Newport Adventures!

The poo-weather didn't stop us (Evan, Me, Geoff and Travis) from packing into Geoff's tiny Acura and heading toward the Oregon Coast. Here are some shots from the day.


Bridge as seen from the beach. It was really peaceful on this little trail we found.

I had to use my Macro setting for something.

Travis is just so animated, that he makes action shots really fun. Even though it looks like he's been catapulted, he was just "hopping" off the log.

Some whales etched into the banister on the trail.

Looking at a viewfinder through my viewfinder.
Still working on portrait-style shots. It's tough. Maybe I could do a better job with a better camera... ;).


Abandoned sandcastle.

Abandoned footprints.
Evan, myself, and Travis in the background. I love his cheeky expression.

I like going for unconventional shots, and as we walked along the beach, I snapped this one and liked it.

Leaving our mark on Newport for the day.

Totally Cool Stuff Tuesday #3

This Tuesday wasn't so bad. Mainly because it was disguised as a Monday. I did have to do a presentation, which made it very much a Tuesday, because I wasn't prepared in the least, and it had to be in Spanish. I pulled through though, with the help of my totally cool stuff!

1. My camera. I absolutely love my camera. If there were a fire, and I knew Evan was outside safely, the thing I would run in and grab would be my camera. It's not fancy, and by that, I mean it's not a digital SLR. It's a Canon Powershot A620, and technically, it's a point-n-shoot, which means it does all the real thinking for you. Put it on Auto setting, and basically you're guaranteed a decent shot. I've had it for two years, and I've played around with it enough so that I don't think I even want a dig SLR, because I get amazing shots with this one. Plus, it can handle being in my purse and being banged around and still it comes through for me. Forget the giant SLR's with four foot long lenses; when I go on safari, I'm taking my powershot.
2. Coke Zero. I'm such propaganda for this stuff, and really, they should be paying me for posting this, but this stuff is wonderful. All the coke taste, without any calories. It does sound too good to be true, and I'm betting that it probably is, but for now, I'll enjoy it.

3. New sheets. I have been yearning for a new set of sheets for a while now, because the ones we have screamed boy dorm, plus made our room look dark and sad. Seriously, who buys a comforter that has black as its main color, along with stripes of gray and lighter gray. It's like an Edgar Allen Poe story on fabric. Now we have sheets that are striped blue, white and a light green. I think I'll have more cheery dreams from now on.

Now if only I could afford furniture to go along with it...

4. The beach. Evan, myself, and two friends went to the beach for Memorial Day. On the way there we listened to Geoff's eclectic music selection (everything from MJ's Thriller to some irish band we've never heard of). We had a really good time, and the beach was relatively void of people. We played in the sand, jumped off of logs, looked for sand dollars. Later, we spent over an hour at this really awesome antique store (such are my powers that I can make three guys enjoy an antique store) called Pirate's Plunder, and we had a delicious lunch at the Rogue Brewery. It was one of those days that utterly exhaust you, but for all the best reasons.

On Old South Jetty Trail

Travis and I being Pirates at Pirates Plunder

I will be posting more beach trip pictures on another blog entry, so check back soon!

5. I've decided that the fifth totally cool thing will be a song. This week is something much more mellow, which totally goes with the dreary weather we've been having. If Evan could sing or carry a tune, I'd ask him to learn this for me ;). Sorry about the video; it was the best quality song, worst quality pictures, haha.



I hope you've all enjoyed this week's list! I am off to finish (finally) 100 Years of Solitude. Wish me luck!

Randoms

As much as I've enjoyed studying my Biology of Birds notes for the last...well, day, I think I've earned a break and decided to post a few random pictures of this weekend that didn't exactly tie in with the picnic theme.


This wonderful old car is owned by some cranky old guy that lives down the street. He lives in one of the oldest houses in Corvallis, and when he's not spending oodles of money restoring that, he's spending it on fancy old cars. Fine by me, as long as I get to ogle them when I walk by, as well as take pictures.
I literally knelt on the pavement on a 92 degree day to get this shot, and I'm relatively pleased with the results.
Just showcasing some vintage vehicle goodness.
This last one is really random, I know. But the choir was practicing and when I looked over, all I could see through the window was the stained glass Jesus seemingly directing their beautiful songs. I was all the way across the street, but my trusty zoom feature on my Canon came through, and I like the picture that goes along with such a peaceful memory.

Okay, back to the birds!

Totally Cool Stuff Tuesday #2

This was a pretty heinous Tuesday, let me tell you. I awoke to the sound of pelting rain in a very cold apartment. We've just gotten so used (after three days...I guess you could say we're adaptable) to leaving all the windows open at night so we wouldn't roast. Well, I did the opposite this morning. I froze.

I drove my frozen self to Lincoln Elementary, where I had to help wrangle 40 first and second graders who can smell both the exhaustion on teachers who haven't had their morning coffee as well as summer around the corner.

