Happy New Year

My dears... my final address for 2010!
Have a wonderful safe New Year. I myself try to keep it low key. I'm not a fan of crowds, drunk people or hangovers at work (In between feeling sorry for myself about my 10am January the 1st start, I'm reminding myself of the public holiday pay). I'm so thankful to have had you reading and especially commenting along, not to mention discovering many wonderous blogs. I have a feeling 2011 will be a goody..
We are planning on having a couple sweet friends over to build a fort out of sheets, sticks and the clothes line, in our tiny city back garden, eat some yummy foods and sip on an ice cold g&t. We may even drag the tv outside and watch the fire works (while we hear them in real life) and possibly muppets treasure island from out there.. because really, why be grown up when you can have fun instead?! Any other homebodies out there, or is everyone getting there party on?

Images are of some of my favourite party dresses from Pintrest this year, all original sources linked to here... I'm not really a glitter and sequinns girl...

On a boring aside, the next few weeks are going to be redonkulously busy for me, what with the Sydney festival in our theatre, me still being the boss and well, maybe some exciting news, so it may be a quieter than usual start!

Just a spoonful of sugar...

How cute are these pillows?! From This Etsy shop.

Part three

Part one, Part two

I guess I don't know what to say anymore. Well I do know what to say, but I'm faking it. I know what people want to hear.

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A while back I wrote this post. I had kind of assumed a close (religious) friend of mine read my blog. I don't know why I assumed that, I guess I thought we don't get to hang out much because of our different working hours, almost all of my other friends read it. Anyway. I thought she probably had read the post. She obviously hadn't when we eventually caught up earlier this year and ended up talking belief and faith, as we often do.

She was deeply shocked by what I said. I guess I said stuff similar to in the post, it wasn't long after I had written it that we talked. She then shocked me more. She said we were no longer sisters and that made her sad. She was sad we wouldn't be together in heaven. Despite catching up since then, things have changed. I was so hurt that by expressing my feelings, doubts, beliefs, that when they veered away from hers, from what is described as "basic principles that we can all agree on", I felt she had dumped me from her "Christian friends".

I was angry because I don't feel like I'm not a Christian. I don't think many Christians realise the wide variety of beliefs that are out there within there own. I don't understand who decides what these basic principles are. I don't think Christianity or any religion really should be simplified or distilled so much to be dot point-able. Basic principled. Life isn't like that, life is complicated, religion even more so. I hate to think that my friends are fretting over my being in heaven or not. Because at the end of the day all we know for sure is that we are here right now and we don't know what is next.

The year that was...

Ahhh New Years resolutions... First there is Determined December, then Joyful January, then comes Forgetful February, Melancholy March, Apathetic April and then really, lets face it, it's all over.
I'm feeling pretty good with the changes that have happened this year. It's been a tough one in many ways but so exciting in others, and I'm always looking forward to the future.


This year I have:
* Increased my printed word reading, a lot.
* Started exercising.
* Bought a new camera and taken many pictures.
* Resparked and made some new friendships.
* Had heaps of cooking adventures and experiments.
* Taken some baby steps towards our "dream future".
* Gone craft and creativity crazy.
* Fallen more in love (who would of thought it possible) with my husband.
* Written many lists. 
* Worked harder at work.
* Drunk less.
* oh yeah, been to Africa... that was this year. holymoly.
* Blogged A LOT.


What has your year looked like? Ticked any of those resolution boxes? Do share!
{1, 2, 3, 4}

My favourite things...

I do love a good carol session. 
These are three of the best. Truly.
Merry Christmas my dears, enjoy, and I'll be back next week.

Part two

A continuation of Part one...
...
In 2005 I moved to Sydney and started university. I met a girl in the year above who told us first year students that while we were her lighting crew there was to be no swearing (unheard of in theatre). This one's a Christian I thought. We became fast friends, and by her and her classmates (who I had a large crush on) persuasion I visited and then was regularly attending their Sydney Anglican church by June that year. The church persuaded me too. It was my first experience of the big, student-y Anglican. The music was awesome, the preaching inspiring and all the cool young things enthusiastic, bubbly and welcoming. It was the closest thing to my original summer camp, upon reflection.

On my third or fourth visit there something moved me.  I believe the passage being preached on was from Luke, what I heard was that no matter what my past was, all could be forgiven. During the prayers after the sermon I cried. I remember feeling relief and then some confusion. A lot of people hugged me and gathered close around including my two uni friends, everyone looked really happy. Conversion. I had no idea that's what it meant until later.

The first six months were great. I have some diaries from this time. A lot of bad things happened too, three deaths in the one year, a 60hr a week uni degree, but I also met my best friend and now husband. We would talk and talk on my small Redfern balcony until the (very pernickety) neighbours would tell us to be quiet. We discussed God and the Bible and reconciling the big bang theory with Genesis one.

I remember we would pray together before he would leave and he would often have tears of joy in his eyes and I remember feeling overwhelmed that he felt such emotion in these prayers we whispered to God and occasionally I wondered why I wasn't moved to tears when we prayed. It did happen once. When I was alone in my room on my knees, praying out loud quietly.
I realised being a Christian was hard work.

Confessions...

 Inspired by Celia... I thought i too would come to the confessional.


* I used to steal money from the bank in monolpoly alllll the time

* My little brother remembers the boys I dated better than I do..

* I have eaten a whole large bag of sweetened popcorn for dinner twice now.

* I hate splitting bills at restaurants. I always feel like I get ripped off because I'm a vegetarian.

* Oh, and, I do feel superior for being a vegetarian. Sorry.

* I used to sneak my housemates cashew nuts (sorry), but now (in a different share house) that I've had my food sneaked I would never do it again.

* If you leave marks in the loo, I will scrub them away. And be annoyed about it.

* My feet smell.

* I tidy other peoples houses when I'm visiting. 

Come on then... 'fess up...

{secrets}

The show must go on...

 So you may have gathered from my thankful post, that my boss has broken his leg. It happened during a live performance at our theatre. And it was pretty dramatic. Thankfully the curtain was in and it didn't happen in front of all 900 people - they would of all heard his yell though and the sound of the 750kg wall as it landed on him. Obviously this majorly sucks for him.
For me this means a lot more responsibility, a lot more stress, a shortened holiday in febuary and well, it means everything that could go wrong that he would normally fix has. I started to feel like I was getting on top of all the new things I had to do today and then bam. Something doesn't work. And I don't know why and I don't know how to fix it and so I end up feeling completely incompetent.
Luckily my boy knows how to cheer me up. Popcorn, lollies, accompaning me to the christmas party and reminding me of the blissfully crazy family long weekend that lies ahead - Hurry up Friday and go away Monday!

{source unknown - If this is yours, do let me know}

Dreaming about...

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This is what my New Years Eve will look like. I've decided. There will be lights and there will be tents made out of sheets. Well, a girl can dream...

Things to be thankful for.

* I got the day off work to go to my brothers graduation.
* I got to go, despite my boss having a broken leg and me now being thrown in the major deep end at work.
* Lighting desks are relativly safe bits of equipment, unlike 750kg flown walls, that tend to break things (like legs) when they fall on them
* My brother will be with us for Christmas!
* The funnest 'Evil Santa' work party (Hugo Weaving now owns a copy of a 'Everything is illuminated' bought by me. Yes yes I'm a big fat name dropper)
* My boy knows how to have adventures! Yay for adventures!
* 10 hours sleep last night. Bliss.
* Winning $100 Westfield gift voucher from PottyMouthMuma!
* Skype chats to my besties in England.
* It'sChristmasNextWeek!!!!


{Images}

{Things to be thankful for is a list I started when I began blogging. It helps me reflect on my week and remember all the good things in my life. I would love it if you played along too, leave a link in the comments and link to me on your post. *s*}  

Link love for Friday...

* Hate folding maps? Check out these babies...
* Wonderful wedding photographer has a new site...
* Check out this clip about a film called beautiful.
* The golden rule....
* Go to Public School
* A compilation of wedding inspiration for you
* Sick of crap fee's from your bank? I say switch to a credit union - but compare the choices here...
* The original ministry of food
* Sydney cycling website, did you know cycling use has grown by an average of 40% this year!
* My new favourite house.
* I suddenly fancy a holiday to Switerland!
* Oh and just because....

My creative space...

 

New colours! I bought more thread with the pennies I earned from the BFF stall... thinking up new colour combo's to make necklaces with is making me happy right now.

Creative space usually happens with Kootoyoo here...

Part one

{via}
Things have become unclear so I need to write this down. This is my story. This is what I remember. All names have been changed.  This is about me and not any of the characters that may just happen to be involved.

Start at the beginning. I became a Christian in 2005. No I became a Christian in 1999. No? I was baptised in 1985. In a gown sewn by my great great great grandmother in 1890, I've seen the photos. Christianity is part of my heritage, my race, my ethnicity. But any Christian will tell you that's not really true either.

