Trip Planning 1

I am now on the official countdown for my trip. I have 32 days before I head out and there is so much that I still don't know and haven't figured out and REALLY need to work on getting my list together so that I can actually follow through, but keep getting distracted by things like starting a new book or watching stupid television (e.g., Impractical Jokers - thanks, Sara).

One thing that I did do this morning was come across the following tip when trying to cross the streets in Rome:

Crossing the road. There are apocryphal tales of visitors to the city coming and leaving having only seen everything on one side of Piazza Venezia, such is the daunting prospect of crossing the vast mass of traffic. Follow these simple rules and you won't be one of them.
1/ Stand on the kerb, looking in the correct direction of oncoming traffic. When there is a decent break (i.e. enough for whoever's coming to brake),
2/ Make sure they have seen you,
3/ Step out decisively and, maintaining a constant and regular pace, walk across. As if by magic the cars and scooters will weave around you.
DON'T stop midway, go backwards, or run across screaming, that confuses everybody, and don't wait in ever-growing frustration for everyone to stop, it's never going to happen.

First, love how the spell things. Second, I love the fact that magic will be part of my life while in Rome....I'll be sure to let you know if it actually works or if I'm hit by a scooter... (Although I fear that I will actually be that crazy tourist who runs screaming across the street.)

To give you an idea of where I currently stand with my plans:

• Lodging plans made
• Plane tickets purchased
• One tour set up
• Luggage identified
• 1/6th of the wardrobe determined
• How to speak Italian book listened to
• Camera purchased and some picture taking practice done
• Guide books skimmed through

So much yet to think about...maybe I'll just take a nap.

He Knows It is Home

For awhile now, I've known that Devil Dog has known which house is his because when we are walking and we pass the house, he always makes a bee line for the door, even if I'm not quite ready to be done with our walks. However, I was assured this weekend that he knows to stay in the yard as well.

On Saturday, since the weather was nice, I put him out in the backyard with a bowl of water and left him there for a couple of hours while I went up to my studio and worked on a quilt. I would periodically hear him barking down there, but he does that some times just to get my attention or if a truck drives by or if my neighbor is out front. I completely ignored his barking knowing that he wasn't in pain and that he had water and I don't want him to get used to me jumping at his every bark and call (ha ha, get it...).

Once I got to a good stopping spot on the quilt that I was working on, I went back downstairs and let El Diablo back into the house. He was "patiently" sitting by the back door looking forelorn at me for leaving him all by himself for two whole hours. I wiped off his feet, which I always do with baby wipes when he comes in, and then gave him a scoop of food.

Now, here is the scary part.... As I walked through the living room, an odd site caught my eye out the window. I realized that the gate to the yard was wide open and probably had been for the entire time that sweet Leo was out in the yard. The lawn guys had been there on Friday and didn't latch the gate tightly and I think with a strong breeze, at some point, it blew open. And yet, that sweet dog, as far as I know, stayed in the yard and did not go wandering around the neighborhood. I did get a chip put into him when I got him so that if he gets lost he will get scanned and the vet or pound will call me, but I don't keep his collar and tags on him when I let him out into the yard....perhaps I should.

UIL Competition?!?

I had the oddest dream last night. I dreamt that I was competing in a UIL (University Interscholastic League) competition. Mind you, UIL is for highschool kids, so no idea why I was participating because in my dream I was not a highschool kid. Here is a breakdown of the dream:

I'm backstage with a dance group. There are four of us in our group and it is some sort of interpretive dance. The dance starts off with us doing a reverse strip-tease, in that we have bodysuits on but our first move is to put on these flowy skirts with elastic at the waist, which made it easy to step in and do a swirly move and get it pulled up gracefully. The dance then consisted of a lot of moving around the stage and waving arms and doing circles and all interpretive and moody. After the dance was complete we all left the stage and our coach said to the team "You all did a great job" and then "Andrea, you put a lot of passion into your dance, but maybe you should just stick to dancing around your house and not in public anymore." Sheesh, even in my dreams I'll never be a Broadway star....

