Sunday, April 30, 2006

gifts ...

: what it is :
* visual symbols of love
* a tangible object that says , "I was thinking of you. I wanted you to have this. I love you."
* can be any size, shape, color, or price
* can be purchased, found, or made
* have to learn the person's interests, be the student ...
* be sensitive to the way your partner responds to gifts

: what it's not :
* no strings attached
* not to smooth raffled feathers

: Q : What is the last gift you gave & to whom did you give it?
: Q : Is it hard or does gift giving come naturally to you?
: Q : Do you consciously listen for gift ideas in your conversations?
fr: "The Five Love Languages for Singles" by Gray Chapman
... I'm not a gift giver. I didn't receive many gifts growing up. I never learned how to select gifts. It doesn't come naturally for me" ........ CONGRATULATIONS, you have just made the first discovery of becoming a great lover. Love requires effort. Often love requires learning a love language you never spoken. Fortunately, gift giving is one of the easiest love languages to learn.

People speak about what interests them. If we listen carefully, we will pick up numerous clues as to what would be appropriate gifts for an individual.

If you are to become an effective gift giver, you may have to change your attitude about money. Each of us has an individualized perception of the purposes of money, and we have various emotions associated with spending it. If you have a spending orientation, you will feel good about yourself when you are spending money. If you have a saving and investing perspective, you will feel good about yourself when you are saving money or investing it wisely.

Suppose you are a saver. Your emotions will resist the idea of spending money as an expression of love. I don't purchase things for myself. Why should I purchase things for others? But that attitude fails to understand the truth - that you are purchasing things for yourself. By saving and investing money you are purchasing self-worth and emotional security. You are caring for your own emotional needs in the way you handle money. If you discover that someone you care about has the primary love language of receiving gifts, then perhaps you will understand that purchasing and giving gifts to him/her is the best investment you can make. You're investing in your relationship and filling the other person's emotional love tank.

... it is the gift that came out of the thought that communicates emotional love.

Please don't hear me saying that you speak only the primary love language of the people you care for. Love can be expressed and received in all five love languages. However, if you don't speak a person's primary love language, that person will not feel loved, even thought you may be speaking the other four. Once you are speaking his/her primary love language fluently, then you can sprinkle in the other four, and they will be like icing on the cake.
fr: "The Five Love Languages for Singles" by Gary Chapman

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

outside gift giving . . .
I am horried that no matter how much of the other four love languages I spoke in a LDR, it proved ineffective because his primary love language is touch. I knew because we talked about it. I tried to incorparate touch in what I gave. I am miffed no angry that I could not fill his love tank. No wonder is he is MIA. However, I totally believe LDR's can work at least from my own tenacity! {No proof that I will find a match.} For the toucher's out there in a LDR, please appreciate the love that is coming to you from the other four languages. It wouldn't hurt for you to suggest ways for us touch you. It is a must have conversation.

This brings me to the receiver of the any love language and especially if it is not your primary love language to appreciate the time and effort given. Be a good sport and soak in the love! It is far better to receive the other four love languages than starving!

inside the gift giving . . .
I am one of those savers but I am a student of people. I do find it difficult at times to find the perfect gift. I must admit at times I just want to throw in the towel. If it isn't right, why waste money on it. I am learning to be a better giver so there are small steps taken. What really blows me away is when I find the perfect gift. It is usually an Act of God .. meaning that I love my gift to give a message. It must speak more than just the gesture. It must go deep! When this deep stuff happens, I know God was in it and it makes me smile .... until the receiver misses the meaning on the love given.

I don't need someone to give me gifts. I sometimes find it hard to open gifts in front of people or the giver. I am afraid of my first reaction but give me time and I will compliment you. I always wear the clothes or jewelry when I am with the giver. I have had where someone will say 'oh, I love that on you.' And I reply saying 'you got this for me ...' . Half the time they had forgotten but it proves to them I remember. That in itself is saying 'love you back'.

I believe the gift represents the person. I will have certain things around my house and I will go back to the memory connected to that moment. If you catch me in that moment, a smile bursts upon my face.

To be a true lover you must deeply understand how to give and to receive love in the form of a gift.

love tank : words of affirmation

comfort (verb)

~ strengthen by being with ...

In shattered moments, be quiet ...

{Love = preparing, provision, proof, PRESENCE}

Presence is all the Love they need. Let them journey through the pain and grief by being with them. You are bearing witness to their journey and feelings. You honor and value their very being with presence.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of Compassion and the God of All Comfort,
who 'strengthens by being with' us in all of our troubles,
so that we can 'strengthen by being with' those in any trouble
with the 'strength by being with' we ourselves have received from God.
II Cor 1:3-4


The comfort we recieve allows us to overflow another's life with this God-Given Comfort.

ie: {what worked for one who received comfort}
* silly cartoons to get their mind off the pain
* you know the christmas chains? a prayer chain was made with people praying 24 hrs a day and given .... was comfort when they couldn't pray anymore they knew they where covered
* game times

word sleuth: aerate

Saturday, April 29, 2006

don't take the girl ...

We were just strolling the grounds near where I lived. His strong hand holding mine as we talked about our dreams for the future. It was a chilly spring evening but I as aglow from just being with him. I felt so giddy and beautiful walking with such a strong man. It was to be a nice finish to a great date, but two men in ski masks changed our course.

They seemed to have appeared from the blackest night. They shouted for us to stop and give them our money. If we didn't, they would shoot. My boyfriend being a cop moved to show his badge as he reached for his piece. I can remember four shots as Scott moved in front of me. A scream filled my body. We fell together on the cold sidewalk. A scramble to stuff the wounded shooter in the car and doors slamming as the screech of tires echoed in my ear.

I fumbled to reach him. My hand slipped as I realized he was shot. My screem finally was released as I held Scott to me. I can't remember anything more except for the red and blue lights of emergency and Scott's brotherhood swirled around us.

For the next twenty four hours as I took my vigil, I watched as Scott's family, friends, and his brotherhood spoke and prayed with him. He suffered several strokes and then slipped into a coma. There was not a dry eye. This was happening way to fast and our hope was fading. I laid my face against his as I held his hand. I whispered my love and appriciation. Then he was gone from this world. I can't remember anything more . . .

Scott lived his life to the fullest. He loved baseball. He loved being a cop. He dreamed of working on the K-9 unit. Whatever he loved, he did with all of his heart. I knew I was dating a cop and that it was a dangerous job. I could live with that because Scott's attitude was one of passion and warmth. I did wonder if he had enough space and attention for me in his crammed full brilliant life. I need no longer wonder, he took 3 bullets for me and gave his life for mine. Memories of Scott singing Tim Mcgraw's song "Don't Take the Girl" overwhelm me.

Why was I spared? Scott lived his life with a whole lot of love even in a job that can take a lot from you. He had a brilliant future. He was so full of life. My life is on a smaller scale. He could give more than I... so why was I spared?

No ... how will I live now? I will honor Scott... I will live my life fully .... I will love more fiercely ... I will not let the whys take my life from me ... instead I will give my life and my love more deeply...

''To affect the quality of the day,
that is the highest of arts.''

henry david thoreau

Friday, April 28, 2006

United 93 ...

I am not going to rate or critique this movie. Being a writer and creator, I may have told the story differently. But it isn't the telling of the story, but the questions and statements the actual event stirs in our hearts. To remember ...

: Q's :
* Does your faith insite love or hate?
* What are you going to say when you have one last call to make?
* If you are receiving the last call, what will you say to inspire and to encourage?
* Will there be anything you wished you would have done differently?
* Will you act or freeze?

: statements :
* Faith becomes religion if you have a bunch of rules to follow and the breaking of the rules calls for your death. Faith in God has one rule and that is to recieve God as Lord and Savior. Faith has one action: to love.
* Though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
* There is more here than you can see.
* Move to what you can control.
* Listen.

Color is deeper and richer against the backdrop of black.

movie review: take the lead

Thursday, April 27, 2006

living in contrasts...

I believe we live our lives in front of backdrops of contrast.  It is not something you can explain.  It is a learning place where we so often rush by without notice.  And in those times when we are knocked to our knees in pain, we tend to lose our hope and even our faith.  If only we stop and take time to observe … If only we hold to our faith … If only we look full in the Face of God unashamed, the Mystery of life’s contrasts will only enhance our living a lifestyle of love.

Tomorrow they will be laying to rest a community hero, a police officer who was off duty Friday night out with his girlfriend when two young men chose them to die for money in their pockets.  Three generations of instincts kicked in as this policeman moved in front of his girlfriend while getting his piece to fire.  Three bullets to his head did not stop him from wounding the shooter.  After 24 hours of struggling through several strokes, the policeman walked into eternity.   Today I found out that this policeman’s choice of song to sing was Tim McGraw’s “Don’t Take the Girl”.  Almost 37 years… third generation policeman… working to get into the K-9 unit like his dad before him…  back in his old neighborhood… a man courting prospect of uniting with a woman… A life warm and bright against the backdrop of desperation and evil… This is an extraordinary event contrasting good and bad.

Then there are just plain ordinary life events.  I know of someone who goes MIA a lot.  I have tenaciously stood my ground and waited for his comeback.  I know the issues he is dealing with.  As the days stretch into a year, I wonder at my reasons for staying the course.  My gut and God-reaction says I need to prove trust.  What happens when he comes back?  Is he staying away because he thinks I won’t be there waiting? Or anger will be my first retort?  Of late I have boiled it down to contrast not conflict.  Sure, I would love to sit down and talk this out.  Sure, it is painful with all the terrible thoughts that pound in my brain.  All it is living a contrast of staying and leaving.  I refuse to do anything but stay.

Contrasts can inspire hope even if it doesn’t make sense.  I chose to live my love out tenaciously…even if it is excruciating.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

words of affirmation ...

'The tongue has the power of life & death'

dialects:
*gratitude
*inspire courage / encourage
*words of praise
*kind words / said in kindness / not just what we say but how we say
*able to clear hurt & forgive
*affirmations of character & actions
*appreciation
*claim victory
*declaring His Attributes
*giving voice to what you delight & savor
*ask kind questions to avoid pressing your personality/behavior upon others

If one wishes to be a lover, he must look carefully at the words he uses when he talks to coworkers, neighbors, close friends, parents, former spouses, roommates, and the sales clerk at the local store. What I say and the way I say it will influence the climate of my relationships. Words of affirmation enhance relationships. Harsh, condemning words destroy relationships.

Remember, love is a choice. Choose to love others.
fr: ''The Five Love Languages for Singles'' by Gary Chapman

Q: How freely do you express words of affirmation in your relationships?
Q: Is there a relationship you would like to enhance? Do you think speaking words of affirmation would be meaningful to that person?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

My native love language is words of affirmation. I bask in the warmth of affirmations. I give out compliments all the time. I have learned from my Joy Journey to always delight and savor. It is my greatest strength to declare and stand firm on His Attributes. I am sensitive to the tone in which others speak. It says more than the actual words. I notice too that when I feel stretch thin and feel my love tank is empty, I tend to become quiet. I strongly despise people who spatter themselves all over me. They just take over like an elephant in a china shop when a meek and soft question would allow me to let them in. It is all about affirming words no matter if it is in the form of a question. I do have areas here that I want to improve especially when it comes to my eyes. My eyes tell too much and I hide them when the other person has hurt me or has annoyed me. To be a true lover, I must connect my eyes to what I say to empty the hurt and heal.

tank'en on love : place of beginning

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

liberty (noun)

~ freedom, independence, autonomy, liberation, right, authorization
"Our liberty is under God and can be found nowhere else. May our faith be...not merely stamped upon our coins, but expressed in our lives."~Peter Marshall, US Senate Chaplin after WWII

word slueth: aerate

Monday, April 24, 2006

from the horse's mouth ...

There is just something about getting it straight from the horse’s mouth.  I don’t like to get info from others second handed.  They often put their own spin on it.   I don’t like to have to make mental guesses to why someone acts the way they do.  I may act out in an entirely unusual way according to my own personal life experiences.  I need quality answers.  By having the channel open directly from the source, allows true answers to explain crazy actions.  No misunderstandings.  No guessing.  No anger for no reason…

Sunday, April 23, 2006

a place of beginning ...

get a notebook ....
*Start where you are
*Be active not passive
*Choose a strategy for loving & expressing love

I love notebooks and I love lists. I am going to be more conscious. I recently had great success with hugs. Two ladies at church help chip away my fear. Because words offen get in the way, I choose to hug my dad. Our relationship is blossoming ...

I am excited to see what God will reveal in this mystery called love.

tank'en on love : covenant love

Covenant Love ...

blind love || Covenant Love

blind love = chemistry that sparks between two. All you see is perfection and none of the flaws.

Covenant Love is conscious love. It is intentional love. It is a commitment to love no matter what. It requires thought and action. It does not wait for the encouragement of warm emotions but chooses to look out for the interest of the lover because you are committed to the other's well-being.
fr: "The Five Love Languages for Singles" by Gary Chapman

Woo hoo, I am not blind to real essence of real love. Sure there where times where I was infatuated, but I have made a private covenant to love someone. I saw his flaws as well as his dreams. Let me tell you that it sure isn't fun right now. However, I see growth in me and I have to declare victory in that growth. Not blind when it comes to loving .... but I still have growth potential in touch ....

tank'en on love : relational creatures

relational creatures ...

We are relational creatures. All humans live in community, and most people seek social interaction. In Western culture, isolation is seen as one of the most stringent of punishments. Even criminals do not aspire to solitary confinement.

Positive, affirming relatinships bring great pleasure, but poor relationships bring deep pain. I would be so bold as to suggest that life's greatest happiness is found in good relationships, and life's deepest pain is found in bad relationships. If you feel loved by your mother, then the maternal relationship brings you a feeling of comfort and encouragement. On the other hand, if your relatiohsip with your mother is fractured, you probably suffer feelings of abandonment. If you were abused by your mother, you likely feel hurt and anger, maybe even hatred.

Another reality about relationships is that they are never static. All of experience chages in relationships, but few of us stop to analyze why a relationship gets better or worse.
fr: "The Five Love Languages for Singles" by Gary Chapman

What do I say? I have felt isolation as a little girl not having friends so my bike and my books became my place of excape. I felt isolated when I wanted to play in a neighborhood game but brother said I couldn't. I grew up in isolation as others around me found boyfriends then marriage and then families of there own. I have fought hard to reach out. Now as I have made friends isolations turns to abandonment. They leave me. My heart aches and arches against them as I scream out that I will not be where I am not wanted.

However, I choose to walk in soft beauty. I will continue to refine my loving. I will first love myself and tend to my heart's tears, but I will still reach out even when I am afraid of the bite that could come. I will entrust to God this journey I don't understand and the man I tried to touch. God promises to Guard what I give for that day. I am struggling with the waiting. Yet, I kneel in awe of empathy. I am returning to my journey of Joy. I turn my eyes to My Horizon. I delight and savor in Him.

tank'en on love : questions for five love languages

Saturday, April 22, 2006

questions for five love languages ...

* Quality Time * Words of Affirmation *
* Gifts * Acts of Service * Physical Touch *

I read the first book "The Five Love Languages" and I kept it with my game plan for understanding myself and others. Along with it I keep the "Personality Profiles" and the "Seven Smarts". Because of my studies, we tend to favor one characteristic over the others but often we are a combination of all.

Q: As a parent shouldn't we express Love using all five languages to raise our children to be more rounded and fluent in Love? I am asking this only after expressing the child's primary love language first.

Q: As the receiver of your primary Love Language, woulded expression of the other languages round out love for you?

Q: I know of someone whose primary Love Language is Touch. Being millions of miles away, I could not express love in that way. I used all other languages but they did not seem to faze him even when I tried to incorporate touch in them. What is one to do? Especially, when he wasn't touched as a child and as an adult touch became a bad thing? I am not most fluent in Touch but I know it heals.

About Touch... Touch probaby comes last in my Love Languages. So when he said his Love Language was touch, I immediately opened up to his world. I wanted to understand it better. Deep in the corners of my heart a need to be touched screams in the dark. Lately, I have seen hugs say more than any word that can't come to mind can. I have always knew that touch was special if not down right sacred.

tank'en on love : search for meaning

search for meaning ...

Here I go AGAIN ... but it is my journey and I am admitting to wrestling with my God and this journey of abandment or singlehood ... whatever word works best. A name of a book made its perch in my head. So off to the library I went to find it. As thoughts twirled about, what do I see at a church on my book trip? A car decorated with just married in the rear view mirror. Yeah, like that will ever happen in my life! No, I don't care about the wedding ... it is the journey of two people traveling this life adventure together is what I think I was made for and has eluded me.

Happy to find my book, my thoughts are that I am NOT finding another self help book in finding true love. Rather the reading of this book is to live more FULLY my single life. I have prayed that God would shut off this want to be on a team of two. He said no. I would love to go about my life unafraid and without care of this need that burns inside. He said no. He said that empathy is a gift He gives and Love is the fuel of life.

What you focus on expands. So my focus is going to shift to loving those who are brought into my life. My team will be God and I. (About abandment? He is still cherished in my heart and I will still be here... He was a good gift that came into my life ... huge doubt that is goodbye forever ...)

'' ... as a single adult you want to feel loved by the significant people in your life. You also want to believe that someone needs your love. Giving and receiving love is at the center of the single adult's sense of well-being. If you feel loved and needed, you can survive the pressures of life. Without love, life can becaome exceedingly bleak.

Love is the fundamental building block of all human relationships. It will greatly impact our values and morals. ... love is the most important ingredient in the ... search for meaning.
fr: "The Five Love Languages for Singles" by Gary Chapman

loving (an action) => meaningful life

a perfect spring day ...

I am a lover of all four seasons. (I cannot stand moaners who slash any weather but a nice summer day.) I like the different holidays and the weather clothes these different passings. (Christmas is a chilly warm holiday with snow and woolen mittens. To experience a hot Christmas on a beach in Australia at that castle 'someone special' told me about would absolutely blow my mind.) Oh, back to the Northern Hemi ... Today was a perfect spring day.

Just a couple of weeks ago I was quite sad about the trees. They were looking old and heavy. They seemed at odds with the world with their naked branches in a tangled fight with each other. I chastised my ugly thinking. I shot back that it isn't winter nor is it spring rather it somewhere in-between.

Happy to say spring has arrived with it's warm cool breezes. Rains have nourished the weary dormant grass into a deep green. The trees have freshed up and are wearing the bright green of newly hatched baby leaves. Bushes have flowered in canary yellow. Cherry trees and other flowering trees have brought out there fairy dresses of all shades of white to pink to fusha. The clouds are more fluffy and cottony. What a beautiful surprise! Thank You, Awesome Creator of all seasons. I am in awe! Love You, right back!!!

moment captured : last snow

Thursday, April 20, 2006

aerate (verb)

~ ventilate, air, let breathe, expose, freshen, circulate air, refresh, revive, neaten

I hate the word change.  It gives me bad ‘heebee geebees’!  Aerate is better … it is like taking winter toes out of woolen socks … stretching them out and letting fresh air tickle and excite for a new adventure ...

word sleuth: blook

aerate to breathe ...

Well, I did it … not sure that I want to admit to this but I have been upset for so long about this guy who chooses to be absent in my life.  A couple of years ago I tried out the personality profile on eharmony to see if what I was feeling inside about myself was accurate.  I revisited last night to round out my profile but really to aerate the darkness I feel.

I already have a formula set in the deepest part of my heart to know the future Mr. Keeper when he comes walking into my world.  It is a life philosophy of sorts and it fits quite well with what I want and need.  

I am most proud of my listening to God’s voice when I was friends with this absent man.  When I look back, I know I gave the best I could.  I thought I wasn’t hearing God’s voice about this guy recently, but I very sure that He has been saying ‘wait’… The most recent whisper to wait was from a co-worker.  We were in a discussion of failed marriages.  His one comment stopped me:  “People give up way too quickly.  There are parts in a human heart that no book or no therapy session is going to fix only God can unlock and it might take awhile.  The other person has to be empty of trying to fix and simply wait.”

