From Where Im At

Young People and Bullying

2008-07-18T11:17:00.002+01:00

So I read yesterday that more than 71% of young people admit to being the bully, I thought well that’s interesting but not really surprising. A lot of people pick on other people at some point, mostly without even realising it. This is when I noticed the definition that they had given; this wasn’t just picking on someone once in a while this was a consistent act that happened more than once. Now I am scared.
Having been bullied not only in school but also in the work place, I have serious concerns about the abuse of power that seems to be rising up in our society. These aren’t situations that are brushed under the carpet anymore but this that happen blatantly in the open for all to see, it is becoming socially acceptable to bully people. In fact it is even encouraged, it s an activity for the majority.
This makes counteracting bullying within a school context, (something that is often considered top of the code of conduct in most schools) something of impossibility. Teachers don’t have time to observe their pupils behaviour, that can’t take the time to notice what is happening. If such a large percentage of young people are being bullies then that means that this is happening all the time, why is this happening? Christian youth worker are increasingly finding a place in school both as visitors and within school pastoral support teams so how can we be effective in being a counter active force and starting to identify the actual problems?

7th time a bridesmaid...already been a bride!

2008-04-10T13:12:00.002+01:00

Joy, my sister-in-law to be, has asked me to be Bridesmaid and her wedding with my little brother. This is exciting as it means I get a pretty dress made all special and stuff.
Ben is going to be best man with Baz which will be an interesting adventure for him! I'm sure will be entertaining and that the stag weekend will revolve around footie! The wedding is in November so that won't really give us very much time for lots of plotting and planning but i'm sure I can help them embarrass Nate!
I am excited to know what colour my dress will be I'm hoping Joy will fill me in next week, what are autumn colours for weddings? I'm not really sure.
It makes me fondly remember my wedding which was three years ago now, scary!

Learning to be a People Person!

2008-03-20T14:29:00.002Z

So this weekend I am seeing loads of people, which is good as I haven't seen lots of people in the past month as I have working of madness for uni. Hurray it's all nearly over, one more tutorial to go through.
Nate and Joy are back again this weekend so we shall hear more wedding news (15th Novemeber!) I have been digging through all my wedding stuff which is interesting! I collected a lot of the junk!
Ruthie Ru is back and getting a Leanne hair cut,poor Ruth hopefully she will still look ok if not she isn't allowed to sue! maybe we could just go from a grade one all over and she can wear all her hats!
Ian and Emma are coming up for a trip to Colchester Zoo Whoop, that will be great fun, I love the Zoo and it will be fantastic to see little Zoe now, she can walk and everything! I think I will see the new enclosures and maybe even a new baby elephant if Zola has given birth!
On monday night Ben's mum is coming to stay which should be good, i'm sure they will find something fun to do on Tuesday, some of us have to work!

Confession

2008-03-15T11:45:00.003Z

Ok so it was my own stupidity that lost my spotty notebook, it was under mess! I wasn't going to tell anyone I found it however Mr Coleman did ask so I had to confess.
It is nearly the end of term now whoop! I can't wait so much is going on...
*Bro is engaged! Wow!
*It's nearly Easter
*We are going on holiday, to paradise cottage! he he how bizzare! Would anyone like to take care of beautiful bunny called Bibbity?
*My new sister-in-law to be is becoming 23
*My Cousin is becoming 7
*Bro is getting baptised amazing
*lots of work!
What an exciting time

Dreaming

2008-02-19T11:52:00.003Z

So the notebook is still missing and nobodies seen it. As a result I a not being particularly productive with the whole working thing!
I keep having really weird dreams, I wish they would stop as I'm sure Charlie won't want me keeping her up all night on Wednesday with my constant babbling all through the night. I'm sure Ben would like some sleep too!

Spotty Notebook Please come home...

2008-02-18T12:39:00.003Z

Wanted
Multicoloured Spotty Notebook
Containing all my essay/group-work planning for this term
If found please jump up and down and cheer then ring Leanne to return.

Since when does time move so quickly?

2007-11-04T17:15:00.001Z

So I'm over half way through term one already and its been crazy! Weeks when I am in Cambridge go so fast that I don't seem to get anything done.
I am nearly ready to start my first essay which is daunting, all my reading is nearly done and i have enjoyed that bit Hosea is quite a fun book to study. I have written 3 Journals and need to get on with more!
Placement is good but changing daily so I am looking forward to when I don't feel like i am playing catch up, will that ever happen?
Mostly life is fun.

Pigs, Journeys and the Cobb Family!

