tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105113092024-03-13T15:24:40.364+00:00PamplemoussePCOS - check. Infertility - check. IVF - check. 43 years young - check. Sick of babydust - fricking double check. Join a Scottish infertile as she slowly swirls down the plughole. Now with added donor egg flava.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-61555828040505189002010-05-28T20:37:00.003+01:002010-05-28T20:55:56.830+01:00I Will See You In Far-off PlacesLast published 13 January 2010....poor neglected bloggie!! There, there, pat on the head.<br /><br />Ahem, cough.<br /><br />Just discovered this great gizmo on my iPod where I can write big notes eg. draft blog posts and then e-mail them to myself so when I am stuck on trains, I can think of scintillating things to blog about. Errrrr...not so much.<br /><br />Ok, big news on the street is that Mister P and I are visiting Stateside shortly. If you are one of the few people who did not know this by hearing about it on FB, then this is for you!<br /><br />If you want to meet up with me and some other bloggers past and present in Boston around the weekend of June 18th, then e-mail me. The lovely <a href="http://goodtimesgoodtimes.typepad.com/goodtimesgoodtimes/">T</a> is doing her best to herd cats, otherwise known as trying to organise this lovely snogfest. God love her!<br /><br /><a href="http://knockuout.wordpress.com/">DD</a> is coming that weekend and so is the gorgeous <a href="http://greenglasslove.blogs.com/out_damned_egg_out_i_say/">Millie</a>. But even more gorgeous than her is her beautiful daughter who is really all we want to see. Just kidding, Millie!!! Anna H is on board and organising some other peeps. The only person who has declined is <a href="http://www.alittlepregnant.com/">Julie</a> as she has something better to do! The idea!!!<br /><br />So do ya feel lucky, punk???? Do ya??? E-mail me!!! Don't wait to be invited!Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-46585747059035007682010-01-13T21:07:00.002+00:002010-01-13T21:25:23.010+00:00Cough, cough....Well, Happy New Year to you!<br /><br />Why yes, I have not posted since before last summer and no, I have no bloggy shame either!<br /><br />Where have I been? Mostly on Facebook or Facecrack as Mare likes to call it. If you know me there, then you know what is going on in my humdrum life.<br /><br />Nothing much has been happening.<br /><br />We went to California in June and visited with our most gracious hosts, Millie and the Mister who entertained us, fed us, watered us and generally tolerated our touristy questions and thick Scottish accents. Millie christened Mr P as the Headbanger after an unfortunate incident at SFO airport with the door of her eco-friendly SUV. Amy visited too from San Diego and great fun and laughter was had. We were also extremely privileged to attend an adoption meeting held by Millie's fabulous adoption consultant and visit with the other people at the meeting. San Francisco was my kind of town and if you are a friend on FB, heaps of photos are on there.<br /><br />Other than that big trip, life has been going on, in fits and starts. Lots of grieving for my mum and hard days to get through sometimes. November brought the 1st anniversary of her death and although there are still tears on a regular basis, like all other kinds of sorrow, time does help blunt the pain.<br /><br />My nephew and nieces help too, as there is no rest for the wicked when they are on the go. My mum was their main babysitter and now it is me and Mr P but I am glad of the distraction, particularly at holiday times. Xmas just past was hard without Mum but not as awful as the one before.<br /><br />Anyhoo, I just wanted to break the blogwriting block and dust off 2010. I am planning another trip stateside for June but on the East coast this time. Look out NYC, NJ and Boston area!! Lots of planning to do for that. I am also thinking of applying for a new job in my Dept as I need more of a challenge work-wise.<br /><br />Hope you are all healthy, happy and wise! Ciao bellas!!Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-62244931073118480152009-05-03T18:21:00.002+01:002009-05-03T18:33:02.227+01:00Put On Your Red Shoes and Dance the BluesI am hoping that just by typing, some blog inspiration will come........<br /><br />Tick tick tick.......<br /><br />Well, maybe not.<br /><br />What's happening Chez Pamplemousse??<br /><br />Well, spring has sprung, the lambs are lambing, the birds are now tweeting at 4am and the flowers are coming out so it is all good.<br /><br />Miss Pops is having her 2nd season and she is definitely having the op in a couple of months so no puppies for her. If I can't have some, neither can she hahaha. Just kidding. It is a 24 hr a day commitment for a litter of pups and I could not do it. I am barely here as it is. Besides, the big stumbling block is that I would want to keep any pups and not give them away. Yes, I am a big wuss.<br /><br />The big California trip is getting nearer. Just over 3 weeks to go! Look out San Francisco, here we come!! I am still trying to persuade Mr P that we need to hire an RV but he is being a chicken....squawk, squawk!!<br /><br />I was listening to Joni Mitchell and Chick Corea to get in the mood this morning. I think I need a Cali playlist on my ipod. Any good suggestions????Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-64071903817395660092009-03-22T19:25:00.002+00:002009-03-22T19:42:09.072+00:00No Mothers Here Today or Any DayFeck. Is it Easter yet???<br /><br />Today here in the UK and maybe elsewhere in the Commonwealth, it is Mothering Sunday.<br /><br />It has been hell as the shops, newspapers, magazines, TV adverts, everything has been totally in my face for weeks now. Throw in that it would have been my Mum's 62nd birthday a few weeks ago and you have the perfect storm of grief and anger and sorrow.<br /><br />I guess that it is the natural order that when your Mum dies, you should be preoccupied with your own children to take your mind off it, hmm? Infertility...the gift that keeps on giving you shit.