Sorry...

So earlier today I may have left on a bit of a negative note. I apologize. But, at the time, things were not fun. At all. I still look disgusting and the rash isn't really any better (I don't think so anyways it's driving me nuts it's so gross), but it's decided I can go to Napoli. I leave at 7:00 in the morning tomorrow. So if the rash is still there...I guess I will just have to finally use my foundation...blech. But I will NOT be seen like this.
So I did a bunch of last minute packing and I'm sure I've quite over-packed. As usual. But I have no idea what to expect.
I also found out today that I am able to go out by myself running, or I can go with Antonio. I was quite pleased. I had planned to talk to Antonella about it later on after Napoli and once things settled down because running isn't exactly at the top of my priorities at the moment, but she got to it sooner, which is fine.
Oh and a note for all those who read the post where I said I was "swapping music with Antonio," I did not mean Antonio as in my host father, I was referring to a classmate of mine who has exceptional taste in music (one of the first). It's actually kind of cool because we can barely talk to each other but we just show each other music and stuff it's pretty deece.
Anyways I should be getting some sleep. Once again I  apologize for all this complaining.
Cheers,
-Mikeala
P.S. I've adopted the nickname Miky but they pronounce it MEE-kay I quite like it.

WHYYYYYYY?!

So, as of Sunday I have been fully recovered from my illness. And as of yesterday, I have now acquired an incredible rash that is covering my entire body including the palms of my hands, the bottoms of my feet, as well as my face and my ears (as well as everywhere else). So I look like something that should be locked up. And I am in extreme discomfort. It hurts to walk because it's on my feet and my hands itch like crazy. I just wish I could die. Or maybe come home where I will be normal again. I'm sooo angry and upset and...frustrated (as usual). And to top all these wonderful things off, I was supposed to leave for Naples tomorrow morning for 4 days. But Antonella says that if it's not better by tomorrow I CAN'T GO! So...bye-bye Naples. Because this is not getting better any time soon. In fact, after my baking soda bath, it looks worse. WONDERFUL. I am having so much fun. I love being red and blotchy and disgusting. Really it's great you should try it. Ok I'm going to maybe go to bed now. Except it's close to lunch so I'm not sure if I should. Probably not. Siiiigh.
I went to the doctor's office today with Antonella. And from the moment I walked in, I smelled cigarettes, but I thought maybe it was coming in through the open window. Nope. After he examined me he sat back down in his chair and lit up a ciggy. Wow. Ironyyyyyyyyyy. I thought people only did that "back in the day" sort of thing you know? But yeah, thought I would mention that. He said the rash was from stress. HAH! A rash like this...from SRESS?! I don;t think so. If this is from stress, I would've had this an awfully long time ago a-thank you. AAAAAAAH! WHYYYYYYY?!

Days Of Good Food And Lots Of It

So, on Sundays, we eat a rather large lunch. I'm not sure if I have already mentioned that but in case I didn't, I'm telling you now.
This Sunday I woke up around 10:30 and was out of my room closer to 11:00. I have no idea why I'm still just so, utterly and absolutely exhausted, but I am. Anyways so I go into the kitchen where I eat a small bowl of Special K Red Berries (which is actually pretty yummy in a weird sort of way). Normally, on any other day, I would probably have 2 large bowls of cereal and possibly something else, just because of the fact that I won't eat again for another 6 flippin hours. However, today I would be eating within the next hour or two, and it was going to be big.
So, the moment arrived where we all sit down to eat a very huge lunch. And today's lunch was so grand and so yummy that we invited "Nono (Manu's grandpa...Antonio's father. He lives above the store too but downstairs from us)" to come up and eat with us.
Once we were all seated and ready, Antonella put down plates with a heap of steaming lasagna down in front of us, accompanied by these lumpy looking things which was really cheese and some green things deep fried in batter (deeeeeeeeelish), bread, and home made potato fries and sausage with rosemary. And then for desert was an exquisite selection of pastries (not home made though...who would have time to do all THAT in the morning?!). I thought I was going to explode I kept getting offered more delicious things and I had to try it all....I felt like that really huge guy off of Monty Python "The Meaning Of Life" where he eats like...everything and the waiter is trying to get him to eat just a tiny bit more (I was not offered a "wafer thin mint" though), until he does...and then he explodes. I almost died.
After Emanuela and I finished hanging laundry, we went to her room where we chilled and watched TV for hours, just laying in bed. But it really didn't feel that long. I think it was because I fell asleep. And then Emanuela leaves for a moment and comes back with a Nutella sandwich for each of us, and we munch happily while watching a bat rip the head off of a really disgusting looking spider. And shortly after we went upstairs and had a couple hot dogs and cleaned up some leftovers in the fridge for supper, and I retired to the shower, and Manu went to bed. I was still full from lunch.
Monday morning I woke up super hungry, even though I had two bowls of cereal called Kellogg's Nice Morning. I even brought a snack with me to school and after I ate that I was still hungry. When we returned home from school I scarfed down my lasagna so fast I practically inhaled not only my meal, but the plate as well. I think Emanuela felt the same way because a while later, we decided to go and make pancakes, so we did. It was quite fun, And the pancakes were good. Not quite as good as Canadian pancakes but they were good enough for me!

