The Adventures of Kel

We're getting married..!

2007-07-02T12:03:00.000+08:00

Hello,

Just thought I would update you on the latest adventure: Adam and I are getting married. We're so excited and everything has happened at just the right timing. No date set just at the moment, but we're looking at getting married this December. Yay!

It's funny.. this God-journey that we're all on. God works everything in this perfect timing, when we are sometimes totally unaware of what is around the corner. I never would've guessed this is where I would be a year ago.

Adam is a really good man. He has a kind, sensitive yet focussed heart. He loves God and lives to serve Him. We've both got similar views on what we want out of life, yet we have so many differences in gifting and personality. We sometimes laugh at our differences and wonder how on earth we are even together and how we managed to survive the first 8 months of our relationship while living in different parts of the state, but we know that it is for God's purposes, and He is our glue and makes us work well together.

So, we're happy and looking forward to adventuring together into the future. Just wanted to share the news :)

Love Kel

My little mad scientist

2007-04-26T22:30:00.000+08:00

My beloved & I (nabbed off my friend's wedding site). We call the hair mad scientist. Aww, I love him :)

Long, long time no post

2006-12-17T20:25:00.000+09:00

Hello,

Well it's been a jolly long time since I last posted. I can't really even call myself a blogger anymore. Many excuses for that which such as

- I moved house and don't have wireless at home anymore so it's a bit of an effort to actually blog
- I haven't really felt like blogging
- I am a bit too busy and distracted.

Work has been going really well. I've been there a month and a half now and feel as though I have settled in quite a bit. I'm learning a lot and feel as though it's a great move career-wise. I'm a Rocky Bay.. not sure if I mentioned that before. I'm in Human Resources which is something new and I love it.

The new house is going really well - it's so not an effort to live with these 2 lovely ladies. They're so laid back and we get along really well. We even have a dog that I actually like (not a big dog fan). They're the kinds of girls you can just be yourself around.. which is so important for a home (it's not just a house for me..).

Adam and I have been going really well. I'm not going to get soppy on here as it's unneccesary and I want to save you guys the pain. We're still just weekend friends but it works out alright. We're happy anyway :) I've got a photo of us which I'll chuck up on the blog sometime.

Hmm.. Life has been crazy busy, especially the last month. Everything kinda happened at once! Christmas time is also busy. I haven't actually started Christmas shopping properly yet. I think I've got 1 present. Woohoo..

This is a boring kind of update but I just thought I should write something before I am forgotten in the world of blogs!

Peace out noobs,

Love Kel

xx

New beginnings

2006-11-02T12:02:00.000+08:00

Howdy,

Well, as of tomorrow I am starting a new, permanent job. It's at Rocky Bay and I'll be working in human resources to do with recruitment, training, inductions and more. I am so pumped about it!! I have really been thinking about the kind of place I want to work (rather than the usual, what kind of work I want to be doing) so I did a bit of research on one of the government website (DOCEP I think) and found a whole heap of charity organisations to work for. I don't want to assume some kind of naive/head-in-the-clouds kind of view on life.. but for me right now, I just don't want to be working for a corporate kind of business. I have to feel as though what I'm doing is actually having some kind of positive effect on someone's life. Not just making money. And I'm not doing that in a thinking-I'm-better-than-anyone-else kind of way either, I was just really excited when I worked out who I wanted to work for, and went through a million websites looking for their vacant positions and got so inspired and enthused by seeing the kinds of jobs I'm after (although most of them were in Syd or Melb.. boo). Yay! Oh, and I probably shouldn't have really even gotten the job for a number of reasons: I found it on the web late and so had to ask for a late application, which they accepted when I didn't think they would; I didn't have the relevant experience they were looking for, 2 years of it; I had to bail on an interview (due to a crash, so I think that was a fair enough excuse) and there was something else too, can't remember. I was pretty shocked I got the job to be honest. But for some reason I really wanted it and I am always so pleasantly surprised when I've asked God to take over the situation and He did it is this way - nice work!

So, as well as getting that job, I have moved house this week too. Well, my brother kind of moved me, but I am going to be living there :) I'm with 2 lovely girls that I have gotten to know since moving in - Amy and Anne - and they're really great! I have been dreading going back to share-houses.. just the risk of moving in with weirdos or feeling unsafe/uncomfortable in your own place can cause a bit of apprehension. No need to fear when God's in charge! Nay, it is going to be the house o' fun this summer. It takes me less than a minute to walk to the river, so plenty of bike riding, sunshiney action on the way, yay.

Things are just cruising along really. Fairly fast. Heaps has been happening since I got back and I feel like God's kinda taken the reigns and gone "sit back, let me do life with you and it'll be all good". And it's the truth. Stuff I've been dreading for years have turned out to be easy! And the things that have been sorted have been easy! Thanks God for your faithfulness, always. You never cease to amaze me and all I want to do is tell you how thankful I am. Not just for the crap you take me out of, but for who you are. It's craziness.

Also reading a great book - Blue Like Jazz. My cousin bought it for me ages ago but I had it packed away and found it in a box. Fantastic read. Just a really different way to approach God and Christianity. Highly recommended by me :)

That's all for now. Hanging out for the Big Weekend, but more so for Church Together - probably my favourite event of the year. In case you don't know what it is, it's where loads of churches across Perth get together in a big park in the city centre and have church together.. Excellent stuff. Kinda like a slive of heaven. And I love Hillsong United and they're playing, yay! Ok, blog again sooner..

Kel

xx

Long time no blog

2006-10-26T22:32:00.000+08:00

Haven't really felt inspired to blog of late.. :) Lots happening, good, bad, ugly, whatever - I feel as though I'm finally learning to embrace where God puts me. Whatever effort it requires, that he's got it under control and that I can trust in him fully. I love him so much. Did you hear me God? (I know you did/do) I love you like crazy.

The latest breakfast club meeting in East Perth

Some absolutely gorgeous girls came into my world between 9-13 years ago (depending on which year of school we started together) and God has poured out his love through them. Some people complain about high school and what a rough time it was, and although a lot of us had our shit happening, it was so God-purposed that we had each other. You're intelligent, gifted, God-loving, fun, unique, caring, hilariously silly, BEAUTIFUL girls.. I love you all so much. So many seasons of life together - ups and downs -and we're still loving each other and moving forward. Cheers to you girls! And to the others overseas, whether in Cali, London or Tenerife (!).. big schoolgals love to you.. we shall all reunite soon! Any dibs on the next wedding? My money's on Zo or Lu :)

Special tribute to Lou who has recently returned from another trip to Kenya. (NOTE: You are a domestic goddess, never fear my dear!) So many great stories from this trip.. need to hear some more. This photo is from Hope House where they fed/diapered/clothed/cuddle multiple babies. The other photos just showed babies everywhere, all orphaned. How different life is for some. God chose for me to be born where I was for a reason, therefore I can't feel guilty for that. But, it's not only my responsibility, but my honour to do what God needs of me (I am one person, I realise) to do. God, please grow me to always look outwards, look at their faces, listen to their stories, hear their heart. Show me what to do God. I want to live beyond me. Please show me..

Love Kel

What a sunshiney weekend

2006-10-08T21:22:00.000+08:00

I've just had another beautiful weekend. Some of the highlights were the trip down to my cousin's beach house in Shoalwater Bay yesterday and my sister (in-law, but I'm just gonna call her sister from now on I've decided)'s bday. Superb! Here's some shots from today. The olds must've had a bit too much wine as they were acting a bit crazy in the playground.. geez, you can't take 'em anywhere!

Romella and her Mum, Sylvia (the Indian parts of our fam)

Never leave children unattended.. hang on, I was there supervising!

After this little incident things got a bit funner...

Aww, you look pretty Marmy

Now that is talent..

So we took things over to the park where the big kids had a play..

And a bit of balancing work was required

Lots of photos today.. the weather was just glorious!

Till another day.. xx

Things & stuff

2006-10-06T07:12:00.000+08:00

Hello,

It's been a while since posting, I know. At least there'll be photos this time! Anyway, things have been going really well.

Nana's still in hospital and progressing slowly. She's really frail but doing ok. She had a big fall over the weekend and has this huge black eye that goes all the way to her hairline.. she looks like some kind of badger (ohh, I love badgers!).

Umm, I went away with some people for the long weekend to somewhere near Collie called Glen Mervyn Dam. It was such a top stop and I felt rejuvenated spending time bush walking, mountain biking and just enjoying being back in the bush. There was also a bit of wake boarding action which was rather fun. My arms are still sore!

I came back a bit early as it was my cousin's wedding (as mentioned). I literally ran in the door of the church as I was running late from down south but it's so good you can count on the Sharps to be late - Nat and the ladies were another 15 mins or so after me.. hehe! Now, get this, Nat's husband's surname is Pearce. If we hyphenated her name she would be Natalie Sharp-Pearce.. hehe!! Love it! I wish she did it.. classic.

The Sharp's (minus wives and children)

Anyway Nat said she wanted the wedding to be "sincere" and that it was. There were so many smiles and laughs - so good! They make a fantastic couple and I am just SO SO happy that Steve is such a great guy. Nat totally deserves it and I know she will be cherished. So, here's some snaps from the day.

My immediate family (not the best photos, I know!)

The extended Sharp's - minus Matt, Rach, Liam, Pete, Mel, James, Abigail and Jo

Lady in the Water

2006-09-28T13:21:00.000+08:00

I went and saw a really unusual film last night called Lady in the Water. It's the story of how the beings from the Blue World need to get in contact with the humans on the land. Kind of a mythical/fantasy children's story brought into life. It's all set in a block of apartments and their surrounds. The main guy, Cleveland, is so odd but likeable and he really makes the movie.

It's made by the same guy that made Signs which I didn't see because I thought it would freak me out. Anyway, this was only PG so I thought it must be harmless. But it had so much suspense and parts of it kept me guessing right till the end. Intriguing, the kind you don't want to take your eyes off. It has some really biblical themes in it which was interesting. The main girl, Bryce Dallas Howard, was so strange looking as she is a being from another place. The side characters were all really quirky types.. ahh it was just hilariously strange!

I think it's worth recommending, but I'm not sure. Don't go in expecting a particular genre of movie as I'm not sure if it really fits into one.. but good anyway (I think!).

grr

2006-09-27T07:14:00.000+08:00

I planned to get up this morning to go for a ride with Em at 7am and someone has stolen my bike. I'm rather annoyed as I really loved that bike. They would've had to have gotten through either 1 or 2 gates to get it and it was 1/3 metre away from Em's room. Who does that? :(

Go Savannah! Congrats Dave & Andrea!

2006-09-26T10:29:00.000+08:00

Yay, finally a post with some pictures!

Concentration..

Noice Savvy!

You're a winner!

Straight arms!

Balanced.. atta girl!

This is my oldest niece (she was 7 last Sunday!) at the recent State Gymnastics Comp. She trained really hard and did really well. And doesn't she just look so cute?! Ok, I know these photos are flogged off a website.. but you can get the idea.

Things are good. Had Mum's 60th on Saturday and it seemed to go on without any hiccups. I used to think 60 was old but I've realised it's not really. I think 60 is a lot younger than it used to be..(?). I managed to get my Nana out of hospital for the morning as well which was great. She was annoyed at the thought that she might miss out so along she came. Poor love was dozing on the way home though.. it was a big outing after being in bed for 2 weeks! It was great to see my aunties and uncles and cousins after 6 months and catch up on the latest with them. Well done to the crew at the Oyster Bar South Perth, they were fantastic! Speaking of cousins.. I can't wait for Natty's wedding this Monday! Woohoo.. I really like her guy Steve - well done to you both! Photos to come post-wedding.

My beautiful friend Andrea and her man Dave got engaged last weekend as well.. most exciting! Congratulations to you both. I'm SO happy that she's so happy and really look forward to the big day!

Sorry for the mega-old photo.. they've just gotten hotter with age.

Ok, that's about as exciting a post as I can do right now.

Bye!

Hebron Children's Home

2006-09-18T07:30:00.000+08:00

Just letting anyone who's interested know that they've worked hard and done a new website for the Hebron Children's Home. There's lots of info on there and also a lot of beautiful photography. Please feel free to check it out, see what's happening in another part of the world and if there is some way you can help or be inspired..
Go here.

Some of the beautiful girls

That's all for now!

xx

Girly crap

2006-09-13T22:04:00.000+08:00

Hey,

Haven't really been interested in my blog of late I'm afraid. It's become a bit of a chore this week or 2 or 3!

So, I've pretty much been living in the old-timers ward at RPH for the past (almost) week with my Nan. She had a stroke and as I have been away when she's had 2 others, I have really latched onto this time. I let myself get really anxious and distressed (before turning to God and being flooded with this overwhelming peace) while I was away and she had a stroke (2) and I heard the progress which sounded really awful. I know, old people tend to get sick then die. But I wasn't ready for that! And nor was/IS Nana. I so wanted to be here, visit her and just be a part of what was happening. So anyway, I've been so grateful to God that he cares and kept her healthy and that I can spend time with her now. I've never had anyone in my family or anyone close to me (just people that are close to people I am close to.. yeah?) pass away or anything so the thought of it freaks me out in an incredible way. It's so good to have been able to help the family out after they did so much with the last ones. Nana is so cute! She comes out with the funniest things in an effort to be insanely polite.. it's really funny.

Church had a "Her Time Occasion" tonight called Energy. Very timely! I've always avoided such things thinking they'd be all fluffy and Oprah-ish and nancy. But Cath did a post about how good they were from the last one and I thought I can't really lose anything from going. So I swung by after hospital to see if I could get a ticket (I could). It was actually really good (I know.. everyone else probably already knew..) and even though a lot of it was about kids and married life related to 40+ year olds, a heap of it is just about being women and I could totally relate. Kristy from The Biggest Loser (I think that was on while I was away as I hadn't seen it) was there and seemed like a genuine kind of woman with some great advice. Kelley Chisholm spoke about some stuff that was really good. A lot of it was about realising what depletes you of energy and how to set your life up to deal with those things so you can get on with everything you've got to do. I can't remember most of it cos I was tired (which I didn't feel so bad about cos it seemed a lot of people there were lacking energy from the sounds of the crowd) but there was some really good stuff. A funny point is when you swing towards matyrdom with your daily life - I could totally relate! Terrible! Anyway, the whole feel of the night was really warm, professional and fun. Good job I say! Next time I might drag my mum and sister in law's along: I think they'd really enjoy it.

As mentioned, tiredness has set in. Looking forward to seeing The Red Shoes ballet this weekend with 3 girlfriends. Should be a hoot I reckon. Anyone seen it?

I promise I will write something really exciting next time!

Kel

xxx

P.S. They asked an interesting question tonight and I would love to know.. how many hours a night do you sleep on average??

A modern-day miracle

2006-09-11T07:57:00.000+08:00

FORMER APARTHEID POLICE MINISTER REPENTS AND APOLOGISES TO BLACK SOUTH AFRICANS

Adriaan Vlok, the former apartheid regime's law and order police minister, recently went to church in Soweto and during the service washed the feet of Reverend Frank Chikane, a person he had sought to kill during the years of struggle in South Africa. The pair took turns to describe Vlok's apology as a miracle. It emerged that it took Vlok two months to convince Chikane to meet him and hear his apology.