<br /><br />Deep breaths. One foot in front of another. Tomorrow all the cards and gifts will be gone from the shops and there will be no more sobbing into the shopping trolley at the sight of them. I know it will get easier and it is just the timing and probably hormonal but can't a broken woman get a break??<br /><br />I did the same today as I did on Mum's birthday. I cooked and I gardened and I thought of her and how pleased she would be to see me doing both of those, always her favourite tasks.<br /><br />I talked to the photo of us taken together en-route to Skye and told her how much I missed her. That daffodils always remind me of her birthday and how she always told us that she loved to eat daffodil heads when she was young. Never the stalks cos they were poisonous, just the yellow petals, like hopeful sunshine in her mouth.<br /><br />Isn't it funny the things you remember?Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-6303361395124331462009-02-22T13:26:00.003+00:002009-02-22T13:38:23.454+00:00Optimistic Voices ReduxRe-reading my last post is making me cry. I know that there was sorrow and pain ahead for my Mum but she also did not know the joy and happiness that was ahead too. I did not mean for my post to be so gloomy.<br /><br />See? That is why I have been absent from blogging, as it is hard not to be maudlin and sad via the written word.<br /><br />Life is full of joy and pain and sometimes it seems like it is all pain. Certainly, the last few years have seemed like that for me but if you knew me in real life, I am not in tears and depressed every moment of every day. There are whole days where there is nothing but smiles, other days are dark with tears. I am being gentle with myself.<br /><br />There is good news all around me, in my life.<br /><br />I passed my driving test practical this week and today I had my first solo drive to get the Sunday papers (5 miles on my own! It was so quiet without Mr P that I had to put the radio on haha).<br /><br />I got the all-clear a few weeks ago after my very 1st mammogram.<br /><br />I have a secure job which gives me great personal satisfaction, even though it feels like I live in Glasgow at the moment as I am there so much during the week.<br /><br />Mr P and I have booked to fly to San Francisco in the summer to visit the lovely Millie and hopefully meet up with Amy and the twins. Sorry Janie! Yet another year where I do not make it to NJ!<br /><br />I could go on and on but you get my point. Spring is coming and the return of the light.<br /><br />Thank you for all your kind thoughts.<br /><br />PS Thalia, my mum was 18 when I was born and now I am thinking that the pic must have been taken in 1969 by the look of my brother there. I think I was 4.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-41911664634427669072009-02-19T22:33:00.002+00:002009-02-19T22:53:20.896+00:00Optimistic VoicesTwice this week, I have had to tell someone that my mum died suddenly and no, it was not the breast cancer but other metastasised tumours and yes, it was a terrible shock and no, she did not know at the end and yes, thank goodness it was quick. I know it has only been 3 months but at times it feels like 3 seconds and yet at other times, 3 years.<br /><br />How can the map of my world be re-drawn so quickly? I don't know where I am.<br /><br />I am trying to have an optimistic voice, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKYhk9Qui2g">like Dorothy</a>, but it is so hard. This reminds me so much of Mum as we loved the Wizard of Oz and watched it so many times together.<br /><br />I changed the profile photo from Miss Pops to an old photo from 1968 of me, my mum and my middle brother. She looks so young but that is because she was only 19.<br /><br />It is one of my favourite photos but there are very few of us all together in those days as we did not own a camera. In 1968, Mum had not yet lost my baby sister at birth and had not had my youngest brother. She did not know what was ahead of her.<br /><br />Actually, it is a blessing that none of us do.<br /><br /><br /><br />You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark, you're out of the night;<br />Step into the sun, step into the light.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-78215828088412158322008-12-24T21:51:00.007+00:002009-01-01T22:57:38.768+00:00Fuck Off 2008, Hello 2009Yes, I may be grieving and not really in the festive spirit and there is a lack of Xmas tree-age in my house but I have tinsel on picture frames, had 4 stockings hung up with gifts* and a lot of lovely cards, some with those lovely Par Avion stickers. But I am glad to see the back of 2008.<br /><br />I hate all that year in review crap. They drive me batshit, even more than mommy bloggers doing the monthly paean to what their beloved child has done since the last boring paean.<br /><br />2008 was quite shite. It is all my own fault as I hung myself by my own petard by saying my life was humdrum and I liked it like that. Hmmph. I take it all back. I like interesting, as in the Chinese curse "May you have an interesting life".<br /><br />Anyhoo, I have had the very best and the ultimate of excuses for not meeting Xmas/festive obligations ie. my mother died last month. This, said with a sad face, can get you out of doing anything at this time of year haha.<br /><br />I have ditched a lot of people and crap obligations during this festive season. Perhaps the perfect combination of psychological colonic irrigation/mourning detox. Soon to be advertised at your nearest spa. Just add bitter herbs and spiky twigs.<br /><br />As you can tell, my sarcastic wit, previously honed to glinting sharpness by infertility, has now been lasered to the nth degree by my mother dying and leaving me in charge of all things festive and familial. Aaah, I must be at the anger stage....again.<br /><br /><br />So what I am trying to say in my own long-winded, barbed fashion....let's hope it is a Happy New Year for us all.<br /><br />Lang may your lum reek.<br /><br /><br />* For me, Mr P, Miss Pops and my stepfather.