Today has been a pretty good day!! I couldn't sleep last night because my mind was sooo excited about all of the upcoming things in my life! :) I love Italy, but I'm also ready to come home and see people that know me and love me and I know them and LOVE them!!! Anyway, I was so awake that I had to turn my computer back on and do stuff until I was so tired I couldn't hold my eyes open! I had the strangest dream too: I was in NYC and they were filming Sex & the City and they needed someone to wear a dress of Sarah Jessica Parker's and travel with them to the next location or something and they chose me...I can't explain the dream...but it was weird...

So, of course, on the day that I set my alarm clock to be a little later, I wake up 45 minutes BEFORE my alarm clock and CANNOT go back to sleep! :( What is that about?!?!? However, I took that time to read emails, fb, etc. and do my homework. Then I finally got up and took a shower, got dressed, and went to eat breakfast! Today, I took pictures of my breakfast set up (the top picture!) and food so that you all could see what I am talking about!!! I think Thursday or Friday morning I am going to stop in this place (same place I got tea to go the other day) and try their breakfast...it says they have a full breakfast (american, continental, etc...or something to that effect). Or, I might stop tomorrow and ask if they have oatmeal...and if they do, Ill probably kiss and hug them and then order a HUGE bowl of it! ;) So after breakfast, I put on my make up, gathered all of my things, bundled up, and I was out the door! Lorenzo had told me that it was REALLY cold outside today, but when I walked out, I had to pull my scarf off of my face...it was not NEARLY as cold as it had been.
This is the little toast thingys I've talked about!
The picture on the right is the jelly stuff (I am going to try and find this store). The picture of the food in the packaging is the graham cracker thingys.

Then of course the food on the plate is my breakfast (two things with the "gourmet nutella stuff" and two with the jelly stuff). P.S. The packaging of the graham cracker things says that 8 of them and a glass of milk...and you're good to go! It was good to find out that one cookie thing only has 22 calories...interesting...
Now, for some observations I have made over the past 3 1/2 weeks: 1. The cars/motorcycles in Italy are good about respecting pedestrian crossings!! I like that. 2. The Italians drive like New Yorkers...with no regards for lines and lanes! 3. The buses do not care if they take your head off with their side mirrors. This has almost happened to me a few times...literally! Like, I could feel the wind of the side mirrors. Okay guys, I understand that the roads are small, but SO ARE THE SIDEWALKS!!! It really is very dangerous!! 4. A foul odor comes from every other building you pass...it's like sewage or something!!

Anyway, so I got to school (right at 9, which is fine because at 9 my teacher always leaves the room to smoke or use the bathroom), and about 10 or 15 after we started our lesson. I'm just going to give a blanket statement for the first half of class: IT SUCKED...I almost cried again! Here's why: this is hard for me, it was difficult learning it at UA, but now when I cannot understand what is going on or the explanations that are given, it is EVEN harder! I do not like being bad at something and I REALLY do not like being talked to like I am an idiot...and YES, today she did...it was NOT just my perception! The fact that their sentence structure is backwards is hard for me...REALLY hard for me...it was the hardest thing about the language the last time! I was so frustrated with myself and frankly, pissed off at her, that I wanted to cry and leave. I have not felt this bad about myself or this frustrated with something since Cornelius Carter's dance class(es). I know I can't always be "perfect" or really good at something, and perhaps I haven't been trying hard enough, but I wanted this to be a fun AND learning experience. So far, it's been fun and I have learned, but I've also wanted to punch Maria in the face for talking to me like I am an idiot! Honestly, it just made me long for Friday to come and it made me happy that I wouldn't have to be there anymore after Friday! I hate that feeling...but I am still enjoying Italy and taking it all in...I am just wishing school away! Here is what I will try to remember:
Like success, failure is many things to many people. With Positive Mental Attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again. -W. Clement Stone


FOr break I went to the bar and got a yogurt (omg I was so excited to see Vanilla yogurt) and a peach juice! I had forgotten my water bottle :( and I needed something to drink! The second half of class was better...we did something I was familiar with AND remembered how to do! It went by rather quickly and I was SO grateful that we didn't have Marco's class. However, they came and told me that my private lesson was canceled AGAIN, but I do hate that Cristina is sick. So, this kind of threw a kink in my plan because I wanted to have private lesson today and relax after, because it would end so late. Then, I wanted to go to Pitti (museum/garden) tomorrow and the Duomo on Thursday. THe only reason I was upset about this plan being thwarted was that I did not have my big camera with me today! So, once I found this out, I made lunch plans with Fiona and then planned to go to Palazzo Pitti, today. I am at least thankful that I have an awesome point and shoot canon camera!! :)

