climbing out of the box

today i had to attend a reflective practice workshop all morning with some of my work colleagues and we have been challenged to create a critical incident reflective piece which we have a month to work on, and then feed back to the group in January! we can do this however we like- journalling, peer discussion, poetry, drawing, singing, drama, etc, which is a refreshing change from the usual 'discuss in small groups and feedback on a flip chart'!

i found it hard to focus due to being officially on christmas hols as of 1pm- the excitement was almost too much- but i did find it fairly challenging. i do seem to have to spend a lot of time reflecting on my work as for the past 12 months i've been working toward completing my monthly training plan and various assignments for the VQ. perhaps i just wasn't focused enough today, but it did strike me that in the run up to Christmas this year i feel like i've not really paused to reflect much on the whole Christian side of it all, which is really the whole point.

(pause for thought)

actually, i think i have been reflecting on everything but not in what i would consider the conventional way of taking time out to ponder life, etc! i've been asking lots of questions. of life. of faith. of the Bible. of the difference between truth and fact. of relationships. of the meaning. of the plan. if there is a plan. and have been searching and reflecting thru music, and in the pub-which i seem to be frequenting rather more regularly these days- and thru reading, and basically thru being in relationships with a broad range of people, and absolutely loving it.

i guess i am getting out of a box i hadn't quite realised i was in.

festive cheer! but retail uncertainty!!

december has got to be the best month of the whole year!! we have just decorated the cutest christmas tree in the world, my amy grant christmas album is back in the player and i have just licked about 50 envelopes and have a weird taste in my mouth!! everything is just so jolly! i am also the most organised i have ever been and once i sort out one more christmas present i have officially finished my shopping!! buying presents for people is so fun, altho a fair challenge at times, especially when trying to think of what an 82 year old grandpa would appreciate that isn't really boring or sock-shaped!!

the social whirl has also now officially begun, with a variety of parties, lunches, cocktail evenings and dinner parties now the order of the day!! this brings with it the need for party outfits, so the search is now on for a cute, affordable, sparkly outfit!! however, having done some research into ethical shopping this year i am now left a bit unsure as to where is good to shop with regards to workers being paid a decent wage, etc!  the Lift the Label website has some useful information but really, i'd love to find, or even create, a comprehensive list of decent shops in Scotland which trade fairly and still sell cute stuff!! Shops including Primark were all over the news again last week as their worker's are paid as little as 7p per day, work 80 hour weeks and include children in the workforce, so despite their very non-descript ethical disclaimer which now adorns their stores, it is still no surprise that clothes that cost about £3 to buy are not made in  an ethical way!! however, they do claim that they are still providing employment and a wage for people who would otherwise be unemployed and not earning a living, which may be true. I just think that surely there must be a better way! 

X Factor feat. Britney!!

well i am currently enjoying a lazy afternoon, having left the boys at the pub to watch more football than is healthy for one day!! 

right, so last nite's X Factor was shaping up to be an exciting one, what with it being Britney Spears night but i was actually left fairly disappointed! amid much slagging from those around me, the final 5  

contestants belted out some Britney classics but for some reason  it just didn't seem to work!! JLS performing Baby One More Time was definitively lacking and came across as bland, despite the original clearly being a catchy masterpiece!! ;) and Diana didn't really get going til the end of the song!! 

it's probably due to Britney being so outstanding, no other artists quite measure up!!! however, after she came on the X Factor and mimed along to her latest hit Womanizer, i am now in the even trickier position of trying to convince husband that purchasing tickets for her 2009 European tour is a sound investment which will bring great joy and fulfill the top request on my Christmas wish list! sigh...

