Chasing my Dreams!

#166 Take part in a Poker Run for Charity – Tick! :D SO MUCH FUN!

Coming from a motor racing background (cars and bikes), I’ve always loved ‘anything with an engine’….and had always been fascinated with any kind of group bike rides, charity rides etc…loved hearing and seeing the awesome beasts riding past – and thinking “Wow that would be so epic to be in amongst that!”. But it was always just a passing thought, as, being on the back of a motorcycle for hours on end on these kinds of rides is for me, something which is medically a bit of a ‘pipedream’ to be able to do. 

But of course…with my “Anything is Possible…in your own Way”, way of life these days, an opportunity came up to take part in a ‘Poker Run’ (group bike ride for charity) – not on the back of a bike – but to take part in my car, in amongst the bikers! 😀  Bill from (the now former) SBH Qld has been going on these Poker Runs for a while now – late 2012 he started talking to me about the rides, and ever so slowly encouraging me more and more in my mind, to want to take part (and so of course, it went on the bucketlist).   I was thinking…”but how?” (gotta love that..throwing something on the bucketlist, knowing that some day, somehow, there WILL be a way of making it happen even if you have no idea at the time of just how!).  The day that Bill told me over the phone, and sent me a flyer of the Fraser Coast Social Riders Poker Run which was  happening in May 2013, and finding out that cars can actually take part – AMAZING day!  From the moment I saw and heard the words ‘bikes and cars are welcome’ – that was it, I was IN! 😀  ANYTHING is Possible….in your own Way! 🙂

Seeing that cars were welcome on the Poker Run…that it really was possible…AMAZING feeling!! 😀

As the months and weeks flew closer, I was getting nervously excited – I LIVE for this feeling!  And then finally, the weekend arrived…the weekend of the Poker Run was here! Here we go…bring it on!…

Friday May 10th – Sunday May 12th (with the Run itself being on the Saturday)

WOW…Wow..what an amazing experience! Just got home not long ago, absolutely exhausted so will put up all the photos in the next few days…but wow…cannot believe how lucky I am to have had the experience Ive just been through,  on the Fraser Coast Social Riders Poker Run – to raise money for (the now former) SBH Qld and ‘Hear 4 Alana’ (Alana is a little girl whose family is aiming to raise money for her to travel to America, to have surgery for her hearing loss) ….and to have a hell of a lot of fun (and driving!  we sure clocked up the kms….lol) along the way!)  What an amazing group of people to share this experience with…and what an experience in itself, with the driving and exploring on the roads for hours on end, and stopping along the way…awesome…just awesome…

Starting at Sexie Coffie Bruce Highway Maryborough (where a little TV interview was thrown in – thanks Bill for dobbing me…errr I mean encouraging me into something yet again lol – keep an eye out on Seven Local News on perhaps Monday or Tuesday), then onto Biggenden, Tirroan, South Kolan finishing in Bundaberg.  The beast Harley and I getting in amongst it with 140+ bikers…Hell YEAH! Haha..(beforehand, being just a shortish run I thought, meh, maybe 20-30 bikers as I had no idea – turned up to Sexie Coffee, the starting point…WOWZERS! lol..)

At the starting point – only a small amount of the bikes taking part..with my ‘Harley’ (my pet name for my car) in the foreground. 140+ participants…Pure awesome! 😀

Taking off from Sexie Coffee (after staying the night before in a beautiful old Qlder house just out of Maryborough), stopping off at little country pubs at the towns along the way, picking out a card from the deck (which, after the Run you had a poker ‘hand’, and they had prizes for the winning hands) mingling a little and stretching the legs before heading off again, getting lost along the way with a smallish group of bikers up a random dirt road we weren’t really meant to go up..oops lol…but that added to the adventure as we didn’t really know where we were headed at one stage up the dirt road lol), before finishing the run after each stop on a gorgeous property just outside of Bundaberg.

Relaxing after the Run that night on the property with a few drinks was so much fun despite being sooo tired, mingling with everyone, raffle prizes (I won a prize…yay lol), cheque presentations made, awesome food put on by the Royal Flying Doctor Service, a live band, a motocross group putting on a bit of a show for us up the back, huge amazing bonfire, with big logs to sit on around it, and camping out that night, waking up the next morning, amazing RFDS breakfast,saying our ‘see ya’s to everyone, not really wanting to leave, and heading back on the road again, back down to home.