2007-08-28T10:25:00.000+01:00

Well this weekend we went for lots of journeys the first being to Waxham to stay at my Uncle Nigel's pig farm (yes it was smelly) to celebrate my Uncle Steve's 50th Birthday.
This was all wonderful we have cake and hog roast (no crackling though :o() we collected eggs from the chickens, had a big bonfire with marshmallows, went boating on the broads, he he if you can all it that. Ben and I had a very successful trip in the rowing boat, however when Rob attempted to get un Uncle Nig grabed the rope gave it a rather large tug and Rob fell straight in! This was extremely funny and we were all splitting our sides when suddenly there was another splash and Uncle Steve had fallen in too! Which was even funnier and they will be teased about this for many years to come I am sure!
On Sunday we all went to uncle Nigels church (an hour there and back) twice, he was very excited about this, as he goes to proclaimers church (based on Hillsongs, which means we didn't know any songs!) and this was mostly good, they talked about collection for about 20 minutes which wasn't good. The band were good, particuarly in the evening. OOO the most funny thing about this was that their evening service is called Awesome, and they said Awesome all the time, in the morning service they said it at least 25 times!
On monday morning Ben got up at 5:45 to muck out the pigs with Uncle Nigel and Rob, which was particualy smelly and he looked very funny in his overalls (no photos im afraid), he got to go in the big JCB to do the muck pile!!
Stuart and I got the chickens, ducks, ginuea fowl, geese, turkeys and pheashants up and collected eggs before going to chill out on top of the hay stack where we could see for miles around, brilliant!
Monday afternoon we went back to Ipswich to travel with Nate to London, his new home. He will be staying with the Cobb family who are exceptionally lovely, gave us dinner and let us set up Nate's room so it's all cosy! I will go and see him after my college residential.
Only four days left at Connexions hurray!

Best bits and Worst bits

2007-08-17T12:12:00.000+01:00

Ok so the best bits about this whole stage of chaos are
* I don't have to be a Recruitment Advisor any more in 9 working days time! (hurray for bank holidays!)
* I will meet lots of new people
* Leaving CRBC was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be
* I get to work with some fantastic new people at Suffolk New College/Suffolk Campus University
* I get to become more part of the community that we live in
* The youth room at St Helen's is fab (I'm sure the young people will be fab, but I haven't met them yet!)
* I will be working with some of the now young people who have been to Junior Sizewell for the last three years
* I don't have a full time job!!!
The worst bits are:
* Ruthie is moving away so won't be around when I panic (selfish I know!)
* Nathan is moving away, which is great foor him, well done Nate!
* Ben is going to be going to Sizewell loads when everything all changes
* Waterfront Churches still have lots of things to sort out for my placement
* I hate not knowing things as I am a complete control freek!

Potty!

2007-07-21T16:16:00.000+01:00

So I left at 8:45 to get my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The roads where closed on the was to Worcester as they were flooded but I drove past the signs and slowly through the flooded roads, nobody told me off!!! I made sure I checked my breaks afterwards! Eventually I got there, got completely lost trying to find the Waterstones I had ordered my copy from, only to realise that I was stupid to preorder as I could have got it for a £5 in other places!! Now I am on chapter 7 and must keep going WHY AM I BLOGGING!!!!

Longest word competition!

2007-07-20T15:12:00.000+01:00

So I'm at the MA Summer School with and being terified by all the MA students talking about the 5000 word essays and long words like postmoderity, missional leadership. I don't get it they are all super inteligent but competing to see who can act like they don't understand the most in order to hide their brilliance! Crazy, so far I have watched half of 10 things I hate about you read one book, surfed the internet LOTS! hence I have time to blog!
People are starting to be taken away by the tutors who will be marking their essays now which is quite funny as it is like seeing the headmaster at school, they are making me feel worried as well and im not even doing the course!!!

So I have to try and make you smile do I?!

2007-07-18T11:10:00.001+01:00

Well I am mostly not good at being funny, but I shall try an you can laugh at my failed attempts, by the way what did actually happen to Gareth and Hayley's blog?!

Once upon a time a Giraffe called lanky came to sit on my desk, he was living a quite unassuming kind of life watching me pretend to work, and dancing when good songs come on the radio or when I get in trouble for having the radio turned on which he finds quite amusing. Now this thought Lanky is the life for a Giraffe, this was until the kidnappings begun in the office and Teddy was taken! Now the alert was raised by Miss Wilcox the Connexions Reporter, well known in the infobar, who sent the following email...
NEWS FLASH

It has just come to our attention that Teddy has been kidnapped and taken ransom.
As this story is in its early stages we are unable to provide you with a picture, but our sources say that a horrific video of Teddy, gagged and tied up, has been sent to Teddy's owner Krista.

The kidnappers are said to be part of Snow White's dastardly gang of short individuals, who are known to carry picks and shovels.
It is thought that they infiltrated the Info Bar by posing as Personal Advisers.
People are advised against approaching them, but instead to report any info to Detective Milford.

Teddy is a fluffy white bear, originally from Worcester, who came to live with Krista after Secret Santa had been to the Info Bar, Christmas 2006.
He has a pink bow round his neck and has been a permanent fixture on Krista's desk at the Info Bar.

As yet we have been unable to get a statement from Krista or the Police but will obviously let you know as soon as we do!

Now this was all very scary but this isn't the worst of it Lanky is now terrified and lives his life hiding behind my computer monitor, ahhh poor Lanky and can you believe Teddy has now been missing for 6 days and there is no sign of him. Now what will happen to poor Lanky if I am not here to protect him from the Kidnappers.

Rubbish Week (and it's only Wednesday!)

