Amanda Is...

Excitement

2012-02-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, for a few months now I've been hinting at big, expensive plans. Well now they are all official and everyone on my Facebook already knows, so I guess I'll tell whoever decides to read this.

I'm going to America!!!!

I got accepted onto the Cultural Care au pair program and am waiting to be matched with the right family. I have to get my passport this week and pay my cancellation insurance. Then there's police and medical checks, flights, program fees, drivers licenses and extended insurance to pay for. Oh yeah, and my visa. And probably some other things I'm forgetting. So I'm a bit nervous about all the money it's going to cost, but mostly, I'm just super excited. Yay!

Heaven and Hell

2012-01-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

So the message at church today was pretty much to say that hell is a real place and that those who don't follow Jesus will go there. In this post, I want to look at why I believe that hell is real and I want to look at why God sends people there.

Let me start off by saying that hell seems like a pretty awful place. It's a place of separation from God and it's a place of torture. There's this book called "23 Minutes In Hell" written by this guy who actually went to hell for 23 minutes. In the book he describes his experience. Now, I'm never ever going to read this book. I'm pretty sure it would traumatise me. My pastor today was talking about the book a bit and describing some of it and he said that the guy couldn't even talk to his wife or family or friends or anyone about those 23 minutes for 3 whole years. And in the book, apparently he doesn't even describe the demons because it's too traumatic for him. My pastor talked about some of this guy's experiences and it was just awful. I was so close to tears just listening to it. So if you want to know what hell is like, you may as well read that book. Or, even better, you could read the bible. Do a search on all the verses about hell in the bible and you'll probably get a pretty good picture of the horror of it.

Hell is a real place. Logically, it has to be. Most people are happy to believe in a heaven. Heaven is generally portrayed as "where good people go" after they die. But what about the bad people? If there is no hell, do they just die and that's it? They just cease to be while all the "good people" get to party in heaven? If good people go somewhere after they die then logic suggests that bad people must go somewhere too. But if there is no hell, do they go to heaven? And if they do, what's the point of trying to be good? If we all end up in the same place, why bother? And for that matter, who gets to decide what makes a person "good" or "bad" anyway? The only logical solution that I can see is this: there is a heaven and there is a hell. God has said in His word (the bible) what we need to do in order to go to heaven. If we do what He has set out in the bible and follow Him, we go to heaven to be with Him when we die. If we choose to ignore what he has said, we go to hell.

Now if hell exists, then it needs someone to be in charge of it - the devil, or Satan. You've no doubt heard the phrase "misery loves company" before. Well let's look at Satan as misery. He doesn't want to be alone in hell. He wants to make people just as miserable as he is. So he starts to convince people that there is no hell, he doesn't exist, everyone goes to heaven, blah blah blah. And people start to believe him. So he manages to drag millions of people down to hell with him where he can torture them and make them miserable for all of eternity.

So if God is so good, why does He let that happen? Why doesn't He just have compassion on everyone and take them to heaven so that they never have to endure hell? God is just. He works in a justice system. He has told us what will happen if we don't follow Him. If we choose to do our own thing anyway, He has to send us to hell. One of the fundamental things of God is that He always follows through on His word. But not only that, He is really respecting our choices. If we choose to live our life without Him, He gives us eternity without Him. But if we choose to live our lives with Him, He gives us eternity with Him.

So there you go. My thoughts on hell. I know I don't want to go there and thank God I don't have to. I pray that you won't have to either.

My Thoughts on Gay Marriage

2012-01-21T20:14:00.000-08:00

Let me start off by saying that I know this will be quite an offensive post to a lot of people. If a lot of people even read this. Which, judging by the views on my other posts, is very unlikely. But I don't really care.

So this morning I was sitting in church, listening to the senior pastor preach. He was doing one of those controversial messages that I love. And no, it had nothing to do with homosexuality. I will however be writing about it in my next post. But he said something about tolerance and how Christians who believe in absolute truth, right and wrong, heaven and hell, and all the rest of it will quite soon be judged and harrassed for not being tolerant. As he said that, I felt compelled to share my thoughts on gay marriage. And I felt compelled to blog about it. Now, I've never felt like I had to blog about anything. Until this post, my blog has been a way for me to vent my frustrations, get my thoughts out, and share some of my Polyvore creations that I'm particularly proud of. And after this post and the next, I will probably keep using this blog exactly how I have been prior to this.

Moving onto the actual topic now. Gay marriage. To put it simply, I am opposed to this. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm one of those extreme "God hates gays" type people or anything like that. In fact, I know that God loves gay people. Sure, He hates homosexuality but He most certainly does not hate homosexuals. He doesn't hate anyone. I personally share that view. I don't hate gay people at all. I used to know a gay kid (well, teenager) and I really liked him. He was a great guy. Probably still is but I haven't seen him in a while. Do I hate that he's gay? Yes. Do I hate him? No. I feel about homosexuals the same way that I feel about gossips. I love them as people but I hate what they do. Love the person, hate the sin. Because let's be honest. I sin too. I lie, I'm a hypocrite, I have violent thoughts, and I probably sin more than I realise. So really, I'm no better than anyone else.

