This Week:

* I hardly used public transport at all!
* Two assignments out of the way, one more to go until I can take a break!
* I have a new fascination with knitting
* ... And the beach
* I enjoy warm showers
* Last AFL game tonight
* Photos are so addictive
* I've been ever-so-lazy
* Embraced a lot of sleep
* The fam are all sick
* I have pretty coloured toes
* Is China a superpower?
* Hooray for three day weekends every weekend!
* My room is being taken over by books and China
* I like to write
* I'm saddened by Mike Guglielmucci
* I want to paint something
* I'm picking another language to learn!
* All my clothes have holes...
* yoghurt tomorrow!

... *yawn*

fun fact for the day!

Before a typewriter was called a typewriter, it was called a literary piano =D
Isn't that lovely?

radio stories

I heard the funniest thing on the radio yesterday! Okay so, the song that goes 'Everybody dance now'? Yup?
Well! The presenter's little girl sings along with it (she's about two) and instead of 'everybody dance now' she sings 'everybody's pants down'!!!!
BAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHA!
I laughed endlessly =]

thoughts running through my mind

overwhelming exciting stressful unrestful chocolate being fit beating my best too much striving always being the grumpy 'bad' leader i love taking photos workworkwork my poor friends =[ i love my girls MP3 is awesome dominating assignments french! going out for lunch lots of savings birthday parties! maths is fun christian porter is wonderful fun adventures coming up really need to sleep more keep being organized love God's word be inspired read for fun stay dedicated organization is not for the weak music makes life fun i enjoy being a 'regular' collecting juice lids with fun facts! awesome stationery makes study so much better online shopping is lovely new hobbies sportsportsport holidays orange glasses i need new sunnies driving is lame this weather is lame, i want sun MASSIVE BLISTERS EATING MY HEELS Zephaniah 3:17 I'm going to name my kid Zerubabbel I miss Hillsong GOSPEL MUSIC methinks a trip to Koorong is needed cups of tea hooray for Tuesdays and no uni hooray for Cotton On Body new socks time Grease dancing is fun all dancing is fun talking on the phone about nothing random messages cheap cheap pretzels Gloria Jeans is my second home choochoochoose you love life

EMILY HAS NO FRIENDS RAWR!

flickrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I've joined the cool club and set up a Flickr account here. It's kind of exciting, I'm learning how to make photos look more not bad. Did you like my combinations of grammatically incorrect phrases in that sentence???
I sure did!
It's all very exciting, Kat's 365 project. So there is my (kind of sad) attempt at being good at a) photo taking and b) creativity. But, I figure 365 photos gives me a chance to get somewhat good at it!
So yes... feel free to laugh at my badness at photo taking and leave me a comment or two telling me I'm a fool =]
I quite enjoy it!

contemplative thoughts

I have really realized lately that I am quite terrible at being a good close friend.
I think I panic and then hide.

That is all.

Love

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that’s within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I’ll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favour and providence flow
I know I’m filled to be emptied again
The seed I’ve received I will sow

The Desert Song//Brooke Fraser

This song just makes so much sense to me. The whole CD This is Our God is just amazing, but this song was the main one that spoke to me all conference.

what i'm grateful for:

* wonderful friends
* honesty
* the wisdom of fabulous older people
* ice cream
* the gym
* projects!
* pretty colours
* productivity
* ikea
* treadmills
* Bibles
* the international phonetic alphabet
* accents
* coffee
* cameras
* having a future to look forward to
* clever election slogans =]
* the Olympics!
* lots of phone credit
* Moo
* being able to learn and learn and learn

And what I'm not grateful for:
* Russia and Georgia being at war. Sad Emily. Sad Georgia.

oh my goodness

MASSIVE VOMIT

'And then, on the day we broke up, I was like, I want to make my hair black now — I don't want to look pretty; I want to look hard-core. I was rebelling against everything Nick wanted me to be. And then I was like, I've got to be by myself for now, and just figure out who I really am."

Weird.
Weird weird weird.
Weird weird weird weird weird.

Did I mention I thought that was REALLY WEIRD?

IT'S ALMOST THE OLYMPICS! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!

Life is always so exciting!

My room has been totally ikea-ified. It looks oh so different! But I rather enjoy it, so all is fabulous. I can even see the window from my desk! I don't have to twist around in a circle anymore! Hooray.

My favourite event in the world, the Olympics, start tonight! We shall be celebrating with an Olympics celebration with jelly and country-specific foods. Speaking of, I need to print some decorations.

Blistex makes me so happy. My lips are normal and crack-free!

This is extremely nerdy, but interesting assignments always make me happy. I have a few coming up and I'm so excited to do them! Yup. Nerd.

I'm still hopelessly addicted to stationery. I've started using my fountain pen again which is all very exciting, and I have some mini ones in cahrazy colours! And pretty tapes, and nice cards, and exciting stamps... *sigh of happiness*

I'm still going hard at the gym. Only because every time I feel lazy I remind myself that I'm wasting a portion of my $50. That motivates me any day.

I can now write words using the phonetic alphabet which is SO COOL! You can write 'light' like [lait]. Oh how exciting!

And... that's enough ranting. I'm going to go Olympify the games room!

mmm

This week has frustrated me, because everything's gone really well but I seem to feel really crap about it all.
And God's shown me that once again, I need to stop burying everything for ages, because it means when I want to bring it up its a non-issue to the world but a huge issue to me, and then that seems silly to say anything... so I don't. But basically where I'm at is whether to just say it and make myself feel better even if I really hurt the other person, which is definitely not the desired outcome, or whether I should just remember that the other person's feelings are more important and therefore say nothing, and just suffering a little bit more myself. Which isn't that big a deal, but kind of is.

Anyway, this is just a bit of a whinge, but I want to get it off my chest.
... so I won't rant at you (non-existent) people who read this any more.

Instead I'll focus on happy things like the Olympics and cheap biscuits.

emily's life list

I'm addicted to the idea of life lists lately. They make me feel like I'm both dreaming up a future and also being organized and planned at the same time. Handy combination! I have one on my myspace that I never ever ever ever use anymore! So here is my new and revised life list for the rest of 2008. I guess it's more of an update on my New Years' Resolutions:

Use and finish a lip balm/gloss and not lose it
Bake something amazing
Learn sign language
Learn how to knit a scarf and a beanie
Choreograph a dance (in the process...)
Finish the Bible
Do one random act of kindness every day. (Well,you know, more than one would be fabulous, but a conscious one every day at least!)
Own a fabulously expensive pair of high heels
Play the piano again
Be able to spend my entire allotted time on the treadmill actually running and not dying
Learn to stop being judgmental
Use moisturizer
Embrace being tidy and not lazy
Save a lot of money to buy great great Christmas presents
Complete three creative projects
Be accountable
Read: Dating Delilah, Captivating, and the Mike Pilavachi one
Decorate my room
Take millions of photos
Be able to lift more than one weight at the gym
Be able to swim 30 laps in one swimming session (yep I'm totally pathetic)
Find a new favourite band
Go to more concerts (I've bought a Faker ticket!)
Dominate Uni
Get a fabulously fabulous job for the summer holidays

And that'll do for now. It's Monday tomorrow! My favourite!!!
xxxxx

what have you been doing lately, life has been improving greatly

I feel so yuppie saying I've been going to the gym, but I have, and I'm quite proud of myself! I am learning to be fit and healthy and deal with a lot of pain when I walk up and down stairs.









I heart these albums:























Uni is fantastic, and I have the best units ever this semester. Just a lot of learning to do. French literature is slowly becoming my friend, international politics is rather interesting, CHRISTIAN PORTER is my Criminal Law Tutor and Linguistics is just wonderful.



Dance gets more exciting and crazy every week - we're up to twenty dancers. Insane!




Wednesday night Salt at the Christie's was actually really amazing. That made me excited =]

Moo just keeps trucking along - I'm getting really ready for it to close. But - we shall see what God wants there. Hopefully he'd like it closed too =P

I've been surprised how fabulous my new three plan has been - I have not even come close to going over and I use my phone obscenely much. Hooray for good value caps =]

The weekend: Cement Picnic, work, waitressing, gym, church, footy, MP3, hooray!

And finally, the Wii is pretty much the most exciting thing in the world. Tennis! Bowling! Wii Fit and jogging! Hitting Rabbits! Texting! Golf! Mario Kart! Hooray!

tomorrow!

