Amiriche.

Sketchbook Project - Posted!

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:12:00 +0000

Three weeks are up! Pencils down, Sketchobooks closed!

Today I posted AshLee and my sketchbooks to The Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn Art Library. Safe in a plastic registered mail post bag they should arrive from Australia to the USA in about 10 days.

It feels good finishing this project and knowing that it will come back in November on exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria here in Melbourne for all you view! I feel like a real artist!

For AshLee it was different, he'd never even heard of The Sketchbook Project and so it become an awesome birthday present for him (I'm ok if you copy this idea, it is a great present for someone!). Where his theme was 'It's summer where you are', my theme was 'This is a sketchbook'.

Filling my sketchbook did continue to be a challenge. In my handbag it lived; for three weeks.

Pulling it out as often as possible, yet last night my sketchbook still wasn't full.

I had even been cheeky enough to take it into a work meeting so I could doodle a little more - hopefully no-one noticed.

Heading to AshLee's office to pickup his sketchbook for posting back to Brooklyn last night I was relieved to discover that he wasn't quite finished either.

At his desk we sat till late at night; him madly glueing bits together and me franticly sketching. You know what it reminded me of? High School!

Working on some assignment with a friend/s frantically trying to get it finished before the next morning when it was due. That was high school for me. Plodding along at my own pass most of the time until - BAMB! It's due the next day and I need to pull an all-nighter to get it over the line and finished. That's what it felt like last night. The only difference... high school finished 12 years ago! Ahh to be young again...

Did you often pull all-nighters at high school?

January Photo a Day Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:47:00 +0000

There is this Photo a Day challenge for the month of January. It was organised by Fat Mum Slim.
I found out about it half way through January and kicked off from that day forward. In reverse order...

Day 30 #Nature

Day 28 #Light

Day 27 #Lunch

Day 26 #Colour

Day 25 #Something you made

Day 22 #Your shoes

Day 20 #Someone you love

Day 19 #Sweet

Day 16 #Morning

Day 15 #Happiness

I haven't always remembered to take a picture and I really haven't remembered to use the right hashtag (#janphotoaday) but here non of that matters, here its just about a simple picture fun project!

The Forbidden History of Unpopular People

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:44:00 +0000

What project are you working on at the moment?

Topher is a friend of mine who is in the middle of trying to raise enough money to make a feature film! Pretty cool, huh.

As you can see from the title it will be called The Forbidden History of Unpopular People; why free speech is worth the price.

It isn't a stretch to see Topher working on a movie of this nature, it's completely within his sphere of interest and passion. What do I mean, well, if you live in Victoria, Australia you may have even stumbled on his YouTube channel; Topher's Unpopular View. He has researched (I'm talking hard core research; reading parliamentary transcripts, scientific reports, etc) a few different topics but his main area, so far has been water.
But enough about his past projects, check out his latest concept video below for a feature film!

The Joy of Books

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:52:00 +0000

Whether you like reading them, looking in them, or enjoy basking in the knowledge that they contain so many amazing worlds and ideas. It's hard to deny that books are more magical compared to an iPad or kindle when you see such a cute short like this one!

Books Read in 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

For me slow and steady wins. That's how I read, slow and steady.

Here is a list of books I read in 2011 (according to my Readernaut account).
It's pretty clear that 2011 was a hard year work wise. I was learning how to deal with issues regarding my job, how I'd pay for life now and in the future. Not to mention discovering more about the Lord and where He was in all this and how He was (and did) help me through all this.
The book titles link to Amazon and authors names link to author website.

When It Pours, He Reigns; Overcoming Life's Storms - Holly Wagner
The Happy Intercessor - Beni Johnson
Beginner's Guide to Wealth - James Whittaker, Noel Whittaker
Managing Your Career (Lessons Learned) - Fifty Lessons

Do you remember what you read in 2011?

Sketchbook Project

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:57:00 +0000

Sketchbook Project time!
Last time I joined the fun but the difference is that this year I WILL be posting my sketchbook back to the Brooklyn people.

This year they will be bring exhibiting the project here in Melbourne, which does make a huge difference to my level of motivation.

Delia and Franklin joined the fun last time round but as they are preparing for the arrival of a little chilli (so happy!) this year AshLee has decided to join me for the fun.

Actually sitting down and sketching has been difficult - it's not part of my every day life - but I'm trying. I'm letting you know that what I sketch isn't going to be anything fancy, it's just to keep me sketching and practicing. I'll throw a couple pics of what I draw up here later for you to see; just as long as there is no judgement of my lack of skill.

