The Adventures of Ang

monday, monday

2009-07-13T08:12:00.002+10:00

Well i have a new aged care client this morning, he is french! so we will see how that goes..i will dredge up some yr 9 french and give it a burl.

Yesterday was a big sunday, lead a couple of services went out for lunch and arvo tea with some people from church and also managed to pick up my washing and buy cat food for max, who is being very cute chasing a ball right now.he was not so cute at 4am when he wanted breakfast...

i think i have sunday tired hangover on mondays and its no way to start the week, although its not really the start of my week, its more like a tuesday or wednesday. so its time to suck up the tiredness and pray for energy and get on with the week.

only 13 days til Ireland and my mum and friends Alicia and Robyn are coming to stay this week... that should be fun!

feeling better!

2009-07-11T18:16:00.002+10:00

Well I had a good day today.

WE had a farewell lunch for a girl from church who is gallivanting across America for 2 months. it was fun the rain held off so we had a BBQ in the backyard and then ice cream cake for dessert!

And even more excitingly her boyfriend fixed my BIKE!!!!! the brakes work!!!! now i can go cycling and not have to pay lots of money!!! i even put the lights on the front and back now i can ride at night! all i need now is a basket so i can carry things!

Now i am just about to go out to dinner with Catherine in Manly before a BIG day of church tomorrow :)

Crud...

2009-07-10T18:19:00.002+10:00

so the end of the week, the start really....

and i managed to stuff up the new bike i bought. I have managed to break the front brakes, arrrhhhhh! so now i'm a bit grumpy...

at least so you think you can dance is on tonight...

things done and things to do...

2009-07-08T15:33:00.002+10:00

Here are the things i have done

5. lead someone to Christ
6. Make church say the Athenasius creed
11. Sponsor a child
12. Download Jason Miraz songs from itunes
16. go to the Vanguard
17. grow my own herbs
22. make dumplings from scratch
24. pray for my family every day for a month
26. Watch all 3 'The Mummy' movies

Here are the things i have plans to do

8. Blow glass
9. drive a fun car probably a convertable or porshe
28. Hug a Puffin (or at least see a real one)

Here are the things yet to be done

1. Be physically fit
2. Get kissed well
3. Snorkel in Tonga
4. Pay off my credit card
7. Book tickets to take mum to South Africa and the UK
10.See a flamingo
13. Learn to tap dance
14. Make Ice Cream
15. Buy a yellow armchair
18. do a fun run
19. go sailing on the habour
20. Climb the Habour Bridge
21. Eat frog's legs
23. Make candles
25. go on a campervan/winnebago holiday
27. Write to Grandma and Nan monthly
29. Finish reading Calvin
30. Buy a piece of Opal Jewelery

Who knew it would be so hard to see a flamingo??? And some just arent going to happen ie. Pay off credit card and get fit

But there is still 2 and a half months to go....

Problems posting!

2009-07-08T15:22:00.002+10:00

WEll hello world!

its been quite a while.... i thought for a moment there my blogging days were over...but then i just couldnt bring myself to stop!

Although there have been a few glitches...i couldnt log into blogger for a while and then i was just too grumpy for a while to blog without being mean.

So i'm back.

and still a bit grumpy....

BUT there are lots of fun things coming up...

I go to Belfast in less than 3 weeks for my lovely friend Sarah's wedding. I am really excited and cant wait!

I have decided to do something about the fact that i do no exercise and eat to much. This is good! the first thing is that i am going to buy a bike tomorrow so i can go bike riding around the lovely beaches.

Less excitingly is that i need to keep looking for a job for next year :( and it looks like it will be another long and painful process. I know there is no perfect job but one thats at least full time??? I must pray for that!!!

THere has been lots going on at church, PTC, Scripture, Training groups, services etc so life keeps on going.

Maybe you can give me some topics to rant about on this blog oh interweb?

Oh and i must blog about the things that i have done on my list of things to do before i am 30!!!

so its been a bit quiet....

