littlelaughalot
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
"Not for girls eh?"
For those of you who don't know...I absolutely love chocolate...especially cadbury's! If I couldn't get Cadbury's... it would be Galaxy...but never EVER a Yorkie Bar. A few years back I quite enjoyed the occassional yorkie bar, but when they started the "not for girls" advertising...I boycotted all purchases due to this terrible crime that had been commited... called "sexism"...Although it's probably all a bit of tongue in cheek, I took offence...and still do if I'm honest. Obviously because the bar is supposedly so chunky and substantial...apparently as a girl...the weaker sex...I would find it all a bit too exhausting to deal with....I mean...how ridiculous...they obviously have not seen me eat!
I am a very determined girl and I hate to be treated unfairly because of my sex. I have never shrugged away from anything because it looks like a bit of hard labour, but instead I like to give it my best shot and more importantly, I like to be allowed to. I am a very physical, hands on person, and my hands are not soft and delicate...(and I do use fairly liquid!!). I get my hands dirty...I can't sit back and watch...I have to get involved. Thomas will vouch for that. I mean...I still like to be wooed and romanced, of course...but I refuse to be a stereotype.
I am particularly fond of keeping my garden nice, and I couldn't bear to see Thomas doing the garden...it would aggitate me. There would always be something he wasn't doing that I would normally do or vice versa and it would drive me mad. I can always remember coming home from the hospital after having Miriam and obviously should have been taking it easy, and the garden needed doing. Thomas decided he would be helpful and do it... I only lasted watching him for 30 seconds before I had to pick on something he was doing before I took the lawnmower into my own hands and carried on....unfortunately I was caught by the midwife doing her home visit and got an extremely stern look from her.
Anyway...I digress...What I'm trying to put over is that us women are not all the same...so don't treat us that way. I can't abide ladies who refuse to get stuck in because they might break a nail....My nails are never perfect! There are ladies who love their men to do all the heavy work for them. Well, I believe if I can do it...I will...I'm not going to sit and wait for my husband to get home be for a job is done...that's just nonsense!
I do all the housework, all the lifting of heavy boxes up and down the loft...(and some of that stuff is extremely heavy!), I do the gardens, the car, the decorating, changing plugs...(no bother).. I put up new lightshades and deal with the wiring,...and so on and so forth. And yet when I am in the garden some stranger will walk by and say some stupid comment like...."That's what I like to see...and lady doing some work".
Now sometimes I do get really tired out and have a wee moan and ask Thomas if he could help out in the physical jobs more...but if I am honest....I enjoy doing what I do...it's just nice if someone notices sometimes and appreciates all the hard work. I am so glad that Thomas deals with all the bills and the monetary side of things because I have no interest in that side of things at all. So that work out fine for us.
So there you go...my rant is over...I feel much better. Believe it or not I was blogging with the intention to make my plea for a certain bar of chocolate to come back into full circulation, but I got side-tracked... so before I go I will do just that.
Spira Bars are one of my favourites. If you get a nice hot cup of tea and place the tip of one of the spira bars into it...just suck up the tea through it like a straw. Only do this for a few seconds and then the inside of the bar melts. Gently suck the bar and it will just melt so smoothly in your mouth and stick to all your teeth.... it is just amazing!
Anyway...lately in my local shop i have not been able to puchase this delectable bar...and so I feared the worst...that it had been taken off the market. When asking the chap behind the counter tonight if he had any stashed away...he said that he thinks cadbury's have stopped making them...NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You can't do that....IT'S NOT FAIR! There are after all only a few pleasures in life....and that was indeed one of them.
Let's get a petition going....BRING BACK THE SPIRA!!!
Monday, August 28, 2006
Embarrassing Problem?
I was brought up never to use the word fart...but the joke just wouldn't be the same without it....so sorry mum! Tonight we were over at Thomas' mum and dad's house with the girls. Whilst having a cup of tea, I decided for some reason to lift up the mac...(it's always to hand in our family!) and search the net for "funny stories". I came across this joke and read it through first of all to Thomas and Dayna, and we roared in laughter. When Thomas' mum and dad came through I tried my best to recite the joke once again but failed miserably because of my lack of composure due to histerics to be able to read the joke properly! Now as a true Christian!....I should somehow be able to spiritualise this little story...how?..you may ask!A Medical Problem
An old woman came into her doctor's office and confessed to an embarrassing problem. "I fart all the time, Doctor Johnson, but they're soundless, and they have no odour. In fact, since I've been here, I've farted no less than twenty times. What can I do?""Here's a prescription, Mrs. Harris. Take these pills three times a day for seven days and come back and see me in a week."
