i'm back from hiatus!

i'm baaaaaaaaaaack! stay tuned for new posts in the coming days! i bet you thought i'd written off my blog, right? naaaaaaaaaah! :)

-17

let the countdown begin! wooohooooooooooooo! i'm already starting to think of what i'll be packing...

happy thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
i'll be thinking of all of you! and the mashed potatoes. and the stuffing (outside the bird). and slavenka's jello salad. and mom's pumpkin pies...

benvenuta ARIANNA!

ARIANNA is here! she's my good friend francesca's brand spanking new daughter! she was born yesterday afternoon (november 25th... one day before her due date) at 4:44pm (my favorite number btw!). she weighs 3.44kg and is 51cm long. i'm leaving work early today to go see her! i would take photos and post them but my digital camera isn't working properly (it's giving me an error reading) and i'm holding out until we're in the US to buy a new one.

november 16th

thinking of you mom and i know you read my blog so i just wanted to wish you a
BUON COMPLEANNO!!!

we love you & hope you have a great day!

early xmas gift

today was francesco's first full day off since we got back from namibia in early april. it was soooooooo nice to spend the entire day together! we slept in this morning and then did some work around the house (hanging some pictures that have been waiting to be hung for over a year... sheesh!) and then this afternoon we went "window shopping." well, that's what it was supposed to be but we ended up buying quite a few things so i guess we went shopping period. francesco bought me my xmas gift! i'm so excited! it's an espresso machine that i've been wanting for ages. this is what it looks like:





it's really easy to use (though the instruction manual was pretty darn complicated... i gave it to francesco and told him to explain to me how to use it after he figured it all out... ha!). i love it! and it looks great in our kitchen with our other red accessories (like our red SMEG fridge).

all in all it was a great day. :)

nonna turns 80!

today is francesco's grandma (nonna) luigia's 80th birthday! wowowowowowow! i woke up extra early this morning so that i could go to the outdoor market at the piazza del mercato in la spezia to buy her a plant for her birthday (she LOVES plants... remember how i took her my dead geraniums?). i ended up picking out a red peace lily. she was very happy. today franca (francesco's mom) is having her hysterectomy so i think it's a bittersweet day for nonna.

phew! dogsitter... check.

i had been putting off contacting our dogsitter because in all honesty i was afraid she'd say no because of gustavo's behavior with other dogs. i didn't think she'd come right out & say no... i figured that she'd be diplomatic and use an excuse like that she was already booked out. so i finally built up the courage and sent her a text mesage yesterday and she replied just a few minutes later with "sure!" phew! phew! pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew! what a relief. i was already thinking of back-up plans (thank goodness i won't have to enact them!). i'm sad that penelope & gustavo won't be with us (or anyone in the family) for xmas but i know they'll be in good hands. i'm going to wrap up two bones for them so our dogsitter can give them a gift on the 25th.

so i have one more thing ticked off our to do list before our trip. next up: lining up a rental car at a good rate (rates seem higher than previous years but i think it's because of the holidays) and purchasing travel insurance.

trying to piece everything together...

we're counting down the days until we leave for california! we can't wait! the only thing that we're both sad about is leaving penelope & gustavo. poor babies. we're really going to miss them.

tonight over dinner francesco & i were discussing a rough outline of the 21 days that we'll be in california. so far we've decided that since we're flying into LAX we'll stay the first two nights in los angeles and that the day after we arrive we'll go to universal studios. that's about as far as we've gotten. obviously we still have a lot to piece together. at least we know where we'll be for christmas eve & christmas... taft! :) i can't wait for francesco to experience an american christmas.

a flattering week

this has been a flattering week for me...

a few days ago i was reading reviews from previous clients and i came across one that was posted recently and guess what it said?!? something like "the room was great blah blah blah" and then "the girl from california that works in the office is a hotty" i about died laughing! i have to admit that it made my day, though. heeheehee! am i totally shameless?

