the greener grass

Its been said everything in Italy tastes better than anywhere else..and sometimes in a sorry defence of our own country pride we attempt to argue this fact. After two weeks of living in Italy Id have to say that its true..Who are we kidding ..I already knew this but but thought its just holiday food..everything is better on holiday.
But its been two weeks that I've cooked for my family at least twice a day and Id have to admit that everything is much much better. Some how I can keep the exact same things that I've cooked in UK or even in Aus as well and it just tastes completely better. How is that say..simply put ..all is better in Italia...
somehow the butter is better
the milk is creamer
the meat is softer
and the veggies actually have flavour.

Two nights ago I made Mexican food and although its difficult to find common ingredients such as soured cream and refried beans..and dont even think about looking for cheddar cheese, my Mexican dinner was by far the best Mexican meal I have ever made.
Maybe it was because I made the soured cream myself from scratch and pressure cooked and refried the beans myself. Or maybe its because provalone cheese is really better for Mexican food..I don't know but even the cheep tortillia chips were nicer than what Ive found in UK.

So whatever it is ..this is definanlty a win win for us...not our waste line but for our taste buds.

In some respects the grass is green on the other side... especially in the Italian kitchen!


Apparently Italians love cibo messicano too!!

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7 points about our first 10 days in Italy

I cant believe we have lived in Italy for just over a week..and more so I cant believe its been 5 days since my last post..wow ..I think I've lost myself somewhere between the vino, prosciutto, natale parti, coffee and ummmm general moving in.

Non the less I'm here and since I haven't much time I'll just post a few major points that I've noticed since moving to Italy....

1. The bloody Vino is something not to mess around with..after one glass I feel like I've had three or maybe four..goodness me ...walk a straight line..walk a straight line..line a straight walk...opps

2. Sky Italia are completely incompetent and overpriced..you know Im not a huge complainer when it comes to service..I go with the flow yet speak my mind to the persons in charge ..but SkY Italia are beyond understanding ...I paid 70EURO for instillation only for the instillation man to tell me it will cost me 25EURO an hour more for him to build a satellite post on the wall of my house since he couldn't get ot my roof safely..what and believe it or not ..non of the three balconies we have are suitable to face south properly...come on...and since it will be 25EURO an hour ..of course he estimates it will take him about 3 hours ..so thats another 75Euro Ill need to dish out..for a dish...haha I couldnt resist the pun....but if that wasn't enough ummmm he'll have to return to do the job as he doesn't have enough time to do it now...so we are still without proper tv and more importantly though proper internet and phone service ..siggghhh

3. Since we are on phone services...switching to our Italian phone numbers have never been so hard ...I suppose I can give thanks to my wonderful husband for this one as he didn't check to make sure our phones were unlocked..although they should be unlocked as we as we are no longer in contracts..well you know how that is ...so now we are still currently waiting for them to be unlocked..not to mention we have already opened our phone accounts here in Italy..siggghhh for paying for four phone numbers at one time!!

4. I really do think that those last 8 kgs Ive lost will be saying hello to me again pretty soon..I swear the food here in Italy is 10 times better than anywhere else I have ever lived. I know I should really not eat so much but sometimes you really cant help it...saying this as I push down my last spoonful of coffee gelato..mmmm

5. People of Viadana seem to keep a record of all people who move into the village.. apparently I am the talk of the street. soo the local fruit man says ...who conviently came to my door asking if I wanted to buy a box of oranges (which I did). How did he know where to come..oh apparently there was talk of me from the market Sunday about the foreigner with dark skin and has a baby with light skin that moved on to my road..wow..only 10 days ...word travels fast..not only that an elderly lady from across the road came by to visit after hearing I had moved in as well. Her friend (the owners mum) use to live in our house before she died and this woman wanted to see how I had fixed the place up..of course I couldn't say no.

6. Living next to the owners of your house could be annoying or pleasing...our owner Vando lives next door which means I often find him in my garden or using the spring tap on the side of the house to water his jug..why?? Non lo so! But since he is a very nice man I don't really mind as long as he remains nice. This was after all, his mums house and now he owns it so I think there are some sentimental ties to the house and I respect that..Today he paid me a visit ..as he does every other day to see how I like the house, seriously he asks me every time I see him if I like the house....which I later found out is because he really wants us to stay for a long time..the house has been empty for a few years after mum died as apparently no one can pay this amount of money to rent a house....shrugs...they should see house prices in London....

As he looked in the house he realised I didn't have anything to keep the draft out under the doors, so of course he decided it was his job to measure all doors and balconies in my house so that he could buy me something to keep the draft out..mind you I haven't felt a draft as of yet! But I just smiled and said thanks. After that he went on about how I needed rugs on the floors as marble and terracotta was too cold for a small child to play on..'yes Vando'...I have no intention to get rugs...I love looking at Italian floors too much to cover them up.

seriously would you cover these floors up?
I love them

7. I don't think I have ever had so much coffee in my life..when I had my first semi corporate job I would have a morning cappuccino, afternoon latte and then an espresso before going home ..and I thought wow this is alot of coffee...but now..I have eaten my words..I usually have a cappucinno in the morning, then an espresso in the afternoon..followed by a tea when I relax during Livvy's nap but if I have a guest then we always have un cafe...then of course after dinner we have another one...umm yeah this is typical Italian behaviour and I have no problem with sliding right into the tradition..but how did it happen..I have no idea..however somehow it feels completely normal ...I will also say that Italian coffee is nothing like anywhere else.......I remember when driving from the Uk ..the boys were really tired..as they had not slept but 2 or so hours for the entire 14 hour drive thus far..and so we stopped just after crossing from Switzerland to Italy..had a double macchiato..you would have thought someone had injected them with amphetamines directly into their veins..they were like two kids on the day after Halloween.


Im sure Ive missed something but I think Im too tired to write anymore.





well since Im still awake.....just a few more...

8. Everything in Italy takes about 5 times the amount of time it will take in any other normal country. We were prepared for this..well some what..so have only really been annoyed once so far ...which is really good..and well it was involving food..who doesnt get annoyed when hungry and waiting for food..now add in a hungry toddler..yep you have it..psycho house..this all because of course you cant eat until everyone has arrived for dinner..and as you have it three people were driving through the fog from Reggio Emilia to our house...tisk tisk..we did manage to finally eat at 10pm ...mind you dinner party was set at 7:00..hows that for tardiness..

9. THIS ONE IS FOR THE LADIES ONLY...MEN SKIP PAST TO THE NEXT ONE NOW!
For anyone who decides to move to Italy..and you are stuck in the situation to purchase..ummmm personal items..please learn the difference between assorbente igienico and anything that says urina or Lady on the front..trust me (look it up) ..there will be no happy hormonal days in the immediate future if you dont know the difference.

lucky number 10. I've found that Italians really do find our move fascination. They ask: How can you just move here...leave everything..with no family here? How can you just get a house or build a kitchen so fast? This usually take months for us... How can you drive here without stopping to sleep? are you crazy?? ...
and ohhhh if I have one more Italian ask me what I do for work..and then when they find out that I do not work ..they want to know why not if you have three university degrees, you can get a job surely...but how is that possiable..you have to work.. how can you live?
'è impossibile'
...and then if I tell them I haven't worked in over 4 years by choice they nearly fall off their seats..so Ive found that I'm really going to need to figure out a story to tell people so Italians can stop falling off their chairs or at-least stop staring at me with their mouths wide open in confusion.

Really would hate if something flew inside their mouths...
and on that note..Im off to bed!

