Who knew?

It IS a small world after all! Lord knows, when I rode that ride at Disneyworld, I thought I might die if heard that stupid song one more time - but I've come to realize the sentiment is so true. It keeps asserting itself into my life when I least expect it.

Of course, I am a living example of how small the world can be. Hello... I married an Italian...and the whole "dating" part of our relationship was managed with an ocean between us. You might ask - "why is she blathering about this now?" Well, as it happens, I was going through some old photographs and found some pictures from a 2001 trip to Italy. (specifally the one posted here) So.. what's the big deal? It's a window with a Don't Mess with Texas bumper sticker. *Boh* HA - this window happened to be one of the front doors of a restaurant we went to in ITALY. I felt right at home =) of course, I had to take a picture - who would've thought!?!

Here was a little piece of home in the middle of Northwestern Italy. At the time I didn't know of too many bi-continental relationships; they were not the norm. Not for an American or an Italian. Nor had I given any thought to Americans living in Italy. Now, a mere 8 years later it has been my pleasure to uncover more and more Americans, and in particular Texans, living in Italy.

I think I read 5+ blogs of Texans living there. 3 or more Indianians (is that right, Indianians?). California, New Jersey, the Pacific Northwest. all living overseas and blogging about it. You hear the statistics about the millions of expats living abroad but now, those expats actually become real people with real lives. one they are willing to share with you. It's a small world not only because you can get to know people from foreign lands and cultures, but also fellow Americans from totally different parts of the States. People you might never have had the pleasure of meeting in your everyday American life. Do you think Italy has room for one more Texan?

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A First for Me

I have been tagged! I'm not even sure what a meme is or if this is one, but yay! Cherrye tagged me for the "Seven Songs for Life" thingy. Let's see how I do.

It is very hard for me to narrow my favorite music down to seven. I love music. All kinds, with the exception of most rap and country (I know that is sacrilege coming from a Texan, but there it is. hey I can tolerate it - just not my favorite).

Music has always been an important part of my life. From a very young age, I used to run to the piano after commercials to "play" them.lol I grew up singing and taking piano lessons and even went to college on a music scholarship. I am lucky in my marriage as my husband also loves music of all kinds and there's always something playing in the background in our household. Having said that here we go...

(These are in no particular order)

#7 Video Killed the Radio Star (The Buggles). I LOVE this song. =) Call me a big nerd but who can NOT sing at the top of their lungs when it comes on? And come on, it makes you happy!

#6 Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet). Makes me drive fast and play the "steering-wheel drums"

#5 Crash (Dave Matthews). Sexy song. no need to say more..hehe *

#4 Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode). Brings back many fond memories of 80s dancing.

#3 Hey Jealousy (Gin Blossoms). I thought I was so cool listening to the Gin Blossoms in college. Very alternative you know.

#2 Are You Gonna Go My Way (Lenny Kravitz). The coolest video of its time. Hearing this immediately transports me back to my favorite college apartment with my fun roommate and the cute boys across the courtyard. =)

#1 Via Con Me (Paolo Conte). I love his songs. His sound is so European. Makes you just want to sit in a cafe and smoke a cigarette (maybe I'll just hold one cuz I'm allergic to smoke)

Ok so there are 7. It is just a small sampling of all the classical, rock (old and new), alternative, jazz, classical, soundtracks, international and yes, even musicals - that we have in our possession in various forms. Now, if I understand this correctly - I have to tag some fellow bloggers. Let's tag Cyndy, Sara, Tracie, Sara, Rowena and Avery. Am I supposed to let them know I wonder? oh well, I'm winging it.


* For the sake of not repeating sognatrice I also really love Iris (GooGoo Dolls) and Everybody Hurts (REM)


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I Spy...

something green... something brown... something I have never seen in my backyard in the three years we've lived here!

I KNOW! IT'S A DUCK! IN MY BACKYARD!

Sorry the picture isn't so great but I had to take it through the glass of my back door. I tried to open it and snap, but it flew away when the door opened =( We do live by a lake (not ON a lake) but until today no "fowl" had ventured into my yard. Do you think it would've gotten in the pool had I not disturbed it? I wonder what Sophie would have done if she had been outside? Is that why she sometimes runs into the house at moc speed for no apparent reason? hehe

Oh well, I had to leave so it had to go too.