2007-06-06T13:02:00.000+01:00

Ok so this week has been rather pants, monday day time was ok which is kind of unusual for a monday! After work I was going for a jog with my lovely friend Sarah and we went for ages by the the river, however when I got back to my horrible car I realised that I had lost my car key. We then proceded to spend over an hour looking for my key by the river and still not be able to find it. Sa took me home and Ben decided to ring Green Flag who kindly agreed to break into our car (this was required because I am a complete idiot and I have put the spare car key in the glove box). So mum and dad took us back to the car and Ben went off with dad to try and find the car key again while mum and I learnt how to break into cars with the green flag man which was very interesting. Since this point my week has progressivly got worse for many reasons which I won't bore you with but if you see me and I look very grumpy just give me a hug and then proceed to ignor me!

OOOooo How Brilliant!

2007-05-22T13:50:00.000+01:00

I found out today the interestingly organised Youth and Connexions Service are going to extend my contract my one whole month. Tonight I find out if I definately have my placement sorted out for September so it could be a realyy good day or a really bad day.
This weekend we are going camping near Southwold it will wonderful to disappear for a little while especially after a crazy couple of weeks!

long time no blog!

2007-05-08T13:43:00.000+01:00

Ok so only one assignment left to do of my current course (Wahoo!)however as my degree begins in September (yay!) I won't really get that much of a break! One day I may even get better at reading for my course than I currently am!!
I think I need to read some proper books for a little while as opposed to studying books. At the moment I am reading Harry Potter again in preparation for the new book and film coming out soon. I am very much looking forward to this happening and about all the other exciting films that are coming out soon.
On Saturday Ben and I went on another exciting trip to Colchester Zoo, a definate highlight of this was seeing the elephants bedtime, which was very cute and you could see all the elephants really close up and watch as they did all their check ups before they went to bed!

It was fun!

2007-03-28T10:08:00.000+01:00

On Monday 26th March it was my 2nd Wedding Anniversary and so to celebrate the lovely Center for Youth Ministry decided that it would be wonderful if they interviewed me. So I got on the lovely train to Cambridge and met some other lovely young Christian youth workers who would like to get trained and spent the day doing role play discussions academic and youth ministry interviews. On the whole I enjoyed this experience all the people were lovely, it was sunny, I managed to answer all the questions I was asked and we even got to sit on lush green grass which I did like. I don't know when I will find out if I get a place on the course, hopefully really soon so i know what I am going to do with the rest of my life.
What was even more fun was going to Edinburgh at the weekend as it was our 2nd anniversary Ben and I brought each other COTTON presents so I got a very gorgeous bear factory bear who is called Thistle and Ben got some cool and funky NEXT trousers. We also went to the lovely Edinburgh Zoo which was fab we got to see some beautiful animals. My favourite animal is the Koala and they were there so I sat and drew them and took photos and generally 'cooed' for quite a while it was wonderful! We also went to see Amazing Grace thanks to the lovely Ruthie it was a mostly good film, some bits I didn't understand but mostly it was good and I would recommend it.

Daisy's Walk!

2007-03-10T18:30:00.000Z

Today we had a lovely time going for a walk through the beautiful Rendlesham Forest the walk was prettily named Daisy's Walk and it was lovely and windy and there were lots of little brokes and bridges, we attempted to play pooh sticks but it didn't work as there was obviously a blokage under the bridge.
Our not shopping at Supermarkets for Lent is going well, today we went to the grange farm shop and got lots of yummy things to eat, my unusual thing to try this week is organic cocoa pops! It should be interesting.
i started a new tempoary job this week as a Recruitment Aviosor for a few months until I begin my training as a youth worker in September. It was quite an interesting week it is my first job where I have my own desk which is very novel! I made a little elephant at the Chantry Helth drop in this week so he sits and looks after my desk while I am not there now.
Last night we went to the first of the Stop the Traffik tour with The Gentleman and Replenish which was really good, the Gentleman were deffinately the best act on the night. It was very moving to hear the stories of human trafficking that continues to happen around the world and we all added our handprint to a wall which is going to be taken to Downing Street as a petition to see if we can try and make a difference to this world wide problem.

Another hurdle jumped!

2007-03-01T10:07:00.000Z

I have now applied to got to uni in september, scary stuff. I am going to be studying Youth and Community Work with Applied Theology, I am really excited now I just have to find my church placement so time to get praying!!
On a more fun note this week I went bowling with ben, Ruthie and Rich however I proved myself to be extremely rubbish only scoring 48, however I was the only person to score a proper strike GROVEY!! Rich won in the end but Ben was winning for most of the competition.
Our lent giving up thing this year is that we have given up supermarket shopping, we are doing well so far we have used the market, the local butchers, the fair trade shop and a lovely little farm shop. I really like not going to the supermarket, we aren't spending as much because we are only buying what we really need and not what we happen to see on special offer which is brilliant.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2007-02-05T10:23:00.000Z

To it is my birthday hooray! I got some very lovely present including some beautiful jewelery, flute music, PJ's, crafty things and the like. This afternoon I am off on a trip out with my mum and this evening Ben is taking me out to the Bistro which will be exceptionally yummy!

Laptops how do you choose?

