Update From Alan

The city we're in isn't a "tourist" city, so there's not a whole lot of people that speak english. By not a whole lot I mean the entire city. I really thought that the entire world was learning english and at least the young ppl all spoke if fluently everywhere. Italy thinks Alan should stuff is english. I guess italian's been working well for a few thousand years, why change now? Jeremy and I just got back from a nice restaurant and only 1 waiter spoke a very small smidge of english. It was a mess, but we did manage to order food (thank god for pointing... that's pretty universal). I'm stuffed. I don't know if people really order both a primi piatti and secondi piatti. I thought they did. My stomach thinks otherwise.

Our hotel is miniature. My room (bed + bath) is about the size of our bedroom. The elevator fits 2 people. Ever see a 2 person elevator? Me neither. They exist though. It's cut though. Jason (guy from NYC that we're here with) says that italians don't do a lot of business travel so they don't need a big "home away from home" when it comes to their hotels; hence why they're hotels tend to be so small.

Daily Updates From Alan

Alan is in Italy this week for work. Without his permission I'm posting his daily updates. He's a funny man, my sweet husband!

An italian's day:

wake up, have some coffee

go to work and work for a bit

go have some more coffee

work for a bit more

go to lunch and have some coffee

work for a bit

coffee

go home

wine

There's a coffee shop everywhere. There's one downstairs.

Coffee can be either an expresso shot, which is *tiny*, think a thimble full of coffee something, or a cappuccino, which I've come to prefer. Cappuccino = 1 euro or about a buck fiddy.

Jeremy just said that if we don't leave here addicted to coffee, we will never be addicted to coffee. I concur.

Shhhhhhhh...

shhhhhh, I think knitted bowls are stupid looking. Don't tell anyone or they may take away my knitting needles.....

35 in a 50 every single day

Anyone who's talked to me while I'm driving down Germantown Pkwy knows how annoyed I get at all of those jackassed Memphis drivers who go 35 in a 50. It's like that every. single. time. I drive down that street. I'm not kidding! It drives me nuts! Tonight I decided yelling GO! MF'ers! doesn't work no matter how loud I yell it.

So, if you can't beat crazy, then join in the party. I'm going to roll the windows down and wave my hand out the drivers side window princess style while, every 50 feet or so, chuck handfuls of cheap candy out the passenger side window. If they want to drive like their in a freaking parade, then, by God, I am, too.

Busy week

Our moving checklist is getting smaller and smaller. We took off the HUGE storm windows for the family room and kitchen today and washed them. What a pain in the butt! Thank god for Neighbors-on-Call to help get the glass back in place! Hey Tanya, you should start a business and call it that!

I painted our bedroom yesterday.

I painted the fireplace last week.

Cleaned out our closet and donated a bunch of clothes and shoes.

Things left on the Skye To-Do List:

• Screens to replace on some of the windows
• Remove the two front picture window glass, wash, and replace.
  
• Stuff to put on the wood floors make them shine
• Paint the upstairs hall
• Clean out the rest of the closets
• Paint the kitchen
  

Alan has his own list, but he can keep up with his stuff all by himself. He's good that way.

By the way, does everyone know we're moving back to Dallas? Kind of pertinent info for this post to make sense. heh.

Random Fact

I keep a 28oz (1lb) jar of maraschino cherries in the fridge to snack on. I especially love to drink the juice. I have to replace the jar surprisingly often.

Cortland Playing

For Tanya who has been too sick to come by and snuggle C.

WE HAD A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD LILLIAN JOSEPHINE PICKERING!!!!!!!!!!

Carroll is Having Her Baby RIGHT NOW!

One of my best friends went in for an emergency c-section at 10:30 this morning! We will find out if we have a Lilly Josephine or a Leo James within the next hour.

She started bleeding yesterday from the full placenta previa and in the hospital her blood pressure shot up and she had the beginining of preeclampcia. She started full labor in the middle of the night. Baby is coming 6 weeks early so everyone please keep her and baby in your prayers.

Anything's Possible

As girls sometimes do when the boys are out of the room; my Grandma, mom and I were discussing women stuff when during the conversation my Grandma blurts out that she calls her girlie-bits Possible.

I waved my hands around wildly and stopped the whole conversation to get an explanation.

She said years ago she was a home health aid. Part of her job was to sponge bathe the older patients. One older woman instructed my Grandma to start at her feet and wash as far up as possible. Then to start at her head and wash as far down as possible. She said she herself would then wash Possible.
*snort*