Pamoja Penda

Adam and I went to a benefit last night called Pamoja Penda to support Northern Uganda. I know this is an awful picture but I felt we needed to document we were there! :) Yacht Rock was the last band to play and this is Adam rocking out. I must admit, I thought it was going to be much more crowded but we had a good time none the less. I worked all weekend then went on a Sunday night. That's a lot for me! Anyway, we had a great time together and bought some Africa crafts. The t-shirts were very cool too. Everything was "green". Glad we went.

Perugia

Next stop, Perugia. Our missionary friends, David, Nicole, and Ruby, are in language school in Perugia. They were the impetus that got this trip rolling. We realized our friendship has lasted longer apart than in the same town! They were "stuck" in Atlanta waiting for their visas I believe. Probably some other document but I have no idea. Anyway, I'm sure we were way more happy to have them in Atlanta than they were to be there. :) It was wonderful to see them and their new life in Italy. They have been in Italy over a year now so they are getting quite adjusted to the Italian culture. Adam and I had heard them talk all the time about how they just weren't getting the language, but we thought they were wonderful. We were impressed. The town is quaint and not very touristy but still has lots to see and do. We mostly enjoyed our time together.

And drank cappuccinos
They have amazing public transportation for being such a small town. This is on what they call the mini-metro that brought us to the town center. Awesome.


We had dinner one night at their favorite pizzeria by their apartment. Amazing pizza. Can I have another slice now? My mouth is watering. David got pasta with clams and Ruby LOVED the clams. Hysterical.

Half Marathon

I will interrupt my Italy chronicling to give a half marathon report. First of all, we finished faster than this time says because we started pretty far back in the corrals. We had microchips in our shoes that gave us our exact time. We did a 12:17 pace. Rachel, Adam, and I ran together the whole race. Rachel and I agreed this race was much better than any others we have done. I think it was because we ran slower. Adam did a great job too. He's obviously much faster than I am and could really take off but he is a loving husband and decided to the the training and race as quality time. I love him! My aunt Jenny and Uncle Mitch came too and we had a great time with them and Mom and Dad. We laughed a lot! I love when everyone comes to town because I get to try all new nice restaurants too! The weekend was wonderful and I am sad everyone had to leave. We need to do it again! Our now annual Eelkema girls New York City trip is in 3 weeks and we are doing another race then. Look out!

Observations about Rome

-proud of their cobblestone streets
-Romulus and Remus love to suckle on the she wolf teet, statues are everywhere!
-wine is cheaper than water
-nobody says "ciao bella" but they do say "ciao ciao" a lot
-people are very nice and appreciate you trying to speak Italian
-public transportation is awful- Rome just kept building up so underground is all ruins
-walk everywhere
-fig leaves were added to naked statues many years later by the Pope
-pyphry signals money- it's a purple stone and is why purple is the royal color
-"palace" comes from the Palatine Hill in the Roman Forum
-scarves are so in
- 5 cappuccinos a day is completely acceptable and may be below average
-we are easy to pick out as Americans
-Rick Steve is a smart man

Rome Day 2

Our second day in Rome started at a massive market. They had anything you could ever want- lots of shoes, clothes, dishes, leather, birds. Adam found the jacket and scarf you will see in many pictures. It's a bargaining place so you have to make a deal. I am so not good at that.

Next we found a farmer's market. It was really cool except that we were the only ones there who spoke English. It made for lots of short words and pointing. Interesting experience but so worth it! We got meat and cheese for lunch. Someone told Adam a story in Italian, so we felt like we did a good job assimilating. Or maybe just Adam did. You would think his running shoes and backpack would give him away. Adam just laughed at the story. Something about the guy's wife spending all his money. Typical.

Next we did the Coliseum and Roman Forum. So neat. I didn't really know what the Roman Forum was. We were easily spotted as English speakers and were recruited for a tour. We were so glad we did it because we really learned a lot. I had read books about the Coliseum, so it was fascinating and a little surreal to be standing in it.




