No more late arrivals! :)

Just thought I'd let you know that I have NOT been late for work in 2 weeks!!!!! :) :) :) :)

I somehow managed to change my habits, and now leave a LOT earlier... and have been arriving no less than 20mins early for each shift :) It's such a good change to leaving early and arriving late! Now I just leave even earlier. I don't get stressed when I'm stuck in first gear on the Ring Rd (prefer 5th gear)... I know I have time to be stuck :) Yay! :)

...and my holiday story/journal... I have decided to create a whole new blog for it because I've only written up the first week so far, and it's looking like a novel already!!! Haven't created the blog yet ;)

More Words of Life

Last night I was soooo tired and about to go to bed... after hanging up the phone to David... when in the middle of our conversation, my friend Sam sent some texts... asking if I wanted to catch up for a coffee... My first reaction was, "WHAT??? I'm about to go to bed!" but I didn't say that ;)

Even though I was really tired, I thought it would be so good to catch up... so we agreed on a place to meet, I changed out of my baggy track pants into my jeans (Sam, I just couldn't wear my daggy pants... :p) and we met up outside this cafe... which was closed... haha! And I saw my pastor laughing loudly with a friend not far from us! That was nice ;) So we went to the supermarket and then just sat around the carpark talking...

I LOVE this girl!!!! Its just funny how people say things to encourage you when you most need it, even though you don't tell them ;) I have the funniest memories with this girl! Carparks seem to be our theme... thanks to her I know Doncaster Pancake Parlour will let you in to their toilets even when you're not planning on eating there! Haha!

But yeah...God will always bring the right people to you at the right time :)

Thanks Sam! You threw me out of my tired comfort zone and it was worth stalling going to bed! ;)

Words of Life Vs Words of Death

Isn’t it silly how often we will niggle at the negative things people say to us…

You could be given 10 positive compliments, and 1 negative comment/attack in the same day, but you will usually always focus on the 1 negative comment.

Positive comments bring “life” to your soul… they encourage you to be your best. Negative comments are like “death” attacking your soul… trying to bring you down and feel worthless…not good enough…

I have been going through this lately. One negative comment seems to get stuck in my mind, and replays through the day… over and over and over…like an attack in your mind trying to bring you down… yet, when you think of all the positive things people say to you… and if you think about it long enough, you realise that those 10 positive comments SHOULD make you feel valued and worthy. There are up to 10 people who love and respect you, and only one person who doesn’t.

So why does one negative have to take over? I guess in a way, it’s part of us growing. To be able to thicken our skin… to be able to withstand attacks… to gain more confidence and self confidence.

I’m reminded of the ending scenes of the movie, The Labyrinth… The main character, Sarah finds herself in a “checkmate” position – she is trapped by the Goblin King. It is the end. She has no more strength or wisdom to keep going. She knows she is trapped… he has won…

But suddenly, the ONE phrase of the Goblin story she has memorised, which she just couldn’t remember during the movie, comes to her! Suddenly, that ONE phrase changes EVERYTHING!!

That one phrase… “You have no power over me!”

And so it is with reality. You find yourself stuck in a “checkmate” situation, not being able to forget the negative things thrown at you… but if you stop long enough to realise… it only has power over you if you allow it!

You could be feeling down all day about one lousy comment, but suddenly you realise, this comment is just a stupid comment! It has no power over you! So you tell it, and then move on :)

It’s not always easy, but it’s like a recipe. It will always work.

Sunday...

I'm having a day where I have heaps I could say, but my head is tired... and everything seems to be falling apart around me... so I will write another day.

Usually people don't come home from church feeling worse than when they arrived there...today was just one of those days...

Burnley Tunnel explosion

It's amazing... in my old job I used to drive the van through that tunnel when we took our clients to Williamstown... and EVERY time I went through (as either a driver or passenger) I thought of the movie, "DAYLIGHT" - where there was an explosion and people were trapped in the tunnel...

and yesterday I heard on the news that the Burnley Tunnel had an horrific smash, causing people to be incinerated in their cars, and about 400 people evacuated... 2 trucks and 3 cars (or something like that)... I used to think it was ok driving through when the traffic was light, but I would never want to be one of 400 cars/trucks...

