Thursday, July 10, 2008

good ol' Iowa

I'm so Iowan, not in the cool Iowa way that only 1% of the population knows about, but in the cliche; as in where 'dinner' means lunch and 'supper' means dinner, where those suppers consist of hot dishes and casseroles, where clean overalls are considered acceptable wedding attire and where people do in fact marry their high school sweethearts. I do not fall into the categories of most of these, but yes, I did indeed meet my husband in high school, well actually at our after school job at the local grocery store, he bagging groceries and me, a cashier. He impressed me with his shelf pulling abilities and I, him with my produce code memorization. (Isn't our romance sickening?)

Every so often I think about moving back to Iowa, helped along with subtle hints from my family about job openings and houses for sale. In this part of Iowa, you could buy a 3 bedroom house for 90K, yes that's under $100,000 for a real house, this simply blows my Minneapolis-market mind! So the lure of being able to walk to the movie theatre, stroll with stroller out to dinner and free parking everywhere is pulling me yet again. (Okay and almost all of my family being within a 5 mile radius - are you happy, Aryn?) It brings back a flood of memories. I'm just not certain I really want to relive all of those. For all those wondering, it's prom 1994 not 1974. I'm not that old, it just takes twenty years for trends to hit good ol' Iowa.

26 comments:

kristine said...

That picture is adorable! I love it! Yes, that all does sound very tempting.
I'm not from Iowa, but I married my high school sweetheart, too!

TheAustinEmpire said...

We really are twins.
Small town Iowa.
Not so High school sweethearts(since hubby only made it to 9th grade).
And my family also drops those job hints to try to convince me to move back.
It sure is tempting, but then, I have to live in reality...

Rebecca said...

Funny how we both posted within hours about our growing up in quiet, midwestern locations that we still miss...

I didn't marry my high school sweetheart, though. I married a city slicker.

Carissa(GoodnCrazy) said...

Wow, your header looks cool!

And your tights in those shoes?

So is that the hubby or not? If it's prom but you met AFTER high school?

Oh, re-read it. After school job, not as in graduated after school?

Vashey Fam said...

I just moved from Chicago back to my hometown in Texas. What a shocker! I still don't fit but I can't tell you how nice it is to be around family and how much cheaper it is to live here instead of there. Great prom picture! :o) Come vote on my puppies; I'm doing my free giveaway!

Laural Out Loud said...

Good ol' 1994, when we still wore pantyhose with our dress shoes.

I went to school in Iowa, and there are a lot of things I miss about it! Mostly the seasons (and the way they smelled).

amanda said...

omg LOVE that picture honey :)

after living the big city life in nyc we did it. moved home to good ole smallville, kansas.

and as much as i didn't want to love it. i do.

so i get it.

Tyne said...

Love the prom picture. I traded the small town for a suburb of Mexico (we live 5 minutes from the border of Mexico). Prom today looks like your '94 pic!!!

4luvandlife said...

Hubby was not consulted before the posting of this picture. This blog will self destruct in 30 seconds.

Miss Lisa said...

Cute pic--Iowa sounds pretty cool to me :)

Kristen said...

I so get it!

Seriously, we think of moving home all the time!

And yes we too are high school sweethearts. We too went to prom in 1994. And we too know hooooowwwww loooonnnnnngggggg it takes for fashion to make it to the Midwest! :)

Great and super funny post! :)

Marketing Mama said...

Love the picture. I bet you could get an awesome house in Iowa. I went to college in Des Moines. It wasn't that bad. They have malls and restaurants, ya know. :)

Eve Grey said...

I met my husband in high school too. Very cute photo!

Anonymous said...

I've often asked my husband if we could move to Iowa or some other inexpensive place in the middle of nowhere. He won't go for it though. Houses around here (in decent neighborhoods) cost around 400K. It is so depressing.

Not fair--your prom pic is actually cute! Your husband shouldn't be embarrassed at all.

Unknown said...

I was cracking up at your post! I'm from Missouri and we always laughed about how long it actually took for "fashion" to reach us :)

Happy POW!

McMommy said...

You are SO FUNNY!!!!!

I love you for posting that pic. Your shoes...oh your shoes....and that hair! It's all so perfect.

Anonymous said...

Oh laugh! Let me guess, you guys worked at Hy-Vee... I never realized how far behind fashion Iowa is until I moved away and came back to visit. Everyone dressed for the weather! It amazed me.

Carol said...

Despite the slower grasp of fashion trends Iowa sounds a lovely place to live.

I don't even think you can but a garage for under a $100k here.

Liz said...

Hey, I have an awesome 1994 prom picture, too! It was a great year.

Anonymous said...

Love the picture!

Family and hometown, that is a tough one.

A Crafty Mom said...

Wow - what a great picture!!! You look gorgeous, what a fun prom that must have been :-) Under $100K for a home? Certainly not around here, but probably in some more rural areas in Canada. Oddly enough, I have been to most of the United States, but not Iowa!

Marla said...

i wonder about moving to RI often...i'm not from here but it is where my parents are now...then i'm here for 2 weeks are realize I miss my freinds...and my way of life...

Anonymous said...

YES! I made it into a post AND into the back of your mind. I have to clarify a couple of things: obviously your identity is a little confused - hot dishes and casseroles are the exact same thing, but Minnesotans say hot dish and Iowans say casserole (depending on the location of your upbringing). Second: the beauty of living here is that we didn't REALLY grow up here. The older generation here has no idea what happened to us in high school. Clean slate. Different story for hubby there, but leave that to him.
DO IT! MOVE HERE! IT'S SUPER FUN! (and I'll babysit)
P.S. Your posts are looking great! I'm proud of you!

Jim said...

I waited until I was 43. My oldest was going into 8th when there was a stabbing at the middle school (town south of kansas city). I knew it was time to move back to Iowa. Now he is 16 driving around town with his friends and I get to relive some stuff through his eyes. My wife and I take a walk every day around the square. My wife thinks I'm crazy but I love the smell of the dirt during planting season.

Anonymous said...

Technically, dinner refers to the largest meal of the day. So that can be at noon. :p

Shan said...

Are you kidding? Of course it's 1994. Why else would you be wearing white hose with black shoes?!

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