BoNa FiDe

Give Way To the Left...

2011-11-20T12:42:00.001+13:00

I don't know how this road rule is going to work, come March 25th 2012....

Giving way to the LEFT instead of the right...

apparently the rest of the world does it already....

but I've kinda started trying it....at roundabouts....

It feels soooo munted...I look to the left, but then am all shrugging away to the left in my car, as if I'm gonna have some car come at me from the right....

I feel Chiropractics are going to be the next biggest thing, with overuse syndrome on NZ drivers necks, not knowing which flippin way to look....

Let's just be like India....where road rules are just this thing, they might of heard of back in the day...but it's probably just some myth that their granddad told them when they were little...as a funny story....

Be careful who you listen to. ;D

2011-11-09T14:30:00.000+13:00

Dr Yew Tok Khak

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart only good for so many beats, and that it... don't waste on exercise. Everything wear out eventually.. Speeding up heart not make you live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster. Want to live longer? Take nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables? A: You must grasp logistical efficiency. What does cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So steak is nothing more than efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef also good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And pork chop can give you 100% of recommended daily allowance of vegetable product.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?A: No, not at all. Wine made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that mean they take water out of fruity bit so you get even more of goodness that way. Beer also made of grain. Bottom up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio? A: Well, if you have body and you have fat, your ratio one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No pain... good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU NOT LISTENING! Food are fried these day in vegetable oil. In fact, they permeated by it. How could getting more vegetable be bad for you?!?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise muscle, it get bigger. You should only be doing sit-up if you want bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy?!? HARRROOOW!! Cocoa bean! Another vegetable! It best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming good for your figure, explain whale to me.

Quotes Relevant to Post Below...

2011-09-10T22:32:00.000+12:00

Fear is just our feelings asking for a hug.

Fear is the static which prevents you from hearing yourself.

Fear makes the wolf bigger than it is - German proverb.

If someone harbors any sort of fear, it passes through all their thinking, damages their personality and makes them a landlord to a ghost.

Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death.

They who fear to suffer, suffer from fear.

The wise person in the storm, prays God not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear.

Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop.

One day at a time....

One Day At A Time

2011-09-10T21:44:00.002+12:00

I've been remembering an old hymn the past few days, that I used to sing at the old church I used to go to when I was little....

One day at a time sweet Jesus
That's all I'm asking from you.
Just give me the strength
To do everyday what I have to do.
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine.
Lord help me today, show me the way
One day at a time.

I have to replay that chorus over in my head daily, even hourly...minute(ly?) lately. Most nights when lights are out and I'm alone, it's prayers to Jesus, just imagining him and the love he has for me...imagining walking side by side with him, him hugging me, and just collapsing in his arms in a crying heap, overwhelmed from the acceptance and love that would feel like....which causes me to cry and just...i don't even know.....

Fears suck....can only assume they are the suckfest devils liking, could kick him in the nuts for his power of fears, which are so incredibly powerful....

Then I worry about everyone else in my life and the world robbing them of joy and thinking of ways to bring more joy in everyone else' life - so many people that I talk with are just void of joy, how can we bring the joy back in peoples lives??!!

Another thing I remember, is THIS LIFE IS TEMPORARY.....eternal life, perfected life is to come....so no matter what comes my way, anyones way.....it's temporary....Heaven is my home, and I'll get there once my time on this journey is complete - but while on this journey, I'll try to remember hour by hour in the dusk of life, that hymn...."One day at a time".....

My image I feel blessed to have, of either sitting on the end of a jetty with Jesus...or walking through a meadow with him, or walking down a garden path (the most common) because the garden path image always ends in us stopping and him hugging me.....then I'm a big sugar lump of a mess....overwhelmed from the love and acceptance of an imaginary hug, that only Jesus could provide.

One day at a time.....

Big Brown Man

2011-07-18T11:53:00.000+12:00

When I hear beautiful songs like this...maybe I secretly wish I was a big brown man...so I could create something as beautiful sounding as this....actually beautiful voices, all of them, inclusive of the white man with the brown mans voice. Love it, love it, love this song. *Yoink* into my closed eyes playlist...that's a big compliment...

Songs of My Week...

2011-06-20T15:10:00.000+12:00

and
this chick WOW's me....love her emotion in the song...beautifully sad. But...beautiful.

Addictive Creatures

2011-06-13T12:54:00.000+12:00

"We're addictive creatures. We try things, we experiment, we explore, and certain things hook us. They get their tentacles in us, and we can't get away from them. What started out as freedom can quickly become slavery. Often freedom is seen as the ability to do whatever you want. But freedom isn't being able to have whatever we crave. Freedom is going without whatever we crave and being fine with it".

What's the thing that started out as freedom for you, but now has progressed into slavery...or is mastering you?

Shopping - clothes/shoes/electronics?
Food?
Pornography?
Sex?
Exercise?
Drugs?
Alcohol?
Self Harm?
Other?

Rob Bells Book 'Sex God' - chapter Leather, Whips and Fruit is a winner about this stuff! I recommend it.

What ARE Words

2011-05-17T23:55:00.000+12:00

I want to cry every time I watch this clip...

The singer was a ex American Idol singer who didn't quite make it to the top.....

It shows a snippet of him proposing to his girlfriend in this video - and her accepting.

Then it shows her, two months out from their wedding - after she was in a tragic car accident that she was lucky to survive in, but that left her with a brain injury..

This is her fiancee's song he wrote, post the accident....

So beautiful....b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l

What ARE words?!?!

Neighbours

2011-04-04T22:08:00.000+12:00

So apparently females can blame the pain and AGONY of monthly periods...... on EVE and her munching of the fruit from the forbidden tree back in those days when God created the world and stuff....

....well maybe I heard that in Sunday school.....or chose to believe whatever teacher or person in my younger years told me that...I think it sounds pretty good, so we'll go with that.....;)

Today was a day where I could kick that Eve in the shins and maybe pinch her on her arm skin...the real sensitive part of the arm...ya know, on the tricep right in the middle there....It felt like I had a farm....an African farm...or Safari in my stomach...all battling to kick their way out of my stomach....A Antelope...A Zebra...A Hippo...A Giraffe and heck, why not a Elephant with its big ol' tusks......that's what my stomach felt like today....all those African amazing animals...in my puku....battling...to kick their way out.... Thanks Eve...*kicks in shins, pinches arm skin...and runs away*....

Too much information? Blame Eve....;D

BUT then....after some drugs....I went for a walk...late afternoon....with my flatmates to the housing block in the next street...I had been there once before a few days ago and met suchhhh cool lil chicks....they were there again and came running over, with loads of others, and they just MADE MY DAY! Was only able to be there for half a hour or so cos we had other neighbours coming for dinner...BUT it was just so cool. Lil ones bring me to life...I love that I love kids! I love God gave me the heart and passions that he has done.....lil ones bring me so much joy and I hope I can bring the same to them. Next week I hope to plan a fun lil picnic with the girls in my backyard - I actually cannot wait! :D Actually!

Then walking back home...I got to meet 3 other lil kids who live directly opposite me and talked to them for another 20mins or so....two boys and a girl, then met their mum!

Was just the best of the best!
Made my day!
I feel like I love them all already, which is normally always the case with kids.
But yep....they are the greatest, can't wait to spend more time with them and get to know them more.

Neighbours! The greatest! :)

Worrying Energy

2011-03-23T00:22:00.000+13:00

I find myself worrying now and again - about things which may not even happen!

Apparently the stats are that 40% of the things we worry about are things that havn't even happened and have no reason to. 20% is about things which have already happened and which we can't do anything about. Not sure about the rest of the stats..

Mine are definitely based around that which COULD happen - but may not.

Trying to keep myself accountable to NOT doing that....it takes up too much mental energy - robs you of full joy that I might otherwise experience if I CHOSE not to worry about what might NEVER happen.

A wise person recently told me, that no matte what comes up in life, you can deal with it when it happens. That God will provide the strength and people and whatever it is we need to get through that time in our lives - so there is really no need to worry about what might never happen - and instead of worrying about it when it does happen - pray about it, talk about it and trust that yea.....God will provide us with what we need to get through it.

So, I'm attempting to put that into practice. It's not a regular thing, just occasionally my mind decides to think up random things which could happen in the distant or not so distant future, regarding myself and/or the people I love very very much. Remembering, that no matter what life throws at me, life IS temporary, therefore, pain is temporary. Helpful to know that here our days are numbered, but a sweet sweet eternity is waiting.

May as well spend as minimal time as possible on worrying - since not one positive thing (that I can think of) comes from it. Whatever happens....God will provide what we need to get through it...when/if it happens.

Worry Shmorry.

;)

Reunion

2011-03-12T00:29:00.000+13:00

I just wrote a massive post - mufussa sized.....and then deleted it all....because I realized....all that needed to be said was....

"I think it's time to be reunited with RAW".

The end.

Vulnerability

2011-03-07T01:04:00.000+13:00

(Pre-Note: I might sound like a 'Anthony Robbins' in this post, ha - not intended to, I've just written this directly after watching a 20min video on Vulnerability from some lady in some other country..somewhere...) :D

Vulnerability is hard - do it anyway - practice it and make it your way of living.

Instead of looking for or expecting perfection in people - our friends, families, children, partners, parents....maybe what we should be saying/understanding is....

You are imperfect;
You are wired for struggle;
But YOU ARE worthy of love and belonging.

Let yourself be seen. Deeply Seen. Vulnerably Seen.
Love with your whole hearts - even though there is no guarantee.

What does vulnerability look like or what makes people feel vulnerable?

Having the willingness to say "I Love You'' first....
Having the willingness to do something, where there are no guarantees.
The willingness to breathe through the time you have to wait for a medical result
The willingness to invest in a relationship that may or may not work out
Having to ask someone for help - with anything
Initiating sex with your marriage partner
A boss firing someone or making someone redundant/Being fired or made redundant
Admitting a struggle/addiction
A willingness to try something new
Asking someone out/Being turned down
Doing something whether it's applying for a job, pursuing an interest, etc...even though you know you may not/will not be the best, but you will be YOUR best
Taking that first step

Vulnerability can look like a million different things in a million different ways.

Vulnerability is defined as being susceptible, open to or capable of criticism and/or moral attack or being wounded/hurt. This can be on so many levels.

I think a life of being vulnerable allows us to really feel, both ends of the 'feelings' spectrum....but the joy and freedom that comes with vulnerability is worth the risk of what COULD happen.

So, say I love you first.
Reach out for that hand.
Ask for help.
Admit to that struggle/addiction/fear/insecurity you have and have been battling on your own.
Apply for that job.
Pursue that interest.
Initiate.
Love with your WHOLE hearts.
Be honest/genuine about who you REALLY are.
Vulnerability allows you to do these things to full capacity.

Just you, is enough. Just you, is imperfect - like every single other person in this world.
Just you, is wired for struggle.
Just you, is worthy of being loved and belonging.

Song of My Week

2011-03-01T18:40:00.003+13:00

Dig it in a big way...

RAK-ing while Driving...

2011-02-25T23:50:00.001+13:00

I try and remind myself to never underestimate the smallest of things....the small things are actually massive things to me, because of the massive impact they can potentially have...

I LOVE it when I'm out driving somewhere and I see someone walking down the street by themselves and they are smiling! Automatically makes me smile.....

Or when someone in their car smiles at you - not the dodgy guy type smiles, that come with a sly wink - I'm talking the genuine smiles from a stranger in their car. I LOVE those moments!!

Or when you are trying to get across a mad busy road and no-one is letting you in, then someone slows down and stops, or flashes their lights or gives you the friendly wave to signal you to merge into the traffic - they don't need to, and they might hack off an impatient driver behind them, but they let you go anyway!

Such the smallest things but they always make me smile.

So, I try and do those things as often as I can as well. Not because I have to, I just love to do them. When your smile is mirrored....that is the coolest...you smile..then they smile...wooohooooo, so cool !!

The real test of character is when and if and how I do those things (like smiling, letting people in, responding to a nutty driver with a smile instead of the expected hand on the horn/flippin the bird/bum chumming, etc) when I am in a rush or in abit of a mood or when it is inconvenient...but I think of ma Jesus and try my best. :)

But I like to think that someones day is made better by catching a smile from a stranger, whether that's me or whoever else..... and never want to underestimate the small things - like a smile to a stranger and what impact that might have. On the crappiest of days, it's insane how much impact a simple smile can have.

One thing I try and do as well, is if someone cuts me off, or zooms past me at crazy speeds, or zips in and out of traffic cutting people off, or just pain and simply is a nutcase on the roads.....I imagine to myself and purposely assume that MAYBE they have a pregnant wife in the car....or just a pregnant woman and are in a MAD rush to get to the hospital....and that's why they are being a loony on the roads... ORRRR that they have just received a phonecall that someone they know is in hospital...so they are acting crazy and speedy on the roads to get to the hospital as fast as they can....rather than getting piddled off that they are being ca-razy drivers because they are just plain ol' knob drivers. Choosing to believe the best of people in those situations in a toughy, but I'm practicing it as much as I can with drivers.

Anyway...point of this whole ramble....SMILING...such a simple RAK....Random Act of Kindness that can be done while driving...it's the coolest when it's mirrored back...and you definitely notice it on the occasional day where it's maybe hard to smile.....and then someone in their car does it to you....I dunno....can't explain it really - but it's just the coolest. I'm a fan.