Death Cab at the Corn Exchange!

so, on Friday nite we road-tripped to the Edinburgh Corn Exchange where Death Cab for Cutie were bringing some Seattle-flavoured melodies! the evening kicked off with the successful selling of our spare ticket( i'm rather proud of this!!) and kay and i bumping into people we knew! weirdly, the guy she knew was someone i sang in a band with a few years ago!! very random!! altho i had never heard of the support, Rich pre-empted the 3/4 bearded Frightened Rabbit as a 'great Glasgow band' and their warm up set did prove this true!! quite upbeat songs that made you want to dance around the house and be productive- i liked them!! there was something slightly Glasvegas- sounding about them too(haha, probably the glasgow accent thing!)! altho i spent most of the nite not being able to see over tall people, we were perfectly positioned to see the reflection of the 2 guitarists in these weird panels on the ceiling!

DCFC kicked off with 'Bixby Canyon Bridge' and then performed an array of songs from Narrow Stairs, Plans and Transatlanticism! I was pleasantly surprised by this, i guess i was expecting them to really focus on their latest album, which i actually don't love as much as the others!  And as much as i love DCFC it was strange because i actually began feeling a bit bored about 2/3rd's of the way thru! perhaps it was the venue- last time we saw them was in the Barrowlands which is always great, but the Corn Exchange feels a bit like a school gym hall (when we saw the Fray there i was transported back to being surrounded by 16 year olds and half expected a school dance to begin!!), and i was more aware than usual of really sweaty guys standing way too close for comfort!!! or perhaps it's because Narrow Stairs is more mellow than their previous couple of albums- the songs haven't grabbed me as much! 

however, they played some of my favourite tracks which sounded great: 'Your New Twin sized bed',  'No sunlight' and 'You can do better than me'! The highlight was when they played ' I will follow you into the dark' - it almost got me all emotional! And we were all in agreement that their encore was fabulous and ended the nite on a definite high note! so altho the gig was quite different from their last one it was still a great evening that i wouldn't have missed!!

now, off to find out more about Frightened Rabbit...

a (very) little courtroom drama

i'v just started this blog about 6 times and my spelling is atrocious! examples are blob and bob instead of blog, spilling and speeling instead of spelling and don't even start me on atrocious!!! i blame it on the non-stop weekend of fun i just had, which included:

a gig on friday, some quality time with a fab friend, a whole day of celebrating another friend becoming a clever doctor (the PHD kind!), a tasty wheat free pizza, a hilarious dinner party and chat til 4am, followed by spending the whole of sunday in my pyjama's watching the x factor/ 24 and eating celebrations!!!

last week was spent popping in and out of court as i was cited for jury duty!! despite 

many attempts to warn me it was going to be dull and boring i remained optimistic and hopeful that it would be exciting, interesting and that i'd get picked! unfortunately, i did not come out the winner there! however, i did meet some interesting people and bumped into an old school mate as well! inside court was a fairly depressing chamber- dark wood panelling (with secret doors!), grey seating and lots of miserable people moaning about how inconvenient the whole thing was!

i decided to dress cheerfully and must admit that in all honesty, the most interesting thing about the week was my outfits!! my new favourite red tights are amazing and made of organic fairtrade fabric which keeps you nice and toasty! coloured tights and helping people- what a combination!

musings on today!

well, my irritating coughing and sneezing of last blog turned into a bit of a vicious chest infection resulting in a week off work and having to sleep upright so i can breathe without choking! not fun! however, after an emergency trip to the doctor i was given some nice strong antibiotics which finally seem to be doing the trick! hmm, altho havin researched this on the nhs website i'v been given the treatment for pneumonia rather than chest infection! anyway, i can now taste properly for the first time in about 5 days and am enjoying some sugary marshmallows and lemon zinger tea- zesty!!

despite being very bored this week and watching far too many episodes of One Tree Hill i have had a fairly pleasant afternoon sitting in bed and watching the world go by my window!! and there are a lot of interesting folk wandering around! here are some examples:

• a menancing looking girl with green hair, black leather jacket, nose rings and a surly expression!
• an old man with a big old beard on an old fold-up bicycle!
• a man out running wearing a luminous yellow waistcoat thing and woolly hat!
  
