Seriously?

I fell down yesterday. Crossing the street. It hurt real bad. The worst part is that I am hugely pregnant and wearing those stupid maternity pants that fall down at the drop of a hat, so when I went down so did they. There I was was laying on the ground, crying like a baby with my butt crack hanging out, and everyone stopping to see if I need help. I think everyone thought I was in labor. They kept offering to call an ambulance for me... or a cab. I couldn't stand up because then my butt would really be hanging out, but none of the "good Samaritans" would leave. Finally I just gave in and let Tor pull me up. Everyone got to see everything, and I hobbled to an alcove where I cried uncontrollably in embarrassment. Apparently the womb is well insulated because the kid didn't even flinch. I was hoping I'd at least break my water or have contractions or something for all my lost dignity. Nothin'. The best part was that when they were asking if we needed an ambulance I was thinking: see the guy in the bright red shirt that reads "I pigged out at Fat Boy's Pork Palace"-- he IS a doctor. Oh, and I scraped my knee. Sad.


Picture of me after I'd fallen, the crowds of onlookers have been cropped, as have my butt cheeks :)

Finally!

We are in Portland and we have furniture! We road tripped up Hwy 1 along the California and Oregon coasts to our new "digs" here in Portland. Unfortunately the moving company we used took their time transporting our things the 800 miles from Santa Barbara to Portland (we found out later that all moving companies suck and it has been suggested that they are run by the mafia... if there are any mafioso reading this blog, please improve your customer service, i.e. get our stuff to us on time). Three weeks after saying goodbye to my bed, I finally got to jump on it in glee. We love our apartment. It's right in downtown Portland in an area called the Pearl District. We are all settled now so Baby Lars can show up at any time. Hint, hint baby...


Redwood Forest National Park. That's one big... (you can fill in the blank)


Sonny and Christine drove up to visit for the fourth. We wanted them to be house guests but only had one air mattress. And, yes, I know, this is a truly horrible picture of me, but I think it shows my total self-confidence to post it anyway.


Visiting Tor's college buddy Brian in Palo Alto.


At the Ranch with Grandpa Bill and Aunt Emily.


Throwing cobs off the porch at the ranch, it's a McCutchan family tradition.


Visiting Tor's Aunt Linda, Uncle John, and cousin Amanda in Eureka. Apparently it is part of California's pot mecca Humbolt County. I didn't smell anything in the air though.

A Tribute to Santa Barbara

There is something in California called June gloom. Who knew? Honestly-- it's not too gloomy, just some overcast skies in the mornings with a nice dew that wets everything down. It's the worst weather there is in Santa Barbara, besides an occasional winter rain storm. I'm telling you this because it's juney gloomy out right now, and I just saw on the news that Seattle is having the coldest June week EVER recorded. I am supposed to be packing stuff for our move to Portland but we ran out of tape and I can't lift anything heavy so I'm stuck. I could walk to the store but I'd have to cross railroad tracks and go under the freeway, and I don't want to. So here I am.

When we moved to Santa Barbara we were convinced that we would never take the weather for granted or skip a single day at the beach. Funny thing... a year changes you a lot. Just yesterday I grumbled for a good 10 minutes about Tor making me walk on the beach instead of the path because it was high tide and the sand was soft and the wind was blowing and the seaweed smelled, yada yada.

Santa Barbara is a crazy town full of crazy people. It's almost exactly like that Soap Opera that used to be on. The prices are exorbitant and the people are outlandish. There is no Target or Walmart, or any other discount store for that matter. There is a Costco in the next town over, thank goodness. The maternity store on the "fancy" street sells jeans on sale for $200 and we never leave our favorite breakfast place without spending at least $25 bucks for the two of us. Winter is super fun here cause all the cute girls and their cute moms pull out the matching Uggs and wear them with everything. I get shivers just seeing the girls in their mini skirts and Ugg boots. I have personally sworn to never wear them just on the principle of the matter. The doctor who did my ultrasound had a picture of Oprah in his office. Her trainer had a baby and she came to visit. He says that she is very kind and down-to-earth and that Santa Barbara is her favorite place to live because no one treats her like a celebrity here. (snort).

I like Santa Barbara because it feels like we have been on vacation for a year. Granted we had to work, but every minute we had off was filled with various vacation activities: picnics on the beach, whale watching, ice cream on the wharf, wine tasting, surfing, etc. Working wasn't so bad either. I got to see Tor every day, and the hospital is pretty nice. They are currently measuring the hospital rooms to fit them with flat screen plasma TV's. The whole hospital has wood flooring and they just remodeled the cafeteria in a nice designer green. Did I mention they are tearing the whole thing down to build a brand-new hospital? Told ya-- wacky.

When people here find out we are moving to Portland there are two reactions: "Oh I hear that's a cool city" or more likely they look at us with extreme pity. Little do they know we actually chose this crazy path we're headed down.

I'm excited for Portland. I'm excited for the seasons and mountains and the beautiful greenness of the whole place. I'm excited to not pay sales tax, and stay in bed on gloomy days instead of feeling guilty because the sun is shining again. Mostly I am excited to be closer to family and friends and feel like part of a community. But I will miss Santa Barbara.

Family Ties

Tor and I spent the morning morphing our pictures to figure out what our future progeny will look like. Here is the final product:


What a cute baby we will make! We are hoping Lars ends up looking a little like this :)

The toddler years should go well!

Hopefully this heinous creature has a great personality and is super smart cause no one is gonna wanna marry this thing.

You too can see if you should reproduce at: www.morphthing.com

Go Fly a Kite

Tor wanted to hop in the car and drive to Vegas for 5 hours of spontaneous gambling fun, after spending half an hour talking him out of that one we jumped in the car and went to Costco. Our spontaneity soon led us to this super cool kite. Yipee.

We decided it was some sort of beetle. 80's style and of the male variety.

In this video Tor tries to imply I was not being an effective kite flier. However, my actions did indeed make the kite go higher AND made the pinchers pinch. Thank you very much!

The Baby BELLY

Here is a little dose of the baby belly. I have been assured by my husband, who would never lie, that the 30 lbs I've gained is ALL baby. That's gonna hurt...

The Quick and Dirty Update

Tor and I are living in Santa Barbara and will soon be moving to Portland, OR (soon as in 2 weeks). Baby Lars is due to arrive August 10th. My mom and I have a bet going... She says he will be here August 12th, I say the 3rd. Since there is $100 and a ton of bragging rights riding on this bet I may have to cheat. Here is an update in pictures as to what we've been up to this last year (in no particular order):

Wedding at Semiahmoo

Holloween at the hospital.

Tor's medical school graduation

Mazatlan, Mexico

At the pool in Mazatlan

Kayaking in the Channel Islands

Leah's 1st 5k race.

What a girl Tor would look like.

Camping on the Beach in Mexico

Disney Land!

As you can see, intern year has been tough... but not that tough. We have found the time to enjoy traveling, our new digs, and each other. We are going to miss the beach, but we are ready to move on to P-town.