Aaahh, Corvallis

It's days like this that make me remember why I wanted so badly to return to Corvallis. The sun is shining, and it's a bit chilly (Yahoo says 36 degrees), but everyone is outside. I visited the Co-op today, and the smell was so comforting. I remembered days during college of waking up in the living room on Saturday mornings (we slept in sleeping bags out there on Friday so we could be woken up by the sun, which didn't come into our bedroom), heading out to the farmers' market and then off to the Co-op to get a yummy bread that would last us all day during studying, though the search in itself was an effort to put off the homework as long as possible. I can't wait until tomorrow, when Josh and I are planning to go hiking in the area. The weather makes me go into my hippie mood, and I want to throw on my sarong and head out to the garden!
We discovered a couple of places around town that are new since we were last here. The first is the Soup Shop on Monroe (for those of you who live around here). When we walked in, I felt for some reason that I was in a place in Berkeley. It definitely had the college grunge feel (but was certainly not dirty, by any means), and, like so many places in Corvallis, emphasized their organic food. We ordered chicken noodle soup and clam chowder--normally rather boring soups, right? But the clam chowder was heavy on the herbs and very low on the cream (very delicious), and the chicken noodle was the heartiest I'd ever seen. Definitely very different and highly recommended.
I've been going through Jamba Juice withdrawals since moving here, and, to my good fortune, a new smoothie store just opened up. It's called North Shore, and is located at the bottom of what was formerly Campus Inn (now G.E.M.). Wonderful place! Good prices, friendly owners, and several selections that DON'T CONTAIN BERRIES! What a thought! Hooray!
And now, Josh's personal favorite (I got him hooked last night): Peanut Butter Mochas at Bottom's Up (next to Bare Naked Tanning on Monroe, where the campus Book Bin used to be). Again, small hole in the wall, but was that drink ever good!
So yes, we've been having fun cruising around campus and the rest of the town. Tomorrow, it's off to tour the contryside. Here's to a sunshiny Corvallis weekend!

The Orange Dream Machine

I came up with a name for my car today--The Orange Dream Machine. I'm not trying to copy Jamba Juice (though it is my favorite smoothie there), but it seemed quite applicable to this car. Besides, there aren't that many Jamba Juices in Oregon--the closest one is in Salem. So Josh and I are going to start looking around for window cling lettering to put up in the back window as soon as I get the car. I can't wait!
I have to say that I am currently loving my job. The sun came out for a few minutes today, and immediately, I was out on my front porch soaking it up and working (yes, that translates as reading. Like I said, I love my job!). Of course, the comforting warmth lasted only thirty minutes or so, but it was nice while it lasted. There's a reason that people come out in droves when it's sunny in Oregon--it just doesn't happen that often! I think when spring finally arrives, I'll take Bunny over to campus and lay out in the Quad and read just like in the college days. But for now, I'll soak up all the Vitamin D I can get! I'm reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke for my reviews right now. It surprised me that I'm having a bit of trouble getting through it--it's simply taking longer than I realized. The way the kids rip through it, I thought I wouldn't be able to put it down. It is good, however, just not quite as engaging as I had anticipated. I did find out that the author is German, however. Go Germans! =)
Anyway, just wanted to share a bit of my sunshine!

What will I fit in my Fit?

I have very exciting news (well, at least I'm very excited about it): I'm getting a new car! We went to the car dealer to order it on Tuesday. Due to the demand for the car (though you rarely ever see one), every dealer is completely sold out. Only the lot here in Corvallis held on to one model for test driving. So, in a couple months, I am going to have my new, ORANGE, manual, sporty little Honda Fit! If you haven't ever seen one (which I'm actually betting on), here is a look: click here. Now, you may know that Josh and I were in the market for a family car, and looking at a Passat Wagon. However, due to the astronomical price and horrible gas mileage, we began to look elsewhere. The more we looked around, the more I wanted a sporty car, figuring that I have plenty of time to get old and drive a sedan, or even a Subaru. I was in the market for sporty. But try matching up "sporty" and "family", plus "room for dog", and there is very little out there. So, anyway, the Fit fit our budget and lifestyle, gets great gas mileage (which I feel ever more guilty about with the truck, due to gas prices and polution), and is sporty and cute. If I'm going to be a mom someday, I'm going to be a fun mom!
So Corvallis is still under snow! We had a pretty bad ice storm up in Portland, and we got enough of it here that hardly anyone went into work at Josh's work on Tuesday. Most worked from home, and of the handful (quite literally) who tried to make it in, at least two or three ended up in small accidents. No one was injured, but I was glad Josh had decided to stay home! On the news they showed very entertaining (only because no one was hurt, just stupid) videos of people trying to drive down Salmon Street in Portland--when it obviously wasn't driveable. It was a little fun, I have to admit, to watch people who believed their SUV's actually were made for inclement weather, go spinning gracefully, or perhaps not so gracefully, down the hill. But we all know how much I love SUV's, anyway! If you want to see the video, here it is: Portland weather. The firetruck that comes in at the end to close off the street was later hit by two more cars.
Well, that's the news here. We're beginning to thaw out, and I'm grateful to have a little more warmth. I'm not used to this cold after the California sun!

My new goal--and SNOW!

It's been awhile since I used this blog for anything. Now that I have an outlet for my original goal (in www.bookmom.net), I can now feel free to use this as a creative outlet as well as keeping in touch with everyone back in California.
I've been enjoying my time back in Oregon, getting to spend time with family and friends again. I've also loved rediscovering all my old haunts around school and the whole area. So this will be my way of staying in touch and showing my love and rediscovery of my beloved Corvallis.
Well, it snowed again in Corvallis, for the second time since we've been here. This time, however, we had more and it has stayed for longer. With the excitement of snow, I had to share it with those who would love it as much as I do: the kids. So I called up Josh's mom and she brought the kids over. The four of us, and, of course, Bunbury, walked to Walnut Park (10 minutes from my apartment) and played in the snow. We got to go sledding, have snowball fights, and make a snowman. And talk about your faithful dogs! When I let Bunny off leash, he was excited to see all the other dogs there, and would barely obey me for his excitement. However, he climbed the hill with us every time, and whenever I went sledding, he would run alongside all the way down!
So I am loving Corvallis covered in snow, and loving the festive atmosphere it brings with it. Tonight, I'm off to my college roommate's house to watch scary movies and tell each other ghost stories just like the old days.