Something Yummy

When getting clarity and creating goals and then seeing the reality of them, this becomes a literal high-light and joy that is hard to describe, but with these new goals comes a very hard discovery, of which I thought I already learned; It is the hardest thing for me to keep the things that are helping me achieve my goals in mind and to keep working at it! 

Specifically, dieting is one of the hardest things I have ever done...minus my Music degree, oi! I have heard that everyone struggles with it, and for some reason not cooking yummy fating foods is throwing me for a loop. Even on a budget, I know that eating healthy isn't that hard but funny enough I have developed quite a domesticated hobby. I like to cook and bake yummy things!! I never thought this would be an issue hahaha. Anyway, I am seriously trying not to eat any sweets, or fast food or oily processed food and honestly the fatty foods isn't the real issue. The sweets are killer. I can make some pretty amazing yummy treats....yesterday I made 24 gigantic amazing looking cinnamon rolls, gave some to the neighbors upstairs and next door but I still had too many left over...I WANT ONE!! I'm really sad that I didn't take a picture of them before I froze the ones that I haven't eaten...yet. They were truly beautiful. ;D  So my point is......well I'm not sure but this certainly feels like a trial, a trial of the yummy things that I can't eat! Which will some day make me a stronger an skinnier person. :)

Now this isn't a pic of MY cinnamon rolls but I swear this is EXACTLY what they looked like!

Sooo We've been pretty busy.

Our last week of the Opera summer program has come and gone, and we are all packed up and ready to leave the country. Most everyone, with the exception of a handful, are already home safe and sound. LuanaLei and I decided, when booking our flights, that it would be a good idea to stick around in Rome afterword to see the sights. We had no IDEA then how we would feel about this and if we would even consider not staying and booking and early flight home. Well, after a bit of drama we decide to stick it out and forgo seeing our families earlier...besides when will we ever come back to Rome? So as we have stayed and site seen and loved almost everything about this city that makes it famous. Hahaha I have discovered a few more things;

1. I do not like living in a overly warm climate with a million percent Humidity
2. Rome is beautiful and the Italians are generally nice BUT do not let go of your purse zippers on the Metro or places with lots of people and try not to be a loud obnoxious American...they are not a fan.
3. Walking everywhere has made me realize how much I use my car at home...I have discovered how lazy Americans seem to be and have come to the conclusion that I don't care and I like my car. I just might have to hit the gym in warm weather more often.
4. As much fun as it is to say that I am in Rome and am seeing exotic places...it doesn't mean a whole lot when your married and cant share it with your husband.
5. I hate to say it but I am grateful to the amazingly convenient Walmart, makes my life easier.
6. I love breakfasts with protein, eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, orange juice, hash-browns and every other american breakfast food item...the Italian way sucks. It's all pastries and bread. Not that I don't LOVE pastries and bread but a PERSON NEEDS ENERGY!
7. I am grateful for converters but...I miss my America outlets!
8. I love my pillows and mattress.
9. That cars and the driving rules we have in America are important! Italians have little cars with little streets. They also park nearly anywhere, they stop anywhere, they stop right before they hit things, they drive their cars in very tightly confound places...scares the bloody crap out of me.
10. The Italian language is beautiful and I have loved trying to speak it, but if I hear one more Italian scoff with "...Americani..." or push things in my face to buy again, I might blow a gas-git.

So basically there are alot of things I miss and a lot of things that I think are wonderful here. But I think the biggest lesson I learned here was this:

~Tutto il mondo e Paese~

This means roughly translated "The whole world is one country". I think that this could be taken to heart and meant many things to different people. But what my thoughts were as I learned this phrase was rather simple. That there is no place like home. The whole world is one gigantic place and there are many things to see and do and people to meet but boy it wouldn't mean a dit if I didn't have someone to share it with. The people we love are the most important things or should be the most important things to us. The world can go on and you can have many adventures and continue to realize that traveling is fun and hard, but for me nothing will mean as much if I didn't have my family. So thank you so much my dear family, old and new! :) I love you! oh and.....I'M GOING HOME, I'M SO EXCITED!!! 

till next time!

