Fordyce: 22 Hours of Adrenaline

3 nights ago was the craziest night of our lives so far.

Here's the short version: 1 trail, 2 off-road buggys, 22 hours, half of them at night in windy 18 degree weather, icy hills near edges of cliffs, freezing bodies, chapped bleeding lips, winching for hours. If this got your attention, keep reading. Here's the whole story.

Sunday night we were packing up our gear to go rock crawling. We had decided for our first time out in Angelo's new rig that we would hit up Praire City OHV park since we couldn't find anyone to go with us to Fordyce or Rubicon.
Then we got the message; a guy named Pat from the rock crawler forum wanted to go wheelin' with us on Fordyce Trail near Tahoe. He has a kick butt toyota off-roader. Saweet! Fordyce was going to be so much more fun than Prairie City so we decided to respond to his message and meet up at 9am at the trail head Monday morning.

We woke up Monday at 6am. It was still dark outside and we were pretty groggy as we got ourselves ready. Last minute, Angelo pulls out our snowboarding/skiing pants and coats. "I have a feeling we might need these, just in case" he said. So we bundled up in our snow clothes, fed the cats, packed PB&J for lunch, and headed out the door.

We got to Angelo's parents house in Colfax, where Angelo is currently keeping his buggy, we got a breakfast of hot cocoa and oatmeal, loaded everything into the truck and the buggy on the trailer said our goodbyes "we should be home sometime around 6 or 7" and headed off to the trail.

We met Pat right on time at 9am at the parking lot near Fordyce Trail, shook hands, gawked at each others rigs and said "Alright let's do this!" and began our ride on the fireroad that lead to the trail.

It was mostly dirt with a few patches of snow at first, but as we got up to higher elevation there was more and more snow. Pat's rig had awesome tires that crunched through the snow like nothing, Angelo's tires were bald but still managed to run through the snow no problem. This was going to be a fun day.

We got to the top of the mountain and began our decent down the other side to the bottom where Fordyce trail begins. There was about a foot of snow on the ground as we wound our way down the switchbacks on the mountain.

I was a little bit nervous when we were going down one hill in particular where there was snow and ice curving around a narrow turn right next to a 200 foot drop off. Angelo wasn't nervous at all which gave me a bit of confidence and sure enough, he was right. We made it just fine. The nearly bald tires didn't even slip. Whew.

We kept cruising down the hill, crossed a bridge and coasted down a hill with a cliff 10 feet off to our right. No stress, we weren't even close to the edge that time and the only direction we could slip was further down the trail, not off the cliff.
We hit an ice patch about a car length long which sent us sliding about 10 feet down the trail before we came to a stop right before a fallen tree. Darn. We would have to move it to keep going. Pat stopped just before the ice patch and hopped out with a saw in hand. He and Angelo worked on cutting the tree enough to clear off the trail. It took about a half and hour so we still had plenty of time to keep going. It was about 10:15 at this point.

At about 10:45 am we reached the beginning of the trail. There was a sweet rock ledge next to a big pine that we had to bump up. Pat took his shot first. After 3-4 tries without success, he decided to take the snowy bypass. Then it was Angelo's turn. After a couple tries and relining himself up, he crawled up like it was nothing. First obsticle down.


The next part of the trail was a rocky hillside dusted with 6 inches of snow. I filmed Pat and Angelo as they crawled down the slippery rocks, then hopped in to ride down to Committee river Crossing.




We got to the river and followed Pat across to the other side. The river was pretty low, flowing at about 100. It was cake to cross.





We stopped on the other side for our lunch of PB&J and Pat's awesome homemade pretzel mix. I laid on the roof of the rig and warmed up in the sunshine for a bit before we kept going. I looked at my watch and it was just past noon. Perfect. Plenty of time.

We crawled along and came to another fallen tree. This one was a bit bigger then the last one so it took the boys a bit longer to clear. I waited and since I had cell service I uploaded a few photos to Facebook of our ride, cleaned the snow out of my boots, and hiked around a bit.


Once the tree was clear, we started up our rigs and began the climb. Pat made it up first, then Angelo worked at it for a while. The snow was deeper here so his tires couldn't hardly get any traction. After 20 min of little success, Pat turned his Toyota around and hooked his winch to the front of Angelo's rig and gradually started pulling him up. He made it up after a few tries.

I looked at my watch to check how we were on time: 1:30pm. We only had a little longer before we needed to head back before the sun went down.

We crawled to winch hill 3, the point that the boys really wanted to make it to that day, and of course, winched up the snowy slope.


The top of the hill had a crazy awesome obstacle: 3 ledges 3-5 feet tall and a choke point that you had to shimmy up. Pat crawled up the ledges, started working at the choke point then SNAP! A loud crack came from his front end. He had broken a hub which meant he now only had 3 wheel drive instead of the 4 wheel drive we needed.



I suddenly felt a lump in my throat as I thought about all those hills that we came down that we needed to climb back up. This would definitely set us back a bit. I looked at my watch; it was 3:15pm. We had totally lost track of time and the sun would be setting in less than 2 hours. There was no way we'd make it back before sundown. We took a deep breath and began heading back.

We made it back to the river crossing by 4pm no problems; the trees were all cleared so we were making great time. I was a little more optimistic, but still nervous.

We crossed the river, then came the first ledge. Angelo made it up fine, but Pat's broken rig needed help. This is when I started feeling worried. He couldn't even make it up a dry rocky ledge without help and the rest of the trail was uphill. All those snowy and icy downhills started running through my mind; they were now snowy uphills. And no doubt as the sun went down and the temperature dropped all those snowy hills would soon ice over. We needed to get out of here and fast.

We made it about 100 yard before we had to stop again. We had hit our first ice patch and there was no way we could make it up without winching. We found a tree up the hill, wrapped the strap around, pulled our rigs up, and used all the momentum we had to climb the hill 100 more yards, then we lost traction. So we found another tree, wrapped the strap around, winched up, and used our momentum to get us another 50 yards. The sun had just gone down and the temperature dropped dramatically. Here we go...

Our rigs were now sitting on flat ground, but we had a choice to make: Off to the right was the bypass that they had closed off since the whole thing had iced over with lots of trees along the sides of the trail. To the left, was the snow covered rocky ledges that we had come down at the beginning of the day with almost no trees along the sides. So slippery snow and no winch points? Or solid ice with lots of winch points? Either way we really needed to winch, so we chose the icy bypass.


Every 50 yards we winched up that hill. One tree after another, hiking up the hill to wrap the strap, hiking down to start the rig, then winching up. Over and over.
I kept watching the clock and called out the hours. 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm... We were wearing out and the temperature was dropping. My cell phone had died and I was doing everything I could to keep Angelo's alive just in case. His family had been texting and calling us every hour asking if we were still okay, they were so worried.

