IKEA Opens!

IKEA opened today!!!! We got there in the late morning and although I was afraid it would be crazy crowded it wasn't too bad. I just love IKEA. There is something about walking through the upper level and seeing all the rooms set up that inspires me to take good care of my home and make it a comfortable place. Today we were inspired by this office set up. My husband has indured haveing an office/storage room since we moved into this house. His office has always gotten the handydowns from all the other rooms. It is just a collection of cheap furniture. Today we saw this great office set up at IKEA and I think over the next months we are going to work on getting his office looking nice. Some paint and some new furniture. Today I didn't buy much. Really just a few storage items and odds and ends here and there. But I am SO excited that we have an IKEA now. Good times!

Italian in Me and Books

I noticed something about my self the other day. Italian culture is rubbing off on me. The other day I was at lunch with my hubby and Josh. We were trying a new restaurant. Matt has been wanting to try it for a long time and we finally decided to go. They advertised a meal for 11euro that included a first (your pasta), second (your meat) and cooked veggies. It is supposed to all be out similar to a buffet where you choose the food yourself. But when we got there they had already put everything away except the veggies. So we went and loaded up even though these usually come at the end of the meal. They were good too! The waiter then brought out our first and second plates at the same time. This hardly ever happens here because Italians always eat in cources but since we were late they brought it all at the same time because they were cleaning up. We finished our meal in less than 30 minutes. When we were ready to leave I told the guys that was one of the fastest Itaian meals I had ever had and that honestly I felt a little bit robbed of the experience because it happend so fast. Look at me becoming all Italian! :)
We got 10 of our 12 book bags from America the other day. We have been wanting to send these books over since we moved to Italy but never had the time and money at the same time. We finally got the sent just days before we came back to Italy in June. It was like Christmas opening them up and looking at all the books inside. There were lots of kids books and teaching books. I was so excited to get them here now that I am teaching the kids English Club. Finally so many of the books and resources that I have been collecting since college are going to be put to good use. I am so excited! I have always wanted to be a teacher....God has finally brought things full circle and even though I am not teaching in the place or way I thought I would be, I am teaching. It amazes me how God has a long term plan for our lives and when I finally see those plans all I can do is stand in awe of Him!

Kicking off September

This has been a fun weekend. We kicked it off with Heidi's 30th birthday. 30 is a big birthday so Brian wanted to plan something special. So we planned a surprise party! I love parties but especially when it is a surprise and you can really pull it off. Heidi was so surprised. She kept saying "Are you serious?" It was great.
Then on Saturday it was OU game day. Unfortunatly the game didn't start until 1am our time. But we grilled burgers for dinner and hung out. Josh and Maurizio came up for dinner. Then Randy came up to watch the game with Matt. Josh and I only made it through the first quarter. Randy and Matt stayed up for the whole thing. True fans! Then good news is that the rest of the games are at normal times for us. And OU won!
Then on Sunday Brian and Cheryl Bazay came to Ancona! They were here in Italy and we had been trying to find a day to get together but their travel schedule and our work schedule were not working well togehter. They were supposed to go back to the states on Sunday but after some paperwork problems they can't leave until tomorrow. So they came to Ancona! It was great to see them. We showed them around town and took them to Il Forte a restaurant that sits up above the city. You have a great view of the port from up there. We could see the city fireworks as we ate. There were fireworks last night to celebrate the end of the summer. It was really good to see them. Turned out to be a pretty fun weekend. :)