A book idea...

I have always thought I would write a book or two in my lifetime. Well yesterday I had an idea for one. It would more be a resource/workbook, & suggesting other resources for use.
Here is my draft introduction & contents page...
UNDERSTANDING ME
The better you understand yourself the better you can love yourself & therefore love your neighbour & God with all your heart soul & mind.
You may think that this is the wrong starting place, beginning with me. But really you arent starting with yourself, you are starting with understanding God's creation & the uniqueness with which He has created and gifted you, which in turn brings freedom to embrace yourself & love others and glorify God. So really the start and finish is God.
As you commit to understanding and asking God to reveal the way you have been specifically made to live and function in this world & His mandate for you, your life will begin to make sense.
Contents (& other resources to draw from)
1. Personality Tests
2. Love Languages
3. Spiritual gifts
4. Leadership styles
5. Myers Briggs
6. Talents/abilities
7. Quirky traits
8. EQ & IQ
9. Left & right brain
10. Learning styles (VAK)

A book idea...

The lies come tumblimg down...

It has come to my attention that as children we have either been taught or caught (inadvertently taught) lies. Some of these are shallow and laughable, others are more sinister & subtle whose affects are far-reaching.
I thought I would start a list...
1. Santa Claus is real.
2. Tooth fairy takes our teeth & gives us money.
3. Swallow a plum stone & a plum tree will grow out your ears.
4. Cracking your fingers will give you arthritis.
5. You become a Christian & bad stuff wont happen to you & if it does...smile, you can handle it!
6. There are some levels of sin which are terrible & cant be confessed or talked about.
7. You shouldnt share your struggles.
8. Guilt is God-sent to show you were wrong.
9. Family is more important than friends.
10. Tithing money is biblical.
11. A wedding means you are married.
12. Carrots help you see in the dark.

The lies come tumblimg down...

Birthday Weekend

Well we thought that one day to celebrate a birthday is too short, so we decided that this year we would take a whole weekend to celebrate our birthdays (Jon's is in 2 weeks time!).

So starting Friday I had a few friends txt & email nice wishes which was cool. Then after work we headed out for dinner at the local pub, was great food & good atmosphere, then home for a DVD & a much needed sleep-in.
Saturday I got phone calls from home & a chat online with friends in Ukraine. Then on Sat night we treated ourselves to a NZ lamb roast -- hmmm it was delicious and then watched my favorite program -- CSI!
Sunday we had a fantastic cooked brunch then headed into church. After church we headed off to Convent Garden for a wander through the markets and enjoy the atmosphere of the street musicians and other things happening.
Has been a really cool weekend, and I suppose all good things come to an end... maybe next year I think we could extend it to a week... (lol)
O yeah an also... one of wisdom teeth decided to join in the celebrations, so for the last 5 days or so I have had one side of my face & ear/jaw aching, although on the bright side at least the other half of my face could party! Wisdom comes at a price... (sigh)!

Birthday Weekend

2 B thankful 4...

A great God

A Christian family

Good friends

A warm bed

Plenty of food

A hot shower

A piece of lawn

An awesome husband

A healthy body

Money to spend

A laptop

A camera

Settlers of Catan

Memories

That I can read & write
Beauty & nature

So many things I think are normal, but today I am thankful

2 B thankful 4...

A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

It actually all started as we left Amsterdam...

At one bus stop (5min stop) Jon went to get drink, and the bus driver started going without him, I raced to front of bus and told him as Jon ran out from shop in front of us! Lucky!

We got to London at 6am in morn, started to walk to tube station, it started to pour with rain, got completely soaked.

Wanted to get breakfast at Mcds and dry out, they didn't take card.

Wanted to go to toilet, it cost 20p!

Rang my friend Bex, set off for her place to leave bags there for day and find flat. We bought wrong ticket.

Caught bus after tube to get to her place, got off one stop too late, so walked back a long way!

Went with her to go to town, forgot tube tickets, sent Jon back to house, and 1 hour later still couldn't find him. (he went to the station twice looking for us, but we told him to meet us at shopping mall)

Went to look at flat, got there at 5pm as arranged. Lady had forgotten.

Man showed us flat (it was crusty and not worth the effort) we left our bags in his house while looking, but then he locked himself out of his flat, so we had to wait for the lady!

Left to go back on tube about 6:15, had wrong ticket, so had to catch bus. Caught bus going wrong way, so had to walk all the way back.