2009-06-14T21:24:00.003+10:00

So i got home from Perth! Mum and dad and i took Annelise, Zach, Alex and Elijah to the zoo - it was really fun! but tiring! And i managed to get Aunty Jenny's cold, yuck!

But Then i went to Nelson Bay for the weekend to celebrate the Lovely Catherine's birthday! It was a great weekend, but i felt a bit crap :(

so i spent the next few days recovering from being sick and doing errands like getting another watch having broken like 5 in the last month!

I started back at work in Aged care on Friday and back at church yesterday. We had a kids Pirate Party! We looked after kids while parents went out for dinner hopefully with non christian friends,
it was fun!

so then church all day today...

ok well it hasnt actually been that quiet!

Hola from Perth!

2009-06-03T14:23:00.002+10:00

Well amigos, not quite sure why there is a spanish flavour to this post but thats what you get!

I am off for the day in Nan's 30 year old car - you need to pull the choke out to start and i barely fit under the steering wheel - for a day of adventuring! So far I've only made it to the beach and the shops but anyhoo!

Its been crazy but lovely in Perth so far. Nan's 90th was duely celebrated with a big lunch in Scarborough, CRAZY! But good and i have had my hands full hanging out with sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts and nieces and nephews! oh and parents! Tomorrow mum and dad and i are taking the 4 neices and nephews to the zoo, yikes!

I managed to get the cold that jen had and feel slightly wretched, but will survive! the most exciting thing is that i won a HUGE spongebob squarepants toy in the skill tester at Warick shops! I'll post a pick when i get home!....

PERTH!

2009-05-29T07:40:00.002+10:00

Well I probably wont be blogging for a little while, i'm off to Perth for a week to celebrate my Nan's 90th Birthday

She is a lovely Godly woman and I cant wait to see her, my last remaining grandparent!

Its going to be a bit of an intense family time, I'm staying with My uncle, Aunt and Cousin with my sister Deb and her little boy Alex. Mum and dad are round the corner with Nan and Jen and Ben and the Kids are a little further away in Scarborough!

But it should be fun, my lovely Cousin Hayley is a hairdresser, and will probably do our our hair! And Deb is looking forward to shopping at Warwick Grove Westfield!

see you next week!

I read a great book...in the middle of the night!

2009-05-27T08:48:00.003+10:00

So Monday night i woke at 3am and couldnt get back to sleep so i decided to read. I recently bought this book:

It was Awesome, its basically her autobiography of being a young woman minister. I found it really encouraging. She was also the inspiration behind The Vicar of Dibley. I enjoyed reading the story of a young woman ( like me) who believes in taking a leadership role in the church (like me) and who is an evangelical (like me). She ends up marrying Jim Wallis, the guy who writes lots of stuff on christianity and politics. It was just encouraging!

Go give it a read...i got it on amazon and can lend you it if you want!

the most moving thing about Equip today...

2009-05-23T18:35:00.002+10:00

Well I went to Equip with some people from church today. It was good, the talks were on Esther and i went to a seminar on depression. It was great to get to know some of the women form church.

But the most moving thing about the day was watching the Auslan signers. There was a group of hearing impaired people there and they had 3 women signing for them. The coolest thing was when they were all singing. It was so cool!

he he he!

2009-05-20T17:03:00.001+10:00

I saw this book on the bookshelf at church, oh i laughed!

Smuts!

Mum comes to town!

2009-05-16T15:35:00.004+10:00

Mum made an unexpected visit to sydney this week, she came up tuesday and left yesterday. Dad finally finished his MD thesis and needed it bound and handed in. so mum was doing that and driving it up to newcastle.

WE had a lovely time together, on thursday, my day off we did some errands and then shopped and got pedicures!

The funny this is Max really does not like mum! he is such a grump! hissing a her, but she just laughs and give him a squeeze :)

the bounty?

2009-05-16T15:26:00.002+10:00

Well i harvested some more things from my sorry looking veggie patch, more peas! yay! and carrots, well the carrots were a bit of a dud, the soil probably wasnt the best so the grew short and fat!

