melted smoosh

of course, there's the obvious. i miss my friends (although, thanks to the wonders of technology, we're still able to keep in touch and i'm so grateful for that!). i miss being close to family, and i miss our own house. now, i don't doubt for a second that we made the right decision coming here. i'm so grateful that we have this opportunity, and for all its ups and downs, it has been absolutely wonderful. that being said, here's what i will never again take for granted: buffalo chicken the Target dollar spot driving (in the States - i'm so glad i don't have to drive in Rome) Bath & Body Works soap breakfast sandwiches (Greta actually mentioned them this morning and asked "when we go back to Pixburgh can we have those meat sandwiches again?") Aldi my job as a PA (i really do miss working!) Phipps Conservatory Ranch dressing (God bless the Pongracs, who are bringing us some next week!) kids' consignment stores and sales

this day ... i'm still in disbelief over how this day turned out. if Rebecca hadn't lived it with me, i might have thought it was all a crazy dream. but let's start at the beginning ...  Monday, October 8, was Sabrina's birthday, and we planned to go out to dinner that evening to celebrate. however, Rebecca and i had big plans for that afternoon, namely the guided "underground" tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and the Palatine Hill that Rebecca had booked months in advance. the tour would be three-and-a-half hours long and encompassed all four levels of the Colosseum (including the "underground" level which is not open to the public). i was especially excited for this, since our family got rained out of the Colosseum when we went in August (and besides, we were just following the self-guided audio tour).  before our tour, Rebecca and i went to the Scholars' Lounge Irish pub for lunch. she had scouted out this spot ahead of time, and c

on Sunday, October 7, we took a day trip out to Ostia Antica. observant readers will remember that the four of us explored Ostia in August, and it scratches the walking-around-in-an-ancient-town itch without having to make the journey to Pompeii. here's my original post about this ancient seaport town. we got off to a somewhat tumultuous start, as Sabrina joined the girls and me for mass in the morning, and Rebecca was to meet us at the bus stop afterwards. (Nick had an obligation in the afternoon and wasn't able to join us for this adventure!) i had told Rebecca to meet us at the Piazza della Rovere stop, which is just at the bottom of our hill, and it would be convenient because she could get on the 64 bus by their hotel and just get off at the next stop. after mass, i gave her our ETA and she said she was already at the stop, but that she didn't see the correct bus numbers on the sign (we could take either the 23 or the 280). i didn't think much of it, because the