I know you've all been waiting....

We're back! Actually, we've been back since Friday. Yes, I am a slacker, thank you very much.

I've been trying to get to this but frankly? Too busy eating cake, opening presents, and bemoaning the fact that I'm 30. THIRTY, people! Good Lord. I can remember when my parents were 30. Is that how old I am? A real, honest-to-God grownup?

I've decided to be "27". I think I can pull it off for a few more years.



Anyway - back to the blog. The trip, it was fabulous. We stayed in this tiny mountain town called Navelli. Tiny. Mountain. The B&B was at the base of the town, there were no shops, no restaurants, hardly any people... just this medieval town that went straight up. Our first night there we climbed to the top - beautiful, but exhausting. Especially when you have 25lbs of love strapped to your chest. Oye, my back.

The next day we drove into L'Aquila to see the castles. Jaynie thought it was the best vacation ever. We saw castles. We saw churches (which she also thought were castles. She loved the painted ceilings, and told us an elaborate story of how the artists must have grown wings and flew up there to paint them. So freaking cute.) We toured a cavern inside a mountain w/ rushing water and stalactites and mites and bats. The cavern's name? Grotti di Stiffe. Yes. Stiffe. Yes, we are juvenile enough to have laughed about being in the town of Stiffe all night long.

The next day we spent several hours in Sulmona, famous for it's candy making. What better place to stop? Beautiful mountain scenery, lots of old churches and random walls around the city center, winding cobblestone streets... and everywhere you look? Candy shops. Again - Jaynie thinks we're the best vacation planners on the planet.



When we got back it was time for my 27th birthday celebration to begin. I got presents first thing. 35 from Jaynie. The 30 was because that's what birthday it was (she must not have gotten the "27" memo), and "the extra 5 are because you looooooooove presents!" What a good girl I'm raising here! She got me tons of stuff from Lush, the first 5 seasons of ER, and season 2 of The Shield. Jonas and Joe combined to get me like 2 more bars from Lush, and seasons 3 and 4 of The Shield. I hope none of you are out there waiting for me to update the website. I'm too busy taking baths and watching TV.

Jaynie and I made my birthday cake. Something I'm usually against having to do myself (which, traditionally, means a store-bought one), but there was a recipe I wanted to try. Thanks so much, Tracey. Seriously - my big, fat (hot) butt thanks you.

Later, and this is the fun part, we dressed up for a big Carnevale celebration on base. Nothing like celebrating your birthday with a few hundred people in costumes. Jaynie was Snow White, I was Fiona (this is what she told me when I walked out in my green princess dress. Made me put on a heart necklace to go with since that's "what Fiona wears"), Jonas was a duck, Joe was our chauffeur.

When we got there, we were almost immediately separated. Jaynie and I on one side of this huge planter, Joe and Jonas on the other. There was an exhibition of dancers from a local dance school, and by exhibition I mean teenage girls in the lowest low-rise pants on the planet. Jaynie will never, and I mean NEVER, be permitted to wear stuff like this. Before they started dancing you could see dimples on the small of their backs. After they started dancing? Butt crack. Unbelievable.

So Jaynie and I move over to the area where kids are dancing and playing a game, and Joe stays where he is. I'm dividing my attention between my little BiancaNeve dancing and jumping and clapping, with my baby Duck and his wayward Dad. Check on Jaynie - dancing. Check on Joe - waiting for us. Jaynie - dancing. Joe - waiting. Jaynie - dancing. Joe - ..... surrounded by the mostly naked teenage girls. Sigh. It's never ok to use the baby as a chick magnet. Especially when the "chicks" in question are under the age of 20. He swears they started it, and it would have been rude to just ignore them. Whatever - when I found him he was sitting on the floor w/ the duck in his lap, literally surrounded by spandex-clad (if "clad" is a word you can use when 80% of your skin is showing) girls. Sigh.

I think that's it for updates. Valentine's day - fabulous. Birthday - fabulous. Next up is Madam's birthday, and I have plans. Big plans. Messy plans. Everyone start thinking "good weather" thoughts so the mess can take place outside.....