Yes, it is raining pretty hard here at the moment.  Of course it is, we are moving house after all, and it always rains then.

Last night, it rained pretty much nonstop and it hasn’t let up at all today.  Our backyard is a swimming pool, which probably means a fence is going to have to be built around it to keep council happy! LOL.  Let’s not go there about pool fencing regulations, because we could be here all night.

The radio has just informed us that the Mary River (the only one in Australia to run from the South to the ...

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Yes, I have been absent for a few days.  My apologies for that.  Actually, no, I'm not sorry for not being here to bug you all, because there has been a lot going on here the last week.

Let me start by breaking down my title into what is what:

Bad News:  My absence from the internet in general is to continue.  I have a lot of other things to be doing at the moment, and not enough time to do them in.  But, that doesn't mean I don't want to be here haunting you all.

Good News:  After my last blog, and the stress of possibly becoming homeless, I am proud to report...wait for it...you better be sitting down for this one!!!!! WE ARE MOVING!!!!!!  Yes, Department of Housing did receive my citizenship certificate (a huge thanks to my babiest sister of all!!!!!!  Yay for a day off Uni!!!).  Les rang them on Thursday to see if it had been received, and it had, so much running around and more stress insued.  The end result being we now have the keys to the house that will be ours for the next 15+ years!

Stuff Ups:  Ah yes, apart from the near tragic loss of home, there was a huge mistake made on the part of DoH.  You see, we were supposed to pick up the keys to a rather run down and typically Government Housing style house, only to be told when we went to get the keys that that house had already been given to someone else.  Uh oh, what did that mean for us?  All good, they gave us the keys to the other house that was available, and we went to hunt for the house.

Well, driving up the road to our new abode (hey, that rhymes! lol), we were looking for a dingy, run down, typically Government Housing style house, so much so, we were out whoop whoop way before we new it and had missed the house.  A U-turn, and some backtracking, we found the house.

Are you still sitting down?  THE HOUSE IS A 3 YEAR OLD, VERY MODERN, VERY BIG AND VERY UPMARKET LOOKING HOUSE!!!!!!  I wanted to cry!  But, only becuase the house we are in now is about to collapse (termites have moved in-owner won't do anything about it).  Our new permenant home is in one of the upmarket and newish areas of Gympie!!!!!  Not at all what we expected, but a very welcome surprise! 

A fully fenced house (back yard and front yards fenced seperately), an inside proper laundry, 4 smallish bedrooms (has to be one draw back), built in robes in the girls rooms and a walk in robe in ours.  Other features include not 1, but 2 toilets!!!!  Now we don't need a roster system for toilet use!!!  In addition to the main bathroom, we have an ensuite!!!!!!!.  Something which we are very greatful for is screens on all doors and windows!!!!  Proper security screens too, which means being able to have doors/windows open without providing an invitation for all the blood suckers in the neighbourhood.  Huge windows and doors allow for lots of light (and blinds are provided), meaning I can once again be working without having to rely on electric (or candle light) lights. 

The biggest, bestest feature of all is the fact we can let the girls loose outside and be able to watch them from the living rooms, or our bedroom!!!!  A dream come true.  Yes, there is room in the old house for them to run amock, but...it still isn't safe.  Being a highset house, the risk of stair related injuries is high.  Also, the front gates don't close properly.  The new house means we will spend much of our time OUTSIDE UNDER THE PATIO COVER ENJOYING LIFE!!!

Les is rapt with a super modern kitchen, which might also encourage me to start cooking!  Woo hoo!  No more fighting the oven to cook a roast or to stop it from burning said roast (even when only set to 120 degrees C- 5 mins after turning the oven on).

And Janice, while they aren't right on our doorstep, we can at least see kangaroos from our driveway, which is one of the benefits of living so close to a golf course.  Yes, 2 of them grazing away about 50m away from us!!!!!  The real hoot of our new address is that the road is called Corella Road.  They might as well have called it Galah Road! Yep, appropriate for our family I think!

