Happy Holidays!

Belated Merry Christmas everyone! We had a wonderful first Christmas with Grant. Even though he was a little under the weather with his first cold, we enjoyed the day. Grant wore his Christmas outfit and even posed as our special gift under the tree! He truly is our Christmas gift from above--our best gift ever!


Posing for the camera


Dreaming of gingerbread cookies!

My stocking from Mimi

Where the rainbow ends

Jeff, Grant, and I had to go to base for an appointment on Wednesday. On our way home, from the appointment we saw this amazing rainbow as we got off the highway onto the exit for our housing complex. We had to take a picture because not only was it a double rainbow, but it looked like the end of the rainbow was pouring into our housing complex. Who knew that the end of the rainbow was our housing complex in Mineo?

What a year!

Jeff and I were talking about the passage of the past year. WOW! A lot has happened in the past year or so of our lives. We were in awe of the how quickly the year passed, but also grateful for the events of the past year. We got married in September 2006, moved to Sicily in December 2006, got pregnant in March 2007, and had Grant in December 2007! Whew! We had one busy year! So much happened in such a short amount of time, but overall we know that we are so blessed in many ways. What a difference a year can make! We look forward to the coming year of 2008, but hope that it is not so jammed packed with life changing events. However, we realize all you can really do is take it one day at a time and pray for the grace to make through each day.

I'm in charge!

As you can see by the above picture, Grant is already showing a "take charge" attitude. Every time we feed him, he puts one or both hands on his bottle as if he wants to feed himself. We usually move his little hands out of the way so that we can see his feeding progress. However, today he was determined to hold on to the bottle with all his might! He may be small for the moment, but he is strong and very determined! Watch out world! If only he could change his own diaper...

The handsome new man in our lives

Jeff and I are so pleased to announce that Grant Daniel Thomas was born on Monday December 3rd at 7:49am in Sicily. Grant has definitely made his debut as he was a hit with not only all the hospital staff, but also with everyone he has met so far.

We are definitely loving our little handsome man. He has dark blond hair and blue eyes. He is sure to be a charmer. More details to come when we are operating on more sleep!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Last week Jeff and I celebrated Thanksgiving with several other American families. One of Jeff's co-workers invited everyone from work and their families over for Thanksgiving dinner.

It was nice meeting Jeff's co-workers and their spouses. It was also nice being with a large group for dinner. My family in North Carolina always invites everyone over for Thanksgiving dinner also, so I am used to having Thanksgiving with 15 or more people. There were probably about 20 or more people at our dinner in Sicily. Hey, the more the merrier! We even had an Italian family stop by who were friends with the hosts. (Italians don't celebrate Thanksgiving, by the way. It's totally an American holiday.)

That is one of the things that is nice about living overseas on a military installation. During holidays, birthdays, and other celebrations, people tend to come together. We are each other's family while we are all living so far away from home.

The Final Countdown

I can't believe that we are in the final days before the baby arrives. I'm 36 weeks pregnant(and counting). It really seems like just yesterday that we were staring at the home pregnancy test in disbelief!

As far as we can see, we are ready...or at least as ready as you can be for the arrival of a new baby. We have assembled the crib, bought (washed and folded) all the baby clothes, set up the baby monitors, and bought/received everything else we think we need for the baby. We even have a diaper station set up downstairs in case we aren't upstairs in his room when the diaper explodes! (Ha, ha!)

So now we just wait and enjoy the final days before our little one arrives. Although we are savoring these final days, I think we are too excited for him to arrive to really think about anything else. Besides, as my doctor put it, "Baby will come when baby is good and ready." With that in mind, he could be here tomorrow or a month from now....we'll see! And, of course, we'll keep you posted!

Revised Surveys

About a week ago I posted a request to help a friend of mine with a book that she is writing. My friend is writing a book on the topic of singleness versus marriage. She is asking for some willing women to take the following surveys for research purposes for her book.

Since then we have revised the process. If you are willing and able, just click on the links below to take two very short surveys. The surveys are geared towards women who are married or who have been previously married, with or without children. This information will help the writer gather information solely for research purposes for her book. All surveys are completely anonymous; no names are required or recorded. Thank you in advance for your help! (*Note: After you take the first survey, come back to my blog again to take the second survey! Thanks!)

Click Here to take survey">Survey 1

Click Here to take survey">Survey 2

The rest of the story: Part IV

And now, the rest of the story....

Our last day in Rome, we visited the Pantheon. The Pantheon is one of Rome's best-preserved ancient monuments and it has been standing for over 2000 years. It was fascinating and had a neat opening in the dome. Sunlight pours in through the opening and moves around as the day progresses. After visiting the Pantheon, we decided to take our last day in Rome to walk around at leisure and see whatever we ran across. We walked by the Trevi Fountain again. We shopped. We had some lunch and soaked in the culture.

The next day we travelled to Florence. To get to Florence we took a train from the main train station in Rome. The train ride was nice and only took about an hour and a half. It was a nice transition from city life to seeing the countryside as we headed to Florence.

Once we got to Florence, we called our hotel to see if they had a shuttle. Once again we were in luck! We didn't realize it until we got there, but our hotel was on the outskirts of Florence (about a 25 minute drive from the center of town). Our hotel had a shuttle that ran several times a day to the center of town. After travelling and getting to our hotel, we had dinner in our hotel and called it a night.

Our first day in Florence, we went to the Accademia. This is where you find the famous 14-foot-tall statue of David. There were paintings, sculptures, and even an exhibit on musical instruments that were several centuries old. Seeing David however, was the best part. It was a truly amazing statue which looked flawless. Jeff read from the commentary on this statue by Michelangelo that the artist stated that "the statue was already there and he just chipped away the unnecessary pieces of marble." (paraphrased quote)

We spent the rest of the day going to a couple of churches, looking at some souvenir stores, and dining on yummy paninis and gelato.