This is how Vlok described their first encounter on August 3: "I was so grateful, I cried. There were tears in his eyes too. I looked into his eyes and I saw love. Then he prayed for me." Speaking at the church, Vlok - described by some sources as "one of the most evil men that apartheid created" - called Chikane's congregation his "brothers and sisters". "I feel your pain," he said. "I am sorry for what you had to suffer. We were fighting here in Soweto. It was a war. But today we're coming here to pray."

Vlok admitted that he used to "hate your pastor (Chikane)". "We were fighting each other with guns, hand grenades and poison," Vlok said. "I thank God for letting me not succeed in killing you."

Vlok described his wife's suicide in 1994 as the defining point in his life. "It took me 12 years, after the government changed, to come to this point. I had to rid myself of my own pride, my egotism and selfishness," he said. "I don't represent anyone else because I stand before the Lord alone."

Vlok sat in the front row in the packed church next to Chikane's wife. At one point he stood and clapped along to a gospel song. He also joked when being introduced, saying: "You can't give a microphone to an old politician and expect him to speak for only a minute. It's not possible."

Chikane maintained that the apology was sincere and that more were likely to follow. "The fact that Mr Vlok has come to make a confession to me and is here with us today is a miracle," he said. "Some people have told me it's profoundly historical." He said that, despite being angry, people should be prepared to "pick ourselves up and move on". "We must not let the past we've defeated dictate our future."

Source: Pretoria News (c-/ The Australian Prayer Network Newsletter)

The days roll on

2006-09-07T22:28:00.000+08:00

Well, time is flying by. It's been a month tomorrow since I landed in Australia, although in Melbourne. Crazy. I haven't blogged properly for a while.. so this is a bit of a whopper.

Had a family thing tonight to see my auntie, uncle and cousins who are visiting from Karratha for a doctors visit. The last time I saw my uncle was the morning I flew out to Singapore back in March. He was in a hospital bed, limited movement to his body, not very reactive, not speaking, being tube-fed, fresh from 4x neuro ops that almost took his life. I remember so clearly how I was so distraught about leaving in the midst of the trauma. But I knew God was going to do something with his life.

Tonight was a totally different picture - they had a big german dinner party before I got there and he was the life of the party. Talking, laughing, enjoying some wine with friends and family. It was weird. He pretty much got the all-clear from the doctors today which is great. It's a true miracle. Go God.

I've got the day off tomorrow. Doing a taxi run for my auntie so we can both go see my Nana in hospital. She had another stroke today. She can still speak this time, but her left side is limited. She's going to be fine though. My mind is racing with different things I could do.. I've been thinking of how I might be able to rent a place and take care of her somehow. Not sure it could work as she'd be home a lot on her own if I'm working. The place that's she's staying is nice but she doesn't like it. I don't think I can offer the best option though.

Work is going well. The place I'm at for the next 3-4 weeks is great. I'm with mostly middle-aged ladies and they're really cool. I love their humour, sensitivity and their zest for life. It's a great place to work. This week I got sent some gift vouchers from my contact person at the agency as a thank you for being flexible with my jobs last week. Crazy, I thought that was what temping was about: flexibility..?! It was so sweet though and it's great to feel as though you're not just a piece of meat being shoved around where ever required.

It's the Mercy Ministries fundraiser walk this saturday. I've organised some girlfriends to go together and it should be great fun. If you wanted more info you can go to www.mercyministries.com.au. If you wanted to go I'm sure you could still register. Just pray that it doesn't rain..

Speaking of which (what?!). If there's any non-freakish, NORMAL people - actually just girls - out there that are looking at sharing in Perth for some (?) period of time, please let me know. I'm not looking forward to the possibility sharing with strangers that could be absolute weirdos. I just want normal people! Do you think it will be too hard to find??

Last night I spent some time going through my India photos. I haven't printed them yet but I flicked through on my laptop.. reminiscing.. having a laugh at some of the memories. I look forward to having some walls of my own one day to stick lots of photos on. I've got some absolutely fantastic shots that my friend Chinni has taken. Blogger's not letting me add photos today. Temperamental bugger. Wouldn't it be great to just teleport yourself to somewhere else just for a while.. not have to tell anyone you were going or coming. Just fly.

Go for an afternoon walk at 5 with Suneeta to the bridge. Laugh with the children that are riding along from school. Say hello and goodbye over and over. Get to the bridge. Watch the sun setting as you stand over the bridge seeing the occasional snake wriggle through the water below. Throw some rocks to try to improve your aim at the snakes. The same boy rides past you on a bicycle everyday. Stops to say hello, again. Walk back down the dusty track. See the same houses, the same people sitting out the front. The old man that smokes home-made cigarettes while sitting near the buffalos out the front of his place. Everyday the same. Not much sound. The occasional motorbike that whizzes by with a guy driving, his wife and shopping (or a kid) on board. The "men in white": a group of eldery men that wear white shirts and trousers that walk the same time as us everyday, but along the railway line instead. Remembering not to stare at people. Picking up flowers from the side of the road to put in Suneeta's hair. Then she would do the same for me. Stopping in at BB's mother's house on the way home. Holding hands with Epsi or Lily. Practising some newly learnt Telugu on them (something really charming like "what curry for lunch?" or "your sari is beautiful") and watching them laugh. Trying to get away gracefully before the sun goes down. They always walk with us up the road, chatting, for at least another 10 minutes before we say goodbye for the fifth time. Shiny comes riding down the road on the front of the scooter with Surya driving. Normally Deena or Prema on the back seat. Play chicken with the scooter to get a laugh from Shiny. Wave frantically as they zoom by, tooting. They stop at BB's mothers, say hello, then back on the scooter to go home. Watching Rebekah (one of the cooks) come down the road, dodging the puddles, on her way home from work so she can cook for her family. Stopping for a brief chat before continuing on. Passing the leper colony with the kids that run around out the front. Chickens are always scuttling around the front. Keep walking around the bend in the road. Using our scarves to cover our noses as we passed where the local pigs are fed rotten scraps of food. The stench is so bad you feel as though your eyes may get a coating on them just from being kept open to the exposed air. Smiling with my eyes at the girls that worked feeding the pigs and hoping they could see I was trying to smile. The relief as you took a deep breath of non-swine air. Ahhh. Back past the rice mill. The aroma of rice cooking. The busy trucks and cars over the road, going into town. Just in time for evening prayer with the girls before dinner. Going with Suneeta to wash our feet of all the dust and mud from the walk.

Every afternoon was the same. It wasn't monotonous. Sure, it was simple. It was peaceful. No rushing. I could keep going on with the rest of the evening's routine but I won't. I'm sure it's boring. It's good for me to think back. Remember what life was like for such a different time in my life. When you knew exactly what was going to be happening for a large proportion of the following day/days.

Oh, I miss you Hebron. Suneeta, Sagar, Pandu, Chinni, Amma, all the children. BB, Ramah, Ramya, Akka-babu.

But life goes on hey? There's more things to happen that you can then think back on. Some memories will last longer than others though. There's so much about my life over there that I've never shared with people. Because I thought I would bore them. Because I felt people weren't interested. That it was my cup-of-tea but not everyone elses. I think I missed out on something by not sharing. It's releasing. It brings closure. It's healthy. I kept a diary over there. Pretty much just prayers. Or things about life in Australia that I missed. Not about life there. Not the routine and the exciting things to experience or learn. It's hard to write about that stuff when you're immersed in it and it's become "normal". I think I might write a book. Even if it's just for me to look back on in 50 years. It might be a really benefitial thing to do methinks.

Enough blabber. G'night anyone who might still read this blog!

xx

Happy Birthday dear Suneeta!

2006-09-03T07:44:00.000+08:00

I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to one of my dearest friends.. Suneeta!

This lady is a gem. She had me as a guest in her home for 5 months and really showed me what hospitality means. She is the wife of Sagar and mother of Shiny. She's a brilliant cook (which is rather important in India) and is really clever with stitching, embroidery and beading. She's crafted some beautiful saris and a gorgeous dress for Shiny's last birthday. She is my Indian sister and I really wish I could be there to celebrate (although you don't celebrate birthdays).. or to make you feel as special as you are! Happy Birthday!

Love Kellie

Some information that could change your life

2006-09-01T10:21:00.000+08:00

Did you know that Special K that you buy in Australia isn't the same as Special K that you buy in the US or Europe?

I kid you not. I know, I am also appalled to find this out too.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Work work work

2006-08-30T21:30:00.000+08:00

Well, I've been back at work this week (new job) and I've been really enjoying it. I love working hard, organising things, setting goals and achieving them. I get so much satisfaction from it. Although I think there are areas of my life that I'd rather avoid so I put my heart and soul into doing a good job so I can feel successful/normal in one area. I think I've been on this train a while - it's not really a good thing. But it's good to be doing some work anyway :) I'm starting to feel a bit better about being in Perth again. Not hating it so much which is always good!

Caught up with an old friend tonight and had a lovely dinner. Went across the road to this funky place (I can't remember the name.. it's on Murray St, called F'uche or something like that) for dessert. There were these brilliant musicians playing out the front on the sidewalk, kinda funk style. We went in and I said we were just there for coffee and dessert and the guy proceeded to give us free stuff! This beautiful entree stuff and champagne! (it wasn't just us, the table next to us too) And I worked out that it cost them more for what they gifted us with than what we actually bought. Not bad! It is a really fresh new place (I heard it's been open 6 months) - well worth a visit! It's opposite Tiger Lils if that helps.

I'm seeing my cousin tomorrow who is getting married in a month. It's all very exciting. I wasn't around for the engagement and everything so it's a good a time as any to get into wedding mode and be really excited for them. They make a really nice couple. Natty and I went through Grade 3-12 together so we've been "around" each other a lot for a while. It feels weird to have to catch up with people like Nat now after it being so normal for so many years to just see her around. We grow up, life changes things. So, it''ll be nice to see her tomorrow anyway :)

It's a bit of a nothing post. I don't really want to write much on here lately. Don't know why. Just don't! I need to start taking some photos and chucking them on here. That'll brighten the place up!

Things to look forward to:

Kate coming home in a month from more overseas travels (contracting lovely parasites on the way!)
Savannah's state gym comp
Mum's 60th do
Starting my new savings plan
Doing some research/planning about some future dreams
Natalie and Steve's wedding.. yay!
A date with my friend to see The Red Shoes (ballet)
Seeing my cousin Kristy in October.. hanging out for that
Buying a new kettle for Sharon (man, I love kettles..)

That's about it for the next little bit. Blog again soonish.

Kel

Run Baby Run

2006-08-26T06:44:00.000+08:00

I've been a bit self-indulgent this week and have been doing some reading. I wanted to let you know about an old classic (if you haven't already read it) called Run Baby Run by Nicky Cruz.

What an amazing story. It's about a bad-ass teenager from Puerto Rico living in New York and how he gets involved in gangs and stuff. Great description.. He's living a dark, blood-thirsty life on the run until he encounters God through a preacher coming to the ghetto he lived in. The way his life is transformed and years of hatred, nightmares and bloodshed are stripped away from his heart to reveal such a beautiful heart: so passionate for God. He's such an amazing man - but the testimony is really just to God and at His love and the immense power behind it. To transform even the toughest life and then use it to reach people with love and compassion (kinda like Saul/Paul). Such a great read: Kel recommends!

It's my baby boy's birthday party today. My nephew Caleb is turning 9! Wowsers.. I remember how much time I've spent with him as a newborn, toddler, kid. He's such a caring, sweet boy. But so freakin tall! When I got back this time he was up to my nose, the crazy critter. But he's still not old enough to not want hugs and time with his aunty Kel :) Yay! He has such a sensitivity combined with a really easy going and joyful disposition that I know he's going to make a great man of God. Go Cabes! I love you a WHOLE lot!

OK, better get the day going. Have woken up at 5 or 5:30 every morning this week. For no good reason - it sucks!

Love Kel

xx

Chop chop chop

2006-08-23T12:49:00.000+08:00

Well, I thought I would do a little post about some old friends that I haven't spent time with in a while:

Chef Martin Yan (of Yan Can Cook - a favourite with everyone in high school)

Iron Chef (re-runs used to be on SBS, not sure now)

I love these 2 shows. Sure, they're very different to standard aussie cooking shows, but they are so energetic and fun.. and I would love to be as good as them (although maybe not as accentric as some of the iron chefs).

What about you? Do you have any thoughts, memories of these two? Or are you a fan of any other cooking shows?

jipped

2006-08-22T21:53:00.000+08:00

Herro,

Well, I haven't really thought of anything much to post about lately. I've been in a non-blogging state of late. Have been catching up with some friends (plus moving house) and hearing what's been happening for them over the past 6 months or 13 months, depending on when I last saw them. There is something delightful about being in the company of a friend that knows you longer than a day (!) that I am realising I've missed out on! Duh.. big surprise! I've spent so much time over the last year with people I know nothing about and who know nothing about me that it's been a heckuva lot of chitchat. I know chitchat has it's place but I tire of it really quickly if that is the substance of the friendship.. know what I mean? I hope I'm not sounding like a broken record.

Hmm, went to an interesting thing tonight with a friend. A multi-level-marketing/direct-buying business thing. I don't want to offend anyone who might be a die-hard fan of these types of businesses with what I say. I just have such a thing about them that rings warning bells. I know that there are people that make a lot of money out of them and swear by them (with the addition of hard work!).. but it's just not me. It was a different kind of one, anyway, where they sell aussie opals. Interesting. Good thing I don't love opals!

Went dress shopping for a bit today (for Melsy) and bumped into Sky who got married while I was away. Had a coffee and catch up and it was so nice to hear how her wedding day and tour-of-Thailand went for her honeymoon. Lots of stories of elephants, monkeys and getting ripped off by pushy little street-market people. Nice.

Way off the topic if there was one but I am getting reacquainted with the old Aussie accent. It's funny!I know I don't speak with an accent, although most people who tried to guess my accent overseas thought I was English (WHAT?!?!), but it just seems a lot twangier since I've gotten back. Noice (nice) is one that I hear a lot! Gid (good) is another. It's hard to spell the pronunciation, but it's really funny! Funnier that it doesn't sound normal at first. And people sounded a lot twangier over in Victoria too which was interesting. I knew Queenslanders (where I was born.. woo) have their "kewl bananas" accent, but I didn't know Victorians had accents. Anyhoo.. not having a go at anyone here!!

Well, I think that's about all I can be bothered to type. It's the city to surf this sunday. My brother's running AGAIN so I might go watch.. but I think it's a bit hard to watch. You just stand at the finish pool and try to find someone in the field of people. Unless he comes first! hehe.. I have faith in you Donny :) I should've got into training and gone with you. Maybe next year (eww, that sounds very procrastinatorish) eh?

Sleep now. Good night! xx

P.S. Pics are still not working.. so just boring text until blogger is happy with me :)

Sprint >>> run >> jog > walk.. crawl... sit

2006-08-18T09:23:00.000+08:00

Big sighs here.