Add to that a ton of spanish reading, and then spanish class that would offer little challenge to the first graders I taught this morning, and you get my Tuesday.

Luckily, I have amazing things that get my through my Tuesdays, and here they are!

1. John and Kate Plus Eight. This is a show that I really should have no interest in, as I am not from a large family nor do I particularly enjoy small kids. But I do. I'm completely invested in this crazy family consisting of 2 parents, 2 twin 6 year-olds, and 6 3 year olds. It's adorable and entertaining, and it makes my life seem a lot less hectic because I'm not cleaning out 6 little kid potties while dealing with tantrums and general chaos.
2. Coffee. I realized recently that I fit the very description of an addict. I get headaches without it, and my mood declines pretty impressively. But I get a small cup o' Joe, and man, I'm an angel. My day isn't started or completed without some. I know I sound pathetic, but it's my only addiction, I promise.
3. Everybody Worth Knowing, by Lauren Weisberger. Okay, so I enjoy reading quite a lot, but I can only take one "heavy" book at a time. Right now the hefty one on my list is 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and frankly, some light fluff reading like EWK, is just what I need after a romp through Garcia Marquez's most confusing novel ever. I don't recommend EWK it if you're looking for something meaningful and intellectually satisfying. If this book were food, it'd be the highly refined carbohydrates of the literary world. Not nutritious at all, and doesn't get you really full, but it sure was good while it lasted.
4. Fresh Express Caesar Lite Salad. I love these because you feel like you should be guilty, but there's no reason to be. You buy it completely ready to go: it has the lettuce, croutons, dressing. All you do is throw it into a bowl and if you're feeling crafty in the kitchen, make some chicken and voila, chicken caesar salad. It's great for kitchen incompetents like myself, who want to give their kitchen savvy significant others a break but not feed them Top Ramen.
5. So, when I got my new MP3 player, I decided to branch out and just put music on there that I don't normally listen to. That way, my favorite music doesn't get old, and I get a chance to broaden my musical horizons. Anyway, I found this one song on my old external hard drive called "On The Radio" and I really enjoy it, especially when walking to class. It has a cute beat, and the lyrics are fun too.



Anyway, that's the list for the week. I hope you've enjoyed it and hopefully, they will get your through your Tuesdays or whatever day of the week that seems eternal for you!

Perfect Picnic

So this weekend, we decided to have a nice picnic lunch at our favorite park here in Corvallis. It's pretty much the epitome of the small town park, surrounded by big trees, a church, a small art museum, and the City Library. The weather was ideal, and we were celebrating the fact that we had somehow dragged ourselves out of bed to go for a morning run. I, of course, took my camera, and the following are just a few of the shots from the wonderful afternoon. I'm sorry they aren 't in any sort of order; I don't understand this blogging stuff well enough yet and for now, all my pictures have a mind of their own and appear in whatever order they want. These flowers were braver than us, and confronted the 93 degree weather face-on.
These flowers surround the park, and while I have no idea what they are, I thought they were lovely, and smelled amazing.


My love. He might not be as pretty as the flowers, but he does smell nice.
More of the mystery flowers.
I was going for a serious look here. Obviously, I failed miserably.

I really need to buy some shorts for 92 degree weather. I must have looked so odd with jeans on. I always laugh at how giant Ev's feet look compared to mine. Oh well, I can wave with my little toe. Beat that, bigfoot.
Flawless day. Well, except that big tree would blow all of it's little seeds on us with every decent gust of wind. We just took it as another grain to add to our 12-grain bread.
This is probably my favorite shot of the day. He probably has this view a lot, as he is my favorite guinea pig.

I'm sorry this is so far away; there were wedding pictures being taken, and I started snapping before I realized I was probably breaking some cardinal photography rule
For some reason, I adore this picture. There's no real technical quality, but those expressions are priceless.
The standard faces smushed together portrait.


We stayed at the park for over an hour, then realized that it truly was too hot for our pale and sensitive Oregon skin, so we walked back home. On our way, though, we saw some cool stuff, and you can be sure that I took pictures. Gosh, I'm like a tourist in my own town. All I need is the fanny pack.

All in all, it was a great afternoon, and I loved how good it felt to soak up the sun and bask in the shade and comfort of each other's company. Although we do live together, we don't have a lot of "us" time, meaning that school, stress, volunteering, and various errands keep us running in different circles until dinner-time. Then it's homework or reading until we run into each other again as we brush our teeth before bed. It just lets us savor those rare moments were we aren't full-time students with a ton of responsibility but instead, a lazy couple in love. Mhm.

Totally Cool Stuff Tuesday

I don't exactly like Tuesdays. They just seem to be the day that gets in the way of all the other better ones. It doesn't do much but remind me that the day before was Monday, and the next day will just barely be the middle of the week. At least Wednesday makes you feel like you're at the top of the hill. Tuesday is that 90 degree stretch full of loose rocks right before the top.

Anyway, to combat Tuesdays, I will be posting some totally cool stuff that I know can get me through any Tuesday. Maybe you will find them helpful too, and before you know it, Thursdays, and therefore, Greys will be here!

