Posts
It's been nice and quiet lately, I've throughly enjoyed having the time to go walking, swimming, AND manage a load or two of laundry in the meantime! (of course our dryer is broken and has been for at least a month now, so it's an even slower process than it used to be).
I seem to have either great days or really slow days during my last trimester - some days I wake up full of vim and vigor and am ready to tackle the world. Other days, well, it's just hard to get out of bed and get dressed. Luckily I generally have the first type of day, and even better when I have the second type I live a life of luxury where I can afford to be a bum on the couch if I want to be. The headaches are killer, I will readily admit I miss my meds!
So, Travis and I hit our one year anniversary of moving to Dublin! whoo hoo! How time flies. It really doesn't seem like a whole year has passed, yet here we are again in the land of 19-20 hours of light (MUCH better than when it was nearly the reverse this winter). Trust me, I can vouch for the fact that it's light at 4:20, I'm up most mornings about that time :) With the anniversary came a new contract, our original was up after a year. Last we'd heard our departure date was appx August, when the new contract came the date listed was Oct 30. Whoa! That threw us for a bit of loop, but after some conferencing we decided on an action plan. To stay that much longer after the baby comes we really need a different living situation.
Where we are now is great for 2 of us, but there are a few things that make it difficult to add a 3rd person in. When we thought we were only going to be here 6wks after baby it was OK, but several months? Nope, not gonna work. So, part of the new deal is a new place to live, which we are moving into on June 15th. Bigger, with a dishwasher, no stairs (3 flights up a skinny staircase now), and also NO TRUMPET! Our downstairs neighbor teaches private trumpet lessons. Always during the day, so as not to bother us in the evenings, but some of his students are truly awful. It's just painful to listen and with our thin floors (the walls are 2 feet thick, we wouldn't hear a thing thru them) we hear every overblown, out of tune, wavering note. I'll miss this part of town, I've really enjoyed it here, but will be thrilled with all of the new conveniences that will come with the new place. It's closer to Travis' job, so it will be easier for us to share a car some days, too.
While I'm at this long post, this weekend is a holiday weekend here in Ireland. One of the several 'bank holidays' sprinkled throughout the summer. We're headed to see the last little bits of Ireland we feel we haven't covered and will stay in a castle (Travis' request) out in the west about an hour or so from Galway. Our plan is to get out to the Aran Islands and on the way home swing by the Cliffs of Moher with a pass through The Burren. I'm sure there will be a few pictures to post after this weekend, hopefully the weather holds for us! It's been brilliant the last couple of days.
That's about all the news for now, more after this weekend!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Hiccups for All
So anyone who has seen me lately knows that I have the weirdest hiccups you've ever heard. I've always had crazy hiccups but I don't get them very often. Now that the wee 'un is squishing everything around I seem to have random, single hiccups on a regular basis. Travis tells me I sound like some bizarre exotic dying bird when I hiccup and he tries not to laugh at me as sometimes they hurt!
Today, however, I was NOT the only one with hiccups. The wee 'un had a round of hiccups that took me by surprise! I get a lot of baby movement every day, which ranges from gentle squirming to kicks and jabs that make me cry out (generally the former, less often the latter which is a good thing) but this afternoon was something totally different. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, didn't feel like movement but something was definitely going on in there. After a couple of minutes they were all done and we went back to our normal program of wiggles and squirms.
I sincerely hope for our baby's sake that if hiccups continue that they'll take after Travis and not me :)
Today, however, I was NOT the only one with hiccups. The wee 'un had a round of hiccups that took me by surprise! I get a lot of baby movement every day, which ranges from gentle squirming to kicks and jabs that make me cry out (generally the former, less often the latter which is a good thing) but this afternoon was something totally different. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, didn't feel like movement but something was definitely going on in there. After a couple of minutes they were all done and we went back to our normal program of wiggles and squirms.
I sincerely hope for our baby's sake that if hiccups continue that they'll take after Travis and not me :)
Monday, May 14, 2007
Scotland and baby update
Home at last! No more trips, no more visitors (we enjoyed all of you that came to see us!), and now it's time to scare out all the dust bunnies that have collected in our tiny apartment and rearrange furniture to make room for +1 coming in a couple of months.
Just posted, a small photo album of our trip to Scotland. The first weekend in May was a holiday weekend here (known as a 'bank holiday' it's rumored to celebrate May Day). We took advantage of the day off, added a couple more days, and flew all the way to Scotland. Turns out it's a good thing we opted for a short trip this time (45 min flight time Dublin-Edinburg) as the wee 'un is already pushing for space. It's difficult for me to sit totally straight up in the position of airline seats, the wee 'un let me know know how squished it felt in there.
So far all is still going well with the pregnancy. I'm definitely slowing down and feel absolutely enormous. My knees remind me of how much weight I've gained every time I try to bend them. The munchkin is VERY active still, my belly looks like a wave machine most of the time! Travis is back to working 6 days a week, which is rough on both of us, but we're hoping he'll get out of the thick of work in the next few weeks. He will be able to take some time when the baby comes, I'm hoping that the time sacrifices now will free him up later when it will actually be more important to be together.