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-57946880914680312312008-11-16T17:22:00.001+00:002008-11-16T17:23:38.069+00:00Ray Of LightMy mum died on Friday.<br /><br />So shocking and unexpectedly that it is like a bad dream.<br /><br />Rest in peace, Mummy.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-13444326302835388982008-11-05T19:08:00.002+00:002008-11-05T19:17:15.284+00:00Oh Happy Day!!!I doubted you to the end.<br /><br />I lost my respect for you eight years ago and yet again four years ago.<br /><br />I did not think that you had it in you to collectively take that great leap forward.<br /><br />I thought that the racists and the bigots and the fearful and the ignorant would have their way.<br /><br />America, I apologise for doubting that you could do it.<br /><br />I am so proud of you all.<br /><br />Welcome back and congratulations!Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-16483023843846138442008-10-29T22:00:00.002+00:002008-10-29T22:13:53.083+00:00Better Luck Next TimeYes, indeedy. I failed my driving test.<br /><br />It was all going so well until I totally stuffed up of one of the 2 mandatory reversing maneouvres....reversing round a corner. I got in a flap and totally failed to see the car coming up behind me. Game over....a serious fault and automatic failure. Other than that, it was fab. I am not downhearted. The only thing that is pissing me off is that I cannot re-sit it until February.<br /><br />Another winter of cold bus stops and railway stations, I suppose. I have coped for 43 years so another few months will not make any difference.<br /><br />It is very tempting to start mithering and woe-is-me-ing about failure in another area of my life but I am not riding that pony. Oh no.<br /><br />In other news, myself and Miss Pops are both a year older officially. We are both pretty unperturbed by the fact. Celebrations were low-key but doggie birthday cake was the highlight for Miss Pops. She did not pay much attention to the card she got from Granny.<br /><br />Granny is now having her radiotherapy and has moved in with me and Mr P and my stepdad too. It is a bit cramped but we are coping. They sold their house and the way the market is here, they felt they could not pass up the offer. So we are playing Happy Families for a few months until she gets the all-clear and they can go back to Greece.<br /><br />Apart from the whole mother/cancer thing, life is pretty humdrum here and I like it like that.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-12207392779258173302008-09-11T19:31:00.002+01:002008-09-11T19:46:06.712+01:00Driving Round The BendSo....still alive, still learning to drive and waiting with bated breath for my test date of October 27th to come round. Mr P has started to zone out when I am driving so I think that is a good sign. No going-away holidays planned for the near future which would normally totally depress me but as I will have to purchase a car soon....I am psyched. That's my update.<br /><br />My mum....lymph nodes clear, not hormone-related or genetic type of breast cancer and they are pretty happy that they seem to have caught it very early before it had a chance to spread. Only time will tell but Mum has a 3-week course of radiotherapy starting next month to make sure any oogies are well and truly zapped. In the meantime, they have sold their house and are getting ready for the move to Greece, post-radiotherapy recovery and the hopeful all-clear.<br /><br />Yes, everything is going on all at the same time and I think it would have been better to postpone the house sale but what do I know? It may surprise you to know that I can keep mouth zipped and foot clear, when necessary. The way the housing market is here, who knows when another buyer would have appeared?? It is their life, not mine so hence the zippedness.<br /><br />Miss Pops is almost a year old. Her 1st birthday is a week before mine and barring any more chicken-chasing incidents, will <strong>almost</strong> be a mature young lady. The chickens are not ours but next-doors precious progeny. They say good fences make good neighbours so ours is now impregnable (no pun intended ha!).<br /><br />Ciao, sweeties.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-35369806687628162022008-08-10T18:01:00.002+01:002008-08-10T18:25:04.058+01:00Scream If You Want To Go FasterNot.<br /><br />My mum has breast cancer. She went for her mammogram and there was something changed, a core biopsy found cancerous changes and et voila, lumpectomy on Thursday past to be followed by an as yet undetermined amount of radiotherapy.<br /><br />If you have been a long-time reader or friend, you will know that my mum and I have never had the most amicable of relationships. 13 years ago, she pissed me off by moving in with someone less than 6 months after my dad died of cancer. I know now she was lonely and needed someone there, needed more than what us, her children, could provide. But it hurt. Fucking hurt.<br /><br />It is not the only thing that we have ever been at loggerheads about. Hey, I am 42 and life is long. Women in my family were brought up opinionated yet on pain of death, no talking about emotions or feelings. Just suck it up, be silent and stoic and endure. Get back into the fields and do the work. No time to contemplate your navel or feel sorry for yourself. There would be death before ever blogging or talking about feelings so you can see I am missing some granite chromosome somewhere.<br /><br />I have to say that my mum totally stepped up to the plate with my 2 fucked-up pregnancies. The last 10 months, we have been the closest we have ever been and shock horror, we now share about feelings, talk about them, share the pain. Mum did not want to tell anyone.. friends, relatives, neighbours.. about her cancer. I told her that you can only get support if you share the pain.<br /><br />It was the one thing I learnt from being secretive for so many years about IF. I told no-one in real life so no-one in real life could be a friend and support me. Yes, I had all my web and blog friends and your support was a virtual lifeboat for me. You helped me not to drown but it is hard to get a hug through the phone or by e-mail.