Gratitude Sunday

Where has the time gone?

It feels like forever since I wrote anything on here...and my posts tell me it's been a couple months since I wrote last. 

I've had the occasional blog post written in my head, but never got on the actually blog to write it.

I could have started this year off with a recap of my 2012, or what my goals for the year are, 

but I never got around to writing those either.

Some how I find it perfect that today is when I wrote again.

There is never enough gratitude to be expressed.

and with that being said, here's some things I am grateful for at the moment:

- Changes

- My calling with the Primary kids at church

- My time with the girls I babysat, which came to an end this past Thursday

- The home I have

- My family

- Work

- Clean water

- Downsizing

- Getting to start my teaching course soon

- Almost being 22

- Feeling like I am moving in the right direction

- Fun texts to and from my brother and sister in law

- Free feeds and the company that comes with it! (It's always appreciated)

- Music for every mood

- My lil bro getting his mission call (England London South Mission!)

- Good walks and chats

- New friends

- Holidays

and so much more...

Take a moment

While scrolling through my facebook feed today I came across a very interesting video my brother had shared. 

Before I put my two cents in, take a look for yourself.

Original source

In a world that focuses so heavily on the negativity that surrounds us, this video was an amazing breath of fresh air. I loved this video.

I love that it shows that despite what people think, there are still a lot of good people in this world.
Stereotypes define too many people.
I hate people putting me into a box and deciding who I am.
Let's break the moulds and be better people :D

Gratitude Sunday

I've been a little slack with my Gratitude Sunday posts of late unfortunately, so I thought it about time

I do one. I've kinda missed recapping the things I'm grateful for in my life.

My SIL's sister brought up a quote which said something like

"What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today?"

Pure brilliance right there if you ask me!

So here goes...I'm thankful for:

- All the extra work the past week and a bit has brought (despite my very tired body)

- Beautiful days to wake up to

- Friends moving into my ward

- My new calling in Primary with the children at church, because despite how tiring they can be, they are totally worth it :D

- a new netball season starting up again this week

- a few new goals I've set for myself

- Being on the way to saving a set amount by the end of the year

- An awesome fireside tonight

- Promptings to do things

- 2 full MnM dispenser for when I need a little chocolate hit

- My brand new overlocker machine :D and at a bargain price!!

- Having a quick catch up with the parentals before they went away

- Dinner dates with friends

- A new month of daily photo challenges to complete

- The wonderful discover of sandwich thins...they're perfect for me

- My home and safety while so many in other parts of the world have lost so much

There is always something to be grateful for! So what are you grateful for at the moment?

Gratitude Sunday

I've been thinking a lot about gratitude lately.

I find when I stop and think about things, I realise just how grateful I am to be where I am in my life.

It's nice to occasionally just stop and think about everything that you have right now,

in this very moment. 

Lately I have been grateful for:

- Having a fair bit of work between my jobs, which helps me to be both pay for things and save for travel and other fun things I want to do

- Time with my family. No matter how brief it is, seeing them is worth the 6 hours round trip of driving

- The sunshine; it always lifts my mood

- Friends

- New ideas and inspiration

- Music

- Feeling the spirit

- The knowledge that I can be with my family forever, especially those who have moved on already

- The innocence of children

- One very happy, smiling little girl who I got to hold today

- Seeing others happy

- The ability to let go off some pain that I've been holding on to 

- Being alive

- The possibilities that the future can hold

What are you grateful for at the moment?

Details

So after officially announcing the new design yesterday,

today I have a few details about it.

As this blog is all about my life and what I get up to, I wanted the new design to reflect that.

I wanted it to be clean and clutter free.

So I kept the white background and made things easy to find and less of them.  

When it came to the header, I wanted a drawing that showed aspects of my life.

Firstly we have my family, whom mean everything to me.

Then we have movies, which I enjoy watching and probably have too many of.

Next there's Autumn, my favourite month. The colours are amazing!

After that there's books, because I love reading.

Lastly, there's the globe and a plane because I have travelled to a few countries, but would love 

to go to so many more. 