Just posted, a small photo album of our trip to Scotland. The first weekend in May was a holiday weekend here (known as a 'bank holiday' it's rumored to celebrate May Day). We took advantage of the day off, added a couple more days, and flew all the way to Scotland. Turns out it's a good thing we opted for a short trip this time (45 min flight time Dublin-Edinburg) as the wee 'un is already pushing for space. It's difficult for me to sit totally straight up in the position of airline seats, the wee 'un let me know know how squished it felt in there.
So far all is still going well with the pregnancy. I'm definitely slowing down and feel absolutely enormous. My knees remind me of how much weight I've gained every time I try to bend them. The munchkin is VERY active still, my belly looks like a wave machine most of the time! Travis is back to working 6 days a week, which is rough on both of us, but we're hoping he'll get out of the thick of work in the next few weeks. He will be able to take some time when the baby comes, I'm hoping that the time sacrifices now will free him up later when it will actually be more important to be together.
Monday, April 30, 2007
A Few Days in Dublin
Home again! Well, Dublin home that is. And only for a few days. I'm starting to feel like it's not worth ever unpacking again. I'm just going to live out of a duffle bag for the rest of the year. No, I'm not complaining, who could complain about getting to go all the places I/we've been travelling to lately?!?!
After a short 2 weeks at home in Denver I came back with not one, not 2, but FOUR - yes you read that correctly - giant duffle bags full of baby stuff. And some treats for Travis who didn't get to come with me. A very special thank you to all of my friends and family back home (Denver home) who were able to share their time and advice with me. It was a great trip, not nearly as frantic as some of the previous ones. Other than the fantastic baby shower that Melinda threw for me and getting to see a huge portion of my family I think my favorite part was cruising garage sales for tiny baby things! Let me tell you, buying baby clothes/toys at garage sales is the way to go. I can't count the number of things I paid $1 or less for that were still on their store hangers with price tags still on them. Oh yes, and Target is truly a wonderful place.
After a short 2 weeks at home in Denver I came back with not one, not 2, but FOUR - yes you read that correctly - giant duffle bags full of baby stuff. And some treats for Travis who didn't get to come with me. A very special thank you to all of my friends and family back home (Denver home) who were able to share their time and advice with me. It was a great trip, not nearly as frantic as some of the previous ones. Other than the fantastic baby shower that Melinda threw for me and getting to see a huge portion of my family I think my favorite part was cruising garage sales for tiny baby things! Let me tell you, buying baby clothes/toys at garage sales is the way to go. I can't count the number of things I paid $1 or less for that were still on their store hangers with price tags still on them. Oh yes, and Target is truly a wonderful place.
So, I'm home for just enough days to unpack and pack again, Friday we leave for my last plane trip for a while. Off to bonny Scotland for an extended weekend. We'll be back on Tuesday and then will stay put for AN ENTIRE MONTH! Can you believe it? We've got one more pre-munchkin trip planned at the beginning of June here in Ireland and then....well who knows!
So soon we'll be back to some semblance of a normal routine again - after this coming weekend of course. It will be nice to get back to going to the gym, having the house a little tidier (and cleaner) and wearing less wrinkled clothes out of a closet instead of a duffle. Stay tuned for upcoming photos of the Gales' visit to Dublin (at the end of March) and Scotland!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Greece
Travis and I just returned from our 10 day trip to Greece, it truly was a relaxing time for both of us. About 48 hours before heading home it hit us - the PILE of stuff we both have to do in the next few days/weeks/months. I have a short week here before heading off on my next trip, home to Denver, and Travis has looming deadlines and big projects ahead of him. The whole plane ride home (except the part where Travis was napping) we were both making mental and actual lists of things to do!
If you notice brownouts in the Blackrock area of Dublin over the next 2 days it's because I'm doing non-stop laundry...those of you who have visited or who live here will understand...
While in Greece we toured Athens for a few days and then sailed out to the Greek island of Santorini. If you pay attention to international news you may have seen the clip of the cruise ship that sank there last week - read about it on CNN's website at: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/04/05/greece.cruiseship.ap/index.html
It was crazy to watch, the ship completely sank during the night. We didn't know any of this as the only immediate news about the ship was all in Greek. The 2 english speaking news stations that we got on TV didn't pick up the story right away so it took a while to get any details. The day after we watched people being unloaded we noticed the ship was gone, little did we know at the time that it was because it was totally underwater.
Our new room! It was so cute. It's the one at the top of the flight of orange stairs. You can see our green shutters that are open. We had our own private deck, it's just to the left. You might be able to pick out the wood supports that held the canopy over our little piece of paradise.
If you notice brownouts in the Blackrock area of Dublin over the next 2 days it's because I'm doing non-stop laundry...those of you who have visited or who live here will understand...
