what i miss

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of course, there's the obvious. i miss my friends (although, thanks to the wonders of technology, we're still able to keep in touch and i'm so grateful for that!). i miss being close to family, and i miss our own house.

now, i don't doubt for a second that we made the right decision coming here. i'm so grateful that we have this opportunity, and for all its ups and downs, it has been absolutely wonderful. that being said, here's what i will never again take for granted:

Image result for buffalo chicken


  • buffalo chicken
  • the Target dollar spot
  • driving (in the States - i'm so glad i don't have to drive in Rome)
  • Bath & Body Works soap
  • breakfast sandwiches (Greta actually mentioned them this morning and asked "when we go back to Pixburgh can we have those meat sandwiches again?")
  • Aldi
  • my job as a PA (i really do miss working!)
  • Phipps Conservatory
  • Ranch dressing (God bless the Pongracs, who are bringing us some next week!)
  • kids' consignment stores and sales (there's no such thing as Once Upon a Child or Just Between Friends here)!
  • pad Thai
  • milk in gallon jugs (the largest volume i've found here is a 1.5 liter carton ... we go through at least 1 liter a day)
  • General Tso's chicken
  • thrift stores in general (i could update my whole wardrobe at home for the price of one pair of pants here!)
  • sour cream & onion chips
  • my treadmill (Nick's usually not free to watch the girls until the late afternoon, and often i need that time for my walk to the grocery store - so it's been over a month since i ran!)
  • an entire English library system 
  • an ironing board
  • a quick run to the store for a few ingredients (it's an hour walk, roundtrip, to the store with the biggest selection, so if i forgot something we just go without)
  • Tyson chicken strips on a salad (one of my go-to quick dinners)
whew. i would have put ice cube trays on this list, but Father Aron sent us some, bless his soul. now our nightcaps can actually have some rocks. and just this last week, i ordered an HDMI cable from Amazon so i can connect my Kindle Fire to our TV and stream Netflix that way. (Greta was incredulous when i said her shows would be in English!) so, we're accumulating some of the comforts of home. but suffice it to say, we're looking forward to spending in a few weeks in the good old US of A over Christmas!

it's the simple things, really

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