Caught another bus (after waiting about 20 mins) and it went the right way, but we didn't know where to get off. After 30mins on bus we decided to get off anyways!

Caught tube toward town. Tube was suspended 2 stations before we wanted to get off because someone was stuck under a train further up line.

Walked miles to another tube station. Caught about 3-4 more tubes and changeovers before finally getting to last one.

Caught bus and this time got off too early!!

Got home with pizza for dinner at long last. Arrive home about 9pm!!!!

Still with no where to live but thank goodness a air mattress and lounge floor (had to pump by hand!)

Thank God too for encouraging friends and people who pray for us.

O well, some times life suxs, if this happened everyday though I'm sure suicide would be a rosy option!

A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!

Angels & Amsterdam

Bus arrives early at 4:30am.  We hop off, look around and decide to try and find a hostel! As we start to wander down the main street, the rain starts to fall.  We begin to notice that nothing at all is open, not even a 24hr internet cafe we can hang out in.  We get to a big intersection... we notice quite a few lights to the left, so decide to go that way.  Little did we know that we were heading straight for the red light part of town.  No sooner had we got a little way down the road, when a guy asks us if we are looking for a place to stay.  We answer yes, and he says he can show us one.  I look at Jon thinking we would ask him to move on, but instead we decided to say yes.  As he leads us down the road, some other guys walk past us and try to sell us drugs.  We refuse, but then the feeling of oppression of the area starts to hit us and we realize where we are!  Sex shows and other stuff was everywhere.  Every place we go to is either shut or has no room. We wander around for about an hour, and find out that this guy is from Iran, and is unable to work in Amsterdam.  He is a nice guy and  quite gentlemanly. Another guy tries to help us, and he was pushy, and looked shifty, and our 'angel' told him where to go.  In the end he found us a place to sit down out of the rain waiting until the central train station opened where we would get a hot chocolate and hopefully find some internet. We give him 10 Euro for his efforts, of which he was very thankful.  The day started very early, and it still wasn't until 12:30 that we managed to get a room in a Christian hostel in the heart of the red light district.  So although it was a great place to stay, we had to walk through all the filth to get to our place.  I found it very disturbing and sad.  Although we had seen prisons at Auschwitz that people now realize is wrong, I found it hard to comprehend the legality of the very small prison rooms that the prostitutes are placed in.  It was amazingly close to how Proverbs describes the prostitute.  Amsterdam or is it suppose to be Amsterdamn.  The 'tolerance' for drugs and other disrespect for the body I'm sure can bring nothing more than God's judgment.  A huge eye-opener for me. 

Angels & Amsterdam

England & future decisions

We got to experience England for a short 3 weeks of insane job-hunting and a not so positive experience of the culture and the standard of morals.  The state of the nation is far from a Christian nation.

Although this is the case, we are going back for more!  Jon has accepted a job teaching music at a school in Weald, north London for a year. 

We have spent the last 7 weeks here in Ukraine with my brother, enjoying summer, the culture and the fantastic people.  While we have been here we have spent time at the beach, camping on an island, going to Kiev, road trip to Odessa & the Black Sea, and heaps of other stuff.  We have made some great friends and it will be sad to leave them.

We head back through Europe at the end of Europe next week.  We plan to stop in Poland, and visit Auschwitz, and then through to Germany and then Holland before we get back to London ready to sort out an apartment and hopefully a job for me. 

Hope to be able to blog more often when we get back to a decent internet connection!

England & future decisions

Farewell from Paraguay

We have enjoyed our time here in Paraguay, and seemed to have accomplished a few things...

* Rest & relaxation

* Read heaps of books

* Helped out with MEGA (painted, varnished & sanded windows, doors, tables, chairs, made a soccer & volleyball court, started the playground etc)

* Managed to break a few things (including a bent bike tire (see photos) and cut the skill saw cord in half!)

* Sightseeing around Paraguay

* Learnt some Spanish (Jon learnt enough to have a decent conversation)

* Grew a beard (Jon)

* Experienced a different cultures traditions (food, music, way of life etc)

* Received multiple mosquito & ant bites

* Got stopped by police who were looking for an American named "Ruth" (kinda scary!)

* Got sick!

* Saw God at work in 2 different cultures (Ache & Paraguayan)

* Spent time with God & discussing future plans and philosophies

* Spent time with the family

* Finished "Farcry" (a new computer game we bought before leaving NZ)

* Wrote a few songs

Just to name a few!