At the end of the day

When all is said and done, here in Italy, after long days of rehearsals and coachings and lessons and concerts and traveling and singing,singing, singing....sometimes you just want to sit down and enjoy what you've got right in front of you. Novafeltria is beautiful and so much fun. Even right now the bell tower, yes it has not only one but a couple bell towers, are ringing through out the town indicating 15 minutes have flown by. Our amazingly cute apartment looks out over a bunch of beautiful hills with castles at the very top. Its difficult to not appreciate it's beauty!

Novafeltria from our balcony 

But sometimes after a long walk it's just nice to have good clean bubble gum blowing contest. Cant really go wrong with a coke a kabob special and laughs at midnight at the Cafe Grande Italia!

LuanaLei won. :)

The Life of a Nun/Chorus Member

Even though the life of a traveling opera company is difficult, the Italian scenery and venues are quite fabulous for performing. Everything from an outdoor old moat, roman ruins to a castle on the hill. We never know if we'll have bathrooms or running water, mah it's always a nice experience to appreciate the little things you never think about not having. 

Sporting the Habits

My lucia costume. I quite adore it!

Second Lucia show in Pesaro

Crazy awesome moat!!

Some times the architecture in this place KILLS me!

This is a picture of an ancient roman tombstone. When renovating the church in the 1900's, they found these ruins and decided to cover them with glass for the world to see...I will never step my feet inside that place again! Needless to say, it was creepy! 

This was our first Suor Angelica location in Rimini...a cloister tower. Playing nuns in a nun habitat....pretty cool.

Rebeckah's mad skills in Novafeltria

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2MoSAqPTBV

We found a park thing and discovered a bunch of gymnastic training equipment...let's just say it's harder than it looks to even get up there.

Too bad I can't figure out how to put multiple videos on one blog from youtube. bah! Suggestions are welcome!

Performance week, watch out for grumpy pants- they are stressed!

Why is it that when I walk around in flip flops here the only part of my foot that really gets dirty is my little ankle bone??? It's just that spot, no where else! Really weird! Anyway here are some pictures of the past week when our performances started!

Our first venue for Suor Angelica

Clara Hortato Lee's beach dinner...you should have seen the other 4 plates she ordered...and they were all looking at me!

Including this

there were about a million vespas  at the beach...and a Ferris Wheel. :)

No idea who these guys are but they look very patriotic 

Kick butt chess set...and the price tells you why.

This is apart of the the big A castle of San Marino. There are shops and shops and restaurants and shops and shops and shops all lining the castle that is the castle that never ends.

hanging out with Caroline Brigham

Caroline and Anthony

A random Pinocchio store... 

My Lucia outfit..I like it. :)

When you can't remember the last time you took a shower, It's been too long!

With rehearsals intensifying and performances happening just around the corner, stress levels have begun to increase! Thankfully all this week the weather has been rainy and cool. Such a nice change from molting hot! It seems that we have finally settled into our lives here quite nicely. For some of us it is so hard to be away from our families but with the distractions that we need it's easy, most days, to forget how much we miss them.
We comfort ourselves with a nice dose of ridiculousness, as our Maestro would put it. Sometimes it just takes staying up late to help a friend run music and lines that turns into a laughing spout because there is a huge bug near by that we can't kill for the life of us...you probably had to be there. Gelato is always a nice outlet & substitute for everything as well. It is very difficult to not go down to the shop everyday and eat one, and most of us do that anyway. The Gelatteria gelato people know the crazy Americans very well. :)
Everyone appreciates a beautiful language. But I discovered not as much when everyone around you is speakin on a fast track in Italian and all you want to do is find someone who speaks English. It also does get easier to pick up words you hear from people on the street when you take 3 1/2 hours of Italian everyday. Even then it's only about, "My name is...." and "How are you?" Everything else is a swoosh woosh and away from Iknownothingdum. It's all about not only pronouncing the letters together correctly, but where you put the emphasis. Oy! stupido! Anyway...:)

Pics of week due (doo*aye)

Rum and tonic concoction that the doctor gave me for bronchitis  

The Witch Festival. This is the fountain covered in sage brush and fire.

Our BEAUTIFUL Italian teacher Denice

We found an LDS church last Sunday! Hallelujah!

Once of our walking views

The roomies LuanaLei, Me and Krystal out on a walk

Our justification for going on a walk :)

Oh just walking by....

uhhhhh.....it looked like a climbing wall

Fun in the rain