Planning a trip to Italy

Well. Its decided. We talked and talked and talked about wanting to go- so we're making it happen! Michael and I are planning a trip to Italy for 2014! We bought a Frommer's guide for the whole country to get some general knowledge. Now that we have planned out the places we want to go, we will invest in some books for those specific places to get some more information on each place. We will touch down in Rome, and spend a couple of night there. We will take some day trips down to Naples and Pomeii, then up to Tuscany to spend some time in Florence. We will make a short stop in Bologna on our way north to Venice. The next couple of days will be spent in Venice, with a day trip through Padua and Verona. We will either drive back down to Rome for the flight home or find something to fly out from Venice. A good deal of the trip are on train lines, so for the day trips we may be able to rent a couple bikes and head down on the trains. We're really aiming to only have 2 hotels- possible 3. Primarily in Rome and Venice since those trips are for a couple of days.

There is so much planning involved! Michael is going to work on getting his passport soon, and I will be checking in to mine to see the expiration date. I am starting to look in to air fare to get a feel for how much we'll need to set aside. I found a website, Yapata, that when the date gets closer to booking the flight I will upload our parameters and it does the search for me. When it finds an all time low deal it will email me. Then what's amazing is after you buy, it continues to search. If something comes in lower before your trip they give you refund for the difference.

We figure around $4000 per person for air fare, hotels, and a car. We intend to save that first bit over the next year. Our goal from 2013 until the trip is to save for any food money, souvenir cash, bus/train tickets, bike rentals, etc. I am hoping that in the mean time I can find a way to save up for my upgraded camera as well. We already have a video camera, so that is set.

We hope to be able to utilize my parent's time share for at least one of the hotels. The books we are getting also have a lot of suggestions for traveling such as hostels, bed and breakfasts, and sponsored visits (where you pay a family for a room in their home and they cook you your meals.)

We have Rosetta Stone Italian that we are making a schedule for (probably twice a week, half hour a day to start. It gives a lot of information in that amount of time.) We also have flash cards to cut out and use, practice books with games and matching/filling in the blanks to test our knowledge and spelling, and we have stickers up all over the house. They have pronunciation written on them with the actual word, and I went through and put the english translation on each sticker. La lampada, for example, I learned is "light" or "lamp" and it is on a light switch I use daily. My ultimate goal before I go is to be able to go to Powell's books, buy the Italian translation of Harry Potter, and read through it well enough to grasp what I am reading. Since I know the book well in English I will be able to tell what I am struggling with to translate.

The exchange rate this year isn't as bad as I suspected it would be. It's $1.30 to every 1 Euro. Hopefully in the next couple of years our economy will take a miraculous upswing and improve the rates. (Hey- a girl can dream!)

I already know that in packing for the trip I will need to pack my clothes in a small suitcase, pack that suitcase in a big suitcase, and pay for an extra bag home. It will be full of souvenirs. I am so positive of that.

I haven't been more excited about anything in a long time! I really believe that this is do-able in 2 years and I can hardly contain myself!

Anxious Apartment Anxiety

It has been far too long since I sat down to blog, so I figured I would update you on the search for an apartment for Michael and myself.

After asking some preliminary questions I am awaiting a reponse from the complex that Michael and I are going to try for. After we get some answers we will be applying- and man am I terrified! I don't want to get rejected- I want to move out SO badly! I love my family and my space but I need a home that's mine. It's time. Plus I am constantly envisioning what it will be like to live with the love of my life.

I have several DIY projects that I am anxious to start NOW but I have to remind myself to take my time- if I do all the projects before I move in I'll have less money when we get there, and less to do! A short list of these projects are, a continuation of my already mid-way vintage bathroom project (as some may remember from earlier posts,) a scrabble tile table top for an end table, and an entertainment center tv stand thing that Michael got ahold of. I am going to convert the top to be like a bay window seat almost and eventually get some cusions on top to sit on- plus he and I are going to sand it and refinish it. Of course I am also thinking of all kinds of other projects- One of which is to tackle a chair I use at a desk- I plan on re-upholstering the seat and sanding down and repainting the rest.