1. Tia Rosa's Tortilla Bread. I don't have a tia Rosa, but if I did, and she could make this, she would be my favorite relative. We actually found this by accident, and now we search for it every time we go to Fred Meyer, because it is so addicting and soft and basically results in the PERFECT quesadilla.
2. My new NON-APPLE I-ANYTHING MP3 player. No Itunes, no compatibility issues. Just 2 GB of amazing, illegally downloaded music of my choice.
Gosh. That's a big image. Anyway.

3. Wheat Thins/String Cheese combo of champions. Seriously, this is the best quick snack ever. Just enough crunch and cheesy goodness to make Tuesday bearable. Or any day, for that matter. But especially Tuesdays.

+
= love.

Granted, you're not going to eat the whole box (as tempting as that might be) or a whole package of string cheese, but these were the only pictures I could really find. Oh, and if you're a poor college girl like myself, you'll feel (maybe, kinda, probably not) like you're eating fancy hors d'oeuvres.

4. The Oregonian. It's our only real nerdy splurge here, because we feel it is important to get the news outside of the Corvallis bubble. I adore our morning eating cereal while expertly trading different sections. We have it so we don't even have to look up from our cups of coffee.
5. Arbor Mist. Har har, I know. But frankly, I'm on a college budget and it tastes like a Capri Sun. After a long Tuesday, it hits the spot perfectly. Oh, and to really feel fancy, you could combine a glass of the Mist with the aforementioned Wheat Thins and String Cheese. Think of what a college sophisticate you'd be then! And, while I may look all of 14 in my profile picture, I am 21 and can therefore indulge in the adult version of Capri Sun. Also, I am only posting a picture of three bottles here because those are the three flavors, not to say that I drink three every Tuesday and am headed for dialysis before graduating.

Well, there you have it. This week's totally cool stuff that got me through Tuesday (I just realized it's Wednesday). Tune in next week for a new list!

So, this may sound weird. Actually, I know it will. But, I feel like I should have written about this particular inspiration of mine for a while, especially since I see it every time I sit at my computer which, I'll admit, is a more than a few times a day.

Ahem.

Okay, so there are people who gain strength from historical figures, or authors, or religious characters or someone. What do I get inspired by? A leaf.

Seriously. Now stop laughing and let me explain.

When winter began to descend upon little sleepy Corvallis, the leaves naturally started to fall off the trees that line the sidewalk outside of our apartment. All of them did, ending up on the sidewalk or street where they turned into rainy mush and were either flushed down the gutter or picked up by the street cleaner.

All of them, except one. This one leaf curled itself around a tiny thin branch and has weathered out countless rain storms, hailstorms, snowstorms, winds, and combinations of all those. There would be days where I have come home from a particularly heinous day and I sit at my computer all flustered, only to look outside and see this leaf steadfastly clinging to its branch while big heavy raindrops pelted down on it.

I can't believe I'm actually saying this. But it's true. I'm inspired by a dead leaf. I'm inspired every time I look out of my window and see this little leaf holding on quietly and calmly. I feel like I too, can withstand anything that comes my way.

wanderlust or something.

So, I've been wondering lately: why have I done things the way I have?

There's no real exciting answer, because the only one I've come up with is, "because that's what everyone expects you to do, and is sensible."

Will I tell my grandkids that the reason I didn't just pack up my stuff and head off into the world with little more than a sense of adventure was because it didn't seem sensible?

That would quite possibly make me the lamest grandma ever.

I have these two friends. Both have decided to sidetrack the sensible and head off on very cool trips that neither will easily forget. One is traveling the country by train and stopping at just about every big city, just to experience it. The other packed his few belongings onto a motorcycle, and took off down the west coast and into Mexico. His can't get lost or be late, because he has no schedule or destination. He just knows that at some point, he'd like to get to Costa Rica.

When I first heard about these adventures, I was apprehensive. How could they leave the normal scheme of things? They had school, right? And jobs to find?

And lately I find myself thinking that even though I have done the four straight years of college, and have had the tedious summer jobs, I don't have any more of a guarantee that my life will end up more successful or happy.

If I don't have that, then why? Because it's what I'm supposed to do? Man, if I had used that logic 90 years ago, I would be married with 4 kids by now, trying to breathe in a corset. Luckily, a few girls back then had the guts to take the leap and experience something else.

With no guarantees, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain, right? So what if miss out on one job opportunity by using that time to run through thousands of pigeons in some piazza in Italy? If that means I get to breathe in the dusty, hot air of the Roman Colosseum? If I get to look up through the criss-crossed metal of the Eiffel Tower? Or get to hear my name echoed through the walls of the Grand Canyon?

To me, every place is one in the same. It's all Out There, and I'd like to see it all. The monotony of this life (although happy and safe) can become stifling, and although I know I'd come back to it eventually, it'd be nice to smile to myself and know that at one time, it had been broken.