Now onto why I see homosexuality as a sin. I believe this because it is in the bible. I believe the bible to be absolute truth. There are parts that I have questioned but they always end up making perfect sense. So I believe the entire bible to be truth. Let me show you some verses concerning homosexuality (and I encourage you to look up these verses for yourself, to make sure I'm not lying to you):

Leviticus 18:22 - "Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin."
Leviticus 20:13 - "The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have committed a detestable act and are guilty of a capital offense."

Now, I'm not saying we should kill gay people. That would be very sinful and wrong. This is the Old Testament law. Jesus' death and resurrection puts us under a new covenant where we don't have to die for committing a sin or offence. But if this is the old law, why is homosexuality still a sin? Good question. The New Testament addresses this:

Romans 2:26-27 - "That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned away from the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - "Don't you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, and swindlers - none of these will have a share in the Kingdom of God."

There are more verses in there if you go looking for them and all of the above verses were taken from the New Living Translation. So there you go. The bible clearly states that homosexuality is a sin. it even uses the word "detestable" to describe it. And it also says that homosexuality is shameful and that homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God. In other words, go to heaven.

So why is it this way of living, which used to be a criminal offense, now viewed as ok? The most common argument I've heard is "love is love." Allow me to tell you why this argument is bull. If love is just love and all kinds of love are ok and pure, then that makes it ok for a man to sleep with his sister. Or his brother, father, mother, grandparents... After all, love is love. And if they love each other, that makes it ok. Or what if a girl falls in love with her pet dog? If love is love, this is totally ok. She can have a romantic or even sexual relationship with her dog. Or what about pedophilia? If love is love, does that make it ok for an adult to have a romantic or sexual relationship with a child?

So now gay marriage is being legalised in many places. What will be made ok next? Beastiality? Incest? Pedophilia? Rape? To be honest, the future in this area is looking a little scary.

It's a new year...

2012-01-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

And so far it's been a good one. I spent my new years eve reading "Little Men," the sequal to "Little Women." It's a great book so far, all about the antics of the boys at Jo's school. Then church yesterday morning and study and reading today. Of course, the reading is mostly a procrastination tool. I'm supposed to be writing the script for a speech I'd give at a fictional pre-school parent's night. I only have one topic left to address in the speech so it shouldn't take too long. But still. It's super boring and due to my procrastination skills, taking longer than I'd hoped.

Speaking of things taking longer than I'd hoped, I did the first of my crayon artworks yesterday. I shaved crayons onto a canvas and then ironed over it. It took forever to shave the crayons with the potato peeler and I ended up getting hand cramps. I don't mind though because it came out looking pretty good. I don't have a photo yet but I'll post one as soon as I do.

Anyway, I suppose I should write out what I want to accomplish this year. Well, as much as I can without revealing plans that are not yet worked out. So this year I want to:

Grow closer to God. This is on my list every year and it always seems to be the hardest thing to do. It always seems so much easier to just daydream and forget about praying or reading my bible or even thinking about God. But I know trying is definitely worth it and I always end up in a good mood when I spend time with Him.
Finish my Cert III. I don't have too much left to do, so it should be pretty easy to finish quickly if I...
Procrastinate less. Nice segway ;) Anyway. Lately I've been feeling very unproductive and like I'm wasting my time. I think these feelings would disappear if I just got stuff done instead of procrastinating all the time.
Visit Jess in LA. This will require much saving. But I shouldn't have to pay for accomodation because hopefully I'll just be able to sleep on her floor.

That's all of my goals that I can write about here. I hope I succeed in them all. And really, I should be able to. They're not too dificult, they just all require some work. Anyway, time for me to sign off now.

xoxo

Christmas, Gaming, Looklet and Plans

2011-12-27T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hi again. Let me start off by wishing you a belated merry Christmas. I hope you had a wonderful day and got lots of lovely presents. I also hope you enjoy the post-Christmas sales.

My Christmas was great. We celebrated at my aunty's house with Dad's family. Mum's family are all in QLD so it was a little far to travel up to see them too. But oh well. Some other year. Anyway, being with Dad's side of the family was heaps of fun. I spent most of my time with Ethan and Mac, my cousins, which is always fun. And I played Black Ops. Ethan was looking for someone to play with and I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. My verdict: sure, it's fun to kill animated people and try to avoid being killed by the same animated people. But I don't really get why it's such a huge deal. Perhaps that's just because I kinda sucked at it though. Although I did manage to kill Ethan's character a few times. I think he was a little impressed by my skills. Mostly though, I think he just liked having someone to play with. Especially someone who sucks at gaming.

