Hockey & Cheese Curds.

Once upon a time, I started thinking of cheese curds. And that, my child, is how this post came to be. 

Things I miss about Minnesota: 

...besides the people. Of course I miss them the most, but I'm going to try to not make this too sentimental. Because, well, it started with cheese curds. 

1) Outdoor skating rinks. 

I really just want to break out my skates and teach some little Washington kids how to skate. I was a figure skater growing up, and it can actually be a pretty good workout. It's kinda like yoga but with a little cardio. Kinda. 

In Minnesota, outdoor skating rinks are EVERYwhere because it's cold out and you can do that. People put up boards and flood their backyards. You can grab a shovel and go to almost any river, lake, or pond and bam! Instant rink. The city also maintains a bunch in various neighborhoods too--those even have little warming houses. And they're usually free and not super busy. Even if they are a little busy, everyone there knows how to skate so they're not bumping into you. 

2) Hockey. 

Yes, they have a littttle bit of hockey here, but no one really cares about it. 

At all.

It actually makes me sad. 

3) Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis.

Of course there are tons of lakes and great places to run here, too, but the Chain of Lakes was a runner's dream. More so in the summer months. But I'm just getting a little tired of running loops in boring neighborhoods. 

Paved trails and great people watching. (To give you perspective, Lake Calhoun is about 3 miles around.) 

I can get a little sentimental about great running trails, can't I? 

4) Upper Room church. 

Smallish, but not too small. Amazing worship, awesome teaching, a very cute baby population (loved working in the nursery), and the services were on Sunday nights. Something pretty special to me about that place. 

5) Cheese Curds. 

Last, but of COURSE not least. Yes, I know these are Wisconsin's thing...but they're everywhere in MN, too. And yes, you can technically find these at some places here in WA, but the ones here are more like mozzarella bites. It's all about the batter. They're supposed to look like this:

 

NOT like this: 

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE! 

Okay, that's all for now. Happy to be living in Washington, just had to pay some respectful tributes to my native land. 

Now, "Let's play hockey!!"