Musings from a dreamer, who fell in love with the Pacific Northwest 18 years ago and in 2011 made it her home. I'm raising a Pinkalicious 7-year-old and a 11-year-old with a big heart - and epilepsy. Ditching perfection, celebrating life, finding joy in the journey and reminding myself daily to Let.It.Be.



Saturday, July 30, 2011

Hello, Corvallis!

We're finally here! All four of us. One little happy family. After sifting through boxes and making our apartment functionable, the kids visited their new preschool while mom visited her new office.

Little Beavers preschool
Our 'partment
OSU made me feel incredibly welcome - I even got a sweet gift bag full of all kinds of orange and black goodies. The kids did well with school - no fussing when I left the first day. Hopefully that continues next week when I go back full time. Big adjustment for me, the whole 8-to-5 grind, but the job is going to be great, and I'm looking forward to being on the beautiful OSU campus every day. My office has two big arched windows I can open and breathe this awesome fresh air. There are even exercise classes held in the building I can take during lunch. So, no excuse not to be fit!

Women's Building, where I'll work

Today showed me there's no excuse not to eat healthy. We picked a ton of blueberries, which the kids enjoyed, and visited the farmers' market held every Sat and Wed. It was amazing, and I picked up organic lemonade, fresh honey, lettuce, cucumbers, strawberries, marionberries, green beans, garlic something-or-others the lady assured me were aweomse roasted with olive oil and basil, and purple kale, which Ava insisted on. I could TOTALLY be a vegeterian here. But I did notice fresh salmon, which we may have to pick up next time. I can't wait til I have a nice, unpacked kitchen where I can cook a bunch of NW veggies and salmon and serve Pinot Noir or Gris to my friends and family who visit. The strawberries I ate today were the best strawberries I've ever eaten - save those I ate 15 years ago when I first visited here. The marionberries and blueberries were equally delicious. Blueberries here are as big as your thumb.


Farmers' market, held Sats and Weds. AWESOME!

After lunch, we drove the hour to Newport where we dug in the sand and played in the surf. Next time, we'll bring a jacket as it was a good 10 degrees cooler there with a constant cool breeze. Heaven compared to what Missouri has had for the last month.

Ava and mommy eating blueberries




Next up was Trader Joe's because I wanted to see what the fuss is all about. Turns out, it's good fuss. Bought some curry chicken/basmati rice, cheap wine, quinoa and other good stuff. We then topped off our big day with Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. Aidan had blue cotton candy and Ava ate cake batter. Super yum. Also noticed a shoe store, Dress Barn and Michael's next door. Bed, Bath and Beyond is across the street. I think we've made it to every store in town this week. Still several downtown I've got my eye on ... And I'm itching to try the TWO Indian restaurants in town.

Next week, my predecessor at work is going to take half a day or so and give me the inside scoop on living in Corvallis - where to get my hair done, dentists/doctor, Realtors, where to shop, where to buy a house, etc.  And maybe I'll convince her to get some Indian food :-).

All in all, it's been a great first week. Everyone is happy, and that's the best anyone can hope for. I'm falling in love with Oregon all over again, and David is just smug happy because he knew it all along. The kids love the 'partment, while David and I are crusing neighborhoods looking for For Sale signs. All in good time ... More updates next week!

David, a.k.a. Mr. Zen