Alien Spouse

One of the lovely things about Asheville is that there are so many talented and creative people here, and they are so damned nice as well!

The shop stocks the work of several local artists, and I've always really liked the line of jewellery made by Amber Hatchett that we sell.  Amber creates sustainable jewelery from an eclectic range of found objects - Her pieces can combine vintage charms, chains, bullets, antlers (that were shed by the live deer!) or any number of other things.  All of her necklaces are gorgeous, but they are so very individual and unique, none of the ones we had in the shop were exactly right for me.  Fortunately I knew that Amber also takes commissions, and I had one or two lovely shiny things that I thought she could make me something from.

I selected a few items that I thought might work, and Amber agreed to make me two necklaces from them.  I was SO excited when she told me they were ready, and that she'd deliver them on Sunday!

This one is made from a glass button that fell into my lap when we went to see "Guys and Dolls" in London, it popped off Sarah Brown's jacket during the Cuba number.

The pixie pendant I've had for as long as I can remember, and I'm frankly amazed I haven't lost it.  My Mum bought it for me from a gypsy!

Amber added two tiny leaf charms, along with her signature touch of several different kinds of chain.

I love it!

The other necklace was made from a large glass brooch and the matching clip-on earrings; I loved these but they were so heavy they really did not work as they were originally intended. Now, with the addition of a gorgeous vintage Ulsner pendant they are the perfect statement piece.  If the statement you want to make is "Fabulous!", obviously.

Speed Mobility System - From Milan.

It is utterly bizarre to me that I have somehow stumbled into a life in which I am shopping for motorcycle accessories.  How the hell did that happen?

I bought a SMS Visione in pearl white with black stripes, and it arrived yesterday.  I am very happy with it; it fits snuggly whilst still being nice and light, and I love how it looks.  There is a definite hint of Princess from G-Force about it, now all I need is a pink dress, a white cloak and some high white boots.

Originally I was heavily leaning towards a sliver glitter helmet, which was rather stunning, but that didn't have a face visor and I decided that whilst looking like a mirror ball might be fun, it might also be a little over the top.  So I went with something classic (and a good $50 cheaper...).

The SMS website has the following information about their designers:

"SMS is an Italian designed helmet line.  Mr. Landi is the main designer behind these exclusive scooter helmets.  Mr. Landi lives and works in Milan, where he finds much of his design inspiration in this beautiful old European city in the heart of Italy.  Guiseppe is the other Italian designer, responsible for building high quality, safe helmets with a stylish look.  Together they have created this elite line of scooter helmets with a distinct European retro feel."

I love that!  Mr Landi and Guiseppe!  

A Statement of Intent with Regard to Summer Clothing.

2013 will be a momentous year.

It will be the year that I finally drive a motorised vehicle after passing my driving test twenty flipping years ago AND it will be the year that I wear a bikini for the first time in my adult life.  Not at the same time of course, that would be foolish.

This is my two piece of choice, and, as if it could get any better than it already is, it actually is an Esther Williams design.  I haven't bought it yet, because I'm still hoping to lose/tone a little more tummy before the summer.  This is where the newly re-started pilates comes in, along with some yet-to-be-done calorie counting

That's all I had to say today.  Bikini. Yes.

Love Asheville.

On Sunday I was working at the shop, and it was fairly busy which was really quite fun.  I was saddened to see that the clock hand earrings I'd been eyeing up had been sold since Thursday, but I probably shouldn't wear attractive dangly earrings around Eva McGrabby-Hands anyway.

Sundays are a nice day to be working in one of the coolest shops in Asheville, because we get a lot of tourists who are visiting for the weekend and usually by Sunday they are relaxed and chatty.  I really enjoy meeting people when they are happily chilled out, so it's a win-win.  This week I was wearing my new "Love Asheville - Go Local" t -shirt

Even better this week I recognised one of our customers, but I couldn't immediately place her.  Fortunately I realised who she was before she left - It was Go Go Ren of the Appalachian Roller Girls!  Squee!  I, of course, fan girled out, and told her what a great jammer she was.  Go Go seemed quite surprised to be recognised, but she was lovely and didn't skate a lap around the shop at top speed or anything.  She mentioned that she had retired her skates, and asked if I'd considered joining a derby team myself (Don't worry Mum - I'm a wimp, I'm highly unlikely to strap on the knee guards) It was a definite highlight of a pleasant day at work.

Asheville.  You have got to love it.

A Logical Place to Sleep.

Well, the crib was quite easy to put together (as far as I could see anyway - Doc C actually built the crib, because I had built the changing table/chest of drawers earlier in the afternoon).  Eva doesn't seem to hate it or anything, but we will see what she makes of sleeping in it.  Please keep your fingers crossed that our little science officer decides this is a good place to take her r-and-r of a night.

Puree of Pea.

Eva, like her dad, is a big fan of mushy peas.

Me?  I'm not so keen, but then that was exactly the colour of my school uniform.

Shopping/Working.

It was a very, very quiet day at work; so much so tha,t after I'd printed bags and swept the floor, I browsed the racks and tried a few things on.

Long story short - I spent today's wages befoe they even made it into my pocket.  I do have three gorgeous new tops though, so it was totally worth it.  Next week I have my eye on a skirt...  Ooh!  And a pair of earrings made from vintage clock hands...

This job is clearly going to be dangerous to my wallet.

Working/Shopping.

The only problem with working at my favourite shop in town is that it can feel like I'm browsing for the whole of my working day - And then I just want to spend all of the money I'm earning before it's even in my wallet.

Today we got a big delivery, so I was unpacking, hanging and steaming some really lovely dresses, skirts and blouses.  I sent Doc C a phone pic of one particular dress in a gorgeous duck egg blue with a print of penny farthings, and he immediately responded "It's like it was made for you!".  I know.  Damn.

I resisted trying anything on today, mostly because I was super busy steaming everything, but I'm not sure I'll have the self-control when I'm in on Sunday.

One Thing After Another.

What a day!  