• a very well-dressed couple, the lady wearing an enormous fur coat, heavy dramatic make-up and with her hair in a giant bee hive! amazing!
• 2 teenage boys chasing and trying to hit each other with their school bags!

i also had a nice chat with angus, our postie, this morning, as we keep getting mail thu our door addressed to this flat but to a different name. he said i can write RTS (Return to sender!) on it, but often it just gets chucked out. however, it has made me curious about this person who is not getting their mail, and i wonder if i've ever been sent anything of significance which has never reached me!?

i've also just discovered a whole new way of editing my blogs which allow me to use rainbow colours for typing! while this has me momentarily excited, i wonder if it'll be harder to read!? feel free to feedback!

mad bongos 'n' that!

Today we took a wee wander down Ashton Lane, only to be greeted by the funky, rhythmic beats of Sambayabamba!! Oxjam had taken over the West end and the band had returned to raise funds for Oxfam by bringing a Latin flavour to another rainy afternoon in Glasgow!! they were fantastic and it was impossible not to shake it a little to their Brazilian- influenced tunes!! Vodkawodka were also hosting an afternoon of Scottish music to raise funds and there was, as usual, a great atmosphere down the Lane! so despite my incessant coughing and sneezing, it was a cheery wee afternoon!

6 uninteresting things about me...

i just realised i was tagged by Rich to play this fun game!! or rather, to make this uninteresting list! here goes...

1. every day i get home from work and watch friends, scrubs then hollyoaks
2. i, like rich, also love making lists! its kind of a thing
3. i spent the other nite dressed in a giant paper bag
4. when i was ten i had an operation which left a big scar on my back
5. i have intolerance's to wheat, dairy and caffeine
6. right now my fingers hurt from guitar playing

I tag... San, JJ, Simon- uh-oh, i have to stop at 3 due due to time constraints, but watch out, i'll get 3 more of u!!!

Meme Terms and Conditions:

Link to the person who tagged you

Mention the rules on your blog

List 6 uninteresting things about you

Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them

i heart jenny lewis!!

well, having finally had a spare second to sit down and blog, i can now revel in the beauty that was saturday nite! sweet sigh! jenny lewis was totally, completely, wonderfully amazing!! having reached almost new levels of inner excitement i was on the verge of exploding when, half way thru being served at the bar i heard the opening bars of her first song of the nite coming from the other room!! having marked saturday in my diary for weeks i am please to report she did not disappoint, and i fear i now have a complete female crush, haha! her vocals were rich and warm, she managed to pull off high waisted jeans and a polka dot, swim-suit style top with a hat and chunky red necklace in a way that almost had u rushing out to do the same (i say almost because in real life, there's just no way i could ever make that work!!!), and her stage presence was so captivating!

performing a perfect mix of songs from her latest album Acid Tongue, and some of her older stuff it was one of my favourite gigs, ever!! Under the blacklight was fabulous and a nice wee surprise toward the end! rich and scott were also v excited (on the inside, u could tell!!) but we had a bit of debate over her stage performance! scott felt she didn't really bring much performance wise, but really, when u ooze that much soul there's no need to prance around or whip up some audience interaction! everything about her was totally mesmerizing- she's so confident and even got away with kneeling down and crouching over whilst singing; she drank her water in time with the band, and just sounded wonderful!!! so, i guess i officially love her!!

i also had a wee peek thru the window of her tour bus and saw some very exciting, star- esque items such as, erm, a bowl of fruit, mircowave, kettle and some paper!!! oh yes, it was pretty cool!!

its just too early...

ugh, does anyone else agree that it is just way too early in the day to be watching food programmes on tv!? my husband is refusing to change the channel, so here, at 10:20am i am feeling slightly nauseous at the sights and sounds of fancy tv chef's pan-frying big slabs of tuna, yuck, and now a guy is eating squidgy, wriggly snails!!!!! its just too much for a saturday morning!

the other day i went to visit the Academy of Music and Sound in Glasgow, where they run a variety of music courses and teach lessons! needless to say i was pretty excited, and was on the verge of quitting my job to sign up to full-time guitar and vocals courses!! thankfully such extreme measures were not necessary as, before we left, the manager offered me a complimentary guitar lesson!! hee! so today i am off for my first lesson! and tonite sees the fabulous jenny lewis playing in glasgow- all in all a great day is comin up!!

