Someone's stolen the lake!!

During high school I was always one of those people who'd say "we have to keep in contact after we leave school" or "I'll never lose contact with you guys coz you're all so cool" but the fact remains that regardless of my thoughts or expectations I did somewhat lose contact.

Keep in mind that i was in the graduating class of '08 so I'm not long out of school... anyways, in light of this discovery... that i hadn't seen all my friends at one place in yonks (I know old people word for 'ages'), i decided it was fitting to have a sleepover.

I figured either loads of them would turn up or none at all so i had a 50/50 chance, I put out an invite via facebook and also txt to all 18 girls (I went to an all girls school hence no guys sleeping over). I didn't give much notice either coz i knew a few would be like "oh i can't make it coz i'm umm busy" and from past experience it's best 2 give our group no notice and that way there is more chance they are free coz they have no time to come up with something else to do in the mean time.

There was nine of us altogether and we honestly talked constantly for the first 5 hours.

It was an absolutely awesome night,

 no one went home sick, 

we all had barely any sleep, 

we all acted like idiots, 

we all ate until we could eat no more

 and best of all we created more memories to last us a lifetime.

I love you guys so much,

you are my life,my love,my help

;D

...Can't wait for the next one...

Oh... 'someone's stolen the lake' was a story about one of the girls' sisters. 

She was wacked off her face with a few of her friends. They found a lake and sat in a boat in it for 4 hrs until they reached the grass again, after this they went back to the house they were staying at and slept it off. In the morning one of her friends was sitting by the window crying - her sister asked why she was crying and saying "oh no" and she said "someone's stolen the lake". She looked out the window and there was not a lake to be seen in fact there was no lake at all on the property. The friend said "see it's gone and we were the last to use it" then she realised oh my gosh we were so gone that we thought we were on a boat in a lake but really we were just sitting on the grass!

John 15: 13-

The greatest love you can have for your friends is to give your life for them.

God Bless

Elleness

xxx

The Whole Fambam

It's a rare thing to see my whole family together in one place at one time... and so this blog is not about that bahahaha, okay whatever. But seriously, this weekend I went away with almost my whole immediate family for the first time since i was about 5, perhaps younger (who knows) but yeah, to my surprise it was actually loads of fun.

The car trip began an hour late in our typical household style - i really don't think we're ever on time. We locked the front door and then locked the gate, but then paused for a moment and laughed - nothing suss at all i mean we always leave the house at this time and lock the gate.. right?? right?? well no we don't so yeh nothing suss. 

The navman brought us laughs straight away... or was it my stupidity. So you know the voice of the navman like how it sounds and what they say e.g. "in 400m at the round-a-bout take the second exit" anyways i started repeating the words after they were said and mum was like   "Gahhh!!! do we have to listen to this the whole way?!?!" Dad didn't really answer and so i continued but this time i began making different comments like "in 400m i won't give a shit so you can find your way alone" or instead of "perform a U-turn where possible" i'd say "oi, you're going the wrong way d***head turn around now" It took a few moments but then everyone cracked up and so we switched it to silent.

Nicklebutt filled us in with some rhymes about a cat and a rat and some hats.. or something along the way. Catpoo stuck to his anime on his i-touch but graced us with his presence for a few mins now and then to share a memory or two. I wrote out some txt msgs... i know i'm weird i write out my txts - i swear one day someone is going to find the books filled with txts and be like geez who is this girl or hmm what's up with this chick she is seriously messed up.

We passed a crash site on the way up...a caravan was totally smashed to bits - Catpoo recorded it on vid to give us a reason to explain our lateness but we ended up arriving on time anyhow. I didn't mention before.. the gathering/holiday was planned for all the members of dads work sorta like a christmas party and so yeah there were loads of other families. When we arrived we checked in and received our keys and then headed back to the car 2 drive to our room - did i mention... it's a huge complex?? anyways mum and dad bickered all the way to our room about which direction to turn and what cabin no. we were... 08 or 80 but eventually we figured it out - us kids gave them the correct directions.

