Monday, June 30, 2008

Ten on Monday!

Following in the footsteps of some of my blogging buddies, I am going to try and institute one day a week that I just write what's on my mind and catch everyone up on what's going on in our lives (let's see if I keep this up once I have a newborn on my hands!). Here it goes:
1) I am officially in love with my new camera- is it possible to be in love with electronics? I have almost no idea what half of the settings are and don't know if I ever will, but I just LOVE the sound the shutter makes- sounds so professional! I have been practicing with it as much as possible and Karl and I also took it out in our vineyard last night and got some great shots (they will be uploaded as soon as I figure out how that works). 2) After this weekend, I think Karl and I have almost decided on a name for our little boy...well we have it narrowed down to three and we will make the final decision when we see his precious little face for the first time. That's right everyone- we are keeping this a secret until the big day! 3) I think that there are some days that I need to give everyone a reality check of what life overseas can be like. Sure there are the days where Karl and I can sit on our balcony and have the breeze from the Mediterranean whip around us and we just say to each other how lucky we are...but then there are also the other days...the not so great days. The trash problem here in Naples is making me reach my boiling point. I don't understand how people can treat such a beautiful country so horribly! I was going to the pool the other day and had to drive past our trash pile (we don't have trash cans, we have to drive our trash to a central point at the bottom of our volcano) and it was on fire...full-on flames (who knows what's in that trash burning)! Our military is actually doing soil, air, and water sampling to determine if it is safe for us to live here or if we're all going to keel off from lung cancer- scary! 4) More on Naples- Driving just seems to be getting scarier and scarier (we think it's the summer drivers). Just getting down the street takes NASCAR training and you really have to be fearless. Now that I have the Jeep, I feel like I can bully the road a little more, but try fitting that car down some of the narrow streets and I'd never make it out with all the pieces of my car still attached. Just coming home the other day, someone sideswiped me and knocked off part of my bumper, but you don't stop here for stuff like that, you just keep going. Karl and I always say that you have to drive here like a horse with blinders on and just go for it (never look at the other drivers because that gives them the right-of-way). Strange country. 5) As annoying as some of the customs of Italy can be, we still consider ourselves lucky to be here and are even going to Tuscany for a long weekend this week! It's so great to have all of Italy within driving distance! 6) One GREAT part about living here is how much they just worship children. We are so excited to have a baby here because of the way people treat children and pregnant women. There are never reports of children being kidnapped, sexually abused, or mistreated in general. I could leave my infant outside of a mall and when I came back, there would be 5 Italian women holding the baby and singing to him...seriously. When you take a baby out to a restaurant, they normally take the baby from you back to the kitchen and it could be an hour before you see the kid again (but it isn't something to worry about, they just LOVE children and we understand that it's just part of the culture here). 7) I am excited to know what a great father Karl is going to be. I am so lucky that he's so involved and caring. He reads to the baby everynight and you should see his face light up when he sees the belly moving...it's so sweet! 8) Karl and I got to watch/feel the baby having the hiccups the other day- totally amazing experience! 9) If you guys think it's bad with gas prices in the states, come to Europe. We buy gas by the liter and if you are paying normal prices, it ends up at about $10/gallon...be glad it's only averaging around $4 in the states, because it could be much worse (not to mention our dollar is worth didly over here compared to the euro!). 10) Air conditioning. The single greatest invention of all time. All of you back in the states with your central air, I am jealous and hope that you understand what a gift you have. We have no A/C here, but luckily we have great friends and Amanda and Ed have lent us a portable one for the summer for our downstairs (don't even want to know how much it's costing in electricity and I don't really care). It is not even 11:00 am and it's already hot and humid...definitely cranking up the A/C soon!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Party Weekend!