<br /><br />When my mum and I started really talking, she wiped the slate clean of all our ancient hurts and then some.<br /><br />Now it is my turn to step up for her.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-22818651381269598022008-07-13T11:27:00.003+01:002008-07-13T12:22:10.709+01:00Yo, peeps!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTf2vWknRGtCAch8SIyFx-VTkGGdX4B4nXNG0TQcIRl7jjEx23PwmWdHdag65HxDcB6hbVEZZAet_Ppn-1V425DOx_fq918aNcwR7gkaPdkmpegQRLaXDis_bNJqp0S71HIY7N/s1600-h/P5290484.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222457040349131122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTf2vWknRGtCAch8SIyFx-VTkGGdX4B4nXNG0TQcIRl7jjEx23PwmWdHdag65HxDcB6hbVEZZAet_Ppn-1V425DOx_fq918aNcwR7gkaPdkmpegQRLaXDis_bNJqp0S71HIY7N/s400/P5290484.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQr4EPVn5XzAuXCXSciwjth5MdSZ_rbrW8S9adrmYpBKxxSli_IoWtFJPCp50RknGh_6NjYhfv-Rf9AL-SomV6VAaNfSQAa7ywN-0OI_3jesBKwMzRQUUDmty5nyzRipViEV7/s1600-h/P5290463.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222457051161248322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQr4EPVn5XzAuXCXSciwjth5MdSZ_rbrW8S9adrmYpBKxxSli_IoWtFJPCp50RknGh_6NjYhfv-Rf9AL-SomV6VAaNfSQAa7ywN-0OI_3jesBKwMzRQUUDmty5nyzRipViEV7/s400/P5290463.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtCzs-jDYBWlAigpYTc5OoUzOaI8LoC2RTgPtx9P3O2zuEaHNCthXkrPaXbhqbinviRxCJcbRhW4kpK2QD-wRQtGCln7JDZyxbLp8xwkMKfjvKpwFCSAvFF67VgUIEcXAjGwZ/s1600-h/P5290505.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222457053317424930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtCzs-jDYBWlAigpYTc5OoUzOaI8LoC2RTgPtx9P3O2zuEaHNCthXkrPaXbhqbinviRxCJcbRhW4kpK2QD-wRQtGCln7JDZyxbLp8xwkMKfjvKpwFCSAvFF67VgUIEcXAjGwZ/s400/P5290505.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEJYtib70cp4ym7WHw4_XPUEx419uCbgYUjmxEmlmgk8kQJGWQHdih09ezGVQ9JNpzCiicTpnsJjmKtRh8xpQI4puZ9mOngnxIqyk3QbayLh3WPnoYiR7QEBXZnTqmnUSpDSP/s1600-h/P5290466.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222457057157242706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEJYtib70cp4ym7WHw4_XPUEx419uCbgYUjmxEmlmgk8kQJGWQHdih09ezGVQ9JNpzCiicTpnsJjmKtRh8xpQI4puZ9mOngnxIqyk3QbayLh3WPnoYiR7QEBXZnTqmnUSpDSP/s400/P5290466.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Apparently, I last published a blog post in April, ahem.......</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So what has been happening?? Well,I am half-way sorta to having a driving licence as I have passed my <a href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/TheoryTest/DG_4022534">theory test</a> this week. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Hmmmph. 50 multiple choice Highway Code questions and 14 hazard perception clips. Mind you, I hate to brag but I got 50 out of 50 on the multiple choice questions and a very good score on the hazards, despite my advanced driving age.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>In the theory test centre, it was a sea of teenagers and me. There was lots of muttered talk of second and third tries (at a cost of £30/$60 a shot). Bloody teenagers. I came out clutching my pass letter and wanted to say "Ha! Make way for the mature learner driver who passed first time" but manners held me back. Damn those pesky manners.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Due to work commitment, I can only fit in one official driving lesson per week but I am also driving Mr P and Miss P round the bend in the car at the weekends. Mr P has just about stopped clutching his knees. He really did not have much hair to start off with hehehe.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>What else?? Miss Poppy is 9 months now so is starting to be a tiny little bit more mature. She will be an adult by the time she is 1 year old so she does not have long as a puppy left. She has passed her <a href="http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/408">bronze level of the Kennel Club Citizen Good award</a> and will be starting doggie agility class in a few months. Do you think I am one of those over-achieving, over-scheduling, hothousing mothers hahaha?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>She has just about forgiven us for abandoning her for 2 weeks when we went to the Greek islands to stay with my mother and stepfather. I am glad I have seen the Mediterranean sun as it is sorely lacking here in Northern Europe. We are having our usual summer weather so can choose between drizzle, showers and actual rain. My Greek tan (ha, as far as a peely-wally Scottish woman with a Celtic complexion can tan) has gone. Do you know that Tertia said to me that I was the most luminously white person she had ever seen??? That tells you how pale I am. Mind you, I almost got a tan just from sitting in Tertia's glow ;)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We visited <a href="http://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/kefallonia/page2.html">Kefalonia</a> and <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/greece/ionian-islands/">Zakynthos</a> and had a fabulous time. We also celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary when we were there. Miss P took a right sulk though as she could not go.<br /></div><div>What else? Don't know about you lot but the credit crunch is biting here. Prices of food and petrol....astronomical. I want to go places on holiday but the sensible budget-head says no. Do you know I only have 17 years left to work until retirement???* Scary thought and my mind is now preoccupied with pensions and all that jazz. Too grown up for me. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Anyhoo, for once, it is not raining outside so the outdoors and the midgies beckon. I am going to try really hard to blog more often, honest.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>* Scary thought but I have already been working for 23 years. I have now worked more years than I have left!!!! Also, those 23 years?? Still with the same employer. How bizarre is that nowadays? I have only ever had that employer since I finished uni. Good employer, great terms and conditions, fab pension at age 60 and I do enjoy my job. I know I am lucky. Mind you, another corporate reorganisation is on the cards in HR so I might not be singing the same tune next year.