I think that if you have a long term health issue, you are going to have days where you just want to dive under the covers and not move. Even with my efforts to remain positive and pragmatic about things, when I have a rubbish day due to pain or my asthma being difficult, I do have the urge to curl up, turn off everything and just try and muddle through. The thing no one ever warns you about is that sometimes things aren't going to go the way you want to them to and there are times when you will feel the sting. 

Today was one of those I think. I woke up feeling out of sorts and it never really got much better as the day went on. I've been feeling like crap while fighting this fungal infection and it's been one of the hardest to kick off. I'm on my last couple of weeks of itraconazole and I'm hoping that this feeling I've got is like the infection's last stand before it leaves. It had started to affect other parts of my body as well which was not nice at all, I'm pretty sure that the worst parts of the skin are now scarred and it took a while to flush my waterworks (although giving up regularly drinking fizzy drinks has helped, a lot with that and my Crohns hasn't been so painful either so that's good) but it's not going to win this one. 

I recently gave up on fizzy as I noticed how expensive a habit it was and how much of a waste of money it was too. When I moved in to my bungalow, that new year I had resolved to cut energy drinks from my diet completely, after all, they are really bad for you and all the caffeine was probably part of the sleep problems I have. I'll admit that the withdrawals from it were tough and I had headaches for a few weeks. There were times when I wanted to say "Sod it" and to and buy a crate but I'm glad I didn't. And now I'm not even drinking things like Coke or other fizzy pop on a regular basis, I'm noticing a few things. My teeth look better and I'm much less jittery, my stomach isn't full of gas so I'm not so distended around the gut and my moods are stable too (I asked a doctor about this before, they said that energy drinks can have a profound effect on certain parts of bipolar, especially manic episodes). 

I did have an interesting phone call from the oxygen nurses. Basically if you're on home oxygen they send someone in regularly to review you, make sure you're not over or under using your oxygen equipment and that what you have is fitting your needs. Home oxygen is a delicate thing because if it's mismanaged then it can actually do more harm than good. My nurse and I spoke at length about the issues at night, some of which include desaturation and sleep apnoea, which was never formally investigated and they had only had what info they could get over a year ago which wasn't even accurate as it was when a consultant was actually trying to ignore my conditions and refusing to listen to me, other consultants or nurses. Funnily enough the prat doesn't work for the trust now so we've looked in to what and why things happen the way that they have. I'm glad we did, even though it was difficult and it's brought about some life changing results but it was ultimately a huge "I told you so" moment. In fact, they now have the information and clinical indication that the stupid guy tried to cover up. It was a bit of a hollow victory though because it kind of removed any kind of doubt or deniability on everyone's part. I just hope that this will lead to something being done to help and maybe even getting a decent night's sleep for a change. 

Last night was anything but decent. I was coughing up stuff. To be honest, it is nothing really that strange in itself but it was more in quantity than usual. I literally felt like I was trying to cough up a lung or two and it did get (and still is) very painful so I have had to be careful today and keep up doses of pain meds and other things to make sure that this causes as little bother as possible. The problem is that I am physically and mentally worn out and just want to curl up and sleep, which is difficult when you're in pain. I'm a little worried that a ride with the men in green may be on the horizon but I'll do what I can before I let that happen. Especially as it's someone's​ birthday this weekend and I want to make it the happiest I can. 

Loves

Wendy xx

Tough Week, More than likely to continue

Ever feel like you're chasing your own tail when you're trying hard to work around certain personality flaws or issues. I am very aware and I know that I suffer from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and NO, it isn't just an obsession with cleaning) and it manifests itself in ways that are a little bit odd for most people to understand. A part of my personal OCD (apart from the excess use of hand sanitiser) is that I am always apologising to people for everything from moving slightly (because I think that I inconvenienced them) to simply asking for help or for a drink or something (because in my mind I always think "Who are YOU to ask anything of anyone. You don't deserve help.") and its even happened as a result of calling 999 during my asthma attacks. It's a tic I've developed as a child that has never really gotten better.

It's annoying. It's frustrating. It even makes me aggressive towards myself if I try to stop it (I have been known to self harm from pinching myself to slashing my arm open with a huge knife.) and it's sometimes hard to prevent. It's like, if I don't keep apologising. I am scared of something bad happening.Usually because when I was a kid, when I didn't apologise constantly to one of my brothers I was "taught a lesson" or "disciplined" in any way that he saw fit. I don't really want to go in to the full story as I find a lot of it is hard to think of, even now after 16+ years but it left a mark on me, inside and out. Its hard to think about and its hard to even put in to words because I know that it makes some situations more likely and there are people out there who have taken advantage of this. Usually when it involves them gaining money or possessions from my vulnerability and my own generally wanting to avoid being "punished" again.

