What I have been doing:
At the airport. On a Plane. Dinner on a Plane. Sleep on a plane. Breakfast on a plane. At the Airport.
A certain boy told me to remember that me running into a shoe store did not constitute an emergency (therefor I couldn’t use my emergency money) but after a night like that I hear all those duty free shops calling my name!!!
CIAO
I think I saw it in a movie once where a girl said that her favorite emotion was smiling through tears. Right now I would have to agree.
You know that moment…like the one in Steel Magnolias when you cry like a baby at Shelby’s funeral and then laugh like a lunatic when Clarie tells her to hit Weezer!
So I cried when I told Russ goodbye today and it was really hard. After he got in his car I signed ‘I love you’ to him and he signed it back. Thats when the smiles came, I couldn’t help but laugh because his pinkie and thumb where all big and bandaged up from his burn!
Well I’m gonna go call my mom to say goodbye. Bring on the tears!
CIAO!
I love parties!
I mostly think its the food, but the people and festivites usually contribute and last night was no different. My church threw me a going away party last night and it was great to get to see everyone. I can see Christ’s love shining in each person that was there last night. It is so much fun to have a room full of people talking and laughing! Did I mention I love the food?
They also got me a journal and then passed it around to write words of encouragement and scriptures. I read it last night and it was so touching and I’m sure it will come in handy when I start missing everybody and everything in Texas!
On that note it is my last day in Lubbock Texas for a pretty long while. I better get out and enjoy it!
Up next…my adventures in Booker, Texas (you should stay tuned to this because entertaining myself in Booker can get interesting!)
CIAO!
Okay so right now it’s just party, party, but by tomorrow it will be all three parties.
My weekend was kicked off in splendid style with my girlfriends throwing me a fabulous hat party. I love theme parties. I mean really no self possessed adult should love theme parties as much as I do. Nonetheless I am that person that insist that everyone dress-up and we’re not talking kinda sorta maybe dress up. No. I make everybody go all out.
This party of course was no different so of course I insisted that even my friends Lauren wear a fabulous (yes that was part of the name, not just a description) hat. Now this was met with strong resistance initially, which of course I handled by applying even more pressure. When she got into the hat box Friday night however I saw a whole new person. There are few things in life that make me happier than someone getting carried away at theme party!!!!
Saturday night kicked off my second going away party. Russ, Fiona (the dog), and I headed to Miami Saturday morning (after I took a bath with light only from a Coleman lantern…remind me to tell you about that sometime). We spent the entire day with a big group of loud fun people and dogs because Chase brought home his puppy Diesel. Now I’ve seen a lot of cute puppies, but this one was something else, he was the epitimy adorableness. We added Mia to the mix in the middle of the afternoon and it was almost too much precious for one house.
We met up with my Aunt Connie, Uncle Gary and Jeff and his boys in Libscomb for the dance out there. It was a made to order night with cool weather, great food, amazing country string band, kersene lanterns, and well I could really go on for days. In fact I think I might have before. I tend to do that every time I talk about it. Every time I’m out there I can’t help but just soak it all in, it’s one of those authentic experiences that can’t be replaced.
So here I am after a restful Sunday counting all my blessings! Sometimes it just blows my mind how much the Lord has given me.
On that note I have to go beat up my (oh so sweet) boyfriend because he will not quit blowing on his little kazoo thingy!!!!!!
CIAO!
Here it is…
There are no words...
This is my photograper
He looks a little dazed...it must be my dark and mysterious new image!
Let me know what you think. I need lots of positive reinforcement (aka lie to me if you don’t like it!)
Ahhhhh the Olympics.
I haven’t really watched the last couple of Olympics winter or summer, but I must say, I have the bug.
That’s right I have the Michael Phelps, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Lukin, Go America, I-could-judge-that-routine-better-than-those-judges-bug! I can’t stop staying up late to watch. I’m yelling and standing up over a swimming heat like it was a Red Raider football game. Really. It’s crazy.