</div>Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-26934864297074267792008-04-25T21:20:00.005+01:002008-04-25T21:43:22.443+01:00Driving Miss PoppyGee whizz! How long has it been since I last posted?? I would apologise but what the heck. Life is busy here so suck it up hahaha.<br /><br /><br />I have a confession.<br /><br /><br />At the grand old age of 42, I am finally learning to drive. With gears and everything. I know, how lame. I know most of you Americans come out of the womb with the steering wheel clenched between your teeth but I never really wanted to do it.<br /><br />Mr P learnt about 10 years ago and has been dropping giant hints ever since. I was too busy spending money on ART and trips to South Africa. Now I have decided that it is time to actually accomplish something, anything, rather than pour money into my defective body.<br /><br /><br />Lots of peeps have asked how I am doing and I can say truthfully...Good. I am on my little pillow of Prozac still and I float along, getting on with my life. Occasionally I think about cycling again and then I think "Nah".<br /><br /><br />The blogging thing (or lack of it) is weird. I no longer feel the need to howl into the ether or hear an answering distant howl back. I am resigned to being childless and every day I confirm that to myself. I am happier not cycling ever again than facing the endless cycles of depression and self-hate and self-pity that would be my companions.<br /><br />I get it now. My body just does not want to do it, not with my eggs nor anybody else's. And I can accept that. It took a long time but I am definitely getting there.<br /><br />Some days and weeks are easier than others but it will pass. When my father died, I thought I would never get over it and the pain would never ease or the crying stop. But it does. To me, this feels the same way.<br /><br />So the driving thing? Taking back some control that is not governed by hormones feels fabulous. I do it at work all the time but this is new. I normally joke that I am totally unco-ordinated and for a long time, I thought I would just not be capable to drive or would hate it. Funnily enough, I love it, gears and all.<br /><br />I always said that I would have a kid or a dog. I have the dog now and it is enough.<br /><br />So if you are here for the group-induced self-pity or the ART angst, move on. They don't live here anymore.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-72524352468100517762008-03-09T21:58:00.004+00:002008-03-09T22:14:58.361+00:00Ha ha ha! Hee hee hee! I'm The Laughing Gnome...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGTbPYOGTySq8a-Log54D_oLXKxXmD_iola-9twPsJHeJ8ynmTlQiYbAHrUI95Xn0haPKMBHkha_hJZyj0KFP-AKUFA00GyA7fj_eUxJHq3tdU8BxMsdkHYNaC_00-cQQyLQp/s1600-h/P2240436.JPG"></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGqpuiGkZ_rYeOkOV25n0PY5yfe2KUKS07zoxK_F9r7cCsaI33DGSZA9AkE28XRyB_pnQ8ceFdwI7xELy8QmIE6vRm9B-qdXiUQAUcL3mfjbjwPb4898CHWmhKrYSMGLgqpc0W/s1600-h/P2240437.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175865333499248306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGqpuiGkZ_rYeOkOV25n0PY5yfe2KUKS07zoxK_F9r7cCsaI33DGSZA9AkE28XRyB_pnQ8ceFdwI7xELy8QmIE6vRm9B-qdXiUQAUcL3mfjbjwPb4898CHWmhKrYSMGLgqpc0W/s400/P2240437.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div></div><br /><div>And you can't catch me!!!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Trying to take a photo of Miss Poppy when she is not asleep is nigh on impossible. The girl cannot stop moving. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>She has been transfixed by <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/crufts/">Crufts</a> on the tellybox this weekend though. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Sometime this year I may be able to craft a post that is not about the dog but I would not want you to hold your breath.</div><div></div>Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-36192572033880574122008-02-11T15:49:00.000+00:002008-02-11T16:03:02.629+00:00Fol-de-rol<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVU26e32pzs0OUPK5tixZAEyIEcgsM91Nd8mc4TNE7b8Sw0Zd0oma2QmjpvUOEc9sJyN5OZKLS2FbRPlS0wbU0K8XKwXBvRb6Z-XbpzerfB49bvapWaanRt_O77s2mRW-J-E8/s1600-h/P2070407.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165753027330305330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaVU26e32pzs0OUPK5tixZAEyIEcgsM91Nd8mc4TNE7b8Sw0Zd0oma2QmjpvUOEc9sJyN5OZKLS2FbRPlS0wbU0K8XKwXBvRb6Z-XbpzerfB49bvapWaanRt_O77s2mRW-J-E8/s320/P2070407.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNr21IHAZGffsVPNlIkJoCZ5tKcZfQl_3Kaj6d-zKs-NE-dpsJc6UXUdN385sN9765Gts6cMgBwqa5E94Xt2sJ9bo4seC1VH-xs59q6iNfbq27nKMlaYHqZS2ttzI0ToaP3og/s1600-h/P2100430.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165753040215207234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNr21IHAZGffsVPNlIkJoCZ5tKcZfQl_3Kaj6d-zKs-NE-dpsJc6UXUdN385sN9765Gts6cMgBwqa5E94Xt2sJ9bo4seC1VH-xs59q6iNfbq27nKMlaYHqZS2ttzI0ToaP3og/s320/P2100430.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQO0Snkz6YlJNsUCjjKWE5WgRJqkP9XjiUjm3MGe91-R5_XNoLtniCrPXXU5dXNWfbT9zzu45riKWDbEMlQz4SeTOd7a-vU7ohIKD4k5nyKvQhI_16ND8jt9XhwV6E3QuKyND/s1600-h/P2100418.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165753044510174546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQO0Snkz6YlJNsUCjjKWE5WgRJqkP9XjiUjm3MGe91-R5_XNoLtniCrPXXU5dXNWfbT9zzu45riKWDbEMlQz4SeTOd7a-vU7ohIKD4k5nyKvQhI_16ND8jt9XhwV6E3QuKyND/s320/P2100418.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DHAMWYqPT1ASpiWJNykXC0xmjx-sPrsa_vlDs2AsiBG8thYzkY1nzzqzacPbWklfQQwS6OtcsIU0xX4zbk9Q7AgkwpvChn9eQVQqfltwAtxbnFecUnofU6wrSNhOp9FcYsDh/s1600-h/P2100413.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165753053100109154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DHAMWYqPT1ASpiWJNykXC0xmjx-sPrsa_vlDs2AsiBG8thYzkY1nzzqzacPbWklfQQwS6OtcsIU0xX4zbk9Q7AgkwpvChn9eQVQqfltwAtxbnFecUnofU6wrSNhOp9FcYsDh/s320/P2100413.