I won't go in to that now as it isn't really worth chewing over again and again, I would much rather keep on moving on with life because it's a better way around things. Besides, it annoys the people who try and make you out to be the "bad one" all the more if you keep moving with your head held high! I made an active decision nearly 6 years ago now that I would not let anyone make me a victim. I've moved on so much over the last few years and to be honest and most of that has come from when I left the old place and moved in to the bungalow and it has just gone from strength to strength since Jace moved in and our lives became shared with each other. To be honest, when I left the flat that last time, it was like closing the door on a chapter of my life and I've improved mentally since leaving it behind. I think my aim in things is to keep striving forward, learn from the mistakes (and I've made my share over my 29 years) and not repeating them. People who hurt me are out of my life for good and they aren't ever going to get back in. To put it bluntly, to let someone who made you feel that way back in to your life is like scooping a poop out of a toilet and pushing it back up your bottom! You just wouldn't do it. Or I would hope!

It isn't just the mental stuff that has given me trouble recently. I think it's just the fact that I have had a really bad infection and that I have been feeling a bit worn out by the smallest things (typical for me when I get these kinds of infections really) and it is just taking a toll on me a little. That's OK though, infections take time to heal from. I was also thrown a bit of a curveball by my review with the respiratory nurses at the hospital. To cut a long story short, we needed to work out what was happening with my oxygen levels and in a weird way redefine the clinical indications for my oxygen (it got a bit muddled as there wasn't a lot of data to go by from recent tests, actually parts of my records went missing and the nurses were using old instructions to work out what the doctors wanted, it's embarrassing that they quote one letter a year before they saw me and I had seen the consultant since then, no copies of EDS and a great deal of inaccurate information) and general breathing when I sleep. I snore. I snore terribly sometimes and I'll be honest, it is really embarrassing because it is so loud. The other problem which Jace (and other people have pointed out, but why this was never looked in to I have NO idea, think someone dropped the ball here) that I stop breathing in my sleep.

Annoying thing is that I had to ask for the study to be done just so that we had the evidence of what I have been saying for years. The study we did pointed to low oxygen levels at night and sleep apnea. I wanted this sleep study done because I wanted to put things in line and get everyone singing off the same song sheet. Now if only my CT scan from 2 years ago had more available to view than a 1 line report saying that I don't have bronchiectasis and this was all shared with Heartlands (other than copies of the test results that I brought to them) as well as the planned admission which they wanted to do 2 years ago (but haven't had a bed spare), we could be well on the way to a more effective treatment plan and a vast improvement​ in my quality of life. I don't want to be tethered to this and that and I would give anything to be tube free.

SA is basically where for whatever reason the airways collapse when you fall asleep and your lungs are working extra hard to supply your body with oxygen. The body does counter this in the way of making you wake up a little (often with a rather harsh snort) and the result is that you don't get enough decent sleep. Obviously this in itself has its own set of issues and not sleeping can really have a dramatic effect on your physical and mental stamina . The nurse explained that because of my lungs being as they are and now this, it's like I'm not able to charge my batteries so I'm pretty much like a laptop that can't​ hold a charge. So that explains why my oxygen levels take a nosedive at night and I wake up feeling like I hadn't slept, which of course exacerbates my other conditions and it becomes almost like a domino effect. Because everything feels worse when you haven't had a good night's sleep. So once the doctors decide the best plan for me, I will be starting on CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure, a type of non invasive ventilator which will involve me wearing a mask that will force my lungs to stay open). I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't bothering me but this is life changing but I have to see this as a step forward rather than a setback.

Loves
Wendy xx

Keeping Busy

So, just lately my intestines seem to want to wriggle their way out of my belly button. For 5 weeks now I have been having pains whenever I eat anything and have spent hours on the "throne" trying to get rid of this feeling. It has been like I was trying to digest boulders and I felt everything move from the top, right round to the bottom which in a word was awful. So then I discussed with the doctor who said "well we did say we suspected Crohns and this certainly supports the diagnosis and the tests you had done". I'm being given another medication to help with the spasms and stomach pains and to make food easier to tolerate but this is a problem which I have been warned can wax and wane at any point, a bit like my asthma actually.

