My dear roommate (and friend) invited me to spend the weekend with her and her sweet family as they prepared for December with christmas tree hunting (good old fashion, hike, pick, and saw your own down) and then decorating it. It was relaxing and filled with a good nights sleep and tasty food. Thank you Kayleigh and Family!
the tree was knew it was the own, so it hopped up and walked to the car.
Left to Right: Bruce (Kayleigh's Step Sisters Boyfriend,) Daniel (Kayleigh's Boyfriend,) and Kayleigh
the tree farm. definitely not Utah. no show in these mountains and Christmas tree hunting in short sleeves? What is up with that? I couldn't say "Audrey's eyes are frozen, she will see it later" quoting Christmas Vacation because it was not cold!
Part of the gang!
The beautiful Katelynn, Kayleigh's sister.
Last week I was surprised to find a large package in the mail for me. Inside was a countdown calendar from my sister. It was those cardboard, square chocolate, calendars that have surrounded the holiday seasons through out my childhood. Instead of counting down for Christmas, my instructions were to count down to coming home. Today was the first day of twenty five. Let the count down begin.
Like last year, to count down Verbaledudette will host the ultimate gift guide to help you with your weeks of merriment. I am going to begin it today (another way to count the days until I get to go home to Salt Lake City, a place where I am in incredibly homesick for recently.)
DRUM ROLL PLEASE!
Verbaledudette's Gift Guide Day One: A Penfield Oxon Messenger Bag
oh yes.
For that hip, bike riding, class act in your family - do not hesitate one bit to pick up this gender neutral bag. Perfect for lap tops, school supplies, baby sitting stuff, traveling, knitting needles, and much much more! It is a "rugged satchel- style messenger bag from Massachusetts... tough cotton canvas shell with a full leather trim."
The easiest place for you to buy this beauty is Urban Outfitters (sold in stores and online.) Get yours today!
I was incredibly good at filling you in
on my every breath and toe tap while in Italia, but the moment I got home, I
left this blog to get a thin line of dust on it from two weeks of no posting.
To sum up the last two weeks, I have been overwhelmed with happiness of being
home. Italy feels like it happened forever ago and was even possibly a dream. The
day after I got home, I was surprised when all my friends slowly showed up to
my doorstep because my sister had invited them to welcome me home. I couldn’t
stop smiling and was overwhelmed with excitement that I got to see all the
people I missed most. The holiday weekend came fast and I was spoiled to death
with gifts, compliments, and welcome home hugs. And now it is time to bid
farewell to 2011, a year of many firsts.
In 2011 I gained confidence, faced my
fears, made big decisions, stepped on some large stones, and ate really good
food.
·My
year started off with one of the biggest job positions I have ever acquired. I
was the official photographer for the FIS Freestyle Skiing World Championships
up at Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort.
·I
produced the 49th year of East High School’s Take Five.
·I
turned eighteen.
·Gabrielle
and I saw Miniature Tigers and Desert Noises in concert. One of my favorite
shows I have ever been to.
·I
graduated from high school.
·I
went to Europe for the first time with my family for three weeks.
·I
underwent my first surgery, which included going under amnesia, getting my
first iv in, and my first urine test where they told me I wasn’t pregnant.
·I
traveled completely on my own to another country.
·I
survived my first semester of college.
·I
lived completely on my own.
It was a great year. Thank you 2011! Here
is to 2012, may it be just as fabulous.
As a final note, audnotodd.blogspot.com
will no longer be the url for this blog. Starting January 5th,
Verbaledudette will be at www.verbaledudette.blogspot.com. This change wont be
for five days, but be prepared for the change. I do not want to loose anyone on
to the way. : ) If you ever get confused, remember you can find Verbaledudette’s
page on Facebook.
My Firenze journey has changed locations. Instead of writing this post
from the comfort of a yellow kitchen under a window that looks upon eerie
statues of children, I am sitting in the center of queen size bed looking out
the window where the sun settled against the dirty red tiled roof and flowers.
