Always in my heart.

 

Happy birthday and merry Christmas x

Always in my heart, always in my mind, I hope you have had a wonderful day, full of magic, wonder, and excitement. I know you are a good girl and know that we are all sending our love on this, your special day.

X Your Daddy x

I Promise More Soon...

 

I may have done wrong, I may have made mistakes, But we grow, we learn and we change, some people learn fast, others take many years to learn even the simplest of things, All I know is the bad in my life is far outweighed by the good I have done, And you have defiantly added to my pile of good things.

X Your Daddy X

Happy 6th Birthday and Merry Christmas

Every year I light you candles on your birthday, you will never be forgotten, I have no doubt you have grown into a very special young lady, I miss you so very much. I hope you have had a wonderful day, full of joy and love, and above all I wish you a merry Christmas and send you all the love in the world. 

X Your Daddy X

The Continued Adventures of Hippo and his new best fren Flem the otter, Holiday Special :)

Hello, Ariya Hippo, here again, i have lots of good news for you today, I have a new best friend who we have adopted to help look after your daddy, HIs name is Kelp Flemington, you may have seen him at Christmas when we sent you a photo on your birthday :)  he is a baby sea otter that I just call Flem :) we have been getting up to all sorts of adventures together, tho Flem doesn't speak much English yet, he mainly just does a lot of squeaking hehe. He loves making Dams, Icecream and lots of cuddles :).

Best Frens Share :)

As you can see we are making sure your daddy is safe and looked after, we even went on holiday with him, we snuck into his bag on the back of his bike, he had no idea we were there, he biked us all the way to the beach, my goodness he was surprised hehe, Flem had never seen the sea and he desperately wanted to build a dam so we hatched a cunning plan and it worked we got to the seaside yay!

Stowaways! Surprise!

Flem loved the beach he spent all morning in the sun dragging logs around and trying to make a dam to stop all the water, your daddy was most surprised when he found him as you can see below :)

It was such a lovely time and your daddy got to see your Nana and Grandad as well so everyone was very happy, I'm sure your silly daddy will post about it soon, Me and Flem are going for a big sleep now we had a lot of fun and are super tired until we meet again Ariya.

X Hippo and Flem X

Stories, Adventures and Endless Possibilities, The world is yours Ariya Starr.

Hello Dear Ariya, I hope you are well :) 

So it's been a long time since i have posted anything on your blog, i want to make it clear this is not because you have been forgotten, you are never far from my thoughts (more on that later ;) I'm delighted to say i haven't had the nasty virus and that physically i am tip top.

The Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns have paid a heavy price on us all, the last year has been extremely difficult for me with regards to my mental health. As you know daddy is a super talented Chef, but i have been locked down and isolated for most of the year. The reason i have not posted is that i have been concentrating on myself and just trying to stay motivated and get through this horrible time.

I'm super pleased to be getting back to work tomorrow, and I am super proud of myself for getting through two lockdowns. So what have i been doing in the last 4 months? it's a very good question and one i can't wait to share with you, I escaped lockdown by going to one of my favourite places, My imagination, a land of stories, games and adventure. And nothing bought me more joy than imagining you my beautiful little girl off having adventures of your own.

Ariya the Knight, and her Trusty Hound.

A mighty Knight in lands of fantasy, dragons and magic! Ariya the steam knight and her trusty pet doggy Tobias, off helping the good folks of Torchlight, And below is Ariya the Champion of Tyria defending the world from the threat of the Evil Elder Dragons. The possibility is endless...

Ariya the Champion.

Your Mummy loves cars, so I can't very well have my little girl driving around in a boring old ride, here I've imagined you all grown up (your mummy's frizzy hair included) Ariya the Street Racer, speeding around the streets winning races and making a name for herself. and if I do say so myself, my taste in cars is a little bit more refined than your mothers, Basically, your cars are the best.

Ayria the Racer

Daytime Muscle

In the daytime, a beasty muscle car a vintage Ford Mustang, Power and Beauty all rolled into one, and when the night time comes you need a little more finesse, So a Porcshe 911 in dazzling neon to slide around the corners in style, yeah I can see you as a real racer when you're older.