Next week an upset Mrs. Harris marched into Dr. Johnson's office. "Doctor, I don't know what was in those pills, but the problem is worse! I'm farting just as much, but now they smell terrible! What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Calm down, Mrs. Harris," said the doctor soothingly. "Now that we've fixed your sinuses, we'll work on your hearing!!!"
This poor lady was obviously totally unaware of what she was doing. Her health problems meant that she was oblivious to what was going on and unaware of the effect she was having on others. She was blind to the truth that everyone could see (or perhaps smell!!!) clearly...yet she just couldn't understand....and what happens?
In our own lives, how often do we lose our focus?...how often do we lose sight of all that God would seek to do in our lives? It's not always something that just happens one day...it's a gradual thing that creeps up over a period of time, until we don't even notice how far we've gone, and we can't really see what the problem is...
"God made my life completeThe Message 2 Samuel 22 verses 21-25
when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I cleaned up my act,
he gave me a fresh start.
Indeed, I've kept alert to God's ways;
I haven't taken God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works,
I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
and I'm watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes."
When we don't spend time with God...when we don't actively seek Him out in our everyday lives...then we lose sight of Him, and things become a little fuzzy. Boundaries shift, expectations from others aren't met, and our standards slip. Others notice the change in us, but we are blinded to that truth...that we have changed...we are not spiritually healthy and we are in desperate need for a check-up of the spiritual kind.
What thrills me about this passage from the bible is to know that the diagnosis for me is that I can have a brand new start...a clean slate...a living hope...a new found purpose...as long as I keep myself alert to the ways of God, and keep my eyes fixed on Him.
The hard part now is that if we accept the diagnosis, then finally we realise where we had been going wrong...and the truth certainly does hurt sometimes,.. but as always God's grace allows us to be forgiven.
If it's been a while since you've had a chat with God, then make an appointment with Him...the great physician... and get yourself checked out!
What thrills me about this passage from the bible is to know that the diagnosis for me is that I can have a brand new start...a clean slate...a living hope...a new found purpose...as long as I keep myself alert to the ways of God, and keep my eyes fixed on Him.
The hard part now is that if we accept the diagnosis, then finally we realise where we had been going wrong...and the truth certainly does hurt sometimes,.. but as always God's grace allows us to be forgiven.
If it's been a while since you've had a chat with God, then make an appointment with Him...the great physician... and get yourself checked out!
Friday, August 25, 2006
Believe Handmade!Quite a few years ago I used to handcraft cards. I used to design them when Dayna was a baby and it gave me something to do that I enjoyed while I was at home with her. Then Miriam came along and she was just always on the go and I had to put it on the back burner for a while. She's five now and off to school, and I just really wanted to get back into the craft again.
I am SO enjoying it. Sometimes when you are at home with the kids you feel as if you lose yourself and the things that made you YOU if you know what I mean. When all you do all day is clean up, feed the kids, clean up, feed the kids, clean up feed the husband and kids....you feel as if the person you used to be has long gone.
With getting back to this...I feel a bit more of me is back and useful again. It's something I can do that gets the creative side of me out...and I can still be at home for my kids when they need me! These are just a few of my latest designs.
If you haven't already, check the whole collection out [believehandmade] on flickr!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
"Jump in my car"
As a kid I absolutely adored Knightrider. My dad owned a beautiful black "Princess" with its velour seats, and I felt like I was driving around in KITT. But also... being a gal...David Hasselhoff was not particularly hard on the eye...if you know what I mean!!
But tell me...please....what has happened to the sanity of the man!
I was looking through google video and came across one of his many outrageous songs. I mean...have you heard any of his stuff...or even worse have you seen any of his video's. The song is entitled "Jump in my car" and I'm not sure whether David is actually taking the mickey out of himself. Surely it must be a joke....because if not....OH MY GOODNESS!
