In One Month Today...

We will be leaving the UK and moving abroad to start a new life in Hubby's Homeland. One month! I'm anxious, I'm scared... if I'm honest I don't really want to go, but I'm an adult and I'm about to be a parent. I have to get used to doing things I don't want to do.

Anyway, ignore me. I'm sure things will work out well in the end.

I've been back in the UK for 4 days already, but only just had an opportunity to update you all. The trip to Hubby's Homeland went well. We didn't manage to sort out all we had hoped, but we got the basics sorted.

First of all, it was great to see the in-laws. We hadn't seen them since the wedding in July, so we had a lot to catch up on, and I had a belly to show them. Hubby's Homeland is a place where everyone knows everyone, and good news travels fast, so it seems that wherever we went, someone was congratulating us.

The situation with the house is still not settled, but I don't think it will be for a while. We've probably got a temporary base in the one-bed flat, but it's so tiny it really isn't practical for 2 people with a baby. I think I measured the bedroom at 3m x 3.5m; it will fit a double bed if you have nothing else in the room. For that reason, we would need to swap the bedroom over with the lounge, which is slightly bigger, so we could get the cot into the room, and have a really small lounge. It will be okay for a few months, but certainly nothing long-term.

After that, we have the possiblity of Hubby's grandmother's house, which is a 2 bedroom flat near the town centre; but she would be living there too. That's not such a big problem until the baby needs its own room. Oh, and she doesn't speak English. And I only speak English.

Cue major awkwardness.

That's the only thing I'm worried about, but I know that it's the most likely eventuality, so I need to get used to the idea. Trouble is, while we would be buying the house from her, and paying the mortgage, I would feel like it wasn't our place, and would feel like I feel when I live with the in-laws - like I can't be myself. It's not ideal in that respect, so I'm not totally happy, but it's a house, and it's the baby that matters.

Hubby's Homeland is also a very hard place to get a house, so I am grateful we've been offered something. We know a couple who applied for housing when they got engaged. They've had 2 weddings, a long TTC journey, and their baby is now 5 months old, and they are still waiting for a house of their own. So I can't complain.

I've asked Hubby if we can stay in the tiny flat for at least a month after the baby's born. While it will be tight, I think it's important that we have time together as a family unit, without other relatives around. I know Hubby's grandmother would be really helpful to have around, but in the first month I will probably be going out of my mind with stress and exhaustion, so it's the worst time to have people around that you can't say goodbye to at the end of the day.

If we have a month alone with the baby, we can at least get to grips with being parents before thinking about living with someone else. I don't want her to have to walk around on eggshells for fear of upsetting me, and most of all, I don't want to unleash my hormones on her when she's only trying to help. I don't know if I'm explaining myself properly...

Hubby's heard of a few job opportunities. The one he's holding out for still haven't got around to releasing their applications yet, so he can't apply until February. We don't like that it's so uncertain, but it's a good opportunity, and because of Hubby's experience, he's very employable, so I'm sure he'll find something. The recession hasn't affected Hubby's Homeland, so there are no job shortages there, which makes things that little bit easier.

Hubby's mum took me to see her old colleagues in the maternity department of the hospital, and arranged for me to have a look around the ward etc. She also got me in with the community midwife who took a look at my notes and took my blood so she can get me processed before we move back over in February. I'm glad we went over this week, because when we go back in February, I will be thrown straight into appointments and checkups, so I won't miss out on anything.

They've already booked me in with a specialist to discuss the heart condition my grandmother has, which they ignored in England. I'm glad they're looking into it. They've also booked me in for what they call "parent craft", which I think is where they coach you through the labour process. I also have a dentist appointment booked (which I'm not especially excited about) and my 4D scan booked for the first week in April! I can't wait for that one!

On the return flight I got fantastic treatment! The lady at the check-in desk noticed I was pregnant and gave us priority boarding, which meant we got to sit right at the front with extra legroom. And we had great luck with our luggage; the second we got to the luggage belt, our bags were there for the taking. And they say Easyjet is crap; I beg to differ!

