Quiz time

[A is for age]: 25
[B is for booze of choice]: Strongbow.
[C is for career:] Executive Directors Assistant, so basically office admin stuff.
[D is for your dog's name:] My mum has a dog called Millie, but we used to have a very adorable Border Terrier cross Lakeland called Brandy, but we had to put him down when I was 15 cos he went senile.
[E is for essential items you use everyday:] Shower gel, toothpaste & brush, hair brush, clothes, deoderant, moisturiser.
[F is for favorite song(s) at the moment:] Spies by Coldplay, I'm not ashamed of the Gospel by Deliriou5?, Please forgive me by David Gray, Discotheque by U2, Destiny by Zero7, Honest questions by Daniel Bedingfield, Peace of Me by Natasha Bedingfield.. I could go on but think you'd get bored.
[G is for favorite games:] Monopoly, Full House, Dutch Blitz, Skip-bo, Extreme Uno, Rumoli, The Bean Game.
[H is for hometown:] In Canada it is Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In the UK it is Eaglescliffe, Teesside, North East England.
[I is for instruments you play:] I used to play the violin, piano and percussion
[J is for jam or jelly you like:] My Grandma Jennings' strawberry jam was the best, nothing else will ever taste as good as hers.
[K is for kids:] Eventually.
[L is for last kiss:] This morning when I dropped Lindsay off at work.
[M is for most admired trait:] In me or in others? In others it's definately honesty.
[N is for name of your crush:] Lindsay Scott Unger, I have absolutely no qualms about saying that I have a HOT husband, hot, hot, hot, he's a hottie! It's very simple.
[O is for overnight hospital stays:] None that I can remember.
[P is for phobias:] Spiders.
[Q is for quotes you like:] "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!" Monty Python's Life of Brian. "I am The Way, The Truth and The Life, no-one comes to The Father except through me." Jesus Christ.
[R is for biggest regret:] Putting my BIG FAT FOOT continuously in my mouth.
[S is for sweets of your choice:] Galazy chocolate, Fruit Gums, Milky bar, Black bullets.
[T is for time you wake up:] Between 6.20am & 6.45am depending on if I hear L get up.
[U is for underwear:] I have plenty thanks.
[V is for vegetables you love:] Freshly podded pea's, corn on the cob, peppers, mushrooms, courgette (zuchini), garlic, onions.
[W is for worst habit:] I don't even want to admit what it is thank you.
[X is for x-rays you've had:] Mouth, head (when I slid on the ice... ON MY FACE)
[Y is for yummy food you make:] Roast chicken dinner, Toad in the hole, potato wedges, Crunchy Cream with Bailey's in a meringue nest.
[Z is for zoo's:] Apparently I've been to London zoo, but I don't remember it cos I was a baby.

Another retreat

So I was in Manitoba last Wednesday to Friday on a work retreat. It was OK, just a lot of travelling for the amount of time. But it was good to meet other YFC staff.
We babysat Daniel and Steven during the day on Saturday, that's always fun. Then went over to Randy & Andrea's in the evening to drink their home made wine, and play Scene It & Sequence.
Sunday was a really lazy day where we really didn't do too much apart from just being together, then we headed over to Wes & Diane's for the evening for Wes' birthday, we ate chinese and had an ice cream cake for dessert, it was great, I love hanging out at their place. Wes & Lindsay were meant to be watching the NFL game but got distracted by Daniel wanting to play XBox, so I think they only got to watch half an hour at the most. What a shame.

Things to look forward to this week:
Lunch with Kristin & Melissa.
Life group at ours tonight.
CATCHING UP WITH TANYA...missed ya!
Yoga Tuesday night.
Phil & Shelly's wedding Saturday.
Hanging out with friends Sunday afternoon.

Great weekend

We had a great weekend. Friday night we stayed in and just watched a movie, and snuggled, it was great, I love just vegging out with my husband, he's so goofy, he makes me laugh until my stomach hurts.... just around me though... no one else.

