Travel theme: Statues

So, it´s that time of the week again: time for Ailsa´s travel theme. This week the theme, if you hadn´t already guessed from the title, is statues. I have to admit that I found this weeks challenge a little more difficult than I had anticipated. I spent hours going through the copious amounts of photos I have accumulated over the last few years and, to my amazement, very few of them were of statues.

The vast majority of my photos are of street life or fashion. I seem to just love capturing moments as they unfold before me. I just get caught up in the beauty of life, flaws and all, and, I have to admit, I love aging beauty: the older the better. To me age is beauty; whether it´s a dilapidated old building which is bursting at the seams with history or an older person who, through the wrinkles on their face, you can tell has a story to share. I guess what I´m trying to say is that I find everyday life more intriguing than still life.

That said, I did manage to dig up some statues for this week´s theme. Each one of them coming from Cartagena in Spain. It´s funny, if you read my post on Cartagena, you may recall that I found Cartagena to be a bit of a let down. While I enjoyed my trip there; I found it lacked the usual charm that Spanish cities are filled with. However, I must have loved the statues there as I took quite a few photos of them during my trip.

So, all that remains now is to share them with you. I hope you enjoy my humble offerings to this week´s theme.

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Statues

If you would like to get involved in Ailsa´s travel theme challenges then here is all the information you need:

If you would like to join in (everyone’s welcome!) here’s what to do:
•Create your own post and title it Travel theme: statues
•Include a link to Ailsa´s page in your post so others can find it too
•Get your post in by next Thursday, as the new travel theme comes out on Friday
•Don’t forget to subscribe to her page to keep up to date on the latest weekly travel themes.

If you would like to see some more of this week´s offerings then check out the links below.
http://geriatrixfotogallerie.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/palacio-de-mateusportugal
http://esengasvoice.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/travel-theme-statues/
Wave To The Mermaid!

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you in my next post.

Giana xoxo

Time to face reality: I only have time for one post a week!

Image taken from google images, click here to be brought to the page.
I feel so blessed, as I´ve said numerous times before, that I have met so many nice and caring people through the blogging world. I´ve been missing for a while as I´m struggling to find a balance this work year between work, new courses I´m doing to improve my career, writing blogs and finding time for my family and for me. It´s times like this that I really wish there were more hours in a day but I have to learn that I´m only human and can only do so much, take a leaf from my own book, one day at a time, and learn to stop trying to achieve everything. Who knows maybe then, when I stop putting so much pressure on myself, I might actually achieve what I want to achieve!

I guess what I´m trying to say is I´m not telling myself that I´m going to write three posts a week anymore because what ends up happening is: I don´t get time to write three, end up feeling guilty and therefore end up not writing anything. So; I´m reducing my goal. I going to write one post a week as a minimum and if I get time I will write more. I think it might actually work out better for me, if I don´t have yet another deadline to meet then I might actually be more productive! We´ll see!

Thank you to everyone for being so patient with me and understanding that sometimes, no matter how much we love doing things, we just don´t have the time for our hobbies.

I´m starting out on a good note today, I came down with a bad cough and sore throat on friday which forced me to take a day off yesterday and do absolutely nothing. It´s funny how our bodies let us know when we´ve had enough even when we don´t realise it for ourselves. Anyway, today I feel all the better for it, I feel rested and ready to write. So I plan to make the most of this new-found energy and write a few posts, The first one, being this one, to explain my new approach to this blog, the second one being the weekly photo challenge as it seems to tie into my new start and the third one, one which is long overdue, an awards one to thank and acknowledge those of you who constantly support me, even when I don´t always have the same dedication as the rest of you; no matter how hard I try!

Okay, enough rambling, and time to get on with my writing but first a spot of lunch with some friends! I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday, wherever you are, and that it´s a relaxing one!

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

Another great photo challenge this week, what a great way to get back into the swing of things again! I´m glad to say that the stresses and strains of the last few weeks have finally subsided and I finally have time to breath again and actually do what I love: blog!

Thank you everyone for your patience, I will be posting three times a week starting from today. Not as frequent as before, I know, but have less time at the moment! Looking forward to getting back into it now and also to catching up on all the posts I have missed!

So without further delay here is my humble attempt at this weeks photo challenge. I hope you enjoy!

We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think when the mind is pure. Joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. 563 BC – 483 BC Buddha.

So that´s it from me for today, next post will be up on Tuesday. Hope you´re having a fantastic Sunday!

To see what other bloggers have come up with for this weeks challenge click here.

What did you think of this weeks theme? Did you have fun with it?

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo

Weekly Photo Challenge: Happy

I have to say I really do love this weeks photo challenge. Happiness is such an important part of life, something that, due to life, we often forget to embrace. As well as photos this week I have decided to share a story with you about a moment that changed my outlook on life and on happiness.  I hope you enjoy!

Happiness is something that we all strive to achieve but sometimes, due to circumstances, fail to obtain. I´ve had my fair share of moments, like everyone, where life has thrown some curveballs in my way but, what I have learnt from these moments is, it´s not the events themselves that define your happiness, or unhappiness for that matter, but rather how you approach them.

A memory that always stays with me when it comes to happiness and what defines it is one from my university days. During my time in university I was lucky enough to volunteer as a teaching assistant in a programme working with special needs adults. The idea behind the programme was to teach these adults both basic english and other skills they need for day-to-day life.

The task set one morning was quite a simple one; to describe how a number of pictures made you feel. After a few pictures we came to a picture of a sunset in a forest with a deer at the forefront, nothing special –  or so I thought at the time as I was having a particularly selfish day that day, too consumed with my “student” problems to notice anything about it . That was until it was one of the students, who was severally disabled, turn to share how this picture made him feel. With a huge smile on his face, which I will never forget, he typed into his computer “It makes me feel happy to be alive”. Wow, I was instantly moved my this. I had so much insignificant stuff going on in my head that I hadn´t taken the time to appreciate the beauty of the picture. Yet, here was this man fighting a daily battle with disability who, despite his troubles,  he was able to find the joy in the most simplest of things.

I think that this moment was one of the most influential moments on my life. It taught me that happiness is all around you, you just need to open your eyes to see it. No matter what your problems are, whether they are short-term problems like deadlines to be met or long-term ones like illness, take the time to smile. I have been lucky enough to learn this lesson from three incredible people, this man who found joy in such a simple picture, my uncle who has been battling illness on a daily basis for six years and P who has braved his illness and never once let it stop him from smiling.

To me the definition of happiness is the ability to see past your problems and still find something positive in your day, something worth smiling about, something worth living for!

Remember: everyone has difficult periods in their lives but it doesn´t mean that you can´t find happiness hidden behind even the darkest of moments. Happiness is in your hands so embrace it!

So here are a few things that make me smile on a daily basis; no matter how big or small my problems may be: my friends, my family, butterflies, flowers and sunshine. I hope you enjoy them and that they may bring a smile to your face!

So that´s it, for now anyway! Hope you enjoyed my interpretation of this weeks theme. Sorry I have been absent for two weeks I was making my way back to Córdoba and settling back into work, I shall be back to normal again soon so thank you for your patience!

To see what other bloggers have come up with for this weeks challenge click here.

What did you think of this weeks theme? Did you have fun with it?

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo