Feeling very grateful

Hi all :) Miss 12 and I just got back late last night from 4 days camping on the rugged West Coast... yes I know the weather was lousy LOL

I've seen quite a few people doing 'gratitude lists' on their blogs recently and I thought I'd do mine about camping and coming home...

The highlights of camping were eating the freshest whitebait fritters I've ever had in my life... 5 minutes from river to pan is very fresh! We also had paua fritters that were amazing plus we caught a good size kahawai while we were there and after I gutted it (Miss 12 wouldn't even stick around to watch!) I put lemon inside it and baked it in the embers and it was delicious! Miss 12 loved me then! I also did quite a bit of 'rock hopping' (no sandy beaches for us) and found lots of little treasures... mostly sea glass which is amazing and will be finding it's home on an upcoming layout!

The highlights of getting home are still only really hitting me this morning. It's the 'little things' that have meant the most like:

1. Being able to have a drink of water at the turn of a tap... we had to go down to the river at low tide to collect water so that we didn't get sea water mixed in with it and then we had to boil it over the fire and let it cool before we could drink it.
2. Being able to have a hot drink at the flick of a switch instead of cranking up the fire enough to get the pot boiling.
3. Flushing toilets!!! You never realise what a luxury that is until you have to use a long drop... and trust me there is no elegant way to squat over a hole in the ground!
4. Hot showers... I've already had 3 showers since I got home... just because I can!
5. Sleeping in a warm, dry bed... while we were camping we had thunderstorms, hail and 100km winds on the last night but the tent did stay up! However... if you even touch the sides the tiniest little bit you get wet... last night I lay in bed listening to the wind howl and the rain on my windows and thought... this is luxury!
6. Being able to control the heat of your element... it's so hard to control the heat on an open fire so that you can cook whitebait fritters! One minute it's not hot enough and there's no 'sizzle' and then next it's burning everything.... but it does have the best taste in the world to know that you've caught and cooked your own food!
7. And finally... as sad as it probably is... I missed my internet! I missed catching up with my online friends and being able to see what others are up to. I missed getting emails (although I had over 50 on my return!)

I'm also incredibly grateful and excited about two recent web challenges. Firstly, just before I went camping I checked out the No 8 Wired blog to find that my Sesame Street layout won me a spot as a guest designer on an upcoming Dare! How cool is that??? I was definitely feeling really excited! So I went off camping on a real high!

Then when I got back I checked out Neen's The Music in Me blog to find: Woohoo! So exciting... thanks Neen! That was from the Abbey Road layout based on the theme 'The Real Thing'. Now I have create a layout based on Cyndi Lauper's song 'Time after Time' PLUS I will be receiving a cool prize pack containing: 4 sheets of Bazzil Bling cardstock, K & Co Glitter Alphas, MM Charmed Quotes all about Friendship, MM Metal Signs in All Girl and BRAND NEW Peelcraft Starform Crystal Glitter stickers! I'm feeling very lucky and grateful right now!!!

Ok it's time to get off here... Miss 12 is making toast and enjoying the fact that it hasn't got 'stick holes' in it and that it doesn't taste of smoke from cooking it over the fire! And I've got some layouts to create :)