The driving itself was a brilliant experience, giving me more confidence (which Ive needed to gain) in driving to places I have never been before, trusting that we weren’t going to get lost (well…except for when we ended up the dirt track haha…but that was actually kind of fun…following a group of bikers up a dirt track to ‘no idea where we were headed’..lol).  That was part of why I did the Run as I wanted to get more longer distance driving in…and I am sure this will not be my first and last time up to Bundy, or perhaps even beyond…

Awesome…pure awesome.  Bit sad to be home, even though Im totally exhausted, I want to do it all over again right NOW! 😀

Thank you SO much to Bill Shead  and Diane Freeman for your amazing support..and Di you were brilliant company in the car with me, thanks again.  You two made it such a brilliant experience for me, with the help at the stops, and out on the road..it is very much appreciated.  And as for Fraser Coast Social Riders Club – wow…just such a warm, welcoming, awesome group of people I had the pleasure of spending the last couple of days with – just brilliant.  And last but not least, thank you to everyone who contributed in the fundraising – the  money that was raised from the group/Poker Run for both (the now former) SBH Qld and Hear 4 Alana…such generosity, which, as a client of one of these charities…is very, very much appreciated.

Loved every second of it.  Can I do it again next weekend??  LOL…

Anything is Possible…when you stretch your ‘boundaries’ to places you’ve never been before!

Heading into the unknown…the awesome unknown!…

At the end of this week, Im about to embark on something very exciting – something which I had been curious about for quite a long time, but absolutely no idea how I might be able to make it happen for myself.  Id often watched groups of bikers go on toy runs, charity runs, ‘Sunday drives/rides’ etc, and thought, wow that would be all kinds of awesome…but just put the thoughts aside as I knew, even though I have been on the back of a motorcycle a number of times, for rides….there is no way that my body would be able to handle many hours on a bike – my back would kill me for a start haha…and then theres the relative danger of my legs/feet which have decreased/no sensation, being so close to the engine of the bike, and me not being able to feel the heat….increased risk of burns, if on the back of a bike without stopping, for a long period of time.

So, (unlike the feeling of wanting to (car) race like my family did, which was a ‘deep want’ that stayed inside me for my entire life, till I was able to make it happen, thanks to the absolute generosity of Dick Johnson Racing), I just let it slide, of wanting to go on some sort of ‘group bike run’….until one day I decided, you know what, Im going to put it on the bucket list…there has to be a way somehow, of making it happen!

I LOVE how the Universe works, and how ‘putting it out there’ really does make life sit up and listen to you, and provide opportunities!  Not long after putting it on the List, when talking with Bill Shead, Manager of (the now former) SBH Qld (which also happens to be the charity which has supported me all my adult life…and the charity I choose to ‘give back to’ with my fundraising efforts), Bill told me that there was another Poker Run coming up – I listened with curiosity…and also a strange sensation of ‘imagining myself on the Run, in amongst the bikers’.  Next thing, Bill just casually mentions that CARS can also go on the Run, too!! Oh…my god… my eyes and soul lit up like you would not believe!  From that very second, I was in (and Bill knew this haha)…

Bring it on! 😀

So, after a few emails and excited phone conversations back and forth with Bill, and finalising the plans/arrangements for participating on the Run, and accommodation etc…we’re only a few days out…BEYOND awesome!  We’re (a female friend of mine is coming with me as my passenger) leaving on the Friday to head to Maryborough – staying overnight, then early Friday morning, up and ready to meet up with the group to head off to Bundaberg for the Run! I cannot WAIT!  This is also, aside from sure to be a whole lot of fun…its the longest distance Ive ever driven myself…I have no idea where we are going (no idea how to get there)…and Ive also never been up to Bundaberg – so on all kinds of different angles – this is a few days which will bring a whole stack of ‘firsts’! Awesome! 😀

My car “Harley”, is about to go on the run of her life…in amongst it with the other Harleys! 😀

I wont hide that Im nervous…but thats what my life is all about now…throwing myself into situations which make me nervous…I live for ‘nervous excitement’…love it! 😀

#166 on the bucketlist…Poker Run for Charity – Bring it on!

