The Friday song choice

Addictive Viewing

So tonight starts another series of Masterchef...hubby is not impressed as it is in stiff competition with his need to watch NCIS and actually I am a bit peeved it's on at the same time as well. Usually there is nothing on TV and when there is our programmes compete with each other. It got me thinking though about how I am sadly addicted to certain TV viewing...the worst is the onslaught of reality TV programmes that suck you in. When he heard another series of Masterchef was starting his immediate reaction was "Great, I loose my wife for the next few weeks". 

 

I am pregnant and crazily watch "One born every minute" scaring the hell out of myself as I watch these ladies screaming in pain saying they can't do it any more thinking that is soon going to be me. I wonder to myself actually why does anyone want to watch this really and moreover why do these women not mind being filmed. You have to turn the volume down as you are not sure what the neighbours will be thinking if they can hear the screams...cause yes they are that loud.

Thankfully I have stayed away from the likes of Big Brother but this year I actually watched "The X Factor" from start to finish. You can usually justify watching the auditions because they can actually be quite funny and even hubby does not even mind watching them but after that people start to get really serious about it! I mean they get really defensive about the act they are supporting as they drone out the usual pop drivel (again why was I watching this?)...like are they going to go out and actually buy the CD...thankfully I am not that bad I have some sort of taste in music (anyway no kidding hubby would never allow such music inside his house).

I seriously need to learn to turn the TV off and go and read a good book!

The Friday song choice

Nesting...I don't think so.

Definition:The nesting instinct is the name given to the distinctive urge to clean, tidy, and organize that occurs during pregnancy.

I have experienced lots of symptoms during my pregnancy but this is just not one of them. I figure I have always hated house cleaning and will always hate house cleaning. Thank goodness we only live in a small flat! When the bean actually arrives I fear how downhill it will all really go. When the grandparents come to visit that will be there job...the irony of course being that it will probably grate my nerves as it's my flat and I hate when other people take over...yes I'm a bit of a control freak. 

I can't even say I have "enjoyed" the shopping part and getting everything the bean needs. Tag a product as baby and all of a sudden it jumps up in price! Choosing a pram was worse than shopping for a car. Do you get new born clothes or 0-3 months? All they do is eat, poo and sleep and grow out of the clothes you just bought them TOO QUICK! I was told not to worry too much about that anyway as there would be an influx of gifts...I'm still waiting for the influx :( 

As for decorating the nursery...well it's a rented flat that we can't really change that much...so other than adding a cot to an already small room which had a double bed and a desk...there was not much else I could really do! Never mind I am having a boy and the room is pretty in pink!

Oh well I will just have to make do with all the other symptoms pregnancy has entailed...sleepless nights, heartburn......

Family ties

So every morning I watch "Wanted Down Under"...families thinking of moving to Australia and New Zealand, looking for that better lifestyle and standard of living. I wonder how much these families actually think it through before they go and what images they are getting sucked into...sun...adventure...being able to afford more...because they are always surprised when they get there. The killer though is always the bit at the end where they have the family and friends video from home. I don't know whether to cry with them or tell them to suck it up........

You see for a long time now I have always lived a long way from my family. It's funny for me thinking of this sentimentality because I decided to go to University abroad to get away from family and gain some independence. I always had a claustrophobic experience living in Jamaica. I feel really bad because it was not that hard to say goodbye! I mean yes I was going to miss my family but the excitement of the new experiences drowned those feelings out. To be fair though I guess at first it was never an intended forever move and I was home for the Christmas and Summer. Somehow though when it came to look for a job I started looking in the UK and have never looked back. I can't say that I left all my family at home either because I have one sister living in the United States and the other in Barbados. I can go several years without seeing them all and it's rare these days to find us all together at the same time.

So if I got a video from home it would just be from my mum and dad. What does that say about my family ties? We are still a very close family and they support me in the most amazing ways even if it's from a distance. I am starting my own family now and I will admit it's hard knowing my family is so far away from it all and I guess there is a small temptation to just drop everything and run back home...but that's not my reality.

A Quick Escape

So for his first time hubby decided to go skiing in Scotland and considering I wasn't sure when I would be getting my next holiday I decided to tag along. don't worry I took my pregnancy notes just in case...I was only 35 weeks anyway... a whole four more weeks to go after the weekend! The plan was to read my book and drink lots of cups of tea and be treated to dinner in the evening. It was great to get out of Glasgow and breathe in some fresh air! 

