Need a laugh?

This is sure to do it! Something happened to the first one I posted, so here it is broken up into 2 videos.





Doesn't that just make your day better?

Fun Photo’s

Last week a fellow military blogger posted some pictures she edited from photofunia.com, it looked like fun, so I did some photo’s as well.  I also found some other websites that are similar to photofunia and got lost for hours on these sites having fun editing photo’s. Here are some of the pictures.

I don’t know why, but I love this one. All I had to do was drag these green colored eyes to match up where my eyes were and it put my face in this picture. I think the website said it was Jennifer Lopez originally in the picture. The hand does look a little darker than my face, but I like it.

Looking down a tunnel

This is another one where I had to line up the eyes and it put my face in the picture

I will have to take some more time one day and see what other sites I can have fun with.  I wish I could use programs like photoshop, but it seems so complicated. This was enough to keep me entertained.

Great Video

Okay, so I came across this video on the internet and thought it was great. It's long and the guy is pretty high energy, but he has some great points! Even though it's long, try and watch the whole thing :) So glad I came across this!

The One He Fights For from Alexis Chervony on Vimeo.

It’s Friday!

This week has gone by pretty slow only being a 4 day week. Dan’s been busy with work this week, I’m glad it’s Friday! 

Last Sunday night we went over to a friends house and watch the Bears vs Seahawks game.  It was nice to actually watch something on the TV in HD!  They paid $25 for the week and did a live stream in HD through NFL.com…this means real commercials, folks!  On our way there and on the way home it was really foggy. Like, can’t see 10 feet in front of your car foggy.  It hung around for days, it was kind of eerie.  I was out with the dog one night and the fog wasn’t as bad as it had been, but still pretty thick. The soccer field was lit up and they were practicing, I only saw two guys that were pretty close.  Then, all of a sudden, like 15 images started appearing in the distance…the soccer players were jogging across the field coming towards us, but it was like it was all in slow motion and I felt like I was in a movie or something. It was weird.  Anyway…here are some pictures of the last day it was foggy, I took them of the soccer field behind our apt.

Here is what you should see when you look in our back yard.

This is what is looked like a few days ago

The fog cleared, then the rain came and yesterday the sun came out a little bit. Today is pretty nice too, it’s cloudy, but at least it’s not so gloomy. 

Yesterday I went to the Sacile market with Monica and we met up with her friend, Jennifer, and her mother in law.  I love olives and I haven’t tried any of the olives here yet so I got some. These babies are huge! Really tasty as well!

I feel like I am constantly cleaning this apartment.  The dust here seems so much worse then dust in the states.  I know my animals don’t help the matter, but even in the states we didn’t have as much dust as we have here.  It gets old, fast, but I can’t stand things being dusty all the time, so I guess I will just have to keep cleaning all the time. 

Over the past few weeks Eddie has been taking a liking to my crocs.  He has always liked laying on shoes, but anytime my crocs are off my feet, he’s lying on/in them.  It’s too cute.   I wear them all over the house because I can’t stand going barefoot, or even with socks on. The floors are cold and very hard.  When I was unpacking I had my shoes off and within a few hours by back was hurting so bad, so that’s another reason I just wear my crocs around.  I’ve gotten some pictures over the past few weeks.

He actually puts his paws up in the shoes

And as I am writing this, guess where here is?  That’s right!

