Days & Days

26 more days until I'm home!!!

I know that I generally tend to focus on how much I love Seattle, because well, I do. Plain and simple, I love life in Seattle. However, as I count down the days, there are a bunch of things I'm looking forward to about being home. Here is a short list of things I love about Austin that I can't wait to get back to:

1. Family. Duh. This is a given, right? My family is awesome and crazy and I can't wait to hang with them. I'll definitely get to spend a lot of time with the fam because I'll be going to a family reunion for half the time. BONUS PLUS: my stepsister had her 3rd child a couple of days ago and I get to finally meet the little angel!! :D

2. Friends. My friends are so rad. No really, they're AMAZING!! One thing I'm really grateful for is that when I lived in Austin, I DIDN'T take my friends for granted—i capitalized on every opportunity I had to spend time with them and make that time count. I feel that because of that, I can go home for visits and feel like I didn't skip a beat. Sadly, I'm only going to get to spend a small amount of time with all of them, but again, I'm going to do all I can to make it count. I wish I could have scheduled the friends get together dinner sooner though, because I'm DEFINITELY bringing home a box of Cupcake Royale cupcakes—but they only last for 3 days, and I won't be having dinner with friends until Monday . . . 4 days after I fly in. So they won't be as good.

3. ATX Food. Can't be beat. Seriously. Don't get me wrong, I love being surrounded by all of this fun ethnic food . . . but I need Barbecue and Tex-Mex in my life. I'm hoping to get to eat at some of my favorites: Rudy's BBQ, Chuy's, Freebirds, Dan's Hamburgers (their breakfast tacos are soooo yum!), and Chick-Fil-A!

4. Warm Temperatures. I love Seattle. So do the cold temperatures. I was talking to my mom the other day about my trip home and about things we'd be doing during the family reunion. When she mentioned going to the beach, a giant smile spread across my face! I get to go to the beach . . . and actually GO IN the water because it's not a subzero temperature! Woot! Many a sand castle will be built folks! I really am looking forward to wearing flip flops and summer clothes :D

5. Driving. I'm going to be driving down to Houston for our family reunion with my mom and I'm also going to be renting a car for the few days I'll actually BE in Austin. The good thing about Seattle is that you don't necessarily NEED a car—the public transportation is pretty reliable. But last time I was in Austin sans car, it was a NIGHTMARE. :( So this time I'm going to get to drive, which i LOVE to do.

Can't wait . . . counting down the days!