i get by with a little help from my friends..and $5000!!

it is hard to believe that more than a month has passed since i last wrote on here and it seems that a whole lot has happened in that time. i am still dealing with my anxiety day by day and gaining strength every time i beat the battle that rages within me. as my blog title says i have also gained strength from my family and friends and most importantly you gorgeous bloggers who left messages and emails to make sure that i was OK. thank you from the bottom of my heart! the second part of the blog title is also true...i won a competition run by Woolworths (local grocery company). the total prize value was $5000...a cheque for $3500 to go towards the mortgage, $1000 in grocery vouchers and $500 in petrol vouchers. it couldn't have come at a better time, i was so thrilled and shocked that i cried when the lady told me.

anyhow grab a cuppa because the hundreds of photos below explain how, with a little help from my friends and family i am managing to smile again

sisters night organised by my sister narelle and catered by each of us. narelle made an anti pasto (not sure if that is the way it is spelt) platter and a Greek salad for mains. Melissa made scrummy lamb and haloumi kebabs for main and an amazing pav (undressed photo below) which she is becoming famous for, well famous in our family circle ~_~ the photo is sideways but you get the idea...yum!! and Anita made a seafood paella and these truly cake shop worthy lime and vanilla creme macaroons...i think i ate more than my fair share of these little melt in your mouth treats. cant wait for the next batch. there isn't a photo of me but i made creamy garlic prawns for entree and provided the dressing for the pav. spending a night with my sisters is very good medicine for the soul, next time we are bringing our pillows for a sleep over! at the beginning of April we trudged up the hill to my hometown of toowoomba to attend the 40th birthday party of one of my best friends. we were lucky enough to stay with the gorgeous Miranda (Claudia's godmother) and her partner Paul. even though Miranda is suffering complications through her pregnancy, she thoroughly spoilt us; pizza and videos for the girls while we went to the party. she even sent me a pic of the girls having a great time so that i could relax and enjoy the night. my special friend Mir...we have know each other since 1987... 24 years of friendship and not one fight!! cant wait to meet the little bundle of joy, what a lucky baby to be born to such a loving mother and father. ready for some good advice?, if you are feeling blue...put on a seventies costume and surround yourself with good friends, open a couple of bottles of wine and dance to the best music ever! here is the birthday boy, Darren, with his gorgeous wife Sarena these two hunks belong to... these two spunks. can you work out who belongs to who?? here is my Micky boy with my sister Anita...mick is totally dressed in clothes owned by Anita..the chest hair is his own ~_~ don't they just look the part! i love this photo. and here is a photo of 3 of my best friends...each of these ladies fills my soul to the brim each time i see them. from left to right. Julie, Tina and Kylie. i have know juls and Tina for 24 years and Kylie for at least 30 years...i truly love these gals with all my heart. i love this photo of Darren, Sarena and Anita. here i am with Kylie, her husband heath and daggy.

two best friends..Julie and Anita posing for a photo...coats supplied by Anita... and what seventies party would be complete without a dance to the nutbush?!? fun fun fun it really was a tonic for my soul... i laughed so much i had to have my Ventolin! we followed up with a lunch out at Sam and Simon's house (hippie chick and Afro boy) and then headed back down the hill to reality.

now let me set the scene before i received the good news about our windfall...earlier in the week i had rang the bank and reduced out mortgage repayments by $800 a month for the next 3 months which would help us get through until mick returns to work in July. of course we will have to pay over $3000 for the following 3 months to catch up but by then a bit of a regular income will be coming in so in theory we should be able to do it...

mick finished his 3 week contract and just as he said well that's the end of the money for a while the phone rang. the lady on the phone proceeded to tell me that i had won $5000 worth of products. after much toing and froing about whether it was my sister playing a joke on me i started to cry because the amount for the mortgage was $3300 and she was giving me $3500 to go towards our mortgage. she said she had made plenty of people cry this week and assured me that the money would be mine after Easter... i think i should frame this! the cheque is already in the bank ~_~ it really is a blessing to have $1000 for groceries and $500 for petrol...i have been able to buy the girls some warm clothes for winter because i have this extra 'cash'. you only hear about these sorts of things happening to other people..well now you know it really does happen! i must thank my sister Anita for reminding me to go online and enter the competition.

thanks for all of your warm wishes...i feel like the clouds are lifting.

xxrosey