the list

I am super excited to go home this summer, even though it'll be just for the summer and not permanent yet. We are in the process of telling all of our friends, family, and supporters that we are going to stay another year. Many already know, but some still don't. Things have been crazy since Christmas, so we are hoping to finish that up in the next week or two.

In my excitement, I have been thinking about all sorts of things we are looking forward to. Obviously the most important and exciting of all is seeing our family and friends. But there are lesser important things that we are excited about as well. So here they are in no particular order:

1. Food!!! That would include general food items ranging from things such as soups and snacks to protein powder and Bisquick. There are tons of food items that I have forgotten about that I will only remember when I walk into a store and see it all. Most items we do okay without. Actually, we do fine without any of it, but we are looking forward to some wonderful treats that await us down those beautiful, wide, organized aisles.

2. Food again!!! This time I am referring to restaurants. We don't go out to eat much. That's okay. It's expensive and not convenient around here because there really isn't much in our area. But Kevin and I have discussed all of the restaurants we can't wait to eat at, including fast food. Now we don't plan on everyone taking us to these places or anything, but we do plan on eating at some of them. These ideas include quick and easy such as Panera and Chipotle as well as the more expensive and utterly delicious Bravo and Mitchell's Steakhouse. And I MUST get a chicken finger sub in Western NY!!! (My stomach is seriously growling, and my mouth is watering...)

3. Target. Self-explanatory for anyone else who loves Target. I love it. I miss it. I would go there just to look around even if I had nothing to do or get.

4. Shopping in general.

5. Sales and clearance.

6. English. I can speak to anyone, anywhere, anytime. I can ask questions if I need help or don't know where to find something. I can read labels on things. I can understand what others say to me or are saying around me. I won't be walking around in a fog and ignorant of what's going on around me.

7. Nutrition information. It's only on some food items here, and it's always "per 100 grams." I don't carry a scale around with me to always measure 100 grams. I guess I should start doing that. I usually have no idea how many calories I am eating. It's not good.

8. Driving. I have no problem driving here, but roads and laws can be quite different at times. It doesn't always make sense to me, and the drivers here are crazy. Growing up outside Chicago, I thought drivers were crazy. Nothing compared to here. Our parents can vouch for that. And I hear it only gets worse the farther east you go.

9. Book stores. Kevin and I used to spend hours in Barnes and Noble just reading or browsing through books. It takes me three minutes to browse through the English section of the book stores here. I'm not complaining because I don't think they should carry books just for me because I don't speak their language, but I do look forward to just hanging out for awhile in a book store. It will of course have to be while Seth is napping or somewhere else because that certainly won't be happening with him around. Ha ha!

10. Air conditioning.

This is not a comprehensive list, but you get the idea. I am sure there will be many things that pop up while we're home that I will have totally forgotten about. But we are excited. Just two and a half more months!!!