ANYTHING is Possible… there IS a way to ‘make it happen’! 😀

Not one…but TWO Ticks off the List on the same day! :D

#28. Go backstage at a major event/rock concert/show. AND

#162. Attend an outdoor Music Festival – TICK!! 😀

Towards the end of 2012, word started to get round that there was a Music Festival being planned at the Big Pineapple on the Sunshine Coast.  The Big Pineapple is an iconic ‘Sunny Coast icon’ which has been around for a very long time…but sadly in recent years, the Pineapple ‘had wilted’ and became somewhere many people just no longer visited as often – such a sad outcome for what once was a very popular tourist attraction, and loved icon here on the Sunshine Coast.  As a longtime resident of the Sunshine Coast, it was really sad to drive past the giant Pineapple out the front of the site, and look at it, all sad and ‘broken’.  Slowly though, with the Markets now happening there on weekends…the Pineapple started to come back to life – awesome! 🙂

So, when this news of the Music Festival came about (coincidentally, not all that long after I had put on my List that I wished to attend a Music Festival, but unsure how I was going to pull it together, to travel to another part of the country/state to attend one) – not only my eyes lit up….but every part of my being was SO excited, that a Festival was happening in my very own backyard! (I live not far from ‘the Pineapple and I am a huge lover of ‘all things music’, so this was more than awesome!)

As soon as Early Bird tickets were released, I was straight onto it.. I purchased my ticket – I was IN…I was going to be attending what was looking to be an EPIC Music Festival, right here on the Sunshine Coast!  I also saw this as the perfect way to celebrate the ‘rebirth’ of the Big Pineapple…I was excited – I always did love the Pineapple..and I LOVE music! 😀

As the months and weeks flew by, I became more excited…especially on the day the Program was released – and when news broke that it was heading to be a sellout (10,000 people – wowzers!)..this was going to be amazing!…

3 stages…music pumping out from each….all day long, into the night – awesome! 😀

After weeks and months of excited anticipation, the day arrived – the day of the Inaugural Big Pineapple Music Festival was here! Before I knew it, I was sitting on the verandah of the Pineapple, looking down at the crowds pouring in during the day, music below me, music pumping from the stage inside behind me..and knowing that there was a stage not far from me around the corner, also pumping out music to the masses who had come to the Festival – it was amazing – the atmosphere was incredible – a true day of ‘celebration’!  For me personally….music makes me ‘come alive’ – and I sure shook off some cobwebs of stress which I had been feeling lately – I was a born again teenager! haha… (but the days after, in the ‘recovery phase’ I came crashing back down to earth – I sure felt my age!)

Bart Simpson was even spotted in the crowd!! haha….

Bart Simpson rocking out in the crowd! 🙂

Such amazing value – under $70 to see not only such awesome bands as Grinspoon (they ROCKED, just as they did as the support act for Cold Chisel at the outdoor concert at Stockland Park), Regurgigator, Birds of Tokyo….but to also listen to and discover other bands/artists which were less wellknown was awesome – local bands, bands from Brisbane and other areas…the Festival even attracted international NZ bands!   The band Hermitude, on the inside Bump stage, absolutely ROCKED the Pineapple like it has never been rocked before – this was a band which I had never heard of…they were an epic way to end the magic day/night which had just unfolded…Wow!

Looking down from ‘backstage’ onto the Main stage – the crowd got much larger as the day wore on!

Thank you so much to Big Pineapple Music Festival management and staff (especially Brendan), who made the day run smoother (outdoor venues for Events are sometimes a bit of a challenge in a wheelchair), by coming up with a plan for me to manage the access issues, given that it was their first Festival at the venue (so, it had been as yet untested for an Event of this size).  To also tick off #28. Go backstage at a major event/rock concert/show, at this Festival – by being permitted, with a couple of my friends, to go into the backstage area of the Festival (up on the verandah where the bands, media and other VIP were…and also down in the VIP tent near the main stage down on the grass), to make it that little more manageable and enjoyable with attending in my wheelchair – I can never thank Big Pineapple Management, enough.  To be behind the scenes, to meet various members of different bands…to go down to the bottom stage on the ‘Pineapple train’ (something which the general public didnt have access to that day, it was being used to ferry bands and staff up and down the hill)…to be able to sit with my friends (when I wasnt up dancing!) and enjoy the music and atmosphere  in ease was amazing, and so much appreciated!

