Surprise Cupcakes!

Isn't my husband wonderful? I came home after a long walk to find these on our doorstep! What a wonderful surprise! <3

Carefree Roller Derby

I am really enjoying this carefree stage of life that Graeme and I have. No serious bills, no great responsibility, a whole lot of potential and ideas to come to fruition. At the same time I long for some stability, to be grounded and feel like I am building something or working towards something greater. In the mean time, we get to do awesome things like the ROLLER DERBY! Woot.

I love the Derby for many reasons. 1) full contact womens sport. Women are brutal, vicious and have big swinging hips. It is excellent to watch. 2) the punk scene comes alive. Think colours, fishnets, wacky costumes and a lot of fun. 3) the atmosphere. I don't care who you are, if I'm sitting next to you, expect me to jump up and down, chant, yell, scream, boo, cheer, laugh, and anything else that I could think of in that exciting moment. 4) We get to dress up. Not everyone does, but why wouldn't you? team spirit, atmosphere and a night out all come from dressing up.

Here are some photos from this weekends Derby final. Sadly, our team Filthy Habits lost to Carnage Academy. But it was a really close game with a lot of great moves by both teams. I can't wait to next years bouts!

See you there in 2011!

One Step At A Time

I took one step today.

One small small step towards what I am sure God has called me to do.

I am excited, thrilled, nervous and almost peeing my pants at the same time.

More info as it reveals itself.

Thanksgiving

Jesus, for everything you have done for me, when I least deserved it. And even now, when I still haven't learn't, I still stumble, you continue to offer me the grace to get through each day.

Graeme, for leading our family and being strong. With Jesus we can get through each day and I am so thankful that you rely on him too. I respect you even more.

Family, for teaching me a lot about being a citizen in this world. I realise now that you were my cheerleaders all along and taught me so much about life. Thank you for pushing me to try new things and supporting my hair brained schemes.

Friends, old and new, for coming into my life and making it a brighter place. I am looking forward with hope that we will grow closer together in the future and support each other as we all lead such different lives.

Steve & Dawn for being such great supports this year. You two are the closest, wisest, funnest, smartest, supportive and caring-est pastors I know.

Internship, for teaching me about real ministry, for making me realise what I care about and for rediscovering those forgotten prophecies and callings spoken long ago.

House, for your all day sunshine and happy place.

Connect group, for teaching me about 'doing life together' and making it a joy to lead.

New Zealand, for the safety and comfort you offer, and the beauty that surrounds me.

Today I am very thankful. Last night our connect group celebrated Thanksgiving and I was so overwhelmed when everyone declared what they were thankful for. It made me realise how good God is and how much he is inspiring and working in our lives. Incredibly thankful that I am on this journey today and looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

What are you thankful for?

Excitement Plus! +++

This week I finished 6 new pretty Love Bootie colours, you can see them all in the Gallery here

I am also having fun business cards printed this week for Stitch Africa and am attending Girls Night Out where I am advertising the Booties that are Love <3  If you're in CHCH come along, it will be great!!

I have also been applying for an abundance of Jobs recently as I will be moneyless as of December. So far no luck, just very quick prompt rejections. There's only so much rejection this girl can take, especially when I am so filled with pride and think I'm AWESOME.

I guess this is a little slap on the wrist for thinking so much of myself. Wish me luck on the employment front, and if you're that way inclined, prayers too :)

Roller Derby

To conclude my birthday posts, we went to the Roller Derby!

An [awesome] bunch of my friends gathered in blue and went to the Roller Derby together. A full contact, all women, fast paced, punked up sport.

Our team (the CellBlock Brawlers) got smashed, but they were way more fun to support anyway.

The final is next saturday, go to Cosmic Corner to get your tickets! We'll be supporting Filthy Habits so dress in gold! :D

Yay for birthdays, thank you everyone for helping it to be so special and memorable! xxx

My Birthday Saturday - MuZu Chinese FootSpa

When I left my job at Body Business they gave me a footspa voucher for my farewell gift. I finally cashed it in on my birthday (perfect timing) and had such a relaxing beginning to my day!

The place was MuZu and it was divine. The place was gorgeous, clean and very relaxing.

