365:25 is done

Taking a picture a day to document being 25 is finished...I missed a couple days a month....but here we go.

Planning a journey...

So we are finally planning our 2 month travels......and so very very excited! Stu has never been to Asia at all and I've never been without my family, never independently planned a trip.

One month will be spent travelling Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. One month will be spent in Japan. In Japan we will spend 2 weeks with my family (who don't speak English) and 2 weeks sightseeing.

My main goal is to improve my Japanese to a level where I can hold a conversation. My Japanese is basic and I've forgotten so much. It makes me very sad that I can't really communicate with most of my family. I'm trying to self teach from my sisters old textbook, and talking to my mum in Japanese when we phone...

Other than that I want to learn about and enjoy different cultures. I spent alot of time looking into volunteering, but realised short-term volunteering may not be helpful. I don't think I'm knowledgeable enough to make definite judgements, but I can certainly see how "voluntourism" could be a problem, especially where children are involved. I'm going to opt for not. But will see if there are any opportunities to get involved in conversation practise, so we wouldn't be amatuer teachers teaching a class, just a bit of extra help. I like the look of Big Brother Mouse in Laos...obviously, as a former bookseller and lover of storytelling. Definitely want to drop in there! I'd like to donate as well. Books were my world as child.

I could ramble on, I'm so excited but I guess I should stop :)

I can't believe I stopped for so long!

I got so caught up with wedding planning and life that I just stopped blogging. I still can't believe I'm married now...people keep asking how it feels, it feels the same, but with rings and and extra underglow of happiness :D Yay.

Foyles

The window displays have always been pretty. I particularly like this butterfly poster for summer reading promotion. Look at the common reader!! Foyles seems to be doing ok in this time of failing bookshops. Poor bookshops :( I hope they survive. Not that I help...I get my books from the library or charity shops or amazon. Boo.

1000 origami cranes

So, this is what I've been doing lately, with the help of my paper team. We decided to make 1000 cranes to decorate the wedding venue! All white, using scrap paper. These are folded from old uni work! If you fold 1000 you are supposed to be granted a wish...so we thought it would be lovely to do for our marriage, and look very pretty.

Over a thousand are folded now...it was fun. I'm not looking forward to putting them on strings though!

Kate Jenkins

Oh dear.....a 3 month blogging blank. I suck...I guess I have been quite preoccupied with wedding planning! But I haven't failed to fall in love with Kate Jenkin's oh so cute food crochet-ing of joy! Pork Pie! And 4 and 20 blackbirds! And marmite! Catch the exhibition quickly, at Rebecca Hossack Gallery on Charlotte Street till the 24th.

25 : 365

I have decided to do this 365 thing that I've seen being done at Afeitar (a pretty blog I like to read). You take a picture every day for a year and then you have a year captured in photographs. I think its a flickr thing, I'll look into that later, for now I'm doing it here for myself, starting from yesterday, my 25th birthday, rather than the start of the year. I'm going to capture my 25th year.