Should be played at the end of every school year...

2011-02-15T20:09:00.001+13:00

Brain Kai

2011-02-01T23:36:00.001+13:00

"You've got to get up every morning with determination if
you're going to go to bed with satisfaction."
- George Horace Lorimer

"If all of our misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence
everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be
contented to take their own and depart."
- Socrates

"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right,
you'll probably never do much of anything."
- Win Borden

"Don't reserve your best behavior for special occasions. You
can't have two sets of manners, two social codes -- one for
those you admire and want to impress, another for those whom
you consider unimportant. You must be the same to all people."
-- Lillian Eichler Watson

"The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was
important to them: there ought to be as many for love."
-- Margaret Atwood

"Don't let someone else's opinion of you become your reality."
-- Les Brown

"There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease
worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will."
-- Epictetus

New Boy

2011-01-22T12:17:00.001+13:00

The Simple Things

2011-01-17T23:49:00.000+13:00

Dont ya just love it when you think of things, maybe that you've done in the past, or just a conversation you've had, or maybe a certain someone, or a experience, or whateverrrrrr, and you just....smile, or laugh? I love those times!

Was just thinking of a few just now....liiiiiike

When I was little and used to go to the Ice Skating Rink when my cousin was captain of the top NZ Team. The higher ranked the team is, in Ice Hockey the BETTER the game is, so action packed, it's definitely my fave game to watch live....if you're actually THERE! :) The atmosphere, being all rugged up, snuggled up warm, watching the players pace it back and forth up and down the rink then SHMACK the ball - if it's a higher ranked game, you watch the odd punch up between players or watch them trip each other up with their sticks or flip each other over the rinks border - so intense! Love it! Definitely looking forward to watching a few high ranked teams when Ice Skating season starts up. I used to love it so much as a kid, some of my best childhood memories were at the Ice Skating Rink watching my cuz.

Another simple one, just the wind in my face - definitely a top 5 feeling! Window down in the car - the best. :)

Another memory...snorkelling in Fiji. I think it was 2005 I went. A friend text me asking if I was free in two weeks time for a trip to Fiji. When I found out he was serious, I went and asked my manager for time off and I got it! Crazy at such short notice! So, two weeks later I was island hopping with my friend in beautiful Fiji. Fave memory of the whole trip was on Octopus Island snorkelling with my friend. I'd drifted off one area of the ocean and was seeing the most brightly coloured fish then he came and grabbed me and we snorkelled for hours in this pool of fish that HAD to have been thousands, EVERYWHERE! It was innnnnnnnncredible!

Another time....When I could zone out for 6hours or more to the music playing in what was my favourite club at the time, and just close my eyes and be taken over by the music and just dance, eyes closed, no-one to bother me, just zoning out to this music - was amazing. Amazing.

Just a very small number of memories or experiences that always bring a smile to my face! I love the memories already created and am so excited for the new memories I'm making now - always creating memories.

I love the power of the mind our God gave us to remember things from so long ago so vividly so we can re-live it as much as we're able to, whenever we want. So, so awesome.

I hope everyone in the world has at least one memory they can look back on and smile.

Just...Close Your Eyes...

2011-01-05T12:23:00.000+13:00

Song Of The Moment

2011-01-04T10:49:00.000+13:00

Brilliant.

It's a Start

2010-12-27T16:32:00.000+13:00

Well today I took my own first harmonica lesson (on a dvd)

Learnt how to play 'When the Saints go Marching in' - probably the most basic version ever, but still mastering getting your lips round one teeny tiny hole - chords are no worries, your gob can go over three keys, but singling out one teeny tiny hole - that's gonna take a while I think.....

When The Saints Go Marching In - Basic - learnt - yus.

It's a Start......

Next Lesson - Hand Vibrato.

One Day...

2010-12-27T16:00:00.000+13:00

Maybe minus the beatboxing...but one day...will hopefully play like this....

Rip.
It.
UP!

Sugar and Spice and All things nice

2010-12-14T01:37:00.001+13:00

Fading at speed....my body and eyes and mind just want to sleep, still a few hours of writing to go before I even think about sleep....3 more days of this then a revitalizing break of uni for a decent amount of time.....until then, a lil recap of things that are nice is needed to get through these next few hours without seriously losing the plot....

(Non freaky) Jettys at night or sunset
Jellybeans
Babies/Little ones
Manea
My Niece
Holidays
Roadtrips
Passions of the heart
Music
My imagination when I'm on the cross-trainer or listening to my ipod
My Body Combat exercise dvd
Zumba
My Friends
Encouragement
Falling asleep outside on a nice day with the wind in your face
The wind in your face in the car
Adrenaline Sports
Not having to get up early on a real crusty rainy stormy day
Being able to stay in cosy and warm on a yucky night and just watch dvds and chat
Watching a fireplace/bonfire
Hugs - good, long, tight, full embrace ones
Free time
Appreciation
People playing with my hair (in a not creepy way)
Cold Hard Fresh summer fruits
Laughing cramp
Love
Laughing tears
Having someone to confide in
Jandals
Photos
Sleep
Rice crackers with sweet chilli philly
Icy Cold Water to drink
The feeling I will have on Thursday night!

On that note, back to it.
Yay for things that are nice.
Thank the LORD (literally) for them, it would be one sadddddddddddd place without it and assignments would be of the devil himself. For Real.

Beautiful Chaos

2010-12-06T21:06:00.002+13:00

Beautiful
Unconditional
Love.

99 Balloons

"Only separated from our time left on Earth''.

Blows my mind, people's capacity to deal with such intense suffering of losing a child.
Blows.my.MIND.

If you could do a deal with God....seeing a boy like Elliott and the love of his parents....saying 'God take me instead, I've lived a good life, let Elliott grow up, let his parents enjoy their boy, let me own Elliott's suffering, let me take his road instead.' I'd need a few kajillion lives though to 'save' or 'rescue' the kajillions of people that i'd want to. In saying that, I struggle with my own 'suffering' on a whole nother level, and yet here I am wanting to take on anyone else's, esp the bubbaz.....ironic.

Battle with the Media

2010-12-06T20:43:00.000+13:00

Who Me?

2010-12-06T01:29:00.000+13:00

Who would have guessed I...yep ME could be lost for words?
No yap yap yap - actually silent and processing....
Who knew I was capable...
Woh siz.

Prayer

2010-12-03T01:34:00.001+13:00

I go through stages or phases of not 'being into' prayer...Times when I get frustrated with prayer and don't wanna be a part of it, but be patient and close my eyes and reluctantly listen anyway (this doesn't happen often, but it does happen) then there are times, like tonight, where it's so....uplifting and encouraging. I'm all overwhelmed at the moe, for the next 3 weeks, because I have 3x2000 word essays to write, a practicum to do and all the work that goes with that, plus my work I have to get done from my own centre. Plus it's the 3weeks leading up to Christmas, so tonnes of social thangs on and my sister from another mister is coming back from England and staying with me for a week and I already have commitments within that week, let alone study and I want some serious catchup time with ma sister from another mister. SO, bla bla, feeling all overwhelmed and stress bally. BUT, after our flat Thursday night chat with my amazzzzing flatmates, and our prayer sesh, I feel like I can handle the jandle of the next 3 weeks.

I'm also writing this for my own accountability so that when I wake up tomorrow morning, or have a freak out dance over the weekend from being well and truely OVER assignment writing, I can read back on this and remember the prayers ma flat dudes prayed. :) Even small things like 'that i'll be surprised with how much I can get done, and how much I can write the words and information I come up with' and that 'i will have a hardout.....like 'dose' of motivation and perseverance and just..the ABILITY to do it all'. Stoked. :) Easy to please. :)

Totally realized the importance...like it finally hit home (took 25years, but finally tonight) about how important it is to spend some chill-out alone time with ma Jesus aye. Fully prayed for it to be a desire, and a priority rather than something to 'fit in' or do the rushed 5mins before sleep time, or 5mins rushed in the morning, but that it's a totally spesh time you put into each day.

I've never been more exposed to prayer than I have this year, or had so much of it - in groups. I've always prayed every night before bed...well mostly. There will also be stages/phases where i wont, but they never last long. But in terms of group prayer, nevvvver so much as this year, challenging...for me...because I def prefer my alone Jesus chats, but.....good.

I'm glad Jesus is patient, cos no-one else could put up with my excessive rambling.

The words 'concise' & 'summarize' will never be in my vocabulary. I am incapable of being/doing those things.:)

I am of it...

2010-11-28T17:33:00.000+13:00

Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.
Eugene V. Debs

I love that quote....I just wish good ol' Eugene didn't stop there....I wish he kept writing to include so many more...like...

While there are the forgotten, the hated, the neglected, the unloved.
While there are the physically and mentally abused.
While there are the cheated, the betrayed, the forgotten, the castaways.
While there are the kids taken from Cyfs, the teens thrown out or run away from home.
While there are the teen pregnancies, the teen abortions.
While there are the eating disorders and the self harmers.
While there are the drug addicts and alcoholics.
While there are the terminally ill.
While there are the street kids and gangs.
While there are the refugees, prostitutes and strippers.
While there are the burglars, thieves and rapists.
While there are the blind, deaf, crippled and deformed.
While there there the forgotten, the hated, the neglected, the unloved.
I am THERE, I am relating to THEM, I'm putting my needs second to them, I am LOVING them.
While there is the unloved...I can love, because I am loved - unconditionally.

At some point we all fail to love unconditionally, if someone betrays us, we can react without love, if someone lies, cheats, uses, abuses, ignores, rejects, backstabs, gossips, acts different, looks different to us or to what we are comfortable with, we might love...but not unconditionally.

Love those words of the hosanna song...

Heal my heart and make it clean;
OPEN UP MY EYES TO THE THINGS UNSEEN,
SHOW ME HOW TO LOVE LIKE YOU, HAVE LOVED ME (<------ unconditional love)
BREAK MY HEART WITH WHAT BREAKS YOURS;
Everything I am for your Kingdoms cause;
As I walk from earth into Eternity.

Praying for that to ring true in my life aye.
Walk the Talk.

The animal created by Accident - the Cat

2010-11-21T22:52:00.003+13:00

So, it's too late now, I'm going to have nightmares....I just google imaged 'evil cat' which wasn't hard...and def isn't short of images - which proves my point they are nothing BUT evil....a complete accident of an animal created probably only when God sneezed...which in ancient days people thought you're soul left your body when you sneezed...which is probably what happened when God created 'cats', in that short time when he sneezed and his soul/spirit left his body, evil came in for that split second...and formed....The Cat....

I was home alone today...had been in my room for ages....walked downstairs to go out....went to turn the lounge light on....and this CAT...freeken stray that had been LOCKED in my house was throwing a absoloute SKITZ, running up and down the ranchslider at the back of the lounge, freaking out knowing it had company in the house it had randomly decided to get locked in....then it started trying to get OUT of the ranchslider by running INTO the glass I dont know how many times. Phsyco!

Naturally, I fa-reaked out....ran upstairs and locked myself in my room, leaving the front door open....I didn't come down for ages....but ran out the front door and closed it after turning the alarm on...waited to see if the alarm went off, then left down the driveway. Came BACK, thought 'maybe the alarm isn't set to go off for small evil demons like cats', so caned it in the front door and back into my room...and locked the door. Didn't come out till a flatmate came home!

It should be a public holiday when the world finally decides to make cats extinct.
I live in hope for that day....

Feet

2010-11-19T00:28:00.000+13:00

The washing of....

Who will I 'let' wash my feet....

Whose feet should we/I be washing...

Poppa Grandad

2010-11-14T23:21:00.002+13:00

We had a old guy speak at our church tonight, he spoke about introducing God to children and it not just being about bible stories, etc.

Whenever I talk to or interact with an old man whose really warm and friendly and loving, I want to CLAIM him as my poppa or grandad....tonights guy would be a awesome grandad i bet. :)

I never had a grandad or Poppa. My Poppa (mums dad) died a couple of years before I was born and my Grandad (dads dad) died before I turned 1 of cancer. So I got jipped of having one. I really wish I did and have always wanted to claim me a old man I can call Poppa or Grandad. I remember my principal in Intermediate, I really wanted to claim him as my grandad. He was all grey haired and funny and loving but strict at the same time, and just looked like the cliche grandad.

My Grandad will be in heaven, I'm looking forward to seeing him there and getting to know him. It's expected my Poppa gave his heart to the Lord in his final days, I sure hope so. I've always felt without knowing why that my Poppa would have really changed my life, for the better.....and/or just had a really significant part of my life. He was my lebanese Poppa, all brown and handsome like (in a grandaughter kind of way) and his stories of his life were amazing, he was a truely remarkable man. :)

Yep.

Love Lost

2010-11-09T22:38:00.010+13:00

"And if you flash your heart, Iiiii Iiii wont deny ittt."

" I promise."

" So if you flash your heartttt, I wont mistreat it."

" I promise!".

"Keep me in mind,

When you're ready,

I am here,

To take you every-time".

Flip.

Intense.

Loving this song right now though.

Fruity Spirit

2010-11-08T16:15:00.007+13:00

Mother Teresa said, 'A day lived without showing love for others, is a day not worth living.'