On top of that, I then find out that the fungal pneumonia is back (I get issues with this often if I'm run down). We  took a sample of the gunk to the doctor and he listened to my chest before saying "You have another acute infection." There has been a bacterial aspect as well and I have been on a grueling course of antibiotics as well as starting on a course of strong antifungal medication to clear the rubbish. Theres been a bit of blood in the stuff I have been coughing up but that usually means that I have been coughing a lot and that inside my airways is sore. It isn't a pleasant thing to experience and it does make me feel quite washed out and tired. It takes time to clear as well and it can also cause other complications as a result. I'm not overly concerned at the moment though as I am holding my own at least but it is starting to wear me down a bit more than I would like to admit.

So I have been a bit quiet recently because I have been spending a lot of time just lying in bed trying to shift this rubbish, although my Opus 1 booster pack box did provide me with some welcome distraction to it all. I am a bit of a TCG junkie these days and I find not just the games to be wonderful but I like collecting the cards as well. I've been cultivating a rather lovely collection of the Opus 1 series and am readily awaiting next month when Opus 2 hits. There looks to be some things that both of us want from the set and of course I do intend on completing my collection of Opus 1 cards too, but that is something to work on and of course it keeps me occupied as well. I am poud of my collection folder but its something that we can enjoy doing together. I have also started to sell cards that I don't need or have loads of. This way generates a small income which I can use to get more cards, kind of like paying for themselves. Getting myself a little reputation for being a good seller too.  Collecting trading cards is something Jace and I share with each other. Between us, we have a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh and Final Fantasy cards. His deck of choice is based on Final Fantasy X and mine on Final Fantasy VII and we are proud of our decks and we love how much fun the game is. Cards of much loved characters and it's still growing. .

I was supposed to get my new wheelchair, but there was a clerical snag BUT we are now just waiting for that last bit of notification to say "Approved" and that should be done in the next few days. The chair is built, tested and ready. Because I am on enhanced rates for both my PIP components (PIP is broken down in to 2 components, mobility and care), I am entitled to use the Motability scheme. To someone who doesn't know, Motability is offered to people who get the enhanced rate of the mobility component to lease either a car, scooter or powered wheelchair. You get a lease for 3 years so you don't own the chair, but this does mean that any issues you have can be resolved a LOT easier and after 3 years you are offered an upgrade (if you are still entitled) and when your lease ends and you continue with them, you get a bonus as well. So that is kind of nice. The new chair is basically a few models better than my current chair. I have a Karma Ergo-Traveller at the moment and it has served me beautifully. The new chair is a Karma Falcon which has a number of brilliant things that it does, such as the way you can move the armrests to allow ease to get in and out as well as kerb walkers and an oxygen bottle holder. Things that to someone like me make a difference. 

Although on reflection, these things also serve as a stark reminder that I am one of the "lucky ones" whose PIP was sorted almost immediately and without any kind of problems. Then again it is probably hard to deny that my disabilities do have a profound effect on my life and how I live, I know this. I have had to accept this. I hate it when people assume that people with disabilites are a certain way. Like if you aren't in a wheelchair then you can't be disabled or that people with anxiety are all just "taking pills and staying at home" (such an offensive thing to claim) and certain illnesses "can't be THAT bad because [insert name here] has [insert condition] and -THEY- get along just fine..." I suppose ignorance is bliss really.

So where this leaves me now, well I am just doing what needs doing, resting and keeping on top of my meds and trying to keep my asthma from flaring up. Yesterday was awful and I am really suffering for it today but knowing me, I will find something nostalgic to watch on YouTube, snuggle down and carry on working on my own Terraria "Railway" idea. I was inspired recently by the adventures of a certain blue tank engine and well, since I started work on it, I haven't been able to put my project down! I spent nearly an entire day crafting this out of materials and I have to say that I am really pleased with how it turned out. Even down to the use of marble for the face and the gold number 1.

Loves

Wendy xx

Overwhelmed

One thing I have learned through the last few years was that if there was nothing to worry about, usually they don't push for follow up. No news is often good news. I think its a bit of  a worry when something comes back from a test, especially when it is related to my respiratory health. My lungs aren't getting better, and I know all too well that there's a distinct possibility that they never will. Does this scare me? Of course, but it makes me more angry than anything. But it also makes me determined to defy the odds as I already have. The doctor was sure I would never get to 25 and here I am, still here.