Hotel Bretagna feels like the Hilton of Italy. I checked in this morning and they
already knew who I was and were waiting to help carry my bags to my room (where
were they on the long treacherous walk to the hotel? Hee hee.) When I asked the
lady at the front desk what the best way was to ensure that I had a taxi
leaving the hotel at four a.m. on Tuesday morning she seemed very confused. I
asked if I should do it the night before and have it reserved. She told me just
to do it that morning. I looked at her with utter shock as my mouth uttered “You
mean someone will be at the front desk that early?” She looked at me like I was
speaking fluent German and said “of course, we are here twenty four seven.” I
really wanted to reply with a “ well excuse my confusion but every other
Italian hotel I have ever stayed in, the owner went to bed and doors were
locked until seven.” But instead I smiled sweetly and said perfeto, like a true Italian, if I may add.
(this is what I looked like when she told me that they are there all hours of night. the only difference was that I was by myself and I still had my shirt on)
My room is huge and welcoming. The bed sits in the frame of the
window, to the left a large desk and dresser with a full size mirror. (The full
sized mirror earns double points because every girl needs a full-length mirror
in order to complete getting ready.)
The bathroom is beautiful. It has fully convinced me that when I have
my own house I want a square sink. The shower looks like a space station and it
was out of this world talking a shower in it. Let me tell you what it’s all
about. It is a box. It has three showerheads. The first is your standard circle
detachable showerhead coming from the left corner. On the ceiling there is a
giant sunflower shaped showerhead. And then there is a bench, with three rows
of ten misters. You can turn each on one individually. Oh also, did I mention
that there is a special light that is dimmed and relaxing and it has an Italian
radio station built in? Well it does. I could live in it. This shower was worth
the entire trip over here. All I can say is thank goodness I do not have this
at home or at the apartment I spent the last four months in, because our water
bill would be on fire.
Now I know you are probably thinking “wow. This chick showed up to the
hotel at ten in the morning and spent the entire day in the shower” but I am here
to inform you that I did leave, not only the shower but also, the hotel. After
wiping the sweat off my brow from that extra large work out to hike over the
piazza’s to get to my hotel (but it was worth it,) I went out to explore the
town. Now my hotel is only a block away from the Ponte Vecchio (aka the most
amazing thing on earth,) so I did not have to walk far to find excitement. Now
I have not photographic proof of this event because it was too crowded to even
thinking of getting a shot of the action, but people were golfing off the
bridge. It wasn’t just a few old Italian men who had a few too much to drink.
No this was an actual planned, sponsored, announced, full on, golf tournament.
They were positioned on a platform on the edge of the bridge. Then out on the
river were large patches of floating grass boats with those little flags in the
hole. (My aunt Michael just had a heart attack about how badly I am describing
this golf set up. Please forgive me for butchering your sport Michael. I just
do not know the terms and flags in the hole pretty much sum it up for me.) They
would putt off of it and try to make it on these boats. It was the most
interesting thing. Hopefully I can get in there and document it tomorrow.
Since this was such a big deal, the city was crowded and alive. The
streets were busy with crazed Italian Christmas shoppers (much more elegant and
intense than those we have in Uh-Merica.)
Piazza Rubbuplica had Volvo booths set up and giant television screens. There
was even Santa. Oddly enough, no one wanted to sit on his lap and tell him what
he or she wanted for Christmas.
I also stumbled upon this group of adorable, incredibly talented,
elementary school children singing Christmas songs. It really put me into the
Christmas spirit and I watched them for about an hour.
(Please note the video may not be done processing. I just uploaded my first Youtube video after three failed attempts to upload the video in different formats right to the blog.)
I was the only “tourist” who stayed and watched. I kept getting odd
looks from the parents so I decided to adopt a kid and pretend she was my
sister. I would smile and clap after the instructor said something that I did
not understand. I think people started to believe it. The girl in the on the
second row, four people in, is my adoptive singing sister for an hour. She is
very animated and we look nothing a like.
The one thing that annoyed me about this concert was the parents and
their iPhones. Now I am one for the iPhone. I think they are great, classy,
everyone should have one. BUT there were text message dings going left and
right like they were trying to recreate the tune of jingle bells. These parents
could not just sit there and watch their kids (like I was doing,) they had to
play on their iPhones.
Speaking of iPhones, let’s talk about Verbaledudette’s Gift Guide
Number Eighteen: The Dokkiri Hand Case
Do not even ask where I found this. BUT
although it is creepy as hell, what a great gift. I just cannot express my
feelings about holding hands with your iphone. It will really create a bond to
your friend electronic.
