Table Tennis

On Monday night I attended a come and try night for table tennis about an hour away from where I live. The program is designed for people with varying abilities and skill levels but as is the case at most of the things like this that I attend, I was the only wheelchair user.

When my carer and I arrived I introduced myself to the person who seemed to be in charge and then explained that I had never played table tennis before. The guy looked at me in my wheelchair and was immediately negative “ your chair won’t fit through the gates here” and suggested that maybe they would set me up in another room. I thought that would be stupid as the nights are supposed to be a social opportunity as well. So I suggested that we try the gate and I fitted. The guy decided he would play with me but only did so for about 5 minutes before leaving me. I stood around a fair while before somebody else came to play with me.

We played for about 20 minutes and then they guy in charge came back over and spoke to my carer. “Being in the chair Karen won’t be able to participate in the last 15 minutes. Take her over there and let her watch”. The last 15 minutes consisted of everyone lining up and taking one turn at hitting the ball before going to the back of the line- the line would then be gone back through with a person being eliminated until there was a winner left.

There was no reason why I couldn’t have moved trough the line with the help of my carer. I felt like they just didn’t want to include me which was kind of strange when the time is supposed to be about including people of all abilities not just those with intellectual disabilities.

So all in all, while the table tennis was fun I don't think its the right place for me and I will continue my search for a new hobby.

NaBloPoMo day 30

So that's another 101 in 1001 goal completed, too.

the emperor's seed

I was sent this story and I think it's worth sharing with everyone, so it's going to be a bit long but truly worth it all.

The Emperor's Seed


An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different.

He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said,"It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."

The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today, one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully.

Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about 3 weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. 6 months went by; still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing.

Ling didn't say anything to his friends. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection.

Ling told his mother that he wsn't going to take an empty pot but his mother said he must be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right.

He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said,"Hey, nice try."

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"

All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down.

He looked at Ling, and announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?

Then the emperor said," One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which could not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you.

Ling was the only one with courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the emperor!"

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory.
If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
If you plant openess, you will reap intimacy.
If you plant patience, you will reap improvements.
If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.

BUT....

If you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.
If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.
If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.
If you plant envy, you will reap trouble.
If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation.
If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.
If you plant greed, you will reap loss.
If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.
If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.
If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.

Talk about Tuesday

This is my first attempt at Talk about Tuesday. I thought I'd talk a little bit about where I am emotionally in my life right now and where I see myself heading. I hope that it might help new readers get to know me and let people who have read my blog before a little better.

First off, I believe that I have finally got to a point in my life where I accept that I am always going to have Cerebral Palsy and need to use a wheelchair and to a certain extent be reliant on others in order to be able to live a full life. As a result of this realization I have stopped trying to fight the fact that I have carers come into my home to work with me and hopefully I am easier to work with now.

I am also beginning to understand that it is okay to ask for help and admit that I cannot do everything alone or in the way that everybody else does. To that end I think I am getting better at saying no and asking people to help me when I need it. I'm probably not doing it to the degree that I should but I guess I'll get there eventually.

I think these things are a work in progress and I'll let you all know how I go.

More Talk About Tuesday posts can be found here.

Lovers poem

Once we were lovers,
Young and free,
Together forever you said,
But then something inside you changed.

You told me that if I were a rose by any other name,
I wouldn’t blubber so much,
Or have such a cold heart.

So I shall use my head and
Try to come up with a formula
To cheat fate.
And avoid death,
It is worth the risk,
All so your name will bleed from my lips.

(C) Karen Peatt 2009

Sunday Grains of Gratitude........

This week I am grateful...

For rain. We are in drought here in Australia and the past 3 days we have had decent amounts of rain.

For good days health wise and distractions of good friends and good books on the not so good days.

What are you grateful for today?

Irena

here recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the WarsawGhetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ' ulterior motive ' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids.) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi ' s broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most of course had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected.
* Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming. While the slide show is probably deserving I she this was more so.

GOD BLESS HER May she rest in Peace.

My anzac tribute

The Lucky Land

The soldiers fought and stood tall,
So we could live in freedom,
In the lucky land.

They fought, brave, strong & true,
For me and for you,
Living in safety,
In the lucky land.

They should have returned heroes,
Instead treated like criminals,
Second class citizens,
In the lucky land.

So they turned to drugs,
And drank down their dreams,
Lost souls all alone,
In the lucky land.

I for one think this is wrong,
So I’m gunna stand tall
And fight for their rights
In the lucky land

Anzac Poem

When the war began they were at home working the lands,
But when the call came they were the first to raise their hands.
To fight for their country.
To stand tall,
To try & win the war.

Then one day,
As battle lines when drawn,
A gun rang out in the night
And a boy lost his life.

