Thursday, December 25, 2008
Rome wanderings and Pompeii in a day
December 23rd, 2008
This is Elliott again. Today was another sunny brisk day in Roma. Our first stop was at cathedral called St. Peter in Chains. The cathedral is believed to contain the exact chains that bound Peter when the angel came and freed him from prison. Within the cathedral, was a statue of Moses that was done by Michelangelo. This sight was great since it was right next to the metro stop. We then hopped back on the Subway and went to the Roman Baths of Caracalla. These baths were gigantic from what we envisioned! The Romans were big into hydro therapy and used the baths as a social gathering place. After experiencing the Roman baths, we walked down to where the Circus Maximus once held 375,000 screaming fans. Its massive oval shape is kind of like ancient NASCAR. There is no longer a building there but using your imagination you can picture the grandness of the structure built during Imperial Rome. From the Circus Maximus, we headed toward a beautiful white building many people call the wedding cake (the Italian monument of the unknown soldiers). I have never been to the U.S tomb of the unknown soldiers, but I’m sure this one put ours to shame. From there we walked down Cavour street, then took the subway back to our hotel. For dinner we found a restaurant right next to our hotel that makes homemade ravioli. It was our first official sit-down restaurant. It was pretty good, but we were disappointed with the chicken cacciatore.
December 24th, 2008 Day VI
Just so you know this is Elliott. Its Christmas Eve and Molly and I took a tour to Naples and Pompeii. We woke up around 6:00 am since we had to be in the lobby of our hotel by 6:45. This was a big deal since I have been letting Molly sleep in since she is not feeling well. We fortunately made it down stairs in time and was told by our concierge that the bus is not going to pick us up; we have to taxi to the agency. Of course the agency paid for the taxi, so it wasn’t all that bad. Our bus left around 7:30am and had both Spanish and English speakers. So the tour guide would tell us everything in English then in Spanish. I didn’t mind since I got to hear everything twice. The drive down to Naples is about 2 ½ hours. Our first stop was at the Naples Dock. We walked from the dock to the city center where we passed the largest working opera house in all of Europe, the house that the kings of Naples use to live in and the center city plaza that was constructed after the same manner of the city plaza in Moscow. Naples was pretty dirty and we were not too impressed.
We then headed back to the bus and drove to Pompeii, which is on the other side of Mount Vesuvius in relation to Naples. Once we got there, they took us on a tour of a cameo and shell shop. Cameos are portraits made out of shell. I didn’t know what they were, but if you saw one you would be like, “O ya, my grandma has one of those.” After the tour on how the shells are carved, we were fed dumplings, pasta, pork and salad. We meet some interesting couples from Canada and Houston. Everyone on the tour was very nice except for this old guy from Spain who smoked these smelly cigars. The weather was sunny and brisk, which made the walk around Pompeii very enjoyable. Pompeii is very well preserved, having intact mosaics and murals. You can still see the rivets in the stones from the carts in the streets. We saw the courthouse, market, baths/sauna, money changing, rooms where people kept their personal effects to be watched by slaves, the head governors house, and Molly’s favorite the brothel. The governor’s house was enormous, complete with garden, slaves quarters and four dining rooms for each season. The brothel was interesting with many sexual explicit frescos so the foreigners could point at what they wanted. Even the roads had a phallic symbol etched into them directing the way to brothel. They have actually found bodies preserved by the ash in the position that they were buried. They have them on display (they are the pics of the grey looking corpses). Pompeii is a must for everyone interested in how ancient civilizations lived.
When we reached to hotel, we were nervous that we weren’t going to find a place to eat since Christmas Eve is a holiday spent eating with the family. Fortunately our concierge made some phone calls and found a place nearby for us to dine. The food was OK. Molly will tell you that the pizza is awesome here but everything else is mediocre so far (except for the gelato!!!).
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas from Rome! This is Molly again, Elliott has been helping me keep up on our blogging journal since I’ve been so sleepy from being sick. I’m still sick, but I’ve been trucking through it, determined to have a great time! We got up around 9:00 and ate our free breakfast. Then we came back to the room and slept some more. I don’t mean to be so sleepy, but we figured it didn’t matter because it is Christmas, and Rome is literally a ghost town today. So, there’s not much to report on because pretty much everything is shut down, even the Metro. We decided that one day in Venice is not going to cut it, so we had our concierge book us a hotel room for tomorrow night in Venice. I’m glad we have a concierge because he got us a nice hotel room for 68 Euro, including breakfast! We were impressed seeing as how hotels in Venice are incredibly expensive. Then we made our way to the Termini train station and bought roundtrip train tickets to Venice. These were also on sale, so we saved some more money, which always makes me happy. Luckily, we found a McDonald’s near Termini so we grabbed some food since EVERYTHING else is closed. I was thinking we were going to have to fast on Christmas, but good ol’ Mickey D’s came through for us. It was getting dark, and all of our books and tour guides have said to avoid the Termini area at night b/c it is a bad neighborhood, so we booked it out of there and came back to the hotel. Now we are reading up on Venice and preparing for Molly’s most anticipated part of the trip! Merry Christmas!
This is Elliott again. Today was another sunny brisk day in Roma. Our first stop was at cathedral called St. Peter in Chains. The cathedral is believed to contain the exact chains that bound Peter when the angel came and freed him from prison. Within the cathedral, was a statue of Moses that was done by Michelangelo. This sight was great since it was right next to the metro stop. We then hopped back on the Subway and went to the Roman Baths of Caracalla. These baths were gigantic from what we envisioned! The Romans were big into hydro therapy and used the baths as a social gathering place. After experiencing the Roman baths, we walked down to where the Circus Maximus once held 375,000 screaming fans. Its massive oval shape is kind of like ancient NASCAR. There is no longer a building there but using your imagination you can picture the grandness of the structure built during Imperial Rome. From the Circus Maximus, we headed toward a beautiful white building many people call the wedding cake (the Italian monument of the unknown soldiers). I have never been to the U.S tomb of the unknown soldiers, but I’m sure this one put ours to shame. From there we walked down Cavour street, then took the subway back to our hotel. For dinner we found a restaurant right next to our hotel that makes homemade ravioli. It was our first official sit-down restaurant. It was pretty good, but we were disappointed with the chicken cacciatore.
December 24th, 2008 Day VI
Just so you know this is Elliott. Its Christmas Eve and Molly and I took a tour to Naples and Pompeii. We woke up around 6:00 am since we had to be in the lobby of our hotel by 6:45. This was a big deal since I have been letting Molly sleep in since she is not feeling well. We fortunately made it down stairs in time and was told by our concierge that the bus is not going to pick us up; we have to taxi to the agency. Of course the agency paid for the taxi, so it wasn’t all that bad. Our bus left around 7:30am and had both Spanish and English speakers. So the tour guide would tell us everything in English then in Spanish. I didn’t mind since I got to hear everything twice. The drive down to Naples is about 2 ½ hours. Our first stop was at the Naples Dock. We walked from the dock to the city center where we passed the largest working opera house in all of Europe, the house that the kings of Naples use to live in and the center city plaza that was constructed after the same manner of the city plaza in Moscow. Naples was pretty dirty and we were not too impressed.
We then headed back to the bus and drove to Pompeii, which is on the other side of Mount Vesuvius in relation to Naples. Once we got there, they took us on a tour of a cameo and shell shop. Cameos are portraits made out of shell. I didn’t know what they were, but if you saw one you would be like, “O ya, my grandma has one of those.” After the tour on how the shells are carved, we were fed dumplings, pasta, pork and salad. We meet some interesting couples from Canada and Houston. Everyone on the tour was very nice except for this old guy from Spain who smoked these smelly cigars. The weather was sunny and brisk, which made the walk around Pompeii very enjoyable. Pompeii is very well preserved, having intact mosaics and murals. You can still see the rivets in the stones from the carts in the streets. We saw the courthouse, market, baths/sauna, money changing, rooms where people kept their personal effects to be watched by slaves, the head governors house, and Molly’s favorite the brothel. The governor’s house was enormous, complete with garden, slaves quarters and four dining rooms for each season. The brothel was interesting with many sexual explicit frescos so the foreigners could point at what they wanted. Even the roads had a phallic symbol etched into them directing the way to brothel. They have actually found bodies preserved by the ash in the position that they were buried. They have them on display (they are the pics of the grey looking corpses). Pompeii is a must for everyone interested in how ancient civilizations lived.
When we reached to hotel, we were nervous that we weren’t going to find a place to eat since Christmas Eve is a holiday spent eating with the family. Fortunately our concierge made some phone calls and found a place nearby for us to dine. The food was OK. Molly will tell you that the pizza is awesome here but everything else is mediocre so far (except for the gelato!!!).