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Discovering Viadana

It takes time to discover a new area. This is our 3rd country move and each time it has taken a few weeks for us to get to know the ins and outs of our area. But if you know anything about me you will know that I don't half do anything ..and Im a quick explorer..as my friend Fabio says... don't be so quit.. you're in Italy...now poor Fabio means quick not quit..hahaha but the meaning is the same..he reminds me that siamo in Italia ...and everything is slow..the meaning of life is to take things slow..its not about moving quickly and getting the most you can in a short amount of time..or getting more for your money...as some may attempt to do outside of Italy..but here its about having a good life and taking things one day at a time...unfortunantly when you want something now ..it really becomes annoying..so it will take even more time for us to adjust to this..but this is one of the primary reason we moved here.

As I took a stroll along our village I was thankful to live so close to the centre. We are literly a five minutes walk before you enter the centre of Viadana. Which comes in handy if G has the car of if I just need to get out of the house. Since I had not had excercise for 3 days I was feeling a bit of a lazy bum...

So livvy and I bundled up (yes its freezing) and we went for a stroll!!

The one thing I learned is that we need to learn our village hours. You don't think of these things when in Uk or Aus or USA...things open one time and then close another time and some just never close ...but we are speaking of Italy here..no every shop is equal..if it is the same name... Apparently we have learned that our village has siesta of some sort between 2pm-430pm when everything is shut and the reopens for dinner until about midnight or 11 or something similar. The shopping centres for food however close at 8pm and the petrol stations are always 24 hours self service..but full service in the day.. don't even need to get out of the car..I think I like that.
One thing I didn't expect but we learned quickly (and hungrily) is that non of the shops or restaurants are open on Monday evenings..we were really hungry and thought lets go out for dinner..ummm no everything is shut..not even a pizzeria..wow....

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siamo in Italia

Well what can I say!!

WE HAVE FINALLY MADE IT!

I should have updated this blog ages ago but then again it has been so insane the last two weeks I cant even remember my name ...let alone fine time to shower, sleep or anything else in my days. But finally times are becoming a bit less stressful and a bit more exciting each day.

Our journey started with at 17 hour drive which went quite well considering the attention span of most 23 month old toddlers. Id have to say my daughter is stellar and slept for about half of the journey, watched tv for a quarter of journey and probably cried the rest of it..hahahah however food helped her boredom when she begin to play up. I think she did well and very proud of her..

Myself I only lasted about 3 hours of the drive and left most of it up to G.....
I remember when we entered into Italy..it felt excited yet was a bit nervous if I'm honest..however each nerve was eased when we were asked if we wanted a cafe at the local bar. of course we did ..and after a drink and chat with the locals we were all happy and ready for the rest of our journey to Viadana...

No not Reggio Emilia...
No not Parma...

VIADANA!!

No we didn't choose Viadana as a place to live ..Viadana chose us.
If you would have asked me 2 weeks ago if I was interested in living in Viadana I would have no idea what or where you were talking about so am happy to say that we absolutely love our little village..When I say little Village it may be little to us but apparently it is the largest village in Italy...so makes me wounder why its not a town instead....Im sure Ill soon find out if I ask around.

We were blessed enough to finally find a house at the last second thanks to perseverance, great friendships and great friend of a friend of a friend..
Its true what they say...Its all about who you know in Italy..and this time I am very pleased that I know someone who knows someone else who knows a very good agent that found me a house that wasn't even on the market for rent.

We left Friday evening and drove through the night and arrived Saturday about 2pm. When we arrived to the house our agent wasn't in town so sent his friend to show us to our house. The funny bit was when we arrived everyone was there to welcome us. The owner of the house, his wife, his auntie, the next door neighbor to our right, his cousin, our agents friend and his girlfriend, and the local electrician. WOW..I had not expected to have a house full of people when we arrived. They were all so excited to meet us..however no one spoke English of course..was defiantly an experience..but we loved it..
As we walked into the house we got our first reality of how huge it actually was...absolutely amazing to finally have a house that we love, I must admit we did love our house in Kent but this house would be different type of love though. There were admittedly things we didn't like ...but they are so small that the amazing things outweigh the small niggles. The only major thing was that it didn't come with a kitchen..yes a completely bare room..with only four pipes and tubes coming from the walls so that you were able to install your own kitchen..its such a strange experience when you think of a house that doesn't come with a kitchen..very foreign to us..but in Italy is normal. But this is something we knew before moving in so not something we could complain about..we had prepared to make arrangements for a new kitchen before we arrived. Fabio (our agent) agreed to take us around to help us with finding something that we could get in our kitchen very fast as most kitchens take 1-2 months just to have them put in..when you think about the electrician, and gas technician, then have the fittings done, and then build the kitchen for you. THEN INSTALL IT.

Like I said its all about who you know in Italy..and he happens to know someone at the factory/shop for furniture..so we were able to buy a kitchen and have it installed within a few days..however the only thing with this is our selection was very limited..so much so we only had two kitchens to choose from with only a few minor adaptations we were able to make to it if we wanted within a few days...so since I didn't want to wait a week for this or a month for that...all so simple but..meh siamo in Italia!!

I quickly choose the kitchen I liked and bought it. Then became the problem that the kitchen is set up in the opposite of my kitchen..the sink is on the opposite side to where my pipes are..mehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
We were able to fix this ..with a hearty 300EURO price tag of course..as we have to have the gas man come out and extend the pipe..which adds another day on top of everything...So as it stands I should receive my new kitchen Wednesday or Thursday...but they are to start on everything Wednesday morning..I do hope they finish Wednesday and I can cook a lovely meal that evening ..how nice would that be...
Especially considering we have had pizza for the last two evenings.. I'm ready for a home cooked meal. But I will say ...pizza has never been sooooo good.


Now that we have been here for two nights...I can say it does feel like home. We are nearly settled in and hope once the kitchen arrives we can finally get settled. But I do think it will take another week just to catch up on my sleep..early mornings and late nights ...Im feeling the pain of no sleep today..

Doing what they do best in the car on the way to Italy..I didnt have the heart to wake them up!

the perfect little passenger

A sneak peak of my new kitchen that Ive just ordered! oooo excited!

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ci risiamo

Well here we ago again...We are now on to applying for our third house..And sadly to say this is the house that we have loved the least..but what can one do when time has come to a crunch..you sort of have to take what you can get..Now we just just pray that we get this house that we dont really like very much ..and then we pray that maybe we will fall lin love with it when we arrive.

When things have become such you sit and think about the actions that you are taking and wonder if it is all worth it..traveling so far..learning a new language and leaving all of your friends behind..and then having a little one changes things too..I am also taking her away from all of her little friends that she love so very much...all to move into a drabby house with a 1940's kitchen..yes with orange cupboards and all..but when I weigh up all of my options and look at the pros and cons I sitll believe this is the best choice for our current lives.
And a rental house is as temporary as you want it to be. We have decided that if we actually are offered this house then we will take it with thanksgiving and work with what we have...all the while take our time to find the perfect house that we can move into after the winter cold is over..but for now ..we just would like a house to live in with heat and electricity.

It could be alot worse I continue to tell myself and so with that I feel completely blessed.

Last night I was reminded of the people I will miss and those who have supported our decision to move even if they didn't like it or if they didn't understand...each and everyone of them I will dearly miss for sure...especially after t he send off they gave me last night full of food and cocktails..who could wnat more!!
Roll on packing with only 6 days before the big move!! I even got homemade cupcakes..how lovely

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Scambio Bella

Its been an odd 2 weeks since my last post and so much has happened since then I couldn't even put into words how much has changed ...even if I desired to do so.
Lately my feelings have been a bit trampled on and with a sprinkle of crushed dreams to to top it off but somehow I'm still here standing on top of the world. As much that has gone wrong my desire to live in Italy hasn't changed.