Why do websites have to completely change? One of my favourites, looklet.com, is apparently changing at the end of January. You can't save looks anymore. I wonder what they're going to do, and I wonder if I'm going to like it. I'm pretty annoyed by this because I love being able to go on and create amazing looks and save them for the world to see. And honestly, I love when people like my looks or comment that I have a beautiful style and that I did a good job. It's fun and encouraging and they're taking that away from us. So not cool. Also, I'd like to apologise right now for sounding like a whiny 12-year-old. No offence to 12-year-olds. I know a few awesome 12-year-olds. Anyway...

So Jess is going back to the USA tomorrow. I got to hang out with her for about an hour or something this morning, which was fun. It doesn't feel like she's leaving tomorrow. It feels like we still have another week to catch up. But we don't and tomorrow she'll be gone. I'm so happy and excited for her and I'm determined to visit her over there. I have a plan as to how, but I don't really want to talk about that just yet. I want it to be actually a sure thing first. It's crazy though, Jess already has half of her tuition money. Just a couple of weeks ago she was starting to stress a little because she didn't have anything to put towards tuition. She determined that she was going to trust in God for her money and all of a sudden she's got half of what she needs. It's kinda nuts when He provides like that. It's a reminder that we just have to trust Him, because He's got it handled. That's something I really need to remember.

Anyway, I'm thinking that's all for now.

xoxo

Adventures in Blogland

2011-12-12T23:38:00.000-08:00

I was just sitting here on my floor, computer on my lap, and I thought that perhaps it was time for another blog post. I have no idea where this is going to go. I guess it will be an adventure. Adventures are fun, so this post should be fun too. Right?

Ok, so first off, I feel obligated to comment on the weather. Here in sunny Australia, it's the first month of summer. Or so they tell us. We've had like 2 summer days and the rest has been winter. Not cool, weather. I hate being cold. On the plus side though, I don't have to break out the razor quite as often as usual because I'm wearing jeans more than I usually do in summer. And I've only been sunburnt once. So I guess this weather isn't so bad. Except that it's so misleading. And I want to wear shorts and skirts without tights.

Moving on. So the other day the weirdest thing happened. This guy I went to school with drove past me as I was walking home from work and beeped at me. Naturally I initially thought, "what a jerk," as I don't like being beeped at. But then when I looked, I recognised him and wondered if he recognised me. I concluded that he probably didn't because the last time we saw each other, I was 16 and I've changed a fair bit in the last 5 years. But when I checked my Facebook, I had a friend request and a message indicating that he had, in fact, known it was me. Weird. I haven't seen anyone from school in so long, apart from my darling best friend and a girl who did prac at my work. I sometimes think about people from my year and wonder what they're doing now. I wonder how much everyone has changed, what they look like now, how weird it would be to see them again and would we recognise each other anyway? The wonderings never last long enough to Facebook stalk them though so I have no idea what most people are up to these days.

My next topic is going to be money I think. More specifically, the joys of saving money while working casually. I want to save at least $2500 in the next month or so but I don't get called into work very often, which makes this whole saving thing pretty hard. I'm not even halfway to my goal and I've been saving for at least a month. I want to go to America next year. I want to visit Jess in LA while she's there. I want to see a Backstreet Boys show. I want to go to Forever 21. These things will take money and I don't have enough of that yet to do what I want to do. I'm trying to be positive about it though and am planning to sell art on Ebay. I'll keep you posted about that.

I just remembered that a few months ago I posted something about this being like an online journal or something. I was always an infrequent journal writer. I guess that hasn't changed. I'm thinking it might be fun to go on a hunt for my old diaries from my pre-teen and early teenage days. I'd given up on them by about 15. But it's always a bit of fun looking back on what I was like, what I struggled with, all that kind of thing. Except it just occured to me that I may have thrown all my diaries in the bin because they were so ridiculous. It wouldn't surprise me.

Which leads me to a new point - I'd like to continue with my bedroom cleanout soon. I started it a few months ago, sorted through 2 storage boxes, threw a whole heap of stuff away and gave up. I still have I think 3 boxes to go, plus all my drawers and random piles of papers and stuff on my desk. Seriously, there is so much random crap on my desk right now. That's why I'm sitting on the floor. I suppose I could sit on my bed but for some reason I prefer sitting on the floor.

Anyway, I think I'll sign off now to do a survey about fish oil. Should be fun. I actually kind of enjoy doing those online surveys. It's like being rewarded for doing nothing, which is always great. Anyway, until next time.

xoxo

Remeber December

2011-12-01T03:53:00.001-08:00

I hate that song but being the 1st of December, it seemed appropriate haha. Where has the year gone? Seriously. It's flown. Soon it will be Christmas. Yay!! And I'm going to make little Rudolf tartlets. They will be so cute (I hope) and I will post a picture to show my success.

So this week I have done 2 things of significance. The first is that I decided I would love to be proposed to in song. Specifically, this song. Clearly, I love Backstreet Boys. Possibly a little too much. Actually no. I take that back. You can't love those boys too much. They're amazing.

The other significant thing I have done is rediscovered Polyvore. It was so exciting. I think I did about 5 sets today. So I guess these significant things aren't so significant, but they're fun.

