Currently...

Suffering...
... with a suspected UTI.

I think it started on Monday when we took our trip to the hospital to pick up a fresh supply of my meds. I was aware of the fact that I didn't want to be needing to pee all the way into Glasgow so I drank less than usual which seems to have had an adverse effect on me.

The problem is a sore lower back, needing to pee all the time, and feeling generally run down pretty much describes all my pregnancy symptoms so I sort of hesitated on whether or not it was worth going to the doctor. Yesterday I thought it was nothing to worry about, but this morning I asked Mr Click to make the call and he decided a trip to the doctor was worthwhile.

I'm glad he did.

To paint a wee picture (no pun intended), I filled up a sample bottle. Within ten minutes I needed to nip to the loo again. As well as ten minutes after that. About ten minutes after that we left to go to my appointment (five minutes up the road), by which point I abandoned the spousal unit to check me in so I could nip to the loo again. And then another ten minutes later (right when I was due to go in to see the doctor) I had to nip in again.

I've got a short dose of amoxicillin and we're waiting until Monday for my results to come back in case I need to take something stronger. I have a funny feeling this won't be the last time I'm getting a UTI during this pregnancy.

Reading...
... After the Crash by Michel Bussi.

It's this month's book club book and I'm finding it to be one of those 'one more chapter books'. It's told in both the 'present day' (late nineties) and through a journal which one of the characters is reading. This means that inevitably a chapter ends and you have to wait until halfway through the next one or the one after it to pick up the strand of the story you've been reading so you just have to keep going.

I managed to read about one hundred pages straight off at the weekend though I've slowed down a little since then.

I'm also reading a Mother & Baby magazine, because why not? Mr Click picked it up for me today (I think to cheer me up after the UTI and antibiotic stuff). Our baby doesn't even have feet yet, but I'm going to be hot on tips to help them learn to walk when they get here.

What's keeping you occupied this week?

Currently...

Anxiously awaiting...

... test day.

It's looming very near now and just hoping that everyone is still where we left them. I'm hoping I will soon have some very good news to share about Bo and Luke.

Loving...

... this little gift Mr Click came home with yesterday.

Hopefully it'll be some time before I'm able to use the bath bomb (since baths are a no-go at the moment, you're allowed one as long as it's not too hot and what's the point if you're not boiling?) but I'm hoping to crack out the soap to celebrate before too long.

Learning...

... that you have to be very careful shaving your legs when you're on blood thinners.

I'm currently sporting two very fetching plasters on my right ankle!

Planning...

... a trip away in August.

Although our original plan had been to take a trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour but a family friend has invited us to visit them so we've taken them up on the offer. It's a part of the country that Mr Click used to visit on holiday when he was much younger but it's somewhere I've never been.

I've been scrolling through pages and pages of places we might like to visit while we're there. I suspect that we may have to make a repeat visit in the future because there just won't be time for everything!

How's your week going? Waiting for an important date or looking forward to something fun?

I'd love to hear about it.

Currently...

Feeling...
... sore.

It's all because of that little beauty up there.

That's my Clexane injection (the blood thinner) which is in a very funky preloaded syringe. Now I like the format of this, even though for the first few days I was convinced I wasn't doing in properly because you can't actually see the liquid going in. Also when you get to the end of the injection this outer tube comes down to cover the needle. It's clever.

The needle is pretty thin and although it's fairly painless going in (once you've broken the skin at least) but the solution burns and stings like crazy. It actually brings tears to my eyes (whereas in the past the tears normally come before when I'm trying to mix up the injectables).

I don't know where I went wrong this evening, perhaps I pressed in a little too hard, perhaps I hit a spot I've hit before, perhaps it was just bad luck. I managed to make myself bleed with this one.

I'm now sporting a lovely plaster on my bloated belly.

Going...
... slowly crazy.

It's so frustrating not knowing what's happening in your own body, especially when everything that could be a pregnancy symptom can also be a side effect of the meds you're on.

