Last day, waiting...

Trying to stay warm!

Here it is, the last day of my visit to my home state, the old freezing Wisconsin. Midday tomorrow I'll be on another plane, first to Chicago, connecting to London, and then up to Edinburgh where I'll arrive sometime around dinnertime on Monday. It's going to be another loonnggg 24-ish hours of travel, but in every single way this trip home has exceeded my expectations. I mean that literally; some things I wasn't expecting at all.

First, there was the cold. Nothing like coming home to a polar vortex. I had no right to complain about it being cold in Edinburgh. Ever. I promise I will never do it again. (!!!)

Then, food. Seriously, I sometimes don't realize how much I take for granted the restaurants and availability of foods that I can't get elsewhere. Take Mexican food for example... there just aren't that many places to choose from in the UK, and even then, it's not what I'm used to. Not to mention the soul food restaurant I went to last night (where in the UK can I get hush puppies, cornbread, and BBQ chicken with lemon pepper fries and 'hell sauce'!? TELL ME.) And it should go without saying that my dad's homemade pies and second-to-none breakfasts are something I sorely miss at times.

Catching up with friends is always amazing. Since I'm home after the holidays, most of the people who now live out of town were already gone after visiting, so I didn't get to see a lot of people. That, and time was short, so there are many others I wish I could have seen and didn't. However, being able to connect with some close friends, even just one or two, after four months apart was just what I needed. There's really nothing like being around people who just 'get' you, friends and family both.

And of course, where family is concerned, this trip is epitomizing the emotional rollercoaster of welcoming a new family member! My younger sister, Ali, is gonna give us all a little bundle of joy sometime TODAY!! Her due date was tomorrow (the day I fly out -- I know, I know, ugh.) but we poked and prodded and whispered and wished for her little bun to arrive a little early and yayyyyy. It's her first, so labor is taking a long time, and we're as patient as we can be, but... how patient can I seriously be? I'm going to be auntie for the first time! Looking forward to my other sister arriving home from college for the weekend so we can all be here to meet the little gal or lad (even Ali doesn't know).

Otherwise, I'm just trying to stay warm, get a few school things taken care of before my second and final term starts this week, and my oh my... life just keeps on keeping on.

Happy weekend!

Cheers,
Kate xx