The boys upstairs loft

Main pool area

It was number 08 and oh my gosh it was like a house for

goodness-sakes... enough for six people to sleep + 2 lounges, kitchen, television, 2 bathrooms and a sweet as upstairs loft and the sickest view outside. The family was just like woooaaahhh this is.... SO COOL!!!!

The rest of the weekend included: The lake/ beach/ pool/ spa/ kids/ food /drinks/ ice-cream/ fruit/ sleep/ weird signs/ pelicans/ bugs/ movies/ broken legs/ sunburn/ blood-clots/ complimentary soaps/ phones/ flips/ swearing/ alcohol/ sleeping/ laughing and driving. Oh and THE best breakfast of all time!!! We completed our weekend with mass, in which catpoo, dad and i could almost not contain our laughter due to the odd inflections and emphasis the priest was putting on his words.

...However...

 A great time was had by all and I can't wait to go on holidays again... especially with my crazy laughable, lovable family <3... p.s. Free range children.... mmm

Acts 6:7

And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests accepted the faith.

God Bless
Elleness
xxx

Challenges and Temptations

Last year roughly around October I was challenged by a friend to stop one of my crazy habbits. He vowed that I would not last that night without submitting to this habbit... soo me being me, I tried with all my strength not to cave in.

... and after a 30 something hr day with no rest i managed to not submit, yay!!

from that night/long day onwards i decided, hmmm if i can not do it one night... why not two... or three... or a week... and so began the self set challenge which i managed to hold until about April of this year.

I've decided that perhaps i should try the challenge again just to push myself, see if I can still hack it.. plus i feel better about myself when i don't submit... so yeh that's the challenge.

This is not the only challenge I have taken up... but i hope to succeed in both these

James 1: 12

Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love Him.

God Bless
Elleness
xxx

Best FAIL Road-trip Ever

 [sorry if this is long]

Start destination: Blacktown area/ Time: 3hrs/ Distance: approx. 230kms/ Final destination: Currarong

that was the plan... this is what it became...

Start destination: Blacktown area/ Time: 3hrs/ Distance: ???/ Final destination: Little Bay

The goal was to spend a few days with some mates from uni during the holiday period @ the South Coast. The outcome was something completely different but still the trip of a lifetime.

It all started on tuesday morning... as per usual i was running extremely late and didn't finish packing until about 12 midday when really that would have been the ideal time to arrive at the venue but nevertheless, it all happened for a reason. Shortly after this I set off to pick up my closest uni friend Kara to complete the trip together, but not 2 mins in i realised i didn't have my street directory so i headed back and got it.

Finally i got to Kara's and we packed the car... you'd think we were staying for ages with what we had but we were only planning on staying just 1 night in order to get back in time for different plans at the end of the week. We set off to the local shops where we ran into my grandparents "the spend thrifts" who gave us their cinnamon doughnuts for the trip... sweeet.

1pm: We left the shops after filling up on petrol and hunger fuel, we set off on our journey down the first main highway. Continued onto the next main highway as directed by our online navigator "whereis.com" who by the way we will never use again. After quite some time and a lot of chatting Kara and i decided to check what the next turn would be. Not moments later our so called exit came up... and chatting away we didn't realise until we had passed it, we had just been talking about how crappy it would be if someone needed to turn around coz it was double lines and so we're pretty sure we jinxed ourselves. Illegally... we crossed the double lines and back tracked a lot of 'kms' and eventually got back to where we were supposed to be. Our vow from that point on was to slow down before any turn offs to make sure we were in the right place.

3pm-ish: Following our instructions we were excited to have finally come across the first of 3 supposed round-a-bouts... YAY!! but soon after this we started to see buildings and city life after only trees and sand and grass and nature which we were sure was what we needed to head towards. Looking at the names of upcoming places we found it impossible to resist laughing as one by one we noticed a suburb that we knew was nowhere near where we wanted to be. We continued to follow the road that we knew now was taking us in the opposite direction....

