Aarr, I'm supposed to be writing my essay thats due tomorrow, but I'm been having lots of fun procrastinating. I watched Shrek 2 (yay, can't wait to see Shrek 3), and I played with Daisy for a little bit. I actually have done a bit of my essay, though. It's only 1000 words but I have no idea how to write 1000 words for a grammar analysis.

Really, though. I've been reading through some blogs, and it seems that people are going through hard times, or have just come through stuff. I don't know all the details about things, but I do love all my friends with a fierce affection so I am praying for all of you. It's really hard to recognise things within yourself that need to change - and I have those things too. I think I need to be a bit more responsible, and stop taking things for granted. And I've got to read the bible way more than I have been recently. But, my lovely friends, don't change too much. I thank God so much for you guys, for the way you are all so supportive and committed to God. And crazy. That's a good thing.

I really need to go back to writing my essay.

Mmm, things kind of suck at the moment. First of all, I'm sick. I've got a really sore throat, a headache, a sniffly nose and a unsettled stomach. Not fun. The worst bit about that is I don't know how long its going to be like that for. I don't want another long term sickness, but I can't imagine getting better anytime soon. Then there's stuff with me and Sean, I don't know whats going on with that. I really do like him. And I'm living at college, and at the moment there aren't many opportunities to actually talk to people. Lots of time for round the world ping pong and laughing in large groups, but I kind of feel more like sitting down quietly with good friends and talking. Right at the moment, though, I feel like sleeping.

Still, God is good.

Yay...my 100th post!

Anyway, Sunday was very interesting. A couple that used to go to my church, but moved to Queensland a few years ago, came back to visit. Completely randomly with no notice so it was such a nice surprise to see them there when I arrived at church. The great thing, which shows God working so much, was two other people who used to be good friends with this couple turned up aswell, and they haven't come to church for ages either. So God brought all of them together, and we ended up going for dinner spontaneously after church.

What was also very interesting was hearing about some of the kids I used to be friends with in early highschool, and what they are doing now. One of them, who I haven't seen since Year 10, is about to become a father at the age of eighteen, and his girlfriend is due to give birth anyday now. That was such a shock when I heard that! I'm praying for them, because having a baby is a huge thing at any age, but when they are so young that makes it harder.

On another note, youth group attendance is really low at the moment, but the kids that are coming really seem to be thinking seriously about God. I suppose that's better than having lots of kids that are there just for the games. The biggest challenge at the moment is reaching the wide age group that we have. Because there are so few kids, it doesn't make sense at the moment to divide into age groups (on Saturday we had 2 ten year olds and 1 sixteen year old). As you can imagine, it's difficult. For this sixteen year old girl, it seems that all the stuff we say is real to her, that she wants to live as a Christian, and she needs to think about faith issues on a deeper level - praise God! But how do you encourage and challenge her while also spiritually caring for the ten year old kids, who need different things?

Other than that, I'm almost finished my round of antibiotics and I'm still not feeling much better.

One of the kids at church said I remind her of Jennifer Hawkins...hehe, that's pretty funny!

Em's party!!

Em's 21st party was lots of fun, as I expected it would be. So many birthdays coming up, so exciting. And other exciting news - Heather and Rohan are engaged!! I actually remember having a conversation with Heather last year where she told me she was content being single :P And it's also Heathers birthday, so happy birthday to her.

Back to Em's party....possibly the best bit was rediscovering my pyromaniacal tendencies by burning those little bits of silver ribbon that came off Roxi's hat. Those little ribbons curl and dance and melt and do all kinds of fun things when put near flame. Surprisingly, Jo Dear was also fascinated with this. I never would have guessed she was a pyromaniac. Going on the trampoline was fun, watching other people on the trampoline was interesting. Reliving quotes from various movies/tv shows/internet cartoons, such as Men in Tights, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Trogdor, etc...was extremely funny aswell, although Saladfingers is still creepy. It was really croweded in the Tea House last night, although outside was slightly more spacious. Then suddenly it got quieter when most people left...and Mike arrived, hehe. Watching Em opening presents was fun, although she didn't make nearly as many squealy noises as Manda. I am coming to see you guys more and more as my family...my family is crazy!

It was nice to be back at CU on Wednesdays! Good talk today...almost was disagreeing on some things, but then Scott mentioned that all the other stuff (experience, tradition, etc) is good but needs to submit to the authority of the Bible. That is so true. And I actually do think God still talks to people using dreams, visions and the like, but there are no new major revelations.

Anyway...there are so many birthdays coming up! Ems, Ash, Kate, Chris, myself, Lissa and, somewhere within all that, Maddy and Mike's bub. I just hope we'll be able to work out something where no-one's parties clash and everyone feels their birthday is celebrated. Hmm...could be tricky. I'm thinking just a simple dinner with friends on my actual birthday, cause if I wait for a Saturday to have a party, it will probably be some time in August. Then there's the complications of working out where to actually have the party....dinner sounds good.

I went home as quickly as possible after class today...then when I got home I found out my tutoring was cancelled today, so I could have frolicked and 545-ed anyway. Oh well :P And I am so very busy with assignments at the moment, I had a little stress episode today once I got home.

Clothes swap was so fun! For some reason, Manda and I got *really, really* excited. Yes, hyperactivity is genetic. I liked hearing Myfanwy's talk about putting on the good characteristics of Christ, and getting rid of the old stuff...and appropriately, I found a t-shirt with the fruits of the spirit written on it. I also got some pants, a jacket and 2 hats - one that makes me look like a little cupcake. And I also got some incredibly small, incredibly pink tops for thy Stiney. It was fun fun fun finding clothes and watching other people find clothes - and there were *no* catfights, despite what Sean thought! I loved all the silly dressups that were going on...like Ash's leather outfit, Manda's scary vamp and the dancing leotard girls!! Dressups are so fun. Also was great to have some college girls come.

Also funny at the clothes swap: during Myfanwy's talk, I got the giggles when Adrian was walking around outside whistling. I don't know why, but it was really funny.


By the way...

Happy Birthday Ben!!

Woohoo, finished prac! And I got above satisfactory in my final prac report. Hehe, it was *such* a good idea to transfer to primary ed. It's kind of funny thinking prac's over cause it was only for five days...still I will miss the kids (even if they were crazy some of the time). I heard the most random quote today at school, from one kid who I wasn't even sure was talking to anyone. I just heard him say, while sitting at his desk: You lose your licence if you read a book in the car and you're the driver So very true...pay attention all you drivers :P

I have 4 assignments due next week :( Only one of them is a big assignment, but still its not fun. I have heaps of reading to do...hmmmm, you probably won't see me in the caf so much over the next few days...probably!

My throat's sore and I'm kind of tired....but, then again, that's normal. Really, if I stayed at home everytime I felt a bit sick, I wouldn't end up doing anything at all. Hehe, I'm a sick little monkey. Even so, my week has been pretty good. Prac teaching is fun, even though the kids are crazy. Particularly in the afternoon, when they're ready to go home, and so am I. A group of kids spent most of the afternoon one day chanting the 'don't chop the dinosaur, daddy! chop it!' ad, much to the annoyance of the teachers and the other kids. Another funny quote I heard: 'I'm the oldest out of all of you. I'm 6 and a half.' Also interesting, if not disturbing: 'I don't want to go on Big Brother cause they film you in the bathroom' which was followed by hysterical giggles by the other kids. Teaching is fun...only 2 more days of my prac left.

Let's see...what else happened this week. No frisbee on Thursday, but much excitement about some psychology surveys that were going around. I didn't actually get one, but it would have been funny to say that I was the most popular person at CU but also frequently felt like I couldn't cope with feeling so alone :( just to screw up the statistics a bit....maybe it's good I didn't get a survey. I have really random little drawings in my EDUC260 lecture notes now, thanks to Ash and Sean. Round the world ping pong is fun. (those two random comments had nothing to do with eachother)

Also, on Thursday at college we had this guy from Nigeria come to talk about the work he does in his village. Stuff like building wells for cleaner water, building hygenic toilets and also preaching the gospel and planting churches. Awesome stuff, and definitely something to pray for.

Hehe, on Friday, after the TEP290 stuff, Ali and I were making lists of Dr Nick quotes:

Dr Nick: If it isn't my old friend Mr McGreg, with a leg for an arm and an arm for a leg

Dr Nick: If you're not sure about something. Rub it against a piece of paper. If the paper turns clear, its your window to weightgain'

Medical board person: You operated using a plastic knife and fork from a seafood restaurant?
Dr Nick: But I wiped them with my napkin'

Medical board person: ...gross misuse of cadavers
Dr Nick: I get here faster if I use the carpool lane..." that one's gross.

adopt your own virtual pet!

I finished my assignment and I slept! Mum rang me while I was asleep, cause she had no idea. So, she woke me and I talked to her for a little while, but I didn't really feel sleepy after that anyway. Now I'm awake and no longer need to work continously on my assignment, I can reflect upon the happenings of yesterday.

I woke up at 6:00am and got to bed at 4:00am, so thats twenty-two hours of being awake, I'm thinking thats a record. And it was a very busy day - all good stuff, but very busy.

During the day, I was at Meadowbank Public School helping out with Year 1. It was fun! I had a tutorial at six, and then got all dressed up like a pretty bubble fairy for Manda's party. I brought bubbles with me, cause they remind me of Manda....and there were bubbles there at the party! I thought that was funny, and very exciting. For the first part of the night, anyway, I amused/distracted/annoyed many people with my bubble blowing. It was fun seeing everyone dressed up. Kate's Les Mis French revolutionary, Ali's anime girl and Ash's Sailor Jupiter - that was fun, Ben's geology outfit with the hat I tried on, Em wearing Manda's skirt (the less said about what happened with that skirt later in the night, the better). As far as I can tell, Manda reminds Sean of himself, cause he came dressed as himself - not so sure what Matt's dressup theme was either :P Then there was Doug's t-shirt which had a little picture of a girl on it, so that supposedly reminded him of Manda. Hehe, dress up parties are fun.

