Our new home

We've been living in Diss for 2 weeks now - not quite settled yet as we're still house sharing but that shouldn't be for much longer.

The second week of our honeymoon was spent exploring Diss town. It's so peaceful after living in the centre of Norwich and I love being truly away from work. Even the commute is nice - 20 minutes in which to read a book while travelling through pretty Norfolk countryside.

Yesterday we visited Fair Green which is an old field in Diss - the site of fairgrounds for over 800 years. It's written into the deeds of the land that a fair is allowed to be there at least twice a year. We've yet to step across the border to Suffolk but I hear it isn't far away...

I've been to Diss Christian Community Church (DC3) twice now, Ben joined me this week after working last week. We're both really looking forward to getting involved in this church - although the overall style of the church isn't what we'd normally look for the people are really friendly. Part of our relaxing part of our honeymoon was spent evaluating what we really need from a church so we could look more effectively. We're making a conscience effort to ignore any niggles! We decided that anything apart from fellowship can be easily met outside of church, so fellowship is what we're looking for and seem to have found very early on. So far we've enjoyed an evening with a couple involved in leadership/music and been invited to join the current Alpha group running until the house groups can accommodate us. Also this week we met someone there who works for Norfolk Constabulary in the department dealing with applications forPCSOs/police, which considering Ben's future career plans seems providential!

All in all I'm quickly forming a love for Diss and I'm looking forward to making this our home for the next few years.

In case anyone's missed it my new email is lauraejfoster at hotmail.co.uk

Last night of freedom

My 'last night of freedom' was an awesome night of salsa dancing and tapas, organised by the bestest bridesmaid ever. Lauren arranged the whole thing including fun masks to wear for the night!

One of the highlights was meeting up with Ben and the lads on his stag night, it was a little bit lonely going out without him!

Wedding pics

*Yawn*

I just thought about the days when summer meant an enormous stretch of time with only one or two things to fill it.

I think this is the busiest summer I've ever had. There seems to be endless bits and bobs to sort out for the wedding, a million pounds to find to pay for it all, and if all goes well a house move to get through. I could quite easily not go to work and still need more hours in the day.

We should be moving to Diss in the second week of September - still working in Norwich but as it's only 15 minutes on the train it won't be a big commute and the peace of the countryside will be amazing, especially after living next to a 24 hour business for the last two years!

Overtime has just become available at work again after a year of being quiet so I've worked most of the weekend and now I'm tired.

Roll on September when wedding madness is over and all the boxes are unpacked...

It's 4 weeks to go til our wedding and in a strange (and exciting) turn of events, we don't know where we'll be living at the time. Overtime has just become available at work after nearly a year of work being very quiet, so while trying to work as many hours as possible and finish planning the wedding, we're also starting to pack so we can move at some unknown time. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

Prayer of simple regard

This isn't exactly what I was talking about in my post about silent faith, but I read this on sacredspace today:

Religious art often shows Mary carrying a rosary in her hands. But it would not make sense for Mary to be saying Hail Mary…Our Lady never said the rosary; but it does make sense as her gift, something that prayerful people have developed over the centuries as a simple way of praying. The fingers can find comfort in passing the blessed beads through them. The rhythm of repetitive prayers releases the mind, and it can go in all sorts of directions: to designing clothes, to focussing on the needs of children, or of sick friends, or of some overwhelming concern, and asking God to hear our prayer; to reflecting on the mysteries of Jesus’ life, as linked with the different decades; or to reflecting on joyful or sorrowful times in our own lives, trying to see how God was there, when at the time he may have seemed far away.

Even when our prayer becomes more silent and wordless, as we grow older, the rosary can still help. It still releases our mind, because the telling of the beads becomes quite automatic. There are people who move from the reciting of the beads into a sort of prayer that no longer needs any thought or language. It has been called the prayer of simple regard, or the prayer of stupidity, or mystical prayer. Names do not matter. Prayer is, as the catechism used define it, a lifting of the mind and heart to God, and for that the rosary is only a springboard. It is Mary’s gift, to be used as it helps us.

The Mary bits don't really interest me at the moment but the prayer of simple regard jumped out at me because of its lack of thought or language.