After having five days off work (four of which were full days post transfer) I was getting kind of ready to go back. Not so much because I wanted to work, but because I thought being out of the house would help take my mind off things.

I don't really think it has. Now I'm wondering whether my computer chair is to blame for my backache and the fact that come lunchtime today and yesterday my belly has bloated up so badly I've had to unbutton my trousers (thank goodness for long tops)!

Relaxing...
... by (attempting to) keep calm and colour unicorns.

Thus far I've completed two unicorn pictures and I'm working on a third, this time in rainbow colours:

I spent a good chunk of last Thursday, Friday and some of Saturday working on that one on the left. I'm not sure it really succeeded in taking my mind off of things, but it was good to have something to focus on. I also like that each page has an inspiring quote on it.

I'm planning on heading to bed in a minute (because I'm exhausted) and entertaining myself with a little more unicorn colouring while with watch The Dukes of Hazzard. Hopefully I'll have a rainbow unicorn to share in an upcoming blog post.

Currently...

Making use of...
... the local library at last!

The library is open late on a Tuesday so I took advantage of this to pop in on the way home from work and pick up the May Book Club book.

Of course, this means that I'm now frantically trying to finish the ebook I'm reading at the moment. It's taking a little while since I'm falling into the habit of nodding off while I'm reading it. The night before last I woke up to find Mr Click blissfully snoring away on top of my Kindle. Luckily there was no harm done.

Preparing...
... for tomorrow! Embryo Transfer Day!

I wrote out a massive list of things I needed to get done this evening. We've got a very early start tomorrow and I've got the complication of meds to take before I go so I need to get as much done as possible tonight.

As I'm writing this, I'm charging my Kindle, Fitbit and powerbank. Next up on the list is organising the clothes I'm planning on wearing (my lucky outfit which I've worn to every appointment on this round, the nurses must think I'm a real skank with only one set of clothes). That's to be followed by doing a stock take of the meds I have in the cupboard (and scattered elsewhere around the house) so I can request extras to see me through to the Official Test Date.

Off...
... for an early night.

We do have an early start after all. And it's kind of an important day for us.

Keep everything crossed for a successful thaw and transfer.

Currently...

Back to...
... colouring in!

I finished up the picture I'd been working on in Johanna Basford's Secret Garden earlier in the week and went straight on to this one from Lost Ocean. I've been feeling a tad wound up recently, I'm guessing it's the hormones, and struggling to focus on anything too demanding so colouring in seemed like the perfect thing to do.

I'm very much a fan of picking a few colours and then limiting myself to a particular palette in these pictures. I've managed to move away from the 'proper' colours of things (since colouring in a picture with blue and purple trees) so this time I used a random colour generator to give me an idea of two colours. It threw up green and black so that's what I've gone with, mixing it up a little with black plants and green sealife. I'm planning on adding some pink to the mix soon as well.

Reading...
... Andrew Lang's The Yellow Fairy Book.

It seemed like a nice easy choice back at the beginning of the month but oh boy! Here we are a week later and I'm still reading it.

Part of the problem is, I'm sure, the fact that my meds are making me feel wiped out (and the aforementioned lack of concentration) plus work is insanely busy at the moment. And I've been spending my time colouring in rather than reading, and a hundred and one other excuses. It's just taking forever.

And I am enjoying it. Some of the stories are a little bit repetitive, but on the whole it's good fun. But right now I'm still 20% from the end and it's probably going to take me until at least Sunday to get there.

Preparing...
... to start snorting Buserelin.

I've got two more nights where I can turn the light off at 10:30pm and happily roll over to sleep. Friday morning is going to begin with a snort at 7am, followed by one at 12pm, one at 6pm and the final one of the day at 11pm.

These are crucial timings and I am not to miss one at all. I suspect that there probably is a little bit of leeway with these, after all, the drug will build up in your system. But all the same, the nurses and the paperwork drum it into you that it absolutely has to be done at those times. And with all these things, I always think, 'if it didn't work would you wonder what if I'd taken my meds at the right time?' if the answer is yes, you should probably take them when you're told.