I know there were lots of funny and memorable quotes of the evening, but I can't remember any of them! Hopefully someone else wrote them down or at least remembers them. Hmmm...memorable moments, let me think. The dancing was fun - I love dancing when there's no pretence of looking good, when its all silliness and attempted tau'olunga. Oh, and I'm helping Katie with the pronounciation of the Islander names in her prac class! Sometime around the beginning of the night I asked Matt and Sean if they were going to dance at the party - Sean said he'd dance if an upbeat song started playing (at that time, a slow song was just finishing). No sooner had he said that, then the slow song stopped and Staying Alive, the classic disco song, started playing. The timing was very hilarious and we all cracked up. But no-one danced to that particular song, we waited until the second time. And Shackles, which in itself is a great song, got kind of annoying after the 3rd time :P

I liked the idea of going barefoot, until I saw that pick that Ben was carrying around. Actually, it didn't bother me so much with Ben holding it. Just when Doug started waving it around, I started to get worried for my feet.

*Then* after the party was all finished, we went back to the Teahouse - fun fun fun fun fun fun fun! At first, I'd never heard the Teahouse that quiet before...then the quietness somehow dissolved and everyone was laughing and generally carrying on like normal (or what can loosely be referred to as normal). It was great watching Manda open her presents, such funny sounds, and very amusing watching Ben decorate himself. Manda, I'm very pleased you like your pretty blue necklace. I saw it in the shops and immediately thought of you. And thanks must go to Ben for kindly eating the pricetag I forgot to remove from the present. That sentence looks so strange now I'm reading it back, even in context! Watching people open presents is something previously I'd only done with my family, so as we were all sitting there I definitely got the 'one big happy, crazy, slightly worrying family' impression.

I'm trying to work out how I can write 1000 words for my assignment and then afterwards still feel like writing a big long post in my blog. I think it must have something to do with me actually being interested in the subject matter.

I got to bed at about 3:30 last night and got to sleep at around 4. I woke up at 7, I lay in bed for about half an hour before realising that I *wasn't* going to get back to sleep. So I got up and I've been running around crazy on 3 hours of actual sleep. I have to work on my EDUC260 assignment today...

By the way...Manda's party was so fun! I will post a more thorough reflection when I actually have time (i.e. when this stupid assignment is finished)

Woohoo, just finished my first day of prac! And there's only four days left - I think it's going to be good. The teacher in my class is easy to work with, and there's another Mac student in my class. I'm getting to know the kids, and they all seem nice, if a bit rowdy. It was raining today, meaning the kids didn't go outside for lunch. They also stayed inside and did their Happy Healthy Harold books instead of playing sport :P I'm hoping the kids won't be too rowdy when it's my turn to teach a lesson.

There really wasn't much teaching going on today, though. Most of the day was taken up by Anzac day related activities, such as going to an Anzac service and colouring in pictures of Anzac wreaths.

I miss human interaction. Stiney's at home but is always in her room on her computer, so I don't get to talk to her...and today when I tried to talk to her, she brought up annoying stuff I did when I was about seven years old, hehe. I was a somewhat hyperactive child.
Reading and writing and watching amusing television episodes are all fun things to do, but there's only so many times you can do those things each day before it starts getting boring. At least I get to cook while I'm at home.

Maybe I should start work on that other assignment...

It was my cousin Libby's wedding today...and I'm very tired now even though it was a lovely day. The wedding was out Wilberforce cause that's where Jon's family is from, and then the reception was in North Rocks, meaning a *lot* of driving today. It was great to see all my family. Pretty much everyone was there, even my aunty and uncle who are now living in Singapore. I think they fly back tomorrow. Libby's dress was absolutely beautiful: a white dress with a beaded bodice, it was strapless and fitted and then the skirt part flowed out with a long train. Hmmm, describing dresses is fun. The bridesmaids dresses were pale green and apparently made by one of the bridesmaids. The funny thing is, this time last year my other cousin was getting married. Actually, it's her wedding anniversary tomorrow.

I sat with my cousins for the reception, and my dad, aunties and uncles were at the table next to us. It felt like sitting at the 'kids table' again. While sitting and talking with my cousins, I was reminded that my craziness is definitely genetic - throughout the day people were throwing lollies into other peoples drinks, swapping empty lolly packets for full ones, and other such amusing things. The chicken that was served for lunch came with a very interesting sauce. Stiney got a nice gravy with her lamb, but I had the chicken :P

Other fun things I have done this week include going to Shellharbour for a little daytrip with some church people, and going to Koorong and seeing Jo Dear there unexpectedly. And I've been reading a lot and watching a lot of TV, as you do in the holidays.

Hehe, my dog Daisy has a boyfriend. There's a chihuahua that must live somewhere near my house, and as it's a really little dog, it always seems to escape from its house and wander around. It's gone past our house before, and Daisy always barks and wags her tail...but today the chihuahua, who Mum called Pablo, actually walked straight through the bars in our gate and came into our front yard. It stayed for the whole afternoon, and must have left when it got hungry. Daisy is a female dog with ladyness and Pablo has manness, so you can imagine what they were doing most of the afternoon. It was pretty hilarious, considering the size difference between a labrador and a chihuahua. When he finally went back to his home, Daisy was sitting at the gate, howling for her love :( Hopefully he will come back to visit tomorrow.

Yesterday I was feeling stressed and sick. I had a sore throat and a headache, and wasn't feeling particularly hungry either. To add to all that, I was still slightly worried about how I'm going to pay my college fees - I'm really behind in paying them, but I'm working at trusting in God that he has it all worked out. Then, if that wasn't enough, for a little while it seemed as if the assignment that was due on that day wasn't going to print *so I had a minor little stress attack* but it all worked out and I handed that assignment in, along with another one. After I handed those assignments in, I felt mentally exhausted, and physically dodgy, so I didn't talk much at all during small group. Still, even though I felt like that, hearing Scott's talk about the resurrection was awesome. God is awesome, and I really did feel like the weary and heavy laden in that verse, and I came to Jesus for rest :)

Much thanks must go to my lovely friends who made me feel better yesterday: Ali, Em, Ash, Sean, Shan, Michelle and especially Holly. I wasn't feeling as bad by the end of the CU frisbee hour, except then I had to go to the EDUC260 lecture. Hehe, the guy who's doing the rest of the lectures for that subject is a nice enough guy but he talks *really* slowly and he waffles about I don't even know what...so I don't pay much attention. To cope with our boredom, Ash drew a pretty picture on my hand. On each of my fingers, she drew animal print patterns. And on my hand she drew some cartoon animals, representing the CU people sitting in that very lecture. I was a hippo, Sean was a giraffe, Ash was a monkey and our dear friend Pete was a pebble. Hehe, that was her idea! Unfortunately, the picture has washed off, but I took a photo so the memory is preserved forever.

Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services at Trinity chapel have been an awesome opportunity to come before God and worship him and thank him for what he has done in Christ. And there have been some great songs to sing: Rock of Ages, Amazing Grace, When I Survey, My Song is Love Unknown, The Servant King...and it goes on.

Another thing to praise God for - Ali, you are a lovely Nana but my real Nana is also very lovely. She gave me and my sister $100 each to buy new clothes for winter. that's awesome, cause on my own, I'm just struggling to pay for accomodation, let alone get new winter clothes which I kind of do need. So that was such a blessing...and me and Stiney are going clothes shopping together :)

God is so good! Over the past few days I've been a little bit stressed about paying for college fees, and home was particularly stressful this weekend. But I went to youth group on Saturday and church on Sunday morning and evening. God met me there...being reminded about God's love and goodness, and singing praises to him. And now I'm happy and slightly hyperactive...

And I have actually got some work done this morning...which is always good!

Maybe it isn't a good idea for Sean and I to drink coffee right before a lecture and then sit next to eachother. I retained none of the information given in the lecture, due to all the suppressed giggling and drawing in one another's lecture notes. But, hey, at least now I know what a crazy Christmas emo elf looks like!

It was really hot today. My HIST109 tutorial was pretty funny this afternoon. There was no fan or air con, and everyone was really hot and tired. Our tutor tried to get us into small groups for discussion, and nothing was happening. Usually small groups start out discussing the topic and then get on to other more random topics, but today no-one was talking at all. I felt kind of sorry for our tutor, cause she kept trying to initiate conversation, but what can you expect at the end of a hot day?

And a funny quote that came from college bible study on Wednesday. Our study leader had poured out some hot chocolate for us to drink...

Debby: The best bit is it's 99% fat free.
Bridge: My thighs are cheering.

Amusing highlights of today

* Learning how to ep. Kate, Bec, Shan, Katie, Jenny and I were all epping in the rain after the public meeting
* Katie's good friend Mr Box, who is a teaching resource for early stage 1
* Hearing the story of Ben licking Katie's lollipop. I don't think I need to repeat the whole story...
*Attemping to read an article about male and female roles and thinking immediately of 'manness' and 'ladyness'
*The hug that got passed round the table at dinner this evening. Really sweet, and funny that it was an all girls table
* Jelly and cream for dessert!

I just finished looking at Em's photos from the murder party. Oh, it looked like so much fun and I really wanted to go. But I really felt God was calling me to stay at youth group and give that gospel talk. And even though it wasn't as fun, I suppose God was glorified through that. I talked about the lost son, and how it's like us and God. We do stupid things and he forgives us when we come back and repent. Stuff like that. In the culture these kids are growing up in, the idea of the son going completely off the rails is sadly a real issue. A few of the kids have family members in jail, and its good for them to know that if they ever have done really bad stuff, God will forgive them. But, I also mentioned that they've made God angry even if they've just had bad thoughts about a person. After I said that, some of the kids said a prayer of confession. And we finished up talking about God's forgiveness. I really pray that these kids come to know God personally, not just going to church because their families do. So, I do think that it was worthwhile being there at youth on Saturday...but it would have been fun to be at the Teahouse.