I'm reading "Little Women" and desperately want to get back to that. I think there shall be some more "lovering" soon and I do so enjoy those parts haha.

xoxo

Temper tantrums are good for the soul

2011-11-21T21:09:00.001-08:00

Probably not, actually. But sometimes there really is no other option. Let me explain where this post comes from.

I just finished an assignment that I've been putting off for weeks. I was very excited to print it out and send it away for marking. But guess what? Someone has used up all the printer ink. So I got pretty annoyed and my mum got mad at me. Which then made me mad. Apparently I'm not allowed to get upset over things like the printer being out of ink. No, that's a special honour reserved for my sisters. Seriously. So annoyed.

So I just had a bit of a tantrum, slamming doors and the like. And now I feel better. Although that could also be due to the huge bowl of ice cream I ate and watching Jeopardy. But really, if you think about it, a tantrum is a way of releasing emotions. Releasing out emotions is healthy. Therefore, temper tantrums are good for the soul.

Anyway, now I have yet another assignment to work on. Hopefully I can get it done in a few days.

xoxo

I am so bad at blogging

2011-11-21T03:18:00.001-08:00

Seriously. It's been over a month since my last post. Not a whole lot has happened in that time but that's ok. The most exciting thing that happened was my 21st birthday!! Fun times were had by all. Well, at least I hope so. I had fun anyway. I have to say, being 21 doesn't really live up the the hype. It doesn't really feel much different from being 20. But oh well.

Anyway, my recent singleness has actually been pretty good. I don't really miss having a boyfriend. I miss the close friendship that Tim and I had but that's about it. Don't get me wrong, I loved being in a relationship, and I loved having someone to protect me and adore me and all that stuff, and I loved having someone to adore back. But now I'm trying to look to God for that stuff. Because I know He adores me and I know He is protecting me and I know that He loves me so much more than any guy ever will. I mean, Jesus actually died for me. And not only that, He went from being in heaven with all the angels worshipping Him to being a baby, having to rely on people to do everything for him and not even being able to communicate properly. And then having to go through puberty and then on top of that, having people hate Him and kill Him in a very brutal way... You can't get more loving than that. I hope that I'm not sounding all preachy, I'm just saying what I've been learning this last month or so.

Study is really hard. It's not that the work is hard, just the motivation. I have so much to do and so little time to do it in. I really need to get on with it and stop procrastinating.

Anyway, I'm tired now so I'm going to read a chapter of "Little Women" and go to bed.

xoxo

Heartbroken

2011-10-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

So last night I broke up with my boyfriend of 11 months. He told me about a huge mistake he made and lost my trust. But the crazy thing is, I feel worse for him than I do for me.

I had to tell my parents what he did and that was really hard. I only told my mum and let her tell my dad because I was a little scared of his reaction. But Tim has to tell his parents (who he told last night, they were pretty disappointed) and 2 of the key leaders at church because he is on their teams. Although he probably won't be when they find out.

I know he regrets what he did. He feels horrible and said he hates himself. And he hates that he hurt me. I know he loves me and cares about me but this event has shown that he's not ready for a relationship yet. He clearly has some pretty major issues to work through and until he does that I can't be with him. He's not looking after himself so how is he supposed to look after me? I don't even know if I'll be able to be with him again when it is all sorted. I'm not sure if I'll be able to trust him. I'm just so miserable and can't stop crying. I don't think I can write anymore because I keep tearing up. So thats it for now.

xoxo

I'm Still Here

2011-09-24T22:24:00.001-07:00

It's been over a month since my last post. I feel a little bad about neglecting my poor little blog but its ok. I'm back. Again.

So in the last month, I scored 2 jobs! Oh the excitement. My first job is as a casual childcare worker. I work in this preschool near my house. I love it. I actually got the job by volunteering to gain experience. Seriously. It's the best job. So much fun.

My other job is as a consultant for The Body Shop At Home. I'm yet to have my first party but I'll report on it when I do.

So I really have nothing else to say just now. I guess I'll post again later.

xoxo

Procrastinating. Yet Again.

2011-08-24T02:15:00.000-07:00

And why am I procrastinating? Because I'm almost finished an assignment. I've been working on this sucker all day and I'm pretty pleased with my efforts. If I can get this finished tonight, I will have done an entire assignment in one day. And not even rushed it. Which is a pretty big deal for me. I'm the queen of last minute, something I really would like to change.

I have been neglecting this poor little blog for a while, so now for an update. Not that I have any reason to think that anyone is reading. But still, it's fun to updat all the same. And perhaps one day I'll look back at this and laugh at my 20-year-old self.

But anyway. As I said in my last post, my best friend got back from America the other week. I've seen her about 4 times already. It's great catching up with her. She adopted the cutest accent. It's fading now, but I love it. And she's just so strong in God and wanting to learn all she can. Something I aspire to. But she's still the same old Jess, which is nice. She's just more grown up. We're having a Disney movie day on Saturday, which will be awesome.