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas from Rome! This is Molly again, Elliott has been helping me keep up on our blogging journal since I’ve been so sleepy from being sick. I’m still sick, but I’ve been trucking through it, determined to have a great time! We got up around 9:00 and ate our free breakfast. Then we came back to the room and slept some more. I don’t mean to be so sleepy, but we figured it didn’t matter because it is Christmas, and Rome is literally a ghost town today. So, there’s not much to report on because pretty much everything is shut down, even the Metro. We decided that one day in Venice is not going to cut it, so we had our concierge book us a hotel room for tomorrow night in Venice. I’m glad we have a concierge because he got us a nice hotel room for 68 Euro, including breakfast! We were impressed seeing as how hotels in Venice are incredibly expensive. Then we made our way to the Termini train station and bought roundtrip train tickets to Venice. These were also on sale, so we saved some more money, which always makes me happy. Luckily, we found a McDonald’s near Termini so we grabbed some food since EVERYTHING else is closed. I was thinking we were going to have to fast on Christmas, but good ol’ Mickey D’s came through for us. It was getting dark, and all of our books and tour guides have said to avoid the Termini area at night b/c it is a bad neighborhood, so we booked it out of there and came back to the hotel. Now we are reading up on Venice and preparing for Molly’s most anticipated part of the trip! Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 22, 2008
...do as the Romans do...and eat Gelato!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Just so you know this is Elliott, Molly is sleeping since we have been up on our feet for what seems like an eternity. The pain in my feet makes me feel bad for the god Atlas. Today was an incredible day spent at one of the most religious sites in the world, The Vatican. We didn’t get to meet his holiness but we were able to walk his corridors. Yesterday from the tour we were on, we met a fun tour guide named Hannah the Aussie. Molly and I took a liking to her and we found out that she was giving a tour today at 10:00 a.m. for the Vatican museum. We jumped at the chance to have her has our guide again. We ate breakfast and left to the subway system which quickly got us to the destination. On the metro there are panhandlers asking for money all the time, but on our way to the Vatican there was an old man in a suit playing the fiddle; he played Jingle Bells. It reminded me of the Pixar cartoon where the kid played the violin for money. Leaving the metro, we met our tour guide and we began our journey through the Vatican.
Our guide was excellent as she gave us a little history on how the Vatican came to be, the succession of popes and the history of the artists (Michelangelo, Bernini, Raphael and many more). FYI if you spent a minute on every piece of art in the public viewing area, National Geographic calculated that you would spend 8 ½ weeks there!!! So I won’t go into too much detail, but I’ll hit the main cool points. But I must say you always hear people talk about how words and pictures cannot describe the incredibleness of this museum, THEY ARE RIGHT! There were busts of ancient roman gods, death monuments for children (if your child died, you made a statue for them), lifelike statues of animals and muses. We saw a bath made out of Egyptian marble (at a price of 200 Euro per square inch – or more, I can’t remember exactly; something crazy though). The thing was a mini pool! There were tapestries of the life of Christ down one corridor which included a few disturbing ones of Herod throwing a ball for all the fist born sons so he could slay them. Another corridor had Ancient Maps of Italy which were really impressive since they had no photography or aerial views, yet they (two brothers) did an amazing job figuring out how the country looked, with just a compass and two donkeys. We then came to the Raphael rooms. The walls depicted the birth of Christianity and Peter the apostle being rescued from prison, plus the famous Academy. There was a modern art exhibit with some Dali’s which made me happy before you entered the Sistine Chapel.
Upon entering the Sistine chapel, the first thing you notice is that it is bigger than what you would expect. This really is the Cou de Gra (my attempt at French, sorry) of your tour. The walls and ceiling are beyond breathtaking. You are not allowed to take pics in the chapel but since I converted I figure the pope can’t punish me anymore so we did anyway! j/k. The head officer was away on holiday and his replacement could care less if you were taking pics. So we did w/out flash of course to preserve the fresco. After leaving the Sistine chapel, we entered St. Peter’s Square. This is the huge courtyard that leads up to the largest Catholic Church in the world. You were allowed to enter the church and to describe all the detail that went into every nook and cranny would take at least a day. However, when you enter the chapel on the right hand side is the only signed statue by Michelangelo called “The Pietra” which is the one of Mary holding Christ when he was taken down from the cross. This statue was really the only main one of Christ, which made Molly upset. She thinks that if a religion is based on Christ, there should be homage to Him and not to all of the Catholic saints. The statues of the saints were huge and beautiful, but there were hardly any of Christ, which surprised Molly. We walked around the chapel for awhile and our feet were a little tender so we took a break and thought of what we wanted to do next.
Our choices were to go under the chapel and see the tombs of the popes, walk to the top of the dome (cupola) or leave the basilica and eat. So we decided that we are only in Rome once, so we need to walk up to the top of the cupola. There was a sign at the base saying “old people be warned the walk up is very difficult.” They offered an elevator up about half way for 7 euro or you could just walk the whole thing for 5 euro. Molly and I decided to just pay the 5 euro each and walk up to the top. At first the steps are very tiny and long and spiraling up. Then the stairs became a ramp for awhile. We got to what we thought was the top, but was only the inside dome of the chapel. (See pics) I was like that was stinky, for 5 euro we thought we were going to go outside. However! We saw another sign that allowed you to go up higher. The walking staircase is only large enough for one person to go up and is at a slant to your right so you’re leaning as you walk up the stair case. Then you walk up some more metal stairs and then this really tight spiral staircase which made me so dizzy I had to brace myself and throw up a couple Hail Mary’s so I wouldn’t tumble down. We finally reached the top! There is a law in Rome that doesn’t allow you to build anything higher than the dome of the St. Peter’s Bascilica, so we were at the highest point in the city. We took some pictures and enjoyed the 10 euro hike to this spot. The only thing was we had to go back down that tight spiral staircase which made Molly and I dizzy. When we approached the last part where they had long (in length) tiny (in height) steps they were slanted downward. Molly was funny to watch as she picked up speed walking these steps because they force you to come down fast. After the Cupola, we had to walk around half the Vatican to retrieve our backpack from the entrance in the back. That was the worst part of the day because it was so freaking far to get our backpack and they were closing the museum, so we had to hurry but we wanted to hang out in St. Peter’s Square. We ended up walking back to the square to take pics and take in the whole grandeur of it. Outside the Vatican, were many little tents set up where people were selling things. Not like souvenirs but actual useful fun things. It was about 5 and we didn’t eat lunch and were hungry so Molly and I shared a Crepe to hold us over. After that little snack, she was recharged and ready to shop! She had fun looking at all the little handmade items. One little tent sold necklaces and beads. When I pointed to these huge individual beads, Molly was so excited she shouted out “OH WOW!!” Unfortunately these beads where not meant for watches or bracelets. They were center piece beads for necklaces so the holes were at a 2 o’clock and 10 o’clock position. Bummer for you girls, I know. Molly did end up buying a cute little Italian nativity set and got discount since she was so cute. We then headed down Ottovanio Street (which was a happening place) to the metro. We are like metro experts now. Well not really, but I like to think so. On our walk home, we stopped and got some pizza and gelato. The Vatican was an all day trip and well worth it. We finally made it to our hotel room and are so happy to take off our shoes and wish we had a bath to soak our feet.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Well, I’m sick. (this is Molly again). It stinks to be sick on your dream vacation. So we slept in, ate our free breakfast, and I came back to the room and slept some more. When I’m sick, I just like to sleep. We finally got going around 1:00. We went to the Spanish Steps, which apparently is the place to be. I was disappointed in how smoky it was. Everyone and their mother smokes here, especially at the Spanish Steps. All around the Spanish Steps is shopping, from designers like Gucci, Armani, Fendi, Versace, etc. to random little shops. We found Andrew’s Ties, which Dee Golightly had recommended and we found some cool ties for Elliott. On the top of the Steps, we found a nice artist who spoke broken English and we bought 3 of his watercolors, one of the Spanish Steps, one of the Colosseum, and one of Roman Forum. I think they are pretty – they are in Sepia tone and are of medium size. Then, we found a Furla purse store, and I couldn’t help myself. I bought a nice Furla purse tax free. I love it.
After shopping (which took pretty much all day), we went to the Trevi Fountain, one of the most famous fountains in Rome. It is huge and really amazing. Pictures don’t do it justice, you really have to see it to see how big and gorgeous it is. We ate some gelato and walked around the shops around there, but most of them were closing, so we decided to come back because I found a Murano glass store that I wanted to shop in. By this time, everything was closing and it was getting cold, so we made our way back to hotel and fell asleep.
Monday, December 22, 2008
I’m still sick. This morning I felt really crappy so we skipped our free breakfast and slept until 11:30. I hate to sleep away our vacation, but when you’re sick, sometimes sleep takes over. I’m feeling a bit better tonight, so hopefully I’ll continue to get better. Once we finally got out of the hotel, we got pizza at this place by our hotel that is delicious and super cheap…3.50 Euro for the both of us to eat. We made our way back to the Trevi Fountain and did more shopping. I found my Murano Glass store again, and bought a vase with 2 glass flowers to go in it. I also bought a few Murano glass bracelets with cool beads so I can later make different watch bands.