Our next day in Florence was my favorite. We went to the famous Uffizi Gallery. This is a museum that has many works by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, etc. I was excited to see the famous painting "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli. We also ran across a painting of Adam and Eve that appears in the opening credits of "Desperate Housewives." It's interesting to realize how many famous paintings we actually knew as they are often used in our commercialized society. There was so much to see that it took about 3 hours to go through this gallery. After the gallery, we found this little cafe where we stopped for lunch. It was the most amazing food we had while we were in Florence. We dined on pasta, pizza, and bruschetta. It was the perfect finish to a long day of sight-seeing.

On our way home, we stopped by Florence's Duomo (large church) and the surrounding sights. We especially liked the bronze doors on the nearby Baptistery. Again, this was an amazing sight as you realize how long ago these buildings were constructed.

The next morning we packed up and started our journey home. Again, it was a day of planes, trains, and automobiles. We travelled from Florence to Rome first, then from Rome to Catania, Sicily. We had an amazing time on our trip, but it was so nice to get home as well. Hopefully you enjoyed reading about our adventures in Rome and Florence!

More Views of Rome: Part III

Our second full day in Rome we decided to go to Vatican City. Jeff had been there before and graciously agreed to go again for my sake. So after a breakfast of coffee and croissants (our daily breakfast on this trip), we headed out. After consulting our guide book and maps, we found the metro stop we needed to go to the Vatican. (It's the Ottaviano stop in case you were dying to know!)

After talking to some women from Wales that we met at our hotel, we decided to go to the museum part of the Vatican first as it closes daily around 2pm. The Vatican has several museums which house many famous and beautiful works such as Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The other main sight on our agenda, St. Peter's Basilica, was open until 6pm. Therefore our plan was to visit the museums first, have lunch, and then go to the Basilica.

As mentioned above, we met several nice people on our trip. We met two women from Wales, a family from Ireland and England, and a nice couple from Pennsylvania in our hotel. I think hearing the English language being spoken strikes up conversations between fellow travellers. We also met a very nice couple from Australia while waiting in the 45-minute (or longer) line for the Vatican museums.

Once inside the entrance to the Vatican museums, we plotted out what we wanted to see. There is so much to see that it is not possible to see it all. Here's what we did see: gorgeous paintings, interesting sculptures, amazing tapestries, ancient mummies and other Egyptian artifacts, old maps, modern art, and beautiful gardens. I know that I could not remember all the names, but you will get the idea from the pictures. Standing in the Sistine Chapel (attached to the museums) that housed the famous paintings by Michelangelo was amazing. Seeing the picture of God and Adam (the famous fingers-almost-touching painting) was really neat. (Note: However it was hard to see as it is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. You really have to crane your neck to see it!)

After leaving the Sistine Chapel, we decided to take a break for some nourishment. The Vatican museums took three hours to see, so we were definitely famished. We found a small restaurant along the way to the Basilica. After a quick pizza, we headed towards St. Peter's Basilica. The line to get inside the Basilica was another long line, but it seemed to move quickly. The inside of the Basilica was truly amazing. It was so ornate. Being that it is a church, there was a church service being held in one part of the chapel. Many churches do not allow you to take pictures (or talk loudly for that manner), but we were allowed to take pictures. It was really beautiful as there were great works of art here also including Michelangelo's sculpture Pieta (Mary holding Jesus).

We spent a lot of time in the Basilica as it was hard to take it all so quickly. Once we did leave, we decided to make our way back to the hotel, as we were both feeling tired. Our typical day usually started around 9am and ended around 6-7pm. That's about all this pregnant woman could handle each day! We looked at a few stores along the way home and picked up some paninis for dinner. Another successful day in Rome was complete!

Sight-Seeing in Rome: Part II

Our first full day in Rome began with a continental breakfast at our hotel. Keep in mind that an Italian continental breakfast is not the same as an American continental breakfast. However, I enjoyed the breakfast as it consisted of croissants, pain du chocolat (one of my favorite pastries from France, which is basically bread with a little bit of chocolate inside), apples, cereal, cold cuts (I think it was ham??? and cheese) and coffee. You can get American coffee sometimes(but don't count on it), but for the most part your choice is an espresso or a cappuccino. Jeff and have actually grown fond of Italian coffee. He orders an espresso (called a caffe)and I get a cappuccino. We had quite a few of these while travelling to keep our energy up.

Our first sight-seeing venture was to see the Colosseum. Once you get off the metro and walk outside the metro station, you are hit with an awesome beauty. The Colosseum is right there in front of you. After dodging vendors who are trying to sell you some tacky souvenir or who are trying to get you to take their "special English tour", you can make your way to the Colosseum. It really is breath-taking as you realize the history behind the ruins.

We stood in line for about 30-45 minutes before we got inside. Once inside the Colosseum, we walked around the ancient ruins in awe. It is amazing to believe that this structure was built around AD 80.

After spending the morning at the Colosseum, we decided to do something completely "touristy" for lunch. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Rome for lunch. It was the BEST cheeseburger that either of us has had since leaving the states. It was delicious! Since Jeff had been to the HRC in London and I had been to the one in Paris, we felt we had to make our way to the one in Rome.