What a time to have an intense surge of patriotism. These Olympic games are getting me all surged up with national pride. I’m pretty close to bleeding red, white, and blue now which is not helping the butterflies that keep fluttering up when I think about moving to another country. I’ve always considered myself a well traveled person with an deep appreciation for other countries and cultures, however right now I kind of feel like one of those annoying Americans that wants to wear the flag everywhere and scream the Star Spangled Banner.
But don’t worry I’ve been watching Pelligrini too, just to make sure I’m in with my adopted country.
Oh and (if your still reading my ramblings at this point) you might want to check back tomorrow. There is going to be a picture on there you might be interested…
Ciao
A couple of great suprises this weekend:
1. Thursday night I made the very last minute decision to go to OKC. I got to hang out with my absolutely adorable neice and my fabulous aunt all day. I can’t believe how grown up Callie is; she was chatty and fun albiet a little tired especially by the time we got there.
2. I got to see my wonderful cousin from Arkansas, Jenny, and her husband Dan. They are turning into Super-parents and of course Jenny always somehow manges to look like a super model even while burping a baby (I need lessons on how to be that fabulous) I got to meet thier new son Cade. I think he looks like Tommy Pickles, however no one around me seems to know anything about Rugrats which is disappointing cause Tommy was really cool!
3. Lacee came home early so when I got home Friday night we got to have an impromptu girls night! We just laughed and talked and caught up. I got to see everyone I wanted to see all in one dose and I didn’t even have to wait until the Saturday party. Also I got my first Mia fix. Now I know that sounds a little scary like some crazy drug, but really it’s just Lacee’s daughter.
So basically my weekend was filled with people I love and lots of adorable bambinos!
Also there was the Saturday party that got rained out, but somehow that just made it more fun. Then this morning I got to go to Grace Church in Amarillo with Russ and his parents. Really I had a weekend packed with too much love for words! In fact I think I have rambled quite enough!
Ciao!
Holy Cow!!!
In less than two weeks I will be officially jobless and homeless. I will have no place to live and absolutely no income. I guess that officially makes me a bum.
It also makes me very very scared.
Did I really just quit my “grown-up” job and give up my great apartment to temporarily move to another country?!?! Who does somethings like that? I am praying like crazy that the Lord will just take care of me. I have put all my faith in Him to get me through this because my obsessive planning and controlling personality is having trouble coming to grips with not really knowing what’s coming next.
On another note, I am so very excited about my Tour of the Texas Panhandle in August. In order to see as many people I love before I leave I will be in the Amarillo/Pampa/Miami/Canadian/Booker Area for parts of August! Call me if you would like to play! So I guess that makes me a wandering Bum!!!
Here’s to the Bum life!
I knew there was at least one good reason I was moving to Italy…
Apparently they have unicorns!!!!!
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1814227,00.html
Hello dear friends and family!
This is just a test because I am not computer savvy to say the least. I know it will be awhile before I head out, but I wanted to make sure I had a way to keep in touch with everyone (and anyone that has tried to call me knows that I am notoriously bad at keeping in touch)!
For those of you who don’t know the whole story– I have decided to move to Rome, Italy for a year as an Au Pair. I will have three Italian children in my care on a day to day basis. A nine year old girl, a five year old boy, and a four month old baby (of unknown gender as of yet).
Why, you may ask, would I up and leave my great job, fabulous friends, and wonderful family right when everything is going right?
Because I can.
But mostly because I know that there might not be another chance or another point in my life when I am unattached, financially able, and generally able to take an entire year to fulfill a crazy dream.
While I can’t promise anything exciting or adventurous I can assure you that you will at least see some beautiful pictures and hear about some mouthwatering food. However, considering the huge language barrier, immense cultural differences, and three rambunctious children I would venture to guess that every once in while there might be some interesting reading.
