Canada's Really Big, Eh?

I guess it would be fair to clear up that the reason that Tess was having troubles eating (And still is), is directly resulting of the AIDS virus. She has a permanent case of gingivitis and has to have every tooth removed so that she can eat comfortably and not have the infection. In the simplest way to explain it, she is having an allergic reaction to her own teeth and it won't go away until the teeth are no longer there.

So that dental surgery is what is going to cost big bucks, plus the medicine I've already had her on, the vet visits she's had and the medicine she'll have to go on AFTER the surgery. My biggest goal now is saving up for that. Yeeikes.

The End. Sorry to make the last post so long.

Well well well, it has been a very long time!

Believe me when I say that I've tried to post entries on here a couple of times, but the website wasn't working at all and I had no patience to come back and keep trying.

So to update y'all on life these days:

1. I'm still living with my brother in our little student housing situation. It is pretty nice, but I'm getting sick of how small it is and how some people don't know how to properly live in a flatmating situation (ie. our third room mate using our mayo, ketchup (yes, KETCHUP, not tomato sauce), toilet paper, bath products, etc) and then never taking a turn to do his share of the chores. It's annoying but I only have to put up with it for another 5 months.

2. I am working 5 days a week at the bank, now (I forget if I had already told you this so I'll tell you again). I'm working 3 days a week at one location and 2 days a week at another location. It's good to have it change up once in a while, and the best part is that I get to work at the less-busy one on the so-called 'busy' days. So normally, when I would be going insane, I actually get a pretty smooth ride on Fridays and Saturdays, instead of getting swamped with thousands of customers a day. I like it some days, but other days remember very well why I quit in the first place. Last week I got my first full paycheque. That made me happy.

3. I am getting sick. Yucky.

4. Richard Rentoul will be happy to know that he now has someone who can compare veterinary costs with him. I remember hearing only once or twice (sarcasm) about the time that Zac got hit by a car and has cost Richard a lot of money. Of course he wouldn't have it any other way, because kitty is family. Well at this point, my cat Tess has been diagnosed with Feline Aids (otherwise known as FIV) and will be on medicine the rest of her life. The other great (sarcasm) part is that within the next year, she will have already cost me an estimated total of $3000 NZD (is that close to what you had to spend on Zac, Rentouls?). But at least I know there is one person in the world who understands that cats are not just objects - they're family in a lot of cases, and that they are worth a little inconvenience once in a while. After all, she has made my life so much better and put many smiles on my face when I've felt like poo, so I owe it to her.


As far as prayer requests are concerned, please pray for me to get better and not get too sick, especially since tomorrow is my day off and I don't want to spend it coughing and headachy.

Also, praise God for providing in so many ways, especially financially. Even though my job drives me nuts, it gives me the opportunity to be able to provide special care for Tess, where I would normally have to get rid of her. He has also shown me that He cares about the so-called "little" things in life, too, even if they may seem insignificant. He cares about our hearts desires, even if they might be a little off the wall than most people think.

I guess that's about it. Life is going by pretty breezy, but I'm feeling pretty blah and run down a lot of the times (mostly because of work). So please pray for me to get a little more energy and have a bit more positive an attitude at work.


Well, I miss you all and I hope that life is treating you all well! SEND ME AN EMAIL and tell me about your life! I haven't heard from anyone in quite a while - except the Wilsons, who sent me a very cute (and quite unique) scarf for my birthday. It was a project that I intended to do while I was there, learning to knit, but never got around to finishing it.

(Thanks, Rae, Neil and Donald!!!)

It'll be weird knowing that I didn't get to spend a birthday of mine in Te Anau, even though it felt like I was there for a long time!

P.S. My birthday's on Sunday! ;) hint hint...hehe. OH YEAH and if anyone reads this who will talk to Heather Scott, be sure to let her know that I still have my Crunchie bar she gave me at church and I will eat it this weekend!!!!

Well there has been quite a bit going on lately. I've never felt like my life has been so eventful as it has in the past week or so.

The bad news is that I've had a few things happen that have been pretty discouraging. Well, my cousin getting diabetes being on the top of the list. But also, I accidentally spilled a glass of "pop" on my laptop keyboard last night. Luckily after a couple hours upside down nothing seems to be fried so far, though it's still a little sticky on the keyboard.

Also, I found out that when I go back to school in February for a week long class, it happens to fall on the same week as a youth rally/conference that the youth people have been starting to plan. I am the only person at the church with experience in planning and running something like that so they're relying pretty heavily on me to be there but now I'm not sure if I can be.

And, to top it all off, Tess (my cat) hasn't been eating due to some nasty pain in her mouth and since I'm already $350 in the negative on my bank account, I can't really afford to bring her to the vet but my brother is loaning me money for now because at this point it's getting quite urgent (she hasn't eaten in 5 days or so).