last night gustavo had his training lesson. sometimes after our lesson we hang around a bit to watch the others training but last night it was really chilly so i decided to go. as i was leaving the trainer called me over to talk to me. keep in mind that the trainer is a bit rough around the edges with humans (but he more than makes up for it with the dogs). he's not the type to pay compliments... on the contrary, he's very quick to point out all of the things you're doing wrong. ha! anyway, getting back to my story... he called me over because he wants me to join his team as a handler. he's an ENCI (which is the italian version of the AKC) certified breeder of boxers & dobermans. he wants me to take one of his boxer puppies and raise it to show in obedience trials. he already has a team composed of five or six handlers and they are really, really impressive with their dogs. it was a very flattering offer, especially considering who it was coming from. i have to admit that it's tempting but we just cannot handle another dog right now (i have plenty on my plate with penelope & gustavo). maybe someday when we have a yard? *sigh* in the meantime i have to admit that the offer boosted my ego just a tad! heeheehee!

there's nothing a little scotch tape can't fix

maybe you remember my post about our dsl not working? well, i finally called our ISP and i spoke with tech support. apparently our modem was working and transmitting an a-ok signal to them so we narrowed it down to a faulty cable that runs from my laptop to our modem (don't even ask me why i'm not using my WiFi... that's a whole different story). i jumped in my smart and made a quick trip to la spezia to pick up a new cable. i got home, changed out the cable and guess what? the new one didn't work either. so while i was back on the phone with tech support i wiggled the cable around a bit and realized that it wasn't making proper contact. so guess how i fixed the problem?!? scotch tape. yep. very classy i know. but the important thing is that i'm back online! :)

gustavo turns two!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUSTAVO!

our baby boy (a.k.a. french bulldog) turned two today. it seems like yesterday that he was born. of course we had to celebrate so we bought a nice big steak for him and topped it with two candles. :) i know, i know... call us crazy but we really do love our dogs that much.

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! tickets bought!

i just got finished buying our tickets home for christmas... YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! i'm so excited! :)

we're flying out of pisa on the 17th of december and we'll be flying back on the 7th of january! so christmas AND new year's at home! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! i'm doing my happy dance heeheehee!

we're flying alitalia (which pretty much stinks) but our connections are quite good (we have to change only in paris) so i'm happy about that. oh! and we're flying in & out of LAX (which is highly unorganized & crazy... i would have definitely preferred SFO but so is life).

i just wanted to share the good news! i now just need to nab a good car rental rate and we'll be good to go! oh... and travel health insurance (ehem... i learned my lesson on that one!).

where's our internet?

you never know how much you depend on something until you don't have it anymore. our dsl isn't working at home for some reason and i feel like i'm missing a leg. i didn't realize how internet dependent i've become! last night was even worse because francesco was watching a soccer game and i was twiddling my thumbs (normally i'd be online). i think i need to buy a good book. hmmmmm...

the port of genoa (genova in italian)

yesterday i drove to genoa to pick up our wedding book (album) from our photographer. it turned out lovely! we'll be bringing it home with us at christmas so everyone can see it. since i was already in genoa i decided to make the most of it and i hit up one of my favorite stores...

i love ikea because it's one of those places that you can get lost in. and i was so happy to be there alone because i didn't have anyone breathing down my neck trying to rush me (sorry, no offense francesco... heeheehee!). i ended up buying some new pillows for the couch, a sheepskin (to cover up the chewed corner of the couch... thanks gustavo) and some other odds & ends. all in all it was a great day.

the funniest part was when i got home to biassa i stopped by to see francesco's cousin andrea & his family because i wanted to show them the book. when andrea found out that i went to genoa by myself he thought i was crazy. as if it's some kind of epic journey to get there. mind you that genoa is less than 2 hours away from us and 95% of it is on the autostrada (the italian tollways) and only 5% of it is city driving (which can sometimes be a bit scary but i've got the hang of it... thank goodness for our GPS though!). i tried to explain to him that i did longer roadtrips when i was 18, but it really is another world here.

by the way, i love my smart. :)

we'll be home for christmas!

