Sunshine Awards on a Rainy Day

This morning while blearily participating in an early conference call with my colleagues in Argentina, we were discussing the miserable weather. Torrential downpours in Sydney were nothing compared to the flooding and fatalities that had occurred overnight in Buenos Aires during a crazy storm. I felt a little sad that a vibrant Sydney summer was ending and a solar powered me was potentially going to be just a tad bit flatter.

Deciding that I would curl up on my couch and work from home for the day, I opened my computer to discover that I was the very proud (and somewhat baffled) recipient of a Sunshine Award! Fortuitous when it seemed to have abandoned me so heartlessly! 

So what exactly is a Sunshine Award? Well it’s here I will steal the words of Laura Maya whom I thank for bestowing me a morning of happiness and your usual ray of joy. A Sunshine Award is awarded from one blogger to another to recognise “bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere” so entirely apt that the person who is my blogosphere inspiration is also my award benefactor!

The way the award works is this: Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them. Answer questions about yourself (I’ve decided to change one and see if my nominees do the same!). Select  up to 10 of your favourite bloggers, link their blogs to your post and let them know they have been awarded the Sunshine Award!”

I decided to do some research a found that just by searching for this award I stumbled on some amazing blogs. So here is my contribution to send a little warmth out into the ether.

Who inspired you to start blogging:

My cousin Laura Maya Frot (though I occasionally call her Laura Poole whichI have called her since we were knee high). We grew up together creating make believe and racking up our parents phone bills. Now as adults we get to live our dreams and she inspired me to write about them (though she has a way with words I can only aspire to!).

How did you come up with name for your blog:

A few years ago inspired by the Sydney New Year’s Festival “Year of” symbol on the Harbour Bridge. I decided that rather than have New Year’s resolutions I would have a different “Year Of”. I started with a “Year of Positivity”, “Year of Fun” and “Year of Action” , then 2013 became the “Year of Magical Moments” and ultimately the year to focus on some of the things on my Big List.

What’s your favourite blog:

I actually tend to follow more blogs than I can count through Twitter and Facebook, so rather than reading a blog religiously, I tend to focus on posts that focus on particularly interests of mine (which are fairly eccelectic!). I’m particularly interested in the issues surrounding Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, Child slavery, womens issues,  and on lighter notes; Bucket Lists, Food and Travel, Fashion and Photography.

Tell us about your dream job:

I actually love my job (I know!) working for a company whose philosophy is Conscious Business, while in my spare time I intern as a Project Manager running campaigns to raise awareness about Human Trafficking (http://www.projectfutures.com/ ). But ideally, travelling, drinking champagne, eating good food and being able to volunteer full time would be perfect!!!

Is your glass half full or half empty:

My glass is bubbling over (like perfect pink champagne!) and I really do love my life. I like to think of myself as a rational optimist (to steal from Matt Ridley’s book). I really do feel that our generation can use our voices to effect change.

If you could go anywhere for a week’s holiday where would it be:

Everest Base Camp, Nepal and Tibet are right at the of the top on my list. There is the small matter of a big fear of the tiny plane to be overcome but it will be done.

What food can you absolutely not eat?

Oranges, Mandarins, Grapefuits. It’s the citrus thing. It does bad things to me, I don’t miss it. The smell me sick, so of course people manage to eat them around me all the time and orange juice is the only thing served at every breakfast ever. And it can make cocktail hour tricky.

Dark Chocolate or Milk chocolate?

We just had Easter. I can barely think about this without feeling like I need at Lindt Intervention. Milk. And Dark. And White. And Honeycomb.

How much time do you spend blogging?

Nowhere near as much as I would like. I’m relatively new to the blogosphere and being completely over-committed in my life I find that I am restricted to perhaps once a fortnight, at most once a week. I’m hoping that as I get into the swing of things I am able blog more.

What’s Your Lucky Number?

The Number 4. I believed this since I was little. Because I was born in April, on the 14, my older brother Dean (whom I idolised) had the football jersey number 4 and I always thought it was the start of a star.

My Sunshine Awards Go To........

Nisha Dua @ http://devourbeauty.blogspot.com.au/

Sebastian Terry @ http://100things.com.au/blog/

Catherine Shepherd @ http://www.champagneduchess.com/

Steph Lorenzo @ http://projectfutures.com/blog/

Kristi Odom @ http://www.kristiodomphotography.com/blog/

And of course one of my favourite people in the world (and someone I’m missing alot at the moment!!) Trust me if you can live like this lady and her super-hubby then you’ve got life figured out.

Laura Maya @ http://free-to-dream.org/

Days Marching away!

March and the year is seriously marching away!

It’s been way too long since I last wrote a post but today inspiration was right there on the front page. If you’re looking for new things for your Big List or just a great read about a guy who is pursuing his to raise money for charity here is a great article about Seb Terry.

http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/strive/whats-on-your-bucket-list-20130314-2g1vd.html

In updates, although I haven’t actually ticked any of my dreams off this month (due to very inconvenient work commitments and all-round busyness), some serious groundwork has been laid for a good year!

I have yet to decide what my target dream is for April but being that’s it my birthday I may need to treat myself to a Hawaiian massage #101.