After a nice respite, we made our way to the famous Trevi Fountain. This fountain is featured in the famous movie "La Dolce Vita" in which the main characters wade in the fountain. Although it is illegal to wade in the fountain today, you can throw a coin in the fountain. Jeff got some video footage of me throwing a coin over my shoulder, which is the custom. Hey, when in Rome! The fountain was beautiful, but oh so crowded. You have to wrestle your way through the crowd to get somewhat close. We also saw the Spanish Steps along the way to the fountain. These steps are popular as many people sit on them and rest. This is a prime spot to people watch. At the bottom of these steps is a small fountain as well as a piazza filled with cafes and designer stores. We spent the rest of the day wandering around this area before we made our way back to the hotel. Our first day in Rome was a blast!

Our Trip: Part I

There is so much to share about our trip, that I decided to break it into a couple of segments. This is part one:

Our trip started by flying out of Catania Sicily to Rome. The flight went smoothly and we arrived in Rome after only being in the air for one hour. That's the kind of flight I like!

When we arrived at the Fiumicino airport in Rome, we were excited to start our adventure. This airport in located in the outskirts of Rome. You have to take a train to the main train/subway station in Rome called Stazione Termini. This station is located in the center of the city. After collecting our luggage without a hitch, we started looking for the train terminal.

From talking to friends and reading a guide book, we were able to easily find the train terminal to purchase our tickets for the train ride to Termini. You can either buy the tickets yourself at an automated machine or purchase them from a counter. (Important side note: We definitely recommend getting a guide book by Lonely Planet, Rick Steve's, etc. It was a lifesaver!)

The train you take to Termini is called the Leonardo Express (Really...I didn't make that up!) and leaves the airport every 30 minutes to the Termini station. We jumped on this train (which was very crowded) and arrived quickly in the center of Rome.

Once we got to Termini, we looked for the subway system that would eventually get us to our hotel. Termini was a bustling station with lots of stores, cafes, and lots and lots of people. We figured out which metro stop we needed for our hotel and jumped on the metro. For the main part, our day of traveling went pretty well. We were a little tired from lugging our suitcases around, but we made it.

We arrived at our subway stop which also was a bus station. We called our hotel to see if they had a shuttle to pick us up. After a slight miscommunication of where to go to be picked up, we made it to the pick up point and was finally picked up by the 6:15pm shuttle. Once we got to our hotel, we were exhausted. After a meal at the hotel restaurant for dinner, we called it a day. We decided that we could have made our own rendition of the movie "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." The next day we would begin our sight-seeing adventure by visiting the Colosseum and other ancient Roman ruins!

When in Rome...

you take a picture of yourself in front of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Yes, here's our attempt of trying to take a picture of ourselves. We are still pooped and recovering from our adventure, but I wanted to post at least one picture from our Rome-Florence Adventure. More to come!

Birthday Surprise!

Last night I surprised Jeff with a surprise birthday dinner. Even though his birthday isn't until the 22nd, I wanted to go ahead and plan this dinner as we will be in Florence on his birthday. (Which will be exciting also!)

Several people that we have met, as well as some of Jeff's co-workers, showed up at one of the local restaurants for his birthday dinner. We had such a great time talking and enjoying good Italian food with friends. The best part of all is that Jeff had no idea that we had planned this for him. He was so surprised!

The only bummer is that I forgot to take the camera. You'll just have to take my word for it that we had a great time! In the meantime, we are packing and getting ready for our trip. We'll keep you posted!

Lots to celebrate!

We are leaving to go to Rome and Florence this week. We are so excited! We decided to take a trip for several reasons. One, Jeff definitely needs a break. He hasn't had any time off since last Christmas. We also wanted to go somewhere before the baby gets here.(They are now calling that a "babymoon"!) We are also celebrating our one year anniversary (Sept. 30th), my birthday (Oct. 11th) and Jeff's birthday (Oct. 22nd). With all that to celebrate, we decided what better way to celebrate than to go somewhere fun! Stay tuned for more...

On the other hand...

I am having difficulty typing this entry as I recently hurt my left hand. We still have not figured out how I did it, but I have sprained/strained my left wrist, more specifically, my thumb and the tendons that run down to my wrist.

At first, I thought it was Carpel Tunnel Syndrome as that is a common malady at times in pregnant women. Supposedly the swelling that you experience being pregnant affects your joints, etc. On Friday, I woke up in such pain that my hubby took me to the hospital. The doctor said that I didn't have CTS, but rather De Quervain's Tenosynovitis. In plain English, it means I sprained/strained my wrist and thumb.

The funny thing about all this (you know me, always finding the humor in things) is that this condition is found mainly in people who ski a lot or who use hammers in their daily job. Um....I do neither of those on a daily basis. So it still remains a mystery how I strained my wrist. I have learned that strange things happen to your body when you are pregnant, and you just have to roll with it.

So now I am sporting a splint on my left hand so as to immobilize my wrist and thumb. I now have full empathy for those who have broken arms (never had one of those before). It's hard to do all the things of a daily lifestyle with one hand. It's been interesting.

Well, to look at the bright side of things, I am glad that this happened now and not when the baby is first born. I still have 9 weeks to heal! Whew!

On this day...

On this day one year ago we were exchanging our wedding vows in front of family and dear friends. Happy One Year Anniversary to us!

It has definitely been a busy year! Shortly after getting married last September, we packed up our life to move to Sicily for three years. As we were getting unpacked and settling into our new life, we found out we were pregnant in April! Whew! What a year!

As we celebrate our anniversary, we reminisce about the fun we had at the wedding celebrating with everyone. We plan to let the celebration continue as we have had a wonderful year together!

Surprise Baby Shower!

Last Saturday we were surprised by our friends here in Sicily. We were invited to go over to a couple's house for dinner. When we got there, all of the friends we have met here were at the couple's house. We were totally surprised!

Our friends really went over and beyond for this shower. We had scrumptious food, fun games, and gifts. It was such a blessing. It was comforting to know that there are such kind and caring people here in Sicily. It helps knowing this as we are so far from family and friends in the states.