Monday!
Uni goes back!
French to learn!
Dance to teach!
Swimming to do!
Room to clean!
Officeworks to visit!
Scrapbook to decorate!
Cross-stitch to finish!
Bible to read!
Wii to play!
Letters to send!
TV shows to watch!
McFlurries to eat!
Lists to complete!
Sleep to have!
Hooray!

an exciting week

Dance starts again this afternoon! I'm excited because Michelle's got all these awesome dreams for the future of Soul to Sole, and there's a lot of potential in the girls to really pull a dance together. And Christmas dance already starting to be planned! I don't like pre-empting Christmas, but when it's to do with dancing, it's a totally different scene. I'm so excited!

I received a Scrapbooking Kit for my birthday from the lovely Jess Waddell. I rarely let my creative side actually do something constructive, but I've kind of enjoyed putting together all my party pictures and making it look lovely! I'm still quite terrible at it, I get frustrated halfway through and give up, but it's slowly coming together. And it's nice to look back at what I've done and remember all the moments both at the party and the memories I have with the people in the photos. Ugh I'm getting so mushy and sentimetal!

My embroidery I started last holidays is still only half finished, but I've pulled it out again and I'm slowly getting through it. It looks like a picture now which is way more inspiring than a big grey splodge in the middle of the material. But I enjoy having projects!

I start properly tutoring this week again. I know it's really nerdy, but I really like tutoring. I do get frustrated sometimes, but I feel like I'm learning to be way more patient, and I've had some really good feedback from some of the parents which is exciting. I'm glad I'm actually helping these people and not just ripping them off every week!

Israel Houghton, Hillsong Live and ABBA are taking over my life! I have listened to these CDs over and over and over again. It just puts me in the best mood ever.

I'm working at Moo at lot this week too - that's not all that exciting, but I'm excited for the nice big pay I'll get next fortnight. That's always reassuring!

The timetable for this semester comes out on Friday. I like having a plan in place for what's happening in the near distant future.

We have a Wii and even better, a Wii Fit! It's kind of depressing that the scales are more accurate than the downstairs ones, but it's ALL GOOD because it's so much fun and it abuses me about my centre of gravity! And even better, we have Mario Kart with the awesome wheel. It's fabulousssssssss


That's enough ranting for now!

my new favourite movie

I don't care that it makes me a loser, it was the best thing I've ever seen!
I'm listening to Abba at work tomorrow - Garden City must hate me so much.

new again

I love the sensation of a fresh start. It has to be one of my favourite feelings in the whole world. The cool thing about it is it can come with a big of sadness, or happiness, or fear, or excitement, or regret, or calmness, but no matter what, you know you're starting again and you can't turn back. I think it's fairly special.

Coming home from Sydney is really challenging me in a lot of ways. Hillsong Conference was such a fantastic experience, and I had so many revelations from God about what He can do for us. He literally washed me clean, He restored my faith and hope and He totally confirmed that it is all not at all about me. He gave me this insatiable desire to read His word, and to talk about Him. It was awesome.

Then on the flight home, I made friends with the person sitting next to me, and I felt myself slipping back into the old person I was. The cool thing was, that they'd addressed this at the conference - slipping back isn't me failing, it's just me choosing to change. All I had to do was say 'No, I'm not changing, my faith is in Jesus and I want to be like him' and it was cool again. Of course, it's a ridiculously slow process, but nevertheless - a fresh start.

It was weird waking up the next day and suddenly having to be under the rules of a house, instead of doing what I felt like, as well as what Ali did. But generally, I could walk down the street, grab a coffee, read the Bible, shop a bit - all without having to think about what others expected me to do. It's something I'm learning to adjust to within the whole Servant Heart attitude.

I am doing a big clean out of my room - one of my favourite fresh starts. Getting rid of the things I pointlessly hoard, tidying up and reorganizing, putting what's important in front of me. Cleaning out my drawers and giving stuff away - I just want to give everything away all of a sudden. I'm sick of having an excess of things I don't need - thank God for that revelation. He's the ultimate provider, and if we want to be like Him, we better start providing for other people. Selfishness is so pointless. A hard habit to break, but still - another fresh start.

