Is it just a case of saying yes?

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In This Issue:
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* Today's daily dose: Is it just a case of saying yes?
* 100 Day Challenge: Finally caught up...
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Today's daily dose: 25th October 2010
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Living in Australia, with most of my family and "old" friends back home in England, there comes a time when we play host and tour guide. That happened recently when my mother in law came for a visit - well ex- MIL but we get on really well. And then of course my mind went into overdrive - what could we do during her holiday to make it a memorable one? My problem wasn't what to do, but what did we have time to do - answer = not everything, but my goodness we were going to have a great time trying.
 
Our first foray into the tourist world took us on a river cruise up the swan river from Fremantle to Perth City. A day on the water, someone else doing the driving, all we had to do was sit and watch, get off, find somewhere for lunch and make sure we were back to the terminal in time to catch the boat back. It was a glorious day, it wasn't what I had hoped to do that day - but the other cruise was full.
 
Our second foray I wasn't going to be beaten. As soon as I got home, I went online and booked the tickets - we were going whale watching. My MIL was a little apprehensive, she's not used to doing weird stuff, but was game enough to give it a go. As we were driving down to catch the cruise boat, I poked her on the leg and said "we're going whale watching" she cracked up ... kids the pair of us.
 
My working schedule over the last couple of weeks has been pretty horrid, but her last day / evening was fast approaching, so I gave up the night and bundled her and my daughter into the car - there were a couple of things I wanted her to see. I drove back into Perth City, but this time headed up the Mt Eliza escarpment and into Kings Park. A wonderful place someone had the foresight to set aside as a public space and where we could look across and down into the city. It was dark and was very windy by the time we got there, but that hadn't deterred anyone, the place was packed. There were people exercising, boot camp, personal trainers using the wide open spaces to put the people who needed that kind of motivation through their paces. And then there were others who had taken their dinner, some had bottles of wine, others take away, and all were sitting on the grass in the middle of a normal week just doing something different. And then there were people like us, just out for a walk and to look at the view. And it is an amazing view - something you have to experience to understand. The lights went on forever, the stars and the moon cast an otherworldly glow over the entire proceedings - and we just stood - taking it all in, absorbing it, committing it to our memory banks.
 
We didn't stay long, the wind was too fierce and I didn't want my MIL's cough / cold to get worse, so we headed out of the Park, but not straight down into the city - and the way we had gone up, but through the darkened bushland and out via one of the park's other entrances. Why? Well you also get an amazing view from Mounts Bay Road, which runs between the escarpment and the River, so we wandered back into the city and to the next part of the evening - drinks at the Duxton. My MIL would never have gone there on her own. Perception that she wasn't dressed well enough, or that she wouldn't be allowed in. Knowing the place well, and it of course being a hotel, they are used to people being dressed in everything from the trackpants and jeans of the traveller to the business suits of people like me who had yet to go home.
 
The staff were amazing as always - if you want the best iced coffee in the entire world, I would have to recommend the Duxton in Perth on a Wednesday night. As the bar manager said, the person who was making the drinks always put a lot of love and care into whatever he made, and you know what - she was absolutely right, it was superb.
 
One night and 2 amazing experiences - and what had it cost me? A bit of time and petrol, a bit of thought and a couple of dollars for a cup of tea - the effect though was priceless and I know my MIL appreciated every single moment of it.
 
In taking a couple of days out of my schedule I had also managed to cross off a couple of things off my "bucket" list - those - do before you die kind of moments - one of which was the whale watching of course. Had I decided to wait until my schedule had cleared to take the days off, the whales would have left our shores for another year. So there are times when you just have to say "yes" to the opportunities when they are presented to you - and we did. I have a picture of the whale's tail fluke sitting in a frame on my desk - a perfect reminder of a brilliant day.
 
A couple of things I would like you to think about this week -

    * Don't wait for the perfect opportunity - make your own
    * Make one night this week an occassion. Set the table, light the candles - get takeaway or cook beans on toast - what you eat isn't as important as the reason for doing it.
    * Do what the families and the couples were doing - take "dinner" and go and sit on whatever is your Mt Eliza escarpment and enjoy your food with a view.
    * Take a good look at where you live - choose somewhere in close proximity - and go and explore it. Pretend you have a visitor with you if you have to, but take time out and enjoy whatever you have been blessed with where you are. And if you say "I don't have time" - well neither did I, but I did think about item no 1 on this list. Remember, it doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be expensive, but you are creating space and the memories that will fill you with smiles when you stop to remember them. I remember watching The Lake House, 2 people separated by time, living in the same place, but they went for a walk around where they lived and spent time - together, apart - enjoying the views. If you haven't seen it, forget the cheese that is the movie, just appreciate that single moment - given what we have been talking about, you will understand what I mean.
    * And put a little bit of love and care into everything you do this week, you would be surprised at the difference it makes.

Ok, that's it for today, a long post, but sometimes a necessary one. I can't always motivate you by poking you on the leg telling you to do something, but I can hope to show you what can be achieved if you stop and think about life in just a slightly different way.
 
Here's to your adventures this week.
 
Enjoy.
 
Elle

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100 Day Challenge: The daily posts
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Finally caught up. Believe it or not there are now 34 items in the  discarding 100 things in 100 days - that means it is over a month since we started the challenge. How are you doing? http://www.motivateme.info/discarding-100-things/
And the daily posts are finally in too after server meltdowns : http://www.motivateme.info/100-days-challenge/
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