The final chapter

It wasn't really the weekend but it sure felt like it, so lets continue with the end of December. 

Monday 29th December

I worked today and then we went to Lay family reunion and then to Kmart again. I bought a folder so that I can keep my recipes better organized. 

Tuesday 30th December 

Worked at our warehouse today in Ingleburn doing stocktake. Then went and visited mum and Julian came home with me. We played a game of basketball at church in the heat, watched Impractical Jokers and had dinner at Graces house. I had a nap but then couldn't sleep so I tidied like four cupboards in the kitchen and got halfway  through clearing out the pantry before I discovered a cockroach. So that was the end of that. 

Wednesday 31st December

Worked today. Forgot stuff for work so had to catch train home and back but was nice to listen to so many podcasts. Work was quiet. Realized I had booked my flight to NZ in the wrong name so change that. 

Erin and Matt hosted the most epic games night ever. They ran it like a games show and it was so much fun. We played Catch phrase, talkin bout your generation, the price is right, thank god you're here, etc. they even dressed the part! So amazing! 

We missed the official countdown because we were taking care of kids but we had our own countdown and then danced around with sparklers. 

Best way to end the year. 

Christmas and Birthday week

Monday 22nd December

Work today and went out for laksa with Steph for lunch. We babysat Matt and Mel's kids at night. 

Tuesday 23rd December 

My birthday! Soong got me a DVD player for kitchen and set it up for me. Lana and I cooked for my shindig. My favourite friends came over and we had a BBQ and chilled. 

Wednesday 24th December

Christmas Eve!! Worked then went to Aunty Liza's for wog Christmas dinner and presents. Went to mums afterwards to wrap presents and sleep. 

Thursday 25th December

Christmas Day!!! Started by cooking breakfast at mums and opening presents. Then we went to church an both mum and dad came. Soong was in the kids talk and it was awesome. Then lunch at Graces house and dinner at home with Ryan and Julian

Friday 26th December 

Today we had lunch with Soong's parents and then Sing family Christmas for dinner. Lots of food, lots of presents, lots of fun. 

Saturday 27th December

Slept lots. Bummed out. Ate junk food. Watched DVDs. Went to Kmart to swap presents. Went to Kinseys place to eat noodles and watch Impractical Jokers. Amazing. 

Sunday 28th December

Church this morning. Lunch with the Kinseys and more Impractical Jokers. Fun times! Then sleeping and quiet night!

Oh and check out the EPIC blanket Mum made for us:

 

Christmas Weekend #4

Thursday 18th December

Christmas Madness tonight. Super fun times. 

Friday 19th December

We had church staff lunch today which was amazing. I spent the afternoon coloring in which was super relaxing. Went for a run with Felix in the evening then headed to a church girls Christmas supper. 

Saturday 20th December

Started today with the church musicians Christmas brunch at isobel's again. Her food is amazing! Then in the evening I spent time with Ez and her family at dinner. 

Sunday 21st December

Today was church. And then we went to Kmart and went to Soong's parents for dinner. 

Christmas Weekend #3

Thursday 11th December

Today gets a special mention because it was amazing. Soong told me ages ago to keep the day free because he had booked something for us to do for my birthday. It turned out he had bought us two tickets to see Wicked - and it was spectacular! We went for dinner in Haymarket to a small Japanese place and then watched the show, and ran through the rain back to Central station to get home.

Friday 12th December

Anh came over today and we did some Christmas baking. My issue with baking gingerbread cookies is that I eat too much of the dough before it ends up in the oven, and then I make myself feel ill. But we made Gingerbread cookies together, chatted and hung out all afternoon which was fun. I then had a Christmas dinner with my Senior girls at GYG to celebrate the end of the year. Then after dinner we went to the Lins house for a youth group leaders supper out on by Isobel. So much food!!

Saturday 13th December

Today was a wedding at St Matthias Centennial Park an it was lovely. Met some very friendly people. Then had Leah's 70s themed 21st with Ez which was SUPER FUN! 

Sunday 14th December

Was so wrecked and tired for church after the party. But was still good. We had planning meeting after church and then we had a quiet night. 

And the Christmas partying continues...