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A DAY IN THE HILLS

As I have shared before, being born and raised in Dallas has given me a great affinity for flat, wide land. My Italian, on the other hand grew up in the Euganean Hills in Italy and living here for 5+ years really made him miss his beloved hills. So, since I am missing him a bit today, I thought I would share with you his beautiful corner of Italy.

If you are ever in the Veneto region of Italy, take a detour to explore the quaint little towns of these hills. There are towns like Abano Terme with its spas of natural hot springs and thermal waters; Arqua Petrarca, home of the famous Italian poet (and one of my favorite towns); Este, home of the famous House of Este and featured in the book I just finished - Leonardo's Swans; and many more. I am mostly familiar with the Padova province but the whole area is full of interesting places to see. The cities are right on the railway so side-"off the beaten path"-trips are easily accessible. Even for a flatlander like me, the Euganean Hills are hard to resist!

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I love books

So when I saw this post on Cherrye's blog I had to do it. I read a ton, though after looking at the list, I see I am missing a lot! Books to me are windows into other lives, worlds and places. I can read a whole book in a day if I have the time. Both Stef and I love books so wherever we live, we needs lots of bookshelves!

Instructions: In the list of books below:
Bold the ones you’ve read
Italicize the ones you want to read
Mark in RED the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole
Put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf
Mark an asterisk (*) beside the ones you’ve never heard of

1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. +The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) (I know I am a nerd, but I
love the book and all 3 of the movies!)
6. +The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. +Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. *A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. +Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21.+ The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. +Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck) (not a big fan of Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) ( I don’t mind SciFi but I have no interest in this one, though I’ve heard its good)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) (ugh!)
33. *Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. *The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. *I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant) (I just heard of this one last week and now I can’t wait to read it!)
40. *The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) (but I will look for it –might be interesting)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. +Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. *She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. *The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. *Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling) (yes I know my Harrys above are in red, what can I say – I bought a couple, read them and am not interested in getting any more. I do like the movies though )
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. *The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. *The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. *One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. +Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. *Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. *A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier) ( I LOVE this book)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding) – bleh I hated this book. Dang Sophomore English!
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)- ugh, had to do a book report on this one. Depressing….
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum) (LOVE the movies though!)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch) – saw the movie, not interested in reading it.
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. *The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

More later...

Spring is springing

Spring is my 2nd favorite season of the year. I love the flowers shooting up, trees budding and colors popping against the grays of winter. Bluebonnet's will be coming up soon and I can't wait to share their beauty with you. I will miss them when we move =(

Something I don't like about the season is that we also have to "Spring Forward" into Daylight Savings Time. I have never understood why we do this. I mean ok, it makes sense back in the olden days, but now? And... lucky us, this year it was decided we should set our clocks forward 2 weeks earlier. Are we really saving energy by doing this? Seems like there are so many other things we could do to use less energy. but hey who am I.

Those of us from Texas get an additional bonus with Spring each year. What could that be, you ask? *cue the scary music* TORNADO SEASON

We get lovely spring storms throughout the season which bring great thunder & lightening shows (I do like a good storm) as well as hail and tornadoes. WOOHOOO I kid you not when I say, I had hail the size of baseballs in my yard one year. I swear! I put one in the freezer to be entered as evidence when my Italian came to visit. (that was before we were married) HA - after that "Everything's bigger in Texas" had a whole new meaning for him. I wish I had thought to take a picture, but you didn't do those things back then. I will admit I get a bit nervous when tornadoes are in the area. I have been through one and they are SCARY. Though I am not as bad as my Italian. He freaks. lol poor guy, I can't say I blame him too much. Maybe all those years of tornado drills in school took the edge off for me. If you've never sat in the hall (on your knees), hands over your head, practicing the drill well then, you have had a very sad sad childhood. lol

I think of this today because we had our first big thunderstorm this afternoon. I took pictures with my phone and sent them to my email, but unfortunately they are somewhere in cyberspace. That was a fun to drive home in. Who needs to see the car in front of you? No hail or tornadoes thank goodness, but it is a reminder of where we are headed for the next few months. Life on the wild side baby!