Sorry some of them are sideways

And THEN after pancakes, Antonella came home and made dinner which was left over sausage and fries, as well as bread,  prosciutto, and tomatoes in olive oil and oregano. I was soooo full.
And then to top things off Emanuela painted my nails blue and stuck little flowers on them so whenever I go to type something I freak myself out.

I realized that lasagna here seems like turkey dinners at home. Because you eat it everyday for what seems like ever, after the big day. Because we had lasagna again for lunch today. Which is fine with me!!

And now I'm sitting here, it's about 4:20 pm with my blue nails hammering away on the keyboard busy with blogging and answering emails and looking up suggested songs from Antonio and loading pictures. AAAAAAGH! Oh and Emanuela just got home I think from her math lesson. I'll have to check.
Anyhow I suppose I will say goodbye for the time being!
Cheers,
-Mikeala

Trying Days

So the past few days have been...well...trying. Since I arrived here it's been an emotional roller coaster. Some days are great, and others, not so much. Coming here has made me realize already a lot more about myself and who I am, and how much my home means to me. I suppose I will always belong with my mountains, and trees that grow on their own accord and were not planted in neat little rows on purpose, and not to mention the fresh air. Here, the air is not so bad, only sometimes there is a mix of car exhaust  and garbage (mostly only on super duper hot days). But it also smells of the sea, which I do love.
People here are very wasteful. They don't recycle, and everyone buys cases of bottled water because you can't drink water out of the taps. And, worst of all (this kills me), people just take their garbage and throw it out the window or throw it on the ground. They don't care at all. And it's quite beautiful here and I'm like oh my God take some pride in where you live! Some places you walk by are just gross. There are old couches, and just household garbage just sitting there near the sidewalks! I mean, has anyone heard of garage sales, landfills, garbage bins and RECYCLING?! Everything is thrown out. Juice boxes, cardboard boxes, water bottles...everything.
Anyways back to where I was really going. So yesterday I went to school, I still felt like poop, but I went. However it turned out to be yet ANOTHER protest day, so me, Emanuela, Gregorio, Elenora and Kevin buggered off down town again. Except we did much less that day. We went to a lounge restaurant/pizzeria (except the pizzeria part is never ever open...? :s ) and ate a very yummy pastry. And then we sat, and I listened to everyone talk at hyper-speed in Italian. And we kept sitting. And then we sat some more. And then Kevin went off with Elenora on Elenora's bike to get Kevins' and we then migrated to a piazza, and we sat on a bench....for like...an hour and a half. And I suppose it wouldn't have been that bad if I could actually talk to somebody, but I cant. So when you can't say anything, or do anything, it's frustrating and very maddening. Then we went BACK to the lounge place thing, ate another pastry and talked some more...and sat some more, but it was a little better. And then we walked back to where we take the bus to go back home. So I guess you could say that day was mostly just one of those ones where you just get irritated. Anyways that night I went out with Emanuela and Doriana (she comes back every Saturday and Sunday from University I finally figured out) to go "shopping" but we didn't really do that. we went to a couple stores, but they kinda sucked so we just drove around, which was ok for me because I got to see a bit more of Botricello. And that was Friday.
Today was not exactly the greatest. At all. I get to school, and first block is math. And I guess I missed the math test because I was sick, so she calls me to the front and sits me down at her desk, and hands me a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers in some sort of funky equation and a bunch of gibberish and wants me to solve it. I almost had a breakdown right there. I tell you I have a frustration problem. But seriously?! Every day I'm told I don't have to do any homework or write notes or anything, so I don't. I don't know what's going on anyways. But yeah and then I get to school and find that? Thanks. I felt like yelling at her (because she wouldn't understand anyways). She was looking at me like I was stupid. I wanted to say "You try going to a school where you have no clue what anybody says, and you're never given anything to do in class and ten some teacher hands you a piece of paper with a bunch of gobbledeegook on it and expects you to know it!" All I said was "Mi dispiace" meaning, I'm sorry. Then Manu spoke up for me. But still. On the last day of school maybe I'll blabber at the Latin teacher in English and see what happens. No I probably won't but you have no idea how tempting that is. I wouldn't say anything terrible. She always has awesome shoes. But she's mean and scary.
The rest of the day wasn't too bad. Like I said, emotional roller coaster.
Earlier this evening a lady selling clothes dropped by. They're really good quality clothes but she sells them for less. I got a really awesome sweater thing. There was another one I liked more, it was more my style, more hippie and it was wool and it would be something people at home wear. I loved it. You would've like it mom. But Antonella and Emanuela didn't like it, so...no to that :(. I was sad about that. When I get home I'm going to Dawson City and buying a sweater like that. That's pretty much my next goal, aside from getting a pair of Ray Bans.
But now I'm going to go to bed I'm exhausted.
Ciao!
-Mikeala

