Greetings From Italy

Well, Im here posting in Italy on a computer that doesnt use all the punctuation that we do in the states, so pardon the poor grammar.

After a rough start we arrived in Italy about 5 hours later than planned. After leaving LAX late (as usual) we made up time in the air, but who knew that we would make a pitstop in Iceland about 2 hours before we were due to land in Frankfurt. Someone got sick on the airplane, fell, and hit his head so they had to land in Iceland to get him medical attention. I have always wanted to go to Iceland, just not when it was making me late for another planned trip. Since we arrived in Frankfurt right when our flight to Rome was leaving, we were rebooked on a later flight and arrived in Rome about 7 PM, 5 hours later that expected which meant we lost a half day in Rome, and if youàve ever been in Rome you know that we could have used the extra half day.

We have visited ancient Rome and Vatican City with a lot of city sightseeing in between. We are off to our final dinner in Rome in a bit and then leaving in the morning to pick up our rental car, AHHHH! Yes, thatàs right, we are driving in Italy. I can hardly believe it. Leaving for Siena in the morning, staying at a Chianti vineyard, so yay!

More travel updates to follow...as long as I have access to a computer. :)

Fall Break

Fall break from school has been this week. I didn't realize it would be, but it has been a much needed break. It has been relaxing and busy at the same time. That's my favorite way to spend a vacation - busy, but with the kinds of things I want to do, and the day doesn't start until I want to start it. I was summoned for Jury Service this week, but, HOORAY, after calling in each night, I never had to go to court. So instead, here are some leisurely things I have done...

I went to see the new James Bond film - Quantum of Solace. MmmMmm, that new James Bond is good looking.

This photo is actually from Casino Royale, but it's worth looking at again. Mr. Bond didn't wear a bathing suit in the new movie, but there was a shirtless scene. It was a fun, actiony movie. Plus, did I mention how hot Mr. Bond is?

My oldest friend Kristen and I took her three kids to the LA Zoo. They are one of my most favorite families so it's always fun to spend the day with them.

Here are some of my best photos of the day.

Here are the three kids - Matthew (the monster), Emily, and Nicholas. All three are such hams for the camera.

Emily spent more time playing on the mosaic animals than she did watching the real ones.

Don't tell anyone, but Nicholas is my favorite.
"Winter" during an 80 degree day.

We spent about 20 minutes in the orangutans' area. They were a lot of fun to watch. A baby (fur to the right) climbed all over the older one. The kids enjoyed watching both of them and the orangutans seemed to enjoy watching the kids as well.

I love animals, so the zoo, in one way, is fun to visit. The exotic animals are so beautiful. They are truly amazing creatures. On the other hand, I am troubled by the zoo. Some of the animals seemed lonely and depressed, and some seemed like they were going crazy being trapped in their small habitat. Others didn't seem to mind at all, and I enjoyed watching them, but it was very difficult to watch the animals who seemed to be having a hard time. The tiger, for example, paced and paced around it's area without stopping. I was exhausted just watching it. The elephant, one of my favorites, was all alone in a very small area. It either threw dirt on itself, which can be a sign of distress, or rocked back in forth for long periods of time.

My friend Tami asked me to make her some cards for her gift giving this year. After working for several hours each night, I am just about finished making the 78 cards. It has been fun being able to work late and not have to worry about getting up early the next morning to go to my real job. I will post some photos of the sets when they are completed.

I am two gifts away from having my Christmas shopping DONE! Woot! Woot! It is such a nice feeling. I still have to write my Christmas cards, but that will get done this weekend.

The best part of this week so far has been the sleeping in. I haven't gotten up before 9:00 am so far this week. I haven't set the alarm and that is a nice feeling. After Thanksgiving Thursday, I still have four more days off. I love vacation!

Vacation and Shopping Don't Mix

As stated in Shoes, I am the cliched shoe-a-holic. My favorite shoe shopping store is DSW. It is miles and miles of shoes; it's my "heaven" really.

Well, I'm on vacation right now, which technically started July 1, but I have been working on-and-off since then. I like to work and tend to get bored when I'm off for more than 2-3 days. Usually when I'm bored I go shopping. The problem with that is that during summer vacation I don't get paid. So why am I shopping? I think it's another addiction, really.

Last week, I had a few days free and found myself at DSW. Boy, did I shop. I found so many pairs that I wanted. I was able to cut it down to a mere 4 pair. Yah, that's right, I bought 4 pairs of shoes last week.

This is pair #1

This is pair #2

This is pair #3

This is pair #4 - my favorite of the bunch

Then this week Lisa and I went to Santee Alley downtown in the Fashion District. We shopped for knock-off handbags. My plan was to buy one, but I bought two. Two is better than one, right?

Here's bag #1

Here's bag #2

Here's a close up of the knock-off D&G label

Why do I do this? I think it's a sickness.

I need to go back to work.

• It is hot and humid here like we are living in the South even though we are in the desert. I am tired of it and it needs to stop now. I don't mind the dry heat, but the humidity sucks! It makes my hair frizzy.


• Funny story...last week I had some friends over for dinner and decided to make a new garlic-tomato pasta sauce. I made a grocery list and of the things I needed at the store. Before I went to the store, I decided to go to the Farmer's Market and get my produce. I didn't bring my list with me, but I knew what I needed and that included 2 pounds of plum tomatoes for my sauce. I took the things home and took my list back out to cross of the things I didn't need. When I crossed off the tomatoes I realized that it said 5 pounds of tomatoes. "Oh, great!" I thought. The Farmer's Market was across town and was probably closed. After being mad at myself for a minute I decided to just pick some more up at the store. So, I bought 3 more pounds. Fast forward to later that day when I started the sauce. No, I didn't need 5 pounds of tomatoes, I need 5 cups of tomatoes or 2 pounds. After all that, I had 3 extra pounds, ugh! But here is the pasta and boy was it good! (The recipe is below...super easy and super good. Just remember, only 2 pounds of tomatoes.)

• A Green Bag Update...Well, the Green Bags met their match this week and that would be the 3 extra pounds of tomatoes. They were put in the bag on Sunday while I figured out what to do with them. Today (Thursday) I threw all the tomatoes out because they were wet and moldy, blech! Granted, I left them on the counter rather than refrigerate them, but still.
• This weekend I watched a mini-series that I got from NetFlix called State of Play. It's British and really, really good. I would highly recommend it.
• Bad News Everyone...Manuela left me a note on Friday that she is making her annual summer trip to Mexico effective immediately. She's usually gone 4-6 weeks. {Cries} What am I going to do?

Garlicky Tomato Pasta

1 Tbsp – EVOO
3 – chopped garlic cloves (I used 4)
2-3 lbs – chopped plum tomatoes
½ cup – white wine (pinot grigio)
1 package – cooked pasta (farfalle)
¼ cup – grated parmigiano-reggiano
½ cup – chopped basil

1. Heat EVOO in Dutch oven over med-high heat. Add garlic. Sautee for 30 seconds.
2. Add tomatoes and wine. Cook over med-high heat for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3. Add cooked pasta, cheese, and basil to tomatoes. Mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste.