Clouds and Sunsets!!

So far this year I haven't really had time to post much ...ok I haven't actually done ANY posting! Needless to say I have been very busy ...yawn! (I know we are all busy!) but I have found time to take random pictures of clouds! and sunsets! and sunrises! and things of that nature! I love looking at clouds it relaxes me I find myself 90% of the time staring out of windows (yes I know, psychologists would have a lot to say about this ...and yes maybe I do want to escape from my life but that's not the point) I find it therapeutic to look at beautiful things and nature just seems to have loads of that in abundance.

So what's my obsessions with clouds? I just love the fact that no two clouds are ever the same and you can spend absolutely ages looking at the same cloud and discover something new and interesting, there is just so much depth and its just never boring! So I love clouds! I take pics of cloods all the time, particularly when I have loads of work to do and I am finding ways to procrastinate (hahah...very bad habit) but then they just end up on my phone and my friends and family are sick to death of my sending them random pictures of clouds! (no they really are! they don't even bother to comment on how great the pics are anymore, i guess they don't want to feed my habit) I needed an outlet, I thought and dreamt big!

A website with nothing but pictures of clouds! www.clouds.com, this is great, I can connect with the other random people out  there that love clouds, we could create like a clouds collage of clouds from all over the world! alas it wasn't to be, www.clouds.com was already taken and not for nature related clouds but cloud in the IT sense. I also discovered that there was already a cloud appreciation society -www.cloudappreciationsociety.com it a great website lots of like minded cloud chasers like me, am really feeling at home, I didn't realise there were so many others like me! even more advanced in the clouds game than me, who knew that the different types of clouds each had their own proper names and stuff? still it seems everyone had beat me to the punch but then I thought about it and realised what I wanted to offer was way different, I still had a great idea on my hands, the cloud appreciation society is very comprehensive and detailed but that was the point! there was too much information, it didn't really lend itself to people (like me and maybe others out there??) who just wanted to view uninterrupted pictures of clouds, no words just clouds and just immerse yourself in the beauty of pictures of just clouds..sunsets...sunrises and things of that nature.

So yep you guessed it! I set up a tumblr account for just that purpose ...just clouds..sunsets...sunrises and things of that nature no words or rather texts to get in the way. And whilst I don't claim that to have the best or most inspiring pictures of clouds, I do have a nice little collection from over the last couple of years so, if you were ever looking for a place to lose your head in the clouds then feel free to stop by http://cloudsandsunsets.tumblr.com/ I would certainly love to connect with other cloudchasers!

Best Wishes

Ps. this blog is definitely not dead yet, I hope to start posting more regularly in the coming months (October onwards) when things have died down a little and of course you can always catch me looking out the window and taking pictures of random clouds :)

P's and Q's #4

Life is hard and unpredictable, as much as we like to think we are in control we are really just adapting to God's plan. Some things we want we don't get and something we don't want we get and we wonder how we ever did without it.

So here's a little antidote to make life easier (hopefully)..

(although let me be the first to admit it's easier said than done)

P's and Q's #3

This is not something new, we all know we should count our blessings but truthfully, most times we find ourselves adding up our problems instead. So it never hurts to have a gentle reminder...

The moon

A very simple but beautiful picture of the moon. I love the way the colour fades from a sort of pinky colour to light blue and then a slightly darker blue. There are no filters in this photo and it is not edited in any way. Nature at it's very best.

Enjoy!

Pleasure... Flow... and Meaning..!

For a while now I have been meaning to write a post about Positive Psychology 101. And even though I know what positive psychology is essentially, I was stumped when I had to define it. Then the other day I came across a tweet which lead to an article about positive psychology and the Olympics and the definition the writer used was so elegant I just had to quote her.

The first two paragraphs of her article had me nodding my head like one of those nodding bulldog car toys. Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about positivity, positive thinking and just being happy/positive etc. It is really easy to get confused and assume they are all mean the same thing so I was very glad when right away the writer, Louisa Jewell distinguished between positive thinking i.e. “the secret” and other similar notions and positive psychology. And as I said earlier it is the most elegant definition I have heard till date.

So “positive psychology is the scientific study of psychological well-being" as opposed to the traditional psychological model of mental illness. Additionally, it is important to “note the emphasis on ‘scientific’ which means it is based in science and empirical research" and it is therefore separate from other fluffy feel good notions. It is also not the same thing as positive thinking, or being positive and smiley all the time.

