Author: Amanda Viviers

Place: airport inn hamilton

Poison: lemon grass and ginger tea

Favourite Things: honest friends

We spent hours in a polonesian spa yesterday and it was AMAZING. You go into these mineral spas, that come straight from thermal, volcanic spas in the ground and they are meant to have therapuetic properties.

I loved every minute of it.

Reminded me of the need to stop and reflect.

My friend Hannah and I sat and chatted about everything that has been happening in our worlds. We listened and reflected and that is truly the essence of true friendship.

I have been really thinking about the art of listening lately. In a computerised world it is so easy to communicate out all you want the world to hear, but not listen.

its a art that is learnt

A

Place: Parachute Office, Auckland

Poison: Long Blacks and licorice bullets

Favourite Things: Claudine

We are doing everything we can to make our way down to Coli’s families special land, that is where she is buried.

The memorial service this weekend will be quite emotional, but an amazing opportunity to come together as a crew and celebrate our beautiful friends life!

I can’t believe that in a couple of weeks, it will be one whole year since she left us here, but continues to party on in heaven.

Celebrate life with those nearest to you, it is fleeting.

However I firmly believe eternity is set in the heart of man.  It gives us a taste of what is to come.

Search for your piece of eternity…It may be in a new born child’s eyes, you may find it on the edge of a cliff mesmorised by nature, in the touch of a loved one or in the innocence of a child’s pondering…

Cultivate it…those who have gone before us dwell there.

A

Place: Parachute Office

Poison: Berocca

Favourite Things: Facebook

I have just found John Mayer’s latest song release, that was written for the movie ‘The bucket list!’ Its amazing and the basic message is say what you need to say.

So often we spend our lives not actually saying what we need to say. Doing what we need to do, engaging in the moments that we are destined to engage in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTpy_L1dALA&eurl=http://fb.ilike.com/facebook/artist/John+Mayer/song_frame?song_name=SAY&fb_sig_in_iframe=1&fb_sig_time=120055255

The bucket list is a movie written about a man who writes a list of what he wants to do before he kicks the bucket. I chose to say it very differently…I have had a list of 75 things I want to do before I go to heaven.

I love to strike of these acheivements of my list, but also it brings perspective into those days when I feel like I have been driving around and around the same round about endlessly!

go on, say what you need to say!

A

Place: Parachute Offices

Poison: Water, Water and more water

Favourite Things: my swatch watch

Well I’m sitting here surrounded by the crazy last minute event management madness of coordinating a festival of 20plus thousand!!

I havent slept as I flew through the night to New Zealand, for my lovely Coli’s one year anniversary and to be around my crew as they madly coordinate the unbelievable parachute festival!

Its a music festival, where last year 28,000 crazy kiwi’s rocked up with tents, eskies and their sheep in tow. (ruth if you read this am only joking!!) Its such a great event with headline band ‘Switchfoot’ arriving in less tha 7 days and the crew around the offices are running flat strap.

Sleep deprivation is such an unpredicable state of being. You can either crack and yell, and snap at all and sundry, or you go the other way and go silly, stupid, laughing and crazy.

I am choosing the other.

Caffine and Coffee and Sugar are not my friends, when I havent slept in days.

Water, water, water is my motto.

Love ya’s

Kiora

A

Place: Qantas Club

Poison: water and wasabi peas

Favourite Things: knowing I will be with my fav friends very soon

Last week I spent most of my days, awash with screaming, delight, floaties in a pool, lots of little children and my family in a place called dunsbourough, south of Perth.

It is normally quite a sleepy town, but the powell’s, crofts and giles arrived with seemingly the rest of Perth in droves. With sweltering heat, windy but atmospheric afternoons and 5 minutes walk to the beach it was truly memorable.

Most of the week, we rifled through Jamie Olivers cookbook and attempted to turn our beach shack into his East London resteraunt ‘fifteen’ (and I must say we did a pretty good job).

One evening, we spent most of the afternoon making homemade doughnuts, then walked to the beach at sunset and devoured them. The art of creating tradition and the love of family, combined in a climatic evening of memories.

(notice the sand covered doughnut! Gold)

Time with family, rest, afternoon siesta’s and cooking as a family is where the substance and fruit of real joy is found.

Despite disagreements and miscommunication, no-one understands and knows you like your family does.

Plan a trip together today.

It doesnt have to be expensive, just time intensive.

A