February Expat Challenge; Day 3

I told my husband "I guess I better blog and keep up my good record" and we both laughed that I'm actually still keeping up.  You see, this is not my first blogging challenge.  Well, it's my first group challenge and the first time that I didn't seek out and go "I wanna do a challenge".  I don't even recall how I found out about the challenge.  Perhaps on one of the Yanks in Australia FB pages?  I don't know, but I'm digging it.  I've had several challenges that I failed at, and didn't even finish.  Hell, if you go to my Thanksgiving Post you'll see that I didn't even finish the post.  I was naming 12 things I was thankful for, and let 12 blank... and it wasn't even on purpose.  I had a friend message me that it was a funny and fitting post as I'm always joking how I never finish things before I even realized I had done that.  It's so "me" though.  Sigh.... I amaze myself sometimes.... lol.

So, today's challenge.  Monday's for the month of the challenge are photo challenges.  That's pretty cool and I've always enjoyed doing photo-type entries, although I'm quite long winded already for a photo blog entry?  Eh, I'm from the South.  We talk... a lot.... lol.  Today's challenge is "an object that makes me feel at home".  This entry a few years ago would have been a long one with a LOT of pictures.  I was homesick so frequently when I first moved that a lot of comforts of home made me feel at home.  But I struggle with this entry a bit, because now I am home.  Perth and Australia is my home.  It wasn't something that occurred overnight, and certainly not something that didn't occur after a hell of a lot of effort and work on my part.  It's not something that happens over night either.  TV shows that I loved made me feel at home.  So many Aussie shows, that I now love, at the time were just so foreign and even though it's English, there were times it could have been Japanese and I wouldn't have known the difference.  People Barracking for teams, and people in the "hills" with "bushfires", "uni" students back at "uni".  Primary schools and school holidays.  (As a side note, who else is stoked MKR is back on???).  But yeah, everything felt different and everything that I experienced that I had no clue what was going on, made me feel different as well.  Going to the grocery was overwhelming.  All these brands, are they good?  Are they shit?  Is this a good sale?  

If you are following me as a blogger due to the challenge, you are learning I'm a rambler, eh?  lol

Anyways, I now love Australia and it feels like home.  And while I could post pictures of the things that make me think of my beloved American home, I am sadly drawing a blank.  Now, tonight as I fight insomnia, I'm sure I'll think of a million things I should have shared.  That's a given.  But instead, I'll share two things that have happened today that make me feel at home.

Ok, I have loved football since I was a little girl.  My dream as a kid of what I wanted to be when I grew up was the First FEMALE NFL player.  The catch was nobody was allowed to tackle or hurt me (such a princess, right?).  My dad later explained that I could be anything I wanted, but that the rules would apply to me as they did everyone else.  (kudos to dad, huh?).  I love football and last year was the first time I have missed the Super Bowl.  Everyone back home has Super Bowl Sunday.  Here, if you want to watch live, you get up at 7am to be ready for a 730 am kick off.  Football in the daytime, and EARLY feels wrong.  So wrong.  But that's the way it is.  Granted, you could always DVR it and watch in the evening, avoiding all media (internet and radio) all day.  Which is what I did last year, only to get home to discover the damn game DIDN'T record.  Needless to say, I was home this morning (partially thanks to morning sickness anyways) and watched the game.  I love football, and I do miss the social aspect that goes along with football.  The parties, the crisp air in the fall at a live game and of course, tailgating.  But hey, until Australia realises how awesome NFL is, this is what I have to settle for, and I'm slowly coming to terms with this.  Slowly......   

I will admit this game was a boring game.  I am a GB Packers Fan, so I went into this game slightly preferring Denver, but really just hoping for a good game.  I was so disappointed.  It was just a slaughter of Denver.  From the first play Denver never had a chance.  It's like they didn't show up.

Oh, commercials are also not aired here, so I am jelly of this.

The next picture is from a doctors appointment this morning.  The reason this makes me feel at home, is it's our own little miracle.  It makes me see the bigger picture, and goes back to my post from yesterday.  Like everyone else, I have had times in my life where I felt lost, but I can look back on the past now, and look at this little face and see that I'm exactly where I was meant to be.

This little one has totally captured my heart already.  Arms were waving, legs were moving,  and he/she (I still feel like baby is a SHE!) was an active little booger this morning!   My cup runneth over.

Until next time....