Oregon Part 2 and back in Ohio

I'm typing this while listening to Bach's Cello suite 1. I love classical music. The second half of my trip was very relaxing. Prior to going to Corvallis I went out to the pancake house with mi madre. I believe I ordered pecan pancakes. Boy was I in for a surprise. The portion I received was HUGE. I didn't even get through half of it before calling it quits. It's amazing how large the portions sizes are in restaurants today. Only in the fancy restaurants do you get normal or "small" portions.

Wednesday-Friday was spent at my in-laws. Wednesday afternoon my father-in-law and I ran stairs at Reser Stadium on Oregon State's campus. It was rough and I know I pushed myself too hard because I was sore for several days after! Wednesday I went with my two sisters-in-law to see Little Red Riding Hood. It wasn't amazing but I enjoyed it. Thursday I met up with my friend, Shadi, from school at my favorite Thai restaurant. Shadi is finishing her last year at OSU in dietetics so we talked a bit about school and internships. Talking about school really made me miss my undergrad and Corvallis in general.....sigh....

After lunch I went to check out a new grocery store that has opened while I've been in Ohio. Market of Choice reminds me of a smaller Whole Foods store. It has a lot of great foods that your normal grocery would not have, say for instance, Walmart. Of course it's pricey though.

Friday-Sunday I stayed with my dad and grandpa. It was weird to think that I haven't spent a night at my dad's (outside of babysitting Jocelyn while my dad and patty were out of town my sophomore year) since Christmas break my freshman year. It was nice just to visit and hang out. Saturday I hung out with grandpa while my dad was at dialysis. It's kind of sad because I can't really hold a conversation with my grandpa due to his Alzheimer's disease. I try talking to him to remind him of who he is to me (by constantly calling him grandpa and giving him a hug) and I share memories I have with him (going to Mexico over spring break in high school). I don't know if it makes a difference but I'd like to think it does. One thing that makes me look forward to returning to live with God is that after death we won't have any imperfections that we currently have on Earth. My dad will be able to walk, my grandpa will have his memory, and I won't have a physical disability that frequently causes pain and discomfort. We will all be perfect and happy. Until then we just have to keep doing our best to achieve that.

Back to Oregon...Saturday evening we met Patty for dinner at Fireworks restaurant. It's a local restaurant that serves organic and local products. They're known for really amazing pizzas. Sidenote: we arrived there right when they opened for dinner hence the empty restaurant.

After dinner we went out to Yogurt Extreme aka fro-yo. It's a self-serve frozen yogurt place that has all sorts of toppings (both healthy and unhealthy) that you can add.

I got back to my mom's Sunday afternoon. I came home to a giant goody-bag full of amazing make up:

If Dan's hobby is LEGO then mine is definitely makeup.

My trip back to Ohio started Monday morning and ended at 1am Tuesday morning. It was a long day. It began with a 30 min flight to Seattle on a mini plane where you actually walk outside to the plane. I got a blurry pic of it. On my first flight I spoke with a guy who goes to U of O about school.
After a 3 hour layover I traveled to Denver, CO. During this flight I spoke with the most interesting woman. She lives on the San Juan islands in Seattle. She lives such a basic and non-technologic life it amazes and inspires me. She has a cell phone and internet but she still has a VCR. She told me she gets by off of very little money. She's very into gardening and composting. She owns her own catering business and provides special dinners to rich families who live on the island. Her daughter lives further off the radar. She lives in a yurt without hot running water or a washer and dryer. How crazy is that?! Sometimes I really want to do that (minus the hot water and washer/dryer part). We would leave my current life move to a tiny town in Ireland. We would live without our amazing TV, PS3/blu ray player, and ipods. I'm not sure if we could get by without cell phones or internet. Life would be simple and I think I would appreciate the beauty of life on a whole different level. Sometimes it bugs me how people today, especially those my age, have lost appreciation for listening to classical music and reading books -- books that actually stimulate the mind and challenge it, ones that make you look at life differently, or make you analyze yourself. Someday I will do that.

Lately, I've been struggling internally with my internship. I've felt very discouraged and I don't feel as knowledgeable about things as I should. Due personal issues I've lost my motivation to study since being here. I know, however, that reminding myself this is just a phase will help me push through it. Through prayer, discipline, perseverance I can not only get through this but come out on top like I want to. Faith and doubt cannot coexist. I know it will get better.  

On a better note: Wednesday night I helped volunteer teaching a class on food safety and reading labels. I had so much fun. Here are a few pics from the night:

Have a good week!