if you fall off your moral horse, call it a cultural experience... italy is for romantics

those words were written by my favorite travel expert, rick steves. i have just received his italy 2009 guidebook and am starting to plan our trip - our being my grandma, mom, aunt, godmother, and myself. second to france, italy is the country i've most dreamed of visiting. our family is from campobasso, a town southeast of rome. not only do i look the part but i also have a love for the landscape, food and, of course... wine!

when i started my job with continental, taking grandma to italy became a goal of mine. although she had never really voiced the desire to my knowledge, i knew that it would be a meaningful experience for her and i wanted to share in it.

because continental is so overstaffed right now they are encouraging leaves of absence. my plan was to take a month-leave in september to ensure having off the weekend of sarah's wedding. considering i am a bridesmaid, it was simply not an option to miss it - even though sarah's attitude was, "if that happens we'll deal with it then," i was not going to miss standing by such a great friend on one of the most important days of her life. so the wheels began turning and i decided to take one of the many leaves being offered and use the rest of the month to take grandma on a much deserved vacation. we are planning for about two weeks mid-september so for anyone who has been before, any and all tips/advice are welcome.

i also recently decided to take august off so i can spend some time in texas, help mom at the restaurant, and really start looking for a new job - in houston, dallas, or DC. i should know mid-july if my leave request has been granted. if i don't find something new, then i will put in my transfer to the houston base and continue with continental from there. it will be a nice change of pace and i have so many friends in the area. my living situation will be much more comfortable and my days won't be spent idly waiting in a tiny crowded apartment for scheduling to call. even though i don't love my job with continental, i like it enough to think that these changes will make me much happier in general. (questions, comments, concerns, words of wisdom are also welcome in this area too!)

on a closing note, i now have kevin's address at camp so if anyone would like to send him a letter or care package, all of us lambs would greatly appreciate the thoughts and well-wishes! hope everyone has a great week :)