Have decided I'm going to slow life down a bit. I crave adventure and living on the edge. I want flexibility, freedom, cultural immersion, new experiences. I feel as though it's part of my DNA now and I couldn't live without it. The thought of 9-5 jobs scare me. The thought of mortgages, interest rates causes me to want to pack my bag and head off. I don't think it's a fear of committing.. more a fear of being boring, being settled, actually I don't believe that I could find contentment in that.

Is it that I need to grow up? Is it that I have been so on-the-go that it's made a bit of turmoil in my mind of what is normal? I know being sold out for God isn't a second rate life. There's adventure, sacrifice and JOY. Joy is my favourite feeling/state of being. I crave it. But I guess there needs to be that peace, that stability, that contentment at all times before you can truly experience the adventures. Sometimes there needs to be "down" time where you just sit and be. Sit and be. It's hard, you know? Stop running.. breathe, let God's love wash over you.

Adventures can happen anywhere too. A new friend has a ministry with her nextdoor neighbours (the kids) and has her God-work cut out for her there. She doesn't need to go, she is content and finds God-adventure where she is. He sees her willing heart and uses her.

Mixed up post, I know. Just getting it out there. God is my refuge, my strength, my sustenance, my future, my hope, my all. I can't run from him. It doesn't work. I don't want to.

Better go.. being domesticated for our welcome home me family thing tomorrow.

Love x

Back on the mainland

2006-08-15T21:36:00.000+08:00

Howdy,

Well, back in Australia. Had a week in Melb visiting Mels and Robby (and Zoe). It was so nice. Some friends just make you feel at home with who you are. They are such a fantastic couple.. it was a real treat to spend a week celebrating their relationship. We had a nice stay in G-long with Rob's family for the enragement breakfast, met his fam.. they're lovely. Lots of wedding talk, hearing what their heart is for the big day. We went wedding dress shopping which was a huge thing and I felt so honoured to be there. Twas sad to wave goodbye last night from the tarmac but I couldn't help but repeat myself over and over at just fantastic it is that they're so good for each other and can be so confident in that. I always leave some of my heart with Mels and now Robby too. I love them heaps.

Have not really felt like there's a lot left for me in Perth. It really doesn't feel like home. Not that Switzy really is as I wouldn't be there if it wasn't for work. Almost sent me into a panic fit this morning before I stopped myself and realised that "home" is only going to be where I am for the moment. It seems to be a lesson I keep getting.. don't put your security in where you are or who is around you. I've kinda had that all taken away over the past 12 months and it's just been me and God. Not that I am saying I've lived in poverty in terms of physical stuff and been hard done by.. but in terms of the things I (and quite a few people I know) would and have put my security in - friendships, church, having a home/space that is mine, a community, routine, career path, spiritual enouragement, discipleship - I just haven't lived in that. You can't put your trust or security in something that's not available. I feel like I keep getting this lesson over and over. I do get it but I don't seem to keep that mentality/mind-set for long as not long after I get back into a panic about having a seemingly helter-skelter life.

This morning was a landmark though not to let my emotions go down that road. I'm here for now.. I am never alone. God is always with me, always protecting, nurturing, providing, guiding. That term "rock" is fitting and true. Not to tie you down to something, but to support you.. to anchor who you are. Does that make sense? He's dependable when nothing else is. He's reliable when there's no one else to rely on. Not as a last resort.. I need to preach this to myself till it's sunk in.

That, of course, could just be this week as I'm tired. Maybe Perth does feel like home when I am awake. Mandy and Rich take melatonin (some vitamin you get from the sun) which helps get your body into the swing on things. If I could just remember to take it!

Had a bit of a lazy day.. spent some time with my brother and his mate tonight which was nice. Some things never change. It's strange. Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow. Catching up with a friend for lunch.. can't wait to see her. She's a gem.

Saw some of my kiddies today. It's amazing to watch them mature and develop their personalities. They soak up everything. They're so balanced and beautiful. I love them so much.

Well absolutely buggered. Eyes hurting.

Bonne nuit xx

Waahhhhhh!! You can't make me leave!

2006-08-06T03:10:00.000+08:00

Ok, so this is the view from out the front of our apartment (we're 3rd floor.. this is on the path outside). Tell me you can feel the serenity..? Boodle hoodles, we have to go. We're all a bit sad. Except for the part where we get to see our family and friends.

Rich took this photo using a -exposure thingy. Pretty snazzy. It takes the photo over 30 seconds with a dark thing over the lens. There were actually ripples in the water, but it smoothed them out because of the setting. Don't ask. Just look. Ain't it pretty?!

So, once again, Kellie has no clue how she's going to fit everything into her bag. There's only so many beatings this poor case can take, you know? If it were just clothes and shoes it would be a sinch. But this baby carries my life: my mini-library, study books, files, office supplies, 50 bazillion gifts for my family (why couldn't you all stop at one kid? it would've been so much easier.. and cheaper), cables for each different country for each power pack, rollerblades, toiletries. I think that's it. I am even leaving behind my favourite blanky cos there's no room. Waahhh!!Shut up Kellie. Quit you're whining: be glad you're alive, you're healthy, you have a job, you've been able to see so much more of the world over the past 13 months, you have 2 eyes and a nose (not the other way around), you've got a mind that works enough to decide not to whine. Good. Glad that's over.

Tonight we had dinner while we watched RV on the projector. Oh my gosh, it's painful. Don't bother unless you're up for some groaning. Gosh.

OK folks.. I know this post is the kind where you can barely stop to take a breath in excitement of what I am going to say next (I just invisaged "someone" watching a computer screen with their eyes glued and their tongue wagging like a dogs..). I'm not on anything, I swear it. I think I'm just tired.

Love ya long time n00bs,

Kel

xxx

It's raining ropes

2006-08-05T04:47:00.000+08:00

Bonsoir,

Well, it's been raining the last few days. I think it's just decided to be the end of summer. So instead of 30c+ everyday we've been having 16c, colder in the mornings. Ick. This is so cold. I'm taking it as God's way of prepping me for proper winter weather in Melbourne after not having winter for a while (kinda been drifting around the place skipping winters everywhere).

Très bonne (very good) week. There was the Swiss national day which was quite nice. I went and watched les feu d'artifice (fireworks) by myself at the last minute in Montreux. Gorgeous. It was so froid (cold) and windy I thought my eyes would fall out so I did the walk home alone before the grande (large) crowd dispersed. People are très happy to be Swiss it seems. It's great. Not quite as "yobbo-ish" as Australia.. dare I say it. Although Australia Day is my favourite day of the year and I am passionate about Aussies.

Anyway, Luke has been having half-days of school this week for our last week in Switzerland.. boohoo. So this afternoon I went to run an errand and ended up getting some pressies for my nieces and nephews (watches, what else would you buy in Switzerland that wouldn't melt?!) and found some gorgeous shops in Lausanne. Beautiful cobbled stoned roads.. and the rain. Ahh, it's so beautiful. J'aime la Suisse (I love Switzerland). Went to find an aussie hairdresser but, alas: "vacance" (he is on vacation). That's the only bit I understood, the rest was French jibberish unfortunately.

Tonight we went out for dinner with our neighbour, Michele. She's really very nice and has lived such a life. She's French but left for Argentina with her family when the war was about the start in the late 30's-early 40's. She lived there 30 years, escaped Argentina to go back to Paris with her 3 children and went into hiding for a year before opening a boutique to sell jewelry to support her children. She's pretty amazing. She lives with her dog, Rumba. She (Rumba) is fairly skitty and doesn't want to be my friend.. fine I say!

It was great to hear some of her story. Get to know someone ahead in life and learn a bit of what they've had to go through in order to appreciate how easy my life has been. Thank God. I mean that.

Well, the wine makes me sleepy so I have to go to sleep now.

Bon nuit,

Bisous xx

P.S. I guess I should explain the title.. you know how English speakers sometimes say "it's raining cats and dogs"? Well, the French saying makes much more sense: " it's raining ropes". Cats and dogs? Honestly.. who thought of it?! Hope you've enjoyed my snippets of le français!

These are a few of my favourite things..

2006-08-01T03:00:00.000+08:00

Salut,

Well, I have had some boring posts lately so I thought I would continue along the same lines.. here's some things I love, in absolutely random order.

outdoors
affagatos
soul friends
trees
quality chocolate (quite happy to not have it if it's not the good stuff)
the idea of snowboarding (haven't tried it yet)
getting inspiration (rhema moments) from the word
forests
the giddy kind of excitement children get at the simplest of things
cute teacups
picnics
rough (wave-wise) beaches
honesty (eg, friends telling me I'm being an idiot when I am..)
bushwalks/walks in tree-full places (ok, I know I have already said forests..)
good photography
walking with God (things aren't ranked ok?)
thunderstorms
cold weather for sleeping
siberian huskies
cellos.. they get my heart to float along with the notes
laying on grass talking about nothing in part
dates with God (special times when you get dressed up and go out, intent to spend some time with God)
remembering funny times from my childhood with my stoopid brothers :) haha, when Don made that video clip of us to "I want to ride my bicycle" as we played on mum's frog-green exercise bike, hehee.. do you know where that tape is Donny?!
living in God's presence
star-watching
crying, not being afraid to show emotion at the right times
inspirational people
candle-lit girls nights
everlastings (paper daisy.. pink ones)
a good read
running in the rain
sudoko
green eyes (like that afghani girl from National Geographic years ago..)
laughing
really sharp knives
guys with earthy, powerful voices
old people (particularly sweet old ladies)
dreddies (I don't know why, I just love them..)
seeing God's power and love totally change someone's life
The Wild Fig Cafe near.. hmm, batemans I think
watching a guy's face as he sees his bride walking down the aisle to him at their wedding
team sports
knowing you're walking in the will of God.. ahh, peace! sweet peace!
quality jazz music
sitting in the sun with Mum in the front room while she takes 4 hours to read and re-read the paper on a sunday afternoon
when I know I am understood and accepted no matter what
children's picture books
old cars
the thought that I will speak French eventually!
laughing with Lou as we try to think of as many US towns/cities/states beginning with M.. (how did that start Louey love? oh, I remember.. you and your friend that has a country as a name)
wooden furniture - chunky, rustic kinda stuff. wooden floors. wooden houses. ok, I love wood stuff.
bass (double-bass, guitar)
getting Joyce Meyer's podcast.. woohoo
being the President of Kate Reynold's fan club. what an honour..
travelling home
fine-point pens.. LOVE THEM!
driving nowhere for the sake of it

Well that's all I can think of just for the minute. I know there's lots more, just can't drudge it up from the depths at the moment. There's so much to love about life. It'll flash by too fast unless you take time to appreciate the things around you. Even the things that seem so small.

Love you. I mean that.

Kel

Happy Birthday..

2006-07-31T04:18:00.000+08:00

Woo, well the weekend flew by in a flash, that's for certain.

It wasn't the most exciting weekend, but not bad. It's our second last one here (till next time) so I guess I should've made the most of it.. oops.

Friday I went to France with Luke for school. He's a bit of a car-nut so Mandy and I planned a surprise trip to the national car museum. He loves trains, so it was a great bonus that it took us FOUR HOURS (had to write 4 in words for emphasis) to get there. And FOUR HOURS home :) 4 trains each way!!hehe, nah, I'm used to the trains by now and it wasn't too bad. Luke hadn't been on them yet so he was excited (especially the double-decker IC). The car museum was great and I can even say I enjoyed it! I'm not really into heaps of metal.. as long as it works. Well, I do like driving in nice cars though. And I do love cute old cars.. hmm ok. I'm not overly phased by them. There were heaps of Bugattis, Peugot, Benz, Masarati, Ferrari, Porsche etc. The originals too. Like, back in the 1800's and stuff. Crazy! The collection was started by two brothers (who our neighbour told me where imprisoned for not paying taxes and had their cars taken away..), Schlumph. Let me tell you.. the Bugattis were so nice.. there was a green one that was so beautiful. Luke loved it so that was the main thing. There was a new expo of the latest Bugatti model, Veyron, which is the fastest production car at the moment at 406km/hr. Crazy. Luke LOVED seeing that in person. So we trundled home after that and got home pretty late and rather bushed. We met some lovely French people that couldn't speak a word of English but didn't get snotty about it and helped us find the right tram to get around Mulhouse. Cheers mate!

Moving on: Saturday, had a chat with my family on skype. They were having a family reunion for my Mum's side of the family so it ended up being a great time to call. Talked to my Nana (the one who HAD been ill.. yay), my aunties, uncle, nieces, nephews, brothers, sissy-in-laws, ma, pa. Oh and the dog... Not really. Jordie, rest his soul, past on a few years back. It was great to chat! My pop got a bit disorientated when he was told to talk to Kellie in Switzerland on the computer.. he'd just woken up and it totally whacked him out (using the webcam as well) so he wasn't interested in talking. Who can blame the guy.. I mean, at 93 (or 94?) he'd have seen a fair few changes in technology that it would be rather overwhelming. It was so good to chat to everyone and I made some plans with Naomi (my niece) for the big upcoming girls sleepover.. the likes of going to see a movie, doing each others hair, nail polish, girly talk etc. Hehe, she is such a girl - it's going to be fun!

OK, so after that family chinwag, we whizzed around the house to get it clean and Mandy and I went off to France (2 days in a row!!) to do some shopping. There's a mother-of-the-bride outfit issue that needs to get sorted out. We went to Annecy and wandered around looking at different stores but not finding anything really suitable which was a bit sad for Mandy. It's amazing that you can go 1/2 an hour over the border and things really are different. France is great, but I.. eek, don't want to offend anyone.. much prefer Switzerland from what I have seen. It's crazily clean here.. I love it.

Anyway, Saturday night I went for a wander up the mountain and found some beautiful little cobble-stone villages, then went back home, took care of Luke and had an early one. Sunday, I played with some babies at church and then we took the lakeside road home before grabbing a bite to eat and heading home. It's always such nice weather on the weekend - it really is well behaved over here. Chatted to Mum for an hour or so and to a friend as well. Listened to the sermon from this morning which was BRILLIANT, helped Mandy with tea and then watched a movie about a guy turning into a dog with the family. It was quite funny actually.

Surprised that I didn't tell you when I went to the loo or when I blew my nose? I know, lots of boring info. It's like a really dull diary entry that an 11 year old girl would write. Oh well. It's good to mix things up cos usually my posts are SO exciting!! (what's with all the caps tonight..?).

Anyway, that's all I've got. Ohhh, the Happy Birthday title is for Leanne (girl..you're still young enough to be called a girl.. from church here) who is celebrating a special birthday tomorrow (Monday). I don't know if you'll ever read this, but I hope you have a really great day! :)

Love Kel

xx

Song of the hour..

2006-07-28T03:40:00.000+08:00

From "Seated in Heavenly Places" - Victory Life Centre Perth.. song by Denise (can't remember her surname, well she's married since I left Perth anyway.. my Praise lecturer!) called "I Will Remember".