After class, Natalie, Fiona, and I went to the voucher restaurant and had lunch. We got to sit upstairs where it was nice and warm and cozy! :) Our waiter, my favorite man, insisted that today I would eat ALL of my food! Haha sir...that is funny! So I ordered the grilled veggies and then the fried eggs with a side. I didn't really want to order two things, but I felt as though i should. So, we had some olive oil with our bread and the grilled veggies were okay...but I dont want them anymore, and then our main meals came! Mine was the fried eggs with cooked spinach on the side (with waaaayyy too much garlic in them), but I ate all of my eggs and some of my spinach (he was already upset that I didn't finish the vegetables!! I'm sorry sir, but I just cannot eat that much food! We had good conversation; we talked about traveling and i told them about the good food I had in Siena, then we talked about movies, etc. etc. It was nice to eat lunch with them (AND it was nice to get out of school so early!). After we finished we were all parting ways. Fiona was going home to read, Natalie was going back to school to use the internet until they had to meet their British Institute class at Palazzo Vecchio, and I was headed to buy one more post card stamp and then go to Palazzo Pitti. I bought my stamp, mailed my last post card, and then was on my way. I stopped and looked at a few pairs of shoes along the way, but NOTHING! :( I am contemplating buying a coat instead! I have seen so many cute ones since I've been there; though of course, once I had this thought I haven't seen any of them again! :(

So, the walk to Palazzo Pitti was nice...it was actually warmer outside than it had been in the school, but the school is always FREEZING!!!!! It was actually a GORGEOUS afternoon to be outside because the temperature was nice and the sky was BLUE!!!!!!!! I stopped and took some pictures on the Ponte Vecchio, and had a girl take my picture, but she did a horrible job! :( Oh well! Let me just take this opportunity to say that I feel so blessed with the weather situation this past month. Before I came here, EVERYTHING said that November was the WORST time of year to come to Italy because all it does is rain. I think we've had 2 or 3 overcast days and maybe 1 morning of rain?!?! How fortunate am I? I just pray that it stays this way until Saturday morning!!!

Anyway, so I bought my ticket and went in. The building is HUGE!!!!I was mainly concerned with seeing the gardens as I am rather bored looking at a bunch of art and stuff that doesn't mean anything to me. However, I went in the first exhibit. It was really cool! My favorite part were the ceilings, and I took a few pictures, but then all of the sudden they said no pictures. I had not seen a sign that said it, but oh well. Then, my next favorite part was this room with a lot of different crucifixes. There was this one, I took a picture (all of the "guard watcher people" were leaving their rooms...like maybe time to get off work early or something, so there was no one to tell me I couldnt), but the picture DOES NOT do it justice! Again, I am just awestruck at the beauty and splendor that God has inspired here on Earth and the beauty that has been created to represent Jesus' death...it is just, wow!! Italy has been a great reminder for me of what Jesus gave for me...He gave it ALL!!

So then I headed to the gardens. THIS was the real reason that I was there, and I was NOT disappointed. THey were simple, yet elegant. There were amazing views of the city and yet it was so quiet and you felt so secluded. There were times that no one else was even around me. It was so peaceful. A few times I had this overwhelming feeling of being in "The Secret Garden" and now I desperately want to watch that movie!!!! So I wandered through the gardens a bit and I stopped at one place that was secluded and had a great view of the city. There was a place to sit and so I just say and took in the sights and breathed fresh air (thank you for no smoke). It was nice to just sit and smile and remind myself that I am in Italy...and that I have survived Italy...and that I have learned a lot about myself and about Italy and about the culture. I really enjoyed just sitting there, but eventually I knew I had to move on! From there I thought it was cool that I could see Santa Maria Novella (church I visited yesterday) and the train tracks leading out of the city! :) SO I walked around some more and got some more beautiful views of the city. Eventually I made my way to the highest point of the gardens and they over looked some beautiful hills and trees and homes! I think that they were some of what I was seeing the day I climbed the steps to the Piazzale Michelangelo. You could also see San Miniato, the church that Gabriella took me and Tamsin to the other day! Anyway, the sun was getting lower and it was putting this golden light on everything...I am convinced that the BEST time to see any panoramic view of Florence, or any Italian city, is to see it between 3 pm and 5 pm (in the winter of course) because the sun bathes everything in this rich golden orange glow!!! It reflects really well off of the Italian terracotta (I think that's what it is) rooftops! At this point, my stomach was starting to hurt...I wasn't sure why, but I could tell that it was going to be hurting for a while! :( Below is the place I sat for a while!

