• Concerts. Especially free concerts.  UMKC has a pretty talented crowd and you can check them out often. Here’s the performance calendar. I’ve been to a handful of their concerts and wasn’t disappointed at a single one.
• Restaurants. I like variety. In a small town, your options are limited. Sushi, for instance, is pretty much out. And if you really don’t want to cook, it’s nice to not have to resort to Pizza Hut.
• Movies. One screen, one movie, one showtime.  Not exactly the best way to catch the latest. (That makes the assumption you want to see any of the latest,  but it’s nice to at least have the option.)
• Workout Facilities. Running on the street is awfully nice, when it’s not freezing outside. But sometimes a girl wants a nice gym with lots of machines, a few exercise classes (kickboxing anyone?), and access to a personal trainer. And bikram yoga? Don’t even get me going on how much I miss having a class fifteen minutes away.
• Education. It’s not even just the “formal” education that’s accessible in the city that I miss, but the other options that are part of city life. Hula dance classes for example. (I used to hula and I’ve started dancing again. I am still very bad. Which is why classes are important.)
• Shopping. I. Like. Clothes. Now, as a preface – I CAN live without them. But I like them. And the shopping in Kansas City is fantastic. (On second thought, maybe I should move farther away…) It’s not just clothes either – City Market totally rocks.

Looking at all this, I realize that I might be (gasp!) a fake “country mouse.” (Some people might call that a snob, but I’m not one of those people.) Of course, whenever I pictured myself living in the country (before I actually lived here), it involved a husband and a few kids. Living single in the country is a little (okay, a lot) different. Sometimes life turns out different than you planned. So you adjust. For now, I’m happy that I can entertain the idea of adjusting. We’ll see where it leads me.

1. General Conference. I loved the talks by Elder Oaks, Elder Holland and Elder Scott.
2. Scooters. The BEST apple cider in the most gigantic mug ever.  (Two hands required!) And absolutely fantastic company.
3. Kemper Museum of Art. Not a lot of artwork I was crazy about, but there were one or two paintings that made me laugh… purple hair is so not what I would do for a self portrait. (Unless, of course, my hair was purple.)
4. Nelson-Atkins Museum. I could have spent all day here.  I need to go back.  Soon.
5. Bikram Yoga. My best session in four months.  (Granted, it was my first session in four months.)  I am surprised how bendy I still am given my hiatus.

I was sitting here tonight thinking about my blog post, and thought I’d make a list of the top ten the things I miss about living in the city.  Turns out, I couldn’t come up with ten.  Sure, I miss the convenience of having some things right there – Whole Foods, Bikram Yoga, Cool Art Galleries, Great Restaurants and Good Shopping – but for most of those things, 40-60 minutes really isn’t a bad drive.  (It’s not like I’m facing lots of traffic on that drive.) I’m debating whether it’s worth the trade-off.  You see, I have “space” issues. Eventually I want my own space.  Like acres of space.  Enough for at least two pigs (see About Me).  And two big dogs.  And room to grow my OWN organic wonderful fresh local produce.  And maybe even raise my own steaks.  (aka, I could create my own Whole Foods.  And it wouldn’t even be nicknamed Whole Paycheck.)

It’s a toss up.  If I found a way to put a Bikram Yoga studio somewhere on my space, I think I’d have a clear winner.  For now though, I’ll just drive.