Finally, I got to drink Starbucks, eat Krispy Kreme, worship with 20 000 people from all over the world, eat bagels, buy matching things, grow closer with Jesus, learn to be more honest with my friends, write letters, buy exciting stationery and become more convicted about my life's plan. Pretty awesome fresh start in my opinion!

the first of july

It is officially the second half of the year (maybe not in days, but months-wise!) I have turned eighteen, uni semester one is done and dusted, I've read numerous books, done numerous things, discovered uncountable things, head off to Sydney in a couple of days, drink excessive amounts of coffee... and so on and so on.

My cocktail party was pretty much the greatest night of my life. I hope other people thought it was just a fraction of the fun I thought it was, and I'd totally be happy *big smiles*
A pictorial review of the night (even though they're all on facebook, but WHATEV TREV it's still fun to decorate):

Balloons were collected and placed around, even though they were totally not what we asked for. But they looked so lovely I didn't care.


I discovered my brand new camera does labels!


I saw the school girls for the first time in aages, and got a lovely Tiffany's necklace


Some more of my beautiful girls


I particularly enjoy the greatness of this photo


And this one


Blasts from the Past...s





And the not so Past


There was cake:


And dancing:


And lovely cocktails (how very handy at a Cocktail party!) with umbrellas:


And my brother is an alcoholic:

It was my party, I should've been holding the cocktail, not him!
*sigh*

But I got some lovely lovely presents I need to do massive thankyous for.... tiffanys necklaces, bulk cash, pandora charms, whales!, smiggle vouchers!, clutches, jewelry, beautiful mirrors!, nutella!, cocktail glasses, and the most wonderful cards in the world.
Hooray for being eighteen and fabulous birthdays!


But after all that, Sydney is fast approaching. I have a lot of expectations on what will happen there, so hopefully at least some are fulfilled. I'm excited to see Steve again as well, and spend lots of money in Sydney!

Also, I bought a new phone today. Hooray for bulk credit and no more limiting my text message replies and being rude and not calling!

There are many other exciting news things to catch the world up on, but now is sleeping time.
So I'll leave it there!

emily's addictions

1. Birthdays


I really really really love birthdays. I wish we could have them all the time every day. I was constantly speaking to someone on the phone, reading birthday messages, or visiting with the people who dropped in. And eating lots and lots of cake. It was fantastic! And I got wonderful presents, especially my Pandora bracelet. Which is slowly being filled with more and more charms every time someone new comes over! Which is very exciting. And I had a fabulous night out with my girls as well, so it was basically the best day of my life. Pretty much. =]

2. E-Bay

I was always too scared to use ebay because it looked too complicated and what if you didn't like something, etc. etc. But, I was telling my aunt I needed a birthday dress and she got onto ebay and was showing all these fabulous and actually cheap ones, which can arrive ideally soon but who knows? Anyway, I found out that you get emails telling you that you won, so basically, I'm hooked. I have now purchased two dresses! But it'll depend on when they arrive as to whether I wear them or not. So, that brings us along to the next addiction...

3. Dresses

I am so addicted to dresses. They are just so exciting. There's not much else to say about them other than they're great. But they are. Really really great.

4. Chocolates

I have soooo much chocolate from my birthday, but I don't care because I can just eat my way through it as I study away for the last three exams! LAST THREE!! I got a cocktail glass filled with roses from mum's work friend Marilyn and it's basically my favourite present.

5. Mi Goreng

Fastest meal in the world.

6. A Beautiful Mess

Here.

7. Stationery

It's one of the best things in the world to buy, and basically the one thing I'm most looking forward to about Sydney. We can just spend whole days in Smiggle. WHOLE DAYS OF STATIONERY!

8. Dance

We've choreographed a bit of Mirror, by BarlowGirl and so far I'm really excited about it. And there's a concert in November, and I love hanging out with the girls and watching how much they improve from week to week. Well, the week to the week I get there. But still, they're a gorgeous group.

9. Photos

I'm going into camera withdrawal and I'm going to buy a new one on Friday in preparation for my cocktail party on Saturday!

10. Phones

Seeing as I'm (FINALLY) nearly off the crapness plan that is Virgin, I can go on to bigger and better things! I've decided to keep my options open for an iPhone and am going to Vodafone, and finding a phone I won't destruct. It will be hard, but I think I'll be able to do it....