I started making my way out of the gardens and started to realize that I wasn't going to get to see other exhibits, which I was fine with because I really only wanted to see the gardens and I DEFINITELY got my moneys worth!!! :) That's all that is important...right!?!?!? At this point, I was starting to feel REALLY bad!! I had planned to get some gelato this afternoon after the museum (and believe me...I earned it from all of the stairs and hills I had climbed), but my stomach was just hurting too much!! On my way home, the only thing I stopped for, other than cars, was to take a picture of a window display that a bakery had (a bakery that I pass almost every day). I noticed all of the Tiffany blue stuff, and then I saw that everything in their window display was wrapped in Tiffany blue and they had black and white pictures of Audrey Hepburn in the display as well! SEE EVERYONE LOVES TIFFANY...AND NEW YORK!!! Yes, tomorrow, given that I feel better, I WILL find something to buy from them! So I booked it home...and was able to lay down in my bed!!! That definitely made me feel better! I got to play with Matilde for a little bit...I love how excited she gets when I come in!! She was like screaming and running to me! This morning when her dad was dropping her off, I passed them on the stairs and her face just lit up when she saw me...ooh that of course just melted my heart!! So I played with her for a little bit and then she and her mom had to go! **Side story: so, i've noticed that they keep calling me "tata" to Matilde and she says it too...I've been curious about it, but it wasn't until today that I was 100% sure that they were saying, "tata"! So, I looked it up and it means, "nanny"! Hmm...I thought this was weird, but I guess it works...and it's easy for Matilde to say and she does say it when I come in and when she is running to my room!**

As Matilde and her mom were leaving, Signora Gabriella offered me some tea, and I accepted thinking that it would make my stomach feel better! I was excited to smell that it was the Romeo and Juliet tea again! I like this tea, but it's weird...she makes it with the actual leaves and then has to pour it through a strainer...ok, it's not weird, but I just never make tea this way! I am a lazy American and I used already per-proportioned tea bags (which she does too when she's not making this). Anyway, it was really good and because they always leave me alone in the kitchen to drink my tea alone, I just brought it to my room and laid down while I had it and worked on my blog. My stomach is just all over the place...one minute I feel a slight urge to throw up and the next I'm fine! I'm feeling nervous about dinner!! What will we have?!?! How much will we have?!?!? And will it make me feel worse?!?!?

Well, dinner actually made me feel better. We started with pasta con olio e Parmesan! Then, we had the BEST meat...I think it was like pork tenderloin, but if not, it was AMAZING and then some salad. They also had this sauce to go with the meat that was really good! It was a GREAT dinner! Then, because Guenda had been looking something up on the internet, she got on facebook. She wanted to be my friend...then, I got my picture and she wanted to see pics of everyone!! I showed her my momma and daddy, my room, my animals, my best friends, a few pictures of campus, a few pictures of football, and we had a good time! SHe also asked about MIke...that was difficult to explain! Anyway, it was great! She was shocked to find out that I was leaving on Saturday! It felt good to have conversation with her and have a better feeling for how she feels. It was really nice; made me VERY happy!! Now, let's just hope my stomach chills out and we'll be good to go!! :) Also, on her facebook, there is a baby picture of Mauito...PRECIOUS BABY KITTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was also sad tonight to find out that my cd drive in my computer does NOT want to play my dvd's. Today I was REALLY wanting to watch "Under the Tuscan Sun"! Oooh well.... so, I am going to postpone my shower until the morning because I'd rather lay in my warm comfy bed and get some extra sleep....hopefully! I am having a hard time controlling the anticipation of coming home to everyone and everything that I miss!!! I just keep telling myself to slow down and enjoy the time I have here...because this will never come again!!! :(

Roll Tide...it's Iron Bowl week...which means Roll Tide is an appropriate response to EVERYTHING!!! So, Roll TIde to that!!


Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
Steve Jobs

No man ever achieved worth-while success who did not, at one time or other, find himself with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure.
Napoleon Hill