foods of aviano part due (italian for two)

because i know you want to see more

and i have to get people over here to see me 

somehow

i am not to proud to bribe ya!

here is part two

due in italian

pronounced doo-ay

the foods

wonderful foods of aviano

this was an 'appetizer'

per say

it consisted of melted cheese

and a sponge cake type thing

 filled with spinach artichoke dip

delicious

chocolate cake

with chocolate pudding filling

simply stated

yet

decadent on the palate

creme brulee

with raspberries

and cookies

yum.

another view

can i have one of each?

please

and a glass of each

hey at least i'm not asking for a bottle of each.

so 

are you hungry yet?

ready to come see me?

i promise more foods to come

just prepare to drool on your keyboard.

friday fun fact: italian lesson uno (pronounced ooooon)

its been awhile since we've had

a

friday fun fact

too long if you ask me

maybe not long enough if i'm asking you!

today's friday fun fact

is a brief italian

lesson

while studying the language

because i hope in four years 

i will be able to say i'm fluent

i have learned 

the shortest

italian word

 that contains 

all vowels 

and only vowels

is...

aiuole

pronounced i-u-o-lay

so what does it mean?

flower beds!

which i love by the way!

i found this picture by googling images of flower beds. 

isn't it gorgeous!

so today as

the sun shines in oklahoma

 and its a day you wish it was spring

yes, i check the weather in oklahoma

and 

the sun is shining in aviano

it's quite a bit cooler here than oklahoma

what better way to wish for spring

than to 

dream about

aiuole

happy friday 

ya'll!

bloghop 2011

hello blizzard bloghop 

2011!!

currently we are living in tlf 

at good ol' 

aviano ab

so

i was doubtful i'd be able to post

internet in tlf stinks big time!

in fact i've been trying since 7 aviano time to post this!

we've been in tlf 

since jan 8

and next week

we move

into our

{italian casa}

which 

i am 

very very thankful for

i am a simple okie

who likes to make people laugh

and loves

to give hugs

i married my best friend

really, its not a cliche

we have been best friends since the 6th grade

we married seven years ago this march

he is an airman

and i've come to give up 

my 'control freak'

personality trait

all in the name of love

actually because it's the only way to stay sane in the military

we have two wonderful dogs

{maik}

and 

{admiral}

and 

we are living the american/italian dream

thank you

for stopping by!

please feel free to check in often! 

i love comments!

thankful thursday...mi casa

i've been hesitant 

to add pictures

didn't want to jinks ourselves

but since the contract is approved

and 

all that's left is to finalize dates

i figure

why the heck not.

so 

on this thankful thursday

i'm so thankful

to have

an italian casa

without further delay
lets start our pictorial tour

of the place i will call home 
for the next four years

first to tease you

our view:

to the left

to the right

directly out our front window.

breathtaking.

now for the real stuff

the casa

welcome to our drive:

i love this driveway!

and there she is! 

our patio

where we promised our landlord 

we'd host an american bbq

funny story: we gave away our patio set 

because we never expected to have a patio this large.

to all those who are moving: DO NOT SELL ANYTHING!

wait till you get here!

you never know what you are going to have 

and supplies/stores are limited and pricey!

our yard:

our landlord promises to plant lots and lots of flowers

and i promised i would help!

she said 

va bene!

the dogs will have plenty of room to run! 

ready to go in?!?

our mudroom:

i am very excited about this! 

a place for ken's boots and those dirty paws!

our dining/living whatever we make it room:

this is the room with the VIEW!

our cucina

disclaimer: italian kitchens are NOT big!

and we don't have a dishwasher at this time.

we are looking into putting one in....

a boring hallway.

the only hallway.

but i love the doors.

the first bedroom.

it is the smallest.

notice anything different from american bedrooms?

the second bedroom:

it's a medium size bedroom. 

have you noticed yet?

the main floor bathroom:

the largest of the three bedrooms on the main floor:

have you noticed yet?

let's go downstairs!!

love these stairs!

one side of the stair case:

the other side of the stair case:

the bedroom downstairs:

most likely this will be our master bedroom.

it is the largest.

and it's connected to...

the downstairs bathroom!

which is also the laundry room!

so to sum up our pictorial tour:

the main floor consists of three cameras (bedrooms),

a living/dining room

a toilette (bathroom),

and a cucina (kitchen).

the bottom floor consists of 

one big room that is seperated by the stair case

so it's basically two rooms

 a camera (bedroom),

a toilette (bathroom) and laundry room.

so did you notice

the difference between american bedrooms

and italian??

no closets! a closet counts as a room which means higher tax!

we have plenty of rooms 

in our new house.

which will be yours?

you are always welcomed at our home! 

love 

from budoia!

