Daddy's day

Because he deserves it...

We gave things worth more than gold in this house...

A Sleep in... 

(until 8am because Isaac couldn't wait anymore)

Breakfast made by me rather than the other way around. (I rocked these poached eggs. It's hard to cook for someone who is a genius in the kitchen)

Time to read the paper (sort of)

Allowed to watch a full rugby match on the TV uninterrupted (mostly...).
A shopping trip to buy something frivolous rather than something necessary. And by frivolous I mean he bought CD's because we are so rock and roll.
A pub lunch and a curry with my brother in the evening (again with the rock and roll lifestyle).

With us its all about the little things...

Well that and food....

And he does deserve it you know

We couldn't ask for a better daddy.

'Oh the places you'll go...'

'Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.'...
Dr. Seuss

When I was was younger I would spend hours upon hours day dreaming about the adventures I would have when I grew up.

I wanted to walk a different life to those around me. I didn't want to stay in my small village like everybody else would. I didn't want to get married and have babies for fear of being tied down to a mundane life. After school I moved to London and did a degree in Development studies which was essentially world studies. Which by the way leads to no job at all...

I didn't know what I wanted to be but I knew I wanted to travel and maybe take pictures while I did it.

I wanted to take the road less travelled...

I did that for a while in a relatively small way and it's a great life to lead. I travelled across America in an old hippy bus eating a vegetarian diet and bathing in rivers. I went to Australia and slept in a tent on the beach. I backpacked all around Europe. Going up mountains (small ones), sleeping on buses and trains, eating delicious and different food, hiking long trails, looking at the stars by a campfire while drinking a beer. There is something to be said for the travelling life and I miss it often. You feel alive everyday. You meet all kinds of people with the same adventurous outlook as you and for a short time they seem like soul mates. You feel like you are onto something real and special that the rest of the world, too busy with mindless jobs, is missing out on. Although not having lived in the rest of the world yet I didn't really know what I was talking about.

It wasn't until a Taxi driver in Egypt held a screw driver to my throat while he took my friends money that I began to suspect that maybe I wasn't cut out for such an existence. It shook me up and deep down I knew that life style wasn't who I really was. Instead it was the way I thought I ought to be. I felt like a fraud because as much fun as I had, I always really really liked coming home.

And look at me now, married with children living in a small village not much bigger than the one I grew up in.

Did I sell out on my dreams?

I don't know, maybe...

and maybe I don't mind...

Or maybe my dreams have changed. Lately I feel like I'm finally leaning in to the real me. Rather than running away from it as fast as my legs could carry me.

And so now my adventures just look a little different...

Made up of smaller seemly ordinary things...

But we know better...

We see what others miss...

And being followed home by a small black cat seems like a very great adventure indeed...

Maybe I am not exactly on the road less travelled these days... 

And that's okay...

Maybe I'm just on MY own road to be travelled 

and it has different adventures perfect for me...

'Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way'
Dr. Seuss

My 34th birthday

Yesterday was my 34th birthday. 34 years on this earth.

Which if you think of it like that, is pretty cool.

Better than seeing it as some sort of  flaw of mine, an age to admit with embarrassment to those around me who are younger. Like with each year I should have somehow held back time. Stopped in its tracks those new little wrinkles, this expanding belly, that sly grey hair, the needing to be in bed at an reasonable hour because i'm so damn tired all the time...

Yep 34 years on this earth.

That sounds much better...

34 Years of breathing, heart beating, eyes seeing, head thinking, learning, dreaming, loving....

The list goes on...

I'm glad to be here and glad to be me.

And I think we should anticipate and celebrate our birthdays like we did as children. With excitement and pleasure.

Which is kind of what I did.

To make it all the sweeter my brother who lives far away in Seattle and I haven't seen in the flesh for two and a half years just happened to be in England AND was able to come stay for my birthday.

Whoop whoop!

The morning of my birthday Hubby made the best birthday breakfast I have ever had. I didn't need to eat again for like hours...

Which for me is really saying something.

He also got me our traditional birthday flowers...

I got cards and presents which made me happy. And later that morning we went for a walk with my youngest before he started preschool for the afternoon...

Too cute right?

We ate a delicious Lunch here...

If you going to do something you might as well do it right!

Then we spent an afternoon in the woods...

Indulging my brothers nerdy need to go bird watching...

I had a little go...

I don't think I could become a avid follower though. For one thing it hurt my neck always looking up...

And as always on my birthday in the evening was filled with good friends, delicious food and flowing wine. But I was enjoying myself too much to photograph any of it. 

So help yourself to a slice of cake and celebrate with me my 34th year of life x