Tulsa Wrap Up

I am wrapping up my visit with family and friends in Tulsa today. I had a wonderful trip (despite all the snow and ice) getting a chance to re-connect with a lot of people I have not seen in a very long time.

My shower was amazing with tons of generous gifts from many people both in Tulsa who could make it and others who made sure they were represented well by loved ones. Don't worry - pictures will be coming soon.

All of the gifts were so very thoughtful and I cannot possibly thank everyone enough. Once gift that I was just head of heals for is a book (big surprise) call ABC in Tulsa by Robin Segal. What a neat way for kids to learn their ABCs as well a bit about another place. The series covers lots of different cities and I just though it was the neatest way to get a little bit of where Nick and I came from into Gunnar's world. I am sure I will be purchasing one for the next shower I attend (once te get an OR city on the list!).

Nursery Evolution

Nick has been super busy these past few days transforming Gunnar's nursery. After painting the entire room white he is now doing a nature mural across all four walls. Here is a shot of the tree in its beginning stages:

Then he moved onto the sun:

Here is the tree in its current state with a few leaves:


And the sun's rays are in full effect:
Next came the mountain:

Now it even has snow:


I am on my way to Tulsa to visit family and friends and I am sure there will be much more progress while I am gone.

Vroom Vroom

Last night Nick and I went to The One Motorcycle Show in Portland with some friends. The show was very cool and encompassed everything from bikes straight off the showroom floor to one that had literally been dragged from a ditch and then painstakingly restored. There was an exhibition room where you could watch guys actually working on bikes.

Here was a beautiful BSA I couldn't resist:


And then this one.,,a STEAM powered motorcycle:



So much fun! Afterwards we continued on to a bar nearby for fun, drink and LOTS of laughs. Great night for sure.

Fun Oregon Fact

My mom is a elementary school teacher in Tulsa OK and the 4th grade class is trying to assemble at least 1 postcard from all 50 states. As an ex-Tulsa I was obliged to send something. Who knew it would be so hard to find a postcard without having to drive to one of the local touristy spots?! Finally I asked at the local grocery store here on the Mountain and they do sell ONE postcard. Literally just one - of the Gorge! The instructions for postcard submission say that it is a nice if you can include a fun state fact.

My googling of "Oregon fun facts" led to my discovering of Mill Ends Park in Portland. In a nut shell Mill Ends Park is the world's smallest official park, measuring 2 feet across. It was created in 1948 for the leprechauns and a place to hold snail races on St Patrick's Day.

LOVE THIS STATE!

IT'S A BOY!!

Yesterday was the big ultrasound day. I was so excited Monday night I could hardly sleep.The ultrasound technician was very nice and did a great job of explaining what we were seeing. There was no nook unturned that is for sure - kidneys, brain lobes, heart chambers, every finger and toe..... The ultrasonographer was given a run for his money as I had taken my girlfriend's advice and drank some Coke before the appointment. The kiddo was zooming around in there.

Here I am all greased up:


Here is a nice shot of the baby's profile:


The best was when we were shown the "money shot". It was VERY obvious what we were looking at and yet we just stared. Finally the tech said "uhm, its a boy" and we all got a good laugh. You just need to hear the professional say it!

The baby is measuring perfectly. Everything appears to be developing beautifully. I do have a partial placenta previa but those sually resolve themselves so we will just be extra watchful.

Gunnar Jack London is estimated to bless our lives on June 9th. We can't wait!

Beach Bum

Yesterday Scraps and I decided we were fed up with household chores (all the supervising and shedding really tires him out) and needed some fresh air so we headed to the river. We ran into our neighbor and his dog Snowball (Pyrenese mix) who Scraps had a great time tearing it up with. Previously they have only met through the fence and I was quite pleased that they got along so well. After his romp we made our way to the river which was way up. I love how the surface beauty of the river masks its immense power. There were lots of new rock stacks since my last visit.

Here is Scraps next to one:


Here is my own handy work:


And here is one of Nick's ceramic rock stacks:

Beautiful!

Amazing Art and a Great Story to Boot!