I had an incredible time, ticking these off my Chasing my Dreams bucketlist! …it was huge – 1030am till after 11pm, of nonstop music and shenanigans all day/night! I dont think my body knew what had hit it! haha….it was EPIC! 😀 3 stages, nonstop music all day, a huge crowd of amazing, happy spirited people to celebrate with…amazing!

Big Pineapple Music Festival 2014 – Bring it on! 😀

Chasing my Dreams….SO MUCH FUN! 😀

The Pineapple Train on the beautiful Big Pineapple grounds…this was a first for me too…I had never been on the train before this day! 🙂

#12. Food fight in a restaurant/public place – Tick!

A couple of weeks back, I posted a little ‘teaser’ (and a ‘strange photo’ of some weird looking gunk in a box) – THIS is what it was about! 😀

On April 7th, I headed down to Brisbane (Victoria Point), to take part in what turned out to be one of the (even though it was organised) most random things I have ever done in  my life…a Food Fight in a public Park! haha…  😀 Picture this…a fairly large group (in excess of 50 people) running around madly on the grass, throwing masses of slimey, messy, slippery mucky gunk at each other…it was SO MUCH FUN!

As the ‘warm-up’, after the kids had their fun in their Fight..we lined up in two lines, and fired water balloons at each other (only partly filled so they were still soft, and not hard missiles)…and then it was time for the REAL fun to kick off…oh yeah, Food Fight 2013 was ON!!…

As it happened, I turned out to be a ‘sitting duck’ – a table was placed next to me, with my ‘ammo’, so I didnt have to leave where I was, in amongst the madness….but that just made me a target for everyone to come over and attack me, with me not being able to move away from them (I was so slippery that my wheels/rims on my chair just didnt have any grip at all!).  The group didnt ‘go gentle on the chick in the wheelchair’ at all, and thats what made it more awesome…I was ‘fair game’ just like everyone else..haha…loved it! 😀

Apparently it went for about 15 minutes – but in that 15 minutes it is pure madness…people running around everywhere, messy gunk being flung left right and centre – you completely lose yourself in the moment, not knowing where to turn (or throw!) next…but just doing it anyway – we were just a big group of ‘big kids’ having carefree, crazy fun – I havent laughed so much in so long!  Have you ever been in a waterfight, with waterpistols?  Well this was fairly similar, except it was withmasses of slimey, messy food…and the results were HILARIOUS – lets just say, we were warned to wear clothes which we didnt mind getting wrecked – for very good reason!  It was actually kind of ‘primal’ – just pure, raw, FUN – nothing else behind it – just letting go and being completely mindblown with the madness…haha…

After the mayhem!

Like any ‘game, we had rules..the last thing we wanted was for someone to get hurt..it was really well organised.  The kids didnt miss out in the fun…there was a ‘Parents and Kids’ fight organised before the Adults one, so they could have their own seperate fun.  I thought that was great, so they didnt feel they were missing out (the adults one would have been a bit rough for the young ones) – it was awesome, standing back, watching the kids ‘attack’ the parents with their own stash of gooey messiness!

How did I make it happen?
I first heard about the Food Fight through a website called Meetup – many months ago, I had signed up to the site purely out of curiousity…and didnt think much about it after this.  A couple of weeks before the Food Fight, I received a random email from MeetUp (for some reason, this was my first email I had ever received from them, since sign-up – meant to be?), and in that email was a notice about the Food Fight.  As soon as I saw it, my eyes lit up…I was ‘in’, from that moment! haha..  I logged into MeetUp, found the group who were doing the Food Fight (Bucket List Brisbane – when I met this awesome group of people, and interacted with them on the Meetup site, I thought Wow – ‘kindred spirits’, it was so awesome to interact with a group of people who have such a similar ‘lets just DO it, lets have some adventures!’ mindset to me), pressed the RSVP that I was going, put a little note introducing myself, and requesting a lift to Brisbane if anyone was going from up this way….and that was it…I was IN…I was about to experience pure madness, with a group of complete strangers…’What the heck am I doing?!’ haha..

