Utah - What I Miss (& don't miss)

I'm not going to lie. I miss Utah. Perhaps it is the coming autumn season and not having the mountains to stare at. Perhaps it is the anticipation of the holidays and knowing how many things I will miss (like the Coon Family party). I am not sure why it suddenly became so real. But I do miss Utah. There are a lot of things I don't miss about Utah however. Here's my attempt at a list.

I miss the mountains - I don't miss the smog caused by said mountains. I especially miss Mt. Olympus.

I always knew that I loved the mountains in Utah. I just didn't realize how lucky I was to have something so majestic in my backyard. I miss seeing them change with the seasons. I miss driving along the east bench of I-80 and staring at Mt. Olympus - especially in the pinking hour. I miss barbecues and fires up the canyons. I miss driving up the canyons when the leaves are changing. I just miss them alright? Somehow the Boise foothills don't compare.

That being said, I don't miss the smog cause by the mountains. One thing I have loved about being in Boise is the clean air. It isn't smoggy. It always smells fresh (other than a few days in the Summer when there was a fire). I hate hate hate the smog in Utah. And it is only getting worse. Even summer days you can see a layer of pollution. I hate that. Bad mountains!

I miss working with an office full of people. I don't miss office politics. It's no lie that Make-A-Wish has been one of the top things on the things I miss about Utah. I miss having people to eat lunch with. I miss laughing until I cried during lunch. I miss talking to people about their lives and talking way too much about my own. I miss the office pranks and holiday celebrations.

I don't miss the office drama. I don't miss the gossip and the anger. I don't miss being mad if someone isn't pulling their weight. It's kind of hard to have issues when you work practically alone. I will say that cute Katie has been amazing. Sadly I have to say goodbye to her in just 2 weeks.

I miss right hand turn lanes. I don't miss crazy drivers. One thing about Boise that really ticks me off, not many right-hand turn lanes. I can't tell you how many times a day I get stuck behind one car for 3 minutes at a long light - because they just don't have those turn lanes here. I know I know, it's petty but dang it is annoying!

I don't miss crazy Utah drivers though. Driving in Boise has really mellowed me out. I have learned to drive the speed limit - not the regular 10 mph over the speed limit. I don't ride people's tails. I don't speed around people anymore. I has made the driving experience more enjoyable. As soon as I cross the border and am back in Utah I notice a difference. People are intense in Utah. They will run you off the road. It's crazy. I didn't notice it before but I sure notice it now! Plus Utah doesn't have nearly as cool of license plates. Just sayin...

I miss Sunday dinners with the family. I don't miss family dinners at El Farols. One of the things that makes me the most homesick is missing family dinners. My mom is an amazing cook and pretty much every other Sunday she whips up something delicious for the family. I miss those homecooked meals. I miss visiting with my family. Sunday night's are kind of lonely in general. We have tried to do dinners with Ashtin & Brian but it doesn't happen often enough. I usually get a text from mom or someone Sunday night that says "Sunday dinner! Wish you were here." This doesn't help.

A perk of living away from home is missing the monely "birthday dinner" at El Farols. Anyone that knows my dad, knows that he loves cheap Mexican food. I grew up on the stuff. However for EVERY birthday my dad thinks we need to meet for dinner - and it's aways at El Farols. The funny thing about this is no one else wants to go there. It's overpriced and not that good. I think the person whose birthday it is should decide where they want to go. Everyone pays their own way anyway! So as much as I love my family and miss my family, I don't miss the obligatory El Farols monthly meals.

I miss KUER but I don't miss hearing about crazy Utah politics. Oh NPR, how I love thee! I miss Doug Fabrizio, I miss Dan Bammes, I miss good radio and solid news stories. The NPR station here is horrible. The morning show guy is horrible and finds it necessary to ennunciate every word properly. As a result he sounds like a robot. The local news is overkill and dreadfully boring. I just really miss KUER.
On the flip side - I don't miss hearing about crazy Utah politics. I don't miss hearing about BYU and the latest censorship issue. I don't miss people who think Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck are valid news sources. I don't miss Gail Rezika and the Eagle Forum. I don't miss having such as strong pull from a particular religion. That's what is nice about Boise. Sure there are crazy issues but they aren't nearly as in your face as Utah. It's been nice to be away from the crazy.



I miss our house but I don't miss the upkeep for the house. Seth & I have a lovely house in Millcreek. I love it. It feels like home to me. I miss living there. I miss the amazing kitchen. I miss the neighborhood. I miss the close access to Oh Sushi, Citrus Grill and Cafe Rio. I miss the smell of the neighborhood. I miss being so close to these cute babies

I don't miss the upkeep though. For those of you that have seen the house you know it has the yard of doom. I actually don't mind yard work for the most part but damn our yard is a lot of work. In Boise we don't mow, weed, water, shovel, nothing. In short we are lazy. But it has been kind of nice.

I miss yoga, I don't miss Sugar House Golds Gym. I have talked over and over about how much I love and miss yoga in Utah. Seriously though my yoga teacher in Salt Lake changed my life. I rarely practice in Boise. I have gained weight, stressed out and the headaches have returned. Dang I miss Micah! This is a picture of her that I stole from her Facebook page. I know it's creepy of me. Whatever.

I don't miss the ghetto Sugar House Gold's Gym though. I don't miss trying to meditate while a greasy 60 year old man in too short of shorts did squats next to me. I don't miss driving 20 minutes to get to my yoga class. But I would do it over in a second if it meant the mind blowing yoga that I have miss desperately.

Oh my goodness I must stop! There is so much more to go on about. I do miss Utah - a lot. More than I thought I would actually. Living away has made me appreciate the beauty and quirkiness that it offers. I miss you all too!