Thursday 4th December

Tonight I began watching The Walking Dead with Dad. We have three seasons to get through, and we managed to cross off two episodes so far. I enjoyed the first two episodes, but like all television series, I will probably become obsessive about halfway through season one.

Friday 5th December

Drove with Soong to school today because I needed to get a haircut and my hairdresser is a 10 minute drive from his work. They always do a lovely job, and my hair looks fantastic for ages afterwards, and I love them! It's a bummer that they are an hour away from home, but because they do such a good job I feel as though I don't have to go back for months. Then I caught the train to Glenfield and dropped off some fruit to the Kinsey's and spent some time with them. Then I caught the train and the bus home to my house, making the most of Opal's free trips as I could. Value for money! Youth group Christmas party tonight - a mad hatter's tea party! So I dressed as a pirate with my fancy pirate hat, and Soong wore his Monsters Inc Sully hat. A fun fun night of hanging out with the youth and just enjoying the year that was.

Saturday 6th December

Today was a huge day! Started off with the work Christmas party in a beautiful park in the North Shore. We ate amazing Vietnamese food for lunch and snacked on fine French cheeses. We had the annual awards ceremony, where I won an award for being positive and cheery in the office. My prize was amazing - a set of candy cane headgear!

Then we rushed home to be ready for the church carols festival. Soong set up the band, and we moved the festival indoors because the intense storms were back. It was a different vibe indoors, a bit disappointing, but still super fun! Everyone had a really good time. My dad and Grace came along as well :)

Sunday 7th December

Boy were we tired at church today. After church we did nothing but sleep. It was good.

Christmas begins

Thursday 27th November

Exercise classes have been happening at church this whole term. Run by one of the church girls who is an exercise physiologist (I think) they are free and fun. I regret not going earlier! I rocked up to the last one of the term and got such a good workout. I can't wait for them to start up again next year! After the workout, I went to Erin's house for a cup of tea and some mint slice biscuits (which cancelled out all the good done by the exercise!).

Friday 28th November

Youth group tonight was on heaven, and was a good recap of the term and year. I've loved being with my senior girls and I am sad that an official year of youth group has ended! Next week is the party.

Saturday 29th November

This is close enough to December! Soong and I decorated the house for Christmas today, and I got all pumped and ready for Christmas action. I really love Christmas. We went shopping for Christmas presents, we put out the decorations, and we blasted A Timeless Christmas by Israel & The New Breed. We went to Soong's grandma's house for dinner that night, for the first time in probably eight months. It's nice to know that we are always welcome!

Sunday 30th November

Church in the morning, then rushed to my mum's house for the annual Idiotsnot Christmas Kick-Off. Activities included setting up my mum's Christmas tree (and then setting up Lana & Simon's tree), building gingerbread houses (which didn't stay up due to humidity), moulding rum-balls, and tucking into a giant Christmas feast with all the trimmings. We played the classic Nat King Cole Christmas album all day. This album has been played at my family Christmas for as long as I can remember! We eventually went home, super full and with plenty of leftovers to last us for the week!

Monday 1st December

Not technically the weekend, but I thought I would include this day as well as it was our final bible study Christmas party barbecue. We finally got to use our newly concreted and furnished outdoor space, and had our bible study over for a simple dinner of sausages, chicken kebabs and salads. Super fun. We had a "regift" Secret Santa, with the rule being that you were only allowed to give a gift that had been given to you. So I managed to get rid of a tea set in exchange for a box of chocolates - win! Was really fun to celebrate the end of Bible study with our group, it has been a great year and I'm looking forward to another great year next year.

Catching up again...

Well it's been a while since I've documented the fun adventures of my weekends... this is most likely because I've been having too many fun adventures during the week as well! The end of the year is hurtling towards me, but in a moment of calm I thought I would reflect on what an amazing year it has been.

Back to blogging and documenting the weekends:

Friday 21st November:

Today was an amazingly ridiculously hot day. I finished writing my youth group talk, cleaned the church, sat in junior-leader training, and gave my youth group talk on the Holy Spirit from Acts 2.

Main idea: The Holy Spirit enables us to understand God's message and unites us as the church.

Saturday 22nd November:

Today was Alan and Yuan's wedding day! Another hot day, but another fun one. I helped Christine decorate the hall, which was not as much of a disaster as what I anticipated. Then I hung out with Chris, Thom, Kins, Helen and Soong in North Sydney for most of the afternoon, killing time before the reception. Fun reception, so much food and a photo booth. Both big wins for me!