I think the main causes were 2 trucks. 1. had a blowout and pulled into the emergency lane. 2. didn't see cars slowing down, and ran into the car/s in front at high speed, causing cars to crash into the walls and explode.

It was horrible news, and it seems like with many horrific accidents, one person did the wrong thing which was a fatal mistake... and they still don't have a final death toll...

Easter...eggs...

Haha... I am NOT buying any Easter eggs this year! :p Got fed up with buying them and not seeing the people I bought them for... plus I'm fed up with the superficiality of it all...the commercialism etc...

Easter is NOT about EGGS. Eggs are a PART of Easter, but they take away the FULL meaning...

but having said that.... hehe.... I was at work the other day and we were MAKING Easter chocolates... so I've been sucked into one of my creative moods... every time I work with this particular lady I feel CREATIVE! I LOVE it!!!! We were going crazy, smashing up clinkers and helping our clients fill the trays... it was FUN!

So I might just make a few little eggs to keep myself amused :p

I'm looking forward to the day I can be the mum with the kids at the table making Easter goodies and going crazy with creativity and fun mess!

More on Elisha

Thanks to Sam, when I'm not too sleepy I have been reading about this man Elisha... the man who "took on the baton" of Elijah. The man who began small, but finished (not there yet ;)) big. The man who was so powerful for his God, that people sought to kill him... they hated hearing what he had to say because God used him to tell the people they were doing the wrong things.

Just like modern times. People are happily "doing the wrong things", but they hate the people who tell them there is a better way. God still sends his messengers, and people still reject them.

Life really hasn't changed much since bible times... only the customs and developments... we have more resources, more ways of communicating... in a sense we have MORE but we utilise LESS... Instead of using our mobile/cell phones to call, we text. We send emails. We fax... it's obviously so much easier... but we are losing touch with people. I love text/email/fax etc... but I know there are times when these are inappropriate. The younger generations are also losing their values to some degree. The nu txt lgage... no wonder many people can't spell!! I understand it's a lot cheaper to use the txt language. The problem is that this language is slowly taking over written communication... there is no pride in correct grammar and punctuation any more.

Oh well. Society has so much to be thankful for... we need to use our resources more effectively and encourage the pride of a good student...

But back to Elisha. There are so many "Elishas" in modern times who have a calling on their life... they go for it. They go beyond the boundaries of fear and do what they know they have to do. And they know that they will be ridiculed and attacked... like look at the Hillsong church. ANY person/church that is doing amazing things for God will be attacked. It's like a law of nature.

I know some of these Elishas. They are the most encouraging people. They run the race, even if they fall over, stumble etc...they pick themselves up and keep running. What makes them effective is that their lives are not sparkly clean, they go through trials just like everybody. What sets them apart is that they never fall down and stay down. They grow from their falls. They keep going!

We need more Elishas! :)

Not late!!!

Today I took the long way to work... it took me about 3 MINUTES instead of 2 to arrive... what an awesome day! :) I saw the school traffic up ahead (after turning out of my street) and went the long way ;)

Had a great day. Except I was told that this place had been requesting me for 2 weeks and I wasn't notified because I was "booked out" - if I'd have KNOWN they were asking for me I would have run there! I love that place! Not only because it is so close to home, but it is a great environment. I spent the whole day with Christian staff too! :) We all know where we stand and have the best conversations :)

So I've been booked for shorter shifts that pay less when I could've been going here... instead of driving for up to an hour, I could have been driving 2 mins... oh well. Everything has a reason.

I am at least happy I've been getting work with good notice. Even if the hours are shorter, it's better than waking up wondering if you will work today...

It's Friday nite...I'm over cooking... :p hehe. My sister cooked pasta for lunch... we turned it into a pasta bake for dinner! :) She had to call in sick because she had an allergic reaction to moisturiser she used on her face last nite... she's fine :) Just a bit of a shock to wake up and see the reaction when you look in the mirror! Face all swolllen and red...

Muffins and Chicken!

hehe... I MADE muffins!!!!! FINALLY!!!!! Haha.

