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My blog friend Elizabeth sent me an email last week with this link to an amazing set of pictures. Of course seeing them inspired me to try it myself. The kids were enthusiastic helpers...however after several hours of bubble blowing and bursting I came to the sad conclusion that my camera just isn't fast enough to capture the action. This is as good as we could get. Hmmmm...might be time to think about upgrading my camera. I'm sure my hubby will be overjoyed by that!

Freckles

Kisses from God.

Macro Mondays

My eye always seems to be drawn to the minutae of nature. The wonderous magnificence that is in every flower, bug and droplet of water. I never get tired of seeing the world through the lens of my camera. It is such tangible evidence of God and his handiwork. And so to look upon it, to recognise the complexity of the design and the simplicity of the beauty seems is like a real connection to God Himself. The creation is an echo of the Creator.



So to recognise my place in the world and my appreciation of it I am going to start a weekly post on Mondays to share the beauty I see every day. In the small things.

The Eyes Have It

Isn't it amazing how our eyes work! Ingenius really.
As I get older I notice my body changing. Some changes I am happy with...others...not so much! Getting glasses for me a few months ago made me realize how much I take my body for granted. I have just always assumed it will keep on doing what it has always done without any additional fine tuning or upkeep. I have tried to exercise regularly but there are things that whether I like it or not just deteriorate with age. My eyes certainly are one of those things.
My son borrowed an "I Spy" book from the library yesterday and we spent time together last night looking through the pages, trying to find all the hidden objects. As he found the objects he would point them out to me and for the most part I could see them all but I was a little distressed to realize that a couple of the objects were just too small for me to see. I am putting off a visit to the optometrist to get stronger glasses as denial seems like the best course of action at this point.
But the funny thing about eyes is that we can all look at the same thing and often see something different. My daughter looked at the picture above and said it looked like the heads of pins. My son said that they looked like cells dividing in a lab experiment. Neither was right....but both are interesting observations!

In the Arms of the Angel

In the arms of the Angel
Fly away from here



From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness you fear



You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie



Your in the arms of the angel...
May you find some comfort here.



(lyrics Sarah McLachlan)

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=BDkcJ-62uuY&feature=related

I Heart Bokeh

I love bokeh...



....but heart bokeh is better . HLT

Mother Nature's Jewelry Box

The pictures in my blog have definitely shown a preoccupation with snow this week.



Up close it is so beautiful and delicate. It reminds me of jewelry...



As if Mother Nature was getting all dressed in her finest to welcome winter.

Blue is the New Black

First Snow

The first snowfall of the year is always exciting. This afternoon we got our first taste of the snow. While the kids were diving into their snow gear I was grabbing my camera and heading out the door.
And of course with the first snowfall comes the obligatory snowball fight. This snowball was aimed at me and I am a little surprised to see just how much Jack's aim has improved since last winter!

Bubbles

So what do you think happens when you send an 8 year old in to wash his hands after finishing a craft project????



Bubbles


Lots and lots of bubbles.

Thankful

I have been tagged by the crafty and creative Shalet at Peculiar Momma to reveal some weird and wonderful tidbits about myself. But because I have already bored you with random facts about myself before I thought I'd do something a little different! Being mindful of Thanksgiving I decided to list 7 random things that make me happy and that I am thankful for. Now you may gasp when see that I have not listed my ever patient husband and the fruit of his loin..( my 3 wonderful children)...but I am assuming that they are a given. It goes unsaid that I am forever grateful and thankful for having them in my life. That being said I assembled a bit of a Thankful mosaic.
For those that are struggling with some of the images...here is the list
1 - My most favorite fruit in the world- passionfruit. Even the name is yummy. I haven't eaten it for nearly 5 years as we can't find where to buy it here in the U.S.
2 - Vegemite. Being an Aussie girl through and through I just can't live without spreading this on my toast in the morning...( and yes...it IS black!)
3 - Margaritas...when God created alcohol he had mothers in mind!
4 - Needs no description. Life would not be worth living without it!
5 - My new glasses. Although it reminds me I am getting older at least I can see now ...so overall they are a good thing!
6 - I dream of going back to Europe with my hubby again one day. We spent a blissful 6 months vacationing there together back in 1995.....mmmmm..one day!
7 - I'm LOVING my Canon Rebel Xsi. I think my family are over my constant snapping their every movement though.
8 - (Yes...I know I said 7 but I couldn't do an uneven number of pics in my mosaic, so...) This is where I will be on Christmas day this year..lying on the beach in Noosa... must say...I AM LOVING THAT!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Sugar Coated

It was so frosty outside this morning it looked like everything was covered in powdered sugar

The Friday Blanket

I finally finished our Friday Blanket. Friday is a special day in our family. Its officially the night we set aside to spend together. We play board games, watch movies.



