Another sleepless night

only 6 more months 'till Italy, and I have one sleep deprived husband. He woke up the other morning stating that he couldn't sleep because he was thinking of Italy....

We will be staying in Germany for week with friends of ours, who live Wiesbadan, visit the chocolate museum (that's right-chocolate museum) and then it's on to Italy.

The first night there we will be in Pisa and then we travel by train to Riomaggiore, which is part of the Cinque Terra.

My lovin' husband and I have had extensive discussions regarding "comfortable" shoes and fanny packs. I afraid I will not budge on this- NO FANNY PACKS ALLOWED!! We are still trying to compromise on the shoes. When I try to picture these "comfortable shoes" I picture my Grandma (bless her heart) and am conflicted between my somewhat limited sense of fashion and the knowledge that if I do pick the wrong shoes, my husband WILL leave me behind....

I'll let you know how it goes...

inspired...

Last night I was invited by a co-worker to a "celebration of friendship". The first thing we were asked to do was stand up and think of someone who you consider to be a close girlfriend. We were asked to stay standing if we had been friends with that person for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years (yes I'm still standing) 15 years (my feet hurt) 20 years-finally I can sit down!! I was encouraged to reflect on what is a good friend and how can be a better one.

There are three girlfriends that I have that I am grateful for.

TINA- 20 years!! Without you there are so many things that I would not have done on my own. Belly dancing, scuba diving, hip-hop lessons... Anything I want to do is always better when you're there.

TERRI- "a girlfriend is a sister that you chose" I thought of you when I read this and am grateful for your unwavering support and honesty- if you ever want to know what that haircut really looks like-this is your girl!!!

JORDIN- how lucky am I to have met you. You are someone who I trust with my whole heart and never question your loyalty to your friends. Thanks for getting me.

There is one other person I would like to thank ...

MOM- thanks for not being my mom and not my friend. Thanks for setting boundaries, guidelines, curfews and limits. I may have been hesitant to show my gratitude when I was 16 but I know that what you and Dad did was called parenting first and friendship second. Thanks.

I hope that you all know that I love and appreciate you for all your very different qualities and gifts, if there's ever anything I can do for you ......

And I have to thank....

This is "mysisterDawn" and her husband at a family camping trip last summer. I felt it necessary to introduce you to her as it is because of her that I have started my own blog. At this point however, I'm not sure whether to thank her or never speak to her again. The amount of trouble I've had (and sleep I haven't) over the last 2 days has been unmeasurable. But we're up and running and hopefully friends and family will enjoy what goin' on with "the Reinelts" .

Here's us in a nutshell.....