Stupid little Japanese &^%^!

I know, I know you all want video and more pics from vacation - I'll get there eventually, but in the meantime I have to go off on my WiiFit. Tonight I finally had time to hook it all up and I started with the WiiFit Body Test. When I stepped on the board the little computer person called out "Oh!" - I felt like Garfield and was waiting for it to say one at a time please!

It then calculated my BMI, there was a scale that went from under to obese - mine promptly exploded off the top of the chart, called me obese and then porked out my little Mii character. To make it even worse, every time I step on the board it continues to call out "oh!" (to which I respond with language that isn't suitable for a blog that is focused on my son).

I must say it is fun, especially now that Jim's home and trying to balance his mammoth feet on the board! He named his Mii "Fatass" so when he went through the body test it told him to "focus on eating less and lowering his BMI, Fatass."

We've been challenged to a Mario Cart competition by the little Soldanos - but we need to buy Mario Cart first and practice, practice, practice so we can kick some little Soldano butt!

Hilton Head or Bust!

With some VERY creative packing we were able to fit 4 adults, JT, and all of JT's stuff into a rented Suburban. About 12 hours later we arrived. Friday and Saturday were spent recovering from the car ride. JT really was well behaved, but he is so over the car seat thing.

Sunday we went to Savannah so JT could meet his not-so-secret admirer, Abby! We fought the rain that's plaguing this vacation and managed to walk a little of the river, have dinner, and a little gelato (not as good as in Milan).

Monday everyone else hit the golf course, while Mom, JT, and I went to the beach. He loves the beach! Loves the freedom to crawl and eat sand! The surf is a little rough for him, but he enjoys the water at the pool. Yesterday was more beach time and then long naps and an afternoon of my birthday present . . . a wii! Even dad has been playing some of the games that don't hurt him.

So far this trip JT has figured out how to use a sippy cup, started holding his own bottle when he feels like it, learned to scream even louder than before, gotten his hair trimmed, decided he no longer wants baby food, and has figured out he's a bottom-less pit! The boy is eating a ton of "real" food - the other night he had some baby food, half an order of mac n cheese, cookies, biscuits, and topped it off with a bottle on the way home. It's been so much fun to spend all of this time with him, but it's taking 6 adults to keep him occupied!

They're calling for rain everyday, thanks to Fay or Fran or whatever that tropical storm is. It's okay though, we're making the most of our days. We only have 2 days left before we hit the road! It does fly by.

Check out Flickr for pics http://flickr.com/photos/catsmine/sets/72157606848626058/

Happy Birthday Bubba

I'm a little late today, but I've been thinking about you all day. Happy Birthday our Angel, we can only imagine what an amazing little boy you would have been.

More of Europe

I've got some of my other pics uploaded and a few comments trying to remember all the places I saw.
http://flickr.com/photos/catsmine/sets/72157606582124667/

Oh good

"People just aren't honest about their weight. Our law enforcement has come to conclude that that's not a correct way to determine if that's the person you're looking at. Whereas people don't tend to lie about their height. "
NEW HAMPSHIRE DMV SPOKESPERSON KATIE DALEY ON WHY THAT STATE, LIKE MANY OTHERS, DOES NOT LIST A PERSON’S WEIGHT ON THEIR DRIVER’S LICENSE, WASHINGTON POST 7.21.08

This is good news - I've always worried that if I were in a bad accident they'd find my left leg, look at my license and say "We've got her boys, let's go home!"

BTW - I'm hooooome. I think Toots remembers who I am, at least he remembers he likes to pull my hair and chew on my locket.

Dissed by George

On Sunday we did as the Milanese do and fled the city. We jumped on a train and headed first to Varenna, a very small village along Lake Como. The ride out was beautiful, crossing the Italian country side and then lining the lake.

Varenna is built into the side of a cliff so to get anywhere you have to climb steps. I'm convinced that everyone in Varenna has awesome legs.

We explored some of the gardens and took a zillion pictures of the amazing view. We then jumped on a ferry to Bellagio. We booked tickets on the rapido boat to Como and went for lunch on a phenomenal veranda overlooking the lake. We had lake fish (complete with the heads) and some other dishes that were good but I now can't remember.

The guys managed to find a shop with wonderful gifts, but I was too busy trying to find something to take care of an unexpected visit from Aunt Flo. There is nothing in Bellagio - just in case it ever happens to you. So I missed out on the one good shop - thanks Mother Nature.

