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I've  found myself missing a few things here lately.  American things.  Like Panera Bread, for example. There was one particularly cold day and I thought to myself, "mmm...a nice bowl of tomato soup and a salad from Panera would be so nice." Sniffle sniffle.

I also miss Hobby Lobby.  OH! How I miss Hobby Lobby.  If you aren't familiar with this funny-sounding store, it is an arts and crafts mecca that typically sells things for super cheap.  Michael's, the less-than-stellar and way-more-expensive alternative, is all that's to be found here in Canada.  I wish I had enough money in my back pocket to open up my own HL franchise here.  The locals would be in love. They'd thank this American girl for bringing the light of all things crafty to the North.  And I would be able to afford to do crafts again.  God bless you, Hobby Lobby.

I miss Blue Bell ice cream in all it's yummy deliciousness.  The first time I visited Vancouver, I was literally stunned when I found out they didn't have Blue Bell at the grocery store.  I'd never had any other ice cream in my life.  Who is Ben and Jerry? What is a Breyer ice cream? There is only Blue Bell, I thought to myself. I was even convinced that they must have run out.  It was much later that this Texas native (that's me, by the way) found out that Blue Bell is actually only sold in about 26% of the USA.  So, obviously, it ain't in Canadia. (I spelled that right. I was going for a solid Texas twang there.)  Anyway, I am now being exposed to other kinds of ice cream. But, nothing, again I say NOTHING, comes close to being in the same category as Blue Bell.  If anyone wants to ship me Blue Bell, I wouldn't argue with you.  (The most ironic part of this whole thing? I'm lactose-intolerant, so I can only have ice cream in super small doses. But, still...if I'm gonna subject my body to lactose...it should be the best lactose on the market: Blue Bell.)

 


I miss Super Target and it almost pains me to think about it.  There is a regular Target right across the border in Washington.  So, I go there approximately once a week and stock up on their awesome diapers and Rotel and other non-Canadian things.  But, I think we can all agree that there is a massive difference between a regular Target and a Super Target.  The main difference being that one is SUPER.  Here's a regular Target:

And there is nothing wrong with a regular Target. It's what I grew up knowing.  But then the Target Corp. introduced the bigger, better, brother of Target:

You see the difference?  I miss you Super Target.

There are many more things I miss at random moments during the week. Like Pandora Radio (yes, you read that right. You can't get Pandora up here in Canada).  I miss Chic-fil-a and Barnes and Noble.  But more than anything, I miss these people right here:

My dad, Noah, and my mom (2006)

My family at Disney World,  2010

My Grandad and my nephew, Caden

My brother (and my kid)

I miss doing things like this:

lazy i-pad and i-phone days for the cousins

1 of many mowing the lawn days with my dad

An evening of arm-wrestling with grandad

As much as I miss all that other stuff, the ice cream and the stores and the restaurants, I miss these people way more!