It was such a wonderful surprise. See the baby website for more pictures.

Finally Fall!

September 23rd marked the first day of Fall for 2007. I am so excited as Fall is my favorite season. Granted, this will be my first Fall in Italy. It will be interesting to see how my favorite season will unfold here. Hey--I am just glad that it is finally Fall. It might even rain tonight! I am overjoyed! (Note: With the exception of a few miniscule light drizzles, it hasn't really rained since May.)

Local Cuisine

On Thursday night Jeff and I decided to try a new restaurant. A friend had told us about a good restaurant in the nearby town Motta. We decided to give it a try.

The restaurant is very popular among the Italians, but not well known by Americans. We have heard since we have been here that if you want amazing food, eat where the locals eat. I must say the food here was amazing.

I wish that I had remembered to bring my camera (even though I would have looked like a crazy tourist!) The inside of the restaurant was decorated with Medieval artifacts such as shields, swords, and flags. The restaurant itself was an old barn that the owner had turned into a restaurant. I can't remember the exact name of the restaurant, but I know that its name translates into English as "The Barn."

Now on to the food! I was so delicious and fresh. I don't think I've ever had such fresh food. Even though we had 3 courses, we didn't feel stuffed as the portion sizes were perfect. We started off with bruschetta and then each had a pasta. I had pasta alla norma (homemade tomato sauce, rigitoni, fresh basil, eggplant, and Parmesan cheese). Jeff had a four cheese pasta. We then had a meat course: I had almond chicken and Jeff had veal Marsala. We ended this meal with cappuccinos (although Italians only drink cappuccinos for breakfast, we had to have one!) Yum! I am drooling as I describe the meal.

Although we both miss the states, it's meals like this that remind us that we are having cultural experiences here that are amazing!

Happy Feet!

Today I went with a friend to a spa. We went to get pedicures. This was my first experience in getting a pedicure in Italy. Although it was not the best pedicure I have ever gotten, it was nice to get out and do something "girly" with a friend. I enjoyed the pampering joy of having someone else paint my toenails, which is no small feat (no pun intended) now that I am pregnant. It was also nice to get together with a girlfriend to chat and to get a pedicure. Like the title says, my feet are happy and tickled pink!

Missing Home...

It's Alive!

Last night we got a spectacular show from Mt. Etna. It was erupting! Mt. Etna seems to do that a lot as it is an active volcano. When we first moved here, I was a little startled by the fact that it erupts a lot. However, in our orientation class, one of the locals explained that the fact that it erupts a little bit every so often is a good thing. It keeps it from building up into a large explosion that could really cause some danger.

It was an amazing sight to see the red hot flames. A lot of people in our neighborhood were doing the same thing as we were: enjoying Mt. Etna's show.

For concerned family and friends, we are fine. Today the eruption has stopped and all is well. Jeff told me that when he was stationed here before he experienced ash rain. If it rains shortly after the volcano erupts, then the rain will be laden with soot and will appear as though it is raining mud. Weird, huh?

Also, the picture above is one I found online and not from yesterday's eruption. Click here for the link to an interesting website that shows a lot of pictures of Mt. Etna.

Grilling and Chilling!

We just got a new charcoal grill about 2 weeks ago. So far we have used it at least once a week! We love it! There is nothing like a mesquite chicken or a burger from the grill. We thought about getting a gas grill, but we both agreed that we loved the good old fashioned taste and smell of a charcoal grill. So far we have had chicken, steak, burgers, and corn on the cob on the grill. Yummy!

By looking at the picture above, you can see who the grill-master is! Ahhh, a man and his grill.

Summer Flicks: Part III

As you previously read in two other posts, Jeff and I enjoy going to the movies. We were excited about a couple of movies due to come out this summer. We saw his pick ("Transformers") awhile back. My pick finally came to the island: "Bourne Ultimatium." We saw it last weekend. It was fantastico!I just love spy/adventure movies. We will probably try to catch a few more flicks before we are three! Once baby gets here, it will be all about baby!

Caltagirone: Part two

Jeff and I went to Caltagirone on Saturday. As mentioned in the previous post, Caltagirone is known as the town of ceramics. We decided that we would try to venture out and find the famous ceramic staircase. After finding a perfect spot to park, we walked around the town and literally stumbled across the staircase. We were amazed at the ceramics as each stair had a different design. We did not climb the steps as there are 142 steps! Perhaps if I weren't pregnant and it wasn't in the high 90s, we would have tried. We did take a lot of pictures including this one of us standing on the steps!

Shopping in Caltagirone

On Saturday, I went to the market in Caltagirone with another friend and her daughter. Caltagirone is known for having a beautiful 142-step staircase with ceramic inlays. Although we didn't make it to the staircase for a view, we did go to the market.

Several of the towns in Sicily have great markets on Saturdays. These markets open early in the morning and run until 1pm in the afternoon. At these markets, you can find anything from fresh fruit and veggies to clothing and shoes. My friend bought a few items for her daughter who is about to start kindergarten. I bought a cute pair of shoes (that I will save for after the pregnancy) and 1 kilo of fresh nectarines. These open air markets remind of a combination between a flea market and a huge yard sale. There are some items that I probably wouldn't buy there (such as underwear!), but there are also some good deals as well (like yummy fresh fruit.)

After browsing the market for a couple of hours, we went to a bread shop (Panificio) for drinks and a snack. You can usually find paninni sandwiches there, pizza, and of course, fresh bread. Today was a fun experience. It's always interesting trying to communicate with the locals and to explore the local culture.

Getting ready for Baby

This past week we worked on setting up the baby's room. Up until now, this room was just an extra storage space. We moved all of the "extra" stuff to our guest bedroom, (which is a project for another day!)and rearranged the room.