I will remember the price you paid for me
and I will remember the blood you shed for me
I can never repay you
for what you've done for me
but I give you the one thing that you desire of me

I give you my heart
I give you my life
My most precious treasure
I lay before your feet
and I'm willing to give
I'm willing to go
I'm willing to follow you to the ends of the earth my God

Bridge:
Ohh Lord, send me I will go
Ohh Lord, send me I will follow
(repeat)

Such a beautiful song. Just a heart cry to God that you'll give all that's precious to you for His service.. for His glory. Because He's worth it. He's amazing, He's given what's most precious to Him for us. I think anything I might have can even compare? Uh, no. But He's done it all! So, I ask myself: what can there be to lose in following where ever He wants me to go? Have I ever not come out the other side closer to Him when I've taken the road he's lead me on.. even though it might seem scary or difficult? Nope, that's the only thing I can be truly assured of, that He's got me in His hands, He knows what's best for me and that He trusts me to be one of His hands on this Earth.. even when I stuff up, get back up and plod on!

Warm, balmy nights

2006-07-26T03:49:00.000+08:00

G'day,

Well, I would say it's been a while between posts, but I've written quite a few posts but not published them. They were all a bit boring anyway :)

It's continued to stay rather hot here of late. Staying in the apartment all day isn't that fun either when it's this hot so I like to wait until it's cool enough then go for a walk. However, tonight we went to higher ground in search of a breeze and some cooler weather.

I went out with a really nice Aussie couple from church on Sunday, to a place called Sonchaux (for Dad, who likes to google-earth stuff) which is behind and UP from Montreux.. and across too. We went fairly late in the arvo I think and took a stroll before having dinner at this cute cafe-kinda place on the edge on the mountain. It feels like the middle of nowhere but you still have to make a reservation to get one of the outdoor tables with a view! It was breath-taking.

Anyway, the Swannell's and I went up there tonight in search of cooler weather. The temperature actually dropped (according to the car thermometer thingy) 10C! It was so beautiful up there. You can't imagine the views over the lake. We went for a wander a bit further up and managed to score a view at 4 paragliders taking off from the top. When Rich yelled goodbye to the lady (who was the last to take off) she gave us a great "woohoo!" as she took off over the side of the mountain. What a fantastic hobby/sport. It's something I really want to try out.. I just imagine the weightlessness of gliding through the air with only the chute above you (no Mum, not the weightlessness as you invisage me plumetting to my death!). Wow. You couldn't ask for a better view either. God is so creative, it blows me away.

So here are some pics of the sun beginning it's descent (or the Earth.. argh, confusing!) tonight with the reflection on the lake.

Tickets are booked.. I'm in Melbourne for a bit then back in Perth August 14th.. can't wait. It'll be great to see everyone. I'm sad to be leaving such a beautiful place though. I have really been spoilt being here. I do love it..

Night all,

Love Kel

P.S. Photos STILL not working for me - they're up on the flickr site (link in previous post)

Rotating toilet seats...

2006-07-20T03:50:00.000+08:00

Hey,

I have been rather slack (or too busy) to do posts this week, sorry. I've been getting on with my study so haven't been emailing or blogging. Boy, it feels so great to be back in the swing of study.. I remember what I really loved about college: the word of God is so freeing and powerful!

Anyhoo, tonight we went out to a really nice restaurant for dinner. All the ladies dressed up and off we went. Rich & Mandy's friends, the Reids, are leaving tomorrow so that was the occassion. I enjoyed a Guinness Stout for the first time which was surprisingly nice (and it's meant to have plenty of B vitamins)! So, after dinner I took a trip to the ladies and guess what I found: a rotating toilet seat!! It was crazy. When you flush the seat turns around (at first I thought it was my eyes warping) and at the back it had a cleany thingy which.. cleans it! How cool. I know I haven't explained it well, but I must've looked a bit crazy walking out of the toilets giggling to myself :) Dang, why didn't I take my camera!

So that's all for tonight. It's been really warm lately. Around 33-37C during the day. As the sun is just setting now (around 10pm) it stays hot till late too. Yesterday (while the Reids were in Paris) Rich, Mandy, Luke and I went for a paddle in Lake Leman (Lake Geneva) which was divine. There were really warm and cold spots but it was fantastic! The lake is so pretty with white swans, ducks and heaps of other types of water birds.

OK, better get going. Night all!

Love Kel

P.S. 27 days till I'm back on home turf and with Mellie.. yippeeeee!

.

2006-07-15T02:01:00.000+08:00

The fam and the Reids (lovely friends of Rich & Mandy visiting from WA) have gone to Italy for a couple of days. I opted out, looking forward to having the house to myself. I LOVE having people around but I also crave time alone at home. Maybe it's that I am a social creature but I need time out to focus and replenish the energy stores, argh who knows.

This is a funny photo from when Amz, Anita and I were sharing the room. I miss them, particularly Amz. By the way, the hair is Amy's. Hehe, funny huh.

Been updating the photos on my flickr site if you wanted to take a look. For some reason the photos of Paris just don't want to load on blogger. I've tried many, many times. You can check them out on flickr if you want to. As you can see above, other photos load. GRR! I wish I knew html. This is my flickr site again (for your sake Ma): http://www.flickr.com/people/whereiskelnow/

Better posts coming up soon!

Love Kel

P.S. Totally off the subject, we have a really nice neighbour here, Michelle, who is a middle aged woman. She has had an interesting life so far, including living in Argentina for 30 years. Her 2 year old granddaughter is visiting this week from Paris and is SOO cute. She's just like a little smiley doll.. aww :)

Offline..

2006-07-12T06:11:00.000+08:00

Hey,

Sorry about the lack of posting lately: I've been away visiting my wonderful Swiss friend Jasmin (who was at Riverview while she lived in Aus) up the north of Switzerland and have since been offline at home.

I still have the Paris post to do (grr, pictures are still not uploading) and also some from the weekend in Aarau and then today we went up (and through) a glacier which was amazing. We got home and the internet is back up, hooray!

Anyhoo, it's after midnight so I had better get to sleep. Will post some more as soon as the time is available!

Love Kel

xx

Here's a little secret: I'm not perfect! Part I

2006-07-04T14:37:00.000+08:00

Hmm, interesting topic I know! Well, I think I might let you in on what I am doing at the moment in my spare time (yes, I know I said I was doing my post on Paris - I will do that, but it takes time to find pics, load them etc, so I'll do that after work). I've read this book, "Wanting to Be Her: Body Image Secrets Victoria Won't Tell You" by Michelle Graham. I picked it up when I was back in Perth in January. I'm not going to be doing this to receive pity or sympathy or compliments - please don't give any of that. I also realise I am opening myself up to criticism from others by exposing my weaknesses, but I am fine with that. I can only be who I am now.. and I cannot hide that. I am really excited to be changing this area of my life, bringing it into line with what God says about me. His opinion should be the only one that matters to me and I want to share with you this part of my journey.

I found the transition from India to Australia quite hard in many ways, but in particular to do with body image. There's so much focus and expectation (or is that just in my mind) on it in our society that I felt really bombarded by it when I got home. Anyway, so I've gone through this book once and am now going through it the second time, doing the journal bits as well, and memorising the verses it has for each chapter (hehe, Luke tests me - he's a tough critic! I've got the whole thing wrong if I say one little word wrong!). It is brilliant. It's opened my eyes to a whole new world: that I can live beyond what I tell myself over and over in my head. I was not born to look in the mirror and loathe what I see. God has not only made everyone else in His own image, but that includes me! This has been such a trap that I have been living in that I am keen to share what I learn with you.. in the hopes that it will help someone else to break free of this area that is really disgusting in my life.

Here's some great bits from the chapter I've just read (titled, When Beauty Becomes a Beast): she talked about God's truth, how He created us, how He cherishes us, and now onto the LIE that tells us otherwise. Thinking instead of the opinions of others (it's in the media.. there are ALWAYS worst and best dressed lists.. and isn't it strange to think we could even delight in seeing some of the celebrities looking less than perfect! YUCKY thought Kellie) instead of our beloved God. Here's a quote from the book "Not only are our assumptions of others' opinions often false, but living in fear of them is a form of slavery that will never lose its grip.. But there is something I can know for sure. I can know that there is One who will never reject me. In Song of Songs he calls me his beloved. The fear of rejection places the opinions of other people higher than this One who cherishes me unconditionally. But we must choose whose opinion will really matter to us."

It goes on to talk about the quest for perfectionism, with your body image. I totally realise that's why I've been living in shame of who I am. I have been striving towards to a body image that is just not right. Striving towards an unattainable goal as I will never be satisfied as perfectionism will never be reached. Perhaps an eating disorder might help, but I am wise enough to not go down that path (again, tried that in Year 10). But still living in my mindset that I am just not matching up is wrong and wastes so much thought-time and energy. It's also SIN! Ugly, wugly SIN! And I am not meaning to make a joke of it as this is perhaps the biggest stronghold I've had to deal with and I am aware of how much it has trapped me. Michelle talks about the "only remedy is to experience unconditional love". The unconditional love of God that tells me I am accepted just as I am. I don't need to change the way I look to win mandkind's approval or God's.

Here's the scripture for this chapter as well as my favourite quote:

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galations 1:10

"We suffer from believing what our culture tells us about our bodies. We are losing out to discontentment, fear and perfectionism. But this is not God's desire for us. He longs got us to know freedom from these things. We must find a way to let it sink in that God made not only humanity well, but my particular body too. The consequences otherwise are much too costly."

Interesting thought.

Congratulations!!

2006-07-03T21:23:00.000+08:00

I know they don't read my blog (Mels has once or twice I think), but for the next time they check..

Congratulations to Mels and Rob on their engagement! They got engaged last weekend whilst up a mountain somewhere near Melbourne. It's very exciting! (This picture is not from that particular day.. but it's how I picture it to have looked last weekend).

They make a beautiful couple and it will be a fantastic celebration when they get married :) I can't wait guys! Although they live in Melbourne but will have the wedding in Perth which I wouldn't miss for the world. Yay!

Love Kel

xxx

P.S. Had an amazing weekend in Paris. Lots of fun times.. will do a post tonight with some pics.

P.P.S. Oh, and I'm going to be a bridesmaid for Mels: so exciting!

End of week sum up

2006-06-30T02:39:00.000+08:00

Ok, nothing exciting has happened lately except that Mandy (one of my bosses) got back from 2 weeks in Australia so I am off cleaning, washing, cooking duty everyday.. woohoo! I'm not complaining.. I made it through fine. My oh my, I think about having a family of my own.. oh dear. I asked Mandy when she got home if she enjoys cooking all the time and she replied "umm.. NO", phew, I'm not alone! Just the pressure of it all, and things just don't always work out, especially when you're trying to multitask and things just cook a little too long. Argh, anyway, I'm glad it's over for the moment. No need to worry about having my own family right now!

So, we kinda have dates planned (not booked) for coming home to Australia!! At the moment it's mid-August: YAY!! I can hardly wait! We might be home for a month, go somewhere else for a month then come back for a month!! WOOHOO!! I am really, truly, extremely excited :) I calculated that I have been in Perth for under 3 months in the last 12 months. That's just not very good: I miss everyone too much (yes, I am aware that it is my own choice..).

YAY. I'm happy. And I've had lovely chats this week with Mellie-moo (planned a trip over to see her, straight from NY, to Singapore to THERE.. YAYAY!) and Andrea which has been delightful.

On other news.. (that's the most exciting bit so far) I am going to Paris again tomorrow morning with Amy and Anita. It should be lovely (and I get to have a long weekend with Friday off.. yippee). We're staying fairly central and have trips and shopping planned. It's going to be 30 degrees all 3 days we're there.. ARGH! Hothead. I might have to just not pack anything that suits and be forced to buy stuff there.. hmm, I wonder who I am trying to trick by doing that. Strange me and my mindgames with myself. It's my job to not get us lost on the metro and other trains.. seeing as I have been all of once, pfft! I have been studying the 3 maps that Soph got me, so I should at least get us to the hotel :) If we get lost after that it doesn't really matter, right? I know where the good shopping areas are so we'll be fine.

Ok, I have a bug in my eye so I better go now.

Bisous!

Kel

xxx

P.S. I made it in colour so it might seem more appealing.. did it work?

Photo issues

2006-06-27T22:56:00.000+08:00

Hi,

As you can see I've been having issues with posting photos for the past week or so. I have no idea why, it just suddenly didn't upload them. I tried doing it a different way, but it doesn't work. Anyhoo, I've created a photo album thingy on Flickr, but I'll still keep trying to post pics on here (Amy is going to try and help me with the html stuff later).
Oh, the address is http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereiskelnow/ . As it's new there's not much on there now (pics from Paris and from the walk that the last post was about) but I'll get snap-happy so there's some more.

Bisous, Kel xx

Walkies

2006-06-26T00:48:00.000+08:00

WARNING: I have been having trouble uploading pics so I tried to do it using "edit html".. be warned some of the photos are BIG.. I don't know how to change it. It's the best I could do, sorry!

Salut!

Today's weather has been really interesting. The day started off reasonably cool so I wore jeans to church. Then I almost boiled to death when the weather got really hot. Then a storm started and it got really humid and there was fork lightning over the lake.. pretty freaky. Then the sun came out and I couldn't see any more storm clouds so thought I would take a wander up a bit of a mountain. So I get half-way (I think) and it starts to thunder again.. so off I ran down the hill. Argh! Make your mind up weather!!

Speaking of church.. it was really great this morning. It covered some of the stuff that I've been learning in my Old Testament Survey subject at College. About how only the High Priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies, God's presence, once a year and how thick the curtain was to enter in and how he wore a rope around his ankle and bells etc. It is so fascinating. And now that Jesus has conquered all the customs like that as our High Priest and the curtain to the Holy of Holies is torn so we can enter into God's presence whenever we want.. all it takes is a prayer. When you stop to think about it that is AMAZING. I know that I have taken for granted that I can just talk to God whenever I want to.. have a personal relationship with Him. It hasn't always been that easy. We are SO blessed to have been born now: look at the freedom we have - in Christ. I have so much to be grateful for..

Oh, on that church note: as we were leaving today this man that I spoke to the first time I went said goodbye and said something about my blog and I said "huh?!". Turns out a friend of his, in Chicago I think, did a search on C3 Lausanne and it came up with a link to my blog because of my previous post on the first visit to the church. OOOooooOOoooOOOoooo, the world is a small place - I better be careful what I write on here! :P

The view from the beginning

Well, here's some pics from the walk. It was only for an hour or so, so not many pics. You can see the storm coming in on some of the shots. Just got to the car in time to meet a California girl, Natalie, who was lost so took her with me to avoid the rain that had just started bucketing down to find the school that she was just starting in today. She was nice and after driving around in the rain we managed to find someone to ask for directions and we found it. Rich picked up some guy from Bulgaria the other day.. looks like it's the Aussies that find the lost little lambs around here.

Doh, bad photo.. it cut it! A view down the path and up the road..

Pretty trees.

So flipping BIG!! The drops on my glasses are sweat: hard-core.. YEAH!

Pretty tourism pathway up and up..

More pretty trees :)

The view through the trees across to the French alps

The storm is coming!

Pretty town, Glion, above Montreux

Me in Glion, after getting back to the car.. lake in background (ARGH, photo is SO big!)