In case you think all I can talk about is weather or my cat, here is where I prove you wrong. MOVIES I watched a few dvds this weekend so here are my reviews:

A Good Year - bleh. The scenery is beautiful and makes you want to run out and buy a vineyard in Provence (or Italy as the case may be) but the movie was boring and blah. Russell Crowe's British accent totally got on my nerves. It was so contrived and "foppish," I was distracted from the movie. There was a cute dog and you did get to see RC roll around in mud though, so alas, all was not lost.
Rating - 2 out of 5 stars

Stranger Than Fiction - loved it. It was really a good movie. Will Farrell is not his normal over the top character (which I do find funny in many of his movies, obnoxious in others) - nope, he is a very straight laced, boring, IRS agent. The humor is dry and intelligent and Emma Thompson is just perfect in her role. It is such an interesting premise - sweet & poignant - I would definitely recommend it.
Rating - 4 out of 5 stars

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ME

I keep meaning to do the "me, not me" blog that Texpatriate started but i can't ever find the time! So instead I am going to copy Cherrye and give you a glimpse into me =) Its not totally right but not bad... fun anyway.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

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A Silver Lining

Got some good news today! The vet called and Sophie's thyroid and kidney levels are all fine. YAY!

So I am starting her on 1/2 an aspirin every 3 days, hopefully she will be better. She is playing tonight and seems more of her old self. That makes me happy. They are still concerned about her blood pressure though. I'm not sure what to do about that. I will take her back in to have it checked this week but I am not sure if it is really high or if its that she's just so freaked to be at the vet's.

Thanks for being patient through my kitty ordeal. I will write more about fun things now.

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Bad News

Well the news is not good for my sweet little kitty. After a barage of tests, it has been determined she has an enlarged heart which can cause bloodclots and actually did. That is why she was walking weird - the clots restrict blood to the back legs. Evidently, thats where blood goes first out of the heart.

In addition, she had high blood pressure and a fast heart beat which could be because she was at the vets all day. I have to check her heart rate all weekend to see whats what. We have to wait on her blood and urine tests to see how the kidneys and thyroid are working before we can start any medication. Monday, I should know.

I have been a basket case all day. Poor S. is ready to fly home as fast as he can to comfort us, but I won't let him. Hopefully, things turn out that its just her heart (like that isn't bad enough). But at least in that case, she would only be on a 1/2 a baby aspirin every 3 days or so and nothing else.

I couldn't pick her up fast enough today. She was so happy to be home at last. And to make things worse(?) she looks like nothing is wrong with her. Just a normal day in Sophie world. I am trying to stay positive but yet still come to the realization that her life will be shorter than I thought it would. She is such a sweet cat, never any trouble, funny and independent. Gets mad when she doesn't get her way but is quickly over it. loves me beyond reason, even loves S. though she is not as quick to show him. She is the most comforting animal I've ever had. Really - I mean if she hears arguing or yelling or you crying, she starts rubbing all over you and meowing. Does whatever she can do to make you feel better. its so sweet.

This year is not starting out very good.

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I know I know...

I am the WORST blogger ever. The problem is that there is a lot going on here but yet not. Does that make sense? Major changes are happening which seem to be dragging along but at the same time happening quickly. It's like some kind of time warp continum.lol I don't have anything interesting to blog about yet life as I know it is changing dramatically.

I am still looking for a job, though currently am employed contract. I'm not sure when that will end but think this will probably be the last month. sigh am trying not to worry too much. Finding a job sucks!

I am also a bit worried about my cute Sophie. She is not her normal self this evening - walking slow and didn't play at all tonight. I am going to take her to the vet in the morning (they open at 7) just to set my mind at ease.

I'm also reverting back to my love/hate relationship with the airport. I hope one day to get my love back of that place, but it seems too much lately to be about saying "goodbye' rather than "on to the next adventure". Next time you see an expat or someone living far away from home - give them a hug. It is not an easy life to be bi-continental. Rewarding of course, but not easy.

Sorry to be so blah and depressing. lol I've been feeling like that alot lately - hence the no posting. I'm really not as depressed as I sound just more sad. But this weekend should be fun, family is coming in town, 6yr birthday parties to be had, 9yr old basketball AND a Tom Petty cover band to see. Sounds like a full weekend to me!

More later...