And on the baby front, it's spent the week kicking up a storm, but now I'm back at work I'm hardly feeling anything. It's moved now though, because up until 24 weeks, I only ever felt kicks up to the level of my belly button, but now I feel them just under my ribs. It's moved so much in a week, and the kicks are harder now.

I had my first bout of heartburn on Monday. This is going to be too much information, but throughout my life I've had those moments when you have a little sick come up, but then you have a swig of a drink, and it's gone. I thought that was heartburn.

Nope; heartburn is worse.


I went to see the midwife for my 25 week appointment yesterday, and she seems happy with how everything's going. She advised me to start counting the baby's movements, and if I have below 10 per day, I should get it checked out. She also advised me to take off my rings in the next few weeks. I was deliberating yesterday, and I've taken them off for good now. My jewellery isn't insured, and there's no way I'm having them cut off me!

It's Confession Time

There's a couple of things I need to say before I go any further. I caved... twice.

My new best friend is Pepsi Raw. I love her slender figure, her bubbly nature, her sweet kick, and her ability to keep me up all night. Pepsi Raw is not only tasty, it's got caffeine, and it's packed full of sugar - you can't very well have a natural drink, and expect them to have it in a diet form.

This doesn't bode well for either my diet, or my intention to kick the caffeine. Ugh, never mind. I'm drinking the final bottle of my 4-pack, and it's back to caffeine free Diet Coke tomorrow. It was good while it lasted.

But my second confession is a little more embarrassing. I got carried away when I promised myself I wouldn't do. I bought my second pregnancy book; before I'm even pregnant.


In fairness, I think you should know that I bought my first one when I was 2 weeks late a few months ago. I bought it because I had a feeling I was pregnant, so figured I would act pregnant until I found out otherwise. But in order to act pregnant, I had to research what that meant.

But this book is amazing. I love it already. It goes through your pregnancy from day 1 right through to after the delivery. It details what is happening in your body each day of your pregnancy, with full colour pictures and the odd fact thrown in.


And my reason for buying it? Well, I figured that you only find out you're pregnant when you're four weeks gone, and by that point I will have missed out on the first month. So I thought I would buy the book and get all spiffed up on the first month. That way, when the day comes and I do find out I'm pregnant; I know where I'm at and what's been going on in my body.

Work has flown by this week, but I'm still glad it's Friday. I love Friday even more than I love Pepsi Raw. I had a pretty crappy day yesterday, when I seriously reconsidered whether I should stay at my current job, or just walk out there and then. It was rough.

Of course I didn't walk out; I have rent to pay, and we have no savings to live on, so the reality is that we couldn't last a month without two incomes. That's the reason I've stuck with my job throughout this recession. It's safe, and I'm not about to be made redundant. So when I have trouble at work, I'm annoyed to say the least, because it's not like I can leave for something better.

I apologise in advance if you're reading this and you are unemployed. Of course I value my job; I would be stupid not to. I have a good contract and aside from the lousy pay, I have a good deal. It's better than nothing, but I'm a firm believer of people just getting on with one another wherever possible.

Nevertheless, I didn't walk out. I didn't even rise to the bait. I was civil, and I did my work; leaving at the end of the day; knowing that I had been the bigger person.

Of course, being the bigger person doesn't mean that it's any less tense on Friday morning. Roll on 5pm, because you won't see me for dust!

What's Going On?!

There are loads of strange stories going around in the news at the moment. Take these for example:

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GIRL ASKS FOR THREE STARS TATTOOED ON FACE, GETS FIFTY SIX:
A Belgian girl walked into a tattoo parlour and reportedly asked for three small stars to be tattooed on her face. She then (reportedly) falls asleep and the tattooist proceeds to tattoo a further 53 stars all across the left hand side of her face.

Hmmm. She fell asleep? I doubt anyone can fall asleep with a needle so close to your bone like that. Let me just say; there's no jog mark from where she would have pushed him away upon waking up, and each star is completed. It just doesn't add up. The tattooist claims she asked him for 56 stars, and it was only when she got home that her father and boyfriend saw her that a problem arose.

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CHILD ACCIDENTALLY FLUSHES PUPPY DOWN TOILET:
A child tried to wash his muddy week-old Cocker Spaniel in the toilet, and pulled the chain, accidentally flushing him in the process.

