Last Friday night started the Torino Film Festival. I reported in my last blog that Barbara and I went to a film on Sunday (which I didn't like). I was really excited that I live in a city big enough to command a film festival so i wanted to make the most of it and see more than one film. Barbara also had this idea, so on Tuesday we went to the movie "10 Items or Less". It was about two strangers that meet in the 10 items or less line of a small grocery store (kinda reminded me of Booker grocery). The film follows them through one day and how they get to know each other. We both really enjoyed it and didn't mind that it didn't finish until 12:00 am. On Wednesday night we went to the movies again..come on the movies are in English plus I really wanted to see this movie, "Lars and the Real Girl". This turned out to be my favorite movie of the year!! If you have a chance see this movie. It will make you laugh and cry. I had to work on Thursday night so no movies. On Wednesday before I went to the movies, I made a puppet show for the boys using their stuffed animals. They really enjoyed this and we couldn't stop laughing the show ended in me being burried alive by the animals..boys on top. It's times like this that my job is amazing and then there are times (like after where they started fighting over the animals) that my job is very tiresome. On Thursday when we got home from school, the boys went their seperate ways...Fil went to the sofa and read his book until basketball and Ruggie played with his toys. I was really shocked and thought they must really be tired to just chill...by hey I'm not complaining it was nice. When Fil was getting ready to go to basketball, he showed me there was a hole in his shoe and I broke out in "There's a hole" (a song my dad use to sing to us) which made him smile. After basketball practice we ate dinner just the three of us and then off to bed.
I love Fridays, even if I get the boys at 1 instead of 4. When I went to pick Fil up from school he told me he was eating lunch at a friends house and wouldn't be back until 4:30. So the afternoon was really quiet. Ruggie took a nap and I vegged out on the sofa. I took Ruggie to gymnastics and then Fil helped me write my wish list (in Italian) to Babbo Natale aka Santa Clause. The parents got home and we had a nice family dinner. Pat went to "Lars and the Real Girl" today so we talked mostly about how amazing it was and which parts we cried and laughed at. After dinner Ruggie showed us what he learned at gym and Pat chased the boys around the house until it was time to go to bed. Great family time in the living room while I watched and tried to stay out of the war path.
In the movie "10 Items or Less" they each named 10 items or less that they hated about their lives and what they loved. Since I have two weeks left of my Italian life I thought I would write 10 items or less that i will miss and things I wont miss about Italy (of course I have more than 10 I will miss but the sign says 10 or less so I have to comply with the rules of the lane).
Things I won't miss
1. Getting up at 7:30 everyday (I'm not thinking about future jobs in the states)
2. All movies in Italian
3. Italian driving
4. Boys fighting about EVERYTHING
5. My pillow
6. Radiators
7. Smoking everywhere
8. Paying for water at restaraunts
9. Italian coffee-expresso
Things I will miss
1. My loving family
2. My amazing and funny friends
3. Cappucino
4. Open air markets
5. Italian food-enough said
6. Icecream guy at Crema 42 :-)
7. Telling bed time stories to the boys
8. TV commercials
9. People watching at the park
10. Practicing Italian everyday-especially when Ruggie helps me by speaking really slow
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Chill'n with the Queen
After the big dinner on Friday night, I had the weekend to recover from all the cooking and eating. On Saturday morning while the kids were at the swimming pool I slept in and then did my morning chores. The whole family came home for lunch and right before time to eat the boys got in trouble and had to go to their rooms. The three of us ate lunch without them and it was nice just to have grown-up time. We were talking and Pat told me that the whole Itlay was going to miss me not just their family. This was really touching and made me feel a little sad because I'm not trying to think about leaving cause I want to really enjoy my last three weeks here.
After lunch I met Barbara and Andrea for a movie because Friday started the Torino Film Festival, the third largest in Italy. But we arrived a little late so we decided to go to the royal palace of the Queen from the Savoy family. I had been inside before but never to the museum. The museum proved to be one of my favorites in Italy. The collection was really well put together-minus detailed info about the paintings. The exhibits were in the rooms of the palace with orginal features mixed with modern design. I found the lighting to be amazing and really clever at times. Plus the high tech gadgets used were really refreshing and inventive. Even though the art and other artifacts were interesting the design of the museum is what I really enjoyed. Before we left we stopped in the cafe in the palace and had marocino-coffee with chocolate--YUMMY. It was really cool to sit in the royal palace and drink coffee-just chill'n like royality. I had to work at home that night so we came back early and Barbara came over after the boys went to bed so we could watch a movie.
