I'm still here! Sorry I disappeared...

Hi again,

I've had quite a few messages asking what had happened and where I was, so I thought I should apologise for disappearing and explain what's happening in my crazy word this past year.

Wow what a year 2015 was! I had one of the best and one of the hardest years of my life all rolled up in one.

This past year I welcomed another member into my family, my step-daughter Taylah came to live with us. After no contact her whole life, we were delighted when Taylah made contact and even more excited when she decided to move down from Queensland to live with us. As happy as we are to have her with us, it was a challenge to get used to another Adult (teenager) living in our home and only now are we finally getting used our new 'normal'.

We moved house again this past year. After I accidentally flooded our last house (the washing machine overflowed oops!!) we had to pull up some carpet and found that the house was full of Black Mould and termites. We found that this was the cause of our sons Asthma and so it was time to move... again... The joys of renting :(
The benefit of moving though was that we found an amazing (very old) home that fills all our needs completely!

Our new home is very small, but it has a granny flat (my new studio and bedroom for Taylah) and a swimming pool! Woo Hoo! The kids just love being able to go for a swim in their own backyard.

This home reminds me of the holiday homes we used to visit when I was a child, so I kind of feel like I'm on holidays all the time. lol sort of... As much as I love big bright modern homes, I must admit that a little cottage with all that character is definitely more my style.

The highlight of my year was signing on to be the new ambassador of Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machines (my dream roll). I did a huge amount of travel late last year with the Blessington crew (the parent company for HV, Handi Quilter and many more in Australia). I cannot explain how amazing the team is! I feel like I'm part of a whole new family. They have welcomed me with open arms and I absolutely love being part of the team!

I guess the hardest part of the past 12 months was that my health was not so good! I was feeling extremely run down and it wasn't until I casually mentioned one of my symptoms to a trainee Doctor (while we were waiting for the Doctor to arrive) that I finally got to understand why!

I have had so many little symptoms over the years that on their own were not really worth mentioning, but when the student doctor started asking questions the flood gates opened and we are thankfully almost to the bottom of all my problems! I have Hypothyroidism, a failing kidney (we've gotten that under control) and another problem that I can't spell lol!

Basically the Thyroid problem is to blame for most of my problems. It even explains why I loose my voice at the end of almost every show/event I've ever been part of! Now that we are aware of it, hopefully life is going to get easier.

But onto the happy news, I am so excited about whats to come this year! Husqvarna Viking have launched a brand new machine and trust me it is incredible! The Epic is the most amazing machine I have ever seen! It is the kind of machine that does everything I could ever dream of, and then more! I can't wait to get my hands on one and just play. The technology in this little beauty is mind blowing! Ohh and it takes a 30% bigger bobbin! Woo Hoo!

My Handi Quilter videos will also make a comeback this year, so look out for those in the very near future. Handi Quilter have just launched a new machine too, the Simply Sixteen with the Little Foot frame is the perfect option for those who want a 'long arm machine' but don't have the space for one.

I hope you had a lovely holiday season, I had the best time with my family! We took a cruise to New Zealand for 11 nights.

It was so nice to be able to have some time with the kids that was just about them. They had the best time and are constantly saying, I want to go back on the ship. I guess we better start saving again :)

I wanted to share this picture because I'm so proud of the kids don't they look gorgeous! Molly (my eldest) was a little sad because her brother Jack accidentally stood on her foot just before we took the pictures, but she tried to give as big a smile as she could hehehe.

My 3 girls are wearing dresses I made. I also made my dress and my sons tie as well.... I didn't make anything for my hubby, but I did have to repair his favourite Mickey Mouse tie, so I guess that counts right lol.

So thats it, thats my 2015... I'm so excited to see what the new year has in store for us all, bring on 2016!

Hugs Paula