The video actually includes KITT and just watch out for one of the tricks Kitt performs at the end .....if you can bear cringing enough to watch all the way through.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
"V" versus "Star Trek"!
versus
My beloved but yet clearly confused husband [headphonaught], basically holds the mistaken belief that Star Trek is a better series than "V". I mean, I love him...but c'mon....this is just... plain... wrong!Nearly 65 million people watched the original 'V' mini-series, and when you see the rockin' '80s style special effects you’ll know why!
Did you know by the way, that Dennis McCarthy actually wrote the music for the series of V as well as for Star Trek!!!! Anyway,... here are some reasons why V was the best!
Memorable quotes you say...I'll go a wee bit better than that...
Lydia: You know, I've never lost in mortal combat.
Diana: Idiot. If you had, you'd be dead.
[Nathan Bates is apparently collaborating with the Visitors]
Mike Donovan: We know Bates is in bed with Diana.
Willie: Really? I did not know that.
Elias Taylor: It's a figure of speech, Willie.
Willie: With Diana... one never knows.
Mike Donovan: I thought you can drive.
Ham Tyler: I thought you can shoot.
Have you ever seen Captain Kirk wear jeans that were so tight you wondered if he as able to have any kids in real life?.....no...I don't think so!!
Does your series star the gentle fifth columnist Willie before we all saw him starring as the terrifying Freddy Kruger?
Have you ever seen Captain Kirk swallow a guinea pig in one go just like Diana? ...think not!!You say Uhuru was a fox....check Diana out...need I say anymore?
V was all about fighting for our freedom and protecting human life as we know it and its earthly resources....for the short time that it was on, it just seemed to bring us all together as a nation, proud to be inhabitants of the planet earth...oh and it was fun whooping those aliens backsides! (in comparison to star trek which just seems to go on and on and on and doesn't really do...anything)!
Oh yeah, and the tune
do do...do do do...do do do do do..do do do!
do do...do do do...do do do do do..do do do!do do...do do do...do do do do do..do do do!
((link))
You know what I'm talkin' about.
What do you think?
I'm sure that the majority of you already will be followers of my darling husband's blog (headphonaught)will already know this, but for the minority of you who don't know, I'm part of a worship group at our church called B.L.O.C. (Building Lives On Christ). We haven't really been able to get together for a while due to holidays, but tonight we're gathering for a practice.
Whilst having a good look for some material to go over, I came across this great song by Chris Tomlin..."How Great is our God"
The chorus although so simple feels great to sing at the top of your voice, while strumming on your guitar.
The splendor of the King,
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice,
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in light,
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at his voice,
And trembles at his voice
CHORUS
How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God
Age to age he stands
And time is in His Hands
Beginning and the End,
Beginning and the End
The Godhead, Three in one
Father, Spirit, Son
The Lion and the Lamb,
The Lion and the Lamb
So get the guitar down from the loft, find the chords on the net and warm up those vocal chords....go on...give it a try!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
WOT...NO ALCOHOL?
Last night, Thomas and I went out for a meal to celebrate his birthday, and we got onto the subject, which quite often comes up in conversation, about the issue of non-alcoholic drinking within the Salvation Army.
I have to confess that although I'm happy when people approach me, and ask about The Salvation Army and question our stance against drinking alcohol, my heart often feels heavy and the biggest sigh imaginable comes from deep within me. Why is this? Don't get me wrong, the smallest chance of sharing my faith with someone is the greatest priviledge, yet, maybe it's because I feel I can't speak enough for my Lord, because I'm too busy trying to defend The Salvation Army and the oath I took to not engage in drinking alcohol.
I have no problem with people having a drink (getting drunk is the problem)...it doesn't offend me, it doesn't stop a friendship developing, and I certainly don't judge people by somehow thinking I am better than them. Yet, when others see that you don't drink, they sometimes mentally push you aside and don't want to involve you in their social circle...I've not judged them...but they've judged me!
Anyway, what's the point I'm trying to make here? Jesus said that we were to preach the gospel and heal the sick. If someone you care for had been diagnosed with diabetes, and was finding it really difficult giving up the chocolate, would you offer them nothing but chocolate biscuits when they came over for tea.... If someone you care for had lung cancer as a result of smoking and they were really struggling with giving the smoking up, you wouldn't sit puffing on your cigarette in their company, would you? No....because you would be playing on their weakness.
