I’m sure you’ve all been sitting anxiously by your computers waiting for these photos, so without further ado, here are my daily photos from Italy. Please be patient while I work on the other 1100 or so. I’ll post the best ones on Facebook. If you aren’t on Facebook and you’d like to see them, shoot me an email and I can send you a link.
I saved the best souvenir for last. It’s a handmade wooden inlayed music box/jewelry box from Sorrento. It plays the Italian song, Funiculi, Funicula. It’s a catchy little tune, but we’re finding every time we open the box it gets stuck in our heads…for days!
If you aren’t familiar with it, Venice, Italy is known for their Venetian/Murano glass. We went to a glass factory with figurines, glassware, and sculptures for hundreds to thousands of Euros. Needless to say, we didn’t buy anything there. We did find another authentic Murano glass shop with these beautiful earrings that I just couldn’t resist. Jerod actually convinced me to buy them and helped me pick out the color.
Thanks to the bubble wrap we packed in my suitcase, we were able to bring home four bottles of Italian wine!
After temporarily losing my wedding ring, Jerod’s passport, our luggage, and our insanity – we’re back from our trip to Italy! Besides those emotional incidents, we had a wonderful time. Italy is such a beautiful country! I will post photos in a few days. In the meantime, I have to brag about how great my family is. Our flight home from Chicago was cancelled, so instead of getting in at 7:30 p.m., we arrived at midnight. My parents, sister, and nephew were all patiently waiting for us at the terminal. Best of all – they had done a thorough search at our apartment and found my wedding ring! (My cat had taken off with it and apparently dropped it under a bed the day we left.) They also went grocery shopping and bought us some essentials – including FRUIT! Fruit was in short supply in Italy, and I was craving it by the time I returned home.
Jerod and I are getting everything in order for our trip! (I know, I know – it looks like chaos right now.) I think Esme wants to join us, and surprisingly there’s probably enough room for her to fit in my suitcase. I think this is the lightest I’ve ever traveled, and the longest I’ve ever been gone. Actually I’m going to use the extra room for souvenirs. I even brought along bubble wrap. 🙂
P.S. I won’t be posting photos on the trip, but I’ll have plenty when I return!
My Relay For Life teammate Mandy hosted a Scentsy party yesterday to raise money for the American Cancer Society. We had a lot of fun smelling all the scents, but the most touching part was hearing how cancer has affected so many of us. We’ve raised about $300 so far (with a goal of $500) selling Scentsy products! If you buy them here, 20% goes toward Relay.
On Friday my office celebrated Choose You Day, an American Cancer Society movement that encourages people to put their own health first in the fight against cancer. We took a walk over our lunch hour and encouraged people to take the stairs instead of the elevator.
I moved my flowers & herbs into bigger pots yesterday evening and placed them outside away from the cat. Hopefully they survive the sun better than the cat’s teeth!
Yesterday we celebrated the kick-off to Plant It Pink in my office – an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network initiative for people to join ACS CAN and order pink tulip bulbs. ACS CAN is the Society’s sister advocacy organization, and if you join you get the opportunity to email (or call, or visit) your government officials to advocate for more cancer research funding, smoke-free laws, etc. Not surprisingly, the media was about 30 minutes late to the event, so they got some lovely shots of our display table.
Photographic Rhodes 