Steal my heart

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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.