome. {I wonder...can I enter my own giveaway?}

Heres the Rules:
1. You must be a follower of my blog.
2. You must leave your email address in ALL entries!

How to enter:
for ONE Entry - Head over to the our city lights shop and tell me what is your favourite thing that she sells {its going to be a hard choice - trust me!}
for ONE extra entry - Tell me your favourite city in the world, and why it has your heart.
for ONE extra extra entry - go and purchase something from the our city lights shop! Let me know what you brought, and your etsy username!

Winner will be chosen at random on the 5th of August! So you have a little bit of time, but I wouldnt slack if I were you! I have a question for you, Now that you have entered the giveaway, What are you still doing here? Quick, grab a cup of tea and get yourself over to our.city.lights. You have a lot to catch up on! You wont be disappointed... I promise.

P.s If you or maybe someone you know has an etsy store, or an online shop or something like that, and would like to be featured, and have a little giveaway like this one on shewaitsforwhispers.... please email me shewaitsforwhispers{at}ymail{dot}com and we can sort something out. I dont bite. I promise!

Lets Partyyy! Part 2.

2010-07-26T15:58:00.001-07:00

Saturday was such a great day. My goodness. The morning was spent at the hairdressers, and then Jess and I went and picked up my pal Jacinta and headed into the penthouse apartment in the city which we had for the night. Rosie turned up shortly after that and we spent the afternoon being super girly, with homemade guacamole thanks to the beautiful jess {it was FREAKING delicious!} getting made over thanks to the seriously talented Jacinta {this girl has skills. i mean. mad skills.} and doing all sorts of other silly things like drinking wine and taking photos, not to mention shaving arm pits and moisturising legs all while having a no pants party in the living room! Yum! After we were all a ready to go, we put on our pretty dresses {my mama made mine! She is amazing} and headed down to a bar... where a beautiful pink cadillac picked us up and took us to thee party {yeah so it was a little over the top, but so much fun!} Speeches were made, and flipping Jess got me all teary, photos a plenty were taken, and so much love was shared. Honestly, I feel so so so blessed to call these amazing people my family and friends. They made my night so very special, and honestly, it wouldnt have been the same without every one of them being there. Jeepers! Im a lucky lady. Wanna perve at how awesome we all looked? Oh ok!!

Yum! Homemade guacamole!

Using industrial strength deoderant, to keep our pits dry! haha

The venue! Isnt it flipping sweet!

Photoboard 1.0

In thee cadillac on the way to the diner

My beautiful friends Ben and Elise.

My GORGEOUS cake! It was soooo tasty!

Brooke, Zoe, Dom and Myself!

Wonder Nat and Super Sam! <3>

Mama, Me, Jess and Auntie Annie

Jared dressed as Buddie Hollie. Love!

Haha this photo makes me giggle!

Everything is a okay with me!

Jacinta and Tillie.

Miss Robyn and I.

Dom, Finn and Tillie

My beautiful Mama and I. Can you believe she made BOTH of our dresses! Wonderwoman!

Cousin Lovin!

And and and! Just because I want ya'll to see the incredible job that my mother did on my dress... here a full length picture with the car. oh the sexy sexy car! yum!

Yay! So, that was my birthday. We ended up in the city after the party, where I proceded to do 21 shots, dance for another 4 and a half hours, and ending the night with diet coke, mince and cheese service station pies and cuddles from the best people. And the best bit, I get to do it all again next weekend {on a slightly lesser of a scale} with the most lovely of people in Auckland City! Yip, Operation: Tillies Auckland 21st commences at 1430 on Saturday 31 July 2010. I cant wait.

In all Honesty, I truely had the most wonderful night. Everyone made it so special, I was SO spoilt, and treated like an absolute queen... I guess now that I should start acting like an adult.... probably not though!

Lets Partyyy! Part 1.

2010-07-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

I had such an amazing weekend. Actually. Amazing doesnt even begin to describe how wonderful it was. On thursday I turned the big two one. {thank you all for your birthday wishes. Love you heappppps!} So on Thursday night my mum and aunty took me around to our local bar to have a cocktail... which turned into a few cocktails, and a sore head the next morning. Being the silly one that I am, I didnt really take any photos that night, because it was just us, and I sorta just forgot! Whoops! But it was a lovely way to spend the evening of my birthday none the less. Then friday rolls around... and the best thing about the 23rd of July, is that it is my cousin Xaviers birthday! He turned 6. Its so special that we get to share our birthdays the day after each other! So, on Friday evening, my whole family got together, and we had a big old celebration. Stevens Style. My beautiful cousin Jess came down from Auckland, My grandparents travelled from Tauranga, and the family got together, to eat, drink and spend some time with one another. It was so lovely. Photos you say? Oh... okay, you twisted my arm!

Jess and I hanging out!

Grandad and the Grandkids!

Me, Xavier and My mama!

Oh my gosh! A cake!

The birthday kids cutting the birthday cake

Pink AND Blue icing. YUM!

Cousin Lovin!