Many years later,
Many lives lost
We stand to remember,
How they fought for us

Fought for our freedom
Fought for our lives
Fought for our country
Fought so we can stand with pride

They gave their lives so we could live
Yet we act like its nothing to give
Fighting amongst friends
Like mateship means nothing
They mean nothing

Yet they are/were something to someone
A son, a father, a brother, a friend,
As I stand here today my pride knows no end
For lest we forget


(c) Karen Peatt 2009

The Courage Tree by Diane Chamberlain

I have just finished reading this book. It tells the story of a young girl with kidney disease who goes on a brownie trip and ends up lost in some woods. Her mother never gives up searching for her just like she never gave up when doctors said she would die from the kidney disease.

The story is full of twists and turns that I never expected. The characters are great and very believable. If you like Jodi Picoult I highly recommend Diane Chamberlain's books.

a man a boy and a donkey

An old man, a boy & a donkey were going to town.

The boy rode on the donkey & the old man walked.

As they went along they passed some people

Who remarked it was a shame the old man

Was walking and the boy was riding.


The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right,

So they changed positions.




Then, later, they passed some people who remarked,

'What a shame, he makes that little boy walk.'

So they then decided they'd both walk!


Soon they passed some more people who thought

They were stupid to walk when they had a

Decent donkey to ride.

So, they both rode the donkey.

Now they passed some people

Who shamed them by saying how awful to

Put such a load on a poor donkey.


The boy and man figured they were probably right,

So they decide to carry the donkey

As they crossed the bridge,

They lost their grip on the animal

And he fell into the river and drowned.



The moral of the story?



If you try to please everyone,

You might as well..


Kiss your ass goodbye!






Have A Nice Day And
Be Careful With Your Donkey

Question

Which "classic" novels should I read? Do you have a favourite and why?

101 in 1001 update

I have now completed the following 101 in 1001 goals
20. Comment on 10 different blogs
21. Donate to RCH
40. Make popcorn
41. Organise internet
14. Use my camera more often
58. Keep a journal
59. Update cb site everyday
95. do something outside my comfort zone
100. go to a rodeo again
With the ones I have already completed it makes a total of 31/101 so far and I still have a while to do til my deadline.

Carers

I have had carers since I was 12 and only twice in this time I have had issues with them. Up until now anyway. I have one carer at the moment who I have had small issues with for awhile (stuff like being very late and spending lots of time on her mobile phone when she is supposed to work with me) but the last couple of times she has worked with me there have been bigger issues. One is trying to convince me I don’t need my medication and while I just ignore her and take it anyway I am worried that some of her other clients might not or that she might not be giving those who can’t actually take their own medications the stuff they need. The other issue is her bringing her 7 year old child with her. I am not sure what if anything I should do about these issues. Any advice?

Karen

My two year old nephew was given a book all about various kinds of transport for his birthday. He was “reading” it to himself the other day when he looked up at me and then down at the book and said “Karen”. He did this several times and when I got him to show me the book I realised there was a picture of a wheelchair in there. It is the first time I have seen any picture books like it and I think its really good that a wheelchair was included.

I thought my nephew was so cute the way that he recognised the wheelchair and that it is like mine but thought it best that he not walk around calling them Karen because otherwise other wheelchair users (particularly male ones) could be offended. So I am trying to teach him to call the chair a wheelchair not Karen but I’m not having any luck. Any tips? Am I reading too much into the situation? Should I just let him learn the correct terminology in his own time?

Sunday Grains of Gratitude........

I saw this on Brady’s Bunch and even though I am not overly religious I think it is good to recognise stuff that I am grateful for. Making this post each week will help me count my blessings. So this week I am grateful…

1. for the fact I have almost all my homework for the week done
2. For friends who are there when it matters most
3. For two less pain days this week and for pain killers on the other days…
4. for new good books
5. for chocolate

All about me

I came across this on someone else's blog, and since I don't have anything more pressing to do at the moment, I figured why not talk about myself some more?