First of all Eva woke up at three again.  This had better not become a habit - Actually I suspect she knew I had a long day ahead of me, she likes to make sure we know who is boss around here.

Anyway after that my nine o'clock (I have "nine o'clocks" now.  Hehehe!) was cancelled at the very last minute - So last minute that I was actually already at the client's office when I heard.  So I came home and had a bit of a nap.

Then I opened the shop and that all went fairly smoothly; it was freezing this morning so the shop was totally empty for the first hour.  I started unpacking a delivery of jeans, checking it against the invoice, pricing the merchandise and putting it out on display.  This is usually pretty straight forward, but today I found one pair of jeans had a hole in the crotch so those had to be kept to the side and I made a note of them.  No problem!

Then Doc C rang to tell me that he'd tried giving Eva some formula, because we were low on milk and that she had found it absolutely unacceptable and was inconsolable.  So he had to bring her to the shop for me to feed - And of course that's when the customers suddenly streamed in.  Fortunately she had calmed down enough that she could wait until we had a quiet moment and I could flip the closed sign on the door for a few minutes.

That crisis over I re-opened and Doc took Eva into the staff toilet to change her, this is just off the stock room which is seperated from the shop by a curtain.  The next set of customers brought a very friendly and inquisitive dog with them, and he was happily and politely  exploring the shop when he suddenly took an interest in the stock room.  I suspect he could smell Eva's nappy, and the next thing we knew he'd nipped behind the curtain to check things out.  He was very easy to get back out though, so again all was well.

Ok.  Then I was running a customer's credit card and the card reader first of all rejected her pin and then seemed to spontaenously void the sale on the next attempt.  So I tried a third time, and at that point it announced it was out of paper.  Good grief.  When I'd sorted that out it became clear that the card reader had read the customer's card twice, so I had to call the owners of the shop to ask how the hell to stop it doing that.

Around two-ish I vaguely remember hearing a distant crashing noise, like slates sliding against each other.  I didn't really pay too much attention - Until the street filled with fire engines and paramedic vans.  I could see where on the street they were focussing their attention, but I had no idea what was going on - until a customer told me a building that was being renovated had collapsed when they removed a load bearing wall.  Fortunately no one was hurt, but the street was closed off to traffic for most of the afternoon.

I started to unpack a delivery of socks, price those and display them.  I'm not sure why I was surprised when the gun that spikes those little plastic hanging hooks just came to pieces in my hand and refused to do it's job any further.  So I arranged the socks on a table instead of hanging them up, really not too much of an issue.

Moving on to my next task I set up the counter for bag printing (This is super fun - It's a hand stamp of the shop's logo, that's satmped onto each bag by hand), and got a stack of blank bags ready to print. I took the lid off the ink pad, and turned to put it on the side... And as I did that I knocked over a display of earrings, they flew off the counter and all over the floor behind the till.  Even better two of them went all the way under the cupboards; I had to get down on my hands and knees, and get my arm covered in dust and spider webs to retrieve them.

Let's recap:

1. Eva's three am snack.
2. Last minute meeting cancellation.
3. Holes in the merchandise.
4. Eva's complete rejection of formula on a day when we were low on pumped breast milk.
5. A dog maurading in the stock room.
6. Card reader madness!
7. A BUILDING COLLAPSED.
8. Tag gun malfunction.
9. Earrings knocked onto the floor.

Can you believe after all of those things that the till actually balanced?  And, whilst I was really tired by the end of the day, I was in a pretty good mood actually.

Doc C came to pick me up and when we got home he made me a nice cup of tea.  Then he ordered us a curry, because I'd had a slightly tricky day and also because it's our sixth wedding anniversary.

As I said - What a day. Still once I'd had a snuggle with my baby (and eaten a delicious salmon tikka with a locally brewed beer) I was totally chilled out and now I'm ready to sleep for, um, the next three days or so.

Job Satisfaction.

I had actually forgotten how nice it is to be looking forward to work the next day.  Tomorrow I have a 9 o'clock meeting about a film project, before going to open the shop at 11.

Um. I am LOVING this.  Is that weird?

Of course this is still week one with the production company and week two with the shop, but it has to be said they are both off to absolutely cracking starts.

Sunday Trading.

It was my second day at the shop, and for the second half I was flying solo; I even cashed up the till, set the alarm and locked up by myself (well, Doc C and Evalyn Alice were there to get me, but they didn't really help with closing up).

And it was actually a really fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon - How often do you get to say that about your job?

Working Hard for the Money.

Thursday was my first day back in retail, and it was good!  

Well, ok it was raining so hard ALL day that precisely eight people came into the shop & only two of them bought anything.  So not the best day for sales, but actually there was so very much to learn that it was probably no bad thing (for me anyway).

Of course this also gave me a great opportunity to really check out the stock thoroughly, and this has always been one of my favourite shops, so that is really quite dangerous for our budget. There's at least one necklace with my name on it already, and several really nice coats.  I do not need another coat.  Remind me of this.

I was exhausted by the time I got home, because you are just on your feet all day when you work in a shop.  You get used to it fairly quickly, and it's not a problem once you are back in condition, but the first few shifts are quite brutal.  It also hadn't helped that I didn't get much sleep the night before - I tried, I really did but it was not to be.  We went to bed at 11, which was later then intended but not awful, but then Doc's phone rang at midnight (it was the university's emergency broadcast system and it was a bloody test.  At midnight.  On a Wednesday.  Ugh.)  After that I got three hours sleep, before Eva woke up and requested feeding; this is a new thing, and I really don't approve.  She went back to sleep immediately, I dozed and eventually got back to sleep shortly before she woke up again at 5 to be fed again.

Whilst I was earning some money, Doc C was looking after Eva for the day.  She was very well behaved all day apparently, and was perfectly happy.  In fact she didn't seem to notice that I hadn't been there for seven hours; which is great obviously...

