Ready, Set, Go

After the last post, I left you all hanging, and I'm sorry for that.  Mainly, I've had quite a load of schoolwork, and I didn't think it would be enjoyable for any of us, including myself, if I just wrote about the day-by-day-play-by-play.  And so, now I finally have a few things I have accumulated to post about, and I hope you enjoy it!

Lately, I've been finding joy in small things.  Throughout days of homework without a lot of respite, you being to further enjoy little moments and findings, and I'm certainly grateful for it.  Specifically, I've been enjoying music and books a lot more!  When I get the chance to take them in, it's so much sweeter.  Right now, I've been listening to two Frank Sinatra albums, Train's "Save me San Francisco" album, and Mumford and Sons' "Sigh no More."  Not to mention, I love my mom's playlist which has a lot of good Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, and all of that good stuff.

This completely fits me.  I don't prefer one genre over the other, really.  It's all based on what I decide I like right that very second... so my musical tastes are varied.  I can go from "My Funny Valentine" to "Love is a Battlefield" in two seconds flat.  And that, my readers, is so much fun. 

Also, I've been doing a Bible Study called With the Master in the School of Faith by Susan J. Heck.  I have only been doing it for a little while, so I'm not yet informed enough to give a full review.  But from what I've read so far?  It's absolutely fantastic.  It's a ladies' study, but it's not centered on emotions.  Emotions are often a trap, especially for younger girls, and so I appreciate the fact that this book is simply a straight analysis of Scripture.  The study is focused on the Book of James, and as far as I can say, I recommend it.  I love curling up in a mass of pillows on my bed with this study on my Kindle and jotting down notes and flipping through the smooth pages of my Bible.

Another thing that makes me happy is the ability to go out.  I tend to get a little bit of "cabin fever," so when my dad said that the school where he works was having a tour of a synagogue, I jumped on it.  My mom and I went with him this morning, and it was a fantastic experience.  The synagogue was in the Jewish Ghetto, and there was a time where the Jews in Rome where confined to this 4-block area next to the Tiber.  It was unhealthy, because of floods and rats and mosquitoes.  And when the Nazis came, the great majority of Jews there had 20 minutes to pack a suitcase and food for 8 days (that's how long it took to get to Auschwitz).  They were told to lock their doors and bring the key, but the majority never came back.

I've been interested for a while in the Jewish faith, and I have a great deal of respect for them.  In fact, my favorite radio talk-show host, Dennis Prager, is Jewish, and while he never argues theology, he's still one of the brightest men to whom I've ever listened.  And I've also begun cultivating a deep interest in politics, and I love to get into discussions on policies and such.  It's a shame that most of my friends agree with me!  :)

The Jewish Ghetto is actually now a very expensive neighborhood, but it's also my favorite place in Rome.  It's beautiful, and small, and not to mention, today there was nary a cloud in the sky.  I've talked about this area before, but I never knew all that went on here.  I couldn't even begin to tell you all the things I learned today!  It's certainly worth looking into.

A memorial erected after a terrorist attack... Stefano Gaj Tache' was "the victim of terrorism at only two years old."  It was saddening to see.

I love the quaintness of laundry swaying in the breeze.

My favorite fountain in all of Rome.  

It's artichoke season, and the Jewish people here apparently make great fried artichokes.  Can't wait to try!

I love the windows and colors of all these buildings.

This used to be a fish market.  Old ruins are so beautiful to me.

Stay tuned for more... we're going to Venice this weekend!  So by Tuesday I should have some new pictures up, and maybe a giveaway.  If you're nice.  :)

Time for a Change

I'm going to admit something... I'm through with the 30 Day Challenge.  I knew this would happen.... when have I ever finished a challenge on the blog?  :)  My blogging may become a little sporadic, but I just have so much to do.  I want to make sure that I'm doing everything I can to focus on school, because, as much as we students often dislike to admit it, it's our calling.  I need to give blogging a bit of a backseat for a while.

Granted, I'll be posting whenever I can!  It simply won't be a primary focus.  When I try to blog every day, I find myself getting bogged down and frustrated, and then I feel guilty when I don't.

I want to change the focus of my posts, too.  I have an outlet now for all of my girly-focuses, so I want this blog to be something different.  I want it to be about my daily life in Italy, because I know my family loves to read about that, but also, I want to get into things more deeply.  Writing is something I love to do... and while I don't know if it will be something I do for a living, I still want to excel at it.  I want to practice it, and I think this blog is the perfect way to do it.

One of the main reasons I'm ending the 30 Day Challenge is simply because it's not writing.  I can post a picture and an intro, and that can be all the writing I've done for that day.  I'm not saying that it's not fun and that I don't love reading and looking at others' challenges, but it's not for me.

In a nutshell, what I'm saying is I want to go back to where I started.  When I would post things that I was thinking through.  When I would post poetry.  When I would post pictures of beautiful places I happened upon in this amazing city.

I hope you don't mind the change... but I know that I'm certainly excited about it!  Please stay with me folks.  I don't think you'll regret it.

30 Day Challenge: Day 12 (Almost missed it!!)

A picture of something you love.


