Saturday, October 30, 2010

Little Ones & Books

I love reading, and I have my dad to thank for that. He taught me how to read with a newspaper. Definitely not your typical reading material for a child. One very clear memory I have with my dad is of me as a little girl, maybe even around 3 yrs. old, sitting on the floor of the living room next to the TV with the newspaper sprawled out in front of us. He was teaching me how to sound out big words. I loved every minute of it. This is probably why I love when I see little children into reading.

At our home, we bought a bookshelf for the living room to display our books. Well, mainly mine. It just makes me feel more at home. I was pleasantly surprised when my husbands 2 yr. old niece began to pick out some of the books from the shelf tonight. I have a fascination with some of the old childrens books I grew up with and have a few in our shelf. I pull out the Little Miss Sunshine book, which leads to me and her flipping the pages and telling our own stories about each page. After going through a few books, I end up having the cutest conversation with her. It went something like this:

Little One: Auntie Kafffffyyyy....I want to go to the library.
Me: Yea, that would be fun. Then you can borrow all the elephant books you like. (She was recently pointing out all the cute elephants in the books.)
Little One: But I need a library card.
Me: (trying to hide my surprise) Well, when you ask your mom to take you to the library, she can help you get one of your own. But you have to keep it and not lose it.
Little One: Yea. (She looks down at her skirt and realizes she has no pockets) I know! I can keep it in my hand. So I can hold it and it won't drop. Auntie Kafffyyy...I want to go to the library to get a library card.
Me: Yea, we'll definitely take you there so you can borrow all the books you like.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Music Monday: Brooke Fraser

Since I love music, whether it be old, new, or someone I just discovered, I decided to start a Music Monday's blog. While we were in New Zealand and Australia, we really got a chance to listen to new music. The great thing about New Zealand was that it actually had a TV music channel that played music videos! What a concept right?



Brooke Fraser is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. She has a new album "Flags", so they were playing this video quite a bit. I love the creativity of the video and the song just makes me happy. She is actually coming to San Francisco in December, but the show is already sold out.I'm sad about that, but she will be in Los Angeles & San Diego I believe, if anyone wants to check her out.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Wildlife

I love animals. They're all so unique. We got to see lots of different animals in Tahiti, Australia and New Zealand. Specifically in Australia, where we went to an actual wildlife park and even got to feed some of the animals. I'm still trying to figure out what some of these animals are.




Gulls in New Zealand looked so white and clean!
 Loved the colors on this mallard.
 We didn't get to see a real kiwi, but here is a fake, enlarged kiwi. They're actually quite small.
It was breeding season in Melbourne, Australia for these gulls. It was great to see all the baby birds and the protective parents.
Wombat! This chubby fellow was happy to hang out next to us humans.
I didn't see what type of bird this was, but it had lovely colors and was pretty vocal the day we saw it.
Barn owls.
The dingos were actually blocked off with electrical wired fences. They're very cute, but can be harmful to everyone.

 This echidna is too cute. I was kind of upset at this group of guys for throwing food at it, trying to get as many seeds stuck on its back. The echidna wasn't fazed though and somehow got clean when I saw it a second time.
My husband and I were able to feed these cute fellas. They're very nice if you don't run after it and pose any harm to it.
 I heart koalas.
Such a large pelican, but very beautiful.
We actually got to see a penguin parade. This furry guy was in its home underground. The wildlife park created holes where you can see some penguins in their home without bothering them. They're so cute and small. At night, when it gets too dark, the penguins all come home from their excursions in the ocean, otherwise known as the penguin parade.


We got to feed some wild birds.
 Yes, you are seeing correctly. This is a large ant in Melbourne. Scary! I almost stepped on it. I'm sure these guys bite.
{all photos taken by me & my husband}

Sustainability

Going to New Zealand and Australia really made us understand what a sustainable country really is and how to try and become more sustainable. The country in general seems pretty eco-conscious and tries not to waste anything when possible.

Here are some items I thought it would be nice to see the U.S. try and adopt:
  • All the toilets had 2 flushes: One half flush, and one full flush. This was to try and save water when possible.
  • Their public bathrooms all had the hand blow dryers so that paper towels weren't being wasted. They were usually the real strong blow dryers that don't stay on long either. 
  • The hotels require that you use your room key to turn on the electricity in your room.
  • Every plug outlet has a switch for it. You can have so many things plugged into the outlets, but the only ones that will work are the ones that have the switch turned on.
  • They had free trolleys and free shuttles around the city and at the airports! I must research to see if they have this in the Bay Area.
  • They had recycling cans almost everywhere right next to the "rubbish" bins. I have yet to see that truly get implemented here. 
The trip just made me all the more conscious of what I can do personally to be more eco-conscious. My husband and I made a deal that we were going to make our next house more sustainable and eco-friendly. What are you doing to be more sustainable?

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Travels

Going to a different country really allows you to get away from your every day life and open your eyes to the different culture. You get a great perspective of your life and what you really what or don't want to change in your life.

Our trip did just that for us. Especially when we did not have cell phone service with us unless we were in hot spots. Although we did have some access, free wifi was not readily available to us. We truly got to experience the new places without electronics. You don't really realize how often you pull out your cell phone to check your texts, social networking sites, emails, etc. That takes time away from spending quality time with whoever it is you are with.

Don't get me wrong, I love all that, but I've realized that it shouldn't take over your life.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

M.I.A.

I know, I've been M.I.A. I miss blogging, but I promise I'll have a lot to write about. I even have tons of food pics I'm excited to post in my food blog. But for now, I'll leave you with a picture of the bungalows at the hotel we stayed at in Tahiti.
{Photo taken by Me}