Another Sick Day...Woot.

So today I feel worse than yesterday, and I really want to go to sleep but I can't because I'm too hot and my throat is bugging me too much. I can't decide whether or not I would rather be sick and be at home, or feel great and be at school......probably be sick and be at home. Believe it or not, I get more done with my life when I'm sick at home than when I'm at school. Staying at home isn't a waste of 6 hours out of my life. I can catch up on sleep, eat when I'm hungry, do more blogs, play some violin, do some exercises and whatnot. Anyways what I'm trying to say is I'm kinda wishing I could be sick almost every day (only minorly of course, just enough to be able to stay home). At school I can only understand a tiny bit of what the teachers are saying (but that's not much...at least I know what subject we're supposed to be doing while I sit there doing nothing), and they don't give me work to do because how can they and why would they if I can't understand anything? Sure Emanuela could always help me but she is busy enough with her own work. Quite frankly, I'm rather angry with this whole school deal. Before I came here I was told I could take whatever classes I wanted. And then I first find out I have to attend a science school. Great. This will make me look like twice the idiot since first of all, I can't only not understand anything anyone is saying, but let's just say math, chemistry, and physics are not my best subjects (meaning that I SUCK at smart people subjects). I am an arts person. I am a soul person, an emotional person, and a person with a rather over-active imagination. To me, all this hoity-toity sciencey, proper calculations and formulas figuring every single thing to perfection I sometimes (most of the time) find very boring first of all, there's no imagination involved it's all brains and logic and common sense. Who wants all that (KIDDINNNNGGGG)? Anyways, as I was saying, it's not only boring and uncreative it's time consuming, unreasonably confusing, and half the time pointless (this mainly applies to the math section of things). And science can be interesting.....when you get to watch things explode and you don't have to do any work. I mean, yes without science, there would be many things we would not have (I suppose it's the same for math), so ok, yes it is good stuff, for those who want to do that sort of thing (unlike me). However I do still believe that some things should just be left alone, life needs a little mystery. Always. So attending this school, I feel like a bird who's flown into the wrong tree. I need flavour, I need colour, I need imagination and pure creation from the mind and with my hands, not out of a formula or calculation. To me, all this smart people stuff is bland, like a flat, bleak, constant grey, there's not a breath of fresh air in the place. But, like I said, some people enjoy it, so I will leave it to them, I won't question it, everyone is different. But like I said for me, I need colour and flavour and imagination, and a bit of mystery. For example, if I make a pot of soup, all I know is that I made the soup. I cut up all the vegetables, and it's very colourful, maybe the colours would look nice on the walls of a kitchen or something. Anyways, once it's ready all I know is that the soup is hot and it tastes good. I don't need to know why my soup is hot, I turned on the stove and put it on the element for a while and it got hot. I don't need to know about energy transfers and convection currents going on in my soup, that just ruins it. I just want my soup ok? It's yummy, it's colourful, and I had fun making it. Now that's some good soup.
Anyways I suppose I should stop ranting. As you can probably tell, school isn't really my favourite thing here, and that's all you really need to know about that.
But I'm going to try and sleep now,
Cheers,
-Mikeala (the bird in the wrong tree)