Our hands and feet had gotten so cold that we could barely feel them, so I marched in place to get my blood circulating and we all put our hands on the warm radiator to get the feeling back into our hands. I looked over at Angelo. "How optimistic are you?" He took a second to answer but said "Oh, we're going to make it!" Okay, I thought, don't stress yet.

At 11pm we had used most of our energy and needed to get more. We were still running on our PB&J from lunchtime so we pulled out our Ritz chips and started munching and drinking as much water as we could handle. The ritz felt like paste in our dry mouths and every time we drank the cold water our core temperature dropped so we tried to manage our food and water intake as best as we could. We had to keep moving, and to do that we needed food and water.

Our thinking was starting to get foggy, but our adrenaline was still pumping. It was getting harder to find good winch points, so when Pat found a big stump that we could reach, he wrapped his strap around, hooked up the winch and began pulling his rig up the ice. One, crawling slow, two, no traction yet, three, patch of snow, a little traction, four, there was a loud SNAP! and Pat cries out as he's trapped in his rig which is now free sliding down the hill - the stump had pulled right out of the ground! I screamed out for him to brake and after sliding 80 feet backwards his tires caught some good ground and came to a stop. We all were pretty shook up but quickly grabbed the winch line and found another tree.

Shivering and now scared out of my wits I looked at Angelo "Are we going to make it??" "Yes." he said "Yes I promise we will make it." I was having such a hard time seeing myself past this night. The next two hills, the two I had been afraid of coming down, I knew were going to be our hardest and I couldn't see past them.

We grabbed Pat's winch line and hooked it to the nearest tree we could reach, this time a thicker one that we knew would hold him. Pat winched up and stopped in a patch of snow.
Then we unhooked the straps, and took them to a tree that Angelo's winch could reach, but as we wrapped the strap around, Pat looks at me and says "Crap! I lost the screw!!" We start digging in the snow, backtracking, trying to find that screw. We needed that screw to be able to use that strap, and we needed that strap to get as much length as we could out of the winch. We couldn't find it, so we started digging through our toolboxes and backpacks trying to find something, anything that will work. Pat found a locking pin that was thick enough and strong enough to hold, so we decided it was our best shot and used it to hold the straps together.

As he winched Angelo up, I went on a walk ahead to scout out what was next and to get my blood flowing cause my feet were frozen again.

Tears flowed down my face as I tried my hardest to control my anxiety. I had never been this tired, this cold, or this scared in my life. I prayed that God would calm my anxiety before I had an anxiety attack, passed out or threw up and that He would warm me up. Then I looked up and all I could do was sigh. My heart slowed as I stared straight up above me.

There right in front of me was the most beautiful star covered sky I had ever seen in my life. They were so bright and I could not believe how many stars there were. I took a deep breath closed my eyes and suddenly felt a blanket of warmth around me. There was no doubt in my mind, God was with me. We were going to be fine. And now I knew what I had to do.

I wiped my tears from my face and walked back down to where the boys were. "Alright" I said "give me that winch" I grabbed the hook and marched up the hill. "We have only 2 more icy hills to winch before its flat again." I found a good tree and threw the strap around, hooked up the winch and gave the thumbs up.

We did this for the next few hills, then I hopped back into the rig and we kept going as long as we could. We had 10 min of flat snow with gradual upgrades, then we hit the next hill and Pat lost traction.
Once again we hopped out of the rig and scouted out winch points. There was nothing to winch to this time except a couple of super small Charlie Brown trees that I could probably wrap my hands all the way around. Nothing else... So we had to give it a shot.

Angelo watched Pat, I watched the trees and yelled out when the first tree gave out as it caught onto the second tree. It held just enough to get Pat up the hill, and Angelo was able to crawl behind.

We hit a patch of dirt and I never thought I'd be so happy to see dirt in my life. DIRT!

Our faces were so dry that they hurt and our lips were bleeding from how chapped they were. We fumbled around in our backpacks for chapstick and when we found it it was frozen. I heated it up just enough with my hands to get it to work. Thank goodness. My lips hurt so bad.

Next came the icy hill we had slid down where we cleared the first tree. We used all of our momentum to get up that hill but stopped once again at the ice patch. Off to the left was that cliff, and off to the right was a wall of jagged rock. We looked and looked for winch points but once again the only thing we found was a Charlie Brown baby tree. We threw the strap around and I watched the tree, Angelo watched Pat and we winched Pat up. We decided that since this baby tree was about done and probably wouldn't hold Angelo too that we would winch Angelo up to Pat since Pat was secure in a patch of snow and still attached to the tree.

Then we had a system. We would hook Pat up to winch to whatever we could, (which was mostly small cracks in the wall of rock) I would watch the winch strap to make sure it stayed secure, we would winch up Pat until he was firm on the snow, then winch Angelo to Pat. We did this over and over.

Exhausted in between winches I laid down on whatever dry rocks I could find and closed my eyes hoping that my internal heater would kick on and warm me up. Pat woke me up asking if I had found the next winch point and I jumped up and showed him the crack in the wall I had found. I had to climb up the side to get to it, but it would work.

We had been working hard, but the 18 degree weather and the wind had taken most of the heat from my body. Pat had an enclosed rig so the boys put me inside there to warm up while they figured out the next thing.

When I was warm again I hopped out and walked ahead to scout out what was next.
I couldn't get that curving icy hill and cliff that we could potentially slide off out of my mind. It was icy earlier which meant that the snow had probably turned completely to ice now too.
I wanted to see how far ahead it was if I could so that way I could hop out before we got there. I couldn't imagine strapping myself into this thing that may slide off a cliff.

I walked and walked until I was warmed up, but I still couldn't see that knarley hill.
Walking back I felt my stomach turning. The cold, lack of good food, and the stress was making me nauseous.

They had one last winch to go. They hooked to the bridge at the top of the hill and pulled up one last time. We had made it to the top. This icy hill took 2 hours. It was 4am when we got to the top.

But we weren't done yet.

I got back into the rig and we set off climbing and climbing, then came the hill I was afraid of. I looked off to the right at the black abyss and prayed hard. I held the straps on my seat belt tight and clenched my teeth "Oh God, oh God, oh God..."

We climbed around the curve slowly and then Pat began to slip. We stopped, and thank goodness Pat stopped too. "I'm getting out!!" I yelled. "Give me the winch Pat! We are winching this hill! I am NOT letting us slide off that!" I said as I pointed to the edge of the cliff just behind us.

I ran up, wrapped around a tree and we winched again, and again, and again.

