Back to School

It's September. It's time for everyone to head back to the classroom. For some, it's today, for others they've got a little longer to wait. It means for me that things are now going quickly and before I know it, it will be a week on Friday and I'll be faced with Shaken Up restarting. We'll be back into school and thinking about how we can effectively minister to all of the schools in the town.

I'm at home now, back from a long weekend in Bristol, staying with Kay and her family for the last time, since Kay is moving in with her brother on the other side of the village. So hopefully when I go back at some point, I'll stay with Kay instead!

I really enjoyed going to Bristol, there are so many things to do, and we always find something new to do. I didn't get a chance to see some of the tourist attractions when I worked there, so I get to do some of that. This time we went to Cabot Circus, which was only opened this year and we went to Salsa lessons, which was a lot of fun!

I'm hoping that plans for the new term will slot into place soon!

Karen is coming to stay for a couple of days so we're going to do some catching up and have a look at some Africa pictures!

Heading to Bristol

I'm half way through my holiday, so it must be time to head back to the other side of the country to see my surrogate family. So it's off the see Kay and Jenny, and visit all the old places. I can't believe it's been 2 years since I left, some times it feels like only yesterday, other times it feels like it's a whole other life!

Today I have set up the Wii Fit that I got for my birthday. I soon found out that my Wii Fit age was 36. So I spent an hour and got it down to 26. Practice makes perfect, now I've just got to start losing a little bit of fat and turning it into muscle. I love running and hula hooping, plus the step class! So I'm looking forward to the next couple of months, unlocking all the activites and getting fitter...then perhaps I'll move outdoors!

Tonight I'm going out for a few drinks, to catch up with a couple of people I haven't seen for a long time!

Then it's back to work and back to school all in one heavy rush!

Lots of the white stuff

Here they are in order of creation...


Boris - looking a bit like a girl, but for a first attempt its not too bad.


Casper - our second attempt - we tried to go bigger than Boris, but it didn't quite work, so we ended up with a pile of snow and Kay gave it a face and a name.


And this is our third attempt and his name is Andrew - just because he is as tall and as skinny as my younger brother!

All fun, not too cold, but lots of snow fell while we were creating them. It was really cold, but we layered up and went out. Snow is a lot more fun when you're with someone who is incredibly excited about it all! (Kay's 24, she got the day off work and I've never seen her so excited!)

So now we're warming back up again and taking it slow.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get home and then go into London for the Strictly come Dancing Tour!

Taking a walk

Through Bristol town centre, also taking a few photos of the unusual things I've seen while I've been here...

Namely this...
This is a shot of the Harvey Nichols store in Cabot Circus at the centre of Bristol... yes that is a mannequin with its arms stretched wide, wrists at a funny angle and the others posed in a oh-so-stylish model like way... ridiculous. I had to stand off-centre cos there was a man watching me. I'm sure there is an ironic or biblical point to that...but as it stands all I can think about is scarificing all your worldly possessions to follow Christ.

This is the second photo I took...


This is a picture of one of the 'main streets' of Cabot Circus... you can clearly see that the roof isn't all one piece, so in my opinion, you could be dry one minute and wet the next if you're walking through. It's like the developers either couldn't decided what to do or didn't have enough money... All in all it's a strange and expensive experience (£3 for up to two hours of parking - so I didn't stay long), but its a shopping experience none the less, and a chance to spend some time looking at all the shops... even if I've not got enough money to buy! Some of the stores, like H & M (one of my faves) have a smaller store in Cabot Circus and a large store in another part of town... I don't know if that's a marketing ploy (i.e. come and see our store in CC, if you can't find anything you like, go to our bigger store and spend money there!) or just not very joined up thinking.... I thought there would be more of an opportunity for bespoke stores, but I guess the rent could now be excessively high (how else are they going to get the cost justified?) for small businesses starting out.

Still its shopping...

Finally here's a picture of the linking bridge, between the car park and the shops


Bottom left is the path, its a wonky bridge, so I took a wonky picture! (It's meant to be arty!) Again, in my 'I'm a member of the public' opinion, it's poorly designed. If you take a proper look at it, you'll notice that there's a gap between the sides and the roof. While above you is covered, there are gaps where sidewards rain can get in an soak you if you're walking across. It's a sturdy structure, so no chance of it being closed in high winds, but people might not park because they don't want to get battered by the weather!

Speaking of weather... driving in snow storms and wet conditions yesterday was interesting! I got in the car after stopping at Reading services and it started to absolutely chuck it down! I've never driven in snow like that, I hope that I don't have to do it again too soon, but I'm getting some motorway driving in!

