Blogosphere, We Have Appliances!

Oh yes, it's all coming together now.

The fridge has arrived and it fits - after a

few last minute (frustrating and expensive) adjustments.

Isn't it shiny?  That's right - we're living like

grown ups now.  We decided to forego cabinet space 

(six inches) to gain food storage. I mean, those

bottles of formula and containers of home made

baby food are going to need a home, right?

Speaking of home made baby food, it will

be a while before I'm preparing it on this 

kick ass beast so until then, it's going to get a workout

heating up frozen pizzas and an occasional home made 

meatloaf or lasagna.  That is until I make it to Costco

to buy this and every other book Bethenny Frankel has written.

Yeah, I have a summer girl crush on her; it's 

impossible not to when she's having one hormonal 

meltdown after another on national television.  I get it.

My own meltdowns will be fewer and farther

between now that I have this brand spankin' new dishwasher.

Isn't it pretty? Although it's the odd man out with its Frigidaire

label, we made sure its handle and sheen matched those

of the Samsung appliances, so that all three can play nicely.

In a few weeks, we just may have a finished kitchen,

just in time for us to skip the country and for our

pal Erik to move in and enjoy it!

Happening Hot Spot

Now, you may not believe me but this

is one of the most happening hot spots 

in Armadale, Isle of Skye. It's a restaurant 

called The Shed and it serves foods fresh

from the island: Mallaig haddock caught right

near the pier that The Shed resides on, locally

grown veg, including clover and edible flowers, 

scallops, smoked trout, and lovely prawns.

And then there are the desserts.

There's nothing like warm sticky toffee pudding 

topped with the best ice cream in the world.

The proprietor of The Shed is one of my

godmother's best friends, Ann MacPhail, 

and her three gorgeous daughters, Emily, Becky,
and Victoria, take turns helping her out.

A decade ago when Victoria was just a wee girl,

perhaps ten years old, she took me horseback 

riding and grilled me on all things American,

particularly her obsession with WWF.

The Shed only seats 10 people at a time and 

when I'm on the island, my godparents assemble

a cast of characters, use their pull with the

owners, and we take over The Shed.

It's a BYOB, so everyone brings a

bottle of wine or a few cans of beer and we feast.
Once Ann and the girls finish preparing our
delicious meals in the smallest kitchen known
to man, and are done serving them in an
equally tight dining room, they come out from behind
the counters and join in on the conversation.

Sometimes, in the early morning (well, not

too early since the altitude of Skye is

VERY conducive to sleeping in) I'll get up

and walk the three miles down to the pier

along the sea road for a gorgeous caramel latte,

 lower Skye's answer to Starbucks and an excellent one at that.

In a few short weeks, I'll be back on Skye, ready
to cram into the dining room and walk the sea road once again.
Summers on Skye are the epitome of perfection.
If you ever want to join me, let me know;
Ann can usually manage to slide in another chair or two
because on Skye, there's always room for a few more.

Walking the World

I used to spend my summers hiking the hills, dales, 

lochsides and coastlines of Great Britain.  

I've walked the West Highland Way,

 the Three Dales Way, the Cornwall Coastal Path,

The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in Wales, and 

of course all over the Isle of Skye.

And I've done most of that walking with 

my favorite Scots, The Walking Girls:

This is me and Abs in Wales, trying to piece the map back 

together after tearing it apart for easier carrying.

See that bottom marker on the fence post?  It shows someone 

falling head first off the cliff.  Here's a pic of me trying to replicate it.

This is us at the Minack Theater in Cornwall.  If you 

haven't heard of it, go to the link.  It's breathtaking.

Lakes in Scotland are called lochs, except for 

this one, which is where the lovely Abbie was married.

Here we are hiking the day before the reception.

Did you know that the Giant's Causeway, about an hours drive

from Belfast, is in Great Britain?  Some people don't.  

This is my salute to Northern Ireland - love it there! 

When you're pregnant, people LOVE to tell you how

your life is going to change dramatically and you'll no

longer be able to do the things you once did.

"Hiking in the UK? With a baby?  

Ha! Good luck with that", is one such comment

I've heard, in addition to "A Girls walking holidays?  

When you're married with a baby?  

You can forget about that!" is another.

Well, screw that - babies change lives but 

they don't change people.  I know who I am

and what I will sacrifice and what I won't.

My time with my girls is a won't.

No worries - there's enough of us Walking Girls

that we can take turns strapping on the Bjorn.

BeBe will adore the views, particularly 

ones like this:

Wild horses won't drag us away from the world.  

Instead, we are super excited to view it with them.

Fallout

No, this isn't a scene from an episode of Hoarders.

This is a scene from my temporary reality, 

what I like to call Kitchen Remodel Fallout.

And it's killing me.

For the past two days, I've been on couch arrest,

thanks to my husband who is convinced that

I'm "overdoing" it.  What can I say?