1. First thing you wash in the shower? hair
2. What color is your favorite hoodie? black
3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Of course!
4. Do you plan outfits? only if I actually care how I look, which is becoming quite the rarity these days.
5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Hurting & tired
6. What’s the closest thing to you that’s red? Kit kat bunny
7. What was the last dream you remember having? I walked down the street and scared everyone
8. Did you meet anybody new today? no
9. What are you craving right now? Chocolate and sleep
10. Do you floss? yes . . . sometimes
11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? Bacon
12. Are you emotional? a big fat yes on that one
13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? yes
14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? both
15. Do you like your hair? sometimes
16. Do you like yourself? Not much
17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? yes!
18. What are you listening to right now? My ipod
19. Are your parents strict? Yes
20. Would you go sky diving? No way
21. Do you like cottage cheese? yes
22. Have you ever met a celebrity? Yes
23. Do you rent movies often? No, I buy them
24. Is there anything sparkly in the room in which you are? No 25. What countries have you visited? Australia
26. Have you made a prank phone call? of course, when I was a kid
27. Ever been on a train? yes
28. Brown or white eggs? none
29. Do you have a cell-phone? Yes
31. Do you use chapstick? I'm addicted. Must have lip balm on at all times.
32. Do you own a gun? nope
33. Can you use chopsticks? no
34. Who are you going to be with tonight? My parents
35. Are you too forgiving? Hmmm. I can go either way. I can be very forgiving, or I can hold a hell of a grudge.
36. Ever been in love? yes
37. What is your best friend doing tomorrow? No idea
38. Ever have cream puffs? Yes
39. Last time you cried? Yesterday
40. What was the last question you asked? "what vampire books do you recommend?
41. Favorite time of the year? Spring and winter
42. Do you have any tattoos? no
43. Are you sarcastic? Umm, I don't know, what do you think?
44. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? No
45. Ever walked into a wall? Yes
46. Favorite color? Red/purple
47. Have you ever slapped someone? yes
48. Is your hair curly? no
49. What was the last CD you bought? Adam Brand Hell of a ride
50. Do looks matter? no
51. Could you ever forgive a cheater? I don't think so. If there's no trust, what is there?
52. Is your phone bill sky high? No
53. Do you like your life right now?no
54. Do you sleep with the TV on? No…I like it to be quiet.
55. Can you handle the truth? I'm sure there are things that would hurt too much.
56. Do you have good vision? No.
57. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? Yes.
58. How often do you talk on the phone? As little as possible
59. The last person you held hands with? Blake
60. What are you wearing? Comfy stuff
61. What is your favorite animal? Dolphin and horses
62. Where was your profile picture taken?at the v8 supercars
63. Can you hula hoop? no.
64. Do you have a job? Yeah, it just doesn't bring in a paycheck.
65. What was the most recent thing you bought? Books see last post
66. Have you ever crawled through a window?no

Vampire books

I received the Twilight books for Christmas. I read them all within a week and have since read the series three more times. I have been on a search for similar books and today I found two new seises. The first was vampire academy by Rachel mead and the second was True blood by Charlene Harris. I can already tell I am going to get through these quickly and be left wanting to read other similar books. As someone who never imagined wanting to read vampire books I am stumped. Any suggestions?

Live like you're dying

Do something that makes your heart beat faster every day.
Give the dog a bite of your sandwich.
Play air guitar - rock 'n' roll air guitar.
If it's short, let it grow...... You can always cut it.
If it's long, cut it.......You can always let it grow.
Don't underestimate the power of a crayon.
Wear pajamas out for the evening.
Top down. Radio Up. Laughing Friends.
Laugh until you cry. And vice versa.

May we live like we were dying.
With passion and purpose and mission and meaning......
and with a little wide abandon. With no forgiveness
withheld and no anger held within.

May we live like we were dying.
With a heart full of memories,
precious and true,
like a Bible that we can open anywhere
and find ourselves and faith.
With friends and family and hugs
and laughter and singing and praying
and crying and holding hands and
saying all the sappy stuff.
Then and only then.....
MAY WE DIE LIKE WE WERE LIVING.

What type of personality do I have?

Blogging Against Disablism Day

The 4th Blogging Against Disablism Day will be Friday 1st May 2009.Details can be found here http://www.tinyurl.com/disablism.
I have not participated in this before but will be this year so please check back for my post. This post has been amended with apologies to Emma.

Anagrams

This is one of the cleverest
E-mails I've received in awhile.
Someone out there either has too much
spare time or is deadly at Scrabble.
(Wait till you see the last one)!


DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM


PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER




ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER




DESPERATION: When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT




THE EYES: !
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE




GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE




THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS




SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME




ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY




ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT




SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S




A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE




THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE




ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE





AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER

WHAT'S MY WORD?

Your Word is "Peace"

You see life as precious, and you wish everyone was safe, happy, and taken care of. Social justice, human rights, and peace for all nations are all important to you. While you can't stop war, you try to be as calm and compassionate as possible in your everyday life. You promote harmony and cooperation. You're always willing to meet someone a little more than halfway.

What's Your Word?

what kind of easter candy am i?

You Are a Cadbury Creme Egg

You're the type that stole little brother's easter basket so that you could have MORE CANDY!

What Easter Candy Are You?

my bunny personality

Your Chocolate Easter Bunny Personality

You know what you want in life and how to get it. You're not going to waste time or let yourself be meek Whether it's chocolate, money, or power... You take what you can get, and you act quickly. You have a lot of energy, and people sometimes scared by your determination. Not that you care what other people think. You're not going to apologize for who you are.

