Asthma, Micro-teach and gardening!

Still feeling a bit like my feet haven't touched the ground in ages! After writing my last entry here, my daughter had her first asthma attack in 2 months. Thankfully, she managed to stay out of hospital this time, and hence, away from more steroid pills. She went to a kids birthday party, and due to me feeling too rude to stop her, she accepted a cake from the host.....which was full of artificial colours etc. I think that may have set her off, as I've kept her away from those kinds of things since I can remember. I've just go to be strong next time, and risk offending the host, but know I'm protecting my daughter. I believe a little bit of such things do no harm to the majority of people, but I do think they affect my daughter.

So anyway, she came back from the party Saturday eve, and during the night had quite a sudden bout of asthmatic coughing and wheezing. From then until Tuesday, I gave her frequent uses of her salt pipe, and the regular reliever inhaler, and on Tuesday morning, the doctor couldn't detect a wheeze!! I was quite shocked...it's the first time she's had an attack in 2 months, and the first time ever that she's got over it so quickly, and without having to resort to nebulisers and steroid pills in hospital! I was so happy with her recovery, that she was playing at the local play barn on Wednesday, fit as she usually is, with lots of energy. In the past, she's had an attack, then within 24 hours she's needed help in hospital, leading to steroid pills for a few days, and I've not felt she was fit enough for even school for at least a week after the attack. This was amazing, really. It gives me so much hope for her future! The longer time passes between attacks, and the fewer times she needs help, the stronger her chest will become. :-)

Anyway, on a different subject, I had an interview today. An interview from hell. It was for a supply job, but involved tests in numerical reasoning and literacy understanding....which were fine, but also a 'micro-teach' of 10 minutes, to a panel of 3 assessors, on the subject of introducing vocabulary to level 1 ESOL learners, for going to the doctors. Well, I had NO idea what was expected of me, so did my best....which wasn't good enough. They had a list of criteria for what they wanted, from a detailed lesson plan, to the relevance of the materials....I was fine on the overall presentation of myself, making them feel at ease etc, but they didn't like my choice of materials or that my lesson plan (for 10 minutes!?!) was in my head.

Ah well, I see it as a great experience, and good to know what's expected in case I have another silly interview like that - but their loss! I felt like saying, that if they'd allowed me a 2 hour class, full of actual foreign students, and that topic, I'd have shown them exactly what I was capable of....but to squeeze a snapshot of what I can do into 10 minutes, was just a crazy idea! She said I showed 'promise'!?! I felt like pointing out that I've 3 years of teaching experience, and amazing references (that they'd not requested yet!), and great appraisals......and I knew how to make activities interesting and to elicit responses and things!!!! (It did anger me a little I guess! ;-) )

As a way of calming down, and getting my mind off the thought of today, I kept very busy yesterday. My back was killing me by the end of it! I helped my husband in his job in the morning, feeding cows and fixing stuff on the farm, while his boss was away. He'd usually do it himself, but has smashed his finger while building there last week, so needed me. After that, if that wasn't knackering enough, I cam home, cooked lunch, then went and dug a large vegetable patch in our back lawn! Got all the turf off, moved that, then forked up all the ground, and removed all the stones! A good 3 hours in the garden, surrounded by chickens pecking up all the worms I was digging up, and my daughter 'trying' to help with her little trowel! Slept well last night!! I can't wait to get planting again soon! I have all my seeds and onions and potatoes ready...just need the temperature to rise now! Will post some pics here as green stuff starts appearing......

Crossroads....

Been a strange few weeks....like my feet haven't touched the ground! The addition of starting a Zumba fitness class, and visiting my friend with new baby, have seemed to make my week full now! I'm not complaining though, it's a good thing. Less time to think about the past, more time to concentrate on the future!