He’s so cute, I just love him so much.  He is doing okay as far as his broken leg goes. He walks on it with a limp, but recently he seems to be limping a little bit more and one day he wasn’t using it, he just held it back and ran without it. He only did that for about 5 minutes, fell asleep and then woke up and was walking on it okay.  I called the vet to see when he wanted me to bring him in for the next x-ray and he said at the end of February because he was very please with his last x-ray, which was Dec 22nd.  He is healing up pretty well and it’s forming a good callus to heal, but the ulna is just taking more time.  That’s the bone that wasn’t lined up for so long, so I don’t know what’s going to happen with that, or if it will heal. The radius is looking good though, since that’s the bigger bone, that’s the one the vet was more concerned with.  I’m still very careful with him, he gets very curious and is always wanting to get into things, so I have to watch him closely.  He likes to jump up on the entertainment center, the subwoofer, the couches…so I just make sure I get him down.  He likes to sleep on the couch, so I let him and just make sure I stick around for when he gets up so I can put him down.  We had to move a table that was in our entryway into the kitchen because he was getting up on that and it’s pretty high.  Thank goodness our kitchen has a door on it!  When I leave I put him in the crate, most times he’s already in there sleeping, so I just have to close the door.  More recently I’ve been having to put him in there and I don’t think he likes it too much, I try and stick around here as much as I can so he doesn’t have to be in a crate.  On Christmas day we put him in there and when we came home he was out, so he broke out of it.  I worry he will hurt his leg this way because he sticks his paw through the metal and goes for the latch. He’s such a smart kitty.  I’m just trying to be extra careful, I don’t know how long it’s going to have to be like this, the vet said I didn’t have to be as careful, but I don’t trust that.  He seems to be getting better each day, I try not to leave for more than a few hours at a time and he does well.  He’s still as loveable as ever!

Not sure what our plans are for this weekend, Dan has some homework due for his classes he is taking online, but hopefully the weather will be nice and we can get out and do something.  Skiing last weekend was fun, but it took me a whole week to recover, I was SO sore.  That whole going up the hill without ever being on ski’s with no instruction was not a good idea! Shouldn’t have let them talk me into it! I learned so much more teaching myself on the bunny hill, I think I will do better next time around.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

First time for Everything

Dan and I met up with some friends in Aviano yesterday morning and went up to Piancavallo to go skiing.  The weather was pretty cloudy, but once we were going up the mountain we rose above the clouds and it was gorgeous up there.

Out of the 6 people who went, only 1 person knew how to ski. His name was Peter.  AJ is a snowboarder and was on his snowboard yesterday, Larry is also a snowboarder, but he was on ski’s for the first time yesterday, his fiance, Jin, was on ski’s for the second time and Dan and I were also on ski’s for the first time. Made for a pretty interesting day. 

The one bunny hill was closed, it was completely iced over, there was a smaller area open though, but the place was packed with people. We were then asked if we just wanted to go up on the lift and go down the green ski area. Sure, why not! No better way to learn!  The lift part was actually pretty easy for me, I didn’t fall, so that’s good.  Now that we are at the top of the mountain looking down it looks a lot bigger then it did from below.  The top was iced over pretty good, so when you fell you slid about 10+ feet down the hill.  There was a lot of falling.

Here’s Dan about 1/4th the way down

Someone mentioned at the shop the night before we went, that whichever direction you want to turn, you need to put weight on that side. So, if you want to turn right, put weight on the right. I had this in my mind the whole way going down and it just wasn’t working. It was to steep to experiment anything else.  AJ, who is a snowboarder, was trying to help me and watch other people come down the mountain to see what they were doing to try and give me tips, that was nice of him.  The bottom part of the hill I did well coming down because it wasn’t as steep and it wasn’t ice, so that helped.

This is a picture of the lower part of the mountain were it was more like snow or mush instead of iced over.

After my first trip down the hill, I practiced at the bottom of the hill and just tried getting used to being on ski’s.  I started experimenting with shifting my weight to see where it would take me. This is where I learned it was the opposite of that I have been told. If you shift all your weight to the left, you are going to go right. Not what I had been told the night before.  So, then I really tried to start weaving back and forth to make myself go slower down the mountain, which helped.  Dan kept going back down the mountain and caught on very fast.  I think his 3rd or 4th time down he didn’t fall at all. He did so well. Here is a short video of him coming down. The first guy you see coming down on his snowboard is AJ.

 

Peter, Dan, Larry and AJ

The guys went off to go on a blue and black or diamond course. They were gone for a while doing that, Jin and I stayed behind working on mastering our turning skills.

It was a great day to learn how to ski, even though there was a lot of mushy snow and ice. The weather was nice, we all were actually getting hot after we started skiing.  I think I have the basics down for next time, but who knows when we will go again. Not sure if it’s going to snow again this year up there or not.

I’m feeling sore this morning though, What a workout! Hopefully we get to go again sometime soon.

Amazing Article on Dr. Z

Dr. Zimmerman's obituary was in the Rapid City Journal online along with an amazing article on him.  This explains more about him, what he did for others and a little more about his diagnosis of a very rare form of cancer of the eye. I knew it was rare, but not one in 4 million rare. And the chances of an eye Doctor that treats this area of the eye that got this type of cancer, is even more rare. So sad for all. Makes me smile that they did an article on him though.

Click here to read article

Thank you all for your kind words. It’s meant a lot to me. 

01.10.11

On this day, the world lost a great man, Dr. Paul Zimmerman.  It absolutely breaks my heart that the best people are taken from this earth. 

This picture was at my going away get together we had at the Dublin in Rapid. Dr. Zimmerman and his wife, Kris.

I worked with Dr. Z at the Black Hills Regional Eye Institute (surgery center) in Rapid City SD.  He was an amazing man, came to work everyday with a smile on his face and ended the day with a smile on his face as well. Always so appreciative of all who worked with him and there wasn’t a day he worked with us without him thanking us for doing such a great job that day.  Some days, we even got back rubs!  Being up in the surgery center and having to work with other doctors, I only worked with him once or twice a week. I wish it could have been more. I enjoyed being in the the operating room with him. He was such a great doctor and was always into teaching and showing us new and interesting things he came across.  We of course jammed out with some tunes in the OR (not too loud), but every time I hear “ I’m yours” By Jason Mraz and “Pocket full of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield, I will always think of him.  Dr. Z loved the song “I’m yours” and always asked me to turn it up when it was on.  There was also a radio station in town that allowed people to record a message like, “This is Dr. Zimmerman from the Black Hills Regional Eye Institute and that was Natasha Bedingfield with Pocket full of Sunshine.” So, we also heard that many times a day and it always made me smile.

This is Dr. Z singing at the BHREI Winter Party up in Spearfish Canyon, SD

He was not only a great man to work with, but a great man to his patients.  His patients LOVED Dr. Z.  He was so good at what he did, so friendly, just a down to earth guy.  I was his patient, so got to experience first hand what it was like from another point of view.  Dr. Z performed my iLasik surgery and did a fantastic job!  He explains everything that’s going on, makes sure you aren’t in any pain, he was wonderful.  When I got Lasik he knew I was going home to be alone because Dan was gone for pre-deployment training, so he called me that night to make sure I was doing okay and checking if I needed anything. Like I said…GREAT MAN.

This picture was at a Rapid City Rush Hockey game. In this photo is Connie, Carrie, Dr. Z and myself

Dr. Z was diagnosed with ocular melanoma September 28th, 2009. When they did scans, it had already spread to his liver.  He was so determined to fight and beat this cancer.  I wasn’t there in SD anymore, but through his caringbridge site he shared his journey through it all and he was so determined to beat it. 

It’s sad to think when I go back to visit the BHREI, he won’t be there. I’m sure today is a very hard day for the BHREI family and I am thinking of you all. 

I feel so blessed to have known Dr. Zimmerman. He had a great impact on so many people and was such an inspiration. This man will be greatly missed by all who knew him.  My thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. I will never forget you Dr. Z, may you rest in peace.

Long Travel Agency :)

I have been one busy girl these past few days. We are having family come to visit us in April and in June and we are very excited.  Dan and I have yet to visit Rome knowing that we would soon have visitors and would be going soon anyway.  Dan’s Mom and some of her friends are coming at the end of April and My Mom,Step Dad and his sister and her husband are coming the the beginning of June.

This weekend I’ve been trying to find places to stay for where our families want to visit.  I’ve been looking mainly on VRBO because it’s cheaper to go the apartment route rather than staying in a hotel.

In April when Dan’s Mom and friends come we are going to hang around the apartment and do things around here for a few days. There is plenty to see within 2 hours of driving and of course, visit Venice.  We are going to visit Florence and Pisa on our way down to Rome. We say goodbye to one of Debra’s friends and welcome 2 more. Visit in Rome a little more then head back up this way.  We are still waiting to book any hotels/apartments at this time, Dan said he wants to wait a few weeks to try and get a more definitive plan before booking anything.

