Unmotivated

Pregnancy has made me very unmotivated.

I'm not sure if it's the hormones, the lethargy, 

or the lack of Adderal in my system but 

something has turned me into a slug and

I'm not at all happy about it.

Instead of motivated, I'm anxious and guilt 

ridden, worrying all the time about what I'm 

not accomplishing instead of enjoying what 

I am (which isn't much, except growing

a human being inside of me). 

My house is a mess, my closets need organized, 

the kitchen cabinet doors still need a coat or two 

of paint, and there's that 194 page novel that 

needs a conclusion and a final edit.

There's a pile of clean laundry draped over the

living room chair, a friend's first novel that needs a 

read, kitten claws that need a trim, and a baby 

registry that needs to materialize at some point.

Did I mention that I'm going back to work in a few

weeks and have a new prep to plan for?

Instead of getting to work on one of the above

projects, I'm finding a bit of satisfaction in 

working my way through the queue on our DVR;

today, I knocked out two episodes of Huge, a few

Bethenny Getting Married, a couple of Teen Moms

and an episode of Solve My Mystery.

Ah, accomplishment.

Sidebar: Am I the only one who thinks that the 

flight attendant who fled down the slide should be 

punished to the fullest extent of the law and not

allowed to profit from any entertainment deals?

Homeward Bound

This afternoon, we're catching a ferry to Mallaig

so we can catch a train to Glasgow, followed

by a bus to the airport where we'll be staying

at the very chic Holiday Inn Express in order

to catch our flight back to Newark tomorrow.

It's quite a journey home and I'm sad to see

our time in Scotland come to an end but I'm

really excited to get back to Headquarters 

and comfort Pinkerton, who, despite enjoying 

quality time with her Uncle Erik, has been 

snubbing her nose at her bedtime snacks, 

no doubt because she misses me so much 

that she's lost her appetite.  

I miss her desperately but I've still managed 

to enjoy more than my share of haggis and 

sticky toffee pudding, although I do

 think that I've lost some weight on this 

trip (which I'll attribute to the hiking and 

walking we've been doing on a daily basis).

I'll miss the cool sea air and wearing my 

Boston sweatshirt and wellies on a daily basis

(ok, so it hasn't rained much at all but they look

so cute on me that I've been fashionably sporting them).

I'm not looking forward to cranking up the AC and 

am actually dreading the electric bill but it will be

nice to walk through Stevens Campus in the morning

sun and perhaps enjoy a midgie free outdoor lunch.

Cross fingers that we have great seats on the flight,

no airport delays, that our luggage arrives with us, 

and that Bebe enjoys the next 36 hours of traveling!

Scottish Adventures

Dearest Reader:

I can't believe it's been nine days since 

my last post; I thought I would have more

wi-fi access (and motivation) to blog on this trip

but instead, I've been happily making new

 friends like these Ba Ba Black sheep:

and having new adventures, such as the one

yesterday on the Glenelg Skye Ferry:

We have had an fab time island hopping

and spending time with our amazing friends.

My international circle has increased by two:

the lovely Swiss Nancy (one of the bride's

best friends) and, can you believe it, a 

New Jersey native from Vineland named 

Laurence who is enjoying expat status

working at Panalpina with Lynsey in Switzerland!

Most of our pics are on Matty's camera, so you'll

just have to wait until we are back in Hoboken

for the big "what I wore" reveal.  

Don't get too excited;

I kind of looked like a knocked up

 Bjork, sans feathers and insanity.

We arrive stateside on Thursday evening

and I can't wait to see Pinkerton and catch up 

with my brotha from anotha mutha, Erik, 

who's been housesitting our flat while we've

been out galavanting about Britain.  

Today's plans involve a walk along the sea

in the fresh Scottish air to one of my favorite

spots on Skye, Isle Ornsay, where the Pam Carter 

exhibition is currently showing.  We own two

of her works and are purchasing a third; the first

wedding anniversary is the paper anniversary, so 

it's the perfect excuse to add to our collection!

Londontown

Greetings from London! We arrived at Heathrow 

Sunday morning and were met at the gate by 

our dear friends Cliff and Yolandie.  Usually,

I make my way from airports to flats via public 

transport; there is nothing better than an airport 

pick-up when traveling abroad - what a treat!

London is divided into villages and theirs, Hackney,

 is tucked delightfully in the heart of the East End, near 

what is reputed as the oldest public park in Britain, Victoria.

Think Williamsburg (Brooklyn), during the early 

days of its hipster gentrification and that's Hackney.

Yol styling me on my wedding day

Yolandie is a delight: a tiny, South African fashionista

with a flair for friendship and entertaining; her husband

Cliff is every American girl's dream of an Englishman,

replete with accented charm and a smile that melts.

Ignore that look on my face

I love it when my friendships become ours; the

 couple came north for our wedding week and it 

was Cliff who, along with the husbands of two of my other 

dear friends, stood alongside my husband drinking

whisky pre-ceremony and shook his hand afterward.

Logically, it made sense for us to make a detour to 

London this summer, en route to the Isle of Mull.