All in all it has been good, and we feel that out horizons have been broadened, hopefully our understanding deepened and learnt heaps.

We hope to indulge ourselves tomorrow with the Super 14 final on TV once we arrive in Asuncion.  Man I do love NZ and have missed some things especially rugby.  Its funny how you have to leave to really appreciate some things you take for granted.

Oh well, that's all from us now,

Signing out from Paraguay,

 

Farewell from Paraguay

Books I have been reading... (July 05 - April 06)

Man I have been chomping through the books lately, here's what I have been reading... (chronologically from latest to oldest)

The Da Vinci Code -- Dan Brown

I quite enjoyed this book, and finished it in 1 day. It has a twist near the end that takes a bit to get your head around, a lot of religious history that is interesting, thought provoking but also rather strange at the same time. Im not quite sure what to think about some of it's ideas, although I do think the author really only wants it to be fiction to provide a story. It makes you think about what you believe without testing it, only because it has been passed down to you. I think some further study in this kind of area maybe required. A great yarn, fast paced and cleverly written.

Plain Truth -- Jodi Picoult

This was a story based on an Amish farm. It was quite interesting to gain insight into the Amish worldview etc. but I found the plot rather disturbing and the ending a complete contradiction to the whole point of the book. It was a read that kept you going, and one you couldn't put down!

By the Light of a Thousand Stars -- Jamie Langston Turner

This was a fictional book based around a couple of families who were neighbours and how they interacted. Was very descriptive and also quite compelling as to how to really love your neighbour. Took a bit to get into, but was interesting none the less. Quite a good insight into how people think and act, especially good for mothers with kids!

Where is God on Mondays -- Alistair Mackenzie & Wayne Kirkland

This book really gets you thinking about commonly held views of work, and where it all fits in Biblically. A really good book to challenge and help you define what it is that God really wants us to accomplish in our lifetime on earth. It also has questions at the end of each chapter, so could be used for a study guide within a small group setting. Small chapters and easy to read with everyday examples.

On the Anvil -- Max Lucado

This book has some really good challenges, and really easy to read. The chapters are separate stories, little gems that I just read one of a day. Great author who has written stories and real life challenges that he has experienced. Great to be given a shove in the right direction and reminded of what is important.

Anger -- Tim La Haye

Although this book is quite theoretical, I found it quite helpful as I read it, although I would struggle to recall a lot of it now. Would be quite good as a resource.

The Robe --

This is a historical novel about the soldier who was in charge of the crucifixion. A very well written book and quite a compelling read. It clearly describes and portrays what it would have been like in Jesus time, and the impact he had on small town Israelites. Provides a fresh take on His life and the culture of the day. A great plot, exciting and suspenseful at times.

The Temple -- Matthew Riley

I also read this book in 1 day, as I couldn't put it down. Set in the history of the Incan trail in South America, and provides insight and background of those times. Although at times it was a little far-fetched, there were a few twists that had your mind reeling and some scary stuff that had your heart pumping. I really enjoyed it, and highly recommend it!

Out of the Comfort Zone -- George Verwer

This book has some great principles and challenges. Written by the founder of OM (Operation Mobilisation) it portrays a man who is 100% passionate about missions. There are some great parts in here to make you think about missions in general and you cant but help catch his enthusiasm.

Is that really you God? -- Loren Cunningham

This book really challenged and inspired me to dream big for God, and the power of prayer. This guy was the founder of YWAM (Youth with a mission) and was a pioneer of his time with ground breaking moves. Totally challenged by what he accomplished because of his faith in God, which was immense. A huge pillar of faith that has gone on before.

No Compromise -- Melody Green

Man this was the book that started me on next 2 that I read. I really found this book to be a great encouragement & was inspired by Keith's no compromise life. He also was a pioneer of his time, and stood up for what he believed no matter what. What he accomplished for God was awesome. The challenge here was do I really want this as my lifestyle or would I rather dream about it.

Books I have been reading... (July 05 - April 06)

You can take my money but you can't take my...

A thought crossed my mind the other day (it was trying to get to the other side!) as I was walking down the street in Asuncion holding onto my handbag quite tightly & conscious of it not getting taken off me!