I was put inside a very dark room (as you can tell by the photos), I could barely see and had to feel my way to the large comfy couches. A lady came in 10 minutes later and delivered me herbal tea, a plate of fresh fruit and told me to take off my shoes.

A few minutes later another lovely lady came in with a large basket filled with hot water and herbs. I soaked my feet in it and it smelt amazing! While my feet were soaking she massaged my head, my neck, my shoulders and lastly my back. Chinese massage definitely isn't my favourite kind. I very rarely find it relaxing, nor do they warm up your muscles first so you generally leave feeling worse off, and they end with banding and punching, but for this instance I enjoyed it. I'm so glad I had clean hair because I wasn't expecting a head massage.

Later on I sat down and she alternatively wrapped my feet and legs in hot towns and massaged my legs and feet, pushing on pressure points.

It was divinely relaxing, the lady was skilled and barely spoke to me, it seemed like it lasted 2 hours (although it only took an hour) and I really felt like had I paid for it, I would have gotten my moneys worth.

I highly recommend MuZu, and lovers, they do great gift vouchers for that special someone! <3

My Birthday Friday

Its safe to say this was the best birthday I have ever had. Despite my reservations and nerves in my previous post, all of this was forgotten come Friday morning (a public holiday in my city and the day before my birthday).

Graeme was a real prince charming and celebrated my birthday with me on the Friday. We had a cooked breakfast together, watched an episode of An Idiot Abroad in the early morning sun. Beautiful flowers were on my doorstep from my good friends Hollie and Perry (<3) and then Graeme took me for a mystery drive. We ended up in Pegasus bay town where we went to the beach and enjoyed the sun. Graeme even went on a walk with me!!

After this he took me on a 2 hour drive out of Christchurch to the Secret Spot. I have wanted to go there for years since I have seen it in photos with his old friends and on a date! However, it's a big secret, and is tucked away from prying eyes. If you know where the secret spot it, keep it a secret.

It was like the garden of Eden (what i imagine anyway). Perfect in everyway.

We arrived home later that night and I had a wine in the sunshine and was given another addition to my hardback Narnia collection. When we have children, I am going to read them Narnia and they will see that Graeme gave them all to me on different occasions :)

More birthday adventures coming later!

My Approaching Birthday - Eep!

It's my birthday this weekend! I am turning 22, but celebrating my 21st and I am SO nervous.

Birthdays to me are disappointing and a non-event, so I try not to make a big deal out of them. Where did this derive from? You may ask. That fateful day on my 9th Birthday Party. I was new in town and all the cool kids were invited. Dad had planned the whole thing for me, and when it came to pass the parcel I was mortefied. Not only was it wrapped in newspaper, there was not treats in every layer, and at the very centre was a used Mc Donalds happy meal toy. All the girls passed it around the table because no one wanted to win it. I was let down, and bawled my eyes out. Then, on my 15th, my birthday was forgotten because my older sister was going on a holiday to Thailand. But I don't hold that against her ;)

Previous birthday celebrations...

My dear dear Chlo-izzle, who always attempted to make my birthdays a good one. This photo was taken outside Drexels where we planend to celebrate, however I had a stomach bug and couldn't eat anything without rushing to the toilet. She later turned this photo into a sepia canvas for the following christmas for me!

 My first birthday with Graeme :)

 My sweet sweet mexican fiesta at the Mex Cafe (where we will be going to again this weekend)

And lastly, my 21st last year.

Since I vetoed all of Graeme's plans last year to throw me a bash with all of my friends I have since allowed him another shot of celebrating my presence in this world. We are going to the Roller DERBY! I am combining my love of all my friends and my love of dressing up and my love of Cosmopolitans and Pineapple and Mango Margaritas to celebrate a belated 21st! :)

I am super excited, and super nervous. I hope you come so I don't feel like a "no friend sophie"!! 

There will be no used McDonalds happy meal toys. I promise.

The Beginning of Stitch Africa

One morning when in the shower, I poured my heart out to God through frustrated tears. Why was I not living out the scriptures that I was sure he had called me to? Preaching and teaching in homes in distant nations, I was sure I was called to this.

