firenze

As a freshman in college, I set out with the goal study abroad in Florence during my junior year. I took Italian 101 and arranged my schedule so that I could take core classes while abroad. As a sophomore in college, when it was time to apply for the Gonzaga in Florence program, I went through a painful decision-making process and realized that going to Florence would mean I'd have to take a fifth year to complete my degree, it would cost more than I could afford, and I wanted to do something exotic and different from what everyone else was doing. So, rather than go to Florence with all my friends, I went to South Caicos for a semester and learned about fish and almost got eaten by a shark. That was fun and all, but as I heard stories from my best friends traipsing across Italy and the rest of Europe, I grew to regret my decision.


I realize, now, that it wasn't my time back then to experience this city. I learned that Florence is a city full of love and lovers,



and I was meant to experience its magnificence with the loves of my life.



We walked (a walked and walked and walked) together,

laughed together,

played together,

danced together,

shopped together,





ate together,

awed together,

and climbed 473 steps to the top of the world together.

I feel as though I am still there. On top of the world.

Florence, you were worth the wait.

And I'm glad I got to experience you together with my family.

out of batteries

We got home a bit later than anticipated this evening, so I'm tired, my camera is out of batteries, so I can't show you pictures from our trip to Florence, and my brain is out of words, so I can't tell you what we did while we were there.

My camera batteries and I are going to get recharged, now.

It is nighttime here.

The sun is down.

My feet ache.

I'm tired.

Good night.

road trip

scenic-picture-tuscany_34660, originally uploaded by mohsin_sheraz155.

Going on a road trip this afternoon. Through Tuscany. To Florence! See you Monday!

nutrition

E dopo un battito d'ali ..., originally uploaded by RoBeRtO!!!.

As I was looking up the weather in Florence for this weekend, um, yes, I said Florence. For real. Because that is where we are going this weekend. I don't think it will ever seem real to me. No matter how many times I write it. Okay, back to the story. As I was looking up the weather, I saw an advertisement on the side that said "4 foods to avoid if you want to be thin!" Always a sucker for nutritional and diet information, I clicked on it. Harmless, right? Wrong. Immediately, the computer began screaming at me, literally, that "sugar is the enemy," and "don't eat pasta because it just turns into sugar in your body!" I spent a half an hour listening to this power-point lecture advertisement about which foods are good food for your metabolism and which foods mess everything up. I started thinking about how I could eliminate some of the messed up foods from my diet. For twenty minutes, I dreamed of cooking with quinoa and how to get Graham to eat spelt. Then I woke up and realized that I live in Italy, I want to live life, and pasta is Graham's favorite food. So, I went into the kitchen and made a heaping pile of pasta to feast upon for dinner.
The end.

the unknowns

Maybe it's because I am not a planner and sort of let life unfold as it will that I frequently find myself facing many unknowns. Or, maybe the unknowns are the reason I don't plan, because it is too frustrating to predict what may or may not happen. Either way, here I am facing what feels like a zillion unknowns. Again.

I don't know whether I'm going to work during our time here, whether we'll need another car, what our "neighborhood" will be like, whether/and/or/where Graham should go to pre-school, whether we will have another child in Italy, whether that possible child will be as nice and even-tempered as Graham, if I can find a good place to jog at our house once we finally move there (yes, this is important to me), what it is going to be like once we move off this support-site base, where to get an affordable couch, or what to have for dinner. The unknowns are making me a little crazy, and when I'm feeling crazy, I try to focus on the positive. On the things I do know. I do know that I am lucky right now because I get to live in Italy with the love of my life and our child and we just booked three nights in a hotel in Florence for the upcoming Labor Day weekend. Florence. I am going to Florence. For real. Sorry, I have to write it and say it over and over because I still keep feeling like I am in a dream.

A mysterious dream with lots of unknowns.

But still a dream.

Someone pinch me.

just practicing

See the difference? I think this is much better...

blogging

Yes, I have a little extra time on my hands at the moment, and I am enjoying this blogging thing, but it comes with some frustrations. For instance, the quality of the photos is completely lost when I upload them onto the blog. When I use Flickr, the photo looks good, but I can only use one at a time (as far as I can tell, anyway). Also, the size of the photos are too small when they are uploaded, so I figured out how to edit the Html to make them larger, but then the quality is sacrificed even more. So, on to something new. Photobucket. This photo is from Photobucket. What do you think?
Whew, I never thought I would write a paragraph that sounded so techie. Just goes to show that you never know where life will take you...