On the other hand, this might work out in my favour, since I'll need to do something to keep me awake (I don't trust myself to set an alarm and actually wake up since my latest trick is rolling over, switching off the alarm after its gone off and then having a sleepy Mr Click mumble 'was that the alarm?' to cause me to bolt out of bed). I might get a lot of reading done, sitting up in bed, that's assuming I don't get distracted by something shiny or which I could colour in!

What are your favourite methods to keep yourself awake when you need to stay up?

Currently...

Getting...
... back into the swing of regular blogging.

I had a great time taking part in the A to Z Challenge this year and unlike previous years when I tried to stick to my regular posts alongside the A to Z ones, this time I just focused on the A to Z ones. Now it feels a little weird going back to posting about stuff like book reviews and my knitting, but also kind of nice as well, like when you get back to a routine after some time off.

Catching up...
on the comments on my A to Z blog posts.

I'll probably be doing this until the end of May because I'm trying to visit each blog as I go. It means that when you've got five comments on your blog that ends up taking about an hour to get through them because I like to read the comment, reply to it, visit their blog, read a post, and then leave a comment on it.

I've also had a pretty busy April and it's shaping up to be a pretty busy May (in the space of eight days I'll have been off the island three times!) it's kind of crazy.

Reading...
... All. Of. The. Things!

I feel like I've been missing my reading mojo a little for part of the year. Reading anything seemed to be kind of slow going, but in the last few weeks I've been reading anything and everything and powering through it all.

I don't know what kickstarted it, rearranging my bookcases or getting my new Kindle or whether it was something else, but I'm really enjoying being able to get lost in my books again. Just as well because I acquired another seven paperbacks over the weekend!

Watching...
... The Two Ronnies and The Dukes of Hazzard.

We finished watching 24 this week and I've requested light-hearted, funny TV viewing while we do the frozen embryo transfer. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that women who were entertained by a comedian (or was it a clown?) for fifteen minutes after transfer had a higher rate of success than the woman who didn't, so I want fewer explosions and dead bodies on my screen while we have this go.

The Dukes of Hazzard is our pre-bed viewing. It's funny, you know what's going to happen and you can tune in and out of it without missing too much. And then I picked The Two Ronnies this evening for much the same reason. Sure, we've seen them before, but that's part of what makes them feel comforting and safe.

Are you recovering after the A to Z Challenge? Are you getting back into something you've not done for a while?

Currently...

Celebrating...
... so many things!

Dodger got a more or less clean bill of health from the vet. He's still got ever such a slight tilt, but it looks like that's permanent rather than any lingering infection. He's had another dose of antibiotics and is just as chirpy as ever.

My shiny new Kindle Fire arrived on Monday and I think I am in love. If nothing else, I'm able to sort my books into Collections again which will prove hugely useful in helping me decide what to read next at any given moment.

My period arrived. Not normally a cause for celebration, especially when you're trying to get pregnant, unless you're waiting to start your treatment for a frozen embryo transfer. I've been able to speak to the hospital and I've got an appointment in three weeks time for my mini menopause injection.

Reading...
... lots and lots of A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal posts.

I'm trying to read and comment on as many of the posts announcing their themes for April because it's good to show support. Plus one of the things I love about the A to Z Challenge is that there's a real sense of reciprocity, so if you comment on someone's blog post, they'll come back and visit yours.

I try to comment on every blog post I read and to say something about what they've posted to show I've read it, so that's generating a lot of comments for me to write (and for people coming back here as well). If I'm a little slow at replying to comments this month, that's why.

Writing...
... lots and lots of A to Z Challenge posts.

I've got as far as H scheduled and I'm hoping I can get the second week's worth of posts scheduled in the next three or four days. It's kind of therapeutic and it's given me something to focus on as I wait to be able to start the next leg of the journey with our embryos.

Are you working the A to Z Challenge? Anything big you're celebrating at the moment?

Currently...

Sitting...
... in the middle of charger central.

To my left is my phone, charging after I was playing with it at work today and then used it to track my evening walk with Tara. On the left hand side of my laptop is my Fitbit, on the right is my powerbank.

