Ultrasound

Discovered that the main reason for this 12 week ultrasound, according to what the doctor wrote on the radiology slip, was to take "nuchal fold measurements". It's a test to see whether the baby is likely to have Down Syndrome. Today, the sonographer said it was a bit difficult to get the measurement, and could I come back next week. I don't care about the nuchal fold at all, as I would be happy to care for a baby with Down Syndrome if God saw fit to give us one. But it's cool to see it on the screen, so I booked in for another scan next Monday.

Today she just took measurements, and Nathan and I got to see the baby, which was great! He looks pretty comfy in there, and wasn't inclined to move at all, little couch potato, but his heart was racing along, so all seems well. The sonographer gave us a fairly hopeless photo, considering we'd seen rather better ones on the screen, but maybe I'll get a better one next week.

Books!

The other day I was reading some blogs, and I read that my old friend, Tab, http://www.pzy001.blogspot.com/, is working her way through a "100 best books" list. There are a lot of different lists, of course, but this was a pretty classic list. http://www.listsofbests.com/list/5883

I had a look at what she's read so far, what she owns, and told her about some I'd read. So far, on this particular list, I've read:
1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
19. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
21. Cyrano de Bergerac (Edmond Rostand)
42. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Victor Hugo)
43. The Illiad (Homer)
45. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
58. The Odyssey (Homer)
63. The Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan)
67. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
74. Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Dafoe)
76. The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) - he also wrote an interesting sequel to Pilgrim's Progress called "The Celestial Railroad"
86. The Three Musketeers (Alexandre Dumas)
95. War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)

Only 13 out of the 100! Anyway, I don't plan to read everything on the list, as some of them look quite boring. But I felt a bit inspired to add to my little library, and so I drove in to "Angus and Robertson" and spent a chunk of my spending money on 12 new books!

7. Animal Farm (George Orwell)
20. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
26. Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes)
28. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)
36. Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
52. Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
53. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
90. Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)
93. Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray)
100. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
and
Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
Nineteen Eighty-four (George Orwell)

I also recently bought "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger, so I have 13 books to read! That is, after I finish my library books. I'm currently reading McCaffrey's "Acorna" series, which is 5 books. Sigh. Not enough time!

Anyway...

I've finished my 8 week contract, but Jackie (the temporary boss) has got me a few more weeks at 4 days a week... until January 14! That will be about as much work as I want, and even though I can't just cancel a few days if I want (as I could on the bank) I know I'll be on my favorite ward every day. Besides, I'm bound to get a bit of energy back soon.

I'll have to apply for holidays after Christmas, so I'm free to go camping. Hope I don't have to work Christmas. We did that last year, and it was fun! Also had to change the roster to accomodate my appointments on Monday and the Show next month. We're taking Abby and Tim again, which will be great.

Today I've done some reading, some knitting, refilled the guinea-pig's straw and water, and weeded a bit of the garden. Found 3 new babies today, belonging to Poppy. Called them Fred, George and Snape. Fred and George are almost identical. Snape is almost completely black... but not completely! He he. Now there are 15 of them down there. Minerva, Poppy, Padma, Parvatti, Charlie, Seamus, Dean, Lupin, Luna, Lily, Hokey, Fred, George, Snape and Heidi. Hmm. Really must rename Heidi one day.

Tomorrow Simon and Esther are coming around for lasagna, so I'd better go and do some tidying up. On Monday Nathan and I go in to look at the Jelly Bean for the first time. Hope everything is ok!

Here is a baby pic!: Adam and Ruth's son, Scott, born on the 16th, I think. Isn't he cute?

More work

Just as I'm getting near the end of my contract, Jackie said she's trying to get me 2 weeks' more work. I have to appreciate it, but more truthfully, I was looking forward to working a bit less. Plus, just as I finish the hospital accreditors are coming; they roam around asking questions and checking up on us, and I was hoping to avoid working that week! Never mind! At least I'll be on my favorite ward instead of being hassled by the bank coordinator to work in some ward I'm unfamiliar with.

I'd say my nausea has settled down quite a bit, but it keeps popping up. It's not so constant, now, just comes and goes. I was dry retching as I drove to work the other day (great timing; too late to call in sick!), though I felt fine once I got there. Today I feel crook, too, though I'm banking on it not lasting... I'm going to work at 1pm.

I did a bit more walking on the treadmill, and then it petered off again. Stupid nausea. Plus I've been tired, still. Got home from work yesterday and went to bed at 4-ish. It's supposed to settle down in the second trimester, which is apparently "week 13". I'm currently week 10, so I might be lucky and feel better in a few weeks.

Anyway, I'm glad everything's going well, especially since everyone knows now!

At the moment, I'm waiting for my friends Adam and Ruth to have their first baby. I'm sure he'll be very cute! In my Sims game they had a son called Joseph, who married my daughter Ruby. When I wrecked my game and made up a new one, I accidently married him off to my second daughter, Pearl. Oops!

Well, my biscuits are cooked, and now I just have to lick the bowl. Bad food seems to help my nausea! Especially MacDonald's fries... sigh.