2007-01-29T15:40:00.000Z

Next Monday it is my Birthday!! YAY! However the choice of a birthday present this year isn't an easy one, I would like a laptop but I don't know how you choose. I would really quite like a Mac Book but don't quite know enough about either, so if anyone has any words of wisdom that would be brilliant.
On a slightly more exciting birthday celebration type subject I had lots of friends round yes2day for fun and games to celebrate and it was fab!

Crazy Life!

2007-01-18T10:16:00.000Z

We went down to Bishopps Itchington this weekend which was buckets of fun I got to go and see Ruth Carling in Lemington as well which was cool as I hadn't seen her for ages she has nearly finished uni now and she is job hunting just like me although she has rather more choice than I do! As she is a complete genius!
Life is a bit weird at the moment but that could just be because it is January and its all miserable weather and stuff.
Good news is that the builders are back at our house at last bad news is its too wet for them to do anything!!!

Happy New Year

2007-01-09T10:47:00.000Z

I had a great Christmas and this weekend I used my Christmas present for the first time, my Colchester Zoo Gold Card. The picture on the card is very icky but the Zoo was fab my fav bit this time are probs the Pygmy hippos and the lions as we were able to get sooo close. We went to the bird show as well but we did get very wet as it was raining all day, what fun! Next time we are going to try and see the baby cheaters as they weren't out this time because of the rain.
Tonight YPods start up again which will be great were gonna talk about new year stuff unsurprisingly it should be good fun though!

Some good news

2006-12-15T10:47:00.000Z

Today we have some very happy news, our very special friends Ian and Emma have just had a beautiful baby girl who they have named Zoe Bethan how pretty is that. Now I wished I lived closer to them as last time we went to see them it took us 8 hours to get there, we miss them loads!
Congratulations Ian and Emma!

A Beautifully Festive House

2006-12-11T10:24:00.000Z

Well the Christmas Decks are up, and very tasteful if I do say so myself and to continue to get into the Christmas mood we went to the panto this weekend. It was a brilliant Rock n' Roll Panto at the Wolsey and the actors and actresses where awesome in their rendition of Dick Wittington. The way each of them stayed in character throughout all the songs and playing their instruments was fantastic We really did enjoy ourselves.
On Sunday we sung our first Christmas carol in church which was great fun it was Hark the Herold Angels Sing but rocked up as it was a youth service.

Christmas Tree Choosing

2006-12-07T10:26:00.000Z

Today we are going out to choose out Christmas Tree, now last year it was easy we picked the one that looked the prettiest but this year I fear it will be a little more complicated as Ben now has a guide for buying the best Christmas tree!
We have too smell the tree, find out if it will drop its needles, check the height and shape as well as various other important things like price!
The tree will hopefully be delivered tomorrow morning so that we can put all our decorations up tomorrow evening, hopefully accompanied by some Christmas carols playing!!

The Ice Skating and Random Chat!

2006-12-05T14:14:00.000Z

The Ice Skating was absolutely fab! It was great to see Sam and Bex start to master the art and begin to loose their fear of falling, they both had progressed from the practice rink to the big rink by the end of the session which was brilliant, maybe they will want roller skates for Christmas!!
The search for a 'proper' job continues with no exciting news on the horizon so who knows where to look next, I certainly don't!
Ben's application for funding to do his MA went to the church leaders last night, we haven't heard an outcome yet, but hopefully we will soon.
Tonight is the lovely girly YPOD which is great and makes me think I would very much like to be a church youth worker. Tonight we are thinking about anger in our friendships! Should be interesting, we are making stress relievers which will get very messy in my house I am sure!

An exciting Winter-Time Weekend

2006-12-01T14:29:00.000Z

This weekend is going to be very exciting as we are heading into London to the Natural History Museum Ice Rink and Christmas Fair. We are meeting up with our lovely friends who are studying to become Baptist Ministers and it will be brilliant to see them we do miss them lots!
Another exciting thing that is happening is that we are starting a Prayer Meeting at the infobar which is fab only problem is it will be at 8 on a Wednesday morning! OUCH! Im sure I can make it Ben has to be at the CYM one for 8 as well on the same day so we might be able to stretch out of bed!!

The Search for a 'proper job' continues

2006-11-29T11:27:00.000Z

Since starting in the world which is payed employment I have searched for a 'proper job' which is full time and provides a reasonable length contract if not a permanent contract. My current job runs out at the end of March which means I must now begin the search once more for the wonderful job. I am not really quite sure where to look, so if anyone has any ideas, please place suggestions.

What Boring People!

2006-11-24T10:44:00.000Z

I have just realised what a boring lots of people I have linked my blog to as the majority of them, including me have stopped blogging due to the importance of essay writing!
I have also had busyness of lots of interviews at work which means supporting the Young people who are on the panels it was all good and went well. However now I have a whole day in the info bar to contend with Hooray!
When I go home today I will create and fab three course meal to celebrate my Father-in-Law's 60th Birthday. It will go something like this...
Starter - Homemade Tomato Soup with a selection of bread.
Main - Sea bass with asparagus and green bean bacon wrapped bundles
Dessert - Raspberry Pavlova and Creme Brulee
Coffee and Mints
Hopefully I destroy everything and my house will be cleaned before any guests arrive.