Unco meme

2006-06-23T05:31:00.000+08:00

Bonsoir (Good evening: French style),

Just got home from a "women's connect" night at church. They had a hiphop lesson night with chocolate and stuff. I got there really late (got talking with an Argentinian in the petrol station.. plus got a bit lost..) so missed the first half hour. But we learnt a dance routine and it was really fun! There were a few girls that could do the moves really well, but I was just struggling to do the moves let alone look good doing them. I don't think we had enough dancing at home (although I remember fondly the Christmas Eve nights when Chris and I would dance around silly to Feliz Navidad) so I've never really gotten into dancing. Anyhoo, it was really fun and a great way to meet some ladies and learn to count to 8 in French (the whole lesson thing was in French).

Must get on to doing that Paris post soon. It was such a blast! Have another trip to Paris in a couple of weeks with Amz and Anita and seeing Jasmin in Aarau the next weekend: I love seeing friends, woohoo!!

Sorry that there's no photos again. Will post some tomorrow. Oh, we're going inside that castle, Chateau de Chillon (I took snaps from on the lake when Luke and I went pedal-boating) tomorrow afternoon which should be really interesting. Luke has been hanging out to go since we landed here :) Oh, Luke and I got rollerblades this week! Brings back memories of killer stacks when I was younger. Mum, can you remember that you put me into figure roller-skating classes as a child when we were in Canberra? Hahaha!! Luke, Luke, Luke.. yes my life does revolve around him these days! He's my best friend :) He's 9.. maybe I should find someone closer in age to me..?

OK, mwa mwa mwa (the Swiss kiss on one cheek, then the other, then back to the first on greeting - the Swisskiss or Swiskers as I like to call it)! I love it! I'm used to doing 2 with Soph and the Indian crowd but 3 tops it! I'm bringing it home to Aus! Looooook out :)

Way too many :) and ! and ) Kellie. Tsk.

P.S. As homework from Paris I am translating a children's book, Mimi Cracra, into English from French. It's hard! The first chapter she calls her doll "mother" and bathes her doll's feet in chocolate.. weird French books, I say.

Cuckoo..

2006-06-22T04:14:00.000+08:00

Hmm, I have been having trouble posting with blogger. I have some pics from my weekend with Sophie in Paris.. will keep trying (have tried the 1/2 hr before bed for 3 nights in a row.. GRR!).

How is everyone anyway? (everyone, pfft! none of my friends even use blogs!! Ok, sorry mum.. you're my friend too..)

P.S. My mum and I chatted today on the net! Haha! She even did smileys and all. Well done Baloogs.. bravo :)

Which countries have I been to?

2006-06-15T04:05:00.000+08:00

create your own visited country map

How cool is that.. I've been to so few countries (not sure if I've been to all 50 USA states.. Dad, do you remember how many?).. there's so much left to explore! Aww Fiji is small :( It's not quite accurate as it colours in the whole country even if you've only been to one town or whatever. Nevermind, you get the idea!

Lots of people ask the question: if you could go to any country in the world, where would you want to go? Next on my list is France (going to Paris on the weekend to see Soph, yay!).. but somewhere I've always wanted to go to is Bolivia, then Mongolia. I know I'll get there someday soon!

How about you.. where do you want to go? Or what is your most favourite place you've been to so far?

Driving along..

2006-06-10T04:47:00.000+08:00

Sorry if my last post was offensive or made people feel bad - not my intention. Just not sure what to do with my Nana and it lead me down a road of contemplation and waffling.. SORRY. I'll try to keep it to my journal in future :)

There's loads of these little beasts, I want one :(

ANYHOO, I hadn't driven since we left the US. I have to admit now that I don't actually have my manual licence (everyone in my family has autos and I couldn't be bothered getting lessons after I had a creepy instructor for my first lesson). Most of the small nifty cars around here are manuals so I had just taken to walking around the place. Anyway, now we have a different car (yay, I'll be able to go to the YWAM base at a nearby town.. the first YWAM base ever!) and so tonight I took poor little Amz on a drive.

I wanted to go up a mountain.. so off we went. I accidently got on the motorway and went a loooooonnnngg way away, but then I found an exit ("sortie" in French) and found a mountain to climb! The car has an auto clutch but you still change the gears up and down.. HAHA, I changed to the wrong gear a couple of times, but it was so much fun! So we went zig and zag around the mountain, up 11km. I didn't like the narrow parts of the road, but other than that it was great to be driving again. Boy Switzerland is a beautiful place. If you're planning a European trip, I thoroughly recommend Switzerland. So lush, green and quaint. When we were going down the hill I stopped to chat to some cows to see if they spoke English (they didn't) and they were all wearing bells around their necks and making quite a racket! It's just gorgeous here :)

This kinda cow.. but not in it's Sunday best.

What's going on?

2006-06-09T03:29:00.000+08:00

Well, I don't want to appear up-and-down-ish but need some help.

I am by no means ungrateful for where I am, what I am doing, how blessed I am to know God and love living life. Today I couldn't stop thinking about how much time over the last 12 months I have spent away from my friends and family. Too much..

I found out today my Nana has just had her second stroke for the last 2 weeks. It sucks. I am praying for her (and Luke is praying as well). I was a little worried before I left home and so I spoke to her about God and she told me that Jesus is her Lord. So I'm not worried where she's going. I just don't believe that this is the way that she is supposed to go. She's got so much life in her still, I know it. I refuse to believe that God calls anyone to die in pain just because they are old. I am going to have a long life, with full health as I believe that is my Godly right. It just sucks being away when she's in hospital and wants people to stay with her while she's there. It's simple, I could do that. I don't have anything to do here at night except go for my walk, catch up on prayer time and potter around doing whatever needs doing. I feel as though I have so much time that I could be giving to her, but it's impossible to do from here. What is the right thing to do? Should I go home for a while and spend time with her? Should I stay here and just pray? I don't know. Either way, I would never want to live in regret for a decision I've made. Mandy has said that too and I know that they would free me to go if I felt I needed to, gosh they're good to me.

- tried to put a photo of Nan in here but Blogger's having a few probs -

Family and friends are important. I've always said that. Being away, in India and this time, has made me realise how important it is to be reliant on God. Not just when you have to rely on Him for physical needs such as health, but also when you have all your needs met. It's an always thing.. not just when you have no other choice. He seems to have a knack of putting me in those situations and then I realise, but I've been realising more and more how reliant I am becoming on Him. For everything. I know my family will always be around, but I have no clue if I'll have a friend-base when I get home. I have gorgeous friends, a lot of whom are abroad right now, but being away can certainly loosen the ties. Am I getting cut away forever? What is God's plan? I don't want to be away forever.. Perth has been my home since I was 8 and almost everything I know is there. I don't want to close myself off to the only real support base I have. But will I ever have a base again in Perth? Is this time of being independent setting me up for a life of singlehood?
(argh, I know how annoyingly girly that sounds.. since I scored high for "celibacy" on a spiritual gifts test when I was 17 I have always been afraid that I would end up one of those women who goes on the missionfield alone and stays alone.. I know that I could do that and find fulfilment but I wanna get married someday dammit! I'm a corny romantic, I want to be swept off my feet, serve God with a Godly guy, have kids, grandkids, great-grankids, stay in love till I die - the whole lot).

I am kinda thinking out loud, maybe trying to skip ahead a few pages of my book. At least I know I'll always have someone with me.. maybe that's what learning to be truly reliant on Him is about.. I know I don't have to "worry" about this stuff: sometimes I just ponder.

If you have the time, please pray for my Nana. Some may think she's just another old lady, but she's a really special lady. I know it's not her time. And I'm happy to hear advice/suggestions about the other stuff :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAZZ!

2006-06-08T14:11:00.000+08:00

Well, I would like to say a very happy birthday to one of my favourite boys in the whole world: Jazz (isn't he handsome?!).

These are the most recent photos I have of you buddy, and they're from our last Christmas when we were together in India. You got to meet Mai and have lots of cuddles: isn't she the sweetest lady you've met? (Besides Mummy and Aunty Kellie)

You're a special little guy (not so little anymore!) and I would love more than anything else to be with you today and help you to celebrate.

Take care my little wood-head buddy and know that I love you and am thinking of you, knowing that you will be having a special, happy, fun day today with your friends and Mum, Dad and Savannah.

Lots of squeezes, kisses, cuddles, tickles and huggles.. Aunty Kel xx

P.S. I'll try to skype you before bedtime

Those were the days my friend.. lala

2006-06-07T04:30:00.000+08:00

Had a chat tonight with my old housemate (and friend!) Sophie who lives in Paris. She will be staying in Geneva for 2 months from the first of July which is only a 1 hour train ride away.. woohoo! I can't wait to see her - she's a special girl. A great spirit of adventure!

Oops, sorry, all in your jimjams.. except me being post-India feral (me, Soph, Mels, Mina)

Here's a shot from happy Chez Faraday (what we call our home in Mt Hawthorn) and the housemates at the time before Melanie, Soph and I flew the coop and left Mina). Such warm memories, I love that house! So many cups of tea, laughs and tears shared.. ahh, the screen's getting a bit fogged up now. Some people have sucky shared-house experiences but mine have only been brilliant and have only been with strangers or people I've not know well to begin with.

I've met Mellie out of it who is the most inspiring, hard-working, professional but caring, loyal, trustworthy, fun Godly chick I know (boy did you get a great catch Robby)! Then there's Soph, our special French import who helped us learn about 2 words in French which is helping me now (hehe going around saying "kisses" to everyone) and really helped me to appreciate the beauty of Australia. Soph taught me about breaking out of the molds that you're in for the sake of traditional or following the crowd. Then dear Mina who is so passionate about seeking God is everything she does and making Him her first priority: I can't wait to hear what the future holds for you Minabeana! I know it will be the most wonderful Prince Charming!

Thanks for the memories girls! :) You're all one in a millions! (haha, sorry that doesn't make sense)

Cheers! Mina, Soph and I celebrating Soph's 23rd in February

I have to mention ex-housemate Kat who is going off on an exciting adventure from the arctic circle to antartica with her wonderful husband, Marty, around about now.. exciting times! She's a great Godly woman who is so set on exploring the world and enjoying all life has to offer: you're an inspiration to me Kat! She met Marty whilst climbing to base camp of Everest: how cool is that?! It's now on my to-do list (not the meeting a man up there part though.. around sea-level is fine).

Kat and I on our mini-hike down south last year I think (with Marty, our strong water-carrying man!)

Boo, I miss you all! We're all spread out all over the place now, but I really hope we'll meet up again really soon. I can truly say my life is much better for having you girls in it. Thank you from my heart.

Bisous x

La vita è bella

2006-06-04T03:15:00.000+08:00

The sunset last week.. gorgeous. The sun doesn't set fully here until after 10pm sometime. It's really disturbing!

Well, have been settling in to the apartment (sorry, didn't get around to posting pics yet) still loving having somewhere to call "home" for a while. I even got some mail today (thanks Adeline! Love the snap) which makes it feel even more like home.

Having a night in and just watched La Vita e` bella (Life is Beautiful), one of my most favourite movies. I first watched it with my year 12 yeargroup on a camp in the city, was thoroughly moved by it and still am. If you haven't seen it yet, I totally recommend it. Preferably with subtitles instead of English dubbing to get a better effect. I don't know why Riverview hasn't done it yet as a message as I think it's the best depiction of a father's love for his son that I've ever seen in a movie. A remarkable display of the human spirit and sacrifice. It's also amazingly funny :) Quite the mix huh? Have I got you busting to go rent it out?! Hope so :) If you have seen it, here's a question: would you do what Dora did in her place?

An amazing movie, so moving. I love it. Ok, it's not totally happy-happy-joy-joy, but it's about the real stuff, you know?

I hope someone's seen it that can comment :)

Yay! I have a home!

2006-06-02T04:53:00.000+08:00

We are spending our first night in our apartment tonight. Everyone is very excited but very tired. Imagine furnishing a whole apartment with assemble-yourself furniture.. I've got allen keys turning in front of my eyes as I sleep. The place looks great and the view is amazing. Fantastic. The best part of course is that I have actually TOTALLY unpacked my bag for the first time since July 17 2005. Eww I know. Hehe. There wasn't anywhere for me to unpack in India so I lived out of my case for 6 months, came home, shared a room with Mels for a bit (so didn't unpack) then knew that I was taking this job so didn't bother getting totally unpacked (although I did empty half the stuff out, all the Indian garb). It's been a long time coming and it feels so good! Who knows for how long though.. I'll just enjoy the feeling while it lasts eh?

Been going through all the memorabilia choved in the crevises of my bag and have come to the conclusion that I am a sentimental schmuck. My Dad would call it being a "hoarder", but I call it being sentimental :) Sounds nicer. I have ticket stubs from watching Ice Age 2 in the US, tissues that Melanie gave to her Mum and I when she left for Melbourne the first time (a week after I got home from India, boo!), an anti-bacterial wipes travel pack that someone gave me as a gift before I left for India (it still has 1 wipe left just so I can actually have a reason to keep it), some scrunched up pictures that the girls at Hebron, a little drawing that my niece drew for me when I left Perth this last time, a card from each of my closest friends, my journal from 2004, a "best friend" teddy from my friend Komal in Vijaywada, many spare earplug sets (random fact: I have a really bad habit of sleeping with earplugs and a sleeping mask every night so I have total darkness and silence.. I realise one day I will have to share a bed with someone so am trying to ween myself off them slowly.. one earplug at a time! haha), lolly wrappers from stuff that my Mum sent over to me in India and much more.. no wonder my bag was twice the weight I was supposed to have!!

Ahh, it feels nice to be settled for a bit. No hotels, holiday apartments, friend's houses etc. My own bed that Amy helped me to assemble. Hehe, no surprises if I crash through the slats during the night! We kinda had a few screws left over..

Ok, now it's waffling: goodnight peoples! Will post photos tomorrow. Peace out..

xxx

Acts: our call to the harvest

2006-06-01T14:36:00.000+08:00

Have been reading through Acts which is one of my favourite books of the bible. Each time I read it I get different revelations from it, but this time I have really felt "yeah, this is our heritage" - it's so exciting. I love reading the stories of the Christians after they received the Holy Spirit and reading about the miracles, signs, wonders, visions, healings that came forth. If that was the beginning of being baptised in the Spirit and it's now 2000+ years later - how much more should we be operating in this. I know Christianity is not all about what God can do, but who He is, his inifinite, wonderful character.

One interesting part I read was after Saul's conversion (ahh, LOVE that story.. God's grace is amazing!!) was in Acts 9:10. Saul had had a visitation from Jesus on the road to Damascus and was blinded. Jesus then called on one of his disciples in Damascus, Ananias, as He wanted someone to instruct Saul. It says:

10 Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord!" he replied.

Yes, so he had a vision of Jesus and he said yes. I know it's simple, but I just imagine myself getting a vision of Jesus one day and to hear the Lord call you by name and your response is "Yes, Lord" not "Is that you God?" "Who is it?" or "What is happening" or "I'm afraid" or "Is this a dream". His response showed he knew the voice of the Lord and that he had faith that He would speak to Him. I guess getting a vision of Jesus like that would be amazing and you probably wouldn't be able to have any doubt of who was calling you.. but I don't know, I just reckon Ananias was a pretty cool guy. God wants some work done so he calls on the local disciple who is faithful to do as the Lord asks.