Although the walls are bare and are in need of some decoration, the room is looking good. We have a crib, changing table, a chair, and a couple of baby toys (baby chair that vibrates and a baby bouncer).

My favorite things so far are the crib comforter outfit my mom got for us and the baby diaper bag my sis got for me. The comforter is decorated with safari animals in sage green, light blue, and yellow. Perfect for a boy!

It's starting to come together which is exciting! We still need to stock up on some other items, but this is a good start!

Enduring the heat

I heard on the news that this is one of the hottest summers on record. Whew! I believe it. Take a look at our front yard. We now realize that we need to invest in a sprinkler. Oops! The palms trees are fine, but the grass has taken a beating. Fall can't get here soon enough!

In case you haven't heard...

We had an ultra last week and found out that we are having a boy!! We were both surprised as we really didn't know what to expect! To read more about our bambino, go to the baby's website: www.totsites.com/tot/thomasbamino

The above picture is of the baby looking straight into the camera (perhaps smiling?!) with one of his arms raised in the air. During the ultrasound he moved this raised arm back and forth as if to say, "Hi Mom and Dad! I'm here!" We are going to have a ham for sure!

Domestic Diva!

Last night I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. There is a cookout at Jeff's work today for a guy who is moving back to the states. So I decided to make cookies.(I must put a note in here that my fabulous husband marinated chicken for the cookout as well. He likes to cook too! On Saturday mornings, I call our kitchen Jeff's Diner.)

Of course, I know that this is not a grande gourmet gesture. However when I was working full-time last year, I never had time to do things like this! Maybe next time I'll try something more gourmet, although these cookies taste pretty good!

Summer flicks: Part II

Last Friday night, Jeff, myself, and another couple went to dinner and went to see "Transformers." I must admit, it was a pretty good flick. I usually judge if I am interested in a movie by whether I look at my watch during the movie or not...or how many times! I didn't check my watch for the time even once during this 2.5 hour flick.

It was amusing to see how many people lined up to see this movie. Of course, we went on the opening night on the base. It was the hot spot of the night! We actually had tried to go to the 5pm showing, but it sold out at 2:30pm. So we got some dinner and saw the 8:30pm showing. All in all, it was a good time. Next time, we'll see my pick!

Summer Flicks

Both Jeff and I love going to the movies and summer time is the time to go! We both are excited about certain movies.

Jeff can not wait to see the "Transformers" movie. It is all he has talked about for the past month. Thankfully, it only takes about a week, sometimes less, for a newly released movie to make it here to the base in Italy. I think Jeff is excited about re-living his childhood. We both have been singing..."Transformers...More than meets the eye" for the past couple of days, but we won't admit it!

I can not wait for the next Bourne movie to come out: "The Bourne Ultimatum." I loved "The Bourne Identity (also a good book) and "The Bourne Supremacy." I think it stems back to my days of reading Nancy Drew books. I love mystery and suspense. And I love spy movies! Can't wait!

So when we are not exploring the Italian culture, you can find us at the base catching a flick. The best part is that it only costs three bucks a movie!

Pizza and an adventure!

We have an Italian family owned restaurant/pizzeria close to where we live. We had heard from other families in our neighborhood that it was pretty good, so we decided to give it try last Saturday night.

As soon as we saw the brick oven, we knew we wanted pizza for dinner. I ordered a spinach, oregano, tomato pizza and Jeff got the "Paradise" pizza. The "Paradise" pizza was a cheese pizza with french fries on top of it. Jeff has told me about this pizza before, but I didn't believe him. It was actually quite yummy! Who would have thought to put fries on top of a pizza?

Afterwards we decided to drive through the local town of Palagonia. I had heard through a friend that there was an Italian supermarket there. So we ventured out. It was such a cozy little town. They had strung white lights up so that it looked like a festival was taking place. There were fruit stands and people standing outside talking to one another. There were people sitting outside at cafes drinking coffee or wine. People were zipping by on vespas. It was so cool.

Then we decided to drive to the next local town of Mineo to see what if anything was going on there. Mineo is a town on a mountain directly behind our neighborhood. After finally getting to the top of the winding road up the mountain, we found much of the same scene. Everyone outside talking, socializing and having a good time. There was also a small soccer match being played.

Although we just drove around each of the towns, we made a mental note to come back one evening and have dinner or a coffee. We were actually quite proud of ourselves for venturing out. Stay tuned for more adventures...

Bambino website

To keep up with what's going on with the baby, check out this website:

www.totsites.com/tot/thomasbamino

The baby has its own website already! Enjoy!

Graduation in Sicily

Today was a busy day! I have been volunteering with an university this week helping them prepare for their Graduation ceremony today.

After many last minute tasks, everything pulled together nicely to produce a wonderful ceremony. It was a special day for the graduates as many of them had been working for many years on their degrees by taking classes part-time while being in the military full-time.

It was fun to watch the families applaud and take pictures of their graduate. Afterwards, there was a nice reception with anti-pasti (Italian for appetizers) and cake.

The thing I enjoyed the most about today was seeing a few people that I already knew and catching up with them, as well as meeting some new people. Everyone here has a common conversation opener: "So, when did you get to Sig?" or "When did you land on the Island?" It's a common thread that seems to unite us as we start to share stories about how long we've been here, where we came from, and what we and/or our spouse does here.

As I was driving home after the Graduation reception, I thought to myself, "It's really going to be okay. We are going to make it here. And I think I kind of like it." Of course, Sicily is beautiful and I have enjoyed my time here, but there were a few home-sick weeks. After the newness wore off after being here awhile, I found myself listing everything I missed about the states, (family, friends, Target, Starbucks, any modern convenience, etc....) but now I get the sense that everything is going to be okay. I still miss those things from the states, but maybe I am learning accept that I don't have them in my daily life right now in order to embrace some new things.

