So here I am, sitting in the middle of my lounge at the cabin, surrounded by screws, panic, and the cardboard remains of what Bunnings swore was a "simple, flat-packed greenhouse." At this point, I'm already questioning every life choice that led me here ... mostly the one where I thought I could put it together alone, without adult supervision.

Just as I'm contemplating setting the whole thing on fire and calling it a day, I hear a loud bang on the verandah.

I don't think much of it at first. We've got lots of wallabies with babies out here that like to bounce around. Curious creatures. Noisy, but harmless. Sometimes they get a little too close to the house. Then there's another bang… and another… and then I hear something hit the tin roof.

Important context: wallabies do not fall from the sky. That's when I realise - this is not a curious marsupial. This is… something else.

I cautiously peek outside and catch sight of a tail. Not a cute fluffy one. Nope, We're talking a long scaly snake tail - roughly six feet of it, as thick as my arm, vanishing into my guttering of my house like he pays rent.

I was not calm.

I step outside to get a better look, because clearly I have no sense of self-preservation, and there he is - the rest of him. A massive python, trying (and failing) to squeeze himself into the gutters. Spoiler: he did not fit. This guy had to be at least 15 feet long. Think "one-person sleeping bag with scales."

Naturally, I ran to grab my phone to record this horror movie in real-time. Unfortunately, by the time I returned, the snake had disappeared into the roof void like a ghost… a horrifying, muscular, roof-dwelling ghost. Still, I managed to capture a bit of it - behold, the attached clip I now refer to as "NOPE.mp4."

NOPE.mp4

With nothing to do (and zero chance I'm poking around with a broom), I do what any sensible adult would do.... I go back inside and pretend this isn't happening. Denial is a valid coping mechanism.

But just as I'm starting to convince myself it was a one-off encounter, the roof erupts. It sounds like an elephant tap-dancing on my tin roof. I decide to be brave (or possibly stupid) and go back outside to investigate.

And that's when I realise - there is not just one snake.

There is two.

And they are not friends.
Nope. These guys are fighting. And let me tell you, if you've never seen two enormous snakes wrestle on a corrugated iron roof… I do not recommend it. It's like a nature documentary and a bar fight wrapped in one.

The larger snake eventually yeeted the smaller one (by "smaller," I mean only 8-10 feet) right off the roof. He landed with a meaty PLOP about four metres from where I was standing - which is exactly four metres closer than I'd like to be to any airborne snake.

Too late to film the battle, I did what any rational person would: narrate my escalating panic for your viewing pleasure.

(Video evidence: "Snake Fight Commentary - Volume 1")

Snake Fight Commentary V1

The "little" guy was furious.

Undeterred, he slithered right back up the verandah like a scaly action hero and launched himself onto the roof again for round two.

Return of the Pissed-Off Python Aka - "The little guy"

I am still inside. The thumping has stopped, which means either:

• Someone won, or

• They've joined forces and are coming for me...

But, I can hear dragging noises in my ceiling. Someone has definitely gotten in.

Please send thoughts, prayers for the roof possums.

(There are no local snake handlers or relocators here, closest is over an hour and a half away, so it's just me, my half-assembled greenhouse, and the Snake Fight Club upstairs.)

In January I posted I had $25,412.15 in debt.

I've been greyhound sitting when the opportunity arises and also just got a higher paying role at work for 12 months (just 2 months ago).
My current debt as of right now is: $9442.40 with Zip Plus, Zip Money and my Solar battery. I currently owe $6,567.25 on my credit card = $16,009.65
So, I have paid off $9402.50 =)

I am currently on track to have Zip Pay, Zip Plus and my Solar battery paid out by December 31.
My credit card fluctuates but I will be pushing to pay it off once I am rid of the Zips and Solar Battery as these carry the highest interest and account fees.

I do get a work bonus in a few months, but I still have expenses like my dogs dentals at $2500 expected (my greyhound is just really unlucky genetically and always needs extractions), my car also needs a service which is always upwards of $2000 a year as it's now 10 years old, I know it needs a new battery. I also need to pay $300 towards cleaning my aircon units, get my gutters cleaned and get the pest control done etc.

I listened to an audiobook in the last few weeks called I will teach you to be rich, and I've boosted my savings from $10 a month to consistently saving $20 per fortnight for my emergency fund and $20 for a business version of this. I've also opened a fund which is to store maintenance costs for all the things I know come up at this time of year when I get my bonus, my goal is for next year to have these expenses covered and the year after, have enough money to pay my house insurance and health insurance up front to save on the direct debt fees. I'm also investing $50 per fortnight into a commsec account. The bonus is nice, but it would be nice not to have to use it for life expenses and to 'catch-up'.

