100th Post Q and A

*Ahem*
Pardon the interruption, but this post (yes this one right here) is my 100th post! Who new that since I started on this journey in November, I'd have 100 things to say. Granted a few of them were pretty lame (like the one about how my cat had a girlfriend). Some of them were fairly dramatic, like when Boy's jerk roomate left me a passive aggressive note.* And, of course, there is the series of free weekly therapy with Not Me! Mondays.

Over the course of these past few months, I have met some great bloggy friends and really enjoyed getting to know snid-bits of everyone's life. And, of course, I've shared some details of my life with the blog-o-sphere as well. But, perhaps there is more you want to know (or, you may want to say- "Littlesack, you and your blog are lame...and I don't want to know anything else about you"). But, if its the former, and you have some questions, I'd love to provide some answers. (Mostly) anything is free game.

I'm looking forward to reading your questions!






*HUGE news on this front, remind me to tell you later!!

Not Me Monday!

I haven't done a Not Me! Monday in awhile, but I've been saving up some good ones.

In case you haven't been introduced to Not Me! Monday, yet, here are a few details. This fun game originated with MckMama. Here are the rules to playing, but in sum, you just list a lot of things you "didn't" (read: actually did) do this weekend/past week. All in the name of admitting that we all make mistakes and aren't perfect.

This past week...

I certainly did not drop a tampon out of my pocket at a restaurant on my way to the restroom. Upon my return, I did not watch the waiter, bend over to pick it up, realize what it was, hesitate, and then say, "ooooohhhhh noooooo." Certainly not.

While in Venice I most definitely did not have a gluten attack in the middle of a museum tour. I was not pacing back and forth, sweating, waiting for the feeling to go away while doubled over in pain. I was definitely not the last person up the stairs and to the bathroom. I did not have to approach the woman at the front of the line and explain that, this was, in fact, an emergency, and could I please step in front of her. I did not have to wait what felt like an eternity until one of the stalls opened up, the entire time speaking broken Italian to the bathroom attendant trying to explain that if that stall did not open up in less than 2 minutes, it was going to be bad. No, that did not happen to me at all.

Last week at work, I clearly did not let another tampon fall out of my pocket in the middle of the hallway as I passed two coworkers chatting. When I walked down the hallway five minutes later, I did not see that little treasure sitting in the middle of the hallway, like a souvenir of my embarrassment since surely the coworkers saw me drop it, but weren't sure how to deal with that situation. Nope, not me.

And finally, in the midst of pmsing and day drinking, I did not beg Boy to drive me to the store to buy chocolate. I did not eat a king size Hershey bar. and I certainly did not finish it off with Sour Patch Kids. Nope, not me at all.

What didn't you do last week?!

Roma in Pictures

This is the second installment of my Italy vacation in pictures, this time of Roma.

Rome was our first stop on the tour and once I got all the cheesy puns - just "Romeing" around...and "when in Rome" --- out of my system, I was overwhelmed with the history and culture of Rome. One of my undergraduate degrees was in History and so the story of Rome was so amazing and it was difficult to realize that I was actually standing in the midst of places and buildings I had studied so intently.

I was raised Catholic, so going to the Vatican City really held special meaning for me. However, even if I wasn't Christian, or even religious, it is hard to deny the art work, craftsmanship and skill that went into building the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. Everything is Mosaic tile and centuries old paintings. I lack the words to describe it. Cameras aren't allowed into the Sistine Chapel, so I have nothing to share of it besides the fact that I could've spent an entire day in there staring and wondering and in awe of Michelangelo's creation. If you ever get the chance to go to Italy, you absolutely MUST visit.

This first picture (I originally posted when I got back), but it is of sun-light streaming into St. Peter's Basillica in Vatican City.

This is St. Peter's Square (and St. Peter's Basilica in the background) at night time. I'm not a huge fan of the way my shutter speed blurred the lights, but it was the best I could do. On the very right side of the picture, what looks like an apartment building is where the Pope lives!

This is a shot while inside the Vatican City (I'm not exactly sure where), but it is down a stairwell leading into St. Peter's Square. I like the light at the end.

The Trivoli Fountain. This is featured in many movies set in Rome. It's the famous fountain that you toss your coins into and make wishes for.

The Colosseum was unbelievable! I still can't get over how old it is and how steeped in history it is. (I also kept thinking that it would be a really cool place to have a modern concert). It was crazy to see the under ground tunnels where Gladiators roamed and even the cells where they and animals were kept. Pictures don't do it justice.

Simple, but I like it. A cross in the middle of the ruins of the Colosseum. (Sadly, it reminds me of a similar picture I have of a iron beam cross standing triumphantly in the midst of Ground Zero).

And, finally, this is a picture of my sister and me (I'm on the right in green) with the head waiter from our last night in Rome. This was the best meal I had in Italy. Two courses of gluten free pasta (one with the best pesto I have ever had in my entire life) followed by chicken with fresh tomatoes and (of course) gelato!! I wanted to stay and rent out a room above this restaurant, as long as this man would continue to feed me (of course the young, hot Italian waiter calling me "bella" all night, didn't hurt either).


Next Up: The Tuscan countryside.

Venice in Pictures...

I promised I'd give you more of Italy, so here it is. Venice was, by far, my favorite place we went. It beautiful, breathtaking and unbelievable. America has nothing as exquisite and almost impossible. The city felt like a fairy tale, with ancient characters and quaint views. I couldn't stop smiling in awe the entire time we were there.

