1) Man, the O.C is back in my life and is so flipping addictive. Have had it back 40 hours and already watched 4 episodes.

2) I well like reading the Guardian week-end magasine. Read it last night and discovered:
a) Bill Patterson's (Scottish actor) most overused phrase is "hello you old bean". I think I'd like to adopt this phrase cos it's quite cool but maybe people will feel a bit gutted at being called old??
b) In certain native tribes the penis (as well as 10 fingers) in used for counting(Is that for serous of what?).
c) You can buy microwavable bras.

3) Am feeling a bit sad that Nikki B my housemate is off to China for 3 weeks. Will miss drinking red wine with her plus, I like her a lot.

4) Feel like my faith is rising. That can only be a good thing. Praise the Lord.

love valx

1. Man, it is snowing outside..what a joy.
2. Wicked..I prayed this morning that I'd feel encouraged as a teacher... then today the deputy head at the school I often work at told me I'd done a lot for the school (Flip..I hope she meant a lot of good and not a lot of bad).
3. Enjoyed singing last night. Thank you Lord that you gave me the gift of singing. I think I like it.
4. If your feet are cold you can buy some well warm and cosy pink or stripey bed socks from Primark for 2 pounds.
5. Darn it...I need some gloves..I bought some the other day and when I got home I discovered they are both right hand gloves which is not so good for my left hand.
6. Please pray for Jo Mortimer..cos she has lung cancer and the tumours in her lungs are bigger and she has tumours all through her skeleton. Please pray whatever God gives you faith for.

Things I am thankful for............

1. Where I am living as a) it is free b) I am living with Al and Nick B and I love them both c) It is creative d) it is spacious. For the time I spend in this house I am thankful.

2. Our Christmas party..it was way cool and an answer to prayer as we prayed for a party full of people and joy and there were both. There was also a Christmas quiz with a prize which Jase, Andrew, Hu and Ben won...they are indeed clever but they were a bit too noisy when I was reading out the questions.

3. People... I love a lot of them but maybe not all.

I now am going to go and chill...man I am well excited about doing nothing this eve (apart from a bit of practise for a jazz gig on saturday eve...that is another thing I am thankful for cos I love singing and playing the guitar)
love val austx

The 5 things I missed off that I am thinking...

6. Man, I am going to be 30 this year.....that is on my mind a lot and it freaks me out somewhat. I have been wondering how long I'll be around on this earth for and I guess I am hoping it will be a long time. I think the best thing is to make the most of everyday and stop thinking so flipping much.

7. I like having people around..Last night I cooked lasagne for 4 friends and then we sang some songs (Kate and Andy are pretty scathing about the fact that I always make lasagne when I have people round but I think it is one of the wickedest meals. I used to eat it every day at school and then I got a bit fat so had to stop).

8. I am a strong, confident, 'gingerish' woman (people often think of me as having ginger hair but I don't I have brownish hair and gingerish skin)I am trying to believe with all my might.

9. Autumn is rather dark and some people feel sad at this time of the year. I think it's a time when God strips stuff away from us. That is like a tree in Autumn when all the leaves fall off and you can see it's trunk which stands strong and it is rooted in the ground. You see that is like us we are stripped of things and that is painful but if we are strongly rooted in God we won't fall...we will be strong!

10. I am in a deep and thoughtful frame of mind today which is reflected in these rather deep and not funny postings. I think I need to laugh ( I did laugh the other day tho' when me and my house mate played a 'smelling' game when we each had to find 1) a thing that smells nice 2)a thing that smells ok and 3) a thing that smells bad. It was an interesting and fun game which I enjoyed but it was over a bit too quick).

love val austeni

10 things I am/have been thinking about:

1) Have been thinking quite a bit about the fact that God made me (knitted me together in my mother's womb) because he decided he wanted me on this earth. I am interested to know why he wanted me here. I think I will start asking him.

2) I have been thinking that I haven't missed the O.C since I lent it to Mr Coops (causing him to form an O.C addiction). Giving up the O.C has been v positive cos instead I have prayed/ thought and painted.

3) How weird are toliets? That's what I was thinking last night before I went to bed.

4) I would like a) a more permanent job b) a new friend and c) absolutely loads of HOPE. Those are my current desires.

5) I love most people. (that reminds me of an interview with Mariah Cairey when she said "I love people, I love shoes......." in the same breath. I found that classic! And that reminds me of when I said to Kate P. "Would you prefer a pair of shoes or a baby?" and she couldn't quite decide between the two.... I have been made aware that what I actually said was "would you prever a van load of babies or a pair of shoes?...I guess this is actually quite different and a lot harder to decide between.)