The title of my post today is Scambio Bella...or beautiful Exchange....

Ive been thinking about this for awhile and yesterday at church we sung of of my favourite songs..of course leaving me thankful for what I do have instead of the things I do not have..for everything that was given to me when I definantly didn't deserve it.

As it seems that nothing in this world is given for nothing...nothing for free or given on faith and nothing for just the love of mankind.. at least not from anyone of of us on this earth now. Of course we are taught this as children and we are slapped in the face with remembrance when we are young adults as we take a naive and blind step towards something we desire.

At 33 years of age I'm still amazed how I can be slapped around like a young girl. But you know in life you cant give up on humanity or else we have nothing to stand for.

All for the sake of money...Ive had a veterinarian tell tales all to gain more pounds flowing out of my pockets into her pet surgery...and as a result we have been place in the position of either taking a risk of traveling with cat across the EU boarder and hoping no one realises the mishap on his passport or either give him to a willing family who will love him...you might say well its only a cat..but this was the cat of my daughter's first birthday whom which she loves dearly..even at the tender age of 2.

And today just as things seem to fall deeper into a pit..we were told that the house we have been waiting on contracts to rent was no longer offered to us..WHY?
Because the owner did not feel she could trust us...I could understand this, really I could... that's if I actually believed the estate agent..Lets think of this for a moment... foreigners ringing up wanting to rent my house whom I have nothing on, no assurances that they would pay the rent..on time or at all.
But there were never any questions ask, never any reference requested, yet the decision was based on passports and an email conversation. They could have asked for rent for a year in advance and we probably would have provided it, they could have asked for references and we would have given them in Italy, UK, and Australia, ring around our employment references or previous agents and they will testify that each house we have lived in was actually in better condition when we moved out than before we actually moved in as we have a tendency to fix things up on our own.

Not to toot my own horn or blow my own recorder but I do believe that we are far more honest than the average Matteo, Giuseppe, and Maria. Yet somehow we appeared to be dishonest somehow. So as the anger seeped in like a creepy scorpion I had to relish on the Beautiful Exchange..

Relishing that not everyone or everything in this life is disappointing as it may seem over the last few days or weeks.

Relishing that so much has been given for my freedom, for my salvation, for my happiness, even so that I may be educated and so that my dreams may have a chance to blossom.

Now generally I try not to be too in depth, personal or super spiritual in this particular blog..but sometimes there is an overflow of the heart that is a reckon to be forced with...

In the past two weeks I've wept with friends who were deeply suffering, prayed for calmed souls of the bereaved.
These are people who just in the last two weeks have lost a parent at such a young age, unexpectedly lost an unborn child, lost their homes due to a storm and has had a husband walk away from their marriage.

How can one complain or sit in sombre in the face of such disasters and turmoil?
So even though my heart is truly broken for those who are lonely, hurting and grieving, I am honest when saying the my heart still yearns to know the outcome of our Italian future...but I know that there is a bigger picture within all of this.

So what happens now..for now who knows ..but for sure I will continue to be thankful for the beautiful exchange. Knowing that some things are free in life..and some things are given just for the sake of humanity.

In case you are interested in the song that lead this post...here is a video of my church singing it..with lyrics and all!

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BUON HALLOWEEN...an update!

Where have I been..what have I been up to?? More importantly why have I been so behind with updating this blog. Well who knew it would take so much to move house in just 6 weeks. If you know me you will see that I am an organisational freak. Weird as with most things I'm pretty much laid back..but I like to have all things organised. As with Italy..you really cant organise much ..its like trying to keep a toddler organised 24hours a day..just impossible. There are always unspoken rules and regulations in Italia..and then you have the things that people forget to tell you decide to change at the last minute.
Throughout this all we have remained positive and pretty much thought what will be will be.
At the moment we have found the perfect house for our family and even has a bus nearby that takes Gareth directly to Parma for work. How amazing. This entire situation couldn't have happened so perfectly..but when things are so perfect sometimes its like you are just waiting for things to fall apart...as perfection is impossible in the world. At the moment everything is perfect. However we aren't able to sign anything until we have received our Codice Fiscale. So Gareth cant even sign his employment contracto ...which means without a contract we really haven't secured our house. At the moment we are earnestly praying to receive this silly little tax code so that his contract can be written and we can finally have the ok for the house that we desire.
So for those who are reading this ..pray pray pray for us..send us your good juju as they say..we need it!!
Im confident that we will be taken care though..no matter what happens..I know it will happen it just depends on how frustrating it will be when it happens..hahahaha
In an ideal world things would be perfectly smooth and details laid out for us all in advanced..umm yeah...WE CHOSE ITALY TO LIVE... IMPOSSIBILE!!!

So where does that leave us now??
Incredibly excited. We currently have 4.5 weeks till move date...removalists secured...packing will commence this weekend and have started to sell of things we don't need or want. So thing are happening on our end. However still waiting for my British Passport..which we are hoping will arrive in the next two weeks.

I promise to update more often..well cant really promise much with all the packing I need to get done..hahaha..but will definitely try.
baci! off to carve more pumpkins!
BUON HALLOWEEN

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negatività

Now that things are starting to settle down I've come to the conclusion that in reality it really isnt...its one of those things when you finally have a realisation of what is going on. The fact that we are actually moving in 6 weeks is starting to sink in...so along with that everything that I've researched, studied and gained knowledge about moving has come to surface..

oh we need this
no wait what about this
oh how will we do this and that ...and how will this and that over there work out..

Oh dear Ive worked up a sweat..I need a glass of wine!!

(20 MINS LATER)

pheeww...okay Im back... overwhelmed by just thinking of it all again..now that Ive had my dose of red ...I can think and type a bit more clearly...

In an attempt not to overwhelm you all I shall only speak of one matter ...people..yes indeed....living breathing flesh peeling humans...

Why are so many people so negative when it comes to things they don't understand or things they may have failed with...or even things they have successed with in a different manner?

I have heard time and time again....
'jess you cant do this...
or jessa that is imposable...it will never happen this way'
'or we don't do it that way here...or it just doesn't happen like that'

I truly believe that those who believe in something much greater than what is on this earth can simply make anything is possible..but more than that..we as humans have been given enough complexity between our ears to figure out ways around impossoablities...so why are so many people so fearful of just giving things a go...

I heard negativity when I chose Gaz as my husband...yes its true... was told it would never last... They were wrong..

I heard it when we moved to Uk...no you cant do it that way it wont work....They were wrong

I heard when I studied Italian...you cant learn in that format..They were wrong.

Gareth was told it was imposable for him to get a job in Italy as we weren't currently living there..and no one hires foreigners outside of the country let alone someone who cant speak Italian... They were wrong

Just recently we have continuously receive negativity...even down to potty training my daughter..which I must say I am completely proud of her 3 day potty training success...yes love her!!

But most relevantly ..we are now being told that we will never ever find a house until we go to Italia temporarily first ..then we will find something later and can move into something a bit permanently. Now don't get me wrong, not everyone has given us negative responses to this..and we have gotten some great advice on how we can make it happen and some great alternatives..so Im very tankful for those people who have shared their stories and advice. And I know I am not an expert on all things Italy..so I do take what people say wholeheartedly as experience and advice..I aslo know it will be a challenge and very very slim that we will find a house before we move...but why is everyone so indisputable that it will never ever happen.....

