Surprise! I am officially 30!

I was surprised by my Mom yesterday for dinner... all this past week she was acting stange and mysterious. I knew something was up, but really didn't think about the fact that my Birthday was on Monday. She had already told me to come over for dinner to her house on Sunday night, so nothing strange there... but the strange things were her mysterious ways and SMELLS! Yes smells! On Saturday she came over to our house smelling like an onion! You all have to know that I tease my mom about "not knowing how to cook", so the fact that she smelt like onions to me was funny, and strange at the same time. She acted as if nothing was wrong and would keep changing the subject... I KNEW SOMETHING WAS UP! -But what???- To my surprise last night I walked into my mom's house and a beautiful table was set... all my cousins jumped out and yelled "SURPRISE"!!! Ok so there I got a little emotional and cried a bit! ;) But the biggest surprise of them all was that my Ma actually cooked a full on Thanksgiving dinner for me: Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, corn on the cob, coldslaw, and PUMPKIN PIE! My favorite pie that doesn't exist here in Italy!!! I was/am IMPRESSED!!!! (that's where the onion smell came from! all her cooking)

Here are a few not so good pictures taken with my old camera, yes I say old beacause Enrico bought me a new camera! I wasn't able to use it because he ordered it and it came with the wrong lens, so he had to send it back in order to get the right lens! But this is how he gave it to me:

It says:
Unfortunatly you still have to wait, but it's worth it!!!
Happy Birthday To You!
A Fantastic Canon EOS1000d (Rebel XS) Just like this one is on its way!
PS: Like a good Engineer, I picked out the camera that won
the EISA award for best reflex 2008!
(Isn't that so cute!!!)


The beautifully set table

"Da Bird"

Turkey carving!

Valeria and Cristiano

Julia, Ludovica and Sofia

GET WELL SOON MARINELLA!

2 weeks ago we went to a furiture fair and bought an antique filer to match our desk. They needed to fix it up a bit and today they finally delivered it! In the picture you'll see that my mother-in-law (Marinella) has a bandage around her shoulder, unfortunalty yesterday she slipped while getting out of the shower and fell, breaking her Humerus (shoulder). Diagnosis: 30 days. We all hope she's better soon because we are expecting a new nephew on December 18th!!!

The new filer

GET WELL SOON MARINELLA!

Please dont kill me all!

Ok, I know that this is a little hard buuuuuuuut... My Mom and I were going through some of my picture boxes (yes I have boxes of pictures, too many!!) and found these wonderful pictures of some of my blogging friends. Please don't kill me for doing this but it brought back so many good memories, and believe me, I remember the moment when some of these were given to us..... have fun!!!

This picture of the "Riding" girls
was given to us as a Christmas card...
(dig the bangs! we all had'em)

Jamers, this is your senoir picture
if I am not mistaken...

This is just hilarious! Kayley was NOT happy!!
And Mars, your girls look IDENTICALLY like you!

Already a great model!!

And this G.I. Joe playing boy has actually served
in the US army and has now been sworn in as
St. Johns County Commissioner

Kris @ YW Camp '94

Me...

I know that I have more somewhere in other boxes... so allow me to "surprise" you from time to time. I truely love and miss you all!

The List

I saw this on marci's blog today and had to do my own. You just bold the things you've done...it either makes you feel really cool or really boring :-)

1. Started your own blog (thanks to Marci!)
2. Slept under the stars (we love free camping)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (great trip to Maui)
5. Watched a Meteor Shower (August is the best month)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (my 2nd home)
8. Climbed a Mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (I used to sing in the school choir and in the SD Honor Choir)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (I got "stuck" in Paris because my flight was late from Rome and lost my connecting flight to San Diego!)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (was on a farry to go to Genoa)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (I get that alot)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (on my way to Prague)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (that was scary, In Germany)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (oh c'mon! Who hasn't!!)
24. Built a snow fort (In the Alps)
25. Held a Lamb (too cute!!!)
26. Gone skinny dipping ;)))
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (of the moon & sun!)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (going surfing and free camping I get to see that a lot)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I don't know if me being bi-lingual counts)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (one of the perks about living in Italy)
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (another perk about living in Italy)
41. Sung karaoke (ok, so who hasn't????)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (ahhhh Bali, Indonesia)
46. Been transported in an ambulance (scary)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (another perk about living in Italy)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (Again when I got "stuck" in Paris)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (another perk about living in Italy)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen (with the YW)
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (loved the chocolate mint ones!)
62. Gone whale watching (living in San Diego for 15 years has its perks too!)
63. Got flowers for no reason (and never found out who gave them to me)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (In Holland)
67. Bounced a check (oops!)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (pegasus)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar YUM!
72. Pieced a quilt (helped my g-ma)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (get to go to the UK easily from here)
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (unfortunatly my boyfriend has one!!)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (lot's of times!)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican (another perk about living in Italy)
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (Yuck)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Dylan from 90210)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (I put my feet in it)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (ouch!)

Grape Harvest, Beach Walk & Early X-Mas Shopping!

So it's wine season here in Italy at the moment and may towns have a Harvest Festival to go to! On Saturday afternoon we went to a town called Milis. It's ia a municipality in the province of Oristano about 100 km northwest of Cagliari. There is lot's to eat and do! And the tiny town is just so cute to walk around. We're pretty much regulars to this festival and try to go every year!

The Church bell tower in the main square

Boyl Palace (1300's)
Spanish-Aragonese Royal Family

A tpical small home made from stones

The stone sidewalk

Entrace to a lemon grove

Church of St. Paul the Apostel
(circa 1140-59 Roman Church)

Enrico & Alessandro drinking from a natural spring

My friend Julia & I

Alessandro and one of the cooks

BIG pan of cream of
porcini mushrooms fregola

Some of the waiters and cooks

The "Restaurant".
Pick a place and sit,
even next to people you don't know!

Antipasti: all pork - cured bacon,
prosciutto, cheese and cured sirloin
Lamb stewed with olives and artichokes

Main dish: chick peas and wild boar,
bacon and sausage.

On Sunday we went to my mom's house (that just happens to be at the beach) and since it was such a beutiful day decided to take a walk on the beach with our dog. It felt like Summer!!!

Spanish Tower

another view

My Mom & I

The Beautiful Mediterranean Sea

My Mom & Enrico
(with the local paper, it reads:
"help me wife, I've been shot".)

Penny

A Cute flower

Penny dead tired from the walk

And my before x-mas shopping! Aren't they cute!!!!

Marci's Hair Help!

Mars, I think you would look great with this cut!

It's a little longer in the front than in the back, and semi-layered in the back by taking strands of hair and cutting them instead of bunches. It's "tha thang" in Europe right now! This celebrity has hair like yours, super straight bleached blonde hair, and a soft face like yours! So I think this would look good on you too! Plus it's super easy to manage, and expecially now that pumpkin 3 is on the way, you need a practical cut to get in and out of the shower and not have to worry of doing anything to it!!

I've been Lagging!!!

I know I need to update my blog, please forgive me!