Another exciting update, Tim has a full time job, which he loves. We have to shorten our Tasmania trip because of his job, but that's ok. He took me to see Cirque de Soleil last Saturday. It was so amazing. I was in awe. And we had waffles for dinner. All in all, it was a fantastic night.

I'm not ashamed to talk about God on this blog (I know, it's the internet and no one knows who I am anyway, but still...) so I guess I'll share what I think He's trying to teach me about at the moment. Lately I've found that I have so many people to forgive. And the forgiveness thing isn't a one-off either. So I'm learning to forgive people. And then forgive them again. And again...

The last update I have is that I'm most probably iron deficient. Which really sucks because Mum's making me take these massive black iron pills. Seriously. They're so huge and I can only just swallow an Advil. I have to cut the iron pills in half and if i dont swallow them soon enough they start disintegrating and they taste awful. But anyway, I guess that explains why I've been so moody and tired lately. So hopefully iron pills will make me happier.

Anyway, I suppose I should get back to this assignment. I'm determined to have it finished tonight.

xoxo

It's Been A While

2011-08-07T01:33:00.000-07:00

Seriously. I didn't forget about this little blog but I just haven't felt much like posting. A few things have happened since then. I suppose since this blog is like a diary I should talk about them all briefly. So here goes.

Firstly, I was having some very confusing thoughts about relationship stuff, which could have eventually led to Tim and I breaking up. Which really would have sucked. But I talked to Mum about it and prayed about it heaps. When I saw Tim about 3 days later, everything just kinda cleared up. So now I'm more secure in our realtionship. So yay for that.

At around the same time, my grandma came down from QLD to celebrate my mum's 50th, dad's 49th, and older sister's 23rd birthdays. 3 days in a row. Its an expensive time. But I love birthdays so I don't mind. Anyway, Grandma was here for 2 weeks (she left on Tuesday) and during that time, she gave me some much needed encouragement about a few things.

Last night, I booked flights for a little holiday I'm taking after Christmas. I'm going to Tasmania to meet Tim's family. I've already met his parents and one of his sisters, but I get to meet everyone else now too. Including the nieces and nephews, which I'm particularly excited about. I'll be flying down a few days after Christmas all by myself because Tim will already be down there. It doesn't really sound like that big of a deal I guess, but I haven't been on a plane since I was 10 and I've never been on a holiday without my family. So it's kinda huge for me. Tim and I will be flying back up around mid-January. I've already started my packing list.

After all last night's excitement, I got a text from my best friend today. She's been at bible college in the USA for the last 10 months and we haven't really talked much except for a few Facebook messages. But she got home this morning and I get to see her on Wednesday night. I'm so excited. I cannot wait to see her pretty face. I've missed her so much.

Anyway. That's about all for tonight I think. Until next time I guess.
xoxo

Being Thankful

2011-07-22T00:24:00.000-07:00

Considering how negative my last post was, I thought maybe I should do something more positive today. And I know I wasn't being all depressing or anything last time, but still, I thought this might be nice. Because I've been kinda upset about stuff lately, seeing the bad more than the good, I've decided to talk about some things I'm thankful for. I'll probably only do a few and leave the rest for another day.

So first, I think I've been doing some growing up lately. Which is always good. I've had to deal with a lot in the last 8 and a bit months (basically since I started dating Tim). I won't go into it, but we have been facing some pretty strong opposition to our relationship and it's all from someone very close to me. And I've really had to try not to bitch about this certain person, and to forgive them. And that's really hard. But It's helping me to grow up. I can actually deal with this stuff. And I'm trying to include God in it more than I usually would. Which is still tricky and to be honest, I end up ignoring Him more than I should. I guess I need to try harder. But the point is. I am thankful that I appear to be growing up.

My relationship with my mum has improved heaps over that time as well. I think it has something to do with the growing up thing. But lately whenever I have a problem, I go to Mum about it. I don't try to deal with it on my own. I don't go to people my own age. I go to Mum, who is very wise and who's oppinion I really respect. And she always seems to make things better. I always wanted that kind of relationship with her when I was a teenager but didn't know how to get it. And now, apparently, I do. So that's pretty cool.

I know it sounds a little silly, but I'm extremely thankful for my love of reading. I love that I can find so much enjoyment in a book. It's good exercise for my mind, I'm sure. And it's a good distraction when I need one. It seems a useful way to fill up some of my many hours of free time too.

The last thing that I'm going to talk about is my sense of style. I know that makes me sound pretty vain and shallow. But I think it's a very important thing to have. Because I have limited finances, I have to look for bargains. And a lot of those bargains are found online. Knowing what looks good on me and being able to see outfit possibilities when looking at an item are invaluable for me. I am yet to regret an online purchase. Except for this one top which I ended up giving one of my little sisters. It looks heaps better on her.

So there you have it. Some of the more positive aspects of my life. Being thankful seems to be good for my mood too, which is always nice.