The Easter Bunny Quiz

what kind of chocolate am i?

You Are Milk Chocolate

A total dreamer, you spend most of your time with your head in the clouds. You often think of the future, and you are always working toward your ideal life. Also nostalgic, you rarely forget a meaningful moment... even those from long ago.

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

101 in 1001 update

Another 4 101 in 1001 goals were completed this week.
18. Blog everyday for a week
54. Get a new mobile phone
22. have my medication reviewed
26. Create carepage for prayer requests

I brought myself the Nokia 6120 today. Its charging and then I’ll be so happy to have a reliable phone again. My previous phone was the LG TU500 and, unlike the person who wrote the review I have linked to, I had trouble getting service and the battery life sucked. It needed charging each night and as the charge point is very small I needed help to physically connect it to the charger which just wasn’t practical.

I saw my doctor on Tuesday and I will be weaning myself off one medication (gabapentin) over the coming days. Please pray that this is successful and without major side effects. I am not sure if this drug will be replaced with another but I hope not.

I didn’t create a carepage for prayer requests but instead created a caringbridge site. You can find it here. There isn’t much content there yet but I’ll add to it in the coming days. If anyone has any prayer requests please take a moment to create a profile & leave them in the guestbook so I can get my prayer angels working for you.

That’s 23 101 in 101 goals so far. At least two more will be completed tomorrow- possibly 4. Tomorrow’s post will tell you all about them so please check back.

Be free

(C) Karen Peatt 2007
She falls into the darkness,
After taking a step,
Away from the light,
A step towards freedom.

From the stares and whispers,
The torment and thoughts,
That no-one cares,
There is no one there.

She is a twisted soul,
Changed in so many ways,
Sometimes she’s not sure,
She cares anymore.

She falls into the darkness
It is a welcome relief cos’
Here she is free
Just free to be.

Away from the stares
Tormentors, questoners and pityers
I can live, breathe and be me,
Be free.

Risks

"the only real regrets in life you have are the worthy risks that you never take" tony robbins What Risk will you take this week? rewards? This has me thinking about my life lately. I feel like I don't take enough risks in my life and that I am stuck in a rut of my own little world. I have no idea what I can do to change it but I am going to think of something.

A poem I wrote

THEY TOLD ME IT WAS RIGHT
© Karen Peatt 2005

They told me it was right
not to stay another day,
to forget, to walk away.
They told me it was right.

I close my eyes, see your face.
They told me it was right.
How I wish you were near.
They told me it was right.

They said “You can’t do that,
you are scum,
leave her here, you
can’t take care.”
I said I’ll always be there.
They told me it was right.

Years have passed, my
face grows old.
Each day the grief
grows stronger
and again they told me it
was right.

Don’t worry little one,
they’ll always keep you safe.
I hope you are happy
and loved.
They told me it was right.

They told me it was right,
now I don’t believe.
A love like mine is strong.
It can right any wrong.
They told me it was right.

I wasn’t there to chase the
storms away,
to fill your head with
knowledge,
your heart with love.
They told me it was right.

Hopefully someday you shall see
I did it not for me but you
and ‘cause they told me it was right.

101 in 1001 update and anyone out there...

Another 2 101 in in 1001 goals are completed. Number 51. Do a book purge and one of my private goals are done. That makes 18 so far and these 2 weren't the ones I was expecting to complete this month. Before long I will be at least a quarter of the way there so I am happy.

If anyone is out there reading my blog please leave a comment... I am wondering if its worth keeping on blogging.

Stop Waiting

Author Unknown

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now.

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have.

Stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Thought for the evening:

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best,and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!

Christian D. Larson

101 in 1001 update

I have as of the 2nd of April 2009 completed 16 of my 101 in 1001 goals (click on 101 in 1001 up the top of my blog to see which ones). I can think of at least 2 that should be completed this month but I am hoping to make it 4 so that I am closer to a quarter of the way to finishing my list.

The goal that I am most proud of accomplishing so far was to sponsor a child. With the help of Pioneer Woman and Compassion International I was able to sponsor 13 year old Della and I recently decided to sponsor 9 year old Douglas as well. I am excited to have begun my time as a sponsor and hope to sponsor a younger child later on. I'll keep you all updated not only on my 101 in 1001 progress but also Della and Douglas and their progress as well.

NaBloPoMo day 1

I decided to join NaBloPoMo for this month as I wanted to challenge myself to post everyday for a month and also the them is growing up which is something I think about a lot. It doesn't mean I'll post on the theme every day but I will post so please either add me to your feed reader or check back each day to see what I post.