After shopping around the Trevi Fountain, we decided to do a walk that is in one of our Rome books. It took us to different churches, which all kind of blended together for me. It also took us to the Pantheon, which is one of the best preserved buildings in Rome. It once was a temple for the Pagan gods, but was later turned into a Christian church. It was very cool to see such an old building with its original columns and ceiling. The artist Raphael was buried there too, and there was an awesome tomb of a king inside it. We did the audioguide tour there, which went into more detail than I really could care for, but Elliott enjoyed it. After the Pantheon, our walk took us to some more churches and then to the Piazza Navona which was really fun. It has three cool Fountains: The Fontana dei Fuimi (Four Rivers fountains) by Bernini, the Fontana del Moro (of tritons, dragons, and dolphins), and the Fontana del Nuttuno (Neptune with nymphs). The Piazza also had carnival-like games and random shops. We bought a popular treat there that when I saw it, I said, “That looks like one big ass donut.” Elliott thought I was so funny when I said it, so we had to try one and will forever remember it as such.
Our walk was then very hard to follow and so we stayed to the lit streets and realized where we were thanks to the Fendi store’s Christmas belt buckle (its Christmas lights formed a big belt with a buckle at the entrance of the store). We found our way back to the Spanish Steps and they were having a free Christmas concert, so we found a seat on the steps and listened to the rest of it. It was nice. We decided to eat at McDonald’s because we are pizza’d out and the other restaurants around there are very expensive. It was getting late, so we made our way back to our hotel and are about to go to sleep.
Just so you know this is Elliott, Molly is sleeping since we have been up on our feet for what seems like an eternity. The pain in my feet makes me feel bad for the god Atlas. Today was an incredible day spent at one of the most religious sites in the world, The Vatican. We didn’t get to meet his holiness but we were able to walk his corridors. Yesterday from the tour we were on, we met a fun tour guide named Hannah the Aussie. Molly and I took a liking to her and we found out that she was giving a tour today at 10:00 a.m. for the Vatican museum. We jumped at the chance to have her has our guide again. We ate breakfast and left to the subway system which quickly got us to the destination. On the metro there are panhandlers asking for money all the time, but on our way to the Vatican there was an old man in a suit playing the fiddle; he played Jingle Bells. It reminded me of the Pixar cartoon where the kid played the violin for money. Leaving the metro, we met our tour guide and we began our journey through the Vatican.
Our guide was excellent as she gave us a little history on how the Vatican came to be, the succession of popes and the history of the artists (Michelangelo, Bernini, Raphael and many more). FYI if you spent a minute on every piece of art in the public viewing area, National Geographic calculated that you would spend 8 ½ weeks there!!! So I won’t go into too much detail, but I’ll hit the main cool points. But I must say you always hear people talk about how words and pictures cannot describe the incredibleness of this museum, THEY ARE RIGHT! There were busts of ancient roman gods, death monuments for children (if your child died, you made a statue for them), lifelike statues of animals and muses. We saw a bath made out of Egyptian marble (at a price of 200 Euro per square inch – or more, I can’t remember exactly; something crazy though). The thing was a mini pool! There were tapestries of the life of Christ down one corridor which included a few disturbing ones of Herod throwing a ball for all the fist born sons so he could slay them. Another corridor had Ancient Maps of Italy which were really impressive since they had no photography or aerial views, yet they (two brothers) did an amazing job figuring out how the country looked, with just a compass and two donkeys. We then came to the Raphael rooms. The walls depicted the birth of Christianity and Peter the apostle being rescued from prison, plus the famous Academy. There was a modern art exhibit with some Dali’s which made me happy before you entered the Sistine Chapel.
Upon entering the Sistine chapel, the first thing you notice is that it is bigger than what you would expect. This really is the Cou de Gra (my attempt at French, sorry) of your tour. The walls and ceiling are beyond breathtaking. You are not allowed to take pics in the chapel but since I converted I figure the pope can’t punish me anymore so we did anyway! j/k. The head officer was away on holiday and his replacement could care less if you were taking pics. So we did w/out flash of course to preserve the fresco. After leaving the Sistine chapel, we entered St. Peter’s Square. This is the huge courtyard that leads up to the largest Catholic Church in the world. You were allowed to enter the church and to describe all the detail that went into every nook and cranny would take at least a day. However, when you enter the chapel on the right hand side is the only signed statue by Michelangelo called “The Pietra” which is the one of Mary holding Christ when he was taken down from the cross. This statue was really the only main one of Christ, which made Molly upset. She thinks that if a religion is based on Christ, there should be homage to Him and not to all of the Catholic saints. The statues of the saints were huge and beautiful, but there were hardly any of Christ, which surprised Molly. We walked around the chapel for awhile and our feet were a little tender so we took a break and thought of what we wanted to do next.
Our choices were to go under the chapel and see the tombs of the popes, walk to the top of the dome (cupola) or leave the basilica and eat. So we decided that we are only in Rome once, so we need to walk up to the top of the cupola. There was a sign at the base saying “old people be warned the walk up is very difficult.” They offered an elevator up about half way for 7 euro or you could just walk the whole thing for 5 euro. Molly and I decided to just pay the 5 euro each and walk up to the top. At first the steps are very tiny and long and spiraling up. Then the stairs became a ramp for awhile. We got to what we thought was the top, but was only the inside dome of the chapel. (See pics) I was like that was stinky, for 5 euro we thought we were going to go outside. However! We saw another sign that allowed you to go up higher. The walking staircase is only large enough for one person to go up and is at a slant to your right so you’re leaning as you walk up the stair case. Then you walk up some more metal stairs and then this really tight spiral staircase which made me so dizzy I had to brace myself and throw up a couple Hail Mary’s so I wouldn’t tumble down. We finally reached the top! There is a law in Rome that doesn’t allow you to build anything higher than the dome of the St. Peter’s Bascilica, so we were at the highest point in the city. We took some pictures and enjoyed the 10 euro hike to this spot. The only thing was we had to go back down that tight spiral staircase which made Molly and I dizzy. When we approached the last part where they had long (in length) tiny (in height) steps they were slanted downward. Molly was funny to watch as she picked up speed walking these steps because they force you to come down fast. After the Cupola, we had to walk around half the Vatican to retrieve our backpack from the entrance in the back. That was the worst part of the day because it was so freaking far to get our backpack and they were closing the museum, so we had to hurry but we wanted to hang out in St. Peter’s Square. We ended up walking back to the square to take pics and take in the whole grandeur of it. Outside the Vatican, were many little tents set up where people were selling things. Not like souvenirs but actual useful fun things. It was about 5 and we didn’t eat lunch and were hungry so Molly and I shared a Crepe to hold us over. After that little snack, she was recharged and ready to shop! She had fun looking at all the little handmade items. One little tent sold necklaces and beads. When I pointed to these huge individual beads, Molly was so excited she shouted out “OH WOW!!” Unfortunately these beads where not meant for watches or bracelets. They were center piece beads for necklaces so the holes were at a 2 o’clock and 10 o’clock position. Bummer for you girls, I know. Molly did end up buying a cute little Italian nativity set and got discount since she was so cute. We then headed down Ottovanio Street (which was a happening place) to the metro. We are like metro experts now. Well not really, but I like to think so. On our walk home, we stopped and got some pizza and gelato. The Vatican was an all day trip and well worth it. We finally made it to our hotel room and are so happy to take off our shoes and wish we had a bath to soak our feet.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Well, I’m sick. (this is Molly again). It stinks to be sick on your dream vacation. So we slept in, ate our free breakfast, and I came back to the room and slept some more. When I’m sick, I just like to sleep. We finally got going around 1:00. We went to the Spanish Steps, which apparently is the place to be. I was disappointed in how smoky it was. Everyone and their mother smokes here, especially at the Spanish Steps. All around the Spanish Steps is shopping, from designers like Gucci, Armani, Fendi, Versace, etc. to random little shops. We found Andrew’s Ties, which Dee Golightly had recommended and we found some cool ties for Elliott. On the top of the Steps, we found a nice artist who spoke broken English and we bought 3 of his watercolors, one of the Spanish Steps, one of the Colosseum, and one of Roman Forum. I think they are pretty – they are in Sepia tone and are of medium size. Then, we found a Furla purse store, and I couldn’t help myself. I bought a nice Furla purse tax free. I love it.
After shopping (which took pretty much all day), we went to the Trevi Fountain, one of the most famous fountains in Rome. It is huge and really amazing. Pictures don’t do it justice, you really have to see it to see how big and gorgeous it is. We ate some gelato and walked around the shops around there, but most of them were closing, so we decided to come back because I found a Murano glass store that I wanted to shop in. By this time, everything was closing and it was getting cold, so we made our way back to hotel and fell asleep.
Monday, December 22, 2008
I’m still sick. This morning I felt really crappy so we skipped our free breakfast and slept until 11:30. I hate to sleep away our vacation, but when you’re sick, sometimes sleep takes over. I’m feeling a bit better tonight, so hopefully I’ll continue to get better. Once we finally got out of the hotel, we got pizza at this place by our hotel that is delicious and super cheap…3.50 Euro for the both of us to eat. We made our way back to the Trevi Fountain and did more shopping. I found my Murano Glass store again, and bought a vase with 2 glass flowers to go in it. I also bought a few Murano glass bracelets with cool beads so I can later make different watch bands.