Maybe I am reading into it too much - I don't know. But if I am, it's only encouraging me to be the same. To know the voice of the Lord, my shepherd, calling me. To be ready at any time to do what He wants me to. To listen out for Him too. To be one that God would want to call on, as He would know I would be courageous for Him, reliable and full of faith.

Drills ahoy

2006-05-31T14:01:00.000+08:00

After school yesterday we all headed over to the new apartment and started assembling the major part of furniture and guess what I've discovered: electric drills are fun! Besides splitting some of Amy's bed frame with the first attempt (oops), the next however many attempts were glorious! I love it! I am trying to think of some hobby I can start involving power tools: any suggestions?

That's about all I have to write right now.. school starts in ten minutes so I've gotta run. More assembling after school. It's fun! Amz and I make the perfect team :)

Seeya!

xx

My prayers were answered! (not that I'm surprised at that :))

2006-05-29T14:03:00.000+08:00

I've been away from Perth (and my home church, Riverview) now for 2 months and I just wanted a church and some christian friends here after having such trouble finding a normal church in the US. I feel like my life is a bit selfish and I'm not doing anything practically to help those around me. I know there are opportunities everywhere and I do see that, I mean in a way that I can regularly contribute and that it doesn't matter if I don't speak the language.

Yesterday we went to a church of the C3 (CCC) flavour.. C3 Lausanne. My buddy Uee goes to C3 is Glasgow and Mark from college goes to C3 Hepburn Heights. Anyway, it was SO good. The worship was in French which was cool (we've all be wandering around singing "God is so good" in French! hehe) and then the sermon was in English, translated into French. Perfecto! The people were all really down-to-earth, friendly and just lovely! I met a really nice girl from the YWAM base nearby so am going to try to get to their Thursday night thing. Definitely going back to C3 next Sunday and am going to look into cell groups and other stuff they have going on. It's a 15 minute drive or something but it's well worth it!

Here's the website: www.c3lausanne.ch if you wanted to look.

The guy who started the church with his wife, Mark, is American (married to a British/Swiss lady who was so smiley and lovely!) and gave a great message. He spoke on the laying on of hands and gave all the places in the new testament that it talks about laying on hands to see the sick healed and for people to receive an infilling of the HS. It's true. Jesus' last words in Mark are about laying hands on the sick to see them healed. I totally know the power of God to heal, in my own body and in the bodies of others - and in miraculous ways too.

Just before I left Perth I went to VLC (Margaret Court is the pastor) and heard the testimony of this guy Phil who hadn't walked in 2 years and walked out to share his healing testimony. God is doing great stuff and we (I am preaching to myself here..) are priveleged to be in the family of God and be a part of it. People are searching for our God, who loves, cares, protects and showers mercy, grace and forgiveness on us. We've got a personal relationship with Him which is mind-blowing! I have been over-awed by how spoilt just to know God and that He is with me always and will never leave me. That is amazing!! All we have to do is submit and obey and God does the rest.

Bit of a mixed-up post and I hope I didn't freak anyone out by being overly-Christian. I just have to share what's going on as I'm excited and share what is the truth. And so excited about finding a church family! We even met a couple that are a bit older than me that are from Adelaide!

Oh, the rest of the day Luke and I went out on the pedal boats again but it was brewing a storm and very rough, so we just buzzed around for a half hour before going ashore. Managed to drop Mandy's camera case (note: not the camera) into the lake.. hope it's still doing ok at the bottom.. :( Good job Kellie.. )

What a beautiful day it was.

2006-05-28T04:05:00.000+08:00

What a pretty pink flower

Well, after a quick dash of furniture shopping in the morning, I had a pretty relaxing day.. did some family phone calls (it's such a pain with the time difference.. weekends are really my only time to call.. boohoo) and managed to get through to my newlywed pal, Adeline, with a really bad line. She's been ill with a kidney infection, poor love. On the mend now though.

So, I did a bit of wandering around town, got my eyelashes tinted, did some shoe shopping.. ya know: all the important stuff.

Then I came home and decided that it was too nice a day for my boy Luke to be at home.. so off we went down the hill to find us some adventure! We found some pedal boat thingies that you can hire for a measily price of Ch. 20/hr!! That's the cheapest thing I've found in all of Switzerland to date! Anyhoo, Luke and I knicked off in one of these boats and set off across the lake.. pedalling away. The sun beat upon our brow but we kept pedalling. We had a goal in sight: Montreux's most famous castle (and one of Luke's most favourite places - apparently the old fashioned toilet is really cool): Chateau de Chillion. It was a fair way off and I didn't actually think we would make it there and back in an hour, but by golly we were going to give it all we had!

Here are some snaps from the beginning of the journey, going around the castle and just a cute shot of Luke.

Whoa, how small does the castle look?! Oh! It's getting bigger..

That's one BIG castle! (View from the back)

Luke, my buddy, with France in view behind

(it must've been near the start cos there's still a faint smile..)

A view from on the lake (the water is so clean I think you could drink it)

What a jolly beautiful day! We were absolutely stuffed at the end of it but we picked up some groceries and headed up the steep ascent: all 290+ stairs! I tells ya, we'll be fit in no time!

I then thought I would have a bit of child-like fun and play Luke's computer game of Risk. Poor thing, from "just let me finish this game Luke!" to "wait, I'll conquer Europe in my next attack turn then it's your turn" to "WAIT 5 MINUTES LUKE!!" and finally, "you didn't want to play the game until I did - go away! It's MINE!". Hehe, ok, now I'm slightly addicted!

What a great day. Think we're going to go to a closer English church tomorrow which should be good. Saves me getting the train to Geneva again!

Well, peace out. Rather tired after a hard day's.. umm, sight-seeing?

Love Kel

xxx

hmm..

2006-05-26T04:17:00.000+08:00

The above item jumped into my load of washing today.. with my cute pastel pink dinosaur shirt.. GRRRRRRRRRRR!!

Brekky time!

2006-05-25T14:35:00.000+08:00

Breakfast is great. I think it's my favourite meal of the day. Yes, it definitely is! Growing up we had a huge array of cereals to choose from... muesli or weetbix. Mum wasn't into letting us have sugary stuff, which I am grateful for now. You know, she has had the same breakfast for the last 45 years I reckon (feel free to clarify dora).. a cup of tea and vegemite toast. Somtimes she adds tomato for variety.. hehe.

Having grown up, my favourite cereal is bircher muesli (which is the great thing being here.. the inventers of it.. they make amazing bircher muesli!). Although, Special K (no, not me.. the cereal) with banana and strawberry is the flavour of this month.

Anyway, just interested to know what your favourite cereal is? Or if you're not a cereal person, what is your favourite brekky?

Word to my doggs

2006-05-23T23:41:00.000+08:00

Hey, time for a more upbeat post..

For those that don't know, I have 3 older brothers. It sucked at times growing up when they were into WWF and I was good to "clothesline" and all.. but for the most part it's brilliant. I don't think I missed out by not having sisters (plus now I have some great sister-in-laws and gorgeous girlfriends) as boys are cool (not in the "I love every boy" kinda way..). Here's a bit about them:

Donny (Don) is my eldest brother weighing in at 35 years old! Sorry Don, it's not that old, just sounds like it from this side of life.. hehe. Don is hyper-competitive (which I'm not saying is a bad thing!) and is really good at sport. We've gotten closer since he moved out and got married, had kids and that which makes sense cos I was 11 and really annoying when he moved out. He's a great Dad and husband (right Ro...?!) and is keen to see me succeed in life. He's kinda on a pursuit of excellence you could say. He's got some funny habits but that's why we love you Donny :) His tough exterior is just for show.
Random fact: He made some amazing ninja/80's martial arts movies back in the day. Still a fan of Monkey Magic.

Paul is next at 33 (?) years of age. Paul married a lovely girl Julie and has 4 kids. Paul is a bit of softie and a joker. He's got lots of patience for teaching people things.. it might come from all the time playing golf as that's pretty pain-stakingly slow :P hehe. Paul is also really good at sport, but tends to play different stuff to Don. Paul is always keen to help out with things that guys are good at such as car stuff, fixing things that I don't know how to fix and just other general helpfulness!
Random fact: His nickname growing up was Pauly-Possum-poos...

Chris is my closest in age at 25 years old. He's got a nice girlfriend, Irene, who I hope will end up my sister-in-law (no pressure guys!). We fought a fair bit growing up due to the closeness in age. Apparently I used to whine and dob on him to mum all the time (hehe, never!) but we've gotten on heaps better since we've matured (have we matured...?). hehe. Chris is a bit of a computer guy but he has a great sense of humour. Well, not great to all, but great to me. We have spent hours laughing at practically nothing. I really miss that. No one else is quite as random as you, Rissy.
Random fact: He likes Sopranos and REM.

They're all pretty different. Whenever we're together there's always some kind of sport involved which is the only way I get to talk with them, through participating too. They're cool though. I love them all and miss them a lot. I hope you get to meet them one day!

Love Kel

xx

It's raining, it's pouring.

2006-05-23T02:23:00.000+08:00

Yesterday's weather was great. Sun was shining, birds were chirping, little yachts were buzzing around the lake, children playing. It didn't seem fair. Here's the view from out the front. Pretty amazing.

Today it's all rain and thunder (and lightning of course), no one's playing, everyone's inside, not many signs of life..

I know your temperament can be changed by the weather (eg, look at the suicide rates in those countries with few daylight hours), but I sometimes wonder if the weather change is just God agreeing with me.. I mope, He mopes with me.

This last 7 days has been pretty tough. Gone to bed crying 5 out of 6 nights. I'm sick of it. The most homesick I've been before but in a different way. I'm happy to reside in a different country for a time - I am not complaining as He's blessed my socks off. And I do love God and He is all I need. But sometimes I just want the comfort of time with my Mellie, my Andrea, my Loulou. Just chilled out times where I can just cry and not have to explain why. I don't have to be embarrassed when my nose goes red from crying. As Mel's said, it's time for a good dose of a box of kleenex and a block of black forest (can't wait to see you..).

Sorry if this seems like a poor me. I know others have these times, so just showing I can relate :)

God = BIG

2006-05-21T23:32:00.000+08:00

Having a bit of a mellow arvo and all I want to say is..

God is big. Bigger than me. Bigger than you. Bigger than what you're going through or ever will go through. My small mind can't even imagine how big He is. He's endless. And we get to know Him intimately. His love for us is crazy. Makes me eternally grateful to have my life in His hands and not my own. His huge, powerful yet caring, tender hands.

Sending my love out to you Abba-Daddy xx

Wise words from Joyce Meyer

2006-05-20T03:44:00.000+08:00

I like ole Joyce.. some don't, but I've always got some good stuff from her books or messages on TV. Here' s a top message:

In God's Waiting Room
My times are in Your hands....—Psalm 31:15

If we could understand God's timing, we could better cooperate with His plan for our lives. However, we may never completely understand. When we don't know, we must be satisfied to know the One Who knows. If we are going to walk with Him and enjoy His blessings, we must learn to let God be God.

Most of us attempt to take the lead role in our relationship with the Lord. He has a position, and He will not change it. We must change. He has the lead role. He gives the instructions, and we follow—even though we don't always like the way He chooses to take us.
Timing is an important issue in our walk with God. Why does it take God so long to do what we ask Him to do? Trust always requires unanswered questions which keep us growing in faith.

God has a plan and a timing. While we are in God's waiting room, He is getting us ready for what He already has prepared for us. We must grow up and mature. It takes time. As we reach new levels of maturity, God releases new levels of blessings.

You may be in the habit of taking care of yourself. Retire from self-care. God wants to take care of you. He is faithful, and you can depend on Him.

Personally, I am guilty of trying to take the lead in my relationship with God. Putting Him in His box for when I need Him or want Him. Not letting Him be God. Thank God, He's helping me as I surrender more to Him day by day. Growing up with a more religious thought-pattern when it comes to God, I have been learning that the more I give of myself and what is "mine" to God, the more freedom I experience. It's weird. God's ways are bigger than mine, and it's only through hindsight that I can see what He was up to when I was lead down a particular path. But the old book is so true when it says :

"and we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" Romans 8:28

We may not understand why we're going through something but when you yield to God and trust Him that He knows what is best and what is in our future, you can really begin to experience life with God. It all starts with trust. Sometimes easier said than done when it looks like you may miss out or things don't seem fair. From my experience, my God never disappoints. He is good, faithful and just and takes better care of me than I will ever be able to! Thanks!!

On that note, I'll be off. Had a lovely evening walk into town with Amz and breathed deeply the chilled air from the lake.. so refreshing. Ready for a good night's sleep!

Love Kel

xxx

Ze Matt(erhorn)

2006-05-17T04:13:00.000+08:00

Hello,

Well since the last post we spent a couple of days in Zermatt (home town of the Matterhorn.. big mountain). We didn't have any plans so it was pretty laid back. Very restful.

I have been getting a lot of feelings of being cooped up lately, so I tried to escape to the great outdoors as much as possible. Did some solo sight-seeing, going on a 45 minute cog-wheel train up the side of a few mountains to a beautiful viewing spot of the Matterhorn. I didn't really know where the train was going so I didn't really dress for the snow, once again, and got rather chilled. Hung out in the snow for a few hours, listened to a great Riverview podcast of Paul Morrison on Patience. Not sure what date it was from, but it's a great message if you're into podcast thingies (I'm a total noob with it all..). He told a great story about his wife, Bec's, grandfather and God's patience with him and all of us. It's amazing when you think of what a relational God He is and how He just longs to be with us and for us to want to be with Him. Yet, He waits patiently for us to accept Him, then to actually spend time with Him and know Him deep in our hearts.. it is quite a process (well, for me anyway). Yet God doesn't stand there tapping his feet, holding a grudge. He just has open arms, full of love. It's overwhelming, isn't it? When people say "God is love" He really is. His patience alone shows it. Why did/does my flesh/natural being sometimes want to be so disgusting as to think spending time with God is a chore? I get so outraged with myself at times. It's ridiculous. I'm fairly new to the whole disciplining the flesh in line with my spirit, but it works. I know that my spirit longs for God and more than 10 minutes a day. We are now under the covenant (ick, religious word!) to be with God as Adam was.. freely and openly. I want to get to that place where my spirit is totally in control of what I want in life, which is to do the will of God, to know Him deeper and closer everyday. Thank God for His grace, kindness and abundance of patience.

Whoa, anyway.. Zermatt was great. Mountains and beautiful villages (will load more photos on when I find a connector thingy). We're back in Montreux where we're staying in an apartment on the mountain till the other apartment is ready. It's really nice here. Went grocery shopping and was gobsmacked at the prices. Although, with all the warnings in travel guides etc, I shouldn't have been. Oh well. It's raining so I didn't have a chance to play outside this afternoon. We are living up a steep hill so I might force myself to walk a long way down just so I am forced to walk up.. hehe, I love tricking myself into more exercise.