The beginning of summer means the beginning of party/BBQ season- my favorite time of year! Last weekend was full of party-hopping and we had such a great time! On Friday, we went to Kerry and Alma's for a BBQ since Jen is about to move to Croatia and Kerry will be moving back stateside at the summer (we're going to miss you guys soooo much!). I am only getting bigger and bigger and hope he comes a little early so I don't have to be so miserably hot all the way until August!
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This is our 33 week pic- check out that bump! It's actually getting very heavy and I'm verrry lucky to have such a great husband who rubs my back every night. We have such a great time watching him move around in my belly and Karl even got to feel (and see) the baby having the hiccups the other night!
At Kerry's the other night! I realized after seeing this pic that preggo women shouldn't wear horizontal stripes because I look like I've gained like 50 pounds (which I have not!). On Alma's balcony at sunset- that's the Mediterranean in the background....so pretty at sunset :) On Saturday, a good friend of ours, Jason, had his wetting-down party to celebrate his promotion to Lt. Commander. I was pretty sick that day, so I couldn't go (hence why there's no pics), but Karl went and said what a great party is was! Congrats again Jason!!!!
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Sunday was an awesome day...our friends, April and Judy, threw us a huge BBQ Baby Shower at our house!!! It was soooo much fun and we got to hang out all day with all of our Naples buddies :) We are so lucky to have such amazing friends here and our baby boy is also lucky to have people who love him so much already- thanks again to everyone who helped make that day so special for our little family- we love you so much!
. Outside our front door with our pretty new flowers!

April made these awesome cupcakes for the party- they match the nursery theme of 'Under the Sea' (I'll get nursery pics up asap I promise!).

Cindy, Lisa, and Maggie hanging out in the backyard. Cindy and Lisa and two of my neighbors and Maggie is a friend who is due with a baby boy three weeks before me (they're already buddies)! I'm ready to party!!! Our gate is decorated for the occasion. Out back of our house. Jen and I...Hokie love :) Judy and Greg Jason, Matt, Mikki, Kerry, and Jen- it was wayyyy to hot to be outside in the afternoon, so everyone was congregating under the ceiling fans! I still have more pics to post of everyone else at the party, but they are on someone else's camera (I'll post them soon!). Look at the loot! On a side note, I have been trying to figure out our new camera (which is overwhelmingly complicated). Karl and I experimented at sunset the other night on the terrace and got this pretty pic...we love it here :)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Email addresses

Being the ever-prepared and organized gal that I am, I have been busy getting things ready for our baby boy's arrival. One thing that's important to Karl and I is making sure that everyone has access to pics of the little guy once he gets here. Of course I'll continue to blog, but since our new camera has such high resolution, I won't be able to post that many pics (we have dinosaur internet here and it would take all day to load more than 5 or 6). We will be using our Snapfish account as the primary way for people to see pictures- and be able to order them also!- but we need everyone's email addresses so we can send invites to see them!
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We barely have anyone's email addresses and we want everyone to send them to us (unless of course you have no interest in receiving invites to see our pics of the baby and of all the places we travel- can't imagine you wouldn't). Email either Karl or I with your email addresses as soon as possible so we can get pictures out!
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Thanks everyone!!!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Ciao Ciao

Well, I haven't had much to blog about recently since Karl and I have been laying low on the weekends. I am uber preggo now which makes it hard to travel around town in the heat (but we do have a Tuscany trip planned for a long 4th of July weekend!). In the past few weeks, Karl and I have been getting the baby's room ready and I'll have pics as soon as I'm done with it and we've been hanging out at the pool/beach with friends. The only new pics we have are some belly shots, so I'm excited to share those with everyone!
Something we are excited about is our new camera that we ordered and should have any day now! It is basically professional grade and I'm sure it will take us two years to figure out all the lenses and settings, but we'll hopefully get some great shots with it.
Here is a pic of 31 weeks preggo in the backyard with my beautiful hydrangea :)
It started raining seconds after we took the picture above, so here's an indoor shot...check out that bump! This is a 32 week picture which is where we're at now! I can't believe we have less than 8 weeks until our due date...crazy!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Sorrento

