A birthday blog for Mum

It's mum's birthday today, and the other day she requested a blog update - and since I've not sent her a birthday card in the mail, I can only oblige and update the blog! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMMA!

So I've been a homeowner for 3.5 months.  I'm enjoying it! It's expensive, but I'm trying to do things as cheap as I can.  I managed to furnish the entire place for less than $2.5k with majority of stuff being second hand from Facebook Marketplace, TradeMe, op shops and some free stuff from friends and colleagues. My most expensive purchase so far has been an $800 washing machine because the $50 one I bought just didn't cut the mustard.  I sorted out all the plumbing myself with various trips to Mitre10 and Mico who were exceptionally helpful - just showed them photos of what I had and described what I wanted and they showed me the parts and told me how to fit them - bingo! 

As stressful as it can be, that's the thing I'm enjoying the most - the independence and troubleshooting.  My insinkerator wasn't working, so I decided to take it out - I went into Mico with a photo, and the guy said 'hey, try this, it might fix it' and gave me a special hex key and told me to press a button under the unit.  I was skeptical but tried it and hey presto - my insinkerator now works!  I've made my own shelves from pallets which I had to cut to size and stain, and put up the wall brackets (turns out I am SHIT at screwing in screws with a drill - I don't know what I'm doing wrong but they all get 90% of the way then stop. SO ANNOYING).  I've made a little pathway to the shed using old slabs I found lying round the side of the house.  I used some of the pallet wood to make a vege planter box which I'm trying to grow some things in.  This weekend I bought an old clothes line from TradeMe for $15 (brand new they're over $200) and had to work out how to attach it to the fence.  YouTube showed me how to install a brand new one so I had a vague idea of what to do, and went to Mitre10 to look at the fittings section and see what could work.  I had to buy a new fence post and work out how to attach that to the existing fence (Lshaped brackets for the win) and cut it down to size, and ended up using the old fridge I haven't yet scrapped as a second pair of hands/platform to rest the clothes line on whilst i installed it as I had no one round to help me. Lots of troubleshooting and trial and error but its up and working and I'm pretty proud of myself for working out how to do it - pretty sure the family chat is getting annoyed with the random pictures and videos I sent asking how to do stuff hahaha.  I'm slightly stressed at the moment as the other night we had terrible weather and my windows which had slight cracks in them developed into big cracks which let water through.  Insurance sorted it, but the glazier showed me my beads were rotten and the sash was starting to rot too, which means that I need to get the windows fixed much sooner than I thought (double glazing too).  I've got three people coming round to give quotes on Thursday and I'm sure it's going to be hideously expensive, but it's something that ideally needs to be done. I also need to buy a new fridge as my one can't maintain temperature and keeps freezing everything in the fridge. And each time I walk into a different room I can feel broken floorboards underneath my feet which is another thing to sort. I just need to remember that financially I am OK for now and in a good position, but it's always money I'd rather not spend - it could be spent on things like plants and paintings lol!

I was dating someone for a while who I really quite liked - we seemed to want the same things out of life and he was very kind and helpful round the house and very easy to just hang out with, but sadly it didn't work out.  I also started having some anxiety issues  - since February time I've noticed a tightness around my chest that I'm nearly always aware of, and every now and then my heart will flutter for no reason.  I also have breathing difficulties where I feel like I can't get enough oxygen and have to take a big yawn - though I've had this since I was a kid.  The relationship with the dude dissolving brought back unwanted feelings from my last breakup, and the heart pain got worse so I ended up going to the doctor who ran an ECG and blood tests which thankfully all came back normal.  I think probably it's all just stress - new job, new city, new friends, feeling a constant pang of loneliness and not fitting in, buying a house, living alone and financing everything alone, covid and lockdown and thoughts of when the world will get back to normal has taken its toll!  I'm trying to restrict how much news I consume, spend more time out in nature, do more exercise and make more friends to combat it.  I've started going to a breathing physio too - turns out I've been breathing wrong my entire life which explains the yawning and near constant sighing - I'm a chest breather and we're meant to be belly breathers and I'm not getting enough oxygen, so I sigh or yawn to catch up.  So now I have to re-learn how to breathe and it's going to cost me lots of money but I guess it'll be worth it in the end!!! I've spent a lot of money on my health recently - I also went to the dietician because I just got so annoyed with my constant bubbling body, and she reckons I have stress induced IBS and possible food intolerances. She recommended  the low FODMAP diet but urgh....it is annoying. I barely like cooking at the best of times and having to prepare all food to a specific diet is my worst nightmare and I'd happily spend money on a foodbox/meal prep service but no such thing exists over here.  