In June when my parents come, we are going to go to Innsbruck, Austria for a few days, check that out the day we get there and then head into Germany the next day so they can see Neuschwanstein Castle. We’ve been here before and it’s amazing. We will come back here to Sarone and go to Venice the next day. The day after that we will head to Rome and  will be staying in an apartment that is a block or 2 from the Colosseum.  I think the location will be great, I can’t wait.  It’s a pretty good deal, once broken up between the 3 couples it will be around $80 a night. Not too shabby. We will be staying at this apartment for 4 nights, having 2.5 days in Rome and one day we are going to travel to Pompeii, which is 2.5 hours south of Rome. When we leave Rome we are going to stay at a resort in Cortona, which is in Tuscany, for a few days.  My Aunt Jill found this online, the place looks gorgeous. I can’t wait to see all these parts of Italy we haven’t seen yet. Once finished there we are going to head up to Florence and spend a day there roaming around.  It’s going to be a busy trip, but it will be a lot for the family to see and I think it will be a blast.

Here is a picture of the place we will be staying at in Cortona:

The beginnings of planning things are always bumpy, it’s hard getting everyone on the same page, especially being so far away.  But, I think we came up with a good plan and are all on the same page now. Yes, we will be traveling a lot, but I can’t wait and I think it will be so much fun.

Send a Salute to your Troop!

This morning I received an e-mail asking to share this information on my blog. I think it's wonderful that the media creates things like this to help the families of deployed soldiers send messages to their loved ones. I know here in Italy the internet works great at times and other times not so well.  We rely on the internet for our main source of communication, so if our internet is not working or even going slow that means no Skype and no Vonage, which means no communication for that time.  So, why not create a weekly message when your internet is working and get that sent out as a backup. I know most people have local lines here, but it's not the same as seeing pictures and hearing your voice at the same time. 

Below, is a quick video of CNN Headline News' Robin Meade showing a family how to send their father in Kuwait a digital salute. Please take a look!

The process looks very easy and it's a nice thing for to for a deployed soldier.  I think with technology getting better everyday, many people do get to talk to their loved ones on Skype, but why not surprise them by doing this as well? 

To create your Salute, click here : http://bit.ly/SendSalute

I hope at some point many of you will send a salute to your soldier.  For all the other military bloggers out there, feel free to share this information on your page as well! 

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year.  This was our first New Year’s Eve in Italy, so it was exciting, even though we stayed in.  Neither Dan or I are fans of large crowds, throw large crowds of Italians into the mix…just doesn’t sound like a pleasant time.  One year I think we would like to tough it out, head to Venice and celebrate the New Year in San Marco Square, just to say we did it and for the experience but we will have to see how deployments will work into that. 

We watched movies, which we haven’t done in a while, we rarely turn on our TV anymore.  There is never anything on, so why waste the electricity?  If you know me, I’m always looking for ways to save money, some people call it being cheap, I call it being smart!  Especially with me not working, why not save if we can help it?  Anyways, it was a pretty peaceful evening until midnight hit.  I heard fireworks were huge here on New Year’s, but I wasn’t expecting that. I went upstairs and looked out the front bedroom window and since our town is up in the mountain a little bit I could see fireworks going off all over the place in Sacile and off in the distance in Pordenone.  Pretty neat. My poor dog didn’t think so.  She is terrified of fireworks, she used to run a hide in weird places like the bathtub, but now she gets right in your face and shakes like crazy and pants. I thought she was going to have a heart attack.  The fireworks that neighbors were setting off were just really loud POPS, I mean really loud. If that wasn’t bad enough our neighbor came out and didn’t even walk to the end of our walkway to set off his firecrackers, he just did them right by the door here. I had to take Shae downstairs to the bedroom down there, shut the door and turned on some music. After a while she finally settled down. Poor thing. I wonder what makes them so scared of these things? 

Dan is getting busy again with work and classes. He is about to start 3 more classes, one of them being a week long course that he will take on base and the other 2 classes go through April and they are online.

We are looking forward to visitors this year. Dan’s Mom is coming in April and my parents are coming in the first part of June.  Today I spent most of the day looking for apartments for rent in Rome because that’s usually a better deal than hotels.  I emailed a few people and just waiting for their responses. I’m excited that we are going to be seeing our families and seeing new places :) 

I hope that 2011 will be filled with lots of love, laughs and great memories to remember forever.  And so it begins…