As with the whole trip, we walked A LOT. You all know by now, I am a quality time girl. Let me tell you, this trip was some amazing quality time. Adam and I had such a good time together. We were not distracted or had any technology to get in the way. Can I stay forever???

Vatican

We spent our first day in Rome at the Vatican. I have tried to sit down and write this several times but haven't been able to, so I thought it would be easier to do a pictorial tour. Here it goes. We started at the Vatican museum. The art was absolutely beautiful. This was just a random hallway. It all looked like this. Wow.


Plaza outside the Vatican Museum. The courtyard was so pretty. We sat outside for a long time just taking it all in.


This is how we looked most of the time with the tour book out. We were total tourists. The book gave us good information about the paintings so we felt like we could appreciate it more.


This was Adam's favorite painting. I don't remember why. Ask him, he can tell you.


We ended in the Sistine Chapel, which was incredible, but we couldn't take pictures. No Rachel, I didn't take a covert picture. I'm a rule follower. Up next is St. Peter's Basilica. Gorgeous.

We climbed to the top of St. Peter's. Whoa. I am afraid of heights. The guide book said, "narrow stairs, not good if claustrophobic". Let me tell you, that is a major understatement. It was tiny. Adam touched both sides most of the time and had to duck. The view was worth it though. Like 500 stairs too. No elevator for us! We're hard core. Excuse the ugly picture. And outfit.

This is view from the top of St. Peter's square. I loved the statues lining the whole thing. We could see so much of Rome.


The inside of the basilica which is all mosaic. I remember making mosaics in art in high school and it could take 2 weeks to make a square foot masterpiece. I can't imagine how long this took. Not to mention, it is really, really high. Terrifying .


Front of St. Peter's. Again, we sat in the square to take in the scenery. The Vatican was incredible and should be added to the must see list of everyone.

Roma Day 1/2

Grab a cappuccino and join us. When thinking about a vacation, I always feel I will have lots of time to blog. Let’s be real, I just don’t. First of all, I am in this amazing country and don’t want to take time to write on my computer. I would rather explore the sights. I have a bit of time now, even though it is after midnight, to write down my thoughts.

Italy is amazing. Adam and I really love it here. We love the culture, the beauty, the cappuccino, the food, the people. It has been great to us so far. Everyone we have encountered has been pleasant and helpful. We are in Perugia now, with our friends, so that is a totally new love. This post will be about our time in Rome though.

Happy Birthday Rachel! My sister turned 27 today! We got to skype and sing to her and everything. Hope you had a great day!

We took an overnight flight and got into Rome at 7:15am. Wow, that is early. Anyone who knows me, knows I NEED my sleep. I’m cranky and just no fun to be around. No comments on this fact please. I already know and am working on it. Let’s just say I think I have handled it like a champ. Props to me. Moving on. We started being tourists at 7:25 after no more than 3 hours of sleep. So we get off the plane and are greeted by this man who wants to bring us to our hotel. Of course my alarm goes off because I just spent the last 7 hours reading our guide book that says never ride with someone who asks. Well there is no way to call our hotel and we don’t have their number to use our cell. I know, not very smart on our part. Plus, there are two Park Marriotts and I have looked at each so much when deciding where to stay, I forgot which one we chose! So nice man we decide to ride with even though we know we shouldn’t, calls our hotels to figure out where we are staying. Or we think he does. We don’t know Italian. The one he called doesn’t have us booked so he drives us to the other hotel. I’m panicked because I think I don’t have to name right and we are going to have to pay this guy then hire someone else to bring us to where we are actually booked. Amazingly, we ended up and the right hotel and I don’t even think we got scammed. Point, Adam and Sarah. Our nice hotel lets us check in at 8 am and drop off our stuff. We were far enough out of the city that we had to take a shuttle in than left every two hours. We signed up for our 10 o’clock shuttle and went to see our room. It really was perfect. We did the Vatican on day 1, but I am really tired now, so I will have to blog more later. The Vatican seems too daunting now that is is after 1 am. Good night. Another day of being tourists tomorrow.

