Pretzels and cream soda

Yes, I realize I already blogged today but I just experienced something crazy.

I remembered that in the refrigerator remained a single bottle of Sprecher Cream Soda. Usually smells bring people back to a certain time, a certain place. Tonight it was the taste of that cream soda. It tastes like home. The moment I took a sip out of that dark amber bottle, I tasted home. It sounds so weird to say but it's the only way to explain it. (The pretzels I'm eating are only there to be a salty foil to the sweetness of the soda.)

The way we as people relate tastes and smells and how things feel, as in physically feel to the touch, to other places and things . . . It's pretty phenomenal. As I drank this gorgeous amber beverage I couldn't help but marvel at how incredible it is that our minds make such connections day after day and that often we don't even realize it. Human consciousness is remarkable.

Don't jump to any conclusions: basically the last thing I am right now is homesick. Being back in Utah is fantastic and it will only continue to get better, or so I hope/plan. Life may not be perfect but it is better than okay.

As I typed the word "soda" a bunch of different times in this post I remembered a quick conversation Jordan and I had at Ikea last week. I can't quite remember why I said the word "soda" at all but Jordan was very quick to point out how Midwestern/Canadian I sounded what with the whole "really long vowel thing" I often have going on when I speak. If I ever lose that quirk to my speech, I'll be a very unhappy camper.

So I've mentioned The Fault In Our Stars a bunch of times over the past two days and here I go again: Kate is reading it currently! She's two chapters in and liking it very much. She said it pulled her in right away which is always a good thing. It's very different from An Abundance of Katherines, which is the only other John Green book she's read, but that's okay. Katherines is totally a funny and witty and much less serious than TFiOS. Hopefully Kate likes it all the way through! (I think the last time I talked about Katherines was this post . . . Oh boy.)

Last YouTube video I watched: Greg Holden - Home (Live) (Most of you will hear this song and think of that Phillip Phillips guy from American Idol, or I guess of the US women's gymnastics team. And yeah, he sings this song. But Greg is the guy who wrote it! How crazy awesome is that?! I also happen to love Greg's version a million times more. Maybe I'm biased but that's how it goes when one of the guys is a YouTube love and the other guy won American Idol.)

By the numbers: my first week back home

I flew home last Tuesday, the 19th of June. Here's some stuff I've done in the last week.

• Number of things I've eaten from Kopp's: 3. (Cheeseburger, caramel cashew in a waffle cone & onion rings)

• Number of episodes of Grey's Anatomy I've watched: 47. (And counting)

• Number of episodes of Doctor Who I've watched: 0. (I miss DW nights at the Lava Lounge)

• Number of text messages Jordan and I have sent/received: Something exorbitant. (Let's just say I've sent and received more text messages in the last week than in any other week since I've had a phone. Easily)

• Number of times I mowed the lawn: 1.

• Number of new pairs of shoes I've acquired: 1. (Wonderful Birkenstocks)

• Number of times I've run two miles: 3.

• Number of times I've seen my best friend Kate: 1. (It included paninis and raspberry frozen lemonade)

• Number of times I've listened to Brandon Flowers' solo album Flamingo in its entirety: 2. (But this number will be rising quickly)

• Number of fireflies I've seen: 3 (I saw them all last night when I went to close the windows on each of the cars)

• Number of new bands/albums I've listened to: 8.

• Number of days I've written in my journal: Every single one of them.

• Number of slices of delicious thin crust pizza I've eaten: I can't quite remember but it was a lot.

And today was my first day of work. Have no fear, people. Your cream cheese is in safe hands once again. It's interesting to work a full 8 hours again but soon enough it will become all I know.


Last YouTube video I watched: At Or With Me

Running in Wisconsin

It's a heck of a lot easier than running in Utah. I've found that out very quickly. So far I've gone twice, both times around 2 miles. Running 2 miles in Utah, at least for me, kind of sucked. It definitely helps that everything here is green and just beautiful.

There are, however, a lot of hills within a 2 and 3 mile radius of my house it seems. I forgot about that in the time I was gone. Well, that's not true. I definitely remember them because I always thought about them when I went longboarding. I think my biggest issue with them is the fact that I never ran them before. The area around where I live really isn't that hilly, though. Yes, there are mountains literally right there but I don't run by them. There are big hills in Provo but my running routes don't go near them; I don't run nearly far enough to deal with them. (Yet.) Yeah, the Midwest is generally pretty flat, but not all of it. There are hills galore, at least where I live.

But the running itself is as good as it gets for me. Lorraine uses running to problem solve. It's crazy the stuff she can figure out while running; a lot of the time it's complex math equations and computer programming and fancy math stuff in general. She's basically a running mathematic genius. Anyway, that's not how things work for me. I shut my mind off playing sports. I do enough thinking in the rest of my life. Running still doesn't quite let me do that. Maybe someday it will but I'm not counting on it anytime soon.

