A Matter of Choice

Back in 2012 I took part in Project 52, posting a 'Silent Sunday' photo each week here on my blog, I watched many of my favourite bloggers completing the more ambitious 365 Project - a photo a day for a year and by the start of 2013 I had been tempted to join in. After Aaron telling me he'd be surprised if I lasted 2 weeks I was determined to see it through, and I did, taking at least one photo every day for the entire year. It was a struggle, especially for the last few months, not so much always taking the photos but keeping up with publishing them all, they also started to feel a bit forced at the end, like I was taking them for the sake of it.  I decided not to attempt it again for 2014, and I found I hardly took any photos during the year to what I had in previous years.  Now, armed with a new phone which has a decent camera I'm planning to change that.  Although I have bigger plans this year with blogging I'm not ready to take on the daily challe...

'Another sunrise photo?' Yep, another sunrise, another stupidly early morning. I do remember back in England, when Leo was a week or so old so in early June, feeding him in the early hours of the morning and it was just starting to get light and it looked like it would be a nice sunny day. I thought to myself it was lucky it was summer as it would have been so much more depressing in the middle of winter. It's lucky then given how my both my boys are/ have been terrible sleepers and prone to get up VERY early EVERY day that we moved to Cyprus and most of the year I'm greeted by a lovely sunrise each morning. I was also pleased to notice that it didn't feel that chilly when I went out in my dressing gown to get the photo, maybe a hint of spring on the way?

I never used to consider myself a morning person, when I started work at 17 in my local Safeways I often used to have 6am starts and they killed me. My Dad worked shift work and was often coming home as I was leaving and was always annoying cheerful whilst I would mumble a reply and leave the house. These days due to the incredible non-sleeping child , and the fact that his brother was not much better mornings start much much earlier than I would have once imagined. After more than four years of very early starts and forced early nights as I cannot deal with being tired, the morning is not such a bad thing to me,  (the broken sleep preceding it is the bit I don't like!) Many times I am rudely awoken and dragged out of bed by a screaming toddler - he has not once woken up happy in his 16 months, but for most of the year there is a sight that always cheers me up. It's much harder to be annoyed at the early alarm call when you step onto the balcony and see this When ...

I've never been a fan of early mornings, only getting up when I had to, from my early 6am starts when I worked at Safeways or even 9am starts in my last job which required me to get up by what now seems like the perfectly sensible time of 7.30. My Dad on the other hand is one of those annoying morning people, when I lived at home he would drive me nuts by being happy and singing every morning (once he got thrown out of his works canteen for being too happy!)  but on the upside of that I used to get a cup of tea made and in the winter he would happily scrape the ice of my car for me! When Leo was born I didn't mind the early starts as much as I thought I would - being born in May it meant the mornings were light and I quite enjoyed the early morning feeds but looking back the fact I'd be asleep again by 9am with him obviously helped! These days mornings are generally not as much fun, especially after a unsettled uncomfortable nights sleep due to the bump and a toddler...