5FF - Food

It's been awhile since I've done a Five Favorites for Friday.

1. Smell? Subway in the morning. It's a little piece of heaven in the morning when I walk by. I always end up slowing my pace just a bit and taking in a deep breath. I might even close my eyes. I hope no one notices. That would just be embarrassing.
2. Comfort food? Grilled cheese with tomato soup. Nothing too spectacular. Sometimes, I'll go all crazy and throw in some goldfish crackers. Yum.
3. Delivery? Jimmy John's. Hands down. They are so fast and so yummy. We have been ordering them way.too.often lately.
4. Grill? Several times throughout the summer, my family will have grilled pizzas for dinner. Once we even did this is February for Jeff's birthday. I love this because everyone can make their own and get the exact toppings they want.
5. Candy? M&Ms. Just about any variety. Today, I'm snacking on pretzel, but I also really love peanut. Plain are probably my least favorite, but I'd probably not turn them down. Of course there's not much candy I would ever turn down, so this favorite is in constant flux.

5FF - Places

Lisa asked for a post on my favorite places in MN. I thought it would be a great idea for this week's Five Favorites for Friday, so here you go (in no particular order).

Alexandria

Source

I'm probably partial to this place because it's my hometown. :) I lived there from mid-3rd grade through graduation. It has a cute downtown, lots of area lakes, parks, beaches. Big Ole makes an appearance at one of Broadway, and the Kensington Runestone isn't very far away.

Inspiration Peak

from the Ottertail County Website

This is a little wayside park north of Alexandria in Ottertail County. It is so beautiful up there! Growing up in Alex, my family hiked to the top several times in my youth. I always loved it and have such great memories of going there. One day I'd really like to go back again.

Big Lake Wilderness Lodge

from their website

We first took a family vacation here the summer of 2008. We had so much fun that the next summer, we convinced even more of my family to come along. I've been a bad blogger and I can't seem to find any pictures online from 2009. Oops! We all made the trek up to Ely again last summer.

Big Lake is about 20 or so miles outside of Ely. I love it there because they have free access to kayaks, canoes, and paddleboats. They also have free day passes into the Boundary Waters for canoeing/kayaking or hiking. It is so gorgeous in northern MN!

Minneapolis Chain of Lakes

Source

This series of lakes is so fun! You can circle them by walking, biking, blading. On Lake Calhoun, you can even rent kayaks, canoes, paddleboats and other fun non-motorized water toys. I think it's so beautiful! And I just enjoy being around so many people, outside, enjoying nature.

Downtown Minneapolis

Source

Even though I grew up in a small town, I grew into a city girl. I love the buildings and the parks and the people that come with living in a big city. I love the Minneapolis skyline. I love the skyway system. There is easy access to bike lanes, the light rail, and public transportation. There are museums and theaters and sports venues. The Mississippi river is at one end and Loring park at another.

In writing this post, I've realized that there is a lot to MN that I've never really explored. Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to view and see more of this great state in the next year. :)

If you live in MN (or ever have), what are some areas/things I should put on my MN bucket list?

If you're not in MN, what are some of your favorite places where you live?

Five Favorites for Friday

Day 10

Today's will be just a quick post. I just finished my final, and I'm pretty much all packed for my weekend Pedal and Paddle. Laura should be here soon to pick me up. I'm so excited. And nervous.

Confession: I haven't gone on a bike ride at all this month!

Five quick favorites:

• Color - To wear - green/orange. To admire - vibrant red, orange, yellow
• Car - Toss between my first real car ('89 Dodge Daytona, red. Oh, how I loved that car) and my most recent car ('08 Scion xB, RLS 5, gold)
• Author from my teenage years - Mary Higgins Clark
• Flower - gladiolas or lily of the valleys
• Race I've run - Earth Day Half Marathon in St Cloud, MN 2002

Have a beautiful weekend!

Send me all kinds of well wishes as I kayak and bike around northern MN tomorrow and Sunday!

Creature Comforts

Day 3

My friend, K, said she'd like to read a favorite things post, so....

Introducing...

drumroll, please

Five Favorites for Friday

In yesterday's post, I mentioned being grateful to live in a time with so many creature comforts, so I thought I'd share five of my favorite creature comforts with you!

1. Contact Lenses. They can be a HUGE pain what with all the care and maintenance, but they also make my life so. much. easier. I can see better and don't have to worry about pushing up my glasses or getting all sweaty underneath my glasses or dropping/stepping on/breaking my glasses. Of course, I'm grateful for glasses as well. They make great back-ups and allow me to rest my eyes from time to time.
2. Climate Control. Be it heat or air conditioning, I'm ultimately grateful for it. I get cold super easy, so I often complain about A/C, but there are definitely times when I appreciate it greatly. Now, if summer will just hurry up already!
3. Smartphones. Sure, these little buggers can be addicting, and maybe I shouldn't spend as much time on mine, but it definitely is nice to always have a way to contact someone in a variety of ways (phone, text, IM, email, blog, etc) or research something or whatever else to pass the time.
4. Social Media / Networking. I'll admit it. I'm terribly nosy. And probably a bit of a gossip. *shrug* I just like to keep up-to-date on the people I care about but don't have the chance to see very often. Enter email, Facebook, blogging, etc. Now I can spy on keep up with old friends, new friends, family, news, etc, etc, etc.
5. Indoor plumbing. I'm not just talking about the toilet, either. Though with as many times as I have to pee in a day, I sure am glad I don't have to slog myself outside every. single. time! Imagine life without a bathtub or shower. I definitely enjoy long, hot showers. Or a washing machine. Doing laundry on washboards? Um. No, thank you! Or kitchen sink. Or dishwasher, for those lucky ducks who have one. I have a hard enough time doing the dishes. They'd never get done if I had to lug buckets of water into the house first!

What about you? What are your favorite creature comforts?

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