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!