On Sunday I tried to be a little productive. I applied for a job in the states, via internet and updated my blog and pictures and took a shower. At 1 our cleaning lady and my friend, Mekayla, picked Barbara and I up and took us to her house for lunch. This was really good practice cause her and her husband can't speak English, however she had a friend that could so that came in handy. The food was amazing and she fixed a sort of deviled egg that is typical of Romania. I really like it and of course ate way too much. After the lunch we took the car to Superga and watched the sun set. Oh amazing view and it was nice to talk with her and her husband. When we got home Barbara and I went to the film festival and saw a film by Wim Wenders, "An End to Violence". It was released in 1997 so not too recent. I have to say even though it was in English-which was refreshing-I hated the movie. I was glad it finally ended and we could leave. Hopefully we will get to see another movie or two while the festival is still going on. We found a chinese restaraunt after and had a nice meal before we had to go to bed so that we could be fresh for Monday.
The last week of November, can't hardly believe how fast time is flying...
After lunch I met Barbara and Andrea for a movie because Friday started the Torino Film Festival, the third largest in Italy. But we arrived a little late so we decided to go to the royal palace of the Queen from the Savoy family. I had been inside before but never to the museum. The museum proved to be one of my favorites in Italy. The collection was really well put together-minus detailed info about the paintings. The exhibits were in the rooms of the palace with orginal features mixed with modern design. I found the lighting to be amazing and really clever at times. Plus the high tech gadgets used were really refreshing and inventive. Even though the art and other artifacts were interesting the design of the museum is what I really enjoyed. Before we left we stopped in the cafe in the palace and had marocino-coffee with chocolate--YUMMY. It was really cool to sit in the royal palace and drink coffee-just chill'n like royality. I had to work at home that night so we came back early and Barbara came over after the boys went to bed so we could watch a movie.
On Sunday I tried to be a little productive. I applied for a job in the states, via internet and updated my blog and pictures and took a shower. At 1 our cleaning lady and my friend, Mekayla, picked Barbara and I up and took us to her house for lunch. This was really good practice cause her and her husband can't speak English, however she had a friend that could so that came in handy. The food was amazing and she fixed a sort of deviled egg that is typical of Romania. I really like it and of course ate way too much. After the lunch we took the car to Superga and watched the sun set. Oh amazing view and it was nice to talk with her and her husband. When we got home Barbara and I went to the film festival and saw a film by Wim Wenders, "An End to Violence". It was released in 1997 so not too recent. I have to say even though it was in English-which was refreshing-I hated the movie. I was glad it finally ended and we could leave. Hopefully we will get to see another movie or two while the festival is still going on. We found a chinese restaraunt after and had a nice meal before we had to go to bed so that we could be fresh for Monday.
The last week of November, can't hardly believe how fast time is flying...
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Little Turkey That Could
Happy Late Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope everyone is recovering from the holiday-get ready cause Christmas is less than a month away!!
This Thanksgiving is my most memorable. One night in October Balbina came over for dinner and we were all talking about Thanksgiving and how we wanted to celebrate it over here. Then in the middle of November, Pat asked me if I was still planning of fixing dinner. I really wanted to even though I had never done anything like that in the states...the only thing I do for Thanksgiving is make the pumpkin and pecan pies under the supervision of Grandma Doogie. Then just last week Pat asked me to start getting the menu together so that we could find everything and translate the ingredients. This was the challenge, not only finding everything but knowing the name in Italian-fyi this is why pictures on boxes are really important. On Wednesday night we sat down and translated all the items I needed but to my dismay they didn't have evaporated milk or shortening for my pie. My mother had sent me a box full of food I might need two weeks before and this was the lifesaver. I went to the supermarket on Thursday and bought all the things but substituted an Italian pastry for my pie crust and a box of cream for my evaporated milk. Pat came home that night excited that she had "booked" the turkey that afternoon and said he would arrive on Friday. I was a little concerned about the bird because she asked me on Monday if I wanted the bird with internal organs and I was praying she didn't bring home a live turkey on a leash or anything. On Friday after the boys and I finished lunch I began to cook the feast. First I made pumpkin bread and then my pie. They both came out looking like they were suppose to so I was hoping the taste would be right too. Then I started on some of the veggies. About that time the bird arrived! Luckily he was dead, featherless and gutted. WHEW. He weighed 13 kilos or 6 pounds and was the largest bird they had ever seen in there house. They kept saying it was huge but it looked like the perfect size to me. I called the turkey hotline (Grandma Doogie) to make sure I was preparing him right. Since he was Italian I covered him with olive oil and fresh rosemary. I then put celery, onions and orange slices inside. I put him in a plastic bag and then in the oven to cook for 3 hours (sorry this sounds like a recipe-feel free to use it for Christmas I guess). While the turkey was cooking I finished the stuffing, veggies, cranberry sauce and prepared the potatoes for the oven when it became available again. By 7 o'clock everything was ready except the potatoes were still cooking. We sat the table using the fine china and when Pat and Alberto came home they found a cleaned kitchen, a fancy table, a cooked bird, a tired chef and a partridge in a pear tree.
