I’d like to start by dispelling the myth that me and Rich have split up. That’s completely not the case. Many people have said that “Oh, are you still together then?” yes we are, completely. Nothing has changed with me and him; we’re still as close as ever. We’ve dealt with the long distance before, and we will deal with it again.

My dad has done so much work to get the house ready for me to be back in the house again, and its very heart warming. My bedroom is fantastic (even with the funky carpet). The TV Ariel is now working, and I can enjoy all four channels in bed, and the new shower curtain is fantastic.

I have a sparkly new pc table too which Kira has decided she quite likes to sit under.

New pc table, with Kira attached!

The garden, well, what I can say. The dogs have just lived in the garden since we got here. Kira has absolutely loved the freedom, and that’s super lovely to see.

Today’s the day that the last of the garden gets fixed up! The last side of fence is being put up, and all of the nasty bushes down the right hand side are being taken away, yay!! It’s going to make the garden look a lot bigger. Although Kira did like to sleep under the bushes, so she’s lost her hiding place!

The bushes have gone!

Aside from the above, not much else is happening at the moment. Just trying to work out when I’ll be able to see Rich, as it’s really tough leaving him!

1. I want to work to the highest of my abilities at work for the period needed to earn the promotion to a full member of staff.I actually achieved this and am very proud of myself! I managed to become a full member of staff and worked there for a successful 6 months.
2. I want to earn enough money to pay for a holiday to Parga, Greece for me and Richard.I haven’t achieved this one yet, but it’s still really high on my list of things I want to achieve. Me and Rich have talked about when we’ll manage to go on holiday, and we’re hoping to book something for the early parts of next year.
3. To stick by my decision to have a birthday party. (Something I always avoid as I lack confidence in most areas and feel I don’t have enough friends to warrant a party. This will be a real hard one to stick by).We spent my birthday with friends (who sadly we no longer have contact with due to certain circumstances..) over on the Isle of Man. It’s definitely been one of my best birthdays to date. I’m really sad the friendship ended as it did, but my birthday was one I’ll remember always.
4. I vow to work as hard as possible regarding all of the Open University courses. I hope to pass the said courses with the highest grade possible.I did indeed pass one of the courses I was registered for, which I am ecstatic about! I’m due results on one of my other courses on the 6^th August, and fingers crossed that will be a pass as well. I’m really struggling on the course i’m registered to currently, and am hoping things will settle down when I get moved.
5. I hope that in the upcoming year I can work as hard as possible to keep my health as stable as possible. This means that I hope to manage any activity that would strain my fatigue levels. (Not an easy resolution to stick too, but beneficial at the end of the year).My health has improved vastly over the last 7 months. There’s been a stable improvement in my activity levels.
6. I wish to to take up Archery as a hobby. This involves completing a 5 week Archery course.Me and Rich both joined an archery course and after 5 weeks training became full members! I hope to get back into the sport when I move back up to Coventry.
7. And finally (for now), I wish too be in a better financial situation at the end of the year than I am in now. I hope to start to save money regarding the chance to get a mortgage.I am currently in the middle of moving home to kick start our Mortgage fund. This resolution is definitely work in progress!

I’m really proud with the progress I’ve made over the past 7 months, and I think that’s really reflected in the above list.

Today’s achievement was the fences going up in dads garden! And my first words when he sent me the pictures where ‘OH MY GOD’. It was such a moment of relief, knowing that the garden is now safe for our puppies. Yay!

The garden itself is actually really quite big! This is what it was like before:

Before!

and after:

After!

I am SO pleased. From the pictures it looks as though it’s turned out amazingly. Will have to wait till Saturday before i can test it out with the dogs!

I’m moving back in with my dad as me and Rich are saving for a mortgage, and that’s best done with us not living together (I can save more if I’m living at home with dad).

I’ll be moving back into my old room, which to me fair I didn’t do much with when I was previously living there.. the carpet was a nightmare (see below picture), and the walls weren’t much better.. I got as far as repainting the whole room white, but not much more was done than that. The chimney breast was plastered over (with the other walls wallpapered), so I’ll have to re-wallpaper the chimney breast when I get the decorating started.

My bedroom carpet!

After watching a program about Victorian housewives past times, some of the craft work they did (nearly always recycled), it occurred to me I wanted to give a few of them ago. One of them being shaggy rag rugs! (picture to follow). They are rugs made out of rags or strips of fabric woven or stitched together.

After trawling the internet I finally found a fantastic tutorial of how to actually make them! (tutorial can be found here). This is the aim:

Tshirt latch hook rug

To make it you lay out your latch hook canvas and start to thread through your strips of fabric with the latch hook tool. You fix the material in place using a special technique with the latch hook tool, and after a lot of latching, you create your rug!

