Had a nice surprise yesterday afternoon when Roj got back from work at 4pm. Quite apart from being totally gobsmacked that E&Y could be so magnanimous, it also meant that we could go to the cinema and have a real proper evening, rather than eating late in front of the telly and combatting heartburn in bed (one of the few pregnancy symptoms I am experiencing). We saw Chicago in the end, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Nice to see a couple of women play bitches so unabashedly, but have to say that Catherine Zeta-Jones did make Renée Zellweger (of whom I am not a fan anyway) look not just anorexic but not in the least bit attractive. Maybe just a personal opinion, but not helped by the fact that Miss Zeta-Jones has to be one of the most beautiful woman in showbiz.

Enormous thanks go to Peta for sending me a vast and utterly useful baby gear list after the helpless plea I made on Monday. Forget consumer reports and product comparisons, I'm just going to take her list into a shop and buy all the stuff on it! What's more, she's even offered to mail me some of the variety of baby-carrying items Toby has now grown out of, which is generous in the extreme. Thanks also to Camilla who managed to coerce her maternity-nurse sister Tabi into a similar - if far more minimal - list, and Yi Shun for offering to arrange contact with her exec-friend-on-maternity-leave. I'm suddenly finding that asking for help actually pays off! Thanks everybody!

Had a nice week on the whole. Been mainly concentrating on the NYARA redesign which I'm hoping to launch next week (subject to approval from the Board). Exercise-wise I've done OK. The pre-natal class on Monday was actually a lot harder than the week before, and finally seems to be paying off (with just 2 classes to go now). I discovered that another girl from the class lives just across the street from me, and we have become temporary fat-girl gym buddies. It was very amusing to spend 1/2 an hour on the bike on Wednesday watching one of the Rachel's pregnant Friends episodes and laughing out loud (to the annoyance, I'm sure, of all the other patrons). I even discovered that my gym has an upstairs! - Far more useful than the 10-or-so aerobic machines in the sweaty room downstairs - if only I'd known! Tuesday I ventured downstairs to the pool and spent a very enjoyable 40 minutes appreciating being the only person in there. I'll be swimming again today and doing weights and stairs at the weekend, so altogether I haven't been too lazy. One day off a week doesn't even begin to niggle my guilt.

Other than the basic exercise, this weekend's gonna be quite lazy. The apartment needs a bit of cleaning, and Roj needs to run a few errands in town, but otherwise I think we're just going to chill out and appreciate having the time to do so for a change. New York is still threatening more snow (to cover up the vicious lumps of grey ice that remain from the previous blizzard), and temperatures which refuse to rise above freezing. The contrast between this winter and last is quite amazing, but in the long run I think I prefer it when it does a proper job.

I'm pooped! Had to get up at 5:30 this morning for an 8 o'clock in Connecticut, so I've spent the rest of the day wandering around in a haze and wishing I could find the refreshment I should be feeling after 3.5 days off. Also wondering where my stamina has gone, since I admit to being naively surprised by the sheer exhaustive tendencies of this pregnancy lark. In a previous lifetime an hour or so of hard physical training in the early hours followed by a bit of work would have been perfectly within my grasp. Now I find myself barely able to lift a finger if I get less than ten hours sleep. Life, I believe, only gets worse!

Enough of my whingeing though - there is absolutely no excuse.

My fat-girls swimsuit arrived while I was in Boston and I managed to find a new pair of goggles which hopefully won't make me look like I've been crying for weeks so I'm all prepped to venture into the pool this week (not today - fat-girls stretching class later on and you don't think I could cope with two exercise sessions in one day do you!?). This is an exciting progression and one that I've been meaning to make for a while. I also need to check out the local YMCA in search of a slightly larger pool, but I suspect the apartment building's pool will continue to hold sway (despite their practising extortion) due to its state of permanent emptiness.