I hope this post has made any sense to anyone. It's really just ramblings, sharing what's in my head at this very moment which is probably not a good idea for me to keep doing these late night entries.. oops. I really am a morning person.

Will write an early morning, sensible post shortly :)

Love Kel

xx

Update from the last few days..

2006-05-15T03:33:00.000+08:00

Ok, as I haven't been on the net lately I am going to have to do a recap on what I've been up to the last few days.

Friday
Woke up early (body not quite in Swiss mode), chucked some runners on and went strolling around the lake. Boy, it was beautiful. There were clouds over the water and the sun was just beginning to spread over the town. So pretty. After not walking very far due to the blisters from the previous day's walk, headed through town to find somewhere to have coffee. Discovered that all along the lakeside there are markets on Friday. Found some cute knickknacks for my nieces and nephews, found a market with some water and headed back home. Everyone was very friendly, greeting with "bonjour". After everyone else woke up we had a beautiful breakfast followed by some solid accommodation hunting. Ended up finding some short-term and longer term accommodation at the end of the hunt which was fantastic for a few hours work!

View of Montreux from the hotel room (a bit cloudy so can't see the peaks behind)

Had a late lunch in a cafe on the river, then Luke and I headed off for some serious Swiss army knife shopping. There was many a knife to be found so we thought it would be best (ok, I thought it would be best..) to ask mum and dad's advice about which features were required to cut the list down a bit. A thunderstorm was brewing so we made a quick exit back to the hotel. Bummed around for the rest of the night, had a bit of an early one (I think so anyway, I'm kinda just making that bit up as I can't rememer what I did!).

Saturday
Woke up at 8:15.. very late for me! Strolled down and had a wonderful breakfast. You know, swiss bircher muesili is actually very tasty when in Switzerland. Who knew? After realising that our next accommodation was available from Tuesday it was decided that we were going to explore the regions around the lake for the next few days. Off we went! We left around midday, went around the lake for about 30 minutes until we got to France. That side of the lake doesn't get as much sunshine so it's not quite as shiny and happy. Still beautiful, but not so upmarket perhaps. Continued along the shore where we got to Evian.. home of the water factory! It was a really pretty town and we stopped under an Evian umbrella for a bite to eat before continuing on. I had to take the cheesey tourist shot.. just for you guys!

I am holding a bottle of Evian with a lake-view in the background - so french!

Along the coast there were some gorgeous French towns! Really quaint little houses.. the type with window-boxes and tulips growing in them. So pretty. Kept driving until we got to Geneva.. the hub of the south of Switzerland. Gorgeous city. It was a bit of a brief drive-through but they had a beautiful water fountain in the middle of the lake. Definitely a place I want to revisit for a thorough look through. The chocolate we picked up there was to die for. The Swiss certainly know how to do chocolate well!

Piled back in the car and drove on to Chamonix where we thought it would be nice to stay the night. Justin has told me about Chamonix before and I had big expectations. Fortunately they were all met as we arrived.. the place was gorgeous. I know I keep using the same descriptive words, but I am just not sure how I can cram so much goodness into such a short description and do it justice. I can't. Anyhoo, Chamonix is divine. Honeymoon material, for sure!

Sunday
Had the most delightful sleep with my new (yet expensive) eye mask. Interesting fact for those that have never slept near me: I wear an eyemask and ear plugs to bed every night - they are an important part of my life :) Slept in till 8:15!! woohoo! Got up, had a bit of coffee, packed up and headed towards the mornings adventure: going up the cable car to a mountain near Mont Blanc, at 3842m high. I was afraid of heights so was especially keen to do this to push myself a bit. Boy is was high but it was amazing.. let me tell you. Beautiful snowy mountains everywhere to be seen and Chamonix suddenly looked like a little toy-town from that high up. Spent a couple of hours up there, visiting the different viewing points. Rich took some snaps of Amy and I and said the best place would be for us to sit on the ledge. That may be true but my legs went to jelly at the thought of popping up and risk falling a long, long way (that's why Amy was holding me and I wasn't smiling too much..). It was jolly cold and it was amazing how out of breath you get up that high running up and down the stairs.

Amz and I in the clouds with Chamonix in view next to my elbow

Downed some red wine from the cafe on the peak to warm the heart and to make it to the top viewing point. Thought it was a good time to give mum her Mother's Day phone call.. she had a nice day and my brothers apparently cooked a nice lunch for mum and my sister-in-laws. Good job lads! Happy Mother's Day again Dora :)

Me, being a bit close-eyed with Mont Blanc behind!

After that we bid a tearful farewell to Chamonix and took off towards the Swiss border. We took a drive through the alps pass towards a town called Martingy. Because it is Spring time and the snow is all melting, there were lots of waterfalls spouting down the sides of the mountains. Nice!

Driving along we were discussing the different places we could stay overnight and it was decided a short drive was the best idea. Off we went to Zermatt, hometown of the Matterhorn (BIG mountain). It is a car-free zone so we parked out car at the nearest town, Tasche (spelling might be off) and caught a quick train to Zermatt. On departing the train there is a sign with all the accommodation sites available, a brief description, pricing and a 3-digit code. You punch in the number on one of the keypads and it shows an electronic map with the location in relation to the train station. I tell you: these Swiss people are pretty clever! They also had a phone there that you could punch in the same number and call for free to check a booking (or make one in our case). The only available accommodation that looked nice was on the outskirts of town, maybe a 5 minute walk, and for a minimum 2 nights. We thought there would be plenty to see so we took it. Off we went in an electric taxi (hey, we were tired after the days events!) and arrived at our destination.

The place is decked out in wood and so beautiful. Luke was lucky enough to get a loft room all to himself! The apartment is delightful! I would thoroughly recommend this place for anyone coming to Zermatt (Casa Vanessa). After just absorbing the view with many more "wow"s and "ahh"s we headed out to a local italian restaurant for dinner. The waiters were really funny and it was so yum. Wandered back through the town and have been writing this post since. Looked up snowboarding lessons but it's rather expensive for a once-off kinda thing. Rich said to wait till there's more snow near Montreux and they would show me how to ski. Yay. Then I can give snowboarding a go :)

Hope to do some outdoor adventuring tomorrow. Perhaps a hike or something. The problem is I packed for Spring. Yet it's still snowy here. I'm sure I'll cope! Want to get to the top of the Matterhorn (by cable car.. not quite up to hiking that in a day unprepared.. yet!) and take some more snaps.

Tired now, goodnight!

Love Kel

xxx

I am pinching myself so jolly hard..

2006-05-12T00:55:00.000+08:00

Oh my goodness.

Ok, after surviving the nasty customer service by the people in Newark airport we were on the plane to Geneva.

Besides feeling a little strange from missing a nights sleep, I am gob-smacked. I kept saying under my breath in the car from Geneva to Montreux "thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God" etc. It is so beautiful here. Just so picturesque and serene... ahh I am so close to heaven! I've taken snaps but as we'rejust plonked in a hotel I haven't managed to get set up with cables etc.

Montreux is gorgeous! We are just popping out now to look at a holiday apartment so I have to run. Hope to post later tonight with photos.

Boy, I am so grateful to be here. It's a dream come true!!

Love Kel

xxx

The showdown: India vs. USA

2006-05-10T10:37:00.000+08:00

G'day,

Well, it's not really a fair comparison. I mean, the intention behind the visits are totally different, the length of stay is also not equal, but may I say (this may anger a few Americans) but as "unique" as India is.. I really do prefer it to the USA (purely from my experience of the small part I have been in). Dare I say, I would even have preferred to have been in India for a month rather than the US. This is not to dog the US, but simply to uplift my second home.. India!

Sure, it's crazy.. sure there's animals on the roads, horns beeping constantly, people begging, those darn hindu prayers at 5am everyday, smells that assault your whole sensory system - it's like a circus of a country. But there's something about the place that I just love. As I've been packing tonight to leave the US it's bringing back so many memories of my times in India. I miss my Indian family. I miss my brothers and sisters. There are so many unjust things there (don't get me started on the caste system!) but there is more to love than not. The culture may seem backward at times to us Westerners, but there is so much richness and history behind it that is not only fascinating but it is also just so foreign to our Aussie culture (which I LOVE mind you) that it really draws me in.

If you're reading this Sagar or Chinni, please know I think of you guys everyday (and the rest! Ok, maybe not all 315 of you EVERYday..) and eagerly look forward to seeing you again as soon as possible. You're in my heart. Always.

On that note.. better get back to packing my beloved bag/mobile home.

Love Kel

xxx

Weekend..

2006-05-09T07:52:00.000+08:00

So, what did I get up to on the weekend? Not a whole lot..

Had a journal date at a cute coffee shop in Ambler, was so relaxingly wonderful.. (thanks to the Saxby's for the beautiful new chinese journal!) wandered down the road window shopping until I found a place I could get my hair cut. Hehe, it was an african american salon and I ended up looking rather funny with "flips". hehe. Sunday was a glorious Spring day so I had a picnic for one in the garden. Twas delightful! Boy, I miss the company of my friends though :(

We're off to Switzerland on Wednesday arvo. Been pretty busy planning for that (packing things up here, getting set up there) of late. We'll be staying in Montreux.. anyone know anything good around there besides the view?

Very dull and boring post at this stage, think it's the late night and red wine. Will write something amazingly spectacular soon!

Love Kel

xxx

Junkie blog survey

2006-05-06T08:20:00.000+08:00

Your Inner Child Is Surprised

You see many things through the eyes of a child.Meaning, you're rarely cynical or jaded.You cherish all of the details in life.Easily fascinated, you enjoy experiencing new things.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Really important survey.. like.

2006-05-05T10:04:00.000+08:00

Hey, I've been wanting to dye my hair dark brown since India right. Please vote (cos I know you're all so totally interested..) : should I dye it dark now or leave it? I'm open for alternate ideas.

(Gotta get our hair done before going to Montreux as my French is not quite up to speed with getting haircuts etc. Yay, we're leaving next Wednesday!)

Cast your votes ladies and gents!

NYC, we went, we played.. we're pooped

2006-05-05T09:06:00.000+08:00

Hey,

Well, went to New York today.. Got up at 5:30 to get ready for the day.. too early my friends!

Went for a long drive (I think it took about 2 hours) and went into Manhattan. We went to a museum called Intrepid (www.intrepidmuseum.org) which is an old ship/airforce carrier that was used in some wars and is really big and is now a museum. Went through that for a few hours till we were exhausted.

Amy and I in the g-force flight simulator.. the thing turns upside-down and I was a really bad pilot..

Caught a cab to Broadway and wandered around aimlessly looking for recognizable stuff. Took some snaps and was just amazed at how "city-ish" it looked. Hustle-bustle and all of that. Did some tourist shopping and shoe shopping (important to do at any location) and then got going to beat the peak hour traffic.

Some famous place on Broadway

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip and I have lots of things that I want to do next time I go back (which I think should be in July). Good to go scope the place out before you have a longer stay I reckon!

New shoe.. and my mongo foot that I'd been sitting on for 1/2 an hour..

So, anyway, who's been there or wants to go there? What have you done there or what would you like to do? Would love to hear what's the go!

Love Kel

xxx

I know it's a rather dull post.. that's what happens when I'm tired..

Start spreadin' the news...

2006-05-04T19:38:00.000+08:00

I'm leaving today. I'm gonna be a part of it: New York! New York!

Heading there today, will let you know how it went :)

Love Kel

xxx

How are these lyrics?

2006-05-01T10:31:00.000+08:00

One of my many favourite songs at the moment..

"Air" by Youth Alive NSW (probably a fairly old album)

Holy, in Your arms
Like a newborn child
I'm desperate, Lord, for more of You

Touch me with Your love
Deep within my heart
I'm waiting, Lord, for more of You

May Your words of love
wash over me
May Your songs of grace
cover me

More than the air I breathe today
I need You
More than the desert needs the rain
I need You
More than the air I breathe today
I need You
More than to live another day
I need You.. Lord

Brings to light the important stuff hey? I like to start my day listening to this kind of stuff: set my heart and mind on eternal stuff so I can live outta that perspective rather than the whiney, complacent, selfish perspective my flesh would gladly just go along with. Did you know that we actually do need God in our lives more than air? That's a pretty huge statement but it's the truth. I love being in that place of desperation where I know that all I have is God. I pray I would follow Him everyday of my life and leave a legacy of Christ's love. Man, I so want to get to Big Dad's house and hear "well done Kellie, my good and faithful servant". My heart's ambition.. I'm gonna get there.

xxx

Why am I so white all the time?

2006-05-01T10:13:00.000+08:00

Hey,

Well, today was Sunday. So off I went to a church that I found on the net. "The Prevailing Church International".. sounded good enough to me. The website had this really cute audio file playing as an intro where they've changed a Destiny's Child song into "I'm a prevailer, I'm not gonna give up.." in place of "I'm a survivor..". Quite amusing! Anyway, website is www.theprevailingchurch.org if you wanted to have a look. I tell you, Phil would never have to ask "are you with me?" if he was in that church! They let you know they're listening!!

So, I rock up early and soon discover I am the only white person in the neighbourhood let alone at church! Hehe, it was really fun though and I sat with some beautiful old ladies that were sisters (one of them travels over an hour every week to get there). The service was a lot longer than I am used to, having been spoilt with churches that know people tend to drift off after 40 mins. It went for 2.5 hours but I think the cold air kept everyone alert. The pastor spoke on creating effective partnerships (eg, church partnerships, life partnerships with a marriage partner, mentors who you can partner with and friends) and it was really great. A lot was covered but it really reinforced the importance that I should place on the people I choose to have in my life (sorry Sharp clan, couldn't choose you so can't lose you.. hehe). Especially the point of once you've made a choice to partner with someone to then follow through with that commitment.

Commitment is a big deal which I guess is why so many people are afraid of marriage. It is a really big deal! But I think once you factor in God it becomes less of a deal as He will sustain you for the times that are tough to stay committed. He is the source of everything we need, every second of every day. Ahh, sometimes I can barely remember the way I was before I was saved but then again I remember the darkness that used to engulf me and it hasn't left my memory. I am so blessed to now call Him my best friend.. my true and first love and my rock. When sometimes I could get lost with where I am.. I now know that I was always in the one place and always will be: by His side, holding His hand.

Well this turned out to be a mixed-up post. Hope you can keep up with my random subject changes :) Sleepy time...

Love Kel

xxx

Crying in the mall..

2006-04-30T05:45:00.000+08:00

Forgot to share this classic detail!!

I'm not sure if it's cos I was tired or if I was feeling a little lonely this morning but as I was looking for Mother's Day cards for the girls in my family I started shedding some tears in the middle of the store reading the pathetically weepy messages in some of the cards.. oh my gosh. Have I actually turned into my brother's worst nightmares? Along with the likes of "mama movies" (def. movies which you just cry the whole way through cos they're just so dramatically sad) such as Beaches and Steel Magnolias? Oh crap!! Let's just right it off as PMS so I can salvage a bit of respect from my brothers :)

Mother's Day cards coming your way soon Mama Luigi, Robo, Jools and Gran-heads.

puff

2006-04-30T05:32:00.000+08:00

Hello,

Well, it looks like we'll be leaving the US in about a week so I thought I had better get a bit of shopping done before getting to Switzerland as I've been told by many people how expensive it is.

