When the sand runs out...

I was listening to my ipod tonight and the song 'When The Sand Runs Out' by Rascal Flatts came on. As I was listening, it struck me how relevant the lyrics are to my view of life at the moment. Here is a sample...

I'm gonna stop lookin' back and start movin' on

And learn how to face my fears

Love with all of my heart, make my mark

I wanna leave something here

Go out on a ledge, without any net

That's what I'm gonna be about

Yeah I wanna be runnin'

When the sand runs out

flying....inspired by diyosa (via flickr)

Shantaram....

I am reading a brilliant book at the moment called 'Shantaram' by Australian author Gregory David Roberts. In 1978, Roberts was sentenced to 19 years in prison for a series of armed robberies. He escaped and spent 8 years as a fugitive in Bombay. Here he established a free medical clinic for slum dwellers, and worked as a counterfeiter, smuggler, gunrunner, and street soldier for a branch of the Bombay mafia. He was recaptured in 1991, served out his sentence in Australia and established a successful multimedia company upon his release. Roberts is now a full-time writer and lives in Bombay, where he has established a charitable trust to care for slum-dwellers. 

Whilst the book is a novel, there is no doubt that it is Roberts' own life that the story is based upon. It is an extremely lengthy book (just under 1,000 pages long), however, that isn't a problem in the slightest since you never want the story to end (I'm just sad that I am up to page 800 already!). From the very first page you are completely drawn into this magical world and its characters and I cannot recommend this book enough. Interestingly, the rights to the movie were sold to Johnny Depp in 2004. 

You can find out more about Gregory David Roberts and the book by clicking here.

Lots of joy in simple things today....

The little man sleeping through the night until 6am (Yeah!)

Lots of laughs with work friends

This picture of a hedgehog found in the backyard of a workmates mother who lives in England. How gorgeous! 

A great lesson on mental health with one of my classes

A lovely homeroom group

Getting home from work earlier than I did last night

Receiving my first comment from an international blogger (how exciting!)

Spending time with my little man who smiled and laughed at me all night long (and then fell asleep in my arms...heartbreakingly cute)

I am officially a 'working mother'.

I have survived my first day of work but it is now 8pm and I've just about hit the brick wall. Our little man decided to test me to the max by waking up every 1-2 hours last night. It was quite surreal to go back to work. In a sense it's as if all other areas of my life have moved with me on my new journey but work is the only aspect that hasn't because I've been totally removed from it (if that makes sense?). Tomorrow all the girls will be back so that will be the real test!

Lovely husband was in charge of after daycare activities tonight and I have to say it was very strange to be the one walking in the door at 7pm. I expected my little man to be safely tucked up in bed but instead I found both husband and son asleep on the lounge. Apparently the little man made it no further than being taken out of the bath before he was dead to the world. I was secretly quite happy because it meant that I got to sneak in a few unexpected hugs and kisses. 

I dare say I will be in bed asleep by 9pm. I'm hoping that as I get into the swing of being a 'working mother' I will be able to manage things so that I can also fit in and keep up with all my creative pursuits. If anyone has any tips on how they manage to do this, feel free to leave me some comments. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Fingers crossed that I am in my bed for longer than I am out of it tonight....

Loving these shoes....

The Sartorialist via pretty.little.world.

Pretty.Little.Dresses.

I'm really into 'girlie' dresses at the moment. There's nothing I appreciate more than a dress that takes your breath away and these ones do just the trick. Admittedly there is not much call for attire like this in the world of a PE teacher, but I can dream......

Picture 1 & 2: Kate Towers "Suavie Island" collection

Picture 3: Goose Girl Gown by Akina (via Frankie magazine)

This one gets me every time...

The ipod is always on in our house (especially with a son who likes to listen to music when he goes to sleep). This morning the song "Albertine" by Brooke Fraser came on and I wanted to share it because it is an inspiring and beautiful song with a very important meaning. Albertine was a girl in Rwanda who Brooke met when she was doing aid work there in 2005. Brooke also met the man who rescued Albertine in the genocide of 1994. Before the man introduced Brooke to Albertine he said "You have to go back to your people and write a song and tell them about us here in Rwanda". And that is exactly what Brooke did. 

Every time I hear the lyrics to this song I am reminded of the fact that words without actions are meaningless. Or as Brooke so eloquently puts it, "Faith without deeds is dead".....