Where to find: http://www.strapya-world.com/categories/6034_6035_6136.html
Price: I think $65.00’s
And then just for another phone excuse reasoning
here is the: Native Union Pop Phone Handset:
Classic. Simple. Retro. This is for the people
that you do not think will find the humor in the hand one. (If you are a buying
a gift for me you should know that I am not one for the hand one and secondly I
do not have an iPhone.)
Where to find this: http://www.nativeunion.com/us/popphone.html
Price: $29.90
Now back to my day.
The most exciting part of my day is when a fifty-euro bill literally
blew in my direction. I stepped on this piece of paper at my feet and goodness
gracious it was money. I was thrilled! How many times do you get to claim a
random fifty-euro bill as yours!? Never. Never. Never. Except this once. I
decided that with this little find I was going to treat myself to something
really nice.
I was walking through San
Lorenzo and I saw it: the cutest leather messenger bag. I walked over to the
woman, grey hair and a touch of crazy, and asked her how much it was. To my
surprise her English was flawless as she spoke, like a waterfall mind you, that
it was ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY EURO. I was crushed, but I knew I had to have it
and I had to have it for fifty euro. I turned on my Concrete Rodeo Swag Skills
(for you who do not know what this is, it is a little talent my father passed
to me. I walk into a skate shop and walk out with more product than he would
ever get. If I learned anything on the skate tour it is how to bargain (and how
to dry out sweaty skater money and take showers with only twenty five cents and
three minutes.) I talked to her about the quality of the bag, she told me how
it was made and showed me pictures of the artist’s wife. I told her my story. I
am student who is studying art for the past four months and was recently kicked
out of my apartment because the term end and now is spending the last three
days in a hotel alone because my best friend had flight complications. The last
part really got to her. She even called over her little assistant guy and told
him and he said “give her a discount mama, she is a pretty girl.” I wanted to
hug this boy. To bad he was way old and too short for me because after that
line and what it got me, we could have gotten married. She dropped the price to
fifty euro. In conclusion I got two hugs from people I had just met wishing me
happy holidays and a real, paten leather, sexy, red, hipster, Italian, messenger
bag, that some poor soul with a hole in his wallet bought for me.
Oh my life is a wonderful piece of art.
(Yes. I did just tie my life in to art in a cheesy line so i could show you this photograph i took of a spray can street artist that I found today. Worth all that extra cheese, eh?)
Now I am sitting in bed (like I mentioned earlier) and Italia’s
version of VH1, DeeJay, is having karaoke night on the television. They are
playing loads of random songs (ABBA to The Backstreet Boys, Amy Winehouse to
The Killers, Cold Play to songs from Grease the Musical) music videos, but with
the lyrics on the bottom of the screen. When the artist sings the lyrics, the
words change to orange. It is actually really great because the lyrics will
come up and I will have one of those “oh so that is what they actually say
there... hmm... that is much different than what I was saying” moments.
So I am sitting in a comfortable bed, in a beautiful city, at one o
clock on a Sunday morning singing to myself while writing this letter to you.
You should feel special for that.
Good morning to Europe, Good evening to my fans back home. :)
(Spell check just corrected my smiley face for me. I originally had
this : ) but then they told me this :) was grammatically correct.)
Oh what Tuesday this one has turned out to be. First of let
me tell you that my hair looked fabulous today. At least I thought so. Last
night, I slept with my hair in a fishbone braid. When I took it out twelve
hours later I had the sexy beach hair every ocean lover wants. What a great day
to start my morning. The second eventful thing, after eating my yogurt, was
taking my Italian Art History Final. Five different print outs of pieces of art
were placed before me. For each one I had to identify and explain the piece, and
then there was a second question that had to do with the detail of either the
artist or the style of the piece. I feel like I did all right, but it was the best I could do,
so I am satisfied. (I also had my Photography Final Critique.. but that was a joke. Everyone loved my work. Actually everyone loved everyone's work. Charles just talked mostly. He does that often.)
Today in the streets of Firenze there were wild protests. I
do not know what these men were fighting about, but the city is on edge. There
were helicopters flying around (this is really rare) and I was surrounded by
men in uniform with bats, and helmets with face masks running to “designated
protest areas.” It was exciting. If I get any news on what exactly was going
down, I will inform you. Currently the rumor is something with a neighboring
African country…. But that has not be confirmed. Don’t worry mom, I am safe and
sound.
Isabella and Felix came over for dinner tonight. For those
of you who do not remember, they are my two friends from the break dancing
group. We had a delicious pasta dinner (surprised?) and then played a few
rounds of the card game Spoons and finished with a great game of Bullshit.
