December Reflections - Day 21 - 25

Day 21 - 'Solstice sunset' - There wasn't one in Australia as far as I know, but here is a beautiful sunset anyway!

Day 22 - 'This year was...' - affirming.

Day 23 - 'Sparkle' - I saw an amazing show this year with a cast that sparkled in their costumes and their voices!

Day 24 - 'Traditions' - In our house traditions are very simple. Presence before presents, the Christmas tree goes up on December first and we have fun and allow as much positivity during the festive season into our lives as possible.

Day 25 - 'Today is...' - Special and always will be.

KK.

December Reflections - days 16 to 20

Day 16 - 'A secret' - It wouldn't be a secret if I told you ...

Day 17 - 'Five Years Ago'  - I had was done with high school, starting uni, the property I grew up on was selling (pictured) and I was moving away for uni.

Day 18 - 'Reflection' - My crystal box. I love the way crystals reflect yourself, what you need and the light!

Day 19 - 'Something I love' - musical theatre! Whether performing or watching, I just adore the thrill, the work that goes into a show, the people, the props, the music, the story... I love it all!

Day 20 - 'Snuggle' - My dog Max is very cuddly and I always have him to snuggle with. He always comes up to me for cuddles and it melts my heart!

KK

December Reflections - Days 11 to 15

Day 11 - 'Biggest Lesson from 2016' - Study harder... Unfortunately I ended up having too many things going on at once and uni suffered in the end. I certainly don't regret anything I did, but I did put home life before uni, which did not benefit and I now know that I have to get out of the house to study, rather than all day at home.

Day 12 - 'Precious.' - The excitement my dogs get when they go for a walk, especially off leash!

Day 13 - 'Soundtrack of 2016.'

Anything Country! Thanks to Tamworth Country music festival!

Day 14 - 'Texture.' - I love eucalyptus bark and volunteering at Healesville Sanctuary this year just gave me the extra thrill of having this beautiful natural wonder around me more.

Day 15 - 'Best Decision of 2016' - Definitely volunteering again! I absolutely love it. Not only is the work and the heart of the job rewarding, but the knowledge I gain for my career is amazing, every place I volunteer at is different. 

KK

December Reflections - Day 6 to 10, 2016

Day 6 - 'In the air'
I LOVE FIREWORKS! I just think that fireworks are so special and magnificent!

Day 7 - '5 things about me'

1. I adore all things nature
2. I love photography
3. I do singing lessons and love watching and performing in musical theatre
4. My favourite animal is the platypus
5. I love camping!

Day 8 - 'On the ground'

I love rain-forests. The forest floor is such a beautiful and unique ecosystem and life force. 

Day 9. 'Best Day of 2016'

This was incredibly hard to choose! But in early January, mum, step-dad and I took a trip to Portsea on the coast and I really enjoyed having a nice (hot) day out with my parents. We ate at a lovely hotel and walked along the pier and beach. It was bliss! (and I don't give a damn how my hair looks!)

Day 10 - 'I made this!'

Among other thing, I started making card for my little business 'Never Doubt Nature.'

KK

Do I impress you?

I think I have said before, 'I am only me when I'm alone...' Well I thought about that, and it can be a strange concept. I always am who I am. Yes, I often change to fit the environment and try to hide things that - for lack of a better word - I am 'embarrassed' by. I obviously don't speak every thought out aloud and I behave differently around different people, but to get to know my true self I often think about my little bubble. As the saying goes:

Do I impress you?

If the world was blind, how many people would you impress?

Would you impress yourself?

I am talking about how one really is, who one wants and believes themselves to be.

I have my up and down days - just like everyone else. I feel very insecure some days and others I feel more confident, (usually it is somewhere in between...) but I think that it is just good to know yourself in a way that no one else would - don't compare yourself to others and when that mindset does start to blind you, I, myself, try to remember why I do the things I do and how much, deep down, I really do care what others think.

So 'do I impress you?' Is actually a rhetorical question. I just want to impress myself.

Let that sink in,

KK

December reflections day 1 to 5, 2016

Day 1 - 'On the table'

Day 2 - 'Light'

Day 3 - 'Fave Photo of 2016'

My 'Tamworth smile' is my favourite photo of 2016, because of the way I felt in this photo. I was having an amazing time at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in January this year. I was independent, feel good inside and out, was travelling with a great friend, it was Summer and Tamworth started my year off beautifully! I had to scrapbook this photo too!