That said, I have included a TED Talks video by Martin Seligman, largely considered the father of positive psychology to further expatiate on the topic.

I hope this clarifies things, in any case there would most likely be a follow up post to this.

P's and Q's #2

Again, another one of my favourites from this year. I particularly like this quote because it relates so dearly to me. You see, I love to sleep and therefore spend most of my free time sleeping! This quote is plastered on my laptop screen to remind me I need to stay awake to make my dreams come true.

P's and Q's #1

This is one of my favourite quotes I have come across this year. It's so simple yet so profound and really makes you think.. Certainly worthy to have as my first proverb/quote on here. 

Enjoy!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it superman??

No it's not superman, no it's not a bird,  it's just a plane.

Happy viewing..!

It's my birthday today!!

It's my birthday today!! Yaaaayyy me!! So today I am officially an adult great! and unfortunately I would have to start acting like one too, boo! Just joking but now i am kinda on "the wrong side of 20..well almost.

What I saw when I opened my front door today

Just a quick post to share, as the title says the view from the front of my house earlier today (well yesterday but I haven't slept so it doesn't really count does it?)


ENJOY!!




ps. edited 'slightly' by instagram

A painful lesson to learn

After a high comes a low. Being a beginner and all in Photoshop I obviously did not realise that once the created image is "flatten" and all the layers are merged into one, there is no going back in terms of re-editing the image. what a painful lesson to learn and a very painful way to learn it. smdh

There I was going my merry way, creating different images and flattening them before I saved because quite frankly - I thought that was what I was supposed to do! I knew I would probably have to re-edit  these images again but I didn't know that was no longer possible after I flattened them. Only for me to come back to Photoshop, reopen the images and realise I couldnt seperate them back into  layers. Naturally, I thought it was something I hadn't done-some magical undo button I had yet to discover. I searched and searched and even my trusty google couldn't find any solutions. 

I finally figured out the error of my ways and how truly evil the flatten button was-it should have come with a warning (use with caution please!). All my images I would have to create from scratch! as brilliant as they are they aren't quite right, some adjustments are needed along with some patience to actually sit there and redo everything all over again. Maybe I'ld just do something different because I never really was the patient type anyway.

Till next time -Sayonara

I did it!! yaay me!!

YAAAY!! I am soo happy right now its unbelieveable, its amazing what a high one can get from using Photoshop, well... when it all comes together that is! a couple of days ago I decided I wanted to start a blog, yet again! you see I have "started"  a couple of blogs before but unfortunately I never got past the first post- "Hello World" (yep I think all my previous "attempts" were all on Wordpress tbh I think Blogger is sooo much better/easier, why didnt I come here sooner??). I promise though that this time I really would be more dedicated and keep at it.

Back to the story and the reason for my amazing high, so I created my latest blog and being the perfectionist that I am I was surprisingly reluctant to post any messages until I had designed/customised it exactly how I saw it in my mind's eye. Ofcourse this created a problem as I don't know ANYTHING about bogging much less html, css and all those technical stuff.

So days passed and I tried to learn absolutely every thing I could from scratch (i really do love Google/the internet!!), downloading Photoshop, figuring out how to use it (oh the torture of clicking things and watching as ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENED! or the joy of manically hitting the "undo" button..), learning how to make a header and background..I know it sounds basic right?? but for the first two days I was still trying to figure out how to get to the dashboard for my own blog.

Am glad to say I found it-yay!, and I also figured how to use the template designer thingy-double yaay! but before I get sidetracked again, I actually really just wanted to share my amazing happiness and the high I got from designing my first ever background and header. Yep the very background and header you see right now was created by yours truly! I know its nothing fancy but it was still done by me and me alone...YAAAAAAAAY (sorry for yet another yaay but I really am that excited *doing the happy dance*). In truth, I had lots and I do mean lots of "help" from other blogs and you tube videos (Teresabelle designs and a vimeo video by Kayla Lamoreaux in particular and the kit I used was curtsey of the lovely Summer Driggs, her designs really are lovely!) and generally ...thank God for google and the internet.

I know I am not totally done designing, I still have the sidebar, toolbar and all manner of things to do before I am truly truly happy and satisfied with the appearance of my blog but I am encouraged that it can be done and after the month I've had this is my light at the end of the tunnel (besides what's design without content?).

so stay tuned while I get elbow deep in Photoshop and expect lots and lots of changes! This stuff is actually quite addictive.

                                                     ~Lola~

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