I'm really trying not to spend too much money on food, focusing on using up what I have. When I do make trips to the shops, I tend to spend around $30 instead of $75+-$95. I'm even drinking all of those Nespresso pods I got last Christmas in peppermint and gingerbread haha.

My mortgage will come off its fixed interest rate in Feb next year so I've looked, and my payments will increase by about $600 - $700 a month.
I'm hoping I can remain in my current role after my secondment finishes - if I can, I've looked at the sums of buying a new car - no loan, buying a car with a loan and leasing with the intent to buy a new car. With my pay, I save a LOT of tax if I salary sacrifice and do the lease over the life of the car. I know this isn't the case for everyone, but Rahmi says in his book to 'know your numbers' and to of course research everything. My car will be 11 years old by then, and it is starting to cost me a lot to keep it running vs. its insured value. My other dream is to save up and go to Egypt for a holiday flying business class. This one will take time as I also need to add more to my emergency fund, it's only got about $1100 in it so far. But this is more than I've ever had before. My solar battery also has a redraw, and it has an extra $700 I could access should the worse happen.

So that's my update, I'm making progress and on track to be debt free except for my mortgage by February 2026. My mortgage will even drop below $300,000 in the next few months which also feels like a small lil milestone, when I refinance, I'm doing a 20-year loan so I am on track for it to be paid out by the time I retire and hoping to make a few small extra payments so it's paid out in even less time.

Quite the shift from January :0)

The first thread, Tomorrow ...., is becoming long, so here's a new one documenting my experience with breast cancer treatment.

I do this as I see value in other women having a familiarity with what could be involved in addressing cancer for their own or a loved one's treatment one day. Everyone's cancer and treatment is unique to the individual.

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A great benefit to me has been the kind and genuine support, interest, and encouragement from forum members. I am humbled by your kindness and earnestly thank you for it.

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The cancers:

1) breast cancer. HER2 positive, meaning that it's aggressive.

2) Paget's disease of the breast - a rare form of breast cancer of the nipple and areola.

Treatment so far:

Doxorubicin. The world's strongest chemotherapy, also known as Red Devil Chemo - named after satan because it's red and because of its side effects.

Paclitaxel. Another chemo often known as Taxol.

Perjeta, a targeted immunotherapy treatment.

Herceptin, a targeted immunotherapy treatment.

Surgery - mastectomy and removal of lymph nodes with implant reconstruction.

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This morning, the PICO dressing (with its pump) was removed, and a simple dressing applied. I didn't actually see the scar tissue, but apparently it's (still) almost healed with the deterioration looking only superficial.

I then met the Oncology Radiologist who had a look at the scar tissue and cleared me to start radiation this morning.

I was set up on the table for radiation treatment to begin, but the technician found that there were changes in the breast/chest wall, and radiation treatment could not begin. Thankfully, someone had the foresight to predict this change, and had scheduled an appointment for another planning session. I had to wait around for another 90 minutes, but the session was completed.

Radiation treatment will now commence next Monday 24/2 for 15 sessions Monday-Friday. The Oncology Radiologist now, therefore, does not want the new chemo to commence until after radiation is completed - Monday 17/3 which allows for the Canberra Day public holiday in March (the chemo clinic runs every day of the year, but radiation treatment does not occur on public holidays). This means that drug treatment won't finish until December now, but that's OK.

This is what a PICO pump looks like. It stays in the bag, and is worn around the neck. The OK button should periodically flash green to show that it is working. If the next icon is lit up, it means that the seal around the dressing has lifted and air is escaping. If the third icon is lit, it means that the dressing is soaked in blood/fluid and needs to be replaced. The fourth icon will illuminate if the battery has drained. They cost several hundred dollars and have a 14 day shelf life.

You can see the thin tubing; the other end is embedded in the dressing somehow - not actually visible to me.

As many of you are aware I'm now living at my little house in North West Victoria. Today marks the end of the first week here and it's gone incredibly quickly. I'll be honest and say apart from unpacking I've mostly just allowed myself to rest. I was really exhausted by the lead up to the move as well as the move itself. It's also been really hot here.

Now that most rooms are unpacked I want to start working on the outside of the house, clearing away any long grass and tumble weeds. A lot of them have blown away but I need to clear more each day I suspect if I want to keep them from piling up. I'll need to mow in stages, the front part of the house is fine - I mowed that last visit but the rest will be done in order of priority.

My first inside job is to attach panelling to the laundry room wall to block the cat from escaping. It's only a temporary fix but it will mean I don't have to worry about her until I'm ready to fix that part properly.

I also want to cover a couple of floor holes in the back part of the house. Fixing the subfloor is the next job my son-in-law will be helping me with but he's busy replacing his own kitchen at the moment so it will probably be a while before he's available.