Boston was great. I didn't see all that much of the city since it was being washed by freezing rain all day Saturday and was knee-deep in mucky snow the rest of the time, but saw enough of the inside of several coffee bars and restaurants to enjoy it thoroughly. Rowan is in very good form, if a little overworked, and it was good to spend 48 hours in typical girlie chats and over-indulgence. The Greyhound experience wasn't nearly as bad as I thought - tons of legspace although the width of the seats wasn't quite so accommodating. I had an inane fear of sitting next to some awful travelling dullwit who couldn't wait to spew his lifestory, but instead sat next to a really interesting girl who regaled me with stories of deja-vu disillusionment at art college, her pilates instructor career, her record company and dream of becoming a country singer, and her forthcoming wedding. I felt fully justified in pulling out the I'm Pregnant! mag that my mum sent me last week when she stuck her head into Brides. You gotta laugh!! The only reason I won't take the Greyhound in future was the waiting around thing. The trip was supposed to take 4.5 hours but with the added hour to pick up tickets and queue for a seat (they wouldn't do something as straighforward as guaranteeing you a spot on your chosen bus now would they!?), and the hour of delays in Boston rush-hour traffic, it extended to half a day of travelling. I resolve to brave the Amtrak slowmobile next time.

Great as Boston was, the best bit of the weekend happened on Sunday which was a day Roj decided on the spur of the moment to dedicate to pampering me. Being of the extremely reluctant self-pampering type, this was an ordeal for him from the outset, but he pulled through with flying colours. He took me to the smoothie diner for breakfast, took me shopping during the day (managing to herd me round all the places I have been procrastinating about through lack of company) then finally forced me kicking and screaming into a wonderful evening of relaxation with bubble bath, candles, a gorgeous home-cooked meal (final proof that I no longer need worry about being a crap cook myself - just need to delegate more) and an excellent massage. A very blissful day, made doubly so by having it bestowed my favourite fella. Yum. For his sins, he has now contracted a cold which means the pampering hat is going to me. I feel utterly sorry for him actually, because for the last month he has been working every hour God sends, jetting off around the country to pitch for unexciting work, and generally working so hard he has had time for neither exercise nor any form of R and R. Here's hoping for an upturn in the next few weeks.

Part of the weekend's shopping experience, I confess, was making our first foray into babyland. Manhattan is the proud owner of one of these massive American warehousey things dedicated to a single subject called Buy Buy Baby, so that's where we headed on Sunday afternoon, ostensibly just to 'check things out'. My initial hope was to spend an hour or so of oooh-ing and aaaah-ing at little items made for cute squishy beings and maybe even picking out a bit of handy hardware. The reality hit me like a rock as I walked around the stroller section (that's pushchairs for all you English folk) - I know absolutely nothing, I don't know where to start, I don't know what I'm doing, and I've ONLY GOT THREE MONTHS TO LEARN. I tell you, if I'd have been keeping up my training I'd have run from there as fast as I could (in the end the waddle wasn't worth it!). There's such a vast array of different shapes and sizes and formats of every type of baby gear; there are so many unrecognisable brand names in every corner; and there's so much extraneous (or is it?) stuff, that I just felt completely intimidated by the task ahead of me. I was actually relieved to wander into the corner of nappies and baby lotion since at least I could recognise what they were for and that I might need them. Needless to say, we walked out of there with absolutely nothing but an intimidated (or amused - if you were Roj) realisation that we have an awful lot of research to do if we want to avoid the inevitable hoodwinking that would ensue if we actually ask for assistance in a place like that. I think it's time to ask the mums!

Phew. I've been sooo busy these last few days, I haven't had a chance to do anything. So much for a life of leisure! I've basically just been setting up an identity for the freelance operation (thought I should do it professionally if I was going to do it at all!), and printing out some material for the kind bods at NYARA to take to IATOS (International Adventure Travel and Outdoor Sports show) in Chicago. Stupidly I hadn't thought of this as an opportunity to sell myself until NYARA's excellent president Chris Ballou suggested it for me. I should really have gone myself, but I'm so crap at selling myself that he's going to do a better job than I could even if he doesn't do anything! Plus I was already half committed to a trip to Boston to visit Rowan who's over from the West Coast. Here's keeping my fingers crossed for a couple of contacts though.

