~~ So I HaVE BeeN m. I. A. ~~

So just a few short bullets to get you all back up to speed....

~ Tonight, I am going to a meat restaurant where they grill on charcoal...mmm steak
~ The weather is kind of crappy at the moment...
~ I was really stressed at work this week trying to finish designing my lamp
~ I went out on Thursday night on accident
~ I had a smelly man put his wet armpit on my head yesterday...please shower
~ I am excited to come back to Wisconsin to see everyone...and eat a cheeseburger
~ I had a great night last night...went on a date
~ I can't wait to get a gallon of milk and a box of cheerios and eat out of a mixing bowl
~ I got in a little sightseeing last weekend and now have a stalker...great!
~ I have a lot of laundry to do and don't know what to pack tomorrow.
~ I am sad that I am leaving for a month, I can't believe it has been 3 months...it's bittersweet
~ Sometimes I feel like I am living a double life.
~ I am going to miss eating pasta...well real pasta
~ I am going to enjoy being able to sleep in
~ I am looking forward to going to the brewers games and tailgating....ahh the smell of charcoal
~ The sounds of Harleys here have become a comforting sound of home to me
~ I am excited to not be sweating 24/7 and have air conditioning...if I even need it at home
~ I will be able to drive again
~ I will be able to hear country music on the radio, and not get laughed at when I say I like it
~ Last but definitely not least, I am very excited to see my family and friends...they mean the world to me!

All in all this has been a great experience so far and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. The family has been very good to me and I can't really complain about anything. I am excited to come back and take some Italian classes so I can start to speak and not be afraid. I am also sad to leave and excited to go at the same time., 3 months away from your family is kind of hard and it will be great to see everyone!!!! ONLY 2 MORE DAYS!!! I can't wait!

~~ TwO KiDs PeEiNg On A PoLe ~~

So today was a good relaxing day...kind of...it started with the usual taking Alessandro to school but Fabi and I went today instead of Giulio. When that happens we take the metro together and then I walk the rest of the way to work...Today I wanted to stop at the post office to mail some postcards which I normally get the stamps from the Tabacchi store, and a letter. So I wasn't sure if the stamps were the same or they did it by weight. So I went to the post office, but the line was long, so I went to the tabacchi next store, they didn't have any...so I went down a ways and to the tabachhi i usually get the stamps at...they didn't have any...so now i went back across the street to the post office...waited in line for about 10 minutes before reading the sign that says you can only make payments there...weird i know you pay your bills at the post office...i turned to the kind lady (thankfully) behind me and asked if I could get stamps there. She said no...but, in english, told me she would ask the lady behind the window if i could by them in back...all I saw was a kind of sketchy door with boxes piled up in the entry way...So I walked out of the post office and around the building only to find that there were two more windows back there to buy stamps, send packages, etc...Weird I know...so I waited in line again for about 15 minutes to get the stamps...thankfully I knew what i wanted so it didn't take long...Hurry up and wait. I finally got to work about 10:45....

Later on that day after I picked up Alessandro, we went for our daily walk and water adventure. Then it was off to the park. We were playing with a ball minding our own business when I turn to my left to see 2 children, both around 6 years old, standing by a light pole, out in the open, about 10 feet from us, with their pants around their ankles while their caretaker...grandma, nanny, whoever she was...saying be careful...don't get each other...they did their business and then went back to playing. WHAT!! Wait a minute!!! I didn't know what to do...besides wonder why. Why not in the bushes away from where people were playing, or going into the shop to use the bathroom...just going where no one is watching not where 3o people at the park have to see that...dogs maybe children not so much....

Anyway...that was that...we came home a few minutes later...Alessandro got a bath and I went for a run...This has become an almost daily routine for me...which I am enjoying, minus the potholes, the tree roots protruding from the sidewalk, the dog poo landmines, the trees in the sidewalk, and the people who don't really move to either side of the sidewalk so you can pass...other than that its been good. I thought I got lost the other day but just ran down all different kinds of streets until I ended up on the busy street that I recognized, at rush hour...everyone was staring at me...it was kind of weird. So if you don't mind running with the risk of breaking your ankle everyday or stepping in doggie dookie...its a good time!

See you all in 2 weeks!!!! Well...1 week and 6 days!!!!
Ciao a tutti!

~~ YesTeRdaY wAs A ShitTTy DaY... ~~

So yesterday wasn't all that shitty...more in a literal sense...I did get a run in and also got to go on a few errands in between the thunderstorms...but during one of my outings...remember how I told you people don't clean up their doggy do do...well my shoe found it...but not until we got home and I kept asking Alessandro if he pooped. He kept saying no, but I kept checking. And the answer was always no...

Then we went out on the balcony and were running around...it was still a little wet from the rain, so the poop started to leave marks but not before Alessandro's shoes found a chunk that had fallen off mine...So now the poop was on both his shoes, on my shoe, and all over the balcony...trying to keep him from touching it was another story...

Isn't life grand... :)