We are nicely settled into our new home. That is we are moved in and comfortable! I still have lots of boxes in the garage that need unpacking that I will do as time permits. Our old house sold fairly quickly after our third contract on it! It sold quick but the first two contracts fell through, but we were third time lucky. Unfortunately the bank wanted more of our equity than we expected so we don't have as much left over as we were hoping.

We were planning on using some of it to buy a new car, since our old one has died.. the engine is kaput and it is still sitting in the back yard. We need to get it to the wreckers but we haven't got to that yet. We got lucky because my brother bought a new one, and didn't need his old one any more and it wasn't worth selling so he let us have it. It will do just fine for the time being especially since….I am no longer working outside the home!!

That's right, if you haven't already heard, I am no longer working as an Admin Manager. After 3yrs in an accounting firm as the admin manager where I did payroll, in house accounts amongst other things, it was time for me to start putting my health first. My health was making it very difficult for me to maintain my work standards and I was finding it harder and harder to manage working full time with set hours.

So what now?? Well since I already have the best job in the world designing for DSP, which I was already doing on the side, I am now doing it full time, well full time with the added benefit of working when I am well and taking it easy when I am not. My hours are as flexible as they can get, I can work at 2am in my jammies, or 9.30am when the kids are at school or 8pm when the kids are in bed, or pretty much any time I feel like it. I love designing and am so lucky to be able to do it as a job now even tho I am unwell. I couldn't have a more suitable job for my illness which at this stage still looks to be Mixed Connective Tissue disease according to my Rheumatologist.

I have symptoms of several Auto-Immune diseases which may later develop into a specific one or may remain overlapping. Auto-immune diseases are notoriously difficult to diagnose even when the symptoms are clear but in the meantime at least I am being treated and now that I am no longer working outside the home, I can put my health first instead of my job but still earn money while doing so! YEAH!

The kids are doing great. Jasmine is about to turn 8 and is such a lovely young lady! She just got her ear's pierced today as an early birthday present. She is starting year 3 this year… boy it goes fast!! Kyan (my baby!!!) is starting prep this year! It will be good to have them in the one place instead of one at school and one at daycare. Although for the first time they have both been enjoying the entire Christmas break at home, and getting to know the kids in our new neighbourhood. I love that I can work even while they are home from school! Although maybe not as efficiently!!!

I think that is pretty much all of it. We had a lovely Christmas and new year and the kids are looking forward to going to school. I am loving spending more time designing although I think it will be easier when the kids are at school! I get so many interruptions at the moment while they are home, which is fine of course, I am enjoying spending so much time with them at the moment.

Oh nearly forgot! Dean has moved the workshop to home now and is now working at home which works well because if he wants to work extra hours, he can do so without feeling like he can't see the kids while he is gone. And now we don't have to waste rent on a shed and can put that money towards our house instead! We still in the process of organising curtains. We have some roman blinds on layby for the family room and have ordered some fabric for the kids rooms and will have them made very soon. Ours will be next after those I think. Yes, we just have sheets on the windows at the moment! It will take time to get it all done but it will happen bit by bit.

We need to get a ride on mower too because we don't have a mower and our block is an acre, so it is a bit expensive to have someone else mow each time! So that is on the priority list as well at the moment.

Anyway, so lots of changes for us, but hopefully all for the better! I think life will be a lot less stressful and much simpler now, and hopefully Dean won't have to work too many extra hours!! How else will he fit all that triathlon training in???

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The kitchen was great, compact but plenty of bench space and storage.

The wonder of wide angle lenses! The bathroom is so not that big!

The backyard was that big, was great for the kids.. mind you our new one is 4 times the size!

Anyway, the email newsletter ad and internet ad went online Friday night, newspaper ad went in Saturday morning and there was an open house Saturday morning. We had two offers one of which was 10k under the asking price and wouldn’t budge, then we got another which we were happy with so it is SOLD!!!

WAHOO! Basically sold in one day from when it was advertised, how cool is that?? Such a relief, paying two mortgages not fun!

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My hubby is my rock, my best friend and takes such great care of me and the kids when I am not feeling well. What would I do without him???

Love you honey!

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Yup, this is the sun...not the moon.

Just when we thought it was over, we started having what looked like overcast weather, but was actually dust. Today it started getting worse again and we are now in the midst of another dust storm. Not the pretty orange colour this time, but still rather nasty looking!!

Eerie huh!

I ended up with a bit of asthma at the end of the day from the last one, hopefully I don’t get the same again today. We have that awful dusty smell inside again.. so annoying!!! Oh and that box, I have no idea where it came from.. it blew there with all the wind we have been having! It can stay there till the dust storm is over.

