Illo Friday ::: Lonely

On July 10, 2012 I finished my 8th and last round of chemotherapy.

As much as I was glad to be done I felt so alone at the end of it. 

I had support throughout the entire three and a half months of treatment but it was still a very solitary experience. By the end of it I didn't really know what to do with myself. I felt very much sad and lonely. 

The only way to really explain it is by analogy... and I have shared my story since being diagnosed with breast cancer on my blog. It's kinda like therapy. Breast cancer isn't easy to deal with. And it seems especially unfair when you are only in your twenties.

Illo Friday ::: Round

Illo Friday ::: Silent

View of Keats Island from my old home in Gibsons Landing. Twas a cold rainy West Coast kinda day....

Illo Friday ::: Scary

Illo Friday ::: Fuel

Cozy Coziness!

Cozy Coziness! by ashleydoyle 

Illo Friday ::: Scattered

Girly

Girly by ashleydoyle 

Goodbye Summer

Attending A Summery September Wedding

Attending A Summery September Wedding by ashleydoyle 

Last Days of Summer

Last Days of Summer by ashleydoyle

Campfire Attire

Campfire Attire by ashleydoyle 

Off We Go!

Off We Go! by ashleydoyle 

Best Swimming Spot on the Sunshine Coast

It is rare on the Coast that you are able to find a beach where there isn't seaweed and barnicles covering rocks (making it often difficult to even reach the water). A few pebble beaches we frequent are great but nothing compares to pure sand. 

There is an amazing sandy beach near our house that we discoverd this weekend. It is now officially my favourite place to go swimming on the Coast... a lovely reminder of just how lucky we really are to live where we do. When the tide is out, there is not one spot in the water (that we found) where you encounter a rock while wading out to the deeper waters. The sandbars reminded me of days when I was a kid growing up in the tide-pools and sands of White Rock Beach. 

Being a water-sign, I am always happiest on a beach, in the ocean and soaking up the sunshine. It is places like this that make me feel as if we've been on vacation all weekend... even in our own backyard. 

Summertime and the livin's easy

So finally Summer (my favourite season) is here! (At least I think it is)

It has been a cool June and July so far... but with August just around the corner and some warmer sunny days on the horizon, Im feelin pretty confident that hotter days are soon to come.

Lately my favourite things this Summer have been:

• Swimming in the ocean

• Veggie skewers & homemade pizza on the BBQ

• Lounging on the grass

• Beach fire dinners

• Raspberry Ale

• Riding my cruiser bike

• And evenings that feel like they last for forever

Illo Friday ::: Cultivate

Is it vacation time yet?

Winter is rough this year... long, rainy, cold, dark and depressing... I am longing for beaches, mai tais, flip-flops, skirts, suntans and long warm nights that feel like they last forever. Luckily my sunny tropical getaway is not too far on the horizon... 

I'll always take a week of a beach like this over a cold Winter in a heartbeat! But that pretty much sums up how a lot of people probably feel I'm sure.

Ahhh... to be in a lush warm exotic climate...

Soon, soon! :)

Illo Friday ::: Stir

Illo Friday ::: warning

The clouds roll in without warning

Illo Friday ::: Expired

Illo Friday ::: Clumsy

JANUARY 2010

My macstars horoscope for the month... what a way to start the year!

January to June is your prep time as you gear up, man up and make ready for a cornucopia of challenges and changes of the most dramatic kind. You may get a whiff of what is in the wind in the guise of potential new job offers that may be tantalizingly desirable but dangerous, life altering and no doubt, exciting. A deep and profound relationship may alter your course and you may discover that you are in the midst of an important redirection, orientation and rebirthing on many levels. You are a dynamic cardinal water sign indicating great passion and energy in all that you do, tenacious no doubt, and more than capable when the mood strikes you right. Home, family and education feature prominently now. Get a move on.

Halloween Self-Portrait

Illo Friday ::: Skinny

the game

You Make Me...

La da dee da

Illo Friday ::: Pale

Illo Friday ::: Contained

Illo Friday ::: Pretend

Pretend You're sleeping...