As for the future, I seem to be at a crossroads. Career or more children? I may not even have a choice really, I'm not to know....I may not have another successful pregnancy, or I may not cope with a post-grad course in Speech and Language therapy. I'm not to know until I try one or the other. I just have to decide which.....and it has to be agreed with hubby too, of course. Friends say I should just see what happens, but I always like to focus on something...I'm pro-active I guess. I feel that now would be a good time to have another child, when our first is about to start full time school, and I've not started a new career. Starting a new career will be good for us all though, so it's quite confusing.

On a different subject, I've been quite angered by something I read on the Asthma UK website. Research shows that steroid pills are ineffective in treating pre-school wheezing. My daughter has had around 5 prescriptions of steroids in the last year, and I thought it was those which were saving her life. I've hated her having to have them though, knowing the damage they can do in the longterm. Now I read that they were unnecessary!!! It does anger me. I just really hope that the salt pipe she's using continues to keep her wheezing away, and she never has to return to hospital with another asthma attack. Fingers crossed.

Missing the greenhouse and garden!

I picked up a great bargain today! I've been keeping an eye out for cheap buckets, to grow this year's tomatoes and peppers in, but am short of cash as always. Thankfully though, I came across large buckets for a pound each in Homebase! Have also just ordered an organic greenhouse cleaner too, instead of the usual stuff that kills everything, even if it's actually beneficial to the plants. I hated the idea of killing all the spiders that have taken up residence in there, so this way, some will hopefully survive to help again with fly control!
Decided on all the veg we'll be growing this year too, and ordered seeds, depending on what grew well last year, and what we like. Have ordered a mix of seed potatoes, so we'll have some all year round, and some shallots and red onions too. Veg we decided on are: chillies, red and yellow peppers, medium red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, and a tasty cherry variety, green courgettes, lettuce, purple brocolli, compact cabbage, spinach, pok choi, and a selection of herbs....lemongrass, oregano, thyme, rosmary, basil....think that's the lot.
So I'm awaiting the greenhouse cleaning solution so I can get on with cleaning the empty greenhouse and scrubbing the pots....and awaiting dryer weather, so I (and hopefully hubby!) can dig another veg patch or two. Gotta pick up some horse poo for one of the veg beds from one of his bosses too....
Looks like a very hard but productive year ahead!! Can't wait to get started again!

Trying to make my daughter healthy and happy

I've recently been asked about my daughter's diet by a new friend. She's had similar problems recently, dealing with her daughter's bahaviour, just like I have. So I thought I'd put together a bit of a list of how I try to prevent her asthma and eczema getting worse, and her behaviour getting difficult. I think that by some friends, I am viewed as a bit strict and over the top when it comes to diet etc, but in a very laid-back, patient and relaxed way when it comes to dealing with my daughter.

So here's my list, crazy or not, there are reasons behind everything in it:

Foods:

I exclude all E numbers other than if they are something like ascorbic acid E300 (vit C).

I exclude as much processed food as possible.

I give as much whole/pure foods as possible.

I wash all fruits and veg in hot soapy water, and rinse well, to remove preservatives.

I exclude anything containing msg or other flavour enhancers, choosing foods with natural flavours from herbs and spices instead.

I use lots of herbs and spices in cooking, especially turmeric and garlic.

I exclude foods containing artificial/chemical preservatives (such as sulphites), choosing foods with natural preservatives instead.

I exclude all artificial colours.

I exclude all artificial sweeteners, choosing sugar and glucose as a preference, but limit the types of food containing added sugar.

I give only one or two small chocolaty or biscuit-type snack a day, and lots of fruit.

I put a fruit bowl of washed fruits within reach of her, and she can take whatever she wants if it's not close to a meal time.

I try to exclude things with egg in, and shellfish, as they make her eczema worse.

I only give a few strawberries at a time, as large amounts have brought on wheezing.

Environment:

I don’t use artificial room fresheners/scents.

I don’t buy aerosols.

I try to keep dust to a minimum.

I keep our cat out of the living and sleeping areas.

I keep her away from smoky places.

If on a roadside, I will pick her up, so she's not at the level of the exhaust pipes.