So with less that three weeks to fill my sketchbook - it's time for me to get back to it!
Hope you all had a lovely weekend :)

Day by day

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:59:00 +0000

At the end of last year I started praying about what 2012 would hold. About where God would lead me. To my astonishment and later dread, he told me I would be taking it a day at a time.
When speaking to friends it seemed evident that I should be journaling more this year too.

For those of you that don't know me very well, I plan everything! From the people I feel God asking me to pray for to the major achievements I want to make in a year. In fact last year (2011) was my year of planning, everything was planned out at the start of the year, right down to what I would do each day of the year. I had taken planning to a whole new level but I loved it!

On the other hand, it's clear that God didn't love all my planning as much as I did. It's clear now that with all my planning going on there was no room for God to unfold his plans in areas where I already had my planning done.

So far living without a plan has been hard!

Remembering to pray every morning that it's His day to do with what He likes is a challenge. But more than that it's trusting him on a day to day level for all the small little things.

Trusting in Him when I meet up with friends that we'll have a great time and have heaps to talk about, instead of already knowing things we could talk about before hand. Because there are few people that I just 'click' with, and even fewer that I can happily sit with and not speak to I learnt a long time ago to have an idea of what to talk to a friend about.

Trusting in Him to have a plan for my weekends instead of planning what to do with friends and family weeks in advance.

Yup. God is stirring me up! His probably even lovingly laughing at me as I stumble around completely out of my comfort zone and relying on him. You can't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humour, I know he does. At the end of this year I'm sure I'll be laughing at me too!

Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:08:00 +0000

Welcome to 2012!

Quick prayer
Lord this new years is yours; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.

Leaving home

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:29:00 +0000

This year I have wanted to move out of my parents house.
I lived out of home for about five years and then moved back when I went overseas on a short term missions trip to Cambodia in 2007.

I was certain I'd move out as soon as I got back from Cambodia. But I didn't.

Instead of moving out of my parents house I saved a tone of cash! And subsequently been on a stack of overseas holidays, doing things I'd always wanted to do.

I went to Japan twice to snowboard for five weeks each
I went to New Zealand twice for more snowboarding, though the second time as hard as we chased the snow we just couldn't catch any decent snow to board on, we did have a fun time trying non the less.
I went The Sultanate of Oman, Dubai (in the United Arab Emirates) and The Sultanate of Bruni - just got back from this trip.
I started a music distribution business called You Love Random.
And moved from full time work to part time work so I can spend more time developing You Love Random.
And lastly I started a publishing business this year called Ashworth Publishing.

All things that if I was still renting at the time I wouldn't have been able to do. So I don't regret moving back.

So why do I want to move out of home again? Well, this last year, especially as I'm looking my 30th birthday in the eye at just four month away, I can't help but want my own place again. As friends are getting married, having kids, buying dinning tables, and all those other 'grown up' things, I'm not.
I'm at my parents house. They already have a dinning table, couches, rugs and paintings. I can decorate my room how I want it (to a certain extent) but no further.
While friends are enjoying cooking up a storm, I find myself in a storm if I want to cook because it's my dad's kitchen and only he can use it. It's wanting to do these little domestic things that makes me want to move out of my parents again.

I've prayed about it, looked into working out what's on the market and prayed some more. I've stamped my foot and made the decision - I'm moving out! I even told my Mum that I would move out by the end of the year.

Turns out that working three days a week doesn't provide enough cash to be able to live by myself.
I also discovered that to rent a one bedroom unit is now at least three times(!) more expensive than it was four years ago. The encouragement of friends opened the idea of sharing with other people. And again I went back to God. This time asking for housemates as well as somewhere else to live.

No one was interested in moving. I'm not partial to the idea of living with people I don't already know or that friends haven't recommended either. The idea of coming home from work to find a housemate completed of their head and eating my food is not something I long for in life!
I continued to speak to friends and would jump when people mention they might, maybe, possibly, maybe, might be, are kinda thinking about moving.
But in the end, nothing.

Finally a wonderful lady at my church decided that she wanted to move and was looking for housemates (pick me! pick me!) and was looking to move into the area I was hoping to live.
We chatted exchanged email addresses. I was excited! And nervous about packing up all my stuff. And excited! And nervous about how much of my pay-check it was going to take. And excited!