The picture in the middle is from another of Jess' pictures, but with my face and hair colour. 

As for the purple and grey theme, I love the colours together and have been trying to incorporate them more and more into the blog. 

Thanks to everyone for the feedback!

I'm glad you like it as much as I do. 

Blogiversary

Hip Hip Hooray It's Blogiversary day! 

It's been 4 years since I first wrote a post here on L!$@'s Life.

Weird...doesn't feel that long ago, and yet I have changed so much since then.

via

It's funny how my writing style has changed.

The things I write about have shifted as I've gotten older and changed the things that affect and interest me.

I like that I don't try to fit a particular mould, I roll with whatever is going on in my life.

The whole point of having a blog is doing what you want to do with your little space of the internet. 

There are going to be a few little changes around here in the not too distant future.

Change is good and allows us to grow.

So here's to 4 years of having fun here on the blog, and many more as they come!

Go and eat a cupcake or something for me.

I enjoyed some choc-chip cookies for the occasion :D

And as always, thanks for reading!

Gratitude Sunday

This week I am grateful for:

- Chats with my Mum

- Autumn leaves and the beautiful changes

- Nerf gun attacks

- Scavenger hunts around Hobart

- Dinner with the girls coming up to YSA over the next year

- Playing cards with the brother and my SIL's family

- A bed and blanket to keep me warm on these horrible cold nights! 

- Tender mercies

- Music

- Seeing friends I haven't seen in a while 

- Spending an afternoon with a friend and her camera :D 

- Words of wisdom from others

- A new start each day to try and improve

- Goals to work towards

- Funny shows to keep me entertained

- An ok amount of tips to help pay for my stupid, extremely expensive parking fine! :'(

- A life to live

Courage and Forgiveness

My friend JK shared an awesome quote with me today:

"Courage does not always roar, sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 

'I will try again tomorrow'".

- Mary Anne Radmacher -

And just before that I was reading a talk by James E Faust called "The Healing Power of Forgiveness"

Both things I needed to hear. 

It's hard to forgive other people, truly forgive myself and want and gain forgiveness from others.

It is still a process for me and right now I really need the courage to get through it. 

Sorry that I've been absent lately (internet failure at my parents) and now you get to hear me blabber on about the trialling stuff, but my life is far from perfect, so I write about the bad too.

So here's to courage and forgiveness! 

Gratitude Sunday

This week I am grateful for:

- Waking up from a bad dream and realising it was actually just a dream

- Cooking a meal and being able to enjoy it

- Using up bananas by making them into muffins

- Unexpected random adventures

- An awesome lesson at church today...just what I needed reminding on

- Work to help pay for everything

- Seeing old friends 

- Chatting with my family

- Seeing The Hunger Games!! LOVED IT!! :D

- Getting good grades after hard work

- Having a funny as phone conversation with my sister

- Brinner with the girls

- Getting and eating stroopwaffles from The Netherlands! SOOO good!

- Babysitting an adorable little girl

- Getting a good group for my class work in a class with no friends

- Feeling better

- Focusing on the positive and trying to let things go when needed

University

So I am into the second week of what will hopefully be my last semester of my bachelor!!

Oh boy is this motivation to get things done and really head out on a bang.

I knew that I needed to change some bad habits this semester so:

 - Most days I have spent studying between breaks

- The only 2 classes I have missed were because of work & sickness & I have so far caught up on content

- No assignments have been late (there's one due tomorrow which WILL be in :D)

- I am enjoy it...most of the time...

Last Friday I had a 3 hour exam for part of the assessment from the time I was in Japan.

While I don't think I did fantastic...my brain was NOT pulling out what I needed that day!...I think I did enough to pass. And that is all I am looking for.

I have said in the past that I want to do better, and I want to live up to it so much more now.

Positivity! 

I can do this!! Right?? :D

Update

Reality Check Time!

So last month I had two goals...and I completed them both! YAY!

