THE "LIZARD" OF OZ

SHELBY IS STILL to little to sit through an entire movie without needing to get up, run around, distract herself then come back to it. There have been only a couple of movies she has been so enthrawled with that she sits like a statue through the entire thing; Wizard of Oz was one of those. She watched it once and remember almost all of it as she asked me questions about it later that night.

RAISING THE BARRE put on a production of the Wizard of Oz this weekend. My friend Johnnie helped put it on and she did such a wonderful job. All the kids in the play did great too.

SHELBY KEPT CALLING it the Lizard of Oz. She was so scared every time the Wicked Witch of the West came out. It was a long play and she was so good, just watched intently. Im so proud of her.

JOHNNIE MADE THE house, isn't it Awesome?!

JOHNNIE AND HER man Lance

SHELBY WANTED TO marker up her face for the play, I thought it was a great idea!

JOEY CAME TOO but his picture was blurry, dont want to leave him out. We all had a great time and are really proud of Johnnie.

Phrase of the day: Uscire sul comune!

Translation: (as Shelby would say) Go out on the town!

ITALIA - due, Roma

I FLEW INTO Rome and even though I didnt stay there I returned to explore it several times throughout the summer. I loved the energy and the character, the drivers dis-obeying "optional" traffic laws, the food, the art, and the idea of standing in the same spot as historys Caesar, the Gods, and every Pope. You find yourself stopped in your tracks nearly breathless trying to take in the actuality of it all. Touching the same sculpture that Michelangelo touched or staring up into his ceiling knowing that art has gone in reverse, nothing as beautiful or of such value has been painted in centuries.

THIS IS THE terrible first shot on a roll of film and first shot taken in Italy. It is of the Vatican during an address from Pope John Paul II. He is under the maroon shade and shown on the big screen in the center of the picture.

THE VATICAN MUSEUMS

 THE SISTINE CHAPEL

I almost got thrown out for this shot. No cameras, NO FLASH allowed! I couldnt hold the camera up to my face to take it, it was literally a shot in the dark; this one 'Creation of Adam' was number 4 of 33 paintings making up the enormous ceiling (im sorry i didnt have color film in, what a shame).

 MICHELANGELO PAINTED THE chapel ceiling for Pope Julius II between 1508 and 1512. It was all restored in the 1980s.

SCULPTURE ROOM

TROJAN PRIEST LAOCOON and his two sons. Marble, 1st-century AD.

THE SPANISH STEPS

(for lovers)

ALWAYS COVERED IN azaleas.

THE TREVI FOUNTAIN

(MY VERY FAVORITE PLACE IN ROME)

THE FIGURES ARE of Neptune flanked by two Tritons who represent the two contrasting moods of the sea.

COLOSSEO

ONE OF MANY HOSTEL ROOMS

 

VALLEY DAY TRIP

A FRIEND OF ours is really sick so I decided to take the day off of work and take a day trip to Mesa for a visit.  Minus a tearful goodbye, this is how the day went.

1. WOKE UP TOO early...BEFORE MY ALARM clock went off...ON A DAY that Shelby was with her dad...WHAT THE @#*%!!!!

2. STOPPED TO CHECK this out just south of Payson.

3. STOPPED BY GATEWAY ER to see some old friends.

4. GRABBED ME SOME IN-N-OUT. I miss you cheeseburger animal style no fries with a chocolate shake, no matter how much atherosclerosis you may cause me! I savored every bite of you today without guilt!

5. STOPPED HERE TOO, I love it here, I would not-kidding-you-live-here-if-i-could!

6. YEP, YOU GUESSED it, stopped again.

 7. I NEVER DO the dew but I may have crashed and burned without it tonight.

8. AN OVER THE sholder "What is Shelby and Milhouse up to back there?", shot.

Phrase of the day: Detesto il mio orologio interno!

Translation: I loathe my internal clock!

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!

I HAVE DREAMT of Brad Pitt twice this month! What is going on?! I love it!! and keep em comin!

Phrase of the day: io sogni nel miele 

Translation: I dream in honey

P. S. Dont be jealous Johnnie!

Photograph courtesy of http://bradpitt-information.com/

ITALIA - uno

AFTER MOVING THIS month I stumbled across an old pre-digital camera, pre-laptop photo album. They where all from my summer in Italy. I was soooooo happy to look through them but a little sad that I have let so much of why I spent months of my life there go. EVERY MORNING I leave for work and Shelby and I are rushing out the door as she is grabbing her Milhouse and her horse and her mini etch-a-scetch and hot stuff (a sea horse beanie baby type a thingy) and everything else she owns that will surely miss her far to much while she is at daycare I have to holler at her "Andiamo piccola bambina! Sono pronta!" Which she well knows means "Let's go baby girl! I'm ready!". I love it and i miss it. Little things like that is what lingers.

AFTER SOME THOUGHT I realized that letting it go the last few years doesn't take away my experience in Italy and that the passion is still there and it will probably be easier to pick back up with familiarity. SO I SET a goal, 365 days to fluency again. I will make an effort to dedicate 30 minutes of study time each and every day for the next year (more time spent on it during weekends and the few weekdays that Josh has Shelby).

IN THE MEAN time I will periodically blog by city the scanned pictures I have dug out of hiding.

A FEW OF my favorites just to kick off...

My very favorite most coveted picture. Ascoli Piceno in El Centro. Ascoli is the town I lived in. I only had a film camera and a photography class at MCC where I developed a chosen few in the dark room like this one.

L'Isola di Capri

My constant companion

SO IN THE spirit of fluency. 

A phrase of the day: A domani!

Translation: See you tomorrow!

2 1/2 years, 7 moves.

A BEAUTIFUL FIRST morning in another new place. We moved again the weekend of January first. It could potentially be hard on Shelby I think but we try hard to have fun and explore in all of our new places. Maybe versatility will be what she takes away from this era in our lives, I don't know but so far so good. I have a great kid and our lives are pretty damn great together.

CHRISTMAS

SHELBYS FIRST SNOWMAN

AUNT CAROL







FIRST BIKE

MY BIRTHDAY

FRIENDS, LAUGHTER, HOT WINGS

THESE EARRINGS I wear on my birthday are the earrings my mother was wearing when she gave birth to me. Weird? maybe, but I think its cool and love that I have them.

THANKSGIVING

MY BROTHER MICHAEL