"I'm back in (Warrington) and everything seems the same"...

I’m slowly settling into life back at home! Already, South Africa feels a bit like a distant memory, but for the first couple of days I was home, I genuinely felt like I was living in a dream. It all felt so strange and alien, and I was really homesick for the Aviva House. To be honest I’m trying not to think about it too much at the moment because I still really miss all the people and the atmosphere of the house…it’s like a completely different life so adjustment through immersing myself in the here and now is seeming like the best way to do it at the moment...

It’s so lovely to see everyone at home again though! Maddy came over on Tuesday night (I got home from the airport just after 5pm) and we had an emotional reunion on my doorstep, and I’ve been seeing more and more people for catch ups. Christmas was lovely! I just had a quiet day with my parents, with the exception of going to church and catching up with everyone (SO lovely and emotional to be back at my church…it really felt like I’d never been away).





Mum and Dad got me a surprise Christmas present of a replacement camera, and I dug out my old ipod and synced as much of my itunes to it as possible, so I feel a lot more back on track in terms of being sorting with my electronics… I also had a nice phone call with Josh (well until his signal cut out) so it was great to hear his voice again.



I was in a productive mood on Christmas afternoon/evening, so ended up taking all my stuff off my bedroom walls (it had got too cluttered) and redecorating the walls in terms of pictures and things. Before and after pictures are below! I love my new room



On Boxing Day I had a day trip with the Farrow Family (Richard, Maddy and Matthew). We went to Crosby beach and had a nice walk around, then went back to theirs for a Christmas Dinner. Richard made the most amazing duck and traditional Christmas dinner (my 2nd this year) complete with pigs in blankets and chilli broccoli…it was so good.





Boxing Day night we had a reunion trip to the London Bridge -I got to catch up with everyone over some Crabbie’s alcoholic ginger beer and hear how they were all getting on at uni/share about South Africa. It all felt very ‘full circle’ considering the last time we were there was a few days before I went away, and in a way it didn’t feel that long ago! (Jonny decided putting lemon in his eye was clever...):



I’ve also just got back from visiting Grandad in Essex. It was quite a difficult trip to be honest. The house felt so strange and empty without Grandma and I had a couple of ‘bad food days’…but it was still lovely to spend a bit of time with my parents – Dad and I did crosswords together and I had nice chats with mum on the way to Bushfair and back.




All in all, I’m slowly settling back into life at home. I’ve been handing out CVs so hopefully will have a job before long! However, I got a phone call in South Africa to ask if I’d like a part time job with IMPACT! (primarily to cover Maddy while she’s away but also until September) so I’m really excited to get started with that! I can already tell that it’ll be a busy few months, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m so thankful for the amazing opportunities and relationships I’m blessed with here and looking forward to getting into my new home routine.

'To do' lists

According to my schedule, I should currently be: writing up my church notes; revising all my subjects; wrapping presents; working on my extended project dissertation; tidying my room and probably several hundred other things I've been neglecting lately...



I broke up from college on Friday, which turned out to be a really hard day: I got my first university rejection. East Anglia told me I wasn't good enough to get to their interview stage, basically.



I was understandably upset - I think the concept of not being good enough was what hurt me most, but after my parents took the news well I began to feel better about it, and now I've accepted that I probably didn't want to do PBL (problem based learning) anyway (and I'm not just saying that!), and God's way is always better than mine - being rejected doesn't mean that I'm a failure, or any of the things it's sometimes tempting to think - it means God has other plans <3

Manchester Christmas markets with Active Church, followed by Wagamama's noodle bar and a film at Maddy's on Monday and the WASC Christmas Party yesterday have made this holiday a beautiful one so far :)



But why am I blogging when I made a strict schedule of revision and breaks? Sometimes, I need to learn that I can't plan out everything and stop being such a control freak. I need to let it be, and 'go with the flow'. I need to start trusting in God more.

John 10:10 says "I came that they may have life, and life in all its fullness". This quote sums that up for me. This is my challenge!
"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift." - Shauna Neiquist. <3

2011 is going to be a hard year in lots of ways, but a beautiful one too - I'm sure of that :)

Ebb and flow...

Wow, I can hardly believe it's already almost mid-December! The last couple of months have flown by at quite a scary rate!
Yesterday, the government passed the proposal to get rid of the cap on tuition fees, meaning that my gap year will cause my fees to double (or more!) and, to be honest, I feel betrayed by the decision after Nick Clegg promised to keep the fees 'low', but what can you do?! Still no university interviews, and at this point I doubt I'll get any before Christmas but I can deal with that. I know it doesn't mean it's all over so I'm working to stay positive... To be honest, it takes a lot of emotional strength when it feels like literally everyone else has offers, and medicine applicants almost all have interviews but it just takes patience, and I know that His grace is sufficient for my weaknesses and impatience.