Controlled Chaos:  Due to the fact we have to vacate our old home, there is much fluttering and heaving, and grunting and 'uh-oh's' going on here.  Moving home (not house, but home, I am not a snail!) comes with lots of chaos, but I swear, it is under control! Honest it is!!!!!  Anyone in the Gympie area want to come and open gates for me so I don't have to keep hoping over them while carrying heavy boxes? lol.

Yes, we are moving.  Yes, the stress and upset to begin with was worth it.  Yes, everything does work out for the best.  Yes, I will be here when I can, as much as I can, but I do have to keep pushing myself to get us moved too!

So, can you tell I'm excited?  Can you tell how alive I am right now?  My heart is racing and I have butterflies in my stomache, which haven't moved since Thursday.

Arrrgggghhh!

Dept. of Housing called today.  They have a house for us (only taken 2 years).  Have to fax through all our ID, which they already have about 100 copies of.  Les goes to the courthouse and faxes it away.

They call back. 

DoH: Um, we have your birth certificate, but you were born in New Zealand.

Me:  Yes, I was. 

DoH:  We need your citizenship certificate or immigration papers.

Me:  Problem.  My mum has them and she is refusing to let me have copies.

DoH:  We need them or we will have to make your application for housing assistance not valid.

Me:  But how do I get a copy without getting it from my mum?

DoH:  Not our problem

Me:  Centrelink has about 20 copies of it

DoH: Can you get me a copy from them?

Me: No, it is in Brisbane and we are in Gympie, they keep saying they will but no such luck.

DoH:  Well, you have until Friday (this week) before we cancel your application.

I get off the phone to him and burst into tears because my mum has time and time again refused to get me a copy of our citizenship certificate, and I need it to get photographic ID to get my own certificate made.  It is catch 22!!!!

Txt her explaining the situation.  Sends a txt back saying she has already done it!!!???  Ok, so when is she planning on send it upto me so I can start making my existance legal?

Verdict is, she will fax a copy of the notorized copy to DoH tomorrow for me and then send the notorized copy upto to me.  But we'll see.  My mum has a habit of saying she will do these things, and then doesn't do them.

And, if I don't get that certificate to him by Friday, not only will our DoH application be torn up, but we will lose the house we are renting now.  We currently rent through a community rent scheme while we wait for  a DoH house.  Eligibility for community rent scheme is that you are on waiting list for DoH assistance.  DoH needs what?  Proof of my citizenship.  Who has that? My mum.  What is the outcome of this all going to be if that certificate doesn't make it to him by Friday?  We will be forced onto the streets again.  Can't rent privately, costs way too much for a 4 bedroom house where we live and after paying rent, we wouldn't be able to pay bills or put food on the table.

Can you kind of see why my day has been ruined?  But Aralia\s has been saved.  No needles for her today due to me being too upset to leave the house.

Oh, and if you know of anyone who works for Immigration Services in Australia, please put me in touch with them so I can figure out how to sort this citizenship mess out!  Right now, I can't prove I'm not an illegal alien! rofl.

I’m a writer right?  I spend a lot of time writing, do I not?  Yeah, I know, I spend more time with the ‘typed’ word than I do with the verbal, but such is life.

For me, writing is more than just a way to communicate.  It is one way I can be original and really express my thoughts, feelings and opinions either in a creative way or in a more factual form.  I’ve been writing ever since I could hold a pencil, which means for more than 20 years.

Several websites have regular contributed content from though, though the one that ...

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No, I am not pregnant!  That, sadly to say, is a slight impossibility as we have the best contraceptive in the world, a baby.

We are, however, destined to have babies all around us, though at the moment, they aren’t of the human kind.  But they are still babies all the same, so doesn’t really matter.

Recently, the local wildlife has been bringing their off-spring for visits.  There have been the baby magpies and other birds, the baby snakes, baby possums and many more that we probably never even noticed.

Within the house, there have been baby water snails, which just magically appeared ...

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