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.