We started our visit to the city with a water taxi ride down the Grand Canal. The weather could not have been more perfect, the sun was low on the water, the air was fresh and the breeze was refreshing. It was the perfect introduction to the perfect city.

This first picture is a snap i took from the water taxi- it is someone's balcony. My favorite part of Italy, in general, was that everyone decorated their windows with flower boxes and everyone had greenery and flowers on their balconies (even in the midst of Rome).

After the water taxi, we climbed into our gondola (with cute Gondolier). Luckily, my family was able to snag one with just us four, so it was a little more private. By now, the sun was setting on the water and the view was gorgeous.

This is a picture looking out of our gondola down a small canal.

Luckily, we were also serenaded in our gondola. On the bottom left of this picture you can see a man standing- he was singing opera as we were paddled through the the back canals.

I just like this shot (besides the fact that it has a man's tooshie in it). To me, it just captures the essence of the city- from the tall, statuesque Church in the background to the simple boating scene in the front.

And, finally, this is another picture I really liked, no particular reason, it just makes me smile. We finished the evening with dinner in a small restaurant where my sister and I were treated to delicious gluten free pasta and fabulous wine! The next day we explored Venice during the day, which included a glass blowing factory and beautiful glass jewelry. I purchased a necklace of lots of strands of tiny beaded glass featuring different strands of purple. I had never seen anything like it, and am saving it for something special. I try to snap a picture of it soon to share.

Next up: Tuscany & Rome!!

An Established Multitasker

This morning when I was out running, I passed a woman out for her morning walk with her curlers in her hair. I am all about multi-tasking and this woman was displaying multi-tasking at its finest: working out WHILE getting ready for work. I wanted to stop and congratulate her.

(And, while I'm not sure this is a look I would rock, it still made my morning).

I promise--more Italy stories and pictures this week, I've been trying to get them all organized.

And, I'm approaching my 100th post! Any thoughts on what I should do to celebrate?

random thoughts for a Friday

Yesterday at work I was updating my resume.

After deciding that "bitch work" was not an acceptable thing to put on a resume, I was at a loss.

I have an undergraduate degree and am one semester (hopefully) away from getting my Master's and these are the things I repeatedly do:

• Take meeting minutes
• Write meeting agendas
• Put numbers in charts. In fact, I repeatedly put different numbers in the same chart because someone can't figure out what data set they are supposed to use

Something is wrong with this picture. I'm hoping my lack of actual/real work is the fact that for most of the year I only work part time so its hard for me to get deep into projects. I hope, if not, I am being sorely underestimated.

On another note, remember when I told you that Boy was moving out? Well, he is currently looking for a place to rent short term, while looking for an actual place to buy and fix up. So, last night we went to check out a "basement apartment."

The house was in a really nice neighborhood and things were looking pretty positive. We walk into the house and the guy has two big dalmatians. Totally fine, Boy likes animals. Then, we are shown the "apartment."

I was under the impression that the basement was somewhat finished with hookups for bathroom fixtures that could be easily installed. Not so much!

First, not carpeted. Also, no dry wall on the walls--just concrete and insulation.

(okay, these are things I can get over and work around)

There are also not any hookups for bathroom fixtures.

Then, one of the dogs takes a poop, right in the middle of the basement!

(Now, I am trying to stay positive, but this is pretty ridiculous).

THEN...Boy and the guy are talking details and the other dog walks right up to Boy and PEES ON HIS LEG!

(This was completely ridiculous....something I only thought happened in movies and I was stunned).

Boy was pretty stunned too and as the guy went away to get a rag, Boy just started laughing and it was the kind of laugh that had it been me, it would have turned into a cry.

Boy was like, I can't stop laughing. If it had been too weeks later and he was really stressed about his living situation, I could see that laugh being the breaking point in his stress level. Luckily, it was just a road block.

And...back to square one.

Hope everyone has a good Friday and a FANTASTIC weekend.

My first Marathon in T- 125 days!

Eeeeeek! It seems so soon when I think about it. Today is the offical start of training for the Baltimore Marathon. It's an easy four miles. I'm sure I'll be blogging about it a lot.

Running a Marathon is something I've wanted to do since I ran my first half over six years ago, so it's time to bite the bullet and commit. By the end of it, I just really hope I'll be able to buy and proudly display that 26.2 sticker.

Italia in Six Pictures or Less.

I'm back from Italy and I could go on for pages about how FANTASTIC and BREATHTAKING it all was. I am still in awe of the beauty, architecture, and just outright wonder of the entire country.

Instead of words, I'll post a few of my favorite pictures (although it was REALLY hard to choose). and will share random stories over the next few weeks.

A view from up high on Capri looking down at the Coastline.

A shot of some Spirals on a church in Orvieto, a small medieval town in Tuscany.

The Vineyard and Olive Grove where we ate dinner (and drank their wine) in Montecarlo in Tuscany.

A beautiful shot that I feel really blessed to have gotten of the sun shining into St. Peter's church in the Vatican City.

A shot of a Gondolier in Venice. I have about 60 favorite pictures from this city, but I'll just post one.
And finally, a picture of a fruit stand from Sorrento. How red are those cherries?!

So, what did I miss while I was away?!