Medicines:

I only use paracetamol as a last resort for her if she has a temperature that can’t be controlled by flannels and homeopathy.

I only use steroid cream if her eczema is red and itchy.

I use the preventative steroid inhaler for her twice daily, but will try to get her off it in the spring/summer.

I use the reliever inhaler for her if she has a repetitive cough.

Others:

I buy homeopathic and herbal toothpaste

I buy ayurvedic soap

She uses a salt pipe daily while having stories.

I'm trying to persuade her to breathe through her nose as often as she can.

So there it is. I may be an over the top mum, but I'm trying to do my best to get her better, and allow her a future free of inhalers and creams, and more health problems because of them.

Keeping up

I've felt like writing on here for a few days, but never seemed to get the chance. I don't even know if anyone reads this anymore, but I'm keep on writing anyway!

I met my best friends new baby last week. He was perfect! He was born a month after mine was due, so it was an emotional time meeting him, and seeing my friend after the birth. It made me feel a bit crazy as if I really wanted to fall pregnant again, but the other half of me is still holding back. It's nearly a year since I fell pregnant, and all friends and contacts who miscarried at the same time as me have all got pregnant again since. I see that they're all very happy, but for me, I don't feel it'd be the best thing right now. I think that it's mainly due to not knowing if my husband would be happy if it happened again. As you can see, we don't communicate brilliantly about difficult things. If he was to say let's go for it, I'd probably be all for it too.

I really wish this cold damp weather would be over. I can't wait for the spring again, when I can get back into planting in the greenhouse and beds, watching our food grow, taking care of it while it does. I'm not feeling very energetic at the moment, but hoping my new year's resolution to get fit will work out if I can stick with it.

Now I'm here, I can't remember what it was I wanted to write about the other day! Ah well...it'll keep. See ya round!

New year, new hopes and dreams......

It's been far too long since I wrote on here. I've just not felt in the right mood for it for a couple of months. So here I am, doing a kind of update to start with, before things get back to normal.
Since I was last on, not a lot has happened. Our missing friend still hasn't been found, and a guy is still on bail for her suspected murder. They can't charge him without more evidence though, as it's all circumstantial so far.

My daughter's wheezing has returned on and off, but she is still generally a lot better since taking steroids inhalers twice a day. I hate giving them to her, and am doing my very best to get her off them asap, so we'll see how we get on.

Our chickens are laying an average of 4 a day, which is excellent for the middle of winter! The eggs are so tasty compared to shop-bought free range eggs, you can really taste the difference. Been a little concerned though over the last week, as since there's been a hard frost which has lasted days, I've heard a fox in the woodland behind us. The chooks got very upset by one barking the other day, and it took a while for them to settle. They were so silly, making so much noise, as if to say "Oh no, there's a fox around.....here we are if you want us, follow our loud clucking and you'll find us easily!". They don't seem to be the cleverest of animals!

Our poor cat has lost her nerve. She came home with a burst eye ball in November I think. A local tom cat was the likely suspect, as since then, she's been a proper 'scaredy cat'. She went through treatment to fix her up, and thankfully didn't loose her eye...but it looks different, and has shifted, so not all her pupil is visible now. Since the injury, she doesn't go out much, and when she does, she never really leaves the garden for long, rarely ventures into the woods either. It's a shame.

December was a hard month. My miscarried baby's due date was the 16th. My missing friend was on Crimewatch on the 15th. My daughter was unwell for a couple of weeks. And we were broke. I expected to fall apart on the 16th, but I think the anticipation of it was worse that the day itself. It did make me think about the miscarriage again, and what might have been, but it wasn't as distressing as I'd expected, thankfully. It's been more upsetting since then, seeing another mum at the school, who's newborn was born at that time.

Crimewatch featured T on the 16th, but nothing good came from it as far as I know. I was asked to appear on it, but after being a bit unsure, they found another friend to do it instead. It was the anniversary of her going missing this week, and myself and mum, and other friends laid flowers outside her home in her memory. We just can't move on until we get to say goodbye properly.