Instantly I received a download from God. With it I saw Stitch Africa. I saw the name, the logo, the booties, the website, the prices, the mission, and the love. Everything.

I jumped out of the shower straight away and wrote everything down. That day I started on the "to-do list" and everything fell into place. It looks exactly as I had seen it that morning.

Now, a few months on, I rely on God for the inspiration for fresh ideas, the motivation to complete old ideas and the people to buy into the mission.

I am pining for the day when I get to go to Africa and meet these beautiful children. I can't wait for my husbands heart to be broken for the injustice and a passion to rise inside of him. I can't wait for the day that God will use me to spread his love in a bigger way.

For now, I'm just doing what God has allowed me to do and can't wait to see how it grows and develops in the coming months.

The Call

God's calling for your life is a terrifying and wonderfully liberating thing.

Terrifying because when he speaks, you must listen. It will put you out of your comfort zone, make you do and learn things you've never done before. And you must do it. Because you know God. And you respect and fear Him.

Wonderful because there is nothing more beautiful than hearing from God.

Liberating because it is so so comforting to know that God is in complete control and is totally sovereign. If you believe that your future is in his hands, than you really can't go wrong.

Tonight I am kept awake by the call of God. I am terrified, in awe and set free by his word.

Its the same call that I have had for 4 years, but it never ceases to amaze me how God brings us down a particular path and works things together for His glory.

Searching For Beauty

This weekend I took a bunch more photos and uploaded them to my website, Beautiful World. My favourite is this velvet feel skirt. I tried it on to figure out what size it was and had to wear it for the rest of the day. It's so different! Head over there and check out the other clothing options that you can swap for!

Also, this week the Stitch Africa Facebook page exploded! If you aren't a fan already, start following! We got 50 new fans overnight because some lovely ladies posted discovered it and posted it on their websites.

In fact, one of them loved it so much they are donating their handmade baby toys for every Bootie that is sold! So that means for the usual price, you are getting Love Booties and an African child is getting a pair of Love Booties and a sweet well made learning toy! More details, photos and recognition will come in the future :)

Isn't it exciting when people do what they are good at to help others? Loving it right now.

Today I am off to Spotlight for some new yarn and ribbons, and I have -finally- found a supplier in NZ who can sell me big enough PVC boxes to display Love Booties in! Yay!

My Weekend in Pictures

 Kids Church slave auction

 Coffee at the beach with sexy hubby :)

Johns Birthday BBQ and left overs celebration

Camera Case Tutorial

Today I sewed my own new camera case. Disclaimer: I, in no way, consider myself a sewer. I took 3 years of it in highschool but have since forgotten everything except for the joy of creating your own pieces. Now when I sew, I figure it out as I go, most of it would be "politically incorrect" and would shock a few ladies, but I love the thrill of receiving a compliment and being able to say "thanks, I made it!"

Materials: 2x pieces of felt. I have never used felt before, but it was so easy and a lot of fun! I used a peach and bright blue, with orange thread and a fun button.

Step One: With the two pieces together I marked out the area where my camera would be and cut it to size. I left about 2 cm either side of the camera and left the top part to adjust later.

I straight stitched diagonally. I found due to the thickness of the felt I had to extend my stitched out so the tension wasn't as tight.

I didn't mark my lines out, but just free styled it. Some of my lines weren't parallel but overall it didn't matter.

I also didn't backstitch any of my lines because they were going to be hidden and restitched.

I did this both ways and trimmed off all the loose threads.

With the right sides facing, I folded the felt over and stitched and L over the felt, I used a 1.5 seam allowance and then trimmed triangles into the sides. 

I then cut my flap over to size, I made it a big triangle with a flat edge on top. I stitched super close to the edge to create a seam. I couldn't fold it over because the felt was too thick.

Because the felt is so thick I had to trim the corner right down so it wouldn't be puffy when it was turned the right way around.

Turn it to the right way out. For some reason, I wasn't able to make a proper button hole, so instead I cut a line in the felt. this will work with felt (and still isn't ideal), but probably with nothing else.

I attached my wee button and Ta-DA! Camera case! :)