4pm: We pulled into maccas right near Sydney airport, called our mothers and decided that at this point there was honestly no hope of us finding our way with enough time to actually do something at the destination. We called our friends and decided to break the news... it went down well... not! lol our friends were like dude you guys are stupid it's like 3 roads and u just keep following them - how can you seriously get lost??? I decided it was probably a good idea to find someone's place to crash at so that we didn't have to go home and be completely disappointed about not getting to the beach. I called my cousin who lives reasonably close to the airpot/beach, but there was no answer so we set off to her place anyhow.

5pm: Having arrived at my cousins place in Little Bay half an hour before we came to the conclusion she was not there after ringing the doorbell multiple times. In order to lift our spirits and any hope in the idea of getting somewhere to sleep, i decided we should walk down to the beach and catch some rays & waves before the day was gone. On our return we rang the doorbell again (it is a four story apartment building by the way) but there was still nothing. Kara and i looked at each other and cracked up... this had to be the most spontaneous thing we'd ever done and it wasn't working out well. We walked to the doorbell one more time and at that moment my cousins flat mate walked out of the lift and stood pointing at us with an expression of surprise, she opened the door and said hello, what are you doing here? she welcomed us in and explained that Rebecca (my cousin) was actually visiting her father and so it would just be us and her for the night.

From this point on we took the dog for a walk, ordered pizza, stayed up late eating junk food and then headed off to bed. In the morning we were woken up by the one and only Harry... Becs dog, who rammed himself into our bedroom door so many times that it eventually swung open and he jumped on the bed to greet us good morning. The rest of the day was so laid back... like a real holiday, we watched tv, went to the beach, slept on the beach, went in the spa and just plain chilled.

The trip home only took us 1 hr... imagine that - and thus completes the re-telling of our epic fail journey btw my car remained fine for the entire trip and then would not start at Kara's place just 10mins from my house.

At least we got to the beach... Little Bay

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day. And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and external glory, much greater than the trouble. For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts for ever.

God Bless
Elleness
xxx

One of those days

You know those days when you feel like complete crap... 

when nothing you do seems to make it better

all you wanna do is sit in your room and cry

you think and re-think things over an over again

you listen to sad songs, which just makes things worse

you look through old pictures and remember all the good times

you stare into space and everything just stops

[How I feel today]

You know those days when you feel remarkable...

when it doesn't matter what your doing, you'd still feel great

all you wanna do is run and skip and jump outdoors

you don't have to think you just know

you listen to music coz it only makes you feel better

you take loads of photos so you can remember how much fun you had

you only stop at the end of the day to rest and reflect 

[How I'll feel tomorrow]

2 Timothy 3: 1

Remember that there will be difficult times in the last days

God Bless
Elleness
xxx

Just Two Questions

So I was at work yesterday... a 21st birthday party...

when my shift finished i was bombarded by a bunch of guys

the main guy... or 'ladies man' or 'player' said to me "hey can i ask you two questions?"

Elle: "Yeh sure"

Player: "Okay first question... are you single?"

Elle: "Yes, I am"

Player: "K cool, second question... will you take his number?" *points to wing man*

Elle: "Umm..."

Player: "He's just really shy you see" *wing man turns away and tries not to draw any attention to himself*

Elle: "Umm..."

Player: "Here's my phone just punch in your number..."

- so I did... probably because i was slightly excited that some guys thought i was cute and partly because they were good looking -  

Player: "Okay so is this really your number?"

Elle: "yes, what do you think i gave you a fake number?"

Player: "Nah nah i'm just checkin... get your phone out and i'll call you now and we'll see"

Elle: "Okay sure fine whatever, if you don't believe me..."

All the Guys: "Oooooohh, check it it's ringing, no way bro, dude"

Elle: "so now that your number is on my phone... what's your name?"

Player: "that's not important but if you must know it's Josh"

Elle: "thanks"    

Matthew 7: 7-8

Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock.

God Bless
Elleness
xxx

It's Bad for you...

They say that you can never have too much of a good thing, but that's gotta be wrong right?? I mean honestly never?? that's a pretty strong word.. it means NO time in the past or future, come on!