Nightime Style

Ayria In Space

Finally, I imagine you off in space exploring the great unknown, leading the charge as the human race tasks its first steps on a brand new planet, fighting aliens and colonising new worlds.

Exploring New worlds.

The point of all of this, Is your daddy loves escaping into stories, something i hope we will have in common as you grow up, but more importantly it means you can do anything in life, be anything, be anyone, follow your dreams because there is so much beauty and brilliance out there and the possibilities are endless, i know you will make me proud. 

X

  Your Daddy

Happy 5th Birthday Ariya Starr

 Happy Birthday my dear Ariya Starr.

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas, From Foxworth, Hippo and Flem.

You have been in our thoughts today, your daddy and the rest of your family hope you have had a magical day full of wonder and joy, we all miss you. you will never be forgotten and there will always be a present under our tree for you, I'm so sorry I have not posted more for you this year but these are very hard times we find ourselves in, I promise to post more in the next few days, for now, have a wonderful day and keep being the beautiful brilliant little lady I know you have become.

X

Your Daddy 

The Frog who dreamed of being a King...and then became one.

 With a sense of great sadness my dear sweet Ariya, I have to let you know that your Great Grandad, legend and most wonderful of people Ivan Edward Kirt has passed away, you have met him once, when you were the tiniest of little girls, he held you in his arms and told you how much he loved you, My grandad loved babies, and he loved you very much indeed. below is a video I made to celebrate his life, I hope one day you get to see it, the man was living proof that this crazy life is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, he taught me to live it to its fullest and to never stop fighting for the things you love.

He was the kindest, bravest and madest person I have ever met, he was full of life and love, he was strong, dedicated, the hardest worker I have ever know, wise, and took the very best care of every one of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the world is that little bit darker without him. he will be missed, but Grandad would not want us to be sad, the show must go on, and there's work to be done, so we will remember him as the mad wonderful man he was, until the day we meet again.

X

Love you, Grandad

All Life matters.

Dear Ariya, this is a message for a future day.

The world is burning, there's so much hatred out there, Never judge a person by there looks, their creed, race, or sexuality. All people no matter how much we disagree with them are entitled to there beliefs, that is their freedom, and to stop them would make us monsters. That does not mean we do not stand and fight, oh no,  Violence is never the answer, never fight hate with hate. We do not condone racism or any form of discrimination. We change these people with Kindness and by setting a better example, by being better. People are scared, and when they're scared they turn to anger, and that anger blinds them to the simplest of truths, we are all the same. one day I hope you will know this. because the future is in your hands.

Never give up, We Will Win.

All Life Matters.

X

Your Daddy

The Continued Adventures of (a very naughty) Hippo.

Hello Ariya! Hippo Here, I have been very busy looking after your daddy, he is such hard work and I'm doing my best to make sure he is safe and happy, i know he misses you very much and so do i :) now your daddy is doing very well for himself, he has just moved to a new house and it's very nice by human standards. It needs a proper inspection by a Hippo otherwise it's not a proper home. So i thought id have a look around and get all the proper checks done.....i may have gotten distracted.

I woke up and found that your Daddy had gone to work, he had left me a coffee on the side in my Hippo mug, it has an H for Hippo and is the certain shade of grey that i like best. Full of coffee i began the extremely thorough inspection that we hippos are famous for. I began with the sweets and treats and inspected the internet needed to check my hippo mails, I'm a very important hippo you see.

Hippo Has all the Treats!

Next, i had to check the bed was nice and comfy so i took the snacks, i had to try all of them it was very hard, I had to make sure your daddy had super soft pyjamas so i tried a pair on and then i had to make sure his comics were good, so i made a den in the bed and tried to read them. The pictures were pretty good for humans, but i couldn't understand the silly words, so i had a brilliant idea.