Before the baby comes in August, Karl and I are trying to travel as much as possible and that means taking advantage of beautiful weekends in southern Italy...it's not that hard! Last weekend, we headed south to Sorrento to enjoy the scenery and weather. It took longer than expected to make the drive since everyone was on the Sorrento coast to go to the beach for the weekend, but we finally did make it there (and did it without the TomTom!). Sorrento is a truly beautiful place and it's no wonder people come from all over the world to spend some time here.
We pulled over on the side of the road to get a picture of Sorrento from up high. The great thing about driving the Sorrento/Almafi coasts is that there is nothing between you and the coast as you drive along (can also be a little scary driving those crazy turns with the equally crazy Italian drivers).
Once we parked, we walked across the street and saw this awesome sight. This is the Mulini Valley and it got it's name from the windmill building that was used up to the beginning of the 1900's. It was so far down in the valley and I couldn't figure out how in the world people got down there! This is the view from Piazza Tasso which is the heart of the city. Look how far down that road is that leads to the port! Taking time to smell the roses (or whatever flowers those are) :) This is the view from our table at lunch...not much to complain about (except that fact it took them FOREVER to bring our lunch, but at least we had something great to look at!). Check out the size of those lemons! (click on the picture to see it closer) I still think the lemons at Pompei are bigger.
Another pretty picture. Karl and our tour train in Piazza Tasso. We took a tour of the city and I'm really glad we did because preggo me simply cannot walk that far anymore! Karl at lunch with the famous Excelsior Vittoria Hotel behind him. This is one of the most famous hotels on the Sorrento/Almafi coasts and all of the movie stars of the 40's, 50's, and 60's seemed to have stayed here! The belltower of the Sorrento Cathedral built around the 6th century!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Memorial Day and a few others

So I have been a bad blogger recently and need to get back in the swing of things! I'm finally posting about our Memorial Day...yay! We were supposed to go to Greece for a week, but getting stuck in the states messed up those plans. We had a nice, relaxing weekend at home and got a lot done around the house and then we went to Herculaneum and Veitri on Memorial Day.
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Herculaneum (or Ercolano as the Italians call it) is a sister city of Pompei that was destroyed when Vesuvius erupted. They didn't find Ercolano until much later than Pompei and since it is buried under a bustling city, not as much as been escavated. Even though it was smaller than Pompei, it is much better preserved and less touristy. We were able to walk through all the old buildings and it was so easy to imagine how amazing it must have been way back when!
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This is the House of the Deers- they know who it belonged to because they actually found a loaf of bread with the family stamp on it...crazy!
Karl at the House of Argus- a huge home that belonged to one of the wealthy families. Me on the bridge leading into Ercolano...underneath the bridge is where the old boat slips are. At the House of the Deers, part of the second floor is still intact- so incredible! Overview of Ercolano- you can see how well preserved the architecture is. After we left Ercolano, we decided to head over to our favorite town for lunch and to pick up some ceramics I had ordered...VIETRI!!! We love Vietri on the Almafi Coast and go there often since it's only about 45 min to an hour drive. It's a town known for ceramics and we have a great collection going now. Everyone who has been to visit us has gone to Vietri and you can rest assured that you'll go there, too if you come to visit us because we just love it. We had lunch at our normal restaurant where the little Italian man who owns it always tries to make me drink even though I'm obviously pregnant...oh Italians are so different than us!
Look at that view...I love living here :) The main road with lots of ceramic shops. Enjoying the view! Just wanted to post a few other pics, too! I took this picture earlier today because I realized that the last pic I posted from the house, we had no lawn...now look at all that green! My rose bush in the middle of the yard is blooming some beautiful pink roses right now.
You can see how fast the vineyard has grown since the last pictures. This is our 30 week prego pic- we took it before going to Sorrento last weekend (pictures coming soon I promise!). Can't believe our little boy is going to be here so soon!!!!