I have been hurting a very long time.  I refuse to let anyone even absence take way my journey of joy.  I am emptying out my hurt and getting back to the basics of my personal journey.   I choose to create passion by falling deeper in love with my infatuation of paint and words. 

So why go back to eharmony and fine tune my profile especially since I probably won’t subscribe? Because I have traveled a rough road these pass few years and there are things I know for sure.  I saying them aloud for myself … aerate to breathe… to grow back my heart bigger and better …  Life is a journey and it is good to see others of substance on good paths … a form of encouragement …

Monday, April 17, 2006

you the gift ...

in the words of Ellen Burstein, actress :
If you don't give yourself,
you rob the world of you!

If you don't bring what is within you,
what is within you will destroy you!

Bringing forth what is in you, saves you!


layers: where two or three travel

Sunday, April 16, 2006

pain > Easter = REDEMPTION

He created us unique individuals with unique dreams for this world. He loved us. He provided for us. He died for us. He redeemed us if only we accept. He took on our pain and continues to take on our pain.

This week has been a huge heavy fog for me. I felt like I was sliding backwards. Everything around me was chaos. I was quite frustrated. I felt closed off from His Voice and it was my own fault even though it seemed others where pushing me. The weekend was such a relief to feel good and more focused. But it is Easter and nothing profound seemed to be Spoken...

Wait .... maybe He is speaking about pain. How Jesus has felt every pain we humans face every day. He knows all too well. I am seeing and understanding clearly how He has felt separation, divorce, absence ... you name it, He has felt it.

So what does His Pain mean? And what does it have to do with Easter? Jesus went through intense pain spiritually, emotionally, and mentally in the Garden ... so much so it caused physical pain. Then He had to indure physically torture beyond our imagination to redeem us. Then Easter came. That is our Hope and our Horizon when we endure this earthly pain. No matter what form it takes, our hope is in the Lord.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

diverticulitis ...

My mother is dealing with a very several infection due to diverticulitis. Being a health nut of late I was not satisfied with answers or the lack of answers the doctor was giving my mother. I decided that I would do research and figure this out. I ask a ton of questions and if you can't give me a solid answer than I keep on searching. This is my mother and I think our systems are similiar. So if I know how this terrible thing starts, I have a fighting chance to not let this occur in me. Plus, if my mom can fuction pain free and live without reoccurence, then I will be a happy camper.

in my own words my findings:
What is diverticulitis?
Diverticulitis is where the walls in the intestines and colon are weak and develop sacks where old food sits and festers. Infection begins.

How does diverticulitis begin?
I have never heard of diverticulis and I want to know how it starts. This is theory only, but I think it is pretty right on especially after becoming a Zone-aholic. Diverticulitis seemed to be first noticed in the early 1900's when processed foods became available to American diet. These processed foods are high in sugar and are so refined there is little of the natural fiber for digestion. So the food becomes slow moving through the intestines allowing bacteria to sit. Often constipation makes the muscles strain too hard. It is the main cause for pressure on the colon.

How do you prevent diverticulitis?
Being allergic to 36 foods and now a Zoner, eating a balance of protein, carbs, fats, and omegia fish oil will keep me from inflammation. However, the key of my food intake and prevention of diverticulitis comes from avoiding the 36 foods. My carbs are fruits and veggies the key to getting the best fiber in my diet. Fiber does not lie in grains like most people believe. Our grains today are so refined they are the problem.

However, after all my readings I am still concerned about my own intestines. I feel toned every where else but my stomach. Am I at the point for a colon detox?

How to heal Mom?
She is taking antibotics, but the inflammation has been going on a long time now. If the antibotics don't work, she is headed for surgery. This stuff is fatal if not fixed. I am very concerned. To my humble understand, this sounds similiar to the apendix bursting. The infection can come out those weak spots of the intestine. Not good when infection gets free into the body like that.

How to get her to eat the way to keep her intestines healthy?
She has been told to say away from nuts and popcorn. But I do not think this is the answer. It is saying well you have this problem and you will have to deal with it. Sure, to a point..... I feel that once she is healthy, she should move to eating like me and eat up on her fruits and veggies. Tall order ... she does not like veggies ..... but maybe I will get some headway with fruit.

here is more info on diverticulitis
mad chow: hard work payoff

Friday, April 14, 2006

100 things to do in Australia ...