On Friday afternoon I had arranged to have coffee with the owner of a local video production company, because they happened to be looking for a part-time project manager.  It was a really good meeting, and reminded me of exactly why I love working with creative people and on film projects.  Keep your fingers crossed on that one, because it seems like it would be a perfect fit for me at the moment and I WANT IT!

All in all, Asheville has just been fantastic to me this week. *contented sigh*

Red Accents for a Pop of Colour.

Tomorrow I'll be starting my new job, and I am super excited about it.  In fact I tried on a whole bunch of different outfits this afternoon, because I want to look stylish tomorrow and, frankly, it's been a while since I felt able to really flex my fashion muscles.

I selected two quite different looks and I'll make the final decision tomorrow morning - It's either a short Mod-ish navy dress with brown boots or black jeans with a black scoop neck top and black boots (I can add my black wool poncho if it's colder than I expect!).  So boots are a given and there are red accessories for both.

I'm also going to wear... MAKE-UP.  How exciting is that?  I am seriously considering a bit of red lippy to really celebrate the novelty!

Ooh! and I get to pick the music tomorrow!  Time to put together a playlist. Dusty Springfield seems highly likely.

Woolly Amsterdams.

Having been at home for most of the past few months I've come to know the routine of the house fairly well, so I usually expect the post (American translation : Mail - Reminder of my observation that the US has a Postal Service, whilst the UK has a Royal Mail) to arrive at 2:30 and I listen out for it.  If our post-lady (Same as a "mail-woman" Americans!) climbs the stairs then either we or our neighbour, Jack (he's a very polite musician), have got a parcel.  Exciting!

Today we got the knock on the door, and when I saw the stamps were from Germany I knew my Christmas present from Moth had arrived (she's not in Germany though, just the company she bought my present from!).  You see, rather than going the driftwood route, my Mum decided to do something really avant garde: She bought something that she knew I wanted.

I have been eyeing up these felted wool Birkenstock clogs for years, but never felt justified in buying them when I already had slippers.  Of course those slippers, including my most recent bunny slippers, had a foam sole and so offered no support whatsoever.  After an hour or so of carrying a crying baby up and down the hallway you begin to really begrudge that lack of support, believe you me.

The Amsterdam Birkenstocks did not disappoint, they are comfortable and warm, AND they have the trademark Birkenstock footbed.  So the arch support is fantastic, and it has extremely good shock absorption.

My feet are just revelling in their new petrol blue homes - All the more so for my noticing that colour seems to have been discontinued, so Moth got them for me just in time!  Squee!

Thank you Moth!

A Teeny Tiny Napoleon.

It's been quite cold today, so I decided to dress Eva in this fleecey footy jumpsuit that Doc's sister sent us; which was good because it'll be too small for her in the next few days.

Doesn't Eva look adorable in these pictures?  Almost angelic in that full length one, right?  In fact this was a brief respite in a day of shouting, not crying or grizzling, just really loud yelling at us.  It felt like we were being berated by a very small dictator.

She has been a horror today, a HORROR.  Still, she's asleep now and tomorrow is another day.

 

Faux-Hawk!

Doc C dressed Eva today, but he was shamelessly pandering to my taste and I was particularly smitten with this outfit.  Look at that faux-fur faux-hawk!  Ridiculous AND Adorable!

We actually had to go out this morning to get blood taken for some blood tests (nothing interesting, just standard tests for the medical we had with our new doctor yesterday) and we weren't supposed to eat before hand - So we were very motivated to leave the house early today.  

Eva slept through the whole thing, and only really woke up when we went out for breakfast, and even then she was really good.  There was a bit of crying, but only because she wanted to get out of her pram and STARE around the restaurant at people.  She is definitely getting really interested in other people and what they are doing, which is really fun to see.

She wasn't quite so good when we later had to go to the chemists to pick up our prescriptions, but who can blame her?  Walgreens is really not as much fun as the Early Girl Eatery!

Sleep and Clean.

Today we went serious stuff shopping at Target.  We had a list and everything.

Most important was a special type of bedding for the baby; we are still swaddling Eva at night, because otherwise her arms tend to get a bit flaily and she ends up waking herself up by accidentally hitting herself in the face.  The problem is that as she gets bigger she gets stronger, so just using swaddling blankets doesn't work at all any more because she can easily wiggle her arms free.  We were given a couple of special swaddler wraps that are sort of a cross between a sleeping bag and a straight jacket; and Eva cannot Houdini her way out of those, so we bought a couple more.

Eva's on the verge of out-growing those, so we went to buy a larger size today.  All of the ones hanging up on the display were small/medium, the size she's about to burst out of, and I couldn't find any larger ones at all.  Just as I was about to give up, I noticed one of the packages of swaddlers tucked behind a nightlight on a shelf next to the display - They were the last pair of large swaddlers!  Yes!  I have no idea why they were there, but I am very glad to have found them in what would have previously seemed to me to be the dullest easter egg hunt ever!

Actually the other thing I was particularly looking for was even more thrilling; a cleaning product I was keen to try - Barkeeper's Friend.  When we got home I was barely through the front door before I was testing it out on some stubborn tea stains on the work surface.  And I was delighted when those tea stains vanished! So satisfying! And it's derived from rhubarb? Ok then!

These are the things that I find exhilarating these days?  Post-pregnancy hormones are just bizarre, aren't they?

Denim Purchases.

After much consideration and my observation of a good deal on my favourite cut of jeans, I decided to buy two new pairs of jeans and a pair of pajama bottoms.  I priced it out ahead of time and with the discounts it came to $50 - Acceptable!

I specifically wanted grey jeans and I've also been thinking about red jeans for a while; so that's what I took to the changing room to try on in my usual size.  They did not fit.  As it happened that the black jeans I was wearing were the exact same cut of jeans, so I knew what size I should be.  Then it occured to me that I'd had these the black jeans since before I became pregnant, so maybe I'd stretched them? sigh.

I left the chenging room, and as I handed them to the changing room assistant she asked if they were any good. When I said no and pulled a rueful face, she said that actually this particular run of jeans were sized particularly small,  Which I thought was very kind of her.