We made it to the top. I was so relieved that we had finally passed both hills I was freaking out about so much that I fell into my passenger seat and passed out.

The next hill we stopped at I barely remember. I was so exhausted. I remember opening my eyes for a second as they winched up and heard them say that I was a trooper. I smiled and fell back asleep.

Next thing I know we are driving again but Pat was slipping. "Oh heck no!" Angelo said and he put his bumper on Pat's and pushed and pushed until Pat was unstuck. "I am NOT winching again!!"

We kept up a good pace rolling up the snow until we saw dirt. DIRT!! Then we climbed, faster and faster, until we reached the peak and started heading down the other side. We were finally heading downhill. Hallelujah!

We kept rolling down the hill and praying that we would make it all the way without having to stop and winch again. 10 min later we were still going.

At the last leg as we curved around the turn we heard a loud roar off to our left. There was a big angry bear behind us now! "Tell me you heard that!!" Angelo said. I did. So we kept going as fast as we could trying to get out, and then... we saw the parking lot! I let out a cry of relief and I couldn't stop smiling! We were close to warmth and soon after a bed to sleep in!

I could not believe how happy I was to see that truck. It was 7am now and we had finally made it back as the sun rose over the ridge of the mountain. We quickly loaded up, said our goodbyes to Pat and texted Angelo's parents that we were alive and on our way back.

45 min later we pulled into the driveway. Angelo's mom came running out of the house tears streaming down her face and wrapped her arms around Angelo and I so happy that we were alive, safe, and home. She wiped the tears from her face and lead us inside to where she had hot cocoa, towels for a hot shower and a bed made up ready for us to crash in.

We couldn't have been more thankful for those three things. We finally got into bed at 8am and slept until 3:40pm...

We woke up sore and hungry, looked at eachother in disbelief and said "What the heck happened last night????"

We still can't believe it.

The Kid, The Scientist, and The Marshmallow

Have you ever heard the story about the kid, the scientist and the marshmallow?
Anyways the story goes something like this:
A scientist decides to conduct an experiment on the patience of a child. He brings the child into a room sits him down at a table and puts a marshmallow in front of him. The scientist then tells the child that "I'm going to leave now. You may have this marshmallow if you want it, but if you don't eat it and wait until I come back, I will give you 2 more marshmallows." Then walks out the door.
There are some children who would immediately pop the marshmallow into their mouth and not even give it a second thought, but then there's this kid.
He twiddles his thumbs and sighs, then tries to entertain himself in any way possible as he waits for the nice man in the white jacket to come back. Why? Because he knows that if he can be patient, something better is to come of it.

Story of my life lately.

We have a decision. We can try to get a house now but have to pay more to do it, or, we can wait until February and save money and potentially get a better house then.
New curveball, but we know that if we are patient something better is to come.

Stamp of Approval

We are pre-qualified for a loan.

This doesn't mean much but thankfully the amount is what we were hoping for.
We are going forward to the next steps of trying to buy a home. Our first shot, house #1, we'll call it the house by the train tracks. Tomorrow we sign some paperwork to finish the pre-qualification thing, then we'll try to put in an offer and see what happens. We're praying hard as always.

Let the emotional roller coaster begin. Hopefully I won't vomit... or die.

Jumping In With Both Feet

And so the adventure begins. In a quick real estate internet search we came across another house that we would like to try and buy. This one is surprisingly cheap for what it is, which makes it very unlikely that it will still be there when we get the funds, but still it doesn't hurt to try.
We drove past the property and looked in the windows, checked out the neighborhood and all is looking pretty darn close to perfect for what we would like to purchase at this point.
We have contacted a loan officer and realtor to see if this type of thing is even a possibility and we're hoping to hear back what kind of loan we might qualify for. It's all so nerve wracking.

The part that is not so fun is the wondering what we should do in the meantime. Our lease at our apartment is up at the end of December and they want to charge us an arm and a leg more per month more to go month to month until we figure this whole thing out. Hopefully we will be able to determine the possibilities soon enough to not have to deal with that. But again, we will see.

That is the latest update in the housing adventure round 2 for our live as of late. Till next time...

Door Number 23 Closed. On to Door Number 24.

We've been praying and praying the past few weeks for God's guidance in this whole rental home search. We've prayed for wisdom. We've prayed for peace. We've prayed for God to take it away if it is not what He wants for us.
After a few weeks of battling with the rental management company, sending over piles of unnecessary paperwork and, calling every few days to check up on their progress, we finally heard back. We had put in a very nice offer to pay all expenses even a month early and their answer?

No.

Back to square one. I know, I know, you may be thinking that "Hey, you know there ARE other houses out there to rent?" Well we're not feeling it. We're finding out that renting a house for us is almost as impossible for us as trying to buy one, so maybe that's what God is telling us.

We figured that God seems to be closing the rental door at the moment to possibly open our eyes again to a new possibility. Owning. A smaller, cheaper, house in a neighborhood that is close but not quite perfect. At least we'll give it a shot. One more time.

I am totally open to the idea since my dream house at the moment is a small white washed cottage in an older inexpensive neighborhood. About $100,000. Half the cost of the houses we have looked for in the past. Maybe we can qualify for one of these.

Jennifer's Dream House

I'm still super pessimistic though, since we have been through this emotional roller coaster before trying to buy a home. But maybe this time it'll be in God's timing. Maybe.
I'm not sure if I'm ready again to give this another shot. I just got over it and let it go from last time. But here I go. I'll clean off my face, take a deep breath, stand up straight and say "let's do this"
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." This verse has been running through my mind for the past week now, over and over. It's so true though. The shock of having another door seemingly closed has been lightened by this verse that God put in my head to remind me in this moment. "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."
This was the last verse that I read. Job was a wise man.

It's hard not always knowing what we're suppose to do, especially when the timing seems awful. But I believe with all my heart that God is good. And I'm sure He's got something good up His sleeve. As usual :)

And Now, We Wait

The past few days have been a whirlwind. Monday, we finally got a chance to talk with the ladies at our apartment complex about the potential for us moving out at the end of December. They were super excited for us and gave us lots of tips of things to look for when searching for that perfect house. The thing we wanted to hear about the most though, was the cost of moving out. We have been there for 2.5 years and in that time we have had a flood from a broken pipe in the apartment above us, we have nailed up multiple pictures, our cats have shredded the edges of the carpet and bent multiple blinds, and every nook and cranny has "lived in" dirt that I would have to clean up. So needless to say we were pretty worried about how many fees we would have for the "damages".

We had decided before we walked down to the apt office that I would rather clean up the apartment then to pay someone else to do it, we would rather replace the blinds ourselves then have to pay through the nose for their fees, we would rather hire a carpet man to fix the carpet, and that we would re-fill all of the nail holes ourselves. All of this to avoid spending more money then we have to on this move, but all of this would be a ton of work.

