Final Days Home..

Okay, so here we go, I am finally finishing up with my packing (or so I think) with a glass of wine in hand, bad tv playing and a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Is this my typical packing ritual? Well, lately it seems to be!

Today is Valentine's Day, and since Cupid has forgotten me for the day, I will be spending the evening watching the new movie "Valentine's Day" and eating at Wahoo's Fish Tacos with my mom and our neighbor Leslye.

To catch you up to date, my first standby flight is Tuesday morning out of LAX to Atlanta, Georgia, where I will be meeting with my aunt JewDee and the mysterious Georgio. After dinner and a good night's sleep, we will catch the 3:45pm flight to Rome on Wednesday afternoon. The flight is approximately 10 hours, and I'm hoping I will sleep plenty of it!

My current dilemma is packing, I know I am overpacked at the moment, and tomorrow I will force myself to cut my wardrobe down - as I am sure I will find some great buys that I will not be able to live without in Italy...

So, I sit here with my wine in hand, coaxing myself into the Italian mindset, dreaming about my future encounters and I cannot be more excited! Yet, my stomach is also in knots, knowing I will be gone for so many months in a place where I cannot just take a 2-hour plane ride home to visit my mom when I get homesick. All the more reason for my family to come visit me!

But, I have always dreamed of Italy since I was a little girl. I find the language absolutely beautiful - even though I only know bits and pieces of it for now. The landscape and architecture have always owned a special part of me as it pulls on my heart strings. Therefore, I know that Italy is calling me and I will be happy there. I just cannot wait to be there, to breathe in the sweet air, and close my eyes listening to the whirl of the busy city zipping around me.

Ciao!