After a cat nap to counter our sleepless journey 

(for who can rest when Hot Tub Time Machine* 

is an option?), we sat down to a meal prepared 

from the cookery book above - a book I feel may 

just turn my culinary visions into realities because

its recipes are divided into 47 menus, thereby lessening

the creative burden many of us novice cooks suffer.

We then enjoyed a night cap of fresh apple cobbler,

served warm with lovely vanilla ice cream and the four

of us headed off to bed in order to rise early and brunch

at one of London's delightful eateries before Matty 

and I head to King's Cross to board our train north.

This is London.

* Matt, that's who... 

I wasn't going to do this but...

I'm not a big fan of the "belly shot";

it makes me super uncomfortable and 

personally, I think it's kind of creepy.

But yesterday I went dress shopping for

the umpteenth time in an effort to find

the perfect frock for the wedding of the century

that is taking place at this amazing venue:

Glengorm Castle, Isle of Mull

It was an effort to find a dress that fit my

pregnant self: I'm almost 5 months and have

gained just enough weight that I'm in between

normal sizes yet not quite ready for maternity.

But yesterday, I got lucky at Macy's.

I found the PERFECT dress - it's absolutely

adorable and looks like a dress I would wear 

if I weren't preggers, not one that I had to settle for

because I have a cantaloupe sized lump protruding 

from my abdomen.  And guess what?  It wasn't the

only dress that looked good on me! I actually found 4 dresses 

and had to make a choice; who would've thought

a pregnant gal on a budget would have options

this late in the game?  I chose a raw silk INC dress because 

it is just so me - a real party dress - and it was on sale! 

I'll post a pic of it after I wear it 

on the wedding day but circling back, here's a

pic of me in one of the three dresses I didn't buy.

Despite those white legs and cankles, I looked kinda sexy; 

the rouching really showed off the baby bump but 

the best thing about it was its size: not a maternity 4, 

but a real dress size 4! (which, I'll admit, 

is not the same as a Banana Republic size 4 but hey, 

I need to feel good about these 15 pounds I've gained!)

I am a believer in tight fitting clothing during 

pregnancy; oversized clothes, in my opinion, 

only make a pregnant lady look fat and I ain't down with that!

Only two more days until we hop the pond! 

Tomorrow I'll post a semi-kitchen reveal but I need to run - 

Pinkerton keeps walking across the baby and I need to get moving!

Take a Hike - Hoboken Style

My bloggy friend Ashley has been posting some pretty

impressive pics of her Alaskan hikes, so I thought

I would reciprocate with a few pics of my morning

walks for fitness; I like to call it Hiking, Hoboken Style:

My favorite place to walk in Hoboken is on the campus

of Stevens Institute; it definitely has the best view in the 

Mile Square City.  This pic shows lower Manhattan on the left,

and Jersey City Waterfront on the right. Wanna know

one of the reasons we won't be leaving Hoboken anytime soon?

Matty works in one of the buildings on the right. 'Nuff said.

Look, Ma - trees! I know, who would've thunk it here in 

the big city, eh?  This pic is of all of lower Manhattan.  For 

those of you not familiar with NYC, that's just a small portion 

of the city.  Where the building flatten out is probably around

the 20's and 30's; moving left off the pic, Midtown begins.

Ah, Midtown! Yep, that's the Empire State Building;

it's the highest building in the pic. Pretty cool,

but personally, if you're traveling to NYC, I suggest

skipping the Empire State and heading instead to the

30 Rock Building at Rockefeller Center: its views are 

360 degrees; Empire State's are not.

This morning, this cruise ship pulled up anchor and

departed from its dock somewhere around 50th Street.

It's surprising how fast those big ships move; I had a hard time
getting a decent picture using my antique iPhone.

Here's another peek of Empire State and Stevens Campus.

I like walking here because it reminds me a lot of 

Bucknell, where I went to college: like BU, Stevens is very
green, has  traditional brick-and-ivy buildings, and
has a fab quad with a really cool statue:

(not my pic, obviously)

Unfortunately, Stevens Campus is one of the smallest,

teensiest campuses I've ever been on, so I usually walk

up one side of the quad and then turn around and walk

down the other, which is barely enough to
satisfy my daily dose of nostalgia.

In just a few days, I'll be walking for fitness on
the Isle of Mull and then a few days after that,
on the Isle of Skye! I'm looking forward to those
walks and to those posts; I hope you are, too!

Restoring Order

My life is getting back in order!

Today our marble countertops were installed

and they are simply gorgeous.  As a matter of fact,

you may not want to be my friend once you see

them because you'll be sick with envy.  

Here's a quick sneak peak:

(I'm not quite ready for the big reveal; be patient)

While the installation crew was here,

one laughed maniacally in to his cell phone,

another sat outside on the steps "watching"

the truck, one actually worked on the installation,

and one, unknown, pissed all over my bathroom 

floor and left the seat up. Other than that, 

they were most enjoyable and did a great job.

While they enjoyed their shenanigans,

I spent my time outside painting cabinet doors,

before returning indoors to restore order to my abode;

I managed to get a lot accomplished today.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

(see Bebe's little pink Converse? Her dad

 is really excited about buying her sneakers)

Check in later this week for the big reveal!