The Top 11 things I'll miss about living here...

As I was sitting at the parade on Saturday, it struck me how much I'd miss it. I know I'll desperately miss my family and friends here - that is a given - but I started to compile a list of all the other "stuff" I'll miss.

So for your entertainment (and because this is my blog), here is my top 11 (because I love the movie Spinal Tap, and 11 is more), in no particular order:

1. Hostess Ho-Hos. (think PMS. 'nuff said)
2. Oregon Pinot Noirs. Yum.
3. American radio stations - I want country, I tune into US-99. I want classic rock, I switch to 98.3 WXRT. Not a hodge podge of all music types, smushed together.
4. Chicago Style Hot Dogs and onion rings from the Dog Tracks. Yum.
5. My finess center - Pilates, Yoga, Spinning, FitLinxx so my lazy bum doesn't have to even count reps on the great equipment, treadmills and stairclimbers with individual TVs and CD players attached - I actually WANT to work out in this gym! Oh, and did I mention child-care?
6. Mexican food. You guys across the pond can call it what you like, but from what I heard, it all tastes like curry over there.
7. A variety of Ethnic food, for that matter: Thai, Korean, Spanish, Italian. Don't get me wrong - I love a good curry - but I LURVE Pad Thai, a good plate of tapas, and good italian food.
8. Hot weather. Yes, I've grown up here, but I have no tolerance to the cold. I'll happily take 80 degrees any day, without complaint! Yes, even the humidity!
9. Ravinia Festival. There is nothing like sitting on the lawn on a hot summer night with all your best buds, a glass of wine in one hand, listening to a favorite band. Even though lately we've been sitting in the Pavillion with the rest of the "old folk". 'Cause, you know, you can SEE the band from there.
10. This is gonna sound weird, but my OB/Gyn. I've had the same one for 14 years, at least - no matter where I moved to, I didn't change docs. We have a history, we communicate well. I mock him, he tortures me. Having someone else dealing with my, er, private parts is simply gonna be uncomfortable - like I'm cheating on a boyfriend. Or, well, my husband.
11. Being able to pick up the phone, most any time of the day, and talk to my Mom. That is going to be a killer.

Don't get me wrong - there is a lot I'm going to appreciate in Wales (more organic foods, less sugar in products, awesome bread - gosh, I love bread). A purported simplicity in life, since there are no Targets from which to buy products that clutter up my life. Younger looking skin due to all the moisture there (Hey Jackie, I'm taking your word on that one!) Getting to travel around the UK and Europe, hopefully. And I'm sure there are a lot more things that I'm not yet aware of. But that's a different post.

But in the meantime, I'm gonna pour me a glass of Pinot and sit back and watch a late-nite version of Oprah. On my cable TV. With the screened windows open.