I was inspired to put this on my list after watching movie scenes where a group of people were in an upmarket restaurant, all dressed up in evening wear – next minute, breaking out into a massive food fight in the middle of the restaurant – haha – I thought WOW how much fun would THAT be?!?…random craziness in the middle of a public restaurant!  I thought “I want to do that!” – and of course, straight on the List it went!  But..then I got to thinking..how the heck would I pull something like that off, and get away with it, in a restaurant – without angering the restaurant owners, or fellow restaurant patrons??  But then, I received the MeetUp email…and the rest, as they say, is history – this (pre-organised, but completely random) Food Fight was right in front of me – all I had to do was enter it, find a way down to Brisbane, and let the fun begin! 😀

(Oh and in case anyone is wondering – yes we cleaned up the park completely, afterwards…to the point of bringing in a high pressure hose to make sure it was all completely picked up, along with every one of us making an effort to pick up what we could.  We also managed to raise $1000 for charity, through the Entry Fee to the Food Fight – the charity hasnt been decided yet, I will update this page when it has).

Some of the ‘ammo’…mmmm…delicious! haha…

Video coming soon (in a few weeks, once it is all put together)…stay tuned!

A big Thank you to Bucket List Brisbane, for welcoming me in as the ‘newbie’…what an awesome, incredibly fun group of people!  And thank you to ‘Michele’ who took me down to Brisbane so I could take part.  When I got the email I could have thought ‘oooh I dont know these people..oooh its down in Brisbane, I have no way of getting there’..and a whole other lineup of excuses.  But I didnt, and I am SO glad I didnt! Bring on Food Fight 2014! 😀

Anything is Possible….when you just ‘let go’ and have random, pure FUN!

My first ‘Promotional Table’ at an Event! – Sunshine Coast Childrens Therapy Centre Fundraiser

On Friday April 26th, I will have the absolute priviledge to be promoting Chasing my Dreams at the fundraiser Event for the amazing organisation, Sunshine Coast Childrens Therapy Centre!  I feel so blessed to have this opportunity 🙂    I was at a recent ‘Chicks at the Flicks’ night at Sunshine Plaza, Maroochydore, and started chatting to the ladies at the SCCTC table -(as a former ‘child with special needs’ this was obviously an organisation close to my heart, as I received some wonderful therapies and support as a child myself from other organisations where I grew up, to help me reach my full potential).  When I told them what I now do with my life, I was then asked whether I would like to have a Table at the Event.  Wow…what an honour! Yes I have held my own Event before…but to have my own ‘space’ at someone elses Event, this is a whole new ball game…Im excited! 😀

From the SCCTC site “SCCTC maximises the quality of life of children with disabilities and their families by providing specialised services in their local community. The Sunshine Coast Children’s Therapy Centre provides therapy services to children with moderate to severe physical, intellectual and sensory disabilities.  The Centre also provides therapy for babies and young children with delayed development or are at risk of disability along with providing support to their families”.

(click on the image for a full view of the Flyer)|

Tickets are available on-line (cost $35):
https://ww…w.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?ID=8662
or by calling Kylie at the Sunshine Coast Children’s Therapy Centre
on 5441 7199.

Ladies of the Sunshine Coast, put Friday April 26th in the diary, come along to the Maroochy RSL for what is bound to be a fun night (Guest Speaker Kim Morrison is amazing, and such a fun Presenter/Speaker!)…and support this amazing organisation!  See you there! 🙂

Anything is Possible…when you have support!  The kids who are supported by the Sunshine Coast Childrens Therapy Centre will be able, and encouraged, to achieve their full potential…and your support on the night will help make this happen, for these kids! 🙂

Thank you to the Sunshine Coast Childrens Therapy Centre for all that you do for the kids…and for the opportunity you have also given me – you ROCK! 🙂
 

Anticipation…its the BEST!

One of the awesome parts of ticking things off your bucket list, is not only the magic of making it happen…but the anticipation of, once its all organised, all you have to do then is sit back, and count down the days, and wait for it to unfold.  LOVE this feeling of anticipation..its kind of addictive!  haha

Theres now only ONE more sleep till something that is going to be SO much fun, happens tomorrow – this was a ‘tick’ that came completely out of the blue (and had been on the List for a while, with me having absolutely NO idea how I was going to pull this thing off) – along with everything else that is happening in April, yes Ive managed to sneak another one off the List..lol.