Live Your Calling

today saw the arrival of a book i ordered a week ago and have been hotly anticipating! Live Your Calling by the Brennflecks is described as a 'practical guide to finding and fulfilling your mission in life', and i came across it last week whilst researching into christian careers services! having spent some time looking into this, i came up with very little in the UK. As both a christian and a careers adviser i have recently found myself being approached on a fairly regular basis by people looking for advice and guidance regarding what to do with their lives/ how to discover their purpose/ how to recognise God's calling and what their practical response should be.

It got me thinking that there are so many people out there seeking direction, purpose and for a bigger sense of meaning in their lives. Everyone has different priorities, giftings, skills, abilities, experience and passions and it can sometimes be really tricky trying to even identify these, let alone try and work out what these mean, and what life direction to take. Every day i meet with people who have reached some sort of crossroad or turning point, and need support (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot) to work out what their next step should be! it is something i love doing and i guess this book got me excited because it appears to combine 2 of my main passions inside the one cover, a rare find thus far! so, as i begin to turn the pages i am curious and hopeful that it will have ben worth the wait...

fisharama drama!

well, i am sad to report that i have somehow managed to no longer own any tropical fish! despite investing a small fortune in equipment (heater, filter system, thermometer, lightbulb, weird fish tank hoover suction thing), decorative features (namely fake purple plants!) and countless tropical fish i am grudgingly havin to admit defeat!!! (see sad-looking, empty tank below!)
my husband let out a small shout of joy as i flushed away our final fish, who, despite having rented room in my aquarium for the past 6 months or so, has decided to move on to a bigger and better place!! now i'm not saying i am giving up entirely on my aquarium dream, as this may be in fact the perfect opportunity to look into getting the ultimate pet dream- aquatic frogs!! either those or terrapins!! altho i have heard thru the tropical fish owners grapevine that terrapins can actually live for like, 15 years, and i'm not sure how ready i am for that sort of commitment!! perhaps some further research is required...!

A Very Spiritual Starbucks!

A few weeks ago i was at a 'Light and Life' night in Starbucks, where there was the opportunity to meet with others and hear God speak thru different mediums incl. art, prayer, massage, music and dream interpretation. Having (typically!) arrived late most slots were already full but my friend and i managed to squeeze our names down for a spiritual reading and a hand massage! now, having been brought up a christian, and with a strong faith of my own i have always been slightly wary of 'spiritual readings' as there is always a certain element of risk involved when dipping into the spirit realm and i believe it must be done thru really discerningly seeking God, rather than attempting to go thru another channel. However, the nature of these readings simply involved 2 women praying for you and sharing what they sensed or heard God saying, something which i have experienced and been totally blessed by many times!

All i told them was my name and that i would like them to pray for me regarding my job. I did not mention what my job is or say anything more than that. As they prayed it was amazing as God really spoke thru them, they described many features of my job and re-assured me that i had no need to worry about the future of it. Now this interested me as i have been on a temporary contract since starting and a year down the line, when on my 3rd extension of it, i had just been summoned to a meeting to officially notify me of my 6 month contract end period beginning! they also encouraged me in different aspects of my life, mentioning specific areas of which i had told them nothing about, and i left with a real excitement and certainty that God is indeed very real and most definitely speaks today, as well as a calm reassurance about His plans for me!

So, skip on a few weeks to last Thursday! i had attended my meeting and was officially notified my contract would end in 6 months, thus began the back-of-my-mind deliberations about the future; sigh, what does this mean, should i start keeping an eye-out for new jobs, stress, stress, etc!! i know, i know,i can hear u cry, ' but what about what God said, have u forgotten already!?'. well, yes sort of. because ashamedly, circumstances can get the better of us and when faced with negative life happenings it can become all too easy to overlook God in it all, and return to our small, blinkered views of ourselves and our bleak outlooks!!