I am just so stoked to get started on our home!

I am over the moon blissfully happy, and I know Michael feels the same. Now as long as the application process goes well, we will be on our way to our life together!

Love: Is There An End?

Does a person ever really fall out of love? Or does that love get buried within your heart quietly in the background?
People say that once you love someone you never really stop, that a part of you always will love them. But is that the truth? Is it possible to fall out of love?
On the other hand, maybe when you're able to stop loving someone you never really loved them to begin with- you just thought you did.
These are some things on my mind today.
I am in the camp that hopes it is possible to fall out of love. And I don't just mean begin loving them a different way- I mean stop loving all together.

With love, or something like it.

Word(s) of the Day

Word of the Day:

Petrichor: How the air smells after it rains. This only occurs after rain hits the ground that has been dry for some time. And when you smell it right before it rains? That is because you are smelling the air being carried downwind from where it has already started.

Finally. A name for the scent I love so much!


Also, my favorite Sesame Street character Snuffleupagus (who to my knowledge is NO LONG ON THE SHOW :( ,) has a first name. That first name is Aloysius.



With love!

Sometimes You Just Have to Make Things Happen

Sometimes in life you just have to make things happen for yourself. Sitting back waiting for life to give you things doesn't always work. In fact, I would venture to say it rarely works!

I am being as proactive as I can with my professional life. I got a leg up with the interviews I am doing, but after the first one it was all on me! And now I am having my 3rd interview today. They called me only hours after my panel interview (stage 2) to set this up! That has to be a good sign! After today, if it goes well, there is one more interview I have to do. I hope I get this. I am really trying!

Also, I made my Etsy page. I've only sold a couple of things so far, but my views go up every week, so I keep it positive and know it's only a matter of time before someone else wants something I have created.

Then just today, I submitted my work to an art showcase coming up in Portland. I answered an ad on craigslist about it a few weeks ago, and I got an email back encouraging me to officially submit because she "really digs my photography!" I hope I get picked because this would be my first showcase :)

I am really trying to kick things in to gear for myself. And not just for myself. I have more motivation now. My boyfriend and I want to start our life together and I know that if I can make things happen professionally it just brings us one step closer. He and I want so badly to live together- we have plans for our future and moving in the first step. ;) So now I am not just working for myself- I am working for us. For our relationship. And I work at it every day to make sure it's all that it needs to be. But what's great, is that it doesn't require much effort at all!

Anyway, the message I am sending here is this: Even though things are slow going right now, and it's easy to get discouraged, I just continue to pick myself up and keep pushing. I have the motivation, and the passion. And I know that if I keep on this path, the universe will provide. Things happen for people who try for it. Who deserve it. And man, do I ever.

With love.

Quote of the Early Morning

"It is impossible to live without failing, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all- in which case, you fail by default." (Dont know who to credit- sorry!)

Want.

Anxious for it all to happen. I want it now. Not later. Not someday. But right now.

Things That Make You Go "Hmmmm"

Questions of the day for you to ponder.

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Also, why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

With love!

Fitness is a Fit-Mess

So, as you should know by now, my Hawaii vacation is quickly approaching. I recently have been going through some woe-is-me moments as life as been throwing some curve-balls my way. Long story short, I have been comfort eating like crazy. That, combined with my reasonably sedentary lifestyle has meant my putting on a little weight. Now wait, I understand- I am not fat. I have no illusions of my body weight. But, 10 pounds on a small package shows. It made my clothes uncomfortable, and my self esteem took a serious hit.

I have decided to begin working out.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have said I was going to do this about eleventy-billion times over. But this time, I mean it.