So I read a bit more on Wikipedia and it doesn't seem too disimilar to a form of meditation. The article ends with this:

Basil Pennington, one of the best known proponents of the centering prayer technique, has delineated the guidelines for centering prayer:

1. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed, relax, and quiet yourself. Be in love and faith to God.
2. Choose a sacred word that best supports your sincere intention to be in the Lord's presence and open to His divine action within you (i.e. "Jesus," "Lord," "God," "Savior," "Abba," "Divine," "Shalom," "Spirit," "Love," etc.).
3. Let that word be gently present as your symbol of your sincere intention to be in the Lord's presence and open to His divine action within you.
4. Whenever you become aware of anything (thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, associations, etc.), simply return to your sacred word, your anchor.

Ideally, the prayer will reach the point where the person is not engaged in their thoughts as they arrive on their stream of consciousness. This is the "unknowing" referenced in the 14th century book.

I think this is the kind of direction my prayer life is taking - "being in love and faith to God" - and I'd really like to build on this. I'm interested in prayer again and it's nice to be reminded that out loud Sunday morning type prayers aren't the only way to be with God.

A Girl's Guide on How to Deal With Boys

The main difference between boys and girls is that boys like doing things - driving cars, playing football, throwing stuff, eating, farting - and girls like feeling things, such as love, friendship, happiness and excitement.
Boys are very physical; girls are very emotional. This is a gross generalisation, but it helps to remember that when you ask a boy "How are you feeling?" he will probably answer "Hungry" or "Cold" and not "Deliriously happy because I am with you". To begin with, this can be disappointing, but it can't be helped, since expressing emotion comes as naturally to a boy as ballet does to an elephant.
If you are friends with a boy, bear in mind the following: boys worry a great deal about what other boys think of them. Therefore, even if a boy really likes you, he will be weird about showing this in front of other boys.
If he's very immature, he may ignore you completely when he's with his friends. This means he's probably too much of a baby to bother with, although you may wish to give him a second chance if he apologises and promises never to do it again. If he's actively rude to you in front of his mates, forget about him. He is not just immature, he is an idiot.
Boys are often spoilt by their mothers, so they have a tendency to think girls should do all the boring things in life, such as cleaning, cooking and ironing their T-shirts, while they do all the exciting things: jet-skiing, playing in rock bands, being spies. Don't indulge this belief; the sooner they get re-educated the better.
Boys don't always say what they mean and often don't mean what they say. Communication is not their strong point. They're not terribly sensitive to other people's moods either, so if you are upset about something, you will have to spell it out to a boy. It's unlikely he'll work it out for himself, no matter how much sulking or moody hints you drop. Just tell him what's bothering you and he'll probably be genuinely surprised and sorry he's upset you.


Although boys go to great pains to show the world a confident front, underneath they are just as insecure as the rest of us. Sometimes, when it's obvious they are feeling sad (you will know this through your superior powers of intuition), a bit of encouragement or a compliment can help them feel better.
One of the nicest things you can say to a boy is that he's good at something, eg skateboarding, running, building a tree house or solving quadratic equations. Remember these few basic rules and boys can be among the best friends you'll ever have. They'll carry your books for you, too.

Linky Link

Female God

I never liked the idea of God being female, I'm much more comfortable with him being referred to as male. But this picture from postsecret changed my mind...

Week 26ish

I made a few new year resolutions back in January and as it's half way through the year I've been thinking about how I'm doing and what's still left to do. They were...

* Read the Bible and pray alone more often
* Continue going through our Marriage Course Book with Ben and have regular us time
* Lose weight
* Finish my proofreading course before September
* Pray with Ben regularly
* Join a group/activity
* Read some quality books

The one I ticked this week was to finish my proofreading course! My diploma is hopefully in the post now. I'm really pleased to have finished it with 2 months to spare! The next step will be thinking about what to do with - I could in theory build up a freelance business but I think I need some experience first. I'd love to build up a client base in the next few years and be able to work from home by the time we have children.

Praying and having 'us' time with Ben is half getting there. We're getting into the habit of having a 'date night' about once a month where we'll make an effort to go out for dinner or do something fun together - last month Ben found out about salsa at the Forum and surprised me! This week we went to Pizza Express and had a nice leisurely dinner and talk. I hope this is something we keep up throughout our married life. Praying is up and down as we're still trying to build up a habit and find a time of day that works for us. We've finished the Marriage Book by Nicky and Sila Lee - I would recommend it for any couple getting married, it covers most topics and was great as a discussion tool.