There were lots of laughs. I am going to miss those two.
We finished the night (when I say we, I mean Joanna and
Rachel and I) by watching the film The Truman Show. It is hard to explain. I
suggest you look it up. Watch it. Then watch it again. It was a mind blower.
Verbaledudette’s Gift Guide Item Number thirteen is: Something
that is off the market: The Parmesan Cheese Pencil Sharpener.
(Just so you know, before this I wanted to put a copy of
FUKT magazine on, but I could not find if you could purchase it! Is it an
online only thing? This gift thing is a disappointment. Look at this link http://www.fukt.de/
and tell me if you can find a price. Who knew trying to play Santa’s helper
could be so darn frustrating.) I give up. Listen folks, I have been collecting
cool things for the passed two months and the last few nights I have become
heart broken when the truth about these objects come out. I was thrilled to
find this product. A pencil that shaves off cheese is genius! I was excited to
show you this wonderful device. It’s unique, it’s classy, it’s fun, it’s artsy,
it sold out completely after the first two weeks of sale time and the Germans
are not making any more. What kind of world do we live in!?
Where to find it online so you can at least look at it: http://jazarah.net/meet-the-parmesan-cheese-pencils/
Price: Haha. Funny.
Let’s try this again. Today’s gift item from your favorite
blogger is: TOO EXPENSIVE FOR YOU but I have to show it to you anyway. It is
the Rocking Italian Scooter Deluxe.
I stumbled on this beauty a month ago and it was not until
tonight that I noticed, not only that it was a lot of moolah, but also it is
hand made from a guy that lives in Turin, Italia. How perfect is that? In his
little “about this” section, he claims that the one you receive may be a little
different because he makes the special for order. He may charge the big bucks,
but considering what the process must be, I would buy this. I would buy this,
but then not let my children get near it.
Where to find it: http://www.etsy.com/listing/41381029/rocking-italian-scooter-deluxe
Price: $2,300.00
Okay, here is a gift closer to your price range. (I am
guessing Bill Gates and other million dollar owners are not interested in my
ramble. I am guessing my audience is more normal.) Introducing the: ‘Stache
Labbit Plush
Do not ask me whata labbit is, but isn’t this the cutest hipster stuffed animal you have
ever laid eyes on? Your kids would love to find this in their stockings! Even
your boyfriend/girlfiend would love to get this while out on a romantic date
that you will do before anyone else cause your cool and that is the hipster way
to do things. Embrace the ‘stache my ‘sters.
Where to find this: http://www.kidrobot.com/Toys/PlushToys/stacheLabbitPlush7Inch.html
Price: $15.95
And while we are on the topic of mustaches… you might as
well consider getting these bad boys too. Perfect for those men, and women, in
your life who can’t grow fuzz beneath their nostrils. TA DA:The Sunstache
Again, I do not know why they call it that. But you cannot
resist these fabulous pair of shades. Get one for the whole family! Hey, even
old Grandpa Joe would like to grow a bushy mustache once again! It’s a hell of
a lot better than those ones with the fake nose because you do not have to
breathe in plastic and you look natural. . . ish.
Where to find: http://us.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=80&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=23510506&parentid=SHOP_STOCKINGSTUFFERS&sortProperties=+subCategoryPosition,&navCount=0&navAction=jump&color=&pushId=SHOP_STOCKINGSTUFFERS&popId=GENERAL_CATEGORY&prepushId=&selectedProductSize=&cm_mmc=Social-_-FB-_-20111202-_-sunstache
Price: $8.00
And here is a crazy picture of me because I felt like there wasn't enough random on this post.
Tomorrow I have my Italian final. Wish me luck! Have a good night my friends. Stay classy.
P.S. Did you noticed I did not talk about the weather? You should be proud.
Hello from my bed. It may be only 7:00 but I already have my
fuzzy socks on and am positioned under the covers. The lights are even off. No,
I am not ready for bed; it is just kind of really chilly in this apartment, and
I didn’t want to sit in those uncomfortable squeaky chairs in the kitchen. Italians
obviously do not believe in decent warming devices in their apartments
(probably because they do have a lot more hair on their bodies than other
countries… but STILL. I am a hairless American who needs to be warm!) Okay, I
am over exaggerating a little bit. Truth is, my bed is comfortable and I like
the way the comforter practically glows in the dark because it is so neon
yellow.