Sunday 23rd November:

Was very tired at church today. Hot weather continued. Had a church barbecue indoors with the aircon blasting, and then went on a road trip to pick up an outdoor dining setting from Kenthurst with Soong's dad and grandad. The setting was so big it didn't quite fit into the trailer, and so we drove home very carefully! Spent the rest of the evening at the Lin's house eating pizza and watching DVD's while it stormed.

The 7th last weekend of the year

Well it's a bit scary to think that this was the 7th last weekend of the year. 2015 is really charging towards us now.

14th, 15th, 16th November

Friday: What a mixed bag of a day. Kirsty asked me to house sit while she worked as she was waiting for technicians to come and install her internet. However, they told her on the morning that they wouldn't need to come out after all! I still stayed at Kirsty's house because I was already there, and she had air conditioning and she lives a 2 minute drive from my dentist. I visited my dentist and he cleaned my teeth for me and confirmed that I hadn't done any major damage from hitting myself in the face with that garage sale sign the other weekend. I bought Kirsty pizza from Mina Bakery (yum) and then when she got home from school the second time she bought me a slurpee from 7/11 (yum!). I headed to Campbelltown that afternoon to visit Idiotsnot, pick up Soong's Christmas present, and help Julian with his homework. We ended up just eating heaps of fruit and shouting Childish Gambino at each other but it was valuable time. Then rushed home to give Soong his Christmas present and he was so excited to receive an iPhone5. Yay. Youth group was awesome as usual.

Saturday: A guy came to give us a quote for an awning in our backyard. Now that we have concrete, we need some shade, and once we have shade we can put some form of dining furniture outside and then we can build our barbecue and have people over. Yay! So we had a big discussion about awnings. Soong had organised a little holiday for us, so we packed and drove up to the Central Coast. Super fun! He took me to the Australian Reptile Park and we got to see all these really cool animals. I patted a kangaroo and a snake. It was really exciting and fun. We had Hungry Jacks for lunch (amazing) and then a huge seafood platter for two for dinner. I was sad that it didn't come with hot chips but it had oysters and muscles!!!! Then we went to the hotel and watched The Last Samurai.

Sunday: Woke up late, Hungry Jacks for breakfast (amazing) and rushed to church. Arrived in the middle of the sermon. Followed church with lunch at Isobel and Pete's place for Anh's birthday - so delicious. So many foods. Spent all afternoon there, then went home exhausted and full. Don't remember doing anything on Sunday night but watching Parks and Rec with Soong and sleeping (still a good use of time!).

It might be a little early to say it, as there are still 6 weekends to go, but I think 2014 is shaping up to be my second favourite year ever (with the inclusion of Dec 2013).

My first favourite was 2009.

I love Fairfield

Really, I do. Not many people can understand why. When I drive through my changing city, watching the languages on the signs change from suburb to suburb, seeing the new developments and established icons, I am filled with joy. I see those who have been settled for years, and those that arrived yesterday. I see temples, halls, churches, statues and shrines and I am filled with compassion for the lost. I see my small church, dwarfed by the building next door, described on post as "the small church next to the big Chaldean church", trying to share the good news of Jesus with anyone who will listen and I think of the mustard seed. Sometimes God's kingdom looks small to us, it looks powerless and we wonder if it is as feeble as it seems. Then we remember the cross, how pathetic it looked to those standing on Golgotha, and yet how powerful it was in cleansing the world of sin and restoring relationship between man and God. That's why I love Fairfield.

Anyway, I had a really good weekend. Let me tell you what I got up to.

Friday 7th November

Today I came into work to catch up on things that needed doing. Then headed home to youth group for leader training, then youth group (amazing), then to Isobel and Pete's house with Chris and Kirsty to watch Daria and Miranda. Drank tea, ate ice cream and Tim Tams, stayed up until 4am. Successful evening.