Reading the Bible and praying alone more often is not happening in the way I'm used to. I think my faith is taking a different journey now and I'm glad about that in a way. My silent faith post pretty much sums that up for now.

Losing weight and joining a group or activity have gone hand in hand so far. I've nearly lost 2 stone and would like to lose one more. Weight Watchers has been a huge soure of motivation and there are some really amazing people there who constantly inspire me. I have so much more energy and confidence now.

Reading good books... I seem to rarely find the time! I'm arguing for getting rid of the television license again when ours expires this summer, so please throw any recommendations my way!

If you didn't know this joke please comment!

Why are hymns not called hers?

Because we say amen not awomen

(Ben says everyone has heard this joke before and I'm a bit dim for not having heard it)

Silent faith

At the moment my faith has no words. I believe and ponder it but I haven't been vocalising it. I try to act it out but words haven't featured for a while.

I'm not sure if this is good or bad or anything at all. I used to be very into vocalising my faith and views - I'd love to have discussions with people, debates on the forum, wrote down prayers if I struggled to say them aloud and pondered bits of theology as I learned.

Now my prayer life is much more to do with feelings and moods, almost like a thread of spirit going to heaven that keeps God and I in touch but doesn't need to be put into sentences. I think I like it that way.

This is like introverted faith... I don't really like sharing it with people anymore because I rarely find people on the same wavelength. I'm not sure how it fits in with the community aspect of faith though. Maybe it's a phase.

Driving Commandments

Do you make the sign of the cross before you set off in your car?

The Vatican urges you to do so...

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

~ e.e. cummings

I'm not fat!

Today I reached a healthy weight

:D

What's in a name?

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet

~ Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet


I've been toying with the idea of taking on a middle name when I get married. 'Laura Brown' is just plain boring and 'Laura Foster' only slightly more exciting (in terms of a name that is; it's real meaning to me is much more special and thrilling than I can express).

I've been thinking of possibilities...

Laura Ella Foster? I like Ella because it was an adopted name made up with a friend when on a church weekend away. We had listened to a talk about how Daniel and his friends all had God's name in their names, and when the Babylonians changed their names it was like their identity being spoiled. We wanted God to be fully part of us and made each other nicknames containing 'El' and 'Yah' - two of the Hebrew (?) names for God. According to www.thinkbabynames.com 'It is of Old German origin, and its meaning is "other, foreign"', which seems almost appropriate to the story of Daniel! http://www.babynamesworld.com/meaning_of_Ella.html says it's of Greek origin meaning torch or bright light, which would be nice to live up to. It's also the name of one of my favourite singers, Ella Fitzgerald. Having been my forum profile name for years it seems more part of me than any other name picked out of a names dictionary.

Ben favours Jane. Jane sounds very English and reminds me of Jane in Pride and Prejudice - far too angelic a character to ever live up to!

I'm not even sure how this would work legally - I think it's okay to do judging by clients' birth and marriage certificates I see at work, but I might need to check before setting my heart on a new name! Part of me thinks it would be a bit weird to give myself a name - naming seems to be a parent's job, not mine.

Talking of surrendering...

By strange coincidence there is a programme on Five tonight at 9pm about surrendering wives. I get the impression from the advert that it maybe focuses on the wrong way to go about it, but it might be interesting viewing anyway. I've been at home for a four day weekend so have caught snippets of chat and breakfast shows and it seems to be a hot topic at the moment - it's surprising how many wives phone in to say how much happier they are after learning to surrender, and also how scornful others are when they can't understand how it could possibly work.

In the blogosphere today...

Bank holidays are a nice opportunity to catch up with things.


Hayley is lovely and keeps an often thought provoking blog that I rediscovered today.

Post Secret is as bizarre and honest as ever:



And Paul has some beautiful photos on his image blog.

Vote for our fine city!

http://www.monopoly.co.uk/index.aspx

The makers of Monopoly are producing a UK board with 20 places on it, not based on price but on the passion of the people. Norwich was 19th last time I looked..

Surrendering

I'm reading The Surrendered Wife at the moment and finding it interesting. A lot of the reviews I've read recommend it to marriages in trouble - don't be put off! There's nothing wrong with Ben and I but I'm still finding it useful!




The book's basic premise is that if a wife becomes less bossy, nagging or controlling towards her husband she will become more like a wife and less like his mother, therefore making him more inclined to cherish her, protect her and look after her. It also talks about how to stop doing everything and getting stressed by that, and relinquishing responsibility back to the man.