KASM Kids Club

2009-05-16T15:19:00.001+10:00

Here are a couple of photos from a kids club i helped with late in April. Check out how crazy my hands are when i am doing a talk!!! I gave a talk on the resurrection, and my team, Year 2 were green grasshoppers hence all the green!

so much to tell you!

2009-05-16T15:14:00.002+10:00

Well its been a while since i've been on the blog and so of course there is lots to say! I keep thinking of things to blog and then forgetting when i sit down at night.

So i will post a few photos with comments...

But first just let me say, I LOVE playing netball! we had a really fun game today, we lost but it was fun! its nice to get sweaty and play! I am getting to know the team which is great and we all played really well today. its nice when the team you play are lovely and not too aggressive.

on to the photos!

Busy times

2009-05-05T16:57:00.003+10:00

Well i think i can safely say that i have settled into mt new church, i find that my days are packed full! I have lots of things to do and find myself squeezing things in to other evenings...I'm getting a bit tired i need to work smart...and in advance a bit, something i need to raise with my boss...

But i have been doing fun things too, my beautiful neice, nephews and sis and bro in law came to visit! so much fun!

And i am getting sorted for some family holidays at the end of the month! and VERY exciting news....I am going to Northern Ireland! A friend is getting married and so wanted to go, so max the plastic and here i go!

hopefully more later about lots of things!

the fruits of the earth...

2009-04-25T13:29:00.003+10:00

Well i went down to my garden the other day and i noticed that i (well God) had grown some peas!

It was so exciting! The basil is going great guns, the parsley is going well. I did plant some beetroot but i dont know what it looks like growing and i think i accidently pulled it out!

I have also been enjoying the beach a little more this week, having some evening walks. I saw the BEST Sunset last night!

Easter

2009-04-14T13:08:00.003+10:00

Well Easter has been and gone and a large amount of food has been eaten!

It was my first easter working at a church and it was weird! in a way it was easter to focus on the season and the importance of Jesus and his death and resurrection. Mostly because i was leading a whole bunch of services and i was thinking about how to help the visitors and regulars feel the horror of the cross and the joy of the resurrection.

But in another way it felt harder to get into the spirit! I was working, there wasnt time to sit back and meditate on the easter story, the empty tomb and the reality of salvation achieved and death defeated. I missed kneeling at communion and taking the symbols of Jesus body and blood, i was serving it!

I am feeling more at home at church which is great, i spent some fun times with new friends this weekend but its hard to know how to be a minister and a friend. I think i sometimes talk about stuff i shouldnt, mainly because there is noone else to debrief with and be free with. I really need to watch it and work hard at being appropriate. I am these peoples minister, yes their friend too, but I have pastoral responsibility!

I am seeing how life goes on, there are people i bump up against and get irritated by and there are people i click with. There is admin to do and plans to be made. I miss the discipline of college and I miss preaching, writing a sermon, opening the Bible with people in an upfront way. I struggle with using my time well and keeping ministry to 3 days (as if that was ever going to happen!)

But I love Bible Study and chatting to almost christians and thinking about how to help non-christians love God and commit themselves to him. I am constantly aware of the christian ghetto i have been in for the last 3 years.

Well I am feeling very reflective and melancholic today...I desperately need to go the gym but i have a kids talk to write...cos i love them :(

In other news I worked yesterday doing personal care for the elderly. I visited a few clients i dont normally see. There were ALOT of showers. Getting old is so hard. These wonderful women who have lived full lives now need me to come and help them wash their backs and make sure they dont fall. One lady had had a stroke and it made mobility hard. I think these visits let me be like christ to them. Even if i dont get to speak to them about Jesus I can serve them and love them, treat them with respect, listen to them and help them feel comfortable about a very disempowering experience.

NETBALL!!!

2009-04-04T15:22:00.003+11:00

WEll how exciting! I played my first game for Curl Curl Sport today. We are in B3 division, we arent very good but it was really FUN!!