One day at a time...

Back in Italy

I just got back last week from a trip to the states. I had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends. It was great to see people and to stock up on baby stuff.

Now that I am back in Italy, I have been busy! After spending a few days unpacking and getting settled, I started volunteering at one of the satellite universities on the base. I had originally applied for a job with the university as an academic advisor. The job was not offered due budget cuts. So I was asked if I would be interested in volunteering. Since I applied for this job before I found out we were having a baby, this works out nicely. Of course it would be nice to be earning a little moola, but this gives me a chance to get out of the house a couple of days a week. And since it is only volunteer work, I set my own hours and I can quit when it gets closer to the baby's due date.

It's been nice being back in Italy with my husband. If only we can endure the hot, hot weather, I think it will be a fun summer. (It's supposed to be 102 degrees on Saturday! Mama Mia!)

Where's the beef??

Remember that old Wendy's commercial in which old woman wanted to know where the beef was in her hamburger?

Well, during this trimester of my pregnancy so far, beef is all I can think about!! I have been craving red meat and cheese so much. I guess that's good as I've read that at this point in the pregnancy the main nutrients the baby needs is protein, iron, and calcium.

No wonder I want a cheeseburger almost daily! Never in my life have I craved red meat so much. I am usually a grilled chicken kinda girl, but not now! Bring on the burgers and roast beef sandwiches! Heck, I might even have a steak.

Until next time....gotta go get a snack!

One year ago...

I was reminded today that a year ago today, Jeff and I were in NC visiting my family for the Memorial Day holiday. It was then that my now husband was just getting to know my family. It was also then that Jeff hinted to his future mother-in-law that he was interested in becoming her son-in-law.

Funny how time flies. Here we are a year later. Not only is my husband a son-in-law, but is soon to be a daddy. I love my husband. He's such a good guy!

What happened to Spring???

For the past couple of summers it seems as though our weather has gone from Winter, to a few days (or so it seems) of Spring, and then it immediately becomes Summer. At least the temperature reflects that of Summer temps instead of Spring. I think I wonder this every year....WHAT HAPPENED TO SPRING????

It's too hot already for my taste. I know I shouldn't complain, but good grief!

Oh, well. I guess I'll just run my air-conditioning until my favorite season comes along: Fall, beautiful, Fall. I can't wait.

The latest news in Italy!

Jeff and I had our first baby appointment today. That's right, we are having a bambino! We are totally thrilled! We will be getting an early Christmas gift this year as our baby is due on December 8th! Above is our sonogram picture. See the little circle on the left? That's our baby inside the amniotic sack doing a headstand! The doctor said that the baby is about the size of a peanut. So far our little peanut is doing well! What a blessing!

Settling In

It seems as though we are getting used to living in Sicily and are settling in. We are adjusting to the food and the way of life.

However, this week I did try some new entrees. I had lunch with a friend on Monday. We had pistachio pasta. I would have never thought of having pistachios in a pasta, but it was very good. It was made with fettuccine noodles tossed with the pistachios and a green, creamy sauce.

We also had veal meatballs, grilled beefsteak, and potatoes. The potatoes were called "crumb" potatoes. They looked like tater tots, but had the consistency of mashed potatoes on the inside. They were delicious!

The funniest part about this story is that this restaurant is located at a gas station. In the states, I wouldn't think that a good place to eat would be a restaurant at gas station. However, here it's normal and acceptable to say, "Yeah, I'll meet you at the gas station for lunch."

A Sicilian traffic jam

Here's something you don't see everyday in the states. Sheep holding up traffic.

I had an appointment yesterday on the base, so I made the trip. It's about a 30-40 minute drive to the base from our housing development. Since we live in the country, it is not unusual to see herds of sheep, cows, or horses. Sometimes the farmers walk their herds down the middle of the street.

Yesterday I encountered 2 herds. One going to the base and one when I was driving home. Basically, you have to just stop your car and wait for them to pass. I usually try to get on one side of the road so that they will just go around the car. That doesn't always happen. Since sheep are not so bright, they will go around both sides of the car. Next thing you know, you are in the middle of the herd in your car. It's a strange, yet funny experience. Yesterday a couple of the sheep tapped on my driver side window with their noses as if they were saying, "hello in there." One even stopped to lick my driver side mirror. I guess it tasted good.

Wow--things that I could never see happening in Virginia.

Humor and a haircut

Today a friend and I decided to get our hair cut. I also wanted to get some high-lights. We originally were planning to go to the mall for our haircuts. However, after talking about it, we decided to find an English-speaking salon. We both felt that we may not be able to accurately describe what we wanted done to our hair in Italian.

We went to a salon that is across the street from the base. This particular salon is advertised in the base newspaper as "convenient to the base and English spoken." So we gave it a go.

The salon owner was a gregarious (and hilarious) German woman who has lived in Sicily for the past 20 years. She speaks several languages including English. From the moment we walked in the door, she was telling us stories and making us laugh.

As far as our hair, we were both happy with the results. We both agreed that we would be back again for our next haircut.

Afterwards, my friend and I had some lunch and did some window shopping at the mall. It was the perfect girly-girl day!

Fresh veggies and fruit

Yesterday, a woman in my neighborhood and I went to a nearby town to go to the open air market. On various mornings through out the week, different towns have markets where you can find fresh produce, meats, cheese, and sometimes clothes.

This market was small compared to the one in Catania as this was a much smaller town. However, at the smaller markets, you can find some better deals. I bought some fresh strawberries and bananas. My friend bought strawberries, cucumbers, and a pineapple.