Loving people must be a way of life, a fixed attitude, a commitment we make every day.

William Barclay said: 'More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all the theological arguments in the world. And more people have been driven from the church by the hardness and ugliness of so-called Christians than by all the doubts in the world.'

Being unselfish in attitude strikes at the very core of our being. It means we are willing to forego our own comfort, our own preferences, our own schedule, our own desires for another's benefit. And that brings us back to Christ.' - Bob Gass

There are those people that are sooooo easy to love then there are the ones that are not so easy...liiiiike...for me...

I really dont love those boy racer fellaz who love freaking me out late at night in my car by side swiping it, wanting to play tag or race or whatever....I want to NOT love them and ram my car into theres....

Like those people who yell and scream and abuse you for no reason (talking when I spent nearly 4years in the bank here) just because you're there and they are having a bad day.....= easy target. Honestly I got abused so much, people are verrrrrry anal about their money. And not once was it anything I'd done. This one lady I still remember ACTUALLY yelled at me for being TOO happy! She let it rip in the bank. My face went sooooo red, I wished her well then went out the back and had a cry, man was she evil. I didn't love her.

If any.single.person hurt my niece, I would very very very much not like them. I would want to lock them in isolation and feed them slugs and raw chicken. If a drunk or speeding driver owned a car with my family in it....I would struggle with forgiveness and want to introduce them to a hungry pitbull....or let them play kiss and catch with a crocodile.

I gotta remember here, I AINT Jesus....I am human....frick, but so was he....

Ummmm. Guts.

I do love, very very very much. I guess I just want to act more like him towards those people who the majority of the world would react with bitterness and hate and anger towards......the boyracers, the angus members of public, the rapists, the pedophiles, the murderers, the drink drivers, the backstabbers and manipulators, whoever....and see them as Jesus sees them. Because now, when I see a terrorist on t.v who just sassed hundreds of lives....or a guy whose just stabbed some innocent old lady 80 times in her home, or the guy whose just been caught for raping 12 woman over a few months, or the drunk driver who killed a young couples 3 children, or the pedophile who just got found out for sexually abusing his nieces and nephews, or the industries overseas which lure in young girls from the age of 5 to sell them for sex....I definitely dont have a feeling of love towards them. I want to cry for the families of the victims and feel an automatic love for them.....but for the accused/guilty....aint no lovey dovey feelings there.

What does loving those people look like? Even though I might not meet them, having a heart which reflects how Jesus would see them, react, respond and talk about them is what I want aye.

Times like this (and a kaillion other times too) I wish I could just get on the phone to Jesus and book him in for an appointment to get his face to face opinion/advice on it all. That would be super sweet AND suuuuuper convenient! :D

Rita

Loves

Jesus' Style of Luff

Fear or Love

2010-11-03T23:05:00.004+13:00

What's it better to be driven by with God?

Fear or Love?

Or doesn't it matter?

I dont know if everyone is the same....but in doing good, I am driven by love for him. When I am tempted to do something not so Jesus like, whether it's a thought, a action, a re-action, something you dont do when you should, whatever....the thing which stops me doing it, is by fear of what God may do. Not out of love. Most of the time anyway.

Also, ever had anything happen, which at the time was so insanely horrible, totally testing/challenging, a real nightmare, tough tough time to live through....but looking back on it now, you see the good in that happening, and how it saved you from a whole lot of other stuff happening and can see how you are stronger or wiser because of it? What if that challenging time doesn't go away though? Like....someone who was in a accident, lost their leg or whatever. Looking back they can see how it may have saved them from making other tragic mistakes in life or taking the 'wrong road in life' and they have learnt that lesson or come out stronger because of it - doesn't mean they can go grow a leg back now though can they? So they are stuck with that their whole life. It'd be so good if you could learn lifes lessons, then when your at that time where you dont need that lesson to remind you every day for the rest of your life to be there, because you are stronger, you are wiser, you are more mature, etc. That when you got to that stage, it went away. I suppose that isn't life though is it, like a woman who has a baby, then learns her lesson, cant very well just have her baby go back into a egg and boy bit again can she. Life.

Also....

Does anyone else look forward to heaven as much as I do? I dont know what to expect with heaven....the line in the song Amazing Grace, always makes me think about it...''When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the Son/Sun(?), we've no less days to sing his praise than when we first begun''. So.....I totally love Jesus...and probably sound like the lamest person in the (christian) world saying this...but TEN THOUSAND YEARS...praising Jesus....wow, I doubt that it'd even be possible for people in heaven to get tired of doing that, but are we gonna be on our harps and singing and bowing to God for eternity? Which, as a Jesus fan I should probably be stoked about....but since I was little, I've always asked God for my 'heavenly reward' to be brushing those lions aye. Ha, I'd be pretty happy keeping those lions looking good, by brushing their fur and manes all eternity long. Maybe have a sneaky ride every now and again, use them as a pillow when it's time for a avo nap in the meadow with the waterfall in the background. :D Scenery in heaven is going to be a winner yea! And i'm pretty excited about a new heavenly body too - I told God (several times) that I'm going to be the one running round heaven in her undies for a few years, stoked with the new heavenly body I've got. :D Looking forward to meeting my Poppa, he died before I was born, supposedly gave his life to the Lord in his last hours. Look forward to seeing my beautiful Uncle Don again, died 12years ago. My Nana x2. My Grandad Chook, he died before I was 1. And for my own piece of mind, I like to think that dogs go there too, so see my 4dogs up there. No cats in heaven though, that'd be crazy and a big mistake on God's part if he allowed them into heaven. ;) But yep, looking forward to heaven. Eternity...how can you even fathom that.

I wander when it will be...the rapture, be super stoked if it came in this lifetime. Love my whanu to go to heaven together, in the rapture, without any of us having to mourn the loss of each other. Supposedly there are signs happening on Earth that it is coming soon, but how long has that been happening for? I think that there are still things I'd like to do on Earth before the rapture, like find love, get married, adopt and/or have some kids. But, I think a trip to heaven for eternity would be a pretty good alternative if it were to happen. The amount of love you'd feel and get 'up' there would probably sass any of the love you'd get from a partner or kids down here anyway. Cant imagine anything being as awesome as what Jesus' love must be like. Imagining a hug with him gets me in tears everytime aye, when I'm needing a dose of love, I picture that in my head. And cos it's in my head, I can be a Jesus hog, so I do, and he's just the right height for my head to nestle into his chest, and he cuddles nice'n tight, not all limp and creepy like some people..AND he doesn't let go. I'm really really looking forward to a real life Jesus hug. You have to wait in line, cos I'm gonna hog him for ages, and you cant push in, cos then I'd just do my secret whistle to 'my' lions that i'll be looking after up there, then you and my lions can wrestle together, while I get my hug on.

Reet

Likes

Jesus Hugs, Lions and Eternal Thinking.

Born Free

2010-10-25T15:36:00.002+13:00

This is insanely .....insane.

These guys (MIA) ususally do crazy messages in their songs aye....this is the most....insane..

Embedding was disabled...so if this link doesn't work, just type 'born free' by MIA into youtube...it's like 9mins long...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk0oeOs3qVU

Teen Girl Squad

2010-08-25T23:02:00.001+12:00

Oh this is abbbbbsoloute genius. Well it cracks me up anywayyyy.. TEEN GIRL SQUADDDD! :)

http://homestarrunner.com/tgs13.html

Reet

Likes

The Randomness of Teen Girl Squad

"But we still serve a good God"..

2010-08-20T00:14:00.002+12:00

John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his brother."

http://www.godtube.com/featured/video/ryan-chad-arnold-inspiring-story-brotherly-love/all

Reet

Loves

The Fact We Have Eternal Life

Wish I Was A....

2010-08-04T15:52:00.001+12:00

Nuff Said...

Reet

Likes

All of This.

Need a Miracle

2010-06-23T23:00:00.004+12:00

So it seems no matter how many votes I get each day for this scholarship I've applied for through AMP, the larger the gap is between me and the top few people....Today I'm sitting on 1,087 votes, which is really amazing....THAT many people have voted for me to win my dream, to go on Mercy Ships and serve for 2months (hoping those 2months will help me realize whether I go back long-term or not when I graduate).

These top few people though...have nearly 2,500 votes. I'm wanting to do this honestly and morally. I know some of them are doing it by telling their voters how to vote unlimited amount of times by clearing memory on their computer. This IS my dream, I'd like to say I'd do ANYTHING for it....but....I gotta be.....**Bona Fide**....definition of that, is the title of my blog name!

Hence....this blog posts title...'needing a miracle'. I need a miracle to be able to get the Peoples Choice Scholarship. That's a whole lot of votes I need to catch up, get in the lead and STAY in the lead for the next 36 days, agh.

I want this SO so SO SO bad! I do have to trust though, that if I don't win - there is a reason that I cannot see or understand, as to why the timing just isn't right this year. Ma Jesus sees the bigger picture, and he knows when is right - as HARD as that is...to be 'ok' with that. Not saying I'm not going to cry a river if I don't get this scholarship - I know I will. But I will rest assured after the tears have fallen, that Jesus knows best - he knows my heart - he knows how bad I want this - and the right thing will happen - and it will be the best thing for me - no matter how gutted I am about it.

Doesn't mean I'm not going to try as hard as I can through as many channels as I can to get these votes. Doesn't mean I'm not going to pray heaps about it, to get votes, to think up new creative ideas on how to get votes, and if I dont get enough votes, to soften the hearts of the judges of AMP.....and help them sense my inTENSE passion for this kinda thing through my application so they PICK MEEEEE.

(If you havn't seen my application yet - here tis)

http://doyourthing.co.nz/2010-02496/rita-oliver

But then, I don't think anyone actually reads my blog except Jesse. ;) It's more just a brain bla for me anyway - but sup sup Jessicaaaaa.

Reet

Likes

Dreams

Cried a RIVERRR

2010-06-14T00:37:00.002+12:00

Oh my goodness, I cried a riverrrrrr!

Just watch...

http://www.godtube.com/featured/video/soldiers-surprising-their-loved-ones

Reet

Loves

Reunited Love

Voting Opens Tomorrow

2010-06-14T00:24:00.002+12:00

Voting opens TOMORROW! The 15th, to the public. Ohhhh I'm so nervous. I want this so bad! There are 114 pages of people...each page has about 20 people on it, asking for scholarships for THEIR dream. I'm sure if there was a test to be done...calculating who wants their dream the most...I'd be in the final 2...I cry even thinking about how badly I want this.

If you're a random reader, even if you're not.... vote pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

http://doyourthing.co.nz/2010-02496/rita-oliver

Mercy mercy mercy mercy shipsssss.

I'd love to be on it later this year. I already have approval from work and uni.

Nothing stopping me.....except the money...

Praying, hoping, wishing.....

Reet

Loves

Votes

Mercy Ship Dream...in Progress...

2010-06-03T23:03:00.002+12:00

So, I applied for a scholarship today, to get my two months on Mercy Ships this year...or next...as soon as I'd be allowed to go. 'All' I need is 5-6k..... but that is ALOT when you're studying, I cant even save 100.00 without a bill or car problems popping up, let alone 5-6k. :p

I so badly want to go....I want to see Africa, the ship is docked in Togo this year. I want to spend time with the children of Africa, the beautiful bubbaz, I want to comfort them while they are recovering from surgery...I want to run and play with the children off board the ship. I want to just...be there...help, support, laugh with, cry with...love them alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.

I dont know when I hear back about the scholarship....but there were 113 pages of people who'd applied for scholarships too...each with about 20applicants per page....so...one in a kajillion chance....but could you cross your fingers....toes...legs...arms....for me anyway....DONT uncross them... ;) ;) Prayer is definitely good too! :D

Reet
Likes
Wishful Thinking of accepted scholarships.

I did it....

2010-05-09T01:55:00.002+12:00

Kareoke...me...last night...I did it...!Didn't need a few wines...didn't need to justify my inability to sing...I just did with awesome awesome people.

Steven.G and KevinNGdawg are my kareoke man heros!

I did kareoke.....and cant WAIT to do it again! So much fun!

I love how the songs soooooooooo to not match the random random asian video clips playing behind it....I think we had the song Sexy Back on...and behind it was people in the olympics....and another song, quite emotional, had gangster asian rappers being angry up in the screens face....so crack up.

Reet
Likes
Kareoke

Free as a Bird

2010-05-06T23:17:00.005+12:00

So I might have a...NOT so secret fetish with kareoke...I've never done it...but it stems from my MASSIVE wish that I could sing...I really really cant...no modesty here, I'm as flat as...a flat thing...AND just really cant reach any notes..WHICH is why if you're ever in my car, the music is always SUPA loud...I LOVEEEE my car time, me, loud music, and me 'singing'...fa-reak-ing...LOVE it! I loveeee music, If i got to pick any talent..as a wish...it'd be to sing...I feel mad restrictd when i try sing a song...when I cant belt it out how the singers can...especially if it's a jesus one...and the ones where I wish I could be singing to a kajillion people on stage! :) Still...I do love to sing! Makes me so so happy. :) Not sure I would ever do the kareoke...sadly, I'd probably need a couple of wines and make it VERY clear to people that I KNOW i cant sing...BUT that i'm going to pretend that I can... :)

ANYWAYYY rambleeeee.......I remember this movie Duets that I saw a few months ago...it's pretty old..but it's all about these people entering this kareoke competition (got Gwyneth Paltrow, Huey Lewis) ....but this dude when he sings this song...heck he's awesome...love his voice. Turns out it's not really his voice, I googled the real guy. :) But this end song he sings....big fan aye, in the context of the situation its really quite beautiful...but luckily the clip doesn't give anything away, just incase you watch it someday...take a look anyway. :)
Black men can always sing aye, I was born in the wrong part of the world! :) (just joking jesus, nz kicks bootay).