I've been getting strange feelings in my chest recently, and I think they may be due to all the anxiety. My friend thinks it's probably suppressed grief, making my chest tight, and making my heart rate fast. The doc thinks I should just take beta blockers which would sort out the jumping heart and heart rate, but I don't like to treat the symptoms of something, as I'd prefer to sort out the cause instead if I can. Have got onto an online counsellor yesterday, wondering if it'll help to let things out a bit.

Sorry this posting isn't very light-hearted, but as I said, it's an update really. Hopefully things will be a bit lighter from now on in. New year, new hopes and dreams.

Still here!

Just a quickie to say I've not disappeared! Have been caught up in things a bit recently, so not had the time to focus on writing. Went away for a week too, and only just got back. Will write more in the next couple of days.

Weather is rotten....cold, wet, windy....feel like hibernating!!

Preparations for Eid

Yesterday, I got to cuddle a lovely 6 week old baby called Katy. Her mum left her with me while she went to pick up Katy's brother from school. She was beautiful...soft, so happy, and hands feeling for new things to touch. I felt really warm and happy inside, holding her close to me, looking into her sleepy eyes. Bliss. There are now 5 baby's under 3 months old in my group of friends, so whether I'd like to or not, I can't avoid them! I think it's definitely easier to hold them, or even look at them than it was for me a month ago. I still feel an initial pain inside, and sigh a lot each time I first see them, but I'm not left feeling so sad anymore. Hoping I'm recovering.

I'm still keeping busy anyway! I've had such an extremely busy day today! Up early, took husband to work, daughter to ballet. Then to docs for repeat prescription of my iron pills, then parked the car and walked around most of the town, buying bits and pieces I wanted to get for either gifts, decorations or foods for Eid, then drove to another shop, got loads of extra bits, then home, unpacked, got lunch for my daughter, then out again to pick my husband up, then home, cleaning, hoovering, decorating, back to town to pick up a parcel, then home, more tidying up, then cooked, then finally, at 7.30 sat down for the first time all day! :-) Ahhh....that doesn't include all the extra little things I had to do either, like looking after the chooks (egg number 3 today, 58grams!), keeping my daughter happy, and trying to remember to eat and drink myself!

At least it's all done now though, and it looks nice :-) Loads of flowers and decorations, gifts wrapped, food in the fridge ready to cook tomorrow morning. Good to keep busy.

One thing missing though, is the presence of our friend T. I think of her lots, and this time of year is the most special for us to share together. Really miss her. A detective texted me earlier and said he'd try to call me tomorrow to update me on the case. Am hoping he'll have some good news, but more than likely it'll be the usual 'we're positive we'll have a breakthrough in the case soon'. They've been saying that since a week after she disappeared. I know cases can sometimes be solved years later, but I hope and pray that it won't be that long, for her family and friends, so she can be found, and we can all say goodbye.

So tomorrow will be a happy day, full of excitement for my daughter, and a little sad for me and my husband, missing T. She should be here with us, calling her family, chatting with her brothers and sisters, cooking beautiful Sumatran foods. Maybe she's with us in spirit.

Good news!

I want to share some good news with you all - our chickens have finally started laying! Maybe not exciting for those who prefer the ease of buying food at a supermarket, but very very exciting for people like me, who like growing their own food, and feeding the chickens well to make the eggs tasty! Seems that just one, 'Cheeky' has started laying, a 50g beauty on Saturday, and a 57g beauty this morning. The first one was still warm when my daughter lifted it gently out of the nest box. :-) Such a nice feeling after having them, feeding them well, and seeing them grow over the last couple of months. We shared the first for our lunch, and it was delicious....so different from the usual free-range shop eggs. It was creamy and rich orange colour....yummy :-)

Been having a difficult weekend, as my daughter is really really trying to outsmart me, and control me. She is displaying behaviour I'd only expect from a very difficult teenager. I keep calm, try not to let it bother me, and try to reason with her. It does get too much at times though, and I have to just take a breather in the garden, and listen to the birds in the woods. Hoping it's just changes in her life, starting school, that have upset her usually very nice personality, and that she'll soon settle down. It better not continue until she's an adult anyway, or I may have to call 'Supernanny' or something!!