The guests, Andrea-he brought a huge assortment of wonderful pastries, Barbara, and Balbina and her friend from Texas, Tyler, arrived at 8. I instructed Alberto of his duties, bring the wine and carve the bird, which he did beautifully. We served the meal American style-or all together with one plate per person instead of several courses like my family is use to. The final menu was Turkey, dressing (stuffing), fresh greenbeans with roasted almonds and lemon sauce, corn on the cob, cheesey potatoes, cranberry sauce pumpkin pie with homemade whipcream and pumpkin bread. We had a wonderful time laughing and talking around the table. Plus I was really glad I could share a wondful American tradition with foreingers and give Tyler and Balbina a meal they might have missed otherwise. I had a great time preparing the meal and was shocked that I, of all people in my familly, fixed the entire meal without any problems. I am so thankful for my wonderful friends and Italian family and the fact I got to share this holiday with them.
PS The Thanksgiving pictures and Venice pictures are now up. It was brought to my attention that the Venice pictures did not show up but I think I fixed the problem. If you still can't see them please email me and I will see what I can do.
Enjoy the last week of November!!
This Thanksgiving is my most memorable. One night in October Balbina came over for dinner and we were all talking about Thanksgiving and how we wanted to celebrate it over here. Then in the middle of November, Pat asked me if I was still planning of fixing dinner. I really wanted to even though I had never done anything like that in the states...the only thing I do for Thanksgiving is make the pumpkin and pecan pies under the supervision of Grandma Doogie. Then just last week Pat asked me to start getting the menu together so that we could find everything and translate the ingredients. This was the challenge, not only finding everything but knowing the name in Italian-fyi this is why pictures on boxes are really important. On Wednesday night we sat down and translated all the items I needed but to my dismay they didn't have evaporated milk or shortening for my pie. My mother had sent me a box full of food I might need two weeks before and this was the lifesaver. I went to the supermarket on Thursday and bought all the things but substituted an Italian pastry for my pie crust and a box of cream for my evaporated milk. Pat came home that night excited that she had "booked" the turkey that afternoon and said he would arrive on Friday. I was a little concerned about the bird because she asked me on Monday if I wanted the bird with internal organs and I was praying she didn't bring home a live turkey on a leash or anything. On Friday after the boys and I finished lunch I began to cook the feast. First I made pumpkin bread and then my pie. They both came out looking like they were suppose to so I was hoping the taste would be right too. Then I started on some of the veggies. About that time the bird arrived! Luckily he was dead, featherless and gutted. WHEW. He weighed 13 kilos or 6 pounds and was the largest bird they had ever seen in there house. They kept saying it was huge but it looked like the perfect size to me. I called the turkey hotline (Grandma Doogie) to make sure I was preparing him right. Since he was Italian I covered him with olive oil and fresh rosemary. I then put celery, onions and orange slices inside. I put him in a plastic bag and then in the oven to cook for 3 hours (sorry this sounds like a recipe-feel free to use it for Christmas I guess). While the turkey was cooking I finished the stuffing, veggies, cranberry sauce and prepared the potatoes for the oven when it became available again. By 7 o'clock everything was ready except the potatoes were still cooking. We sat the table using the fine china and when Pat and Alberto came home they found a cleaned kitchen, a fancy table, a cooked bird, a tired chef and a partridge in a pear tree.