Sure sure sure, "if you want to lose weight for Hawaii you should have started months ago." But here's the thing- I am kicking my own butt! I haven't had midnight snacks in a couple of days, and only 2 meals a day (plus a small meal around lunchtime,) and a couple bottles of water daily. (Which is a huge improvement over my couple bottles a month.) Plus, I am working out every day with a couple of DVDs I bought.

Also just to note- I figure that even if I don't lose any weight or tone anything up, I will feel better about myself by the time I am there, and I will be in better shape for all the swimming and hiking and surfing I'll be doing! :)

This is day 2.

Yesterday, day 1 was a bit of a disappointment. The DVD I bought is amazing. So amazing that I can't get through it. It's circuit training by Jillian Michaels. And whoa, I knew I was out of shape- but this video made me realize HOW out of shape I am. Let's just say my body was shaking and I physically could not continue the video.

So today, day 2: Leslie Sansone's 3 Fast Miles. Also amazing. But I decided not to kill myself. I participated for one mile. It made me feel really good! My sore muscles from yesterday loosened up and I got some much needed oxygen.

I intend on alternating DVD's every day. Tomorrow will be back to the first DVD (wish me luck!) and then the next day I am going to walk 2 miles. By the weekend I hope to do all 3!

The final odd day of the "week" will be a yoga/pilates DVD to stretch my muscles after my difficult week of torturing myself!

Okay, I am going to go eat a healthy meal (small baked potato with minimal amounts of spread, and grilled chicken breast :) )

With love!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things.

Some of my favorite things.

Selling something off my Etsy page- it's really exciting to know someone will own and love my work.
Listening to my boyfriend play guitar.
Seeing flowers coming out early- they want spring as much as I do.
Girl scout cookies.
Socks- pretty soon I am going to need to re-up on some socks.
Spring cleaning- out with the old! Rid myself of clutter!
Antique stores.

My Very Own Etsy Page!

It's official! I have opened up an Etsy seller's page! Go check it out! Tell your friends! Plus I have a MULTITUDE of other photos that are ready to sell too, so if you want some more variety or have a question about if I have something more specific (certain color flowers, black and white vs color, varying contrast) let me know! I can customize and then post for you to purchase! Also, quantities listed say only one- but if it sells, another will be put up in it's place!
Thanks for your interest!
Please go look!
I'm quite proud :)
With love!

PS- I am being featured in THREE different hand selected collections, too! :)
Bits of Blue, I Am a Traveling Man & Brighten Your Day


Heck yes! Feel free to praise me for a job well done :)

Song of Today

Almost 6 months later and I almost always have a "song of the day" from my loverly boyfriend. Sometimes I take the reins and pick a song myself, but mostly it has been him. I wish now that I had written them down along the way because that would make a really cool set of CDs after the first year to walk down memory lane to. But, I didn't do that, so I can't cry over spilled milk. Meanwhile, the entire reason I am writing this down is because I received a particularly wonderful one today, and I wanted to share it with everyone.


"Change The World" by Finger Eleven

I just want the best for you girl
But I don't think I really know
what that means
I know you bring the best out of me
and I know you're sick
of abstract things
But time has been kind
in a weird kind of way
Cause I've been waiting for this feeling to leave
If I can hold onto this feeling this long
Maybe I can get you to hold me

Don't you believe, girl
You'll change the world
At least you changed the world for me

I won't be sorry if you leave me girl
Cause I'm the world's biggest fan of clich©s
I'll set you free then I'll love like I'm not
Hurting in the world's worst ways

But I don't know if I can make it alone
And I don't have much more left to lose
I can't say for sure just where I'll end up
I just want to end up there with you

When the darkness never ends
And my world's crashing in
And it starts to turn again
Will you believe?

When I won't get over you
And my world splits in two
When I just can't make it through
Will you believe?




Hope you enjoyed!
With love.

Found this- I totally agree, Women's movement.