Its great to give people advice and help out anyway you can but if a person wants to try then allow them to. I have been told .. don't even bother .. don't waste your time..no one will every give you a batted eye..which may be so..but isn't it worth a go?? And if it doesn't happen.. wouldn't you rather you took a chance..I mean nothings loss really is it?

meh...rant over.. I'm sure you get where I'm going with all of this..the point of this post is that I'm bloody hard-headed and determined about the things I want in life..and I go after them whether people agree or not..and I never count something unsuccessful as a failure....its all an experience. Things didnt unfold the way we thought they would or had hoped when we first started this journey but wow....where we are now and where we are going is completely unexpected and new..so we are ready for the ride...

I do take advice...and choose wisely the paths I took..Im no silly wonka or street novice...but life is meant to be enjoyed as I said on another blog...why not live it to the fullest!

Now back to my wine and cat rubbing..

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l'impossibile è possibile

Wow has it really been a month since my last post..oh so it has..well better late than never. And this post is so worth it. I stayed far away from posting for the main reason of well..if I didn't have anything constructive or positive to say then I thought best not say anything at all..blah blah blah..how many times have our parents or guardians told us that..well umm I never listened. This time however I decided to be a good girl.

I began to feel a bit resentful of my desires and hopes ...dreams of moving to Italy and not seeing this happened put me in a bad place. So that moment on I decided to just forget about it. To be thankful for what I had here in the UK. After all we had only just moved here four years ago from Australia. I have great friends, a nice house ..the weather sucks but I suppose you just work around it for the most part. But just as soon as I began to have peace about staying in the UK longer than we desired is when everything started to change.
Gaz received a call about 4 weeks ago from an Agent that he had never even met in Milano. The agent explained that he had been refereed by another colleague that we had previously been in touch with. They discussed a job opportunity that seemed far too good to be true. The location was perfect, the money was excellent and the company was wonderful. Not to mention the project in itself would further Gazza's career well beyond where he is at the current moment.

After 4 long weeks of waiting he finally made his way to Parma today and met with the company after many phone interviews this was the meeting that would either seal the deal or cause it all to fall apart. And just as perfectly as it could have been the meeting defiantly sealed the deal as he was offered a contract almost instantly and now I have never been so happy to say that we finally have a moving day to Italy. Although Im not sure if we will actually live in Reggio Emilia or Parma itself ..they are so close to each other it really doest matter to be honest.

So as it stands 6 weeks before we move..wow how did this actually all happen so fast..Im still in shock.

Look at my happy face when I received the news!

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book review: ASK ME IF I'M HAPPY!

I do believe I said that I will do a few book reviews from time to time..however the last two books prior to reading this one well....Im still thinking about how I feel about them..

However I finally finished a book titled: Ask me if Im happy by: Kimberly Menozzi.

When I started reading the book I knew that I needed to finish it but then as life takes hold you always tend to break at the most unwanted of times..and now that Im back onto my reading frenzy I have finally finished reading it.

So what did I think?

LOVED IT! A great romance novel which gives true perceptions of Italy.

Ill try to explain why without giving any of the storyline away....

Firstly I loved the suspense in the beginning of not knowing what was going on with the main character (Emily). The great thing is that it is so well written that you get a sense of her personality within the first chapter. You are able to actually understand how she would respond to a situation which was great.

The second lead character (Divide) is equally as great and well I must admit from first description I wanted to jump through the book myself just to grab hold and snog him...and um..cough cough..yeah .....but well ...just a book eh!! SHAME

Immediately I wanted these two to end up together and thought if they don't end up together I'm going to be angry. What I wasn't prepared for was the bumps in the road that came along with reading this book and well there were a few surprise and sexy bits that left me sweating.

I did find that at the later part of the book I got to a point of thinking..what now..there is nothing else that can happen..its all done for ..and then had a look and noticed I had only read about 75% of the book. I couldn't for the life of me think of what else could come within the storyline..but of course the author comes up with something unthinkable that ties everything get together.

I particularly loved the usage of Italian language in the book and the descriptions of food and scenery. If I had not spent so much time in Italy I wouldn't understand so much yet had Id never been I would be just as delighted to feel as though I was right there through reading this story. Its almost like you could imagine yourself sipping a cappuccino and having dinner right in the heart of Bologna. This is a great talent credited to the author because though other books I've read recently descriptiveness have become invaluable it seams. However in this book its just enough not to bore you but leave you wanting to know more. Although there is a fair bit of Italian written, you don't feel left out on what is going on..it is very well written for anyone to follow along however I did become confused a few times whether the person was actually speaking in Italian and it was being translated or either they were actually speaking in English. I didnt really care all that much to try and work it out as the storyline kept me occupied.

So what didn't I like??


Ive mentioned before that towards the later part of the book it did feel like it was going to drag on but it really wasnt so much that Id rate the book as a serious negative ..just a small niggle that I noticed. However It did pick up quickly.

Id also have to say that the character Emily frustrated me at times...I wanted her to just get over it and move on ...or see things from a different perspective...really I wanted her to just grab hold and take what she wanted..NO what she deserved.
Her personality really reflected her pain which she allowed to rule her life..but really in reality this happens all the time to the best of us ..so while I say that she frustrated me ..in a sense it was probably because she is so real and authentic. Not a perfect girl who has been hurt and has it all sorted out or simply wallowing in her sorrows..but someone who is just figuring out how to move on and be happy. Maybe her stubbourness was too much to bear as it resembled a bit of myself..hmmmm something to ponder!

All in all ..should you waste your time reading this book?

DEFINANLTY! ABSOLUTELY!!

Once you start ...and work your way through a few of the saucy bits ..you will have no choice but to finish.

get your copy of this fab book here!!!

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Two minds at once

I've been away..yes I know ..first in Italia but then decided that I didn't want to post more winging and wines SNOOOORRREE...Its completely known that Id much rather be in Italy right now and since it isn't happening at this present moment Id rather post about the good times rather than the wishful thinking crybaby posts that seem to over take my thoughts at present...

Firstly I'll say how amaazzzing my last trip to Italy was...it was a completely different experience than usual. Instead of staying with my friends and family there we decided to hire a car and find somewhere on our own to stay. This proved to be just what we needed as our perspective of us moving to Italy has changed tremendously. We now have a greater appreciation for the Emilian Apennines. For most who know me..know that I am a beach girl at heart..after all, my all time favourite place in the world is Santa Cruz, California. Which hosts about 10 beaches throughout the city.
As much as I love the beach I have fallen almost ....yes almost just as in love with this particular area of Emilia Rogmania.

From the beginning of our journey to move to Italy we presumed that we would be only and always moving to Reggio Emilia as we have a special love and bond to the city. But on this trip we stayed in Viano which is only a short 15 min drive through the huge hills and dare I say mountains from Reggio Emilia. We then drove to Casina which was a short 30 min drive from Reggio Emilia and then finally driving to Castelnuovo Ne' Monti...which was um about 50 mins..give or take.

As we spent 4 days driving to these small towns we passed through many other villages, up and down mountains and hills, peered at large beautiful house..and some very very strange looking houses I must say as well. I saw for the first time the true countryside of Italy.
I think I must have fell in love with it at first glance which is a very very rare thing for me as I'm the over zealous analyst who has to figure out every detail of something before I can commit to loving or hating it. But I can honestly say that my heart was left within those hills as we returned to England.

We finally come to the conclusion that living within one of the small towns we drove to or through would be much more what would work for us, and now that we have come to that conclusion it makes moving so much more difficult as now we would like to experience more of the countryside before deciding where to finalise our location.

However one realisation we came to was that we may very well not even have an answer to that question (which village or town shall we move to) before we move so we are open and prepared to make changes in our decision even after we make the move.