The good news is that my mom was smart and said I should buy a bottle of children's Motrin (a pain reliever thingie) and squirt a little into her mouth based on her weight so it would take away the pain enough for her to at least get some food into her system. It seems to be working, as long as I keep adding water to her wet food to keep it very very very moist and soft for her. And I'm taking her to the vet in the morning so hopefully the financial damage isn't too bad. The way I see it, normally the adoption fee is somewhere along the lines of $150 but I got her for free so I should be prepared to spent something on her to help her feel better.

More bad news (this is recent) is that I can't sleep tonight. I haven't had this problem since coming home and I don't like that it's decided to come back tonight, when I have to wake up the earliest tomorrow than I've had to at all since being back.


BUT I have some really good news, too.

God has been really faithful with answering prayers about me finding a spiritual mentor. He has provided me with two, to be exact. I still don't know if they're supposed to *both* be doing the job, but both ladies that I've talked to about it seem to be keen to help me out and be there for me. They're also best friends so they seem to be totally fine with doing like a three-way mentoring and accountability situation. We've had lots of long talks and they've really helped me work through some of what's been on my mind lately.

The other good news is that I had a job interview yesterday! At PetValu, which is a pet supply store but they don't have pets for sale there. I like that idea because pet stores often don't really follow my particular ethical preferences as far as treatment of animals goes. So the interview was an hour and a half long and I had a bunch of papers to fill out...some of which are ones you would fill out before you get hired, but some which seem to be ones that they wouldn't normally make you fill out unless they were planning on hiring you for sure. So I'm going to probably hear back from them today or tomorrow and hopefully I'll start a new job VERY soon!!!

More good news is that I'm looking over at Tess and she's still attempting to eat a whole lot more than she has been the past few days. She's almost had an entire can of food now, which is definitely more than she's had to eat in the past 5 days combined. It makes me happy to know she at least won't starve to death before her tooth can get fixed.

Aaaaand what else is there? Hmm I'm not too sure. But let's just give a general update on what's happening with the youth stuff.


God made it clear to me that I belong leading the junior high ministry group this year. I've been working only with senior highs up until now but I think that my experiences in Te Anau this past while has prepared me for a new age group of kids and it seems to be working well so far. I mean, at least the younger kids like doing the messy, crazy, goofy games...the older ones are too cool for that stuff, apparently. hehe

I am also going to be starting up my senior high girls' small group in the next couple of weeks (once I find out a general working schedule if I get hired at PetValu). When it comes to older kids, I prefer to work with the "already saved" ones simply because they respond better to messages of self respect and not doing anything they'll regret. My heart hurts too much for the older kids who are in trouble and don't seem to care. I can't seem to let go of the heartache for them and just give it to God, so it's best to use my gifts in the area of discipleship with older kids, particularly with girls, since I've seen the result of so much lack of self-respect and self-worth.

And finally, I also agreed to play with the worship teams. I don't know how many I'm going to be playing on (there are 3 different ones I think) but I played bass guitar this last Sunday. I really hope they get me on acoustic guitar soon coz I really miss playing and jumping around and really getting into it (that's a lot harder to do on the bass...hehe).


Anyways, I guess that's my life these days. The good, the bad, and the information. Thanks for your continued prayers and I hope that I haven't bored you too much with all this information.

Now it's 4:00 am and I'm still not tired. Blargh...

Ok. See ya.

I have a job interview at a pet supply store (not the same one I applied at before) on Monday morning at 10:00. That's Tuesday at 2 am for you Kiwis.

I'm really excited because it seems to fit perfectly into my schedule and I don't think there have been any other applicants!

Sooo that's a good praise item!

Another praise item is that God has been really blessing me, not only financially but spiritually. I have been seeking a mentor for a while now (even when I was in NZ) but didn't feel particularly connected with any one person. Well lately God has been giving confirmation all over the place that the choices are now down to two people, and He is swaying it ever so clearly even towards one of them.

Please pray for God to make it so clear who He has chosen to help me with accountability and spiritual growth.

I miss you all a TON and hope to start putting together a care package with candy and whatnot for the youth (and chocolate for the Rentouls of course).


Also, my cousin Harry is leaving the hospital today, I think. His blood sugar count was at 46 when he came in (apparently it's supposed to be at 6), and as of yesterday when his sister and I left, it was down to 14. He is feeling pretty yucky I think, being stuck there and knowing that he has to make a lifelong commitment to his health now even though he's only 19 and wants to just live a normal life.

But the good news is that they caught it before he could get any really serious problems from it. Hopefully he can get back to normal and "eat a cheeseburger" as he really wants. hehe

Hope to hear from ya! What happened to emails and comments and whatnot? You're all already slacking pretty bad!

Please pray for my cousin, Harry. He's 19 and found out last night that he has type 1 diabetes. He's in a pretty stable condition but has been pretty sick the past few days which is why he went to the hospital in the first place.