Here is my attempt at showing you the uniform, its a bit short!!! no one really needs to see that much thigh :)

Graduation and more

2009-04-01T16:58:00.002+11:00

Well i have graduated!!! check it!

Ummm since then its been a bit busy at church and i have been seeing my own clients with ARV. But in good news I have been reading my Bible and praying more, its amazing what a difference talking to God makes!

I have also been in 'training' for Netball, the comp starts saturday. I went to the gym mon and tues and will go again on thurs. I am a bit scared! We arent training as a team and i dont have a uniform - but the rumour is they are black and pink lycra - no one needs to see that!!!

Graduation!!

2009-03-26T16:26:00.002+11:00

WEll Muz and Wad ( thats mum and dad for all you non-cooks out there) have made a flying visit to be at my graduation tonight! They are off the perth in the morning with Grandma for the memorial and internment of the ashes. Its weird to think Grandma - well what if left of her is in the bag by the door!

Anyway on the happier things. I get to get my degree tonight. It was a long hard slog but I did it ( thanks God) And now i get to have the piece of paper to frame and put on my wall!

here is a quick snap of me and muz....

I love mobile internet!!

an interesting day

2009-03-23T18:38:00.002+11:00

Today i had my first 'real' day as a community carer with Anglican Retirement Villages. By real i mean i had my own clients, I wasnt doing training or buddy training. It was just me and them!

The day really consisted of chatting a lot and a fair amount of mopping and vacuuming.

The first woman has parkinsons disease, and though i was there for personal care, she could shower herself, i was just there in case of a fall. She seemed nice.

The second was a couple where she has dementia,It was a bit difficult as their lovely dog died on the weekend. But I was there to give the husband some respite time and clean the toilet and bathroom. It was quite nice, cup of tea count was at 1, offers 2.

The third was a single man, who lived alone in a quite austere home. I felt for him, he must get lonely. I did some cleaning and shopping and we had a cup of tea and an apple scroll together. Cup of tea count 3, offers 4.

The final one was a man in his 60's who has had a brain injury and has insulin dependant diabetes. So its chatting and medication prompting and dinner and housework. We went for a walk this afternoon.

I had a few interesting conversations about what i do the rest of the week but often they are quite deaf so its hard work. But it really is amazing what time and compassion can do.

Certainly not what i thought i would be doing this time last year but still...interesting times

haircut!

2009-03-19T17:56:00.001+11:00

Camping!!!

2009-03-18T17:40:00.002+11:00

So today and yesterday (after Scripture) I was in Mittagong at the WIM network Great Expectations conference.

My friend Jo and I took the cheap option for accommodation and camped at the Mittagong caravan park! I was going to take a photo of our tent but i forgot! It was actually quite comfortable, i mean i really like a firm matress and the ground under my foam was firm! We got a little cold about 5am but it was great AND it meant that we could afford to go out to a lovely cafe for breakfast!

It was also good to think a bit intentionally about my expectations and others expectations of me in ministry.

Although there was a LOT of cake eaten, which was so not part of the plan this week!!

hmmm
i think thats all to report!

time flies....

2009-03-16T21:25:00.003+11:00

Well faithful blog readers, sorry its been so long since i blogged. I had training for my new job in castle Hill last week. It took an hour and a half each way so i was pretty exhausted and i was also stuffing my head full of policy and procedure to be an aged care worker!

I started my new job 2 days a week as a community carer for Anglican Retirement Villages today. I was buddied with a lady today and we visited 3 elderly ladies and did some washing and cleaning and chatting. I think i can do the job! I just hope i get enough hours to make it work.

Church is going well, i have been pretty busy putting together a connect 09 newsletter, people arent so good at getting back to me! But i think its going ok.
Bible study is turning out to be a high light. Its a great group of people... have a look...

I lead the evening service last night but i was so tired by the time we got there that it wasnt my finest hour!

Ah well life goes on....