I'm sometimes angry because I see all the people I went to school with, they are living their lives, be that from getting married, ticking off items off their "bucket list", travel or parenthood. I feel angry that because of this disease and the things that made that worse, I probably won't know too many of my dreams. I don't blame people for having wonderful lives, in fact to follow some of the people I grew up with and seeing them as they are now is amazing. I guess the thing was that at 29, I didn't ever expect to be constantly battling chest infections, struggling to even breathe or do every day things. I definitely didn't expect to be disabled to the point where I am practically stuck in a wheelchair and relying on oxygen and nebuliser medication. Maybe it isn't really anger, maybe its a little bit of jealousy because my life didn't pan out the way theirs did but that doesn't take away from everything I have managed to achieve in life so I suppose it balances out.

I don't see the "enhanced rate" of PIP as some kind of bonus. I don't actually WANT to have to have extra money from the government, yes it helps but it also makes me feel sad. Sad that I have to rely on this kind of thing because I can't go out and do the things I want to do. I like to work. I like to keep busy. I hate it when people tell me how "lucky" I am to get high rate disability benefits. I'm not lucky. I'm anything but. I hate it when people say "Oh well, I wish I could get as much as you get on benefits" but it only fuels the anger I feel inside. It makes me even angrier when people attempt to take advantage of me but that is a whole other kettle of fish.

So recently I had a sleep study done. This basically involved me having to sleep while wearing 2 pieces of monitoring equipment. One was to measure the respiratory output while I slept, including how much effort my body makes to breathe, air flow and whether or not my poor sleep recently is down to my lungs basically not liking to work anymore. My lung function is around 30-40% on a good day and on a bad day it is closer to 20-30%. That is scary because it doesn't hit home until you attempt to do some seemingly normal activity and then it knocks you for six. You never realise that something as basic as brushing your hair or taking a shower can be exhausting. Basically I may have to have a machine to help me breathe at night although my oxygen levels at night were also something of interest, I will find this out in March. The main thing I am concerned about is the results of a sputum culture that I had done last week. The results came back quickly (which they always told me was a bad sign) and they have called to discuss this. I feel a little wary as to what was found but in a way maybe that is a good thing because if they know the enemy, so to speak, they know the best way to fix it.

So right now I am struggling with an infection of Candida in my lungs and a heavy flu. With brittle asthma as well, this makes for a really vile cocktail in terms of how it makes you feel. I ache. I feel hot/cold. Sweaty and shivery and of course totally sapped of energy. Basically to put it in words, it feels rubbish but to be honest, at least we can get something sorted and after some help I will be back on my feet in no time at all!

Loves
Wendy xx

Its overwhelming really because there is so much already going on and I really can't stop what is happening altogether and focus on one thing, it just doesn't work that way. It's all come at once really and I feel kind of powerless to do anything about it. I know that I have to keep going and push through it but I feel like I just want to sleep for a month or so.

No Quick Fixes...

Although my asthma usually spends most of the time in the limelight (as it is my most dominant and severe condition), there are times when other conditions I suffer with can show me how much of a pain they can be. My health isn't a simple case of "take this pill and get better" and I know this. In fact, there aren't any "easy" answers to all of this and this is something I have had to learn to live with. Even if it seems harsh and unfair. The worst thing about a lot of conditions I have is that there aren't any magic cures to make it better and often it comes down to just managing it and firefighting the symptoms as they occur.

Right now, it is one of my lesser conditions that is causing me a bit of grief. Since I was 17, I have had a condition that a lot of women have called "PCOS" or Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome. Basically it means that my ovaries become covered in cysts. Some of these are harmless and go away but lately, I have had a particularly bad one on my right ovary. This one seems to be aggravating my IBS (Irratable Bowel Syndrome) and as a result, I can't really face the idea of eating as it feels like rocks going through my gut. There are other issues around it as well but as you can imagine, theres only a certain degree of graphic that I think should be here. Lets just say this, I am glad for the grab bars in my bathroom or I would have nothing to grasp during particularly painful moments!