My Boring Life

2011-07-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been struck with the idea that my life is just plain boring. Nothing really interesting happens very often. I read all these books an watch all these movies where so many exciting things happen to the characters and sometimes it's hard not to be just a little bit sad that nothing like that ever happens to me.

Right now I'm reading "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. The lives of the Bennet girls seems so exciting. They get to go to balls, flirt with the military officers, go on vacations and refuse marriage proposals. It sounds like a lot of fun. Now, I know it's 1800's fiction. And I wouldn't want to be a massive flirt or reject respectable (and not so respectable) men. But it just seems like a lot more is going on in the lives of these fictional characters than in my life.

I suppose I should give you a brief explanation of my life right now. I'm studying Children's Services via correspondance. I want to work in a pre-school or day care centre. During school terms, I volunteer one day a week in the prep classroom at a local school. I have a lovely boyfriend (Tim) who I usually spend Thursday, Saturday and Sunday nights with. I go to church on Sunday mornings. I attend a bible study group on Monday nights. That's pretty much my whole life right now. There's really not a lot going on. And it's getting kinda boring.

I would love to get a job. Even just a casual job in a supermarket or something. And I want Tim to get a job. Because we rarely go out, being that we're both a bit poor right now. Usually we just chill at his appartment or my family's house (yes, I live at home) and watch a movie or something. It's nice, but it gets a little old sometimes. Also, I would like to move out at some point. Or buy a car. Or both. But you need money to do those things. One day I''ll have money but by then it probably won't seem like enough. It would be nice to be perfectly satisfied with what I have, but that so rarely happens.

To sum up, I want some more excitement in my life. I want to be able to buy whatever I want, decorate my own home, buy my own car, go out more. More than that though, I want to be content. Or at least, as content as possible in my uneventful, slightly boring life.

The Art Of Procrastination

2011-07-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

It's 9:27 pm. I have been in my room at this computer for about an hour. I'm supposed to be doing an assignment right now. And as usual, I'm using the internet for procrastination. But tonight Facebook has been pretty boring and I was kind of stuck for another way to procrastinate. Then I remembered this blog.

A lot has changed since the last time I posted anything on here. For starters, I've changed my career ambition. Instead of fashion, I'm pursuing a career in childcare. I guess it was always kind of my back-up plan, so it makes sense that I'd choose to study childcare when I realised I hated studying fashion.

Another change is that I am no longer single. Yay! I've been with an amazing guy for just over 8 months now. And he's a musician. Drums are his main musical passion, but he also plays guitar. And he's written a few good songs.

The other main change is that I'm really into make up now. I never used to use it, but then my friends kept having all these Mary Kay parties and I started looking at Temptalia. I ended up getting the 120 eyeshadow palette off ebay. The rest, as they say, is history.

So with all these changes, I guess it fits that I should change the purpose of this blog. It will become more like an online diary. I've recently started keeping a diary in this old notebook I found, but I think this will be fun too. I was inspired by this book I'm reading. I got it when I was a teenager and it's a good read. It's just this diary that the main character keeps. There's a few different series, and although they're for teenagers, I'd like to read them all. Or at least the first two series.

Anyway, I guess that's all for this post. Hopefully I won't forget about this blog again. Even though I kind of doubt anyone's reading it.

xoxo

I Heart....

2010-10-31T06:10:00.000-07:00

i heart. by Bananda ღ on Polyvore.com

I thought it might be fun to list some things that I love. So here are 5 of those things:

Spending time with people who make me happy. People who I am completely at ease with and can talk to for hours. I don't find those people often so when I do, it makes me really happy.
Summer nights at the beach. There's something about the feelof the sand and the breeze off the water that is really peaceful.
Reading a good book. I get very involved in books. It's a nice way to escape the stress of life for a few hours. Or just to unwind.
Disney movies. They are so beautifully animated. Good always wins. And they often make me cry. Watching them makes me feel a bit like a kid again.
Photography. I can't take pictures, but I love looking at it. I find this blog absolutely inspiring: http://audreyhepburncomplex.tumblr.com/

Dress Like Ariel

2010-10-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

The Little Mermaid is pretty much the greatest movie ever made. Here is how to dress like my favourite Disney princess :)

Dress like Ariel by Bananda ღ featuring peeptoe pumps

Blue v-neck jumper
15 GBP - dorothyperkins.com
Blue sweater »

Ann Demeulemeester Blanche Asymmetric Satin Waistcoat
205 GBP - brownsfashion.com
Satin vest »

Forever21.com - Bottoms - Skirts - 2000000366
$16 - forever21.com
Forever21 skirts »

Miss Alexa | Classic Fashion Heels | Peep Toe Shoes
275 AUD - peeptoeshoes.com.au
Peeptoe pumps »

GROSGRAIN RIBBON BOW ANYWHERE CLIP
$45 - tarinatarantino.com
Tarina Tarantino hair accessories »