Now that we have returned to the Uk, we are thankfully blessed with lovely warm days and cool nights..you know the ones where you curl up under the duvet with a nice book.
Well that's what Ive been doing for the last few weeks ..since I cant be in Italy I've decided to just read about it.. whether its historical Roman legends, ex-pact journals to Italy, or even romance novels about finding love in Bologna.

I've decided to not waste time wishing and hoping I was there or why our dreams haven't happened but to be thankful the the dream is still alive and that we have the means and ability to make it happen as we choose.

Now that Gaz is working again we have a new scale, plan, hope, dream, path, expectation ??? ...whatever you want to call it and which ever path God has chosen for us we are ready for the ride...

Look out Italia 2013 here we come....!

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Love hate relationship

Sometimes I feel like Italia and I have a love hate relationship! For the most part it's full of love but sometimes it's pure hate!
Tonight I was reminded of that sort of hate that completely slaps you in the face! Sort of slaps you in an Italian style slap...you know like kisses goodbye, not just once on the check but once on each side and then a third kiss for good luck as they say in Italy! Slap slap and slap again!
Each sides of my face was burning red!
Firstly I was jerked about with our B&B, so we finally decided to stay in a halfway decent apartment in the city which we left upruptly once we were rudely told by the owner that we were stupid for wanting an apartment with a separate room so that we could enjoy our evenings when our daughter went to sleep! He said I rather loose money than do weird business like this so I'll just give you a studio apartment on the ground floor instead as you should be sleeping in the same bed with your baby anyway... Funnily enough he started to change his mind and chased after us as we walked out! So we moved pn and spent the next three hours looking dor something sutable, call me snobby but the holiday is just isnt going to cut it!
Finally thanks to zia Vanna we found a perfect place in the hills of Albenea over looking the city of reggio emilia!

So off to dinner we went were I was studiedly probed into believing that rissotto with strawberries would be a fab idea by my waiter here in albenea! "Rissoto con fragole e stupendo!"

Mehhh it was amazingly vile! My nearly 2 year old whose favourite food is risotto wouldn't go near it! If that wasn't enough the table behind us spoke about us in Italian with insults! To which they thought I didn't understand! They moved their bags and silk jackets making comments about my daughter touching them! As she was moving about a fair bit! They also commented about "my kind of people"! Every time my daughter walk around our table near there's they would clinch there bag which were on the back of their chairs and even gave comments to each other at the table as to say hey watch your bags or jacket, implying we would go through them or something?? I'm not sure as I didn't understand all so I just wanted to leave and let my good friend speak up for me!
But as we took or bill we realised that my daughter was charged a sitting charge! We have come accustomed to paying a sitting charge in Italy but really for a 1 year old who didn't make a mess, didn't fuss about and sat in our lap for majority if the time...and most important she didn't eat anything! And on top of that they charged us for the horrible risotto that they suggested an insisted on yet we couldn't stomach! After already feeling deflated I had to deal with this mess which ended with a full on blow out with my friends and the owner and cashier at the restaurant! Naturally o stood there doubfounded as they talke far too fast for me to understand anything!
As if we needed anything else to cause the table of old silken bats to hate us any more! It was horrific!
Then as we were standing outside having one last over view of the situation between us (after we have paid of course) the cashier kindly brought us €2 for my daughters sitting fee...maaaaa vaffanculo!!

15 minutes of arguing with the cashier followed by three more cigarettes!! Not by me of course!!!! After refusing to take the money we happily filled or bellies at the gelateria!

See it was a happy ending after all!

So now I'm cuddled in my bed at the best little agriturismo I've ever experienced! We love or apartment and we love everything about this place! We feel at home! So as I feel deflated, embarrassed, worn out and insulted I still feel loved!

Dear Italia we really need to work on our relationship tomorrow!
Love always Jessa!

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home away from home

I cant believe I haven't put my thoughts onto paper in so long...sad I know. But the world just goes by so fast sometimes it leaves my eyeballs spinning in its socket. No really I could imagine my eyes twisting back and forth behind themselves if I didn't just sit and be still every so often. It seems however that I've been sitting more often then Id like to. I hate sitting. I hate waiting and not knowing what's going on or if things will ever turn out the way we plan them to. I suppose its more of an adventure but then on the other end it really does annoy me.

Lately Its been more annoying than that sense of adventure where you cant wait for the next thing to happen in life. So the adventurous little girl in me has decided to do something as I really do miss taking leaps of faith. In that leap we as in Gaz and I decided it would be a very good idea to drive to Reggio..after all what is the best way to get something out of your head pestering you over and over..just give in right..hahahaaha
Knowing that the drive is over 13 hours, we thought meh....why not then..however we only came to this decision at about 1pm deciding to leave the following morning. Needless to say at nearly 11pm we came to the conclusion that flying would be better so end the end we have now booked a 5 day trip to Reggio. Not really long enough feel sad (as we wish we were living there) but long enough to enjoy her great beauty.

So uncomfortably I haven't any relevant information at the moment except Im overly excited to see my home away from home...Reggio

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heart to heart

Just a little update on what is going on with us ...Ive been very ill for the last week and was taken to Emergency hospital yesterday. Today is a better day as I am home resting and I have alot less pain and starting to be able to eat. Thankfully I was not having cardiac arrest which is what all the doctors thought I was. They even said my heart, blood pressure, insuline, and blood works are perfect.. in fact better than perfect. That made me feel good about what I have been doing lately as I am on a journey to loose 20lbs before we move to Italy as well as grow 4 inches of hair before we go... that's another story..anyway

The short end of the story is I was in alot of pain for 3 days ..could not even get myself out of bed and my chest had spasms of frequent pain. If I tried to eat or drink It would hurt so much I cried.

The doctors believe that I have torn a muscle near my stomach and near my surgical area. 6 years ago I had a Gastric Laproscopic Band put in so that I could loose weight despite my disease that causes me to put on excessive weight and causes my insulin to be resistant. I also have a metabolic disease which makes my metabolism nearly stop. So anyway Ive lost almost 100lbs to this day but the not so good part about this that because I tore a muscle (we think) near my stomach it has affected my surgery and to a point where I could not eat, drink or even swallow my own saliva for 2 days.

I was rushed to hospital and after all the tests done they determined it was definantly muscle related and possibly a virus as well. So was given a steroid shot and muscle relaxer. Was also given some pretty sweet pain killers. So I went home buzzing ..but about an hour after I returned home I was able to drink a cup of tea..and then later even had a few bites of food. Then had a spoonfuls of pumpkin soup for dinner. This was great news as I really feared that something more serious was going on. When you cant eat or drink and have a hard time breathing you start to think about all sorts of things..but the hardest thing to think of was ..who would look after my 19 month old daughter. Then of course I thought about....I wounder how this situation would play out if it happened in Italy..how would the hospital handle things? Would they come up with the same assessment? Interesting I think..

Anyway things are getting better but as I type this I feel the need to pass out so will end it by saying Im here and the dream is still alive..hahahaha

Oh and I should also mention that Gaz has had 2 serious phone calls about short term contracts here in London ..so it may be looking up soon...toes stil crossed and still praying for it all to turn around..but for now..thank you Lord Im alive and feeling better!

note: please forgive me if none of t his makes any sense as Im on alot of medication at the moment! :)




Here is a photo of me looking like the Borg when the paramedics were rushed to my house and hooked me up to all the cardiac machinery..This was after I called the information line for NHS to ask what we should do about the pain ect and about 10 mins later they had sent a paramedic and about 5 mins later an ambulance arrived to take me to the hospital as they said my symptoms were classic for cardiac arrest.