I Just Love Being Sick (that's sarcasm in there in case you didn't know)

Saturday was supposed to be a day much like Friday, where you go to school and sit outside doing nothing for hours. But luckily, I got sick instead. Things finally caught up with me and I stayed home with a throbbing head and a very unstable stomach. But later that night I was feeling a little better, so Emanuela and I went out around Botricello with Francesco and another new Francesco. We didn't really do anything. Although it was nice to walk around, I would've loved to go to a cafe or something or go in some shops, but, like I said we basically just walked around, and occasionally returned multiple times to a little garden thing surrounded by a hedge tucked away in the back corner of the piazza where there's a rock with a spout jammed in the middle of it. I think at one point and time it used to have a nice constant spout of sparkling water falling from it into the small rock basin at the bottom, but now it's rusted and water leaks outs out as if it's drooling and the basin is covered in scum and muck and dead leaves, and the little angel on the side is cracked and forgotten. The whole thing is barely visible anymore the hedge is wild and overgrown and hides most of it, but for some reason I still kind of liked it, it was probably the most interesting thing in that whole place, because the rest of the place was littered with cigarette butts and it's just grass, rocks, and a big hedge.
Later we up with yet another Francesco and Emanuela told me that he was having his 18th birthday party on Tuesday. The latest Francesco (they're all Francesco it's so confusing!!!) asked me a lot of questions, including the usual how old are you? And do you have a boyfriend? What's your name? Anyways, we didn't talk with him too long, because soon after that Emanuela and I departed and went to the supermarket to buy popcorn because we were going to watch The Wizard of Oz in Italian (although I was exhausted, but how can you say no to that?). And so we then returned to the house and ate a wonderful supper ( I'm sorry I can't remember what we ate that night) and then Emanuela and I settled down and watched The Wizard of Oz with our bags of popcorn, but we were both falling asleep, so we only made it to the part where Dorothy and the gang have just returned to Emerald city with the wicked witch's magic broom, and we turned it off and called it a night.
The next morning, I slept late and then drifted gracefully to the kitchen (HAHAHA) where I ate a small and careful breakfast because I needed to save room for the incredibly huge lunch we have on Sundays. And after breakfast I proceeded to dust my room and vacuum as well as help Antonella peel carrots and slice tomatoes. For lunch we had pasta with some sort of mushroom sauce that was delicious, and then we had tomatoes in olive oil and oregano, with bread and rabbit cooked in oil and rosemary, carrots, oregano and other things. It kind of reminded me of chicken, only better. It was a little chewy at some points, but it was very, very good. Then we had some gelato. There was mocha flavoured, cappuccino flavoured, french vanilla and chocolate. I had a giant mix and it was soooooo good!
After that, Emanuela and I went downstairs where we (well mostly her, I kind of fell asleep at the table) worked on a puzzle with 2000 pieces for like 4 hours. I just about died. Then we watched a bit of T.V. and then it was supper time. But on Sundays Antonella does not cook supper, so Emanuela and I microwaved some hot dogs which we ate between a folded slice of bread with ketchup, as well as leftover vegetables from lunch. It wasn't even that bad.
After supper I said goodnight and had a shower and went straight to bed. I still didn't feel 100%.
Monday, we went to school with the new hours. And it was torture. First of all, we now have to catch the bus at 6:55 am, but I was so tired and confused I thought we had to catch it at 5:55 am, so I woke up an hour too early and scrambled to eat a filling breakfast, because I wouldn't get to eat for 6 hours (but I grabbed some bread stick things for later, not that that was going to do much), and I realized I had an hour to kill. Wonderful. So the whole day I was very tired, and very hungry. I think that is the dumbest thing that we don't even get a chance to eat something. I mean we get a 10 minute break after 3 classes and people can get a chocolate bar out of the vending machine, but people are so hungry they get like 3 or 4 out of there.
When we got back home I scarfed down my pasta and bread, as well as the rest of Emanuela's because she didn't want the rest.
Then I retired to my bedroom where I prepared for my Italian lesson, and then I was off to to that. And the rest, for that day, is history. Oh except it was only me and Antonella and Antonio for supper because Emanuela went out with Stefano for dinner and I decided not to go to that one.
Yesterday, my throat was bothering me a little more, but I ignored it. Nobody went to school again yesterday because there was another protest. But Emanuela, Gregorio, Elenora, Kevin and I went to the mall for a couple hours. The whole day we used those scooter things that all the Italians drive. They are so much fun!!! Anyways since Stefano went with a bunch of other people for a bit, we borrowed his scooter, and Elenora had hers and then another guy from our class had one and he gave Kevin a ride to the mall, with Emanuela with Elenora on her scooter (I don't know what else to call them), and Gregorio and I on Stefano's. At the mall I didn't get anything. I saw nothing that I liked at the moment, but we weren't there that long anyways. But while we were there I had a Cafe Moka Ice, it is the best iced coffee I have ever had in my entire life (and it felt nice on my throat). Soon after that, we left. But we only had 2 bikes, so Gregorio drove Emanuela down to meet Stefano and came back and got me, and Elenora and Kevin went on hers. Then we stopped at a lounge restaurant and Elenora and Gregorio left us for a minute to go and drop off Stefano's bike and they returned on Elenora's. At the restaurant, Gregorio ordered me a "coffee drink." I thought he meant a coffee you know? But nope. It was pop....that tasted like coffee. It was surprisingly delicious. And as we were sitting there, another Francesco (I met him before when I was out with Emanuela and Kevin) and his friend drove up on his bike and we talked with him for a bit. Well I didn't talk with him haha but you know what I mean. Then Gregorio and Elenora left yet again to go and buy a volleyball. They returned shortly and then Elenora drove Kevin to the place we were going to next, and Francesco dropped his friend off with Kevin, then Elenora and Francesco came back and Gregorio went with Elenora and I rode with Francesco. For some reason he must have thought I was worried to go with him or something and he said "Ehhmm don't worrieee, io sono bravo" which means basically "I'm good."And I was like "...Ok...haha"
When we got there, Francesco and his friend departed and the rest of us went and hit a volleyball around for a bit, but it was so hot, it was the saddest attempt at passing a volleyball I've ever been a part of.
Finally, it was time to catch the bus. So Kevin left us (as he lives in Lido), and Elenora drove both me and Gregorio to the bus stop and then she took off.
When we got back I once again scarfed down my lunch and this time, my Italian lesson started an hour later so I went and chilled with Emanuela and I helped her choose an outfit for that night since she was going to the other Francesco's birthday party. I lent her my jeggings (leggings that look like jeans) and she was soo happy I thought it was funny. So once again that night for supper it was just me and Antonella and Antonio, and then I retired to bed.
This morning when I woke up I just about died my throat was so bad and I had a very horrible feeling of nausea, and not to mention I was sweating like crazy. So I stayed home once again. It's getting a little frustrating that I'm sick actually, although I do need the sleep.
Today, Emanuela did not come home for lunch because she stayed in Lido after school with Stefano. So it was me and the parents again for lunch. All I've done today is eat and sleep, and I'm not feeling any better. I don't know how long this will last.
And now here I sit. It's about 5:30 pm and I'm alone (which is totally fine) and I'm listening to the Rolling Stones and I have a constant glass of water by my side, I've lost count of how many times I've had to pee.
And now I will take my leave, I have to pee again, and I'm really tired.
Cheers,
-Mikeala