However, on that same week, just a few days ago, my chin was lifted as half way thru my working day I received a completely unexpected email saying that my temporary contract was to be made permanent!!! Permanent!!! a small miracle which not only left me totally excited and relieved, but served as a reminder of Gods word to me of a few weeks before, and how silly I was to doubt Him! I am now doubly excited given the other areas he spoke to me about thru the 2 women praying for me in Starbucks and i am already beginning to see the first few buds of something else coming into existence!! so watch this space...!!

a busker's delight!

my little bro is a busking hero and now features in online cult busking magazine:buskerworld, your complete online guide to busking!! i know, its an awful lot of busking for one paragraph but it's a fairly exciting place to feature, and he is rumoured to soon star as busker of the month!!!

when i was in sydney in the summer i spent an evening busking with my bro in the delightful area of Kings cross (where i naively stood on a street corner, and kept wondering why cars were slowing down and men were shouting things at me from their vehicles!!!) regardless, it was a very entertaining way to spend a friday nite, and we even made $40, about £20!! and some new friends, albeit they were rather wasted and only paused for a few moments before staggering on!

so to buskers everywhere, i take my cap off to you...or should it be the other way round!?!

things i'm pretty excited about RIGHT NOW!!!

firstly, the fact that i am now blogging from the comfort of my own couch!! or actually, to be extremely accurate, from the chair at my table as my laptop is charging!! regardless, we have internet access in our flat!!! in fact, not just our flat, anywhere we go thanx to the handy little plug-in stick (black and pink, no less!!) from T-mobile! due to husband starting a post grad distance learning course internet has become a necessity, as attempting to produce top notch essays from countless hours in internet cafes is not ideal!! and so, i can now plug in and blog!

next up, i am ridiculously excited at the release of not one, but TWO of my favourite artists new albums! yesterday was hotly anticipated in my diary and i am now LOVIN the Kings of Leon 'Only by the Night', espec tracks 'Use Somebody' and 'Revelry', and the wonderful Jenny Lewis with her new 'Acid Tongue'!! mmm hmmm!!! what a joyful happening!

last but not least, i am in the process of becoming a Skyper!! i know, it's almost too much for one day!! lots of additional communication from this household!! and espec useful to keep in touch with various and numerous friends and family who are no longer just round the corner! soon i will be catching up with st andrews, sydney, london, bristol, japan, birmingham, arizona, and perhaps even my mum, who despite only living 20 mins away gets quite excited by the prospect of skyping and is just a little like me!! scary!!

so today gets 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up!!

peter pan no more!

having not blogged for a while it is quite nice to return to my very own blogspot and seek comfort in my old familiar love! i reckon my perspective on life has changed somewhat over the past year or so and havin now reached the grand ol' age of 26 i consider myself to sort of be a proper adult now! oh yes, the mid-20's are most definitely here, bringing with them a sense of actually growing up a little bit! my job involves advising people on their life decisions and future plans, which for a while rendered me feeling rather inadequate and not entirely sure i was up for that smidgen of responsibility. but as a colleague kindly reminded, careers advising is not the 4th emergency service and if i ever actually tell someone what i think they should do i'm pretty much missing the point of my role!

so 26 began with a wonderfully extended birthday wknd, incl an overnight in a treehouse lodge in Aviemore, an extremely fun party with 30 of my nearerst and dearest in Ashton Lane, a golden oldies tea party with my grandparents and great-aunt, a joint family birthday lunch with my bro-in-law (sharing is caring guys!) and then it was my actual birthday!!! fun fun!


so i do feel a bit more grown up now! however, we were in hong kong this summer and spent a day at disneyland there (only in phase 1- i'd hold off on a visit until there's more than one rollercoaster!!) and outrageously, there was no peter pan ride! it being my favourite i was fairly upset, and then felt perhaps it was time to move on... just a little bit mind!!