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So many people don’t get that I am sick because apart from looking pale at times, I don’t really look sick, and it is really hard to explain. I have on countless occasions knocked back a social event because I just wasn’t feeling up to it. I feel at my worst in the mornings after I get up and in the evenings after work and while somewhat better during the day, if I overdo things I pay for it later.

Now most of the time, if I start to feel it I just stop as I know it will only get worse later if I push through it. Sometimes (like at work) I have to do it anyway because it has to get done and I do pay for it later.

Anyway, enough rambling, I thought this was a great way to explain things. Have a read…

The Spoon Theory by by Christine Miserandino www.butyoudontlooksick.com

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Here it is, our new home finished at last. Ok, I admit I cheated a little and photoshopped the grass as it is brown not green, but it will be green eventually! He he Especially if Dean retains his enthusiasm for watering it. He went over at 5am this morning to water it.

We will also need to do some seeding because we only got turf for the area immediately around the house. There is no way we could possibly turf an acre block unfortunately. I dread to think how much that will cost!

There are LOTS of weeds in the rest of the block so we will need to do something about that as well.  I think we should hire someone to seed and spray as we have no idea what we are doing.

Oh and we need to buy a ride on mower. Better sell our old house quick so we can actually afford one. Oh wait that means we have to actually get it ready to go on the market! We have decided to just sell it as is. We don’t have the time, inclination or money to do the finishing touches. It really only needs some paint and touch up work and a new laundry tub.  It will sell quick regardless because it fits into the first home owners market which is in high demand at the moment here.

The cleaners are over there at the moment cleaning away ready for the handover tomorrow. Wonder if they will pick up all the crap the workmen have left outside. Old drink bottles and cigarette buts all over the yard. I suspect they will only do the windows outside. Oooh which reminds me, must organise bins from the council!!!

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Jasmine is so excited and couldn’t wait to tell her friends. Kyan is mostly concerned about whether we would still be able to find Sizzlers and his ‘Preschool’. He is having a little trouble getting his head around the whole concept and thinks we are moving to Brisbane. ROFL He KNOWS where the house is, and apparently it is in Brisbane. Anything that is more than 2 mins out of town is apparently Brisbane. LOL

Our turf is a little sad looking at the moment but hopefully will pick up once we get a chance to water it some more. Fingers crossed it doesn’t die on us!

So this weekend is going to be rather busy packing etc. The gas bottle doesn’t get installed till Wednesday so the first night we will be without hot water and gas for cooktop but we still have a gas bottle on our BBQ so will be able to cook dinner on that the first night.. or maybe even go to Sizzlers just to reassure Kyan! LOL

It is SO exciting after all this time to finally have a new house with space.

I will go out and take photos on the weekend. The driveway looks fabulous with the stencilling, it really finishes the place off. I may have to photoshop the rather brown looking turf tho! LOL

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The plaquenil doesn’t seem to be working however he still wants me to stay on it, perhaps it might start working in time. I have my doubts tho! He said I definitely have an autoimmune & inflammatory condition but at this stage he just can’t put a label on it yet. He said in time as it progresses he will probably be able to.

I still have my money on lupus as that seems to be what I have the most symptoms of. It seems to fit the most, but it isn’t showing the positive ANA in my blood work yet, but for now still no firm label.

He wants me to try an immune suppressant, which I am quite happy to do, anything that might help I am willing to try just to improve quality of life. Unfortunately he said it probably won’t help the exhaustion and sore & weak muscles I get from minor amounts of exertion. I asked him about exercise as I want to ty and lose some weight and he said I will have to take it very easy and gently, but it is a good idea to do. I mentioned that I hoped loosing weight would help improve my symptoms, but he said it would have no bearing on this disease, it makes no difference whether I am overweight 6okgs or a child. But of course it is still a good idea to try and loose weight to help my heart and joints.

I asked him to go off the cortisone and now he wants me to stay on it!! DARNIT!!! He did let me decrease my dosage to 5mg tho so hopefully that will be better. At least I am not gaining weight like I was before and hopefully at 5mg that will have even less of an effect. I had forgotten my afternoon dosage yesterday so may as well make that change from yesterday! LOL

I start my new medication today.. I have to wait for the Chemist to order it in as they didn’t have any yesterday. I just have to take one tablet a week and Folic Acid on the other days.  Fingers crossed there aren’t too many side effects and it makes me feel like a new woman…. one can only hope!

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Anyway, here is the little culprit.. or rather not so little!

Dean trying to get a look at it and what it is up to.

We thought at first it had moved into the main section of the roof, but I heard it the smaller section earlier so it might just have moved up further in the small section. We are hoping it will leave once it gets dark. Fingers crossed, Dean is going to have another look tonight and close it up if we think it is gone.

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