After shopping around the Trevi Fountain, we decided to do a walk that is in one of our Rome books. It took us to different churches, which all kind of blended together for me. It also took us to the Pantheon, which is one of the best preserved buildings in Rome. It once was a temple for the Pagan gods, but was later turned into a Christian church. It was very cool to see such an old building with its original columns and ceiling. The artist Raphael was buried there too, and there was an awesome tomb of a king inside it. We did the audioguide tour there, which went into more detail than I really could care for, but Elliott enjoyed it. After the Pantheon, our walk took us to some more churches and then to the Piazza Navona which was really fun. It has three cool Fountains: The Fontana dei Fuimi (Four Rivers fountains) by Bernini, the Fontana del Moro (of tritons, dragons, and dolphins), and the Fontana del Nuttuno (Neptune with nymphs). The Piazza also had carnival-like games and random shops. We bought a popular treat there that when I saw it, I said, “That looks like one big ass donut.” Elliott thought I was so funny when I said it, so we had to try one and will forever remember it as such.
Our walk was then very hard to follow and so we stayed to the lit streets and realized where we were thanks to the Fendi store’s Christmas belt buckle (its Christmas lights formed a big belt with a buckle at the entrance of the store). We found our way back to the Spanish Steps and they were having a free Christmas concert, so we found a seat on the steps and listened to the rest of it. It was nice. We decided to eat at McDonald’s because we are pizza’d out and the other restaurants around there are very expensive. It was getting late, so we made our way back to our hotel and are about to go to sleep.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Rome if you want to....
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
We went to the Miami International Airport around 1:00 p.m. We’ve been to other “international” airports, like Las Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, but man, Miami really IS an international airport. We felt like we walked into another country as soon as we got to the airport! We were the only ones speaking English. We had a scare because our flight confirmation said that we were flying Delta, so we tried to check in with Delta. However, apparently Delta is owned by Alitalia and we were actually flying on Alitalia. So then we went to Alitalia’s check in and everything was in order. The guy that checked us in was nice and gave me a window seat and Elliott an isle seat and then blocked out the middle, so we had a whole row.
The flight was 9 ½ hours long, and we were fed dinner and breakfast. The dinner was pretty bad, in my opinion. Plus, they were very chincy with the drinks, so I was dying of thirst. Next time, I’ll take my own drinks. Elliott slept most of the flight. I finished a book and then tried to sleep, but I can’t sleep on flights very well. I was able to sleep for a couple hours once I had Elliott sit at the window and then I leaned on him and spread out on the row. Once we landed, it was already 8:00 a.m. on Thursday.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Once we landed, we got our luggage (thank you for direct flights!) Then we went to get a taxi. We had read in books and on signs in the airport that we need to a get a taxi with a meter. So this guy comes up and in broken English tells us that he has a meter and that he’ll take us. He was in a suit and looked nice enough so we decided to follow him. Once we got in the car, though, there was no meter. So Elliott opens the car door while he’s backing out and yells “No! We’re getting out!” The dude flat out lied about the meter, so we got out. Then others tried to hustle us to their taxi’s but we found the official airport taxi line and that’s where we found a legitimate taxi. He didn’t speak much English at all, but we were able to tell him where our hotel was b/c Elliott had printed off directions beforehand. Wow, what a taxi ride! Traffic in Rome is HORRIBLE! It’s scary, people just drive all over and there are streets coming and going in all directions. We were so glad we weren’t driving. Plus, it was fun to look around. There are cool things to see all around.
Once we got to our hotel, we tried to check in, but they wouldn’t let us do so for like 5 more hours. Luckily, they had a luggage closet, so we dropped off our bags and started touring. We were so stinking tired, and really just wanted to sleep, but it was nice to get us going and try to switch our clocks. We decided to walk to Villa Borghese, which is basically like this massive park that has a few museums, a zoo, and equestrian center. We went to the Galleria Museum and saw a lot of art and statues that included works of Michelangelo, Bernini, and Caravaggio. Our favorite was a statute of Apollo and Daphne, where Daphne turns into a tree. It was beautiful and we wished we could take pictures, but we had to turn in our bags and cameras before entering. I also found a huge foot that had a flip-flop on it. I can’t even imagine how big the whole statue would have been, b/c only the foot was there and it was really big. I loved that it had a flip flop on it and again, wished I had my camera. After the museum, we walked around the park and found a nice romantic lake to sig by for a bit. By this time, we were so tired, we were dizzy. We still had time before check in, so we found a restaurant called Il Pomordorino, which I think means “little tomato.” I had margherita pizza and Elliott had a brushetta that had mozzarella, tomatoes, and green stuff. Both were delicious and we were happy that our waiter spoke pretty good English. We then, of course, had to try some gelato, so we ordered something that we really didn’t know what it meant, other than “crema” and another word I recognized to mean strawberry. It was strawberry gelato, cream gelato, fresh strawberries, whipped cream, strawberry sauce, and some sweet cracker things. It did not disappoint!
After lunch, we went to the hotel and finally checked in. Elliott said I could take a nap, but only for a little while because we needed to get used to Italy time. So we slept for four hours (much needed), and when we woke up, I still wanted to sleep! So we stayed in the hotel, and ate the leftovers from lunch. We planned out our next day and got online to post on the blog and do my fantasy football (since I’m in the championship game!!). The internet only works in the lobby and there are no plugs in the lobby, so I couldn’t post much on the blog b/c our laptop was dying. After that, it was about midnight and we went to sleep.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Elliott set the alarm for 7:30, but he turned it off and we slept until about 8:30. Our hotel is under renovations (we are in a brand new room that reminds me of a room made from Ikea stuff; very posh and minimalist), so we couldn’t have slept even if we wanted to. It took me a while to fall asleep, so I was still really tired. I don’t do well with time changes. We get breakfast for free (rather, included) at our hotel, so we ate a big meal since we were starving and food is kind of hard to come by since all the restaurants close at weird times. After breakfast, I finished my hair, and then we were off to the Colosseum! We decided to try out the metro subway system since it is quite a ways from our hotel. The auto ticket machine charged us double for some reason, but it dropped us off literally at the Colosseum. Best 4 euro ever spent (except for gelato). Once we got off the Metro, a young guy approached us, and I ignored him but Elliott actually listened. Good thing, because he was selling us a great tour of both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. You pay them, and they take you right past all the lines and give you an English tour/history of the Colosseum. Then we had like 1hr 15 minutes of free time inside the Colosseum, which was awesome. They had an exhibit with some cool statues too. The Colosseum is impressive and hard to describe. I liked all the arches.
After our free time, we met up with a different guide from the same company and she took us through Palentine Hill/Roman Forum. She was from Australia and really knew her history, plus she was really funny. The Palentine Hill is where the emperors built their palaces. They are in ruins now, but you can see how massive of a structure it was. The Roman Forum had the house of the Vestal Virgins, the Senate house, churches, and Via Sacra which is where the soldiers would march in with their spoils of war and where big arches were built to celebrate their victory. These two tours and our free time spent exploring the area took about the whole day. After we were kicked out since it closes, we went to Via Cavour and ate at a cute little café. The waiter saw us looking around, and in broken English says “please, please, come in.” I couldn’t resist. We ate some dinner (well, actually lunch, but at dinner time). I had a caprese sandwhich and Elliott had some penne pasta. The food was just okay, but it was cheap and the service was good. We’re always happy when people speak English. After dinner, we had to have another gelato, so we got cherry gelato on a cone and shared it. It was super sweet and quite tasty. Then we continued down Via Cavour and found a grocery store. We bought some Diet Coke (or CocaCola Light, as they call it), real chocolate, Pringles, soap, and tissue. The grocery store was funny…not at all like America’s. It is not very big and it STINKS, and everything is in Italian. Go figure. Haha. Afterwards, it was getting quite cold and dark, so we decided to head home. We took the Metro again and walked back to our hotel. Now we are resting, planning our day tomorrow, and are probably going to turn in early since we are still tired from our first 48 hour stint of no sleeping! Tomorrow we are going to hit the Vatican with the same tour company (pretty cheap and really informative).
We went to the Miami International Airport around 1:00 p.m. We’ve been to other “international” airports, like Las Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, but man, Miami really IS an international airport. We felt like we walked into another country as soon as we got to the airport! We were the only ones speaking English. We had a scare because our flight confirmation said that we were flying Delta, so we tried to check in with Delta. However, apparently Delta is owned by Alitalia and we were actually flying on Alitalia. So then we went to Alitalia’s check in and everything was in order. The guy that checked us in was nice and gave me a window seat and Elliott an isle seat and then blocked out the middle, so we had a whole row.