I thought to myself, you know if someone does grab it, and use my money & empty my credit card & bank account, yeah well that suxs, but they can never steal what I know, what I have in me as part of my person that will enable me to earn more money, get a job, have support from my friends and family and remain above the breadline and not become poverty stricken. That is tightly locked into my being, can never be taken & is something I had always taken for granted until now. Wow, what a comforting thought! You can take my money, but you cant take my... um its hard to say in one word, but you know what I mean!

You can take my money but you can't take my...

Weird huh?

There are some things I may never get used to... like...

The horrible bugs that fly at my face.(And I scream!)

The awful squeaky noise that the frogs make all day everyday like whiny children. (Sounds like eoeooooooooo)

Putting the toilet paper in a bin beside the loo, rather than down it!

The power going off.

Stink internet connection!

Putting on insect repellent each morning.

No TV -- especially the sport, & very especially the rugby!

Handing over a $1000 note for a bottle of coke worth about 25c NZ!

Watching where I walk (looking out for red ants, spiders & snakes)

Singing hymns (from my childhood) at church in Spanish!(And heaps slower!)

Getting up for breakfast everyday before 8am (& eating it with my husband!)

Church starting at 8:30am!

Although there are some things I can definitely get used to... like...

A cooked meal at midday.

A 2 hour siesta after lunch.

Not being cold & wearing shorts & t-shirts or singlets all year round.

The cruisy culture (lots of sitting around, not worried about pointless things, not much stress!)

Lots of time to read.

Sweating lots & drinking lots (Im sure its good for my body!)

Not getting headaches.

Cheap food, being able to eat out more often.

Cheap clothes.

No winter (really)

 

Is it a matter of outweighing the good with the bad, or is it just priorities & what you get used to??

 

 

 

 

Weird huh?

I´ll leave the light on in the parlour

But for now it´s Haere Ra!
I feel now as though I have come over the bump, moved on so to speak. Although I was intially homesick and not even waiting to be overseas for long, I think I have come through that now, and realise that the light is still on in Aoeteroa (even if just a little) but for now Im here and going to make the most of it, and who knows what happens. Glad it only took a few days for the mental shift in my head, I think my lawns are mown, gardens kept and rubbish put away, which means I can enjoy the lifestyle!

I´ll leave the light on in the parlour

Trapped by ignorance

It is amazing how the same rules apply for all of mankind the world over. Not knowing the language has caused us to feel trapped, physically just to stay in your room and go nowhere, socially cos you have no idea what is happening, and educationally beacuse you have no way of undestanding and learning. The simplist of map books gave amzing freedom to tear us out of the boredom and hopelessness of not knowing. We spent about 2-3 hours today walking around town, and although we got lost at times, the map gave us the confidence to explore and also get Jon's visa for Paraguay.
The other thing that disturbs me and makes me realise that nothing really changes is while we were walking to our restaurant tonight (where we got awesome steaks) we would see everywhere people going through the rubbish bags on the sidewalk and keeping anything they needed or wanted. Black rubbish bags here are like trademe in NZ. It even looked as though there was a trader point at a particular place where people were lined up with plastic bags, not really sure what for. A case of ignorance when young, or from their parents perhaps?? Ignorance of what they can do with their lives.
Ignornace surely aint bliss, instead a vicious trap of excuses and fear. Stumble around, make a fool of yourself, but for goodness sake, dont put up the wall of ignorance!

Trapped by ignorance

Travelling light?

It’s amazing the difference between saying, “let’s go overseas” and the process it takes to get yourself on the plane and flying overseas!
We have finally done it all, after a stressful wait this morning for our passports and Jon’s visa, we are on the plane and flying toward Argentina. Quite amazing really.
As we finished packing our boxes at Mum & Dad’s place, and then placed all of our belongings into 2 suitcases, and a few backpacks, and checked them in, trying to keep a track of them all, and then carrying the others around the airport, going to the bathroom and eating lunch, I realized the benefit of traveling light. I suppose that is a good analogy for life in general, to carry around with you only the bare necessities of memories, emotional, spiritual and mental weight.
Ironic really that as we flew over New Zealand we flew back over Tauranga. I picked out Bethlehem College, our old house etc. and as it started to come more into view the cloud cover came over, and before long we couldn’t see it.
After the frustrations of last year, and the point in time where we said, lets just go overseas, to flying back over Tauranga in this plane, I feel that God has helped us bring closure on our situations in NZ, with handing over the youth to the new pastors, debriefing with Dave & Joce, and developing that friendship, to saying goodbye to Wynne and getting the surprise from Geordie and family and then the clouds caused us to see it no longer.
The sun is setting on what we knew, and a new chapter in our life is dawning!

