What is your favorite outfit right now? - the prompts just keep coming don't they and I have this overwhelmong desire to respond to the prompts.

I have always been a "trousers and top " person. I have mostly various styles and various tops to go with the bottoms. A few skirts and tops for "posh frock" ocaisions. I am short waisted so gave up wearing dresses many years ago - I never wear skirts at home - it doesn't feel right.

Ten years ago - - hmmmmmmm - the same as above - - - just a different size.
My photo for tonight is one of the Dahlias I have growing in my garden.

If you were to write your autobiography, what would the title be? And the chapter headings? Who would write the forward and to whom would the book be dedicated? wow - boy is this a tall order.

Title: One Step Forward, Two steps Backward

Chapter Headings:

• Chapt 1 - its a whole new life out there
• Chapt 2 - I want to come home.
• Chapt 3 - The mistake of my Life
• Chapt 4 - Rug Rats In the Kitchen
• Chapt 5- Life Begins at 40
• Chapt5 - Senility (what was I writing?)

Book would be dedicated to my children who became adults to spite me (joking only) and the forward would be to my children who have turned into wonderful adults.

Do you like my photo? I took it sunday 25th Feb. We were fishing on some rocks near where we live in Western Australia. I had just got the themos flask of tea and my camera - JUST in case. I put the things down and looked into the water to see this stingray gliding along the rocks, about 4 inches below the surface.

I have travel on my mind as I am organising a holiday to the Cook Islands and New Zealand in May. The blog prompt today is so appropriate -" What's your favorite way to travel? Car, plane, train, boat? What do you do while you're traveling?" In Western Australia there are such vast distances from the east coast of Australia that flying is the most often used. I love flying but get bored - I read for a while until the in flight moveie comes on. If I am travelling on long flights overseas I usually take a tablet to make me sleepy so I can get some sleep. I learnt this after being on a plane for 20 hours and only getting 2 hours sleep. On the next leg home I fell asleep almost in my meal.

If we are driving any distance (usually more than 2 hours) I put on '60's CD's and guess who is singing. Usually my husband gets all the names right. I cant read while he is driving and NEVER can sleep. We used to drive 17 hours non stop to go camping at a place called Karratha, 1700 kms north of Perth. My husband would snore so easily while I drove from midnight to dawn. Trouble was I could never catch up on that sleep. I'm sure one time I saw weird lights - or maybe I was just tired. LOL.

By the way I have some new kits in the store at The Scrapping Garden. - 10% off until end of the month.

The blog prompt for today is about the Colors in the Box
1. If you were a crayon, which color would you want to be? My favourite colour is blue
2. Which color do you think you would be regardless of what you wanted?Probably pink
3. Would you rather be used and get blunt, broken and lose your wrapper, or not be used and stay pristine? Used
4. Would you rather be in a small set of crayons or a large set? A small set - I dont have a lot of friends
5. Would you rather be Crayola, or a different brand? I love how Crayola are packaged - always bought them for my children.

Talking of colours I loved working with the colours in my latest kit above - it is available at The Scrapping Garden next week. Check it out and let me know what you think of it. Maybe that favourite crayon should be pink - my new fishing rod and reel is pink. lol.

"Let's get personal!Personal Hygiene1. How often do you typically shower/bath?2. Do you prefer showering or taking a bath?3. What's the longest you've ever gone w/o a shower/bath? 4. What's your favorite personal hygiene product?5. Do you shave your legs? If so how often?"

Todays blog prompt certainly is personal - well why not - here goes

1.once per day

2. prefer a shower

3.longest I have gone without a shower was 5 days while campling in the bush of Western Australia with no shower facilities within 50 kms. We had fun on the camp as I was leading a group of long term unemployed teenagers. We were abseiling, canoing and caving.

4 -pass - not passing on my secrets - lol.

5 -I have got so old that the hairs dont grow on my legs anymore

To change the subject - the photo shows part of the burnt bushland near where I live - we had 7 bushfires burning around the outer edges of Perth, our capital city.

List the qualities you prize in yourself. Is there one quality that you consider essential to your sense of your self? Hmmmm I think the quality I prize most is honesty, trustworthy and being a "good" person - After years of being the victim of domestic violence, the one quality I consider essential to my own sense of worth is being a "good" person - and by that I mean not going behind peoples backs, being honest in my feelings, dont hurt others with words or actions etc.
This is such a hard one to do.
So I'll escape from the inward reflection and show you a scultpure at our local marina that I like.

What does “living out loud” mean for you? What an interesting thought to ponder on - I think for me it means giving my best at what I do - I have abseiled, done public speaking, had a book published, got a university degree, had two children who are successful in their own endeavours, a high powered executive job, visited Italy,done archery,can change a flat tyre, am president of the local Rotary club, and love photography. I am what I am and proud that I came out of adversity and survived.

Tonights photo is the sunset as I arrived home at 7.30pm after a wonderful meal out.

I approach Mondays like a AA member - I take it one hour at a time. Why you ask - well, I seem to always start Mondays with a list of things I will do better. A bit like weekly resolutions - They list like this: - - -

• I will get to work on time
• I will take my lunch today
• I will write those emails
• I will not eat the chocolate
• I will read thos emails
• I will not eat the chocolate
• etc etc etc et

This week I failed as soon as I opened my home computer to see what people blogs were saying - I had failed to keep an eye on the clock. Ahhhh well I will start agin tomorrow.

A little something to make you laugh though is our visit to Gnomesville here in Western Australia. It is about 2 hours drive south from where we live and started a few years ago when a gnome appeared on the edge of the road. As you all know Gnomes live in mysterious ways and now there are over a thousand Gnomes living out in the middle of theAussie bush. Enjoy a couple of the photos above. One show State Emergency Services volunteer Gnomes. The SES assist in times of disaster or emergency. The other photo shows what they did when vandals came a few weeks ago and destroyed a number of the Gnomes.

My life is happy because... I am safe and my home is safe.

I woke up and could smell smoke - so I checked the whole house but it was just the smell of the burning bushfires that are raging around Perth and Mandurah at the moment. 16 homes have been destroyed & one woman died fleeing the fire in her car. They suspect arson in some of the fires. There are 7 major fires buring around Perth plus many smaller fires.

The photo shows one such fire - we were ordered to turn around on the road we were travelling because a fire had broken out yesterday.

My life is happy because......I am safe.