The flight was 9 ½ hours long, and we were fed dinner and breakfast. The dinner was pretty bad, in my opinion. Plus, they were very chincy with the drinks, so I was dying of thirst. Next time, I’ll take my own drinks. Elliott slept most of the flight. I finished a book and then tried to sleep, but I can’t sleep on flights very well. I was able to sleep for a couple hours once I had Elliott sit at the window and then I leaned on him and spread out on the row. Once we landed, it was already 8:00 a.m. on Thursday.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Once we landed, we got our luggage (thank you for direct flights!) Then we went to get a taxi. We had read in books and on signs in the airport that we need to a get a taxi with a meter. So this guy comes up and in broken English tells us that he has a meter and that he’ll take us. He was in a suit and looked nice enough so we decided to follow him. Once we got in the car, though, there was no meter. So Elliott opens the car door while he’s backing out and yells “No! We’re getting out!” The dude flat out lied about the meter, so we got out. Then others tried to hustle us to their taxi’s but we found the official airport taxi line and that’s where we found a legitimate taxi. He didn’t speak much English at all, but we were able to tell him where our hotel was b/c Elliott had printed off directions beforehand. Wow, what a taxi ride! Traffic in Rome is HORRIBLE! It’s scary, people just drive all over and there are streets coming and going in all directions. We were so glad we weren’t driving. Plus, it was fun to look around. There are cool things to see all around.
Once we got to our hotel, we tried to check in, but they wouldn’t let us do so for like 5 more hours. Luckily, they had a luggage closet, so we dropped off our bags and started touring. We were so stinking tired, and really just wanted to sleep, but it was nice to get us going and try to switch our clocks. We decided to walk to Villa Borghese, which is basically like this massive park that has a few museums, a zoo, and equestrian center. We went to the Galleria Museum and saw a lot of art and statues that included works of Michelangelo, Bernini, and Caravaggio. Our favorite was a statute of Apollo and Daphne, where Daphne turns into a tree. It was beautiful and we wished we could take pictures, but we had to turn in our bags and cameras before entering. I also found a huge foot that had a flip-flop on it. I can’t even imagine how big the whole statue would have been, b/c only the foot was there and it was really big. I loved that it had a flip flop on it and again, wished I had my camera. After the museum, we walked around the park and found a nice romantic lake to sig by for a bit. By this time, we were so tired, we were dizzy. We still had time before check in, so we found a restaurant called Il Pomordorino, which I think means “little tomato.” I had margherita pizza and Elliott had a brushetta that had mozzarella, tomatoes, and green stuff. Both were delicious and we were happy that our waiter spoke pretty good English. We then, of course, had to try some gelato, so we ordered something that we really didn’t know what it meant, other than “crema” and another word I recognized to mean strawberry. It was strawberry gelato, cream gelato, fresh strawberries, whipped cream, strawberry sauce, and some sweet cracker things. It did not disappoint!
After lunch, we went to the hotel and finally checked in. Elliott said I could take a nap, but only for a little while because we needed to get used to Italy time. So we slept for four hours (much needed), and when we woke up, I still wanted to sleep! So we stayed in the hotel, and ate the leftovers from lunch. We planned out our next day and got online to post on the blog and do my fantasy football (since I’m in the championship game!!). The internet only works in the lobby and there are no plugs in the lobby, so I couldn’t post much on the blog b/c our laptop was dying. After that, it was about midnight and we went to sleep.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Elliott set the alarm for 7:30, but he turned it off and we slept until about 8:30. Our hotel is under renovations (we are in a brand new room that reminds me of a room made from Ikea stuff; very posh and minimalist), so we couldn’t have slept even if we wanted to. It took me a while to fall asleep, so I was still really tired. I don’t do well with time changes. We get breakfast for free (rather, included) at our hotel, so we ate a big meal since we were starving and food is kind of hard to come by since all the restaurants close at weird times. After breakfast, I finished my hair, and then we were off to the Colosseum! We decided to try out the metro subway system since it is quite a ways from our hotel. The auto ticket machine charged us double for some reason, but it dropped us off literally at the Colosseum. Best 4 euro ever spent (except for gelato). Once we got off the Metro, a young guy approached us, and I ignored him but Elliott actually listened. Good thing, because he was selling us a great tour of both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. You pay them, and they take you right past all the lines and give you an English tour/history of the Colosseum. Then we had like 1hr 15 minutes of free time inside the Colosseum, which was awesome. They had an exhibit with some cool statues too. The Colosseum is impressive and hard to describe. I liked all the arches.
After our free time, we met up with a different guide from the same company and she took us through Palentine Hill/Roman Forum. She was from Australia and really knew her history, plus she was really funny. The Palentine Hill is where the emperors built their palaces. They are in ruins now, but you can see how massive of a structure it was. The Roman Forum had the house of the Vestal Virgins, the Senate house, churches, and Via Sacra which is where the soldiers would march in with their spoils of war and where big arches were built to celebrate their victory. These two tours and our free time spent exploring the area took about the whole day. After we were kicked out since it closes, we went to Via Cavour and ate at a cute little café. The waiter saw us looking around, and in broken English says “please, please, come in.” I couldn’t resist. We ate some dinner (well, actually lunch, but at dinner time). I had a caprese sandwhich and Elliott had some penne pasta. The food was just okay, but it was cheap and the service was good. We’re always happy when people speak English. After dinner, we had to have another gelato, so we got cherry gelato on a cone and shared it. It was super sweet and quite tasty. Then we continued down Via Cavour and found a grocery store. We bought some Diet Coke (or CocaCola Light, as they call it), real chocolate, Pringles, soap, and tissue. The grocery store was funny…not at all like America’s. It is not very big and it STINKS, and everything is in Italian. Go figure. Haha. Afterwards, it was getting quite cold and dark, so we decided to head home. We took the Metro again and walked back to our hotel. Now we are resting, planning our day tomorrow, and are probably going to turn in early since we are still tired from our first 48 hour stint of no sleeping! Tomorrow we are going to hit the Vatican with the same tour company (pretty cheap and really informative).
Thursday, December 18, 2008
When in Rome....
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We made it!! We are very tired, as we have been up for over 24 hours. When we got here, wetried to check in to the hotel, but we couldn't for another 5 hours, so we went touring with red eyes. :) It was fun though. I'd post more, but my power is going to shut down. I'll post pics each day, that's the plan anyway.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
TAGGED!! - twice
Ok, so Haley and Sarah tagged me, and they are pretty much the same thing, so I'm going to combine them here. I am supposed to write 6 quirky things about me, and then tag 6 other people. I'm not going to tag others, but if you want to do this, it'd be fun to get to know you more! Ready for my craziness??
1. I am a total clean freak. I'm pretty sure I inherited it from my parents. I will take about 5 hours to clean my apartment b/c I have to make sure that every speck of dust is gone, every thing is in its place, and that my bathroom shines. Then, once I'm done, I don't want to cook b/c I don't want to mess up my kitchen. And then I get really edgy with Elliott b/c he is not such a clean freak and forgets to pick up everything. I'm pretty obsessive about it.
2. I hate it when people chew with their mouth open or smack while they eat. Elliott had to learn really fast how to shut his mouth when he eats! :) haha. It drives me nuts and I will say something like "I hope that food tastes as good as it SOUNDS!" Or, I'll just give them the evil eye. I can't handle it....I'm getting annoyed right now just thinking about it. Eww.
3. I love to throw parties. I love to entertain. It's so fun to have lots of people over and have good food and fun games. My house is the gathering house, and I love it. Recently, I've had a waffle party, Elliott's birthday party, a Young Women party, cooking club, a sewing party, and I fully intend to throw the best Halloween/costume party ever! Oh, and I'm throwing my friend Barbara's baby shower too! In my next life, I'm going to be a party planner.
4. When I'm in charge of something, I usually go all out for it! For instance, I had to teach the Young Women the other week, but instead of just having a lesson about gratitude, I made them each paper purses with 6 cards in them so that they would have thank you cards, and I had them write one during the lesson. It was a TON of work, and luckily some friends wanted to help me. Or, when we go to the beach with friends, I make a huge yummy lunch with snacks and drinks and have everyone eat it. Or, the aforementioned parties, I do a lot of preparation so that everything is perfect. It's a lot of work, but well worth it!
5. I love looking at floor plans. I used to want to be an architect and design sweet homes. I love to go through model homes and pick out elements that I love. I try to remember them so that when I'm rich and famous, I'll build my perfect dream house with every possible cool element. I get really excited about huge closets with organization helps, craft rooms with big work tables (so that I could spread out my fabric or scrapbooking stuff), laundry rooms with lots of counterspace for folding, gi-normous kitchens so I could throw the best party ever, pantry space with can organizers (love those things!), and don't forget gorgeous family rooms with fireplaces. Ok, I could seriously go on and on. Oh, and this goes for offices too...I have big plans for Elliott's optometry business!
6. I love sports cars, and I can't wait until I can afford my Mercedes Benz SL500. Or maybe I'd go for a good ol' Porsche 911 Twin Turbo. Or Cadilac has come out with a super sexy convertible lately. Or how bout those classic Mustangs? I love em all, and I'm pretty sure I also inherited this from my dad.
Ok, so I'm not too crazy, but I tried to think of things you might not know about me. You should do it too!
1. I am a total clean freak. I'm pretty sure I inherited it from my parents. I will take about 5 hours to clean my apartment b/c I have to make sure that every speck of dust is gone, every thing is in its place, and that my bathroom shines. Then, once I'm done, I don't want to cook b/c I don't want to mess up my kitchen. And then I get really edgy with Elliott b/c he is not such a clean freak and forgets to pick up everything. I'm pretty obsessive about it.
2. I hate it when people chew with their mouth open or smack while they eat. Elliott had to learn really fast how to shut his mouth when he eats! :) haha. It drives me nuts and I will say something like "I hope that food tastes as good as it SOUNDS!" Or, I'll just give them the evil eye. I can't handle it....I'm getting annoyed right now just thinking about it. Eww.
3. I love to throw parties. I love to entertain. It's so fun to have lots of people over and have good food and fun games. My house is the gathering house, and I love it. Recently, I've had a waffle party, Elliott's birthday party, a Young Women party, cooking club, a sewing party, and I fully intend to throw the best Halloween/costume party ever! Oh, and I'm throwing my friend Barbara's baby shower too! In my next life, I'm going to be a party planner.
4. When I'm in charge of something, I usually go all out for it! For instance, I had to teach the Young Women the other week, but instead of just having a lesson about gratitude, I made them each paper purses with 6 cards in them so that they would have thank you cards, and I had them write one during the lesson. It was a TON of work, and luckily some friends wanted to help me. Or, when we go to the beach with friends, I make a huge yummy lunch with snacks and drinks and have everyone eat it. Or, the aforementioned parties, I do a lot of preparation so that everything is perfect. It's a lot of work, but well worth it!
5. I love looking at floor plans. I used to want to be an architect and design sweet homes. I love to go through model homes and pick out elements that I love. I try to remember them so that when I'm rich and famous, I'll build my perfect dream house with every possible cool element. I get really excited about huge closets with organization helps, craft rooms with big work tables (so that I could spread out my fabric or scrapbooking stuff), laundry rooms with lots of counterspace for folding, gi-normous kitchens so I could throw the best party ever, pantry space with can organizers (love those things!), and don't forget gorgeous family rooms with fireplaces. Ok, I could seriously go on and on. Oh, and this goes for offices too...I have big plans for Elliott's optometry business!
6. I love sports cars, and I can't wait until I can afford my Mercedes Benz SL500. Or maybe I'd go for a good ol' Porsche 911 Twin Turbo. Or Cadilac has come out with a super sexy convertible lately. Or how bout those classic Mustangs? I love em all, and I'm pretty sure I also inherited this from my dad.
Ok, so I'm not too crazy, but I tried to think of things you might not know about me. You should do it too!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Under the knife
Well, Annie had her surgeries yesterday. They took out her gallbladder and removed the ball of scar tissue (actually, they don't know what it was, but until they have the lab results, i'll refer to it as scar tissue) that was in her chest. It was supposed to just be outpatient, but when they removed the ball, they found that it was infected with bacteria, so they kept her in the hospital in order to treat the bacterial infection. Other than that, the surgery seemed to go smoothly. She should be out of the hospital today, and Libby should be released today too! Libby is doing great; they even removed her feeding tube. I think they were really just holding her there until Annie had the surgery. Anyway, please pray that Annie will have a speedy recovery, as she has been so sick for so long! She deserves a break and to be healthy again. You know it's killing her being so sick and unable to do things!
As for me, things are great. Tropical Storm Fay was pretty exciting, though it mostly missed me. We just got the feeder bands, which means a whole lot of rain, but not the wind. I'm feeling lucky because the places where the eye hit got totally flooded. Hurrican Gustav still has a chance to hit us, but it's looking more like it'll go more west. Then there's another storm brewing in the Atlantic. Never a dull moment for our weather!
My boss gave me his Dolphins season tickets on Saturday, so we went to the game. The fins beat up on the Chiefs, and it was fun to watch. I'm slowly becoming a Dolphins fan. Bienvenido a Miami!
I made a quilt for Libby this weekend. It is so stinking cute i don't want to give it away. :) But for Libby, I guess I'll part with it. I took pictures, and once I get on my computer (i'm at work right now), I"ll post them. I'm pretty proud of my quilt. :)
Elliott's doing well. His school keeps him so busy! He's been on a workout craze, and is looking so hot. ;) He keeps dragging me out to run, which is great. I'm pretty sore though. Sore is good...I need to lose weight, so I'm glad I'm getting back into my running routine.
I've been staying busy with being in the Young Women presidency. The girls are so fun to work with, and all the leaders are my age, which makes it nice. I'm also the home study seminary teacher...don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do, but it is forcing me to study the New Testament, which is always good.
Anyway, that's a brief update. I need to get back to work.
As for me, things are great. Tropical Storm Fay was pretty exciting, though it mostly missed me. We just got the feeder bands, which means a whole lot of rain, but not the wind. I'm feeling lucky because the places where the eye hit got totally flooded. Hurrican Gustav still has a chance to hit us, but it's looking more like it'll go more west. Then there's another storm brewing in the Atlantic. Never a dull moment for our weather!
My boss gave me his Dolphins season tickets on Saturday, so we went to the game. The fins beat up on the Chiefs, and it was fun to watch. I'm slowly becoming a Dolphins fan. Bienvenido a Miami!
I made a quilt for Libby this weekend. It is so stinking cute i don't want to give it away. :) But for Libby, I guess I'll part with it. I took pictures, and once I get on my computer (i'm at work right now), I"ll post them. I'm pretty proud of my quilt. :)
Elliott's doing well. His school keeps him so busy! He's been on a workout craze, and is looking so hot. ;) He keeps dragging me out to run, which is great. I'm pretty sore though. Sore is good...I need to lose weight, so I'm glad I'm getting back into my running routine.
I've been staying busy with being in the Young Women presidency. The girls are so fun to work with, and all the leaders are my age, which makes it nice. I'm also the home study seminary teacher...don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do, but it is forcing me to study the New Testament, which is always good.
Anyway, that's a brief update. I need to get back to work.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Here's Libby!
Here she is! Cute little girl! Check out all the hair! Jon said that his choices of pictures were limited b/c she either had the gooey birth fluid or wires hooked up everywhere. She is in the NICU and has a feeding tube in her nose. She is breathing on her own again. They say she may have to be in the NICU for 2 weeks, but it just depends on how soon she can eat on her own, breathe on her own, and regulate her body temperature. So far, she's doing great for being such an early thing! Annie is still doing well. She will likely be out of the hospital tomorrow.Correction...oops
Sorry, I'm retarded and obviously don't know what an inch is! :) Libby was 18 3/4 inches...33 inches would be a super long baby...combined with only 5.5 pounds, that would be like Stretch Armstrong/Gumby! haha.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Welcome to the World, Libby!
LIBBY MARIE SCOTT was born today, 8/12/08 at 12:12p.m. I hope I remember this right, but I believe she was 5 1/2 pounds and 33 inches long. She is breathing on her own, and the doctors are just making sure that she has the sucking reflex. Other than that, it appears that she is a healthy, lucky little girl!
Annie is exhausted (understandably!), but appears to have made it through well. She said she didn't even have to push, Libby was ready to come! We are praying that Annie has a speedy recovery so that she can go to get her gallbladder removed so that she can finally start healing and get back to normal! (We are ALL ready for her to get back to good health)
Congratulations, Scott family! Thanks for making me a proud auntie again!
Annie is exhausted (understandably!), but appears to have made it through well. She said she didn't even have to push, Libby was ready to come! We are praying that Annie has a speedy recovery so that she can go to get her gallbladder removed so that she can finally start healing and get back to normal! (We are ALL ready for her to get back to good health)
Congratulations, Scott family! Thanks for making me a proud auntie again!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
She's Home
For those of you who haven't seen Annie's blog, she's home again! This time she is free of all lines/IV's, etc. Yay! I got to talk to her on the phone, and she sounds a lot better. I can tell she's still really weak b/c she runs out of breath just by talking. Hopefully, though, she'll keep eating well and keep healing. Keep resting, Annie! I love ya!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
This, too, shall pass...right?
Well, I keep hearing good news. Not great news, but good news. So, I'll take the good and be happy with that. Who said trials/sicknesses/afflictions go away overnight? Annie is improving, albeit slowly. She is eating enough now so that they took her off of one of her IV's. One less annoying needle in her is good. The not so great news from the last couple days is that she had an allergic reaction to the original antibiotic she was given. The poor girl just can't catch a break! They have since changed her medication, and I believe the reaction has now gone away. Anyway, if she keeps eating, the doctors are hopeful that they will not have to insert another pick line and thus her exposure for further infection will be reduced. She goes through spurts of being able to eat and keep it down and then spurts of not being able to do it. As of my last update, she has been eating well. (But, given the daily ups and downs of her recovery, I wouldn't be surprised if that changes.) Also, if she continues to get her nutrition on her own, the doctors may release her from the hospital so that she can try to recover at home. We are hoping for that, especially considering each day in the hospital costs upwards of $3,000.00 and unfortunately they hadn't had an opportunity to get insurance coverage yet!
In answers to some people's questions, yes, she is coherent....usually. It just depends on the hour of the day and whether she had some crazy medication issue. :) I've talked to her on the phone a few times, but you can hear the weakness in her voice. She is too weak to really do anything on her own, which is another reason why my parents are needed there. Shelby has been doing well. She loves her grandparents and her daddy. Annie has been pretty sad about not being able to play with her during this time, but I think Shelby is enjoying getting away with things she wouldn't normally get away with. :) Plus, Shelby has been on a Disney kick lately so she has watched movies with her mom.