I think now that its the end of week 3, I should actually start working on my assignments. Hanging around uni and college are both great ways to procrastinate, as demonstrated this week especially. I am reaching the conclusion that, although spiritually it gives eternal life, being a Christian is bad for your physical health. Due to all the lollies and chips consumed at various bible studies and other Christian gatherings.

Lots of fun and randomness this week. One such thing was Sean forgetting that those seats in the lecture theatre actually do fold up when you're not sitting on them. Therefore everyone in the CU meeting saw him fall over, hehehe. And the skits this week were excellent, congratulations must go to Ali, Em, Manda, both Bens, Bec and definitely Chris for his suffering for the sake of the gospel. I think I am also a member of the Mumbling Christians - I am the prestigious, extremely talented player of the scrapey fish.

This week has gone so fast, I go home tomorrow. And I get to see my Mum!!! I didn't get to see her last week. I also get to be almost knocked over by an extremely excited Daisy.

No-one's been posting blogs except Kate....Katus wins a hypothetical prize and all us other blogring members hang our heads in shame :)


The teahouse warming party was fun fun fun. I love the fact that it started at 2pm, and was *supposed* to finish at 5pm, or something like that, and I didn't get back to college until after midnight. 7 Brides for 7 Brothers was hilarious though, and those guys definitely did look like the Wiggles in their coloured skivvies. I'm very glad to hear that people like their grater...I want one now. Then again, I'm not at home enough to justify getting new cooking utensils. And, Kate, another memorable moment to add to Manda and Helen's horse race. While we were in the kitchen, Chris and I raced the little magnetic animals three times around the fridge. I won!

I just heard random screaming coming from the common room...that must be a pretty interesting game of pingpong.

I'm feeling sick at the moment, and I don't like being sick at college
:( I think I need to go back to sleep

It's *so* good to be back at uni! Not particularly for the uni work, although my subjects dont look that bad this semester. It's all about the CU fellowship, which is awesome as usual. I love O-Week for the CU stall and for the freebies - this time it's popcorn and icetea. Hanging around the CU stall, chatting to all my friends who might happen to be there, and talking to other people who want to sign up...it's all fun.

I didn't get to go to the public meeting today, cause I stayed back to look after the stall. Allie bought me a burrito, which was delicious. After the meeting was finished, everyone sat down on the grass which i liked a whole lot more than the caf. Fresh air is good...unfortunately the air was a bit too fresh and it started raining, and was a bit windy. As anyone who has ever worked with kids or animals will know, windy weather makes people go crazy. Possibly its because the weather is hyper, so everyone else is too. But I was filled with surplus energy, and other people were too. Congratulations must go to Katie, who today became the 1st Class Honourable Dame Master Doctor Katie Perret, PhD, RU! I look forward to the actual public meeting tomorrow.

I had my very first primary education subject - EDUC260. I'm in a tute with Pete and Susan, so I know people! And I know lots of people from college and CU who are doing that course. Its all good.

Praise God for what happened on the weekend at my church. Kids actually came to youth group. It was pretty funny. As Mum and I were driving to church, we saw a van that looked like it belonged to one of the youth families, but they were ahead of us and we couldn't see for sure. They live in the street next to us, and they kept going in the same direction as us...and Mum actually went through orange lights so she wouldn't lose them, cause she wanted to find out if it was them :P Mum generally *never* goes through orange lights. Thankfully there wasn't any need to go through *red* lights! And it was that family, in the end, driving to youth group. Apart from that, the kids participated very well in youth. The theme was holiness, and thinking about areas where we find it hard to be holy. I was impressed with how open the kids were in sharing, even though they were really shy at first. And I am loving teaching the little kids Sunday School - usually its just 3 or 4 kids, but with the under 8 age group, thats a nice sized group. Even though I'm officially a primary education student now, I still love working with little kids like that :)

Last Monday training night....but it was fun! I'm sure it was much more fun than the grass party I missed, although everyone at the training night got to sort of go to the grass party, as you could definitely hear it from the chapel. As soon as I heard 'Eagle Rock' playing, I thanked God I was there, not over at the party. For anyone who doesn't know, it is an RMC tradition to play 'Eagle Rock' at every party, and when that song plays, thats the cue for all the guys to get their pants down and start dancing around in their undies. Scary stuff.

I really enjoyed Stu's talk, I thought it was really interesting how he talked about God's word going out to the nations, and how *we* actually are the ends of the earth aswell. And of course congratulations to Garreth for such an exciting, expressive reading of the Scriptures. For Mike's bit, I was in a group with Doug, Tom, Bec and I think it was Ana...and as you can imagine there were some interesting moments. For example, when Mike asked us how we would respond to our friends talking about what they like in the opposite sex - Doug cried out 'boobs!', which led to talk about being 'real man' and 'real woman'. Ah, it was funny. And an interesting quotable quote:

Bec: Hey Doug, I have a new pick up line for you (puts her arm around Ali) 'So, are *you* washed in the blood of the lamb?'
Ali: Pick up lines shouldn't have blood in them.

I thought about going to the grass party after the training finished, but everyone was going to Maccas and I thought that would be more fun that trying to meet new people. Anyway, there's heaps more parties and opportunities to get to know people this week. Macca's was fun, as it always is when a large number of CU people congregate. Sean introduced me to symphonic metal, beautiful songs and kind of random but probably very hard to sing along to cause the vocals are so high. Manda is back from NZ, so are Ben and Tiff! For some reason, we ended up singing the Trogdor song at Macca's...Manda made a sheep noise and that somehow made me think of Trogdor. TROGDOOOOR!!! One of the most exciting things of the night was seeing Bec's awesome signs for the Doors of Snnnnn. I want one now! House of Snnnnn moves in tomorrow!!!

Oh, and Kate...I heard the bicyle song on the radio this morning, just thought you'd like to know.

Just a little bit of random amusement in my day: I went to bed at 11:11pm last night, which is an awesome looking time - so symmetrical. So before I actually closed my eyes, I just looked at the time until it turned 11:12. And, just a few minutes ago, I happened to look at my clock, and it was 11:11am! So I got to do it again. Oh, the little things that amuse me!!

What else can I say about Monday night? Kate and Em have summed it up rather nicely. Even so, it was very fun and I am so thankful to God that CU has a beautiful combination of solid, faithful bible teaching and awesome, if sometimes bizarre, fellowship. Too often, Christian groups have only one or the other. But we have both, which rocks! I was very encouraged to hear Scott's talk about Acts, and to remember how sovereign God is. Even through persecution, God is growing his church. And God is powerful to answer prayer! I am really thankful for the awesome Christian friends that God has provided me, that's all of you crazy guys and girls!

Hanging around Macca's was crazy crazy fun, and it was such a good thing I was sleeping over at college. I got to talk to lots of people, and the conversations got more and more random as the night went on. Kate has posted some funny quotes and I can't remember any others...except me saying I can quote the other Homer and Doug wondering if I meant the Iliad. I didn't, hehe.

Hehe, this is good. I'm staying over at college just for tonight....so I'll be able to come to the CU thing after all. Yay!!

Well, I didn't end up playing drums at church. Kea was at church and she actually knows how to play drums. Probably a good thing...I probably would have stuffed up the rhythm at this stage. BUT I can practice, hehehehe.

And it was my Nana's birthday yesterday, so we went to my aunty and uncle's house for her birthday party. Not that there were many people there, just Mum, Dad, Stiney, some aunties and uncles and Nana. Unfortunately cousins weren't there for various reasons, as they're all grown-up and married now. But it was very sweet to see family, especially as I only saw them a few weeks ago anyway! And Aunty Kathy cooks the best food ever!! Sweet potato and onion bake, and a delicious berry dessert (hehe, berries are good).


I really don't think I can get to the Monday night thing this week - stupid living 2 hours away from uni - but I hope whoever goes has lots of fun. Next week, I will definitely be there, and will be going to Macca's afterwards aswell!

A lovely, if slightly disturbing, thing happened at music practice today. I say slightly disturbing because thats what the implications probably are for all the people who live with me! Unfortunately, when we got to music practice, we found out that our usual drummer had broken his arm (carrying heavy cupboards across the church hall-which is another story-not so good). Then Mum asked me if *I* wanted to play the drums for today and tomorrow in church. I said yes cause drums always look fun, and I'm constantly tapping away with my fingers on whatever surface I can find.
Yes, it was very very fun. I managed to keep the rhythm to the songs we were playing and hit the cymbal at the end of every song. The only thing was, during songs, when people were discussing musical details, I couldn't stop banging the drums unless I put the sticks on the floor where they were safely out of reach. Fun fun fun fun fun. So, I will be playing drums in church tomorrow. Then who knows where it will go from there. Mum says I should learn to play drums, but I have a feeling that after I've been playing for a little while she'll be begging me to stop, or at least to stop practising at home :P

Even now, I'm tapping out some kind of rhythm on the computer desk...but I've been doing that *way* before today...hehehe

I've finally enrolled....that was very complicated. I'm going to be really busy this semester, so its a good thing I'm at college. I'm actually looking forward to starting uni again, although by a few weeks in I'll probably be wishing for holidays again.

I'm really thankful to God for how he's been working all this stuff out, even when I wasn't completely putting my trust in him. He is definitely worthy of praise and the weather is really lovely outside right now, another reason to praise God! Can't wait for the weather to get colder, especially at night.