After one such Friday when all 5 of us were sitting on the sofa watching a movie it was decided that we needed a blanket that would cover all of us...so out came the knitting needles.



The verdict....just perfect for keeping little feet warm!

Glass

My Dad had a passion for glass. But not just any glass. He loved crystal...Viennese, Irish, Scottish. I have never really appreciated the beauty of this glass until I looked at it through the lens of my camera. The way it reflects and refracts the light is captivating.



I was playing around with photographing a piece of this pink Viennese glass and I thought the bokeh it produced was wonderful

Thinking about Christmas

I need to get organized and start thinking about getting my Christmas cards written.



I leave it to the absolute last minute EVERY year.



So maybe this will be the year that I will be super efficient and get it done early...maybe!

A bit of Bling!

The gray old weather has caused me to crave a little bit of sunshine....so until mother nature gets her act together and the sun comes back out I am going to have to be satisified with some man made bling

Rain

Just another gray old day.

Popping Corn

Settling in to watch the election results, the kids decided that like any good movie evening popcorn was required. They had picked some corn cobs at the pumpkin patch a few weeks back and tonight they stripped all the corn off the cobs and we cooked it. Add a little bit of salt and butter...yummmmm!

Six things....

I

I have been tagged. This is a whole new experience for a novice blogger like myself, but Kyla tagged me to list 6 Random things about myself. Like any good challenge there are a few rules....
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. List 6 random things about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up!


Ok...let me think...Six Random Things....hmmmm... As I was formulating my thoughts I zipped over to Shutter sisters to see what was going on there today and noticed they had a self portrait challenge. So that got me started..(see Random fact # 1) and I decided to get out of my comfort zone and add some self portraits to this blog entry! Yikes!!!!



Random Fact # 1
I hate having my picture taken. I know its ironic considering I like to take pictures of everyone else but I feel like I reached my photogenic peak when I was 5 years old and it has been all downhill since then.


Random Fact # 2
I have a paralyzing fear of sharks. Odd..or maybe because of the fact that I grew up on the beaches of the Australian east coast. I find it really difficult to watch documentaries about sharks and think that the movie "Jaws" is the most horrific film of all time. When I do go down to the beach I won't go into the water any further than chest deep and even swimming in the deep part of a lake where I can't touch the bottom can make me panic. I learned from Wikipedia that fear of sharks is called "selachophobia" so as far as neuroses go, I think I only have the one...which is good!


Random Fact # 3
I never expected to get married and have children. I always assumed I would be a career woman and never thought too much beyond that. I was never that little girl who dreamed of getting married and who had been planning her wedding since she was 9. As a result when I did finally get married I was woefully unprepared for the whole wedding whirlwind and would have quite happily traded in the white wedding and eloped to Fiji.



Random Fact # 4
I can NEVER have a career in sales. My brother always says that I have the subtlety of a sledge hammer. I don't intentionally try to be so direct...so I guess it just comes naturally. There is an upside and a downside to this of course. The pros are that I am very honest and upfront and the cons are that I am very honest and upfront. So depending on the question I am asked my directness can be a good thing or a bad thing. Now, I don't want you to think I am completely tactless BUT generally speaking if you ask me a question I will give you my honest opinion. As a result I tend to gravitate more towards authentic people who don't get too offended about my directness.



Randon Fact # 5
I used to hate green...but now it is one of my favorite colors...(well you did say random things!)



Random Fact # 6
Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love all the anticiaption and excitement...the waiting! For me its not about the gift giving, its about pausing our busy lives and just enjoying being together. No school, no work, no sport. This year we are headed back to Australia to spend Christmas with our family. It will be summer down there and although I am a little perturbed about having to get my lily white body into a bikini I am looking forward to lying on the beach and watching the kids swim and play..... as long as they don't venture into the surf too far...(refer Random Fact #1)
Now that is my 6 Random things. I have sent off emails to the next 6 lucky contestants. Thanks for tagging me Kyla...it was fun!