So the point of this: running in Wisconsin is great. I love being around trees and greenery, in familiar neighborhoods and running past the houses of people I know. It's nice. Well, the running itself isn't all that nice but what I experience while doing the terrible act of running is. If that makes sense.

Last YouTube video I watched: Learn Me Right - Mumford & Sons with Birdy

Summer packing & last adventures

I've spent a little time the past two days putting my clothes and a few other belongings in my now-weathered suitcase. It's been on quite a few trips now, many to and from Utah. The most exciting thing about packing today is the fact that I'll be able to fit my wonderful memory foam pillow and the suitcase won't be over the 50 pound weight limit. I'm very excited about this fact.

Packing is always interesting because it really shows you what things you like/need the most, especially when it comes to clothes. There are some shirts and pants I most definitely need and others that are nice to have but just aren't necessary. I've found that to be the case with a lot of my t-shirts. There are still things at home in my closet so I don't need to bring everything from here. It's hard to decide what to bring and what to leave though since I don't know how I'll feel a month from now and I don't doubt wanting a lot of the things being left behind in my closet in Utah.

Of course some of the hardest things to leave behind are books. I love having a lot of my books here in Utah because they make my room feel like a home. Luckily my brother and I both have all the Harry Potter books or I'd be real sad. This will also give me the opportunity/force me to read books I haven't read before.

Besides packing the last few days have been spent doing awesome stuff with awesome people. Becca and I made Swedish pancakes the other night at, like, eleven. They were delicious of course. Lorraine and Laura came over to enjoy them with us.

Lorraine, Becca and I also went to a birthday party for a friend, though the real purpose was to see Amber. She lived in the same building as us freshman year. Becca and her were also roommates sophomore year. It's always lovely to see Amber and just catch up on life. It's great when we all get together because suddenly all these inside jokes come out that we usually forget about, and then we just laugh really hard and people are confused as to what's so funny.

Thursday afternoon I got lunch with Jeff. We went to Cafe Rio and it was glorious. I seem to always forget how delicious Cafe Rio is until I go again. It was just the two of us which was lovely. We sat for a long time just talking about life and such. We're really good at transitioning between all sorts of topics of conversation. One minute we'll be talking about BYU football or basketball and then we're talking about his roommates' dating lives and then we'll be having some spiritual/churchy conversation. It's great times with Jeff and I'll miss our little hang outs.

Perhaps the best thing of this past week was hanging out with Jordan one last time before I leave. Actually, it is definitely the best thing that happened this past week. He came over yesterday morning and we went to the park and threw around my frisbee for an hour. Then we got shakes at the creamery. It was the first time he had the flavor graham canyon since getting back from his mission so he was super excited and he was not disappointed. We ate our shakes at my apartment and then watched most of the Sweden/England soccer match. At halftime we shared our friends' awkward engagement pictures and had a good laugh. I also shared some of my new music with him. Jordan and I became friends primarily because we loved each other's music, but we stayed friends because we have a lot of other stuff in common as well. Saying good-bye to him was difficult since we've only seen each other a couple times in the past month he's been home but it's all right this time around because we can actually call each other and text each other whenever we want. Fall semester is going to be awesome and we've already made plans for some adventures upon my return to Utah.

So tonight is Mikaela's wedding reception. Lorraine and I will go to that and then visiting SJ's house to have a little fire and to eat s'mores. I'm sleeping over at Sara's house so tomorrow we can go together to see Matthew speak in church. This will be the first, and really the only time, I'll be seeing Matthew this spring. I'm ecstatic. Now that he's home the mail has little meaning anymore. For two years I practically lived for checking the mail, but those days are no more. It's weird to not have that constant anymore, though now that my friends who are girls are going on missions I'll still be writing plenty of letters, that's for sure.

And now a photo tribute to Mikaela and I throughout the years:

I'm pretty sure this is the first picture
Mikaela and I were ever in together

Congratulations on getting married today, Mik! You're awesome and I can't wait to hear about all your married life adventures with Calvin in Colorado.

Last YouTube video I watched: Watsky raps fast

10 things that make home exciting

I took my only exam this morning and now all that's left to do until next Tuesday is have as much fun as seemingly possible. But while I wait for the Germany/Netherlands Euro Cup match to start, here are 10 things that make home an exciting place to be.

1. My orange room.
2. Kopp's custard and burgers and onion rings and fries and Sprecher root beer. I just checked the flavor of the day for when I'll be in Milwaukee on Tuesday. ONE OF THEM IS CARAMEL CASHEW, aka one of the best flavors of all time. (We're stopping on the way home, if that's okay Mom and Dad).
3. The bike path, which I usually use for my longboard but since I won't be bringing it home this summer I think I'll take out my bike instead.
4. Kate and Megan.
5. Chocolate Factory subs.
6. Shopping trips to Bayshore.
7. My home ward and home ward friends, both adults and youth alike.
8. Delicious and wonderful and perfect chocolate chip cookies made by my father.
9. Really anything made by my dad and mom from the America's Test Kitchen.
10. Having a car to at least use some of the time. I miss driving terribly while I'm in Utah.
11. The possibility of Brewers games. (Who are we kidding? There's no way I could stop at just 10 reasons)
12. Dinner out with all my family. It's not so much the fact that I'm with my family but more so the fact that I get free and delicious dinner, though sometimes being with the extended family does make for some great entertainment.
13. Thunderstorms.
14. A nice HD television and comfy leather chair w/ an ottoman.
15. All nine seasons of Seinfeld. At least I think they're still at home; my brother may have taken them to Idaho.
16. The possibility of seeing Imagine Dragons at Summerfest. I'm going to try so hard to make that happen.

