Australia Archives - INSPIRING MAX

Share Your World 2016 – Week 1

January 11, 2016 inspiringmax

As a child, who was your favorite relative?

I would have to choose Nanny, my father’s mother. She lived with us in a separate granny flat until my early teenage years and was always good for a treat. She even let Santa know one year that we wanted a swing set, which he delivered on Christmas morning.

If you could be a tree or plant, what would you be?

As an Australia I love Wattle. It booms in early Spring and it looks glorious when in full bloom. Wattle is our national floral emblem as well as the colours of Australia—green and gold. For more information on see my previous post attached.

Wattle

What would be your preference, awake before dawn or awake before noon?

Many years ago it would have been sleep to noon, however these days I get up early and a sleep in for me is 8 o’clock.

Would you like to sleep in a human size nest in a tree or be snuggled in a burrowed spot underground?

Being a bit claustrophobic I would choose the human size nest as long as there no wind to destabilize it.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week I got to catch up with a girlfriend of over 20 years in our annual date although this year we are working on making it more frequent. This week I am looking forward having a day off on Friday—my first for 2016.

Share Your World – 2016 Week 1

Coffee Catch-up #3

January 10, 2016 inspiringmax

It has been over two months since our last coffee catch-up and life has been pretty busy.

If we were having coffee I would tell you I’m feeling a little confused. I began preparing this post as I usually do, by adding links to earlier posts. However, this time, with my new WordPress version the result is a little different. I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone or only WordPress.org blogs. My next question is can anyone re-blog my posts now as this has been a problem in the past and it would be great to have it changed.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about Berry Christmas. My sister and her family do an excellent job of hosting the event—decorating their home in theme colours, preparing gift bags for everyone and organising and preparing food. We had a great day reconnecting as a family—sharing the joys and dealing with the dramas of the past year. Christmas is definitely my favourite holiday, although because I live in a different city south of my family on Christmas day it takes 3 hours to get there. I don’t enjoy the travel but Berry Christmas was worth it.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that over the Christmas period I was initially frustrated that my blog wasn’t working because of problems with my Jetpack. I tried to fix the problem, however when I couldn’t and Jetpack staff where on vacation I decided to surrender to the moment and use my time more efficiently doing other things.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how much I enjoyed my husbands and my date to the city over the Christmas New Year period. We decided to catch the ferry into Sydney. The trip along the Parramatta River takes about an hour and it was a glorious day. As it had been several years since we had caught the ferry we enjoyed every moment. We then had lunch at a little pizza restaurant at the Rocks before spending the afternoon wandering around Sydney’s Botanical Gardens. We saw many places I had never been before. It was a great way to round off 2015.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I was that my first sugar cookie Christmas tree worked out so well. I iced it a blue-purple to match our berry theme and at the end of the day most of it was eaten.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about the champagne fountain trial on Christmas Day. The science of what was the best way to do it kept many people entertained and in the end they were proud of their working efforts.

If we were having coffee I would tell you about the huge moon on New Years Eve that was as mesmerizing as the Sydney Fireworks. Unfortunately, I choose not to take my camera as I am not good at photographing fireworks—a rookie error I won’t make again. The fireworks were fantastic and our viewing place, a hill, is only a 10 minute walk from my house. While we couldn’t see the fireworks coming off the bottom of the Sydney Harbour Bridge we could see the top of it through the trees. We could also see the fireworks going off up and down the Parramatta River and from the other side of Sydney. At times it was like 360 degrees of fireworks. Once the live fireworks have ended we went home to watch the taped version on television and catch the ones we missed.

https://youtu.be/viqQGXVeb8s

If we were having coffee I would tell you how much I enjoyed the second week of my holidays being a full-time writer. I spend many hours everyday working on the last stages of editing of my book. With the amount of work I did I was hoping to finish it but no I still have work to do. It is getting exciting however, as it nears completion and the next part of its journey begins. Just when I thought I had the chapters in the right order, I decided to rearrange the early chapters again and to my surprise the order I have changed it to is my second order. I think my lesson is trust your gut.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how excited I was on Christmas Eve to win the hamper at the local bottle shop. I had gone in the draw after buying two bottles of champagne for an early family Christmas party a few days earlier. It was fun investigating my laundry basket full of goodies and deciding who to give each item to.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what you have done and how you have been since we last met. Let me know in the comments what you have been up to.

Coffee Catch-up

Coffee Catch-up #2

Sink Or Swim

January 8, 2016 inspiringmax

Tell us about a time when you were left on your own, to fend for yourself in an overwhelming situation — on the job, at home, at school. What was the outcome?

I believe learning by doing is the only way to grow—it teaches skills that are never forgotten. Initially the situation may appear overwhelming particularly if it is based on dealing with a sudden crisis, however by using St Francis of Assisi’s quote I have found a way through many tough times.

The whole idea of sink or swim to me bring to mind pictures of young children being forced into the water by their parents as an act of love. The parents need to make sure they learn to get back to the side of the pool and save their life, if they fall into a swimming pool without an adult watching to rescue them. Initially, there is a lot of screaming and protesting. Then as the young child listens to the instructions, they are rewarded by the freedom of moving unaided in the water. They can swim and they are so proud. Nobody remembers the fear—they remember the success.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/sink-or-swim/

Oh The Places I’ll Go!

December 4, 2015 inspiringmax

Tell us about the top five places you’ve always wanted to visit.