Still I went back to the display of jeans and had another look at them, and a second assistant cheerfully told me that these jeans run at least two sizes too small, and, as there was no way that the woman in the changing room had told her to say that (I am nothing if not sceptical), I knew it was good intel.  I bit the bullet and went up two sizes, and this time the jeans fitted perfectly.  I just don't want to look at the label on them, because they are bigger than my pre-pregnancy size and damn it they shouldn't be.  Ugh!  I know that there are some women who would simply refuse to buy clothes that have the "wrong" size on them, so I think I understand why these particular were so heavily discounted at the moment!

Whilst I was trying things on, Doc C was toting Eva around in her harness carrier and browsing the baby section.  He decided on two pairs of blue jeans, a pair of red jeans (just like Mummy's!) and a pair of grey fleece trousers.

We took everything up to the till, and it came to just over $100.  I hadn't miscalculated my cost of the haul, instead Eva's stuff had actually cost slightly more!  Good grief!

Pragmatic Fashion.

When I went home to visit Moth last year I bought a duffel coat from Marks and Spencer's, it was the last one in the sale and I almost didn't buy it because it's five sizes larger than I usually wear.  It's quite a generous fit as you may imagine, which is proving to be really quite useful because, when I'm carrying Eva in her moby sling, I can actually button it up over the top of both of us and keep us toasty.  I'm sure it must look ridiculous, but as long as Eva is comfortable I don't much care.

Eva, meanwhile, is dressing like a rockstar these days.  Look at those leopard print leggings!

A Weekend in November.

On Saturday morning Eva and I went with Doc C to do the laundry, which is more fun then it might sound because the laundrette we frequent also combines a bar and used bookshop.  Doc dealt with loading up the washing machines (he has a system) and I took care of Eva who slept for the entire time, so I got to browse the books.  

Last time we were there last time I found a book entitled "The Womanly Art of Breast Feeding" which was published in the early 80s if the hair and fashions in it are any indication, it was still there but Eva and I seem to be doing pretty well so I didn't bother with it this time.  Instead I flipped through a much more up-to-date copy of "What to Expect in the First Year", and it actually had some interesting information so I bought it for the bargain price of $2.

On Sunday we took Eva for a drive, because she was feeling a bit screamy and we thought the neighbours could do with a break frankly!  Plus, of course, driving in a car puts her to sleep after about 10 minutes on the road, because she is very much my daughter.  We turned the trip into a lovely Sunday drive on the parkway and picked up doughnuts as well to make it really decadent.

As you know I'm currently job hunting, and so every moment that I'm not taking care of Eva should be spent looking for something that might be a productive means of earning some money.  To help me with this Doc C has downloaded a super fun game that I've wanted for ages called "Quantum Conundrum".  It involves flipping between four different dimensions and the opportunity to actually use my brain to solve some nifty little logic puzzles.  It is really quite addictive, and I am trying my best not to get totally sucked into it.

Belated Birthday Mention.

I totally forgot to mention that it was mine and Doc's birthday last Monday - That's how much of an event it was this year!  Doc had to teach, so he was away and it was just me, Eva and the cats hanging out and watching Eddie Izzard on Netflix.  I went to bed early.

Ah well, at least my Mum prepared and sent a fantastically thoughtful parcel of lovely things for all of us which arrived on Thursday.  I'm wearing the fleece lined slipper socks right now, M&S's finest, and they are gorgeously cosy.

Edith is Her Robin.

I'm Bat Baby!

My hands are my weapons and they are so fast they are a BLUR!

And yes, Bat Baby wears an adorable chicky hat. It is surprisingly comfortable, ok?

 

Resuming Broadcast.

Doc C borrowed a lap top for me, so that I'm able to access the internet and blog, isn't that sweet of him?  He is the very best of husbands in my completely unbiased opinion!

To recap the last few days:

• On Friday we took Eva to get her first round of vaccinations - There was, of course, screaming but the nurse was very efficient and got the shots done really quickly.  Eva soon recovered her equilibrium and is her usual (mostly content) self now.
• We went to the storage unit and dropped off the Halloween decorations and picked up warmer clothes, boots and bedding.  I resisted bringing home the Christmas baubles for now.
• Doc C finished "Bioshock", and we found a second-hand copy of "Bioshock 2" for $8 so the adventure continues!
• I've been reading a lot on my Kindle,which is just an absolute necessity for bookworm mothers in my opinion. It is so easy to hold and "turn pages" with one hand whilst feeding Eva, or holding her, or whatever else she needs at that particular moment (although I haven't yet worked out how to read even the Kindle whilst changing her nappy though, that task requires complete attention).
• I considered buying new jeans on Friday, but as I can easily fit into my old jeans now (if you kindly gloss over the slight muffin top...) so I'll wait to buy more clothes when I have a found a job.
• Speaking of which, I updated my CV and Doc C printed off some copies so I can start handing them in to local businesses and applying for jobs.
• The weather is still quite pleasant but it is colder, so I don't like to have the door to the balcony open all day.  The cats have learned to miaow at the door when they want to go out, and then tap on the glass with their paw when they want to come back in.  They tend to want to go in or out every ten to fifteen minutes and are therefore driving me potty.

The Day's Achievements (Plural).

Today we got stuff done!

• Doc C made pancakes for breakfast and we listened to "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" on NPR.
• We bathed Eva and she was perfectly clean for about four hours - Then she got milk in her hair when I was changing her.  That's her favourite trick.
• I reluctantly took down the Halloween decorations.
• I started job hunting (If you know of any weekend work going in Asheville...)
• We had lunch in town - crepes and pommes frites. Delicious.
• Doc C took Eva for a walk and chatted with some of our neighbours.
• I did some hand washing and put away laundry (I have been trying to do that for days now, so it was far more exciting than it should have been)
• We played with Edith to try and tire her out a bit, so she won't chase Nancy around the apartment all night.
• Doc C made banana bread.