I am completely sunburnt after my Australia day expedition to the beach! I only ever get sunburnt once a year, on Australia day...cause thats the only time I spend all day at the beach. We were at Cronulla Bay, which was really pretty and not-crowded, as I'm sure the actual Cronulla beach would have been. The water was shallow and there were no waves, so there was plenty of opportunity for walking around with Stiney and Hala in the water, talking and laughing and other such fun stuff. And the little kids had their crazy fun splashing in the water, playing beach cricket and climbing on boats that didn't belong to them :P One amusing incident: Paea was batting in their game of cricket, and for some reason, instead of hitting the ball, he flung the bat right into the middle of someone elses picnic.

For some unknown reason, there was not as much Tongan food as there usually is at picnics like this. Just the barbeque meat, the potato salad, taro and watermelon. No siope sui or seafood salad :( Still, the food was very good and there is lots of watermelon left over. And Tefa brought her ukulele, for some sweet islander-style music, even though the songs were mostly in English so I could join in :P I am so looking forward to going to Tonga....as soon as another church family say they're going, I'm coming along with them - I've still got my Tonga money. I shouldn't have to wait too long, at least one family goes every year!

Youth group was very excellent today - an impressive start to the year. We combined with another youth group thats also currently lacking in numbers, so we had a decent sized group. And, we are definitely not the only crazy Christian group around, I found out today :P There was also a pretty good number of our youth kids there aswell...hopefully we can improve that even more throughout the year, as there were some that weren't there. Got to keep praying, and praying hard!

If this is what youth is going to be like this year, I think it will be amazing. The way its going to run is this: firstly we're going to have a prayer and worship time, then afternoon tea, and then bible study groups. The worship was awesome, I've never worshipped like that with other people, only in front of God in my own room. Basically, in the church, we put on fun worship music, with words to remind us how great God is, and we danced, or waved flags around, or just sat in God's presence. It's about being before the Lord, worshipping him and praising him and experiencing his presence. I know some people go on about how we can't rely on our experiences, and, yes, you don't want your experiences to overtake and contradict what you know from the Bible. But....actually experiencing God's presence in your heart is really really really important! God didn't just do something amazing 2000 years ago (which he did, by the way!), he is also in a real, living relationship with people who trust in him right now! Experience is GOOD, and so are emotions....just don't let them contradict the bible :) And I don't think that the way we worshipped was really theologically different to CU, just a different style. It'd be sweet if we could do that at CU though....maybe :P

It is so encouraging to see young people joyfully praising God. Otua ko koe koe ofa! (and, because we're supposed to have a translation - GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!) Ah, I'm in a bit of a silly mood, hehehe, but its all the joy of God!

I'm back from Shellharbour....did you miss me? Matt seemed *really* tired after he got back from KYLC, but I don't really feel tired at all after my week away. Probably because I did little else but read, eat good food and go to the beach. All very good things to do :P I'm also attempting to write another kids novel, all about mermaids and such fun things. Being at the beach inspired me. All the people in the shops were really friendly. I had to check the uni website almost everyday, to see if I could enrol (which was annoying). I think the lady at the internet cafe knew me pretty well by the end of the week. I also found a really fun bookshop that specialised in kids books. And I found a very pretty dress that was supposed to be $65 for $25...and I bought a wig for the wigorade ball.

Today was extremely hot...which was lovely for the day we planned to go on a picnic. Still, it was alright. We sat in the shade and ate lunch. There was much craziness as usual, Ben climbed up a tree and found a dirty rope, which he used to tie up people and waved it in Kate's face. And Em said something about taking a bite of drink....after we finished eating, we went to Kate's house cause it was definitely too hot to stay outside. Unfortunately, I don't think Tolly appreciated us invading her house.

It is going to be very interesting when Em, Kate and Manda all move in together. Very fun and crazy!

I'm going to Shellharbour for a week with Mum and Stiney, and Dad's coming down for a few days aswell. So...I shall not be blogging or commenting on blogs or talking on msn for a while :(
Still, should be fun and maybe I'll come back from the holiday with a new hat....or a wig.

Yesterday I saw Abi, a friend from school who I haven't seen for ages. She's studying medicine in NZ and she goes back Friday. She's got another 4 years to go...and I thought I was going to be at uni for a long time!

Anyway, Stiney, Abi and I went to Parramatta Westfield and much craziness followed. I love having friends who are not afraid to make idiots of themselves in public places. First we looked in Myer, at the little kids clothes which are all either skanky replicas of women's clothes or marshmallow-like dresses made out of white tulle and satin. Those dresses looked like wedding dresses, so for some reason we suggested that Stiney was getting married and was going to wear that dress. After giggling at some very 80s fashion, we headed off to Toys R Us and found some more things for Stiney's wedding eg. her shoes, her wedding castle, the pirate ship where she will have her reception, and of course her groom - Superman! After that, any time Stiney saw someone wearing a Superman t-shirt (we saw 4 people) she cracked up laughing.

Lunch was particularly interesting. Once we'd finished eating, we acted out random stories involving Superman and Stiney using straws, spoons, napkins, etc. We also made Abi say 'chips'...and she can still say it correctly, even though she's been in New Zealand for 4 years.

You say: It's impossible
God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27)

You say: I'm too tired
God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)

You say: Nobody really loves me
God says: I love you (John 3:16 & John 13:34)

You say: I can't go on
God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalms.91:15)

You say: I can't figure things out
God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6)
*******♥♥♥♥♥*******
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***♥♥♥♥♥+++♥♥♥♥♥***
***♥+++++++++♥*****
***♥♥♥♥♥+++♥♥♥♥♥***
*******♥+++♥*******
*******♥+++♥*******
*******♥+++♥*******
*******♥+++♥*******
******♥♥♥♥♥*******
You say: I can't do it
God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13)

You say: I'm not able
God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)

You say: It's not worth it
God says: It will be worth it (Romans 8:28)

You say: I can't forgive myself
God says: I FORGIVE YOU (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

You say: I can't manage
God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)

You say: I'm afraid
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7)

You say: I'm always worried and frustrated
God says: Cast all your cares on ME (I Peter 5:7)

You say: I don't have enough faith
God says: I've given everyone a measure of faith (Romans 12:3)

You say: I'm not smart enough
God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)

You say: I feel all alone
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16

I am now officially enrolled in the BA.DipEd primary course! You all have to put up with me for another 2 years, hehe. Praise God!

My church is sweet - today we had a time when people could come up and share what God has done for them in the past year. Praise definitely goes all to God for what he has done!! There were not that many people here today, but baby Haamea was there, and so was Fatai who has her birthday today! Happy birthday if by any chance you are reading this :) Birthday dinner tonight!

Spiritually, this week has been excellent. If you have never experienced Tongan worship, I urge you to come along to a service at my church sometime. The music is beautiful, but maybe more importantly, there is such a passion for God and for holiness. There was a huge prayer focus this week: we prayed for the world, for protection against natural distasters, for the governments of Australia and Tonga, and for the beauty pageant favourite...world peace :P And the Kapani family are going to Tonga in August this year....so there's another opportunity for me to go.

I just got back from the final prayer service of the Uikelotu. I will post more thoroughly about the week tomorrow, cause there's a lot to write and I'm a bit tired. But I'll just say tonight was amazing! It was a time to dedicate this year to the Lord, both for our individual selves and for us as a church. We all came up and knelt at therail and we all got an individual prayer and blessing. Then everyone was singing 'I surrender all' (which was the only song we actually sang in English), with our hands lifted up high in the air. Awesome praises to God!

And I love Tylah Haamea, a 3 month old baby boy who came to the services with his mum and dad. He knows me now, and he settles down when I hold him, not like at the beginning of the week when he wriggled all over the place. Haamea also has an interesting fascination with my hair, possibly cause it's not black, thick and wavy like his mum's and aunties' hair. Using his strong baby reflex grip, he grabs strands of my hair and pulls them towards his mouth. Ow! And Stiney took off her glasses to show him, and Haamea grabbed them and didn't let go. I thought they were going to break as Stiney was trying to get them back! Babies are funny.

Anyhoo...I am going to bed now, cause I'm really tired.

Happy New Year everyone

New Years celebrations, Tongan style: A whole lot of people from church, including Fatai, Lupe, Hala, Kea and Mereia and their families, came to my house last night for new years. Leading up to 12:00, we sang a variety of different songs - Tongan hymns, Fijian hymns and songs in English. That was awesome, probably different than what most people were doing at that time. Then, at 11:15, we had a few bible readings and reflections, led by different people. And amazingly, we managed to keep time pretty well :P The main idea of the reflections was trusting in God for this new year, and the Colossians passage about putting on love, patience, forgiveness and all that other good stuff.

Then at midnight we did the standard coundown and 'happy new year!!!!!!' but straight after that we all started praying out loud at the same time, praying for ourselves and our church for the new year. Really powerful, and I think an extremely good way to start the new year. And, after all that, then we partied and ate and jumped on the trampoline. I took charge of the music played, and found to my delight that the hip-hop obsessed church kids like Relient K! :P I spent most of the party talking with Stiney and Fatai, talking about new years resolutions and playing air guitar along with the music. All good!

New Years Day also marks the beginning of the Tongan Uikelotu, or holy week. Every day this week there are worship services at 7am and 7pm. Which means....I was up on new years day at 7am. Everyone at that service looked so dead, hehe, but it was awesome cause it was the service dedicated to thanksgiving and glorifying God...and Tongan singing is always good. I went straight back to sleep though when I got home, and just woke up a little while ago. I've got a really big day today...at 2:30 I'm going to a baptism, and at 4:30 there's a memorial service for a woman from church who died this time last year. In fact, the woman who we'll be remembering is the baby's grandmother, so it's a extremely busy, emotional day for that family. Then they're holding a big dinner that I'll be going to. And at 7pm is the next installement in the Uikelotu. I am going to be exhausted by the end of today.

