Yes, life in Oz is fantastic, and it's near impossible to find anything to REALLY complain about. But, there are some things from back home that I miss. I wouldn't go as far as saying that I'm suffering from culture shock since there seem to be more similarities than differences between The US and Australia. However, besides obviously missing my family and friends, there are some "things" that I miss. Here are my Top 50 Most Missed Things....
50. My KitchenAid Mixer ~ I could buy one, but they are about $700 here and that's not even the heavy duty ones
49. Grocery Stores that stay open past 5pm
48. Victoria's Secret Catalogues ~even if they are sent WAY too often
47. New Books that cost less that $25 each
46. Tomatoes that taste like tomatoes
45. Knowing which stores have the best deals
44. Knowing where the aforementioned stores are located
43. Taco Bell
42. Hanging Pictures on the walls ~ We can't hang anything because we're renting
41. A Gas Stove vs. an Electric Stove
40. An outside faucet with strong water pressure so that we can hose down our patio
39. Tivo
38. HGTV
37. Radio Stations that play music other than ALL 80s ALL Day! Ugh! Oh how I miss this one when we are on road trips.
36. Texting
35. A Walk in Closet
34. Having a wide selection of hair gels at any grocery store/pharmacy
33. Having more than 6 Channels on the Tele
32. Having a sense of direction In other words, being able to navigate my way around without intensely studying a map and/or GPS first
31. A TV in the Bedroom
30. Target... yes, we have Target here, but it's a lame impostor. Nothing like Target back home
29. A fireplace ~ even though it's not necessary here, I miss having one!
28. Home Depot ~ again... we have Bunnings, an impostor, but the next best thing!
27. Jack in the Crack Monster Tacos... I'd like two please!!
26. BBQed Tri-Tip - we have GREAT steaks here, just NOT Tri-Tip
25. Inexpensive Make-Up ~ foundation that would be $10 in The States is no less than $25 here
24. Inexpensive Anything for that matter ~ Everything is at least double what it is The States, and a lot of times Triple. There are no impromptu purchases with these prices!!
23. Having a Garage
22. Bath and Body Works... oh, how I miss my aromatherapy bubble bath!
21. Bare Minerals ~ and I thought it was expensive in The States. The Powder is $80 here (vs. $35 in the States)... No, thanks! I'll be shiny.
20. Bed Bath and Beyond
19. American News ~ What's happening back home? We do get updates, but not enough to feel informed.
18. Good Craft Brewed Beer for cheap. A six pack of of Budweiser is $18. FOR a SIX-PACK!!!! Corona is $22 for a six-pack (by the way, neither of those are good Craft Brewed Beers)
17. Having stamps at home and easily sending mail. Everything we send has to be taken to the post, where we have to show our ID and fill out a custom's declaration. A normal envelope costs $2.50 to send to The States. No Christmas cards this year, sorry!
16 Micheal's ~ I spent days looking for a store that sells single sheets of paper so that I could make a card for someone back home. I've lived here for almost 7 months and have yet to find a CRAFT Heaven like Micheal's.
15 Online Shopping ~ Ryan will laugh at this one because every time he's taken a trip home for work, I've used it as an opportunity to shop online. I have the things sent to his office in San Diego and then he delivers them home to me since the sites won't ship Internationally.
14. When going to the airport meant a fun trip instead of missing my man while he's away on a business trip AGAIN!
13. My Crock Pot
12. Wait Staff that works for tips therefore, they are more attentive to their customers
10. A monthly paycheck...
9. ...and a healthy savings account balance
8. Mexican Food
7. My Bunny, who has now been adopted by my two nephews. Thanks for taking such good care of her boys!
6. My Dog, Timber, who is happily chasing wild bunnies on the farm in Biggs
5. Racing Dirt Bikes and the atmosphere of the races!
4. My Weekend Warrior Trailer
3. My Nissan Titan 4X4 truck... Even if I buy a truck here, the Aussie's idea of a BIG truck is a Toyota Tacoma or a Nissan Frontier. They DON'T have big Pick-Up Trucks here.
2. My 250KTM Dirt Bike
1. Camping
Did you make it to the end of the list? Congratulations! I might not have. Now, don't misunderstand me. Missing these things is not enough to make me want to move home to The States right now. In all honesty, I hadn't really thought about a lot of these things until I started writing this entry. I think when you love someone, you could live together in a tree on a deserted island and be quite content. In addition, I could probably list 50 things about Australia that I absolutely love! (that just gave me an idea for my next blog) So, although I miss these things, my life with Ryan in Australia far outweighs my need to have them