Well, that was part 1 folks. Stay tuned for more fromthe weekend! There are over 800 photos for me to sort through, so ill be posting a couple more posts throughout the week. Hope you had a delicious weekend too!

Changing Perspectives Vol. 3

2010-07-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

Week Three.

15.07.10 - 21.07.10

What a week! Waking up to sunrises, posting letters, baking, and even an avant garde make up photoshoot. Goodness me. I feel like I should feel exhausted, and yet, I am feeling quite refreshed. A big weekend ahead, which I am really looking forward too! I hope you all have had a lovely week and that you are looking forward to a delicious weekend.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to me! hehe.

1 more sleep

2010-07-20T15:06:00.001-07:00

Mmhmm! Im 21 tomorrow! How exciting. Ive spent the last couple of weeks sorting everything out for my party, making drinks tickets, bus tickets, camera cards, and all sorts of other bits and pieces {next week ill post all about it!} Its going to be so fun! I really cant wait. I think what I am most excited about is the fact that I am going to have my closest friends {the local ones at least!!} and family all together in one place, to celebrate! My mum has made me the most BEAUTIFUL dress ever, the venue for the party is simply perfect {1950s diner anyone?} and everything is coming together. Last night I spent the night going through all my old albums and boxes upon boxes of photos to find some photos to have running through the TV screens throughout the night. It was such a trip to look through all the old photos, especially the ones from when I was super little! It was kinda cool to be able to look back and actually remember the people in the photos from my younger years, or to see the look on my face and remember exactly how much I loved my Wendy Doll House. I thought, in light of my birthday, and the whole coming of age thing... I would share some of these photos with you... and maybe even some of the stories that go along with them.

What can I say. I was cute! Haha.

Ths is me and my grandad! Check him out rocking the pink shirt!

When I was a bunch younger {obviously} we lived close to the beach. This was the playground at the beach, I remember spending heaps of time here!

I have no clue what I was wearing, or why I have this wig on! Haha, but according to my mama I use to like playing dressups alot when I was a little one.

This photo makes me laugh! My mum {in the blue and green striped jersey!!} use to take me to a kiddies gym type class thing once a week when I was little. I pretty much rocked the matching sweatsuit.... and have been raising the roof every since!

Potentially the cutest dress to ever exist. I would like one of those in my size now!

Me and my delightfully lovely cousin Jess. Hehe. Dang we are cute! {I had to!!}

I dont even know what was going on here, but I like how I look like im in mid song. Pretty much case in point that music was and still is a HUGE part of my life

Naww! My wendy Doll House! {I mean seriously! How sweet is that house!} This was practically permanently set up in our living room when I was a kid. I use to have tea parties and such in there, and would rope my aunties and uncles into playing with me everytime they came over!

I was 4 in this picture. It was my kindergarten picture, taken in 1993 {I love how my fringe is pretty much still the same}

I was a dancer as a kid. I use to practise a bunch and spend alot of time at competitions. I fricking loved it! So much! This was at a dancing competition probably around 1993/1994. I remember it perfectly. It was my first every competition, and it was a tap dance. I had practised and practised in my living room, but because our house wasnt that big rather than doing the steps how they were meant to be i just went round and round in circles... I got up on stage for my competition, and, of course because I had practised, I performed round and round in circles... I must have been good, because I won! Haha. Either that or the judges felt sorry for me haha.

This is me with my incredibly amazing aunty Denise. She passed when I was 8, so the photos I have with her are so precious because we were really really really close. I love how candid and chilled this photo is. I wish I remembered this day, but I dont really. I know it would of been a good one though, every adventure with Denise was a good one.

The best kids in Town.

2010-07-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

Last night I got to hang out with my cousins. It was pretty much awesome. Xavier is almost 6 {his birthday is the day after mine!} and Harvey is 2 {he will be 3 in November}. After showers, dinner, and reading some books, we got to play for a few hours before bedtime, and of course, take some photos! The little man was super tired because he didnt have a sleep during the day, and so the night ended for him when he was snuggled up on my knee and he fell asleep! It was so precious. Xavier and I got to watch cartoons for a little bit together before his bedtime {it was his last day of school holidays too!} I just love these little dudes so so so much.

Oh Elvis!

2010-07-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Elvis, You are just so delicious. I mean, look at you. I wish we had of been around at the same time, Im pretty sure we would have been in love and got married. Love Tillie.