But my husband being Angelo decided to see what kind of deal we could finagle. We are now getting the carpet replaced for free, they are replacing the blinds for cheaper than we can buy them at Home Depot, the apt is being cleaned down completely to their super high standards for only $140 out of our deposit, they are repainting and filling holes, and all we have to do now is move. Plus, on top of that, we get some of our deposit back! Woo Hoo!

So then there's Tuesday. We got a call back from the management company for house that we like the most saying that since we are really interested they would like to let us see the house before the available showing date of Dec 3. We had told them our situation and time frame for moving and really wanted to help us out. They talked to the current tenant and they agreed to let us come down and see the house at 2 pm yesterday.

Since both Angelo and I work on Tuesdays, I had to go down alone to see it while he covered the shop.
I get there and as I pull up, two other cars pull up to the house. Weird. But okay.
I go up and knock on the door and a lady answers the door and invites me in to take a look. The house is a wreck. I walk through stepping over baby toys and cereal boxes and anything else she felt belonged on the floor. It took a little while to get past the clutter to see the house that we would be living in. She showed me around and then there's a knock on the door.
She asked if I was expecting anyone else, and I said no. So she answers and there is a couple standing there asking if they can see the house too.
So she invites them in and proceeds to show them around as well. Then they leave, and two seconds later there is another knock. A man is at the door asking to see the house. So once again she invites him in to see it.
It was all pretty interesting and awkward, but whatever. It gave me time to look around and try to picture what it would look like for Angelo and I to live here, listen in to their conversations and questions, and take a video to show Angelo when I got back.
When I finished, the man left and finally it was my turn to ask questions.
Appliances? Gas stove. No fridge, no washer, no dryer. That's fine. We were expecting that.
Neighborhood? Fantastic. Quiet. Well protected since there is a park nearby (no child molesters allowed) and there are a lot of cops that live in this neighborhood. Lots of kids. Walking/biking paths.
Landlords? No problems. Mostly dealt with the management company.
Planning foreclosure? Not sure. But didn't seem that way.
Benefits? Open layout good for entertaining, decent backyard big enough for a dog, 2 walk in closets in master bedroom, DOUBLE SINKS, etc.
Overall it was sounding more and more perfect. But we don't have it yet.

I got back to work and talked to Angelo about the house and we decided that we would go ahead and turn in an application. We filled everything out and rushed over to the management office after work to turn it in before they closed.
They said everything looks great and that we would know more in a few days. So here we go. First application is in, now we wait.

House Hunting

Since our lease at our apartment is up in only 1 and a half months our lives have been consumed with rental house hunting. It's been pretty fun searching for a new place, and we're getting excited about moving closer to where we spend most of our lives currently anyways.
I'm ready for a change too. And I'm ready to only have a 10 min drive to church and Bible studies as oppose to our current 45 min drive that we make 3-4 times a week. I'm ready to be able to spend more time at home instead of constantly driving back and forth. I'm ready to be able to cook dinner more than twice a week since we'll actually be able to stop at home after work to eat before our weekly night events.
So far we have found a few 3 bedroom houses for rent that fit our budget and have almost perfect locations and landlords.
It's so nice this time around not having to worry so much about compromising on things. If the location is nice but not perfect, if the layout isn't quite what we want for long term, if the kitchen cabinets are too low, if the backyard isn't big enough, that's okay because we're not buying it so we're not stuck with it either. Those things are far more okay with me knowing that I don't have to fully commit to it forever.
We have one house that we love that will be available on Dec 20th (which would be perfect) but we can't turn in our application until Dec 3rd so we are waiting and continuing the search until we find out what happens with this one.
Our ideal situation would be to move the last week of the year and to be all settled before new years. :) Hopefully this works out. We've been praying hard that God will lead us to the home He wants us to live in and we trust that He will.
So we are house hunting. And it's kind of fun. This is our life as of late.

Homeschooled Culinary Art Student

So ever since I ran out of Grey's Anatomy episodes to watch I have been watching Gordon Ramsay's plethora of cooking shows available on the Netflix instant watch. This for me is quite dangerous because it continually prompts me to get off my couch and go shopping for things like lobster tail, lamb shank, truffle oil, and heavy cream, none of which is very cheap to buy.

I love to cook. I'm like Ratatouille constantly sticking my nose in the pots of stew and tasting the cream sauce to see if it needs more salt. I think that any time you can use mirepoix and beurre blanc in the same meal it is a great day.

This addiction can easily be an expensive one as a mentioned above but goodness, I love it.
My recent cooking experiment is to try and recreate an appetizer that I had tried at Piatti on Valentine's Day. I don't even know the name of it but I remember the flavors. Sauteed onion, beef broth, mushroom, pepper, shallot... It was served in a shot glass as a starter. Very unique and very good.
The other experiments I've been working on include learning how to properly cook eggs (which I am slowly getting to the point of actually being willing to maybe try them. For those of you who don't know, I have never eaten an egg, yes just like the girl from Julie and Julia... I'm sure it's not as bad as I think it is but still, the texture just freaks me out.) and finding a recipe that actually makes fillet of sole taste something other than bland and watery. (Please please please if there are any foodies out there who have good sole recipes, pass them over)
My favorite ingredients in the whole world are butter, garlic, and cheese. If I had it my way, every meal would incorporate these three elements. Hence the reason why I absolutely love Italian food. They almost always use all three. Cream sauce pasta? Yum.
So anyways, last Christmas my parents (who also love to cook and have worked at many different awesome restaurants) gave me The Culinary Institute of America cooking manual. It's 1400 pages of pure bliss. Ever since I have been reading through this book, my chicken has been juicier, my gravies have been richer, my beef has been more tender and my veggies have been crisper.
All my life I have been a super picky eater. But learning more about how too cook food properly, I have learned to love the foods that I never thought I'd like. Brussel sprouts, asparagus, seafood, mushrooms, steak, pork... these were all foods that I thought I didn't like, until I learned how to cook them in a way that fit my taste. Brussel sprouts and asparagus are some of my favorite veggies when cooked just enough and no more, then served with butter and parmesan. Mushrooms are the BEST complimentary ingredient anytime you want to make something with beef stock and onions. I now prefer seafood to chicken or beef (mainly because it is a great excuse to eat as much butter and garlic as I want), and the list goes on.

