|
| .: Full :. Is it just me - or does it seem like time seems to go doubly quicker as we approach the end of the year? Our life has been packed to the brim (or so it seems) over the last two months. The surprise birthday party for the sister's 18th birthday (at McDonald's no less - complete with party packs! heh) was a success, the holiday back to Brunei that we eagerly anticipated swished by in the blink of an eye and before we knew it, our first anniversary has come and gone! I have hardly had time to sort through and stock-take this year, much less plan for the year ahead! Already, we've received two wedding invitations and at last count, we have 10 weddings that we've been verbally invited to! A week before our take-off from Adelaide, the hubs and I decided to use a voucher for a bed and breakfast up in the hills that we'd won at a Breast Cancer Awareness Dinner earlier this year. It was a lovely little cottage by a lake and time seemed to stand still for a little while. Del busied himself with building a log fire in the old-fashioned as I dreamt of scenes from Anne of Green Gables and let my imagination run wild with images from the Enid Blyton books I used to read growing up. We made ourselves a hearty breakfast the morning and ended the weekend with going around the surrounding vineyards - sheer bliss I tell you. Weekends like that are precious and we're already planning for more of those next year! We celebrated our first year anniversary with 200 other people at the annual OCF Convention...not your 'ideal romantic' picture, but hey..we were both doing what we loved and at the end of the day - isnt that what marriage is? Having someone to share life with..and doing things in tandem and getting such a buzz from it at the end of the day. More thoughts to come before the year draws to a close Im sure..but for now, sleep beckons. | | |
|  .: Making Pretty :.So I've currently caught the latest cold - my 2nd in 4 weeks. I think the bugs in ED are rather different to the long-stay ward patients. Except that at the back of my mind, I think Im just making an excuse for the lack of sleep and proper rest that my body is telling me I need. Plus I keep getting comments that Ive lost weight - not intentional, mind you - even though the scales at home have not confirmed it at all. Despite being a healthcare professional, I dont think I lead a very healthy lifestyle - yes mum and pops, you can stop nodding your heads now.
In a bid to kick-start what may perhaps turn into an annual affair in our life, the hubs signed us up for the City-to-Bay Marathon, where we walked the whole 6km from Anzac Highway to Glenelg. Despite not having done anything close to athletics since high-school, i thoroughly enjoyed the brisk walk (due to my competitive nature) even though the husband was more keen that it be a social affair. I didnt ache as much as I thought I would and we ended the day with a nice little picnic at the Cheesefest with the rest of Del' s work colleagues.  It was a lovely spring day - rather nippy in the morning, but once we got started, we managed to work up a sweat. We started late because of a miscommunication and by the time we got there, the officials were packing up the start line! So unfortunately, we didnt get our names in the papers with our recorded times, but we managed 6kms in just a little over an hour. Not bad for a person who doesnt exercise regularly!And in a burst of creativity, I added a few touches to 'make pretty' our little home. I have a few things on my 'project list' and Del snickers every time I try and tell him about it because he knows it will take another spurt of effort and inspiration before I kick-start and eventually finish them! For example, my first knitting project (a wooly scarf intended for my then-boyfriend) was started in 2006 and to date, it's still sitting in a bag somewhere, 3/4 done. I dont think I even remember how to purl anymore! So, off I went to Ikea on a day-off - intending only to get a few necessary items (ie baskets and storage zip-up cases), but nobody goes to Ikea and leave without doing a little browse. I spied with a my little eyes wall-stickers and stood there for about 20mins deciding on which wall I'd stick them on. I've been seeing various designs through different interior design mags and have always thought it'd be a nice addition to a plain wall. There are even stickers for fridge doors, just to add a more personal touch to a home. After uhm-ing and ahh-ing over the intricacies of it, I decided to take the plunge and put it up (every little piece of it) on the plain white wall - just outside the guest room. 2nd project of the week - a cork board with attitude! I've always wanted to do this and eventually managed to talk my attention span into it. Del currently uses the study more than I do due to his MBA, but I foresee many late nights attempting to study when I get into a training programme. In an effort to be neat and tidy, I have many plans for the study, but for now, this is what I have done. Del usually uses tape to attach paperwork (ie bills and important notices) to the wall right infront of him, so I thought it'd be nice to have a space especially for pin-up stuff. I bought 3 pack of heat pads from Ikea (each pack has 3 cork pads) and some left over cloth from their sale section.The cloth was cut to size and stretched over each heat pad to make it look pretty. Now, being the cheapo, instead of using a staple-gun (which would've been much sturdier and provided better holding power), I used the everyday desk stapler to attach the cloth to the heat pads. So in total, we have a little corner in the study with 9 little circles as cork boards. Will attach the finished product in a separate entry.So, these are the things that have kept me busy in the last few weeks. Then there was family who was over for an entire week - homecooked meals, pops and the brother mowing the lawn (with the now defunct lawm mower), clean and ironed clothes. The house felt so empty without them. It never gets easier - doesnt matter how long Ive lived away from home.  f
| | |
| .: Amazing Grace :.
24 hours ago, the news broke about Mike Guglielmucci. Our home church, Edge Church International- whose founder and senior pastor, Danny Guglielmucci is Mike's dad, sent out a mass email to the congregation.
Del and I read the email with a wave of emotions, but most of all sadness. We prayed for him, for the family and for the church before we went to bed last night and throughout today, the mood has been sombre and a little burdened. We dont know the full details - only that Mike told the National Executive of Australian Christian Churches (ACC) in a meeting yesterday morning in regards to his cancer claims being untrue.
Throughout today, I have fought numerous thoughts - mostly the why's and how's. To be honest, I am not surprised - because after all, we are all fallen human beings, but I cannot help but feel deep sadness that he chose to use a disease that is so real - that so many people are fighting everyday.
The things that saddens me the most is this:-
That in the cynical world of Australia (and I suppose, a large part of the western world), there is now another reason for the church to be condemned, for the words to be thrown to the fore, for accusations and all the pointed fingers. There is another reason for the youth to turn away.
How do we respond? Only as Jesus would - with love and grace - abounding.
Please pray for the church of Australia - for the Guglielmucci family and..for Mike.
Perhaps the song Healer - which has blessed and touched so many lives, will also minister to them in this time.
| | |
| .: Slow and Steady :. And so I had a break from work. The last minute decision to spend 6 days in KL was well worth it when I saw mum and pops' look of surprise and Popo's completely taken-aback expression. In the last few weeks, we've been slowly but surely putting together the frame of our little ho me - not literally, of course - but just adding the little touches that will turn this house into a home, OUR home. Armed with my little Miss Fix-it Kit, I've assembled the shoe cupboard and other bits and bobs here and there. My man of a husband on the other hand, has decided that he needs a new toy - and as you will see in the pic, with a look of such concentration, I am for anything that will motivate him to 'build' things! 
It's been fun but we are far from finished. Where shopping was mostly concentrated on clothes and shoes before, nowadays, it's about what we can add to make this little space truly ours.    | | |
| .: Man's Best Friend :. 
Ronvijken Sleeping Beauty
(this is truly what it states on her birth cert)
Otherwise known as our 'Goldie Girl'
22.5.98 - 29.7.08 There will none other after you. Our first - and last, apparently- retriever. Pops has ruled out another puppy retriever forever. He says the rascal of a spaniel is enough to keep him busy. I held her as the vet put her down - the pic was taken in her last moments, where she was so sick she hardly wagged her tail when I went to pet her. Now, help me try and convince the hubs that we 'need' a little one of our own - a pet dog I mean. | | |
|
|