Reet
Loves
Duets

You Said

2010-05-03T01:36:00.003+12:00

Okay So I cant find the awesome version that I like by Shane and Shane, but here is the closest thing to it, still by one of them....it might actually be the both of them...I dunno...but yep, flippen love it. One of my fave worship songs....I'm going to ask Joe.G if he can do it next time he leads, we havn't done it since the awesome Ryan Lang lead it years ago. Time for abit of 'you said' i think...close your eyes when you listen to it, the video is lame and distracting....I just love listening and closing my eyes....I hate that I cant go hard on a guitar strapped round my neck, this is one song that I so so wish I could strum on.....

Reet
Loves
You Said - Shane and Shane

Happy Endings

2010-04-21T23:51:00.003+12:00

We always go on about how all movies have Happy Endings and how life isn't like that all the time......BUT after watching a movie tonight (semi chick-flick) a romancy one with the UNhappiest ending ever.....I felt seriously ripped off, and wanting to scream 'WHYYYYYYYYYYYY' in amongst the tears I was crying as to WHYYYY it had to happen that wayyyy, whyyy couldn't he have just LIVEDDDDDD and then SHOWNNN her the letter and they WOULD have lived happily ever after. Freaking storms....freaking boats....freaking need to be a hero.... I think its cos I alwaysss imagine myself as the main actor lady when it's an emotional movie and beCAUSE of that I feel like it's so REAL....ha, quite pathetic really...but i've always done that...imagine myself as main actress....(I also do this with songs too, imagine myself as the person singing it in front of millions of people, i love the power of imagination and how that can be so so so different to reality...in my imagination i can sing/dance/act....i fight coming back to reality something chronic) ;) BUTTT yep, because i imagine myself as the main actress i bawl my freaking eyeballs out with emo movies...romance/drama-ree/chick flicky ones....or maybe i dont even imagine myself as the lead actress but maybe i just imagine what they're feeeeeeling....yep that might be it...imagine the deep freaking gut wrenching pain of having the sucky ass thing happen in these hollywood movies.... so for the next little while, i'm going to hate on boats and storms if that's ok......even if its not ok, i'm still gonna hate on them.. :)

I will never complain about happy endings again. Bring them ON!

Reet
LOVESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Happy Endings... :) :)

25 yearssssss

2010-04-19T00:10:00.004+12:00

I am 25 years old in....coincidentally (?) 25 days...

It ACTUALLY seems SO little time ago that I was sitting on the A courts at Kelston Girls contemplating with my friends whether we should go back to class or just wag and go to one of our houses, down to Lynmall or across to McD's. But that was nearly....TEN YEARS AGO? What the? Wohsiz....okay even before writing this I didn't think it was THAT long ago...dang.

Each birthday since I was 18 seems to just buzz me out that I'm another year older cos it just doesn't feel like I am.....like....I'm not what a 25year old looks like...! :) When you're a lil wee thing 25 is when you are all serious and have a serious job, you're married with a kid or two......but when you actually GET to 25....although alotttt are married with kids and a sweet job (eager beaver christians, ha) majority just arn't aye. I dunno....again, it seems like such a little time ago that I was sitting in hosptial the night before my first of tonnes of operations, the big back one.....I can still remember waking up real briefly in Intensive Care and the intenseeeeeee pain ?I was in, but how ammmmazing that crushed ice dad was feeding me with a spoon and how I had just enough energy to open and close my mouth to take it! Just....feels....like....yesturday...but that was...THIRTEEN years ago! Ab-so-lout-ely...crazy.

I still remember the fun times me and my brother would have in our backyard, we'd play hide and seek or go and look through the shed in the back....i SWEAR he made me shoot a bb gun one time when i was realllly little, mum came out on the deck and I swear he told me to try and get her, i missed, but i got close. He says i'm full of it....but it DEF doesn't feel like i dreamt it. :) One of his fave things was pretending to fart....until I knew what being a girl looked like, he got me to do it with him for years....ha! :)

I'm abit of a crazy cat with taking photos aye, I take my camera everywhere and get pretty snap happy when people are around. So dont wanna forget aye. I loveeeee memories. 25 years seems sooo crazy. I've been alive...I've LIVED for 25years....ca-razyyyy! I'll live this again (assuming) and I'll be FIFTY! wohhh sizzzzz. I DO hope ma Jesus comes before then, that'd be a sweet deal. :)

But yea, still feel way younger than 25 aye....like I cant even fathom turning 30....30 is THIRTY!!! That is thirttttttyyyyyy. Un-freaking-real. :) I met this amazinggggg woman about a month ago now, she was like 70 or something....but it was as if a 20year old was stuck in her body! :) She was just amazingggg, so youngggg, she had so much energy, she was FULL of life and was hillarious and seriously awesome! I wanna be like that, she is my ageing hero. :)

I'm 25 in a month, hard-outtttt. :)

Reet
Becomes
a Quarter Century

Calvary

2010-04-11T23:41:00.002+12:00

Lately, I've really been missing the good ol' hymns at church. And hymns how they used to be sung, not spruced up and made all 'up to date' to get hip with this generation...just the classic old school hymns. I used to go to a church called Calvary Bible Church when I was a piddler and all there was were hymns, so when I wasn't in sunday school singing songs like 'If i were a butterfly'...I was in the congregation singing the hymns and I just MISS them sometimes. Somehow, sometimes they just seem like they have so much more meaning and depth to the songs ya know?

I think music is my kinda....channel (?) to connecting best with God or when I feel closest or just....that's yea, when I connect and feel closest to God is through music and just singing (as terrible as I sound) but I love it! Tonight we sung Amazing Grace at church, but it had this random chorus bit in it that didn't exsist back in the day, and was to a total different tune.....I guess ya just go through stages of missing familiar things when you were growing up huh.....

The one verse which always blows me away out of Amazing Grace is the verse...

When we've been there, TEN THOUSAND YEARSSSSSSSSSSSSSS,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days, to sing God's praise,
Than when we first begunnnn.

TEN THOUSAND YEARSSSSSS? can you even imagine! That sometimes gives me the kick in the bootay that I need to what I spend my time thinking about. The pointless things on this Earth I worry and stress over that are SO temporary. Because this is simply a BLINK...literally, a measly lil BLINK of a time we are even here on Earth..then we go to heaven for ETERNITY? TEN THOUSAND YEARS will be a blink compared to eternity..FLIP! Can you even fathom that? I cant comprehend/fathom 'eternity' aye....as much as a baby human forms in a ladies stomach from a teeny lil peice of icky with a normally painful lil punk of a egg....and 9months later a FULLY FORMED HUMANNNNNNN makes it's way out of a area which is way harsh...BUT a HUMANNNN just CREATED itself from those two tiny things? I dont think I will ever lose the WOW-ness of that.....much like the TEN THOUSAND YEARS thing - wow wow wowww!!!

Another verse from a hymn i like is the

We have an anchor, that keeps the soul;
Steadfast and sure as the billows role...
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviours Love.

and all the lyrics in 'What a Friend we have in Jesus'...and 'Because he lives'...

Just good childhood memories singing these ones, even though at the time I thought they were so slow and boring, but now....I miss them every so often.

I still definitely love todays songs though. :) Music is just real important to me, because that just seems to be when I feel closest to God. As well as through prayer of course with my 4 lil Jesus images I have going on in my head when I pray.

Jesus is just the man huh. I dont pay him a fraction of the attention he deserves, if he was a friend down here that loved me as much as he loves me and I treated him how I do, he would have run a mile years ago by now. I just cannot wait for a Jesus hug! One hug from him will make up for all the crap experienced down here on Earth! :)

Reet
Likes
Hymns

No better than...

2010-01-27T01:33:00.003+13:00

Agape

2010-01-21T23:47:00.008+13:00

Agape is understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill toward all men. Agape is an overflowing love, which seeks nothing in return. Theologians would say that it is the love of God operating in the human heart. When you rise to love on this level, you love all men not because you like them, not because their ways appeal to you, but you love them because God loves them.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reet
Likes
Love through Gods eyes

I'm Yours (Ukulele) Too cute Not to post..

2009-12-18T17:51:00.002+13:00

I've watched this video so many times and STILL can't get enough. He is just the cutest lil shnook face doing this song! Jason Mraz would be proud... :)

Reet
Likes
Musical Shnookies

Maid of Honor...

2009-12-17T00:20:00.005+13:00

That's right! You are now looking at a Maid of HONOR!!! That's me. :) VERY honored at the fact that I was given that role for ma beste estes wedding in April 2010! :)

It happened, Chris proposed to my awesomeness of a friend Jessicaaaaa! On 6th of December 2009! :)

I'm pretttty excited I get to be alongside Miss Jessicas very special time of life in prepping for her wedding! Very much a supa huge honor! :)

I notice mouths okay....and these guys both have supa hot mouths, so I am going to be babysitting some hot mouthed babies in a number of years time! Sweet gene mix guys, nice work! :)

Hot couple though huh! I'm a fan. Chris does get my Reet stamp of approval, and that would be a stamp hard to come by for claiming Jessica for life! I dont bust that stamp out for anybody! :) So nicely claimed Chris.

Exciting times to come - Congratulations Ngapawa! You are going to be one B U T full bride!!!!

Reet

Likes

Beste Este finding life partner!

1 down 2 ta go... :)

2009-12-14T16:10:00.007+13:00

So two days ago I finished my last assignment for the year! SUCH a good feeling! The minute I clicked 'Submit Application' online, I clicked on my Itunes, clicked on 'Shimmy' playlist and was convieniently (NEVER can spell that word) home alone so was free to shimmy all I wanted all round my house! SUCH a good feeling! All that hard work, hours upon hours on the laptop and flicking through books, remembering/learning how to (freeken) reference, searching readings and highlighting all those main points, paraphrasing, getting in the heads of theorists, sacrificing going to social events because an assignment is due (that REALLY rips my nightie), crying because the printer doesn't (freeken) work just as you're leaving for uni and it's due in less than a hour - followed by the ink running out... (oh ma giddy aunt)...but I have DONE it. Har lay lu YAHHHH!

Year 1 of my degree OVER, 2 more to go. These shnooks are what keep me going....

I'm excited for where this degree takes me....for years my huge passion is to get on board Mercy Ships, (the worlds largest free hospital ship) that tours Africa. I was meant to be going for 2months next year in 2010 and from that trip hope to learn whether I'm a longterm server, or if short term is all it will be for me in which case I would apply to be based working with children in hospital. Things have changed, new exciting things have come up..... so that lil plan is being postponed for abit! As much as that bums me out that I wont get to see the beautiful African babies next year and have my heart break/ache for them but also experience mufussa sized happiness from being surrounded by those lil shnookies next year, I know it will happen - just not yet.

What those exciting changes are is a whole nother post....Will get onto that soon. :) Arn't all these bubbaz just so beautiful - heck they bring me SUCH joy!

Soulsuckers

2009-11-27T00:15:00.000+13:00

Free..Joy..Health..Shimmmyyy

2009-11-09T00:30:00.006+13:00

I like the words'n feelings these pictures I found represent - to me anyway.. :)

Oh yea! Makes me wanna go out and get ma shimmy on!

A wise man by the name of Nelly once said "Pop something, move something, SHAKE YA TAILFEATHER" :)

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Inspiring Pictures to MOVEEEE :)

You're the Voice

2009-10-23T16:59:00.012+13:00

An awesome song from 1986, John Farnham.
This is him singing it at a Coldplay concert in Aussie recently.
Love.This.Song. Put those lyrics to use, in acTION! :)

Cuts out for about 10seconds in the middle, but listen to the end, Coldplay joins in. :)

We have the chance to turn the pages over,
We can write what we wanna write,
We gotta make ends meet, before we get much older.

We're all someones daughter, we're all someones son.
How longggggg can we look at each other...
Down the barrel of a gun?!

You're the voice, try and understand it,
Make a noise and make it clear,
Wohhh a wohhh a wohhh ohhh x2
We're not gonna sit in silence, we're not gonna live with fear.
Wohhh a wohhh a wohhh ohhh x2

This time, you know we all can stand togetherrrrrr,
We have the power to be powerful;
Believin we can make it better...

We're all someones daughter, we're all someones son,
HOW LONGGGGG can we look at each otherrrrrrrr,
Down the barrell of a guuuuuuuun?

You're the voice, try and understand it,
Make a NOISE and make it CLEARRRRR,
Wohhh a wohhh a wohhh ohhh x2
We're not gonna sit in silence, we not gonna live with fear,
Wohhh a wohhh a wohhh ohhh x2 (repeat chorus x a jillion)

*P.S ''You're the voice!!!!!!!!!!!!!'' USE it! :)

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The Power of the VOICE :)

Hosanna

2009-10-19T03:07:00.009+13:00

Heal my heart and make it clean;

OPEN UP MY EYES TO THE THINGS UNSEEN,

Show me how to love like you, have loved me...

