minnesota. nice.

Well folks, it’s official. Dan and I will be returning to his motherland after graduation this spring. No not Sweden. The closely related cousin, Minnesota. For those of you west of the Mississippi River, there are some very interesting things to know about Minnesota, doncha know. For example, the following Minnesotan phrases are not in fact folklore, they do actually arise in conversation:
“Uff Da” means “Oh Boy” or “Wow”.
A “Hot Dish” is the same thing as a casserole.
“You Bet” means OK (Also heard often as “Ya, You Betcha”.)
“Ya” means Yes, Yeah, Yup, You Betcha, You Bet. (See above).
The “Nordeest” is Northeastern Minnesota, where Lake Superior is.
“Minnesota Nice” is how they treat you here, pronounced “Minnesoooooda nice”.

The state muffin is blueberry (thanks, internet) and it has more shoreline than CA, FL and HI combined (thanks, 10,000 lakes).

Also notably, the state of Minnesota is the largest producer of blondes in the US. I sat in an auditorium the first time I visited the state and was extremely aware of the lack of brunettes, red heads, and otherwise! Maybe I shouldn’t have died my hair brown. Like a sore thumb I tell you.

Well, we came up to this North Star State for a few days visit this week to hunt for houses and jobs. Here’s the shopping list:

A job for Dan (____)
A job for Allison (check)
A house for Dan and Allison (____)

Dan is pursuing jobs in the medical field, but it’s hard to come by something that’s not entry level or doesn’t require a specific associates certificate. We’ll see what God provides for him! Maybe being Swedish and all, this could be his future:

I will be starting out the rest of my life as a preschool teacher at New Horizons Academy! I actually worked there part time two summers ago and I am so excited to be back working for and with the wonderful people there. After I figure out the whole teacher certification transfer, I’ll be looking for an Elementary school classroom of my own.

We are officially in the market for a (small, not glamorous, fixer-upper) house! We found a real estate agent that Dan went to High School with and we went out today to look at a couple of houses on the market and kind of get an idea of what we can afford. These specific houses weren’t anything we fell in love with, but just being out there and looking at property that could potentially be ours is so exciting. It is and will be only out of the Lord’s blessing and mercy if we are able to move from college into a home we own!

Uff dah! That was a long update, doncha know!