Travelling light?

Best Suprise Ever!

WOW!!! What a cool suprise we got today, after doing a whole lot of errands around town, dropping my brother off at the airport and generally being busy we got home to find Jon's parents here (that was planned) but also his sister and her family. We love her kids heaps and were disappointed we couldnt get up to say goodbye, so it was such an awesome suprise, I really felt emotional and didnt know wot to do!! Even now Im so glad they came, they are like my family and I love them to bits, this is probably the best present or suprise in my life and makes going even sweeter (if it can be) knowing that they love us and vice versa. Its strange cos I dont feel as though I deserve it but overwhelmed to be together, I suppose thats the way family is suppose to be like!

Best Suprise Ever!

Breaking Status Quo

Well...
Lots has happened since I last blogged. Once the tickets where confirmed it was all go to get other smaller but probably harder and more annoying details in place. Things like bank accounts and new eftpos & VISA cards, insurance, police clearance forms, shopping for things we need overseas,replacing our digital camera (taking a lady to court and then settting the debt collectors on her!)travelling to Wellington & back in 36 hours to get Jon's Visa for England, trying to look lively at work, our farewell at church, last computer games with the youth, and lots of card games and talking with our host family the McDougalls. All in all it has been busy but it has bought closure on moving on. We have also been to dinner to quite a few people's places, and "Team Extreme" took us out to dinner at Pizza Hut which was nice. We welcomed the new youth pastors and handed over the youth to their leadership, and said goodbye to the youth on Friday night as they head off to camp without us! It was quite hard & emotional, but at least I didnt cry in front of them!
Then Saturday was our last pack & clean up then left Tauranga as we drove to Paeora for my cousins wedding. The feelings were mixeds as we meet many people from Europe at the wedding (my cousin has been living in Germany) and got excited about where we are heading, as opposed to the sadness of leaving.
Ironic really since last year all I could think of was leaving, yet now after a change in job & getting to the McDougalls better, church seems more positive, and living a more balnaced lifestyle, it seems crazy to throw that all away and go somewhere crazy, not knowing when we are coming back. I feel most disappointed about my friendship with Joce, as I feel after 3-4 years of not having any close friends, we really started to enjoy each other's company (or at least I did!) but I'm trusting God that as we break camp, destroy our comfort zone, and step out of the ordinary that He will give us a better understanding of how He created this world to be. For me, I want to experience relationship & community with others in satisfying way. Let's see what our journey brings!

Breaking Status Quo

Travel details

Well, we have shifted & paid for our tickets, 2 big things out of the way. After all the packing the shift was actually pretty painless. Packed the van on Friday night, finished the packing on Sat morn and left for Auckland about 9am. Arrived at Mum & Dad's and had it all unpacked and stored away by about 3pm. Back in Tauranga for tea, so quite good. We cleaned some of the house that night & spent 2-3 hours on the Sunday completing the clean and were all out of there about 3pm. Its been great living at the McDougals and we are glad to have the packing etc out of the way. I have also got a parttime job now working back at the YMCA as a OSCAR supervisor & driver until we go, so that keeps me from getting bored!!
We have also paid for our tickets, so it is confirmed that...

Depart Auckland Tues March 14th
Arrive Buenos Aires March 14th
Stay in BA for 3 nights in YHA hostel while completing Jon's VISA for Paraguay.

Depart Buenos Aires Fri March 17th
Arrive Asuincion (via Cuidad Del Este) March 17th

Then with you Jo Frank until...

Depart Asuncion Wed 31st May
Arrive Buenos Aires 31st May (via Cuidad Del Este)
Depart Buenos Aires
Arrive London (via Madrid) Thurs 1st June

WOW its only 3 weeks away now, so it's pretty exciting!

Travel details

Shifting!!

