It has been some time since my last post. When life gets properly bonkers though some things take a backseat. Much has happened in the 8 months or so (crivens, has it really been that long?!) since my last post and it's not the case that I've had nothing to say about any of it, more that I've been getting on with living rather than sitting on el jacksie mulling it over.
April was a write off. I was made a permanent employee of the company I work for in March and moved into their projects team. The company acquired their first property portfolio by buying out another agency in April and I worked 7 days a week, stupid hours, trying to bring the data and a portion of reluctant landlords into our business. I had help, obviously, but I didn't see much daylight or anything of anyone during that first head-first dive into project management. Very many learning curves were encountered with that first acquisition and nothing has proved quite so bonkers since, but I'm very happy to say that the end of 2011 sees two of us working in the project team on a full time basis.
May was a great month. MC and I were on holiday for most of it. We journeyed to London to meet up with MC's Dad and his wife-to-be and had a blast just being tourists. The weather was smashing and we went to Madame Tousssauds, took the London Eye (twice), went to see Wicked (which I think is now my favourite musical of all time) and dozed off on an open top tour bus after spending a morning wandering round the many parks and gardens. From there we flew to Toronto and I got to meet some of MC's rellies, walked on the glass floor of the CN Tower and MC took me to Toronto Island for some romantic strolling in glorious sunshine. If it wasn't for the shockingly abysmal holiday entitlements, visa issues and traffic, the weather alone might have had me begging MC for us to relocate. I saw more sunshine in 6 days than we experienced here all bleedin' summer! From there we headed to Ontario to visit with more family and meet up with MC's Mum, Stepdad, sister and littlest brother to take a trip with them down into New Hampshire. It rained consistently in New Hampshire but we swam, shopped, relaxed, read and had a laugh before returning to spend a final day basking in the sun in the Toronto 'Beaches'. Thirty degrees leaving Canada, fifteen back home. Bump.
Back to the grindstone through June and July. Not much to report.
MC and I's birthdays are in August, just a few days apart. So, we got a late theatre weekend deal coupled with cheap cheap first class train tickets (hey - free tea makes any trip more pleasant) and went back to London. The thespian in me cringes here but I have to say Legally Blonde was much more entertaining than Rosencrantz & Gildenstern are Dead. I'm sure Bill Murray was of the same sentiment given his lack of displaying appreciation at the end of the play and so I don't feel quite so much a cultural neanderthal. We ate, went to the gym (yes, on holiday) and were merry. Then we came home and had a barbecue with friends and family to Christen the new barbecue and celebrate the last day of sunshine. A few guests were sadly chased mercilessly round the garden by dying wasps but the raspberry and chocolate cake went down a storm after the rain chased us all indoors. We got older and it was all good.
September, well it occurs to me that 2011 revolved heavily around holidays. In September we visited my Mum and Stepdad in Turkey. They were having a late onset summer and so the temperatures were right up there with the average July/August. Poor MC melted into the sofa each day under the airconditioning with his book and our cat as his constant companion while I drank tea, played backgammon or cards and caught up with the less seen parentals. The swimming was amazing, especially the day we went out into the Aegean by boat but we were properly boiled the days we took trips to Ephesus and Pamukkale. We ate too much and lazed and three days after getting home I cycled Pedal for Scotland with an aeroplane caught cold. It wasn't pretty and you don't need any more details. I finished in a decent time and MC put me in a taxi home. Money got raised for a good cause. I'm currently looking for replacements to cycle for the Finola Trust in my place next year because...
In October we got pregnant which made us both very happy but by week 5 there were a few issues that resulted in some early scans and lots of stress which made the whole of the second month fairly unpleasant. Couple that with never ending nausea and exhaustion and November through December was a diabolical write off. I was, thankfully, able to attend the wedding of some long time friends in November and that was heart-warming and beautiful. Even being green about the gills couldn't lessen the effects of a good wedding! My personal Christmas miracle though saw an end to my nausea and proper hunger kick in on the 23rd of December. Touch wood, I've felt a million times better ever since. Props to all the family and friends who were supportive through that time and to Dad who turned up in overalls on his day off to help poor MC put our house back together when it became apparent that I was not able to wield a paintbrush. If it wasn't for his help and MC's heroic efforts, all our furniture might still be in our living room and Christmas dinner might have been a Chinese takeaway.
Speaking of Christmas, it was braw. Got spoiled by MC, have amassed a stack of goodies which should keep me going through the entire pregnancy (once the sweet tooth re-emerges) and Dad and the brothers came by for a feast. All fun, interspersed with glorious naps.
So now we're back to January and it promises to be a busy year so I'm not going to be bonkers enough to pretend that I'll be a better blogger going forward. I'm a bit stumped for New Years resolutions though. All the usual suspects are a little void: lose weight (not appropriate for at least the next seven months she says, pulling on elastic waisted jeans) give up various vices (thoroughly given up already, I've even gone off chocolate) and achieve stuff. If the last three months have taught me anything it's that every day of pregnancy is a little achievement in itself. I look forward to being able to focus properly again at work now that I feel human again and don't feel the compulsion to hover round the bathroom for hours at a time. I do need to get fit again, though there are a few limitations I've not had to work with before. As soon as the pregnant-belly-compatible swimsuit arrives I'll be trialling the delights of aquanatal, swimming and prenatal yoga (not dependent on the swimsuit obviously).
Happy New Year everyone. I have many wishes for 2012 and my new mantra is 'one day at a time'. May all the expected babies be born healthy and happy and may all our friends and family continue to enjoy employment and comfort. May my brother find health and lasting relief from pain and discomfort. May we all travel and have adventures that fulfil us and bring us home safely.
And may the Mayans have simply run out of room on their damn calendar.
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