Best and Worst Things About Being Back in America

Reasons to Love Being Home:

1. Time with my family, obviously.

2. Their adorable dog, Flynn, who is seriously so sweet and fluffy and hilarious.

Sidenote: I went to visit my parents' friends' puppy, Otis, last night. He gets so excited when you come visit that he pees on your leg. Seriously. Puppies are awesome.

3. Constant snowfall. It's gorgeous here- freezing, but gorgeous!

4. Choices. Mom and I almost couldn't decide which movie to see yesterday afternoon (by the way, movie matinees are awesome, too). 

5. New York Times in print.

6. Television!

7. Christmas cookies. I think I've eaten my weight in peanut clusters. For breakfast. Each day.

8. The time change is wreaking havoc on me, but that means I wake up each morning between 5 and 6, which allows me to enjoy the best part of the day (that I never really see when I'm living my normal life).

9. Milkshakes! I've been craving a decent milkshake for over a year. Coldstone Creamery, however obnoxious with their singing and whatnot (I can say that, I worked there in college), delivered. Cookies'n'cream milkshake, I loved you!

10. Pay at the pump gas stations. Totally righteous.

11. Midwest friendliness.

Things About America That Make Me Want to Claw My Eyes Out:

1. So many SUVs! Granted, the roads get pretty bad here sometimes, but c'mon! 

2. Strip malls. They're just depressing.

3. Towns that are dying. My parents live near several small towns that, due to the recession and job losses, are just hanging on by a thread. It's sad. 

4. Choices. Do people really need 876 types of shampoo to choose from? I might complain about the lack of selection available at our local commissary, but it certainly makes life more simple, and my hair does just fine with it's limited selection of cleaning products. 

5. Crowds of disgruntled and pushy shoppers.

6. Plastic water bottles. 

7. Local news channels and 24 hr news stations that never really get around to saying anything of substance. 

8. Bad drivers. I'd like to see some of these people attempt the Autobahn! I nearly got hit by a car that was trying to pass me in the right lane. I scoffed at him, right after I cursed the day he was born.

9. Stuff, and the feeling that I need to accumulate more of it (I'm fighting the urge!).

10. No schnitzel or sauerkraut.