The past few days have seen the extreme of playing games all day & night to hard work packing!!
The last weekend was Waitangi weekend so Monday was a day off as well, so we had the youth around for the last time to have lunch, swim, game of touch & then computer games all night. We had 9 computers linked together in our lounge, and stayed up till 4-5am playing Farcry, Age of Empires and Settlers, was fun but the next day we paid for it.
The rest of the weekend and since then we have been going hard packing, I have finished the spare room, lounge and mostly kitchen. Just have our room & the garage really to go, plus a few bits and pieces. It hardly seemes real that we are moving out, but its happening. Feeling quite lost, confused and upset about it all, stuff at church is just weird and its all kinda a bit much at the moment.
Although overseas seems scary, at least its a break from here! We are starting to get things in place like international drivers licence and other stuff like that, we fly out on the 14th March -- still heaps to do!
Our phone & interenet gets cutoff tonight, so signing off for a few days.

Shifting!!

Games & lazy living

Well, we have bought a new computer game called "Far Cry" which I think is very cool. I used to really be into "Army Men" the playstation game, which I must say has pretty old graphics etc. so this is my dream update!! Have a go at the demo by clicking on the image. So I have enjoyed playing that heaps lately in between sorting out our shift & packing, sleeping in, being sick & generally doing nuthing!
We have also been playing Settlers of Catan on our computers networked together. It is a 3D version and has some great variants like making deserts into volcanoes which erupt & can destroy your city or settlement. You can also get to move the number chips around and steal them off other players. Its an awesome game that goes to 18 points! Download it here.
Man I love being un-employed, although I handed my CV into a school today so I can get some relieving this term

Games & lazy living

Decisions

Well, we are hanging around for the first half of the term as Jon has taken the music job @ Bethlehem College for this long. We are moving out of this house on the 10th Feb and shifting into a friends house for about a month, as we aim to leave Tauranga on the 10th March and fly out the following week sometime. It is all starting to get exciting etc.
This past weekend I have managed to get a cold and now Jon has come down with some kind of sickness too, so we havent felt like doing much, although we have gone over to Parachute music festival 2 days as Jon has been playing in Alex Smart's band. Just to clarify, me as the drummer & side of stage technician, thats just really a nice flash way of saying I was side of stage, pushing the laptop button to set the drum tracks going for each song. We did ok, kinda nerve wracking at times, there's a lot of pressure up there and clashes of personailites, esp with the always incompetent sound people!! I only stuffed up 2 tracks, and I think I did ok. Got a free ticket & backstage pass for my efforts.

Decisions

Home Again & Complications

Well...
The trip home was pretty uneventful, spent the day in airports & aeroplanes pretty much, quite enjoyed getting ourselves around etc.
The complicated part was when I turned on my cellphone when we got to my parents place. There were a couple of messages on there from the principal of the school Jon used to work for. I did wonder at that stage whether it was to offer a Jon a job in music, which proved to be correct cos when we got back to our house, he rang and offered the exact thing for the 1st term of the year (until mid April) which really put a spanner in the works.
We then spent 30 mins on the phone to Paraguay, talked to many people, prayed & tried to figure out if we wanted to stay, and how the hang we could work it all out!!
So we are kinda in limbo, do we pack, do we stay, do we buy groceries, do we...
So yesterday we mainly spent sleeping, playing Far Cry (Jon' addicted) Tani came over for dinner & we also went to McDougalls for another game of Settlers.
Will be interesting to see what Jon's meeting today will bring to light.
Oh also, we had a music practice this morning for Parachute, and I have found out that I am needed as the drummer for the band, and side of stage technician, so that should be fun.

Home Again & Complications

Sun, rain & swimming

Well in the past few days, we have attempted swimming twice. The first time was on Sunday were we had planned to go to Redcliffe lagoon, have a BBQ and catch up with Bec & Josh Gollan and there new kid-- Thomas. But as we set off to leave, the wind & rain picked up and it became not that nice. The kids, Tim & Jon still swum anyway, but we didnt stay long, and headed back to Josh & Bec's house for tea. It was good to see them, they have been doing there house up and added a new deck etc. it is looking quite good. There little one is pretty cute too. Josh ended coming back here for a game of Settlers, which he almost won.
Then yesterday was the big day... we headed off about 10am up to the Sunshine Coast, where we stopped at Caloundra. Tim, Jon & I hired sea kayaks for a couple of hours where we paddled out to the surf and attempted to catch some waves, which proved to be harder than we thought because of a very strong current and the tide coming in. While we were there we saw the biggest ship ever to come to Australia go past. It was the largest nuclear powered aircraft carrier in the world, called "Ronald Reagan". And yeah it was pretty huge, they also had a number of helicopters accompanying it and a pilot launch of some type. I could see the aircraft on the front & back decks, and see that it was painted in camo colours, a rather impressive sight!
After out paddle, we picked the kids up, had lunch, played in a park & then headed to the beach for a swim in a sea bath/rock pool where we saw some very cool stripy fish swimming right past us. We then enjoyed some surf where we attempted some body surfing & I taught Jadeen how to do 'bum hits' to avoid big waves. We then had a freshwater shower in the park where there was sprinkler type things that the kids had awesome fun playing in. A great day, and one in which we all got very sunburnt!!
We headed home, had Sizzler for dinner & then went around to the Gollan's place for Jon to meet them, was great to see them again and have a good chat. We had our last game of Settlers with Tim last night, (while watching Federer beat Haas in a 5 set thriller in tennis) and have packed up this morn ready to head home via a stop in Sydney -- it will be a long day!!