Cold Weather

Yeah, it's 10pm... so I'm watching the news and already the cold weather and snow have affected the roads and rail links across the country. We knew it was coming, we've had fair warning... why then is there disruption?

Last night before things got too cold, we had our first ever mingles night at Christ Church, well, not quite, we ended up in the pub and I knew everyone there! But never the less, we got to spend time together, we got to chat, drink and laugh... Hopefully this won't be the last time we meet, so keep your eyes peeled for new dates and events!

Tomorrow, I take my first proper, full week away from work, away from Essex. I'm not going to training, I'm not going on an organised retreat, I'm just going away. So to Cheltenham tomorrow, Bristol on Tuesday and Luton on Thursday...

Of course I'll tell you how it goes... you don't need to ask!

Kicking into gear

Well...it seems the summer is over...not that it actually felt like it had begun at all, but there we go.

I did want to blog pictures of some of the things I've been doing today, but as ever, with different systems, you end up opening something on a different computer (namely new Vista on new system to new laptop with XP), and it doesn't quite match what you've spent hours doing, so you have to go back to the original system and create .jpg's of everything.

Basically I've blogged about it, but I can't actually be bothered to go upstairs and carry out the process that I've just described...maybe tomorrow, definitely before the term begins, you will be able to see all of my wonderful publicity on the web in various places - here I come church website!!

I also spent some time doing the visuals for those who don't have internet access - so the board in church is half complete with notes tagged to it for all the additional things i need to create for me to be happy with it.

Now that I've done all of this I've just got to pray that I get some young people along...

The rest of the day has been spent listening to the new Hillsong album and recovering from being in Bristol!!

Blogging from Bristol!

In Kay's kitchen, relishing good food and good company...On retrat for a couple of days, before term starts and things get hetic...

Not a lot to report really, just thought I'd let you know where I've been!

Kay and I have been into her school, I've been catching up on church news and sitting in the coffee shop. I've also been into Bristol to see the new development, which is opening soon...very exciting stuff, it feels a lot more built up and busy atm.

So back to Billericay on Wednesday, then meetings and a publicity run for the young people.

NEW LAPTOP!

Finally...it works! I have a screen that is fixed and although its not properly set up yet, I'm happy with my new laptop. The technician didn't turn up until 5pm though...If I'd been on my own all day...boy would I have been angry when he knocked on the door.

Still, all happy now, I have to purchase a laptop bag soon. I have a feeling this one is going to be pink so that I don't leave it somewhere!

Kay's back in Bristol, spending a few days just chilling with her has been good fun!

We're heading to Thorpe Park this weekend, which I'm a little bit excited about, going to check out all the new rides and hopefully get in for half price...photo's (as always) to follow!

Time Check

It's 11:27 and I'm inside waiting for the technician from Dell to show up...currently I'm bored, but there's an air of anticipation that he's going to do something amazing and I'm going to have a laptop to set up by the end of today.

If he doesn't turn up then I'm safe in the knowledge that Kay will definitely not disappoint!

A bit of Bristol is coming to Essex and I'm a little excited about it!

Finding a seat...

Can prove more difficult than you initially think.

I sat down on Friday afternoon, only to find that the bloke who sat next to me had exactly the same seat number on his ticket. The train guard had a little bit of a paddy when we mentioned it to him. 'It's not my fault, what do you expect me to do, you've all got a seat, haven't you?'.

I will not be using thetrainline.com for any future purchases, and will be phoning them tomorrow morning to tell them that they've got some serious problems with their ticket distribution. I expect to have a seat when I'm given a seat number, not to have to feel guilty for sitting in someone else's seat on a packed train.

Anyway, other than that, my weekend in Bristol has been fun, Miss Kay is ill, so I will wish her well (that's what being a teacher does to you!). We went shopping on Friday and Saturday and I've seen a very cool 'under the sea' classroom! Sleeping was the main agenda for the weekend, as well as the odd drink. Sat in the Beaufort, it felt like I'd never been away...and it's always good to see the shock on some people's faces when they realise you're back! Good to see people though...unfortunately I didn't make it to church, but I will do next time I'm there.

Right, I have to go and look for possible courses that I can do as part of my next job.

Apologies

I'm going to blog at some point, when I've got a spare nano second or two. Sorry...

I have been very busy at work, social workers do not understand the concept of 'as soon as you know'.

Bristol was amazing as always...looking forward to seeing the Banquet photos!

Off to Makro (yeay) to buy some supplies for the youth group!