Because a woman’s work is never done.
and is underpaid, or unpaid, or boring, or repetitious,
and we’re the first to get fired,
and what we look like is more important than what we do.
And if we get raped its our fault
and if we get beaten we must have provoked it
and if we raise our voices we’re nagging bitches
and if we enjoy sex we’re nymphos
and if we don’t we’re frigid
and if we love women it’s because we can’t get a real man
and if we ask our doctor too many questions we’re neurotic or pushy
and if we expect childcare we’re selfish
and if we stand up for our rights we’re aggressive and un-feminine
and if we don’t we’re typical weak females
and if we want to get married we’re out to trap a man
and if we don’t we’re unnatural
and because we still can’t get an adequate, safe contraceptive, but men can walk on the moon
and if we can’t cope or don’t want a pregnancy we’re made to feel guilty about abortion
and for lots and lots of other reasons
we are part of the women’s liberation movement.

- Joyce Stevens, International Woman’s Day, 1975.

Date a Girl Who Reads.

"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilightseries.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes."

— Rosemary Urquico (via kblitz)

Quote of the day

“Don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying yes begins things. Saying yes is how things grow. Saying yes leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say yes.”

— Stephen Colbert, via Dave

Daily Finds

Have any of you ever looked at dailyfinds ? It's a site where when people find something they find interesting (a love note, a funny grocery list, etc.... real written items) they get scanned in and added. These are real things written by real people. Sometimes they're funny, sometimes sad. Either way there are the occasional "finds" that make you realize that you're not alone out there.
Check it out. You'll like it. Plus, now you'll have another website to go look at when you have a spare 5 minutes. :)

With love.

Tool Box Transformation

I've started planning for Michael and my new bathroom when we move out. I've decided to go vintage. I am using mason jars for soap and lotion dispensers, a small antique silver tray to set things on, some other small antique jars for bath salts, q-tips, and toothbrushes. I wanted to find something unique to put some spare toilet paper in, or to hold tissues and a spare hand towel.
That's when.....
I found this really cool antique toolbox, but it was a really horrible orange. These are the before pictures:




I also had some antique sheet music that I've been holding on to for a project. Finally have a reason for it!


It just took a few simple tools:
A ruler, a foam brush, mod podge (or another product that will both glue and seal), an exacto knife (my best friend in projects!), a cutting surface, and black chalkboard paint (not shown.)




I set paper into the inside and mapped out how I wanted it to lay, cutting pieces to fit as I went. I then cleaned the whole box inside and out with a damp rag (to clear off dirt and some of the rust.)

I chose not to use primer on the toolbox because the orange paint made the surface perfect for painting on its own.

I used the mod podge on the sheet music and once I was finished gluing everything down, I went over it again with the mod podge to seal the whole inside to protect it more from moisture.

While the glue was drying I began painting the outside. It took about 3 full coats and a few touch-ups at the end, but it is ready to go now! I left the inside of the lid and the bottom of the toolbox alone because I wanted to keep a little integrity of the original box intact.

What was really cool is what happened when the glue started the settle with the paper- the left over rust actually showed through a little- which was perfect! It made it look even older and like the paper on the inside belonged in there all along!

Now I when I figure out what I'm going to put inside of it, I'll be able to write on it in chalk! It might say "toilet paper," or "tissues," or maybe something cutesy. We'll see! I might just draw some filigree on it. Exciting!


Pics of the soap and lotion dispensers to come soon, those are done too!

Quote!

Quote for the day:

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."
-Douglas Adams

Soon to be

2 things- one, soon you will all be able to take witness in my attempt at an Ikea hack- making a Lack end table be covered in scrabble tiles :)

And two, there is a good chance that my life is going to take a very different turn than I had anticipated. The idea of getting to be with the person I love and have the opportunity to travel and experience a life all our own..... let's just say I am more excited at the possibilities the future holds than I would have believed I'd be.

One of my favorite websites

If you're not a follow of lifehacker, you should be. All kinds of great information and helpful tips. This one in particular is really great, considering that so many cameras now track your location and imbed photos with that information. Check this out. Then treat yourself to just surfing around on the site!