New Music I'm Listening to

So, I saw a video on Facebook and got addicted to the song. I'm a hopeless romantic, what can I say. Check out the video of "Oh Sweet Lorraine" and the story behind it. I hope to find love like this one day.

Also, the terrific band Cloverton just dropped their first album. I've followed the band from the start; they are from Manhattan and I know two of the band members from high schooland college. Their new album, "Patterns" is an oasis for someone needing rest for their soul. I heard them play all the songs at their CD release party last weekend. God definitely used their album to encourage my heart and remind me of His love for me. Check out "Patterns!" I normally don't buy albums, because I normally don't like all the songs on it. That was definitely not the case with "Patterns." . Okay, just two more videos from them. Buy the album, you won't regret it.

Lastly, I went to the Paxico Blues Festival last weekend and discovered the crazy/talented Samantha Fish Band. I'm in love with their song, "Last September." Here's a link to the song: http://www.virginmedia.com/music/browse/samantha-fish/songs/3844224#.

What new music are you all listening to?

Italy Part Four

We left the tranquility of Cinque Terre for the busyness of the grand city, Florence. Now, I did end up liking Florence, but I was a bit overwhelmed to enter the rush of the city.

I love the cobblestone streets of Italy, but wheeling luggage through the city can be a challenge. It was surprisingly cold while we were in Italy and I started to get sick while in Cinque Terre. Once I got to Florence, I was really sick. Thankfully, I finally gave in and found a pharmacy, which helped lots.

Florence is known for the picturesque Arno River.

. We visited lots of museums. Florence had the best shopping. The markets were out of this world! Florence is known for leather, so the smell in the markets was intoxicating. I broke down and bought among other things. :)

I'm that traveler that carries a guidebook all over the place. It suggested we take a 30 minute hike outside the city for great pictures. It was now hot and I've never walked up more stairs than that day, but it was worth it.

On to our last stop; Rome. Here, I got overwhelmed with the subway/metro.

The ever-enchanting Trevi fountain.

The Vatican was a long, hot wait.

I had the best gelato at a place near the Vatican, called Old Bridge. The amaretto and crema gelato was one for the books!

Seeing the Arch of Constantine was poignant. The arch is significant to Christian faith as it commemorates the battle that led the Emperor Constantine to convert to Christianity. This changed the course of the religious landscape (info from www.sacred-destinations.com) We also saw the nearby Colosseum.

It was the 160th Birthday of the Italian Polizia (Police), so they displayed lots of their police vehicles AND officers. :)

So while texting with my mom while in Rome, my mom said she had seen an article about great gelato places in Rome. She was so excited that I agreed to pull out the map and try to make it to one place as it seemed close. It was actually near the Trevi Fountain which we visited at least once a day. It was called Giolitti and had great fruit flavored gelato topped with even more noteworthy homemade whip cream!

While in Italy, we had some pretty rough meals. So, our last day in Italy we broke down and went to Hard Rock Cafe. Everyone there was despreate for MEAT, so every order coming out of the kitchen was a hamburger and fries!

I cherished my time and kept reminding myself to soak in every bit I could. I ended up taking roughly 1,800 pictures. When it was time to go, I was ready. If given the opportunity I'd go back in a heartbeat!

Italy Part Three

Our first full day in Cinque Terre, we travelled a few minutes to the furthest of the towns. Riomaggiorre. They had beautiful rose bushes, lemon trees, and olive trees. We walked through the town and then took the trail to walk to Manarola.

It was a short, but very scenic walk to Manarola.

Along the walk there was a spot that lovers from Riomaggiore and Manarola met.

I had breakfast, a berry crostata, midway through the hike on the edge of a cliff.
Next was breath-taking Manarolo.

I loved the little shops in the towns. What was neat about Cinque Terre is that we saw a lot of the same tourists exploring in the little towns.
After Manarolo, I took a train to Corniglia. The best views where in Corniglia. Unfortunately, there was a 1,000 stair climb to get to the actual town. The views and gelato were worth the climb. I read in my Rick Steve's guidebook, that a little shop there had miel (honey) gelato. It was wonderful and refreshing. Here, I took my favorite picture of my entire trip!
I hope to go back someday!

Italy Part Two

Cinque Terre was the place in Italy I most wanted to go. I researched it and knew I'd love it and I did. It's a series of 5 towns, some along cliffs and some on the ocean. I was the most peaceful part of the trip. Away from the craziness of city life. The cities are a few minutes away from each other via train or you can hike to most the cities. Less than a year before, several or the towns had been devastated by mudslides. I read the accounts, some residents even died and businesses went out of business. Each town is fairly tiny, but picturesque. We stayed in the largest of the five, Monterosso, my favorite. We loved eating at Miky's Cantina. It was slightly cold while we were there, so we didn't have much beach time. It was also the only of the five that had a beach.

We stayed there two nights. I wished it would've been longer. We arrived mid-afternoon and checked out Monterosso. Once we'd checked out Monterosso we went to nearby Vernazza. Vernazza was hard hit by the mudslides. It had beautiful ocean views.

One Year

I've been thinking lately about how much life can change in one year. I've always said nothing in my life ever really changes, but in the last year it flipped 180 degrees. For someone who hates change this can be overwhelming, but they were all good changes for me and I'm happily riding the wave.

One year ago, I changed jobs. I left a job that I'd been at 5.5 years. While in many ways it was daunting; I was ready for something new. Though I felt ready long before, I know God had different timing. It was the perfect time for me to make a change. I'm so thankful for all the people I met in my last job and that I'm meeting my new job. This job has definitely been a huge blessing in my life and I feel like I'm where God wants me.

Through this year, I also moved and started grad school. I'd never endeavored to go back to school; I really struggled with my undergrad, but once the opportunity presented itself I knew I knew I had to make the leap. I've learned change can be fantastic and I've learned to pray a lot through all the changes. I knew working full time and going to school part time would be challenging, but I didn't know it'd be quite this hard. So, I try to remember that being able to get my MBA is a blessing. :)

So, cheers for change and my one year work anniversary! :)

Italy Part 1

In May of 2012, I got to go to Italy. It was the trip of a lifetime! I went for 10 days with a friend I met in college. We picked to visit Milan, Venice, Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome.

Stop 1: In Milan, I received my first stamp in my passport! My friend picked Milan since it's known for fashion. We were kind of bored by Milan, but they did have the nicest Duomo.

Stop 2: Venice was unusually cold and rainy. Here I experienced my first EARTHQUAKE! It was our first night there. Sometime early morning, my friend shook my arm and said that someone was breaking into our room. I listened for a second and realized the bed and furniture were rocking. At first I thought earthquake, but I didn't think Italy had earthquakes. So, I finally said, "I think it's an earthquake." We sat in silence until it stopped about 45 seconds later. I heard sirens sound, but didn't hear people going outside. We'd had such a hard time getting into our building, I was scared to vacate the building and not be able to get back in. So, I did what I thought was logical; I smelled for gas and checked to see if the building was shifting or anything. Then, I went back to sleep. About an hour later, we felt one of two aftershocks. It wasn't until later that morning that we were able to confirm with locals that it had been an earthquake. We happened to be in Venice while they were having the American Cup, so it was crazy crowded and getting a water taxi to nearby Murano was nearly impossible. The Grand Canal was much wider than I thought it would be. I thought it'd be 10 feet wide or something like that. Nope, it had to of been nearly a mile wide.

While in Venice, we also took a trip to nearby Murano which is known for glass.