A number of topics are covered - from general things like making use of or creating a circle of girl friends for support and accepting compliments graciously, to specifics like giving up control of finances to your husband.

Some of the book makes me feel a little selfish and uncomfortable - there are a couple of chapters on taking care of yourself first and spending your energy surplus on yourself. I'm sure these bits have benefits, however, and I can imagine that once a balance is restored in a relationship there may be extra time to spend on recharging.

The most revolutionary idea to me at the moment is letting go and stopping nagging - the book advises that if your husband does something wrong that doesn't threaten anyone's safety, let it go. As the book says, it's really not a disaster if the kids' pyjamas are put on back to front! I'm a bit of an all or nothing kind of person when it comes to things like housework and it irritates me if a job isn't done perfectly, so this is a big challenge.

One of the first chapters advises your plan to surrender to be kept a secret from your husband. I don't know about other couples, but I can't seem to hold anything back from Ben and don't think I want to. I'd rather any adventure of mine be shared with him especially one that involves him so much, then he can nudge me when I go terribly wrong!

Pic n mix

Another update post...

Work - I've applied for two jobs recently but not got any interviews. I'm not too disappointed, somehow I think God knows that an interview is the last thing I need just now! I'm still bored and unfulfilled at work at the moment and still looking into other things. I'm moving into a different team next week which will keep me on my toes for a month or so with learning all their quirks.

Wedding - Mum has said she's not attending. I feel let down. She doesn't agree with Ben and I getting married and can't bear to be in the same room as my dad. In a way this is good news though as will be less worry on the day and less confusion for seating plans! On a more exciting note, I've ordered my dress and it's currently being made.

I'm in a really reflective thinky mood this week... I've booked a flex day on Friday to make the most of it and do some pondering over tea without sugar in Costa.

Post secret

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

My Utmost for His Highest

'My Utmost for His Highest' is an amazing daily devotional book by Oswald Chambers that I dip into not as often as I should. It was originally published in 1935 but, like all God's truths, is still very relevant. I have an updated language edition.

I read one of the entries a few weeks ago and wanted to blog on it because I was confused, but I read it again and now I'm not, but I thought I'd mention the book anyway. It's good spiritual food, challenging but good. It's refreshing to read the writing of an author who is so convinced of what it right.

So I went to Oak Grove this morning...

... and the ladies' had a basket for toilet roll in which there was a sign saying something like

'Please use the contents of this basket for everyone's convenience'

:S

Books and DVDs for sale

Check out our auctions on ebay, some quality things for bargain prices!

Wedding update

We have another meeting with our vicar booked in a couple of weeks to talk about the ceremony arrangements - finally the meat of the planning! I'm looking forward to deciding the vows, songs and readings we use as this is going to be the really important and meaningful part of the day. I think we'll be going very traditional - good old fashioned hymns and most probably the traditional vows including to obey.

As for the rest of the planning, we've designed the invitations and have started making them. There's a tiara in the post (yay!) and I'm going to bed worrying about my dress order. Ben's going suit hire hunting soon. And there's the whole guest list headache - I am NOT looking forward to the seating planning! It would be so much easier to elope...

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace tells the story of William Wilberforce's fight to end the slave trade in the 18th century British Empire. It's an uplifting and inspring film - I enjoyed watching a man with strong convictions live his faith in a very real and pratical way that benefited thousands. I'm reading the book of the film at the moment, a great way to get myself out of the chick lit rut!

Earth from the Air

I stumbled across this exhibition outside the Forum today, which stretches down past City Hall as well. Our earth is so impressve and beautiful. Well worth a visit I think, it's there until 29 April.

Book bag bargain

Norfolk Libraries are selling these excellent book bags for £1 each, made out of biodegradable material. Proper bargain and strong enough and big enough to carry home books and groceries!

Sharing faith

As we make an effort to spend time discussing our marriage book, another thing Ben and I have been thinking about is how we can share our spirituality with each other. At the moment we're trying to pray together every so often which is nice, but I don't think we do it often enough to build up any kind of intimacy between us. If we leave it too long I begin to get a complex about praying aloud and it makes it such a huge chore rather than being anything meaningful that brings us together.