We also got a chance to practice our Italian as it's harder to find people who speak English in these smaller towns. We are both taking the Italian language class, so we encouraged one another to try conversing. It has been interesting trying to learn how to communicate and thrive in another culture.

Thursday's adventure!

Jeff and I decided to venture out on another road trip. We both had heard that Taormina is a beautiful city that we should see. It is definitely a tourist hot spot, according to my Sicily guide book. However, April is supposedly a great time to visit before it gets too crowded. It was actually still somewhat crowded for a Thursday afternoon in April. A school bus of kids arrived at the same time we did. Mama mia!

All kidding aside, we had a wonderful time. Taormina is a city on a hill with mountains that flow down to the sea. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It has a quaint town at the top of the mountain that you have to take a shuttle bus to reach.

Jeff and I spent some time walking around, looking at the shops, and taking in the amazing panoramic view at the top. We decided to have some dinner and found a cute restaurant that had terrace. We enjoyed more of the view as we ate dinner. After dinner we got some gelato and looked at a few more shops. This was definitely a fabulous day. To see more of our day, click here.

Home is where your heart is

Today driving home from church, we starting talking about the things we miss from the states. Now, keep in mind, we know that we are totally blessed to be living in Italy and are enjoying every minute of it. However, sometimes you just miss those familiar places and faces.

We miss...

-Going to church at Providence NewLife

-Going to our fave spots: Moe's, Panera, Starbucks, and Chick-fila

-Reading the Sunday newspapers (Jill)

-Wawa and 7-11 (getting gas here is so different and expensive!!!)

-Target and the malls (not just Jill on this one :)

-Our friends

-And most of all...our families

Again, we know that living in Italy is totally awesome, but sometimes you just get a little homesick for those things you left behind.

Keeping busy

This week has been a busy week so far. On Tuesday, I went on a field trip called "shopping for local food." The base has several events planned for military spouses. These events are very informative and are usually free.

On Tuesday, we were supposed to go to an open air market to shop for local food. However, since it was a rainy day, the markets were closed. Instead we went to Carrefour, which is similar to Wal-mart. It was still a very successful field trip as our guide helped us recognize signs and names of food. I bought some fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, and cheese. I even got some espresso to try!

On Wednesday, I started an Italian language class. They are offering this class in my neighborhood. It was so helpful. It will meet each Wednesday of the month of April. I am hoping to be able to hold somewhat of a conversation in Italian.

We are looking forward to exploring more of the island of Sicily when Jeff has some time off. Life here is definitely interesting!

Cooking pasta and more

On Tuesday, I attended an Italian cooking class. It was the neatest experience. The participants mainly consisted of Navy wives, but there was one brave husband who went also.

We began our trip by taking a bus to a local town at the top of a mountain near the base. I thought we would never reach the top. The bus kept climbing and increasing altitude. Our tour guide had warned us that some of us may need a bag if we get car sick easily. Thank goodness, I was okay.

When we arrived at our destination, we were so high up that Mt. Etna seemed to be at eye level. Usually we have to crane our necks up to gaze at it. The restaurant was a quaint building that somewhat looked like a small castle. It was a family owned and operated restaurant.

Two Italian women taught our class. They had a long table set up for us with several bowls of different ingredients. Since neither of the women spoke English, our tour guide translated for us. It was so much fun. We learned to make Pasta al Forno (pasta with meat) and Crispelle (a fried dough dessert).

After we finished preparing our dishes, we sat down to a 5 course meal. We had antipasti first (Italian for appetizers): fried ricotta cheese, artichokes, fried eggplant, asparagus, and bread. Then we had our first pasta, which was the pasta we had prepared. Then we were served a second pasta, much like spaghetti. We were then brought all sorts of meat: lamb chops, sausages, steak, and beef. As we were all about to explode, they brought out dessert: crispelles and canoli.

Needless to say, I did not have to eat dinner that night! It was such an amazing feast. As we were walking out the door, our fabulous Italian cooks gave us a wrapped pan of the pasta that we had made to take home. This trip was well worth the experience and the pasta!

Trip to Palermo

Jeff and I took a bus tour to Palermo this past Sunday. Palermo is the capital of Sicily. We had a wonderful time. Not only was this city beautiful, the scenery on the bus trip there (2.5 hours) was awesome as well. On the bus ride, we saw green, lush rolling hills, mountains, and the coastline of Palermo. The water at the coast was bluish-green and looked crystal clear.

Once we got to Palermo, we toured a Palace, several churches, catacombs, and a gorgeous fountain. We also walked down several quaint streets where I bought some hazelnut gelato. We also walked by the Opera house where they filmed a scene from the movie "Godfather III." We really enjoyed ourselves. Oh, yeah...the bus driver for our tour knew Jeff because he used to work with Jeff when Jeff was stationed here before. The bus driver joined us for lunch and we chatted over pasta. Ah---good times. To see more pics of our trip, click here.

Our Italian Home

There have been some requests to see our home, so here are a few snapshots. We still have a lot of decorating and organzing to do, but here is our home! Click here for more pics.

More pictures from my trip to Catania

To view more pictures from my recent trip to Catania, click here.

My field trip to Catania

Last Friday my class took a trip to Catania. Catania is the closet urban city from our vast countryside surroundings. We had such a great time!

As I described in an earlier blog about Jeff's trip, I saw pretty much the same sites that he saw on his trip. However, hearing about it and experiencing it are definitely different.

Walking through the open air market was exciting and gross all at the same time. Gross meaning seeing the sight (and smell) of the raw fish and meat. A few of my classmates and I ate a raw oyster at the market. It was good! Thank goodness for the fresh lemon juice on it! There were also clothes, shoes, sunglasses, and faux designer purses. I bought a scarf in which I bargained with the vendor. I was so proud of myself!