Day 4 - 'Circles'

Just some circles of pure delight..

Day 5 - 'Best book of 2016'

I love the 'Red Queen' series and this year the second book - 'Glass sword' came out. I adore this book as it shows why the "bad guys" do the things they do and that the "good guys" aren't always right!

Looking back on 2016 fondly,

KK

December Reflections

I am doing a monthly challenge for the December of 2016 as I reflect back on not only the year, but my life. This month I plan to really knuckle down and look at the nitty gritty of who I am and who I want to be, so I am taking the advice of the amazing Susannah Conway and using this #Decemberreflections2016 list to achieve this!

I will be posting the reflections on my blog and some on my Instagram in the form of photos, art, writings, videos or other forms.

Here are the first few reflections and their stories:

Day 3 is 'Fave photo of 2016' and boy is this a tough one because I have a few... I live through the memories of photos, so I think I will do a separate post to sum up my favourite photo's because I can't choose!

So stay tuned and maybe take this month to reflect back on your year too!

KK

Don't forget to remember - you are successful every time you breathe!

True success is absolutely just being okay with your decisions and what you do. Whether you change your mind everyday, never finish anything, follow a routine or have had the same goal since you were three years old. No matter what you do or how you do it, you are alive and that in itself is worth celebrating.

Your body is keeping you alive for a reason. Every time you breathe, it is for a reason. God, science or the universe, is all a little irrelevant when we just focus on the reasons why we are alive. Success itself should be measured by our own standards, not everyone elses.

So don't forget to remember that, no matter how hard the 'down' days get, you can breathe deep and always get through them,

KK

It's okay to cry

Sometimes the best thing to do is to cry. Nothing should ever be held in so much that we are at breaking point - but this isn't the reality we live in.

I rarely cry and if I do, I hide it. Crying can be seen as a sign of 'weakness' and by crying alone, I feel like I can then pull myself together, knowing I'm not going to explode in anger on someone else. It's not the best tactic, but it saves the day.

I also want to portray how important and okay it is to cry in front of others. I know it may seem attention-seeking, like you've broken down, or just plain embarrassing, but we are only human.

Stay strong, but strength is in how you recover, not necessarily what you do.

KK

A note on microaggressions - think of them like mosquito bites...

As explained in the video above, micro-aggression's are dismissals, insults, or similar 'aggression' directed at anyone - particularly in a racial sense, women, those of different abilities, religions and other marginalised social groups - such as disabilities and lower income earners. However, I think this theory applies to a lot more these days - a lot of things can be seen as offensive to the person receiving the comment.

Comments like:

"You get around well!" To someone in a wheelchair
"You don't look like you're in pain..." To someone with an 'invisible illness'
"I never notice you struggling..." To someone with a disability, eating disorder, etc.

- Are all little comments that we can put up with in moderation - besides, most of the time the people saying these comments mean well, but I think it is important for us all to understand that - like the video says - these comments can be like mozzie bites - one or two are fine, but constant bites, (comments) can get irritating quick!

It can be hard to see if a comment will effect someone, but keep it in mind,

KK

Don't forget to remember series - respect your elders

There are so many times when we forget to remember the important things, so since this is something I think about a lot, I thought I'd do a little series of posts on the important things to remember, everyday if we can!

So, always respect your elders!

I have always found this so important. And to be utterly truthful, even if the person older than me seems downright dumb.... I am still able to respect that they have lived longer than me - therefore I don't know what they've been through in their life, I never could!

Obviously, this isn't the sole reason for the 'need' to respect your elders.Whether older than a month, a year or a few more years, it really doesn't matter - they deserve respect.

To respect your elders, it is vital to understand respect.
According to Dictionary.com - respect is more complex than it [should be] seems.

respect

[ri-spekt] 

noun

1.

a particular, detail, or point (usually preceded by in):

to differ in some respect.

2.

relation or reference:

inquiries with respect to a route.

3.

esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability:

I have great respect for her judgement.

4.

deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgement:

respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag;respect for the elderly.

5.

the condition of being esteemed or honoured:

to be held in respect.

I think definitions 4 and 5 apply best here, (and not just because the example is 'respect for the elderly...) I hate going into the specifics of definitions, but I show them to be clear. Honour your elders, acknowledge your elders and know everyone has a right to be respected.