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvUQX7mxbz6dzguIrFAqfB33jyvnikYMDXVcDY7WWldIbeMn9R4O7B1wKWwDVjFScAla_JWCHlBqG8qS3zCkD_XvuyTD3uU9rgpnRtw_FE_BIkbP7DTsJJTchIq3RFlxVJx2H/s1600-h/P2100410.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165753061690043762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvUQX7mxbz6dzguIrFAqfB33jyvnikYMDXVcDY7WWldIbeMn9R4O7B1wKWwDVjFScAla_JWCHlBqG8qS3zCkD_XvuyTD3uU9rgpnRtw_FE_BIkbP7DTsJJTchIq3RFlxVJx2H/s320/P2100410.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Is it sick that I find it funny that my mother always said she would not look after any of her grandchildren instead of them going to daycare but she is now looking after Miss Poppy 3 days a week???? </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I keep telling her it is the reason why she is now retired but she is so besotted with the dog that it makes no impact. Unfortunately, she and my stepdad are moving to Greece to live later this year so I had better make the most of it now.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I have to say it is lovely to know she is being well-looked after and I can come home and get the Dyson out without a doggie meltdown. The simple pleasures in life hehe.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Miss Poppy has discovered the beach is her new favourite place although it is winter and not very warm at all. I tried to dissuade her from a dunk but no way, sister. Unfortunately I was laughing so hard that I forgot to take any pics of the event! </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-9141063894335798282008-01-27T18:52:00.000+00:002008-01-27T19:05:38.887+00:00From Soup To Nuts<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfntaau8GOjOYwurC1s3taWG2pYwe36BeTeYrYgobDK8bZTcEIe6bKppmfoH2_Ni2whq9vhbNgPC97aVJBrYqbNvzgVOvBBOKzLGhSENA-yIrz5nalbAHXPjgPZDuzpIGvupA/s1600-h/P1030368.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160233360145229682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfntaau8GOjOYwurC1s3taWG2pYwe36BeTeYrYgobDK8bZTcEIe6bKppmfoH2_Ni2whq9vhbNgPC97aVJBrYqbNvzgVOvBBOKzLGhSENA-yIrz5nalbAHXPjgPZDuzpIGvupA/s320/P1030368.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtTfIOu5hZE_h8cSsE0tgdbkGwTMrsz2-atR1xmtdzRC75gY_58uObikP7QqTBQgWM3gOdJWBc5fR1YOfcZA-uPbD7qttO9WiseCybPZEcEqg8OVNZUs3u_NwtIgQ-Vgf6Oab/s1600-h/P1070373.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160233364440196994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCtTfIOu5hZE_h8cSsE0tgdbkGwTMrsz2-atR1xmtdzRC75gY_58uObikP7QqTBQgWM3gOdJWBc5fR1YOfcZA-uPbD7qttO9WiseCybPZEcEqg8OVNZUs3u_NwtIgQ-Vgf6Oab/s320/P1070373.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdy2Sa3uBy0f_2JHBtBidbAeCsV8FnmDAkW6h54mdI-DIKsKWaRACfJ_hyphenhyphenffK9BtmARPUKgKGhAzjHcUZ3QsfzcEkxAZEEdlpPoCqDyTGaDzHylQjO0cWS7XgLXu4dVXpkcwyT/s1600-h/P1160391.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160233373030131602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdy2Sa3uBy0f_2JHBtBidbAeCsV8FnmDAkW6h54mdI-DIKsKWaRACfJ_hyphenhyphenffK9BtmARPUKgKGhAzjHcUZ3QsfzcEkxAZEEdlpPoCqDyTGaDzHylQjO0cWS7XgLXu4dVXpkcwyT/s320/P1160391.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXayK_pXgxNeHjRFVR-LIr1ixF8AwTLVKcgtxgYsEzXXN1g20nCw7ivNQK4lu7VcfdeB33QnG_qPbvVi_Ju0ll0creaRdtnZAbH1Nr-WM2zgpuKSlC0bJC4lPa1Vu5DvwkrmeQ/s1600-h/P1200392.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160233381620066210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXayK_pXgxNeHjRFVR-LIr1ixF8AwTLVKcgtxgYsEzXXN1g20nCw7ivNQK4lu7VcfdeB33QnG_qPbvVi_Ju0ll0creaRdtnZAbH1Nr-WM2zgpuKSlC0bJC4lPa1Vu5DvwkrmeQ/s320/P1200392.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMU4UrTMn28WVDA_4CFfg82_Ctq7ACEVjA7pWZ3BAUWkLNyl3PiIeoOCxTrbYSQdrtWQN60mrMvl-y6EFLCXPaKTFwWu2O0SbBHKVglbemB-PBnuDQ0I9IvokHn0bke5Esk9Yl/s1600-h/P1210401.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160233385915033522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMU4UrTMn28WVDA_4CFfg82_Ctq7ACEVjA7pWZ3BAUWkLNyl3PiIeoOCxTrbYSQdrtWQN60mrMvl-y6EFLCXPaKTFwWu2O0SbBHKVglbemB-PBnuDQ0I9IvokHn0bke5Esk9Yl/s320/P1210401.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Well, hello January!!</div><div><br /> </div><div>Posting or commenting on any blogs has not gotten any easier. My apologies for my absence. I barely have time to peruse Bloglines to keep up. But life is good.</div><div><br /> </div><div>I have a teething terrier on my hands. No, make that a terrierist.</div><div><br /> </div><div>Nothing is safe from the jaws of doom bwahahaa.</div><div><br /> </div><div>My little girl now weighs 8lbs and her coat is becoming more wiry. I call her fuzzyface. As she is a Parson Russell, she will have longer legs and a wirier coat than a Jack Russell. She is a bundle of energy and is certainly keeping us on our toes. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>She loves to lounge on her cushion, which used to be my cushion. Says it all really.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>I guess I have become a doggy blogger now.</div>Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-23925828312314115922007-12-26T18:32:00.000+00:002007-12-26T18:51:22.761+00:00Miss Poppy Regrets...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6-OWBPEl1w0LGofopz-IyYmLXm9DyHdQKujskQcSdJKr4BmCIbyOtV0cAnhaSDVL85EdFUhuYt0oeYdDND9LNBzaV77M0W0uQUzr6nS2zJUR5JSwDpxHJSnB0CTqT9-0EqpZ/s1600-h/PC140325.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148354200489105954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6-OWBPEl1w0LGofopz-IyYmLXm9DyHdQKujskQcSdJKr4BmCIbyOtV0cAnhaSDVL85EdFUhuYt0oeYdDND9LNBzaV77M0W0uQUzr6nS2zJUR5JSwDpxHJSnB0CTqT9-0EqpZ/s320/PC140325.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqUJTE_gwOpNvLjbFA-LkgDxqqROVG3wLP4Y86f6vmAEtn3tMErjPh7qd-o3lr5CzBj6JOZYbgW9FQ3TsdkK0qKZBUQpNJWTHMYs5wkTjzZBFabP_wKC_D8DgkwiLkZGnLw9T/s1600-h/PC110322.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148354213374007858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqUJTE_gwOpNvLjbFA-LkgDxqqROVG3wLP4Y86f6vmAEtn3tMErjPh7qd-o3lr5CzBj6JOZYbgW9FQ3TsdkK0qKZBUQpNJWTHMYs5wkTjzZBFabP_wKC_D8DgkwiLkZGnLw9T/s320/PC110322.