A good friend of mine set me a link to this amazing blog aric with an a that I just have to share. Aric is a fellow Tulsan - shout out, who is traveling the world and blogging his adventures. He is currently stuck in Turkey on his way to Ethiopia due to a lack of funds. To raise money he is selling his photos for a mere $10 for a 5X7 and $20 for an 8X10.

Check them out when you get a chance and help support someone daring to live by the seat of his pants and kind enough to share it with the rest of us.

Brightwood Beach

This past weekend Nick and I went to one of our favorite local spots just up the road "Brightwood Beach". Brightwood Beach is where the Sandy and Salmon rivers converge on the way to the Columbia. The water was way up and the rapids very amazing. Such a beautiful and peaceful place.

Here are the Sandy and Salmon coming together:


Then they round the bend along the beach:


The funny part is that we took our Canon and yet these amazing panoramic shots are courtesy of Nick's new phone. Nick has taken these shots and is working them into a new tile piece. He just started yesterday and it is looking amazing!

Sold Out!

Nick and I went to see Avatar in 3D yesterday at the local theater. It was the first 3D movie I have even seen in the theater. According to Nick the previous technology wasn't so great and I haven't been missing much.

The move sold out so we were in the second row making the 3D pretty amazing. I like to imagine it was like we saw it in IMAX. You would have to actually move your head to see the outer reaches of the screen.

I will gladly admit that I enjoy my science fiction movies for the escape, not the social commentary and so I thought the film was great. The images were beautiful. It was a great love story. The end.

In case you have somehow missed the hub bub of this movie here is a link to the youtube tailer:
Avatar.

Baby....Check

So yesterday was my first Centering meeting. It went wonderfully! As usual, all my fears were unfounded. I was late (gotta love PDX traffic!) but the midwife hosting (Ellen Tilden) is wonderful and all the other ladies are super interesting. Ellen is in the processing of hopefully finalizing her Ethiopian adoption in March which is very cool as my friend Emily is doing the same! Myself and one other woman are having our first babies. The others are on their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively. This session we focused on nutrition - need more veggies!

In case you would like more information on Centering.

The babies heartbeat was loud and strong. All my measurements look good as well. AND...I scheduled the ultrasound appointment for Tuesday 1/19 so STAY TUNED! We are so excited!

Last night at dinner I caught up with a girl I have known from around town who is 4 weeks ahead of me. That was a blast and I hope we do really follow through and stay in touch throughout our pregnancy and that our kids will be able to play. Apparently it was a very long summer on the Mountain as there are 3 other pregnancies that she was aware of. Luckily she is petite as well so I am going to be inheriting some maternity clothes she has already outgrown - score!

Just can't get enough Skutt

Got another gift from Nick's new kiln this week, in the form of the electric bill. In November Nick fired his ancient monster twice and well....let's just say I almost had to auction off Truck to pay the bill. In December he fired the new kiln three times and our electric use (thus bill) actually went down.

Often it is just the little things!

To all my OK friends and family STAY WARM!

Critter Commentary

As you can see the London Acres inside beasts are in a total state of alertness in anticipation of what 2010 will bring!

Under Construction!

Nick has been very busy these past few days working on several home improvement projects. Maybe he is nesting....

Late last winter we painted and put up wainscoting in half of the living room. This week Nick got the framing up on the second half. It still has to be spackled and painted but this is a huge improvement. Baseboards all the way around. Of course now our front door looks TERRIBLE next to the beautiful trim work!


He has also been working on transforming our hallway. Here is the original before:


When we painted the living room and began the living room wainscoting we painted half of the hall in anticipation of continuing the wainscoting. Well a year later, that and much more is in store. Here are the current construction shots:


Notice that the end closet is becoming a bench seat with storage underneath. Nick is a genius!


Of course the baby's room is being transformed as well. Here is a before. Note - this is the one room we had never done ANYTHING to, hence the awesome burnt orange? trim.

Nick hard at work painting:

Current state:

We always thought this room was just darker due to its location and the back porch covering. Now that it is white it is sooo much brighter. Nick had the great idea to tape off the old closet doors and they are now painted to resemble a shoji screen. Nick plans to add cubbies in the wall (there are stairs behind the closet wall) and paint images from each season on all four walls. No one will have to wonder whose daddy is the artist!

More to come.....