Thinking of becoming a Model

Your daddy is always wearing these silly goggles when he reads so i thought id try some on, these must be the secret to reading human words. None of them worked but you have to admit i do look good in these eye gogs, All this work made hippo very tired, so i decided to put on my best friends t-shirt and get back to what hippos do best and have a nap, i can finish my checks another day, I'm sure it's all fine your Daddy is really clever for a human.

Ready for Bed

Hippo loves Ariya and will keep an eye on daddy like he always does, ill also talk to you more soon, I'm getting the hang of this internet thing, its like hipponet just not as good. Night Night.

X

King Hippo

Moving On, Moving Faster, Stronger, Better, Still Always on the Move.

Hello Dear Ariya, no time for pleasantries I'm afraid as I have a lot to get through. Lots of changes for me in the last few months so ill get straight into it.

Moving On

 So the time has come to move onward, it been a lovely year but my current flat has become a little cramped of late so with the help of my new fox friend (more on her later) I've found a super new place to live. It's a beautiful new house, with a huge kitchen and a wonderful garden! it's incredible and its the same price I was paying so its win-win! Daddy is very, very happy.  

Living Area & Garden!

Cooking in Style

The only downside is its a bit of a way out from Daddy's work, so to combat this new distance I have bought myself a new toy. A super-fast road bike! and not only that it's a hybrid electric so every hill I get to I just zip up it like a rocket! my new house has a bike shed in the garden and is right next to a bike path so I have been zipping into work in no time flat! not to mention keeping fit, I used to run to work every day but again thanks to my new friend, I've upgraded to the fast lane.

Super Electric Road Bike of Wonder!

 So I'm doing really well, I have a fantastic new job and have made a ton of new friends, One friend ( or Fren as we now say) Is Connie, she is a beautiful and brilliant person who loves animals, mainly Doggos, she really likes Lush soaps and is an amazing singer! she loves all the musicals! so you don't have to worry about daddy cause she is taking really good care of me.

Daddy Duck and Connie Fox

Few, Daddy is exhausted, i told you there was a lot to get through, and i promise you there is so much more to come, Hippo has been very busy too! You be safe little lady and know I'm always thinking of you.

Love Always

X

Your Daddy

Words and verse to aspire too.

If you grow up, to have half the values that this song has, then i will be a very proud daddy. If the world forces you to be something you are not, then the world is wrong. We are capable of change, but only if its what we choose, never let anyone tell you otherwise.

Be kind

Be Respectful to Others

No matter Race or Creed

Cause no Harm

Be Happy.

I forgot this, somewhere along the line i got losses in my own madness. i was scared and i didn't know who to turn to. I've changed into a better Daddy because i remembered what's important.

X

Your Daddy

I'm Still Standing.

This is something that makes daddy feel proud of who he is, and i want to share it with you.

Still Standing, Still Thriving, Still Winning.

I promise more soon my dear one. But for now, I'm doing great and I'm always thinking about you,

X

Your Daddy

Happy 4th Birthday and Merry Christmas Ariya Starr

10.26pm December 25th 2019 Happy Fourth Birthday, My Beautiful Little Girl.

At 10.26 i light a candle for you to celebrate the moment your light came into this world. It shines bright and strong, It shines out into the dark, a beacon amongst the stars, guiding you home with love and kindness, to us, your family and me, your daddy.

we all love you very much Ariya Starr, we all miss you, we all think of you on this your special day.  We will never give up on you, and we know that one day we will all be together again.

It's important to me that one day you know this, one day you will be old enough to understand and i hope you will look back on these pages and know the truth.

Happy Birthday Ariya and Merry Christmas

Love Always

X

Your Daddy

Brown paper packages tied up with strings.

Merry Christmas my dear sweet Ariya Starr. 

I'm so sorry i haven't posted recently, this time of year is the busiest for a super Chef like your daddy, but that doesn't mean i have forgotten you, oh no. You are never far from my thoughts especially as we get closer to your special day. we are all sending our love and it seems like Santa has dropped off something for you a little bit early, no doubt its because you have been a super, mega, wonderful girl this year. 

These are a few of my favourite things. 