BREAK MY HEART WITH WHAT BREAKS YOURS;

Everything I am, in your kingdoms cause;

As I walk from earth into, Eternity.

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This
Prayer

Aisling Symes 1 - Samoa 119

2009-10-12T23:15:00.006+13:00

Today, an horrific day, where just under two hours ago, lil 2year old girl Aisling Symes was found in a Septic Tank 200m where she went missing one week ago, dead, unsure of how long she was in there, or how she got there. The area is now cornered off as a crime scene while investigations are carried out. I cannot even BEGIN to imagine the gut-wrenching agony and pain the parents are going through - the guilt of the mother from turning her back for a matter of seconds when Aisling walked away from their property in Henderson. A strong christian couple that attend a local Baptist church in Henderson.....least baby Aisling is with her Jesus in heaven now. Prayers go out to the mum and dad.....again, cannot even comprehend the pain they will be experiencing. Ohh...I just ....I just actually cant imagine it....

That is one life lost.....

I was reminded by someone though....shortly after the news came out about Aisling...that this is 'just' one life. And yet this stirred up a wholeeeeeeeee lot more media and attention and compassion from people, than the 119 - sorry incase you missed that ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN lives that were lost about a fortnight ago in Samoa from the Tsunami....pictured above is the burial of 7 family members. Several people burying SEVEN of their family members....thats 7 Aislings....A mum, 2 sisters, a brother, grandad, aunty and cousin! Can you IMAGINE!!!!! The man I heard on the radio...ELEVEN family members....he has NO-ONE left....ALL ELEVEN of his family members, WIPED out...

So many kiwis directly connected to Samoa with their families there, so many lives the past fortnight affected from family members over in Samoa either dead, missing, seriously injured, homeless.....

Sure we are sending lots of aid....sheets, blankets, food, money. Real awesome stuff and support we are doing.... but....

I dunno...just processing my own thoughts here.....I'm actually gut-wrenched about lil bubba Aisling...I work with children her age every day and love every one of them soo sooo soo much, would do anything for them and if anything DID happen to them, I would be a write off, buckling at the knees with overwhelmed emotion...seriously. They all mean the world to me...... so the fact they found a lil shnook their age in a septic tank....guts me to the core...oh....completely.... :'(

It just guts me 'abit' to see the hardcore-ness (I'm allowed that as a word) that this one life gets (and totally worthy of it, not underestimating it at all) but 118 MORE lives were lost, including a WHOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE heap of lil ones her age less than two weeks ago, and that just didnt get the same response/attention/compassion/sympathy...... just hacks me a lil....suprises...not sure what....

Still processing....

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The processing of thoughts...

Addicted...

2009-10-08T22:30:00.006+13:00

Addiction - defined as:

1. The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming.

2. The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.

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Thats Amore...

2009-10-05T20:06:00.006+13:00

The more videos I watch on Youtube about it....
The more stories I hear from people via email who have served on it....
The more I read from the book about it, written by founder Don Stephens...
The more I talk about it to family and friends...
The more I think about it...
The more I pray about it...

The more I just cant WAIT to get on board...

MERCY SHIPS.
http://mercyships.org.nz/

Togo, Africa, 2010?

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Mercy Ships' Work

Prostitution

2009-09-23T00:17:00.005+12:00

I HATE that this is legal in New Zealand. What kind of country makes that legal? Frick frick frick. AND what kinda guys actually 'use' these services. AGHHHHH!!!!

Makes me sick when I think about the guys that use them, and breaks my heart when I see a prostitute just waiting on a corner.

Came face to face with it tonight, talked to a girl my age, waiting.......

OH why do they resort to this....is it horrible and terrible for them? Are they so numb that it's just a 'ordinary' job to them, what drives them to do this....last resort? Screwed up childhood, abuse, the recession????? Pressure for finances, for all I/we know they might have a office job, where they get in their corporate gear, get their morning coffee, sit at their desk every day, but at night, they become someone else, to get the extra cash.........I just DONT know. I HATE that it's legal so much. There are so many other options out there for woman, if they only had the support around them or someone close enough to them that just cares and loves them enough to try everything they can to just....protect them from going to jobs like this.

Horrible. Ask me about tonight if you want....in person. I could have done more. I hate that I didn't, my mind hasn't stopped thinking of all the things I could have done to stop her from getting in that car, sooner. I dont understand why God didn't answer my prayers for that hour or two following, and I'm not supposed to understand, I'm beyond disappointed, way beyond. Anything could happen to her, not saying I'm miss 'Life Saver' and that any chat that I would have had with her would be like this genius life changing chat where she broke down in front of me, admitted it was a last resort, pleaded for help, I find her a job or course to do, somewhere cheap to live, financial support and get her on an awesome new path of life.....as amazing as that would have been....it could have been totally possible...jesus could have given me all the right words to pull on her heartstrings and that could have happened. Could have. Didn't.

Too late....

Insomnia

2009-09-22T05:00:00.003+12:00

Sooooo it's 5:01am, I have to get up in 2hours to get ready for work.
I havn't slept yet....got into bed at midnight, but am WIDEEE awake. WIDE awake.
The birds have been chriping since THREE a.m.......seems they dont sleep either - punks.
I dont know how my body actually puts up with my no sleep, this is SUCH a regular occurence.

Hmmmm, things I have thought about tonight/this morning.....
contemplating going for a run...
what i would do if i won a million dollars, jess, joanna and amie would be pretty lucky. :)
my brothers wedding
mercy ships
weight loss
things coming up for uni
jesus
prayer
my uni gurls
among other things....

I want sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

I think i'm going to invest in some herbals tomorrow, see how those puppies work.
Before i resort to the hardcore sleeping pills.

Would a bb gun hurt a bird?...... ;)
I swear with the amount of birds that live in the tree on my driveway I could start up a couple of avaries aye. Their 'voice boxes' should be on mute from midnight to 7am. A law among feathered creatures.

OK, happy sleeping all you regular sleepers. Appreciate those zzzzzz's you be gettin'. :)

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SLEEEEEEEEP

101 Things You Should Do Before Going To Heaven - No.5 - Clean Someone Else's Toilet

2009-09-01T22:36:00.005+12:00

On the road to heaven, there are some potholes - unpleasant jobs that are part of living in this not-yet-perfect world. Some people try to avoid them. Others grit their teeth and dive right in. Still others delegate, not because they can't do what's needed, but because they won't. They feel ''dirty jobs'' such as these are not worth of their time. Occasionally there are people who break all the conventional rules. They not only do their own dirty jobs, but they volenterr to help others with theirs. The sense of community, service and sacrifice these people share captures a little of the spirit of your future home in heaven.

Go ahead and be one of these ''oddballs'' here on Earth. (You'll fit right in when you get to heaven) Volenteer to clean someone else's toilet. Wash dishes at a homeless shelter. Dig latrines at a church camp. Help with disaster relief in a third world country....not because you have to but because you want to love others in practical, personal, Christlike ways.

When Jesus washes the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper, he was doing a ''dirty'' job. Cleaning off the dust, dung and sweat from sandled feet was something only servants were expected to do. But Jesus loved his followers so much that he was willing to put their comfort and needs before his own. That's what real love is all about.

What you do to serve others isn't as important as the heart with which you do it. The amazing thing is that once you start serving others, you'll find that even a ''dirty'' job wont feel dirty anymore. It may still be challening, tedious, or tiring, but the satisfaction you'll recieve by helping others will make it feel more like a blessing than a chore, nothing like a pothole at all. The End.

Go on, get ya hands dirty! :) Today is RAK day! Random Acts of Kindess Day. This kinda thing definitely shouldn't be a annual day people recognise, should be a daily thing we're doing without even thinking......agree with what it says, sometimes it might still be challenging, tedious and tiring - it's so much easier to just pretend you didn't see it...keep driving, or look the other way, or turn around, or not reply to a request.....but do it anyway. Turn around, stop, reply to the request, volenteer, acknowledge and totally do it. Becomes a habit of the heart pretty dang quickly. And to sound as cheesy as these crazy Americans, the satisfaction totally comes. :) Dooooo itttttttt. :)

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Servant Hearted...Hearts.

101 Things You Should Do Before Going To Heaven - No.7 - Get Comfortable In Your Own Skin

2009-08-21T21:49:00.006+12:00

So a few months ago I said I'd bought a book called '101 things you should do before you go to heaven'.

The three latest entries I've read are my faves so far...I'll post one of them tonight:

Number 7: Get Comfortable In Your Own Skin

When you get a new pair of shoes, the only way to make them comfortable is to break them in. The same goes for your body. God has given you a one-of-a-kind physical form. He wove it together just for you and created it to reflect His glorious image. God intertwined both beauty and wander into it, inside and out. But your body is not an art object to be put on a pillar and admired. It's a tool that the real you, the eternal part of you that loves and creates and hopes and dreams and worships, uses while you're on this earth. Once you get to heaven, you'll recieve a new body-one that wont break down or wear out. But you're not there yet. So the more comfortable you are in the body you have right now, the better you'll be able to use it and enjoy it as each day here on earth unfolds.

You dont break in a new body by mistreating it. You need to take care of it, like any tool, so it can do its job well and last a long time. You break in a body by getting off the couch and becoming active whenever you get the chance. Get down on the floor and play with a child. Use your muscles to help your new neighbours move into their house. Put on a swimsuit and get some exercise, no matter what size that swimsuit is. Jump and skip and life and kneel, even if you jiggle and wiggle and need help getting up.

The less self-conscious you are, the better job you'll do at breaking in your body and becoming confortable with who you are and how you're made. So, ask God to help you put your inhibitions aside. Stop comparing yourself to others. Get up and get moving. There are places in this world where only a tool like you can do the job.

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Temporary Earthly Bodies

Colours - Amos Lee

2009-08-20T00:43:00.009+12:00

My fave singer - Amos Lee.

Beautiful singer (yep I said the 'B' word). Absoloutely amazing songwriter.

Check him out on youtube, especially some of his podcasts when you get to know his songs, just to get the story behind the lyrics'n songs, love hearing about them, such good reason/feeling/stories behind em.

If I could meet anyone in the world, it'd be Amos, not to be some freako fan being a drooling mess over him.....just to talk. Seriously...from watching his podcasts, would just be good conversation - talking about stories and everything behind the songs....sounds like he's got a real good heart aye, totally modest, doesn't have the 'hollywood ego' that talent seems to do to people. Real genuine straight up guy......well thats what comes across in the podcasts anyway. Anyway, this is one of my faves.....

If your a listener on lyrics like me...and dont just listen with deaf ears (it can be done, listening without actually...listening)...check out his songs 'soul suckers'....and 'freedom'...heck there are heaps....just ask me.
Check Amos out here though. :)

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Modesty in Talented Ppl

Grace

2009-08-09T13:37:00.003+12:00

I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.
- John Newton

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Progress/Present/Improvement

Suffering

2009-07-19T00:09:00.008+12:00

I just dont get it.....

Why? Probably the most frequently used word these days.

So much pain in the world, and where do you go about starting to help? You start with ones closest to you, the community around you, but what about all the rest, there will never be enough people to help everyone else. It will never stop. Too many questions. Not enough answers. Confused. Helpless? More confused. Sometimes I look on Youtube, and look at the thousands upon thousands of 'In memory of' videos there are, of young adults, children, babies who have died through disease, car acccidents, and suicide. Children as young as 10 committing suicide just from bullying at school. What is that? Then parents who lost all three of their children in a car accident, all younger than 5. Why them? Why anyone? I googled 'images' to put up here, I searched abortion to hopefully get some poster about it, instead the first picture that was there, was a baby that had been removed from the womb through abortion, horrific. Fully formed beautiful baby. Just miniscule. 19,000 of these are done in NEW ZEALAND a YEAR. Whats up with that? 19,000 babies who dont even get a chance at life? We have one of the highest rates of suicide in New Zealand too, why? Partners who cheat on their partners, whyyyy? I dunno, been running these things through my head. I just dont get it. This isn't me being morbid and depressing, although none of this is exactly laughable, but it's just questioning and just.....not knowing or understanding. I just dont....get it.

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Heaven

Jetty Love

2009-06-25T20:37:00.006+12:00

I dont know what it is about Jettys.

But I am a serious fan of them.

Sitting on the end of one of those with one, or two, other people, just chillaxin, chatting. Love it. Whether I've actually DONE it before is another story, but in my brain? Soooo goood. :)

NOT such a fan of docks when its middle of the day and a whole bunch of fisherman are there casting their rods, chucking gutted fish into their chillybins, seagulls going ca-razyyyy trying to get at em. Slight mood killer. BUT when its all quiet like, and all secluded, such a fan.

....And normally Jettys are all cold-ish, especially at night, so your all rugged up in ya gears, squishing together to keep warm and cosy, and just.....chat. Jettys + cosy + chatting + sweet views = good times.

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Dont Think Of A Pink Elephant

2009-06-22T21:55:00.004+12:00

Tell me you didn't think of a Pink Elephant. If we tell ourselves not to think about something, in my case anyway, it ends up being the ONLY thing I think about. When I give myself restrictions in certain areas of my life, I usually wanna barge on through those restrictions and break em down so they dont exsist no more, usually ending up worse than what I was to begin with.......

