I Miss You, I Miss You

I just got off the phone with Mom and we realized there are only 6 weeks until I am back home in CA now! The time between now and then will just fly by and I can't wait to see my family again. It'll have been nearly 9 months since I was last with them and that is about my limit of away time. When I leave, I'll be conflicted because it means nearly 2 months without Boyfriend and I'll miss him that whole time, too. That's really the life of an expat, no matter where you are, you are always missing someone you love, and because home is in two places, you are always missing one version of home, too. Here's a list of the things I am looking forward to once back in CA and a few things I'll miss when I'm there:

Getting to be in the same room with my family and hanging out and not just being on the phone with them while they are preparing Sunday dinner.

Getting to see family and old friends.

Getting to see Mom and Dad's new San Francisco apartment.

Hanging out at the beach house.

Feeling like a real family again.

Feeling normal again-not the weird American girl who says things funny and has interesting ideas on how life should work

Free refills and non-sweetened ice tea anywhere I go

Coupons for grocery shopping

Decently priced food and clothing

Old Navy, Target, H&M, American Eagle, Ann Taylor Loft, the Gilroy Outlet Malls, Trader Joe's, Safeway

Clothes that actually fit me, ditto for bras/sizes I understand

Cool Whip

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Sourdough Bread

Bisquick Mix

Real Mexican food

Sand dollars, sea otters, and sea lions

Costco

Beach walks with my Mom

Hanging out with my Sister

Treasure hunting with my Dad

Exploring the coast when Boyfriend comes

Chopping down our own Christmas tree

Hanging out in the living room watching the ocean while it rains and having a nice fire burning

Lots of variety at the grocery store

Being able to go to the grocery store or any store past 6pm

Cheap books

Watching trashy tv in real time, rather than downloading it or getting a series 3 years late (ala Gossip Girl being on Season 1 here right now)

Stocking up on all the things I need/miss through the year like clothes, makeup, and food

Getting a job and making some money

Celebrating my first Halloween in 5 years, even if they don't get trick-or-treaters way out at the beach house

Cheap manicures, pedicures, and eyebrow waxes

Pedicures where they can mess with your cuticles (they aren't allowed to trim them here, it's against the law or something...cuticle cutting is one of the best parts of the whole thing, too!)

Things I will miss about Australia:

Boyfriend

Beach walks with Boyfriend

Waking up to Boyfriend's bright and smiley face everyday

Boyfriend's family and bbq's with all the cousins and aunts and uncles

Seeing LC and Lo and their dog Bas a few times a week

Not getting to go to the Hairdresser's baby shower/see her when her baby is first born

All of our friends, especially our adventures with Croc and the Teacher

Getting to see what happens in our garden that Boyfriend's Dad is going to give us seedlings for