I'm making myself hungry. This week I think I'll just eat PB&J so I can use my grocery allowance to make something exquisite. Snow crab, tagliatelle, and asparagus maybe? Hmmmm..... :)

A Poofy Dress and Butterfly Wings, These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

So Halloween is coming up and it is actually one of my favorite days of the year. Not because of the dark scary goblins, the black cats and the creepy crawlies like you would think, but it is the one day of the year that I can get away with playing dress up at my age.
Silly I know, but it's one of the things I miss about being a kid the most.
There's the playing dress up with my sister and my friends, or scattering by 3 giant boxes of Barbies all over my room, or being able to carry a stuffed animal with me wherever I went, or pretending that I was a mermaid in my swimming pool, or playing "Martha Stewart" in my backyard with an overturned crate for a kitchen counter and dirt and rocks to make chocolate chip cookies on my imaginary cooking show. These are the things in life that make me wish I could have stayed a little girl.
I guess in some ways though I still do get to do these things though, it's just not pretend anymore. I get to set up my own house instead of Barbie's, I have a pet cat that snuggles with me instead of a stuffed one, I get to cook for my husband every day with real food not dirt.... and play dress up every Halloween.
It's the little things in life that I get excited about. Hopefully God will bless me with a daughter to play dolls with though. I'm pretty sure that would be awesome. I can't wait until the day when I have the excuse to play with Barbies again ;)
But until then, I'm breaking out the poofy dress and butterfly wings on halloween. Once a year I get to pretend I am little again. Only 31 days to go! :)

Just Pick Up Where You Left Off

New books, new paints, new yarn, new pencils, new sketch pads, new clothes, new shoes, new tattoos, new jewelry, new hair color, new jeans, new jackets, new canvases, new movies, new cereal, new pens, new fabric, new nail polish, new conditioner, new sheets, new laundry detergent, new lotion, new crayons and coloring books... It's the little things in life that make me super excited. I love little new things. Like, the things that normally don't cost too much or can be found at a great value. I also love buying things on sale with coupons and getting an awesome deal. Or the things that make your hair softer or clothes smell new and fresher or just make your house feel warm and cozy. That's super exciting to me.
I love new little things. And I love starting new things. Like paintings and projects. Hence why I get excited about paints and yarn and canvases and pencils... It's just fun to start something new. The thing that I don't like so much, is finishing them. Expecially the big projects. I'm a big instant gratification crafter. If I know I can sit down and make something within a few hours and see the end result, It'll be a great day. If I know it is something that will take days, weeks, months or even years to finish, I get a little bit discouraged and disinterested. It's a fault that Michelangelo and Botticelli would no doubt scold me about. The art masters who sit and stare at marble for months to decide what to do with it, and then spend years carving it into a masterpiece. Man, if only I had that kind of patience. Or the builders who spent their lifetime only to lay the foundation for beautiful cathedrals knowing that they would never see the finished product. Maybe I should take on sculpting, that'll teach me patience with the arts....... Uhhh maybe later.
I have so many awesome projects around my house that I so badly want to see finished, but the getting there is so... time consuming. Like my gynormous magnum opus painting of Lake Tahoe, or my sweater, or my painting of a maple leaf, or practicing my guitar or piano, or finishing the books I have started reading, or my sketches, or my apron that I need to sew together. All of these things would just be super awesome to finish, but golly gee, I need some motivation. Maybe, If I hide them, and then find them later, they will seem new again. Probably a bad idea. Oh dear. I think the reality is I just need to start, and get in the zone, and before I know it, it will be complete. I wish I could be as excited about it as I sounded right then. Lame that I'm not. Haha. Oh well. These are my thoughts for today.
I love new little things. The feel of the new fabric, the smell of a new books pages, the look of a new nail polish, the curve hugging feel of new jeans, the crispness of new sheets, the bounciness new conditioner gives to hair, the smoothness of writing with a new pen, the first bowl of cocoa pops from the box, the smell of a new perfume....

You Make Me New. You Are Making Me New.

So last night I finally did it. I went in and got my first tattoo. I have been wanting this one for quite some time now and the waiting and pain is over. It is finished.
Ever since I was super little I have always loved butterflies, and the blue morpho butterfly has always been my favorite with its vibrant blue iridescent wings. I also love the symbolism of the butterfly, transforming the old to something new and beautiful. "Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
So I didn't know this going into it, but apparently the back of the neck is one of the most painful places to get a tattoo. He basically said that if I can handle that, I can pretty much handle a tattoo anywhere else on my body.
It felt a lot like I was being scratched by a cat with really long nails for the most part. Then it felt like he threw some fire ants on there and they were biting me, then when he was doing some deep shading, it felt like he was trying to dig a hole in my neck, and when it was all over it just feels like a crunchy sunburn. It took about an hour and a half to finish but it was totally worth it.

Then Angelo was up next. He got Philippians 4:13 on his bicep. Very fitting since the verse says "I can to all things through Christ who strengthens me" His took about 20 min.

Tattoos tend to symbolize a new beginning or landmark in life. I think that is pretty much accurate. After all that has happened in life, my Savior has taken the old, weak and ugly and turned it into something beautiful and strong. AND I have learned that I'm not as much of a chicken as I thought I was. He has made me new. So in conclusion, yes, last night was a great night of painful new beginnings. :)

The Crazy Life of an American Crazy Person

The thing about being a crazy person, is that while your reality may seem quite the norm to you, to everyone else you just look plain nuts.
I feel like that's pretty much what sums up the entirety of my epic summer experience of 2011. Maybe I'm just used to it, things not working out the way I want, like, ever. Maybe I've dropped all expectations of anything and so therefore they can never be failed. Whatever it is, it's kinda nice to be on a roller coaster and not even realize it.

So here's the story.

Once upon a time,

Jennifer really really enjoyed this summer.

We started it out with a fantastic trip to Italy, and I faced my fear of flying over the ocean. On top of that there was also a super high risk to travel due to the whole Osama Bin Laden dealio and the outbreaks in Lybia. I have always been afraid of flying over water anyways ever since I saw the movie "Cast Away" and ever since 9/11 flying when the government was recommending that you don't has always been scary. But the trip was awesome so the fear was worth it.

We got back to America and then found out that there was a ton of family drama with the in-laws. Parents were moving, now they're not, now brother and sister are moving, debates about who should and shouldn't stay in the business, pissed off about desk placement and how close we all have to be, hurt feelings and we were all pretty much sick of seeing each others faces every other day. It was a mess.

But communication is a blessing. After barely being able to get across was I was trying to say in Italy I was more than willing to listen when I could understand every English word that was coming out of their mouths. I took a hold and sure learned a lot about myself and situations that I thought I had no control over but, in fact I had the ability to fix it all if I put aside my pride. So I did.

A few days later we decided we needed a break so we went to a rock crawling competition to get away for a day. It was SO fun! But I got the worst sunburn of my life. So bad it blistered.