God cares for us all, therefore our challenge is to love others too. Even the drunk on the street. If someone you cared for was an alcoholic, and was severly struggling with giving up the drink...would you sit with them and drink, or even offer them some?
"The question keeps coming up regarding meat that has been offered up to an idol: Should you attend meals where such meat is served, or not? We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions—but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all.1 Corinthians 8 (The Message)
Some people say, quite rightly, that idols have no actual existence, that there's nothing to them, that there is no God other than our one God, that no matter how many of these so-called gods are named and worshiped they still don't add up to anything but a tall story. They say—again, quite rightly—that there is only one God the Father, that everything comes from him, and that he wants us to live for him. Also, they say that there is only one Master—Jesus the Messiah—and that everything is for his sake, including us. Yes. It's true.
In strict logic, then, nothing happened to the meat when it was offered up to an idol. It's just like any other meat. I know that, and you know that. But knowing isn't everything. If it becomes everything, some people end up as know-it-alls who treat others as know-nothings. Real knowledge isn't that insensitive.
We need to be sensitive to the fact that we're not all at the same level of understanding in this. Some of you have spent your entire lives eating "idol meat," and are sure that there's something bad in the meat that then becomes something bad inside of you. An imagination and conscience shaped under those conditions isn't going to change overnight.
But fortunately God doesn't grade us on our diet. We're neither commended when we clean our plate nor reprimanded when we just can't stomach it. But God does care when you use your freedom carelessly in a way that leads a fellow believer still vulnerable to those old associations to be thrown off track.
For instance, say you flaunt your freedom by going to a banquet thrown in honor of idols, where the main course is meat sacrificed to idols. Isn't there great danger if someone still struggling over this issue, someone who looks up to you as knowledgeable and mature, sees you go into that banquet? The danger is that he will become terribly confused—maybe even to the point of getting mixed up himself in what his conscience tells him is wrong.
Christ gave up his life for that person. Wouldn't you at least be willing to give up going to dinner for him—because, as you say, it doesn't really make any difference? But it does make a difference if you hurt your friend terribly, risking his eternal ruin! When you hurt your friend, you hurt Christ. A free meal here and there isn't worth it at the cost of even one of these "weak ones." So, never go to these idol-tainted meals if there's any chance it will trip up one of your brothers or sisters."
I know that obviously in this circumstance, what they were eating was the problem, not the consumption of alcohol, but the point is the same. William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army wanted to tell the world that Jesus loved them, and that Jesus wasn't just for the middle-class but for the whosoever....the drunk man on the street! William Booth had a great desire and a call from God to help deliver these "brothers and sisters", and that meant helping them first with their physical needs and then their spiritual needs.
Here we see what it's all about! The Salvationists of that day would have done more harm than good if they had shared in a drink with the individual whether socially or whilst in communion...in doing so they would "trip" their friend up.
They would have been no help to that person at all, but instead would just be aiding them to help destroy their lives even more.
People today still need our help...some people's lives and their families have been destroyed by alocohol by those who can't simply enjoy a drink socially. There are people who have a weakness where alcohol is concerned.
I'm proud to be in the Salvation Army, but much more than that, I'm so grateful that I belong to God, and he calls us even today to spread the gospel to the whosever. Maybe you think that there's no need for such a commitment to be made anymore to abstain from alcohol, but take a look around you and you'll see....never has there been a better time.
I'm certainly not saying that everyone should do this...but for me it's right...it's the way for me and I'm proud of the stance that I have taken as my own personal commitment to not just The Salvation Army but most importantly to God!
Monday, August 21, 2006
What's in a name?
Many, many years ago, when I was in primary one, our school took part in the village gala day! Even though I was only five, I can remember very clearly that the theme for our class in the parade was Indians! The teacher took each child individually and gave them their own unique Indian style name.
When finally kneeling before me she paused, wondering what name she could give me. The teacher then went away and busily made up our classes feathered headbands which our names would be printed on.
The next day when presented with our headbands the teacher said that she had the perfect indian name for me......little laugh alot!
It's always stayed in my mind through the years...
and I kind of like it!
Can't guarantee always making you laugh, and don't even know whether I can stick this blogging malarky out, but hey....I'll give it my best shot.