I'm charging everything up ready for a trip to the mainland tomorrow. We're off on a shopping expedition (and for the car to be MOT'd).

Preparing...
... to buy a printer.

I got £31 worth of vouchers at work a few months ago so I've been planning on putting them towards a printer. I'm fairly certain that I know which one I'm going to get and hopefully with the vouchers it'll cost me less than a tenner as well. Bargain!

Watching...
... The Young Ones.

Well, not right this minute, but as soon as I'm done with this post and head to bed. Since we've finished watching The Muppet Show The Young Ones has become our bedtime viewing. I wasn't too keen on the first episode, but three episodes in and I think I'm liking it a little more.

Going...
... to bed. Early.

We've had a few late nights. Well, I say we, I mean me. I've been staying up far too late reading for far too long and we have an early start in the morning, so I should really stop here and head for bed.

Night!

Currently...

Nursing...
... a bleeding hand.

It's entirely my fault.

I was lifting Fezziwig out the big cage to put him into the small cage, only to have him struggle to get back into the big cage. Normally if you hold Fez tight he'll stop the struggle, but this time it just made him struggle more. And ratties can have pretty sharp claws, so I got scratched.

It's a good job he's so cute.

Returning...
... to walking.

We had lovely weather on Saturday and Sunday but I didn't get out at all, which I felt really guilty about. What with the stims, the op and then the cold/virus/flu I just wasn't up to walking for a long time and each day I could feel my chances of getting to Lothlorien slipping away.

So Sunday night I made the decision that I was going to walk on Monday morning. And walk we did. Since Monday I've been managing to get out morning and evening with Tara and I've been doing roughly 1.5 miles so as long as I keep this up I'm still on track to finish on the 31st of December.

And I've been able to see an old friend again too:

It's Billy Big Pig.

He's not actually forgiven me for abandoning him for over a month though. Both times I've been up to visit him he's had his nose stuck in his dinner and despite looking up and snuffling at me, I'm losing out to the food right now. Hopefully in another day or so we'll be on speaking terms at the gate again.

Learning...
... Welsh.

And doing pretty well at it too.

I'm using Duolingo and I've joined a club on the app so I'm in direct competition with other Welsh learners. Within a couple of hours of joining the group I'd worked my way up to third in the rankings and since then I've climbed to first place. I'm terribly competitive and I have no intentions of relinquishing my top spot, so it's definitely keeping me motivated.

What've you been up to this week?

Currently...

Drowning...
... in laundry.

My pets are out to get me.

I've got a fairly good laundry routine but since I spent last weekend actually dying, there wasn't a huge amount of laundry done. Mr Click helpfully put on a load for us on Sunday and so we started to claw back control. Until Monday when Fezziwig helpfully threw a spanner in the works.

I let the Mischief run around the bathroom while I shower. It's a fairly well-contained room so they can run and play and chase to their hearts' content and I don't have to worry about losing anyone. Except Fezziwig has learned to climb. A couple of weeks ago he ended up on top of the toilet cistern!

While I was in the shower, he decided to jump up on top of the toilet brush and holder. It wobbled for a fraction of a second, I realised what he was doing, barked at him just as it started to topple then Fez, the container and the loo brush fell over. We keep some bleachy water in the bottom of our toilet brush so that promptly spilled out all over the floor where four crazy rats (who were just recently introduced to the Fishing For Peas game) were having a ball.

I flew out of the shower, dripping all over the floor, fending off ratbags from the rapidly moving puddle and grabbing a wadge of toilet paper to mop it up. It quickly became clear that the paper was good for absolutely nothing in this situation so, still pushing away rats coming at me from all directions, I grabbed the bath mat and mopped it up with that.

So that then had to go into the wash.

It's all okay though, a slight delay on my catch up on the laundry, but I can cope with that. Until a Tara-related incident meant that the throw on our bed also needed to be washed today. The other laundry is going to have to wait another day or two to go in the machine.