There will always be a present for you under our tree Ariya, No matter where you are in this big wide world, you will always be welcome, always be thought of, and always be loved. there's more to come, watch this space.

All my love

x

Your Daddy

Where in the world has your daddy been?

Answer: Daddy has been super busy, he has done so many wonderful things over the last month or so and it has been really hard to find the time to sit down and edit everything for you Ariya. So first of my apologies, But daddy is doing so very well. below is just a taste of all the things i have been getting up to.

First off I ran the Another Half marathon

So last time i ran the Edinburgh Marathon to give something back to the people who helped me in my time of greatest need, This Half Marathon was for me, for my own self-esteem, for my own well being, and most important of all to continue the confidence and positive physical attributes i have cultivated over the last few years. I smashed it! Finished in just under 2 hours, was aiming for 1.45, but it was so very hot that day it really took it out of me. It was a very good day.

Medal, Medal, Medal, and My Running Jersy.

Next up was a very special trip to Switzerland to attend a Buddhist Retreat hosted by Stephan Bachelor and his wife Martine. It was a wonderful experience, a week of silence, meditation, contemplation and some of the best vegetarian and vegan food i have ever tasted. It is the most beautiful and calming place i have ever been.

Interlaken - Buddhist Retreat 

True Beauty

Centred.

After a week of hard concentration, I'm not going to lie it was really hard at times i came away knowing more about myself than i ever dreamed possible, It was an experience like no other and has helped me continue to cultivate the positive mindset and mental awareness that has finally allowed me to thrive and grow. It was a very good week.

Dream Job.

And finally, all my hard work has started to pay off. I started a wonderful new job, a dream job, cooking fresh organic, locally sourced produce in a beautiful kitchen. I'm managing a brigade of chefs and its truly a wonderful thing. It has been a very good month.

A lot to take in i know, I'm still adjusting to it myself. But all this hard work has left me feeling something i don't think I've felt for a very long time. so i will leave you with this thought my dear sweet Ariya.

I am a good person. 

x

Your Daddy

What have i been doing?

Hello dear little one, i hope you're well.

Daddy has been very busy, hard at work these last few months, its the reason i have not been posting as often as i would like, i want to keep you up to date with what's going on for me and how much we all miss and love you.

But enough about the real world i want to share some magic and wonder with you, your daddy is super creative and has been spending his downtime painting up models. A group of mighty sorcerers and magicians, riding atop great Dracolions into battle! 

They're led by a sorceress of unimaginable power and might, always leading the charge, clad in shining silver, riding atop the White Dracoline, They streak across the battle filed like a shooting star! i think you can guess where I'm heading with this, but take a look below.

That's right there led by Ariya Starr, you were the inspiration for this character from the mortal realms, Arriving in a bolt of lighting Ariya Starr and her Pack of Dracolion Riders appear to defend the innocent and punish the wicked! I hope you like them and hopefully, i will have more pretty drawings for you soon. All my love little one.

X

Your Daddy

My Girl.

Miss you Ariya, I know you will make Daddy Proud.

X 

Your Daddy

Your Not Ready....

Daddy is Ready.

And I'm not going to let anyone tell me otherwise.

X

Your Daddy

You Can Do Anything...

This is everything i have been working towards, This is the line i draw under my illness, all the fear, the self-doubt and crippling insecurities are no more. I will never go back to the way i was, i am healthy in body and mind. I raised £405.00 for Health in Mind, To try and give something back to the real heroes, the people who didn't give up on me. the people who do one of the hardest jobs imaginable, The people who helped me come to terms with my problems, face them head-on, accept them for what they were, and leave them behind in a cloud of dust as i charge and change, ever forward always running towards a more positive life. 26.2 miles is just the beginning. All i know, that now, for certain is this.

I HAVE CHANGED

Proud Daddy

I have addressed my problems, i have beaten them, i have made myself strong, i have self-belief determination and joy, i am the person i should have always been, I am someone you can be proud of Ariya, And from this position of strength i can now focus all my attention on getting back to you, I love you Ariya, Be a good girl. 

X

Your Daddy