Weekend Recap

I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty lazy on the weekends. I had all intentions of cleaning the garage, working out and getting things done in general, but that didn't happen.

I did however:

-Eat a delish meal consisting of salad with bacon fat (it's better than it sounds) pear filled pasta with ham and an Irish Angus Steak.

-Shake my booty at a small roof-top bar that was across the street from where we ate dinner. I may or may not have screamed this is my song when "Telephone" came on.

-Request "Gangstas Paradise" and instead the DJ played "The Heat is On". I'm guessing that got lost in translation

-Drink one of these.

I LOVE Spritzes!

-Was hit on my an old Italian man who bore a striking resemblance to the Doc from Back to the Future

-Edit a ton of pics I took while I was at home and in NYC

-Had several good convos with my husband

-Made some delish shrimp linguini

-Bought tickets for a "Night In the Cellar" Once I heard I get a necklace that doubles as a wine tasting glass I was sold.

What did you do this weekend?

Trying Something New

I think today is the day for trying something new for me. If I don't mix things up every once in awhile, then the deployment seems to drag, so to save my sanity I like to try new things.

I already take a spin class at the gym, but today I decided to take the yoga class that I had been saying I'd take for the last few months. I'd taken pilates in college and had done various yoga tapes before, so I thought I knew what I was getting into.



Um....not so much. I'd equate this yoga class as being as hard as my spin class. Of course now spin seems easier, because I've been doing it for awhile and maybe yoga will feel like that one of these days. Today however, I thought I was going to drop from doing yoga. I was sweaty, my muscles were shaking and I stretched muscles I didn't even know I had. My body hasn't bent like that since I took gymnastics when I was younger. It had its relaxing points, but it was challenging as well. I think I'm hooked.

My other new thing to try tonight, is a restaurant that I have yet to eat at since I've been in Italy. I've heard rave reviews about it and tonight I'm finally going to go with a big group. I've already looked at the menu and I have no idea what I want to get because there are so many good things on there. The ham and fresh pear stuffed ravioli though keeps getting my attention. I'll try to do a review sometime this weekend!

Question of the Day

What's one talent, ability or skill that you wish you had that you don't?



Mine would be singing. I'd love to be able to sing, but I can't. Not even a little bit.

P.S. Kansas Girl, if you're reading this, send me your e-mail and I'll get in touch with you about living in Italy.

Spring Cleaning

Today its been pouring rain. Normally, when it's raining I'm tempted to stay at home and do nothing.

However, today I managed not only to work out for an hour, but also to stop by the commissary, edit pictures, do some light cleaning around the apartment and talk to Sean.

I still have a lot more to go on my cleaning though. Being in the States for a few weeks kind of put me behind schedule, but I'm not really complaining. I still need to swap my winter clothes out of my closet with my summer clothes, clean on the garage and tidy up the apartment before my family comes to visit in June.

Ideally I'd like to decorate a little bit before my family comes, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. I was admiring the patio furniture at the PX the other day. I found a chair that would be perfect for tanning on the balcony and a few chairs that would be great for relaxing on my back balcony.

In closing, here's a few pictures I edited today.



A creek on the property we stayed at over R&R



I have no idea what kind of flower this is. I just thought it was pretty.



Woods near where we stayed.

Oh Yeah...I'm Going to be on TV

So, while I was in NYC, one of the things I did was go to a taping of a Food Network show. My friend Brittni got us tickets to be taste tasters for a new show that's going to air on Food Network this summer and of course I was uber excited to go. What's better than getting free food AND being on TV? Not much I tell you.



However, our experience didn't turn out quite like we thought it would.

It started out normal enough, we arrived at the location they told us, signed in, filled out some paperwork and then waited to go in to the set. The set was basically two restaurants and we got to pick which one we went to. Finally our time came around to go in and so we decided on a restaurant. An hour later and we still hadn't been seated, along with about 12 other people. Needless to say I wasn't happy. I was hungry and tired of standing.

Finally we are seated and the waitress comes to take our order. She was an actress by the way, not a real waitress. Anyway, we order and eagerly await our food. At first it goes ok. We get our first two courses (out of 5) and they are pretty good. Then the main course that everyone had raved about was due to come out. Our waitress comes over to us and tells us that they're out of that main course, so we'll have to skip ahead to the next course. My friend and I were not happy about that, but we tried to shrug it off and waited for the next course.

I can honestly say that I think the next course had sand in it. It was a sort of vegetable pie and I guess the veggies weren't washed well? Because I bit down on it and crunched sand. It was so loud my friend actually said, "Is that sand?!"

Dessert was supposed to be up next, which was a sampling of three separate desserts. Our waitress came out again and told us they were out of desserts. At this point my friend was angry and told her to get a producer over there because we were leaving. We couldn't leave though, because the judges were now in our restaurant and the way the camera angles were, we ended up in the shot. So for editing purposes we could not leave.

Thankfully, after the judging the chef came out personally to our table (and a few others) and asked us what he could get us. Somewhere they found a few desserts, so I did get to enjoy dessert....finally.

It was an experience! We were supposed to be there for only 3 hours, but ended up there for six. I think they only way we made it through it was because the bartender was friendly and kept supplying us with glasses of wine. Otherwise...I'm not sure what would have happened.

The episode is supposed to air in late July/early August and I'm pretty positive you'll be able to see me in the background of the judging shots. So, once it gets closer to time I'll let you guys know the name of the show and when it will be on.

Bad Case of the Blahs

I'm not sure what my problem has been since I got back to Italy. Maybe it's jet lag? Lack of exercise? Maybe just stress? I'm really not sure, but I feel very unlike myself.

I've tried to focus on positive things like my photography or my upcoming trips, but inevitably I keep sinking into a big void of not caring about what I'm doing right now.

Part of the problem is I'm worried about Sean right now. His back is hurt, and if you've read this blog for long you know it's serious enough he could be medically discharged for it. He hurt it again on the way back from R&R and we have no idea what's going to happen to him right now. The thought of getting out of the Army right now in this economy is kind of scary to me, but really if that happens, I'll just have to deal with it. I can't sit here and worry about it.

Here's hoping tomorrow's spin class will put me back on track to my normal self!

In Need Of: Flats

I'm planning on doing a lot of traveling and walking this summer and I'd like to have some comfy flats that don't cause blisters.

Generally, I'd go for a cheap pair from Target or Payless, but I think this time it'd be better for me to invest in a more comfy pair.

Suggestions?