And at least there were no ratties or labradorks injured in the making of this laundry!

Currently...

Exhausted...
... from another trip to the hospital.

But it went really well. I'll tell you all about it when I'm not falling asleep at my laptop.

Celebrating...
... doing my first injection in public today. On a ferry no less!

I feel like there should be some sort of achievement badge for doing this.

Off...
... to bed!

Night, night!

Currently...

Feeling...
... pretty zonked after my trip to the mainland for a hospital appointment.

It went really well though and I came away with a massive bag of goodies:

I'm also feeling slightly nervous, since we start playing with this stuff tomorrow! Yikes!

Currently...

Pleased...
... that Dodger is so much better.

He's zipping around all over the place and is decidedly unwonky now. Even his head tilt is unnoticeable. Hopefully tomorrow will be his last trip to the vet (ever)!

Eating...
... haggis, of course!

It's Burns Night so we've had our haggis, neeps and tatties. And we're not the only ones:

Fezziwig was the first to tuck in and then Jingle (up there) decided to give it a go. As I type this Dodger is tucking in and a few minutes ago Pocket was having a nibble. I was worried that the haggis might be a little too strong for them, but Pocket kept on going back for seconds (and thirds, and fourths) so I think it's safe to say it's a hit!

Introducing new ratties to new foods is definitely one of my favourite things.

Reading...
... still Oliver Twist.

I can't count the number of times I've woken up to find my Kindle on Mr Click's pillow. In fact, this morning he came back from the bathroom and woke me up to point out that he may have actually been using it as a pillow, since I helpfully left it there while I was reading last night.

I'm blaming the Metformin for this one. I feel so tired. I don't remember this being a side effect last time, but who knows, perhaps I just forgot. I've been alternating one good night's sleep with one bad one (so I'm due for a bad night tonight, last night I slept like a log!) but still can't help but nod off while I'm reading.

I've got less than 20% left to go now and I'm determined that I'll be finished by Sunday.

Watching...
... series two of 24.

I think I might be enjoying this one a little more than the first series, though Kim Bauer seems to have this uncanny ability to waltz from one disaster to another. How can anyone be so unlucky?!

Planning...
... another vlog post.

I'd been waiting until I had something to say after starting the Metformin, then I did have something to say about the Metformin and I had no energy to actually say it. I'm hoping to record it either Friday or Saturday and have it uploaded on Saturday, though I make not promises.

I'm also hoping I'll have a hospital appointment next week. If I remember, I'll make a little video about our journey to the hospital. I think that'll be fun. I just wish my camera had enough battery to record the entire thing, but at 2.5 hours long, I think it might be a little too long for people to watch!

Currently...

Enjoying...

... my baby rats.

They're doing so well and have their own distinct little personalities. I'm having so much fun getting to know them, their likes and dislikes, and discovering which foods they like.

They are growing like little weeds and I've got a plan to do a proper post to introduce each of them. But those might not start for another few days so here's a quick rundown:

• Fezziwig & Jingle (pictured above, Fez on top, Jingle on bottom) are the Terrible Twosome. Fezzi follows Jingle around all over the place.
• Jingle loves the hammock and likes to go there by himself to escape from his brothers.
• Fez loves food. He's already getting a bit of a tummy and little chubby cheeks.
• Dodger's filling out now and looks more like a proper rat than a little baby like when we got him. He's becoming quite brave.
• Pocket is still just Pocket. He's a unique little guy and seems very upset every time we close the door and shut him in with these rats!
• We put a grass house in the baby cage last week and it's not uncommon to see them all squished inside it. Inevitably they will run out of room and someone will slide out. I can see this only becoming more of a problem as they grow up.

Celebrating...

... getting a nomination for an award at work.

My Team Leader nominated me and I got a note of what she said. It was just lovely.

I always try to get on with things at work but over the last year I've come up with an organisation system (heavily influenced by my bullet journal) which I've refined and tuned, with built in reflection and I'm really proud of how it works for me. I'm really impressed that my progress has been noticed and commented on.

Reading...

