I apologize for my lack of blogging this week. Now that the
cat’s out of the bag, I can freely use morning sickness (aka all-day-long
sickness) as an excuse. Thanks for bearing with me. Only 2 more weeks until
this first trimester business is behind me!
It was another week of mostly
lounging around the house, staying out of the snow, and watching Friends. Not
much blogworthy action going on here. But just for habit’s sake, here are the
highs and lows of the week.
Lows: 1) Continued blahness. I’m not feeling as
sick as I was a few weeks ago, but nausea has been replaced by fatigue and an
unbeatable case of laziness. I’m lucky if I can squeeze 2 hours of productivity
out of a day.
2) Winter weather.
For the majority of the week, the
snow/sleet/hail/ice has continued and I’m just so weary of winter.
Highs:
1) Sunshine!
Though the front of the week was dreary and miserable, the past two
days have been littered with sunshine.
It’s amazing how quickly I am willing to
forgive the awful weather that Aberdeen brings our way. For the past 2 weeks, I
have been so mad at Scotland for putting us through this misery; but after 2
hours of sunny skies, all is forgiven and Scotland is back in my good graces
again. I am such a pushover.
The pups have been soaking up the rays as well,
and the nicer weather has led to much longer walks for both dogs.
3)
Encouragement from friends and family about our little jelly bean. This week
was when we made our big announcement regarding our October arrival and we were
overwhelmed and so grateful at the positive feedback we got from everyone.
4) Baby gifts. My friend Pam crocheted the most adorable highland coo
hat for baby.
I am seriously obsessed and cannot wait to put it to good use. I know
what Baby is dressing up as for their first Halloween!
Also, our friends Diane
and Phil have loaned us some very relevant baby books. I can’t wait to read this
one on preparing our pups to be baby friendly.
Our dogs are so sweet and
affectionate, but they don’t have too much experience in the baby department,
so I’ve been a tad nervous about how they’ll respond to the little one.
I’m
super glad to have this as a resource to prepare us all for living in a dog and
baby friendly environment.
Also, this Owner’s Manual will come in handy.
Like
my dogs, I have limited experience with babies, and therefore I have a slight
fear of infants. It’s nice to have books like this to read up on the basics of
caring for a newborn.
Do any of you have any book suggestions that I should be
adding to my library?Only 6 1/2 months left to study up!
So, I have some pretty big news….Jonathan and I are thrilled
to announce that in late October we are expecting a wee bairn to join our
Scottish household.
Six weeks ago we were hit with the knowledge that our
lifestyle, future, and hearts were going to be forever changed.
We are still in
awe that God has chosen us to be parents, and are working hard to adjust our
daily lives to accommodate for this new soul taking over my body. Here’s a
glimpse of what my life looks like now that I’m eating, sleeping, and puking
for two:
Reading:What to Expect When
You’re Expecting.
Except I tend to be a bit of hypochondriac, so I try to skip
over reading about the various ailments that plague pregnancy. Tell you what-
if I feel a weird sensation that I’ve never felt before in my life, I’ll chalk
it up to the baby in my belly. No need to anticipate with horror what’s coming
my way.
Watching: Friends reruns.
I’ve been bedridden for a lot of my first trimester, and Friends is always my
go-to comfort TV when I’m feeling bad. Next up: All 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls.
Listening: To various songs that’s
remind me of my wee bairn. One of my favorites is Blessed by Elton John. I chose
this song for my Father/Daughter dance at my wedding, because I felt like my
Dad did everything in his power to ensure that I was the most blessed child on
the planet. I’m beginning to pray now that God will bless our baby through
guiding us to be patient and compassionate parents.
Listening to this song has
always made me emotional, but now it really brings on the waterworks.
Loathing:
Morning Sickness. I am a big ole baby when it comes to being sick to my
stomach. I’ve had enough stomach viruses, parasites, and gall bladder issues in
the past 5 years to last me the rest of my life, so I’m quite traumatized by
nausea. Luckily, the worst of it seemed to come in my 8th week, and
now that I’m entering week 10, I seem to be faring much better, and I’m slowly
able to add more foods back into my diet.
Loving: Being a housewife. I seriously
don’t know how pregnant ladies with jobs or small children handle the nausea and
exhaustion. I relish in the luxury of my daily nap and super early bed time.
Missing: Exercise. Before ‘falling pregnant’, I was certain that I would be one
of those super healthy and in shape pregnant girls who don’t gain an ounce
other than their baby weight. I truly under estimated Morning Sickness, and I’m
lucky if I get in a 10 minute cardio routine a few times a week.
And as for the
healthy diet- Puh-lease. I eat whatever looks good, which is generally
something coated in cheese.
So I guess I miss my healthy lifestyle. At first it
was fun to laze around the house in my pjs and eat macaroni and cheese for 3
meals a day, but now I just feel gross about it.
Luckily today I managed 40
minutes of cardio, and a healthy breakfast and lunch. Nevermind the Doritos I
had for my afternoon snack…
Craving:
Macaroni and Cheese, Queso Dip, Poptarts,
Oreos, French Fries, Ruffles, Chocolate Ice Cream, Sugary Cereals, and anything
else unhealthy that you can think of.
