These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

THE HIGHLIGHTS OF 2011:
A.C.E Student Convention. The boys in suits, the girls in skirts and blouses, the office-ness of it. I love office wear. Anyway, it was spiffin. Seeing a certain someone again and trying to decide yet again whether I liked them or not. Still not confident on the answer to that question. Hanging out with Sarah and getting on each others nerves. Good times.

Going on long as bike rides with Ian. The Ben Morven Track, and trying to bike to the Rowing Club.

Here is Ian trying to cross the river. I was videoing him because I thought it would end with him being in the river, but it didn't work out that way. A real bummer.
Girls Group. The awkward discussion about sex and things that girls need to know. Learning about integrity, confidence, courage. Learning to trust one another. It is still a work in progress, but our little group of girls is becoming more tight knit.
Excel Touring Team.  We billeted two girls, Reg & Lil, and it was really cool having them here. Reg was shy and afraid of Jake (our dog), but Lil and I had some mean jamming and singing sessions outside at like 10pm. Each year we billet two girls, and each year they seem to get better and better. =)

Drumming for Church Band. At times I would call this a highlight, and at other times I would say it was part of the year I did not like. But it is all a learning curve, and the things that are harder to do and take longer to accomplish are usually the things that are worth while.
The cousins coming to NZ. This was both a good and bad time of the year. I enjoyed their company, but the boys got on my nerves a bit. Joe was all right because he is more placid, but Issac was flipping mean and annoying at times. Emily was pretty good, although she does bring out the eleven year old in me.

 Jet and Phil's wedding. This was the one time of the year when both sides of my family came together to celebrate one thing. Usually it is a couple on one side, or a few over from the other side. But it was all the family (well, a lot of representatives) over for at least the weekend. And then everyone was under one roof for the classic and much-loved Uncle G's big breakfast cook-up which was held at brunch time on Sunday morning. That was grand.

Me and Jet getting ready for the wedding

Making up random songs. For this guy in my life that is now going away, I have written two songs. It's funny, cause I don't like him that much, but I have liked him for a year and a while. I'm not sure why I wanted to write two songs about him, but I guess its because he took me on an emotional rollercoaster (but I think thats just his personality, haha) and my way of dealing with his being great one minute and confusing the next was to write a song about it. One song I wrote was annoyance, and the next was happy go lucky. And now I am somewhere in the middle. I have also written some songs about God, who is becoming my True Love. I get told that I have a nice singing voice... but I'll take their word on it. =)
Doing the To-do list with Sarah. What a great time. We still haven't done everything on the list, but there are a few days left in the year to get them completed. For more information about the to-do list, look at the page I have devoted to the list only. (Look up the top of the page. It goes Home (I think), Ruby Through the Ages, and then The To-Do List

Womanhood Journal and To-Do List

  I made another to-do list today, and I have accomplished everything... well, everything accept for one thing and things that could not be accomplished, or the time to accomplish them had gone (like picking strawberries when I was at a certain place, and mowing my grandparents lawns (it rained)). Here was my to-do list for today.

• Finish Sarah's Christmas present (homemade)
• Wrap up Sarah's Christmas present (homemade)
• Do section in computer science
• Do assessment in computer science
• Finish work at Ruvi's
• Knit a black stripe in the scarf
• Knit a gold stripe in the scarf
• Write in diary
• Write in womanhood journal
• Start new section in computer science
• Figure out what I'm going to give Pop for a Christmas present

  The last thing on my to-do list is underlined and bold because I still haven't done it. It is coming closer and closer to Christmas and I still haven't figured out what I'm going to give my grandfather. It would be easy if I could just buy him some chocolates, but on my wall I wrote a goal of that I would not buy anymore Christmas presents, but use what I already have or make it. I might have to break that goal as the days are ticking by and I can think of nothing to give to him... but I'll try my best. I don't like failing the goals I set in place.
  You might be curious as to what my "Womanhood Journal" is. What it is is a journal that I have to write in each day and say what I have learned, or things that have happened in the day. It is documenting my passageway through being a teenager and then entering into being a woman. I figure that if I keep one for each day of the years to come, then I'll have it to look back on if I have children of my own, and if not, then to better understand my adopted children in Russia when I am working at an orphanage and have been there for a number of years and am feeling out of touch with my childhood. Or I can give it to my parents when I go away to remember me by. There is a whole lot of reasons to keep one. The main thing it documents in how I walk with God along life's path.
  Oh and the reason that Sarah's present wrapping paper, and the card (which I did yesterday) are all homemade is that for our to-do list we had to make homemade Christmas presents from scratch. I think I have stuck to it very well. I hope she likes her present...
  Love,
Ruby.