Now, here are my thoughts on why I dreamt of this:

• UIL - I have a Facebook friend who is a band director and he has been posting about his woodwind orchestra competing and their scores.
• Dancing - Last night I went to a soccer game with Sara to see her sweet niece, Faith, play. Now, Faith is like 5 so not quite a sports star, yet, but she may get there. What she is is a little dancer and while running up and down the field she looked to be doing what will become a beautiful jazz run some day.

Birthday Update

So, my birthday was this past weekend. We won't go into my age as I don't feel that old, at least not today. I opted to celebrate in style...I did this by taking Friday, Monday, and Tuesday off work. Here is how I spent my time:

Friday:

• I slept in, well as late as Devil Dog would allow.
• After I got up and had some icecream for breakfast, I shooed DD out into the yard and went up to my studio and finished work on a growth chart quilt for my friend Angie's boychild. (I have pictures of this but have not gotten them off of the camera, so that will be posted at a later date.)
• I then got myself around and packed up to go visit Angie and her family.
• On my drive over to Angie's, I stopped at a liquor store to purchase a gift for her husband. Sadly, the town in which I live is dry, so I needed to figure out where to stop on my way. Thank goodness I can count on Sara for her quick research as she was able to direct me to which exit to take. However, the liquor store that I stopped in looked as if they were going out of business as their shelves were bare. I found this to be odd since it was Friday afternoon and I would think they would be fully stocked in preparation for the weekend (they did say the truck was on its way, but not in time for when I was there). I grabbed a bottle of Captain Morgan and went on my way.
• I had to return to my house as I forgot to pack my skydiving DVD, which was one of the primary things that I was supposed to bring with me.
• I eventually made it to Angie's house where we spent the afternoon/evening hanging out and visiting.

Saturday:

• We all got up and headed out to Scarborough Faire. Angie and Seamus, her husband, have season passes and do the full dress. Since they are full dress people, I too opted for the full dress for this visit. Here is a picture of me in costume. Okay, so not a full picture of me, but you get the idea:

 

• Great fun is always had when I'm out at a fair with these folks. Primarily we do lots of walking and people watching and just generally nothing, but it was great because we were out doors and enjoyed the fresh air.
• Once we were finished at the fair, we stopped at her folks' house for dinner and then headed back to their home where I spent the night.

Sunday:

• On this morning, we got up and hung out. Angie and I had some more really great conversation and visiting time.
• Around noonish I headed out to my sister's to meet up with the family to celebrate my birthday.
• While at my sister's we watched my skydiving video (good thing I went back for it) and looked at my niece's prom pictures (can't believe she is a Senior and graduating).
• Because I'm such a high maintenance person I required much work on my family's part for the meal.... Marti had to call Mama's Pizza and place the order and Chief had to drive there to pick it up.
• We also had cake and since it was my birthday unwrapping presents.
• Mid to late afternoon I headed down to my parents' house to spend the night down there. We sat out on their back patio for a while just enjoying the breeze and watching hummingbirds and butterflies. It is always so relaxing and enjoyable to just sit outside when over at Mom and Dad's. We also scanned through my London and Rome travel books and talked about things to do on my trip.

Monday:

• We, Mom, Dad, and I, slowly got ourselves around. We had a leisurely breakfast, after they sang "Happy Birthday" to me, and completed our crossword puzzles (oh yeah, I did the New York Times one almost completely on my own).
• We then headed down to Grandbury, TX to wander around the square for a bit and have a bite of lunch.
• I then headed back to my own home.
• Sara came over to celebrate my actual birthday dinner with me. She brought Double Dave's and bubbly for dinner. We topped it off with cupcakes that my dog walker made and left for me in the fridge.
• Sara and I also expanded our minds by watching two weeks worth of Biggest Loser.

Tuesday:

• To top off my 5 days of visiting, I decided to pamper myself.
• I started my day with cake for breakfast, I mean if I have it I might as well partake of it, right?
• I then went for an hour and a half massage.
• After the massage, I did a little shopping for things that I didn't really need, but I had a coupon and a gift certificate so heck why not go for it.
• I then went and got a new cut and color. I went for a really short style this time as I want to have very easy hair while on my trip. I don't have a picture, but will post one as soon as I do.
• I finished the vacation off with some mind numbing television watching and playing with DD.

All in all, I had a really great birthday weekend.