While on holidays these last three weeks I got an email from her. A sad email. The email explained that the christian bookshop were she worked was closing down. Her friend worked at the same place so moving in together wasn't going to happen, in fact she might be moving back to the country. Horrible news! My poor friend, God was closing a lot of door for her and this news right before Christmas wasn't particularly heart warming for her.

Ultimately, it is all in the Lord's hands and He has a wonderful plan for her.

It also means that I am not leaving home. God is keeping that door closed at this time.
At the right time, the door will open and I'll leave home but until then I'll do what I've been doing all this time. Save, and do the things I wouldn't otherwise be able to do. I will continue to wait for Jesus to open that door. And continue to be as patient as I can possibly be! It's not easy as I'm not that most patent person (I'm sure God is looking at me thinking 'stop tapping your foot, I'm not ready for you to move yet!').

No 20 - Freedom to dream

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 06:21:00 +0000

Looking out the window of the plane as I fly into Bruni I had a couple of thoughts.

Who do you call if you want to build an airport? Are there forms and paperwork that need to be completed first? Do you need permission from someone/some global authority?

I should find out.

Because, you know, one day I might want to have my own country like the Sultan of Bruni. I could. And I'll want people to visit. Hence, an airport. It's really quite logical.

But as I sit here in the airport listening to other travelers conversations I can't help but be grateful. At 29 and 7 months old I still dream like I child. But more than that I'm grateful that I was always encouraged and given the freedom to dream.

If you've got children don't squash their dreams let them dream anything is possible!

And, who knows, with a little hard work and determination they could make that dream a reality.
I could even have my own country one day.... but who do I call about building an airport?! A state of the art, fancy airport that people are happy to be in?

No 19 - Fat bass beats

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:03:00 +0000

Like me you probably have an adaptor to plug your iPhone, iPod or iBleh into your cars stereo system.
I bought a new adaptor earlier in the year which connects my iPhone to the stereo through the tape player.

Since then I have been listening to music and podcasts from my phone every time I've jumped in the car.

At some point the cable stopped working 100%. Since then I've been listening but only with music blasting out of one side of the cars speakers. So while my passengers are deafened I've been comfortably listening to tunes.

But the other day something happened.

I picked up the car from the mechanics jumped in the drivers side, turned on the engine and was meet with music blasting out of all speakers! It was wonderful!

It wasn't that I didn't know that all the speakers worked it was that I'd forgetting how good it is to hear music being played by the full force of the Dolby Surround Pro-Logic stereo system in my car. I know, I should be ashamed.

And as much as I am grateful to listen to music via the radio with all speakers what I'm really grateful for is the bass.

Resting my arm on the door and feeling the vibrations of the fat bass beats up my arm is.... so satisfying!

No. 18 - A chance to rest

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:57:00 +0000

Grateful to be able to take a long overdue holiday!

For two weeks I will enjoy all that Dubai, The Sultanate of Oman and The Sultanate of Bruni have to offer.

There will be very limited emailing and there will be no meeting to attend. It will be glorious!

No. 17 - Advice from friends

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:17:00 +0000

Today I'm grateful for something that happened a couple days ago.

A chance to learn. A chance to hear another side to the story. And a chance to gain a little more knowledge.

I enjoying reading, usually while on a train and usually to learn more about something. Currently I'm reading Rework and it is an excellent book. Simple and concise information broken down into manageable sized chapters.

One chapter, 'Pick a fight' didn't have such great advice. When I ran it past a friend and BAM, it's not great advice. Turns out what they are suggesting is defamation under Victoria law and a really tricky to avoid, prove and disprove.

Glad I double checked that advice before I did anything silly.

No. 16 - God IS good; prayer answered!

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:57:00 +0000

I'm OVER the MOON! With excitement and gratitude!

Having you prayers answered time and again is wonderful! We don't always know how or when The Lord will answer our prayers but He always does. And when He answers a prayer you been praying for a long time - you can't help but beam and gush, feel all full of love, like your going to explode with His wonderful love!

It wasn't that long ago that I was praying for a friend; I'm sure others were too. I had been praying for her and her husband for quite sometime. A couple of years to be sure.

We are not always privy to His plans or His ways; knowing what He will answer quickly or will stretch our faith. Be here we pray and our loving Father, the creator of the universe listens to every prayer. From prayers of request, acceptance, love, gratefulness and contemplation to prayers for healing, renewal and spiritual eyes to be opened to mention a few. He listens, He hears and He answers those of the righteous.

A couple of weeks ago I was ecstatic to discover that mine (and others) prayer was answered for my friend and her husband. An incredible miracle is happening right now, a beautiful baby will be born!!!!

