Sydney seems to be divided into two types of Christmas shoppers.
Group one are the organised kind who have everything beautifully wrapped and ready to go by early December.
Group two, which Sam and I belong to, will put off their shopping until the week before Christmas then race madly around a packed Westfield to find items that will have sold out – presumably to alll the people in group one. We will then drive 45 minutes to an outlet store/warehouse sale, airconditioner blaring to ward off the 30 degree heat, in order to find a specific brand of coffee plunger or book. Panicked phonecalls to parents and siblings will follow to ensure right spelling of book’s author, only to see us arrive home and realise we’ve forgotten a) christmas cards, b) wrapping paper, and c) that Uncle Geoffrey is gluten free, so that giant Darrell Lea gift bag was a big mistake. We will then spend the night madly wrapping and writing on gift tags, yelling, “Do you think old brown paper do for wrapping Jenny’s Barbie make-up kit?” (answer: yes, add a ribbon it looks intentionally environmentally-friendly), staying up until 1am to bake shortbread we decided – on a whim! – would be fun to hand out to everyone as small gifts.
At least that’s how we spent our lead-up to Christmas last year. A part of me would love to migrate into the first group. I keep thinking it’s our circumstances that stop us from being organised…working full-time, having a packed diary in summer with no time to shop, being completely clueless when it comes to shopping for children (why oh why do they make so many types of lego?). But the truth is that we’re just terrible Christmas shoppers. We really are. And you know, I think I’m okay with that. We still love you heaps, even if your present comes wrapped in newspaper and with all the pricetags accidentally left on!
What type of Christmas shopper are you?
Last roast of 2009. Get your orders in!
I love buying new stationery and the ultimate purchase, in my humble opinion, is a diary for the new year.
Yesterday I bought my 2010 diary from one of my favourite shops, Kiki.k – the thinner version of the diary pictured in a peppermint green colour (I had the red version for 2009). Many things have to be considered when buying a diary for the year. Portability is the main thing, as it must fit snugly in a handbag, yet be large enough for you to write in comfortably. Durability is another point to consider as there’s nothing worse than dog ears or a diary that won’t close properly after a few months of use. Outside aesthetics is also important; after all, you’re going to be looking at it for 12 months.
You also have to consider the inside pages, which is where I think the Swedish designers at Kiki.k really come into their own. Some diaries look pretty on the outside, but inside is a mess – cheap and nasty paper, not enough space to write appointments, no Australian public holidays listed, ugly typography. I made the mistake in 2008 of buying a cheap diary to save money and regretted it for the whole year, as there wasn’t enough space on each page to write in. The above diary has the perfect layout, complete with little emoticons and weather symbols so you can circle “sad face, storm cloud” on a gloomy day. Very cute!
They’re only doing one show in Sydney however. It’s on December 10, 8pm at the Metro. Soph and I are going – wanna come with us?
This fortnight we’re bringing you some of Papua New Guinea’s finest. Oh baby. Get your orders in.
I was just sent this ad campaign by NAPCAN (The National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) on teenage cyber bullying. Check it out here. I think it’s pretty cool.
I admit I have a soft spot for Channel Ten.
Yes I know, it’s trashy, very commercial and not the most intelligent viewing, but I like it. I think of it as my chocolate after I’ve eaten all my greens (namely ABC News).
I especially enjoy Thursday nights when I get to stay at home and watch Glee, followed by more high quality viewing in the form of Channel Seven’s Beauty and the Geek. I’m really looking forward to going home tonight, cooking a thai red curry and watching both shows with Sam. In fact, if you were to offer me an all-expenses paid meal at a fancy restaurant or a swanky hotel, I would still choose my couch and Channel Ten.
Every time.
Sorry for the lack of posts lately (and sorry for that opening – I hate posts that begin with “sorry”). Life has been full-on lately in terms of work and study. Sam is sitting his last exam at More College today, then starts full-time work at Pablo and Rusty’s in Gordon next week. I don’t envy his 5:30am starts, as I classify 4am as still “night time”. Work has been extremely busy for me too. We are running our annual industry awards in three weeks, which means extra editions of the mag and lots of scary glittering functions to attend. Bring on the Christmas holidays!
Also, some very happy news - God has given us a baby, due in May next year! The pregnancy nausea and tiredness hasn’t been fun (though eating carbs non-stop has), but I seem to have got my groove back now we’re well into the second trimester. Prayers would be much appreciated for the baby’s health. And for a painless birth, a baby that sleeps beautifully and minimal cankle action during pregnancy (I’m kidding. Sort of).
Finally, our router is broken and we’ve decided to go without Internet until we move to Newtown in January next year. I’ll try and write the odd post in the office when things quieten down, but probably shouldn’t take up too much work-time while things are crazy busy.
Speaking of which…deadline beckons…
Having finally finished preaching through the book of James, our church has just begun a teaching series on Church membership. This morning was spent in Ephesians 2, exploring membership in the church invisible: a membership which can’t be bought or earned, but can only be brought about by grace through our union with Christ.
But membership in the eternal, heavenly church must find local expression – it is incongruous to claim membership in God’s church, while removing ourselves from the church in the world – even if the church may at times frustrate us.
I was challenged this morning to have my intentions for my life and for our church tied ever more tightly to God’s intentions for the church. Pete reminded us of that phenomenal verse in Ephesians 3:10 -
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
God’s intention is to use the church to make his wisdom known to a realm that we are not even aware of, but in which we play an active role with our every thought, word and deed. As his grace finds expression in the lives of individuals in our church, as his Spirit works to change us to be more like Jesus, we declare the wisdom of God to an audience beyond what we can see and touch.
I think it’s going to be a cracker of a series.