I'm grateful that Annie is improving. I feel so helpless being so far away from her though. I take comfort in knowing that at least my prayers reach her. I appreciate all of your comments, as they have given me strength as I've struggled to keep the faith that everthing will be okay. I always want things to be fixed right away, and Annie has been sick for about a month now. So, for now, I'll hold onto the little victories she has in this big battle against sickness.
In answers to some people's questions, yes, she is coherent....usually. It just depends on the hour of the day and whether she had some crazy medication issue. :) I've talked to her on the phone a few times, but you can hear the weakness in her voice. She is too weak to really do anything on her own, which is another reason why my parents are needed there. Shelby has been doing well. She loves her grandparents and her daddy. Annie has been pretty sad about not being able to play with her during this time, but I think Shelby is enjoying getting away with things she wouldn't normally get away with. :) Plus, Shelby has been on a Disney kick lately so she has watched movies with her mom.
I'm grateful that Annie is improving. I feel so helpless being so far away from her though. I take comfort in knowing that at least my prayers reach her. I appreciate all of your comments, as they have given me strength as I've struggled to keep the faith that everthing will be okay. I always want things to be fixed right away, and Annie has been sick for about a month now. So, for now, I'll hold onto the little victories she has in this big battle against sickness.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Annie Updates
Well, apparently the infection is a yeast infection instead of a staph infection. They say it is a nasty thing to have, but luckily they caught it pretty early and so it may not be as bad as it could have been. Still, she has to be on antibiotics for two weeks. We are not sure whether that means she has to be monitored in the hospital for two weeks or if they will let her out and be able to take oral antibiotics. Oh, and they took out her pick line b/c of the infection. So far, there is no definite plan to take Libby right now. Another good thing is that Annie is eating a little and having success keeping it down. If she can continue that, then they might not need to do another pick line. So anyway, she's a bit better now but still has a ways to go. Thanks for all your support!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Rollercoaster Woes
My sweet sister Annie just can't catch a break. She was at home and doing better, but not necessarily good. She was stable for a while, but last night she took a bad turn and is now back in the hospital. Her blood sugar levels are elevated, her fever returned, and she had some violent vomiting. They are not sure what is wrong, but they suspect that she has a staph infection in her pick line, which is apparently in her heart (or just around it, I don't know for sure). They are drawing 60ccs of her blood today and we won't have an actual diagnosis for 72 hours. They were hoping to keep the baby in her until she reached 36 weeks, but if she continues to deterioate or if she does in fact have a staph infection, they are likely going to take Libby.
So, right now, it's just a waiting game. Hopefully, she will stabilize again so that Libby can have some more time to develop those lungs! Anyway, I was thinking I'd have to fly out there today to see her, but my parents assured me that she isn't as bad as she was when her lungs collapsed.
Please keep Annie and Libby in your prayers. She's very sick! I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers, and I think the more people who pray for her, the better. I appreciate your support, and I know Annie does too. Keep fighting Annie!
So, right now, it's just a waiting game. Hopefully, she will stabilize again so that Libby can have some more time to develop those lungs! Anyway, I was thinking I'd have to fly out there today to see her, but my parents assured me that she isn't as bad as she was when her lungs collapsed.
Please keep Annie and Libby in your prayers. She's very sick! I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers, and I think the more people who pray for her, the better. I appreciate your support, and I know Annie does too. Keep fighting Annie!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Home Sweet Home
Annie got to go home yesterday! Yay! She still has the stint in her and Jon or my dad have to hook her up to her IV for 12 hrs at night. It's a little scary since it's connected to her heart, but I'm sure they can handle it. Libby is still doing fine. Annie just needs to be able to eat more. She's lost 15 pounds, which is not good when you're trying to make a baby! She's really weak, but doing better. I'm so relieved.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Finally, some good news
Well, they changed Annie's medications, and that has seemed to do the trick! She is now totally breathing on her own without any oxygen. Now she only has to keep down 1200 calories and she can go home. She was having trouble keeping anything down, but once they changed her medication, she has been able to eat a little bit. If she is able to go home, they will still keep the stint in her so that they can administer mediations and hook her up to some nutrition if she isn't getting enough. They have decided to wait to see if she continues to improve before taking the baby. Once she has the baby, though, she will have to have her gallbladder taken out. Yikes! Hopefully, she stays on the road to recovery because she has been like a rollercoaster for the past 2 1/2 weeks! Thank you all for your support. I know if we keep praying for her, she will continue to improve.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Another setback
Well, Annie is still breathing on her own, which is great. But, now she has more gall stones, which is what set all of this in motion in the first place. The doctors are worried that the same thing will happen and that her lungs may collapse again. So, they are now considering taking the baby. Annie is only 30 weeks along. Jamie had her twins at 30 weeks, and they survived, but spent at least a month in the NICU. The doctors estimate that Annie's baby is about 3 1/2 pounds and would need to be in the NICU for at least 6 weeks. Once they take the baby, they would then be better able to assess what the problem is with Annie's gallbladder and see if they need to remove it. Anyway, I'm still worried about both Annie and Libby. Please continue to keep both of them in your prayers.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Annie Update
I truly believe in the power of prayer. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for Annie. She turned a corner yesterday and is now breathing on her own. She is still in the intensive care unit, but she is at least stable and slowly improving. Please continue to keep her in your prayers, as I know they are helping her. We love you Annie! Keep fighting!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
More Prayers Please!
Annie's lungs collapsed last night. She is on a respirator. Please pray for her and her baby! I'll continue to keep you updated.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Pray for Annie
For those of you who believe in the power of prayer, please pray for my sister and best friend Annie. She has been in the hospital for over a week. She had gallstones, then pancritis (sp?), and she can't breathe and her heart is beating too fast. Then, to top it all off, she is 6 months pregnant and keeps going into premature labor. She seems to get better and then have relapses. I have faith that she will make it through, but she has to fight right now. So, please keep her in your prayers. Thanks.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The big 24
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
Don't you just love your birthday like I do? It's the best day. I have to work, but we are having a Cold Stone Cake, which always makes things wonderful. Then afterwards some of my girlfriends are taking me out to dinner (Elliott is in the middle of finals and can't do anything with me - but he did buy me a CD and a Cricket cartridge) and then we are going to see a movie. I love birthdays!
Don't you just love your birthday like I do? It's the best day. I have to work, but we are having a Cold Stone Cake, which always makes things wonderful. Then afterwards some of my girlfriends are taking me out to dinner (Elliott is in the middle of finals and can't do anything with me - but he did buy me a CD and a Cricket cartridge) and then we are going to see a movie. I love birthdays!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Team Edward or Team Jacob?
To all my Twilight series friends out there:
Are you on Team Edward or on Team Jacob?
I am undeniably and utterly in love with Edward. How can you not be in love with Edward when he has rescued the helpless Bella numerous times?? How romantic is that? I love that he is so protective of her, yet lets go enough to allow her to visit Jacob. That takes a real man to let his woman go have closure with another man she may have loved. Plus, everytime they kiss, Bella loses her breath and her heart pounds. She is so in love with Edward, and I think if she chose differently, she may regret it the rest of her life. Although, Jacob could give her a more normal life. He could stop being a werewolf and then they could have kids and live a happy life. But, I think Bella would always think "What if I had chosen Edward?" If she chooses Edward, she and Edward could be happy forever, as they both will be immortal. Plus, what if she chooses Jacob, and then he goes and "imprints" on someone else?? He hasn't officially imprinted on her.
My only hang up with Edward, is that one of the bases for him loving her is her sweet scent. Once she becomes a vampire, her scent will leave since vampires don't have any blood running through them. Will he be as crazy for her if she doesn't tempt him so? Plus, once Bella becomes a vampire, will she really still think that his protectiveness is all that endearing? Or will she start to think it's annoying since she will presumably be able to protect herself? I think their love is deeper though, which is why I think Edward is her better choice. She could barely breathe when he was gone. (I totally cried like a baby when he broke up with her!...am I the only one?) Jacob was a bit of a rebound, if you ask me. Yes, he was there for her in her time of need, but she never felt the same way as she does with Edward.
I think no matter what Bella chooses, she will always have a piece of both of them in her heart. I think it is entirely possible to love two people, no matter what other people say. In my own life, I chose my Edward. I'm incredibly happy with my Edward, and I wouldn't choose the other way if I could go back again. But, every now and then, I wonder about my Jacob Black. I'd like to know that he is happy, as I am. I think that's how Bella would feel, too. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FOURTH BOOK! Elliott pre-ordered it for me for my birthday!
Are you on Team Edward or on Team Jacob?
