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 :)

be all you can be

wow! it's been a long time since i've written... i've been so engulfed in reading new books and actually working for a change! during may i had layovers in ontario, san antonio, seattle, and various florida destinations just to name a few. this month i have had airport alert almost every day that i've been on call.

at the end of the may/beginning of june i went home to dallas for kevin's graduation and going away party. i was there for twelve days and cried the whole day i had to come back! with so much time i was able to see many friends and spend time with the fam, including those who came in for the party... and was it a party!! dad and i went to sam's and bought at least 16 cases of beer, and 18 BIG bottles of wine and before the night ended my dad still had to buy more! betty carrier made beer margaritas, which are to die for, and we had fajitas catered by pete's (mom and dad's restaurant,) but the best part was the cakes from panini, camo style!

mom, kevvy, and me at his graduation

the grad and the grandparents

cousins! at the party

camo cakes :) yum

as many of you know, kevin got called out early for basic training. he was actually in the middle of a trip with his friends as a last hurrah and had to cut it short. i talked to him briefly thursday night and he sounded pretty bored - they've been working on paperwork and processing, he just doesn't know what's about to hit him! once we get his address i'll let y'all know so that you can send him letters and care packages.