Life Update: Some Big Changes

Today I just wanted to share a bit of what has been happening in my life so that you understand why I haven’t been posting on social media or my blog very often. I like reading life updates from other bloggers because it gives an insight into the persons life behind the screen.

I was able to attend the Aussie Indie Con in June. I did two demonstrations and got lots of video footage of the day but I did pay for it severely with a health decline. I had hoped to be over that by now but unfortunately life hasn’t made it that easy. Quite a few big life events have taken place recently which have been hard on me both emotionally and physically. My mum went into hospital for a big operation just two days after I got back from Aussie Indie Con, which thankfully went well but it’s emotionally taxing to go through. And then I went into hospital for an operation which also went well, but I really struggled to recover from the general anesthetic.

Something else that happened this year was that someone tried to steal my car and in the process broke enough things to make it undriveable and insurance didn’t cover that so I have ended up without a car of my own. A car is vital to get to and from medical appointments for me as public transport is too hard when so ill, so I have had to borrow a car when needed. It’s not ideal but that’s all I can do right now. On top of that, a few weeks ago my landlord surprised me by letting me know they are selling the property I rent and that I need to move out. Finding a dog friendly rental that suits my needs was not easy. I have spent a lot of time visiting rentals trying to find one I could live in. Thankfully I have found a property but the rent is more expensive than I am paying now which will be harder to budget for. I start the move next week and I have no idea how I will get through it. My body is still recovering from being pushed too far for Indie Con and stressed out from all the big life events. I could see a healthy person struggling with all of this, but it is made even harder when my body is struggling to just get out of bed on a daily basis.

I love this blog and I hope to be able to post more often in the near future, but I am suffering from everything that is happening in my life. Unfortunately my laptop is also on it’s last legs. I can barely get the computer to load my blog, let alone write a blog post, view photos or edit the Aussie Indie Con video. I obviously do not have the money to replace it which is unfortunate as I rely a lot on my laptop to make being home bound less isolating. I still have my phone but a laptop helps a lot to keep me occupied when I’m in a lot of pain and unable to get out of bed.

And finally, I have had to give up fostering. I passed on my last foster dog last night after 15 months with her. Sandy was a very very difficult foster dog to rehabilitate. Before she came, I was told she would be a quick and easy foster dog, which is what I had requested as I didn’t have the health to do a dog that needed intense rehabilitation. Unfortunately, that was not the case. She was very aggressive to both humans and dogs. I still have the scars from the many times that she bit me, and I had to put Pickles on extra painkillers after being attacked by Sandy one too many times. Due to circumstances out of my control I was left to deal with Sandy myself, without help from the rescue. I have however had experience with aggressive dogs before and know how to rehabilitate them. So I am happy to say that Sandy is now a very well trained dog that is not using aggression to deal with life anymore. It did however take a lot out of me to train her every single day. The physical and emotional toll it has taken on me and my family has been huge. I really wish I could have helped find her a forever home but there’s no way I could do a move with her, so I needed to pass her on to another carer. She is however such a well trained dog now, so I hope a home comes for her soon and that the next people do the right thing by her. Because of everything that we went through with Sandy I’ve had to make the decision to stop foster caring. It was such a hard decision to make as I have invested 7 years into rehabilitating rescue dogs but I can’t risk getting another another dog that needs extensive rehabilitation when my level or health is so low. I am going to struggle to deal with feelings of being useless. At least when foster caring, I feel like I am able to do something to make the world a better place, so I don’t know how I’ll deal without that. Unfortunately, it is now at the stage that my health is so bad that my body has forced me to make this decision. I do hope I can be healthy enough one day so that I don’t have to always be forced into decisions based on my low level of health. I am still trying to fundraiser to get to Cyprus which will help to give me a chance at a healthy life, but it’s not going so well. You can always see my fundraiser at www.youcaring.com/alinta. I do update the fundraiser when I can but I’m struggling to get people to share it and get the fundraiser in front of a wider amount of people. If you have ideas on how I can fundraise from bed with little effort, please let me know.

As for my blog, I have so much to share with you. I have skincare product blog posts, a great post on Milia removal, natural makeup brand reviews and lots more to write about and upload. I’m hoping I will have more energy soon so that I can get them done. I really like writing reviews but more than that, I love showcasing cruelty free brands and showing great alternatives to products tested on animals. The first cruelty free blogger awards will be coming up very soon too, I’m really hoping my blog is nominated in the cruelty free beauty blogger category (keeping my fingers crossed). I will also be helping to pick the winners for the areas of eco/green blogger, ethical fashion blogger and vegan food blogger. I can’t wait to find more great blogs to read.

So that’s a brief summary of what has been happening in my life lately. It has been very stressful but I’m trying hard to focus on the positives rather than the negatives. I hope to be settled into the new house soon and be posting lots of new blog posts. Hopefully life will start to get easier soon, but until then, please bear with me.