Saturday me & Tanya went to our ball class at the gym, fun but definately harder this week (or are we just out of shape again??).
Then me & Linds went shopping. Now there is something about my husband I need to explain here. He is very picky about clothing, I very rarely will just randomly buy him something unless I am ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that he will like it, because it will go back faster than you will believe. Shirts are the worst, no stripes, no patterns, no checks... NOTHING, or pretty much nothing. So you can understand why I almost fainted on Saturday when he picked out a STRIPED shirt, I was ecstatic! And he looks pretty hot in it to boot. So he got a new Gap shirt and Gap jeans, he looked mighty fine when we went out that night.
Talking of going out that night... we were taken to The Keg for dinner on Saturday night. For Brits back home it's like being taken to Chadwick's in Yarm. So yeah, we have some awesome friends who took us out for a EXTREMELY good dinner. I had an 8oz steak, rolled in pecans with goats cheese, with red wine and shallot sauce, accompanied by garlic mash and sauteed mushrooms. I was in heaven. Afterwards we went to a friends h0use and finished the night playing this hilarious game called Apples to Apples (I think), it was an awesome evening.

Sunday I was in the baby nursery, and we were rushed off our feet let me tell you. We had Landon and.... that was it, just Landon, and he is ADORABLE. So yeah, that was easy and very fun. Then we went for church lunch to Moxie's, and I had the Western Veggie burger, which tastes SO GOOD! Then in the evening we went with some friends to Jerry's for some gelato. So I got to eat some awesome food this weekend.

Surprise lunch date

My good friend Rochelle called me at 11am this morning to as if I was available to go to lunch with her, and I was very pleased to say yes. When she got here I discoved that she had never been to Keo's, so we went there, such a hardship.....NOT! I love the food there, it actually rivals my affections for Ding Dongs.

Sorry T, that's twice I've been there without you. And the girl there is starting to remember what we order!!! Last week Kristin ordered the green curry and she thought I was the one that always ordered that, and today she was like "isn't this the second time this week (that you've been here)" and I was like "no, but I was here late last week". She's getting used to us;-)

It's tagging time again

7 Things I would like to do before I die:
1. Have children
2. Go back to Greece
3. Visit Italy
4. See the mountains
5. Visit my brothers house
6. Go on a cruise
7. Spend a week in the Lake District

7 Things I can't do (yet):
1. Speak a foreign language
2. Draw or paint
3. Give up my bad habits
4. Forgive the way I know I should
5. Sports
6. Keep my house tidy
7. Impressions

7 Things that attract me to Blogging:
1. People from home being able to have a more intimate view of my everyday life.
2. Being able to put my thoughts down, and make more sense of them.
3. Share exciting thoughts when I have them.
4. Share photo's with family from home.
5. People being able to leave comments on what they think.
6. I love reading other people's (I'm nosy)
7. It's interesting to read what you were thinking a year ago.

7 Things I say most often:
1. I love you!
2. I miss you!
3. Have a good day!
4. Sweety, can you ....?
5. Good Morning/Good Afternoon Youth For Christ.
6. That boy!
7. Hey handsome.

7 Books I love:
1. Mark of the Lion series - Francine Rivers
2. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
3. Katherine - Anya Seton
4. The Belgaraid & Mallorean series - David Eddings
5. Anything by Terry Pratchet
6. Harry Potter books
7. The Bible of course

7 Movies I watch Over and Over:
1. The Sound of Music
2. Elizabeth
3. Grease
4. 10 Things I Hate About You
5. Cinderella
6. The Matrix
7. Gone With The Wind

7 People I want to join in too (you've been tagged!):
1. Tanya Lemke
2. Mark Tuma
3. Helen Boutell
4. Allison Longueil
5. Nevada McKenzie
6. John Benton
7. Helen Varley

Musing

I'm crabby today.

