Now that we’ve been home for a while, the number one question we now get asked is if we are ready to leave again. The answer is…

YESSSSSSSS.

I think it only took a week to come to that conclusion. I’ve sat here thinking….why!? Why are we already ready to bounce? Why are the reasons we wanted to come home not satisfying us and so soon?

I really don’t want to be the grass-is-always greener type. Can’t life be fun everywhere we go?

YESSSSSSSS.

After some thought, I’ve come up with several conclusions on how to smack home back into shape.

THE PEEPS

The number one reason to return home was to hang out with our friends and family. Guess what, they all work regular hours. Most of them have kids. They don’t have random Tuesday afternoons to go to the farm, nor do they probably want to go the farm. Also, they don’t want to do some of the stranger things Dusty and I would like to try, like camping. I guess that’s not too strange to some but for our circle, it’s definitely outside the norm. I’m probably generalizing or even just assuming that no one wants to go camping or whitewater rafting or whatever people can do around Ohio.

What we need to do is be more vocal about how we’d like to spend time with our peeps. How can we just assume they don’t want to do something if we haven’t truly asked. So, here it is:

ATTENTION TO OUR PEEPS: If you are friends or family of ours and would like to do some odd local adventures, please let us know!

THE GUT

After getting our fill of the stuff we missed like pizza, chili and burritos ….we’re now on food overload. I’m definitely gaining back the weight I lost while traveling. What with the plethora of summer bbq’s and a consistent kitchen to cook in, the sky is now the limit on food consumption. Whether I’m hungry or not, the food is always available and in abundance.

Can’t I just regulate myself? Is it so hard to say no to one more cookie or eating just a bit more of that guacamole? Just the other day I ate so much guacamole that I wasn’t even hungry for dinner, and yet I ate the dinner anyway! A whole cheeseburger with potatoes on the side. Remember the days when Dusty and I would share a burger?!? Come on fatty….get it together!

THE GRIND

I was definitely missing work. Crazy, right? I suppose I needed to feel productive and like I was accomplishing and contributing to the family income. The thing is…I am actually enjoying work! Yay! What I’m not enjoying is the unproductive, time sucking crap that accompanies it. I’m talking about the constantly ringing cell phone, the appointments, the running around town and the inefficiency of it all. I had forgotten about what a hassle it all can be. Without meaning to, I’ve allowed myself to be drug back into a hectic lifestyle.

I’ve learned that not all of those devices such as cell phones, computers, iPads and iPods make life easier. Sometimes they complicate things. Just trying to enter a to-do list into a program I could access from all of the devices took five times longer than simply jotting it down in a notebook. It’s ok to use paper and pen. Besides, how can you doodle on an ipad (I’m sure there’s an app for that = shut up!)?

And boy do I not miss using a cell phone. Upon our return to the States, I got the simplest phone with the simplest plan. I am shocked to find that making a simple phone call has been possible only about 50% of the time. Most of the time the call is dropped, I have no service or I miss a call because I had no service at the time. I don’t need to watch TV or play freakin’ angry birds on my phone. I just want to make a call. When were phones invented again?

I’ve also learned (I’m pretty sure I’ve had this conversation with myself on several occasions) that I need to be the boss of my time. No more meeting people up whenever they want. I’ll let them know that a time frame of 9-10 a.m. resulting in me sitting and waiting for an hour is not acceptable. “I’ll call you when I’m finished with XXX and we can meet sometime tomorrow” is also not acceptable. What? Do you think I’ll just sit around and wait for you to tell me to jump. Uh uh, no way. Not this chick. I wanna get it organized, get it done and then have meetings with my niece!