Oh, Italy... How I Miss You

Yesterday I made a big mistake. Huge mistake. Massively huge gargantuan mistake.


I watched about 1 1/2 straight hours of Food Network.



All three shows (Paula Deen, Giada, and Barefoot Contessa) were showcasing herbs and Italian foods.




And it made me... A. Want to consume an entire weeks worth of calories in one sitting.
B. Go back to Italy.



Oh man, did it make me want to visit Italy again.


Did I tell you that is where DM and I went on our honeymoon?


It was fabulous. Magnificent. Extraordinary. Tremendous. Remarkable. Extraordinary. Amazing.
If you ever get the chance to go to Italy... please take it. I beg you. You won't regret it.


The food. THE FOOD. Oh my goodness gracious, the food. You can stop at any restaurant you pass while walking the streets and it is absolutely delicious. Despite the fact that we walked a bajillion miles a day (and literally almost died while hiking along the coast) I still managed to gain 10 pounds.


The views. THE VIEWS. It is so beautiful.


The history. THE HISTORY. Awe-inspiring.


The art. THE ART. It is so magnificent I can't even put it into words.


The pictures you are currently viewing were taken in Rome. It is fascinating... a bustling city built around ancient ruins. There is so much history to be seen... oh, and the Vatican. The Vatican left me speechless. To see the unbelievable art and to view the Sistine Chapel in person... I have no words. Other than, do your best to go and see it yourself!!


I repeat: You won't regret it. Or maybe this is just the crazy rantings of someone who is going through caprese withdrawal... I plead the 5th. And someone get me some mozzarella. STAT!

Love,

Rainbow!

My car... it needed tunin'

So, I had to go into the "big city" (Greensboro) to take it to the shop. When I went to pick it up... this is what I saw!

Granted, the photo was taken out of a moving vehicle... with my phone... in one of the ugliest parts of said "city." But, I think you get the idea!

In case you don't, here is the other side :)

Love,

w i n n i e

Hi, my name is Winnie! I am cute and cuddly and adorable... as you can see.





This is my mom, Annabelle. You read about her recently. ... She is a wonderful momma dog! I also have a biological brother, Oliver, and a sister named Tippy. We were found at a nearby farm and Tippy went to live with the owners of the farm where we were found. She loves it there! But I get to terrorize my brother Oliver on a daily basis :)


I love it here! I have lots of adopted brothers and sisters I can play with!! One of my absolute FAVORITE activities is....

Licking the other dogs' mouths!! It is so much fun! Primarily because it gets on their nerves... and what would a little sister be if she didn't try to get on everyone's nerves?!

I am definitely a tomboy! This picture... this picture is deceiving. It makes it look like I was doing something bad... like digging in the back yard which resulted in dirt all over me. But, umm, obviously I was not digging. Nope, definitely not digging. Definitely not doing anything bad. Nope! Not me! I am the definition of good behavior- no matter what the photographic evidence is!

Man, now I'm embarrassed that you caught me doing something bad....

Okay! I'm over it! Time to play!


Love,

Elaphe Obsoleta Obsoleta

The other morning we walked outside and found a surprise waiting for us.

Mom! Mom! Did you see it? Did you see it? It was AWESOME!

This... is the "awesome" new toy they had discovered...

He lives in the woods... we've seen him before... but never up near the house. Fortunately, I am not afraid of snakes but I AM afraid of the pups being bitten by a snake.

After seeing them interact with this snake, they have confirmed my fears. They thought it was a really great new toy!

I actually felt sorry for the little, four foot long, guy. Fortunately we were able to corral the dogs without incident to them or the snake.... or us. Then I followed him around and took photos while he tried to escape back to the safety of his woodland manor.

Seriously, Lady... leave me alone!

And I did. Because he had started his day with quite the traumatic experience and I didn't want to contribute to his increasing therapy bills. But I'm pretty sure he won't be venturing this way anytime soon!



Love,

Are you ready for some football?

Well, are you?


Let me fill you in a little bit on my football background... I don't have one. My high school didn't have a football team. We did not ogle the football players as they walked through the halls because... there weren't any football players. (And if my small school had created a football team- we would have been terrible and pathetic and therefore the football players still wouldn't have been revered). I have two brothers... but they are much older than I am and certainly didn't include their younger sister in football viewing activities. Even if they had tried, I would have scoffed and said "NO WAY!" Growing up, football was as much a part of my life as trying to catch a unicorn.. while flying through the air in a rainbow hovercraft... while wearing lederhosen... and eating brussel sprouts. *Shudder*

But then I met DM. A football player. And suddenly, I was dragged kicking and screaming gloriously swept off my feet and led into football land.

Recently I saw a cup that said "We interrupt this MARRIAGE to bring you FOOTBALL SEASON!" I want that cup. I have never felt a stronger connection with a quote than I do with the one on that little plastic cup.

I don't, however, mind attending football games. Which is precisely what we did last Sunday when we went to Charlotte to watch the Carolina Panthers (our team) take on the Philadelphia Eagles.(Oh, and really I don't mind watching football games when it is cold or rainy or yucky outside or when I'm bored... but shhhhh, don't tell).
I quite like our seats. We are close enough to the game to keep my attention... (which DM can certainly attest to my faulty attention span during sporting events)

This is Sir Purr. I love Sir Purr. Mainly because he is cuddly and cute- which is why I typically like all mascots. Also why I really struggled when I considered attending the University of Richmond. Their mascot? The Spiders. I don't know how you feel- but I certainly didn't think that Black Widow I found the other day was very cute and cuddly.

The players exiting their tunnel... fireworks, machismo, and excitement galore!

One thing I definitely do like... the flyovers. At least during the first game of the season they will have a flyover immediately preceding the game. It is really great! Except for that one time when we were running late and were still walking to the stadium when they flew by... It was not long after 9/11 and we were walking through downtown Charlotte... and WOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! They do not make much noise until they are directly overhead... and it is LOUD. I nearly jumped out of my skin. And then I felt dumb.


And... okay. Let me get my social commentary out of the way. Normally, I will keep my political/social/polarizing/etc opinions to myself and out of the blog. But I am going to make an exception here- and I hope you forgive me for it.

Because this?

This is how I feel. I am NOT a fan of Michael Vick. Not at all.

I will keep my real rants about it to myself...

Moving on...

Did anyone see this game?

If you did not see this game- let me tell you how it went. It was AWESOME! We won by a million points!

If you did see this game... well... umm... it didn't go so well. I mean, started off great! But went downhill from there. As in downhill from the peak of Mt. Everest.

But look! We did score one touchdown in the beginning!


This guy was absolutely enthralled with the game. He was cheering, and jumping, and screaming, and possibly doing ninja kicks in the air. The only problem is that he was supposed to be watching the crowd to maintain order. I think he is just a smart fan who found himself a gig that lets him be on the field!

This little girl was too precious not to snap a photo of! Look how cute she is!!

This gentleman has his face painted every game. EVERY game.

This gentleman... well, he was not pleased with the performance of his team. Not pleased at all, I tell ya.
This just made me laugh. He too was in charge of maintaining order but instead chose to spend much of the time presumably checking text messages. I will say this... it kind of makes me happy to know that the security peeps feel comfortable enough with the crowd to relax.

It's football season... marriage interrupted.

Fetch

"Throw it! Throw it! Throw it! Throw it! Throw it!"

"Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I got it! I got it! Guys? Did you see me? He threw it and I got it!"

"What? You act like it isn't normal to chase a ball over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again!
....

Horses are so weird."