Then to make myself feel better I dyed my hair. Which all around was just a good thing. No bad story here, thank goodness. That one had potential.

Friendships grew and I was getting to know some pretty fun new people, camping, jet skiing, and spending late nights with good friends.

And then my cat gets sick and could need a $1200 surgery.

So after the stress of trying to decide what to do with that, I thought now was the time to do something fun, so I joined a hip hop dance class.

And then, while helping plan my dear friends wedding, serious drama erupts among bridesmaids. Again. That's a long story but let me just say, that sucked. I just wanted to fix it and make it all better, but there was nothing I could do except be there for the bride during the ridiculousness.

Then at a jr high event at church, I got to pray with a girl to invite Jesus to come into her life and her heart. Hallelujah what a blessing! That made my day.

And then our car breaks. And it costs $1100 to fix it. Poop.

So we take my Miata to the Tognottis Car Show instead. Ha! SO fun.

We got to go to Hot August Nights this year finally and that was pretty awesome being able to see the sweet cars, but the drag racing that the show promised was a bust.

And then, on a Saturday morning I woke up doubled over in pain from my right ovary and have to be rushed to the hospital by my sister in law since Angelo had to be at the shop. I got to have some pretty awkward embarrassing unique bonding time with Candice though. Haha.
After a few days of testing and stressing out that I was never going to be able to have kids the verdict was that I had a common condition and that I would be fine. Whew!

Then I find out that my birthday weekend is going to be super busy so our plan to stay for a weekend in Napa to go wine tasting for my 21st wasn't going to happen. This was rather disappointing.

But then my mom surprises me with a day at Marine World and I overcome my fear FINALLY of riding roller coasters without panicking. I was free to just enjoy it. No anxiety?! It was a miracle.

We then got to spend a weekend away with our church youth staff at Woodleaf which was a lot of fun and Melissa and I learned how to FISH! This brought us so much joy.

Then my birthday comes and I got to spend the whole day with my husband. I wouldn't have had it any other way. :) We went out to see a movie, went out to lunch, went on a hike, went to dinner and danced the night away.

And then, a few nights later we get called to the shop at 2:30am because someone had tried to break in. Freaking out the whole drive there, we waited to see the damage. And luckily, there was none. Thank you Jesus.

Then we get the news that the Brother and Sister in law were not leaving us after all! And that she got a job at a yarn shop! Yippee!

The summer ended with a secret Bachelorette party for Melissa, and on Saturday our best friends got married!

And all was well.

"This was the best summer ever!" Jennifer said.

The End.




Wow.

Okay, So I'm a Nerd

Just thought Id get it out.
My name is Jennifer Parisi and I am a recovering computer simulator addict. Minus the recovering part. Recently I have uncovered my stack of 3 favorite simulator computer games on my desk and ever since I have been hooked once again.
#1) Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 - The best theme park manager game ever. They have moved on to make versions 3 and 4 but I still like version 2 best. Your goal is to get a certain number of guests in your park via marketing and attractions, pay off your debt, maintain a certain level of park rating, or achieve a park value of a certain amount. It's super fun running my fakey theme park business.


#2) The Sims - Again while they have moved onto the 3D versions, I still prefer the simple version 1. This one you manage people's lives. Get a job, earn money, build a house, manage relationships, get married have children, and try not to burn the house down in the process. Strangely addicting. But I love it.


#3) Zoo Tycoon - Similar to Roller Coaster Tycoon except this time you manage a zoo and all that comes with it. Feed the animals, get enough guests and enough money to buy a rare breed, then more guests will come, schedule shows for the dolphins, orcas, etc. While this game can be fun, it is not near as addicting as the prior two.


That's it, the truth is out. I'm a nerd. This is what I do with my time when I don't feel like being productive. Terrible isn't it?

Harrington Town "The Glad Town" - My kind of City :)

For the most part, I'm not very opinionated. I think this is part of what makes me such a laid back, easy going type of person... Except when it comes to food, but that's another story.

I can literally find something to love about practically anything, which makes life pretty easy going and enjoyable. I think about this as I exclaim, "Walking through wet grass in my brand new leather flip flops isn't so bad because it is cleaning off the gum I just stepped in!"
Most people would probably be pissed about either of these things, but for some reason, that was my first thought.
It's kind of funny how it has almost become a sort of game that I play with myself every day and any time something not so fun happens. I try to look at the bright side like Pollyanna, or think of why God may be using the situation, working it out for good. I have been learned to appreciate things more when I look at it this way too.

"Darn, I burnt dinner..... I guess this means we get to go on a date!"
"We have just lost power!..... Awesome, we get to use candles and make it look super cool in here!"
"My car broke down on the side of the road..... Thank you God. I needed a 30 min quiet break from life while I wait for AAA."
"They messed up my fast food order!.... Well, this is another opportunity to try mustard to see if my taste buds have changed"
"I just spilled juice all over my desk..... Perfect excuse to clean the whole thing. I've been wanting to do this anyways"
"The stove was left on and now my apt smells like gas...... Yay! I get to go on a walk instead of doing dishes while the room airs out."
"I only have a little bit of money left for groceries..... I get to clip coupons like I used to do all the time with my mom when I was little. What fun memories"
"My favorite purse just broke.... I get to go shopping for a new one!"
"The store closed early.... This gives me something to be excited about for tomorrow and I'm free to do whatever else I want tonight."
"They need me to do something I've never thought or wanted to do before.... Sweet! Free education! I get to learn something new."
"The home loan didn't come through, again.... When it finally does, I am going to appreciate it even more than I would have if it came easy."
"I can't have a dog yet... And I don't have to clean up the poop yet either"
"The car broke again, and this time took our whole months savings.... At least the car is paid off and we have another to drive, plus, it's only one month instead of more."
"I really wish I could paint our apt and make it more homey.... But this gives me more time to think about how I really want to decorate and I can be creative and hang a quilt on the wall for now."
"I scratched my Hillsong United Cd!... I guess I get to send more money to support an awesome band when I buy another one."
"What?! Rain in the middle of summer?!.... I've been missing wearing this sweater"
"Oh my gosh this kid is bugging the heck out of me.... Jenn, you get to get way better at patience today. And it's Mom training. It'll make you a better mom when you get there."
"Word got out about our small party with friends and 7 more people invited themselves over. We need a lot more food than we budgeted for... The more the merrier! Plus, 7 more people to extend God's love and hospitality to."