Yesterday in a worship service, Mum was saying a prayer for Tonga. She meant to pray for the capital city, Nuku'alofa...but she mispronounced the name pretty significantly (she always forgets the name of the city, for some reason). According to Lupe, what she actually ended up saying roughly translated to 'forgetful love'. I thought that was funny. Hopefully, everyone knew what she meant.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Christmas service was so good today, including Christmas carols from the Tongan, Indian and Fijian choirs. And I sang a lot as well. My voice is in definite need of a rest. Other than my sore voice, today has been fun. I got good presents and had a fun dinner with my family. And the Bella wine I was saving for Christmas was really sweet :)

I hope all of you had a really good Christmas, and hopefully we'll all meet up lots more times in the holidays.

It was really hot today....annoying.

But last night's Christmas party at the Yagers' was fun. I made mango pudding and, according to Matt and Jace, it was good pudding. And the bowl was emptied, so I'm assuming other people liked it aswell. Another highlight of the party, and what I think is a significant achievement: I beat Matt at a waving competition. Originally it was him, me, Shan, Sean and i think Robbo (if I remember correctly, or maybe he was just watching). Then it was only us two left in the competition. By that stage my hand didn't feel like it was moving, it just felt like there was a weight attached to it. Because my hand was moving so fast, my whole body started to move, meaning I spilled the drink I was holding in my other hand. When he saw this, Matt stopped waving - meaning I won! Yes, it did result in my arm covered in coke, but at least I can say I beat Matt at a waving competition (vague recollections of hearing about having glory over people, from one of Mike's talks)

It was *so* good to see Tiina at the party...I haven't seen her for ages, and I really wasn't expecting her to be there. Matt C, one of the other people I was friends with way back in first year, always hangs around CU events, but I haven't seen Tiina since the end of 2nd year. Ah, I've been at uni a *long* time - and still 2 years to go :P

And it just isn't a party without music and dancing - and it isn't a CU party without crazy dancing. I love Ash, Bec and Katherine's interpretive dance, and then there's my tau'olunga, which looks so much better when danced by real Tongan girls! Hopefully there shall be lots more socials throughout the holidays, it's pretty boring at home. But I've got the youth group Christmas party tomorrow night.

My mum saw the photos from NTE. After seeing a few of them she asked me

'How old are these people?'

It's official, in case she didn't know before, Mum thinks my friends are crazy!

Q: What do you call a man with a shovel on his head?
A: Doug

Yes, I know everyone's heard that before, and so have I. But I got such a funny mental picture when I heard that read out today at a Christmas lunch.

Back to NTE....spiritually it was awesome. Most of the time during the Canberra part, I was feeling physically dodgy but spiritually excellent! Both Richard and Phillip gave very challenging but reassuring talks (I love it when talks are both simultaneously). Although, I *still* don't know why Richard is so against portraying images of Jesus. He brought it up last year aswell (fair enough, when he was talking about Deuteronomy) but I didn't really understand why he thought it necessary to bring it up again. For me, it's a secondary issue. But anyhoo, other than that I liked the talks. God is completely awesome...and we are living anno domini...the year of our Lord. I loved the distinction between BC and AD...it really showed how different we are to the rest of the world, and how we *should* be different.

I was really inspired to pray...for the world, for IFES around the world, for missionaries, for churches, for AFES campuses...prayer is such a beautiful thing because we can make a difference, we can talk to God, *anywhere* and anytime. I don't pray enough, though.

Mission in Blacktown was a very good experience....at first I was kind of sad that the team was split up, but really, i thought our Blacktown team was full of awesome people, and we all worked together really well. Ben Johnson is an absolute legend, and so is his wife, Louise. Just to see their genuine compassion for the people of Blacktown, especially those who are disadvantaged, and to also see their faithfulness to the gospel in all of this, was really encouraging. I was really impressed with everyone, especially people who gave talks and testimonies eg. Rohan, Lauren, Tiff and Chris telling a story to the Sunday School creche kids.

One thing that has challenged me from this mission, for stuff with my own church, is to be more explicit with the gospel. It's great to sing beautifully and God can really minister to people through music, but then its also really important to have the gospel presented clearly in words. And there are also a lot of disadvantaged people around my church....lots of opportunities to reach out to people.

It's not even Christmas and i've already been having so many Christmas dinners. Yesterday was the church fellowship annual dinner, and today was the retirement home dinner. Me and my friend Lupe sang there so we were invited to the dinner. And tonight is my dad's birthday, so there will be a dinner tonight aswell!

Hey, I'm finally home after the madness and beauty that was NTE. It seems really quiet at home, although Daisy is over excited at the moment. How can I possibly write down everything that happened? I'm sure over all of our posts, we will cover most things. I didn't write anything down at NTE, so I am relying solely on my memory. Even against Kate's warning of losing momen-en-te-nen-ten-um, I will post in two parts, to cover two very different aspects of NTE. First, the crazy, socialising...wait a minute, this is just as crazy at home. Stiney is talking to me about spelling bra with two i's...bra-ii!!!! Don't ask. Back to NTE.

Some notable moments..the ones I can remember anyway
*Ash's van...sitting in the back seat with no suspension and going over speed humps. Awesome
* Doug's 'wafer? wafer?'. I don't know if I'll ever eat a wafer again, just for the principle of it.
* The girls photography outing to the lake
* 'Macquarie, the Innovative University! Whoop whoop whoop whoop whoop!'
* Not quite as good a catchcry....'Fenner fenner fenner, funner funner funner...then I have no idea what came next'
* Frozen custard
* Everyone trying on my hats eg. Jono, Robbo, Sean, Jasmin, Kath...I hope no one has headlice!
*Walking to Rydges....and then hundreds of crazy, dusty uni students walking into Rydges with people in suits looking at us
*All that singing! Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun
* Kate, me, Nat and Jarryd getting back in the same strand group again
* Playing with trolleys in the Fenner dining hall with Shan and Sean (their names sound the same...heehee)
*Later on, looking at Doug riding in a trolley and realising there is a big difference between being pushed down a corridor in a dining hall and being pushed down a hill onto a road.
*Getting to Blacktown, and being asked if play time was all organised...yes, the look on Matt's and my face must have been priceless
*The kids ministry team...what more can I say. Good idea putting the most immature people on mission in a team together. Kath's crazy dances, Sean riding around like a horse, Ali and Bec teaching me the sheep song, which inevitably lead to....
* THE SHEEP OPERA!!!!!!!!
*Kate and I getting giggly for some reason, and acting out 'Galoomph went the little green frog' with a toy frog at our billet Rachel's house, while she was on the phone
*Then having lovely dinner table conversation about heart shaped scabs and kitchen burns (mine, of course)
*Being with the eastern suburbs people eg Tharma, as they realised how some people live out in the west
* Ali and Bec being 6 years old, and me being 4 and a half. I start big school next year
*Ajo thinking Pier's mum was cute...and Mike laughing during the prayers because of that
*Fondue! Strawberries and raspberries and blueberries and banana, all dipped in chocolate

There's probably a lot more...but I can't think of any at the moment. And today I get to put the Christmas tree up!!

Another lovely quote from Thy Stiney, my geographically challenged sister.

Stine: Where's Maroubra?
Bella: It's on the coast and kind of south
Stine: Is it on the North Shore?
Bella: Stine, the North Shore isn't south.

I am *really* excited about NTE. I've been getting all the emails from Mike...hey Matt, it looks like we'll be organising a puppet show again!

My cat is so irritated at the moment, due to her own fussiness. She only ever eats one brand of cat food....and recently, that brand added some kind of dental ingredient...which is supposed to make it better. But, simply because of the slightly different taste, Maddie doesn't eat it. And the original catfood isn't available anymore. So now Maddie is angry at us as if we aren't feeding her, even though her food bowl has been full for the past two days. I'm hoping she'll get hungry enough to just start eating anyway. She really is fussy, she doesn't even eat leftover chicken or fish from our plates! And when she's angry, she scratches :(

Not so good...I got back my applications for doing primary education at Mac next year, and I did not get in. Which sucks. So I might not be at Mac next year, but I will be doing something...it's all very confusing at the moment. Even so, if I'm not at Mac, I will visit you all alot. Prayers are important

Hey, I thought this was funny

http://www.gizoogle.com/

The funniest thing was, I was looking at my church friends sites, and basically I couldn't detect much of a difference!

All finished for the year! I had my last exam today, and as it was an English exam consisting of two essays, I waffled on about nothing in particular for as long as I possibly could - as you do in English exams. But I'm now on holidays (not that I was really working very hard before) and can turn *all* my attention to NTE. I'm so looking forward to it. One thing I'm not looking forward to is having a name tag that says *Ms* Bella Hibbard. I don't like that, I don't feel old enough yet. Still, that is a minor imperfection for an otherwise exciting prospect.

This is also my last day at college for the year and, as I only really use the internet to check my email and friends blogs, I still have some credit remaining from that $25 of internet money I paid way back in Feb. So...I am trying to use it all up today. I've looked at all your blogs several times today, hehe.

Exam supper is on now....I am off to score some free food!

I saw this on Em's blog and I thought it would be a good idea. There are so many things to thank God for...

