Yes, I know you want pictures, but....

I've been super busy since I got back. Took a couple of days to relax with Jer and try to get over jet-lag, and now I am back at work and it is crazy busy. They rearranged the office while I was gone, so I came back to a new cubicle and boxes everywhere. And since I am busy with actual clients and work, I still haven't finished unpacking.

Haven't finished unpacking at home either. Well, the bags are empty, but most of the contents haven't made it past the floor or the laundry basket. In my defense, there have been people staying at my house who have been taking over the bathroom and the washing machine, and so I haven't been home much because it is too crazy there. I like clean, organized homes, and you can tell how busy or stressed I am by how messy my room is. Right now it looks like a tornado came through, and the kitchen looks worse (but that is not my fault!)

And of course, what I really want to do in the midst of this insanity is plan my wedding. Well, actually, I really want it to just be planned so I can relax. I am a get-it-done-right-away person, so a big to-do list with a million questions on it throws me into workaholic overdrive and all I think about night and day is how to word the invitations and what kind of food we should have and which flowers should be in my bouquet and whether or not we should have worship music and and and and. My biggest frustration is that when I am trying to make time to just relax and enjoy people, my mind is still going a million miles a minute, and I can feel it churning through all those questions. I know that in reality I have plenty of time, and should not worry, but my natural reaction is to drop everything and focus on getting it all done NOW.

I'm trying to moderate myself, and find a healthy schedule, with the right balance of sleep, fun, and getting stuff done. Haven't found that this week. Maybe in August. Maybe in November. Who knows. I've survived busier, crazier times than this, for sure. But I don't want my life to be one big crazy season after another. My pastor has been writing about making time for Sabbath and having a good rhythm, and I really agree with that idea, and know that it has been good for me in the past to have that. And I know that God was calling me to slow down and rest and not take on a lot of responsibility for the next year or so, and just enjoy life and people. I hope I can figure out how to do that, even with this wedding checklist hanging over me.

I promise I'll get pics of Europe and a few highlights from my trip up soon. It was a wonderful adventure and I loved it, and got a lot of sleep and physical activity and beautiful photos and fabulous memories. Stay tuned...

Nostalgica is Italian for Homesick

We didn't even realize that we were in Italy. The train took us over the border and while we were trying to interpret the anouncement, it came into Ventimiglia, and the signs were all in Italian. We spent the rest of the train trip laughing at the useful words in the Rick Steves' Italian phrasebook (really, I am sure we will need to say "you are disgusting" and "I will remember you until Tuesday" while we are here) and then got only semi-lost (as is our habit) trying to find our B&B. So here we are, safely in Genoa, on the Italian (and final) leg of our trip.

It's kind of surreal to actually be in Italy. I don't know how long I have wanted to come here-it's just always been one of those big "I have to do this" sort of things. And now I am here, and it is beautiful, and I wish I wasn't missing my fiance so terribly. I love being here, but I love him more, and wish I could have both!

I've always been a homebody-not in terms of staying in all the time but staying in my hometown. As much as I love to travel and se new places, a week away is usually more than enough for me. I hit the super homesick point last week around Wednesday. I woke up feeling tired and melancholy after two days of wedding festivities in Argeles sur Mer (where we went for the wedding of Melissa's friend) and then at the internet cafe I found that Jer had sent me videos from home: of my family telling me how much they miss me and to wear sunscreen (thanks Mom) and of him, telling me how much he loves me. I missed him so much I cried.

I know I am supposed to completely enjoy my time here, but no matter how wonderful the trip, it doesn't take away the emptiness of not being home in Seattle, of not being with my family, of not being with Jer.

Still, I will persevere and continue to traipse about and enjoy the sights I have been looking forward to for years. I'm excited for tomorrow: Cinque Terre hiking begins, and continues until Monday, when we go to Florence. I'll be celebrating m birthday there in the heat and the beauty. And then Friday I come home, and reclaim my spot in Jer's arms. So altogether it will be an amazing week.

Bonjour!

Despite being far away in Longjumeau, France (a suburb of Paris) I have amazing internet access end even a vonage line to make calls, thanks to my roomie's fabulous family who lives here. So while I thought I would be horribly disconnected for three weeks, I am instead updating Facebook and sending emails and calling my fiance (which helps with the missing him, but only a little).

Don't worry though, I am not wasting my vacation in front of the computer. I've spent two days straight wandering through Paris, visiting the Louvre, Notre Dame, and my absolute favorite, the Musee D'Orsay. Impressionism being one of my favorite periods of art, that museum was designed for me. Multiple floors of Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Pisarro, Van Gogh, and some Renoir for good measure, plus sculpture and architecture to boot. I know the Louvre is the big mac daddy of museums, but I can skip the Mona Lisa and head straight for the artist's garden at Argentuil.

Weather here continues fine (I love saying that, and wrote it on a few postcards) not too hot, skies mostly cloudy with sunbreaks. My favorite weather, honestly. Seventies and mild. And the city is on a river and the buildings are made of beautiful stone and on every corner is a cafe and today on the way to the museum we stopped for cafe au lait and pain et chocolat and it was fabulous. I do wish things weren't so expensive (we had to search forever to find lunch for less than 10 euro) but I'm on vacation, so that is to be expected.

I can't play tourist forever though, so I am looking forward to next week, when we rent an apartment and live on the beach for a week. We'll get some bread and wine and cheese from the market, throw on bathing suits and sarongs, and live in the sunshine. I fully expect to come back with a serious tan. Now if only I can keep that tan until October. It would go well with my wedding dress...