I guess my parents are agnostic. My godmother identifies more with Buddhism more than any other religion. What was my first experience with God? I went to Sunday school when I was 4 with the family my mother and I lived with. I remember getting grape juice in a little cup and liking it. I remember liking singing and I remember being bored and fidgety while the adults talked. I remember making craft and learning about a guy in the belly of a whale. I don't remember when I stopped going.

Next we moved to England. We lived with my grandparents and went to church every Sunday. It was, it is, Church of England or Anglican in denomination. Lots of people wore robes and there was a choir and afterwards us kids would run around the gravestones and drink tea and sneak more than our fair share of biscuits.

When I was twelve I went to a Christian summer camp. I don't know whose idea it was, my parents or my grandparents. It was fun and I went back every year after until I was 17 and a junior leader. I had my first kiss (in the grass at 5am after sneaking out of our tent) there, and my first puff (puff being the operative word) of a cigarette (I didn't like it), and I became a Christian.

It was the second year I went  - I think - and it feels, from my hazy recollect, that it was the first time I got a real sense of what having faith and being a Christian meant. That it was a big deal, a life changing decision and it was what I wanted. It was a matter of choosing to believe in something. That was it. I went home from that camp brimming with enthusiasm and excitement and helpful bible study booklets. Somewhere along the line I joined a church where I didn't know anyone.

By January the next year (summer is in July in England remember) my enthusiasm had waned somewhat. But come the next summer camp I was ripe for being re-enthused. I remember it being good. I remember it being sincere. I also remember it being hard, after camp had faded with summer.

Just a trifle... Christmas eating.

There are so many different rules about trifle - but non of them are consitent. The fancy recipes say no no to jelly, but the consumers I ask say yes please! To use cream or mascarpone...(cream - coz mascarpone is mega 'spensive) sponge or trifle biscuits (Coles only had sponge) booze or no booze (well duh)... it really is completely up to the trifle builder, but here's my attempt of making happy flavour combo's in a big wet mushy bowl of joy without breaking the bank or taking forever. One thing we can all agree on when it comes to trifle: Do it in a glass bowl!

You need:
* 1 packet of portwine/raspberry jelly (and hot water to make it)
* plain two layered sponge cake
* 1 jar lemonbutter/curd
* 1/2 cup of brandy
* 2 boxes of mixed frozen berrys
* 1/2 cup castor sugar
* 1litre of thick custard
* 600mls of thickened cream

Then:
The night before you want your trifle make up the jelly according to the packet instructions.
On the day: Spread the lemon butter thickly between your two layers of sponge, I used almost the entire jar. Cut the sponge into smallish rectangles and squish it into the base of your large glass bowl. Squash it in quite firmly so that the top is an even flat layer. Pour the brandy gently over the top of the whole thing and set aside to soak in.

Defrost your berrys in the microwave (or leave them on the counter for a couple of hours), but don't heat them up. Pop half of the berry's in a saucepan, sprinkle the castor sugar on top and pop on to a medium heat on the stove. Cook until the sugar dissolves and the berrys juices begin to run. Set aside to cool slightly.
Meanwhile use a fork to break up your jelly into chunks. Just whisk it through. Add the jelly and other half of the berrys to the cooked berrys mixture, stir roughly then distribute evenly over your sponge base. The juices will slowly run into the sponge and be gorgeous!

Carefully spread the thick custard over the berrys. Whip the cream until it is stiff and spread this over the custard in an arty fasion... grate a little bit of chocolate on top.... Enjoy!

Trifle is another perfect Australian Christmas dish. Happy to be served cool, brimming with sumnmer goodness and yet still the over-the-top-ness that Christmas desserts call for.

Flea market Finds

Let me tell you about an amazing place. Now don't laugh. The place friends... the place is Tamworth. I know. But for serious. The op shops. my. god. I only had time to go to The Life Line store on my way back from the wedding in Gunnedah, but my very, very reliable sources tell me The Vinnies is equally amazing as are numerous other stores.

I got me this awesome vintage dress... $8.

I got buttons, $1/bag

Some cool fabric, $2

And well, the minute I have a house of my own to fill with furniture and tupperware, I know where my first port of call will be. The great thing is that it is all laid out so well. Really thoughtfully in sections, colour and material co-ordinated. A real flea market joy!
More over at Her Library Adventures...