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkI2U2RUx-DyQC3LNN84R6O5psiUEtUTJ1qEl9qnRHAuhNiqwF5epuvgABh5VUPrGU6wm5HIRa1SodJSx37rqN2DkeTHpAXOFm9-3OECWrwY2mi4mixXXn6rtqpB7crEfVwSLV/s1600-h/PC250343.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148354217668975170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkI2U2RUx-DyQC3LNN84R6O5psiUEtUTJ1qEl9qnRHAuhNiqwF5epuvgABh5VUPrGU6wm5HIRa1SodJSx37rqN2DkeTHpAXOFm9-3OECWrwY2mi4mixXXn6rtqpB7crEfVwSLV/s320/PC250343.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRrwYDUmeIJ02x38tepWRxl7JYPmUeymb_baC-s7QnicMxlLzs6eSQOg4FquBaCk4Xlj9deSfOyX7UltiH7EbwPiAFs4-Xh_do6Sx2wdE_mCsxjw93iFtdZIo6_0UI6CnYoIx/s1600-h/PC250344.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148354226258909778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRrwYDUmeIJ02x38tepWRxl7JYPmUeymb_baC-s7QnicMxlLzs6eSQOg4FquBaCk4Xlj9deSfOyX7UltiH7EbwPiAFs4-Xh_do6Sx2wdE_mCsxjw93iFtdZIo6_0UI6CnYoIx/s320/PC250344.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTCWzXeSi1rKuDlcJBCsNz0SmhQtC5LP5lE7kpVxY8_5sPLRsdVzAFaI7S_8O0t_TLlcuwASBPsoiKfh_v0ENIP7ONVm2JcrPGA-AWsKJwUBtlA14e8ZfxuCaPJ-el61cpVUN/s1600-h/PC250347.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148354230553877090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTCWzXeSi1rKuDlcJBCsNz0SmhQtC5LP5lE7kpVxY8_5sPLRsdVzAFaI7S_8O0t_TLlcuwASBPsoiKfh_v0ENIP7ONVm2JcrPGA-AWsKJwUBtlA14e8ZfxuCaPJ-el61cpVUN/s320/PC250347.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>..that she cannot woof her thanks to Auntie Beagle and another anonymous gift of a Xmas dog stocking. I can tell you though that she is very, very grateful.</div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Rudolph the Reindeer was not so grateful to be mauled on the stairs. It was certainly tickling my mum, though.</div><div></div><br /><div></div><div>At one point, Miss Poppy had more parcels under the Xmas tree than I did. Spoilt little dog, already!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>We have had a wonderful Xmas with my mum and my brother and nieces and nephew. Lots of good food, wine and chocolate liqueurs. Rum truffles too, mmmmm.</div><div><br /></div><div>The one thing on my wish list for Xmas was to be non-pregnant. Alas, not to be.</div><div><br /></div><div>HCG on Xmas Eve was still 28. They want to see it under 5 so the blood-letting continues. I could lament how my body cannot hold a pregnancy but it will not let go at the end, either but I do not have the energy. I spend way too much time chasing around after the livewire that Miss Poppy is.</div><div><br /></div><div>She will be 12 weeks tomorrow. She has been very brave and had all her injections and been microchipped to boot. This is so she can get her pet passport and come on hols to Europe with us (via ferry). </div><div><br /></div><div>So I raise my wine glass to you all and wish you all a merry festive season. My aforesaid nieces and nephew arrive this Saturday to stay until New Year's Day so that will keep me on my toes with the 3 of them and the dog. I see a lot more wine coming up.</div><div></div>Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-5310809274599696402007-12-12T10:38:00.000+00:002007-12-12T10:42:11.526+00:00Introducing Miss P<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4chP8vMeHf_PMr8ZyqVcomckYbdKKuOxgddUz9tmajIlHaBMA_yPKEcR-7BRmxo7pF3yJi3TZe3CmV3PCXN2dwlhjWUF8apnojM712B17t6xC5GyOgOquBriMQcmxbLWZJCV/s1600-h/Poppy2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143034656806240274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4chP8vMeHf_PMr8ZyqVcomckYbdKKuOxgddUz9tmajIlHaBMA_yPKEcR-7BRmxo7pF3yJi3TZe3CmV3PCXN2dwlhjWUF8apnojM712B17t6xC5GyOgOquBriMQcmxbLWZJCV/s320/Poppy2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGc8M5Qg7GDZS7UPagpEom_Bo0QdhRbyx5cidDlPtBA6IFdOKs-adlyWbc6_mXO7KQ_8bLFk7I7lG-a2GFxBjerrK3h17KKnYveAaJtc_06q85hzTzpxx_FmVP2_gGZXhlpAEy/s1600-h/poppy4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143034661101207586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGc8M5Qg7GDZS7UPagpEom_Bo0QdhRbyx5cidDlPtBA6IFdOKs-adlyWbc6_mXO7KQ_8bLFk7I7lG-a2GFxBjerrK3h17KKnYveAaJtc_06q85hzTzpxx_FmVP2_gGZXhlpAEy/s320/poppy4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The reason why I do not have any time to blog, comment, answer e-mails or do much at all any more. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-87363401450808751672007-11-30T15:21:00.000+00:002007-11-30T15:26:01.895+00:00Walk Like An EgyptianI am going to London to visit the Queen, wearing my thousand league boots.<br /><br />Uh, no. Actually, shopping and visiting Tutenhkamun and some studly Chinese Terracotta warriors.<br /><br />Before I could get on the plane, the clinic insisted on a HCG check which thankfully had fallen by 25% in a week. Another check in 7 days when I get back.<br /><br />See ya laters, alligators.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-64172248426993414072007-11-23T19:43:00.000+00:002007-11-23T19:53:44.258+00:00IrradiatedThe deed is done. Methotrexate administered yesterday afternoon. HCG had jumped to the giddy heights of 400-odd with nothing in the uterus.<br /><br />The medical pronouncement was Pregnancy in an Unknown Location. Perhaps in my handbag???<br /><br />Luckily so far, other than extreme fatigue, I do not appear to be suffering the acute abdominal pains that ended me up in the gynae ward last time.<br /><br />We are going to buy doggie accessories this weekend so that will keep me occupied. The xmas shopping list is still consuming my time and I have pointedly made a list of things I want from Santa (Mr P).<br /><br />If you are looking for beautiful, handmade pottery or jewellery, please stop by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5336062">Beagle's Etsy</a> shop. I can vouch for her as I received a beautiful pendant I had ordered from her shop.<br /><br />Thank you, Beagle. Your artistic talent even outshines your considerable kindness and thoughtfulness.