While out putting the chickens to bed tonight (locking their coop door), I put cloches over our little lettuces and flowering dwarf french beans. The weather for the next few days looks really rotten. I hope it doesn't manage to drown all the veg that we've got left. Atleast we'll still have some chillis, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers left in the greenhouse, if all else gets too much rain. Have loads of my lovely Stephanotis (Madagascan Jasmine/wedding flower) vines growing well in the greenhouse too, which I grew from seed of my fruit that grew on my original vine. Hoping that next year they'll be flowering well, producing fruit of their own, and maybe I'll be able to sell a few.

Have been slowly try to decorate our house since yesterday, for Eid, which we expect to occur tomorrow. I say 'expect', as it all depends on when my husband's family calls from Indonesia to say it's started. He only celebrates it at the same time as they do, which sometimes may differ to when most people here celebrate it. I've put up shiny silver foil stars and moons around the living room, and my daughter's been helping colour in and make lots of Eid flags to put around the house. Tomorrow will be nice, shopping for nice foods, flowers and gifts, and spending the afternoon decorating, cooking and eating and having fun together hopefully. After lots of things, I've not really felt like celebrating much, but I need it to be special and magical for my daughter, as she misses out on Christmas. As she's getting older, I want her to look forward to a really nice celebration each year, as I used to with Christmas. I do hope as she grows older, and my husband becomes more adapted here, that she'll be able to celebrate the two special days. Time will tell.

Our missing friend

It's approaching the end of Ramadhan, and it's making me and my family think more about our missing friend. This is the time of year when she'd be busy fasting, and often getting fit at the same time, getting very thin. We'd be talking about getting together for an Eid El Fitri feast, which would probably have been at her home this year, as it was at ours last. This time last year was the last time we saw her. I'd prepared foods and drinks for us, but she was still fasting at the time, so we just chatted lots about life, and how she missed her family, and wanted to go back early this year. She brought gifts for my daughter, as usual. She was so kind. We chatted about my daughter's health, her eczema and chest troubles, and T spoke of traditional ways they'd treat them in Sumatra. She stayed a few hours, but I so wish we'd had more time. There's so many things I would've loved to speak with her about.

My brother came across an old photo of her today, when looking at pictures of when my daughter was born, so I thought I'd share it with you. It was taken 3 years ago, when my daughter was just a few days old (you can see how tired I looked!).

As an update, I've not heard anything from the police for a long time now. I've written to her family, and am hoping they'll be in touch with me in time. I'm hoping they'll want to stay in touch. It's now been nearly 9 months since she disappeared.

Yesterday I held a baby not much bigger than my daughter was in that photo. She felt so beautiful, and had that lovely soft feel and smell of babies. It was lovely at the time, but left me feeling quite empty again later in the eve. I've strangely taken to holding one of my first ever soft toys in bed at night again. It seems to make me relax more, and somehow brings comfort when I'm feeling a bit lost. Crazy? Yeah, maybe.

Homegrown food

Thought I'd show a pic of our first crop of potatoes (Pentland Javelin), harvested a couple of weeks ago. Had 2 more bags since then. They are a bit crumbly if boiled, but have discovered that they're lovely as chips!

Had a good meal from our garden for lunch today. One of our last yellow courgettes, our first large green pepper, an onion, a load of spinach, a tomato and a cucumber.....all made into a stir fry! Was delicious! Homegrown food tastes SO much better than shop bought! I'd love to be completely self-sufficient, not just with food, but with energy and everything too.