Having IBS means that of course, I have to be careful of certain foods that "trigger" the issue. Dairy seems to be the big one for me and often eating milk or dairy can result in some volatile reactions, cramping and (embarrassingly) wind. It can sometimes be so severe that I would happily eat nothing at all for a few days than have to suffer the pain of actually digesting food. This has been a bit of an issue recently and as a result I feel run down and really not well in myself. It doesn't help that my mind is giving me issues as well and I have spent the last month constantly apologising to people (mostly to Jace, even for something innocent enough like reaching over to get something or just moving slightly).  It is a bad habit of mine and I think it is a part of me thinking that I did something wrong when I probably didn't. I get very upset with myself more than anything I think.

When I get run down, that's when my asthma really gives me cause for worry. I think that my general health is off colour at the moment and this worries me quite a lot as there is so much going on around me at the moment too. I kind of feel like I can't get this right and that I am unworthy of anything, my personal confidence is currently down but I am trying my best to make this better. Even if it seems hard at times. I'm trying to find positives in things even on days where I would sooner just crawl in to a hole and there are days like that when things just seem to mount up. I feel at ease now because the things that I was concerned about are sorted and things are getting better. Thats the thing about life, as many curveballs as it throws, it also throws good stuff your way too, you just have to keep your chin up and remember that you have beaten things before. You will beat them again.

Oh, and give yourself something to look forward to. For me, its the Sephiroth promo foil card that Jace helped me negotiate with a seller for. There were only 60 non-foils given out and about 20 foils so this card is rare, its beautiful and its going to enhance my deck in ways that we could only dream of! Of course this also means that I now one of each Sephiroth card currently available!

Loves
Wendy xx

Loose Ends.

I finished my home IVs today and to be honest I am both glad and a little concerned. We no longer have to worry about dangling lines, sore IV sites and the eventual pain of when the vein says "nope" and shuts down entirely. The thing is, I am not magically better which is what I am struggling with, the idea that my "baseline" has changed and things aren't bouncing back the way they were. This actually terrifies me because although I know that I am not as young as I was and my body has had to deal with so much over the last 8 years, it doesn't make it any less real.

People always say things like "You're too young..." and "I've never seen someone with your conditions at your age...." and I don't find comfort in that. I don't like it when people are overly sympathetic, I think that Squall from Final Fantasy 8 said it best when he said "Sympathy is a burden I don't need." and in all honesty, I don't need it. I don't WANT it. It doesn't make things better, nor does it change the fact that things are as they are. You see a lot of what they call "catfish" (people who try and lure others in with sob-stories and try and gain sympathy/relationships/even material gain) in support groups and it makes me angry. I get annoyed because these people are so wrapped up in their own fictitious misery that they waste the perfectly good opportunities out there.  Maybe they are caught up in a kind of Munchausen's by proxy or mental health issues, I don't know, but lying about something and praying on a group of already vulnerable people is just awful.

Sympathy isn't the same as friendship.

Yes, it is nice that people show concern over me and I do see the good intentions but I often remind them that they don't have to feel bad for me. I don't feel bad for myself because I know that in some way I am making a difference somewhere. Even if it is by someone reading my blog (and I have had so many emails from people saying how they enjoy it and how it helps them) or Twitter feed.

I am not alone.

I am trying to do something positive. I publish this blog as a way of showing people that just because my body is giving me issues, doesn't mean that I am over and done with. It just means that I am more determined to keep proving myself as a person. I hate it when people who are genuinely sick have to go to great lengths sometimes to validate their lives or "prove" their conditions. It's bad enough that we have to live with it without anyone making that harder for whatever reason. I don't get why someone would want that kind of attention, personally, I hate it. I don't like people fussing over me and I like to get things done without complaining about how bad it was. If I posted on Facebook every single time I had a twinge of pain or a cough it would be the most depressing thing ever.

Instead, I try and think of good things to post about. Like the antics of the guinea pig/s (at the moment we only have one pig as Kaiba left us last week) or a project or game I am playing. I try and keep the good, positive things up because I want people to read my feed and see that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that there are things that can break through the harshness of having health problems. My advice for other people is always "don't let yourself become your condition." and it is something I do my best to keep up with myself. I have asthma, it doesn't have me. It doesn't consume my life and it isn't the only thing I think about. I don't over-analyse everything and obsess over monitoring (because that can only lead to paranoia and hypochondria). I try and enjoy my hobbies and post about those.