It doesn't sound like much, but believe you me it feels like we took on the tasks of Hercules and completed them all.  I am going to sleep SO well.

Tummy Button.

Ok fine.  I'm smitten by this kid, but I can't help it! She's just ridiculously sweet in a number of ways that I wasn't expecting. A good example of this would be her tummy; how cute is this tummy button?   I didn't know tummy buttons came in a perfect swirl like that! It's adorable, damn it!

Also pictured here is the top of her nappy (American Translation : Diaper), we are really happy with the cloth nappies and the delivery service we use is great, so the whole thing is incredibly simple and convinient.  Of course the most important thing is that Eva seems very comfortable and, when Doc C decided to use the last of the disposable nappies we had left over from the hospital, she actually seemed quite unhappy about the disposable nappy.  Doc C told her she was being ideological, but that didn't appear to sway her opinion and she wouldn't settle down until he put a cloth nappy on her instead.

A Quiet Halloween.

This is the first halloween since I moved to the States that I haven't had a costume, but I just didn't have time to make anything for myself this year because Eva's costume took priority!

It's a very very simple costume, just a brown hoody with ears (Thanks Moth!) with a little blue fez and a pair of tiny wings tacked onto it. I crocheted the fez and wings, and I'm really pleased with how the fez turned out but the wings really aren't as good as I'd like.  Fortunately Eva is carrying the costume off with charming aplomb, so I don't think the wings are too glaring an issue.

As for Trick-or-Treaters, we haven't had any so far.  I was looking out of the kitchen window as did the washing up earlier and I saw a lone Egyptian Mummy with a plastic pumpkin walking down our street, but that seems to be it, no other diminutive ghosts, ghouls or goblins have made an appearance unfortunately.

With Doc C being away this evening I don't want to watch anything too scary, so I chose to spend the evening in the company of Vincent Price.  I decided on watching "Theatre of Blood" because it's got such a ridiculously camp plot, with such a fabulous cast, that I don't think I'll be scared too badly by it.  One of the central roles is played by a young Diana Rigg, and I do wish I'd seen the stage version which was on a few years ago with Miss Rigg's daughter, Rachel Sterling, in the same role and Jim Broadbent in the lead.  Damn it, that looked like it was SO much fun!  Oh well!

Eight Weeks of Eva.

Evalyn Alice is 8 weeks old today - And look how much bigger and happier she is!

Also, you can tell that Doc C is out of town because there is no way he would allow her to be dressed in a black/grey striped onesie with black/grey leopard print leggings and hot pink socks (It's probably a good thing that you can't see her nappy cover, which is lime green).

I think she looks very fashion forward and adorable myself.

*** Post Script - I just spoke to Doc C, he said he saw today's photo of Eva and actually the outfit was kind of punk rock and cool! So maybe she will wear this ensemble a few more times! ***

Costumes.

With ten days to go until Halloween I still have no idea what I'm going to be this year; I was a "Suburban 50's Witch" last year, so I'd like to do something different this year but I'm not sure I'm actually going to have time to pull anything decent together.  I do have an unworn purple wig that I bought two years ago as a back up option for my Coraline costume, just in case the blue wool wig I was making didn't work, so I might wear that this year.  If I whip up a witch's hat fascinator and sew it at jaunty angle to the purple wig, then I could easily just throw on something black and be a "Punk Rock Witch" this year.  Actually, I quite like that idea!

The reason I am so behind on my own costume is because I've been much more focussed on Evalyn's first Halloween costume, because clearly that is a defining moment in a child's life.  

Eva is going to be a Flying Monkey!  

Moth bought her an adorable brown hoodie with little round ears, so I've made a tiny blue-and-red fez, and all I have to do now is make some wings; seeing as they are integral to the whole "flying" aspect of the costume (not that I'm expecting her to actually fly, obviously.  She's a baby, she can't even walk yet, flying is just far too ambitious).  It's going to be very simple, but hopefully still rather cute.

My Coney Clogs.

Bunny slippers!

These are clearly fabulous, but they were chosen for practical reason honestly.  When none of the lamps are switched on our bedroom still has enough ambient light that I can see pale objects on the floor, so I picked these specifically so I can find them quickly at night without having to switch a light on.

I mean, ok, technically as long as the slippers were pale they didn't need to also be bunny slippers, but, given the choice between bunny or none bunny, why wouldn't you go with the rabit option?

Kissing Birds and Stripy Stripes.

We bought Eva some long sleeved tops and leggings to keep her warm as the weather turns a little bit chillier.  

Doc C chose this super cute onesie, and I selected the ridiculous stripy leggings; the resulting outfit could only be pulled off by a pretty baby with a sweet smile.

By the way when I took this picture Eva was in her car seat because we were about to go to the supermarket and pick up a few things for dinner.  Whilst we were there she got a bit restless, so I took her out of the pram and carried her instead.  She quieted down immediately and was perfectly happy for the rest of the shopping trip; as was I until I put her back into the pram and saw that my t-shirt now looked as though a tub of cottage cheese had been tipped down the front of it.  Thank you Evalyn Alice!  Good thing you are a pretty baby with a sweet smile!

This Small Victory is Mine!

The temperature has dropped noticably over the last couple of days; and Eva does not approve.  That's the only reason I can come up with for her being so inconsolably grumpy every time I try to put her down, I think she wants to be held so she can leach my body heat. Basically, what I'm saying is that my daughter is a cat or possibly a lizard.  I have been calling her Reptile Brain (Affectionately!  Her other nickname is Milk Breath), so I may have brought this on myself.

Yesterday I didn't ever manage to calm her down long enough for me to have a shower until it just seemed a bit pointless especially as I wasn't going to be leaving the house or seeing anyone anyway, and so I just changed into a warmer set of pajamas.  Today though has been a victory of baby wrangling and time management - I've eaten breakfast before noon, had a shower (AND I washed my hair and put some styling product in it!  I know!) and put on clean clothes that are not designed purely for sleeping in.  

