Hi, folks! It's been a while (umm, possibly over a month?) since I poked my head in here.

Some of you were so sweet and wrote to me privately, wondering where I've gotten to. Just wanted to say I miss being here too, and I've just been stuck in Rip Van Winkle Land for a while.

The good news: When I had to buy a size 14 pair of pants instead of my usual 10 (and that had actually fit like a dream when I first tried it on the month before), it may not have been poor sizing and bad quality control at the store! Turns out I'm pregnant, just gone 13 weeks today --- and was probably puffing up from progesterone already.

The bad news: I've been sleeping in excess of 14 hours a day and struggling to get my work done, despite fear of unpaid bills if I don't get on the job pronto. Which is to explain my disappearing act. I must be dense, but this is a symptom I hadn't really expected or missed taking on board when other people mentioned or wrote about it. I had no idea it takes this much energy to grow a peapod-sized critter! I have new respect for fruiting, flowering and, hell, even leafing plants now, I tell you.

The nervous news: Not sure how my wardrobe is going to cope now, nor how I should cope with my wardrobe from here on out. I thought I was just starting to get a handle on my closet, work to a purchasing plan and a budget in the medium- to long-term... and now it's all haywire. I can't seem to predict what clothes I'll outgrow first! I was more worried about pants and skirts (waistbands, generally), but it turns out it's my tops that are in need of early replacement.

Related rant: Went shopping for bump-friendly tops the other day, as I had a Mothercare voucher and they had a great sale on. Found ONE T-shirt I would wear without wondering if that was the same woman in the mirror. A plain grey round-neck cap sleeve. Everything else had...
(a) flowers
(b) ruffles
(c) cartoons
(d) silly slogans announcing an imminent arrival (as though the bump wouldn't be clue enough and as though this is information of critical interest to random passersby...and in case you aren't bumpy enough yet, you really do want to tell the world even if you're a pretty private person!)
(e) more than one of the above!
(f) complete absence of anything resembling a human body-ish shape (unless 'tent' qualifies)
It's as if pregnant women either regress to Victorian times or teenager taste, or simply elect to hide! How miserable! How appalling for anyone who's a bit of a tomboy to start with, too reserved for cutesy or much of a feminist!

Ok, rant over. I'll just have to find oversized regular stuff, eventually. For now, I'm back to 'making do' mode --- which I'll own up has been a bit depressing, but... que sera! I'll just have to get back to the final wardrobe and style sortout at a later date --- like nine months from now.

In the meanwhile, though I won't be around as much as I used to perhaps, I hope the second trimester will bring some lifting of energy levels so I can at least follow all your stylish adventures from the sidelines, ladies!