Uncle Gary's Scarf

  When my uncle was down for Jet and Phil's wedding, he saw all the knitting I was doing and said that he would pay me to make a Hurricanes scarf for him so that he could have his own proper wool one for the rugby games. I agreed. Then my parents said, once he was gone, I should make him one for Christmas (since hes coming down to spend Christmas with us) and knit into it the words "Go" on one end of the scarf and "Gaza" in the other, so it would be a one of a kind scarf. In the beginning I didn't like the idea because it would be hard to knit in "Go" "Gaza", but now I am doing it and I think he'll like the present.
  I have done so much today it's not funny. Here was my to-do list to get jobs done:

• Finish section in computer science
• Do the Assessment
• Wrap Jet and Phil's Christmas prezzie
• Finish cards to friends ready for postage
• Write Jet and Phils, Mum, and Dad's Christmas cards
• Write Uncle G, Nan & Pop Christmas cards
• Knit until the word "Go" is on Uncle G's scarf
• Make Sarah's Christmas card
• Work 3 hours at Ruvi's

So I have almost completed the whole list. Just need to finish the "Go".
I find that when I make a to-do list for to do in a day, that I get a lot more done. So next year I have gotten myself a daily planner and instead of writing in what I'll be doing at a certain time, I am writing down what I want to have accomplished each day with a box to tick when I've done it. I find that when I reward myself with getting to tick something off I enjoy doing it and getting it done more.

The To Do List: Make Cupcakes and Eat Them

Part of mine and my friends, Sah's, to do list by the end of the year was to: make cupcakes and eat them. WE decided to make them for the beach outing we were doing with our girls group. It got a little interesting when we made yellow icing and green cupcakes...

Yummy, yummy!

Unfortunately it was a boiling hot day on the beach. They did not get eaten right away. The lid was shut tight.... they began to sweat, and by the end of the outing at the beach when I opened the lid and smelt them they were some of the foulest things I have ever sniffed. Gross. But it was an experience making them. While we are on the subject of baking, I'll tell you about our other thing on the to-do list: BAKE A CHOCOLATE CAKE, AND PUT SALT IN IT, THEN GIVE IT TO SOMEONE. We thought the premium place to do that would be to take it to the
shared church lunch that goes on on the last Sunday of the month. So we did that. I felt a little bad when I saw some kids taking pieces to eat... but I couldn't let the cat out of the bag. I'm really sorry to anyone who got food poisoning. Jokes, I don't think anyone would have. Just a good case of Yuck!

Now I feel bad. Do not try that at home... or, if you do, put enough salt in it for people to really notice what has been done, so they don't just think it tastes a little funny.

Love,
Rubs.

My Life as a Teenage Ninja

So I am getting pretty good at the knitting now. I'll put my latest edition for the Knit 4 Russia family on here now. It is a scarf. I think Mum did about two rows on this scarf, so its really my baby. Yay.
The photo is of me holding my knitting.

So there you have it, me and my scarf. Unfortunately I am holding it up on the wrong side, but you get the general idea.
 Okay, so my friend and I are doing a to-do list this year for our friendship. And I thought it would be interesting to put it on here. For the creative things (or the ones we can be bothered getting a photo of) I'll stick the photos on here. Give you guys a little bit of inspiration to get creative about your faith when you're feeling drab.
Seeya,

Ruby.
PS: My family is coming over from QLD, Aussie tomorrow, and I am super excited to see them. My cousin, Emmie, is my favorite cousin, even though she is a couple of years younger than me. It'll be great to see her and catch up with the other family, even her two annoying older brothers. Maybe they have matured... well, one can hope.