The guests, Andrea-he brought a huge assortment of wonderful pastries, Barbara, and Balbina and her friend from Texas, Tyler, arrived at 8. I instructed Alberto of his duties, bring the wine and carve the bird, which he did beautifully. We served the meal American style-or all together with one plate per person instead of several courses like my family is use to. The final menu was Turkey, dressing (stuffing), fresh greenbeans with roasted almonds and lemon sauce, corn on the cob, cheesey potatoes, cranberry sauce pumpkin pie with homemade whipcream and pumpkin bread. We had a wonderful time laughing and talking around the table. Plus I was really glad I could share a wondful American tradition with foreingers and give Tyler and Balbina a meal they might have missed otherwise. I had a great time preparing the meal and was shocked that I, of all people in my familly, fixed the entire meal without any problems. I am so thankful for my wonderful friends and Italian family and the fact I got to share this holiday with them.
PS The Thanksgiving pictures and Venice pictures are now up. It was brought to my attention that the Venice pictures did not show up but I think I fixed the problem. If you still can't see them please email me and I will see what I can do.
Enjoy the last week of November!!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Boats, Trains, and Automobiles
A weekend of traveling, and by several different means. On Monday Barbara, Andrea and I decided to go to Venice. By Thursday we still hadn't booked lodging or train tickets and Andrea decided not to go. So that night I found the two of us a place to stay near the train station and Barbara bought our train tickets Friday morning. We were proud of ourselves that we did everything without any help and at the last minute. Because it is November, going somewhere on the water isn't as popular as going skiing, so we didn't really have to worry about booking things early.
On Saturday, Barbara and I left Torino at 9. Our train was 5 hours so we had time to catch up on the sleep we don't normally get during the week. We arrived in Venice (not really it was far from the center but still considered Venice on the map) and then tried to find our Hostel. It didn't take as long as I thought and when we arrived we couldn't help but laugh. It was very meek and the room was very plain...plus kinda falling apart. The door didn't open all the way unless you hit it like a football tackler and the door to the bathroom was an accordian door and only shut on one side at a time. The wallpaper was also falling off the walls but my favorite part of the room was the fact that the shower contained both the toliet, sink and bidet in a 4' x4' box. But on a more serious note the beds were the best I have slept in in Italy and the pillow was awesome, I definatley slept like a Chevy. After we put our things away, we got a map from the front desk and figured out how to get to the center of Venice. Come to find out our hotel was about a 20 minute bus ride from the center and required an additional 10 minute boat ride to St. Mark's square. We arrived in the center at dusk and watched a beautiful sunset from our boat. The weather had been turning cold all week and by Saturday, Venice was more than a little chilly-we're talking gloves, hat, scarf, the whole nine yards. We got off the boat and opted to walk around rather than having a specific destination in mind. We found a piazza totally abandoned and claimed it as our own personal piazza. We continued to walk around and then decided to see some of the more famous sites. We went to the Rialto bridge and looked at all the shops in the open air market. We took a boat from place to place so we could try to stay warm inside the boat. We decided to eat at this little restaruant tucked away from tourists. The food was good and the owners were very friendly. Even though we were in a very touristy city we still had to use our Italian-unlike Florence where knowing the native language is not necessary. Because the ride home took over 30 minutes we decided to leave the island after dinner and get some sleep so we could start fresh on Sunday-oh yeah we also had to defrost.
On Sunday morning we slept until 8:30-oh so nice-and then went down to checkout. We left our baggage there and went back to the main island. When we arrived we decided to take a boat to the island of Murano-famous for its amazing and expensive glass. I met a nice couple from Kentucky on the boat ride and Barbara was excited because she met a family from Czech so she could also speak in her mother tounge. When we arrived we went to an authentic glass workshop. Although the man was not blowing glass that moment the fires were turned on and we saw some of his latest pieces. Utterly amazing...if ever I decide to change careers I think I will become a "glass artist". The weather was colder than the night before so we had cappucini (cappucinos in Italian) to warm up and then continued to shop around the island, going from one glass store to the next. In one store I found the most beautiful manger set of eight, complete with a horse and cow to keep baby Jesus company. Joseph's robe was a rich red and orange