God IS good!

This is my nephew when he was a baby.

No. 15 - Fridays

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 06:55:00 +0000

Fridays are wonderful! The end of the week. The start of a weekend long sigh, yes Fridays are very good days no matter how busy they become.

No. 18 - Health

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:57:00 +0000

I'm grateful that I am healthy.
I can run and jump without pain.
I can swim with easy (though I'm not into doing lapse).
I can walk without pain or being concerned that I wont be able to walk back home again once I turn around.

I am grateful for my health.

No. 14 - Having my hair dressed...

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:37:00 +0000

Similar to No. 4, I'm grateful that I have the means to be able to pay someone to dress my hair - a hairdresser!

If you live in Melbourne then you'll know that over the last couple of days there have been strong winds wiping through the city at extraordinarily high speeds. If you're female you know this means that your hair gets whipped around your face. And if you are in need of a hair cut then you'll know that this kind of wind just makes that desire for a hair cut stronger!

I'm not a vain person but sometimes little things like getting my hair cut can slowly build up until I start looking at every hairdressers I past wondering 'could they squeeze me in for an appointment now...?'

Quickly on my lunch break today I zipped into the city for a quick hair cut. It was driving my crazy. Thankfully a place could squeeze me in for an appointment, I was super grateful!

No. 13 - Lunch

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 07:16:00 +0000

There are days (like today) that by the time lunch arrives I'm ready to hug and kiss it before consuming it!
Yes, I am grateful for lunch. I'm ultimately grateful for food because I'm constantly eating but its usually lunch that brings that sigh meaning (finally, food, this body will survive till dinner whatever time that might arrive).

At work lunch is even more important. Its the small gap where I can switch of my mind and read a book or cruise the internet looking at the things I'm passionate about. Some days a girl just isn't that interested in electric cars or the manufacturing of metal components for the automotive industry.

The best lunches are the ones the are followed by a short stint of working flat out followed by a stroll to the bakery for delicious afternoon tea treats.
I'm tell you all now, that when I work for myself full time all my staff will stop for morning and afternoon tea. It makes it a much more enjoyable work place, like a place where (shock horror) staff are actually cared about and encouraged not to burn out.

So, what did you have for lunch today?

No. 12 - Anxiety and Stress are taken

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:11:00 +0000

I'm grateful for that The Lord takes all my anxiety and stress from the week and gives me a day of rest.

The last week was... hard. Getting out of bed to go to church wasn't easy but I got there and I worshiped and learned more about prayer.

Today, I also started sewing a new summer dress. It's a project that is just for me. Making a dress is only a little project that I enjoy doing every now and then. It's always rewarding; a new dress for summer is always nice.

Sewing is very similar to cooking - if you can read you can do it!

Like cooking, once you understand the basics you can make changes and alter the pattern in whatever way you desire - that's the fun part which is what I enjoy most about sewing.

To me creating my own pattern or altering another pattern to make it my own is where the fun really lies. After that, the cutting and sewing are a little mind numbing but that just means its easy to watch a movie at the same time. Tonight I watched Cop Out and an episode of Fire Fly while altering a pattern I'd bought and cutting out the fabric.

Through the mercy of Jesus all the stress and anxiety I had been feeling had left my mind. Relaxing and reading in the sun with tea and a cupcake after lunch in a cute cafe, after a wonderful church service. I was so relaxed that making a dress was what I was inspired to do.

Their was one small flash of anxiety; as I cut into some fabric that belonged to Gran. Gran was a dressmaker and she loved it!

I'm looking forward to finishing the dress but moving at my own pass to make it is part of being able to take the time to stop and breath.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear... Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? "... So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:25-35 (NIV)

No. 11 - Poscus

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 15:11:00 +0000

I'm grateful for Poscus; our cat. We've had him for around 19 (human) years. And he is the BEST!

For some reason now that he is a lot older he likes sleeping on my head, instead of sleeping under the blanket. There have been times when I've woken in the middle of the night to find the thing that woke me up was Poscus curling up and going to sleep on my head!

I have a possibly abnormal amount of photo's on my phone of Poscus sleeping curled up on my head, lap, the couch and a couple on the odd occasion when he's been playing with my one year old little nephew.

Yes, I'm very grateful for Poscus. He might only be a cat but he's always been there and like all animals knows when to comfort me. I think animals have a sixth sense for that kind of thing - they are amazing.

Speak of he, here he comes just in time for a 1:20am bed time.