A Sad Day

2006-11-14T10:14:00.000Z

Yesterday was a sad day, we said Good-Bye to my lovely bro Nate for the last time before his big trip to Australia and New Zealand! He will be very much missed (not that he can know that!). He is going with his friend Gav and will come back a couple of days before Christmas, it seams very strange that he will be gone for so long. They are staying with my Auntie tonight before flying out of Heathrow tomorrow.

Because Lia Told Me I Had To!

2006-11-13T14:57:00.000Z

So this weekend Jim Bailey came to Ipswich, he is a children's evangelist type person who sings and does puppets. It was OK we think it wasn't quite what we were expecting but it was all good and 83 people came which is good. Then we had to go to this trustees' thing which was quite OK but the PlayStation didn't work which was a bit of a bummer!
Sunday was good we went to church, watched SWAT which was better than I thought and not too much for boys! Then we went for a walk played a game which I can't spell so you can guess if you like and know how to spell game names, Ben won both times so it wasn't that great! Then we went to church so it was all good we watched Planet Earth as well which is rather cool and cleaver!

A Splendid Time!

2006-11-07T10:50:00.000Z

A great time was had this weekend. My mum and I had a fab time shopping and even had to finish early due to our shopping being too heavy to carry any longer! We did have a fab starbucks treat which was yummy, I had one of their Christmas gingerbread latte's and orange and cranberry muffin.
The fireworks in the evening were brilliant, we went with my bro and his new girlfriend Becky, and our friends Gav and Kate. We witnessed the real James Bond (not the one you see in the movies!) come in on a helicopter and jump out to blow up a car. The fireworks where then themed to James Bond theme tunes which was great, although as I don't really know any James Bond theme tunes the whole display was just to random music to me as I really didn't recognise much of the music at all.
Sunday was cool church was good and we did sparklers at my Mums which were great fun as we ran round the garden with them, as well as the usual spelling out your name. My Dad came back which we at church in the evening which is brilliant as now we can all be happy again for another week until my bro goes to Australia next Tuesday.

It's Cold!!

2006-11-02T14:31:00.000Z

At last, it is feeling more like Autumn! I do like wearing my lovely red coat and my gloves, scarf and hat and I had been worrying that I may not actually be able to wear them this year as it was remaining soooo mild. However now the cold has returned, I even put the heating on this morning for the first time this year!
It will be rather fantastic to watch the fireworks in the cold, Ben brought our sparklers yesterday to use at our fireworks party before we go to see the big display. My Mum will make her fantastic firework cake which is soo scrummy!! The only problem with fireworks this year is that my Dad wont be here as he is off traveling with work which is pants especially for mum.
I am also going shopping on Saturday which will be brilliant, CHRISTMAS SHOPPING is great and lots of fun. I will let you know what I buy on Monday!

A Little Trip

2006-10-31T15:00:00.000Z

This weekend Ben and I went up to see his fokes in Northwich and Anglesey a 6 hour drive to get there on Thursday was fun in our new car.
We got to Northwich first and went out for a nice meal with Ben's Mum and Brother and his girlfriend, it was yummy then we went back to hers and watch Man of Fire which was a film I thought I would be too scared to watch but I wasn't and it was brilliant!
We then set off for Angelsey and while we were there we went to a castle and a posh house! My favourite bit has to be flying the kite in the rain on the beach it was soo much fun and the kite was going really fast and powerfully! I had it cutting just above the sea.
We had an awesome cooked breakfast before we left on Sunday with Wild Boar sausages and the works! It really kept us going on the long journey home.

But it wasn't the end of story!

2006-10-23T14:15:00.000+01:00

On Saturday my Mum and I were going out and we drove by Arnie for sale yet again that nasty man who gave us so little money was selling the car on still with a dent in it for £825! Crazy business I do think.
Today was a good day however as I have brought a new pair of trousers which I desperately needed, fab! I will go and ask Mr Ben where we can magic the money from to pay for them now.

It's New and Shiny

2006-10-20T10:22:00.000+01:00

That is our new car is new and shiny! We went and picked it up last night from mum and dads house and I had the task of driving it home and parking it in our very crowed street! It will take a bit of getting used to as Astra's (which is called Wilbur by the way) are very much bigger than 106's (which was called Arnie!). I am hopefully going to drive it to Colchester tomorrow which will be lots of fun and good practice and all that kind of thing!
The week was a bit stressful though poor Ben hit the side of the car and dented it the day before it was going to be sold, he was so gutted bless him, it knocked down the price by loads, but it was all ok in the end. The old car is sold and gone and the new car is brought and paid for, end of story!

genR8 pinecones!

2006-10-16T12:12:00.000+01:00

This weekend was one of fun and games. Saturday was taken over by the wonderful occurrence of REgenR8 a children even that Ben runs and organises it went really well although we did have several leaders who didn't turn up which was a real shame as this limits the number of children that we can have at the event.
On Sunday we went to church and I did Sunday school and then we went to my mum and dads to have Sunday lunch which was yummy! We all went to rendlesham forest afterwards to collect pinecones ready for Christmas which was good fun we had a lovely walk and Ben even managed to collect some chestnuts, even though crops are really poor this year.
Sunday night we went to the IPEC service which was overall poor but there was a fantastic speaker who was really inspirational so we start this week looking forward to the future and all God has in store for us.