My face is starting to hurt... My sinus' are playing up again... They haven't done this in quite a while so I guess I shouldn't be to annoyed... But I DON'T like being sick, I don't want another stupid infection... I guess I'll just have to wait and see...

My head is so fussy today, I keep getting distracted. But I did start thinking over a converstion I had a while back with some friends, we were sharing... hurts, relationships, frustrations. I remember being surprised with a comment about insecurities, how we hurt others because/through our insecurities. We feel insecure so we lash out or draw inside ourselves or say hurtful words, all in protection, but we hurt those around us, those who want to love us, care for us. We are so scared of opening up ourselves to the love others can give us and that we can give, because when we open ourselves up like that we lay ourselves open also to being hurt. Is it better to keep ourselves locked inside ourselves rather than risk getting hurt? Do I keep my mouth shut because I'm scared of rejection? Why am I scared of sharing my feelings with my friends?

I really do need to spend more time with my bible and in prayer, God may not tell me all the answers I long to hear, but I may stop being so paranoid and scared. And hopefully I'll stop hurting those around me.

The aftermath

Well the busy family season is over, it was great fun but tiring, I'm hoping next year that it will be a little more spread out.

I got some great pressies, english show DVD's, foot spa, England football shirt for me, Newcastle United football shirt for Lindsay, board games, hair straightners... the list goes on, I was very happy, we were well and truly blessed by loved ones this year.

Steven and Daniel were entertaining as ever during the holidays, I think Daniel was sick of getting bugged by his aunt and uncle by the 27th. And I heard funny stories of Ben from Mum and Bob. I even got to have a short conversation with him on Jan 2nd after I heard Bob asking him who went away on big aeroplanes 'Aunty Ciss Daddy', telling me he had 'cars Aunty Ciss' when prompted by Marie-Ann about his Christmas presents from 'Granny English' (my Mum). I miss watching him grow up, but am glad that Bob and Marie-Ann talk with him about us, and show him pictures. I'm looking forward to the longer conversations with him when he is older.

New Years was fun at Ryan & Allisons, I LOVE how pregnant Al is beginning to look. I am so excited for her, she is just GLOWING!

And Julie (L's cousin)& Gerrard are visiting from Ireland right now, showing off Oscar (who is adorable!). We got to have breakfast with them and some of the Unger family on News Years Eve, and we're hoping to see them Sunday evening too.

Back at work now, I'm bracing myself for the onslaught of preperations for Calbreak and our annual banquet. We're so busy here... and I remember getting so stressed Feb/Mar time last year, please pray for me, I stress out far too easily and I need to learn to control it, because otherwise I LOVE this job. And please continue to pray for Youth For Christ as a whole, remember the bigger picture, we yearn to bring Christ's light in to these young peoples lives, and to help equip them to love and serve others. I know that I can feel so unworthy, and I know that as a team sometimes we can all feel so inadequate of the task that God has given us, pray we lean on Him and not ourselves, that we are drawn closer to Him and in that process draw others closer too.

Along the lines of loving my Saviour, I am rereading the Mark of the Lion series written by Francine Rivers and encourage you to read these books. They are just inspirational. Set in the Roman Empire they are a story about new Christians, and the persecution they endured at that time. AWESOME! SERIOUSLY! How fresh Jesus was in their minds, and how new the scriptures were. They had men in their midsts who had walked with Christ. It shows how turbulent those times were, how being a christian was seen as being offensive to society, they fed our brothers and sisters in Christ to Lions as sport. My heart breaks reading this fiction that was inspired by true stories from those times. Read them, Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. And then ask yourself, how much do I love my saviour? Enough to die? Enough to love my enemy? Enough to live with less comfort to feed others? Are we, as THE church, the family of Christ, truly loving Jesus and serving Him faithfully or are we just giving lip service? Are we truly loving and serving each other and those in our communities? I'm praying we are ... and then some. And if we're not I'm praying for hearts, eyes and ears to be opened to those whom Jesus loves... the whole world... are we ready?