Incredibly, the puppy survived and emerged 20 yards away from the house after the RSPCA and drainage services, Dyno Rod, fighting to pull him out.

The family have since named the puppy Dyno, in honour of the Dyno Rod worker who saved him. The little boy said he was "so sorry" and promised never to do it again. I bet he got the fright of his life when he saw his beloved puppy disappear round the U-bend...

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WILL & KATE LOOK FOR £5m HOME IN MALIBU:
Prince William and his girlfriend Kate Middleton are scouring Malibu Beach for a home; their meagre budget being £5,000,000. Five MILLION pounds ($8,200,000).

This one really got me thinking. Now, I'm an anti-royalist, and I don't mind admitting that. I dislike the royals more than I dislike chronic migraines. In fact I would rather live my entire life with migraines if it meant the royal family were disbanded.

What's more, the money they're spending on this house is that of the British taxpayer. And where's it going? Well, it's certainly not being pumped back into the British housing market, which is on its knees right now.

They get free education at the best universities (even if they don't have the grades to qualify, AKA Prince Charles), they don't have to repay their debts, and they spend my money. The Queen Mother alone is said to have racked up about £20,000,000 ($32,700,000) debt during her lifetime. When will it stop?

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KITTY USSHER QUITS AFTER ONE WEEK:
For those of you outside of the UK, there has been a huge row over expenses for a while now. It's recently come to light that members of parliament have been claiming a disgusting amount of things on their expenses:

* Douglas Hogg claimed approximately £2,000 to clean his moat at his second home.
* Jim Devine claimed £2,000 to re-wire his second home.
* Married couple, Alan & Ann Keen (both working as MPs) claimed £250,000 ($400,000) between them for mortgage payments on both of their homes, despite that only one home is allowed to be claimed for.
* Lembit Opik claimed £30 for a fancy dress wig.
* Tony Blair claiming £7,000 for a new roof on his second home two days before stepping down as Prime Minister.
* David Chaytor claimed £13,000 for a mortgage he had already paid.

...the list goes on. It seems to be every day that we hear another extraordinary claim, and subsequently that member of parliament quits/stands down or whatever.

This time it was Kitty Ussher who hit the headlines. Ms Ussher had only been working as Treasury Minister for a week when she threw in the towel and quit. She reportedly changed the designation of her home in order to avoid capital gains tax.

Under tax laws, people with more than one property are liable for capital gains tax on the sale of their second home, but must inform Revenue and Customs which this is.

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And finally a nice one...

VICAR OFFERS OWN MONEY TO FUND COUPLES' WEDDINGS:
A Cumbrian vicar has offered to put his own money forward to help cash-strapped couples marry in church during the recession.

The vicar, who earns £21,000 ($34,000) is offering to cover the statutory £250 fee from his own pocket, because he wants to make it easier for couples who are struggling to find the money. He was also quoted as having said he thought the Church of England should stop charging people for everything.

Reasons to be Happy

I'm giddy in a good way today. There's just so many good things happening around me!

* The weather is incredible at the moment, and I mean incredible. There hasn't been a cloud in the sky; it's been beautiful. The weather's set to continue until at least Sunday, and they say it's going to be a hot Summer.

* At work today a colleague of mine received an award for all of her hard work in the organisation. It's about time she was recognised, because she goes above and beyond to help people, and on top of all that; she's a good friend of mine.

* Lots of people around me are expecting babies. I'm not sure if it's just because it's Summer and all the bellies are out, but it seems there's loads of them around at the moment.

* I'm getting married five weeks tomorrow! Five weeks!! Now, that's very scary, but so exciting. I have to pinch myself because I quite literally can't believe it. This day has been so long coming, and it's now a matter of weeks. Awesome; in the original sense of the word.

* I've been learning about HTML tags, and found out that:

you can do cool things like this on your blog
* I'm watching "Britain's Got Talent", and it's getting more and more camp. I absolutely love it. These are the Dream Bears:



* Also on BGT, there was a little girl called Hollie Steel, singing "Edelweiss" (which, by the way, is one of my favourite songs in the world, because I'm a sucker for The Sound of Music), who started crying in the middle of her performance. Simon Cowell has assured her they will let her sing again. Pfft, and people say he's mean!