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tatuaggio

I truly believe in the name of this blog Una volta nella vita...If I didn't, would I have it tattooed on my body?? mmuuhahah

no really have a look at my new tattoo with its dedication to the RE recent earthquakes and a phrase that is dear to my heart..once in a lifetime...

My heart is truly and always will be in RE..whether we ever make it there or not..so when her heart breaks so does mine.
At the moment my heart aches for many reason in this world, poverty, death, natural disasters, abuse, abandonment and lack of self worth in people. But my heart also aches for my own personal desires such as a life in Italy, a desire to help young women know that they are valued and a desire to raise my daughter within a community of love and appreciation.
So this tattoo incorporates all of this.

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vita: strano e ingiusto

Sometimes life seems a bit strange, weird and a bit unfair..but what other choice do we have? Live and let live I say. As more and more time goes on it seams that more things continue to go up and down and we are just riding the coast. We definitely know where we want to be, what we want to do and we know that we want it RIGHT NOW!
But life has its own timetable and if we stress about its non-alignment with our plans I think Id pass out and rot on the side of the road..no really!!
I've come to the conclusion that I really need to learn how to go with the flow and be happy that things will happen when they are meant to happen.

So what's new..well our apparently great house in RE turns out to be managed by a very very rude man in which we have decided that we didn't want to have anything to do with. When Consu ranged them to ask about our appointment he basically called her stupid and assumed she wasn't a local so didn't have to tell her what area the house was located. He then told her that he makes more money with selling houses then the ones for rent so didn't have to tell her anything..and with that ..beep beep beep...yes he ended the call.. completely rude to hang up on someone in such a way. Shame for him as he has lost great business considering we would always pay our rent and then preferably buy our property from the agency that we already had dealings with..suppose he didn't really think of this. But it has been said that he is probably upset or jealous once finding out what and how much Gaz was paid for what he did. But I would think he would want to use it for his advantage.

So his lost. Now we have the potentional to rent a house of a friend's uncle. So we ae hoping that this will happen, but as exspected things never turn out the way you think they will. But in the long run most times it ends out better ...RIGHT RIGHT !!

Now that we have returned home we are still in the hoping and waiting stage. Gaz is still not working and looking for work in London...So heres to things looking up this week!!

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la mia casa

Officially we have been in Reggio Emilia for 36 hours and I feel as though we have been for days already.
We arrived into Reggio around 1pm and the weather was even better than we could have imagined. It was definitively hot since we had to to dress for the UK departure which was cold and wet. However we imagined it would be overly hot and humid given that is how we remember our Australian summers. After returning to our family's house the first thing I had to eat was Erbazzone and bresoala. Two of my favorite foods in Reggio..and my family knows it because the table was already set with food and drinks upon our arrival even though no one was home..hahaha

You would think that we would be like normal people and have a nap, rest and relax after a flight but I suppose we arent your normal joe and jane. Shortly after filling our bellies we were off to the negozi. One of my favourite things to do on a daily basis is to just roam the shops..I love grocery shopping in Italy..I suppose because everything is new and so much to learn.. I'm always just reading the labels. I suppose this past time will grow old eventually but for now its so much fun..so off to Conard we go. We then had a visit at the Real Estate office as we had plan to just see what he had available and what sort of things we should be looking out for as everything listed on the internet is well..cosi cosi.
I would have never guessed that we would actually find a house that we would love. We decided a few weeks ago that we needed to rent for a little while in order to see how we feel about buying a house and where exactly we wanted to purchase. Also we wanted to spend some extra time saving money so that we can buy it without no worries at all..
One of the issues of renting is that 90% of properties are apartamento. Coming from living in a 4 bedroom, 3 level house we are not excited about living in an apartment..no matter how luxurious it is. But we do know that this is one of the disadvantages and sacrifices we were going to need to make in order to make this move happen. So we did sacrifice and change our search to being open to an apartment as long as we had a garden for Olivia and a balcony or patio for us.
Well apparently our translation came across perfectly as the agent didn't give us any information about the apartments he had ..only about the two houses he had for rent..
Especially after reminding us that houses are never for rent so we should take one of 'his' houses if we wanted one..the cheek!
Not to mention he did speak to one of our friend about us and our references ect..and since he knew that I am unable to speak Italian as good as I would like..he assumed that my level of speaking is the same as my understanding..Stupid man..
I understood clearly that his tone as well as words suggested that we could not afford to rent a house as the one he found for us was double the price of what it would cost to rent a 3 bedroom flat. This is when I realized how much I loved my friend when his response in Italiano of course " Excuse me sir, you can look at Gareth and think anything, but to be honest he probably will make in one year more than you will ever make in your lifetime so you should be respectful."
I should mention that my friend is the most polite and respectful Italian I have ever met. He respects all the 'rules' of Italian communication so for him to speak to another professional this way was ..ummm...exciting..hahahaha. The best thing was the look on this mans face after he said it...funnily enough his tone changed after that and has now decided that he needs to arrange a meeting with the owner for us as he believes this house is perfect for us..muuhahhaha
The only bit of information we were not prepared for was paying 5 months in advance....and 3 of the months being the deposit and one being the fees for the agent..vaffanculo!! (MUM PLEASE DON'T TRANSLATE THAT) :)

Hopefully we will get a call soon so that we can view this house...although the rent is alot Im steal amazed that the house is almost double the size of our house in UK, yet still almost half the rent.

So needless to say was a successful meeting.
The night wasn't so great as Livvy was far to hot to sleep and didnt do too well in her makeshift guest bed..she actually fell out and hit her eye which left a nasty mark..I was devastated and felt so uspet that I could let that happen to her. She didn't return to bed until midnight out of fear and even still she only slept on my chest. Then woke again at 5 and 7am. So we have been a bit sleep deprived today. Even though we we are dead tired we made our way to our friends employment agency. This agency specialist in high income and high skilled workers so was right up her alley when she saw the amount of experience Gareth had in his feild ..but did have to mention twice 'you know you will never make that much money in Italia?' hahah he confirmed to her that moving to Italia isnt about money..we have no problem with that department ..but the community is what we desire in Italy.

So now as I am rushed to leave the computer Im off to make a cake with my new friend ...7yr old Daisy!! She is Carina!

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Excitement

Am I excited?? You bet I am! Why??? Because in less than 48 hours I will be in Reggio, and then my heart and I can be together again!!

I can't wait to be reunited with the sun and fresh air! To fill my belly with Erbazzone and tartufi...proper coffee, gelato from Pacifico and labrusco from my friends farm!!

I swear it's not all about the food but as Im lying here in bed I can hear my tummy a rumble just thinking of our orto!

But besides the food I'm longing for the beach and seeing Guiliano Palma in concert for my birthday! Ahhhhh!!! (insert excitement scream!!)

And most of all.....above all the best food and lavish wines of the world, my Italian family! I love them so much!!

I'm excited for Liv as she will be spoiled as always and have more attention than she could handle!

So as I snuggle under the duvet with my kindle ( because cool kids don't snuggle with books apparently), I'll try to keep my excitement at bay!


Hmmmm...I think I'll start to review related books as I read them, especially by expat authors!

Currently reading: Ask Me If I'm Happy by Kimberly Menozzi
Will review once I'm finished maybe!!



Do you like my excitement face?

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sogni

Why does everything have to be so fucking hard..yes I said it..why..because I bloody meant it..I know I'm not one to swear from left to right but today is just so frustrating..