color with flower-looking things on it-Hippy Joseph in his early years I guess. I would have loved to buy it and take it back home but then I remembered that I am only a poor babysitter so I left the store with just a mental picture of the set. We took the boat back to the center of Venice and bought tickets to the Plazzo Ducale-Doge's or mayor Palace. The palace was also used at the senate house and location for all things government back in the day. We saw all the senate rooms and courtrooms complete with art from Titian and Tintoretto. The senate room housed the largest oil painting in the world by Tintoretto-WOW. After seeing the courts we went down to the dungeon where the prison cells were. In order to get to the prison you have to pass over the bridge of sighs-where the prisioners would udder their final public sighs. Casanova made this imfamous walk when we was sentenced. When we escaped from jail we went straight to church....St. Mark's Basilica which is right next to the palace. Everytime I go into an Italian church I try to rank it and see which one is my favorite. This church wins the prize as my favorite church in Italy. The outside has a few glass mosaics at the entrance but the inside is covered!! The ceilings are covered in tiny gold glass and Biblical pictures adorn the walls. There is a cast iron chandiler in the shape of a cross hanging towards the front when you enter. Unfortunately pictures weren't allowed, but I bought postcards to put in my scrapbook. By the time we left the church we had enough time to visit the Rialto bridge again-with daylight-and get a few photos. We went back to the bus stop but had just missed the bus and didn't think we could wait 20 minutes for the next one. So we took a taxi back to our hostel. When we got to the hostel we picked up our bags and talked to the man at the front desk for a few minutes. "Uncle George" told us about living in Greece and showed us a nice place to get a cheap lunch before our train. Unfortunately the cafe didn't have any sandwiches left so we went to the train station and ate a quick lunch there. At 10 after 4 we headed back to Torino. At Padua a man joined our cabin and we talked to him until we got to Torino. We forgot to validate our ticket before we boarded and when the ticket man came by he nicely told us we have to do this EVERYTIME. Oh we felt really bad, but fortunately he was nice and didn't give us the usual 50 euro fine. The man in our cabin turned out to be a policman from Venice but told us not to worry about the ticket-we got off easy. He was really nice and we talked about everything from Venice, politics and sports. When we got to Torino we found a nice CHEAP thai restaraunt close to the station and relaxed for the final time before the grind of the work week started. The trip was a huge success and Venice proves to be my favorite city to visit in Italy-Torino being the number one to live in of course.
PS-The pictures are up on the website.
On Saturday, Barbara and I left Torino at 9. Our train was 5 hours so we had time to catch up on the sleep we don't normally get during the week. We arrived in Venice (not really it was far from the center but still considered Venice on the map) and then tried to find our Hostel. It didn't take as long as I thought and when we arrived we couldn't help but laugh. It was very meek and the room was very plain...plus kinda falling apart. The door didn't open all the way unless you hit it like a football tackler and the door to the bathroom was an accordian door and only shut on one side at a time. The wallpaper was also falling off the walls but my favorite part of the room was the fact that the shower contained both the toliet, sink and bidet in a 4' x4' box. But on a more serious note the beds were the best I have slept in in Italy and the pillow was awesome, I definatley slept like a Chevy. After we put our things away, we got a map from the front desk and figured out how to get to the center of Venice. Come to find out our hotel was about a 20 minute bus ride from the center and required an additional 10 minute boat ride to St. Mark's square. We arrived in the center at dusk and watched a beautiful sunset from our boat. The weather had been turning cold all week and by Saturday, Venice was more than a little chilly-we're talking gloves, hat, scarf, the whole nine yards. We got off the boat and opted to walk around rather than having a specific destination in mind. We found a piazza totally abandoned and claimed it as our own personal piazza. We continued to walk around and then decided to see some of the more famous sites. We went to the Rialto bridge and looked at all the shops in the open air market. We took a boat from place to place so we could try to stay warm inside the boat. We decided to eat at this little restaruant tucked away from tourists. The food was good and the owners were very friendly. Even though we were in a very touristy city we still had to use our Italian-unlike Florence where knowing the native language is not necessary. Because the ride home took over 30 minutes we decided to leave the island after dinner and get some sleep so we could start fresh on Sunday-oh yeah we also had to defrost.