Saturday 8th November

Started the day with a picnic, hooray! Got to the park at the time the FB event said (11am) and then discovered that everybody else thought it was 12pm. So I spent an hour in the park lying on my picnic blanket in the sun writing. It was wonderful, something I wouldn't think to do normally but something I totally enjoyed. Picnic was wonderful and spontaneous, played with Phin and played catch with Kins, Pat and Chris. Just lay around and relaxed. It was perfect. Western Regional is so good for that. It's so big that you can find a spot even on a crowded day and just chill.

After picnic, Chris, Thom and I rushed to church to act as tour guides for a bus of Christians from Mosman who were coming to Fairfield to visit and see what ministry happens here. It was amazing and encouraging. So many people came and were willing to try new foods, look at different things and just understand what our world is like. We had dinner with them and it was lovely to chat with them and just hear their stories and share ours. This is what partnership in the gospel looks like!

I left dinner early (sadly before dessert!) and rushed to Blacktown to head to a friend's engagement party. Soong was there before me and he played in the band. Was a fun evening.

Sunday 9th November

Church was lovely today. Saw some old friends who hadn't been in a while. Went to lunch with the after-church-lunch crowd which I haven't done in months. We went to Canley Heights and had Pho which was delicious. Soong and I then went home and had a much needed afternoon nap, and then we just pottered around the house watching DVDs and doing nothing exciting.

The Cool Pool Party, La La La La

31st of October, 1st and 2nd November

Friday: Erin and I started the morning by taking the girls to visit Gezz, whose brother is in hospital really sick with cancer. It's hard for Gezz and his family but I'm very glad that so many Madness people are able to visit. After we visited Gezz and Dave, I babysat the girls while Erin and Matt went to uni. I gave Josie some food and put her to bed, and then Rowan and I had lunch together and chatted about life and sang songs together. When Josie woke up, Rowan and I watched Playschool and The Wiggles and played blocks. When Erin got home we all went to the Garden Center to have ice creams and walk around which was really nice. Youth group was also awesome.

Saturday: Soong and I went and visited Gezz in the morning again. Ashley was hosting a farewell pool party,and it was such lovely weather for a pool party. I got to meet some of her awesome friends, hang out in the water, play with her dogs and eat food, so it was all in all a wonderful day. Then I went and watched DVD's and made midnight pancakes with Mandy and her sister Hannah until Soong got home from his gig.

Sunday: Church this morning. Christine's birthday today! Went grocery shopping early in the morning before church as well (I love grocery shopping). After church we headed to Christine's parents house for a birthday Madness barbecue. Lots of food, lots of drinks, lots of fun. Then had a quiet night at home watching Buffy and sewing up the blanket I have been working on. I am so close to finishing now it's very exciting.

The Girls

23, 24, 25 and 26th October

Thursday night: Tonight Ash and I spent the evening together. I made a curry for dinner for us, which was really yum. Then we went to Canley Heights in search of froyo, and stumbled upon a new cocktail/dessert bar called Black Cow. They don't have their liquor license yet though, so it seems a bit strange and silly for them to advertise alcohol, but they are waiting for it. They've been waiting a while now. That was really fun though (despite getting hit on... eugh). We went home after that and stayed up until 3am talking and watching DVD's (Hot Rod and The Inbetweeners). Such good times.

Friday: I slept in until quite late after staying up with Ash. I went to youth group early for leader training as we are training the year 12's to be leaders. Youth group was really encouraging, two of my senior girls shared their testimonies and we were all super encouraged by their faith and their bravery to go first and share with the group. We looked at the first bead of the gospel beads - Green for creation, and we looked at Jonah 1 to explore the idea that God is the creator of the world and we can't run from him.

Saturday: Women's brunch this morning! Breakfast and a bible talk on beauty and modesty. Very encouraging, very fun, very tasty and lots to think over about what is modest and what is beautiful. Afterwards, Chris, Anh and I ended up staying all afternoon and just chatting about life and whatever together. It was really fun. Then I went home, cooked Christine dinner and took it over to her. We spent the evening shopping for Alie's birthday present, drinking cider and watching season two of Girls. It was awesome fun.

Sunday: Today was a busy day! Church in the morning was good. Church is always good. It's the highlight of the week (well, after youth group). Then Christine and I rushed off with a few other married girls to have lunch and chat marriage. After that, we rushed back to get ready in time for Matt's surprise birthday dinner. Matt was really surprised, which was really fun. Erin made thousands of pies for us, and they were delicious and amazing. She made chicken and beef pies and there were so so many. I was so full leaving her house! We had dinner together, and then played Mafia together. I love playing Mafia with Madness. It's so much fun!

