I am now the proud owner of a bright blue Swiss ball. Not very exciting I know, but I've been meaning to get one for a while and now I have one. It's supposed to be quite useful in labour, but apart from that it's good for other sorts of random core-strengthening exercises. It came with a video which I may or may not get round to watching. I may just make it up.

We do not, as yet, have any storage space for any of our accumulating baby stuff. In fact we sort of argued about it at the weekend because Roj was not willing to buy a set of drawers and then work out where we could put them. Roj is an anti-storage man. In fact Roj is a bit of an anti-stuff man. Which isn't good because I'm very pro-stuff indeed, and therefore, inevitably, pro-storage. Sigh. We'll get it sorted in the end.

It was funny. It's been such amazing weather here for a few weeks now, and today the sun is gleaming through the windows and we can look forward to at least 80 degrees. But on Saturday ... the one single day in the week that we were obliged to be outside (for a NYARA race), it was freezing cold and pissing it down. Made for a more interesting course though - with the mud and all, and I didn't mind since I was wrapped up in about as many layers as I could muster and standing under a brolly taking photos. Good day really - and I can tick two new New York Experience boxes - Staten Island and a bus. How exciting!

We tried stopping off at Times Square on the way back to watch a movie but caught everything at a bad time, and by the time we got home couldn't be bothered to go back out again. So we watched something apalling on pay per view (Samuel L Jackson in a kilt) and ate bangers and mash. We did the cinema trip on Sunday instead after a usual lovely breakfast at Route 66. Something not quite right about eating popcorn for breakfast, but Phone Booth was a reasonable film and it's not difficult to relax in those AMC reclining cinema seats. After the film and our mild argument about kiddie storage we came home and chilled out and then Roj made dinner - which is always fab. Nice weekend ... if a little understated.

Meanwhile I have complained to Adidas about the premature disintegration of my maternity swimsuit and they have offered me a replacement item (but of course they don't make that particular suit any more and it will take them probably 2 of my remaining 5 weeks to get a new one sent out to me). I'll have to pick my moment and dare to swim in the interim in some mismatched sports tops and bikini bottoms. Good job that pool is empty.

And talking of maternity gear, I think I'll have to go on a final (hopefully) foray into the maternity clothes shops that litter Herald Square and find myself a skirt or some slightly cooler trousers than jeans and tracksuit bottoms so that if this weather continues for the next month (which it probably will), it will not be baked Lara at the end of every day. And just to prolong the excitement, I may also make it up to the knitting shop on 80th and Broadway to buy some knitting needles. Yes, I am going to try and knit a baby jumper as a means of getting my eyes unfocused on all the computer/TV screens that adorn my every waking moment. Mum's idea and I'll hold judgement on whether it's a good one until I actually try and do it. Haven't done any knitting since I was about 14 at which point the jumper I knitted for myself came out about 6 sizes too big and put me off for (what I thought was) life. Hmm.

It's already Wednesday. Here's me resolving to be a bit more committed to this site, and already failing miserably. Time is passing me by.

Just done stairs for the first time in over a week and it was so hard. Doesn't help that the stairwell is now unbearably hot and unventilated thanks to a couple of 85 degree days last week, but it still took me about 50 minutes to do 3 half flights. Just shows what happens if you let things slide for a while. I think I'm going to abandon stairs in the last fortnight or month before D-Day, and concentrate on swimming and gymming ... both slightly more amenable forms of exercise.

Probably going to the High Rock Challenge this weekend - to support the NYARA bods, pick up my pulse meter, and give Roj a bit of support (if he gets round to finding a team mate). Providing the weather is nice, it'll just be another good opportunity to get out of the house, although Staten Island isn't quite the glamour centre of the world (but I haven't been before - except to and fro on the ferry - so at least it'll be another box to tick).

Otherwise might try for another couple of movie showings - enjoyed Bend it like Beckham and to a lesser degree Anger Management the weekend just gone. Can't believe they refilmed the former to incorporate the real Posh & Becks when they changed their minds about appearing in the original after seeing how good the film was with body doubles. And all for a distant 30 second shot!

New York is on the brink of havoc as staff from around 3000 apartment buildings are planning to strike from midnight tonight (it's already been postponed twice). The last strike lasted 12 days I think. Goodness knows how New Yorkers will manage without anyone to open doors for them, hail taxis, announce visitors and accept delivery of their dry cleaning, groceries, takeout and mail. Yikes!

The Saddle & Paddle was interesting. It turned out to be a gorgeous day (I got thoroughly sunburnt) and I totally enjoyed sitting around watching people, but I was very disappointed in the quality of photos I managed to get with my new wide angle lens. Granted it was brilliant sunlight and I was trying to capture some fast movement, but they came out very disappointingly. Mental note to self to remind organisers never to place finish line so that finishing teams have backs towards the sun. I have many pics of silhouettes on bikes, and little else.