I’m hoping that every aspect of the rug will be eco friendly (aside from the tool and canvas which I’ve had to buy). Am hoping to start on this as soon as I source a vast quantity of second hand tshirts!

As far as my job goes, it’s hard work, but very rewarding, so I don’t think I could ask for anything more! Uni is going very well (even though I did panic for a while and didn’t think I’d be able to manage my extra courses which are due to star next week). My last assignment for my current course came back with good marks, so I’m happy about that.

That’s about It for now, I’ll update as soon as I can.

I am currently sitting in the middle of my sofa in my living room, with one dog asleep aside the chair, and another out for the count underneath my duvet which is placed next to me. I was going to snuggle up under it, but didn’t quite get that far. I am also listening to ‘Florence and the Machine’ through my laptop. I love the tone of her voice.

The past few days have just been, crazy. I’ve been wanting to update my diary/blog, but I’ve just not had the energy, and now I have the time to do it, the words just aren’t coming.

Some people ask how I manage to work, and at the moment, the answer would be ‘Because I have too’. At least, that was the reason to start with. It was a necessity, and, still is. Life doesn’t stop, money is always needed, from paying the rent and bills to eating and clothing myself. Even though needs must, it’s still so difficult.

On one hand I feel I’m managing everything that’s going on at the moment on an ‘ok’ level, but then, on the other hand, I feel I just can’t manage it all. I know it’s only been a matter of weeks, and my body is adjusting, it’s just taking it’s toll on me.

I get in from work, and go back to bed, then I still wake up and my body needs more sleep. I don’t know whether to sleep even longer, or whether to get up and push myself. I feel I’ve really had to push, as there isn’t any other option. It definitely makes me feel good though, knowing that the money that comes in to my account I earned with my own hard work. So, all in all, theres positives and negatives to it all.

As far as the plans for the future, things are actually looking bright. Or, I feel they are. Theres still so many unknowns, but what I do know, is that with the extra money I earn coming in to my account, it means we can start to plan (of sorts) for our future. Starting with a holiday.

I’ve only ever been abroad twice (I think. One of them as a baby, the other time to Spain with my family and I remember that, but was only young). It’s why it’s so exciting. There is so many places I’d love to visit, Amsterdam (The house where Anne Frank lived in in World War 2), and to Poland, to visit the Auschwitz grounds (I love history). Both Rich and I would also love to holiday in Parga, Greece as well.

I’ve never felt I was in the right situation to manage anything like that. I’ve never felt I could ‘Dream’ about what I wanted in the future, with being ill, and a bad financial situation. That’s why me finding work has changed a lot for me, it’s given me and Rich a future. I always new we had a future, I just didn’t think we’d be going down this path.

I saw my family the weekend gone. My mum, dad, and sister came up to Coventry for the day. I really had a great time. I loved being able to walk the dogs with them (something I’ve only really been able to manage recently, and maybe even that is because I’ve pushed myself). It was great fun. We had a great meal, and we even managed to shop. Rich gamed during the day as he wasn’t hugely feeling very well (both of us have been feeling fluy over the past month or so). A good day all around.

I know so many people are excited about the snow (changing the convocation), but it’s really starting to get to me. It restricts me so much! I cant really go out on my own, I’m not fully able to keep control of my car, and the office at work is so dam FREEZING! I always hated summer, and longed for the cold, but oh god, i cant take much more dam it!

For now, that is all. My life is so busy, working, studying, sleeping. I don’t always have time to update my blog as often as I’d like. I’m going to start up a written diary, which I can note down my thoughts in. I’ll then use to update my blog online. For now, adios.

So this is why I’m here; to compile a list of things that I’m hoping to achieve in the coming year.

1. I want to work to the highest of my abilities at work for the period needed to earn the promotion to a full member of staff.
2. I want to earn enough money to pay for a holiday to Parga, Greece for me and Richard.
3. To stick by my decision to have a birthday party. (Something I always avoid as I lack confidence in most areas and feel I don’t have enough friends to warrant a party. This will be a real hard one to stick by).
4. I vow to work as hard as possible regarding all of the Open University courses. I hope to pass the said courses with the highest grade possible.
5. I hope that in the upcoming year I can work as hard as possible to keep my health as stable as possible. This means that I hope to manage any activity that would strain my fatigue levels. (Not an easy resolution to stick too, but beneficial at the end of the year).
6. I wish to to take up Archery as a hobby. This involves completing a 5 week Archery course.
7. And finally (for now), I wish too be in a better financial situation at the end of the year than I am in now. I hope to start to save money regarding the chance to get a mortgage.

And there it is. The ‘start’ of my New Years Resolution list. Some of them are things that I’m really struggling with at the moment, for example wanting to keep my health at a stable level (it being something that I’ve struggled with over the past year especially). The Resolutions regarding my work (as a Customer Services Adviser) are also important to me. I really do want to work hard (with it being my first proper job). It also means that we will have virtually a full second wage coming in, so if I work hard enough and stick at it, i could bring in enough money to be able to afford a few luxuries.