Princess Ariel and Prince Eric ~ Popular Cartoon
fpx.de

Dress Like Rihanna

2010-10-21T22:17:00.000-07:00

Dress like Rihanna by Bananda ღ featuring leather gloves

Nadia Cropped Cardigan
$40 - delias.com
Vneck cardigan »

-70% Basic jersey tank top white
74 DKK - musthaves.dk
White tops »

Vintage1 Motorcycle Skinny Jean - as seen on Rihanna in Blue Exhaust
$99 - singer22.com
Motorcycle jeans »

Skinny Moto Zip Skinny Denim
$83 - metroparkusa.com
Distressed skinny jeans »

Grey bow back shoes
30 GBP - dorothyperkins.com
Gray heels »

Lois Hill Butterfly Plaque Pendant Necklace
$146 - nordstrom.com
Lois hill jewelry »

Faux Fur Pull-thru Scarf
50 AUD - witchery.com.au
Scarves »

Viscose Lurex Skinny Fringe Scarf
10 GBP - oasis-stores.com
Oasis scarves »

nina peter leather gloves | Offtherunway
95 AUD - offtherunway.com.au
Leather gloves »

DSQUARED2 Unisex DQ0006 Aviator Sunglasses
$395 - endless.com
Dsquared sunglasses »

OPI Nail Polish, La Paz-Itively Hot
8.79 GBP - amazon.co.uk

A Little Treat For You...

2010-10-13T04:50:00.000-07:00

It's a mini Polyvore editor! Have fun :)

Get your own Mini Editor from Polyvore

Dress like Demi Lovato

2010-09-22T00:46:00.000-07:00

Dress like Demi Lovato by Bananda ღ featuring high heel sandals

Yoko Stripe Linen Tank
$25 - metroparkusa.com
Sleeveless tank tops »

Cracked-leather paneled shorts
$490 - net-a-porter.com
Leather shorts »

Platform T-Strap Sandal - Gold
$569 - barneys.com
High heel sandals »

Candice Patent Purse
$40 - buckle.com
Patent leather handbag »

Tiffany Notes bangle
$2,150 - tiffany.com
Gold bangle »

ELLE Sterling Silver Twist Ring: Jewelry
$50 - amazon.com
Sterling silver ring »

Collier avec chaînons en forme de plumes
$5.80 - canada.forever21.com
Gold necklace »

#20777810
$100 - peoplestylewatch.com

Blazer - American Vintage Store
americanvintage-store.com
American Vintage blazers »

Dress like Hayley Williams

2010-07-20T01:29:00.000-07:00

I'm a big Paramore fan, so I had to do a set about Hayley.

Dress like Hayley Williams by Bananda ღ featuring H by Hudson shoes

Felipe Oliveira Baptista Swirl print leggings
120 GBP - brownsfashion.com
More Felipe Oliveira Baptista leggings »

Old Navy Women's Black Jack Basic Camis
$5 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy camis »

H by Hudson Dot Suede Lace-Up Boots
$286 - asos.com
More H by Hudson boots »

ILIKEROPE ILR_SS10_BP BLACK&GOLD LEATHER -
450 GBP - farfetch.com
More necklaces »

Remembrancer Bracelet
$18 - modcloth.com
More bracelets »

Fuck yeah Hayley Williams!
hayleywilliams.tumblr.com

Dress like Jessica Alba

2010-07-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

This picture of her is absolutely beautiful.

Dress like Jessica Alba by Bananda ღ featuring Wolford hosiery

Forever21.com - Bottoms - Skirts - 2000000361
$23 - forever21.com
More Forever21 skirts »

muse knee-high legwear
6 GBP - harveynichols.com
More Wolford socks »

3 Pack Ladies Socks
3 GBP - peacocks.co.uk
More socks »

Urban Outfitters - Dico Copenhagen Wooden Stud Heel Clog
155 GBP - urbanoutfitters.co.uk
More clogs »

Real Jewels Pear Drop Earrings - Max and Chloe
$380 - maxandchloe.com
More Chloé earrings »

Zebra Sequin Tunic | My Face Hunter
myfacehunter.com
More tunics »

Hình ảnh lạ mắt của Jessica Alba - Giải trí - Dân trí
dantri.com.vn

Mean Girls 2? (continued)

2010-07-10T22:01:00.001-07:00

I ran out of room for pictures, so here they are:

Meaghan Jette Martin

Maiara Walsh

Nicole Anderson

Jennifer Stone

Mean Girls 2?

2010-07-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Starring Meaghan Jette Martin, Maiara Walsh, Nicole Anderson, and Jennifer Stone.
Directed by Melanie Mayron.
Written by Elana Lesser and Cliff Ruby.

I think this movie will flop for a three reasons.

Reason #1:
It will be made for television. This in itself tells me that it will not be at the same standard as teh original film.

Reason #2:
The writers. Tina Fey is not a writer, which means it probably won't be as witty as the original. Elana Lesser and Cliff Ruby wrote many of the Barbie movies. I'll admit enjoying the odd Barbie movie (Barbie as Rapunzel is great) but Mean Girls 2 Will be for a completely different audience.