An Adventure

So yesterday when Emanuela, Gregorio and I arrive at school and we are expecting everyone to be inside in class, as our bus was late to arrive yet again. Instead, everybody was outside. Confused, Emanuela asked a girl what was going on. She said that nobody was going to school today and we were all going to Catanzaro (as we were in Catanzaro Lido, Catanzaro is the main part) to protest the change in school hours (because now we have to go to school from 7:00 am and we get home at 3:00 pm). However, first we all gathered outside a cafe and someone jumped up on a car and gave a speech about how tomorrow we will go to class but we won't bring our books or anything and we will not do our work. The frustration and anger was obvious among everyone. And who wouldn't be? Starting school at 7:00 am and getting home at 3:00 pm! Ok seriously? That's rather ridiculous...especially if you don't get Saturday off. So then everyone cheered and honked and people started to depart to go to Catanzaro. Emanuela told me to go with Michelle and Chiara (some of my friends) and she would come to Catanzaro later with her boyfriend. I had no idea where Gregorio was. And so, since I had no idea really what was totally going on, I followed Michelle and Chiara where we ended up taking buses and trains, until we finally reached Catanzaro. We got off the train and suddenly we were in a huge square full of people, mostly students. In the middle of the square was a giant triangular looking thing which was actually steps leading to nowhere...it looked like it's only purpose was for sitting on and looking very random and strange.