A clue….hmmm..I wonder what it could be??…hehe..

Stay tuned…! 😉

ANYTHING is Possible..especially when you least expect it! 😀

Plant seeds..and watch the magic unfold! :)

While its true that the momentum of 2013 is a lot slower, and calmer than 2012 – its still very exciting! 😀  Ive been planting seeds, making connections, gaining inspiration of future ‘dreams’ by observing my world around me, pulling things together in the background – and while the anticipation of whats about to start unfolding, is excruciating (its just like waiting for Christmas, as a child…but much better! lol)…its very exciting at the same time!  LOVE the feeling of anticipation, and waiting for the days to come!  I think my ‘wanting a steady, slower 2013’ has changed to…2013: BRING IT ON! haha…  🙂

Some may remember my ‘Plant a Tree’ I mentioned recently, which is #114 on my List.  After initially adding it to my list, and just having the initial idea of simply getting down onto the ground (having no feeling in my feet, Im unable to have the experience which others have of ‘feeling the earth under my feet, and feeling connected to it’, so doing this is ‘my way of feeling connected to the earth’), literally getting down and planting a tree into the ground, and (if possible), going to visit ‘my tree’ from time to time, and watching its growth – true to form with dreams on my list….it has evolved into something much more special! 🙂

Not long after adding this to my list, I received in my mailbox, a notice informing residents in my area about a local conservation project….’Brilliant, this is perfect!’, I thought! 🙂 Its also my way of helping out in my local community.  So, I made contact with the person listed on the notice – after a conversation about this item on my list, about my disability, and my want to join in on this project – I was in!  Simple as that!

But wait…it gets better! This past weekend I received an email about the project, which is due to start on April 12th:

The Unity Water corporate planting day has been set for Friday 12 April
commencing at 0845 with a talk from the traditional owners and a short
introduction by Councillor Greg Rogerson. This will be followed by a mass
planting in which you are invited to join, and then a BBQ lunch.”

This planting day is followed by regular working bees every month….so, once again, its not just a ‘tick off the list’ and then the ‘thing on my list’ is behind me…this is ongoing…and its going to be SO much fun! 🙂

The planting day sounds like its going to be an awesome morning of joining together as a local community, and doing ‘something good’ for our local environment, as well as meeting others who are taking part in the Project…and meeting together once a month to continue our nurturing, of this land.  With ‘urban development’ happening at a rapid rate in this country…it feels like a real priviledge to be doing our part, to preserve this piece of land.  Who knows, we may even be allowed to ‘name our tree’…so of course mine would be named ‘the Tarns tree’…haha 😉

This planting day is just the start of exciting things to come for my Chasing my Dreams journey this year!  In the weeks/months to come, I will also be ticking off #162.  Attend an outdoor Music Festival, #28. Go backstage at a major event/rock concert/show, #166. Poker Run in aid of charity…as well as training for the Sunshine Coast Marathon (#145), and fundraising for my ‘charity of choice’ through my Marathon entry! 🙂

And this is just whats planned…I wonder what else the rest of 2013 has in store for me…Im excited! 😀

Plant a seed in your life….watch it grow…and you just never know how much your life will change! 🙂

**UPDATE April 10, 2012:  This has now been postponed to May 10, 2012  – the same day I leave for the Poker Run (a Bike/Car ride for Charity, up to Bundaberg – #166 on my List)…this is going to be a very busy day, two awesome adventures on the same day – Plant a Tree in the morning, and leaving for the Poker Run (away Friday-Sunday) in the afternoon! The constant rain we are having on the Sunshine Coast has prevented this from happening on April 12th 😦   Im posting this update with ‘two sleeps’ to go, so I was really getting excited about this unfolding…but, it will be well worth the wait!  Sometimes, even when something you want to do in life is all organised, and set to happen – life steps in and prevents it from happening at that time.  But, there is always another opportunity to make it happen, even if it cant be at that time…**

Making it happen in 2013!

While 2013 definitely has a ‘quieter feel’ to it (after my amazing, and very full-on 2012, where I ticked off 31 Dreams off of my Bucketlist, Ive come into 2013 with full intention of more of a ‘calmness’ about myself, and my life…but still fully intent on Chasing my Dreams!), there is still lots happening, and to look forward to!

