Friday, October 4, 2013

Friday is my second favorite f-word


Friday fact: I am not good at favorites.

I’ve been this way my whole life, or at least as far as I could remember. The fear that some inanimate object or even a concept might be hurt by my lack of enthusiasm for it has at some points in my life been almost crippling.  I have grown out of the habit of making sure all my stuffed animals and toys were given equal attention for the fear of hurting their feelings, but I still really struggle with picking favorites. Part because indecisiveness is something I’ve practiced to perfection (Proof: I still have not picked out what national costume I want for my confirmation, which happen to have taken place 10 years ago.) Part because the top places changes a lot depending on my mood and time of the month. And part because I don’t want to make any of my favorites feel inadequate.

Anyways, fall is here and it’s all sorts of wonderful. Norwegian falls are great, but since we’re so far north, they are long, cold, wet, and dark, but the leaves only stay up for a few weeks. Michigan autumns on the other hand…

My top five “Things I Miss about the Michigan Fall” (RANDOM order, mind you)

  1. Pumpkin spiced latte
  2. Haha, just kidding. That syrupy mess can stay far away from my mouth. Unless it’s a home-made-from-organic-and-fair-trade-ingredients pumpkin spice carefully mixed with a soy latte, espresso brewed on locally roasted beans. Then I’m all over it.

  1. The colors
  2. The wonderful colors of the changing leaves in the Keweenaw are something everyone should see. Piles of colorful leaves = so many joys: You can run through them, jump on the crunchy ones, make fall angels in them. Just make sure you remove all bits and pieces stuck to you before your next class. Also, sometimes they contain a secret surprise of dog poo. Which is why making angels in the leaves is an extreme sport that should probably not be exercised right before a lecture.

  1. Apple orchards.
  2. We used to go apple picking at farms when I was little, but that was more of a practical thing to get good apples. We had none of the fancy,-smanchy horse and wagon trips or petting zoos or hay jumping. It looked less like an amusement park and more child labour (give it a rest, spell check. I don’t care how long I’ve been in the States; this is how it’s supposed to be written.) And however fun you might think you’re having while tricked by your parents for manual labor, I seriously doubt it’s as fun as petting terrified bunnies while munchin’ on cinnamon donuts. My one and only trip to an Apple Orchard was really nice, but cut a little short because someone managed to spill all their apple cider in their lap. Since my laptop was stolen before I had the wits to save this picture to my external hard drive, this video gives you an idea of how it looked like. Although I love the honesty of children, it seems to lose its charm when directed at you: “Look Mommy, that lady pee-peed her pants!” Because that is what ladies do, sweetie. 

  1. Caramel apples
  2. The FBF’s grandmother made the most amazing caramel apples and the recipe was super-secret. As in “You may get it if you marry into the family, but you might have to provide a couple of children first”-secret. Which would be totally worth it, btw.
    Come to think of it, anything caramel reminds me of fall and I would decorate my face with it without hesitation. Popcorn: yes please! Brownies: um, yeah! Cookies: hurrah! (I have recipes for the two latter ones, I’ll probably post one while I’m at a poop-conference next week.)

  1. New classes
  2. A fresh start with new people that have never heard your stomach demonstrate the mating call of the moose during exams. (Apropos nothing, what is the plural here? Mooses, mees, moose? One moose, two moose, red moose, blue moose? Moose it is, thanks Dr. Seuss!) That cute guy that has yet to see your 8 am look where you channel your inner ghoul. The teacher that still thinks you’re somewhat intelligent. A new beginning filled with doomed promises of doing all the readings and never procrastinate.

  1. Halloween
  2. So much candy! Carving pumpkins! Candy! Spooky decorations! More candy! The thing is that this is not a holiday I grew up with. So all the excitement you Americans felt as children, I felt my first fall in MI. For example, I carved a pumpkin and it was wonderful:
(Imagine apicture of that pumpkin, which would be here if I could just find my hard drive)

 So, if you made it through all of that, I salute you. Now, if you can guess my favorite f-word (at least of the day), I will make sure you get salted caramel brownies to your door.

Happy Friday,
 

15 comments :

  1. I remember the apple cider in the lap thing. However, I don't remember who spilt it!

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  2. You don't? ..... Well, in that case, it was you.

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  3. I actually have a feeling you are right

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  4. I stopped by the oatmeal on my regular procrastination route. If you haven't seen his stuff before, you should go have a look. Like this stuff, for instance http://theoatmeal.com/horrible4
    It really reminded me of you ;)

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    1. I've been a loyal The Oatmeal reader for a couple of years now, Great greeting card!

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  5. Replies
    1. Flabbergasted! Beacues you remembered that I wrote about that in the first post! Cake for you, my friend! Saturday?

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    2. aaaa, I replied too late. I want cake!

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  6. Sooo... I have a feeling that you went to class once, covered in dog poo... Is that why you bribed people to become your friends?

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    1. Either way, bribing is the best way to make loyal friends. Add a little cocain to your frosing, and you know the peeps will be aback for more cupcakes.

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  7. In the eloquent language of the internet; I crave moar of you're bloggy goodness! Also, for any US person visiting this blog who would like to learn more about Norway; if Merete hasn't shown you this she has neglected her patriotic duties: "this is norway" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebqdwQzmSHM

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    1. Oh my, I've never seen that one. Great stuff!
      Also, I am sorry for not posin. Many reasons. Mostly laziness. I'll start writing right meow.

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