I am undeniably and utterly in love with Edward. How can you not be in love with Edward when he has rescued the helpless Bella numerous times?? How romantic is that? I love that he is so protective of her, yet lets go enough to allow her to visit Jacob. That takes a real man to let his woman go have closure with another man she may have loved. Plus, everytime they kiss, Bella loses her breath and her heart pounds. She is so in love with Edward, and I think if she chose differently, she may regret it the rest of her life. Although, Jacob could give her a more normal life. He could stop being a werewolf and then they could have kids and live a happy life. But, I think Bella would always think "What if I had chosen Edward?" If she chooses Edward, she and Edward could be happy forever, as they both will be immortal. Plus, what if she chooses Jacob, and then he goes and "imprints" on someone else?? He hasn't officially imprinted on her.
My only hang up with Edward, is that one of the bases for him loving her is her sweet scent. Once she becomes a vampire, her scent will leave since vampires don't have any blood running through them. Will he be as crazy for her if she doesn't tempt him so? Plus, once Bella becomes a vampire, will she really still think that his protectiveness is all that endearing? Or will she start to think it's annoying since she will presumably be able to protect herself? I think their love is deeper though, which is why I think Edward is her better choice. She could barely breathe when he was gone. (I totally cried like a baby when he broke up with her!...am I the only one?) Jacob was a bit of a rebound, if you ask me. Yes, he was there for her in her time of need, but she never felt the same way as she does with Edward.
I think no matter what Bella chooses, she will always have a piece of both of them in her heart. I think it is entirely possible to love two people, no matter what other people say. In my own life, I chose my Edward. I'm incredibly happy with my Edward, and I wouldn't choose the other way if I could go back again. But, every now and then, I wonder about my Jacob Black. I'd like to know that he is happy, as I am. I think that's how Bella would feel, too. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FOURTH BOOK! Elliott pre-ordered it for me for my birthday!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Jane Doe
Well, they decided on a name:
Macy Nicole
Sorry, Haley, if I didn't spell it right, but I couldn't get confirmation of that from Mom. Such a cute name!
Macy Nicole
Sorry, Haley, if I didn't spell it right, but I couldn't get confirmation of that from Mom. Such a cute name!
Welcome to the World!
Well, I got a call from Matt at 1:00 a.m. (of course I was sound asleep) and his new little baby girl came into this world on March 31, 2008 at 10:30 p.m., weighing 7 lbs. 6 oz. and is 20 inches long. They haven't decided on a name yet, and Matt likes to joke that they are just going to call her "Jane Doe." Poor girl! :) I'm sure whatever name they pick will be super cute and fitting.
Congratulations Matt and Haley! Now POST SOME PICTURES!
P.S. - I just finished reading Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse...oh my heck, if you haven't read them yet, GO TO THE BOOKSTORE NOW AND READ THEM. It only took me a week to read all three. More of my thoughts on that to come....
Congratulations Matt and Haley! Now POST SOME PICTURES!
P.S. - I just finished reading Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse...oh my heck, if you haven't read them yet, GO TO THE BOOKSTORE NOW AND READ THEM. It only took me a week to read all three. More of my thoughts on that to come....
Sunday, March 9, 2008
My Poor Blog
I can't believe it's been so long since I have blogged. I mean, I completely missed February! My poor blog is so neglected, and who knows if anyone reads it anymore! I'm so behind in blogging world...I only have had a chance to catch up on a few of my favorite! So sad. The thing is, I work at a computer for like 10 hours a day, and the last thing I want to do is get on my computer when I get home. Once I'm done with work, I want to come home, eat, go exercise, and go to bed. Then I do it all over the next day. I would blog while at work, except for that is not possible seeing as how I am completely swamped in work. Plus, when I'm at work, I'm AT WORK. It is not like me to waste time. I get stuff done.
As for a few Snyder updates...
1. Elliott has been incredibly busy this semester. He has had like 2 tests per week. He currently has 25 credits, and they are all intense. Poor guy.
2. Molly has been working like a dog. By the time Friday rolls around, I have NO energy left. Seriously, I went to bed at 9:00 on this last Friday night. I have officially become a LAME worker lady. But, I still enjoy my job, and I continue to learn a lot.
3. We decided to bite the bullet this year, and just go on our dream vacation (ok, it's really MY dream vacation) to ITALY!! YAY!! We decided it will never be easy to spend that much money on a vacation - no matter how much we are earning. We could think of a lot of other things that are probably more responsible things to use the money for (i.e. paying off student loans), but you know? Who freakin cares right now? Plus, it would be easier to do our vacation before we have kids b/c then we don't have to worry about what the heck to do with them. Plus, by the time we actually have enough money to feel like we could spend a few thousand dollars without hurting our budget, you never know what is going to be happening in the world. Right now, there is peace in Italy. Peace = traveling. So, we decided now would be the best time as we will probably start our family next year. So, for Christmas 2008, Molly and Elliott are off to Italy! We are so excited!
4. Molly is going home for Easter. It is just a quick trip - I leave Thursday late night at come back on Sunday. I just really wanted to see Annie before she up and moves to Boise. Plus, I really miss all my neices and nephews! It'll be a tiring weekend, I'm sure, but I'm so excited to see everyone!
Well, that about does it for now. I'm going to try to be a better blogger. I really enjoy reading up on my friends' lives who are far away from me, and I know my family at least misses my blogging.
As for a few Snyder updates...
1. Elliott has been incredibly busy this semester. He has had like 2 tests per week. He currently has 25 credits, and they are all intense. Poor guy.
2. Molly has been working like a dog. By the time Friday rolls around, I have NO energy left. Seriously, I went to bed at 9:00 on this last Friday night. I have officially become a LAME worker lady. But, I still enjoy my job, and I continue to learn a lot.
3. We decided to bite the bullet this year, and just go on our dream vacation (ok, it's really MY dream vacation) to ITALY!! YAY!! We decided it will never be easy to spend that much money on a vacation - no matter how much we are earning. We could think of a lot of other things that are probably more responsible things to use the money for (i.e. paying off student loans), but you know? Who freakin cares right now? Plus, it would be easier to do our vacation before we have kids b/c then we don't have to worry about what the heck to do with them. Plus, by the time we actually have enough money to feel like we could spend a few thousand dollars without hurting our budget, you never know what is going to be happening in the world. Right now, there is peace in Italy. Peace = traveling. So, we decided now would be the best time as we will probably start our family next year. So, for Christmas 2008, Molly and Elliott are off to Italy! We are so excited!
4. Molly is going home for Easter. It is just a quick trip - I leave Thursday late night at come back on Sunday. I just really wanted to see Annie before she up and moves to Boise. Plus, I really miss all my neices and nephews! It'll be a tiring weekend, I'm sure, but I'm so excited to see everyone!
Well, that about does it for now. I'm going to try to be a better blogger. I really enjoy reading up on my friends' lives who are far away from me, and I know my family at least misses my blogging.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
2007...what a great year!
I am still waiting to develop two waterproof cameras, and then I'll post about our great Christmas adventure and our New Year's festivities, but for now, I think I'll list some of our great moments in 2007, it was a great year for the Snyder Family!
1. Molly graduated from law school!!! HALLELUJAH!
2. Elliott graduated from undergrad!!! HALLELUJAH AGAIN!
3. Snyders safely moved from Las Vegas to Plantation, Florida. Whew! That was a project, but thanks to Mom, it went very smoothly. And thanks to the Garrard boys for doing the heavy lifting!
4. Elliott started Optometry school! (we knew he'd get in, but it's a relief for it to actually start)
5. Molly passed the Florida bar! HALLELUJAH WITH HEAVENLY CHOIRS!
6. Molly got a great job that she totally loves!
7. Molly and Elliott celebrated their 5 year anniversary!
8. Elliott got to finally quit working at Outback. He is very excited about that, but grateful that he had the job when we needed it.
9. Snyders have lots of new friends in Florida...and they are all couples! It makes a difference when you are married to have couple friends that you enjoy hanging out with. It's the best.
10. The Snyders don't have to deal with a cold winter! Yay for 85 degrees in December!
We have tons to be thankful for this year. We feel as though this year sparked a new beginning for us, and we are excited for the opportunity to grow together as we live far away from family. Here's to 2008, and may it also be great!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! (pics from our celebration in Key Largo to come)
1. Molly graduated from law school!!! HALLELUJAH!
2. Elliott graduated from undergrad!!! HALLELUJAH AGAIN!
3. Snyders safely moved from Las Vegas to Plantation, Florida. Whew! That was a project, but thanks to Mom, it went very smoothly. And thanks to the Garrard boys for doing the heavy lifting!
4. Elliott started Optometry school! (we knew he'd get in, but it's a relief for it to actually start)
5. Molly passed the Florida bar! HALLELUJAH WITH HEAVENLY CHOIRS!
6. Molly got a great job that she totally loves!
7. Molly and Elliott celebrated their 5 year anniversary!
8. Elliott got to finally quit working at Outback. He is very excited about that, but grateful that he had the job when we needed it.
9. Snyders have lots of new friends in Florida...and they are all couples! It makes a difference when you are married to have couple friends that you enjoy hanging out with. It's the best.
10. The Snyders don't have to deal with a cold winter! Yay for 85 degrees in December!
We have tons to be thankful for this year. We feel as though this year sparked a new beginning for us, and we are excited for the opportunity to grow together as we live far away from family. Here's to 2008, and may it also be great!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! (pics from our celebration in Key Largo to come)
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