On Sunday morning we slept until 8:30-oh so nice-and then went down to checkout. We left our baggage there and went back to the main island. When we arrived we decided to take a boat to the island of Murano-famous for its amazing and expensive glass. I met a nice couple from Kentucky on the boat ride and Barbara was excited because she met a family from Czech so she could also speak in her mother tounge. When we arrived we went to an authentic glass workshop. Although the man was not blowing glass that moment the fires were turned on and we saw some of his latest pieces. Utterly amazing...if ever I decide to change careers I think I will become a "glass artist". The weather was colder than the night before so we had cappucini (cappucinos in Italian) to warm up and then continued to shop around the island, going from one glass store to the next. In one store I found the most beautiful manger set of eight, complete with a horse and cow to keep baby Jesus company. Joseph's robe was a rich red and orange color with flower-looking things on it-Hippy Joseph in his early years I guess. I would have loved to buy it and take it back home but then I remembered that I am only a poor babysitter so I left the store with just a mental picture of the set. We took the boat back to the center of Venice and bought tickets to the Plazzo Ducale-Doge's or mayor Palace. The palace was also used at the senate house and location for all things government back in the day. We saw all the senate rooms and courtrooms complete with art from Titian and Tintoretto. The senate room housed the largest oil painting in the world by Tintoretto-WOW. After seeing the courts we went down to the dungeon where the prison cells were. In order to get to the prison you have to pass over the bridge of sighs-where the prisioners would udder their final public sighs. Casanova made this imfamous walk when we was sentenced. When we escaped from jail we went straight to church....St. Mark's Basilica which is right next to the palace. Everytime I go into an Italian church I try to rank it and see which one is my favorite. This church wins the prize as my favorite church in Italy. The outside has a few glass mosaics at the entrance but the inside is covered!! The ceilings are covered in tiny gold glass and Biblical pictures adorn the walls. There is a cast iron chandiler in the shape of a cross hanging towards the front when you enter. Unfortunately pictures weren't allowed, but I bought postcards to put in my scrapbook. By the time we left the church we had enough time to visit the Rialto bridge again-with daylight-and get a few photos. We went back to the bus stop but had just missed the bus and didn't think we could wait 20 minutes for the next one. So we took a taxi back to our hostel. When we got to the hostel we picked up our bags and talked to the man at the front desk for a few minutes. "Uncle George" told us about living in Greece and showed us a nice place to get a cheap lunch before our train. Unfortunately the cafe didn't have any sandwiches left so we went to the train station and ate a quick lunch there. At 10 after 4 we headed back to Torino. At Padua a man joined our cabin and we talked to him until we got to Torino. We forgot to validate our ticket before we boarded and when the ticket man came by he nicely told us we have to do this EVERYTIME. Oh we felt really bad, but fortunately he was nice and didn't give us the usual 50 euro fine. The man in our cabin turned out to be a policman from Venice but told us not to worry about the ticket-we got off easy. He was really nice and we talked about everything from Venice, politics and sports. When we got to Torino we found a nice CHEAP thai restaraunt close to the station and relaxed for the final time before the grind of the work week started. The trip was a huge success and Venice proves to be my favorite city to visit in Italy-Torino being the number one to live in of course.
PS-The pictures are up on the website.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Old Wild West
Oh the weekend...time for rest and relaxation. This weekend was the exception. I got up at 8:30 and had breakfast by myself while I listened to the parents telling the boys to get ready for the swimming pool. Pat and Alberto had a conference for the weekend and had to leave a little before 10. Pat took the three of us to the swimming pool and then went to the conference. I watched the boys and was amazed by Fil cause he is a terrific swimmer. I had Olympic gold medals in my eyes watching him. I really hope he pursues swimming because it would be a good way to use his built up energy, plus he's not a very good team player so this would be a good sport for him. After swimming we took the tram back to our house. We had a really nice morning together walking around the city. When we got home we had a enough time to get ready for lunch and then we met Nonna Deana for pizza. There was a mother and son, about Fil's age, at the next table and they stared at me the whole time cause I was speaking English. I was trying to speak Italian because Nonna Deana doesn't understand any English. I got nervous, being under the spotlight and was resolved to eat my pizza in silence. When we finished, I gave Ruggie over to his grandma and Fil and I went home until we had to leave again for boy scouts. Once I dropped Fil off for scouts I took a bus to the center to meet Christiana. We went to this really small cafe called Olsens (Real Italian sounding I know) and had coffee and pie. Even though we live in the same building I hadn't talked to her in ages. It was great to catch up. After my 3 hour break, I went back to pick Fil up. I fixed mac and cheese and grilled fish. Barbara came over and we watched half of Peter Pan the Disney version before Fil had to go to bed. Babara and I went back to my room and watched another movie and then talked and laughed until 2 in the morning!