So the area of my life relating to these things is...Kai. I've found last week I didn't do nearly as good in my Rawness as I did in my first two weeks. The first two weeks were transition weeks, so my mentality was kinda 'eat as much fruit and rawness as you can, but if you slip up its ok, and for the next two weeks, have maybe one cooked meal a day, rara'........so was wanting to do my best, but allowing myself the freedom in having whatever cooked I wanted, if i felt like it, but i did SO good - yea I still had a cooked meal most nights, but some nights I just didnt, cos I knew I could have it if i wanted to, my kinda 'want' for it wasn't really there, wasn't a big deal. BUT last week, cos I put the rule in place for 'no cooked' and 'all raw' and 'not allowed' and restrictions and 'dont dont dont', all I wanted was the very things I had told myself I wasn't 'allowed'.......SO this week, I'm getting the 'transitional' mentality back.

Tonight I bought a few packs of soup, so I'll have soup for dinner from now on, for something to defrost ma insides when I get home from work. Until I find a sweet recipe and have/make the time to make my OWN soup, which would be farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr more nutrient rich being homemade, yummmm. Winter is a toad. I love it, but in terms of wanting just nice warm carbilicious food, its a total toad. :) At work most mornings, for morning tea, the cook serves grilled cheese on toast, it looks so good - I just want to be the healthiest I can be ya know.

Last night at church, they said about looking after your body, looking after what God gave you and respecting it and treating it right so its at its peak to win the race. So I wanna play my part and try as often as I possibly can to only put real high quality food into my body. My taste buds are supa big fans of the crapppppp foods that have no benefits to our bodys at alllllllllllllllll, chocolate, lollies, cheese toasties, carbs carbs carbs, sugar sugar sugar...etc. And I'm sure God would be down with us enjoing them OCCASIONALLY, but eating it to the point where we're rugged and looking numpty and we're not healthy, we're lethargic and getting sicknessess due to eating unhealthy and poor exercise, running out of breath after basic everyday activities, obesity - I think he'd draw the line somewhere then zap you into a fruit shop/orchard. :) Right this second a thought came to me....If someone gave you this real cool present, then while they were there and overtime you just totally disrespected it, right in front of them sometimes, throwing it on the ground, walking on top of it, putting drinks on top of it, not moving mess away from it, so it gets destroyed and stained, not cleaning it, it would soon look pretty rugged and would take aLOT to get it back to its original 'just like new' state again, not only that, but your friend would be feeling pretttttty lame, since he gave you this AWESOME gift and you just treated it like crap with no respect at all. Isn't that the same with God giving us our bodies, like he's blessed us with them, so if we treat them like crap, he's gonna feel pretty guts about it and we're gonna suffer the consequences of not looking after our bodies, and we have no-one to blame but ourselves if we're eating fast food more than we eat fruit and veg, if we drink fizzy and coffee more than we drink water and if the most exercise we do each day is to the letterbox and back etc. So this is why I'm trying real hard to eat the best that I can, I just wanna look healthy and be real healthy too - cos when I was doing 2months of raw end of last year/beginning of this year, I have never felt so amazing in my whole life. I dunno, I'm still working it all out, I dont wanna be some freaky anal person about food, I've seen that and I hate that. I just want a healthy balance, eating consistently well, most of the time. A work in progress. :)

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101 Things You Should Do Before Going To Heaven

2009-06-19T00:53:00.008+12:00

So I had a visit to the Manna Store today! I could actually spend hours in that place - last time I went I DID spend hours in there...without realising - then came back to my car to find a friendly parking ticket from the generous parking warden I attempt to love so much. Today I wasn't able to spend hours because someone else was with me. I ended up walking away with about 5 cheap but AWESOME picture books for my neice....my fave was this book: (I've posted just a few of the pages on here - it's pretty cool, real easy for someone like my neice to understand what happened back then) :)...

Then the one book I bought for me, pictured below '101 Things You Should Do Before Going To Heaven'....I just wanna copy down what the opening intro page says.....I think it's one of the coolest intro's to a book I've read:

'If you are a Christian, you can look forward to a magnificent eternity in heaven and your arrival there will be an undescribable homecoming. A new beginning. A new body. A new intimacy with God. A new life - one without end. No more pain. No more tears. No more sun or moon, because God's own glory will provide enough light. Although God hasn't provided you with a crystal-clear picture of what your eternal home will be like, you can be sure it will exceed your wildest dreams. It will be what you heart has always longed for here on earth but could never quite touch. It will be paradise in every sense of the word. But you're not there yet.

You may take the journey home tonight, tomorrow, or years down the road. This book you hold in your hands, 101 Things You Should Do Before Going to Heaven, was written to help you prepare for your arrival in heaven by making the most of every day God has set aside for you here on earth. Take hold of the wonderful adventure God has planned for your life. And if you have not yet done so, take hold of His grace, forgiveness, and unfailing love. Then go out there and really live. There's a wild and wondeful world that's longing to catch a glimpse of God - and heaven - through you.'

Pretty cool aye! It's mainly the first bit I like, any talk about heaven is pretty much superior talk, love it. But yea, definitely one of the cooler intros, made me buy it anyway. :) I also really wanted this cross with Hebrews 11:1,6 on it, but so pricey. eek. When I start reading this book, I'll post ma fave of the 101 Things the authors suggest you should do, as I go. :)

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Goji Goodness

2009-06-15T23:32:00.005+12:00

What The Dang Is A Goji Berry?

WELL, a Goji Berry is a shrivelled up raisin lookin thing, cept RED! It's found growin on evergreen shrubs, in subtropical places round China, Mongolia and within the Himalayas in Tibet!

WHY would you wanna eat this nasty lookin shrivelled thing?

Why WOULDN'T you is the question! Goji berries are SUUUUUPA high in antioxidents...it's got some goood quality thangs in it, one in particular is 'zeaxanthin' - one of 'zeaxanthins' key thingees is to protect the retina of the eye, yay for vision! Studies say by having foods containing Zeaxanthin may decrease the risk of people aged 65 years plus develop AMD (age related macular degeneration) the leading cause of blindness and loss of sight in that age group. Woh siz.

Chinese Herbal Doctors Know Their Stuff....Would THEY use Goji Berries?

Heck YEA they would! They DO! Only for the past 6,000 (!!!) years! Even Herbal doctors in Tibet and India, thats a long time! Some of the reasons these herbal doctors have used Goji Berries and its juice is to:

Improve Circulation
Strengthen yo legs
Crank your immunity up
Help your eyesight
Protect your friend 'the liver'
Boost your....(whisper) sex drive...
Improve Longevity - no harm in sticking around abit longer aye.

What Medical Tests Have Been Done On Goji Berries?

Hmmm...so far, only a few. SEVERAL 'test-tube' studies have been done prove goji has antioxidents AND that goji extracts MAY prevent the growth of cancer cells, reduce blood glucose and reduce cholestorol levels, when eaten raw. The fact they used the word MAY kills alot of excitment of this 'test-tube' study which would be a whole lot more exciting if the word 'may' just wasn't there.......BUT a study of cancer patients were followed, and the 79 that were having goji juice and raw goji berries all rssonded a whole heap better to treatment than those who had no goji in their diets.

So, I have me a pack of goji berries, pretty crazy expensive, and taste like disgustingness in a berry form, BUT I munch them all up with some raw cacao beans in a teeny tiny grinder thingee, with some water and a banana, otherwise those lil hardnut berrys dont munch up. THEN I chuck all that glorious muck into my big ol mufussa sized blender, full of fruity and spinich muck, then mmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmm so good! Brown slop with Goji Goodness, soooo good for ya! :) Do it! :)

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Hippocrates

2009-06-09T16:25:00.008+12:00

Let food be thy medicine.
- Hippocrates.

Also quoted as...

'Our food should be our medicine, our medicine should be our food'.
- Hippocrates

Totally.

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Hippocrates

Day 4 - Heaven in a Blender

2009-06-05T07:53:00.003+12:00

Agh, so I've got 7mins to get to work, but I didn't wanna forget about the heaven that is in the cup im ...spooning from this morning for breakfast....

This morning I got up and made one of my green smoothies - ingredients:

half a pack of spinich (spinich is neutral, so you cant actually taste it in a smoothie)
2 bananas
1 apple
2 kiwifruit
2 handfuls of frozen blackberries
1/3 of a mango
2 small clumps of raw coconut meat

OHHHHHHHH myyyyyyyyyyy goodness - who would have thought brown thick muck could taste so GOOD? IT is actually so so so good! Even on this fa REEEEZING morning where I see my fingers moving but I cant actually feel them, they are so FROZEN!

I'm feeling quite 'hot right now', I'm wearing my baggy work pants (gota be slightly scruff when working with kids in a kindy, spew, paint, poo, the possibility of what you'll be covered in each day) with thermal pants underneath - knee high socks on top of that...then a singlet thermal and a long sleeve thermal then my work shirt....ohhh yeaaaaaa, working it. ;)

K, back to my smoothie......soooooooooooooooooooooo tastyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
2mins to get to work....

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Tasty Brown Muck

Day 2 and 3 - Raw

2009-06-04T20:13:00.005+12:00

It is soooooooo cold aye - I'm sure this is the coldest winter we have had. WHICH makes raw quiiite hard, seeming as its all cold food if you dont have a dehydrator, or not too clued up on recipes, as yet.

Day 1 and 2 went really well - raw for the whole day -then a 'cooked' meal at night, although i dont even know the extent of its cooked-ness....it was just a cup of chilli con carne with tuna through it - was real good. :)

Today, Day 3, I resisted some serious urges - cakes, biscuits and crackers were offered to me - crazy the power food has over you aye, just the habits we have with reaching out and grabbing something when its offered to us, where as, if it had never been offered, we wouldn't have thought about it in the first place........we see, we want. SO, i managed to fight off those urges, and then grabbed some popcorn which I have never liked, but this hit the spot. I've just asked peeps on one of my trusty websites of Rawists about popcorn, and several of them have said popcorn was the last thing they ate, before going 100% Raw, so thats cool to know. Someone else mentioned that there was a cauliflower version of popcorn, where you cut it very finely then put it in a bag with some vege stock and spices, then stick it in the dehydrator, then munch on it from outta the bag............always something to try, if i can ever find a high quality dehydrator in NZ that doesn't cost the Earth - have a feeling i'm going to have to get one shipped over from Auzzie though. Eeeek....

BUT when I got home, there were hot chips, and I didn't resist those - before ya knew it, I had a bowl of them in my puku. Uncool, but still - although I say I'm going to be having one cooked meal a day, hot chips is definitely not that cooked meal I had in mind.

Because Raw isn't a DIET....I hate that word, and its just a lame word for a 'temporary' way of doing something, that once you get to your 'goal' you head back to your original way of eating, and lack of exercise to go BACK to what you were before you started on the DIET, then just repeat it again and again and again........ THAT is why RAW is not a diet.....defintiely a LIFESTYLE......so because a change in LIFESTYLE doesn't happen too quickly - changing the decades of routine, patterns and bad habits is going to take a while, involve alot of screw ups, alot of mistakes and lessons learnt, re-learning your strengths and weaknessess, and yea..........all that jazz - so hot chips tonight, not cool at all, BUT thats ok - they wern't even good - I would have much prefered a Essene (raw) bun, or a nori roll, but without a CAR still (Because mine was written off a month ago) i havn't been able to get my seaweed or other sweet goodness ingredients. AND I feel grose all heavy like and lazy, from eating those chips, so each time I eat something tragic like that, I'll learn more and more each time how RANK i feel after it, and that will hopefully help me for the next time to resist or choose a healthier option.

So Day 4 tomorrow, I know I'll be having a cooked meal tomorrow night, because its my good friend Camerons farewell partayyyy dinner at a restaurant (he's leaving for wellington, boooo). So lots of meat and veges. But thats ok, lots of fruit through the day, raw milkshake in the morning, if not that, then a green smoothie (bought 2bags of spinich and rocket last night for ma smoothies, yummm, mangoes and pineapple too, mmm mmmm), so it'll be a good day. I need all the fruit and veges I can get - need some serious brainpower for the weekend when I'll be starting and finishing an assignment that is due next week.

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Lifestyle changes

Day 1 - Rawsomeness

2009-06-02T23:14:00.007+12:00

So Day 1 of 12week raw challenge is finished. Success.

Feelin goooood.

I dont know why I came off it when I started raw last year (November 08). After a few months of looking into it, investigating online, talking to people online, checking out youtube, raw websites, it looked so good! So did abit of a transitioning period, went through some crazy detox time - headaches, sleeping for extra long amounts of time, then not sleeping at all, getting dizzy, mad cravings, mood swings, - to come out the other side feeling better than I'd ever felt my ENTIRE LIFE- mentally and physically. I actually felt amazing aye, it was ridiculous the change I felt, SO GOOD. The food was INCREDIBLE and I hadn't even learnt any (gormet) recipes, I just did the basic Nori Rolls, Green smoothies, Fruit smoothies, and Fresh fruit and veg'n salads..nothing fancy, just live, natural raw foods. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tasty - esp in Summer - fresh plums, peaches, nectarines, berries, strawberries, pineapple, yummmmmmmmmmmm!