Speed Dating With a Twist

2006-10-12T10:51:00.000+01:00

Last night I took three young people Political Speed Dating at Liquid Nightclub. The young people got to talk to a councilor for three minutes before they moved on and spoke to a different one. It was really a really good experience and the councilors interacted with the young people well the only problem was that the three young people I brought were the only ones to come in the whole of Ipswich.
Another exciting thing that I am doing this week is going to Warren Hill prison to see the young offenders so that they can ask Ben and I questions about marriage and commitment in relationships. We went on Tuesday and it was really good, they young guys asked some fantastic questions and I hope got a lot out of it. We are going again tonight and then on Tuesday next week, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Walking the Llamas

2006-10-09T15:28:00.000+01:00

This weekend I was able to experience the rather fantastic latest craze to hit the woodland of Norfolk of Llama Trecking. Now this was part of my lovely friend Fran's Hen Do, and she had no idea what we would be getting up to! Trecking a Llama is rather like walking a dog only they are alot more smelly. It was a very enjoyable experience non the less, we trecked the llamas for about an hour and a quarter and then arrived at a clearing where a beautiful picnic lunch had been set out for us to enjoy, including home made victoria sponge and white wine - very posh! So then we all trecked back through the woodland which was lovely and my llama was most lovely.

What's Next?

2006-10-05T10:37:00.000+01:00

yesterday came the dawning of a new era for the Youth Management Team whom I work with. They elected a new chair whose responsibility it would be to communicate with the adults in the management committee what they want to happen in the young peoples services that are provided for them. However it isn't always as simple as that as the stuctures aren't in place yet to allow that to happen properly, but they are getting their and they have written an excellent proposal to try and get the ball moving more effectively which is really important. If that all happens then the young people will feel more happy about recruiting more young people to the group as they will really be able to make a difference.

A fab Weekend

2006-10-03T11:24:00.000+01:00

The Swimming was just fine, and the plunge pool after the flumes was deep enough to discreetly sort out your swimming costume before emerging from the water. I only went on the medium speed flume as the fast one was rather tiny and people kept getting stuck!
Sunday was also a fantastic day and God was really good as both services which Ben and I were involved in went ok and we even had enjoyed ourselves after we had finished! Roger Armstrong also made everyone a yummy harvest lunch which was super kind of him.
More good news is that we might be getting a lovely new car, an Astra which is great because our car is very naff at the moment and I don't like it when it leaks and I get very wet in the rain! Oh the joy of sun roofs!

swimming-good or bad?

2006-09-29T15:29:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow Ben and I are setting off to Coral Reef in Bracknell to celebrate our lovely friend Ian's birthday. Now I cannot decide if this is a good or a bad move you see going to Coral Reef means that I have to wear a swimming costume which just isn't very attractive. It also isn't just any swimming pool it have flumes and exciting things like this which means that you will be out of the water much more than usual which also isn't a popular move! Although it will be fab to see our lovely friends again as we haven't seen them since August when we went on holiday with them to Ireland. I will enjoy myself once I get there its just the worrying before hand which I know I shouldn't do!
I will report back on monday to announce whether it was a good or bad experience.

Today is THE day

2006-09-22T14:34:00.000+01:00

On this day many exciting this will happen, one being that I actually managed to get some work finished for a change as I had 3 whole hours in the office HORRAY! I also only have 3 hours in front of the computer in the infobar which is also brilliant (1 1/2 to go). Another good thing that happens today is that the Ben comes home for the weekend, awesome! Good things are really happy making so lots of today I have a smile on my face which means in turn that lots people smile back at you another good thing. A good thing to celebrate this week is having lots of lovely people who want to look after you while the Ben is away . So huge thank you goes Mr Gordon and Mrs Ruth and the Chololate covered Little Miss Isla, big thank yous also go to mummy and daddy, Miss Lia Mac has been checking up on me via means of email ta! and ruthie ru wanted to look after me but really she needed looking after me but her sleepy head kept her away, but she is lovely so we thank her as well. What a fotunate girl I am.
So my week has turned out to be quite a good one as I had lots of lovely people around and I did actually get to go and see Ben and watch the stars while we sat round the camp fire which we really quite special.

Where has he gone?

2006-09-20T14:31:00.000+01:00

This week is a bit of a sad week as Mr Ben is no longer at home.
Where has he gone?
He is at work. For the next two weeks Ben is away doing school residentials at the African Village (which happens to be in the grounds of Sizewell Hall). This is very good in some ways

Children get to experience life outside their comfort zone
Children learn about a different culture
Children do lots of exercise and eat healthy meals
Children experience real Christian witness from the staff
Children get to sit round a campfire and toast marshmallows

However it is also bad in some ways as well

Ben is away every night and I don't get to speak to him for more than 10 minutes
Ben doesn't get much sleep and then is grumpy
Ben sometimes takes the car away so I am stuck at home
Ben isn't with me (selfish I know!)
Ben has to do boring mine fields and isn't allowed to do the archery session

So you see this is why this week I am trying to change a few of those bad things. I have the car this time (yay!) this not only means I can go out and see my friends but also that I can go and see Ben (brilliant). Tonight therefore I am going to see Ben at Sizewell and take him on a date to Aldeburgh to enjoy fish and chips by the seaside (awesome).