Actually... I spent most of last night cooking... went to gym after work, came home and cooked chicken stir fry and rice... no idea what I did, but even my sister thought it was really nice! had more flavour than my usual ;)

then... I cooked muffins! But I didn't eat dinner til after I'd made them because I was happily too busy cooking to want to eat!!!! I'd cook more tonite, but I have to go out. I would have kept cooking last nite but I had to do the DISHES!!! So that was the end of my fun ;)

I love cooking...ONLY when I don't feel pressured, or expected to cook. Give me freedom and I'll cook anything!!!!

And yes, the muffins were yum :p

Late AGAIN???? Driving Whinge

Grr!!!! I was 40MINUTES late for work this morning!!! After leaving EARLY!!!

But the BEST part about being so late...A LOT of staff were late! :) :) and many clients were also dropped off late! :) :)

So I lost half an hour of pay, but I ARRIVED! After being stuck on the same road for 50mins... stuck behind a truck.... moving about 2 blocks in 30minutes... that SUCKS!
I hear about people being stuck in traffic jams like this, but I've never been stuck on that road for so long before! Oh well. What can you do... I think it was one of those days where staff are just happy when anybody ARRIVES!

Then it was horrid driving home also...but I could SEE in front of me...and I saw about 2 different accidents on Plenty Rd... I was going to take the Ring Rd to the gym, but came past my street because there were cops cleaning up after an accident on the Ring Rd turn-off... so I took the long way... was a GREAT day for a workout!!!! :) Coming home from the gym I was more relaxed :)

Now to make dinner... I've been wanting to back MUFFINS from scratch for the last 3 days... hopefully I can do them tonite! :) Only my sister and I are home this week, and I've suddenly had the DESIRE to COOK! and my sister has been doing the dishes! I was pleasantly shocked when I saw her doing them the other night! :) We've been having fun! Anybody who saw us the last few nights would think we're lunatics on drugs! She really cracks me up!

Which reminds me... if you want to impress somebody, stay AWAY from the new Tim Tams ("Love Potions")!!!! :p We had a Tim Tam Hyper nite last nite!!!! hahahaha! Both of us bought a different packet, and tried each others!

Early week! :)

Guess what! I've been EARLY to work this week!!!! :o
Been to Maidstone and St Albans and have had time to park my car and not rush! :)

I even managed to cut out 5mins of my trip to Maidstone! :) AND not make any wrong turns! :) I used to drive past Highpoint and make a few wrong turns because the intersections all look the same... but now I've cut out Highpoint - I discovered an earlier turnoff, and its HARD to make a wrong turn from that route! :)

Today I arrived in St Albans 10mins early and had time to drive past the full carpark, turn around and find the back street people have been telling me about! :) No parking issues in the residential "No Through Road" that leads straight to the back entrance of the building!

Now to learn how to cut my driving time to St Albans! I was told about a route that misses all the horrid main road traffic and TRAINS!

I'm sure many of those drivers are on drugs! I hate driving in that area...

EWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS [google pic] resembles the thing that was crawling on my FACE while I was lying in bed, in between sleep and dozing... abt 2 nights ago.

I felt what seemed to be a spider web brush my forehead... then it brushed to my nose...and I flicked it off with my hand...switched on the light and got a fright at the wounded Daddy Long Legs spider on my bedsheet! I think it came down from the ceiling and landed on my head... after that everything felt creepy-crawly until I finally fell asleep... yuck!

Most people don't like the concept of eating 8 or 12 spiders in a lifetime... which is worse? ... at least you don't wake up when swallowing a spider...I think... haha! It was YUCK!!!! I don't know know who got the worst fright! :p

Secret Hugging Spot

Here is the "Secret Hugging Spot!!" I can give you one clue as to where it is... mum used a Permanent marker to write this on the vinyl floor...and then she couldn't wash it off!!!! Hahahaha!!! That's my mum! :p

David and I used to hug in this spot...mum decided to label the spot...now everybody else hugs there and it's not a secret!!! So we've found new secret spots :p

If you're ever in my house, and you walk into the *cough*kitchen*cough*, you will see this spot!

Only my mum would do such a thing! :p

Late AGAIN!!!

This is my 'lucky' week... yesterday it took me 30mins longer to get to work after leaving EARLIER than usual...and today... I was 10minutes late to a different location...and I left EARLIER than usual also! Grrr!