Things I love:

* God! The fact that He is the most powerful, holy being in the whole universe, and he still loves me and works out so many blessings for me
* Praying to God, bringing to him the huge issues of the world and the trivial little aspects of my own life, and knowing that he is always listening and always answering prayer.
* Reading the Bible and being reminded about God through it
*My mum and dad, because they look after me but also help me grow up, and they nurture my spiritual development and somehow converse with me about my crazy theological issues
* Thy Stiney, who is always crazy and pink
* My animals - my dog, my cat and my two guinea pigs
* All my CU friends - for the craziness and the Spirit-led Christian encouragement, and the fact that most of them are going to be at uni with me for the next 2 years
*CU in general, because of the faithful bible teaching and passion for God, even if sometimes I feel a little too charismatic/pentecostal for it
*My church, which is where I get the charismata from - raising hands, speaking in tongues, multicultural singing, praising God, flags and banners, symbolic prayers,....*and* faithful bible teaching!
* Islander culture, islander time, islander music, islander dancing, islander food, islander clothes, islander people...the fact that the people at church have so readily welcomed a palangi girl into their culture is awesome
*Teaching kids, especially my three tutoring kids who I work with now. They're 11 and 12 year olds and completely different to eachother, but they're all cool
*Staying at uni for another 2 years
*Milo - Em loves tea, I love milo
*Singing praises to God, mostly in the form of traditional hymns both English and Tongan
*Reading because it always amazes me how words on a page can evoke so much
*Flowers - daisies, frangipanis, roses, violets, lilies, jasmine...such a beautiful example of God's creation
*Making paperdolls. A beautiful remnant of my childhood
*Quoting the Simpsons - endless fun
*Good, culturally authentic food
*Cold weather, compared to hot weather(Kate, are you with me?)
*Being 21 but acting 12 most of the time (as was demonstrated at my 21st when I swapped the numbers around)
* Meeting up with old friends you haven't seen for ages and realising you're still as close as you used to be
*Writing my kids stories, and not worrying if they're any good or not
*Enjoying loud, fast, fun pop-punk music without being called a poser
*Playing with my yo-yo even though I can't do any interesting things with it
*Other cultures - whether contemporary or historical
*Rain and the way grass smells after it rains
*Good dragons
*Making lists and realising there is so much to thank God for....

It looks like I'm still going to Tonga. Apparently, its settling down, so it looks like it will be safe to go over Christmas. Still, I'll have to be watching the news to see if anything else happens...and of course, it's still important to pray. But it looks like God has been answering prayers already.

This is not good

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20773729-23109,00.html

I met up with Fiona in the city yesterday, which was really good. Fiona is my best friend from school...we've been best friends since we were twelve and unfortunately I don't get to see her as much as I like, cause she's a ski instructor. So during winter she works in the Snowy Mountains, and next Friday she goes over to America for a few months for their winter. So she hasn't had any summer at all for about three years. The way it works, Fiona is away from home for Christmas, her birthday and my birthday. So I hadn't seen her for months and it was very good to see her again. How good is it when you see someone for the first time in ages and you're still friends like you were the last time you saw them! She teaches little kids how to ski, so we spent a lot of time swapping amusing little kid stories (Em, you will know what I mean!) She isn't a Christian, so please pray for her. She definitely knows I'm a Christian though! I love her because of her caring nature and her crazy sense of humour, and she's all grown up and working now but she's also still like a little kid. Praise God for friends! If I had enough money, I would go visit her in America....but that is *so* out of the question....still, the Snowy Mountains are a little more realistic. Maybe next year I can go visit her and she can teach me how to ski!! Oh, won't that be fun?

It's all coming together. I handed the final part of my application form for doing primary education next year. So...all I need to do know is wait and pray. Please pray that I get into this course, so I can stay with all you guys at Mac next year.

It completely amazes me how much God has been working in all of us over this past semester, especially. Not only in the fun and laughter and craziness that everyone has, but in the way we care for eachother and encourage eachother and pray for eachother. It's all because of God, working within us. Just another thing that shows me how great God is! And at the moment, I have no money because I spent it all on a ticket to Tonga...that is going to be so worth it though.

My little adventure for the day: Dad was driving me to the house of one of my tutoring kids, as always happens on Monday afternoons. But while we were driving, a car slammed in to the back of Dad's car...which then caused Dad to hit the car in front of us. And *then* the car who hit us drove off. So Dad's car is smashed on its front and back, and it had to get towed away. The police came and everything. We got the number plate of the hit and run guy so hopefully the police will catch him.

Thanks to God, even though the car is all smashed up, I'm not hurt at all and neither is Dad. It was funny, I was ringing up the second family I tutor on Mondays, to tell them I couldn't come today, and they're like 'I saw you on Hoxton Park Rd, are you okay?' So now, until Mum gets home from her prayer retreat on Thursday, we have no car.

I've always liked Rove McManus, so I'm very sad to hear that his wife died. I think they were only married for about 2 years.

I have a throat infection and have to go on antibiotics....which is why you haven't seen me at all this week. I never quite got around to going to college, so I've been home for the whole week.

Just cause I was bored....I looked up people's names on the internet, and this is what I came up with....


Kate Hewson

http://www.news.wisc.edu/10375.html

Amanda Smith

http://docsouth.unc.edu/smitham/menu.html

Alison Weaver

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mis/217548917.html

Matt Sit

http://nuforia.spaces.live.com/ (this was actually the first thing that came up on the search)

Emily Hoare

http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=AHN&db=:1116031&id=I1050

and finally...Bella Hibbard

http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/CAN-ONT-WENTWORTH/2000-06/0962200608

Much on the masquerade ball later - but first, a funny incident that happened at home. Keep in mind, after a while, Stiney was completely joking, or was she?

Bella: Stine, do you actually know where Rio is?
Stiney: Italy...Greece...somewhere in Europe
Bella: South America
Bella & Stiney: *laugh loudly*

a few minutes later
Bella: Hey Stiney, what country is Rio in?
Stiney: (triumphantly) South Africa

one more try
Bella: What country is Rio in?
Stiney: South America
Bella: What *country*
Stiney: doh!
Bella: Brazil
Stiney: I always thought Brazil was in Europe...

keep in mind, for this one, Stiney was actually joking
Stiney: I always thought anything that wasn't the US or Africa or Australia or New Zealand was Europe. Is England in Europe?
Bella: Yes
Stiney: Is Ireland?
Bella: Yes
Stiney: Is Scotland?
Bella: Yes.
Stiney: Is Jamaica?
Bella: No.

It's All Saints Day today - personally I like this day. It's a day to think about how faithful God has been to his people throughout history, and to thank God for all of his people throughout the ages who have served him, and especially those who have given their lives for the sake of the gospel.

Also, the bible says we are all saints, because we believe in Christ. So All Saints Day is also our day, so I thank God for all of you guys aswell.

Today, a Wednesday, was crazy as usual. I'm not feeling so good, though, so it was a bit hard to focus on all the merriment going on. Fortunately, I have handed in my last assignment and I only have one exam to go. So I can rest and hopefully get better soon.

I've been thinking a lot about certain theological issues lately, and trying to work out what they say from the bible. From church and CU and talking to my mum and sister, I get a mix of evangelical and charismatic theology. Both declare Jesus Christ as Lord and say faith is necessary for salvation. But there are just some little topics that are confusing me at the moment.

For example, a lot of charismatic songs sing 'let your glory fall over us' or 'let your glory fall in this room'. What does that mean? Is God's glory always there but we can't see it all the time - or does God's glory appear to us at different times.

Another thing is about the Holy Spirit. All Christians have the Holy Spirit within them - but then there's also being filled with the Holy Spirit. I'm tending to think that these are different things. A Christian who is actively sinning still has the Holy Spirit, but they might not be *filled* with the Holy Spirit or abiding in Christ (John 15)

Then, final thing, there's the idea of protection. I got this question from a conversation with my sister. Can Christians lose God's protection? If they are sinning or neglecting to read the Bible, for example, can they lose God's protection and open themselves up to negative spiritual influences? I'm confused on this one - this is a very charismatic idea.

Anyhoo...please let me know what you think - if you can, try to give biblical references. Don't worry if you have no idea at first, neither do I !!!!

Crazy conversation at dinner today. Jono asked another guy if he would wear a skirt, if it was socially acceptable. So then the topic revolved around guys wearing skirts, the advantages and disadvantages - and also about ancient Roman and Greek dress. One strange qq comes from discussing the advantages of a skirt

Jono: Wearing a skirt would be just like being naked but no-one can see that you're naked
Matt: Like being naked but no-one can see that you're naked? The clothes I'm wearing fulfill that function.
Jono: I won't elaborate cause there are ladies present, but you can think about it.
Bella: Thankyou

So basically, it seems the guys are looking for a skirt that is masculine, functional and comfortable. Or a robe of some sort. Or a maternity dress.

Am I the only one who finds that Pacific forum thing kind of funny? All I can imagine is all the Islander leaders sitting around in a big circle drinking kava.

And here's a little conversation that happened at my college bible study that I thought was funny. Both people in the conversation are called Nick, so I will use last names to avoid confusion

Stolk: I don't like the idea of God being wrathful. I want him to be just, but in a friendly way.
Bowie: He throws people into the lake of fire in a friendly way. He's smiling.

I'm not sure what the theological basis of that is!!

When I was on the bus today, I saw someone who was dressed exactly like Captain Jack Sparrow! It was very amusing. I can only hope he was going to a costume party - on a Tuesday night?

Yesterday was a good day. At church we had a guest speaker who was a Messianic Jew and she talked to us about the relationship between Christ and the Passover. So kind of like what Scott was talking about a few weeks ago, but from a Jewish perspective. She actually set up a Passover table at the front of the church, with all the cups and food and stuff, and took us through the tradition, explaining how each part points to Christ. Really interesting stuff and such a good gospel message. Christ is the passover lamb that brings redemption through his blood!

And from Jewish traditions to shellfish and pork, all in one day! I went to Hala's 16th birthday which took the form of a Tongan feast. I love those!! The food was delicious as usual, and Hala looked beautiful in a pale blue lavalava and ta'ovala. And, Joseph who used to be in Australian Idol was there because Hala is his cousin. He sang a few songs and he does have a really good voice. He's so much more suited to intimate performances rather than big Australian Idol things. I talked to him for a little while - he's such a sweetie but really very shy. And I got to see J.J again, who is one year old now and walking around by himself. He's a chubby baby! I think Tongan parties are so fun.