A question mainly for couples, but anyone can comment - how do you share your faith with each other? Is it something important in a relationship and what works for you?

Work

I've applied for a job as Communications Consultant at Norwich Union. After several months of half-heartedly job hunting for something that isn't as formulaic and process based as my current job, I've stumbled across this amazing opportunity to move up a level and get into a job that will teach me skills in tone of voice, 'group writing standards' (which make everything NU produces look the same), designing communications to go out to customers and may give me a chance to use my proofreading skills. (And how cool does the job title sound compared to Customer Services Representative?!!)

I'm not sure if I'm aiming too high but it's the first job I've come across that excites me, so Im hoping I get through to interview stage at least. The closing deadline has just been extended to the beginning of April though, so a while to wait yet.

More chick lit

I know one of my resolutions this year was to read more quality books and less chick lit, but it's not really happening.

I read the first quarter or so of On Beauty by Zadie Smith and liked it, but it seemed too engrossed in a realm of academia to be a proper story so I didn't read the rest. I've also started and stopped I Know why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, which was recommended to me in sixth form while reading Beloved by Toni Morrison. Maybe I just don't get on with black fiction - their history as a people and the colour of their culture (colour as in the sights, sounds, tastes) is enticing, interesting, admirable but it's so hard to read!

I just wizzed through Love Rules by Freya North and loved it. It did make me think, but I realised I've gone straight back in to chick lit because it's easy. Grr.

I think I'll start my quest again in some middle ground, maybe a few books in the realms of Memoirs of a Geisha... or maybe just back to chick lit from the 18th century, I haven't read Sense and Sensibility yet...

I'm living...

... in a constant state of excitement these days, I love it!

Wedding update

Our plans are finally starting to take shape for the big day. We've also booked our honeymoon, a lot closer to home than originally planned but hopefully a tenth of the stress of travelling. A few days in the middle of the countryside with absolutely nothing to do will be just what we need.

The invitations have been designed and are in the middle of production - at the dining room table!

A jazz band has been sourced, the flower arrangements made (does anyone know where I can get about 150 roses from for a reasonable price?) And another poem discovered - I'm looking forward to finalising ceremony details.


HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

WB Yeats

I stumbled across the last two lines in a book I'm reading and thought how beautifully it captures the vulnerability of loving someone.

Back

It's inexcusable to not post for so long, but the longer I leave it the more I think no one reads anyway! But I like writing, so there!

Diet update

Lost two pounds last week, most I've lost since the first week! I enjoyed my first Creme Egg of the year this evening :)

Tonight I went to a body combat class with two girls from work. I recommend it! It was a very fun way to exercise your whole body and difficult to keep up but something easily learned.

For all those afraid of the dark

I have a bit of a thing about watching films that turn out to be scary. I try to make sure I don't watch anything above a 15 rating and anything that has excessive violence or blood and guts etc, because otherwise I have huge trouble sleeping the next few nights and every single noise is an intruder, every dark shadow a stranger standing in the room.

I thought Derailed might be okay but it turned out to be one of those films! (I didn't have the benefit of the Amazon synopsis and it had Clive Owen in it!) Good film but too scary for me.

On a more positive note, I came across these words in a re:jesus daily prayer (they have a pretty good prayer section that I've just rediscovered). From an evening prayer:

The darkness will come but in the darkness the light of Jesus shines... Jesus, help me to find the peace you offer. Just as I surrender to sleep, encourage me to surrender and trust you. You are the light in the darkness.
Amen

Vocation

Mark has posted some good words here.

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge

Helen has been talking about this book and I've heard good reviews about the male counterpart, Wild at Heart, so Ben and I are reading them at the same time and will swap later.

So far the book has talked about the huge task of being a woman - living up to the women we meet at church, and in the shadow of the Good Wife in Proverbs 31:

"... whose life is so busy I wonder, when does she have time for friendships, for taking walks, or reading good books? Her night never goes out at night? When does she have sex? Somehow she has sanctified the shame that most women live under..."

I must admit I hold the Good Wife in very high esteem and I would love to imitate her and be all that I can be as a wife and someday a mother. It was a completely different perspective for me to read that this is such a huge difficult image to live up to, as I view Proverbs 31 as something that I will probably never be in this life but something to work towards as God changes me.

The book talks about the heart of a woman, that we were made in God's image as women and how our desires have an important part to play and shouldn't be dismissed. For example, the need to be romanced and win the heart of a man, to be treated as his beauty and be rescued.