So, why I slowly eased back into the SAD (Standard American Diet) way of eating who knows...I lasted through christmas even, with all that tasty looking christmas kai that only gets busted out once a year. Meanwhile, I've been feeling grottier again, physically and mentally, health has deterroriated, skin is dry again, also the spots related to my condition are getting their red colouring back again (not good), my leg is getting worse, mentality deterroriating............suck suck suck. Oh the best of all, i'm putting on the weight i lost - oh glory glory.

SO, after a fun weekend in Wellington for Queens birthday, and NO raw food, and a wholeeeeeee lotta stomach cramps and not fun times, today is the day I have started a 12week raw challenge with my good friend Hannah Mac (http://www.aychblog.com/). Transition time starts again - the intention is to have just the one cooked meal a day, most likely dinner with it being winter and so freakishly cold. After the first two weeks I reassess.

I have no doubts that I will mess up now and again, or have days where my raw intake drops abit for different reasons, but it's not gonna be 'Monday' when i start again, or 'next week' or 'next month', it'll be the following morning. I'm not sure i'll ever be 100% Rawist, I'd love to think so, and maybe some day I will - as I look more into it, and view more videos on raw, read more books and blogs, talk to more rawists and natural doctors, hear testimonies, and see evidence AND I have experienced it firsthand, it seems more and more beneficial to have the highest raw intake possible....just makes sense.

I'm salivating over the recipes I've just checked out, and am actually craving my nori roll tomorrow, my fruit smoothie, and my raw milkshake in the morning. I'll fill you in on the ingredients in the DEEEELICIOUS raw milkshakes I have every morning - straight from the cow baby, soooooooooooooooooooooooo good!

Looking fwd to Day 2 - yummmmmmmmmmmm!

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Starting Over

June 2nd - Day 1 - Rawsomeness!

2009-06-01T23:54:00.006+12:00

STARTS

TODAY.

To be continued....

Reet

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Rawsomeness

Evil Manky Bread

2009-05-26T23:22:00.003+12:00

I had 3 peices of bread earlier tonight - I had one peice when I came home from work - then mum bought me back a ham and egg toasted sandwich, and I ate it. Bread hates me, and I 'hate' bread....my taste buds would marry bread it likes is that much, but my insides hateeeee it with a vengence.

I feel soooooooooooo ill. blurgggggg.

I wish we had a suction tube we could just plug into our belly button and remove everything - I suppose then, everyone would be skinny, and colonics companies would be out of a job. Aneorexia and bullemia would seem kinda pointless too if we could do that....hmmmm, I estimate in ....10years time, this belly button tube will totally be available. And on that day, I will eat a loaf of bread, then set that tube on full power. ;)

Raw is my best friend, but its so harrrrd in winter, with all the food being cold.

I think some spew-age needz to occur, evil bread and its wicked gluten/wheat goodness.

Reet ('s insides)
(dont) Like
Bread

Mrs Rita Cullen

2009-05-17T23:14:00.008+12:00

So, it seems I share the same fascination as majority of teenage gurls, towards the movie/book Twilight. Only the days of my teens are prettyyy much long gone, holla-ing at the mid 20's is abit more likely with turning 24 a couple of days ago. Agh.

WHAT is it about Twilight that is so awesome? I mean, its about vampires! I saw the movie first, then read half the book, then watched the movie again (which I now OWN. Yay for Jess and birthdays) and just finished the second half of the book tonight. Such a fan! SUUUUCH a fan!

So, yep, What is it that makes it so awesome? Wellllll, maybe the fact that Edward is so incredibly smitten by Bella.....she fascinates him, and his desires (to suck her blood) that are stronger than a heroin addiction, he can refrain from them, because his love for her, and how much he cares for her, are enough for him to resist his temptation or natural desires. The fact that he's so protective of her, saving her from harm, rescuing her from terrible situations (in the alley with the creepy men), the fact that he is OBLIVIOUS to other chicks around him giving him the eye, flirting ridicuously with him, and he doesnt even LOOK at them, or give them any look or recognition or anything to intitiate or feed the chick and her flirting, he soley has eyes for Bella, and isn't even .00001% interested in anyone else. He's so intense and attentive towards Bella. Also it might have something to do with the fact that Edward is so strong, not just in strength, but in character!

Agh, I dont even know....I can never explain what I mean when I try to describe a 'Strong' Man....I dont mean, benching 250lbs, or squatting 300lbs at the gym (although that would be ridicuoulsy amazing, I think...although I think my brother does that, the mufussa sized beast that he is). I mean strong in Character..........

Where do gurlz even get their idea though, of what a man 'should' be. And where do guys get their idea of what a chick 'should' be, in a relationship? Do we get our ideas from our parents? Which would make sense for me. Cos if you knew all the men in my family (dad, brother, cousins, uncles, on my dads side anyway) you would soon see they are all solid units, rugged, manly (again i cant describe it) MEN. Dominant.....Ummm...desicive......ummmmm...takes the lead....but at the same time - lovely and gentle, and compassionate and dare I say romantic.

So, as I was talking to a friend about Twilight. Does it just put these fictional characters on a pedistool, and create unhealthy expectations, or 'wants' for a future partner. Unrealistic expectations. I'd hate to think which fictional female character guys would be wishing their future girlfriend would be like. Like me and this friend said/thought, we DEFinitely wouldnt want those expectations put on us, only to let our partners down, failing to meet the characteristics, etc, of the fictional lady character.

It is more though, than just Edward and his awesomeness, to what makes Twilight awesome. The fact there is no swearing and junk in it, no sex scenes or anything like it, makes it so much cooler. I love that. I'm looking fwd to watching the 'behind the scenes' of the movie, but I already know the author of the book is a mormon, so she has the morals of the no sex before marriage, hence the no sex scenes in the movie and no potty mouthed characters. It's still about vampires, but pish. All good! :)

So yep, Edward is awesome, luckily I, and hopefully the rest of the population who digs Twilight can seperate a fictional movie, to reality. Pretty much the hottest thing out, is a dude totally in love with that Jesus dude. :) Holy, is hot. Way hotter than any vampire called Edward (gasp) Cullen. Seriously though. ;) A dude that oozes Jesus? Seriously the man. So if in the 4th movie of Twilight, Edward turns Christian........you miiiiight be hearing about me on BBC news, headlined 'Kiwi woman Rita Oliver takes stalking to a whole new level, Robert Pattinson (edward) triples his security'.

Yerrrrrrrrrrrrp. ;)

Playing For Change - Peace Through Music

2009-05-04T00:10:00.010+12:00

I stumbled across this channel PlayingForChange somehow on YouTube a few days ago, and it is my absoloute favourite ever that I have found. (I have posted my three favourites so far - check them all out, love love love them ALL)

'Dont Worry'

It was an idea from a dude called Mark Johnson that thought we needed to come together as a human race, and it was through music that he thought was a good start. It started in the streets of Santa Monica in California 4years ago where he overheard a guy called Roger Ridley busking on the streets singing Stand by Me, from there Mark and his crew visited african villages, native indian reservations, subways, himalyan mountains recording musicans he found along the way. Mark said 'none of these musicans had ever met in person, it was the music that bought them together and the belief that we can do alot more for this world if we work together, than we ever could apart.

Through his recordings from all across the world, and filming these incredible amazing, beyond talented musicans that sing on the STREETS as buskers, who could sass more than half the musicians that are on our charts at the moment in a SECOND, we have these........just amazing, supa funky, absoloutely beautiful songs we can enjoy, from people across all cultures singing the same songs, i love it so much. I LOVE this.

'Chanda Mama'

Every person in these songs I think is just so so beautiful. Tula from Israel - SO so beautiful, Love her voice. Clarence from Netherlands, Grandpaa Elliot from Louisiana, Roger Ridley from California (where Playing for Change all started, with recording this guy - he's in the Stand by Me song, first singer, the MAN) and Sinamuva clan from South Africa - all just....yep, beautiful. (if you knew how sacred the words 'beautiful' and 'love' are too me and how rarely I use them...you'd get how much I ACTUALLY dig these people and their music. :) And the fact it's for a good cause is just the cherry on top :) Check them out.....links for the youtube channel and PlayingForChange website are at the bottom too... :)

(hey, they even made it to Dublin to record Bono, who is all for this kinda thang)

'Stand By Me'

PlayingForChange channel link, for youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PlayingForChange

Playing For Change official website:
http://www.playingforchange.com/

Go there, now. :)

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Playing For Change

Up From The Ashes - Grow The Roses Of Success

2009-04-16T16:24:00.003+12:00

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, will never get old with me, even after watching it every alternate day that I didn't watch Annie, when I was younger. Two of the greatest movies ever! Now I did have a slightly 'mild' fascination/obsession with Daddy Walbux (off Annie) and Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke), totally legit though, still definitely think they are slices of nice. Woot.

However this song is rad, got some good lyrics in it, about not giving up, etc.
Have a listen, enjoy a snippet of the awesomeness that is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and know that "Up from the Ashes, Up from the Ashes...grow the Roses of Success - oh YES''.

P.s Life isn't complete until you've seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (and Annie) so doooo ittttt.

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Chitty x2 Bang x2

My Lover, The Juicer

2009-03-24T22:24:00.006+13:00

So let me run you through this exciting procedure I do on a daily basis.........

First you get out ALLLL the awesomeness in Raw form - as above. Anything and everything really, fruit or veg that is :) More colour the better! :)

Then I get to use a big ol' knife to chop it all up into reasonable size peices, so my Lover aka The Juicer, doesn't kick a tanty.... Apart from carrots, he can take them WHOLE. The man.

Then comes some sweeeet sweeeeet fun times.......the smooshing, multching grinding, noiiiisy goodness...........very satisfying.

And then out it comessssssssssssss................woooohooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

"Juice, glorious Juiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice"

And eeeeeeeeventually........

And alllllllllllll that fruit adds up to.....

Pump Bottle and Mufussa Sized Glass = Breakfast and Lunch for tomorrow!

"YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM"

Then Mr Drain-age gets alllll the rejects......

That is alot of Fibre right there......

Hummina hummina.......

God has some seriously good creation skills aye, fruit alone is a pure genius.

Reet

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JUICE (and appreciates God's creation in Fruit)

Thumbs Up To Healthiness

2009-03-22T14:56:00.004+13:00

So I joined the gym earlier this week - my body has gotton way to used to my daily Crosstrainer session that I do at home, and isn't reaping the benefits anymore, soooo it was time to join the gym to get more variety in cardio. I am VERY motivated by classes - so that is my main intention for joining - loud pumping music, fast intense movements to the beat, ahhh luvin it. (I will never do yoga or pilates, they would actually drive me absoloutely potty, farrr to slow for me)

So last night I went to Spin Class Intermediate - proud to say I spewed in my first class - paced it out of there like no tomorrow, just made it to the toilet - definitely a sign that I was pushing myself enough, yus! :) That wont happen for too long - just a shock to the body doing something different other than crosstrainer, and those Spin Class' are pretty ruthless, NOT as ruthless as the size of those Spin Bike SEATS though, fliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip....apparently your butt hardens up and you get used to it after a few weeks, for now it just feels like your sitting directly on two metal poles....so I'm looking forward to some butt hardening up-age, now, a day later, it still feels like I'm sitting on the seat. Nastyyyy.

Today though, woke up and went to Flex class, pretty much another name for Pump, so you've got your dumbells, ya bar and stepbox - again SOOOO much fun! Not as hard as I thought, but I still dont think I'll be able to walk tomorrow - I felt a muscle in each of my thighs POP after about the 3rd song - which was a kajillion lunges....ACTUALLY a kajillion...and sometimes you might be lucky enough to just go down for one, and up for one...then down for two, up for two...but every so often...you go down for one...then BOUNCE for 8...freeeek, that is hard....the burn in your thigh after 6 sets of that.....extreeeeeeme. I think I'm abit of a fan of workout pain....but that is the only pain I like. Gets me all adrenalined up. Big fan.

So I'm feeling pretty amazing now - Flex this morning, then I made a smoothie for breakfast when I got home....chucked apples, bananas, a peach, frozen berries, handfuls of spinich and whatever else in the blender, delish. Then a apple and Raw bun for lunch, and avo tea, I've just had a juice, straight from our juicer (smoothie without all the fibre) - consisting of a heap of apples, carrots, a peach, teency bit of fresh ginger, then a whole stack of brocelli - actually tastes AMAZING.

Seriously the benefits of eating good and exercising are mufussa sized. You think your healthy and well and feeling awesome, but you sooo dont know the difference or how crap your ACTUALLY feeling, till you give your body some real nutrient high kai - and add a hour or so of cardio to your daily routine every day. Then you experience what feeling/being healthy feels like.

Looking forward to my fitness levels increasing, it's definitely gonna take a while, all the big words.... perseverance, dedication...rara.....but I'll get there. Exciting...