       001 - Overload your senses
       002 - Dive into the GBR
       003 - Find freedom on the Big Lap
       004 - Visit the remarkable pebble
       005 - Climb the Coathanger
       006 - Cruise the Kimberleys
       007 - Visit Ningaloo Reef
       008 - Explore Sydney Harbour
       009 - Drive along a 75-mile beach
       010 - Drive the Great Ocean Road
       011 - Our oldest living museum
       012 - Sail the Whitsundays
       013 - Time’s nearly up at the Top
       014 - Go Walkabout
       015 - Take in an Opera at the House
       016 - Visit the home of Aussie Rules
       017 - Go bush for a week
       018 - Spy a platypus in the wild
       019 - Conquer the Gibb River Road
       020 - Peak at Cradle Mountain
       021 - Be the Man From Snowy River
       022 - Stay at a great Aussie Pub
       023 - Swim with Dolphins
       024 - See an Indian Ocean sunset
       025 - Have a whale of a time
       026 - Paddle the mighty Murray
       027 - Meander the Katherine Gorge
       028 - See the oldest art in the world
       029 - Explore the Flinders Ranges
       030 - Rediscover Mungo Man
       031 - Follow the Nullarbor
       032 - Do some time at Port Arthur
       033 - Venture into Arnhem Land
       034 - Shed an ANZAC tear at dawn
       035 - Catch the sun’s first rays
       036 - Take a rest on Lord Howe
       037 - Parade with the penguins
       038 - Noodle for opals
       039 - Have a flutter at Flemington
       040 - Explore the nation’s capital
       041 - Take a Cable Beach camel ride
       042 - Experience a waterless regatta
       043 - Line the streets for Mardi Gras
       044 - Bound over to Kanga Island
       045 - Play with the Devil’s Marbles
       046 - Magnificent Macquarie Harbour
       047 - Betting at Birdsville
       048 - Board our Great Train Journey
       049 - Get a raw hide
       050 - Visit the Green Room
       051 - Visit Australia’s Bay of Fires
       052 - Walk the line at Kings Canyon
       053 - Ride the world’s steepest railway
       054 - Walk Our Greatest Bushwalk
       055 - Grab a seat at the Slam
       056 - See the sculptures at sunset
       057 - March with 100 million crabs
       058 - Wipe out or win through
       059 - Cook a barbie on the beach
       060 - Retrace our tragic Great Race
       061 - Trek the Larapinta
       062 - Go on an Aussie safari
       063 - Dine on Gourmet Island
       064 - Sip from the big Wineglass
       065 - Immerse yourself in Europe
       066 - Catch a barra at Lake Awoonga
       067 - Stand at Eureka Stockade
       068 - Fire up with sugar cane
       069 - Get country in Tamworth
       070 - See Florences spell
       071 - Sun yourself with seals
       072 - Perouse Botany Bay
       073 - Ride round Rotto
       074 - Soar into Seven Spirit Bay
       075 - Feel like fish bait
       076 - Savour Margaret's wine
       077 - Have lunch with a croc
       078 - Retrace old tin head
       079 - Watch native surfing
       080 - Wind through the Tablelands
       081 - Pad up with Bradman
       082 - Take a long reach back
       083 - Eat crayfish on Thursday
       084 - Dance with the Devil
       085 - See the wildlife on Bondi
       086 - Follow the French Line
       087 - Navigate the Yarra Valley
       088 - Bathurst Island Footy Final
       089 - Ooze along a lava tube
       090 - Play captain on the Hawkesbury
       091 - Relive Sydney’s Olympic history
       092 - Hang out at Old Melbourne Gaol
       093 - Drive the Savannah Way
       094 - Oysters at Constitution Dock
       095 - Explore our maritime history
       096 - Pinch yourself at the Pinnacles
       097 - Shelter at Mawson’s Huts
       098 - Go uderground at Mount Isa
       099 - Be Manly on the Beach
       100 - Shop till you drop in Melbourne

taken from: the Australian Traveller
check here ----^ for great armchair travel or for planning the real thing!