Haven't much left from our spring-planted crops. Lots of chillies, peppers and cucumbers still maturing, but I think the tomatoes and courgettes are pretty much finished now. I've a tiny watermelon that looks hopeful, and a golf ball-sized pumpkin.....hopefully ready for a halloween lantern! Winter lettuces are looking good, and the dwarf french beans and peas are doing well too. Still got a couple of potato harvests left to dig up also, along with some spring onions that are looking nearly ready. Hopefully that lot will keep us going until the end of the year or early next, saving some money in the supermarket!

Going to try to dig another vegetable bed before winter too, and stick a load of horse manure on it, to get it ready for some planting in spring.

Our chickens all went inside their coop mid morning today, and stayed in for a couple of hours. We think they may be getting ready to lay. Fingers crossed! Hopefully save some money on eggs too then! I will only buy free-range eggs, but the price is double the price of caged and barn eggs. If I couldn't afford to buy them though, I couldn't resort to buying caged or barn ones though.....our chickens are so happy, I hate to think of buying eggs from chickens who don't get the same quality of life.

Ours have all got individual characters....funny! I think one of them may be partially sighted too, poor girl. She often misses food if it's in front of her, and goes off on her own.....very silly behaviour for a chicken, who should stay in the group for safety. Nice but dim.

Back to the usual theme I write about, well there's not much to say. I've my second cycle since my miscarriage, and don't feel ready to think about trying to conceive again. I'm not sure if I ever will again. I get fleeting thoughts of sadness, missing my baby still, and sadness thinking about what might have been, but until my anaemia is resolved, I can't really try for another baby anyway. So I may as well not think about it.

Have been focusing on trying to find another income or job, but as yet, still nothing. Have been keen on exploring the idea of studying a postgraduate course, but difficult to find what I want. I've been looking into what shortage professions there are here, and what I'd be capable of doing with a couple more years of study. Really keen on speech therapy, which I could do as a two year postgraduate diploma to qualify, but there are no courses within a hundred miles of me. Would have to move if I was to do it, probably to London, which I really can't even contemplate after all the recent stresses. I just feel like I need my life to be a bit calmer for a bit. London would be the last place I'd want to move to in the UK, and any move would be stressful anyway.

Maybe our new business idea will pick up soon, and I'll relax a little more with some kind of income. Here's hoping.

Asthma link

I want to show a link to something important. Months ago, my daughter started getting viral induced wheezing, later to be told that it's more likely asthma. Early on, I researched it, and found a big problem with taking paracetamol, leaving the chance of developing asthma much greater. I stopped my daughter having any from then on, and explained why to the doctor. Her response was as if I was crazy, saying it was totally safe. I'm so glad of this article now, hopefully more parents may make the same choice that I have, but earlier on, decreasing the chance of their own babies developing chest problems.

Baby paracetamol asthma concern

A poem

I'd like to share a beautiful, touching poem that a new friend has said I can put on here. My friend has suffered so much loss in her life, and her poems reflect her feelings.

Go ahead and mention my children, the ones that died-you know.
Don’t worry about hurting me further, the depth of my pain doesn’t show.
Don’t worry about making me cry, I am already crying inside.
Help me to heal by releasing, the tears I try to hide.
I’m hurt when you just keep silent, pretending they didn’t exist.
I’d rather you mention my children, knowing that they are missed.
You asked me how I was doing, I say “pretty good” or “fine”.
But healing is something ongoing, I feel it will take a lifetime.

Written by Kat.

Memorial

A beautiful idea I came across.....

http://aisha-chahaya.gonetoosoon.org/

A short poem I found

I want to add a short poem that I just read. It's touching, and brings comfort:

Those we love don't go away,
They walk beside us every day,
Unseen, unheard, but always near,
Still loved, still missed and very dear.

