I’m back from two weeks in the land of fires (aka: northern California) and past the seemingly never-ending barrage of stressors from preparing to leave for my internship. While I was staying a couple hours east of one of the major blazes, there was considerable smoke in my area and a few mornings where you could smell things burning. Thankfully my internship “abroad” went quickly, despite being emotionally and mentally exhausting. I’m happy to be home and settling back into my routine. Two weeks away, and the corn viewable from the fields at this stage is obviously not for human consumption, it looks positively BEAT. (And like it needs a haircut.)

I feel you corn. I feel you.

the sweetest corn.

Adel is my favorite sweet corn in the area (Grimes is 2nd). But NOTHING WILL BEAT OHIO SWEET CORN, DON’T @ ME. That said, I’m bummed to be missing the buttered-down goodness of this Saturday’s Adel Sweet Corn Festival. I mean, I suppose I might be able to get over there before midnight. Cross your kernels that there will be corn available that late.

brb. going to spanish mines. in iowa.

This weekend is the Mines of Spain trail race and my first race of the year. Remember when I used to write a lot about running?! My intent was to be ready for the half, but I’m dropping down to the 7-mile event because I’ve basically done 4 weeks of 6-mile long runs and unable to push myself into any further misery. Real talk: run training just hasn’t been gelling for me lately. So I’m being kind to myself and doing what I can to keep running fun and basically going for a weekend with friends. Also, it will be my first time exploring Spain Dubuque!

midwest shenanigans

I love to love on Iowa. Being around a bunch of east and west coasters the last couple weeks asking “tell me what it’s like” had me enthusiastically swooning over why I enjoy living here. ESPECIALLY after sitting in hours of traffic in California.

What would you tell someone who asked you to describe what’s so great about the Midwest – or Iowa, specifically?