By respect I don't just mean, look up to someone, trust them, adore them, bow for them, (although you can if you feel that is right...) but I mean respect their opinions, what they have been through and what they are doing. Everyone deserves your respect - but I think I need to point out respect for elders as just being kind and knowing that no one has an excuse, but everyone has an experience. 

Those that are older than us have done so much for who we are today, they went to war, came up with the recipes we eat today, gave birth to your ancestors, etc. - what's not to respect?

Don't forget to remember, your elders might just have gone through things you are or will be going through...

KK

Motivation Monday: You are the glow

What do we all want in life? Happiness? A partner? The simple life? - That's the point ~ there is always something we want!

But is 'want' the answer to how we get it? There are many theories about who, what, when, where, why and how we achieve what we want, but I believe that best thing you can do is GLOW! Own your worth, create love for yourself, live in the moment and be thankful!

Trust me, I understand how hard it can be to own your worth, but if you want anything in life, EVER - you need to glow!

To get the things you want, you need to not only believe in yourself, but enjoy every moment you are alive.

Its only as lame as you make it, but your heart pounds when you are happy for a reason ~ you're glowing! I always try to imagine that my heart is glowing and warm sparks swirl around (like Rapunzel's 'healing') when I want to feel good.

If I am grateful and feel my heart glowing, I find that, no matter what, I have what I want - in the moment, because that is all it takes!

As you may have noticed if you have watched the above video, 'the glow' is referring to the Disney princesses (we all know and love) discovering who they are and what they want. Although there is total merit in wanting to be a Disney princess... you, as yourself, gender aside, have the ability to be the glow!

So try it! Take a deep breath, close your eyes if you want, focus on something positive and use your glow!

'You are the glow!'

KK

Thanks to - Carrie Underwood - Don't Forget To Remember Me Series!

Stay tuned for this series! In the meantime enjoy this song!

KK

Hey..... What's your sign?

You can tell so much about a person by their star sign. I know it sounds overused and just plain corny, but there are not many people I have met who are somewhat true to their star sign!

I don't go by everything that star signs say and I do know a lot of people who don't care for them, but I also study science, I am logical and I still believe - belief is a post for another time.

As shown above, I have found that these good qualities are true for the people I know. I'm a Pisces and without sounding like I am trying to hard - I am 99% true to my sign - just about anything you read about the qualities of a Pisces is me in a nutshell, the good and the bad. And no, I'm am not a fish...

I know a lot of Aquarians who are definitely honest, they can be blunt about it, but they mean well and I always listen, eventually.

Every Taurus I know has a complex personality, although their main trait is stubbornness (which is rarely a bad thing in their case,) the complexities of why they are stubborn would surprise most of us, so they tend to understand the harder stuff.

Sagittarius will definitely defy the rules to make things better...

I know a lot of the other signs well and they are also quite true to this strength portrayal. All I am saying is to take a closer look at what makes a person - it doesn't necessarily have to be star sign related, but they are just a little peek into what makes a person...

Just demonstrating my Piscean nature...

KK

Love your dad, uncle, brother, step dad, partner, etc - to the males in the family!

Today in Australia it is Father's day.

My dad and I

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY - to all of the dads and fathers figures out there!

As a female, having a father figure in my life is very important. I always have some kind of father around, whether that be my step dad, dad, grandad, uncles, cousins, brother  I mean I look up to these people, so I think that is a big part of Fathers day!

My brother, mum, step dad and me

My brother, Dad and I

I just wanted to make this post to make sure to remember all of the good times, appreciate those father figures for what they have always done for me and continue to be there for them. I love my dad so much and I also adore my step dad. They are amazing people and so different, which makes me love them more!

As men are so hard to buy for and this is a 'sentimental' post - I just want to say that I think you need to really think about what to give your dad for fathers day (or any day for that matter) not that women are always materialistic, but I find that men tend to need things, more than want them.

I ended up getting my dad some dvds and some food items that he loves (because he is almost impossible to buy for, but he eats food...) and I put some money towards a watch that my step dad wanted and some licorice allsorts that he loves.

It always pays to take note of what anyone in your life likes - little things like favourite colour, food, experiences, favourite animal, book even, - I don't think that generic gifts (eg. tools, ties) I think dads just want to be loved!

Enjoy your fathers day!
XX

KK