It's kind of fun, and the mood seems to suddenly shift to something sweet and wonderful instead of something frustrating and gloomy like it could have been.
"Situations can seem a lot better if you only change your perspective." It is a quote I have been telling myself for years. Its been on my fridge, my mirror, the background on my phone... and it's so true.
I guess I might have gotten part of this attitude control from my dad who has always said to me "Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but by how we react to what happens. Not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life" or in other words "You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it." It has been driven into me and it is something that he lives by himself. He even signs off his emails with this quote.

This statement has been a huge part of defining who I am and how I act. I roll with the punches, I take life one day at a time, I react the way I want to, not how people tell me I should.
Something bad happens and they say I should be angry... what? why? There is something good going to come of this. There always is. Even if I can't see it. Don't you realize? I have 100% control over the attitude of this situation. That's a lot of control.

It's not being overly optimistic to say that I can be joyful even when stuff sucks. It's not unrealistic either. Contentedness, and thankfulness are a choice, and out of these things blossom joyfulness.
It doesn't come naturally, which is why this whole concept is difficult to understand.
But the things that are worth it don't always come easy do they?

Tomorrow, our small business could fail, and then we could be broke, and then our car could totally break down, and then we could have to move to a smaller apartment, and we may have to get rid of our cats, and I may have to sell my bike... but you know what that would mean? A brand new adventure. We'd get to start a new kind of life. Try on another pair of shoes for a while. It could be an exciting vacation from the norm, and it will make us stronger as a couple. I could work at a coffee shop or clothing store which would be fun! And we could eat more pb&j and be excited about how much fun it is being able to eat it picnic style on the living room floor because we don't have a table anymore. Who says those things are what make us happy anyways?

See. Perspective. Attitude. 100% up to you how you react and it can make your whole world seem 100 times better.


This is my thought of today. A little more into the mind of Jennifer Elise Parisi.

Learning to Breathe

I will never stop learning. Every day I find out that I was wrong once again, and that there is a new perspective that I had not yet considered. They say this is normal for us early 20 somethings, to be constantly changing our minds about life and what makes the world turn.
It's a nice excuse to lean back on, that it's normal for this stage of life to be as unstable thoughtfully as a teenager at puberty, cause boy, is it exhausting.
I love to learn and to get better at things I suck at. And I love to hear other peoples life experiences and insights. I always seem to pull something new from what they say regarding something I had heard a million times before. Or learn from watching how the "pros" do it to better my technique.

The more I learn, the more I become aware of time. I only have so many years on this earth and there are so many things I want to learn about. I want to know all there is about cooking, painting, sculpting, needlecraft, quilting, music, organizing, economics, mathematics, theology, science, medicine, law, cosmetology, dermatology, psychology, politics, the stock market, upholstery, woodworking, engineering, auto mechanics, mass manufacturing, how to run a company, systematization, child development, botany, construction, interior design.... and the list goes on. I want to know it all. But there is not enough time for me to be a chef, a lawyer, a mother, a doctor, a CEO, a mechanic and an artist all in the same lifetime. It's sad, but I am still driven to at least try to know how. I am grateful that in heaven I will have unlimited time to learn and the best teacher ever.

I read the dictionary for fun, my favorite books that I own are The Professional Chef and The Family Medical Guide, I suck at long division so I do it on my free time to get better, my house is full of projects that I have made because I can't decide which hobby I like best so I do them all, I love watching infomercials for fun, I'm always thinking and strategizing how to get better at things. It takes 20 min for my brain to shut off at night because I'm always trying to figure things out before I fall asleep.

Life is so complex, and the more I learn, the smaller I feel, and the greater my God. The universe is huge and knowledge is virtually limitless. I want to soak it all in. But for now I still feel like I am only just now learning to breathe. And so we begin. Inhale........

Jennifer the Weakling :)

So, today has been a great day. And this has been a great week. Amongst all the chaos in my life right now, God is being glorified, and this my dears, makes me overflowed with joy.

God keeps putting a verse in my head and heart that makes me smile every time. Its like He is telling me himself over and over the exact thing I need to hear. When I am weak, good grief God looks so much stronger than I had ever thought he could have been before. It makes life so much more wonderful with this new perspective.

2 Corinthians 12:5-10

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. ⁶ Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, ⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I can't help but marvel at how wonderful God is when things are in an uproar.

Its like a beautiful refreshing oasis in the middle of a hot, sticky, dry, dead, desert. Like a sunny tropical island protected inside a bubble from a massive hurricane. Like a breath of fresh air.

He is so far removed from all of the grossness of this world. its outrageously beautiful.

David wrote a ton about this in the Psalms and I think I am beginning to understand why and how he can say "Glory be to God!" in the middle of some really sucky stuff. It's because God is the polar opposite of any of the crap this world might try to throw at you, even if it is God's plan for you to go through hardships, oh my goodness, he is always there to confide in when it seems too hard. And when you come to Him, its like going from a place where lightning strikes and thunder roars to a place where all you hear is the breeze and birds chirping.

He is the ultimate encourager too. I find it flattering when he said in the Bible that He would never put us through anything that He didn't think we could handle, and he gives me some really tough stuff to deal with. That's a huge compliment. I mean seriously, it like the day that your parents hand you the keys to the car, times a million. That confidence that someone else believes that you can do it not only feels good, but makes you believe you can do it too.

I have felt a mountain of blessing over the past few months, even though these have been some of the hardest to go through, I can say without a doubt, Oh Lord, my God, how wonderful, beautiful, and glorious You are.

The Calm After the Storm, or the Bad Taste in Your Mouth After Vomit?

The feeling has not yet made it's self clear. After a year of intense frustrations we have moved on to the after effect.
Sometimes it makes me feel sick like the bad taste in my mouth after I vomit, and sometimes I feel peace like the storm has just settled leaving a clean earth. When I think about the agony, I feel sick with the reality of what just happened. But when I think of where the pain has brought us to, it brings me so much joy knowing that I don't have to hurt alone anymore.

I can count on my quarterback not to leave to play on another team because they pay more.
I can bake a cake and invite people over afterwards to enjoy it.
I can give a report and not be graded on my first draft.
I can confess to a priest and know that he's not wearing a wire.
I can know that my best friend won't pass around my most embarrassing photograph.

I have been speaking gibberish for so long and finally I am understood. They now know that the green blobs they've been staring at forever are leaves and not just green blobs.

My hands hurt so bad from being held shut so desperately, but they are open now. And gosh it feels good to let go.

Love.

There is more than one verse in the Bible about love. Anyone can say "I love you" but it takes a lot to really mean it.

John 15:13
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Jesus' example of this intense love was displayed on the cross, therefore if we can love another as He does (aka "I would jump in front of a bus for you" type of love) then we are one step closer to loving as Christ loved. But that is not all of it. It doesn't just stop there.