A few examples to illustrate my point...


Food: You know at easter when you get all this chocolate and there's a massive family lunch/dinner. Food is supposed to be good for you right.. coz if you don't eat it you'll wither away but here's the crux if you eat TOO MUCH then you'll either get sick or get extremely big and eventually have health issues. So are you sure about the never...?


Houses/Property: It's a shelter, to protect you from all of life's harsh weapons. So you still think you can never have TOO MUCH ? or in this case too many, I'd say you're wrong again because with a house comes responsibility and bills and taxes which isn't always the best if you don't have enough money to support yourself, see...?


Medication: It's often needed to make us feel better or recover when we are sick, but then again if we have TOO MUCH of it we can end up more sick than we started or even induce an overdose which can lead to death, can you see where this is going...?


Money: It's always good to have a little money because it helps to pay the bills, buy the food, ensure the house and ultimately it = comfortability. But with TOO MUCH it can turn us into demons or at least greedy angry people who want more and more and never feel happy again because there's always something we want more, getting my point...?


Relationships: They are good for building confidence, learning about feelings and respect. Filled with challenges and things to overcome as well as experiences to grow and learn from. But if you have TOO MUCH or in other words more than one partner... you'd be causing more stress or unnecessary hurt which is bad, correct...?

Honestly i reckon you could find a number of things to prove my point.. Fire, water, birth, death, time...

It's kind of like when you smell something bad and you make an expression of disgust... and yet... 

you keep smelling it, regardless of the fact that it smells foul or terrible and it won't change.

But i guess it's a curiosity thing... one of my many flaws 

John 1:18

No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

God Bless

Elleness

xxx

I am an Elf...

Totally sorry don't mean to bombard you all with Harry Potter Stuff... But blimey Harry that was a good movie - simply cannot wait to see the next one. I do however still have the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th books to read in the mean time =D

I made a complete idiot of myself at the beginning of the film when i knocked over this guys extra large coke but he seemed to take it okay... i felt terrible from that point on and my lovely friend and brother didn't hesitate to rub it in a little. I vowed never to take them both to see another movie but the truth is they are the most fun people to be with and I won't be able to keep from breaking that vow.

Before the most epic movie of the day/week/month/year, earlier today i was doing some tidying up... It's funny how many forms I find on my desk where they should be but couldn't find when I needed them. Does that ever happen to you?? Anyway not only do i find lost papers, I also find unwanted spiders,  missing buttons, hidden textbooks, unwashed clothing and most importantly Money- WOO HOO. 

Every so often i also go through my draws and boxes to sort out what kinda crap I'm hoarding and if I could possibly get rid of some things to make room for more important things. In my travels today I came across and great many number of photos... each filled with memories and a long reflective pause. Below is a picture of my mother and I... one of my favs, thought i'd share the love. 

P.s. My hand smells like you...

 Romans 12: 17-19

If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it.

God Bless

Elleness

xxx

No Refunds... No Returns...

Please Note: For change of mind, we do not return, exchange or refund.

-------- OR--------

Should you change your mind we will happily exchange or refund providing the following conditions have been met: 

1. The items with the original receipt are returned within 21 days of purchase.

2. Items must be in original condition as purchased, with all labels/tickets attached.

3. You provide us with your name, address and contact details to maintain the integrity of the transactions.

No this blog isn't about some item of clothing that i couldn't return and how angry it's made me...

But instead about the returning of items after a relationship in what i like to call the 'DROP OFF'

Similar to a refund: someone had goods that they wanted and then later decided they didn't want/need anymore...

or even if it was given as a gift, it's just as though it didn't fit so they're returning it...

Although it seems as though it'd be a simple task to return something, there is more to it than meets the eye:

Don't want to return it straight away incase you decide to change your mind again.

Don't want to return it straight away incase you were wrong about your decision.

Won't be going near the shops again anytime soon after the hassle from last time.

Won't be going near that person again anytime soon after the last blow up.

The shops are miles away from my place and there's no reason to travel out that far.