Praying: Praising the Lord for blessing
us with this pregnancy, and praying for our little jelly bean to continue to develop
into a healthy baby.
Studying: Our
journey to conception was long and painful, which I will undoubtedly share TMI details
of in the future. It was fraught with considerable amounts of prayer and the biggest test of faith I have ever endured. During this phase, I spent a lot of time studying the Old Testament and
the women who struggled with infertility, each of whom God eventually opened their
wombs. I used to meditate over these scriptures and pray them aloud. As soon as
I took a positive pregnancy test, I opened my bible back up to those worn, highlighted, and underlined pages and did the same thing, now reading them aloud in praise rather
than grief.
In particular, the story of Hannah always wrenched my heart: “I prayed for this child and the Lord has
given me what I asked of him.” 1 Samuel 1:27
Learning: Grace, both towards
myself and others. I feel like as soon as you become pregnant, the uncensored judgments
and self righteousness begin. I’ve already stopped frequenting pregnancy forums
because of the conflicting information and the inflammatory opinions from
opposing view points. It’s worse than political debate, I’m telling you.
People
are strong believers in their own parenting philosophies, and if you don’t
agree then you are flat out doing it wrong. It starts in pregnancy:
Are you
seriously considering downhill skiing? Did you just drink a caffeinated soda? I
know the risks of eating sushi are miniscule, but why risk it? You’re taking
medicine for your nausea? No medicine is 100% safe for the baby. You should just
embrace the 24/7 sickness as a healthy sign of pregnancy.
The truth is, every
parent and soon-to-be-parent is just trying to stay afloat, navigating a whole
new universe of options, and just praying that the decisions they make will
lead to healthy babies who will eventually become well-adjusted adults. I doubt
many people make intentionally bad decisions in their pregnancy or while parenting.
To me, it’s all about what I’m comfortable with. To me, stressing too much about
deli meat isn’t healthy for the baby. So I’m trying not to over analyze every
decision I make and just go with my instincts. And I’m trying to trust that
other pregnant ladies and mothers are going with their instincts as well, even
if it goes against my own intuition. So judge me if you want, but just so you know, I’m not sweating it.
Snacking:
On Clementines. The sour citrus fruit helps to settle my stomach while giving
me a healthy dose of vitamins. It’s one of the only healthy foods I can manage
so I try to eat one for my morning and evening snacks, you know, as a substitute
for sour patch kids.
Planning: A Gender Reveal party in June while visiting the
States for my brother in laws wedding. They don’t do gender scanning in the UK
(whole lots of other posts coming your way about the NHS prenatal care…), so I’ll
have my bestie (who conveniently happens to be an OBGYN) do my scan in New
Orleans, and secretly write the gender down in a sealed envelope, which we will
then reveal at a party for our friends and family to celebrate with us. Dreaming: Of a beautiful nursery space. Jonathan’s company provides us with a ‘new
baby’ shipment from the USA. We’ll likely have to pick out our nursery décor
before we know the gender, so I’ve been scoping out some lovely gender neutral
options. I’m trying to narrow down a theme and color scheme for now. I really love the concept
of a travel theme, but I seriously love woodland creatures, and of course,
puppy dogs.
Those of you in the US might be aware of the contest Lay’s
Potato Chips are currently holding to decide what their new flavor will be. The
voting options are Chicken and Waffles, Cheesy Garlic Bread, and Sriracha.
Not
familiar with Sriracha? Neither was I, so I googled it and found it’s a sort
of Thai hot sauce, and according to most, it’s blowing the Chicken Waffles and
Garlic Bread contingents out of the water.
America is relatively new to the
obscure potato chip flavors game, but Britain has is down to an art. Here in
the UK, chips (which are called ‘crisps’) are often a gourmet eating
experience. Even when ‘crisps’ aren’t on my grocery list, I’ll usually take a
pass down the aisle just to marvel at the complex choices before me.
You’ve got your standard seafood options, such
as Firecracker Lobster and King Prawn Cocktail.
More of a meat lover? Scotland’s
got your taste buds covered with Grilled Steak, Smokey Bacon, Roast Turkey, and
Peking Spare Rib.
They are also into their spices and sauces, so if that’s more
your thing you may want to try Paprika, Worchester Sauce, or Texas BBQ.
More of a cheese lover? Forget your standard cheddar; they are all about
the fancy cheese in the UK. How about Smoked Monterrey Chili with Goats Cheese?
Probably my favorite flavor from today’s grocery run was ‘Honey Roast Ham with
Cranberry’.
And just in case you were wondering, they'd be 'wonderful with
glass of red'…
Luckily, if you aren’t into Haggis flavored crisps, there are
plenty of standard flavors to choose from as well.
I'm pretty boring, so I mostly buy ‘salted’ when I’m
in the market for chips.
There are a few American classics as well, including
the whole line of Doritos.