We saw ancient ruins, a beautiful cathedral, and rows of cobblestone streets with beautiful buildings with wrought-iron balconies.

For lunch we ate at a delicious restaurant in which we had a divine 5 course meal. We had bruschetta, pasta, salad, chicken, calamari, and tiramisu for dessert.

It was definitely a day of rich European culture and food!

Ten interesting things about Sicily

This is just a random list of things that I have found either interesting or surprising about living in Sicily.

10. Geckos in our house.

9. Getting used to how Italians drive.

8. Learning to leave early for destinations as you may be delayed by a farmer and his herd of cows or geep (goat+ sheep=geep).

7. The Sicilians are very nice and love Americans.

6. You can travel from one end of Sicily to the other in about 2 hours.

5. The weather changes from cool to hot in a manner of minutes.

4. Using the metric system.

3. Learning Italian (and Sicilian dialect).

2. Italian women and men are fabulous dressers! They believe in "bella figura" which means that it is important to look nice. They would rather look good than worry about comfort. I must say...they are styling!

1. Living near an active volcano. White smoke has been coming out of Mt. Etna lately, but supposedly that's not a big deal! Eek!

Two busy weeks

You haven't heard from me in a few days because I have been in class. All last week and this week, I have been in class. The base requires all of the new arrivals, including their spouses, to go through an indoctrination and cultural class. Last week we learned how to function on the bases (i.e., go to the grocery store, find the post office and mail items, go to the library, etc). This week we are learning about Italian/Sicilian culture as well as some key Italian phrases.

Also this week our class will go on a field trip to the closest large city-Catania. There we will explore a Cathedral, do some shopping, see an open air market, and have an authentic Italian meal. The above picture was taken by Jeff when his class went out for a meal. I can't wait! Jeff told me I'll need a strong stomach for the meat market as they have raw fish out on display. Stinky!

Our biggest challenge has been having one car. Many mornings we've had to get up at 5am to get me to class and Jeff to work or to his workout. It makes for a long day!

I've also met some other wives in the class, which has been great. We are all in the same situation of adjusting to our new surroundings. Some of the ladies I have met are from VA. It's really a small world after all.

Stay posted for more fun info from my week in class as I learn more about Sicily. Ciao!

Another Roadtrip

Jeff and I decided to find another mall that we had heard about in Misterbianco. We heard that there was a HUGE new mall in the Motta/Misterbianco area. So we ventured out on Saturday in search for this mall named Etnapolis.

The drive to the mall was gorgeous and somewhat scary! We went through the town of Motta, which is a town on a hill heading towards the direction of Mt. Etna. We drove around beautiful landscapes and small winding cobblestone streets. There was one street on the way that made me feel like I was in San Franciso as we went straight up an incline that seemed like we were going up the side of a mountain--not around, straight up! I was enjoying the view so much that I forgot to take pictures. I did however snap a picture on Mt. Etna from the top of the mall parking garage.

It was neat seeing the local apartments, restaurants, bars, and pastry shops in Motta. We plan to make another trip to Motta one evening for dinner. I can't wait!

Now, on to Etnapolis! It is a modern European mall with over 100 stores and approximately 10 restaurants. We enjoyed looking around and window shopping. One thing we found funny was the abundance of underwear stores. Italians seemingly love underwear!

Our favorite store was Carrefour, which was very similar to Auchan--a European Walmart of sorts. We bought a few groceries: fresh Italian bread, veggies, juice, and a few other items. I asked Jeff to let me pay the cashier so that I could practice using Euro. (We exchange US dollars into Euro before going out into the economy.)

Perhaps one of the best things about this trip was tasting gelatto. I got a small scoop of half sweet cream and half coffee flavored gelatto. It was so delicious!

We then ventured home right after the sun had set. It was beautiful. Jeff was such a great navigator. I was so proud of his navigator skills through the narrow streets. This is definitely the beginning of many fun road trips around Sicily!

The return of Frank

My nephew Nathan once won a small plastic toy at Chuckie Cheese. The small toy was a green lizard that Nathan fondly named Frank. Whenever he sees the commercial for Geico Insurance with the gecko, Nathan says, "Look, it's Frank!!"

Therefore, Jeff and I decided, per my sister's suggestion, that if we ever saw the gecko in our house again, we would name him Frank.

This morning while unpacking some boxes, Jeff said, "Honey, Frank's back!" Sure enough, the green gecko was back. Like last time, he just sat on the floor looking at us. We shooed him outside with a broom. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of Frank. Oh, well, at least he does eat bugs.

My Italian Appliances

Should I ever forget where I live, all I have to do is try to cook something in our kitchen. Our stove-top and oven are gas operated. The oven also operates in Celsius. Thank goodness for modern technology and the Internet. I found a website that converts Fahrenheit cooking temperatures into Celsius temperatures. Needless to say, it's been interesting! I am thankful for having lived in Ghent in Norfolk, VA in which most of the stoves in the older apartments were gas. However, I have never used a gas oven. It's pretty much the same concept as the stove top.

The dryer is also gas operated, but it runs just like a regular dryer. Our dishwasher is another story. Since the water here in the Mediterranean is hard water, we have to put water softener in the dishwasher to cut down on calcium deposits. There is a chamber for the softener in the bottom of the dishwasher to put the softener. The softener is just a mixture of water and special rock salt that you buy at the grocery store. Don't even get me started on how the hard water has affected my hair! It seems to be more limp at times. I also find myself using more lotion here as well. I'm not sure if it is due to the hard water or due to the climate.

I see that I have so much to learn about living in Italy! At least I haven't see a gecko today!