we'll be home for christmas! YAY! i'm really excited about it because it will be francesco's first christmas in california with my family. we haven't bought our tickets yet but we should be doing so soon. i think we'll only be able to be in california for two weeks (which passes in a snap, trust me!) but i'm just excited to be there!

burnt out...

i'm feeling burnt out at work. stagnant. i need something to shake things up and get my mind reeling again. after working here since 2003 it's feeling monotonous. i can only tell my "story" so many times a day before i start to cringe and fake an italian accent so i don't get asked. i know, it's pathetic. i think it's because we're towards the end of the season and even though i should see a light at the end of the tunnel, i'm not seeing it yet. and the funny thing is that i should LOVE what i do as i'm not overworked and/or underpaid like so many these days.

the girls of rio

here's a photo that was taken of us at julie's baptism a few weeks ago.

L to R: kiiri (canadian), martha (californian), julie (50/50 american/italian), christina (british), me! (don't ask why i'm not smiling, i have no idea) & last but not least, kelly (canadian)

at the beach with p&g

our "family outing" at the beach in marinella

francesco, gustavo & penelope

gustavo... he's a happy boy! :)

usually francesco has wednesday afternoons off but this week he had to switch with thursday. because gustavo has his dog training lesson on thursdays he was going to come with us to the lesson & bring penelope, too! we were all excited... until it started raining. i called the trainer and he said it was raining there as well so he cancelled the lesson.

we had to stop by the vet clinic to drop off gutavo's pee (see my other posts if you don't know what i'm talking about) so i talked francesco into taking the dogs to the beach in marinella (sarzana's marina area). dogs aren't technically allowed at the beaches in italy but my logic was this: bad weather = empty beach = happy dogs on beach! so we went...

it was pretty deserted. there were some fishermen who apparently don't care if there's bad weather and one foreign family who didn't seem to care either. it actually was perfect. we couldn't have been happier!

apparently i wasn't thinking ahead because i didn't bring any towels for the dogs (or francesco's feet... i kept my shoes) so i had to use a mitt for washing the car (that i luckily had in the back of my car) to try and dust the sand off of the dogs before putting them back in the car. i don't think i was very successful and i'm sure i'll be remembering our trip to the beach every time i get in my car for the next 6 months.

uncle mike, do you recognize that shirt? :)

welcome october!

welcome october! i'm so happy you're here.

to me, october means:

• chestnuts falling
• tourists diminishing
• the return of some much needed peace & quiet

update on gustavo's health

well, the good news is that it looks like gustavo is just fine.

this morning i kept an eye on him (he was acting like his normal self) and i was relieved when i saw he had another yellow pee this morning (sorry if this is TMI... too much information... for some of you!). so i left him at home in the company of penelope and went to work, feeling like the worst was over.

i rang our vet clinic to speak with one of the vets just for some reassurance. when i described what had happened our vet seemed quite worried. she said that it could be poison (as in gustavo ate something with poison in it) or it could be a serious infection. keep in mind that i have a really good relationship with our vets and when i call for little things oftentimes they'll tell me what medication to buy and how to administer it so that i don't have to drive all the way to their office. in other words, they aren't the type of vets that always say "come in!" so that they can charge for the visit. so when she told me to come in ASAP i started to get that worried sick feeling in the bottom of my stomach again.

i picked up gustavo from biassa and we drove to santo stefano (where the vet clinic is located... it's between la spezia and sarzana). francesco came as well but drove his scooter because he had to be back at work by 5pm and we didn't know how long things were going to take. gustavo ended up getting the works today! first they shaved his forearm so they could withdraw blood for the exams. then he had a thorough exam of ALL his body parts. then we had to take him into another room where they shaved his stomach and slathered gel on him for the ultrasound. what a strange way to see your dog's insides.

luckily gustavo's bloodwork and ultrasound on his bladder were all within the norm. i still have to turn in a urine sample tomorrow but at this point all signs seem to point to a burst blood vessel caused by a mild trauma (i'm sure having your bladder filled to the brim doesn't help much!).

it was an expensive day but i guess you can't put a price on peace of mind.