no internet for me!

dear readers,

you are probably wondering why my blog is entitled "daily photos and inspirations" and i haven't posted for over a month. my apologies. i am currently living in a 2 bedroom apartment and i am paying double rent over the summer. i cancelled the internet and cable to save money until i get roommates, so for now, i only have internet when i work on my internship on campus. it is fairly limited so i have not posted on my blog until now. i will start posting again daily in late september when i get internet installed in my apartment.

thank you for your patience!

for now, follow me on facebook.

later,

melissa

corvallis in the summer

thoughts: i've never been in corvallis for an entire summer, but i'm really excited that i'm officially living here now! i've heard great things, and i am experiencing all of them first hand. firstly, the population of corvallis is drained when most dorm students and out of state kids leave town, leaving locals and a select population of summer students and kids like me that are looking for work. the weather is absolutely gorgeous and the slight breeze is the perfect thing on a sunny day. the air smells so clean and fresh and there is actually parking! during the day, not many people are around because they have class or work, but nights are filled with croquet games at sunset, late night simpsons-watching, popcorn, and pushpops. the first month here has been absolutely great! i knew it was officially summer the second week of june when the sun shone in all of its glory and the nights grew longer and i could finally see the stars dot the big blue sky because the clouds had finally cleared. i've enjoyed one full month of summer and i'm looking forward to a few more!

why i chose this photo: i took this photo in late spring, around memorial day weekend when corvallis was really empty. the flowers had just started blooming and it was finally sunny out. it just smelled so good out! this picture reminds me of the lazy days of summer when life is carefree and fun.

question: how do you know when it's officially summer? why do you enjoy doing?

inspiration: "it's summer, live it up!"

good eats of summer

thoughts: the rain and clouds have been around far too long, and i (among many oregonians) am very happy to say that this sunshine the past two-ish weeks has been a real treat! i haven't really seen much sun since my choir toured in hawaii in mid-may, so i am loving these goregous blue skies and warm weather. although my car's air conditioning doesn't function too well, i enjoyed a nice 1.5 hour drive up to portland on thursday with my windows down and my music on. it was so great! that evening we saw the broadway performance "the lion king" which was by far the best 'official' start to summer ever! yesterday, i ran some errands and my mom asked me to pick up some strawberries for the house. i purchased a flat of berries. they were fat, bright red, and looked amazing. i'll just have one, i thought. wrong. i ate so many on the way home! they were absolutely incredible. being a native oregonian, i can tell right away the difference between an oregon berry and a non-oregon berry. oregon berries are SO delicious and sweet, i plan on eating millions over this summer.

why i chose this photo: as you might have guessed, most of the strawberries are all gone, and i really wanted a picture to show how great they are, but i took this picture when josh and i went to the beach one sunny day in may. we had a picnic and ate bread, cheese, strawberries, and good-n-plenties. we also took some pictures of our lunch, this was one of them. mmm mmm good.

question: what type of food(s) remind you of summer?

inspiration: "enjoy the sun as much as you can, because it doesn't last long in oregon!"

driving

thoughts: today was a day in which joshua and i drove almost 8 hours from star, idaho to portland. i wasn't really dreading the drive. i actually looked forward to it. the trip itself wasn't long in the scheme of things (i took several 6 hour bus rides in spain) and josh wanted to drive the whole way. our time was spent conversing over a variety of things, surveying the landscape, and forgetting life's worries. i say forgetting life's worries because there are a lot of things on my mind. i have to try and figure my summer, how i am going to make it. i still haven't found a job to pay my extremely expensive rent (although my internship will be paying a bit more than previously promised) and i'm worried about graduating on time. although i've been really bummed out and frustrated with a lot, this nice long drive helped rid me of the things flooding my mind. the drive was mainly empty of human existence, just open and free. i focused on the empty hills and treescapes and tried to empty my mind as we passed miles and miles of countryside.

why i chose this photo: this was just as we got onto 1-84. josh told me to look out the window, and i just stared at this endless beauty.

question: what was/is your favorite drive?

inspiration: [i saw this on a church bulletin board and liked it]: "if there is any sort of storm in your life, just wait for god to make it into a rainbow."

breathing

thoughts: i'm really enjoying the peace that idaho has to offer. during the early morning, the breeze blows across the valley and sends the sweet smell of grass into the air and the sunlight gently shines. in the afternoon, the sun is hot and the air is dry but the land is goregous and just lit up with the sunshine. the evenings are filled with long hours of sunshine and settling clouds. i'm really happy here. not to say that i'm not happy in corvallis, but i feel so free here! i have (some) obligations here, but nothing compared to back home. i have really enjoyed reading, playing backgammon, cooking, and spending time in warm weather. it's weeks like these that really make me enjoy summer. i'm finding peace in the relaxing atmosphere here. it's times like these that i can actually breathe and forget life's worries.

why i chose this photo: josh and i went on a walk down by the road at the bottom of the hill and watched the sunset here. it was beautiful to watch the water change color at the same time as the sky. i think that walk was one of my all time favorites.

question: what is the most breath-taking sight you have ever seen?

inspiration: "breathe in, and out. it's all going to be ok."