Nope.. he's still not here yet. We've been trying to convince him that it's way more fun out here than it is in there, but to no avail. He is a stubborn little thing - like his Dad. (Okay.. like his Mum too..)
I have had a whole night of much discomfort and we thought that maybe he may be close but the contractions (or at least what felt like contractions) just came and went. GRRRRR.... He's still wriggling around in my belly, and I really don't know how he can as I doubt there's much, if any, space in there now. I am really hoping he's just holding out to be the first baby born in the new year or something silly like that.
As I could not sleep last night, I have been reading blogs. I saw
Knit From Your Stash 2007, and thought it quite suitable for my current situation of too much yarn and too little time. The rules are here (notes in
green italics are mine and my own additional notes in
red)
1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.
Oh good.. long enough to effectively reduce my stash and short enough that I don't fall off the wagon too quickly2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone?
Uhm... can I have a different sort of yarn not count I wonder.. I have enough sock yarn to open my own shop (oops.. I do have my own shop). I guess I have not bought much yarn in the past year, so I really don't know what will catch my fancy next year. I think my rule for myself is that yarns from new and untried (by me) fibres don't count. 2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift.
Does that include the baby? Or is he considered too young to "ask" for a gift?2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.
What's the bet that if I run out of yarn, the yarn is discontinued anyway?!2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time.
Hooray! Not that I am planning to fall off the wagon or anything, but you know, accidents happen :)3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn.
Of course! I can't stop generous folks from giving me yarn, right?4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt.
Not that I need any more or anything, considering the big container full of spinning fibres under my desk and the family of alpacas living in my cupboard... 5. Swapping for yarn/fibre is also exemptOkay, so that's my new year's resolution where knitting is concerned. That and to complete
Laurel Hill, my
pink cotton top from an old Sandra magazine and the
Devon vest. I think that's enough for now, don't you? I don't want to be too ambitious and find that I never actually get any of it done. The problem I face with my UFOs now is that I don't feel the slightest motivation to work on them - not because it is summer and humid, but because I can't wear any of them even if I do complete them now as I am HUGE and I don't know when I will be able to shrink into them again.
Maybe that should be my other new year's resolution - be able to get back into my old clothes by April (which is when I return to work) and shrink a little more than that by the end of 07. What's the chance? I have never been able to keep any of the "lose weight" or "excercise more" type resolutions, but now that I will have a baby to run after, maybe I
will be able to keep it this year.
Recap of the year that was 06This has been a big year for me. I spent about 1 1/2 months of it in Malaysia with Chris. It's the most time I have spent back home in a year since I came to live in Sydney in 2003. Now that Bubba is arriving, I doubt we'll be able to do it again any time soon. holidays cost money and Bubbas cost money and money does not grow on trees (contrary to what some may think).
In the past year I have also
gotten married and moved in with Chris. It's been a learning experience - for both of us. Although we have been 'together' for nearly six years before we got married, we never really lived together aside from the month or so I spent at his old flat when I first returned to Sydney in 2003. I moved out with a friend shortly after that, so we had not really expoerienced living together and having to 'put up' with one another's quirks till we got married. It's not been too bad at all. There are days when I miss living alone, but most of the time, I am glad I don't live alone anymore.
As you know, I also 'fell' pregnant shortly after the wedding. (I wonder why the word 'fall' is usually used together with pregnant. It's not as if one can accidentally 'fall' pregnant.. it takes a deliberate act by one if not both parties). There are things that nobody ever told me about being pregnant, such as
- your mother-in-.law would like to wrap you in bubble wrap and sit you quietly in a corner for nine months if she could. Chris' mother has been reminding me not to do too much and to sit and rest and "let Christian do it". There are days when I feel like I should just take advantage of that as it won't last.
- you get tired - like really, REALLY tired. I just want my old body back. I want to be able to walk to the shops and not be huffing and puffing. Sure, I knew that being pregnant can be hard work and that I'll be tired, but I didn't think I'd be
THIS tired.
- your belly ceases to be your own - everyone wants to pat it and feel the baby move. Sometimes I don't mind it, but it really annoys me when Bubba won't co-operate and even after multiple drinks of cold water and walking around, he won't move for many hands on my belly, which brings me to the next point...
- Bubba has a mind of his own - so he won't move for everyone else, but as soon as the hands come off and everyone leaves you alone, he kicks up a storm!
- you get attached to this strange being in your belly really quickly - It is strange, but true. Even when Bubba measure a mere few hundred grams, I was already feeling quite attached to him. I didn't think I'd feel that way till I could feel him kick, but even in the early stages of pregnancy, when I didn't feel all that pregnant and didn't wear maternity clothes, I felt quite attached to him.
- there are pregnancy and childcare 'experts' all around you - I love hearing others tell me what worked for them. It's great advice in my books when someone says to me something like, "When I was pregnant, blah blah blah really helped with the blah blah. You may want to try it to see if it works for you". Even, "When my sister/cousin/friend/colleague/stranger on the street had a baby they found that blah blah blah was a lifesaver. have a think about getting one of those" is good advice. That is quite different from some of the other stuff that I get from people who have never been pregnant or had children, such as "You should do blah blah blah. It works." How the heck do they know what will work
FOR ME??
I am sure there are a million other things I didn't expect that happened during this pregnancy. It has certainly been quite an experience, and you know what? The rudest shock to my system is still yet to come. Whilst I look at the whole birth process with much trepidation and excitement, I don't think I have a real idea of how much it will or won't hurt. I don't think I will know till I go through it.
I have completed yet another year of my post-grad course this year and all I have left to complete is a project. It should nto take more than one semester to write, but it will be a challenge with a new baby and returning to work. All the same, I am determined to get it done and have that degree under my belt next year. I have had enough of school. I won't be crazy enough to take on another course any time soon. What was I thinking when I signed on for this one?!
I started a
store on Etsy, and though I don't do much with it, it's been keeping me entertained with the opportunity to play with colours without adding to my existing stash too much. I am not sure how much time I will have to devote to it next year, but I hope to be able to add to the stocks, try out some new colour combinations and expand the store, especially the patterns section.
It's been a big year.. and here's to another big year ahead..
Cheers!
Labels: knit from your stash 07, life, pregnancy