So there's 16 reasons instead. It should be a good summer, even though I will be working most of the time, but I take satisfaction knowing if I work all summer I get to come back to Utah and do awesome stuff without needing to work.

Last YouTube video I watched: Superhero - Luke Conard and Landon Austin

Accomplished: spring term

Today is the last day of classes. I am all done with spring term. Time is a crazy thing. When I got home from my last class of "junior" year, I went for a 15 minute run and then I did an ab workout for 15 minutes. There's this really cool app called Nike Training Club that has all sorts of workouts to do that focus on all different things. They last anywhere between 15 and 45 minutes, all depending on what you want to do. While doing my abs I started watching more Euro Cup! (This is what I've been doing every day before the past few days.) Ukraine and Sweden are plying right now. (Carson served his mission in Ukraine so I really hope Sweden wins so I can trash talk him.) I love Sweden. They were the first national team I ever saw play so I will always love the Swedes. Also, they are all very good-looking; well, except maybe Ibrahimovic. If matches were decided on how good-looking the players are, I'm pretty sure Sweden would win unanimously.

But since spring term is over now, not counting exams (I only have one so it hardly counts anyway), I am officially in summer. So I present:

Spring term in Utah (photos I haven't posted yet)

Finding "wetlands" in Provo

Watching Grant be a sea lion

Pondering life in Santa Cruz (This is my favorite
photo from the entire CA trip)

Riding the train to SF between these hooligans

Matching with Stacy

Being Trent's favorite, meaning I always got the front seat

Celebrating Maddie's wedding

Mik's bridal shower type party dealio

This week will bring more awesomeness since I'll probably see Matthew McKay soon(!) and Mikaela's wedding reception is Saturday(!) and the California road trip crew (Grant, Phillip, Emily and Trent) are leaving for Canada to run the Tough Mudder so I'm probably going to hang out w/ those boys one last time before we go our separate ways for the summer. At the very least Trent and I will be getting lunch like old times, and by old times I mean like we did three weeks ago and for most of spring term.

So eight days from now I will be headed home. That'll be lovely.

Last YouTube video I watched: The Green Bean Gelatin Plan

St. Nick

So Wisconsin is full of Germans. I myself am easily over 50% German heritage-wise. It's awesome. Germans are so legit. And here's one reason why: St. Nick coming on the night of December 5th and finding treats the morning of December 6th.

I used to know the whole story of St. Nick and why he comes on the night of the 5th but I no longer remember. We seriously learned it in elementary school. A few times. From what I do remember, kids would leave out their shoes and then the next morning there would be little treats in them. And by little treats I mean candy and other things filled with sugar. Thanks to Wikipedia, I now remember that it has to do with the Feast of Saint Nicholas. I don't think I ever actually learned why he was a big deal and I don't really care to, though I probably should since it is my heritage and all.

And at 20 years old, I am proud to say that St. Nick still comes. And my 23 year-old brother feels the same way. Over the years we've gotten various toys and treats but a few things always stay the same: huge navel oranges and candy from a small candy shop downtown. Since coming to college, another thing has been included: a gourmet caramel apple from Amy's Candy Kitchen. These apples are beastly and easily weight a pound or two. Mine are always covered in dark chocolate and cashews. It is so goodly and delicious.

I'm not writing this to brag. Well, maybe I am a little bit. But basically I just wanted to publicly announce  how awesome my parents are for still doing this stuff. My brother is practically engaged and I'm not exactly a kid anymore myself, yet they still keep it going. It's pretty much the best tradition ever, one that I will totally be using in my own family someday. And somehow every year I never cease to be surprised by how well my parents know me, especially my dad. An additional gift this year is wool socks. In my family, nice winter socks are sought after. It's totally normal, even expected, to get multiple pairs of socks for Christmas. In a package I received back in October, my dad even included a container of chocolate frosting, because I like to participate in the delicious habit of eating frosting with a spoon. Disgusting? Yeah, maybe a little. But so worth it. I don't think I've mentioned my love of eating frosting straight up in years, but my dad is totally on top of things.

Do you guys have any family/heritage/Christmas traditions? As finals approach, I know I will be even more thankful for these little tastes of home. Yeah, I'll be home 10 days from now, but that doesn't stop me from loving having Wisconsin things in Utah.

Last YouTube video I watched: The Biggest Shake-Up in YouTube History: Explained