Strange day

What a weird day. I met with 2 heavily pregnant mothers, and I met 3 new born babies, all within the space of an hour. Strange just gazing at them, smiling, saying how beautiful they were, feeling really detached at the same time. I'm getting good at detaching myself from things, talking without meaning, so as not to feel what's really inside me. I do feel I need a good cry, but I've not felt able to for a while now. I think it needs to come out, as I'm getting quite moody and irritable. Probably because I'm not dealing with things, and I should be. Instead of staying busy, and pretending everything's normal, maybe I should give in, and just be sad for a bit longer. Only the worry of it not being very understandable to people close to me, that's really stopping me. Really shouldn't matter, but it does.

I've also been back in touch with an old school friend, which is great, but sad too, as such a lot has happened since loosing touch, and she's had a really hard time. It makes me realise that the past year has been bad, yeah, but some people have things a lot worse off. I can't say it makes what's been happening in my life any less bad or upsetting, but it does make me realise that it could be a lot lot worse, and I should be grateful that it's not.

Tiredness

I'm getting tired. Not from my very low iron levels (for a change!), but from hearing my daughter keep talking about her little brother or sister in every other conversation. She says, "I know, I could give this blah blah to my little brother or sister to play with, they'd like that!", and "when I'm older, I'll take my little brother or sister to the park, and they can play on the slide!", and "When am I going to have a little brother or sister?". I'm tired of answering and pretending it's ok, saying "If you have one, one day, that'd be nice", and "I don't know when, or if, maybe it'll happen one day." She even asked me "Why did my baby brother or sister die?". Hard one to answer, not knowing the reason, and trying to stay calm while answering too.

I sigh a lot these days, people have noticed. I'm just not sure what's going on in my head. More often than not, I feel like it'd be normal for me to want to try to get pregnant again soon, but I just don't have that feeling. I do feel that I'm missing my baby, and the dreams of when it would be born and become part of our family, and I feel I want my daughter to have a sibling soon, but I just feel a bit like I'd be replacing my baby who died, which feels wrong somehow. I know it wouldn't be like that, it'd be a whole new spirit, but I think I'm just really really confused. I'd probably be really wanting to try again if I didn't have my daughter already, it must change things.

Earlier, my daughter said "Mum, will you always be my mummy, even when I have my little brother or sister?". I said "Yes, of course, I'll always be your mum, forever, only if you had a brother or sister, you'd share me with them." My husband, who's usually quiet in these times, said "And when you have a baby brother or sister, I'll be their daddy too, and I'll cuddle them, like you, and you'll share me too". This, together with the fact he's been holding his bosses new born daughter, and has pictures of him cuddling her, makes me feel like he's wanting us to try again. I really don't know. I know he wasn't keen before I fell pregnant, although was very happy when I was. I just don't know how it'd make me feel if he did want to try for another now. It'd probably confuse me even more! (We're not the best at communicating on this issue, as you may have guessed!)

One nice thing to write though, is that after such a totally rotten year, I've booked us a family holiday to Sardinia later in the year. Feel we all need it, and really deserve it. (Don't feel we can afford it, but hey, we'll cope somehow!)

What's normal here on in?

Having a bad evening, after a reasonable day. At times I feel normal again, then at times like this I feel so so low, more depressed than I've even felt I think. I've not often felt actually depressed in my life. I've had some hard times, but this is so different. If I've felt low over love or grief of a friend or elderly relative, I've always known it was almost self-indulged, and I should just, and could just break out of it. Or drink or smoke or something to relieve the feeling. This is different though. I know there's nothing I can do to change things, and I've so much to be grateful for, but at the same time, I feel myself feeling really really low, not wanting to talk, or do anything. I just feel like going for a long long walk in the country, and sitting next to a river and watching it for hours on end, forgetting everything.I feel like going and getting a bottle of tequila and drinking myself into a dream, but I've not had a drink since I was pregnant with my daughter, nearly 4 years ago. I really feel I want to escape at the moment. It's so weird. I'll probably wake in the morning and feel normal again, keeping busy, keeping normal. I'm actually a little scared of having time to think these days. When will things feel normal again? (Sigh....)

Missing friend.....

