A collection of quick MN thoughts

Here are random things I thought about/observed/learned while I was home.

• Jeans and a sweatshirt/sweater is the most comfortable outfit a person can wear. Much more comfortable than tank tops and shorts. Yay cozy!
  
• I'm much more likely to wear makeup when it's not 80+ degrees because it doesn't melt off my face.
  
• Jasper is one of the world's slowest eaters. But that means you get to hold him longer, which isn't a chore. He's got that good-smelling-baby-scent-thing going for him.
  
• Lincoln is a great kid, 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time usually results from him missing his nap. And then you spend the second half of that no-nap day dreading what's coming down the pipe.
• I love the south eastern quadrant of Minneapolis best, because it's where I spend 90% of my time.
  
• East Lake Street makes me happy. So does the West River Road, the area around the airport and Ft. Snelling, 46th Street, 38th Street, Cedar Avenue, Chicago Avenue, the U of M campus and even a few pockets of St. Paul.
  
• I would like to have Minnehaha Creek and the Mississippi River imported to Hawaii so I can enjoy either running, walking or biking on the trails everyday.
• Where the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers converge might be what heaven looks like.
• I enjoy seeing kids wearing their high school letterman jackets. I've never seen someone wear one in Hawaii. Although that's probably because it would be uncomfortable to wear a wool jacket with leather sleeves in a tropical climate.
  
• It was hard to drive past my Grandpa Clare's house and realize that it's not part of my family anymore. The current owner has put in some amazing flower beds and gardens. It looks beautiful, and it looks like she's taking really good care of the place. But I still cried.
• I could eat out every night in the Twin Cities and never run out of someplace yummy to eat.
• I'm concerned at the lack of Greek food available to me back in Hawaii.
• Lincoln knows more about trucks than many construction workers. It's amusing to watch him name things off with such enthusiasm. "It's a FRONT LOADER!"
• My parent's house is just about the right size for about 6-8 adults and four kids. It feels much smaller when there are almost a dozen adults and five kids. If I bring Zac (and potentially someday a kid of our own) the house may very well explode. I am currently advocating a plan to annex the neighbors house, potentially by force if need be.
• As much as I miss many of the elm trees in the neighborhood, the maples really do provide some amazing colors in the fall. I'm very glad they're just starting to turn, so I could get my "fall" fix before heading back to my eternal summer home.
• Target Field is an exceptional ballpark, and I got to see an exceptional home run hit there. (Thome's dinger off the flag poll.) Even in the rain, it was one of the highlights of my Minnesota sporting experiences.
• Though I am not a mallrat, I enjoy having many, many malls at my disposal in the Twin City area.
• Lincoln's head must be made of kevlar.
• It's hard to see your grandparents' capacities diminish. I think it becomes more noticeable when you don't see them regularly.
• I was surprised at how few cashiers/waitresses had seen a military ID before. I guess that's because Minnesota has no active duty military installation.
• I am increasingly sentimental.
• Dairy Queen is delicious. If we have one every two miles in Minneapolis, where at least a quarter of the year is not ice-cream friendly, why on earth do we not have more than a couple of them in Hawaii where it is eternally summer?
• I like that my MN accent comes back when I'm home. I wish it was easier to hang on to when I'm not there.
• Rooting for the Gopher football team is tough. Really, really tough. But yet I can't not.
• I wish Zac and my family could spend more time together.
  
• I love houses built before WWII. Even though the floors might creak and they aren't wired for lots of outlets and things might not be totally square, they make up for it in character.
• I like power tools and wish I had more projects to work on around the house. I was particularly happy to play with my dad's new table saw and compressed air nail gun this time around.
• Minneapolis really is one of the most bike-friendly places in the U.S. and should be damn proud of it.
• Either I'm getting old or I have no fashion sense (and quite probably both) but a lot of the clothes out there for teenage girls are utterly ridiculous. I will enjoy 15-20 years from now when they cringe as they look at their old high school pictures. There is a price to pay for being too trendy, young ladies.
• I'm beginning to think that the 35W/62 interchange might not ever be completed. I find it odd that they've been working on it longer than I've been married.
• Listening to the rain is the best way to fall asleep.
• Even though I'm not a huge fan of the guys calling the games, I loved listening to Twins baseball on the radio. And I love Hardware Hank commercials.
• Minnesota has an abundance of riches when it comes to locally produced beer.
• My friends are really remarkable people. I admire so many attributes of each of them.
  
• I will always cry when I leave my family. And that's ok.