I nearly forgot to do today's challenge, I was so busy!  But this one was easy, because I love a lot of things.  So, naturally, I picked the most recent that has absolutely filled my heart with joy.

Right now, I love.......

My dear Amanda.  She is one of the sweetest girls I know, and I think I absolutely realized she was amazing when she posted this on Gmail:

"you are the cheese to my mac, the spaghetti to my meatball, the Carolini to my Mandaroni."


Yes, we made each other's names into pastas.  :)  


That message alone is probably why I had to post this! I love you, Mandaroni!


Now, I'm off to bed. 


Love,

Quick Note and a Flub

You may have noticed some weird "stream of consciousness" type messages showing up on the blog this morning.... That was unintentional!

My friend Matt and I were having a debate on Formspring on the merits of Harry Potter and whether or not J.K. Rowling was a Christian and the effects that had on the story, etc.  Formspring was malfunctioning, and there's an option for the questions to be posted to blogger, and it must have done so without my knowledge.  It also sent some of my debate questions to other buddies on Formspring unintentionally, so my apologies.

Sorry about that!  Very strange.

I don't do technology.  :D

The Dressing Room Door

Hey y'all!  I've got an announcement to make, and I'm absolutely, positively, so very excited about it.

As you know, I'm very girly.  I love all things fashionable.  So, naturally, I tend to make friends with girls who are the same way!  Emilyann, Josie, Lizzie, Amanda, Lauren, Valentine, and I have created a new blog.  It's called The Dressing Room Door, and it's a

collaborative effort, where we post whenever we want and about whatever happens to strike our fashion fancy.


And what better way to really kick off our new blog than with a giveaway?  I've been wanting to do one on this blog for a while, and the timing was perfect because the product I wanted to give away didn't arrive until after we started our blog.  So now we have the perfect way to welcome new readers!

If you'd like to enter this great giveaway, click the button right there to head on over!

30 Day Challenge: Day 11 and a rolling GROWL to Congress or whoever thought of this silly idea

A picture of something you hate.

I still haven't bounced back from losing that hour of sleep, I think.

Part of me wants to run for president just so I can try to repeal this nonsense hour-losing business.  Standard time worked JUST fine for thousands of years.

No, I'm not bitter.  Just sleepy.

---------

In other news, as you read this, I should be arriving back in Rome.  I set this to post on Wednesday so I wouldn't forget.

I can tell you that I already miss my extended family and the puppy, but I'm happy to see my dad and to get back into a regular routine.  Getting over jet-lag is going to be rough going, but I'm a pretty good sleeper.

Have a great day, and take a nap for me, will ya?

30 Day Challenge: Day 10

A picture of the person you do the most screwed up things with.


This one sort of cracked me up and confused me all at once.  I wouldn't say I do a whole lot of "screwed up" things, but I do get a little silly with friends.  Of course.

The hard thing is that, right now, I don't have many face to face friends.  In fact, I only have one, and I never get to see her because she's very busy.  Because I don't speak Italian and I'm the only teen at the church we're attending, and because I'm homeschooled, I'm currently in a little "alone" state in my life.

I'm not really lonely, though I do struggle with that sometimes.  I still have my friends in my online classes to Skype and email, but it's not the same as walking around and acting goofy.

BUT.

My cousin, Mary, and I?  WE are really, really silly.

We've had the extreme good look to find a way to see each other about once a year, pretty much, and we have since we were little. We email, but when we get together, the world needs to look out.  Take a dramamine, universe, because it's going to be a bumpy ride.

We saw each other just a couple of weeks ago, and she won the lobster race held in the driveway at our family reunion.

Photo courtesy of my favorite brother:

Ain't she purty?

We've been known to flat boogie down in the middle of any given store if a good tune comes on, to scream out lyrics to pop music at any given time, scream about Justin Bieber in any given listener's face, nap on the same sofa even though we're too tall and long-legged to do that anymore, laugh about made up words, shorten words such as "adorbs" "presh" and "totes" just to be obnoxious, call each other made up names (lately it's Maroon and Cerulean), and, apparently, cuddle with lobsters.


Love you, girl.  :)

OOTD*: Simple Neutrals

Hey everyone!

Just to mix it up a bit, I decided to do an OOTD.  This was originally supposed to be also an FOTD** but my camera died before the FOTD photos downloaded to my computer.

Lace Shirt ~ Macy's

Cargo roll-ups  ~ Macy's

Nude heels ~ Kohls

Lipstick ~ Mac lipstick in Hot Tahiti

Eyeshadow ~ New York Ready to Wear in light purple, dark brown, shimmery white

Eyeliner ~ New York Ready to Wear black creme liner

Foundation ~A blend of Maybelline Dream Mousse and Aveeno anti-aging daily sunscreen

Blush ~ Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush and Mary Kay powder blush 

I was intending to wear these heels, but I changed them right before we left for lunch.  I decided I probably didn't need to wear them to go to a buffet restaurant, so I just wore some ruffled metallic Target flats.

What did you wear today?

*OOTD = Outfit of the Day
**FOTD = Face of the Day