The Garage Sale

17th, 18th and 19th October

Friday: I was meant to babysit Rowan and Josie today, but thanks to Erin's emergency wisdom tooth operation she didn't have to go to uni. This meant that instead of me watching the kids while she was out of the house, I came over and helped her look after them while she was still light headed and woosy from the surgery. We had lunch together, made lunch for the kids, and watched Frozen (my first time watching it - it was awesome! Totally lived up to the hype!). I then rushed to have afternoon tea with Emma, and then headed to youth group. Tonight was testimony night so Paul came and shared his testimony with us, and then I shared my testimony with the youth group. Always so thankful that God didn't leave me in the dark wondering about my salvation, but I can be confident I am going to heaven. It's the best.

Saturday: Well today was the garage sale. We cleared out Mum's house, sorted through a whole bunch of her things to get ready for Lana and Simon to move in, and now it was time to downsize and sell the things she had collected over the years. When it was quiet, one or two of us would stand on the front brick fence and wave a "Garage Sale" sign around to attract attention from the cars driving past. I stuck my Justice playlist on and grooved solidly for about half an hour - until whilst waving the sign around I hit myself in the face with it. Right into my open mouth and into my gums. I was convinced I had broken my teeth again, but they were still intact. I was bleeding and throbbing though, so I iced my mouth and sat down for quite a while after that. Dentist appointment is booked, need to check I haven't damaged my nerves or anything serious. After the garage sale, I hung out with Julian listening to music and just being dumb. We then went out to celebrate his dinner at the Square, and it was a really really fun night.

Sunday: Church this morning. Soong stayed home sick, so we had a quiet day in. I also started the National Nutrition Week Challenge this week, and so made delicious pizzas for lunch and a brilliant curry for dinner. We also decided to go to Kmart and buy some new furniture for our bedroom and living room. We bought new bedside tables and began to clean and clear out our room, and we bought some new items for the kitchen and living room. It's really nice to have furniture that doesn't look like it is falling apart.

A lot of catching up to do

Brace yourselves for several blog posts. I can't believe I haven't posted since Camp Happy V happened. This is possibly indicative of just how busy things have been lately. In amongst all this busyness, I am still aiming for my year of "less is more" and trying to be very thoughtful about how I use my time and who I give it to. Time is something we never get back once it is gone, so it's important to use every moment to glorify God and help others to know him better.

Anyway. I digress.

Let's talk about weekends now. What have I been up to?

10th, 11th and 12th of October

Friday: I was meant to be heading down to Goulburn to meet up with Weasel today but I got sick so I called the weekend off. Cancelled all my plans and just made sure I had the energy to be at youth group and church. Youth group started back this week, which is always wonderful. I love being part of the youth leadership team and every week I get to teach teenagers the bible is a wonderful privilege. I need to remember that God could take this away from me at any point and he is well within my right to do so - serving at youth group does not make me worthy before God. But, it's just really fun and I love it, so every moment I am at youth group I'm going to enjoy it! We looked at Isaiah and the need for evangelism as an introduction to our term focusing on learning stories from the Gospel Beads.

Saturday: This Saturday ended up being busier than I expected it to be, considering that I was sick and had cancelled all my plans. Soong spontaneously decided to go out for brunch together. Due to the lack of cafes in the south west, and Soong deciding he really wanted savory food, we headed out to Campbelltown Pancakes on the Rocks. Steph came with us which was really fun. Then after eating breakfast, I rushed out to lunch with Helen and another girl Liz, who we were taking to Iraqi's. It was awesome food and just good fun to hang out with them. Then I went home and spent the evening in pajamas being unwell. I had a visit from my family who were happy to come to me, and were happy to risk infection just to visit and see how I was handling my cold. They ended up staying and making brinner, and then we played card games before they left so I could have an early night.

Sunday: Today was the Sunday that Pete announced he was leaving St Barnabas. There were many tears. I brought an extra box of tissues to church just in case. Afterwards, Christine decided we should all go on a picnic together and so we bought rolls and meat from the deli and headed out to Lizard Log. We played Ultimate Frisbee and enjoyed the amazing weather.