I feel like I have accomplished so much.  It's funny how your goals and standards change isn't it?

Ducky Nighty.

This nightgown with the embroidered ducks on it is particularly amusing to me because there is a loose thread on the Mother Duck's face which makes it look like she's giving her Duckling some wicked side-eye.

That loose thread, and the resulting slight change in facial expression, completely inverts the embroidery slogan underneath it - as if the Duck-Baby is complacently saying "Mommy loves me", and the Duck-Mum is all "I suppose..."

Pink Baby and Tasty Raw Fish. Heaven.

Doc C's sister sent a crocheted pink hat with a pink ribbon and feather rosette.  The rosette is RIDICULOUS and takes the hat completely over-the-top from cute to infant drag.  It was already so pink that we couldn't resist pairing it with the sugary sweet white and pink dress(with embroidered pink ladybirds on it) and, finally, pink socks.  Eva was very possibly the pinkest baby in Asheville, which was in honour of our going out for sushi with our friend Laura.

This was the first time I've had proper sushi since I found out I was pregnant (I did have crab stick sushi, which is a mediocre counterfeit).  I had the sushi deluxe plate, which has several different types of sushi and rolls, and a special order of crispy salmon skin rolls.  Crispy salmon skin is my favourite type of sushi and I have been thinking about it for months.  It was utterly delicious.

All in all a very fun evening.

 

Comic Book Baby.

Based on her pose here, I think Eva is confusing Wonder Woman with Superman.

She's only 3 weeks and 6 days old though, she's got a lot of stuff to learn still.

(By the way, she wore this for about 4 hours before getting milk all down the front and then also peeing on it whilst I was changing her nappy.  Babies!)

My Two Week Check-Up.

I went for my two week check-up today, which was super quick because it was essentially just checking that my C-section incision is healing well, which it is, and that took about 30 seconds.  I joked to Doc C on the way home that I should have just texted my doctor a mobile phone photo and saved the trip to the office.

Still, Eva enjoyed getting out of the house, she seems to like trips in the car, and it's nice to have people tell me how pretty she is (I know that everyone is morally obligated to say that; who tells a new mother that their kid is funny-looking? As it happens I do think my baby is quite cute - when she isn't screaming that is...)

The best part for me was being weighed - I'm currently 192 pounds, so I've already lost 20 pounds from my pregnancy weight and I'm back under 200 pounds again.  I'm not fanatical about my weight, and I'll never be super skinny, but it is nice to be within sight of my normal body again.  I don't need to be wearing a size zero to be happy, I'd be delighted just to be able to do up my size 12 jeans again without the use of a hair elastic.  Ok, maybe it'd be nice to be a size 10, but I'm not going to go nuts trying to achieve that.

My doctor did approve me for walking and light exercise, but I'm still not to pick up anything heavier than Eva and her carrier and I'm banned from doing crunches.  And I think we can all agree that autumnal walks in the park are rather lovely whilst crunches are hellish at the best of times, so I'm totally fine with that ruling.

Weights and Measures.

Yesterday we took Eva to see the pediatrician for her two week check-up, and he said that she's doing really well.  When she was born Evalyn weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces, that dropped (which is totally normal for new-borns) to 6 pounds 2 ounces and all of the literature said that she should regain her birth weight by the time she was ten days old; however we don't have scales at home, so we couldn't check on this ourselves.  It was extremely reassuring to find out when she was weighed yesterday that she is now 7 pounds 10 ounces!  Yes!  I am successfully feeding our child!

This was the first time I had met Eva's doctor, but Doc C had already told me he was really nice; I appreciated that he took time to answer all of our questions and also asked how I was doing which I thought was both sensible and kind.  Both qualities you want in your child's health-care provider.

It was pretty exciting for me to be out of the house for the first time in 11 days, so after the doctor's appointment we went to get a coffee and then went totally nuts and bought a breast pump at Target.  I tell you being a new parent is all about the wild times...

Anyway, the most exciting thing that happened today was that I tried on a pair of my old khakis - And they fitted!  I wouldn't say they look good, but I could get them done up comfortably so I've been wearing them all day.  I am particularly pleased about this because I haven't yet been trying to lose any of my pregnancy weight, so this is just things settling back into place and probably a bit of weight-loss from the breastfeeding and eating sensibly.  On Monday I have my two week check-up with my OB/GYN, and I'm hoping that I get the ok to do a bit more walking and some light exercising.  Don't worry, I'm not going to try and drop a dress size in a week or anything daft like that, I'm quite happy to take this slowly and let my body adjust to the massive changes it's under gone recently - Poor old thing!

 

My Favourite PJs.

Batgirl pyjama bottoms!* Squee!

Evalyn, your Mummy is a total nerd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Purchased from Old Navy several months ago.  I don't know if they still have them, I sort of wish I'd stocked up on a few pairs now!

Girl's Night In.

Doc C's teaching schedule means he has to stay with our friends Randy and Laura twice a week, and tonight is the first time he's been away over night since Eva was born.  I know it was really difficult for him to leave this morning, and I miss having him here, but at the same time that was the deal we accepted when we moved here and I'm certain it was the right choice for us.

Of course, when Doc's away that means that I'm the responsible adult in the house.  

Yikes,

Right now, I am responsibly typing with one hand whilst Edith and Eva are both sleeping on my lap (Eva is actually snuggled under the waistband of one of my maternity skirts, just like she was two weeks ago!) - Let's hope Nancy doesn't try to join them, because there is no more lap visible at this point.

Beam Her Up Scotty!

Oh!  I keep forgetting to blog about Eva's pointy ears!  Look how cute they are - My daughter is a Vulcan!

Evalyn does actually have a Star Trek Science Officer (the blue uniforms) onesie that our friend Danny gave her, but she's a bit small for it right now.  Naturally when it fits her I will draw on some Spock like eyebrows with an eyeliner pencil and take some more photos.

Still Pre-Partum - Planning for Post-Partum.

