Why Going Home is Important

I often hear people talk about not having been home in years, sometimes upwards of five, which seems amazing to me. I do know quite often it is for financial reasons or justnot being able to find the time that finds people from going home, but 2 years seemed long to me, and I am going to try to not ever let it be that long again in between visits. Aside from the obvious of seeing family and friends (and pets!), going home can be a refreshing break and a much needed change of pace. I forgot what it was like to be single, and kept finding myself behaving in ways here that the old suzer wouldn't have approved of. I had turned into a nagging, dependent wife who did far too much housework and worried all the time about house repairs and money. For two weeks, I left that me behind, and at the end of the visit, I was not going back to her. No more will I be calling my husband to find out what time he will be getting home from work, panicking about him spending all of Saturday on the internet, or getting headaches from clenching my jaws over all the house repairs that need doing. I'm over it.

Forgoing Duty Free Alcohol...

for the premium lounge. Well, it was either $45 for alcohol or $30 for five hours in a lounge with internet access, free food, showers, and a place to nap in front of the beautiful mountains in Vancouver, so I chose the latter. It sucks leaving home after a visit. I'm all gross from crying.

Food Glorious Food

More Cowbell

Um, actually I meant to say...more snow, whoo-hoo! We may get 6 inches or more tomorrow night. As the stupid blonde chick said in the airport, BOO YEAH!

The Gold

So I think I've babbled on about the old girl scout song before ( I bloody hated the girl scouts by the way ), but these are some of the golds. It's great to catch up with old friends:)

Spoilt for Choice

I'm seriously taking advantage of the deals here. Would you believe the above bottle of beer was only $1.50! I don't think I'll ever clothes shop in Australia again. As long as I come home every couple of years or less, I'll just stock up here. I've gotten 4 pairs of work trousers, 5 tops, 3 pairs of shoes, 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of King sized pillowcases and a set of pillow protectors, various toiletry type items from Walmart, some candy for the family, and probably some other things I can't remember at the moment, all for under $400! And, it's going to snow again tonight. It couldn't get better;)

I Don't Belong Here Anymore

Of all the travelling and living abroad I've done over the past few years, this is my first time home that I feel like I've changed to the point where I really don't fit in here anymore. Aside from turning the windshield wipers on when I intend to signal a turn, I can tell I've changed, a lot. There is an anonymity with people here, a distance, that I used to appreciate. Now it just makes me feel like people don't care about each other. People here seem to have a little bubble around them, aside from the immigrants, who I feel more of a connection with, even at the fast food places and shopping centers. Genuine friendliness is few and far between. I'm a walking novelty, as everyone wants to talk to me about the bushfires and anything else Australian (or Kiwi, as it's close enough right). I don't think I could ever live here again, yet at the same time, I'm still learning to live in Oz and don't fully fit in there yet. Oh well, at least I had some proper nachos today;)

Snow and Shopping

Ok so my friends think I'm nuts for being excited enough to jump up and down over the snow, but it is gorgeous and I hope it snows lots more (I may be sorry I said that later). I'm off to the mall in a few to take part in shopping session #2, wondering if my confusion will be any less this time.

Reverse Culture Shock

Welcome to the world of American sized portions (that is the giant cookie above). And everything is severely cheap too. It's like I died and went to Christmas heaven;) I'm too tired to write a proper post. Been sleeping at night but not enough because my clock is off. More later...

In Praise of Hot Weather

Well, I am now thinking that this whole thing has been interesting, almost to the point of enjoyment, so getting a/c could be a couple of years off, rather than next year. Our weekends lately have generally focused on either the house or Steve's cars (meaning himself working on the cars or spending all day on the sofa 'researching' car stuff). This weekend we really had no choice but to get out of the house. We spent about 6 hours at the mall Saturday. I don't think my friends and I even spent that much time at the mall when I was 13. Sunday afternoon we went to the local pool for about 3 hours. Steve's lived in the neighborhood for 12+ years and this was his first time. There are 3 pools and a waterslide (the latter costs extra so we didn't do it this time around). Two of the pools are actually covered over with pergola-type coverings and there is plenty of lawn space to chill out, much of it in shade. They even have bbqs! And this is no American-style pool...there is splashing, jumping in, and kiddies have all kinds of floaty toys. It was pretty cool.