Feeling a little disappointed for a few reasons

Youth group was supposed to start today, after not having done much at all since Easter. Mum's not feeling so well, so I had to wait for dad to get home for him to drive me. So I rang Theresa, the youth leader, to tell her this at about 3:30 - and she said no-one had turned up. She sounded upset cause she is *so* committed to this. Anyway, we're having a youth meeting with the kids aswell tomorrow, so we'll see what comes of that.

And...my family almost got another dog...but it didn't work out. There was someone who needed to give away their labrador, and they knew we already had one, so they asked if we wanted theirs. So Charlie, this other labrador, came to visit us and meet Daisy to see if they got on. There was way too much growling and barking so Charlie ended up not staying :( That was sad cause Charlie was very beautiful, but they probably would have fought initially - so that's not good. Mum says we're going to get another dog next time Daisy's on heat - she needs a boyfriend!

BTW, my heart shaped scab is really sore. I hope its not getting infected.

One fun thing, though. I have a new mp3 player, called Jeremy. Not really new, it was my sisters but she got a new one (called Patrick) and she gave me her old one. But it's still really decent.

I beat Kate in the gross sores competition...this morning as I was walking down the asphalt path to college, I got my foot stuck in a pothole and I tripped over. As a result, I have a big graze on my knee, and a smaller graze on my foot and my other ankle is sore. I feel like I'm in primary school again...as having grazes on any one of my knees or elbows was standard back then. It's a good thing I'm wearing a black skirt today, cause blood got all over it but you can hardly tell. If I'd been wearing a white skirt that would have looked particularly nasty.

Anyhoo, Stiney and I were having a random discussion and we came up with a list of places I need to visit:

Bella (a province in Italy)
Belfast
Belarus
Belgium
Belgrade
Belize
Belair

I'm sure there were others, but I can't remember them all. And I've been trying to think of places for you guys...

When I look into your holiness
When I gaze into your loveliness
When all things that surround become shadows in the light of you

When I've found the joy of reaching your heart
When my will becomes enthroned in your love
When all things that surround become shadows in the light of you

I worship you, I worship you
The reason I live is to worship you
I worship you, I worship you
The reason I live is to worship you

Complete craziness today! The madness started after CU, when Kate, Ali, Manda and I sat down - later to be joined by Matt, Em and Ash. As soon as I heard Manda mention the word TROGDOR!!!! we couldn't be shut up about it. And I'm sure the hilarious picture will inevitably find its way onto Manda's blog. Such a good song to sing:

TROGDOR!!!! Burninating the country side TROGDOR!!! Burninating the peasants.

Or...Nickdor, who me and Stiney met yesterday in the blue mountains. Nickdor is Trogdors little brother who is currently hatching out of his shell. Nickdor has not yet mastered the art of burninating, so is stuck with scorchinating the countryside for the time being. Yes, I'm sure Stiney will have fun tomorrow.

Kate's dragon was very well drawn, if a little sad. I'm sure it felt better after Ali consoled it by stroking it. And I'm sure I made the poor scribbled out dinosaur feel more loved. Possibly one of the most bizarre things of this afternoon was taking a photo of Kate's gigantic bloody blister (which will also make its way onto someones blog). And I don't even like feet.

There is no way I can remember all of the amusing quotes that sprouted forth today, so I will leave that to Katus, who wrote most of them down. We are so crazy.

On another note, Neighbours is a stupid show. I like Stingray cause he's all hyperactive and sweet, but the show is so pointless. I guess its mindless diversion.

And on another note, the CU talk was really good today. Very relevant, and challenging. I'm going off to have dinner now.

Maddy and Mike's engagement party was fun...simply for the fact that there were so many CU-ers there. And I got to see Ali to wish her a happy birthday! Highlights of the night included Ash, Ali and I talking in lithpth, and me announcing to them that they were more immature than the 2 year olds who are still not yet toilet trained. That may be a slight exaggeraton. Anyhoo, acting out emotions was also fun...if anyone is interested, go to emotioneric.com

Speeches were amusing actually, poor Mike got completely picked on. But that is always the spirit of speeches, in Australian culture anyway. Why is that? I liked how instructions were provided for getting food - in case someone didn't know. And good on Mike for being so open with his faith and having a Christian wedding. Although I'm sure his statement that 'he's under no illusion that this marriage will last forever' was misinterpreted when everyone started laughing. Maddy looked beautiful, as usual. I'm sure I would look very silly if I tried to wear some of her clothes, but she always looks lovely in all kinds of crazy clothes.

Ah, it's fun to be back at uni. The RMC talent quest was very funny/disturbing...it just isn't a talent quest without guys in drag! And it's talk to everyone again. I have so much free time now. Actually, not completely true. I only have two hours of class, but I have other fun stuff like CU meetings, bible study, slam meetings, etc. that are welcome distractions from working on assignments. Still, it's quite ridiculous

My sister Stiney is coming to stay overnight at college next Thursday. I predict she'll spend most of her time at the mac centre, but she may come to CU and meet you guys aswell. Oh, if only Justin was still here....or not :P

Last night I went out to dinner with school friends. I hadn't seen people for ages, so I was not completely sure if we would still have things to talk about. Fortunately, the friendships are still there, and it was a fun night. I hadn't seen Natalie since school, I've only emailed her to keep in touch. But it was very good to see her again - she finally has her own horse! Daisy, Kim and Aghia are lovely too. We mostly reminisced and giggled about old school teachers and informed eachother about what other people from our school are doing now. It verged on gossip, it was hard to pull back sometimes.

It's good to know my friends haven't changed. These ones at least. There were some stories about a friend who I was close to in year 10 and 11, who grew in a *very* different direction to me. It kind of started in year 12, so I wasn't surprised to hear what she's like now. Still, it's sad. I do pray for her sometimes. I just thank God that did grow in the opposite direction - towards Him - instead of towards all night clubbing and drinking.

The friends I met up with yesterday, are just about the only ones still left in Australia. Abi's in New Zealand, Milly's in the US, Fi's in the US most of the time and Diana's in France. Sounds exciting to be travelling or living away from home - but really, right at this moment, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here.

I have a shiny new Tongan bible (tohi tapu) and hymn book (tohi himi). I can't understand much of it, but I can sort of understand when looking along with my English bible

Filipai 4:4
Mou fiefia 'i he 'Eiki ma'u ai pe: 'io, kau toe 'ai atu, mou fiefia.

Sione 3:16
He na'e ofa pehe 'a e Otua ki mamani, ko ia na'a ne foaki hono 'Alo tofu pe taha ne fakatupu, koe 'uhi ko ia kotoa pe 'oku tui pikitai kiate ia ke 'oua na'a 'auha, kae ma'u 'a e mo'ui ta'engata.

Aqua golf is fun....no skill required. I love games like that.

Well, I've been having fun doing absolutely nothing. Stine bought series 3 of Scrubs and series 2 of Futurama on DVD, so we've been spending most of our time watching that. Lots of fun.

Stiney is saying snnnnn without my prompting. This is good.

I just realised that I have a ridiculously low amount of face-to-face class hours this term. Cause I'm not doing my prac subject anymore, and one of my other subjects is external. So that gives me a grand total of 2 hours of class per week! Now there's no excuse for not doing readings and assignments :P

Prac is finished! And I didn't pass. That kind of sucks but it's actually okay, because I really don't want to do childcare anyway. Em, I don't want to discourage you, cause I really admire people working in childcare, but it doesn't seem to work for me. Not as a full time job, anyway. I can't imagine myself being a childcare room leader, which is probably what I would have to be.

There actually were some good parts of the prac. The children were lovely - most of the time - and I learned a lot about two year olds. Which will be good if I ever have my own kids. And I developed good relationships with some of the staff. It was kind of sad saying goodbye to the staff who had been really supportive to me, and they seemed very shocked that I failed. Also, over this last week, I've been able to share my faith a little bit with Ainsley, a non-Christian girl who works there. She doesn't really seem interested in Christianity for herself at the moment, but she was respectful of my faith and was open to hearing about it. So pray that something good will come out of that, and pray for Anita, the Christian woman working there. Even though I didn't technically pass the course requirements, I learned a lot about being a Christain in the workplace, and about perserverance (see, I didn't even need to go to women's day).

This has actually made me think more seriously about transferring to primary education, which I've been thinking about for ages but never really had a valid enough reason. If I continue with early childhood, I'd be finishing the course halfway through 2008 - not halfway through next year- , so I might aswell work towards a primary degree during that time. And, I found out that there's actually a bachelor of arts in early childhood, which I've already met the credit point requirements for - so if I can somehow work out that, my years of ech study won't go to waste. But that won't qualify me to teach, so I will have to do primary ed. aswell. So...I'm going to be at uni for a lot longer yet. I don't completely know all the details yet, but I'm looking into it.

I don't think it's a coincidence that my kindergarten prac was the only one with no complications or concerns. I think God is speaking to me through this. I actually can imagine myself as a primary school teacher.

One thing, if you can tell me...how exactly does the primary degree work? I know a little bit but I'd really like to find out more detail

God is good, and works all things for good for those who love him.

I talked to Theresa today and now we're going to Tonga after Christmas, not before. Which means.....................I can go to NTE aswell!!

Very exciting! SNNNNNN!

Some random snnnnn fun from the holy scriptures


'We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under snnnnn'. Romans 3:10

'God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still snnnnners, Christ died for us' Romans 5:8

'What shall we say then? Shall we go on snnnnning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to snnnnn, how can we live in it any longer...For we know that our old self was crucified with him so the body of snnnnn might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to snnnnn - because anyone who has died has been freed from snnnnn.' Romans 6:1-7

'What shall we say then? Is the law snnnnn? Certainly not. Indeed, I would not have known what snnnnn was except throug the law...but snnnnn, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment produces in my every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, snnnnn is dead' Romans 7:7-

Time for the weekly prac report...ONLY 1 WEEK TO GO!