A Beautiful Day

2006-09-18T13:21:00.000+01:00

On Saturday we went to our lovely friends Damian and Lizzie's wedding and it was absolutely brilliant. The day started at 11 O'clock at St Marys church for a sound check and practice and every thing went swimmingly! Everyone was playing and singing wonderfully and this means that we could all really enjoy ourselves and smile lots during the service. We then disappeared into 'the noisy room' for a fab little pray before the service began.
There was only one hiccup on this special day and that was that Lizzie's car didn't turn up - this meant that Lizzie was about 15 minutes late! Fortunately a lovely gentleman came to pick her up and brought her to the church which was fantastic.
Lizzie look absolutely beautiful and Damian looked very handsome (I think it was the first time I had ever seen him in a suit!) I am sure their picture will look fabulous.
Their wedding service was a really special and emotional time, both ministers did a great job Lizzie's vicar did the vows and led the service and Damian's minister Neal from CRBC did the address. Ant did the reading which was fantastic, he slightly dramatised it which was fab.
After the service had finish we did a super quick tidy up job and took all the technical stuff and drum kit back to church, it was surprisingly tiring but we did it and managed to get to the the reception just in time for the photos.
The grounds of Belsted Brook Hotel were beautiful and there was a lovely big willow tree next to the river. The table decorations and everything inside were lovely, we had a yummy four course meal.

Prawn Cocktail (it had a posher name than that but I can't remember)
roast turkey with cranberry sauce dinner
sticky toffee pudding dessert
tea and coffee mints

The speeches came next and they all did really well, even Lizzie did a speach which was brilliant. She talked about how God had brought them together at completely the right time.

The evening was a groovy disco, a bit of dancing was involved but not too much! The only thing that upset our evening entertainment was Ruthie getting glass in her foot, but she soon recovered.

Thank you Damian and Lizzie for a awesome day.

9 assignments + 10 months = ouch!

2006-09-15T13:17:00.000+01:00

Last night I got a letter to tell me about the new course I am about to embark on (my application is still being considered though). Now this letter not only told me the first session is on a night which I am not free - quite a big problem really, it also told me the I am going to have 9 assignments to complete in the next 10 months. This should be very challenging! The course should help me learn lots and be quite relevant as its in youth work, community work and informal education. I may need to put my life on hold however while I get glued to a computer which wont be most fun but will be most educational so I shall just get on with it and become a highly intelligent young lady!

Hair & Prayer!

2006-09-14T13:30:00.000+01:00

Yesterday morning I took a trip to the hairdressers always something that makes me very apprehensive. Can you trust these people you hardly know to make you look good?
Well I didn't ask for much a few more layers and a finge surely that isn't too hard. Well the layers are fine and lovely and give my hair a bit of extra bounce, fabulous! The fringe however is another matter, to begin with she said she wouldn't cut me a proper finge because she didn't think I would like it she wasn't to cut me a side fringe, ok fair enough I thought it's worth a try. However this thing on the side on my face is not a side fringe it is a lump of hair that just hangs in front of my impairing my sight and making get on my nerves. Now I asked her to cut it shorter so it started above my eyebrow but she thought that would get on my nerves. Pants hey! Now I just have to live with it.
Last night me and couple of friends the lovely Zoe and Ruthie got together for a bit of a pray. It was fab we did some learning from Collosians and some praying for those things that are going on at the moment which needs lots of prayer (Maybe I should pray for my hairdresser she was a very nice person!). Prayer is such a fab thing and God is so good to us its quite scary sometimes when you really think about how big God is and all that he has done for us. We have so much that we need to give back to him.

Recovery Complete

2006-09-12T10:49:00.000+01:00

Well I have now recovered from my exciting experiences from the weekend, which was fab! However I have definitely come back down to reality with a bang (which hurt!).
Last night was fab I was at a band practice getting ready for the lovely Damian and Lizzie's wedding which is on Saturday. I am playing my flute and they have chosen some beautiful songs and they are lots of fun to play. My favourite would have to be Lord I Come To You as the flute part is so lovely and nice to play. We played out little hearts out and Ben made lots of noise playing on the drums hooray! The only downside was how much my stomach hurt from forcing the air out of my lungs after not playing for such a long time, I really should practice more, I will definitely practice tonight while I'm planning my Sunday school lesson.

Today life in the lovely infobar is quite (unlike yesterday), I came in early and managed to get some good work done which is great and means that I can get lots of other stuff done later when I finish in the infobar at 1:30 (ages away!!).

From tomorrow Karly, my partner in crime at work, will be on holiday. This means I will be very lonely and possibly in the infobar even more than usual. But I don't mind that really! mmmmm???