Take it all...

The joys of Hillsong, from 'Take, take, take it all' to 'I will worship you for who you are'. These are the songs I've been singing for the last few days at work. A good lyric can just get me, and will not get out of my head for days on end. I'm quite surprised that no-one has told me to shut up yet!

Now I just have to figure out how to turn the bass down on the computer speakers!

If you get a chance - check out the link on Ant's blog (below and to the right) for the new look St Mike's web address. A whole mixture of feelings for me at the moment. The start of a new term and I'm not in Stoke Gifford, full time youth work is not my job any more. Pray for the full-time youth team (Ant, Trev and Cath) as well as the large group of extra-timers who are involved in a huge on-going ministry. You don't know how much I miss you all.

A bit of a glum moment.

This week at work has been a tough one. I think I've figured out that being in charge of two areas is not a one person job, or a two person job, it's one and a half almost. I felt absolutely swamped on Wednesday, but today I got through emails that weren't urgent. Having two people takes the pressure off a lot. Still getting an email today for transport tomorrow at 3.30pm today is not funny.

But this week will end on a high (of sorts). Tomorrow is a day off (yeay) which is to be filled by watching the Davis Cup (umm..). I also got my very own stapler and hole punch today! Woot! The exciting life of Liz!

Pictures of tennis and a weekend sports commentary to follow...

On the move...

Not only am I going to Bristol for a couple of days this weekend, I'm also starting a new job on Tuesday morning with the council! Exciting, eh?

The last two weeks have been a little on the crazy side, and so much of a roller coaster, its been hard to get to grips with just what is happening in my life. Just a week ago I was saying goodbye to a very good friend of mine, he's now on a ship somewhere and it's difficult to keep up with him! That was a sad occasion and I'm looking forward to seeing him when he eventually gets back.

Last Friday I was saying hello to Kay, who is a very good friend. I've pretty much spoken to her every day since I left Bristol, now whenever I'm on the phone my parents don't need to ask who I'm talking to! I'm off to see her tomorrow, spend a couple of days in Stoke Gifford before starting my new job. It was really good fun having Kay stay in Billericay for a few days, I really enjoy her company! Unfortunately she'd built Essex up to be something that, well, frankly it isn't and going out on Saturday night didn't much help her impressions! Still we had a lot of fun and we're happy at the end of the night! When she left on Sunday, I was not in a happy mood. The sore throat that I'd gotten from drinking too much completely wiped me out, so I went to bed.

Monday was spent mainly feeling sorry for myself, although I did end up going out with my brother and his mates in the evening. The night started off well, but I hit a point where I just could not be bothered any more. I don't know if you've ever experienced a change in attitude quickly (otherwise known as a mood swing), one thats so quick, you're caught by surprise? I was completely, and I realised that I have been in self destruct mode for a few weeks. I wasn't happy when I woke up on Tuesday and felt even lower walking into the job centre to claim my JSA (which rather ironically I won't have to do any more as my circumstances have changed!), so I'm doing something about it.

That's enough of that! I'm just going to draw your attention to a new link on the side panel. Its the blog of a magazine, and a very good read.

Right, off to pack!!

P.S. How is it that sex sells everything? From Paint (Dulux during Ugly Betty at 11am this morning) to Fabric conditioner - I am so shocked, why can't we just have cute babies and dogs again?

P.P.S. (Because another entry would be crazy) My brother is currently playing music in our drive that is so loud I can hear all of the words, and I would turn it down if the sound system was in the same room. No where to escape!

For the very last time...

I'm blogging from Stoke Gifford, because as of tomorrow I will be back in Essex, I am trying so hard not to cry. I've said a lot of my goodbyes today and yet none of it seems real.

But still I have to go and I do so with a smile on my face. It's been a brilliant year!

Thank you...

"For I know the plans I have for you"

declares the Lord,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm,

plans to give you a hope and a future"

Words that I know are true, words that have constantly reminded me that what is going on in my life is right and for a purpose greater than I could ever imagine.

Today would've been the best day of my life, I was meant to be getting married.

Instead I'm sat in the church office, listening to the rain and sorting out plans for our Big Day Out tomorrow. As the school year comes to an end, I've been thinking about the last couple of months. Stoke Gifford feels a lot like home, St Michael's church have welcomed me and blessed me in so many ways.

There's so much to be said about this year - all the highs and all the lows, but there aren't enough words. I guess one big word is THANK YOU. To all the people who have helped me and have been looking out for me. To all of the teenagers who have made my year so much fun!

Seeing how God works in this world always amazes me!