Silly pregnant brain had me believing hen had teeth after PIP said they were hard to come by… It’s a wonder I can even function currently, stupidity is becoming my middle name.
Yesterday I poured my coffee in the bin instead of in the sink. I turned the tap on over the worktop instead of the sink. I tried to drive around Lyon at 2330 to drop a letter off for a friend and realized that the car was no longer showing how many kilometers I could do. Not a good sign as it probably means zero. Who knows how long I’d been driving around on the reserve? Without any petrol I wasn’t even sure that I’d make it home and drove very, very slowly. So slowly I would have been stopped by the police for sure. Thankfully I wasn’t, needless to mention I hadn’t thought to take any ID or driving license with me (or money for petrol)…
Silly pregnant brain also led me to fall UP the stairs yesterday. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you read correctly. I fell UP the stairs. Thankfully it was only a little tumble and I had a natural reflex to put my hand in front of my bump to protect myself. Other than a few bruises no damage was done. But I’m now going to wrap myself up in cotton wool.
Last night, silly pregnant brain decided to bake a banana cake. It’s been months since I tried to bake anything. But I’d forgotten my kitchen scales no longer worked so blindly guessed all the measurements – have you ever tried to figure out what 175 grams of flour look like? It was totally worth it though as the cake was delicious and served with magic candles it was the first birthday cake I ever baked for Mr Piglet and he thoroughly enjoyed it!
The recipe for the cake I baked can be found here.
So far today silly pregnant brain hasn’t done anything stupid but is very tired so took a nap at lunch instead of eating lunch. Now I’m trying to struggle my way through the afternoon and banish the thoughts of mince pies and Christmas pudding.
French Health Cover Update:
Just a quick update from my last rant – it’s beginning to look as if I won’t have to go to the CPAM social security offices after all! I have been saved from the silliness of the French administrative system, or so it would appear. This morning they deposited a tidy sum onto my bank account! I’m currently working out what it corresponds to payment wise but it is there, on my account! Yipee!
Christmas Tree – be aware of special card holder offers:
Sunday, Mr Piglet and I purchased our Christmas tree. We were going to get a real one but I was flabbergasted at the price and we kind of needed a big one for our living room otherwise it would just be swallowed up. Plus we had the pot from the dead palm tree that the cats peed on and killed, so an ideal location to put a tree.
We found one in Jardiland at 129 Euros down from 159 Euros for shop card carriers (which we are), it measures 2.10 metres. Delighted with the bargain I thought we were getting and exhausted from having to battle with the crowds, I handed over my card and paid.
Only later when I was home did I see the figures on the pin machine flash in front of my eyes. The buggers had overcharged me!! I called and had to take a trip back to the store to get reimbursed the 30 Euros they had overcharged me.
There are two lessons to be learned here:
1. Always check at the till that you’re paying the right price, especially at Christmas time as battling the crowds is no fun.
2. Artificial Christmas trees always seem smaller in the store. Our one is huge! It didn’t seem huge in the shop, but when we got it home and put it up with our decorations we realized that it was a bit too big! We didn’t have enough decorations to decorate it, so we’ve gone for the less is more look…
Our tree and proud Princess sitting next to it!
Aww, the tree looks really lovely! I had a similar 3 for 2 experience at Carrefour, who had put the sale sign on the wrong chocolates (I checked I had the ones that matched the details). Took the receipt back two days later and the woman said I’d bought the wrong chocolates. Well yeah, because there was a big fat sign on them saying they were the right ones! They’d removed the sign. Your advice is good.
yep, it’s definitely best to double check whilst you’re still in the store, that’s why I called them as soon as I realised the error. I have lost count of the number of times people have told me that I’m wrong or that I should have called straightaway…
It’s all just a big conspiracy to arnaque us, I’m sure.
I hope the chocolates were tasty anyway!
Thanks for the banana cake recipe…bananas is something I have plenty of!
Super news that you’ve had a payment made….you must have got something unglued in their works!
And the tree looks super…..
As for supermarkets and mispricing…I used to be sure to take my reading glasses as there used to be a habit of putting up a reduction sign…and having the reduced goods further down the shelf, so what you picked up was the expensive brand.
The cake is delicious and you can use overripe bananas which is a good way of using them up! I hope you like it!
The payment is nothing short of a miracle… I’m still trying to work out what it corresponds to so I may have to make a trip there still.
Are the supermarkets in Costa Rica a bit better in terms of honest pricing and honest offers?
The tree looks lovely! The pregnant brain phase will pass…don’t worry…just go with it.
I’ve had so many bad experiences with wrong pricing in supermarkets here that I now always check the barcodes on the packet against the barcode on the shelf price label..just to be sure. It’s laborious I’ll admit, but barcodes don’t usually lie!
Thanks Ayak! I sure hope the pregnant brain passes soon – this morning I stepped into a freezing shower, have no idea what I was thinking! At least it woke me up!
It’s so annoying when they charge you the wrong price especially when you’re making an effort to be careful and get what’s on offer etc. I’ve decided no more major shopping trips for me until I give birth, I cannot stand the crowds… Mr Piglet will have to learn to check prices!
OMG check out your tree, so green right now. Love it and love Princess, very proud. xx
LOl! It’s a fake tree so it’ll always be green! Princess is very proud and has taken to napping underneath it!