Edit 6/1/10: Every week I read back over the entries that I’ve posted through that week. I like to make sure that the things I post are as accurate as possible, I guess, and sometimes I like to add to posts with things I’ve thought about after I’ve posted.

In this case, reading back over my new years resolution list, not only did I add a resolution, but I felt that my list didn’t portray that however normal those resolutions seemed, for me, they are a great deal. I can always hope, and dream, and really do feel if i manage my illness, that I can achieve a great deal. A ‘great deal’ for me is managing to work, and earn, and maintain/manage my health those things mean a lot for me.

There was also a few other things I wanted to mention (which I’ll go into briefly at the moment as I’m sitting at working updating my blog!).

Firstly is a Video created by a friend relating to M.E and being Bed Bound. It really touched me, and is something I know all too well as I have been Bed Bound in the past due to my M.E. All I ask is you give it a quick look, would mean a lot to us and our cause.

Sever M.E

I will also be adding a section to my Blog about M.E, and the Campaign for recognition and publicity. It will be linked to a YouTube channel, created by the Administrator of a M.E group on Facebook. The youtube channel will be used by sufferers of M.E to highlight the difficulties of living with M.E on a daily basis. I am also planning to post my own video to the channel when it goes live, so please watch out for it.

Things have changed so fast for me over the past two weeks. Alots happend and I’ll be super relieved when I can update this page and everything off my chest and down on paper (as it were..).

I have some great news to share (I will expand on the subject a little later when I get home), I managed  to get a perminant job (at least it will be perminant after I’ve worked the first 13 week trial period). I am a Customer Services Advisor for a newspaper distribution company. I love my job, even though the working hours are not hugely desirable..

At the moment I get in from work at 9am (11 am on weekends), and attempt to go back to bed to catch up on lost sleep and fatigue from working with a disability. I then ‘attempt’ to catch up on Uni work, and as I’m sure you can imagine, I’m having very little spare energy to get online/update my blog.

Christmas was a great time for us.  We spent Christmas morning at Richards parents house, having one massive present opening session. We then spent the afternoon/evening with Richards family at his brothers wifes parents house, with all of their family which was great fun. The food was amazing, the company was pleasant and the gaming in the evening was alot of fun!

We spent boxing day at Richards parents, more food (I’ve eaten WAY too much this Christmas!), with more gaming (Trivial persuit and articulate, good fun all-be-it a little nerve racking to start with..).

So with Christmas, and work, it’s been a busy couple of weeks! I’m loving it though, and the extra money meens we stand a good chance of being able to save up some money (I’ll go more indepth about that later).

There me and Rich where, driving down a main road just outside of where we live (I was taking him to work), and he suddenly shouted ‘Father Christmas!’ I didn’t realize he actually meant ‘I see father Christmas’ haha!

Father Christmas on a Harley. Dam, the bike was nice!

Father Christmas on a Harley

I HATE ROYAL MAIL. I know that ‘Hate’ is a big word’, but this has gone beyond being annoyed. They tried to deliver a parcel they deemed was too big for the letter box. They knocked; no one answered, and chose to take it back to the sorting office (that’s their version of events!).

Well first things first they obviously didn’t knock very hard!! We were in the living room (right next to the door), and we didn’t hear a thing!! Secondly, they state it will take 24 hours to take it back to the sorting office. What are they doing, crawling the whole way!!! It shouldn’t take that long.. Surely.. I was prepared for it to take 4 or 5 hours, (after their delivery round), but 24 hours! Pathetic.

It’s really got my goat. It’s not like I’ve already waited 5 days for the dam parcel..

*calm thoughts*.

Whilst I’m on the ranting subject, there’s one other thing that I wanted to mention, which has really been bothering me for quite a while now. (I know I’m moaning overly, but I try not to do it too often..).

Tuesdays is bin day. I drag my bins down to the road, get them emptied and drag them back up the garden to my back door. End of bin day. Now what is so hard about that?? A certain house down the road seems to get the idea that you need to bring the bin outside to get it emptied, but doesn’t seem to get the idea that it has to be BROUGHT BACK IN AGAIN.

This stupid bin always gets left infront of my drive, and every single week I have to get out of my car to move the bin before I can reverse my car in to the drive. I swear one of these weeks I’m just going to run it over…

There was a news article about this a few weeks ago, Nottingham have in-forced a ban for people that leave their bins in the road (as it makes it hard for parents to push pushchairs down paths). Why can’t Coventry have a similar system! If it happens many more weeks, I’m going to attach a note to the owner stating the bin is designed to be brought back in again after bin day.

/End of rant.