We just got back from seeing my doctor and, yeah, nothing is happening so we are unlikely to be seeing Evalyn on her due date of Sunday. If things still haven't changed by the end of next week, then it's likely I'll be induced.

The weirdest thing for me is that I've actually lost a bit of weight, which is somewhat counter-intuitive at this point of a pregnancy - especially as I swear the bump is getting bigger!  My doctor didn't even mention it though, and I gather from the internet that it is really not that unusual.  I suppose it seems odd to me to have gone down from 215 pounds to 212 pounds in the last fortnight, mainly because I actually weighed more than that a couple of years ago and, of course, that was without being pregnant.  The average weight loss in the couple of weeks after birth is between 10 to 20 pounds, so there is a distinct possibility that I could be back under 200 before I even start actively trying to lose weight.  I'm not intending to go totally nuts with the post-partum dieting and exercising, but I do want to be a good healthy role model for my daughter by the time she's able to observe such things.  I'm not going to be ridiculously thin (ever!), but I do want to be fit, strong and happy with my body.  Basically I want to be able to go rock-climbing (or whatever she's interested in) with my daughter!

Instead of a goal weight though, I think I'm going to aim for a specific outfit - So I want to be able to wear my new leopard print cardigan, which arrived this morning and is gorgeous, with my skinny black jeans by this time next year.

Missions Accomplished.

Today I -

1. Read a couple of chapters of a YA novel and flipped through one of my Pilates books
2. Tidied the living room
3. Swept all of the wooden floors
4. Did a pre-natel Pilates routine
5. Watched an old season of "The Biggest Loser" (and was very disappointed when my two least favourite contestants won all of the money.  Damn it!)
6. Stopped Edith playing with a large bee
7. Started making Eva some sock/bootie things
8. Realised the yarn and crochet needle I have are entirely the wrong size for the sock/bootie project
9. Took all the plastic tags and stickers off some new baby clothes so that they can be washed
10. Had two cups of tea

Today I did not - 

1. Give birth

That's about it really, Doc C is home for the weekend now so we are at Evalyn's disposal should she decide to hit her due date.  Tomorrow morning I have a doctor's appointment, so we might get some idea of how likely that is.

Leopard Print Knit.

Today I bought a lovely merino wool cardigan (It's the Leopard Print Tippi Cardigan from J. Crew).  I feel a bit weird buying clothes for myself whilst I'm not actually earning any money, especially from somewhere as ridiculously preppy and, frankly, over-priced as J. Crew.

This was a carefully considered purchase, and I proceeded based on the following criteria - a) I've been sort of obsessing over leopard print cardigans recently, b) it was reduced from $89.50 to $49.99, and J. Crew currently are offering an additional 30% off on all sale items, c) I haven't bought any non-maternity clothes (not counting a new dressing gown) since December (and, actually, I stopped buying maternity clothes in May because I didn't feel I'd get enough wear out of them in 3 months to justify the purchase).

Whilst pregnant I've been working with a capsule wardrobe of 4 dresses, 1 pair of maternity jeans, 1 pair of non-maternity shorts that I could get to stay up with a hair-band, 1 pair of linen trousers, 2 skirts and a selection of tops that I didn't care too much about over-stretching.  It's served me well over the last 9 months, and for the most part I have been quite happy with how I looked - But I am really looking forward to the autumn, and being able to wear some different clothes. This cardigan is going to be paired with a) jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of boots, b) a black dress c) a black skirt (pencil or circle).  I also think it would look great under a leather jacket, but I don't currently own one of those so that's the next wardrobe item to obsess over. Clearly.

Oh, my only slight concern with this clearly fabulous woollen is that it says dry-clean only in the description.  Babies instinctively know not to puke on dry-clean only clothes, right?  Right?  Why are you laughing?

Five Days Until Due Date.

Doc C is back after the first day of teaching and he brought me a sticky bun!  That man knows me so well!

Today he made a point to warn his students that he'll likely be cancelling a class either this week or next because of the baby, so they are forewarned.  Usually Doc leaves his phone in his office whilst he's teaching, but for the time being he'll be taking it with him into the classroom; and I have been told I am only to call in the event of waters breaking.  It is obviously extremely tempting to call and just be like "Hi!  I'm bored!  How are you?", because that would be funny.  I'm not going to do that though, because Doc would have a heart attack and then be really really unamused.

To stop myself pulling hilarious prank calls on my poor husband, I have been reading a lot today and I think tomorrow I might even crack open the yarn stash and start making something for Eva.  I'm thinking booties that look like black mary-janes with socks, but I might start her first Halloween costume.  Decisions, decisions.

Chicks!

Doc's sister sent us a really fun parcel of baby stuff today, and she definitely got the no pink memo! I love the chick theme, and I'm pretty sure she made the chick soft toys.

A Pastoral Spherical Bump.

We didn't actually leave the house yesterday, so today Doc C was all "WE ARE GOING FOR A WALK - Bird Sanctuary or Botanical Gardens?  Choose!"  I didn't realy mind which and I felt like a bit of a stroll, so we ended up going to both and grabbing lunch from a Korean/Mexican food truck in between (so I had a tofu torta, Doc had spicy pork tacos and we split a side order of kimchi - It was SO delicious).

I also asked Doc C to take some more photos of the bump, because my stripy blue skirt is cut in such a way that it really shows off how spherical the thing is looking now.  I am serious, look:

It looks like I stuffed a mixing bowl up my t-shirt! Ridiculous!

Oh!  Let's compare it to a photo taken this time last year, shall we:

That really is RIDICULOUS!

The really funny thing about all the photos we've taken to document The Bump is that all of them have been outside (almost - We took a photo inside the flat last week, but I was next to the window!), preferably near a pond or a lake with plenty of trees in the background.  When Evalyn looks at them it will look as though I went entirely feral whilst I was carrying her and never came indoors or ventured too close to an urban area.  We'll have to go into town and find some really good graffiti for The Bump to pose next to, just to get some grittiness on record.