I apologize for such an awful introduction paragraph. Lets
try this again.
Young the Giant’s
most recent album is playing through my headphones right now as my feet are
cuddling underneath my neon yellow comforter. The only light coming into the
room is from the sliding propped open door. This square shadow of light (play
on words, eh?) is enough light to frame Rachel’s bed in a halo like fashion. I
am wearing my “your blog sucks” tee shirt and feeling really good about life.
Now, wasn’t that better?
Italy was beautiful today. This morning, I woke up with a
burst of energy that needed to be set free. I harvested this emotion by going out
on an hour long stroll, wandering through streets, kicking leaves up in the
small park to the left, and watching old men row boats down the Arno river. It
was truly refreshing.
I simply love this city. Walking home from school after
class today, I really tried to soak in everything I passed. I have become so
accustom to the route from casa mia
(my house) to the school, that I sometimes take for granted how magical Firenze
is. For example, as I was walking I breathed in deeply (with my new nose!!) the
smells of home cooking, cigars, and that certain Italian city smell (no, not
the pee and beer smell thank you, there is another one that I cannot put a name
to.) I was walking down the little side street and I noticed the steam coming
out of what looked like an air vent for one of the walled apartments. The way
it swirled up and dispensed into the cold air as thick white petals was
entrancing. I still smile at the lines of clothes that hang out of windows,
even though it is a common sight in my days here. Now that I have lived her for
so long, I can look passed the tourist monuments and really fall in love with
the sweet subtitles.
I have begun to develop the feeling that every city is like
this. Salt Lake City is just as beautiful as here, but I do not take the time
to notice its details because I realize that I have taken it for granted. You
never know what you have until it’s gone right?
Italian language is one of my least favorite classes because
I hate being put on the spot and failing miserably when I am. BUT on the plus
side, I love the challenge of trying to learn this new, beautiful, language. I
want to learn! Oh goodness, my life is so hard. Just kidding. : ) Italian class
was alright today. My fingertips were really cold. I have mentioned my
pronunciation/spelling problem before, well now in class it is kind of a joke.
For example, we were changing verbs from present to past tense, and Joanna
chose my word to be the hardest one in the whole wide world (not really) to
pronounce just because we all know how I st st stutter. I cannot remember it
now and cant look it up in my notes cause I left my notebook at school, but
know that it was hilariously hard (for me.) Oh well. Italian class is one of
those classes that you dread going to, but once you are there you are fine, and
everyone leaves laughing. Nicola may be an awful teacher, but he quite the
character.
This has nothing to do with anything, but it made me laugh. I thought you would need a little giggle on your Monday.
Thanksgiving is obviously not celebrated here (if you do not
know why… you have some serious problems that you need to figure out before reading
any further. Google it.) Despite the country we are living in, Joanna, Rachel
and I have decided to make a feast. We made a list of items we like to eat and
divided them up between the three of us. I am in charge of a fruit and mashed
potatoes. I am thinking maybe doing my family’s favorite apples in orange juice
mixture and maybe some pomegranates.
Grandma, when Michael reads this to you, please know that I
will not do your mashed potatoes justice and I am sending up my white flag.
There is no competition; you have already won. Hopefully I will come in at
least a close fifth place on the “good mashed potatoes” list. It cannot be very
hard right? I mean I do not have a blender or anything... Is it unsanitary to
use a rock? (I am only joking Rachel & Joanna; you honestly do not need to
worry about if there are going to be dirt and other earthy materials in your
buttery potatoes.)
All I can say is thank goodness I am not in charge of the
turkey.
Music Monday Update: Check out the song “Hotel Song” by Regina
Spektor. It is a current love of mine.
I finished Like Water
for Chocolate. Please read it. I had chills of wonderful emotion through
out the entire thing. It is an easy, magical, read. (Please note that the picture to the right is not the real cover of the book, but an illustration someone did. I found it on google and liked it. That is all. )
Also, in the news of the social networking, I think you will
find great pleasure in the new follower my twitter account has gained.
“Titsoffire” has indeed started to follow my unwitty, too quotey, status
update, tweet feed. I feel honored, really. Not many people can say that
someone with such a great name is one of their 92 followers.
My final statement deals with a lot of exclamation marks.
Prepare yourself:
MY BEASTIE BECCA IS COMING TO VISIT ME OFFICIALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