I know that life could be worse...alot worse, but why should it have to be so hard at all..
Dont get me wrong I feel completely blessed to even be in this situation and having the ability to even trot across the globe but I really wish dreams were easier to come by. Or maybe our dreams are just far to large.. maybe we are kidding ourselves and should just settle into our happy upper-class lifestyle here in England..I mean that's what its all about right..having loads of money.. going on holidays all the time, living in a huge house whilst someone else does your house work, driving a luxury car and eating out at nice restaurants..all so you can say hey look at me..is it not??

I really don't care about all of that, in reality Im willing to give it all up to just live comfortably and happy...all we really dream of is a life where we can spend each day with our daughter, pay the bills and save money for future projects and dreams.. and enjoy life to the fullest yet simply, see friends and family when we want and build everlasting memories for our family. Is that so hard to ask for?

Where is this coming from?

Since everything has happened with Gaz and his previous contract he has really enjoyed being home with us. I've loved it as well. I get to sleep in till whatever time I want to, have an extra hand around the house with Livvy, and go on family outings when many of the locations would be packed during the weekends and evenings. I can cook meals in peace without Livvy pulling on my leg asking to taste whatever I'm making, and I get to have a shower alone in peace..sounds like silly things but it really does change things when someone else is around.

Gaz really does love spending so much time with her and has said numerous times how much he wish he could do this forever. I really wish I could make his dream come true. In reality I cant see how that could happen. But why not? I really cant understand why it couldn't happen either. After forming a monthly budget we worked out that for us to live in Reggio for a year....Gaz could make working in the England within 2 months.
So in theory why not just work in UK for 2 months and live a great life throughout the year in Italia...sounds great but for some reason it doesn't really feel like its going to be that easy.


Its hard to picture something that seems far too good to be true, yet also too hard to be so easy...
I'm not sure if any of this makes sense but meh you see where Im going with this.

dont they look sweet

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Funny little thing called life

Life is funny sometimes! You never know how things will unfold or manifest! I suppose If you did life would be pretty boring! Predictable! And well not worth living!

Life has been petty stressful for me these days, from Gaz losing his job to completely frying my hair! Yes Fried!
Note to those Independent funky stylish ladies who may be reading this! If you have really really curly hair that is luscious and beautiful and bouncy! For the love of all things sacred don't bleach it blonde then dye it hot red directly after!

Trust me you might look like this.....
A human poodle!! My sad face was warranted as it took hours for me to comb my long locks back into a normal state! You can see its so tangled and bunched up all the way to my ears!

So you see as sad as this can be...they can also be funny! I've tried to remember that all things are for a reason and no matter what that reason is, my life will be perfectly the way it is meant to be regardless!

Speaking of perfectly! Last week or dilemma was the matter of a missing marriage certificate! How does one loose there marriage certificate?? Well I don't know but some how we did and without it I can't apply for citizenship and without citizenship I can't live long term in Italia!
Akkkk! Well in the end I found an old old copy of or official marriage document! So I gave then that at my application checking appointment! And bam they took it with no questions asked!


So in the end things are well... Moving along! Now we just pray that they will approve my application and I'll be an EEU citizen! The only thing we need after that is a job for Gaz!!

Pheww one step at a time!

Ps....
See sad poodle face below!

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rimangono positivo

At the moment its pretty hard to remain positive with everything that is going on. My emotions are pretty wild running from place to place, which is why I have been reluctant to post anything recently. I suppose you can only say 'I miss Italia', 'I wish I was in Italy', 'why isn't this happening the way I want it to?' blah blah blah..

So I choose to spare the few readers I have with my whining..hahaha.
But what I will say is that I am truly thankful that we are still on track to moving just as long as Gaz can come across a job. He is actually a bit excited about our trip in July as we have a family friend who is an agent for international high end professionals in our area. So we are hoping that this will yield some sort of good news in the near future.
We are still going over the thoughts of doing something entirely different. A family business would be amazing but we have yet to find out what we would be good at and how we could start something that would actually be profitable. I prefer Gaz to stay in IT and I start something and then he can slowing tapper off to work with the family. Thats the plan anyway..but we know life often changes all plans in life, but the good thing about the cycle of life is often you may find yourself in situations that are greater than you could expect.

At the moment Im failing to see the greatness and just happy that we are surviving day by day..

When I say surviving I mean making passatta and bolognese whilst drinking wine and watching my beautiful daughter in the splash pool..

Life is still indeed good, just frustrating.





my lovely tomatoes cooking for lovely sauce!! mmmm

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Sadness

Well today we received the news that there will be no work for Gaz in Maliano! Atleast not at this moment but quite often things do come up so they will let us know! Then as if anything else could go wrong we have only just realised that our marriage certificate is missing! Why is this important you ask?? Well without proof of marriage I cant apply for citizenship! Without British citizenship I do not have the right to live and work indefinantly in Italy! So either we apply for a special visa for 12 months or either try to apply for another license back in Australia! What a pain! It seems like one thing after another!

Onto a pleasant side of things today Gaz has at an interview in London for a 6 month contract! So the hope is that he will get the job and then just before Christmas we can make the move!

Alternatively next March is a good time as we will be in Australia in February for a month! But now that the licenses will need replacing, we will have to wait anyway as i believe it will take weeks for to to arrive from aus to uk! Then the citizenship will take up to 4 months and then there is the matter of getting a passport so another 3 weeks! All in all thats 6 months! Haha so maybe its a sign!

Who knows what's happening here! I sure don't! And quite frankly it's driving me insane! I really did envision moving in October but you know sometimes things just don't work the way we think they should! Maybe there is a better plan for our life or that something isn't ready! Haha maybe Italy isn't ready for the Stewarts! Hahahahaha

Until next time!

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perplessità

-Perplexity-
Im a firm believer that all things happen for a reason..but sometimes its very difficult when those reason are just too far to be seen. Im at the a turning point at this moment and not really sure what exactly my next move will be. Over the last two days loads of changes have happened to Gazza's job which means we are in a completely different situation then we were in when I first started this blog. So we now have the opportunity to actually make our move to Italy sooner than planned.

If everything goes to plan then we could be in Italy before the end of the year..akkkkkkkkkkkk...wow how did this happen. It seems that the one thing that was bad news this week may in fact be the best news of the year.
The only problem is that there are a few things that must happen if we want to make our move this year...
First I need to apply for British citizenship so that I am able to live in Italy without needing a visa. Then I will need to apply for a passport but might be able to do that from Italy I believe.
The second thing that we need to do is..umm well Gazza needs a job of course. He is now on the hunt for work with his coworkers in Milan so the hope and prayer is that they will take him on much sooner than the original request was...we are talking 16 months earlier than we were speaking of before..and even then that wasn't a definite. We have even discussed me working..I know that is a huge change ...I haven't worked for 4 years..not because I cant.. just because ..well I don't want to....and if you don't need to then why should you....But when I think about possibly working in Italy I do find it a bit exciting to think about..mainly because its not the need to do it to make money but to get out and meet people...but don't get me wrong making money is great..hahaha Who knows what the next fee months will bring.

So everything at the moment seems scary, exciting and then well a little bit crazy...I cant even see what next week will look like ...

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migliore amica

Over the past week I have had the most wounderful time, spending it with my bestfriend Consu..she and her boyfriend came to visit us from Reggio. It was completely amazing and an eye opening experience as well. Even though she laughed countless times at my Italian..or lack of Italian...I loved it all the same..espeically since I laugh at her just as much when she speaks English.