Sun, rain & swimming

30 hour craziness

Well, we spent about 14 hours at a LAN in the last day or so, although the rest of them were there for 30 hours. There were about 25 people there and probably about 25,000 -30,000 worth of gear in the one room!
Yeah, I like playing computer games, but not that much!!! I find it amazing really how much money and time is put on an inanmiate object! My comment to Jon was that a computer can be an everlasting hole for both time & money, doesnt interest me in the slightest. I think it is a great tool to use, but beyond that well... I wont take the liberty to judge, but there's other things in my life that are more important.
We meet a few interesting people, and some random ones too. There was a guy there who was the spitting image of "Kip" from "Napoleon Dynamite." He was funny tho. I played a few games of Warcraft (don't like it think its overrated and extremely simple), a few of FarCry (which is okay, wouldnt rave about it yet) and one game of Seafarers (that was cool). We also played some pool and I had a sleep cos I had a headache, so really not that much happened for the 14 hours I was there, definatley not a massive highlight, but all the same was okay.
I have been watching the Australian Open Tennis today, and hope to watch a bit of the cricket, before we head off somewhere for a BBQ.

30 hour craziness

Goals for next 5 years

Well, I am starting to get the hang of this blog site, and hope to change it around a bit and personalise it. So that ties into my goals for the next 5 years, they are...
* Learn web design
* PE teaching training
* Travel the world
* Have kids
I think that should keep me busy enough!

Goals for next 5 years

Introductions

Hi this is me!
I am 27 years old, happily married, with no children as yet.
I enjoy sports, playing board or computer games, cooking and anything else that sounds fun!
We are heading overseas this year, so I aim to use this blog as a record of our travels and adventures.

Introductions

Public Transport

We are still in Australia, it has turned a bit colder in the past few days, so we are enjoying that!
On Wednesday we navigated our way through the train, ferry & bus system to get into, around the city and back again. We explored Southbank, Queen street, and some other places.
We were suprised and impressed with the ease of use with the public transport and how many people use it. We found a games shop in the some massive shopping centre that had an enthusiast version of Settlers of Catan. It came in a wooden chest, with complete 3D hexs, and pieces etc. It looked really cool but the downside was it cost $800. The idea was for Jon to go win some money at the casino so we could buy it, but instead he lost $10 and decided to quit then. We then caught up with Tim for lunch at a cool lunch bar called Make your own. Then we headed off for ride on the ferry & a sleep for Jon, stopped back off at Southbank were we had a swim in a man-made beach that was actually quite warm, but none the less refreshing. That night we went to play squash with Tim, Jamie, Josh Gollan & another guy called Cam. It was quite different to playing in NZ heat & man did we sweat a lot!! I mangaed to beat Jamie & Jon, although Tim whipped my butt.
Yesterday (Thursday) we had a lazy day at home, and then did the groceries at Morayfield in the afternoon. In that shopping mall we went to the bag shop & managed to purchase after a long decision process 2 big hardcase suitcases for our trip overseas. I must say the shop assitants were very helpful! We came home & cooked tea, and then played hide & go seek with the kids, and then settlers with Tim. Tonight the 30 hour Lan starts, but we have decided to go tomorrow morning for about 12-14 hours instead.

Public Transport

Australia!

Well I am currently in Australia, sitting in the lounge with air conditioning on, discussing business possobilities. It is absolutley riveting and fun!
We have spent time with the neices here, found some nice wildlife (kangaroos & parakeets) completed heaps of SUDOKOS, slept lots, played Settlers and other stuff. We aim to head into the city tomorrow on the train for the day, leaving home at 7am!

Australia!