I haven't blogged since last week. I sometimes go through periods where I feel like I have nothing to write about. Well, I've finally got some stuff!

As you've probably already heard, last night Italy had a major earthquake in the region of Abruzzo, near a town called L'Aquila. I know three people who have family there and they seem to be okay at this point. If you haven't read about it yet, check out this article.
We live a little over two hours from this area and felt the earthquake last night around 10:30 p.m. C and I were watching t.v on the couch when we all of a sudden felt the couch move underneath us. C, being the seasoned-earthquake-Californian, immediately knew what it was, while for a few short seconds I wondered "what the heck is going on here?" C, of course knowing all along what it was, said, "it's an earthquake!" It was only about five seconds of movement but every second counted because it was my first earthquake!

Every semester we take a large group of students to Castello di Verrazzano. I think I've blogged about it before but it's a large castle and winery in Chianti, about 45 minutes from Florence. This past Saturday we took 100 students and did a full tour, tasting, and lunch. That might sound like a lot of peeps but we actually have 220 kids this semester, so about half don't come. A lot of them travel on the weekends and miss out but that just means there's more food for us. :)
This is a photo of the studenti doing the formal tasting. They are taught how to hold the wine glass properly, smell and examine the color of the wine, and swoosh it around all parts of their mouth. They all really enjoyed it and the students all thanked us. It was a really good group and overall a very pleasant day.

Francesca took a minute to "smell the...", oh wait.. those are lemons.

This is me and my three lovely co-workers. The first two girls immediately to my right work for my company and the third funny gal works at the school where we send our students.

Another shot, this time full-body length. Just in case you were curious about the jeans we were wearing.... :)

More

~(~ Only 17 more days till we meet my parents in Greece! EEK!! :) A student came in today and said he was there this weekend so I of course asked him about the weather. He said it was super hot (high 80's) and even showed me his sunburned legs. Lol. Beach weather, here we come! (ReMiNd me to buy some new sunscreen and a cute hat. Now that I'm almost 30, I should really be careful about being in the sun too much).

~(~ I'm reading the second of the Twilight series, New Moon. So far, it's just "okay." I really have a hard time with ramble about love. I think I'm already ready to go back to my non-fiction for awhile!

~(~ It really is quite funny when Italians can't pronounce my name. I usually go by my middle name for Italians I meet for the first time and then eventually once I find out that I will indeed see them another time in life I tell them my real (first) name. It makes for an awkward moment; they feel betrayed and lied to but it's much easier than saying my real name, then breaking it down, and then having to spell it. Especially on the phone when ya just wanna make a quick reservation for two. My middle name is much easier (it was the name of Mussolini's wife!) for them but recently, I slipped and didn't go undercover and I hastily spit out my real name. It actually kind of made me laugh as the woman continued to call me "Lendi." She called me that about four times before finally I had to tell her that my name was indeed "__" (for those stalkers out there). Then, I had to say it over.and over. and over. Until she got it.

~(~ My friend MC's birthday is coming up on 4/15. This is what I got her for a birthday present.

~(~ Lately I've had a hard time coming up with any more "Love vs. Hate" entries. Maybe that's a good sign?!

~(~We think we have a peeping Tom. Our friend MS was on our terrace with us on Friday afternoon and said he saw a man get out a camera and take a picture of us! Can you believe this? After my friend saw the man bust out his camera, we saw the curtain shake a lot and we could (ew!) see the shadow of this man through the curtain. Scary. He IS way across the way and not too close but let's just say we are going to be extra careful about closing the window in our bedroom. (Ew).

~(~ Does anyone else out there think that blogger is sooo annoying? I can't copy and paste anything. Ugh.

~(~ MC: I knew you'd look at your "gift." HA HA..... aren't I funny!?