1 Corinthians 13

Love Is the Greatest

¹ If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;^[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

⁸ Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages^[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! ⁹ Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! ¹⁰ But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. ¹² Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.^[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Conversation with my Savior - Gosh, I love Him

Proverbs 2:6 For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Psalm 18:1 I love you, Lord; you are my strength.

Proverbs 18:2 Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.

Proverbs 11:2 Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 10:1 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink, so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.

‎1Tim 4:12 Dont let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example for the believers in speech, life, love,faith and purity

Finally, I Rant.

I feel like it has been forever since I have last written.
Life, as it seems, has been far crazier than I anticipated it would be. It's crazy, but with things that aren't worth really writing about. If I wrote about life lately (minus the amazing trip to Italy, which I'm sure I will blog all about soon) it would sound pretty depressing since I would be reaching desperately for something interesting to write about.
Truth is, I have started to write several times but always hit the delete button because it all sounds so sad. I tend to navigate to my blog when I'm frustrated or angry wanting to write it all out and vent, but posting my frustrations to the whole world just seems pathetic.
And here I am doing it again. Except this time I vowed not to delete it, but simply write.
I write about how wonderful my life is with my amazing husband and my warm homey apartment with my two crazy cats and the delicious creations that come from my kitchen. That is my life. Wonderful. Flat out wonderful.
Sometimes I forget, though, and think and dwell on the things that aren't so wonderful. Then I get angry and depressed and upset and easily agitated and annoyed which makes me feel like a really unpleasant person to be around. I don't like it at all.
But sometimes I can't stop it. I hate it when a day that I have been looking forward to is ruined by the stress and emotions of something else that comes up. Drama. I hate drama so much. I thought that it was something I could leave behind when I left highschool and finally started communicating with adults... but the truth is, some adults still like to pretend they're highschoolers.
My happy little wonderful world is constantly being invaded and I'm tired of guarding the walls. It's exhausting constantly standing guard focusing all my attention on being able to spot the enemy before it attacks me first. I look over my shoulder and realize all the wonderful things I'm missing out on because I'm scared the second I abandon my post, my world will be destroyed because I wasn't keeping watch. I'm not free to enjoy life.
It's all because I care about people. And because I get confused and hurt when there is something wrong and they talk to everyone but me. Because if I didn't care so much about how much it would hurt them to just say exactly what is on my mind, to tell them when they are wrong, to treat them as they treat me, and freaking defend myself against they're hurtful words it would be so much easier. But God has given me a tender heart and all I can think about is how they feel regardless of how terrible a person they are. How much it would hurt them to point the finger back at them and tell them to back off.
I wish I didn't care. It would be so much easier.
But my life is wonderful. Goodness it is so wonderful.

Italia: Day 3 - Roma, May 6, 2011

We packed up this morning ready to transfer to our next B&B (since the one we were at accidentally double booked booting us over to the next B&B available)
I just had peaches for breakfast.

The owner of the next B&B drove us over to his place to drop off our bags for the day before heading to the Borghese Gallery. A little odd. But okay.

The city of Rome was on strike so government buildings were all closing early. Like, 11am. Needless to say, we had to book it.

The man, Daniel, gave us bad directions (due to the language barrier) which left us in a running stressed out frenzy trying to make it in time.
We barely made it before they stopped letting people in.

We saw Bernini's masterpieces, such as David and the Rape of Proserpine. <<< This was my favorite. The detail was incredible!! The most beautiful sculpture I had ever seen. No doubt, Bernini was the master.

We took a taxi (after a detour to the Ferrari dealership) to the Roman Forum (which ended up being closed due to the city strike) but it wasn't too bad because we basically got to see all the ruins anyways from the outside gates.
The nice thing about the forum being closed - no tourists in our pictures! :D
Way to look on the bright side ya?

We walked up the steps to the Titus arch and Capitol Hill. Once again, incredible architecture.
Carved marble = Biene!!

We took a 14 euro elevator trip to the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument Building. The heaviest building in the world. It had marble colomns and an incredible statue on top of the building of a guard on a horse. The horses foot alone was almost as big as me! I wonder how they got that up there before machinery. Amazing.

We met a family from New Jersey (which was exciting because its super rare to meet someone who speaks American haha. Most tourists are Europeans!) and their son who has been studying in Italy since February.
He was very helpful giving tipson how to book trains (via trenitalia.com) and what kind of wine to get in Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre. (Sciacchetra)

We took the lift back down and began our trek to our next stop - the Pantheon. We walked in with a huge crowd of tourists to the huge (again) perfectly round dome cathedral. This is where many were buried including Rafael.
The Oculos (sp?) let in a bright beam of light that lit up the entire building. Incredible.

By the time we left here I realized that I had been running on airplane food, peaches and salad for the last 4 days so we looked for an Italian McDonalds. Turns out they weren't very popular because all the locations were out of business.
So we split a fettuchini alfredo outside the Pantheon. Mushroomy, but super delish!

An accordion player, who was actually quite talented, serenaded us with classic romantic Italian music, so we gave him our spare change in appreciation. It was a perfect Italian lunch.

Next we found an internet cafe to book our train tickets (thanks to Jersey kid's advice) to Cinque Terre & Pisa tomorrow. A little stressful & confusing, but once again we conquered.
We kept walking until we arrived at the beautiful Treve fountain. As the Romans do, once again, it was gynormous. the sound of water echoed through the square where a huge crowd was gathered. We could see why. The fountain was amazing.

Next, we decided to get some gelato. :) Vanilla in a waffle cone. Mmm! While we ate we met an older couple from England, who now live in Spain & pretty much any other country they feel like driving their VW camper van to. They were so pleasant to talk to. We exchanged tips & talked about our Italy experiences so far. They say when we get old like them Angelo should wear a John Wayne hat like the man, and we should travel everywhere.
I'm down.

We decided to start walking back towards the Pantheon to where our dinner place would be.
Dinner was ravilois (again) at a cute back door family owned restaurant called "Osteria di Mario". It was delicious, but the service was lousy. It took 5 tries and 20 min to get the check!

After that was done we walked to the main street to find a taxi back to the bed and breakfast to meet the man who had our bags and to get keys to our room.
We waited outside when we got there for his sister who had the keys. So we talked for a few minutes. it went something like this:

Daniel: Ah! Villa Borghese! The most beautiful museum in di world!
Angelo: Better than the Luve???
Daniel: Ah, I've never been. Italians don't got to Frnace. We're not friends. But the Villa Borghese is the best in the world!

When his sister got there he introduced Angelo and I "Angelo Parisi from Sacramento!" Hemust had said it 5 times. He loved that Angelo was an American with an Italian name. LOVED IT.

Once we got to our room we went straight to sleep, exhausted from the day.

And thats all for now!