Right now, our latest thing has been the Final Fantasy TCG. Jace has a deck based on the Final Fantasy X set and I have Final Fantasy VII (of course). Right now I am working on different variants of the VII deck (Starter, Classic, Remake, Crisis and Advent) which will grow in time as more cards are released. I did however treat myself to a Final Fantasy VII Advent Children playmat and sleeve set which look absolutely incredible! Typical high quality as well that you would expect from Square Enix and the sleeves are amazing as well.

Sleeves on decks whether it be Yu-Gi-Oh! or Final Fantasy are important as you are handling the cards, shuffling them (and if you're brave enough to let others shuffle as well) and generally potentially leaving your cards (some of which can be worth staggering amounts of money e.g Legend Dissidia Sephiroth in holofoil can fetch up to £50 on eBay, I was lucky really with that one, I pulled a non foil and got a foil for a bit cheaper as the seller didn't realise what they were selling) to become bent, ragged and completely wrecked. Its a shame when you see a deck that has been completely ragged half to death by it's owner and the cards are so beaten up that they are coming apart, literally. Especially when you see how beautiful they once were. Obviously I keep all my cards sleeved (each deck has a sleeve set so theres no way of "marking cards or rigging what comes out) because I want to take care of them. I want them to last longer and I want people to see them when they are antiques and say "wow, look at the care these have been given."

Maybe it's because I was raised to appreciate things. When something broke when I was a kid, we didn't automatically get a new one. We had to repair what we had and treat things with care and respect. I think that a lot of our "throwaway" culture has come from kids being spoilt and things being automatically replaced once they were broken by rough handling or improper use. We don't just do it with toys or other things either, it seems that people even do it with living creatures as well. I could go on about it but at the end of the day, what will that do? I guess I want to inspire people to respect the things they have and, especially at this time of year, the people/pets in their lives because you can't just replace them that easily.

Loves
Wendy xx

Rough Week...

Treatment for certain conditions can be confusing. Heck, I find my asthma as confusing as anything else and its weird, not even the doctors or nurses really understand it and why its being so difficult. Basically for years it has been bounced around more times than a rubber bouncy ball between different doctors, nurses, hospitals and everywhere else in between. 

Since October, there has been a bit of a spike in my usage and that in itself could a sign of things being out of whack and something that needs desperately looking in to. Why are things so much more difficult at the moment? I have no idea, I have constant infections near enough and I am struggling with things like getting up and going for a pee (yes, going for a pee is actually quite physical apparently) or even eating/drinking.

When I was started with o2, I was given it to use as I was generally going around and doing my thing. Up to 16 hours per day and not at night. Then several admissions and several different people saying different things later they then said that I as probably benefiting from it overnight but, as usual another person disagrees and it all goes up in the air again (excuse the pun) and as usual the respiratory nurses leave everyone baffled. Lather, rince, repeat. The one thing that has come of all the confusion is that we finally are getting the sleep study done by the local hospital. I'm not 100% sure on how this will go but if we can get concrete evidence then that's our lives made easier.

At the moment though I'm pretty much in quarrentine as I'm on home IVs. Basically no going out and limiting people coming in, not because of what I could give but because of what I could catch, especially with an open IV line (basically direct access to my bloodstream) and the impact that could have on me. It hasn't been plain sailing either due to my twitchy veins and the fact that I am just so tired as well (apparently getting up at 4 in the morning to neb and clear rubbish off my chest is becoming a norm for us). Jace has been wonderfully patient as always and he has been helping so much with the management of my illnesses and keeping my spirits up as well. 

We lost one of our pigs this week as well which was sad really. Kaiba had a number of health complications himself and had developed an eye ulcer which his poor little body just couldn't fight anymore. It was heartbreaking as he fought as hard as he could to get through it but unfortunately, he passed away knowing he was loved and that in doing so, the pain would be over and he would be free. Unfortunately that has left us with a guinea pig shaped hole to fill and Yugi needs a new friend, something we will be sorting out after Christmas. Until then he has been lapping up extra attention and fuss as well as being given plenty of things to nibble and enjoy. He is a good little pig really, he just needs some company as guinea pigs are social animals by nature. It's never easy when you lose a pet, this is the first one we've lost since moving here but I think that deep down, it was the best thing for Kaiba as he was going to lose that eye and would have never survived afterwards.

I guess that other than Jace and I getting in to a new game, there hasn't really been much going on here. I will write a bit more on the new game we discovered, the Final Fantasy Opus TCG game (the cards... just wow....) but for now, I think I shall leave it here and see where the next week takes us. 

Loves

Wendy xx