... still Oliver Twist!

So much for my determination to read a little quickly this year. I'm just struggling with it because I'm so familiar with the story, so I know what's coming next. I can't feel the same sort of attachment to the characters as I would if I wasn't so aware of the story.

Watching...

... the second series of 24.

Like right this second.

I liked the way that the first series wrapped up and we decided to go right on with watching the second series. I'm quite enjoying it and I'm still feeling the Spooks/Die Hard lovechild vibe from it. Considering the fact that it can be quite violent and there's plenty of people dying in it, it's a lot lighter viewing than Criminal Minds was so I'm grateful for that.

Planning...

... to buy a printer.

I've wanted to get a printer for the house for ages, but more so since we got internet so we can print wirelessly (or even when we're out of the house if necessary). Well, I won £31 worth of vouchers which can be spent in Argos so that plan has stepped up a gear now.

Now it's just the important bit where I narrow it down to which one I want to get. I want a 3-in-1 (though there's a 4-in-1 I was looking at which wasn't too much more expensive and had a host of extra features). I'm leaning towards and Epson because that's what I've always used and I'm most familiar with. I'm still weighing up options though.

I've been selling printers for years so you would think this would be an easy decision for me, but it's not. If anything it's harder because of all the different things I'm aware of.

Any hints or tips for picking a printer?

Currently...

Not...
... walking today.

We've had wild weather today. I lay awake around 5am listening to it and feeling really grateful that I was able to get my hospital appointment for yesterday rather than today. There were no boats first thing and so getting off the island would have been impossible.

Thankfully there were no trees down so we're not experiencing a repeat of January 2012. Yet. Snow is the next thing forecast though and we drove through some on the way home. It'll be interesting to see if any of that settles.

Relieved...
... that yesterday's hospital appointment went well.

It was a 5am start and we reached the hospital for 9am. It was nearly 11pm by the time I got to bed and turned the light out so it made for a long day which I'm feeling today.

We were there to sign some forms, I got weighed and I picked up the first lot of meds I'll be starting later in the month.

We also put one of our Christmas gifts to good use by heading to Wagamama for lunch. If we had made it off the island today we wouldn't have had enough time for this because we'd be rushing back home straight after the appointment.

 

By the way, the coordinated hoodies, totally not intentional. When were getting ready to leave the house yesterday I mentioned to Mr Click that I'd wanted to wear my OU hoodie but if he was wearing his, I'd wear a different top. He offered to wear a different top, I replied 'yes, okay' which he misinterpreted and we ended up matching. I didn't realise until we were on the boat so we had no choice but to roll with it.

At least we both wear it well!

Working on...
... my first ever vlog!

I recorded two little videos last night. One gives a potted history of where we are in our 'infertility journey' the other is just about yesterday's appointment. They need a bit of editing (I wish I could CG out the number of times I blink) but I'm hoping to get them up in the next few days.

Busy...
... working to hand tame our little ratty crew.

Last night I braved the four of them by myself. Fezzi and Jingle briefly ganged up on me and tried to give me a heart attack by both going in different directions at the same time. Pocket is still as cuddly as ever, though he's wanting to be independent and explore, rather than snuggle in a pocket. And Dodger is beginning to fill out and come into his own. He's getting braver too.

I'll do some proper introductions to them in the coming days, alongside finishing my Christmas in Wales posts and getting my vlogs up.

It's going to be a busy few days on the blog!

Currently...

Preparing...
... to depart from Wales a little earlier than previously anticipated.

Storm Barbara is playing havoc with the ferries already and Friday is set to be awful. Of course, Friday would be the day we're off so it's prompted a bit of a schedule reshuffle and an emergency booking of a hotel room in Glasgow.

Packing...
... all. of. the. things.

I'd taken the day off work on Thursday ready to do all the last minute bits and pieces, like depositing Tara at the Kennels and putting hair brush, chargers and random other stuff I'm planning on using right before we go.