* I paid the final installment of our honeymoon this afternoon. I have a slight sick feeling now, because I only realised today that we booked a "room only" holiday, meaning we have to find more money for food. I'm sure I specified that we wanted all inclusive. Now I just have to admit my mistake to Hubby...

* Before finding this out I bought a really cute denim dress from Oasis (pictured right). I'm ashamed to admit that even though I have absolutely no spare cash this month, and the fact that I was looking for a "little black dress", I found this denim one and I loved it. I don't have many dresses for the Summer, and this was perfect. And what's more; it makes me look really slim! You don't need to know how much it is; because it was too much. I've already cut off the tag and washed it, so Hubby will never know...

* I did also find a "little black dress" (pictured left), which I needed for our joint Stag & Hen party, which is on 8th June. Our theme is "Blues Brothers", and I had the hat, the heels, the stockings and garter, but no dress. Panic over though, because I've found it, and managed to squeeze into a UK size 10 (I'm normally a 12). Unfortunately there's no space for my bra, but the tightness of the material will keep me in check, haha. Me = Cloud Nine.

* I received a letter from my great aunt today, who lives in Homeland # 3. I contacted her a while ago in a bid to find out what she knew of the family. I read her letter when I got back from work today, and she said some really nice things. I was just left feeling like I was flying. There's something about receiving letters from family and friends that can instantly lift your spirits.

* And last of all; it's Friday, which means I don't have to set my alarm tonight :)

Nobody Ever Warned Me About...

It occurred to me today that adulthood is never how you expect it to be. When you're a kid, you ache to be older, but when you are older, it seems childhood was so much easier. I never hated school, but I grew sick of writing essays about things that didn't interest me. I love being an adult... most of the time. But this morning I had to sign over 75% of my paycheque to rent, council tax, gas, electricity and water; and I found myself wishing I was back in school, being herded around by the teachers. It just seemed easier back then. So today, my post is going to be focused on "nobody ever warned me about..."

Nobody ever warned me about:

* Chocolate's tendency to camp out on my hips
* Credit cards, and the mess you can cause getting into debt (and the mess I'm still in)
* Relationships, and how they can hurt
* Friends betraying you
* Politics
* Stress in general
* Reaching a certain age and having to act responsibly (I must not have reached the magic number yet!)
* Having to spend four years working two jobs just to pay the rent

Then again, nobody ever told me about:

* How wonderfully amazing junk food can be when you reward yourself for being good
* How great shopping sprees feel (haha)
* How incredible it can feel to be in love with someone, and have them love you back
* How one good friendship can make up for all the false friendships in your life, and how that friend can help you through anything - if you let them
* How chuffed you can feel when you can get involved in a political conversation, and actually understand what they're saying
* How a massage can help relieve all your problems; if only for five minutes
* How good it can feel to cut loose and go crazy once in a while
* How you can meet the most amazing people through work, that they can be like a second family to you, and you can have such a blast that working 70 hours a week just doesn't even matter. You're tired, but you're having the time of your life

There's a positive and a negative to each point; and I've realised that finding the positive can make you feel so much better. I'm still working on trying to find a positive for my lack of money this month though, but hey; perhaps it will encourage me to diet, since I won't be able to afford food! Well; it's not that bad yet...

Bush Tucker WHAT?!

Wow, I've seen an advert for an amazing night out. Now all I need to do is find someone to go with me...

A new restaurant opened up locally, and I was impressed enough when I saw they had a "Bush Tucker Mix" on the menu. Now, I'm not normally one to dabble with strange foods - I've already mentioned Heston Blumenthal's menu, but this is even weirder... I've watched "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here" enough times to know that the last thing I would want to do is spend a fortnight in the Australian bush, sleeping amongst snakes, swimming with leeches and eating witchetty grubs...

Which would YOU prefer?

Which is why I was surprised by my reaction to this "Bush Tucker Mix"; I actually wanted to try it. To be fair, I'd had two pints of lager, and I'm enough of a lightweight to get all giggly on one pint; so I wasn't as sober as I perhaps should have been. As it happens, the person I was looking at the menu with chickened out, so I never got to try it.