Roj sort of semi enjoyed racing. I think he found it a bit of a surprise to be racing as the least fit in the team. His navigation skills were well up to scratch though, and I think overall he was pleased with their result (they came in 6th - 1st in their division). I can believe that he's a bit frustrated that he doesn't have much time to train nowadays though. Especially now that I'm physically incapable of doing the long weekend sessions that we did together last summer and autumn. Now Roj does some mini sessions in the mornings and gets roped into keeping me company the rest of the weekend. Poor sod!

There was also a big hoo-ha (sp?) about one team getting assessed a retrospective penalty after coming in in first place. Lots of mountains being made out of molehills on the Yahoo adventure racing discussion group, some of it potentially damaging to NYARA. Shame that we have to remind these people that everyone who organises the races is a volunteer so they shouldn't expect the same level of service as from a private company. Shame NYARA had a communication breakdown too though.

So it seems that there's not much racing to be had until The Longest Day at the end of June which might be difficult for either of us to be involved in, considering our pending commitments. Might be a nice day out if it's not too hot though. We'll see.

Talking of heat, New York is being completely undecided about whether to throw us back into winter or take us right into midsummer. Yesterday temperatures in the City were in the high 80s and today we're back to low 40s. Personally I normally prefer the former, but found it very exhausting yesterday in the apartment. It just seemed wrong to turn on the aircon in mid-April.

Am still waiting for copious promised work to come in but generally trying to get other bits of stuff done while attempting to stay awake for periods of more than an hour at a time. The Bump is getting bigger by the minute and it's becoming more and more obvious that there's a real solid human bean inside. It's still enjoying kicking me on a regular basis - particularly while I'm swimming, but the movements are definitely scaling back to a muffled sort of pushing, rather than vigorous jumping around.

Now making lists on what we need to buy on Saturday, since this seems like the best opportunity to get most of the baby-buying done. There is a case for leaving it as long as we can (namely, wanting to have room to move around in our apartment!), but we don't want to risk issues with availability (either ours or products) so we're going to do most of it this weekend. Hopefully we'll also find time to go to the cinema or out to dinner or some such couply thing, since it's becoming patently obvious that we'll be abandoning that sort of luxury for the next numerous months.

Laralife is sadly a little dull at the moment. I finally uploaded a few photos but they only serve to show how lax I've been about it in the last couple of months. My interests haven't changed - I still love taking photos and want to continue the section - but my motivation has dwindled a little. I hope to get back on track before I get utterly abandoned by my former supporters ...

I have a heap of work heading my way in the next couple of weeks which is good and bad. Good because it'll get me off my arse and earning a bit of money. Bad because I'm getting really tired at the moment, and uncomfortable sitting upright in a chair for too long. No doubt I will be whingeing copiously before the project is through.

I am taking advantage of quiet times to catch up on correspondence and arrange a few of the things I've let slide in the last few months. Characteristically though, there remain a handful of things on the bottom of my to-do list which sit there staring at me and always seem to get displaced by more interesting things higher up the imagined priority list. I also have a long list of things I'd like to be doing to fill my time but I feel so guilty about being self-indulgent that I force myself to keep those on the 'not until I've finished the to-do list' list (which never gets done because of the ugly staring low-priority jobs). This is the style of my procrastination.

Meanwhile time is closing in. This weekend is going to be spent in Blue Marsh, PA for the Saddle & Paddle - the first of the NYARA adventure race series (which I also missed out on last year due to that dreaded groin-strain). I'm taking my camera but attempting to avoid being tied in to too much checkpoint-sitting due to general discomfort and the permanent need to pee. Roj is looking forward to racing about as much as he'd look forward to a kick in the teeth, but he's always like that for the first race and I'm pretty confident he'll enjoy it once the endorphins start flowing. The biggest problem with the race is the pending conditions. A week of snow and heavy rain will have turned the whole course into a mud-slide, which is not conducive to fast, effortless or even enjoyable mountain-biking. The website for the mountain-biking route in fact, recommends that in wet conditions you don't even bother turning up since the course becomes such a quagmire. I am not looking forward to seeing it after 102 competitors have had a chance to churn up the earth a bit. Environmentalists will be crazy.

The following weekend is Easter and we've decided to dedicate it to baby shopping, since we're likely to be away the weekend following and it seems advisable to stock up on the necessities at least, before I hit 36 weeks - partly in case I go into preterm labour and partly in case any of the items are out of stock.

Next week I also hope to catch up with one of my buddies from the fat-girls' exercise class who had her baby a couple of weeks ago. She's another Brit in New York and can therefore talk to me in a language I understand about nappies, dummies and buggies instead of diapers, binkies and strollers (I am preparing to be intimidated though!)

And we also start our childbirth preparation classes this Monday, which were cancelled due to snow last week. I can't believe each class is three hours long (when are we gals supposed to eat?!) but am quite looking forward to start this rather momentous last phase and to see how Roj (in his work attire) reacts to gory videos and silly breathing exercises.