- I didn't check my stats all month

- I go to 60 followers...well 62 and then someone left the bandwagon...so we sit at 61 for now

But this month I must aim higher...with 4 goals

March Goals:

- Get to 65 followers

- Guest Post x2

- Get to 35 'likes' on the Facebook page

- Get 1,600 pageviews

I want to help this blog and myself move forward so I have been setting goals all over the place. 

It is definitely keeping me accountable and making me try more.

You may have also noticed that I am now taking button swaps. Take a look at the 'Swap' tab up the top and get in contact if you're interested. There are still a few spots for the rest of this month if you're interested. 

I have also created a new e-mail account for this blog which is:

lisas.life.blog(at)gmail(dot)com

Over the next little while there will also be a few more changes.

Make and Change are definitely part of my life this year. 

And if you made it to the end of this post I would like to thank you for all of the support I have received for this little slice of the internet I call my own. 

I am putting together a giveaway for the near future to thank those who have stood by me.

So thank you :D

The Shine Project - Secrets Revealed!

Ashley over at The Shine Project has been working on a secret project for a couple of months now and I get to be one of the lucky bloggers to help reveal it and spread it around the world.

What, you may ask is this project....?

WELL...

Pass It Forward was designed to get people to do little things, everyday, that makes an impact on the community around them. Pass it Forward is designed around a card (read card that I've attached now so you understand). Each card is given a unique ID number. Lets say we're at McDonalds, and I decide to pay for the person behind me in the drive through. I'd give the cashier the card, and tell them to pass it along to the next car when the give them the food that has been paid for. I then go home and log into the website that was on the card, and find my unique ID number. I log into it, and add my information... My first name, city, and a description of what I did....

Let's say the person behind me was you, you would pass it forward to someone else, and then would go home and do the same thing. 

From the very beginning, you will be able to track where your card goes, and how many people you affect just by doing one simple act of kindness.

You can head to the Pass it Forward website here and see Ashley's write up from today here

My card will hopefully be arriving soon and as soon as I get it I am hoping to pass it forward to someone else. So if you can think of an awesome idea for me to do then please let me know in the comments.

I already have a few ideas floating around...

You may also remember that I am doing my Change 4 Change jar to help out the Shine Scholarship Students and am currently sitting at $27.30. 

I have been putting part of my tips in there whenever I deliver pizzas.

Helping others can bring so much happiness into our lives. 

Please go and visit Ashley's blog and get involved in helping others out!

And check back a little later to see what I will be doing with my card! :D

Meet Liberty and Kimi

Over the last little while I have been going through everything that I own and either throwing it, donating it or organising it into it's new place. 

Two new things in my room are Liberty and Kimi.

Today was a day of firsts for them...

Liberty, My MnM dispenser was filled for the first time today. 

You may have read that she helped marked off one of my goals for my 101.

 Now I have these little snacks on hand, I think I might actually do more study.

Kimi, is the lamp I got for my birthday. The globe from the previous light I owned was too big to fit, so tonight while food shopping I got some smaller ones and viola!

All lit up!

Did I mention that I love them both yet?

Once my room is fully transformed I will have to share. There are still some changes I need to make.

But before I go, do you use instagram?

Follow along with me @lisatrav.

Who I Am Wednesday...a Stat Checker

I will admit that I am terrible at constantly checking my blog stats and basically most things to see where my progress is at.

It can be a problem...it can also be helpful.

This month however I am not going to be checking my blogs statistics page. It's going to be hard, but I think it's going to help me focus on what I'm writing more and to just let go of it.

I am kinda looking forward to seeing how things are at the end of the month and the ride it's going to be.

So here's to admitting things you do constantly...and might need to change...and rolling with what life has to offer.

Welcome to February!

*Also I keep checking this page to see how the fundraising for Lisa King and her family is going and I am so happy to announce that almost every time it has gone up. They have even had to keep increasing the 'total'. It's nice to see that people are still willing to help each other out in a great time of need. 

