A Love Affair......and feeling recharged!
Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 9:25PM
We're home :) And the ironic thing is....the weather before we left to head away on our holiday was pretty dismal.....the weather whilst we were holidaying was pure, picture PERFECT, long summer days.....and the weather on our return home.....is dismal again!! So.....I am so very, VERY grateful that the weather Gods blessed us with amazing beach days whilst we enjoyed 4 days away at Coolum.....our sweet, SWEET Coolum!
If I wasn't happily married & 100% committed to my marriage, I think I would propose to Coolum Beach & declare my ever-lasting love for it! We'd spend the long-summery days together....just chillin! And we'd just hang out all day, arm in arm, as true lovers do :) I'm sure I could tweak some laws to make it possible for me to be wed to a place....couldn't I? LOL! No seriously, Coolum ROCKS!! It holds such special memories for both Chris & I....and I am so SO glad that we decided to holiday there this week!
When I met Chris {10years ago this year....wow!}, and we were going through the motions of first-date chit-chat.....we stumbled across the topic of Coolum Beach! A lot of my childhood & teenage memories contain pieces of Coolum.....summers there, rainy Easters there, quick weekend trips there, staying with friends there....I've always had a love for that place & even to this day, we have a little glass bottle of sand sitting on our lounge-room IKEA shelving unit that is filled with sand....Coolum Sand! Sand I took from the beach at the end of a summer holiday in 1998. Sand that is filled with so many memories of youth & fun & teenage-filled moments! So, back in 2001, as Chris & I were conversing about our links to that exact surf-side town, I discovered Chris had lived there for several years....right about the time I was holidaying there....we had that it's-a-small-world moment, when we realised we were probably at the beach at the same time, at some stage in our lives.....and that's just freaky....in some cosmic-fate-destiny type way :) And when I told him I had joined in with the local men's fitness group each morning for a week in the summer of 96 {a group of local men, called the 79ers, who run the beach & swim the surf every morning....they are so friggen fit....it's crazy!} we then had the moment: "OMG, you ran with the 79ers?" "My Grandfather Ken Chadwick, is part of that group!" "So, that means you know......." etc etc.... Yeah....another cosmic-fate-destiny moment :)
So here we are in Summer of 2011 & I wasn't holidaying in Coolum as a careless, free-spirited teenager on a mission to discover myself, make new friends, run-a-muck or find a new adventure....I was there....with my HUSBAND & DAUGHTER!! And that made Coolum all the more magical! I got to show Ella all the little quirks of the once-quiet, now-bustling beach-side town! We got to watch a Coolum sunrise & sunset as a family! Chris & I took note of all the new hotels & restaurants & shops, but oohed & ahhed & felt recognition for the original stores & iconic spots....such as the original hand painted bus stop & board-riders club, the giant pine trees lining the shores & the Freetime Surf Shop.
I often refer to the beach being my place of sanctuary.....where I go to recharge my batteries! And this week, with blue skies, long summer days, a touch of Coolum magic & time with my 2 loves ~ Ella & Chris......I've come home with not only a tan {yay} but a more refreshed outlook, a content heart & a happy soul! Pity we've come to grey clouds, constant rain & a sick cat which has cost us $500 today in vet bills.....but hey...that's life....and all we can do is take the bad with the good & cherish it.....cherish it ALL!
BUT......You gotta love holidays :)
{Ella passed out in the pram there next to me...something she NEVER does these days....but 5:30am swims & plenty of sunshine was the key to getting some shuteye from our little Princess :))) }
{Cocktails & lunch with friends!! Loving life}
{Ella pushing me in the pool...and Chris getting on camera!}
With my batteries feeling recharged, it's time to kick 2011 off with a motivated & banging' start! I'm keen to get more de-cluttering done {already filled a HEAP of bags & boxes to donate to the local charity shop}, I'm eager to get my photo-wall COMPLETE!!, I've started re-decorating our main bedroom...with the theme being LOVE!, I'm on a mission to attack our mess of a garage, I've designed some new PRINT designs & am eager to get them printed & photographed ready for release next week & I have a drive to build this blog with all my heart! 2011 is going to be FAB!
What about YOU? Are you charging into 2011 with arms & eyes wide open? Or slightly hesitant & grasping onto the last few emotions of 2010? Did you make any resolutions for this year? What were they?
Cheers to holidays! Cheers to Summer! And a big cheers to LIFE! :)