I tried it for a few days and to be fair had no symptoms, but then got invited to my student's house (can't remember if I mentioned previously but I signed up to be an English teacher to refugees and got paired with a young Bangladeshi girl called Romana who's very sweet and just given birth to her second child, so she invited me over to lunch and to meet her kid)  and her hubby made the most delicious beef curry which most definitely wasn't low FODMAP, but it would have been rude not to have eaten it and I ate a lot because it was so delish. But also had no symptoms with that! And then the diet went out the window.....Since then I've had a few flareups but not worked out my triggers yet- but to be honest I think a lot is stress related, how fast I eat, the time of the month  etc....

I've started playing squash - well I started a wee while ago, but I try and play at least once a week. I really enjoy it and I've definitely improved since I first started though I have probably plateaued a bit - but I have a few girls I play regularly with which is nice and I'm hoping we'll meet up outside of squash too!

Talking of things improving - my snowboarding has come on heaps!! I went twice last year, really liked it and committed this year to a season pass and bought all the stuff - board, bindings, boots, snow pants, helmet and goggles. Obviously all second hand!! I've been up maybe 7 or 8 times this year which isn't as much as I'd hoped, but I spent the first half trying and failing to heel toe, each time I tried to go on my toe I would fall so I just gave up trying and relied on heels to bomb down the hill.  The last two times I've gone I decided that I just need to force myself to do it, and I managed to do it!! wooohoooo!!! I did however then start falling over again which I haven't done in a while and ended up really hurting myself - last time I hurt my elbow and couldn't move it for a day and duffed up my hip and neck and had to see a chiro and a physio, and this time I fell heavily on my tailbone and it's super sore and hasn't felt right for four days.  Oh well! I've googled it and there's no treatment if it's broken except time so..........Can't wait till next season :) 

Oh another thing I've been doing - something I've wanted to do for ages and was my number one reason for buying a house - was fostering cats!!!! It's great - all the fun of owning a cat and none of the expense and responsibility.  My first foster I fell in love with - Jazzy, a big fluffy shy girl.  She spent ten days hiding under the bed but would let me stick my hand under and stroke her and she'd purr, but after ten days she suddenly got really brave and started exploring the house and joining me in the lounge.  Then she started curling up next to be in the crook of my leg and would sleep all night on my bed - it was so adorable.  I had her for about a month and it was tough giving her away when she got adopted, I cried when I drove her back to the SPCA! But it would have been silly to keep my first foster - then I wouldn't be able to foster again, and it's hard finding someone to look after a cat if I went away.

My next foster was called Chai - I didn't like her so much, she was just a boring standard tabby cat who was very shy and only came out of her shell a few times. I think she also pissed all over my spare bed - at least I'm hoping it was her, because I had guests stay in that bed whilst I had Jazzy and hopefully they weren't staying in piss stained sheets!!! I think I had her for just over two weeks before she got adopted and she was pretty easy to say goodbye to. 

I expect I will end up adopting a cat eventually, a 'foster fail' as they call them, but I am still stuck with the issue of what I do with it if I went on a long holiday.  But there is something really lovely about having a pet at home - something to say hello to when you come back after work!  But it just has to be the right cat - something like Keira (aka best cat in the world) but slightly less needy at night time (KB used to wake me up at 4am every morning wanting food, and if you didn't shut her in the dining room she would scratch at your bedroom door and miouw until you let her in.  but on the plus side in winter she would snuggle up under your duvet and keep you warm, or you'd wake up to her lying on top of your tummy, and every house party we had she would go from human to human getting pets until she got tired and would go hide on someone's bed. So cute. 

Ok I think I've covered everything that I've been up to.....it hasn't actually been all that much really, just house things and health things and squash and snowboarding.  Oh and I'm finally fully vaxxed!! Sore arm on both jabs but no other side effects. 

Good bye!