October 31, 2010

A few thoughts about our first couple of days in the States:

1. 80 degrees and sunny on Halloween day in Oklahoma! Crazy, but awesome. We watched our nephew’s soccer game, the weather was beautiful and I think I got sunburned!

2. We had Braum’s ice cream today after the soccer game… I almost cried when we walked in… so happy.

3. We got to carve pumpkins today! I love carving pumpkins, even though it makes me sad that they rot so quickly… any advice on how to make them keep their shape longer (when it’s 80 degrees outside, they seem to last no time at all)? I once carved an entire haunted house into the side of a pumpkin (it looked awesome, by the way) only to have it go bad within 48 hours!

4. A 10 hour plane ride is too long, and no matter how many times we do it, it never gets any easier. Although, I have figured out that some motion sickness just makes things worse, so I have discontinued use. One of the side effects of some motion sickness medicine is “restlessness and nervousness”… this is basically the opposite of what you want to be feeling on a ten hour plane ride. Even though it would make me sleepy, I would get terribly restless; in fact, I’ve decided that making yourself ultra sleepy and then placing yourself in a situation where it’s absolutely impossible to sleep is the fast lane to crazy-town. So from now on, it’s low-dose non-drowsy for me, in combination with ginger pills to help with the nausea.

5. I love seeing family. I never realize how much I’ve missed them until we’re finally here and I remember what family feels like. Even when it’s stressful, it’s still good.