Things I'm looking forward to in Wisconsin

• Being closer to our dear friends in Madison. We already have plans to go down there twice in August.
  
• Owning a home. I still can't believe that we bought a house, and it's a lovely, warm house in a good neighborhood. I can't believe how lucky we are that we get to do this.
  
• All the nature and wildlife. You would think it wouldn't be that big of a difference, but I think it is. Example: we went to a big furniture store in Eau Claire just to poke around. This store was close to the edge of town, but not by any means outside of town. Near an interstate, the mall, and two Culver's, that sort of thing. When I got out of the car I nearly stepped on a severed deer leg. Gross, but stick with me. All plausible explanations for how that deer leg got there in EC would make no sense in Bloomington. For example, let's say a coyote brought it there. It seems possible that the coyote found a dead deer hit by a car on the interstate and carried the leg a quarter mile or so to the parking lot where it got scared off. This would never have happened in Bloomington. Sure, there are coyotes in Indiana, but they stay (usually) well out of the city limits. Even if they DID come into the city, they certainly would not have brought along a deer leg. They would also not be in close proximity a dead deer. Sure, we have deer in Bloomington, but I've never seen a DEAD deer in the Bloomington city limits. Or, we could say that it fell off of someone's truck while they were parked at the furniture store looking at end tables. This would not happen in Bloomington. People would just NOT drive around town with a dead deer in their pickup. They would certainly not stop at a store whilst hauling a carcass. I dunno, for some reason this sort of closeness to nature (albeit gross in this case) seems like an adventure. There are more serene examples, like all the great hiking trails along the rivers and streams, the massive wooded park in the middle of town on the island, and a giant preserve just outside of town with a btterfly house. I just thought the deer leg was especially illustrative.
  
• Winter sports. The winter here in Bloomington has just stopped bothering me, and I really think I could handle a greater challenge. Give me more snow, more cold! I want to cross country ski!
• I'm looking forward to cultivating my Sconnie accent again.
• Being close to the Twin Cities. Should be neat.
• Getting to know my new neighbors. I just really like people from Wisconsin, as a group.
• I just mentioned Culver's, but to those of you who are unaware of this great fast food chain, it really is great. It's the only fast food burger that I like. They make their own custard at the store, fresh, and every day they have a different featured flavor, like rocky road or turtle or M&M or something. This may make losing the Idaho potato pounds a little harder, but it's so worth it.
• Living amongst football fanatics who are still smarting from the Brett Favre fiasco. Smarting sports fans make for good fun. I'm really looking forward to the Packers v. Vikings games this year. Speaking of which, check out this hilarious shirt. Give it time to sink in. I'll explain if you don't get it.