His mother lives at the other side of the country and he's not had the easiest life. Right now I'm feeling a little angry...wondering why him when he and his sister have been through a lot already.

Pray for peace and health and whatever else. He's a Christian so hopefully he can cling to God during the next few lonely nights in the hospital.

So no job yet.

However, the McLeods Daughters discs have been tracked down and are on their way to Canada - so I didn't lose any money there.

AND tonight while I was at young adults group, I asked for prayer for a job and financial provision because of rent and sponsor payments coming out within the next week or so. And all of a sudden about 45 minutes later, one of the guys I hardly know (but is super nice so far - I approve very much of him dating one of my close friends, Stacey)pulls me aside into the lounge and said that he knows a place that is probably hiring and he gave me the contact information and said he'd refer me to them to get me a full time job.

AND THEN he said "And this is from God. I will tell you the story later but for now if anyone asks, it is from God." and he hands me an envelope with cash inside. I of course didn't open it up in front of him or in the house because it's not polite so I waited til I got in the car. $300! Like that's only $75 shy of my rent! And I'm getting money back from having quit that animal care class. So with this cash and that cheque combined, I will have JUST enough to cover rent and the sponsorship, with enough left over for a tank of petrol for the car.

God is so faithful. Like I have been really feeling his presence lately and remembering to spend time with Him (this has always been one of my weaknesses, as Bethany, Richard, Jocelyn and I discussed in small group once) and things are just really great. Even though I've been flat broke and now have TWO broken cars (so no reliable mode of transportation), I haven't really been feeling "down", so to speak.

I am just having a really great night. A great life. I'm going to church tomorrow and announcing to my friends that God has shown me which programs to take part in.

I just feel peaceful. Yay!

Oh yes and let me just say that the picture of me and Hannah was taken very shortly after she spilled most of that glass of water into a VERY uncomfortable and embarassing place (especially when I had to go out to buy cheesecake shortly afterwards).

That explains the tea towel in my hand...

Hi again everyone, I trust that all is well with you!

I just wanted to post a picture on here that Bethany sent me last night because it's my very favourite due to the sheer nature of the situation. Yes indeed, Hannah is ONCE again giving ME cuddles and not mum!

Now that Bethany has her daughter back, though, I need to gloat once in a while about how life once was and remember that for a short time I prettymuch had my own kid. I mean come on, when all Bethany does is pawn off her kid on me every day, what do you expect? teehee JUUUUUST kidding!



So there isn't much else that's new right now. My brother is at school and I'm vowing to actually get this apartment sorted out today - once and for all! That means finishing the unpacking and getting rid of the boxes and bags laying around and taking up space.

I am also waiting to hear back from a guy at church who is an independent contracting painter or something. He's waiting to hear back from a potential job in a city nearby and said that if he gets it, he'll hire me to help and it'll be a BIG job so I'd get paid BIG bucks. I'm giving until Sunday to hear back otherwise I'll just start telling people at other places that I can start working immediately.

Sooo that's life right now. I don't have a DVD player so I can't watch McLeods Daughters yet. But this Thursday is the season premier of Grey's Anatomy and THEN on SUUUUUNDAY it's...

*drumroll please*

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES!

I'm excited to be able to tell Bethany ALL about what's going on with those crazy women of Wisteria Lane.

Well I guess that's all for now and I just remembered that the pictures I try to upload just don't seem to work for me so let's hope I can still get the Hannah picture to work.

So as I was roaming through the supermarket tonight (yes, tonight - at the 24 hour shop), I happened to come across the little section with the alcohol flavouring syrup thingies (not any alcohol, just the syrups) and decided to keep my eyes open for a little bottle of bitters. Well lo and behold, I found one! So I rushed to the other end of the store to trade in my bottle of Coke for Sprite and grab a bottle of fresh lime juice.

And now I am enjoying my very first home made Lemon, Lime & Bitters. So beautiful. However, it's not quite as tangy or as bittery as Bundaberg makes it but I'm kinda scared to put any more bitters in it coz I remember someone telling me once that too much of it is actually a poison. So I'm afraid to put more than like 4 dashes in the glass!

I think the secret is that I need way more lime juice next time. Yup, I just took another sip and that's definitely the problem.

Next thing on the agenda is to tackle the art of Pavlova making.

And another prayer request:
The guy that was supposed to send me my 5th series of McLeods says that he sent it like almost two weeks ago but last I checked with Rae it hasn't shown up at the house. I have a feeling he's ripped me off because I made the mistake of telling him that I was leaving the country. That's $125 of much needed money gone. I'm not impressed. I asked him to send it courier and he said he sent it by regular post instead because of the price. I don't know if I believe him.

I have his name and address where he told me to first pick up the stuff if anyone is willing to take a trip to break his legs.

It would be really nice for at least that series to show up so I haven't lost any money.

Back to the drink! Goodnight!