Goodbye to Rita

2006-09-11T14:59:00.000+01:00

Well I survived my weekend away in the lovely Uttoxetter (spelling?!). I had a brilliant time with my lovely family. On the Friday we enjoyed a gorgeous Chinese thanks to my lovely brother, we ate it at our B&B (which was beautiful by the way). We then watched 3 episodes of 24 series 4 on the bounce as we all have a bit of an addiction to it!
Now Saturday was the day of the brilliant trip to ALTON TOWERS! We began the day with an awesome breakfast, before setting off to the theme park itself. Once we had endured the first of the lines to get in we headed straight for air hoping to get before the real big lines began. AIR WAS BRILLIANT by far my favourite ride of the day. We also went on Nemisis which was groovy the Ben and Nate went on ripsaw (sick making!) and mum went on the pirate ship with them. We all had such a fab time Mum was so cute closing her eyes on all the big rides bless her! Dad was very brave going on the rapids, duel and the awesome Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie and the Choclate factory was our longest line of the day Mum and Dad and I went on it while Ben and Nate went on Oblivion and The Enterprise. We all gave Rita miss on this occasion because the lines were just too long. Next time we go we will hit Rita first I am sure! I drove us all home in the big senic stop, starting all the way because of all the traffic.
That evening we had planned to go out for a lovely and very special meal in Uttoxetter because we don't often do that as a family. We had checked the night before that we would be able to eat together at a place called the Paddock and all was fine. However when we got in there on the Saturday night they wouldn't seat us until we had all shown ID however we didn't have any we are all adults and weren't planning on drinking. The staff were so rude so we asked to speak to the manager who was worse. Needless to say we left and have sent a letter of complaint to their head office. We ate instead in a lovely restaurant just outside the town and had a lovely if not tired meal!
On Sunday we again started our day with one of the yummy breakfasts at the B&B before packing, and heading off to church. We went to an awesome church in Stafford it was a Baptist church and we all (well nearly all!) loved it the people were lovely. The worship was awesome a real taste of heaven. We even got to play with building bricks COOL! We went out for a lovely Sunday lunch afterwards and a walk around beautiful Stafford all very lovely. We then tackled the journey home with no problems.
What an awesome weekend Thank You Mum and Dad your fab!

A two hour day

2006-09-08T10:24:00.000+01:00

This is what it is all about a two hour day on a Friday just the right thing to do I feel. However all my family and the lovely Ben are not working at all today they are all packing, well thats what they are meant to be doing, but Ben decided this morning that he 'didn't know how to pack girls things'. So I packed for both of us this morning before I came to work. Boys, they are so silly sometimes.
At the moment I am trying to make a very difficult desision - SHOULD I GO ON RITA? I just cannot decide its the only new ride at Alton towers since the last time I was there, but do I really want to be sick while going 200mph it could get very messy and not particuarly attractive.

Sleep is good...........

2006-09-07T14:39:00.000+01:00

Today the idea of getting as much sleep as possible is one that very much appeals to me.
The YMT meeting last night went well. As predicted 6 YP turned up but they were all lovely YP so we had fun and ate strawberries which were yummy. mmmmm...
At the moment I am very much getting excited because this weekend my lovely family and I are going to ALTON TOWERS! This will mean lots of fun and frollicking as we are most deffinately going on the Charlie and the Chocolate ride (I wonder if you get free chocolate bars there?). I am not going to go on oblivion, been there done it not doing it again - no way! We are going to stay at a fab B&B its meant to serve BRILLIANT breakfasts so I can't wait.
However the downside of this is that tonight I have to pack, which also means washing and ironing clothes that we will need which is a smelly job. I have no idea what to take as well as it is changing weather all the time. It is very hard to make these decsions I always feel but I may get there in the end.

The Wednesday that will never end

2006-09-06T10:29:00.000+01:00

Well this morning is my lovely morning slot in the infobar which means I have the wonderful experience of being in here all the way till 2 O'clock joy of joys. Now for me that means from now until that time I have nothing to do but sit at a lovely computer (which will crash-often) and surf the internet. I also have to meet and greet any young people who come into this lovely place to see their connexions advisors, so far there has been four and we have only been open 15 minutes which is preety good going considering some days we may only have 8 young people in a whole day. What gets me through these large expanses of time is the hope that one day the Suffolk Youth and Connexions Serivce will make me a full time youth involvement worker insteed of a part time one which I am at present.
Today I will be at work until 7 O'clock and as I have forgotten my lunch I think that will feel like a very long time! I may pop home at 2 O'clock to eat food but then I may never return as the tempatation to sit down on a comfy sofa and never return may become too much!
From 4 O'clock this afternoon I am hoping that a huge number of lovely young people who are members of the YMT (youth management team) will desend upon the infobar to chat and make descisions that will make all the adults worried that they are going to take over the world! Which is most deffinately what their aim is. Chances are however that about 6 young people will turn up instead of 30 as this what normally happens and we shall talk abou how rubbish the decor is in the infobar. Which is quiet pants, but lets face it it aint going to change so lets talk about something new. PLEASE!

My First Blog

2006-09-05T16:53:00.000+01:00

Well here I am creating my very first blog from the wonderful Fore Streat 'infobar'. This is the place from which I work and im sure most of blogging will be created from. Here begins a wonderful friendship!