Have you ever sat in traffic, 2 blocks away from your destination...watching the green lights turn red, then back to green, then red....green....etc... took me 15minutes to drive 2 blocks!
I think I waited for at least 5 trains in that 15mins also! All I needed to do was cross the railway tracks, then I had only half block to go... oh well. Nobody seemed to worry abt my arrival time again...

I hate that part of the road. If you're running early, you may end up being late because you're held up by up to 4 trains... if you're running late, you may be EARLY or on time, because you missed the trains! I drove that route for 5 years in my previous job! I KNOW ;) hehe.

But the BEST PART!!!!!! :) .......

This drive was a lot better than what COULD'VE been! I was offered a shift yesterday (via voicemail) to return to St Albans today...but when I called back the shift had been taken... which was a little annoying, but I figured I wasn't supposed to do it... and this morning on the radio they said a truck rolled on the Western Ring Rd... which would've made it a HORRIBLE drive to work...even worse than yesterday! God knows :) AND I was offered today's shift last night, which was more hours at an higher hourly rate! :)

For a Friend

This is just something for a friend - you know who you are ;)

If you want to find a life partner... you need to be happy with who you are. If you're not happy and feel desperate etc...you either turn people away, or attract the wrong types of people.

You don't want to be one of those people who has an imaginary "red light signal" to every person of the opposite sex you see!

Why don't you spend some time learning WHO YOU ARE. Who you are when nobody is looking. What makes up YOU? What would make you feel "complete" as a single person?
Because once you are happy in who YOU are, you don't NEED somebody else to make you feel happy about yourself... what happens is the right person will come along, and you will COMPLIMENT each other :) Neither of you should rely on the other to make you happy. You should both be happy in yourselves, and then when you meet you will be even happier, because there is no co-dependency.

So, in conclusion... learn to be happy as a single person. Be VERY AWARE of who you are attracted to and make sure you don't repeat past mistakes... don't look for a person who 'needs' attention and love... look for a person who doesn't "need" you. But to do that, you must not "need" them.

Spend some time with God...he will show you who you are. But don't give up!
You have many good qualities...sometimes you just need to polish them up, or learn to let go... or just learn to like who you are :) And most importantly...from observation ;) don't give your heart away to just anybody ;) The right person for you won't need you to make them feel complete, or even just happy. Its NOT your job to be the one who spends all their time "cheering up" friends. If they can't be happy without you dropping everything for them, then they're too dependent on you. THAT is something to be VERY WARY about.

All the best! :)

Western Ring...[Carpark]...Road

It's funny how on the news lately there have been numerous complaints about how bad the traffic is getting ... and I have never fully understood the frustration... until this morning!

I left for work at 8.10am...excited at the prospect of being EARLY for a change! ;) (I'm usually on time, or slightly late :s)

I hit the Western Ring Rd...on my way to St Albans... in FIRST gear! It was the Western Car Park! I hate driving in first gear! I finally got into 2nd gear... back to first...finally 2nd again! Oh...back to first... stop. Go. Stop. Go. Let somebody in. Stop. Go.... half an hour to get to the Tulla turn off... then somehow I'm in THIRD gear! And wait a second! I'm DRIVING!!!! :):):) It was like magic how most of the traffic suddenly disappeared and we were moving freely... I SHOULD have been close to work by the Tulla...but no...

FINALLY I get to 4th then my beloved 5th gear! Poor 5th gear didn't get much of a workout today :(

I finally arrive at work... 9.20am! (including having to park in a street across the road coz the carpork was full...and there was roadwork outside making it extrememly difficult to cross the road!) Can you believe it took me so long!!!! Normally it would only take me 30-40minutes. I was supposed start at 9...AND I left early... I'm glad I left early, otherwise who knows what time I would've arrived! Nobody seemed to notice or care abt the time I arrived...

THEN coming home... I hit the Ring Rd again... the Variable Speed Signs say 80km...then 60...then 70...then 60... then 90...then 100! I was in the mood to cruise at 100 in 5th gear...oh well. No idea why the speed limit got so low...maybe they were testing us to see who would obey the law...most people did for a change! :) Usually it's 100kph the whole way.

NOW I understand the frustration of many Melbourne drivers! Usually I start at 9.30 at this worksite so I miss most of the bad traffic... but not today. Half an hour can do so much! ;)