Sunday I still had to keep Fil so I got up again at 8:30 aand ate breakfast with the family and a friend, Monica, from Milan that was in town for the conference. We had a nice visit and then they left for the conference. I was excited that I had a chance to clean my room while Fil listened to music on his mp3 player. At 11:45 his grandmother came to take him for the afternoon...FREEDOM. I made a simple pasta lunch with eggplant sauce and then got ready for the day. I met Barbara and we went to the center to do a little shopping. I returned two books Alberto bought me and then we listened to these two amazing street preformers. One was playing the guitar and singing while the other was playing the drums, tamborine and the harmonica all at the same time!! Really entertaining. We met Andrea at 5 and we went to an art exibition at the old Fiat plant. The show was huge and had pieces from young artists from all over the world. You could also buy the art so it was fasinating for me because I know a lot of designers that go to these kind of things to buy art for their clients. I saw a few pieces I really liked but there was a lot of creepy art...which I have a hard time appreciating. After 2 hours of art we went to the shopping mall next door and ate dinner. We agreed on this awesome looking restaraunt called Old Wild West. It was decorated in the stereotypical western motif: Wagon wheel tables, totem pole doorways, wanted posters on the walls, latern light fixtures and my favorite....cover wagon booths you sit in!! I felt right at home as soon as we sat down (plus they were playing live latin music so it felt just like Booker on Fiesta night :-) I ordered the chicken and was really impressed cause it was thicker than a piece of paper-unlike most meat I've had here. The food was really good and for dessert we each had an American brownie. I had to explain to them what it was before it came out but they both loved it. It reminded me of a Little Debbie brownie but it was ok....it's hard to be Betty Crocker. After dinner we drove to the center to to look at the Christmas lights. A great end to a wonderful child free evening.
As we say in the wild west...I'm gonna hit the hay so talk to ya'll tomorrow!
Sunday I still had to keep Fil so I got up again at 8:30 aand ate breakfast with the family and a friend, Monica, from Milan that was in town for the conference. We had a nice visit and then they left for the conference. I was excited that I had a chance to clean my room while Fil listened to music on his mp3 player. At 11:45 his grandmother came to take him for the afternoon...FREEDOM. I made a simple pasta lunch with eggplant sauce and then got ready for the day. I met Barbara and we went to the center to do a little shopping. I returned two books Alberto bought me and then we listened to these two amazing street preformers. One was playing the guitar and singing while the other was playing the drums, tamborine and the harmonica all at the same time!! Really entertaining. We met Andrea at 5 and we went to an art exibition at the old Fiat plant. The show was huge and had pieces from young artists from all over the world. You could also buy the art so it was fasinating for me because I know a lot of designers that go to these kind of things to buy art for their clients. I saw a few pieces I really liked but there was a lot of creepy art...which I have a hard time appreciating. After 2 hours of art we went to the shopping mall next door and ate dinner. We agreed on this awesome looking restaraunt called Old Wild West. It was decorated in the stereotypical western motif: Wagon wheel tables, totem pole doorways, wanted posters on the walls, latern light fixtures and my favorite....cover wagon booths you sit in!! I felt right at home as soon as we sat down (plus they were playing live latin music so it felt just like Booker on Fiesta night :-) I ordered the chicken and was really impressed cause it was thicker than a piece of paper-unlike most meat I've had here. The food was really good and for dessert we each had an American brownie. I had to explain to them what it was before it came out but they both loved it. It reminded me of a Little Debbie brownie but it was ok....it's hard to be Betty Crocker. After dinner we drove to the center to to look at the Christmas lights. A great end to a wonderful child free evening.
As we say in the wild west...I'm gonna hit the hay so talk to ya'll tomorrow!
Friday, November 9, 2007
No candy for you!!
This week has been very stressful at my design work because we had several deadlines and my boss was traveling again to London. I couldn't do anything right on Monday and tried to pull myself together on Tuesday....I was doing things right but anytime anything went wrong I got blamed. On Wednesday she was out of town and I was left with the task of reinventing the wheel but only had 6 hours to complete the task. Some how I managed to finish it, and well I might add. She called me last night about 9 and told me that she printed my drawings and they were perfect so I should be proud of myself. This really was great to hear because I had a long day with the boys and stressed out about finishing the drawings on time. I was planning on going out with some American Au Pairs for burgers but Alberto came home later than expected so I opted to meet Barbara for pizza at our favorite pizzaria close to our house. We both needed to unwind from our hectic jobs.
Today I was a busy beaver completing more deadlines but I had a cup of coffee and finished all of the drawings due...the coffe helped cause I only had three hours this morning and accomplished a lot of work. I was a little late picking up Fil from school cause work was busy but he only waited 5 minutes on me so it didn't kill him. I took them home dreading the afternoon fighting but to my surprise Fil read a book and Ruggie played quietly. I put Ruggie down for a nap and fell asleep with him. When we got up it was time to go to gymnastics. Good timing too cause Fil was in his "demon" mood (my cue to leave). After gym, Ruggie asked for something at the bar so I bought him candy to be nice and gave him two pieces and told him he could give 2 pieces to Fil as a surprise when we got home. Of course he wanted the whole bag and cried all the way home. I gave Fil two pieces and he tried sneeking more with Ruggie screaming in the background. I finally got them calmed down when Alberto arrived. I asked Pat if I could eat in my room cause I need alone time. They came knocking on my door for the candy and when I gave it to them (I asked Pat if I could first of course) they started fighting again....the last time I try to do something nice....I feel like the soup Nazi on Seinfeld...NO SOUP FOR YOU!
