Killing time until

This morning left me with 3.5 hours to kill while my car was getting a new part.  Yes, my new car.  Let's not talk about it.

So off I went.  First stop was supposed to be coffee, but then I had the bright idea to get my haircut.  Turned out to not be such a bright idea.

However, before I could realize that my hair was butchered, I headed to Whole Foods for lunch.  It was my first experience with the famous Whole Foods salad bar, and I'm officially in love.

The weather was perfect for lunch on the sidewalk, even if the view left something to be desired.

Next stop, Starbucks venti vanilla iced coffee, and back to the dealership... where the view left even more to be desired.

At least I wore cute shoes to stare at.

3.5 hours later, and I was finally off to run a million errands.  Only when I got into the fitting rooms at Target did I look in the mirror and realize the sad state of my hair.  I convinced myself it wasn't "so" bad, and I finally made my way home.

I stood in front of my bathroom mirror for a good 10 minutes parting, pulling, yanking, sweeping, and brushing to no avail.  I called the hubs and almost cried over the state of my mop, very unlike me.  I knew I needed a fix pronto because I was dealing with a glorified mullet: shaggy bob in the front and long layers in the back!

I was 5 times more annoyed than I look, and my hair at least 3 times as bad as it looks.  A little dramatic, yes.  The ladies back at my usual salon got me fixed up as best they could though and were sweet as could be.  Sadly, they couldn't glue the 4 inches of hair back onto my head.  Lesson learned.

Have any bad salon experiences?  A bad cut or color gone wrong?  Make this sad 'do feel like it's not alone!

Ciao

I've been blog-absent for the last month but with good reason!  I spent most of June soaking in every last bit of the food, history, art, and beauty of Italy.  Amazing is the only word to describe it.  That said, I do have some fun posts started (and lots of words) about everything we saw and ate while there that I'll be rolling out once I get my hands on the hubs thousands of pictures.

For now... some Blackberry quality sneak peeks.

Our first dinner in Italy on a walking street in Venice, after 2 days of travel.  I sat there repeating, "I can't believe I'm really here" over and over again.  The beauty of Venice totally blew me away; it was love.  I also loved all the wine and carbs...

Jetlag isn't my best look, but I can't even explain how how purely happy I was this night to have finally arrived!

One place I just knew we needed to make a stop while in Rome was La Botticella, the Steelers bar.  Yes, an Italian bar plastered in Steelers paraphernalia.  I suppose it defeats the "Europe experience" when you go where you know you'll be surrounded by people from your own hometown, but it was a blast.  And, well, Jesus was wearing a Steelers helmet, and you can't argue with that!

Hi, sorry we look like we've walked 10 miles in 95 degree weather... it's because we pretty much had.  Thank you Roman heat wave!

Anyone else have fun summer plans they've been enjoying?  
Any upcoming travel plans?  Let me live vicariously through you now that I've spent my travel budget for the next decade!

It just got sur-real

Life has quickly gone from busy to positively surreal.

Yesterday was my students' last day.

Today was my last day at the school before 4 weeks off.

The hubs and I board a plane in less than 72 hours for a vacation I've literally dreamed about for years!

I'm feeling blessed with my life right now.

Now if only the Pens can pull off a win against Boston tonight... we'll have even more reason to be celebrating!

What things (big or small) are you celebrating in your life right now?

Grow up and act like a little girl

After running a few errands after work yesterday, I had a hard time deciding whether to hit the gym or skip it.  I convinced myself I needed to go, knowing I wouldn't regret it.  Two wonderful things happened when I got there.

1. It was an arm day, and the weight room was a ghost town.  I prefer free weights for arm work, but the weight room at the Y can get crowded.  I don't care so much who is there, but I admittedly hate sharing benches.  I like to have my own little slice of space, and I had space galore to work on my guns ;)

Thank you iphone for the high quality image

2. As I was walking into the Y, there was a young girl walking in with her mother.  This story is even sweeter if you know that she was about 5 years-old and wearing nothing but a swimsuit and flip-flops (crazy hot weather this week!).  As I walked past her she looked straight up at me and said with the most sincerity a child can muster "You're pretty!"  I stopped, squatted down, and told her thank you and that she was very pretty as well.

Sometimes it takes a child to remind us how easy it is to make another person smile.  Old, young, friend or stranger, it takes only seconds to share a compliment.  Perhaps we all need to start acting like 5 year-old little girls a little more often...


When was the last time a stranger surprised you with a compliment?  

Did you "pass on" the kindness to someone else?

Gelato for dinner?

I love my kiddos, but I can't stop thinking about only having 12 work days before the school year is over.  That marks the start of my summer break and time for a huge 18 day vacation.  It would be (will be?) hard working in any other PT setting after enjoying the perks of a school-based position.

For now though, I'm just trying to enjoy the weekend.  The hubs is away for a few, so things are a little different around here.  Friday evening will definitely include watching the Penguins game, and it may also include any or all of the following...

• Eating gelato and kettle corn for dinner
• Staying on the couch for hours at a time
• Online shopping for said vacation
• Watching TLC wedding shows
• Reading blogs
• Doing absolutely nothing productive
• Eating more gelato

Sounds like a perfect Friday night to me!

How are you spending your Friday night?

Your idea of a perfect Friday night?

PS. I don't really eat gelato for dinner.  Gelato was just my appetizer.  Dinner was this monster-sized seafood stuffed portabella.  Yum.