What a lovely week. Saw almost everybody I wanted to see and some more besides, but didn't spend so much time travelling around to exhaust ourselves completely (like we seemed to do at Christmas). Fab to see my university gals on Thursday evening over Pizza Express (of course!). They were all on great form except for Charlotte who's been struggling with an inner ear infection for the last three months or so, poor love. Friday Roj and I went into town to scour Selfridges for some clothes for him and a pen (30th birthday present from my parents) for me. Both with great success. I then had a rare good experience at a hairdresser (just having a laugh with the hairdresser, rather than any momentous cut) before heading off to Waterloo where I experienced my first 'flight' on the London Eye. It was amazing to see London from that perspective, and a great experience, but I confess to being a little disappointed with how messy London appears to be. New York is obviously at the opposite extreme, with its perpendicular streets and avenues, and I do believe the effect is somewhat more impressive. With London too, there were more cranes in view than buildings almost!

Had a lovely evening catching up with ex-colleagues after the Eye - seemed that all the fab people made the effort and it was a bit weird but totally lovely to see all the familiar faces. Everyone was most complimentary about the bump (clearly it is easier for other people to ignore the mammoth weight gain I've made in the last 7 months than it is for me!) and in very good spirits. We left at closing time having acquired a very useful-looking buggy/rucksack, a little baby-carrier and other very useful bits and bobs kindly donated by Sascha and Peta. Am already stuck into Fat Ladies Club - a rather-too-graphic account of five pregnant women that Peta swears by.

Saturday we had a leisurely morning since it wasn't worth making the trek into town, and Rosie and Simon came over for a nice chat before we left. At lunchtime we headed off to Putney for the 1993 Boat Race reunion race between Goldie and the Blue Boat which was most amusing (despite the fact that the Blue Boat won). Lovely to catch up with so many people we haven't seen for a long time and even got a chance to see Pippa and little Rosie for a little while. Absolutely amazing to see -and hear about - so many newborns, many of whom are already second children. Since we were in England it seems that almost everybody has made or is making a contribution to the substantial Cambridge crèche - very cute but makes you feel a bit old! The afternoon and evening was very sociable and very enjoyable although I could have done with being in bed a couple of hours earlier. This trip has been the first time I've started to feel a bit tired when I've been on my feet all day ... I guess it was gonna happen sometime!

So now we're back in New York (after another BA upgrade - remember those pillows next time you fly girls!) and waiting for the 'heavy snow' which is forecast for today (so much for spring). Our Maclaren Global buggy had arrived when we got back yesterday so we spent a little time faffing around with attachments (not the best design when it takes nearly an hour to clip on the hood - and that's with instructions!) Am now starting to think seriously about the other things we're going to have to acquire in the next 8 weeks ... since D-Day seems to be creeping up quite quickly.

Otherwise have got a couple of busy days lined up catching up with work and other stuff and will make a conscious effort to get back into exercise after my week off. Not sure I'm looking forward to watching Roj Steve and Bruce in this year's first adventure race (the green eyed monster might be a little too prevalent), but I guess it'll get me out of the apartment and if the current weather's anything to go by, I might be better off huddled up in the car after all.

Woohoo. I'm in Blighty, and having a very nice time indeed apart from being dead on my feet (more to do with being fat and preggers than any momentous partying that's going on).

Had a fab time in Shropshire Sunday-Wednesday doing small useful things and going out to dinner to celebrate Mothers Day (I guess I will be more closely involved next year). The weather was totally gorgeous and I was spoilt to death as usual, in the best possible way. Saw lots of UK-spring-like things - small(ish) new lambs, sunshine (in Shropshire? In March?!!), flourishing hedgerows and lots of green. On the whole thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable.

Drove south last night (in our horrendous rented mint-green Citroen Picasso) to near High Wycombe to visit Camilla and Chris and spent a very entertaining evening eating gorgous food and relaxing in Camilla's amazing home - thanks enormously to her for being such an excellent host.

Arrived in London this lunchtime and am halfheartedly trying to catch up on a bit of work before heading off to Shepherd's Bush for dinner with the gorgeous 260 gals.

Have various things planned for the remaining couple of days down here - a haircut, a 'flight' on the London Eye, some shopping (a trip to Blighty is never complete without extended visits to M&S, Selfridges, Boots ...), meeting up with ex-colleagues for beers and bump-piss-takage, and the inimitable Cambridge/Cambridge Boat Race reunion on Saturday which promises to be more of an endeavour to see who can hide being the least fit than anything else.

Can't believe our return flight is only a couple of days away already, but am already hoping we can get another upgrade on the way back (as Charlie pointed out - being 7 months pregnant does have some advantages).

Phew ... don't Easy Internet know what air conditioning is? It's blimmin baking in here ...