(that's our town!)

my love affair

meet him.

our new gently used 1999 ford focus

he's great

he has taken us from point a 

to point b

and some sightseeing in between

there was a slight problem
between us though

he was a stick

and i had to get use to that

in my driving experience

 it probably would have been easier to drive on the left side of the road

we went on a few dates

chaperoned of course

you never leave young love/lust unattended 

it could be dangerous

and after the elders

eh-em kenneth

trusted us

we were free 

to be alone

of course we were both nervous 

but you have to try it at least once

it was a day like no other

we went from point a to point b

without any problems

and back again

ok i admit he stalled out once or twice

but he's an old man....

and just when i thought i was falling in love

there she was

his engine wasn't even cooled off yet

she looked rough

covered in dried salt water

but she was here

and she was my automatic!

 suddenly i forgot about him

hello friend!

i wanted to run and hug her

but they wouldn't let me

they insisted they clean her up first

i didn't care. i would have taken her as is.

after a few hours of 

impatiently waiting

she was 'official'

european tags and all

isn't this a beautiful sight!

and we were together

again

as the nice italian man filled her tank

i spoke sweet nothings into her steering column

i promised to never leave her

to take her wherever i go

and that we would be the best of friends

be-poppin' around italy

now 

i know,

like any good relationship

we will have our fights

and disagreements

but i always have him

in the background

waiting to continue our love affair.

love love love from italy.

I miss..

there are several things

you know you will

miss when you find out your are moving

 you know you will miss family

friends,

coworkers,

and various other things.

 i knew that i would miss braum's milk

i knew that i would miss mexican food

(good mexican food)

i knew i would miss Sonic,

more specifically sonic ice.

  i had no idea i would miss fountain drinks.

i miss my dr pepper from the fountain

they have dr pepper here

but it is in a can

and well
that is just not the same.

i miss the click of the cup
when it hits the lever of the dr pepper tab,

watching the cup fill up

guesestimating how close I can get the soda to the top

without it spilling over

 i miss listening to the melody of the fizz carbonated bubbles

and watching the ice dance with the bubbles to the melody

i found this picture online.

 it pretty much describes

what i would look like if i could get a good dr pepper from the fountain.

please ignore the fact she is getting diet dr pepper.

 now don't get me wrong

the bx does have dr pepper in their fountain

but again

it's not the same.

it's more carbonation

less syrup

and

if you are a dr pepper drinker

you know the importance

of

 the syrup

so as i get use to the italian way

and enjoy the italian food

(which I am doing!!) 
i must admit

i miss fountain drinks

especially dr pepper

 (if you can figure out how to send me a dr pepper

from sonic 

i will name my first born after you)

thankful thursday: the captain, chase, and louie

when people heard we would be taking the pups

on our overseas journey

many thought we were

crazy

sometimes i thought we were crazy!

then the big day arrived

and of course

so did the hiccups

kinks, bumps in the road, call them what you want

but they came too

the dogs

did fabulous.

even riding with us

in the cabin

from dallas to baltimore

they were quieter than most kiddos on the plane.

and i must say

thank you to american 

airlines

they went above and beyond.

baltimore was a little more hectic than dallas

mainly because there is one area 

set up 

for the military flight from baltimore

to ramstein germany

which meant one entire plane

with a lot of luggage 

gathered in one area

yet

the dogs did great

even a chief 

stopped to comment at how well behaved the pups were

back to the point of the story

germany

another hiccup

but in the end  a blessing 

we were delayed

and as i set up camp at the airport

yes, i've shown this picture a hundred times 

but i can't help it

i adore it

we met louie, the captain, and chase

the captain and chase are louie's parents

meet louie

i admit i stole this picture from louie's mom's facebook page

but it captures louie perfectly!

meet the captain

 just going to put a disclaimer,

i stole all the pictures of louie the captain and chase from 

facebook. 

meet chase.

there is something about dog people

we just gravitate towards each other

and 

well

i am glad we did

ever since the hiccup in germany

we've become friends

we are hoping louie, maik, and admiral become friends as well!

chase and the captain 

are 

some of the best people i know.

they have never hesitated to help

kenneth and i 

during this journey we call pcsing

in fact she shared some of the houses she found with us!

that's how we found our future *keep your fingers crossed* home

people thought we were crazy 

for taking the pups with us

i wouldn't change it for the world

traveling can be chaotic

yet

there is something refreshing

relaxing

and welcoming

about coming off the plane

and seeing a wagging tail waiting for you

i figure if they can handle it being in a crate

underneath an airplane for 10 plus hours

how bad do i really have it?

traveling with the pups

became a conversation starter

we talked to people

we would have never talked to

we made friends

and 

i am so glad we did

would i travel with the pups again?

most definitely.

so on this thankful thursday

i am not only thankful for my four-paw children

but for the captain, chase, and louie.