Well, I haven’t been short changed in any shop here so far…though it’s still a reflex from shopping in France to check my bill and my change!
I am still learning where to go for bargains….but I’m getting there, bit by bit.
What bliss it must be to not constantly have to challenge the bill!
I’m not even pregnant and I do silly things all the time. I call it silly tired brain. Or stressed brain. (I haven’t been sleeping that well…) Your X-mas tree looks great, but my lord, was it expensive! In Chicago I’d get a eight foot Frasier fir for around $89.00. No wonder my husband bought a Charlie Brown Christmas tree (er, a branch) last year. Even the lights are expensive! 16 euro a strand! I swear I paid 5 or 6 dollars! I’m in sticker shock, really!
I have the silly tired brain and stress brain too – combine them with silly pregnant brain and c’est l’horreur!
Yep, Christmas trees here are expensive. I found a nice real one but it was nearly 200 Euros as well so opted for the fake one – at least I’ll only have to pay for it once!
I’m sure you find a lot of stuff here expensive compared to the US, I know when I was there I was in pure heaven as everything seemed to be so cheap! I can remember filling up my suitcase with as much stuff as I could buy! Maybe I’ll add Christmas decorations for next time I go!
Happy Holidays! Glad you and your “bump” were not injured when you fell up the stairs. Take lots of naps now because you won’t get many after your baby arrives.
Hi! Thanks for the advice! I am becoming more and more tired and am beginning to resent everyone who told me the second trimester would be great! I ache all over!
Happy Holidays to you too!
Your tree is beautiful! We don’t have ours yet, I’m not sure we’ll even bother.
I’m so glad to hear that the SS paid you money! It’s a Christmas miracle.
It is a Christmas miracle isn’t it? Also, because it’s Christmas it means it’s all spent already
With all the snow we had I absolutely HAD to have a tree – in fact I had to have it that day whilst all the snow was still there
Piglet,
When I was pregnant I absolutely could NOT cook. It was so weird…even though I felt like I did it like always nothing turned out right. All three times. Now when something bombs I get a bit paranoid.
And be careful walking you’re balance is wonky.
a
I have pet peeves as well but I swear I didn’t notice
I don’t notice anything since becoming pregnant!
My cooking was really off during the first 4 months but it’s beginning to get better and since last week I’ve managed to make some decent meals. I’m not great at cakes though…
i can’t believe i just typed ‘you’re’ for ‘your’. jeez! that’s one of my pet peeves.
Splendid tree, and splendid news about CPAM. Your pregnant brain made me laugh, although falling upstairs isn’t funny. Perhaps you should tuck yourself up safely in a nice warm place until your mini-piglet arrives.
Good advice! I am staying put in warm until I feel more able to go out, its sooooo cold out anyway I just can’t be bothered and seeming none of my coats fit me I don’t fancy getting a chill!
Your tree is gorgeous!
And it takes a special kind of talent to fall UP the stairs
hihihi! I agree! I have a very special talent for falling UP stairs!
Piglet
I know that this isn’t very important in the scheme of things but it has been playing on my mind since I discovered it (whilst doing some SEO work for a client) at about 5am this morning…
Did you know that if you Google the phrase…
piglet pooh fondue
that SL at Sara in le Petit Village comes out top rather than you!
Do you know, I’ve wasted most of today trying to work out why!
And I’m still no wiser!
You always used to be the number one result for that search phrase!
The internet is certainly getting to be a strange place these days!
All the best
Keith
P.S. I’m holding the Rant of the Week Award open for you if you feel like obliging?
Oh my! That’s dreadful! I will have to rectify, maybe I will do a blog post about a Piglet Pooh Fondue and write it lots and lots of times…
Search engines are strange things, someone found me today by typing crazy old woman – I am sure they weren’t disappointed, at least not by the crazy part!
Keith: how on earth did you get to be thinking about piglet pooh fondue at 5am? piglet bacon and eggs maybe but pooh fondue?
I hope you get to figure it out anyway, I wouldn’t want to be missing out on visitors
I’m not sure that I’m going to be much help in the rant of the week this week as I’m more tearsome than ranty, although I do have a major rant about my bank manager but for the moment my stupidly superstitous self dares not write anything about it… We will see.
I have just had a good moan about the Lyon light festival though but am not sure it’s really a rant!
But what else does one think about at 5am?
It’s actually (and I’m being sensible for the merest moment here) intriguing me.
I know it’s down to the frequent comments that you make on SL’s blog, her recent use of the word “fondue” but the “pooh” bit?
I can’t work that out?
And wouldn’t SL use “Poop” rather than “Pooh”?
All the best
Keith
P.S. Good moans don’t really get prizes – sorry, but those are the rules.
It is intriguing isn’t it? Maybe Google is using word association and automatically associating Piglet with pooh as in the Winnie kind and fondue is actually just a false clue as it’s just a separate word.
I can’t find either SL or me searching for Piglet Pooh Fondue – only piglet’s of the Winnie kind and none of them are having fondue so it would seem that the powers that be at Google have decided that we don’t know how to search and that they have weighted certain words with more importance and are using associations? Can the Google brain really do such things?
Ps. totally agree, I’m sure SL would use Poop too!