The girlish part of me likes this. I love the thought that everything my little girl heart wants is valid and important, even the dream of being a princess and being fought for, and that I have a role to play in using the fierceness of a woman's heart in being a warrior "in a uniquely feminie way."

The next part of the book struck an uneasy chord in me. It describes woman as "the crescendo, the final, astonishing work of God... She is the Master's finishing touch." The book seems to use the story of Genesis to extrapolate theology in a strangely literal way, for example Wild at Heart says that men were born to hunt and be outside of the home because they were created outside the Garden of Eden - the garden was built around him almost as a cage. I'm not sure the Bible is meant to be read like this.

Helen also directed me to this review, which points out the "questionable theology" and the un-Biblicalness (is there a better word for that) of a lot of the statements in the book, eg:

Given the way creation unfolds, how it builds to ever and ever higher works of art, can there be any doubt that Eve is the crown of creation? . . . Look out across the Earth and say to yourselves, "The whole, vast world is incomplete without me. Creation reached its zenith in me."

I feel like the authors ignore the sovereignty of God at times which is disappointing and uncomfortable to read (but then, hey, maybe they'd say I have a spirit of bad self esteem or something...!)

I'm still hoping to get something out of it (once I get past Chapters Three to Five which seem to dwell on going over past hurts more than I'm comfortable with). I'm looking forward to reading Wild at Heart too, Ben seems to be enjoying most of it so far. The only other quibble I have so far is the writing style, which seems to consist of a huge amount of very short sentences which don't flow nicely!

Has anyone else read either book? What did you think?

Help!

I'm in the middle of my spelling and grammar proofreading test and have spotted most of the mistakes. I think a few more of them are split infinitives, but can anyone spot the mistakes in these sentences? There's meant to be at least one spelling or grammar mistake in each:

* Climbing the stairs yesterday, his leg suddenly gave way.

* Driving through the park yesterday, a stag jumped out in front of us and was hit by our car.

* Stranded at the station, the strike left Mick with no alternative but to take a taxi.

* When just a baby, my mother took me to India.

* It was her, and not the girl who owned the horse, who came out of the stable carrying the saddle.

* When something goes wrong at work, she is always more philosophical about it than me.

This is probably cheating, but I don't think I've yet developed the supernatural skill to spot all mistakes that experienced proofreaders seem to have!

Celtic Spirituality

Anyone know any good resources for prayers/meditations etc?

New Year's Resolutions

I was really excited about my resolutions this year, despite them being almost the same as I make every year! I've made pretty good progress though I think, which isn't bad for a month on. They were...

* Read the Bible and pray alone more often - I'm reading the Bible in One Year which I believe you can also follow online. I'm really behind (which I'm not as bothered about as I would have been a few years ago - I know God still loves me!) I'm enjoying it though, the Old Testament stuff more than the New at the moment. Regarding prayer, Sacred Space has become my homepage instead of the NYFC forum and it's doing me a lot of good.

* Continue going through our Marriage Course Book with Ben and have regular us time - we've been a bit sow on this one. Can't remember haivng a marriage book session for a while but it's planned for tonight! I'd recommend this book to anyone getting married (or even if you are married) - it's really good and we're finding it a good starter for discussion - The Marriage Course by Nicky and Sila Lee.

* Lose weight - it's there every year! I joined Weight Watchers at the beginning of January and I'm really enjoying it. I've lost 6 pounds so far and feel great - eating loads of fruit and veg and getting into running before going to work. I have loads of energy (hence no blogging, can't be bothered to sit at the computer for very long!) The added incentive of finding my wedding dress is spurring me on!

* Finish my proofreading course before September - this is another thing that's just clicked into place this year. I've got an A on another test and making steady progress which I'm thrilled at!

* Pray with Ben regularly - another one that needs a bit of work yet, but we're getting there.

* Join a group/activity - to practise my terrible social skills. Weight Watchers is being good for this, and it's still on my list of things to do to go to St Augustine's Mediation group - not just to be sociable but also to get more involved and to learn the art.

* Read some quality books - I spent most of 2006 catching up with chick lit, so this is my learned year! I'm reading 'On Beauty' by Zadie Smith to start with at Carl's recommendation.

2007 is turning out to be excellent! I've never had more energy or been more excited about life!