…Im playing a bit of a ‘waiting game’ at the moment!  Heres what 2013 is about for me, what Ive got coming up (not including whats happened already, so far this year!):

April – Outdoor Music Festival – Big Pineapple, Sunshine Coast, Qld – (#162 on the list)
August – 2km in the Sunshine Coast Marathon – (#145)
Sometime soon, but maybe not till after Easter now – Jet Ski-ing (#3)
Sometime in the next couple of months, hopefully – confirmed but awaiting date – Plant a tree/take part in a conservation project (#114)

Im also looking into doing a couple of pretty awesome things off my list, later in the year….wont say what just yet..all will be revealed, all in good time 😉 – but they are going to be epic when they unfold!   Theres also a couple of charity fundraising opportunities which I will be following up… and there are other opportunities for other things on my List which I will be making happen! 😀  Lots going on behind the scenes!

I LOVE ♥ the feeling of anticipation when, you know something awesome is going to be happening, its locked in, or all but locked in..but its not happening just yet, you still have to wait a bit longer – its better than Christmas, because you’ve created the ‘gift’, yourself….you’ve made it happen! 🙂

How is your 2013 shaping up…are you Making it Happen? 🙂

*UPDATE: True to form, as things happen when you continue to grasp opportunities – literally as soon as I pressed Submit on this blog..I get a followup email about #114 Plant a Tree….haha awesome….I love how that often happens in my life, now! – we now have a date for it to start happening – 12th April! Bring it on! 🙂  

#68. Photo a Day Challenge – Tick! ..More than just a ‘tick off the List’…

Setting out to achieve your Goals and Dreams often takes you down roads, opens up new doors, experiences, takes you places, and meeting people, which you never expected along the way.  That’s the magic of achieving your Goals and Dreams….you just never know what else it may throw your way, when you’re experiencing them. Im constantly amazed, everytime I tick something else off the list, and look back and think about how blessed I was, to experience what I have just done….and when I think about what other ‘doors’ the experience has opened up for me, often longer-term, in my life.  A ‘tick off the list’ is definitely not about just ‘crossing something else off the List’ that day (on paper) for me!

My “68. Do a ‘Photo a Day’ Challenge” (which I set myself a mission to find a way to start it off on Jan 1, 2013) has opened up my world again to the colour, creativity and my love of photography itself – something which I had lost in 2012, when things started to get crazy busy for me, with the Event/3 major Fitness Goals challenge, I had set myself.  It has introduced me to a whole new community of creative people, who I love interacting with – and will continue to interact and be inspired by, long after #68 is crossed off the List.  Leading into 2013, I told myself I wanted to ‘get my creativity back’ – and this Photo a Day challenge, which, magically, the info for it appeared on my Facebook newsfeed on the morning of Jan 1, 2013 (got to LOVE how things appear in your life *just* at the right time….this often happens along my Chasing my Dreams journey, its amazing how it happens time and time again!) has brought my creativity back, in such a brilliant way, by constantly being inspired by the Photo a Day community itself…and by making the effort to take a different photo every single day.  Its also made me, as I now call it ‘step back from the busy’ – 2012 was chock full of incredibly amazing experiences, and meeting a large number of amazing people – but now, in January 2013, its a time just for me, to step back, relax, spend time by myself (which I love and crave at times, but lacked in a big way in 2012 because of how the year unfolded) and regroup for what may come my way in 2013 when I continue to Chase my Dreams! 🙂

Click on the image below, to see the compilation of Photos from this Challenge! 🙂

Busy – ‘stepping away from the busy’

If I hadn’t have set myself this Photo a Day challenge, I would have: just dismissed that post I found in my Facebook newsfeed on Jan 1; I wouldn’t have been introduced to this wonderfully creative community; I wouldn’t have rediscovered my love of photography in this way – and I wouldn’t have taken myself to Maroochydore beach on January 11, when the daily ‘word prompt’ for that day was ‘early’.  (Getting up at 4am – VERY ‘early’! – to capture and watch the sunrise!  SO glad I didnt throw the alarm against the wall that morning, like I wanted to when it woke me! lol).  If I hadnt have been open to this experience that life was putting right in front of me,  and if I hadnt have made the effort…I wouldnt have experienced this most incredible sight, right in front of me…