Of course we talked about ..when I move this and when I move that..all things will fall into place. But the one thing that made the most difference to me was how life seemed to flow with her around. Mainly because lets be honest, having an extra helping hand when chasing after a 17 month old child makes all things better. I had no idea how much easier and more enjoyable life could be when you have just one extra person in your life. Don't get me wrong I have friends around but I think because we don't have the family interaction around we tend to miss out on just having people in your life everyday or people around who you don't have the need to ask them to do something...they just instinctively do it. It really opened my eyes to how much more enjoyable life could be in Italy, especially with not just Consu..but her family and our other friends that live very close by. I'm also looking forward to the built in babysitters which we currently do not have. hahaha

Im mostly looking forward to the constant interaction for my daughter as I think she really couldn't get enough of the attention she was receiving by the both of them, on top of the attention she receives from myself and daddy. I'm not the sort of mum that plays all day and chases and runs and laughs so am thankful that Consu is that sort of person..hahaha..so when Liv has the need to run and jump and kick and do something silly I'll call zia Consu to the rescue.

Most likely I should be writing something a bit more elaborate and indept since its been a week since my last post but ummmm I think I need to recover from this last visit as well as regain my mental state to putting my brain back to normal mode..blahhh :(
34 more days till my next visit to Italia...and counting!

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la mia città

Just before I decided to go to bed, I came across this video and nearly had tears in my eyes. Maybe it was the melodic verses or the beautiful photos of my soon to be home. The city that I already call la mia città. I truely do adore Reggio for everything that it is ..even its most horrible parts and downfalls that it has.
Could one seriously miss a physical place so much and if so why? I'm not sure where this deep sense of agony derives from, its completely new and maybe its some sort of signal that things are going just the way they are meant to be, but it definitely sends thoughts through my mind as I prepare to go to sleep and no doubt I will be up thinking for ages before Im fast asleep.

This past week in the Uk we celebrate the queens Diamond Jubilee ,yet my mind is still focused on my future in Italia. Ive very much enjoyed the flags, and dressing up in red white and blue. Ive loved the parties, bbqs, fun fairs for the entire family and spending time with my friends. I will definitely miss friends as we spent an entire 4 days celebrating together and I am very thankful to have them in my life, but it only makes me wonder what sort of celebrations awaits for us in Italy. And what new group of friends and family we will have to spend those times with...Its and exciting feeling, yet someone what frightening, because it will be completely different and new. So as I listen to this song and view the various beautiful photos of my city Reggio Emilia..I can only say a prayer that our future will be just as beautiful as this song and the city will remain just as beautiful as it is in my heart tonight.

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Amo il sole

I've only just realised how much I love the sun! I don't mean that harsh bit of sun where you need to squent your eyes and then have an undesired itch as if you are baking and need to flip over like a roast! I mean the sun that shimmers across your body as you sit and sip a glass of wine or shine across your body with a light breeze! I'm enjoying that moment as we speak! I couldn't drag myself out of bed as where I'm lying the balcony door is open with gusts of wind and the sun is gleaming across my legs! And I LOVE IT!
The last two days I've woken up to this scenario and just lay here thanking God for the sun that finally cane to visit England.

( Dear mr. sun if you are reading this please stay! We like you even though the pasty bodies bouncing around don't seem to like you when they turn lobster red, I promise we love you!)

Even though I definantly do not need a tan, I love lying in it when I'm partially shaded and there is a breeze! Haha
Of course my brain relates everything to thoughts of Italy these days! I suppose it's a mind transitioning thing as I prepare for a life changing event!

Every morning I think about how waking up reminds me of summer mornings in Italy! It feels the same except when I look out the window or have a coffee on the balcony it is not at all the same, but none the less the weather is beautiful these days and I'd have to say is greatly preparing me for our future to come!

For now I'm just thankful the sun is here and enjoyable!

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mamma le scarpe (mummy's shoes)

Wow what an insane two days...I’ve been so busy with Livvy and entertaining her friends and their mums. It’s been completely wonderful although I’ve only just realised how much I will miss all our days together, however it made me think of what sort of friends I might come across in Italy. I’d imagine that things would be completely different but I do hope I’m able to find someone to gossip along with on a sunny day. Today we sat in the sun, drinking appletinis, kids splashing about in the pool and sandbox, whilst we laughed and yapped about my pushy neighbour. I suppose once you make a major decision in your life like moving to a different environment you come to think about how things might be and how people might perceive you. As much as one says they don’t care what others think of them...in reality everyone cares to some capacity. I just hope that I don’t dwell or focus on that aspect of our move.

Then of course my mind always gravitates to what the appearance of my daughter might be, especially with her being mixed raced, non-Italian and well a little bit crazy...oh well who am I kidding she is a hell of a lot crazy…if you don’t believe me…have a look at todays photo… those would be my shoes after all!! hahaha

See just as crazy as her parents!

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parli italiano??

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking to my close friend’s family in Reggio Emilia. I made a point to ring around to everyone to see how they were after the Earthquake. It was definantly an interesting conversation with mumma Morena speaking only Italian and me…well I’m not sure what I speak Italiaglish…hahahaha
My Italian seems so great when I speak it to my daughter LIvvy…I mean she can’t tell me if my pronunciation is incorrect. But could you imagine speaking to someone in another language over the phone, long distance, whilst they are upset from a natural disaster and in their local dialect. Yes I was just as lost as you might be at the moment…We must have repeated ourselves to each other at least twice each time to make sure we both understood what was being said
The good thing is I did manage to speak Italian the entire conversation and although it was rough it made me realise how I really need to take my language skills up a notch. Being able to hold a conversation just isn’t enough. I really would like to engage a bit better and I do believe there is only so much one can learn via studying. Total submersion is defiantly key but until then I’ll be dusting off my old binders from the Italian Institute...I’ve actually realised that a lot of the content I’ve forgotten over the last 2 years. I’ve re downloaded my Rosetta Stone program and currently searching for an Italian instructor. I’m defiantly dedicated and focused on this. Poor instructed …whoever takes on the job...have no idea what they are in for…
Don’t be surprised if I began to inject a bit more Italian words or entire sentences into my blog here and there. I can’t promise it will be entirely perfectly correct..hahaha so my Italian readers feel free to correct me!! I think it might be good to even do some blogging in Italian completely (don’t worry mum Ill translate to English just for you!) :)

So for now I’ll leave you with this…
anche se la mia Italiano non è molto bene, mi sono determinato a essere fluenti!!

Can you see how excited I am in this photo?? This was moments after I ordered what we wanted from the local grocer in Reggio Emilia..and to my delight she understood what I was asking for and how much I wanted..she understood the questions I asked about the bread...and I understood her reply..I couldn't contain myself from expressing my joy...and well seems all the Italians thought it was just so 'cute' that I was excited to speak THEIR language...something they just did naturally!

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Earthquake

Today I was saddened to hear about the earthquake that stroke early hours of this morning in Bologna. It was dear to my heart even more so because I know people who are living in Bologna...and not just that in case you didn't know Reggio Emilia is only 1 hour from Bologna..so all of my friends and 'family' are living there. It was such a close call as I couldn't imagine what I would do if we were there right now..the thought has never crossed our mind about an earthquake since living here in the Uk..I cant even remember the last time there was one here ..or maybe Im jut simply behind a veil by not watching or reading news reports..whatever it is ..I was hurt by this Earthquake and not even in the city itself. I suppose it just reiterates the fact that I stated before in the last post..that things happen everywhere and tragic can hit you at anytime and anywhere..so now I must go research and prepare for this little thing called an earthquake..just in case it decides to return next year...

So bring on the new day for those who have been hurt or homes destroyed in Bologna or anywhere else in the Emilia-Romagna region..sending a special prayer out for you!

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