Meanwhile I do have some February photos, so I don't have to replace them with baby scans (sorry to let you down Mike!), and they will go online when I get a spare minute, but that isn't likely to be til next Tuesday or so, at the earliest, since I'll be in Boston til Saturday, have meetings all day Monday and have already promised myself to get the NYARA redesign online before the weekend. Photos include some (bad) ones of the last couple of days in NYC which has seen the 'biggest storm of the Millennium' - which was rather more impressive than it sounds and included a good 18" of snow in the City, plus extreme winds which pushed the drifts up to several feet. The whole row of parked cars outside our building looked like a mogul field, and the preferred transport of choice became cross country ski-ing! This winter has been impressive!

Am very much looking forward to spending two days in Boston, particularly as I haven't been there before. Not sure it's going to be quite the weather for tourism, but Rowan and I are bound to find a couple of good diners to spend our time in! Am actually getting there by that great American institution, the Greyhound Bus, since it was just over half the cost of taking the train - and only 20 mins longer. Not sure what state the bus is going to be in (no quips about 'Massachusetts' please), but I'm sure it can't be worse than the trains. Will just have to take a couple of books.

On the subject of which, I'm struggling (slightly) through Taking on the World by Ellen MacArthur at the moment, not because the story isn't remarkable, but because she's a sailor, not a writer (what a snob I am!), and looking forward to Graham Greene's The Quiet American before I go and see Michael Caine in the movie version - with my book-turned-into-movie pal Yi Shun perhaps. Oh, and I finally saw O Brother Where Art Thou? the other day and enjoyed it enormously, although I recognised that in another mood I could have channel-flicked after about 10 minutes. Entertaining to see Mr Clooney making a bit of an idiot of himself though, rather than playing the cool dude. On a different note, I have been pleased to read of the scale of the anti-war demonstrations in London last weekend, but will leave you to read about it on Jon's site, since I can't hope to say anything meaningful about it from this distance, other than that I was there in spirit.

Another strange blog contact happened yesterday, but one that was somewhat more random than Ayelet's great email a couple of weeks ago. I was invited to partake in the 'Snowball Action Network' in Central Park by stranger-bloggist Kevin Thurman, who was evidently attempting to get a lot of people throwing cold things at each other at one time and in one place. Strangely I wasn't in the least bit tempted, but I was wondering whether the distant yells I heard at about the right time from about the right place were anything to do with it. I wonder if the NYC blog network is so effective ...

And with that rather lengthy minor update I'll have to leave you for my freelance website which is looking pretty[ish] but still has no content. Sorry to everyone who's sent me an email these last few days - you'll get a response eventually!

Predictably, the hardest thing by far about pregnancy is adjusting my lifestyle - more specifically my exercise schedule - to allow for changes in my body. Pretty much whatever I read advocates a little bit of moderate exercise a few times a week. Nowhere advocates going hell-for-leather on a mountain bike, running 14 miles with a pack, or doing heavy weights. I even signed up for a fat-womens exercise class which supposedly teaches you how to adjust your current exercise regime with safe-for-pregnancy modifications, but the woman in charge just assumes that your previous exercise regime consisted of a couple of sessions on the step machine and maybe lifting the odd 3lb dumbell in aerobics class ... if you were dedicated.

So I'm really deciding for myself what to do and what not to do, and on the whole my efforts are limited anyway by the permanent state of knackeredness in which I find myself, along with my trusty pulse meter which is scarily accurate in reflecting the downhill spiral of my abilities.

I'm doing stairs still - 3 sets (52 storeys) twice a week. It takes a little over an hour to complete and as I stick to a maximum of 80% of my maximum heart rate, I find myself adding about 3 minutes to every session, which is demoralising to say the least. I'm also doing 2 weights sessions a week which only takes 1/2 an hour since I've abandoned the crunchies in favour of newly-taught methods (which I do outside of the gym). I'm concentrating on maintaining the upper-body strength I've accumulated in nearly a year of consistent weight training, and following it up with a half hour on the turbo trainer (I'm supposed to call this the stationary bike, but the concept of sitting on a bike while it is stationary has never caught on with me).