Reet

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Healthiness

Childhood Goodness

2009-03-20T00:18:00.006+13:00

Coming up to my 24th birthday, I'm thinking back to the good ol' days where you used to get up at 6am to watch Tv programmes as cool as Denver the Last Dinosaur and Captain Planet and TMNT before school....only to get interrupted by your mum or dad making your breakfast for you, packing your lunch, where you had your lunchbox you'd picked out from Kmart earlier in the year - inside the lunchbox would be an awesome homemade sandwich (unless it was tuckshop day each Friday, yus) cut up in triangles (if you had been a good girl) with cut up peices of fruit, then a snack or two, which could be tiny teddies...popcorn bar...mini pack of chippees, or 80c for a frozen juicy (heck I dug those frozen juicies)........get dropped to school, meet up with friends, and play on the monkey bars, play tiggy (or kiss'n catch - cept I was 5, trying to catch the oldest boys of the school....ha) or I would try and do handstands, but I always failed miserably. Colour in, in class, do crazy fun games to try learn your timestables, do awesome fun assignments about your favourite singer or sportsman, then make a big colourful chart about it, and present it to your class....

Then more play time with friends..... get picked up from school, watch abit of awesome innocent kids tv, like What Now, Carebears, The Cosby Show and Full House,or maybe do some jigsaw puzzles, or colour in, or ride your tricycle on the path in the backyard, muck around with your pets, or help mum make cookies....then mum and dad made you dinner, (where I quite frequently would sit at the table for hours upon hours until I ate my veges (brussel sprouts should be extinct) or rancid meat I never liked...only to never eat it, then get sent to my room with no pudding, a smack, and no light on, cos I was scared of the dark...) do your spelling homework, then go to bed after reading Uncle Arthurs Bedtime Stories AND maybe even scored a bubble bath, then mum or dad to pat your forehead until you fell asleep - my fave.

HECK they were the good ol' days! No cares in the world, innocent to everything, oblivious to all worries and stresses, you dont even know the meaning of the words. Your just living one day at a time, not even THINKING about the next day unless of course its your birthday, in which case you had a countdown chart months beforehand. One of the only cares you had was that your colouring pencils were sharpened, and that you hid the brush so mum wouldn't be able to brush your hair. (those knots were ruthless)

But those were cool days right.....where all the siblings and parents would be home at the end of the day, to sit round the table together for dinner, play games afterwards. No-one was 'too busy' or past the age of wanting to do that anymore, there were massive get togethers for the family for birthdays and christmas and guy fawkes - but now cousins are older, have kids of their own, family is too big to get together in one area, so it just doesn't happen anymore. Responsibilites keep growing, pressures and expectations increase and eventually it will be my turn for when I have kids of my own, if it's in Gods plan for me to have a family of my own.

Childlike faith - need to remember what thats like aye. NOTHING is too big or an impossibility when your lil. Anything can happen or come true. Need to not let negative opinions or 'routined traditions' of the world effect a childlike faith.

Childhood is soooo awesome! I am lucky enough to be able to say that - cuts me to the core aye, when you know there are thousands upon millions who have lived half their adult lives by the time they are even in double digits - with what they're eyes have seen, ears have heard, bodies have endured.

Cant wait to play games with those lil ones in heaven one day soon, where they can learn what love really feels like :) Lil kids rock my world - actually!... esp brown babies - if you couldn't already tell by the pics. :) (But sshh) :)

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Childhood memories (and (brown) babies)

Red Balloon Days

2009-03-16T00:29:00.011+13:00

So, I'm sharing my absoloute favourite website with you........

I can spend hours on this website, looking at all the things I would like to do.....

Because I feel like I have to justify myself with my favourite website being something for ME to enjoy, and cos that makes me feel quite selfish......another of my fave site is also Tearfund and more money goes on that that I ever would on redballoondays......AND I've only ever bought like...2 things off Red Balloon Days before......... phewf. Urg, still not justified, but yall know me hopefully......and know I'm not all......selfish like......ANYwayyyy....

But I dooooooooo realllllllly like this site, cos I'm abit of an adrenaline junkie, it's like a big ol' bag of cold hard crunchy plums to me - soooooooooooooo gooooooooood! :)

http://www.redballoondays.co.nz/

Things like:

* Sledge it. You hold onto a lil like floating board thing, and its just you and the teeny board, gunning it down this crazy rough river, down waterfalls - probably terrifying, but sooooo good. (possibly my fave one on here).

* Kayacking - again down crazy rough rivers and waterfalls
* Canyoning

* Horse trecks for two at Sunset

* Kayak rides at sunset, then they hook you up with a cute lil picnic thing

* Jetboat/ski riding

* Offroading in your own 4wd OR motorbike on hire, through bush and mud and forest, so much fun

* Test drive a racing car round the track a few times

* Glass bottom boat cruises (possibly quite boring, potentially quite romantic, definitely no adrenaline)

* Helicopter rides
* All the tourist stuff at Rotorua'n Queenstown

* This crazy thing where you and another person goes in between an instructor in this sleeping bag thing, and your up in the air checking out the sites, in like a hanglider, woh za!

* and so so SOOOOOOOOO much more......

I can actually spend hours on this site. I'm going to 'reward' myself with something on this site if I pass everything end of the year for uni, my daily readings on Perseverance from the amazing Bob Gass, prayer, support from friends, and with an adventure off this site in mind as my reward at the end of this year - will definitely get me through the rough times.

This one is definitely top of the list - oh yay-yah!

SUCH a fan. Gold star for redballoondays.

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www.redballoondays.co.nz

Wave Farewell To My Beloved Summer Fruits

2009-03-11T23:01:00.008+13:00

I have bid farewell to my Beloved Summer Fresh Fruits. It is quite a traumatic time in the world of Rita Lee. I often am heard wailing in the still hours of the night. Fruit consists of a mufussa sized part of my diet, with being as Rawist as I possibly can - 80-90% genuinely. The benefits of me eating Raw - well thats a whole nother blog post in itself. BUT my Summer Fruits are slowly fadddding away, to the other side of the world, growing on trees in the amazing tropics where they grow all year round (I think). A large number of Rawists live in Hawaii for that very reason.

SO, now my Raw Smoothies arn't nearly as amazing as they were in Summer. BUT thats where experimenting comes into the picture. Today my raw smoothie consisted of.

A Apple

A Peach

A Banana

A handful (or two) of Spinich

A handful of frozen berries

1 tsp of Cinnamon

andddddd

1 tsp of Coconut Oil (dont let the 'oil' mislead you, it is 'oil' that is hard as a rock in texture)

Absense makes the heart grow fonder so they say..........so look for me in the produce isle next summer, mangos, pineapples, coconuts and strawberries will be rolling off my trolley like no tomorrow. Mmmmm, I'm hummina hummina-ing at the thought of it.

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Summer Fruits

Fresh Perspective

2009-03-11T15:44:00.005+13:00

So a lady came to my church the other night, a guest speaker from an organisation called 'Fresh Perspective'. We never have guest speakers coming to talk to us about organisations (except Mercy Ships, yus) so I knew they must be good.

It's aimed at anyone with children. Basically they have a contact center-ish type thing. Whenever a man/woman is struggling they call this centre and they are matched up with someone, of the same gender, roughly the same age, similar background, who can walk alongside them, be a mentor, a friend, just SOMEONE so that the person just doesn't have to go through the situation or just LIFE in general alone. The guest speaker (I forget her name now) told us one story of a 60 year old woman, just alone, with no-one to talk to, she had grandchildren, called up Fresh Perspective, and was matched up with a lady the same age, same amount of grandchildren AND also the grandchildren were of the same age, same pets, same background, both husbands had just passed away, and even better, the ladies lived only walking distance away from each other. Now they can share life together, mentor and support each other, and just have a friend. They take alot of consideration in who they match people up with - so people have been through the same thing, from loved ones passing away, to health struggles, to addictions, whatever.

Soooo many people are alone. They think they have to go through everything by themselves, and it honestly sucks. I dont know a way of reaching these people, only to be Jesus to everyone you meet. There is that quote 'be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle'. I hate knowing there may be some people out there that dont have someone they can text or call up when they need someone to talk to, that dont have someone they can ask for help, that get forgotton, feel unloved and just struggle hour by hour, day by day through a horrible dark life.

So, obviously I am a big fan of this organisation.

There is a training weekend coming up, which I wanted to attend, so I can be on the list of mentors that can possibly be matched up with somebody, should somebody call up. BUT, because I dont have kids, I could never be a mentor for this organisation. Makes me wanna go out and have a baby of my own....but not quite enough.

If you know of anyone struggling, or you yourself have kids/grandchildren and either need a mentor/friend, and/or can be one yourself for another person, take a look. http://www.freshperspective.org.nz/

For those of you who dont have kids, like me:
I've JUST found this link for people like us, so take a look http://www.brothersinarms.co.nz/
Brothers in Arms - Organisation for children who need a positive role model in their lives - 1/2 a day a week.

Reet.

Likes.

Organisations that help people not to be alone.

Growing up with Tv in the early 90's

2009-03-05T21:19:00.010+13:00

So why cant ads be as cool as this ad anymore? Ad's like this are sooo intensly awesome and catchy and innocent, and just soooo cool ! Rock on to the ads of the early 90's! My brother sent this to me a few days ago, reminiscing about the good ol' days..... now i cant get it outta my head... "I'm the polar pop bear, POLAR POP POLAR POP. ha, love it.

Other ads that deserve a special mention from this fanTAStic era....

"Looking fine, dancing to Columbine, looking good and I knew that you would" with the foxy, 90's dressed woman dancing around in their Columbine stockings.....classic.

".....Have a crunchie, hokey pokey bar, Golden crunchine hokey pokey bar" when the train is being held up by the Westy Cowboys and lil old Nana in the end gets the treasure, of Golden Crunchie Bars. Scoreeee Nana.

annnddddd

"This lil angel has a secret love, DONT GET CAUGHT.......such a devious boy lalalala....DONT GET CAUGHT...and she simply cant resist.....dont get caught with egg on your face, cant resist that.......Cadburrrrry creme eggggggg.

Go the 90's, I miss you! :)

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The Polar Pop Ad & The 90's.

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-03-04T00:22:00.007+13:00

Wow! What an absoloutely amazing movie.

I loved it.

It has most definitely made its way in my top 5.....3....movies. I cant put it in the same ball park as my musicals or any other movie for that matter, cos it's on a wholeeee nother scale.

All I was hoping for in it, was to see lots of beautiful Indian children, that would remind me of the beautiful children I saw in Bangladesh (when I went on a Mission Trip back in 06).

It was such a diverse group of emotions though, all through that movie - I'd be getting sore cheeks from smiling so much at the beautiful bubbaz, and from seeing them running from the cops at the beginning'n being lil cheeky rascals, to the AWESOME snippets of the hot hot Amitabh Bachchan - woohooo. Then I'd be flashing back to walking through the slums in Bangladesh, the smells of curry and amazing food stalls, the poverty, walking over the miles and miles of rubbish heaps, with fires all throughout them, as well as tents where children and families are living - then I'd be crying, the bit that just crushed me'n made the tears fall, was when the pimp (how Jesus forgives people like that I have no idea, I obviously need more of him in me) made the beautiful boy sing - gassed him with the toxins, then poured whatever it was on his eyes to make him blind so he gets more money begging - made me sick to the stomach, broke my heart, made me want to reach into the screen, pull the little boy out, hug him and never let him go. Then to know that this isn't Hollywood, this is reality, and is happening over there right now, probably always has been, and probably always will. You can just seem so helpless, being one person in this ridicuously wealthy, clean, safe country in comparison, to even making the slightest difference - I just wanna adopt them all, the forgotton, the helpless. Like Mama Heidi (if you havn't seen that, do). THEN I'd be hacked off something chronic, about the stupid decisions Salim, Jamil's brother made, gahhhh. Where is the line though, to what you do to survive in extreme situations/surroundings like that....... reminds me of that song Changes by 2Pac....a conversation between two guys.

"I made a G today"

but you made it in a sleazy way, sellin crack to the kids

"But I gotta get paid"

well hey, thats the way it is...

Crazy hard situations lead to that line being pushed more and more, not that I've seen that line living in this 1st world country, so I could never understand, but yep......one big phat ugly vicious cycle.

Also, one thing that got me, was the beggers again. What they showed is alot of what you see, of course there is so so much more when it comes to beggers. So it blew me away, and confused me so much, when it showed Samil (the chosen 'dog' by the pimp) snatch the baby off the gurl, and give it to Latika, because THAT would be sure to get her more money begging. Also when the kids all scattered at once, like 20 of them, up against windows, doing the hand to mouth action, cos that is exactly what the lil kids do over there. So it just made me think whats behind all the child beggers that I gave to in Bangladesh, did they have a horrible pimp like that man, who took it all, treated them like crap, created half the injuries and deformities himself that the children had, to get himSELF more money? Makes me so sick even thinking about it. I actually dont know how Jesus does it, forgives like that. Inconcievable. :( I only ever gave food to the lil kids, cos I did fear of them having pimps behind the scenes that would just take whatever money I gave them, but I didn't think pimps would be as fierce as the Slumdog one. So biscuits or crackers were a safe thing to give I felt. But yea, really made me question and start to feel ill and horrible for all the lil shnookies walking the streets - how could/would you have any idea of their background? :(

Anyway, the movie was so absoloutely amazing, the realness, the utter rawness of it all, the beautiful children, the vibrant colours, the music, the emotions it stirred, the reference of Amitabh and the Bollywood dance at the end. Everything about it. My fave.

Reet

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Slumdog Millionaire.

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