The half-marathon training (#82) hit a small snag when I came down with a respiratory infection but having taken four weeks to knock it on the head I’m ready to go and kick some running butt. So that’s May sorted

For June, I have booked my trip to go and swim with whale sharks #78, something I have talked about for almost 5 years now. I’m heading to Ningaloo Reef, in Exmouth WA right in the high season so I’m crossing fingers I get to tick off a big one!

In other news – my cousin Kath’s fifteen year old daughter (can I call her my neice?) Taylor Kate has created her own Big List and has already started ticking some things off. I’ve created a special page for her where I’ll post updates of all her adventures, some of which I’m hoping we’ll be doing together!

Keep the donations rolling in for CanToo and if you have any new ideas for my list please post them on a comment!

xxxCJ

Number 82 – Half way to a Half Marathon

Having survived the City2Surf, a Fun Run from Sydney’s CBD to picturesque Bondi Beach via the infamous “Heartbreak Hill”, I’ve been reassured by many enthusiastic well wishers that I’ll have “no problems” with the Half Marathon being that is only half again as long. “You’re more than half way there!” they say with a grin and a pat on the back.

 

That by the last 3kms of the C2S I’m usually surviving only on the dream of a cold glass of wine at the Beach Road Hotel and that I get to practically fall downhill before that last torturous kilometre where walking in front of the screaming crowd would be nothing short of shameful seems to have no bearing on my friends unconditional assurance that I will be sprinting gloriously over that 21km finishing line. I however I know differently.

 

So to complete dream number 82, I have decided to join a support group. “Hi, my name is CJ and I think I Can (Too) run a Half Marathon”. Can Too is a non-profit program that matches fitness incentives with a good cause and thankfully is used to people like me whose idea of serious training is to Google inspirational YouTube videos after a quick jog while I take pictures for Instagram.

In return for Can Too’s expertise and patience I will be raising valuable funds that go directly towards funding cancer researchers through Cure Cancer Australia. Cure Cancer is a cause that is very personal to me having lost some special friends to cancer but also having watched some extremely brave individuals survive this terrible disease. I also had a scare at 21, being diagnosed with melanoma and thankfully was lucky enough to walk away with nothing more than impressive scars and an appreciation for the spray tan. 

 

So on May 19, with crazy cohorts Charlotte and Kate (anymore volunteers?!) I will walk out my front door and join the thousands of Sydneysiders who also seem to think this is a perfectly normal thing to do at 6am on a Sunday morning. All things going to plan, 2 hours later I’ll be crossing the finish line in Hyde Park with blisters, cramps and victory V!

 

 “Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.”
― Dean Karnazes, UltraMarathon Man

 

If you’d like to read more about Can Too here is a link to their website - http://www.cantoo.org.au/Aboutus.aspx. If you’d like to help me reach my target (and obviously help out Can Too), check out click on the link of the side of the blog, donate and leave me a motivational message while you’re at it.
 

An Introduction to The Big List

An Introduction to The Big List

 
As another year starts racing away (how is it that a month has already slipped by without me noticing?), I've been spending time I should be lovingly devoting to Excel spreadsheets actually thinking about what it is that I would like to achieve this year.
 
Having been inspired by Sydney's own NYE fireworks display and their "Year of" symbol on the Harbour Bridge, I decided that each year I would have my own "Year"
 
2010 was CJ's Year of Positivity. Having returned from a year of carefree travel around the world including several months of volunteering with beautiful children in Tanzania and Costa Rica, being thrown into head first into reality required a definite shift from the "Post-Holiday Grump" in which I was wallowing . Being positive about friends, strangers, work, myself and most of all about being back in Sydney. I was no Pollyanna playing the "Glad" game but I'm sure pigtails are making a come back.
 
2011 was the Year of Fun. A year of not taking myself so seriously, enjoying my friends and ensuring I made the most of everything this amazing city has to offer. I began to realise that Sydney was waking up. Small bars and restaurants kept popping up; my friend Alex and I couldn't keep up with a lists of places we needed to try. There were always events on, movies to see, festivals to go to and experiences I needed to be a part of. I got to travel back to the Caribbean and New York with my Mum where I unwittingly ticked of a few of the items on my list. It really was the Year of Fun. This was also the year I turned 30, and had one of the most amazing parties of my life surrounded by beautiful people both in and out.
 
2012 - The Year of Action. At the end of the Year of Fun I started to lose my way and wasn't sure what was next. It may have been an attack of the "Dirty Thirties" or simply watching my friends doing things that I wasn't. After a weekend of long talks with my ever inspirational cousin I emerged with a Action Plan, and The year of Action. In a Year I got a dream job, on course for my dream career (for now!), a new house (never need to rent again!) and started my studies (though a loooooong way to go).
 

2013 - After a year of seriously big moments, I sat back a thought about what it was that I needed this year to cement the huge achievement and satisfaction I felt from the last. I decided that it  needed to be about the smaller moments, so I went back to a list I wrote quite a few years ago. Once again, it is my amazing cousin who also has a list of hopes and dreams, (30 of which she achieved the year she turned 30) who first pointed me in this direction. My uncle has his "To-Do" list. My neice has her "Bucket List". I think we've made it a family affair, one that we help each other to achieve. And so, today I start with 120 Dreams (23 of which I can already say "I did it!").  Bring on the CJs Year of Magic Moments