Their house is miles away from my place and there's no reason to travel out that far.

And this all continues.. until the point where it's pretty much the same feeling for both...

After I return it, I feel lost and empty, like I've got to fill the void by getting a new better one.

It took so long to plan to return it, to remember to bring it in my car.

... and ah crap I forgot something else now, grrrrr...

So yes, can you tell i've been getting/giving the 'drop off' lately??

There is so much prep that goes into it... when do we meet? where do we meet? what do we say? what do we do? do we hug? do we kiss? what are we? are we friends? do you hate me? do you love me?

We should just leave it... return to it later, when it won't be so awkward. 

Weeks later: Sooo here's your stuff...

 thanks... 

*awkward hug*

well bye... 

yeah cya... 

have a nice life...

you too...

Psalms 139: 13-16

You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because you are to be feared; all you do is strange and wonderful. I know it with all my heart. When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother's womb, when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there - you saw me before I was born. 

God Bless

Elleness

xxx

Fully Funny Family

Ecclesiastes 9:9

Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.

I spent yesterday amongst family (not just immediate) and it got me thinking, how much do I truly appreciate them?? and how much will I miss them when they're gone??

The answer is... I'll miss them to no end especially if I realise that I could have spent more time with them before they passed. But this blog isn't all about the sad I'll miss you, I love you stuff... it's sorta like a mini profile for them... My Family.

Mummy: The spiritual Guru

Unlike many Mother - Daughter relationships that I know of, I am particularly close to my mother. It's always been this way and i wouldn't want it to change it for a second. My mother is my rock, my soul, my sister, my friend, my teacher, my counsellor she's the presence in my life. Growing up i shared all my secrets with her and could talk for hours about nothing at all, to this day i tell her nearly everything about me- including the details of my love life that she'd rather not know. A few years ago we had a scare when mum got really sick for the first time ever, she was honestly hours from her death bed and to this day the doctors cannot explain why she didn't die. She always refers to me as possum her 'little angel' but I'd have she's my angel. I'm so grateful to have her in my life and I'm not ready to let go of her yet, so for now i'll just say 'I love you Mum'. 

Daddy: The Funny Nut

LuluB'elle' is the name i answer to when he's around. He claims my first word was butterfly and so whenever we're hanging out at home he utters that word in a little girly voice. I'm a lot like my father or so people say, I inherited his sense of humour, his bright lovable hug-able personality, his sociableness and his expressions. We crack each other up, especially when we sit at the dinner table, throwing jokes off each other and then taking it too far. In public we are much the same... doing the 'ministry of silly walks' in the city, staring at locked doors to confuse passersby, tripping each other over in the shops and ticking me till I can't breathe. Sometimes I feel like I don't say I love you enough to him or that we don't see each other enough but the truth is he's the first person I always want to run to when something is wrong. He's my strong man, he protects me from monsters, makes me smile when I'm down and teaches me when I'm clueless.

Nathaniel: The Oldest Coolest Bro

Aka Random, he's the older brother that all my friends think is totally cool,he's the smooth guy who picks up girls everywhere and anywhere and always has to be right. Even though we are very different and pretty distant every time we get together I can't help but prove myself to him or to show him all the neat things I've been doing and I think secretly he's proud of me and I'm thankful for that. I love him a lot which he probably doesn't know but if I lost him I'd cry for a long while... I even cried one time after he died in my dream.

Nicklebutt: The 2nd Child

Aka Fartass or Dickless, he's a complete crack up... even when he's trying to be serious. Always forgets to close the toilet door when I'm home, walks out of the bathroom (which is directly across from my bedroom) without a towel. He's always so proud of me and all my achievements but he still encourages me to push myself further, to reach my ultimate potential. His theory is that, he couldn't reach what i can so it'd be a waste if I didn't push myself. Even though I get very short with him all the time, I truly do love him and if I was to lose him tomorrow I'd be missing a part of my life.

