joy

good food. yes. its nice to have nice friends to hang out with!

braveheart/ thomas the tank engine.

they can take away my facepaint. but they cant take away... OUR FREEDOM!

turning 3.

my nephew turned 3 yesterday.

he had a party at willoughby with a toy castle and slippery dip. cupcakes. fried rice. coffees ( not for the kids! for the adults, my groovy brother barista makes the best hot chocs!). facepainting (provided by yours truly)...so cute!

which brings me to a funny story.

My nephew loves Thomas the Tank Engine. I thought he wanted to be facepainted as a 'tiger'. He was adamnant on Thomas so Thomas it was.

Freakin hilarious though--- i pained a grey coloured/ nose/ mouth area and the rest of his face was painted blue.

he loved it!

I was enjoying the painting ;) ... even funnier was his best friend, Xavier (i love that name, it starts with an X!?!).

V: 'Xavier-- what 'face' would you like painted?'
X: (pondering and looking at his friend's 'Thomas' face)
" I want to be Blue"
V: (laughing... at the thought that if i were to paint him blue-- it was going to look hilarious and wondering... what would his parents think?)
" You would like to be Blue... ok, like Nathan? or would you like to be Thomas? Because he is blue"
X: ' Yes, Thomas'
V: " Ok, Blue Thomas it is.".

i dont have any photos on hand to post up, but i tell you what. That made my day.
It gets better though.

My brother in Law, Matt came up to me later and (smiling) said... (after seeing Nathan in his 'Thomas/ Blue faced glory')
" Who turned my son into 'Braveheart? They cant take away our... FREEDOM!"

I thought that was freakin hilarious!

That topped off a fun filled tiring day of kiddie entertainment, noise and cold.

... Later that day

I recalled the story to my sister, Sharon about Xavier and the 'Blue' and she thanked me again for painting the kid's faces.

I then joked about how my other sister Michelle had originally requested me to do her makeup for her wedding in Holland. Now, dont get me wrong, I have done a theatrical makeup course before and I have done my sisters makeup for parties etc ( i love painting! faces/ canvasses etc) however... It crossed my mind that i dont really want the pressure of making my sister look her 'best' on her wedding day... which leads me to think if i sent her a picture of my latest 'makeup' pursuits, that indeed, she might end up looking 'blue' on her wedding day.

Certainly puts a new spin on something new, something borrowed, something BLUE!

hahahahahhahahahaha.

If anyone would like me to paint their face or their kids faces at their next party. just give me a bell!! ( for me to dress up as an asian clown will cost extra).

The 2nd 10 Commandments

... if this offends you in any way i do apologise-- its not meant to be blasphemous!

• You shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities
• You shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass
• You shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.
• You shall face each problem as it comes, you can only handle one @ a time anyway
• You shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows
• You shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better care for them than you can.
• You shall not re-live yesterday for good or ill; it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life & be happy now
• You shall be a good listerner, for only when you listen do you hear ideas different from your own. It is hard to learn something new when you are talking & some people do know more than you do.
• You shall not become 'bogged down' by frustration for 90% of it is rooted in self pity & will only interfere with positive action.
• You shall count your blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.

i love rain

i love the sound of the pitter patter.
i love using the window wipers on my car.
i love seeing raindrops on windows.
i love that rain waters and helps things grow.
i love seeing rain falling onto the ground. plop plop.

i think i love rain because frankly. i love water! :)

this is nice (they usually are sentimental fluff) but i actually like this one!

read this one over and over until it becomes part of who we are!


HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Try everything twice. On Madams tombstone (of Whelan's and Madam) she said she wanted this epitaph: Tried everything twice...loved it both times!

2. Keep only cheerful friends.
The grouches pull you down. (keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches)



3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.


6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.


10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.I love you, my special friend.


11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.

And if you don't send this to at least 4 people - who cares? But do share this with someone.



Lost time can never be found.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

i underrate my ipod collection of music

am i such a dag?
sure. im going to hang out my daggy music laundry right here people.

westlife.
backstreet boys.
britney spears.
justin timberlake.

but wait.

i have

U2.
crowded house.
ben harper.
jack johnson.


i also have
wham.
culture club.
spice girls.


but!
i also have
joss stone.
nina simone.
erikah badu.


its like an up and down of ugly to ok. to almost cool.

i hope the dagginess and more 'cool' music evens itself out!

what has this got to do with 'which disney princess are you?'

6. What do you eat on a daily basis?
Cabbage soup with crushed Vicodin and Prozac.
Nutrisystem and moderate balanced meals.
Vegetarian or seafood; sushi is a must.
60% carbs, 20% protein, 20% fats: for the energy to keep up with a busy lifestyle.
Whatever I want to eat, food is my other lover.

FREAKIN HILARIOUS>

If i was to be honest. Im probably the last one. What a crackup!!