No. 10 - Nectar of the gods..... coffee

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:40:00 +0000

Yesterday was a day filled with pleasing things. From helping people carry bike wheels down the street and discussing children's book publication strategies; it was a very pleasurable day.
But by 2:30pm I could feel the sickness coming on - feeling weak, body starting to ache and brain slowly starting to fuzz over, it was coming some kind of cold/flu thing.

Today, my whole body is aching and I feel so very lethargic. But with mountain loads of sleep, a few vegetarian meals and a heavy dosing up of vitamins I'm hoping I feel fine tomorrow.

As you've probably guessing it because of my current state I am intensely grateful for coffee!
Mmmm the smell, the kick and delicious flavour, oh how grateful I am for this gloriously wonderful beverage.

No. 9 - Girls Group

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:34:00 +0000

I'm grateful for Girls Group.

Girls Group is a collection of girls from Newport church.
We meet together once a week to:

change the world through our prayers(!!)
catchup with each other and what has been happening in our lives
eat dinner together
listen to the wisdom of older woman every few weeks (hear the stories of their lives and how the Lord has impacted them and their families)

Really we all meet together and love each other through the tough times and the not so tough times.

In many ways this falls under being grateful for friends but at the same time it's different.

I'm grateful that all of us are committed to praying together, to each other and the group. Coming every week, sharing and being vulnerable about what is happening in our hearts and lives allows us to all grow closer to each other, encouraging and allowing us love each other like Jesus loves us.

Having this specific time separated out from the rest of life's busyness I treasure.

It means that when the rest of life does go crazy, and even finding the time to send a text seems like a mammoth task (to be tick off the list) that's when Girls Group really comes alive. It is in these times that Girls Group becomes part of the life giving water that Jesus offered the lady at the well.

I almost feel that being grateful isn't enough - the dictionary would know a stronger word to describe how much of a blessing Girls Group and all the girls in it really are to me. But sadly I'm not a dictionary.

No. 8 - Friends doonas

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:12:00 +0000

The emotional drain that I've been feeling because of changes at You Love Random recently has meant I haven't had a change to jump over here and write what I've been grateful for since last Wednesday. But that doesn't mean I haven't thought about it over the last four days, I have.

And today, as a sum up to the last four days, I'm grateful for the warmth of friend's doonas.

I have a Spiderman blanket on my bed but curling up under a friends doona is always comforting.
I'm not sure if its because their doona smells different to mine. Perhaps, it's the sense that their doona is somehow a symbolic reflection of they're love and protection of me by allowing me to be curl up under their doona. Either way it's... heart warming.
I'm grateful for friends that let me crash on their couches when all I need is to know I'm loved for being me, not matter what hard decisions I've had to make.
And friends that let me steal their doonas while watching movies.

Image source

No. 7 - Computers and the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:39:00 +0000

Today is freezing cold. And although their is a little sun shinny ever so weakly it isn't even warm in the sun shine which is sad.
I'm currently sitting in my office at the uni, looking out the window at students slowly maundering past. Most are talking to friends, talking on the phone, reading study notes or simply just staring at the road as they walk on by. But today I need a No. 7 and the students are more of a distraction and than an assistance (sometimes having them walk past is calming and helps to focus my thoughts).

No. 7 what will you be? What have I enjoyed today? What am I grateful for today?

Computers & the internet. It's too hard to separate them so I'm claiming both as they go hand-in-hand.

I haven't said that yet. And I do love the internet. It's hard to deny how much the internet has shaped my life - it must come straight after Jesus, family and friends dare I even say before family.

I remember my first computer when I lived in a little bungalow out the back of my parents house. I had it wedged behind the wardrobe so that I could stay up all night on the computer while lying in bed.
These days not much has changed, I still stay up all night on the computer though my computer is a laptop and I've discipline myself (after too many years) to not take my computer to bed with me.
My life is so integrated with computers and the internet that I now even have an online business, You Love Random.

Yes, I'm grateful for computers and the internet.

Little Games - still my favourite saying 11 years on (man that's a LONG time!).

No. 6 - Sunshine

noreply@blogger.com (Amiriche) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 06:29:00 +0000

What to be grateful for today... sunshine and light!

Living in darkness is drab. It is wonderful to spend time sitting in the sun. Absorbing the light and warmth! How do you even start to explain how wonderful light is? How do you explain how much happier you feel when you get lots of sunlight? Not sure, but it's true. Spending time in the sun makes me feel happier.

Apollo Bay