Magic…pure magic…and I was there to experience it. So blessed…

The times that I have decided to go and watch the sunrise in the past – every single time (Ive only done it less than a handful of times), I have said to myself  “I must do this more often!” as, every time I am blown away by the magic right in front of me – the peaceful serenity, the colours, the magic of the realisation that Mother Nature does this every single morning for us, as the sun rises every single day – and when we are still either tucked up in bed, or just waking up at home…out there on the horizon, Mother Nature, every single day, turns on the magic.  But, after I get home, and get on with my day, after sorting through the photos – after a couple of days the thought of ‘doing this more often’ has just been dismissed…

So – after making the effort to get up, and witnessing this absolutely spectacular morning (it was the most incredible sunrise I had ever seen, this time!), I made a commitment, there and then, to capture the sunrise at least once a month, for the entirety of 2013. And I came home, and put it straight on the bucketlist, to do this…

Instead of letting the thought go to the back of my mind whenever I do make the effort to watch the sunrise “I must do this more often!”…and never doing it…instead of killing the alarm at 4am that morning on Jan 11 and going back to sleep…I made the effort, I got up and drove over 20 minutes to the beach while the world around me was still sleeping.  And now, Im committing myself to experiencing this at least once a month, for the next year.  Awesome!

Just added  to the List! ‘#174. Watch/capture the sunrise at least once a month, for a year.’

Ive now captured the sunrise twice this year already – cant wait to experience it again! 🙂

Anything is Possible…when you make the effort to experience the magic of Life!

(If anyone is interested in doing the ‘Photo a Day’ challenge, here is the info http://justbaustralia.com.au/be-creative/creative-a-month-of-moments-24239/  (or visit #amonthof on Facebook).  You can do it in photos, blogs, artwork…anything you like.  And just because January is behind us, doesnt mean that your opportunity to do it has passed.  You can start on any day that you like – you can do it for a month, do it for a year (even if you start on Feb 1, you can do it until Feb 1 2014 *or however long you choose to do it for* – there is absolutely nothing stopping you achieving it ‘in your own way’) 🙂  If you do decide to do it, have fun! Feel free to  contact me and let me know if you do it, I love being inspired by others – especially if its something Im also doing, myself! 🙂

#115. Write a Book – In my own way!

Today I received something in the post, which took my breath away – an actual ‘paper’ book I created through a ‘Photo gift’ site – (Snapfish – you upload your photos to the site, and you can create any number of awesome gift ideas/stationery/useful items, with your photos on them).  I decided to compile a photo from each of my ‘2012 ticks’, and create them into a photo book (courtesy of a voucher I had emailled to me, from the site).  It wasnt going to cost me anything, so I thought ‘why not?’  But…I had no idea how excited I was going to feel, once I knew that the book was on its way! I didnt intend to tick off ‘Write a Book’ with this (truth be known, it didnt even cross my mind!)…until the day I knew that it was going to arrive.  I knew that this book was, when I received it, going to mean something very special to me, and so I thought…why not connect it to my List? 🙂  Sure, I didnt ‘write’ the book, its not going to be a bestseller, its not for sale..and it may remain a once-off…but I did decide to create it, I placed the photos into it, with the captions, and I got it ‘published’….the book tells the story of my life in 2012, from the cover right through to the back page.  Just like ‘regular’ books tell a story – well this certainly does! 🙂

Collage of photos from my book….

When I received it….wow…the pride I felt when I saw the front cover was just amazing to feel!  Looking through each page, knowing that *I* was the one who created this ‘life story’, of what happened during ‘my 2012’…what a feeling! 🙂  With this book in my hands, I knew right then that this could become a useful ‘tool’ in my Chasing my Dreams journey – I could use it in any future motivational talks which may come my way, I could use it to promote ‘what I do’ when Im out fundraising for charity etc…this book puts into pictures (and words!) exactly what I now choose to do with my life.  This little book has opened up my mind to so many more possibilities of where this little journey of mine could very well go.  Awesome!!

My website is ‘my book’ – but the satisfaction of having this book I created, actually in my hands – I can pick it up, look through it, and know that this is MY life, right in front of me – such a brilliant feeling…

Anything is Possible….when you choose to achieve..in your own way!