Home Sweet Home....

After spending several weeks in the air, on the wrong side of the road, and eating one heck of a Marcantonio Thankgiving dinner; John Paul and I are officially back home in Charlotte! We actually began our journey home last Tuesday and left our beloved serviced apartment in Melbourne around 10am. Thirty hours and 3 connections later, we landed at the Pittsburgh airport at 11pm the same day. Wierd, huh? You gotta love reclaiming the day you lost on your way over. To be completely honest, the flight back wasn't too bad - that may be because we upgraded to business class the majority of the way home...I'm officially spoiled and now can't imagine flying without warm hand towels, fully reclining seats, and Shiraz. Just kidding...kind of. (p.s. Did anyone see the episode of The Office where Michael flew business class on an 'international' trip to Canada? Classic!)

I am so thankful for the time that we got to spend in Australia before our official move in January. We feel great about finding our new home and getting more familiar with the city we'll be inhabiting over the next 2 years or so. Now is when the fun really begins - moving out, storing an entire house full of stuff, figuring out how to forward mail to Australia, and spending as much time as we can with our friends and family.

Here are a few things that I'll miss the most about living in Australia
1. My friends and family (duh!)
2. Banana Republic - they do NOT ship to AU, I've already checked
3. Drip coffee - I have been to Dunkin Donuts and/or Starbucks every day since we've been back
4. The following TV shows: Chelsea Lately, The Soup, Gossip Girl (THANK GOODNESS FOR iTUNES!)
5. Food I will miss: Chick-Fil-A nuggets, Dilworth Neighborhood Grille 'Make Your Own Salad', Sushi at Nikko, Cantina Guacamole
6. Weekly dinners with my favorite girls!

I would add US Weekly to the list, but I've already scoped out some comparable Australian gossip magazines. The good news is that they love the US celebrities and always include just about everything that you would find in an US Weekly or People - PLUS Australian celebs! Wow! What a deal!

I will go ahead and do an impromptu list for John Paul of all the things I know he will miss....
1. His friends and family (duh!)
2. Watching Steeler games - (I initially thought this may be a deal breaker, however, he has already figured out a way to stream it online so he can watch all of them...I am assuming he will still wear his official jersey and scream at his computer as well.)
3. Going to Dixies to watch Steeler games
4. Watching Steeler games in the 'game room' at his parent's house
5. Watching any other Pittsburgh related sports
6. Dave Matthews concert tour extravaganzas
7. Skippy Natural
8. Copenhagen (I am secretly happy about this one)
9. Cheap beer

Hmm...those are the things that immediately come to mind, but I'm sure I'll think of more later.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

PEACE OUT!