Top 10 Things I've Missed the Most

Now that I've been back in the States for almost 24 hours, I've had a chance to think about the things I've really been missing while I was in Indonesia.  I thought it might be fun to make up a list of my top 10 things for you.

1.  My Hubby - How can I NOT miss a man who gives me the freedom to be away for 5 weeks and who makes sure I come home to a clean house.  And how about this?  As I came out of the baggage claim area and saw my hubby standing at the exit, I walked up to him and apologized for looking so terrible.  I didn't have any makeup on, my hair had given up any semblance of style hours earlier, and I had dark circles under my eyes that made me look like someone had taken a Bingo dabber to each one.  He hugged me and told me that I was absolutely beautiful.  Now THAT'S a man who is a gem.

2.  My bed - I LOVE our bed and my body protests when I don't get to sleep in it.  It's been protesting for 5 weeks.  Last night I almost purred when I snuggled into that bed, between those flannel sheets, and set the Sleep Number and just let that mattress mold to my body.  Oy vey!  It was heavenly.

3.  Taking a Shower Without Having To Do a "Critter Check" First - It was so nice to jump into the shower this morning without first having to look carefully around to see if there were any lizards or other wildlife in there waiting to surprise me. 

4.  Good Drinking Water - I can just run a glass of water right from the tap and drink it without worrying about getting sick.  We take things like that for granted here but in certain countries (and where I was visiting was one of them) it is best to drink only bottled water and to use bottled water to brush your teeth. 

5.  Face Wipes - I know that this is such a "girlie" thing but I've really missed my face wipes that I use to clean my face in the morning and evening.  At my son's house, they didn't have a sink in the bathroom so I either had to lean into the shower area to get my face wet or go downstairs to the kitchen, clear out a spot in the sink and then wash my face.  Since towels and washcloths were also a scarcity there, I often just went to bed at night without cleaning my face at all.  Now it is a "lickety-split" operation and I'm ready to put on moisturizer.

6.  Newspapers and Television - It is great to have the daily newspaper waiting for me when I come downstairs in the morning.  I love reading the paper over breakfast.  In Indonesia, I think I only saw 3 newspapers during the entire 5 weeks and I saw no television.  I didn't have a clue as to what was happening in the world.  Because the internet was so slow and I had to borrow Jason's access, I didn't check the news sources on the internet because it was just too tedious.  I also missed my favorite TV shows.  Luckily, the Commander was "DVRing" them for me so now I can catch up at a leisurely pace.

7.  Keurig Coffee Machine - I LOVE my Keurig.  In Indonesia, I had to drink powdered coffee with cream mixed in with it.  I usually prefer my coffee black but it was hard to find instant coffee that way over there.  Today I put a "Pecan Praline" K-cup in the Keurig and had fresh, brewed coffee in seconds.  Aaaah!

8.  My family and friends Stateside - I miss my family in Indonesia but it sure is nice to be near not only my hubby, but also my daughter and her husband and my mom as well.  It was also great to pick up the phone and hear my good friend on the line and make plans to see her at church and to also know that I'll be seeing many other friends this coming week.  Yay!

9.  My car  - I did a lot of walking in Indonesia.  Even participating in the grocery shopping over there made me realize how handy it is to have a car.  I zipped over to the grocery store this morning (took about 5 minutes) and didn't have to worry about how I was going to carry the groceries home.  I just slung the bags into the back of the car and off I went.  No bone-jarring ankot traveling was required and I even got to listen to my own CD's on the car stereo.

10.  Ultra-fast Internet - We have FiOS here and it is blazing fast.  What a treat to turn on my computer this morning and know that I can instantly connect to all my favorite sites and that the "signal" isn't going to be dropped or slow down to a crawl.  And  related to #10, I'd have to add Amazon as another favorite thing I've missed.

What things would YOU miss if you had to travel to the other side of the world and live out of your suitcase for 5 weeks?  Tune in tomorrow to read about the things I miss the most about Indonesia.