BUT today I went past again, and saw that on Tuesday nights they have "dinner, drink and a movie" for a recession-friendly fee of £10. Sounds good to me. I don't know if it's still like Grease in the States, but here in the UK you don't get drive in movie theatres, so the thought of going out to a restaurant and watching a film is just too good to miss. In fact, the only reason I'm blogging right now on this sunny Tuesday evening is because Hubby's working, and he's the only one I know that would be ballsy enough to eat a medley of crocodile, kudu, kangaroo, locust, and whatever else is on the platter.

I have to go there, and I have to try it. I might not make it without an emergency trip to the ladies, but at least I will have tried it. Hubby actually mentioned making a "Bucket List" yesterday, and I think this sort of thing would be on it. It would have to be!

Having mentioned that, I think I might start one. But I'll need time to think about it. All suggestions welcome!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to one and all! Now I know this is a huge day in the Christian calendar, and I send out my warmest wishes to those celebrating today, but since I'm not part of any religion; I simply make the most of the long weekend (Friday-Monday), and use the event to have a Cadbury's Creme Egg.


Normally I would have an entire Easter egg, because let's face it; it has to be done, but this year I have the wedding to think about, and since I'm on Weight Watchers and having to point all my food (I'm just point obsessed right now), and I can't get the thought of an easter egg being over 20 points out of my head. For those of you not familiar with WW points system; that's all the food I'm allowed in a day! So I settled for the smaller, yet (sort of) as satisfying Creme Egg. If I'm honest it's not the same, but I can lie to myself! ANYTHING'S better than nothing since I've cut virtually all chocolate out of my diet since Christmas.

So what's today brought me, other than a mad sugar high? Well, not much really! I haven't done anything constructive; but I'm a firm believer in making Easter Sunday a day of rest (and chocolate).

Unfortunately the TV companies haven't delivered in providing me a fantastically exciting day of viewing. When I was a kid we only had 4 channels, which are the terrestrial channels in England. We could never afford sky or cable, so naturally when I started earning my own money, I was so excited to finally get it, and I never thought it would be possible to have 600 channels and still not have anything interesting to watch! But it's not all bad though; I have a selection of DVDs that would keep an unemployed person pretty busy, so I'm fairly content watching while I wait for my fiance to get home from work.

Friday was a pretty productive day, as I'd hoped. I did a little more than Spring clean though, and I ended up re-arranging the entire lounge, much to my fiance's delight! I also found my passport, so it was a good day. However, as a result, the rest of the flat is a tip, but hey; you can't have everything! Still a no-show on both my diary and the memory cards though, so I'm not sure about those. I think I must have left them somewhere VERY safe!

On another note, I've received two pieces of good news this week:

1) Hubby was promoted to Head Chef; hurrah! For those of you who don't already know, we both worked in the same pub/restaurant, and when the owner did a runner in November, we were both made redundant; with rent, Christmas and a wedding to pay for. I was lucky enough to have a full-time job already though (this job was my evening job), but Hubby, who had been Head Chef there, was now effectively out of a job, with no offers that side of Christmas. Anyway, he found a job as Sous Chef at this new place, on a higher wage than before, so he didn't care too much about the demotion. Anyway, in January, the Head Chef walked, leaving Hubby to manage a brand new, Michelin-standard menu all by himself. But he hit the ground running, and obviously his boss noticed. So he's now Head Chef, although there's no sign of a pay rise as yet, which is a bit annoying, seeing as he's now working the place of two chefs, and an additional 3 hours per day, no days off at all...but it's a promotion nonetheless. This sort of thing is quite widespread in the industry, so while he's getting a raw deal by my standards, it's not so bad by his standards.

2) We noticed a couple of weeks ago that my cat had a lump on the back of her neck, and she went in to the vet to have a biopsy, which has come back negative for cancer, so I'm naturally thrilled. She's 12 years old, so I don't expect her to hang around for too much longer, and we had to put down our other cat in 2007. But for now; it's great news. Fingers crossed everything else stays that way.