Sneak peak of the Vatican... nice outfit, I know. Colder than I expected.

Roma!

Trevi fountain making a wish

Colosseum

Colosseum

Panini and 12th cappuccino of the day, yum

Top of St. Peter's

Top of Rotunda in St Peter's. Yes, I'm afraid of heights.

St Peter's Basilica in Vatican

Our first meal

Some Randomness

Adam and I leave for Europe on Friday and today is my last day to pack. I work 12 hour shifts Wednesday and Thursday. So what do I choose to do? Well not much. I just really hate packing. Instead I'm sitting on the couch blogging and watching the movie New in Town. Sounds logical right? Adam's class got canceled today, so we lounged and watched the snow. Well, I went to the woman doctor for my annual at 7:50 this morning. Isn't that so early to go to the doctor? Then I got back in bed when I got home. We were supposed to run 9 miles today but didn't due to the aforementioned snow. We were lazy instead. We did go get stuff to pack for our Italy friends from their parents though, so I feel a little more prepared for the trip after that.

The Bachelor finale last night. Wow. Rough choice Jake. Let's see how long he lasts with Vienna. I'm guessing not long after he figures out he won't have any friends because no one likes her. She abrasive. Whatever. He'll see in time. I'm not much of a Jason and Molly fan, but I'm sure I will watch the wedding. Well I guess I will DVR it because we will be in ITALY!

Colby is still injured. In case your forgot, he got a thorn in his foot at our ranch in Texas over Thanksgiving. Yes, that was a long time ago. He started limping Friday night so I got totally freaked out. Turns out he just had an acorn stuck between his toes on his hurt foot and couldn't get it out because we had his Elizabethan collar on so he wouldn't lick his wound. That was making him limp. Once we got that out he was fine. But I still wanted it checked since it has been so long since the injury. Adam took him to the vet Saturday morning while I worked. Colby is back on antibiotics and got the wound cultured. We're waiting to hear back as to if we will switch antibiotics. I am so ready to get this behind us. It literally hurts me to see him hurting. I can't imagine when we have kids. Rachel was lucky enough to get the brunt of my panic attack and is graciously watching him the first weekend we are gone then Susan is taking over after that. I'm so thankful for both of you!

My grandma turned 94 the day before yesterday. My grandpa's birthday is at the beginning of the month, so he likes to joke about how much younger she is. Well grandpa, she caught you. Now you can share 94. I hope I'm as lucky as them to have Adam at 94. I love them more than words could ever express.

Don't forget about Street GRACE! I really hate soliciting for money, but I feel very strong about this ministry and want to help. The link is in the side bar. Thanks!

Well, I think that is about all my thoughts for now. I should not update again before we leave because frankly I don't have time. We will update from Italy once we get there. So excited!!!

FlavoRx

FlavoRx is what we use at Publix to flavor medications. We have this competition between stores as to who can flavor the most liquid medications. I must say, they smell great. We are trying to get you to flavor to add items to our totals and to win the competition, but I would do it if I ever got any liquids which makes me not feel to bad laying it on thick to people why they should spend $2.99 for it to taste better. All that to say, my pharmacy is #2 in all of Publix! Woohoo! Over 900 stores. So my pharmacy partner and I were celebrating and I told Adam all excitedly that we were doing so well. He responded with, "Well what do you get?". Pride and joy Adam. That's apparently all we need. Nothing like getting excited about something very work specific and having someone in the outside world burst your bubble. That's the funny thing about work. All things that seem to be big issues at work usually don't matter to the outside world. I sometimes get so caught up in the goings of work that I think everyone else's world should feel it to. Good reminder. Doesn't matter. There are bigger things than flavoRx (I would still like bragging rights though), angry and mean customers, or job issues of any kind.