Today was my secret santa lunch with my group of friends at college, so we all made packed lunches full of our randomly selected friend's favourite foods, added some cute gifts and decorated them. It was so lovely - lots of laughter and really got us all in the Christmas mood!


This was my beautifully decorated lunchbox from my (very creative!) friend, Jenna:



Tomorrow is the YP2 conference, then my lovely friend Charis is sleeping over before IMPACT! on Sunday - so I've got a very busy weekend ahead, but in a good way :)

I really do love life at the moment, however imperfect things might seem at the time <3

Latest Ramblings!

I haven't posted for a while, I know, and I feel quite guilty about it! I've been really busy with modular AS exams (biology, chemistry and psychology) and am waiting for the results! Biology and psychology went okay, but chemistry was actually horrific! There's nothing I can do now, though, except wait and see, but chemistry is really important for medicine, which I am hoping to do at university, so I'm pretty worried!

To bring this up to date - I had a lovely Christmas, followed by REAL SNOW! In Warrington! :D We all became little children again and buried each other, went sledging etc. I spent some good times with my lovely Hayley in the snow, as well as doing some revision for my modulars (which were the week after). It was just a lovely time of excitement, and freedom from normal daily routine (as the whole of England practically fell apart with the snow :D) Families were building snowmen together, when they'd usually be separated by work and school, and children were pulling along younger siblings on sledges instead of sitting in front of the TV - it was pretty magical, and a taste of what life should really be like!

She's a baaaabe :)


I also recently visited my best friend from where I used to live, Hannah :) It's always exciting when we see each other because it's only 3 or 4 times a year, but for a whole weekend and we get on so, so well - even better than when we were little kids, and do lovely things like shopping, cinema, swimming etc. This time, we went to see Avatar 3D which was amazing, had a big fat McDonalds and spent far too much money on clothes - it was great!
We're also really looking forward to going to Turkey together again (with our families) which we booked pretty much as soon as we got back from Turkey this October :D It's really exciting because a week is the longest we get to spend together now we're 153 miles apart (yes, I google mapped it!)!

This half term, I've been helping out at a children's church holiday club in a nearby village with Mission Academy (a course I'm doing with Warrington Youth For Christ) and it's been amazing! I love working with children, especially the littlest ones, so was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with reception aged children (4-5 year olds) in the mornings, then help with workshops in the afternoons. My beautiful Becky and I planned an awesome game for the kids involving custard and spaghetti hoops mixed together in large quantities, laminated paper memory verses (which we cut up into smaller pieces and put in the mixtures) and a team race for the children to find all the pieces, put the memory verse together and read it out :)



I've also visited my lovely Maddy's caravan for a day - we did a nice walk and marvelled at the changing weather - it was beautiful sun, the kind I've not seen for months and months, then snow in the space of an hour! :D

I'd better go now because I have an english essay to write before I go back to college tomorrow (in the posh new building!) but I promise I'll try to be a bit better with this in future :)

Looking at this post makes me realise how truly blessed I am! I have some amazing friends (many of which aren't in this post), awesome opportunities and a whole life ahead of me - it's so exciting to think of all the things I might do in the future!

I doubt anyone even reads this, but if you do, I hope you're happy and healthy (and please leave a comment :D)
xxxx

Christmas Shopping

Well this weekend just gone, I was Christmas Shopping. The typical stressful, expensive yet strangely satisfying pasttime.....

It started out quite well (except for me and Mum getting a little lost on our way into Manchester!), with the weather looking acceptable and Starbucks being our first stop :). I had a toffee nut latte which was delicious and wintery, but my time was a bit saddened by the presence of a homeless man in a doorway on the opposite side of the street. I really,really wanted to buy him a coffee because he looked so cold and weak - it made me feel so bad with all my things, umbrella, bag etc etc and he was there with nothing. However, being a rather afraid and weak person I didn't.... And now I regret that but I just hope he's ok now...

We went around the shops for hours buying present after present while the weather went from bad to worse - hail and pouring rain! After about four hours of being packed in with millions of other people: chavs with pushchairs, grannies travelling at 1mph etc, I could not take it any more. I had reached the point where I was ready to clobber every other shopper to death with my numerous bags simply for having the nerve to shop at the same time as me - it was time for a break! We went for a late lunch and I ordered a massive panini meal with loads of salad and coleslaw and stuff, and ended up being full after about four mouthfuls so had to force loads down so I didn't get it trouble - it was pretty expensive.

As we finsihed I realized that despite all the stress and crowdedness, I was still thinking about next year! Just like Christmas in general :)