Want

2010-07-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

I want to sleep in on Sundays.
I want to believe that people can change. And that you have.
I want to close my eyes and wake up somewhere new and exciting, surrounded by people who genuinely care about the things that are important
I want to know what those things are.
I want direction.
I want to meet every inch of this world, and get to know it intimately.
I want to be held sometimes.
I want it to be okay when I get sad, and not have to be the strong one.
I want someone to want to take care of me.
I want to eat chocolate and icecream and not feel guilty.
I want to feel beautiful.
I want to be beautiful.
I want that feeling back, you know the one.
I want everything to work out. I hope that it will.
I want to talk on the phone until one of us fall asleep like we use to.
I want to feel your presence strongly again.
I want meaning.
I want to be covered in beautiful art that tells my story, even if no one else understands it.
I want to be able to listen to those songs and not get upset anymore.
I want you to know that you are loved.
I want to inspire someone, to do something great.
I want to do something great.
I want to know his plan.
I want to be your friend, even though you dont want to know me.
I want to spend the weekend watching boxsets and eating ginger kisses again.
I want those little things to matter more than those big things.
I want to dance in the rain again.
I want to tell you that I think you are beautiful, and that it doesnt matter what anyone else says because you are amazing.
I want to be part of this adventure.
I want love.
I want to be able to scream from the rooftops.
I want to write beautiful music, even if its only for my ears.
I want to be able to trust you, and you to be able to trust me.
I want to create something beautiful.
I want to know the meaning of it all, even though, sometimes I wonder if there is any meaning.
I want to put my feet in the pacific ocean.
I want to feel part of something bigger than what I am doing on a day to day basis.
I want somewhere to come home and relax.
I want to escape into the comfort of a book.
I want to make a change.
I want to explore beyond the everyday.
I want get lost.
I want to stop waiting for something to happen, and make it happen myself.
I want it to be okay to call you in the middle of the night again.
I want let go of everything that is hurting me.
I want you to know I wish it could of been different.
I want to believe that everything happens for a reason.
I want to sing.
I want to scream.
I want to feel something.
I want to run.
I want to walk outside without a jacket and not get cold.
I want to see the world differently.

Changing Perspectives Vol. 2

2010-07-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Week Two.

08.07.10 - 14.07.10

Well Folks, Thats what the week looked like. I have to say, I have gotten into much better habit of making sure I take a photo when I see something this week, rather than getting home at night and going, oh no! I didnt take a photo today. Haha. Jess and I had a few suggestions about expanding the project... explaining the photos etc, but we both decided that for now at least, we just want to keep it to the photographs, let them do the talking. If you have any real burning questions about what you see though, Im sure we would be happy to explain!

Im having such a busy week. With only 9 days until my 21st birthday party there is still lots to organise... but thats for another post. I hope you like the photos! As always, I would love to hear what you think!!

Bump a dee Bump

2010-07-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

One of my dearest friend Rachael is having a baby! This isnt exactly new news to me, she only has 5 weeks of her pregnancy to go. I've known Rach for...well... almost 18 years. We have hung out, pretty much since she was born. So to say she is just a friend, is a little bit of an understatement. This girl is family... which means Im getting a Nephew {phwoar! im excited} I was totally honoured when she asked if I would take some maternity photos of her. and her partner Josh. I thought I would share a wee sneak peak of the photos we took a few days ago {Rachael is about 34 weeks pregnant in these photos!} They are just so stunning! I really hope she loves them as much as I do!

So, Let without further ado, let me introduce you to Rachael, Josh and their bump aka Mason Phoenix.

Rachael, you are going to be such a great mum! I hope you know how much I love you and am so excited for you and your little family. I am sure the moment your little boy is born, nothing in the world will matter as much. I cant wait to meet the little fella. Love Aunty Nat xo

One day soon

2010-07-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

There is so much going on right now in my world. I am 70 days out from moving citites, starting a new life in a new place, with new people. Thats exciting. Im crafting like a mad woman for my next craft fair. I am so low on things to sell, which of course is good, but means I am busy busy. I have a few photo shoots coming up. Plus a twenty first that im organising. Oh man, I wish I didnt need to sleep sometimes!

Today, however, I was lucky enough to take a couple of hours out and spend some time talking to my dear sweet Lana. I miss her so terribly, but its so nice to know that she is doing well and that life is treating her wonderfully. We got to talking, and I realised that I need to start saving so that I can get over to visit her. Of course I had always hoped to return to the beautiful United States one day soon. {I cant believe its been 6 months since I returned from my last trip} but I have decided to get my butt into gear and get a saving again. Of course, with moving, its going to be a little hard to save HUGE amounts of money, but a little bit every week, will make for a lot in the end. I know it.

I doodled on this map. This is a rough idea of where I would like to go. I have friends in Oklahoma City, Kansas City and family {well, practically} in Birmingham so those are musts!! Of course, its not cemented! I want to revisit some of the places I have already been, and I have added a few new cities in too!

Shall we take a closer look.
San Francisco - Portland - Seattle - Las Vegas - Oklahoma City - Kansas City - New Orleans - Birmingham - Chigago - Washington DC - Philadelphia - New York City

but but but... This is where YOU come in! I know alot of you are from the lovely US of A, so! Where should I be going that Im not? What beauties of your land should I see that Im not already planning too? What hidden treasures must I discover? I am TOTALLY interested in hearing where you think I should be travelling too! Last time I did something like this, I travelled from November to January {winter in the USA...what was I thinking!} this time, I am planning to travel maybe march to june or september to november... any thoughts on that as well? I know crossing the country means im going to encounter all sorts of heats haha. I wonder when is the best time to do it?

Only 3 more days to enter the photoswap if you havent already... what are you waiting for?