When planning my holidays I like to divide my time between Australia as well as international travel. For this reason I am going to write a buckets list for each.

Australia

North Coast of Western Australia
North Queensland
Tasmanian Wilderness
Northern Territory
South Australia

International

Alaska
England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales
Iceland
More of Canada
More of New Zealand

Starting with the South Island of New Zealand early next year these places are the basis of our next 10 year travel plan. I love the planning and discovery stage of new adventures as I gather the information and start to think about what I will see when my day finally comes and I’m off to great places.

Photo Credit: Google

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/the-wanderer/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Transition

November 28, 2015 inspiringmax

For this week’s challenge, share an image that depicts transition. Let life itself be your muse.

When he designed the Sydney Opera House I am sure that JØRN UTZON could not have envisaged the amazing displays this centerpiece of VIVID SYDNEY creates each year. I spend hours fascinated by the transitions that unfortunately because of their speed are difficult to photograph. The following photos are from 2014 and I loved the bright colours. If you are in Sydney during late May or early June it is well worth the visit.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/transition/

Share Your World – 2015 Week 46

November 23, 2015 inspiringmax

What type of popular candy you do not like to get?

I am not a big candy fan however if I am in the mood I can eat most types. The candy I have consistently refused to eat all my life is candy bananas. I like fresh bananas however anything else banana flavoured including candy or lollies as we call them in Australia is a no go zone.

Photo Credit: Google Images

What do you feel is the most enjoyable way to spend $500?

A mini-break to the Blue Mountains would be a great way to spend $500.00. It has been years since I have visited the Three Sisters, Echo Point or Leura . The Blue Mountains are 100 kilometres west of Sydney so they are ideal for a quick and relaxing get away. Spring is a great time to visit before it gets too hot and bush fire season settles in with many walking trails closed due to risks.

Where do you eat breakfast?

I eat breakfast most days at the computer working on Inspiring Max or visiting other blogs I follow. Everyone else in the house is usually asleep so my connecting with my digital world doesn’t mean my family is rejected.

Would you rather ride one of the world’s longest zip lines or bungee jump one of the highest in the world? This will come with a 5-day all expense vacation.

I would never bungee jump as I am concerned about the effect of the bounce back on my body. A zip line however I would love to try. To me they are a flying fox on a much bigger scale and I have always loved playing on a flying fox even as a adult. Once on a family camping trip my father made a flying fox and we had hours of fun on it.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for this week and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

During the past week I am grateful that I have been able to return to blogging and was able to blog on average every second day, a doubly of my recent posting rate.

This week at Toastmasters we are having our first ever speech-a-thon. A night with no other assignments just 10 speech instead of the usual 4. It will be an inspiring night from which I know I will learn new things.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/11/16/share-your-world-2015-week-46/

A Tale of Two Cities

November 22, 2015 inspiringmax

If you could split your time evenly between two places, and two places only, which would these be?

For a period I would love to be able to spend 6 moths in Australia and 6 months in Canada. There is so much natural beauty, flora and fauna and history in both places, devoting time to exploring it would be amazing. The question I would struggle to answer is where to begin? Maybe I could use the following acrostic poems as a guide.

Adelaide

Uluru

Sydney

The Great Barrier Reef

Rottnest Island

ACT

Launceston

Illawarra

Albury – Wodonga

Charlottetown

Alberta

Newfoundland & Labrador

Algonquin Park

Drummondville

Arctic Bay

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/a-tale-of-two-cities/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Trio

November 21, 2015 inspiringmax

In the grounds of the historic Bendemeer Hotel this old statue of “Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil” caught my eye. The concrete frogs dressed in the Australian colours of green and gold gave the tradition monkey image an Australian twist. How fitting for a pub that has served and entertained the public since 1864.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/trio/

One More Time

November 17, 2015 inspiringmax

If you were able to relive one day from the last 12 months, which day would it be — and why?

Given the chance I would relive 25th November 2014. The was the day my husband and I embarked on our 6 week Canadian adventure. We were so excited. However on arrival at Sydney Airport I became suspicious that our tickets were incorrect, so I asked at the check-in counter.

“Are these tickets correct, we are going to St John’s Newfoundland?”

“Yes they are correct they just used the abbreviation” replied the counter attendant.

So I settled and didn’t think about it again.

Then we arrived in Vancouver for some reason I became suspicious again. I checked with the baggage handler only to be given the same response, so again I settled and we continued on our journey across Canada.

By the time our flight arrived in Toronto, we had been up for more than 24 hours and were exhausted. Being smart travelers we decided to check which gate our connecting flight went from before getting food or drinks. We wandered to the departures board where I discovered our flight number and destination didn’t match. Then I realised my gut instincts had been right. The travel agent had booked us flights from Sydney to St John, New Brunswick and not our destination—St John’s, Newfoundland. We were devastated. The only good point was that we solved the problem before either our bags or we bordered the flight.

The gentleman at Air Canada’s service desk was excellent. After about an hour he had made a plan to get us to St John’s as quickly as possible via Halifax arriving 24 hours later than we originally planned. To add humour to this difficult situation he told us this destination was a regular mix up for overseas visitors. The other common problem is people flying into Sydney, Nova Scotia when their destination was Sydney, Australia—a much bigger problem.

The moral of this story is mistakes are easily made and part of the journey. Trust your gut instincts, triple check your airline tickets early and always pack your sense of humour when traveling.