Reason #3:
The actors.
Meaghan Jette Martin plays Tess Tyler in Camp Rock. I love Camp Rock, but the acting is very bad. Sure, Meaghan's acting is much better than Demi Lovato's, but it's still pretty awful.

Maiara Walsh played Meena Paroom in the Disney Channel show, Cory In The House. I've only seen a few episodes of this, but I remember all the acting being typical Disney Channel standard. In other words, pretty poor. Maiara also played Ana Solis in Desperate Housewives. I don't watch this show, so I can only base my opinion of her on Cory In The House.

Nicole Anderson is most famous for her role of Macy Misa on the hit Disney Channel show, JONAS. Her acting on the show is alright, but I can't imagine it's that difficult to play a crazy fan-girl.

Jennifer Stone plays Harper Finkle on the hit Disney Channel show, Wizards of Waverly Place. I don't watch this show, so I don't know how her acting is on it. However, I did watch Harriet The Spy: Blog Wars, in which she played the lead role of Harriet M. Welsch. The acting was good for what the movie was (a Disney Channel Original Movie) but it wouldn't win her any Oscars.

I'm hoping that these girls surprise me like Zac Efron did in Hairspray and 17 Again, but I'm naturally quite concerned. I will watch Mean Girls 2, but I don't think I'll love it.

Dress like Taylor Swift

2010-07-09T23:32:00.000-07:00

Dress like Taylor Swift by Bananda ღ featuring Rebecca Taylor dresses

Strapless silk floral-print dress
$347 - net-a-porter.com
More Rebecca Taylor dresses »

V-neck cashmere cardigan
$550 - net-a-porter.com
More Burberry cardigans »

Boogie Woogie Heel
$94 - modcloth.com
More Seychelles shoes »

Cath Kidston Carry All Bag
$44 - asos.com
More Cath Kidston handbags »

TAYLOR SWIFT
$100 - peoplestylewatch.com

Dress Like Selena Gomez

2010-07-03T00:46:00.000-07:00

I've recently started a collection of "dress like..." sets on Polyvore and decided to post them on here. The first one is Selena Gomez, as the title of this post implies.

Dress like Selena Gomez by Bananda ღ featuring Carvela shoes

Embellished Stripe Top by Rare**
$24 - topshop.com
More TopShop tops »

White broderie skirt
12 GBP - debenhams.com
More Red Herring skirts »

Women's Carvela White Sparrow ankle boots Online via Style Compare
150 GBP - stylecompare.co.uk
More Carvela ankle booties »

Kate Spade Women's Charlize/S Rectangular Sunglasses
$148 - endless.com
More Kate Spade sunglasses »

Floral Sequin Stretch Belt
12 GBP - missselfridge.com
More Miss Selfridge belts »

CinderellaSelena.com Gallery - Last additions/001~68
selenadaily.tumblr.com

Trend I Love

2010-06-10T00:26:00.000-07:00

High heels with socks. It gives almost any look a sort of school-girl twist and I'm loving it. However, I am very against this look if it involves open-toed shoes. That's just a little bit too socks-and-sandals for my liking.

I'm really proud of these ones

2010-05-29T01:46:00.000-07:00

red flower dress by ßɑɳɑɳɗɑ ღ on Polyvore.com

colourful dress by ßɑɳɑɳɗɑ ღ featuring Monsoon accessories

Love this quote.

2010-05-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

Music by ßɑɳɑɳɗɑ ღ on Polyvore.com

Spring

2010-05-20T01:15:00.000-07:00

I miss Spring. It's Autumn here in Australia and its really cold.

I love this playsuit :)

floral by ßɑɳɑɳɗɑ ღ featuring Dolce Vita shoes

Items in this set:
Meadow Print Jumpsuit, Merci Liberty Limited Edition, size: L, 175 GBP
Dolce Vita Women's Julius Sandal: Shoes, $155
Flower enamel bangle pack, 12 GBP
L. Erickson Double Loop Bow Headband 100% Silk Charmeuse - As Seen On..., $24
Tan Plaited Leather Belt, 20 GBP

another of my polyvore sets

2010-05-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

small things by ßɑɳɑɳɗɑ ღ on Polyvore.com

You.

2010-05-12T01:14:00.001-07:00

You. by ßɑɳɑɳɗɑ ღ on Polyvore.com

Hello

2010-05-12T00:32:00.000-07:00

I'm Amanda. This is my blog. Welcome :)

This post is to tell you a little bit about myself. So. I'm 19 years old. I want to be a fashion stylist. I love Disney movies and TV shows, The Little Mermaid being my favourite. I have quite varied taste and have never met anyone who likes everything that I do. My favourite band is Paramore. Hayley Williams has an incredible range and I find that I am slightly jealous. I think everyone is beautiful and unique. I hate the lack of confidence and self-respect among teenagers and young adults today.

So, that's just a little bit about me. I'm sure you'll learn more as I post more.