weird triangle thing

Anyways, so then Michelle ran into her friend, Anna, who I seriously thought was a boy with a strangely delicate face. But nope, it was a girl. She seemed nice enough, not that we could communicate much. After that Chiara and I decided to get something to eat. So she took me to this little modern looking, and very Euro-style cafe where we had a slice of some delicious Italian pizza. Then we had planned on browsing some shops, but Michelle told us to come back. I have no idea why though, because all we did was sit there.

Then I find out that Gregorio and Emanuela had changed their minds and were not coming to Catanzaro, and that now I really should have stayed with Gregorio! So we had to go back to Catanzaro Lido so I could catch the school bus to Botricello in time. But the bus to Lido never showed up. And we waited, and waited, and waited. By that time I probably wouldn't make it to the school bus, so Emanuela called Michelle after I texted her and told Michelle to tell me to stay in Catanzaro where two of her friends would come and get me to take me back, while the others caught the extremely late bus back to Lido. Michelle told me this, but they decided they didn't want to leave me alone, so they took me on the bus (when it finally arrived) back to Lido. And, since I have no idea what else to do, I do as they tell me and I get on the bus. Emanuela is furious with Michelle and then says for me to get off in some random piazza where I would wait for Stefano and he would take me to a later bus stop where Emanuela was waiting. So I did. And by now, I was so frustrated. I tend to find myself in these situations a lot. Anyways, just as I was about to call Emanuela, Stefano zooms up on his scooter and hands me an extra helmet. He tells me to hurry and soon we are racing down the street weaving in and out of traffic so crazily I thought I was either going to get clipped by a side mirror or we were going to tip over. But finally we reached Emanuela and I just caught the bus back to Botricello.

Today, I had everyone apologizing  to me. But now I consider it quite a story. Yesterday, of course, when you're in the situation, all you want is for it to be over with. But I got some good pictures anyways.

walking to the bus to go to Catanzaro

Me and Silvia

Walking to protest

Catanzaro

A cool statue in the square

The square where everyone gathered

Naked dude with a pick-axe

Today, when we got to school, Emanuela, Gregorio and I gathered with our classmates and found a spot on the school grounds to get comfortable. About an hour later after just sitting around, some students climbed up onto some stairs outside and gave a speech in Italian. Of course, I couldn't understand it, but everyone cheered and chanted and people in cars honked their horns. Many seemed excited about protesting, but the people who gave speeches showed their anger towards the school.  And this morning on the bus, there was a flyer on everyone's seats talking about the protest and how ridiculous it all was and we needed to unite and stand up for our rights. It was quite well organized really. Although today had to be one of the most boring days of my entire life, as all we did was sit, then get up, move to a different spot, and sit back down. I was starving (as usual) and I was like "Hey, can we go and grab something to eat and come back?" and everyone was like nooo are you crazy we aren't allowed to leave blah blah blah......SERIOUSLY?! There were people blocking the gates and they stopped anyone who tried to leave. I was about ready to climb the fence I was so hungry, but nobody would go with me. It seems strange to me, because I'm used to being able to leave the school on free time, to go and get something or whatever. But here, you would have to be mental. So, I guess today I grew very impatient. In a way I felt trapped. I kept thinking, here I am, in ITALY, I need to go and do things....but I couldn't. And in my perspective, it was almost pointless to stay once the speech was done, but it was for a cause and that is understandable, so I stayed. Although today I was abnormally tired for no reason, because I slept quite well last night. And by the time we got home for lunch my head had a distant, threatening ache and I can now feel a sore throat coming on. Although I thought I was ok enough to go to my Italian lesson, Antonella sent me straight to bed again. She is being very careful with me right ow, she is afraid that maybe I will get a fever, but I understand where she is coming from. I mean, I was practically falling asleep into my bowl of tortellini (which was very delicious I'll have you all know) this afternoon at lunch time.

And now, after sleeping from about 2:30 until 5:15, here I sit, uploading pictures and blogging and answering emails, as well as eating a very yummy (and very small) piece of cake that Antonella has recently made.

It is dark out now and I should probably go, but I will catch up with you all later! 

Ciao,

-Mikeala