It's been a strange week. Tuesday was the 42nd birthday of my friend, T, who's now been missing over 7 months. We put a birthday greeting in the paper to remind people of her, which spurred 4 of the local papers into writing articles about her disappearance. It's good to see their support, and help in trying to publicise the case. We really hope it helps bring something to the surface to help in the case.

Me and my mum took a lovely big bunch of flowers to the local mosque today, before Friday prayers, to help remind people that she's still missing, and still cared about. We chose some really nice stems, and put a birthday greeting message attached to them. T had lots of friends who she prayed with there. Maybe next year we'll take some to the library, which is another place she'd often visit. It's sad that her family aren't here, so we can't do anything with them to remember her. I have written to them this week though, so hoping they'll get in touch soon. I'd like to remain in contact with them, in her memory. She talked about her family in Indonesia a lot, and I'd love for us to visit them one day. I'm hoping that a letter from us will bring them comfort during this time, and that it'll show she was well loved here.

On Tuesday, I also found out that I'm anaemic. I'd had lots of blood tests and an ECG done recently, trying to find out why I'd been getting palpitations more recently over the past few months. I'd thought it was purely down to stress, but my mum said I should get it checked, so I did. Lucky I did, as my iron level is at 6, which is very low, and I'm now having to take 300mg iron, 3 times a day, for the next 4 months. Great fun! I was also told to take beta-blockers too, as the doctor thinks that I'm also suffering from anxiety, due to everything that's happened since January. Think I'll give them a miss though, and see how I get on with the iron. I read that low iron levels during pregnancy, which is what I had 3 years ago, can take up to 10 years to recover to pre-pregnancy levels, and I have been very tired over the last few years.....so I'm wondering whether my iron levels have been dropping steadily since then. I also read that anaemia can cause miscarriage. Could be why it happened. I'm glad I went to the docs, as if I'd have started trying to conceive again, not knowing I was anaemic, it's possible it could've caused another miscarriage. At least now I know, I can recover from it in a few months hopefully, and get my body and mind back on track before thinking about trying for another child.

What career am I looking for?!

So here it is, my situation, and ideas about changing it.

I've been teaching English to foreign students (EFL/ESOL) for the past few years, and think I want a change. I had been teaching in a college for 2 years, on a renewable contract, term by term, but have just quit. I did enjoy the classes, my colleagues, the position, and great wage, BUT, the hour or more drive to work was getting me down, and I was low during my miscarriage, that I said enough is enough, and quit at the end of term. I do regret making that decision when I did, but I know that the hours I'd been allocated in September weren't good, and most importantly, my priorities changed, and it just wasn't right for me.

So here I am, two months after finishing, feeling like I'm slowly getting back to feeling normal, and feeling I need an income. I feel I need to earn a minimum of £100 a week to cover food and bills, but there are some conditions to a job I'd accept. Ideally, I'd like to be doing something which isn't stressful, but can be challenging, is mornings only, and no further than 20 minutes drive away. I would LOVE to try working at home, for myself, but not sure what to do. My interests are art, culture, plants, nature, animals, music, and my degree was in Plant Sciences. I've had no post-degree experience in that field, but am open to getting some, but there's not much around. I definitely don't want to be stuck in a lab working with test tubes all day, it's not me.

Me and my husband are trying to sort out a small business working from home, but until it gets off the ground, I need a back-up plan for at least the next 6 months. I've been looking for jobs in the usual places, but there doesn't seem to be anything that comes close to what I want. I've thought about doing something like selling from magazine drops, like kleeneze type job, but selling stuff I'm more passionate about, like organic stuff. I'm just not sure that's me either though.

I know I'm lacking confidence at the moment, and need to get back out into the world of work to regain some, but to be honest, I want to be at home, caring for our daughter, growing our veg, looking after the chickens, keeping home nice. Just can't really do that on my husbands small income alone. Have been trying to come up with some kind of course I can study that will let me get a job that will be just mornings, but I just don't know where to start. If I study something, it'll take time too, and I'll still need an income while I'm studying!

So what should I try??? Any advice??