The rapid boat took us to Como and while I'd love to say I waved at George as we went my his villas I have no clue which was his as there were all gorgeous. The Farmacias were all closed but luckily some nice hotel workers pointed me in the direction of a souvenir shop that sold Aunt Flo accessories. We explored the streets, but most of the shops were closed since it was Sunday. I did manage to buy some scarves and pashmina made in Como from Como silk.

From Como we took the "direct" train, which stopped 8 times, back to Milan. We jumped on the Metro to Navigali (or wherever we went Friday night) and got dinner and walked the canal.

The street vendors were out in full force, but didn't really have anything unique. The 'skeeters are really bad in this area so we made the trip short and headed back to the hotel. We had layers of sweat and stink on us and our feet were sore for the second day.

I decided to stay in this morning, having stimulated enough of the European economy. We have interviews until 7 so I'm sure we'll have a wonderful dinner somewhere and then head back to pack. I fly out tomorrow at 11:50 - 5:50 home time and get home around 9, 3 am my body's time. Doesn't matter - as long as I get home to my boys tomorrow night!

Next time, I'm bringing a Hover-Round!

We've had a wonderful weekend in Milano, covering much of the city and about half of nearby Lake Como. On Friday night we went to Le Brelin for one of the most wonderful meals I've ever had. I'm not sure what all of it was but I think we tasted over half of the menu. We had osobucco, rissoto, prawns, steak, cannelloni, and proseco (Spumanti sparking wine) - all amazingly delicious. Apparently it's traditional Milanese which is very different than what you expect from Italian food. As we were getting ready to leave the sky opened and the rains came. We had hoped to explore the Navigli area but instead had to waste some time in the bar until it was down to a rough drizzle. We ran for the Metro and finally arrived at the hotel fairly soaked. Walking in the rain in Milan . . . pretty darn cool.

Saturday we walked a zillion miles - literally. We started out at the Duomo, the largest cathedral in Milan. We walked the inside and then took the lift to the roof where we could walk around and see the amazing details.

From the Duomo we walked the area, including an amazing department store that ended with lunch on the roof overlooking the top of the Duomo. From there we walked through the Galleria of shops (the most BEAUTIFUL indoor shopping mall) and ventured through the small streets of Milan.

We ended up at the one castle in Milan, now a museum. Not sure what we were looking at as there were no English descriptions, but I have a feeling we saw a lot of really important old stuff. There was a huge fountain in front and both on the way in and out we sat and soaked our soar feet, considering the heat and the layers of sweat covering us, it was rather refreshing. The youthful tourists were jumping in and getting soaked - I try to avoid wet t-shirt contests with clients in tow, so I stuck with getting my feet wet.

From the castle we again walked to St. Ambrogio - one of the oldest churches in Milan. Founded in 380 by St. Ambrogio, who is laid out in a glass casket - skeleton dressed and on display for all to see. After the church we took the Metro to Via Papi-somethin or other. On Saturdays it's a huge street market, about 5 blocks long. Full of clothes and shoes and produce and people. You can barely walk through. We browsed but didn't buy.

From the market we headed to Curso Buenos Aries, where the locals shop. It's a street lined with 350 shops that are supposedly "affordable" - HA! But I had a list of 3 "plus size" stores so I set out to try and find myself something fabulous. The shops are different than at home. There are fewer choices both in style and size. T-shirts are even pricey at over $40. And apparently even here it's hard to find something in my size, so I ended up reverting to my favorite shopping target - JT. There was a Chicco store so I bought him a cute jacket.

After "shopping" we headed back to the Duomo area hoping to find a nice restaurant. Apparently they don't exist in the area so we ended up eating food at a cafe that was not worth the price. Feet screaming and smelling like Europeans we headed back to the hotel to call it a night.

Things that make you go hmmm . . ..

So I'm at the facility in Milano (where may I mention it's hot as heck and amazingly enough the small window AC unit isn't helping all that much). There are 3 weird things about the facility and they are all in the bathroom: 1) a bidet - I have one at the hotel too. I always thought a bidet shot right up your bum, but apparently it's like a drinking fountain built into a toilet, but there's no seat. Can you see yourself using a bidet in a "public" facility? Me neither, but definitely not because of point 3. 2) when you flush you have to turn a knob on the wall to the right a certain distance and then you have to turn it back to stop the flushing. So you can control how long the flush is. I think we should build that in at home. 3) What I do NOT want built in is the all mirrored walls. I'm serious - high ceilings to floor the whole thing with the exception of the door and window is one giant mirror! And this bathroom is about three times as big as any of mine. I don't want to watch myself go to the bathroom and I can't imagine anyone wanting to watch themselves use the bidet!

What the heck are these Italians up to?