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-2303804230403117432007-11-21T15:21:00.000+00:002007-11-21T15:58:29.496+00:00You Say Ectopic, I Say Mehctopic, Let's Call The Whole Thing OffTuesday U/S showed my ute as clean as a whistle. It practically had tumbleweeds blowing through it. Lining was 4mm and no sign of any uterine occupants. All that bleeding with clots last week sure did the job.<br /><br />There was no sign of fluid in the ute or the pouch of Douglas which could indicate an ectopic. I am not having any bleeding or pain.<br /><br />And yet...and yet...the HCG rises. It went up to 329 yesterday from 203 a week before.<br /><br />I go back tomorrow and if the HCG is falling, great. If it rises, then I suspect it will be treated as an ectopic.<br /><br />I warned the clinic that I am going to London in a week and if something was going to be done, it would have to be this week. I suspect the meth shot but who really knows at this point.<br /><br />Certainly not me. I hate my body for its inability to do anything right. I wanted a simple miscarriage, not an extended bloody drama again.<br /><br />I doubt its ability to ever do it right.<br /><br />In the meantime, it is dark here at 3pm in the afternoon. How appropriate for my mood. I have been exercising my retail therapy muscles online and doing all my xmas shopping. Luckily, most of my gifts come from Amazon.<br /><br />Of course, I cannot just spend on other people. As it is practically wintertime and the time when all middle-aged women turn their thoughts to <a href="http://www.duoboots.com/boots.php">knee-high boots</a>, I have just received in the post some <a href="http://www.duoboots.com/calf_fitted_boots/classic/ravenna">new boots</a>.<br /><br />Now I must caveat that I have calves like a rugby player so normally boots laugh and snigger at me as I try to zip them up but this online company is a lifesaver for those both thick and thin-calved. They also ship internationally ;)<br /><br />I now have my eye on <a href="http://www.duoboots.com/calf_fitted_boots/casual/malmo">another pair</a>.<br /><br />My retail therapy has also extended to the canine variety. We are picking up a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parson_Russell_Terrier">puppy</a> when we return from London. We have been talking about it for years and now the garden is puppy-safe, the time is right.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-57902969181335465682007-11-15T12:14:00.001+00:002007-11-15T12:20:59.568+00:00Not Over YetOne person unsubscribed from me this week on Bloglines. Too many swear words? Not enough pregnancy action??<br /><br />Well, we are not out of the shite yet.<br /><br />I had another HCG draw taken on Tuesday. I got the phone call today to go back into the clinic next week as my HCG is rising. It went from 117 on Thursday to 203 on this Tuesday past.<br /><br />This, despite the fact that I stopped all the estrogen and PIO on Thursday and have been bleeding like billy-o since Monday this week.<br /><br />As <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111958/">Father Jack</a> would say....feck, feck, feck.<br /><br />Shall we have a sweepie (what would you Yanks call it...a pool??) on it being a 2nd ectopic?? Place your bets.<br /><br />I am so over this already.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-77585352472369912222007-11-11T18:12:00.000+00:002007-11-11T19:05:57.339+00:00The Girl Who Cried PregnantNo, there was nothing wrong with my comments. I am the team of one and I know it seems terribly ungrateful but I really could not bear an outpouring of sympathy on Friday. I know some people e-mailed me directly and I thank you, if you did.<br /><br />How am I doing?? Well, the title says it all. Twice now, I have had to tell my doctor, employer, diabetic nurse, postman (not), all at an early stage of pregnancy and twice now I have to tell them "Actually it is fucked". Well, not those exact words but you get my drift. Instead of the boy who cried wolf, I am the girl who cried pregnant.<br /><br />Frankly, it is embarassing. My boss must not know what has hit him cos well, he is a bloke. A typical Scottish bloke, not much older than me.<br /><br />Both me and Mr P are taking some time off work. Me, I am waiting to bleed. I am emitting some kind of brown snot at the moment but since I stopped the estrogen and PIO on Thursday, I am not sure how long it will take for the deluge to arrive.<br /><br />Mr P is taking it hard, in his own quiet fashion. I cry and he pats me. I am not sure if he wants to cry but he has been obsessively hoovering up millions of leaves this afternoon which I am sure is some kind of emotional displacement. Hoovering up leaves in my garden is a thankless task as we are surrounded by deciduous trees and they will blow in from miles around too. They will all be back tomorrow and I guess he will start again.<br /><br />I guess I am doing my own emotional displacement too as I refuse to lie around and be depressed about this chemical pregnancy. I used to do that and I have learned the very, very hard way that it does not help me in the long run, either emotionally or physically.<br /><br />I am also refusing to let myself dive into the sugar. I want to. Oh, I want to but I will not.<br /><br />There has been a lot of decluttering in this house this weekend.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10511309.post-53049718816326108902007-11-09T20:39:00.001+00:002007-11-09T20:50:11.361+00:00It's All Over, Bar The ShoutingAnd the bleeding.<br /><br />The jubilation and the good wishes were lovely, and especially the stories of slow plodding betas actually becoming real-life children.<br /><br />Unfortunately, mine will not.<br /><br />Yesterday's HCG level had dropped massively in 2 days and the sac had not developed, and in fact looked like it was disintegrating.<br /><br />The hospital reckoned it had stalled at the beginning of the week but who really knows?? The nurse gave me the obligatory miscarriage leaflet which I binned when I got home. I know all I need to know about miscarriages already from too many real and blog friends.<br /><br />Thank you all again for your kind thoughts and wishes.Pamplemoussehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08981785753864894621noreply@blogger.com0