It has been better this week...although I'd still rather be at uni, and I really miss you guys in all your craziness. Only two year olds could possibly make CU-ers seem mature! Well, after two weeks I'm getting to know the kids, especially those that come full time. So I'm getting better at managing their behaviour - which is still *really* challenging, as anyone who as ever looked after toddlers will know. But other times they can be completely charming, so I love them.

I had my evaluation on Thursday...it didn't go that well cause I really need to work on my observations and stuff. But my prac advisor was really nice about it, so I'm not particularly worried. It's all in God's hands, anyway. I found out today that one of the staff members is a Christian, which makes sense because she's been so supportive and caring for me. She told me today that she's been praying for me, and she asked me to pray for her too. So, it's good to have that Christian support.

Have a good first week of holidays, everyone.

I know it's very dorky...but I really like watching Australian idol. It's such mindless entertainment. Plus, this year one of the contestants is a cousin of some kids at church. So I indirectly know him. That makes it fun.

Mum just told me that whenever I cook using our oven, I need to subtract about 20 degrees from what it says on the recipe. And she only tells me now! So, it wasn't my fault that every single biscuit I made ended up burnt

I haven't posted on this for so long...but I've been extremely busy. I survived my first week of prac, only two weeks to go. It's really not the best prac I've been to. I think a lot of it is I just don't want to work in childcare - there's so much cleaning involved, it's ridiculous. At first I thought I was being made to do more cleaning than was reasonable, and some days I think I was, but I realised that cleaning is a huge part of being a childcare worker - along with observing kids, planning for kids, making sure the kids dont' kill eachother and ( only if there's time left over) playing with the kids. It's really sad, but thats the way it works. Anyway, I think this centre may be worse than others I've been to. My supervising teacher hardly notices I exist, and she's only there part time. Still, I've made friends with some of the staff workers, and I am trying to be peaceful and joyful through all this. It's really hard though.

Another really sad thing is, some of the kids in this centre spend more time there than I do. And I'm there 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Well, it's the weekend now, and I'm staying at home. I know there's a social on today, and I would like to go. If I didn't have to travel I'd go, but I'm honestly too exhausted to travel. I had a really busy, fun weekend last week. The college ball was great, cause it's always fun to see friends dressed up. I actually got to wear my yr 12 formal dress again! And, I love the contrast of that weekend. On Friday was the ball, and then on Saturday a whole lot of college people drove over to Orange for Jono's 21st, which was a barbeque and bonfire on a cherry farm. That was heaps of fun. We acted out a monty python scene and then made effigies of Jono to burn (for some reason), and there were lots of marshmallows to toast. Some of the country-bred kids were actually throwing fire balls around. It was great to watch, but I sensibly decided to watch from a distance!

I will get around to doing Ali's extensive survey thingie...but first I shall write about the bush dance.

The bush dance was fun! I always like bush dances, simply because they are bush dances and there's no pressure to look cool while you dance - it's all about silliness and fun. I drove up withs some people from college. It was Jules' first time ever at a bush dance, as she's from Korea and they don't have that many bush dances in Korea :P Anyway, she said she had lots of fun, and she is now an official Aussie. Lots of people from CU came aswell: Em, Pete, Alison, Tom, Bec, both Bens, Jono (although he counts as a college friend aswell) and I think that's everyone. And, in a nice coincidence, I met someone I used to go to highschool with, and her parents were there aswell. It's always good to meet up with someone you haven't seen for a while, and then find out that they are Christian.

Anyway...the dances were generally the standard bush dances, which is great. Heel and Toe, Strip the Willow, the Waves of Bondi, Drongo etc. And a bizzare Hungarian dance. Did anyone else notice that the last three dances involve bum shaking of some kind. Bush dancing is such good exercise. Fortunately, we had some breaks to go outside and talk and be merry. There was lots of giggling and memorable quotes/incidents. I can't remember specific words but here's the best of what I remember.

* Working out the conspiracy that Amanda is actually Ben Stiller - due to her Zoolander face

* Tom running away to the church of St Thomas/Ben wondering if he could climb the church, and if that would make him closer to God

* The burnt hot chocolate

* The 'and a pickle' face

*Giggling and laughing for no apparent reason

Yesterday I went to a farewell party for Leirelle from church, who is leaving today to go to school in Tonga. We're all going to miss her but I hope she has heaps of fun. And I'll be going to visit her in December.

I have way too many assignments. Living in two places does not help that. I downloaded a whole lot of articles on the computer at home, and this morning put them onto my laptop to take to college. And when I got to college, I realised that I had actually copied the wrong ones...it's annoying because I don't actually go home again until Sunday, so Stine is emailing me the right articles. It seems there is not enough time to do these assignments. And it's really hard to find information on one. Plus, there's the fact that I'm still feeling sick - that kind of sore throat, coughing, warm hands that stays weeks after I get over a virus. So I'm well enough to do everything, but sick enough to not want to do anything.

Even so, my family is growing. I have sisters and cousins and a crazy great-uncle. And, by the way, for anyone who heard the CU talk today, I like old gothic cathedrals and traditional litanies and candles, incense, etc.

I am now part of a very large, dysfunctional family. Amanda is my mum, Ali is my great-nana (who I am actually older than) and Kate is my imaginary friend. As I am an illegitimate child with no dad and no brothers or sisters, I needed to create a friend for myself. And apparently, according to Brett, I inspired him to wear silly hats to his small group each week - the hat madness is spreading! I suggest we have a silly hat day sometime soon, where we all revel in the madness of our silly/cool/interesting hats.

I'm going to Tonga in the Christmas holidays! At least, that's the plan. A family from church are visiting their family in Tonga, and they invited me and my sister if we can pay for our plane fare. I'm going to use the money Nana gave me for my birthday...and the great thing is, cause we'll be staying with family, I won't need to pay for accomodation or food. Only thing is, that would be at the same time as NTE - so unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to go to both. Going to both would be so fun, though.

Really good talk today. I think I'm going to listen to it tomorrow aswell.

This is for all the people I think read this blog. If anyone else is reading this, please comment and I'll add you too.

Katus: Kate's ability to speak very random phrases in equally random languages is cool. She develops some interesting theories and is always ready to report crazy quotes and happenings on her blog, and most of my photos from the past one and a half years come from her. She also says nice things about her female small group leader in the hope of getting more Pods.

Alison: Ali always compliments me on my hats! She's great to talk to and is always concerned with how people are going. She also thinks up fun games to play on MYC that involves brain work rather than extreme embarrassment or sporting ability.

Manda: Manda is very pretty and delicate looking - she is also hyperactive and bubbly. It's very difficult to stay in a bad mood when she's around. She's not afraid to be silly, which is cool, and she has very nice clothes.

Em: I haven't known Em that long, but she seems wise and mature, and she's doing early childhood, so she's nurturing aswell. Her gentle nature and love for God shines out and encourages whoever she talks to. She's fun to talk to, too.

Matt: Matt is hilarious, and I still remember planning the kids puppet play with him on NTE mission. He's always coming up with funny sayings but he's also very committed to serving God. Plus, he got me a pen with my name on it for my birthday.

You guys all rock!

I love hanging out at uni with CU friends - what else can I say? I didn't get to much of exo day, cause I had class. But I got to hang out at the end of it and go on the jumping castle. Being on a jumping castle with four hyperactive full-grown guys is a very dangerous thing. Just the whole idea of hanging around afterwards indefinitely is so cool - very Islander Time.

I visited the long daycare centre where I'm doing prac this semester...and I do think it's going to be very challenging. As a teacher and as a Christian. I couldn't work out specifically what it was, but there was something not so good about the centre. The kids didn't seem to be having that much fun, and the teachers seemed to spend most of their time telling kids not to do stuff. Aesthetically, the room was sort of boring. But maybe that means I'll be able to make it pretty. I think for this prac, I'll really have to rely on God, especially in the way I relate to the staff.

I think it comes down to the fact that I don't want to be a childcare worker. I can imagine myself as a primary teacher, I'm looking forward to that. But I can't imagine myself working in a long daycare centre fulltime. This prac is just something I have to finish so I can later get my degree.

Still, the day wasn't all bad. One of the kids came up with a quote about me that I really like. She asked me how I got to the centre today, and I said my mum drove me. So she said:

'So you're sort of a kid and sort of a teacher.'

That sums me up *so* well - I love that!

The college harbour cruise was interesting. It rained most of the day, but the harbour was calm which was good. The worst bit was waiting around for our boat to arrive. Dunmore Lang College also had their harbour cruise at the same time and place, so when we saw a fancy boat we got our hopes up until we realised that was DLC's boat. Our boat was less impressive in comparison but still was spacious and had an outdoor deck...even though it was COLD. So, I was happy. Heather came, and she and Jono actually had conversations about maths! They tried to involve me, but I explained that, as an early childhood teacher, my maths interest stops at number recognition.
The theme of this thing was dressing up other people. I was partnered with Jules, so we generally tried to make eachother look pretty. The same could *not* be said for other people, especially guys. Jono was wearing a garbage bag as a cape and Daniel was wearing Jono's blanket pants. John Williams was wearing something that wouldn't be out of place at a luau and Sly was wearing girls clothes - hilarious. It was also interesting to see who got drunk and who didn't. Only a few people got completely trashed, but then there were others who had just a bit too much. Still, with the boat rocking from side to side, sometimes it was a bit hard to tell! As usual, I only had one glass of wine.

THAT IS SO TOTALLY ORANGE!!!!

Uni starts tomorrow and I go back to college. I'm feeling a little dodgy, I slept for most of today. Still, I am looking forward to going back, sort of.


5 way MSN conversations are completely random and very fun