He's right; as I've mentioned numerous times,

I'm not good at being pregnant but I'm even 

worse at being on couch arrest.  Particularly now 

that my once ordered home is in a 

state of turmoil and confusion. 

This is not how I live and having to sit

and view it from the couch while 

under strict orders not to get up 

and organize it is torture.

Which is why yesterday, 

when I read about this treat

on my bestest bloggy friend's post, 

I confronted my jailor upon his 

return from work and demanded 

some release time. Thankfully, he complied.

Oh, love!

Thanks for giving me something to live for, Ash!

Ps. Ya know how everyone says that one of 

the best parts of pregnancy is that the prenatals

will make your nails grow like mad? 

Well, check out that thumbnail, baby;

anxious, much?

Ups and Downs

Pregnancy is hard.

To be honest, it's really hard for me to get my mind off of all that can go wrong.  Every time I have a strange feeling in my abdominal area, I'm convinced it's the beginning of the end.  Every time I go to the bathroom, I hold my breathe and say a prayer before checking to see if things are normal or if there are any warning signs.  Every time I eat something on the "don't eat" list, I'm convinced I've cursed my baby.

Going through the CVS was tough stuff but I was hoping that once I got the results, I would be able to proceed with a bit of joy.  That was quickly stunted when I started to have strange discharge and became convinced that Bebe was in danger.  I called the doctor on that one and was told it was no biggie, that it was normal, and that the baby was fine; that was confirmed on Tuesday when I had an appointment and heard the heartbeat.

That little beating is a miraculous sound and it filled me with serenity and confidence... for about 48 hours.

Today, I kind of over did it: I was outside on my feet in the heat refinishing cabinets for about 4 hours or so, then returned indoors and emptied out all of the remaining kitchen cabinets, which took another 2 hours.  I admit I was exhausted but feeling pretty good until I finished and went to use the bathroom and then have a shower.

That's when I noticed I was bleeding.

It wasn't heavy and it wasn't pure blood - it was mixed with whitish discharge (which is the normal part) - but it was totally alarming and immediately stopped my heart.  I got in the shower to calm down and cool off and then called the doctor.

I highly recommend making friends with an Ob-Gyn if you plan on having children - like BEST friends.  That way, when you call with an issue, he or she will truly care about it and do everything with his or her power to get to the bottom of the problem and give you peace of mind.  Because that's not how it works when your doctors have NO vested interest in you.

And I'm not blaming them - they are busy people who see tons of patients and honestly, don't know me from Eve.  It's just the nature of the beast when you live in one of the most overpopulated states.

When the doctor finally called me back, she was pretty cool and clinical and said to stay off my feet and if it continued or increased, to call the office in the morning and they would get me in to see me.  She wasn't concerned because there was no cramping and because I explained the circumstances of my day.

I, on the other hand, am a freakin' lunatic right now and am convinced that I have done something to harm my baby, that it's all my fault, that I suck as a mother already, and that if there is a "worst" thing that can happen, it will absolutely happen to me.

So here I sit on the couch with my feet up while my husband forces a smile, caters to me and attempts to act as though he is 100% confident that the baby is just fine.  I'm sure that while he's over there sanding down the kitchen wall, he's just as nervous as I am.

Or maybe I'm just a freak.  Let's hope...

Take the Indoors Out

HGTV_2075
Originally uploaded by CO Coccia

I love summertime and this year because I'm pregnant and unmotivated, I'm particularly thankful for its arrival.

Ya'll know how much I love HGTV and lately, it's been on in the background at least six to eight hours a day. Consider it market research for my kitchen remodel: I need to know what buyers are interested in so that when we outgrow our place, we can sell it for top dolla, dolla bills, yo.

The problem is, I've got work to do refinishing cabinets but a). the heat is not enticing me to hop out on to the deck and get to work and b). I can't see the TV from the deck.

There's nothing I can do about the heat except suck it up however I might be able to re-position the television so I can view it from the veranda while sanding cabinet doors. That will be my Thursday project, I think.

I bought all of the paint for the kitchen today; Benjamin Moore carries a line called Natura and supposedly, it's fairly safe for pregnant women, which is awesome, since I don't want Bebe getting high in utero.

There's nothing that bores me more than someone who's stoned.

Out of Place

I'm sitting here on the couch watching my dinner spin round and round in the microwave.

Because it's in the living room and not in the kitchen where it belongs.

Needless to say, this makes me VERY uncomfortable but I'm going to tough it out.

I understand that many people deal with makeshift kitchens during their remodeling but I don't know if those people share my issues.

It makes me really uncomfortable when things are where they don't belong: underwear on the side of the road, a child's sock in a mall parking lot, microwaves in the living room.

But I can do this.

I

Can

Do

This.

On a brighter note, I heard the baby's heartbeat today and am thrilled that Bebe is still alive and kickin'. I figure I can maybe enjoy a few days of expectant mother bliss before I'm once again convinced that she's gone silent.