@#*$€*%#¥$*

I often find myself writing these posts when I'm not feeling so good so I'm going to begin by talking about how good the last 2 months have been.

I've just had the most active summer I have had in years. When the kids were off school we went out everyday on their bikes, to the park to the beach and on the weekends when Ben was home we ventured further afield, exploring castles, different beaches, towns. It was wonderful to be able to do so much!

Since the girls went back to school 3 weeks ago I've been able to sort through the house, garage, loft, finally sorting through years worth of junk, getting rid of tons and re organising what's left. Putting finishing touches to rooms. I cannot begin to describe how satisfying this has been.

But then I caught a cold, I pushed through for a week and carried on, but this last week I have had an almighty crash. I have no energy, mega brain fog, my body temp is all over the place, I've got a horrid headache I can't shift and have been feeling nauseous all week. 

I haven't had any choice but to give in and rest as best I can. It is just so frustrating, infuriating, depressing, not knowing how long this crash will last. Will I wake up fine tomorrow or is this back to square one for total rebuild?

Yes that sounds pessimistic but it is hard not to be. 

I had been doing so well I had even started thinking about the possibility of working again. I haven't worked in almost 8 years. 

I'll stop my moaning now, everyone has bad days, mine are nothing special. Please send positive thoughts my way and excuse my general on another planetness. 

Electric Mayhem!

You may remember Kermit, Kermit was my lifeline when my eldest started school. It was the only way I could ferry her to and from school. It was a way to get out of the house without being reliant on others.
For a very long time even with the help of Kermit I was still a quivering wreck by the end of the week most weeks.

Kermit spent 3 years with us doing the school run, but with both girls there now and getting bigger (now 7&5) it was becoming apparent that they were getting too big to be on the back.

So back to the drawing board we went. I am a lot better (most of the time) than I was 3 years ago when we got Kermit, but I'm still not up to the walk on a twice daily basis and still have big ups and downs. I wasn't keen on an electric bicycle, still don't want a mobility scooter or a car... Hmm, how about a scooter, an electric one at that?

Well first I ordered one of those "electric scooters" which are basically a kids scooter. It took me a whole 100yrds before it gave up. Then I ordered the adult version which weighed in at 40kgs and quite frankly looked scary, so we sent that back. 

Then I came across adult kick scooters. It was a revelation. Basically a bicycle that you stand on, so I challenged my husband to convert one to electric for me! 

We had lots of hurdles a false start or two, but I have now been riding around on it since the end of July!

My girls discovered a love of cycling this summer and together we racked up about 80 miles through the holidays, it was amazing to be able to leave the house with them and for them to come back more tired than me (well once maybe)!

Now school has started back the girls can ride, scoot or walk to school and I can safely ride along behind them keeping them safe, perfect!
I'm not sure how enthusiastic they will be when the cold wet weather sets in, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

So Kermit has now gone to a new home where it is still getting plenty of use and is much loved by the new owners.

So without further ado let me introduce "Electric Mayhem"!

M.E. Awareness Month

May is ME Awareness month, more specifically May 12th is ME Awareness day. 

This is the time when many ME sufferers do a giant push of fundraising and awareness building. This year there are many fundraising ideas out there, but I couldn't decide what to do.

Shall I be a princess? #teamprincess

Should I shave my head? 

Oh hang on, I did that one.

Or how about a superhero? #undiesontheoutside

I could wear my ME Association attire...

Or I could GO BLUE! #goblueforME

As you can see I have had a play with all of the above (it was a lot of fun!)

In case you missed it, last May I was a princess, and back in September I shaved my head, all to raise funds for the ME Association and awareness of this horrible illness.

Why you ask? Because I have personally given 6 years of my life to ME. Others have given far more. There is currently no cure for ME, and no reliable treatment plan. Funding for research, support and generally more understanding is much needed.

So please share this blog, my fundraising page https://www.justgiving.com/goblue and as many of my photos that you see. I want as many people as possible out there to know what M.E. is.