While in Greece we toured Athens for a few days and then sailed out to the Greek island of Santorini. If you pay attention to international news you may have seen the clip of the cruise ship that sank there last week - read about it on CNN's website at: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/04/05/greece.cruiseship.ap/index.html
It was crazy to watch, the ship completely sank during the night. We didn't know any of this as the only immediate news about the ship was all in Greek. The 2 english speaking news stations that we got on TV didn't pick up the story right away so it took a while to get any details. The day after we watched people being unloaded we noticed the ship was gone, little did we know at the time that it was because it was totally underwater.
Here's a map of our island stay in Santorini to get you oriented. 
We stayed in Fira which is at the center of the island shaped like a backwards 'C'. Santorini used to look a lot different, it only had one very small channel to the sea with a small water filled caldera in the center of a ring shaped island. Then about 3600 years ago the (inhabited) island experienced a violent volcanic eruption where the 2 major channels you see today were formed. After the big explosion the smaller islands in the center of the bay started to form, but didn't do much until the 1800s when the bigger of the 2 became very active and grew considerably. The last eruption (these are slow, thick eruptions) was in the 1950s.
We stayed in Fira which is at the center of the island shaped like a backwards 'C'. Santorini used to look a lot different, it only had one very small channel to the sea with a small water filled caldera in the center of a ring shaped island. Then about 3600 years ago the (inhabited) island experienced a violent volcanic eruption where the 2 major channels you see today were formed. After the big explosion the smaller islands in the center of the bay started to form, but didn't do much until the 1800s when the bigger of the 2 became very active and grew considerably. The last eruption (these are slow, thick eruptions) was in the 1950s.Other locations to note - the cruise ship that sank started out in the water just below Fira and was moved just a little bit south, between Fira and the port of Athinios, where it finally sank completely.Oia is the town at the northern end of the big island. That's the first town we saw when coming in on the ferry and is also where we first saw the tilting ship.All of the beaches are on the 'outside' of the island, or the east side. The fantastic cliffs face in toward the bay and the new islands that are forming.
Arriving on Santorini we were delivered directly to our hotel. This is the view looking south from our hotel. 
You can see how all of the buildings just tumble down the cliff face. There's a street at the top of this hill and some more on the backside, but everything you see here is accessed by pedestrian or donkey routes. Your hotel lobby is normally up on the street and the rooms go down the hill. Our first room was a great, quiet room that was WAY at the bottom of the steps. Physically I'm still OK with a lot of steps but these were really small, very steep, and often slanted and damp (stone steps). Travis played his pregnant wife card (used a lot on this trip) to get us a room higher up. Not as quiet, but a very nice room that was less nerve racking for both of us to get to! You should see how Travis' reflexes have improved since I've become an expectant mother. He grabs at me every time I trip or stumble (which was often even before I got pregnant and he never seemed to worry about me then :) ).
You can see how all of the buildings just tumble down the cliff face. There's a street at the top of this hill and some more on the backside, but everything you see here is accessed by pedestrian or donkey routes. Your hotel lobby is normally up on the street and the rooms go down the hill. Our first room was a great, quiet room that was WAY at the bottom of the steps. Physically I'm still OK with a lot of steps but these were really small, very steep, and often slanted and damp (stone steps). Travis played his pregnant wife card (used a lot on this trip) to get us a room higher up. Not as quiet, but a very nice room that was less nerve racking for both of us to get to! You should see how Travis' reflexes have improved since I've become an expectant mother. He grabs at me every time I trip or stumble (which was often even before I got pregnant and he never seemed to worry about me then :) ).Our new room! It was so cute. It's the one at the top of the flight of orange stairs. You can see our green shutters that are open. We had our own private deck, it's just to the left. You might be able to pick out the wood supports that held the canopy over our little piece of paradise.Our rental car! 
We rented a car for one day to check out the rest of the island (all 25km of it) and to see the beaches. If you've seen the movie 'A Good Year' the tiny SmartCar is referred to as a rollerskate. We truly understood that line after driving around in this car. It did, however, have a surprising amount of power. Likely not difficult to achieve as there isn't much car to motor around.P.S. If you haven't seen 'A Good Year' it's a surprisingly good movie.
We rented a car for one day to check out the rest of the island (all 25km of it) and to see the beaches. If you've seen the movie 'A Good Year' the tiny SmartCar is referred to as a rollerskate. We truly understood that line after driving around in this car. It did, however, have a surprising amount of power. Likely not difficult to achieve as there isn't much car to motor around.P.S. If you haven't seen 'A Good Year' it's a surprisingly good movie.One of our stops as we drove around the island was Oia. At the main port on Santorini, Athinios, there is a road from the sea to the top of the cliffs. At the port in Fira there is a path, donkey trail, and a small cable car. At Oia, if you want to get from the harbor to the top of the cliff, where most of town is, you have to hoof it. There is a road that wraps around the northern edge of the island (which is how we got down there) but it's a really roundabout way to get to town.
For all the pictures, click on the slide show to get it started:
So, Greece was fun. I'm looking forward to my trip home, it seems a lot of people have been heading home lately and it's been fun to have my own trip to look forward to. I'll miss Travis like crazy, but this trip will be shorter than my one alone this summer. Plus we've got the cheap international phone call system up and running so it will be easier to actually talk to each other.