So on Friday we set out early and picked up a friend in Stirling before slowly making our way there. We stopped for lunch at one of our favourite places in Scotland...the Moulin Inn in Pitlochry. 

 

If you get the chance trust me you are not to be disappointed. The food is always great and they brew their own beer...though I had to give that part a miss this time. Then it was another stop in Aviemore for a coffee before arriving at our final destination...TOMINTOUL....

I have to be honest and say that there is not much to say about Tomintoul. You feel like you are in the middle of nowhere and I guess technically you are! There's a pub, a hotel and a B&B, no bank, no gas station but they have got a well known whisky shop...what more do you need! It is a gateway to walking in the Cairngnorms and well the closest town to the chosen skiing area of Lecht. We quickly discovered that Friday night that the pub was THE only place to eat in the evening so thank goodness the food tasted pretty good! I will not dedicate too much time to hubby's skiing experience as there was not much snow and mostly ice and a few bruises to show for it. 

I noticed two cafes straight away so I was happy anyway. Strangely enough I have arrived home having hardly touched my book and with only one cup of tea under my belt. The sun came out on Saturday eventually and I decided to head out for a walk. My first walk was the Tomintoul country walk which looked like it went on for miles following a country road....so I am afraid I did not do all of it. I successfully made it to the Queens view taking me slightly over an hour there and back...and I stopped to take pictures.

Well after such a successful morning I felt I fully deserved a nice lunch! Having decided though that I could not go the pub always to eat that did not leave me much choice. I went to a small cafe and had a cheese roll, and then made up for it buy having a cup of tea and a slice of carrot cake! 

I was surprised at how restless my feet were so decided on heading out again for another walk...the Tomintoul circular path...sounded easy enough. It is mostly flat and is exactly what it says on the tin...a circular route around Tomintoul. It offered some wonderful views though but my camera seemed to be failing me. It was lovely looking to the river Avon and the snow capped Cairngorms. It took me about an hour and a half and I headed straight back to our B&B for a well deserved hot shower after.

 

The boys decided that they had already had enough of skiing after only one day so on Sunday we headed to Aviemore where we did a 3 HOUR WALK from Glenmore Lodge (as you can tell I am pretty impressed with myself for having survived it...trust me I was a bit tired at the end!). We were originally heading to a bothy after a short forest walk but it only took us about 40 minutes to get there.

So instead of heading to the bothy we turned right and headed toward according to our map a barn ruin by a river. The path was a bit icy at times but pretty manageable and it offered great views of the snowy landscape. I nearly was about to give up as it never seemed like we were going to reach but thankfully after a few looks at the map and a few reassurances that it was just around the corner we made it! Getting there actually was not the tough part it was the walking back! The scenery and fresh air though made up for it all.

 

A quick but worthwhile escape to the Cairngorms! Only 4 weeks left till the beans b-day so who knows when the next escape will be...........

My birth story

*Warning* Personal post ahead

Ok so you do learn funny and interesting things about yourself when you are pregnant. It's a great time to hear from your own family..."You know when you were born...." and "You know when you were young......".  It's great when it's anecdotal and I am yet to be told these stories as a means of conveying advice so fingers crossed it stays that way....unless I phone them up crying and begging! 

As an activity to get to know each other and break the usual lecture class routine we were asked at my NCT class to say where we were born and something about our birth. I realised it was something that I had never really thought to ask my mother. I was told that I was going to have a big baby so the most I have asked is "how much did I wiegh when I was born?" and that was as most as I could contribute. So it wasn't long before I was on the phone to my mother to find out what happened. It was great as well because it was actually an "exciting"story. 

My mum had to be induced. Then she was told by her doctor that she was in for a long wait and he went away. The sister and nurse remained with my mum and sister then asked my dad to leave the room and was rubbing mum's back and trying to comfort her. My mum then said she needed to pee and so the nurse gave her a bed pan. While she was trying to pee though she found she couldn't and it felt very funny to her. So she asked the nurse what it could be...when the nurse turned around and looked at my mother she told her to "Stop what you are doing!" and ran out the room. She flew past my father which made him panic signing to the others to phone the doctor and said to my father "It's the baby!". My mum was then raced through to the delivery room. When the doctor arrived he calmly said to my mother to "Stop what you are doing, I just have to put on my gloves" then he turned around and caught me.

I also learned that I was born on the same day as my father's mum! I am going to have to start asking some more questions about me now...after all how much do we really remember about growing up and what does it say about who we are now!