Zum Zum…could be a phrase for anything really but it’s not. It’s the name of a BRILLIANT Indian restaurant on Londsale St in town (right next to JB). HH and I went there for dinner last night on ‘date night’. We had 2 ‘plates’ of food, Indian style, with rice and 3 curries – 2 meat & 2 vege, 2 naan breads and a drink each & then a Tea Tarek for afters (to share). How much you ask? For the amazing price of $25!! It’s the best Indian we’ve had in Melboure too. INCREDIBLE!

Date night is awesome. Love it – every Thursday night, just the Happy Husband and I on a date. Last week HH bought me flowers (I took a pic, will post it later), we had dinner and saw Blades of Glory (4 stars!) and last night it was Indian and a stroll through the streets of Melbourne…very nice!!

Have a great weekend folks
xx

The Break Up starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston

This is a film where Vaughn and Aniston play a young couple, Gary and Brooke, navigating the end of their relationship. The question that’s stayed me since watching this film is ‘what makes a good movie’? The Break-Up is classified a Romantic Comedy however I think it’s fair to say that few, if any, viewers would find this movie romantic or funny. That said I was amazed by it. This film has nailed male and female idiosyncrasies in a way that leaves me speechless (no small feat!). As I’ve talked to girlfriends who’ve seen this movie and are married/in committed relationships we’ve all marvelled at this movie, wondering who the fly on the wall of our own living rooms has been. Our experiences might not be as dramatic as in the film, after all we are still married/in those relationships, BUT we’ve all had those fights. It was uncanny.

At this point I’d like to say – I love my husband, he is a fantastic man but in many ways it was the fights depicted in this film, the same fights we had, and the way we navigated through them particularly HH’s response to them, that are the reason I married him. That sounds a bit weird I know, but we had those fights and time and through I came to see HHs’ character and integrity. There’s a scene near the end of the film where Aniston’s character is in tears and Vaughn finally ‘gets it’ and then sets about to make things right. I married HH because he would always do that, just right back at the beginning at the time of the initial fight. And I have come to understand the need to 20minutes downtime for him at the end of the day, and his genuine willingness to help but also need for this space and I do my best to provide this for him each day. We’re not perfect and we’ll never find a perfect partner, the person who meets our every need exactly as we want them too – nor should we look for such a person unless we want to live a narcissistic existence. It is the character and integrity we show in the way we love and respond to the needs of our spouse that matters. It’s because of this that I sadly conclude sadly (for I really am a romantic at heart) that Brooke (Aniston) makes the right decision in the end.

I realise this is a movie review but the similarities to everyday life were so striking and they contribute too much to my liking of this film for me not to mention them. If you want to watch men and women at their worst in a relationship, and hopefully learn a thing or too about communication this is a good film. In fact, I was both saddened and encouraged watching this movie. Saddened because these scenes are too familiar in this broken world where people put their own needs first and respond with such a lack of compassion and grace to those closest to them, and encouraged because HH and I, by God’s grace, have learnt so much about each other, about forgiveness and kindness, and about love by going through some of these hard times.

I have to go babysit now but perhaps more on this later. I give this film 3.5 stars.

p.s. I also loved Jason Bateman in this, if you haven’t watched the TV series Arrested Development then you’re missing out!!!

Hi there,

Today’s post might seem a little left of centre, however I know that some of my faithful blog readers manage volunteers in their various workplaces, both secular and religious and that there are few overseas blog friends who occasionally drop by and are involved in church leadership for Children & Families ministry.

The post below comes from Church Volunteers Central which is a fantastic resource for anyone leading volunteers. A great one to look at if you are a volunteer too, and pass on to the person who looks after you in your volunteer role. For those in secular employment I’d be interested in how much these principles work in an paid employment setting. My personal feeling is that if more manager employed these tactics in their management of staff, workplaces would be much more positive and therefore productive!

Just my thoughts. Enjoy the article and if you like it check out the website and subscribe to the ‘Tuesdays Tip’ e-newsletter.

3 Tips for Managing Volunteer Leaders

These basic ideas can help you better manage your volunteers.

1. Make sure you give new volunteers a ministry description to read and sign. After they’ve been in the position for a month, ask them each to rewrite their own ministry description. You’ll find out if they understand what they’re supposed to be doing, and you’ll discover new responsibilities you didn’t account for in your original ministry description.

2. If you have volunteers who just aren’t working out, they’re either not able to do what you’ve asked them to do, or they’re not motivated to do it. How do you know the difference? Well, ask yourself, “If this person’s life depended on completing these responsibilities, would he or she be able to do it?” If the answer is yes, that person is having a problem with motivation. If the answer is no, that person shouldn’t be volunteering for those responsibilities.

3. Make it a regular part of your job to write affirming notes to your volunteers. One good way to do this: Think of how each volunteer has helped you be a better youth minister, then affirm that person for blessing you.

Cupcakes are one of my favourite sweets. I LOVE cupcakes!! They are so light and fluffy and with some good icing and decorations…YUM!!!

I made some last night to bring to Playgroup this morning. The kids loved them! (as did the mums…) I took some pics to share with you.

Mmm….don’t you love the decorations the Happy Husband bought? It was a combined effort here, I iced and the HH decorated. He did a good job too!

Whoops! I ran out of pink icing…but I quite like the dusted white look.

This one was my favourite of the designs!

but this one is pretty cute too…

Ok, well that’s more than enough domestic bliss for one day. Perhaps I can make you some cupcakes one day?

Welcome to the second Monday Movie Musings . This week I am reviewing Stranger than Fiction starring Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffmann. For those who haven’t heard of it before Will Ferrell plays Harold Crick, an IRS worker who audits people who haven’t paid their taxes. One morning while brushing his teeth, Harold’s ordered world is turned upside down when he begins to hear a woman’s voice narrating his life. It seems Harold has found himself as the leading man in someone’s novel. The problem for Harold is that he’s the only one who can hear her.

As the voiceover continues, Harold begins to stumble through the days feeling more and more distressed until he hear’s some terrible words about his future…

With the help of Professor Hilbert (Hoffman), Harold sets about to discover who the voice belongs to & how to stop it. Harold must ask himself Am I living a comedy, or a tragedy? The ramifications of this question lead Harold on a quest for the life he’s always dreamed; enter the beautiful Ana Pascal…and a guitar!

There are some really interesting elements to this film such as how far do the actions of Harold’s life impact what is written about him? Can he change his fate simply by living differently? How do fate and free intertwine in his life? While these questions aren’t worth thinking about too closely (it’s not designed to answer the questions & it doesn’t – you would find more than a few holes in the story by digging too far) they are interesting questions and the film does get you thinking. Certainly, the way Harold deals with this strange new world he finds himself in is quite thought-provoking.

It’s a fun movie, very different from Will Ferrell’s other movies – makes for good viewing & of course i love the romantic element, but it’s not fantastic, the acting isn’t groundbreaking and the plot – while fun, is also flawed. I give it 3 stars.

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve seen this movie.
‘Til next time
Happy viewing!

Just thought I’d share this pic of our lazy Saturday afternoon after a yummy breakkie/lunch at ici in Fitzroy.