I found sanctuary in my room and am not leaving until tomorrow morning. I have to take the boys to the pool tomorrow and have them for lunch. I have to work from 6-to when Fil falls asleep tomorrow and a few hours on Sunday cause the parents have a conference in Torino the whole weekend. But Barbara's coming over tomorrow night for dinner and a movie with me and Fil tomorrow so that should be fun.
By the way I am working on the Florence blog and all my pictures are up on the website and I have added new ones with lots of ppl shots so be sure and check them out.
Buon Weekend
Today I was a busy beaver completing more deadlines but I had a cup of coffee and finished all of the drawings due...the coffe helped cause I only had three hours this morning and accomplished a lot of work. I was a little late picking up Fil from school cause work was busy but he only waited 5 minutes on me so it didn't kill him. I took them home dreading the afternoon fighting but to my surprise Fil read a book and Ruggie played quietly. I put Ruggie down for a nap and fell asleep with him. When we got up it was time to go to gymnastics. Good timing too cause Fil was in his "demon" mood (my cue to leave). After gym, Ruggie asked for something at the bar so I bought him candy to be nice and gave him two pieces and told him he could give 2 pieces to Fil as a surprise when we got home. Of course he wanted the whole bag and cried all the way home. I gave Fil two pieces and he tried sneeking more with Ruggie screaming in the background. I finally got them calmed down when Alberto arrived. I asked Pat if I could eat in my room cause I need alone time. They came knocking on my door for the candy and when I gave it to them (I asked Pat if I could first of course) they started fighting again....the last time I try to do something nice....I feel like the soup Nazi on Seinfeld...NO SOUP FOR YOU!
I found sanctuary in my room and am not leaving until tomorrow morning. I have to take the boys to the pool tomorrow and have them for lunch. I have to work from 6-to when Fil falls asleep tomorrow and a few hours on Sunday cause the parents have a conference in Torino the whole weekend. But Barbara's coming over tomorrow night for dinner and a movie with me and Fil tomorrow so that should be fun.
By the way I am working on the Florence blog and all my pictures are up on the website and I have added new ones with lots of ppl shots so be sure and check them out.
Buon Weekend
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Temporary Insanity
Today didn't go as well as I had hoped. At work I was struggling with doing things right and had to watch my boss redue one of my projects because I did it all wrong. I know that this an internship and I'm suppose to learn but it still is embarrassing to sit and watch while your boss does your work. By the end of the work day (for the first job that is) I was a little frustrated but also excited that I am learning valuable experience in my internship. With that thought I went to pick Ruggie up for school and then take him to music class. We usually go with another mother and her two boys (a 4 yr. old and 1yr. old) Today she came a little late and said that her car was in the shop and she was going to get it. She gave me three choices of what to do and I ultimately made the choice to go to her house and wait for her with the car. I felt bad that she had to take both her boys with her to get the car, so I offered to take the oldest with me. Her house is very far from school so I had to take the boys on the bus. This is the part of the story where I plead temporary insanity. I took TWO small boys on a city bus at rush hour, and to top it all off I wasn't a hundred percent sure where to get off or which line to take. Surprisingly (I thought) I stepped up like an adult, had no trouble picking the right bus, got off at the right stop and no harm to any children or my nerves (that's the amazing part). When we got to the apartment, the mother still wasn't back from the autoshop so we waited with another mother and her two small boys...incase you lost count we are dealing with four boys under the age of 5. The car still was not ready so we all boared another bus and went to music. We arrived 30 minutes late so I only had 30 minutes to recover until we completed the last leg of the trip. Fortunately, the car was fixed so no more buses. When we got home Fil was making clay/paste out of flour and water and he and Ruggie made animals. Ruggie made a porcupine, using toothpicks as the spines (Fil's idea-I know my kids are geinuses). Fil made a mouse and I got to pick up the mess....oh well. For dinner it was just the three of us and we finished off the evening with good old candid camera on tv. As for now I am sane again but it's really only a matter of how long it will last.
Buona Notte
Buona Notte
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