Camp Happy V

October Long Weekend: Friday 3rd to Monday 6th October

Where do I start? I love Madness and I love Camp Happy. I look forward to it every year.

Friday

Soong and I left home about 8am, picked Bryce up, and started the drive down to Burrill Pines. Maccas breakfast on the way at Albion Park (sausage and egg mcmuffin!), a quick stop off at a Nowra music store, and then to Burrill!

It didn't take long to set up tents and go shopping for food and ice. We thought we were going to be camping with power, but then it turns out we ended up having an unpowered site. We survived! Soong brought a hammock along and that was heaps of fun for the kids and most adults.

We sat around the bonfire on Friday night just chatting and relaxing.

Satuday

Woke up early and prepared breakfast for everyone on Saturday morning. We made three different kinds of pancakes. Afterwards we headed down to the beach and took the kids to play in the sand. The boys played frisbee on the beach. We went for a long walk around the rock pools and explored. Then we spent Saturday arvo relaxing. I spent a bit of time writing which was nice.

Bonfire again on Saturday night. We played Taboo around the fire and chatted about life, enjoyed a few drinks. Weather was amazing. Ended up staying up heaps late to chat with Ez after everyone else had gone to bed. Was fantastic.

Sunday

Woke up and had a big breakfast this morning. Went to Ulladulla Anglican Church and heard a great sermon on Mark 4, Jesus calms the storm. Had pies in Ulladulla and did some grocery shopping. Spent time at the beach that afternoon, wandering rock pools again, trying to go swimming and playing in the sand. Had chicken wraps for dinner, and then spent the night around the bonfire again eating marshmallows and chocolate and playing Mafia. Mafia is SO MUCH FUN with Madness.

Monday

Packup day. Usually stressful. This one was no change. But we had some fun taking group photos and climbing trees. Then we had ice creams by the bay at Ulladulla and played in the grass. We also spent time at Funland - the land of Fun! The drive home was only 3 hours so we must have picked a good time of the afternoon to do the drive.

Pat is going to upload photos soon. Can't wait. 

Family Fun

Fri 26th Sep

Simon and I went out for brunch together to Crave Espresso. Such a good cafe. It was a lovely sunny day. We then all went to Craig and Sheree's wedding which was a lovely occasion with nice food. 

Sat 27th Sep

Started the day with bacon and egg roll madness. We planned and organized camp happy together. Then I went and helped Soong clean our house, and then helped my Dad paint his house. In the evening we went around to Aunty Liza's house and had dinner with them. We spent the evening playing wii with the cousins and it was awesome. I really enjoy hanging out with my little cousins. 

Sun 28th Sep

This morning we looked at prayer at church. The church has been recarpeted and it looks awesome. Steph came to church and then hung out at our house in the afternoon. I cleaned the house for a bit (still lots needs to be done hehe). Dad, Grace and Julian came over for dinner. 

Midweek Happiness

This week Soong has been staying at his Aunty's house in North Sydney. All three of my best friends contacted me during the week several times to see how I was going and to see whether I wanted to come around for meals or to hang out if I was feeling lonely.

Feeling super loved.

But have also enjoyed a bit of a quiet week this week. It's sometimes nice to just have time to cook, clean, and catch up on life. Don't quote me on that.

Walking and Wedding mania

Fri 19th Sep

Went to the shire with Soong today. Got my hair cut by a new hairdresser and loved it. Decided to walk to the hairdresser and then from the hairdresser to hurstville. I walked 10kms and it was awesome fun. Walked across Tom ugly's bridge and looked at the lovely scenery. Lunch with killer and had spicy noodles. Then had a girls night with Chris an we watched GIRLS and ate chocolate and cheese and wine. It was great

Sat 20th Sep

Soong and I had a picnic together today in the park. We ate bacon and egg rolls, read the bible, played frisbee, and saw a snake. Lovely

Then we went to Omar and Olivia's wedding. Ceremony was different. Reception was loud and fun. So much food. So much dancing. So great. 

Sun 21st Sep

Church was long today. Meeting was long today. Was very tired. Went to see Hands Like Houses at night. Accidentally finished a book and went to sleep at 1am.