Since yesterday we had a change of plans we did some emergency packing last night and I've been filling up the edges of my case since then. Luckily I made a list in my trusty bullet journal, Gandalf, but it's just a question of making sure everything fits in there. I'm paranoid it'll be too full or I won't get it all in.

Resisting...
... the temptation to open two early Christmas presents which arrived today.

I've had a pack of 30 Staedtler Triplus Fineliners pretty much since I played with the pack of 20 my friend had and fell in love with the colours, the feel of the pen and the way they wrote. I've had them for getting on for a year now and most of them are in good condition, except for the ones which I use regularly. I've picked up some single black ones since I use them most and the nibs have worn down or become damaged on a couple (though they're still perfectly serviceable, you just have to get them at the right angle).

I've started to notice a couple of the nibs on some of my other regulars wearing a little, there's a blue, a red and a green which are sort of 'go to' pens for various things and I started weighing up the idea of buying some singles, as I'd done with the black ones.

Then I spotted this pack for half price on Amazon and a very good Elf (also known as Mr Click) treated me to it.

I pushed my luck rather by pointing out another little deal on the site:

My good old Anthracite one will probably end the year with just under 20 spare pages, which won't be enough for January. I'll probably use them for test spreads, pen tests and general scrappy notes. But I had already ordered myself a new one a few months ago when I was making up a Christmas present order.

I'd fallen in love with the Azure cover but it just didn't come down in price enough, so I settled for the Navy Blue, knowing I liked the colour and the Azure would be there in the future for me. It was just that after the serious grey colour, I wanted something a little brighter and with a little more pop.

Of course, just last week this one dropped in price to less than what I paid for the Navy one. So I hedged my bets and was totally spoiled too. Since I've changed the way I do my spreads recently (I now have monthly, weekly and daily spreads) I'll probably get through this one in around six months, so good old Navy will be ready for me around summer time next year.

But there's no room for these goodies in my case so I'll leaving them here to wait patiently for my return when I will get to work organising next year!

Currently...

Being...
... a rather lax blogger.

I was full of intentions to post on Monday and get some NaNo done as well before I went out for a meal with a group of friends (for one of the group's birthday). Except, I never actually got as far as switching on my laptop before I went out.

That means my NaNo word count has taken a bit of a hit as I didn't get any writing done yesterday. It was late by the time I got home and showered, so in the end I just left it. I'm still optimistic that I'll hit 50,000 words by the end of the month, but I'm not sure I'll be at the end of the story by then.

I need less than 900 words per day to the end of the month to finish on time, and I'm optimistic I can double that on some days before the 30th.

Anticipating...
... not one but two trips to the mainland!

One is pleasure; a trip to the cinema to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was going to be a trip for Mr Click's birthday except I'm desperate to see it as soon as possible. We managed to get a good deal on our contents insurance so we're using the money we've saved for a slightly earlier than planned trip. I may also get some Christmas shopping in too.

The other is definitely not pleasure!

I mentioned a little while ago that at least one of my wisdom teeth is slated for demolition. Well, I've got an assessment appointment where they will have a good poke around and figure out the best method of attack. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to that trip so much!

Watching...
... The Wizard of Oz.

It's the penultimate film in our Not Quite Christmas List. Tomorrow we're watching Bridget Jones's Diary and then on Friday we'll be watching the first of our 38 Christmas Films.

As we've been watching, each time I hear a Christmas song I've been adding it, or a variation of it, to my Christmas playlist on Spotify. Considering we've not actually started on the real Christmas films, it's grown pretty large already. I've got almost 60 tracks (including two Christmas albums which I stumbled upon by chance). It's going to be a behemoth by Christmas Day!

Reading...
... The Plains of Passage.

Still.

I've managed to get about halfway through in three weeks. I'm determined I'm going to finish it by the end of the month, though there's no way I'm taking it with me to Glasgow or the dentist which I head off the island. It weighs an absolute tonne!

I'm looking forward to finishing it and getting stuck into some Christmas Kindle books.

What're you currently up to?

Currently...

Watching...
... Frozen.