Gratitude Sunday

This week I am grateful for:

- Getting to see my family

- Testimony meeting at camp

- Getting to use my sewing machine for the first time and finishing my sisters bag with it

- Starting to finally sew my knitted squares together into a blanket

- Making some changes in my room 

- Any work that I can get

- Things that make me stronger

- Funny things my niece says

- A semi break from technology for a few days 

Bad comments

I have honestly considered many times why people take the time to bring others down.

Especially people that directly try to bring others down.

I have heard of people trying to correct people's parenting skills by blatantly bringing them down.

Disregarding all of the things that they have down right and all of the effort they are trying to make.

I have heard of people getting mad because they made a mistake and when someone offered the best they could, the person revelled in their anger and wrote horrible things about them.

Why do we try and find faults with each other.

Sure there have been plenty of times where someone has frustrated me and treated me badly.

I have seriously felt like writing to them and giving them a piece of my mind.

But what would that achieve?

I am far from perfect, but I wish that despite our frustration and anger, we could see the good in people.

I like it when I realise that I have been getting mad at someone and then thought, well maybe they didn't mean to do that, or if they did then that is their problem.

It helps me to see where I need to improve and move forward. 

I need to change; we all need to change.

I don't want to be a bitter person. Sometimes we have to let things or people go if it's not so good for us anymore.

Sometimes we need to learn to accept certain things we can't or shouldn't change and go from there.

Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed. 

So, I hope that you, like me, try to find the good in people more and appreciate the good qualities people have and the unknown struggles they may be facing.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

- Mahatma Ghandi

Gratitude Sunday

This week I am grateful for:

- Making the time to study my scriptures every day

- Realising how I react to certain situations and what I should do next time

- Being able to fast

- The beautiful weather and enjoying it in the Huon

- Getting to see my little bro, who came down for the cricket

- Moments to capture

- Lots of work...because it shall fund my holiday, not because it means I miss out on spending time with friends :'(

- Sleep...I haven't been getting a lot lately so I treasure what I do :D

- An awesome fireside tonight after the fast breaker...thought provoking

- Potential

- An EPIC Jenga match with my bros & Jess

- The Hunger Games Series...for hours of enjoyment! and the cause of most of my lack of sleep

Quote

I saw this on Catherine's blog ages ago but it popped into my mind today as I was thinking about what I want to do in the future. 

There are so many things that I want to do and I know that nobody is going to get me there except myself. 

I know that I am not fully happy with how my life is going at the moment. It is part of the reason that I chose Change as part of my theme. 

I am however making small changes to help me be where I want to be and heading towards even more things I want to do. 

There are so many options, if we but choose to take them and roll with it :D

Change 4 Change Jar

So one of my little projects this year is

A Change 4 Change Jar 

I have been wanting to do one for a long time and finally decided to put my new theme to good use.

I contacted Ashley who runs The Shine Project to get the go ahead to do it here in Australia and she was more than happy to have the help.

If you don't know about The Shine Project then please head over to her blog and check it out!

Essentially it is all about helping students from a particular high school to be able to get partial scholarships towards college. What better way to put lose change to use than helping someone get a higher education.

So as of today, I have officially started my Change 4 Change jar.

My first few coins are already in there...

I may not earn a lot of money but I can put my change towards a change in someone else's life.

Once this baby has $100 I will send it off to Ashley to be added to the next lot of scholarship funds.

So if you ever stop by my house and see this jar, you too can make a change and add your change.

2012

So we've welcomed in the New Year and it's time to introduce you to my theme for the year.

Make/Change

Make a Change

Over the last year I've seen people choose a word and try to make their year all about it.

I couldn't choose just one so I chose MAKE and CHANGE.

Not only these two words separately but also combined to MAKE A CHANGE.

I have a lot of goals and throughout the year I will be updating and involving most things I do with my theme.

Some of the things you'll be seeing are:

- Changing some bad habits

-Making more things (food, sewing items etc)

- Change 4 Change jars

- Making the most of opportunities

- and so much more!

So are you ready for 2012??!!

Because I definitely am...

Here.We.Go!