In fact, Aberdeen just started carrying the Cool
Ranch kind, so Jonathan and I have been indulging in those while both having
flashbacks of childhood summers spent at the ballpark, with only baseball concession
stands to sustain us. Those were the days…
The most exciting find this week
were these ‘New’ Ruffles.
They went perfectly with my 11 dollar block of Velveeta that I used to make queso last night.
No, we aren’t hurting for chips
here in the ‘Deen, but I sure do miss me some Fritos. Come on Aberdeen, make it
happen. You know some goat’s cheese flavored Fritos would be heavenly, especially
with a nice glass of white wine...
So, I’m feeling a tad convicted. I received an email yesterday
from a lady potentially moving to Aberdeen and wanting the scoop. She said she’d
heard some negative things about cost of living, weather, etc, but that
I seemed pretty positive and upbeat so she’d like my opinion on things.
That's when I started feeling really guilty about my recent attitude. You see, over the
past few weeks, I haven’t felt too enamored with the whole ‘living in Scotland’
thing. I’ve been negative and complaining and frustrated over the cultural
differences. I’ve been homesick and longing to move into the same neighborhood
as my parents.
To see my best friend’s baby boy grow up.
To hang out with my
brother on weekends.
To attend crawfish boils and LSU baseball games.
To just
float seamlessly back into a life that requires no effort from me. Where I don’t
have to struggle with understanding accents. Where I don’t have to throw a fit
at the doctor's office when they suggest Tylenol for my upset stomach. Where I can
easily park my car for free at any store or restaurant of my choosing. Where I can just go to the grocery store and buy
some Easy Mac, for Pete’s sake! Where I know how to navigate the roads, the
culture, the expectations, and the relationships.
This frustration and homesickness that I am
feeling is right on cue. The novelty of an ex-pat adventure has worn off and now I’m left to face the facts: I live here. This is home.
It isn’t that “pinch
me, I must be dreaming” fairytale romance that it used to be. It’s just life.
It’s just home.
“See the times are changing, I’m sure of nothing that I know, except this is us, and this is love, and this is where I’m home. In a world that's breaking, where nothing is for keeps, this is us, this is love, and this is where I sleep.” –
Emeli Sande 'Where I Sleep'
You know how when you listen to a certain album during a phase of
your life, every time you hear it, it transports you back to that frame of
mind? Back when I first arrived to Aberdeen, and was head over heels in love with
Scotland, I listened to local girl, Emeli Sande, on repeat.
In an attempt to get back 'that lovin' feeling', I dug out her debut
album this past week and have been listening to it constantly while I run my
errands. It reminds me that even though I am going through a tough phase right
now, I do love this life and this city.
We have great friends.
We live in a beautiful
country.
Our dogs thrive here.
The dairy products are delicious. The crime rate
is low. There is history around every turn. The summers are mild and the Fall
is spectacular.
And though it is rare, when the sun shines, it’s nothing short
of magical.
So thank you, Ruth, for reminding me that I am upbeat and positive
and that I do give Aberdeen a rave review the majority of the time. So now that my rant is over, let’s get on to this week’s highs and lows.
Lows:
1) Still feeling a
bit under the weather. This week, I’ve spent enough time in bed to complete
seasons 4&5 of Friends, which is only about ½ the amount of time I spent
bedridden last week. Each day gets a bit better so I’m just glad I appear to be
on the mend!
2) The winter weather.
Bleh. This has probably been the worst 2
week span that I’ve experienced in Aberdeen. It’s a windy, freezing, icy mess
and I just don’t have the patience to endure it anymore. Though I usually love mild
climates, I find myself lately daydreaming of beaches in Mexico.
Fortunately, the days
are at least a bit longer than they were in the height of winter. The sun rises
around 6:30 AM and it doesn’t fully set until 7 PM, which is a vast improvement
over the 6 hours of daylight we were getting mid-December. I just can’t wait
until those ‘warm’ (aka 50 degree) temperatures follow suit.
Highs:
1) Feeling
better. Though I’m not 100% yet I am so much improved that I have been giving
thanks to God constantly. More than anything in my life, I am so thankful for
Jonathan and I’s health and I try to never take it for granted.
2) Book club. Belonging
to my very first book club has exceeded all my nerdy expectations. I love
having a designated group where I can get my literary geek on. This Month’s
book was The Hundred Year Old Man Who
Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.
If you haven’t read this comedic historic
novel yet, I definitely recommend it. It’s witty and charming and, at times, downright
cute. The plot follows centenarian Allan
Karlson on his many adventures, where he brushes shoulders with many of the 20th
century’s world leaders and obliviously plays a hand in world changing events. You’d
probably like it if you’re a fan of Forrest Gump (and if you aren’t, I don’t
think we can be friends).
Jonathan read it as well and really enjoyed it. I
think it’s the sort of book that appeals to both genders and multi-generations,
which is a great feature. The lady who recommended the book for our club did so
because she, her husband and teenage children all enjoyed it. I think you would
too!
3) Mahjong winning streak. As in, 5 games in a row.
Seriously. I finally
got my mahjong mojo back and it made my week!
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