That's my Bullet Journal page of all the 'Not Quite Christmas Films' that we're working through at the moment. Since taking that photo we've also watch Hogfather. I'm still working on the list of 38 titles in our Christmas Viewing Collection.

Enjoying...
... having a little bit of schedule flexibility at work.

I've mentioned before that I normally finish early every other Friday. Well, it's recently occurred to me that so long as I'm working the same number of hours I can redistribute that early finish occasionally. So I was able to take a two hour break in the middle of the day today. It completely threw me off but it was really handy.

And bonus, I've not used all three of my early finish hours so I can still finish a little early this Friday as well.

Writing...
... very little.

I'm not feeling quite so in the mood for NaNo tonight, so I've given myself permission to write the bare minimum. I'm going to snuggle in bed and read and hopefully pass the 31,000 words mark before I do that.

What films do you like to watch during the pre-Christmas season?

Currently...

Getting ready...

... to write a little more on my NaNo project.

I took the day off work yesterday and got in a whopping 15,687 words. I was aiming for about 10,000 and it came through surprisingly easily so I kept going for 15,000.

I'm just aiming for 2,000 words today since I've been at work all day, but this is how my NaNo graph is looking at the moment:

Missing...

... my Hogwarts robes.

I actually found a simple pattern for wizarding robes. Now I'm wondering if I'm just quirky enough to be able to pull off wearing full blown wizard robes every day. I would totally do it, I don't think I've ever been so comfortable wearing a skirt.

I did wear my Ravenclaw scarf today and I'm thinking I need to get a matching hat on my needles.

Wanting...

... to get some colouring in done.

A couple of months ago Mr Click ordered me the two new Johanna Basford colouring books, Magical Jungle and Johanna's Christmas. They just arrived yesterday so I'm planning on dipping into the Christmas one very soon.

Stopping...

... writing this blog post right now.

Because I have 2,000 more words to write on my NaNo and they're not going to write themselves.

Are you NaNoing? How's it going?

Currently...

Feeling...
... a little like Christmas.

I arrived home today with a pair of shoes a colleague let me have since she's having a clear our and we're the same size (she offered me two other pairs, but told me they were horrible in advance, they weren't that horrible really, just an acquired taste and that's not a taste I've acquired personally). Then there were four parcels with my name on them.

We now have cases for our trip to Wales, I have some new trousers and a new top, I've also got another pen pal letter, and a beautiful tree ornament that I found at the weekend (I can't believe that one came so soon).

We ended up with boxes and packaging all over the living room floor (which we still have to tidy up) but it was worth it.

Reading...
... still Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs.

I'm very close to the end now and should finish it in the next day or so (if I get off my computer and actually, y'know, read it). It's actually a very easy read, I blasted through about five chapters on Sunday at my in-laws' house. I'm just slow because I know who did it so I don't have that sense of suspense.

Enjoying...
... having tap water I can actually drink again!

I mentioned previously that we were having some issues with our water supply. Well, last Monday we got the go ahead to drink the water again, which we tried for about a day before switching back to bottled because it tasted foul. Really chemically. It smelt nice though; the whole room would smell like it had just been bleached or something.

But it wasn't the taste that was the main issue.

It was the fact that taking a shower made your eyes sting and your throat burn. It wasn't until Thursday (when I had to sit on the bathroom floor and gasp for breath after my shower because my chest had gone all tight) that I made the connection. Each evening I was sneezing, my nose was running, my throat was hurting, and I thought I was coming down with some weird cold that only struck post-6pm.

My shower was making both me and Mr Click feel rotten.

Several phone calls, and assurances that the water was safe to drink and there was no bacteria in it (because it was chlorinated to kingdom come), I finally got to speak to someone who admitted that they'd been a little heavy-handed with the treatment of the water and as we are apparently the first group of houses on the supply line, we were hit with the worst of it.

The good news is, it's all better now. As I write this I'm sipping a glass of crystal clear tap water which tastes as good as before. I'm also really looking forward to having a relaxing bath this weekend without the fear of turning my bathroom into a gas chamber!

What've you been up to this week?