Along with my 90-minute 'how to stretch when you're fat' weekly session, this is my basic training. When I buy a swimsuit that fits me, I will be augmenting this with one to two sessions a week, and I already try to get outside for one or two hour-long speed walks per week. It sounds OK, and I think in comparison to most pregnant people it probably is, but it is a frustratingly pale imitation of the life I was leading prior to October 2002, that's for sure.

Pregnancy, clearly, was meant for people who enjoy creating a little flush in their cheeks, but are not used to the concept of perspiring heavily and being unable to breathe. The idea of competitive adrenalin-enducing madness is completely out of the picture.

On top of this I am confronted daily with packed schedules of adventure races and a husband who (while he is at home) gets up every morning to train for them.

Don't get me wrong. I do want to have a sprog (though I pity the world!), and I know that now is a really good time, but I just wish it didn't involve the inevitable disintegration of the form I have built up over the last twelve years.

I think this is called endorphin widthrawal. AND I DON'T LIKE IT!

It's really amazing when a complete and total stranger deems it important enough to email you and tell you they enjoy reading your blog. Time after time I say I don't do this for other people, but getting good comments makes it seem so much more worthwhile. What's more, when the blog of the emailer turns out to be really interesting itself, it gives me an even warmer fuzzier feeling. Now I have a new blog to read - unrelated to Bluewave I might add! - and a very articulate one at that. It's most bizarre to read descriptions made by someone of a similar age and in many ways similar interests, who is going about their business in the same city, frequenting the same areas, who I have never met or spoken to but nevertheless who's path has collided with mine in this small way. Thanks to Ayelet for getting in touch.

Meanwhile we're anticipating many inches of snow on Long Island today - though hopefully not enough to prevent Roj flying back from Chicago tomorrow night. The weather has reverted to its former freezingness and though it is gorgeously bright and sunny out there, it's definitely advisable to admire it from afar - from next to the heater in fact. In the two years we've been in NYC the weather has fluctuated from extensive snow and bitter windchill to dull Englishy grey winter and from 5 months of consistent oven baking to stickily humid summer. And I thought the weather in England was unpredictable! If only I wasn't nearly 5 and a half months pregnant though, I would be basking in this perfect snowboarding season at every opportunity. As it is, I'm just sitting here getting fatter and doing swooshy turns in my head. It's not the same I assure you.

Snore. Boring boring weekend. Roj was working both days, so after our diligent trips to the gym in the morning, he disappeared to the office and I tried to amuse myself at home. Which is all very well, but that's exactly what I've been doing all week - for 3 weeks - so the novelty has pretty much worn off. Didn't really gather the motivation together to do much other than a bit of trouser-hemming (you pays the price for being 5" taller than the average!) while re-watching Moulin Rouge. Went to see Gangs of New York when Roj finally got out of the office on Saturday, and found it to be utterly empty and pointless apart from a stunning performance from Daniel Day Lewis without which the film would have been worth nothing more than walking out of (once the popcorn was finished!)

Sunday's highlight was a nice Hilton burger with a now rare glass of Cabernet which I surprised myself by struggling to get through. Nothing else worth mentioning.

This week is business as usual. Home business that is. I am frying a few fish of various kinds and also working on a long-overdue redesign for the NYARA site to sort out that abysmal homepage. Now that the Bluewave USA office has officially closed, I am officially unemployed and looking at dredging up some occasional freelance. As I say ... fish are already frying ... but there's room for plenty more! Oh yeah - that'll be the second of the three momentous titbits of news I had. I've known about the closure for a while - and it'll come as a surprise to very few - but there was still cause for a bit of discretion. So now I'm pregnant (looking very fat nowadays) and unemployed ... what could possibly be next?!!!