But if wanted to sound cool. The reality is, I am probably number 3.
HA!

screaming kids & things arent as bad as they seem

ok. thursday mornings are a stretch for me. I have these new swim babies classes i take. i think i have a new appreciation for motherhood parenting and what kind of parent i would HATE to be.
complaining mothers, taking out their repressed anger on their children and subsequent swimming teachers is a DEFINATE NO NO! I am all for constructive feedback and improving systems... but when things are just a bit haywire... people- please!! get a grip!

in general though, nicer parents are raving about their kids new teacher - who is animated somewhat (go figure!) and are telling my managers about it which is SUPER DUPER!

so thats my vent for today.

i did end up going to meet a new recruitment agent yesterday. I was dreading the thought. but it was MUCH better than i anticipated. this lady actually WANTS to help me find a job! thats freaking AMAZING. I will take it as a gift from above and she actually gave me some helpful advice with tidying my CV and was nice enough to even let me know how well presented i appeared. at least im doing something right! the job sector is back in events/ marketing. hopefully there will be something appealing that comes along.

meanwhile. im just counting down the days til the end of term! cant wait! then im off to see my sister get married.

who enjoys rejection?

i got turned down for an interview today.
:( that sucks.
usually im onto this sort of stuff. apparently i dont have enough 'design' experience! ARGH!!!!! gimme a break people!

the job doesnt even require a design background!!!!!!! (although it would help)

also. i went to see a careers counsellor today to see if they would help.

why do i bother? she was nice. but really. when i left, i felt more bewildered and with more questions than i did when i got there.

more research she thinks. ok.

however. on a lighter note... i got 88% for my Austswim Exam.

Yes. My brain still works!!!!!!

and if i was glass half empty i would rejoice in the fact that i only got 12% incorrect! which is cool :)

haha

its been an eventful week.

i successfully endured a 2 hour exam tonight.
i think the coffee is only kicking in now. darnit! its nearly 1am. i need to get to bed.

Hopefully after tonite's exam (i havent sat an exam in a few years since 2004?!)

I was freaking exhausted.

and... it was all about swimming instructing.

Wanna know the three types of water resistence?
My acronyms were working for me to rejig the memory.
F.E.S (Fried Eggs, Salsa)

1. Frontal
2. Eddy Turbulence (this one always made me laugh-- Eddy!?! ha!)
3. Skin/ Frictional

I only need 60%+ to pass!

and...
Thanks to David for an inspiring cut/copy of MLK and enlightening me at Mil and Martin's housewarming :) I had fun!

6 weeks

6 weeks.
for a while now, its almost been a bit of a blur to imagine how a year seems to pass by.
at least... its actually less daunting than i used to think.

6 weeks til i head to holland to the land of clogs and windmills and to celebrate with my sister and to be husband... and hopefully get the chance to see the van gogh museum ( i love art) have a hash brownie or two (jokes?!!?) and get the chance to travel to venice, prague and looks like berlin... and then to england.

i cant complain... although ive been a place that has made me somewhat apprehensive about it all... im beginning to smell it.

oh wait... thats just the burnt toast!

and despite other reports. things are good. they actually are really good.

cheering up depression...

challenged to stop asking why

to live in the moment perhaps?

i sometimes think i think too much.

and when i get really into my own head (beware)... i often start thinking thoughts into another dimension.... and ask too many big questions.

thats why i need friends-- like you guys... to keep me grounded.

bring me back to planet earth. yes.

can we talk about the banal and the superficial now? my head hurts.

urban dictionary. you make me laugh!

The word for May 11 is nut huggers

really tight jeans worn by a man

Damn Bell's got his nut huggers on today

exciting new roof!

this is the progress on the roof of the kitchen our team built at suubi village near kampala, Uganda, Africa (sept 2007) for watoto

very exciting!!! i cant believe the roof is on! the progress is slower than some have expected, but for me... in all honesty... at least stuff is being done!!! hopefully it will be finished by september 2008. that would be amazing!

i watched 20 episodes of season 5 scrubs back to back

being sick has its plusses. (i hate being sick-- its the inactivity that kills me, but hey, i dug up season 5 of back to back scrubs! yay!)

favourite scenes:

'kung fu fighting'

'when jd's scooter gets shot at at the convenience store and when he hits a water pot hole and disappears under the road completely.'

'elliot's hilariously crazy ' mexican apple picker' fantasy'

'jd turning 30 and trying to finish the triathlon'....

ah.... so many good pointers! anybody got season 6?

i (heart) cherry blossoms

my bro is in hokkaido, japan at the moment touring the whole spring time cherry blossoms!
im so jealous! he's sent some pics back
i will have to go back one day when they bloom-- its a big celebration over there! Spring Time!!!

is a pet a 'want' or a 'need'?

i used to have dogs.
i now have swung to liking cats. (gasp! says the dog lovers)
i have owned pet fish.

ive thought of buying a bird.

i love animals.

is a pet a 'want'? or a 'need'?

they keep you company... especially dogs... just when you need it. no questions asked.

"I need someone who believes that the sun will rise again, but who does not fear my darkness. Someone who can point out the rocks in my way without making me a child by carrying me. Someone who can stand in thunder and watch the lightning and believe in a rainbow." ~Fr. Joe Mahoney

it was dad's birthday on may 3rd. it was his 72nd birthday. happy birthday Dad!