We also received a parcel from Doc C's aunt, who had clearly heard we were intending on depriving Eva of anything pink.  She thoroughly redressed the balance, and we now have several pink baby-grows, night gowns and dresses; fortunately she did lean more towards hot pink and the over-arching theme of the bundle was pink elephants, so we're not turning our noses up!

Nappy Training Day.

Today Doc C and I had an induction with a local diaper service (they deliver fresh clean nappies and take away the dirty ones to be washed - So the part of the whole cloth nappy thing that was giving me pause is just taken care of?  Perfect!), which means that the very nice woman who runs the service, Erika, came to our flat with a big stack of cloth nappies and a baby doll to practice putting nappies on.

We now know three different ways of putting a nappy on a baby, and both of us now feel a little more confident about what we're doing, I think.  The nappies are held in place with nifty rubber grippy things instead of nappy pins and then you put a water-proof cover over the top of that to really secure everything in place.  It seems fairly straight forward, but the doll isn't as wriggly as an actual baby, so that might change everything.  We shall have to see.  The only thing that Erika said that really surprised me was that breast-fed baby poo doesn't smell nasty, she said it smells like bread! Really?!?!?  Is that a true thing?   Similarly, I was reading last night that to help with breastfeeding I should consider taking fenugreek, which apparently has the weird side-effect of making sweat smell like maple syrup: again, really?!?!?!  I want to try fenugreek now just to see if that actually happens, because then, once Evalyn is born, the flat could potentially smell like french toast and how great would that be?

One of the things I am surprised to find that I like about the new flat is that, precisely because it's so small, we are forced to assign an actual place for everything to be stored - It really has to be "A place for everything and everything in it's place" because otherwise we'd be tripping over stuff and/or losing everything the minute we put it down.  So Doc C immediately cleared a shelf in the hall cupboard for the nappies and wipes, and we have stacks of both of them ready to go right now.  The nappy bin is also going to go in there, so it should be nicely out of the way and, should the bread aroma thing be a lie, we'll have an additional smell buffer.

Now all we need is a baby to actually wear the things.

Evasive Action.

The heat wave is less intense than it was, but I'm still not very comfortable with the temperatures.  This afternoon I suddenly felt both far too hot and exhausted; fortunately I've been observing the Queen of coping with heat, Edith Cavell-Cat.

I slid the coffee table out of the way so I could spread a blanket on the ground and lie directly underneath the ceiling fan, then I took off my clothes and ended up napping, curled up on the floor in just my underwear for an hour.  Best nap ever.

I couldn't have done that in the office.

Re-Watching The Next Generation.

When we move we are seriously cutting back on non-essentials, and I'm just as surprised as anyone to find myself easily agreeing that Tivo and cable television are non-essential.  This has been made immeasurably easier by two things: 1) The is NOTHING on TV over the summer and so we have been mostly watching stuff on Netflix streaming through the Playstation, and 2) There is so much to watch on Netflix streaming that we will be entertained for months without missing cable at all.

One of the things we have started to watch from the beginning is "Star Trek: The Next Generation", which although I have watched some of I really didn't pay much attention to.  However I did remember that in an early version of the uniform there were micro mini-dresses which were worn by both women and men, (these weren't worn by any of the main characters - I suppose Councillor Troi is the most likely to wear a short skirt, but these were too short even for her).  It would just be an anonymous crew member striding around in the micro mini-dress, and I specifically remembered an asian gentleman in a red command/helm uniform. Doc C never believed me when I mentioned this, so it has been very gratifying to be able to point him out.

Also, some of the early episodes are really freaking weird.  There is one that it is practically "Carry On Star Trekking" because it is so full of double entendres and odd acting choices.  It's really quite fun to watch.

New Flat, Old Clothes.

This weekend we went to look at the new flat, and I really like it!  Doc did very well!  It's true that it is half the size of our current place, and the bedroom in particular is going to be a tight fit; the bed is going to have to be wedged up against a wall, so to get in and out will require one of us clambering over the other.

There is absolutely no room for superfluous clothes storage, so on Sunday we had a massive cull on our wardrobes.  Doc went first and I sat on the bed and helped him make the more difficult decisions, and then he did the same for me.  Our approaches were quite different - he'd pick something up, and pull a face and I'd say "Well, it's a bit boring and if you don't feel comfortable in it then I think you should get rid of it", where as the moment I put the first pile of clothes on the bed Doc C was like "THAT.  I hate that!  It is so unflattering on you, what would it take for you to get rid of that?!?!?"  It worked really well, and we actually did get to our stated goal which was to empty one chest of drawers entirely and reduce the walk-in wardrobe by half to three-quarters.

Our next job is to empty the loft space here and have a long hard think about whether we really need to keep what's up there - I think it's just suitcases and Christmas decorations, but there is bound to be something I'm not expecting.

(also, I only have ten more days at work. Ten!)

Bib/Cape.

Brittany, the very lovely work study student in my office, is graduating this weekend, and so she's leaving us. This is just unbelivably selfish, but what can you do?

As a leaving gift I bought her a set of Philosophy bath things, because they always smell nice but also because they had a gift set which had especially heart-warming things written on the packaging. I'm not a big advocate of sentimentality, but I think when you are leaving University for your first job that having shower gel that tells you every morning that you are great and that you have a terrific future in front of you would be nice.

What I was totally not expecting was for Brittany to buy me a present, but, like I said, she is lovely and very thoughtful.  Isn't this bib adorable?  Look at all the little fishes with their great big teeth!  Nom, nom, nom! I love it!

In the current absence of a dressable baby I did try holding it up to Doc C's face to see what it might look like on Eva - assuming she looks like him, and has the stubble beffiting a Bearded Lady in training. This was fun, but I felt we could go further with it... Hmmmm... Who else lives in our house and is of the perfect size to wear a bib as a cape? Oh yes, Nancy!

Honestly, I thought that she would only put up with this for a second or two, but she was perfectly happy to wander around the living room with it on.  Clearly Nancy has super-hero fantasies that we were previously unaware of.