So, off I went for a stroll around the mall. Had some interesting conversations with some cashiers.. they spoke really slowly and LOUDLY so that I could understand them. I tried to explain that I speak English as well and then they got me.. I have an accent! Well, my my my!! So weird.. I guess in Australia we're so used to have people around from lots of different countries (hang on, the US is supposedly full of immigrants too..) that we can adjust our ears for different accents. Funny stuff. I will just have to speak s..l..o..w..l..y and clearly for everyone.

It is such a beautiful spring day today and I kept wanting to be outdoors enjoying it. So, I had seen a beautiful track and thought I would give it a bash. It turned out to be glorious! My soul just drinks up nature and the peace you find from spending time without humans - just God. Ahh, I feel brand new :) Anyways, had my little ipod there listening to one of the Riverview sermons and it was just excellent! I ended up walking 2.5miles, running 2.25 and walking another .25miles. Not bad hey!! Should assist with my get-fit regime. Bit tired now though.

Hoping to find a good church to go to tonight. Not hoping - believing. I have prayed that I would find a "home" here - a place where spiritually I just fit and can meet some people that relate to God in the same or similar way to me. Will keep you posted (pardon the pun) on where I went.

Well, better get cracking if I want to make it somewhere on time!

Lots of love,

Kel

xxx

Introducing.. Mr & Mrs Calcott!

2006-04-28T05:52:00.000+08:00

These are two of my friends.. Justin and Adeline at their recent wedding which I missed (boo!). I am so sad to have missed such an important day for them.. but enough of my blubbering: Take a look at some of the snaps!

Mr & Mrs Calcott

Jon, Sky, Andrea (my darling!) & her man, Dave

At the ceremony..

Mezzy-Babes (Merrin) and Ad's having a yarn

"YUM!" says Andrea

1 of the Westside Brotherhood (Adam)

The beautiful couple..

So, as you can see, it looked like an extremely perfect (are there degrees of perfection?) day filled with sunshines and smiles and wuv, twu wuv (helps if you've seen the Princess Bride)! So sad I missed it guys, but look forward to looking through your album, hearing more of the details and seeing what the future holds for you both.

Lots of love always,

Kel

xxx

P.S. As you can see, I still haven't got a handle on the formatting with pictures.. I'm sure you get the idea though.

Nicknames

2006-04-27T01:37:00.000+08:00

OK, so I have admitted to some of my nicknames.. now what about you? What are your nicknames? If you're a friend of mine you're likely to have at least one! Please, do tell!

xx

As time goes on..

2006-04-26T04:25:00.000+08:00

Hey guys,

Sorry for the lack of postage lately.. have been trying to think of something insanely exciting to write about but don't have anything right now. The weather here has been a little crazy, woke up to some pretty big thunder storms yesterday but it's really warm and sunny today. Am focussing on fitness and health at the moment which has been really good. It would be really easy to stack on the weight here so it just makes you more mindful I guess.

Anyway, enough of that. Here is a photo of my kiddies (no, I have never given birth.. my nieces and nephews)

Ok, so starting from the left there is:

- Caleb (AKA Cabesy), my first beloved nephew. He's 8 years old and extremely sporty. He's catching up with me in the height stakes but is still so cuddly and fun to be around. He's a wizz at maths as well! I miss you my Cabeybaby :(

- Rebekah (AKA Becky-boodles) is a surrogate niece so not related by blood but is still very much a part of the fam. Becky-boodles is also 8 and is a fantastic card maker and is very girly (the girl loves pink) and creative. I'm sorry I missed seeing you on my trip back from India.. we really should plan a girly sleepover with Sav & Nomes when I get back!

- Ethan (AKA Deety, Deety-bops) is my second nephew at 6 years of age. He's a sweetheart, really, what else can I say? Ethan also loves sport (not quite as much) and has a cute giggle. He's also become quite profficient on the keyboard and can even sing at the same time! Look out ladies, you'll find competition when it comes to my boy.. he's a popular young lad at school!

- Savannah (Sav, Savvy-boo, Sazamataz) is my first niece and is 6 as well. Bonjour madamoiselle! She is currently learning French at school and is catching on really quick! Savs is a gymnastic champion and is also a brilliant turbo-kisser (she invented them.. I think). Keep calling me on Skype lovey!

- Jonathan (Jonny-boy) is next. Another surrogate at 6 years of age. Jonny is a sweet heart and is a very active guy! He's also a very ticklish boy!

- Elias (Lyly) comes in next at 5 years of age. Elias has a sweet little voice and loves playing rough outdoors. He gets stuck into everything and I've heard he has a real soft spot for his new baby brother.

- Jazz (Jazzy-boy, rock-head) comes next at 4 years of age (almost 5!). Jazz is a very active little man who loves to keep up with his sister. He's also in gymnastics and can do some great tricks on the trampoline. He has a smile that can charm anyone.. so look out girls!

- Naomi (Omo, Nomeynomes, Nomes) is 4 years old and is a total GIRL! She loves wearing pretty dresses, playing with her doll Mandy, ballet (look out world.. this girl's got potential!) and anything else remotely girly. She is a great hugger, is very friendly and is really fun for a sleepover. A very sensitive, caring wee lass she is! Big hugs from Aunty Kellie xo

- Jonah (Monah, Wonah, Groanah) is my youngest nephew at 2 years old. He's a cutie-pie. He calls me "Delly" or "Telly" most of the time and is keen to get into anything available. He causes me to become a bit nervous with the heights he can climb to but is a very able lad. I miss you Wonah! xx

Absent: Benjamin was born a few days before my departure. Am yet to meet you buddy, but will do so as soon as possible!

So, these are my kids. It's one of the saddest parts of being away is missing seeing you guys as you grow up. It makes me cry when I think about it guys and girls - you're so important to me and I miss you so much! I will try to keep you updated with where I am and what I'm doing. When I am coming home we can plan more exciting days like going to Adventure World etc so we get to spend some fun times together. Please don't forget me!

Love Aunty Kellie (AKA Kel, KellieWellieWoopWoops, KelPels, KP, Butterplied, Schmoops, Stinkypops, Indi, Kelsy, Wood-head, Delly/Telly)

xxx

Getting into shape (not the pear kind)

2006-04-20T08:46:00.000+08:00

Well, there is some truth to the saying that everything is big in America.. but fat bottomed girls don't make this rockin' world go round (sorry, that's a line from a song in case you're thinking I'm talking weird) .. so unfortunately people have to combat this inevitable fate with a personal trainer.

Day #1: Well, I am still alive. I just don't like someone watching you to make sure you're doing things right. Probably cos I'm totally unco when it comes to gym equipment etc. Anyway, I've pulled up ok. It actually wasn't that bad - not just gym equipment. We got to do some boxing and also used skipping ropes which was kinda fun. Took me back to jump-rope-for-heart in primary school. Man, I loved that. Boxing is fun.. smashing the stuffing out of something is quite invigorating! Anyway, Mandy thought it was great and went snap-happy :) Here's a snap so you can feel the pain with me.

Take this! And that!

Not much else to report on at this stage. I realise that my posts have all been rather shallow and Kellie-focused so I will try to get some more interesting content. Maybe cos I haven't been going out much (argh!), but I've organised to meet some people my age Friday night so should have some interesting stuff..

(Oh, I did open a dummy trading account today to learn how to trade the forex market.. that is interesting! Rich is teaching us so look out world.. here comes the next millionaire! If only it was that simple..)

MENTAL NOTE:

2006-04-18T11:12:00.000+08:00

Learn how to format posts properly before publishing them (or just don't do it late at night when you're too tired to be bothered..).

Fondue OVERLOAD.

2006-04-18T10:56:00.000+08:00

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for your birthday wishes.. today I turned 24. Your sms', emails, e-cards, phone calls etc made my days (I celebrated the 17th in Aus and US time!) so special. It means so much to know that the people I love at home are thinking of me.. thank you from my heart.

Had a great day: worked for most of the day then relaxed the rest of the arvo with Super Size Me (man, I love that doco). The Swannells took me out to dinner to a really nice fondue restaurant where every course is fondue (except the salad). It was divine. But, my tum really hurts now. I've already scheduled in an early morning walk with Mandy so should help to ease the pain. They really took care of me so well, knowing I was away from all the peeps I love.. so thanks very much Swannells! Thought I'd add a few photos too.. the cool one is the steam coming up from the fondue (no, I'm not a ghost).

Lots of love,

xx

Hoppy Easter!

2006-04-17T06:29:00.000+08:00

Howdy,

Ok, so I know Easter has nothing to do with fluffy bunnies, but I thought this photo was quite funny. We had a beautiful dinner last night at the Rankin's which was a joint effort by Sharyn and Scott - fresh salmon, yumbo. Dinner was topped off with an experimental first-use of Sharyn's Christmas present: a chocolate fondue fountain. Everyone was rubbing their sore bellies by the time we'd finished with it.

TIP: don't expect the chocolate to flow unless you add the oil that the instructions say. If you don't the chocolate just kinda blobs down, quite funny as you can see.

Had a lovely night with the Rankins and then had a late night chat with my family for Easter. Got ready and went to church with Mandy at Branch Creek which was pretty good but short-lived. Spent the rest of the day resting and planting some window-pots with some sweet flowers with Luke. Going to get a good night's rest tonight as it's my BIRTHDAY tomorrow! Yay! Not that I have anything to rest for: just work! Mandy booked us into this restaurant, the Melting Pot, for a family dinner which is a fondue place so should be pretty nice.

Hope you had a great Easter with your family and friends, talk soon, Kel x

My quaint little dwelling

2006-04-16T04:58:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Thought it was about time I brightened the place up with a pic of the place where I'm staying. Most of the houses around here are made similarly with stone and it looks really cute.

There's a pretty blossom tree out the front and an ugly McDonalds and Baskin Robbins across the road.. kinda ruins the ambience. But it's a lovely house anyway :)

Happy Easter! xx

Chosen 300

2006-04-15T09:27:00.000+08:00

Hey,

Just got in from a great night in Philadelphia. I went with a wonderful family, the Rankins, to a homeless feeding house in the city centre. It was absolutely great - there is a roster system for churches in the area (and ones that aren't really in the area) that prepare all the food for about 200-350 people (approx figures, I can't remember the exact ones) and serve it out to them. The centre opens I couldn't think of a better way to spend Good Friday. The place was not as full as usual, but there were plenty of mouths needing to be fed.

The baseball team from the private boy's school that the Rankin's sons go to was down there tonight and served the guests at the tables. What a fantastic place to learn the real stuff about life. Scott and Sharon Rankin are a remarkably generous couple who have sown a great seed into this project since it's conception are are committed to going down to the centre with their children each week to help out. They're really inspiring people and I'm so grateful they let me come along for the ride.

The way these men and a few women are treated is with the utmost respect: "treat anyone who comes in as our guest, not as homeless people" which is just beautiful. Shedding a little tear here, but it's such a tangible way to show God's love and to cater (quite literally!) for people's physical needs when no one else around seems to really care.

If you want to check them out it's www.chosen300.org. If you wanted to donate, I'm sure you could. Or it may just make you think about people in your own city, wherever you are.. Just wanted to get you thinking as it's really inspired me! There's so many people in the world doing great stuff to benefit others.. I love it.

Night! xx

Church for Easter

2006-04-13T19:54:00.000+08:00

Does anyone know any good churches in the Philadelphia region?

A great read

2006-04-13T19:40:00.000+08:00

Just before leaving Perth my dear friend PS lent me a truly inspiring book "A Glimpse of Grace" by Mary Forsyth. I won't give away the story, but it's an amazing story of a successful Pharmacist and business woman and where she encounters God.

Well worth a read!

On vegemite and air travel..

2006-04-13T19:32:00.000+08:00

Why is it that whenever I am away for a long period of time(eg, India last year, US now) I suddenly start having vegemite on a regular basis? Don't get me wrong, I'm as dinky-di as the next girl, but I'd only have it once a week or something if I was back home (unlike my Mum who has had vegemite toast and a cup of tea for brekky for the past 40+ years). For some reason, being away from home compels me to have it more.

Does air travel change tastebuds or is it some strange way of trying to feel as though I do belong somewhere?

The adventure begins.. Philadelphia

2006-04-05T10:10:00.000+08:00

G'day!

Well, actually, we arrived into New York first. It was night time and after standing around for what seemed like hours to go through customs we made it through the doors out of the airport! It was dark and rainy.. kinda what I picture New York to be like. Flying in all you could see was grey buildings and lots of little lights that seemed to be chasing each other. All the trucks seemed like little children's toys..

It was all kind of sureal to be in the US already. After cramming into a car we sped "home" to Philadelphia. The guesthouse we stayed in is really nice. Everyone just crashed and work up pretty early in the morning as the ladies went to the supermarket.

We've been here a week now (I didn't get around to actually publishing any posts..oops) and I've settled in to the time, the driving on the wrong side by myself, the weather etc

I'm keen to take some snaps and put them up here so you guys can see what suburban Philadelphia is like in Spring.

Till then.. xx

The Adventures of Kel

We're getting married..!

My little mad scientist

Long, long time no post

New beginnings

Long time no blog

What a sunshiney weekend

Things & stuff

Lady in the Water

grr

Go Savannah! Congrats Dave & Andrea!

Hebron Children's Home

Girly crap

A modern-day miracle

The days roll on

Happy Birthday dear Suneeta!

Some information that could change your life

Work work work

Run Baby Run

Chop chop chop

jipped

Sprint >>> run >> jog > walk.. crawl... sit

Back on the mainland

Waahhhhhh!! You can't make me leave!

It's raining ropes

These are a few of my favourite things..

Happy Birthday..

Song of the hour..

Warm, balmy nights

Rotating toilet seats...

.

Offline..

Here's a little secret: I'm not perfect! Part I

Congratulations!!

End of week sum up

Photo issues

Walkies

Unco meme

Cuckoo..

Which countries have I been to?

Driving along..

What's going on?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAZZ!

Those were the days my friend.. lala

La vita è bella

Yay! I have a home!

Acts: our call to the harvest

Drills ahoy

My prayers were answered! (not that I'm surprised at that :))

What a beautiful day it was.

hmm..

Brekky time!

Word to my doggs

It's raining, it's pouring.

God = BIG

Wise words from Joyce Meyer

Ze Matt(erhorn)

Update from the last few days..

I am pinching myself so jolly hard..

The showdown: India vs. USA

Weekend..

Junkie blog survey

Really important survey.. like.

NYC, we went, we played.. we're pooped

Start spreadin' the news...

How are these lyrics?

Why am I so white all the time?

Crying in the mall..

*puff*

Introducing.. Mr & Mrs Calcott!

Nicknames

As time goes on..

Getting into shape (not the pear kind)

MENTAL NOTE:

Fondue OVERLOAD.

Hoppy Easter!

My quaint little dwelling

Chosen 300

Church for Easter

A great read

puff