Catpoo: The little man with BIG potential

Aka Poo, Catty, Nickmatt, he's my little bro, completely obsessed with Anime and pretty much anything to do with Japan. He spends his days and nights on the computer or sketching in his room oh and at school. Honestly he's a super smart kid with awesome skills he just needs to give a crap sometimes. I practically raised him as my kid growing up and we use to be so tight, playing random games together all the time like 'ATM's' or 'restaurants' or just spinning in circles in the lounge room. Anyhow nowadays I don't give him a second to speak or I shut down his talking topic before he gets to say anything but if I could stop his death from occurring I'd jump in-front of a train for him I honestly love him to pieces.

Grandma & Granddad: The dancers

My mums parents are very different... Granddad is very quiet and likes to listen to and play his music especially piano and Grandma is very loud and joyous, loves to be creative and artistic. These two would have to be one of the coolest sets of grandparents ever... and everyone says so too. They love to get out and about and are always interested to know what the latest gadgets are and how they work. I'm lucky to still have them both at this point of my life and i don't plan of losing them anytime soon because I know I'd be crushed if either one of them wasn't around to talk to. I pray that they live forever or at least until their 90's-100's.

Nana and Pa: The spend thrifts 

Dads parents, getting older now- both in their 80's, what I love about them is that I can drop by anytime, with any friends and they will welcome me in and offer food & drink and a good old chat. Some of the best times are had talking about old memories and my dad and uncles growing up and all the trouble they got themselves into. I love them so much that I can't picture life without them at present and I hope i don't have to for quite some time.

So that's my not to short spiel on the family and there are still many more members that are not mentioned, however i don't have all night and i am almost asleep.

 Grandmas Family Photo Wheel

GodBless

Elleness

xxx

Love Vs. Hate

A topic that always seems to be on my mind, thought i'd expand for a moment.


Love: (noun) an intense feeling of deep affection. Babies fill their parents with intense feelings of love.
Hate: (verb) to feel intense or passionate dislike for someone/something. The boys hate each other.


Both of these are described as intense, intense meaning: extreme or powerful, and both in their own rights are strong enough to have great impact. If you think about, can you recall a time when you thought... "geez that's a little full on i mean do you really HATE her??" or "do you really LOVE him??".


I've got a friend who vows never to say she HATES someone unless she truly does resent them in every way shape and form, with every cell of her body. She also happens to be the person who would question the validity of an individual who'd said they LOVED someone after only having known them for a short period of time.


Nowadays I think we tend to use these two words too loosely e.g. "Mrs.Blank failed me just because I didn't spell check my essay, I hate her!" or "That guy at the club last night was so hot, yeah I totally love him". It's becoming a blurry divide in the middle, but shouldn't the two be separate?? I mean one is supposed to mean absolute 'dislike' and the other absolute 'like'. 

Is it possible to genuinely love someone and yet hate them at the same time???

Been thinking about this stuff for quite some time now, I guess we really can't trust the words of today. I've got female friends or 'x-friends' that supposedly hate me but in a week or two we'll be talking again. I've got  male friends who supposedly love me and yet i am single, so what i've learnt from love & hate so far is that the two are not always as they seems and that they are inseparable. 

[ Poem from 10 things I hate about  you]

I hate the way you talk to me, 

and the way you cut your hair.

I hate the way you drive my car, 

I hate it when you stare. 

I hate your big dumb combat boots 

and the way you read my mind. 

I hate you so much it makes me sick,

it even makes me rhyme. 

I hate the way you're always right, 

I hate it when you lie. 

I hate it when you make me laugh,

even worse when you make me cry. 

I hate it when you're not around, 

and the fact that you didn't call. 

But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you, 

not even close

not even a little bit 

not even at all. 

Corinthians 13: 4-8

Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous on conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish  or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and it's faith, hope, and patience never fail. 

Love is eternal

God Bless

Elleness

xxx

In The Beginning...

Genesis 1: 1- 4
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light: and there was light.

And so it begins... 

My first ever Blog... 

And thus the beginning of what may become my escape...

 my hide out... 

the place where I can truly be...

ELLE

God Bless

Elleness

xxx