We're all good. How are You?

So Olivia and I are hanging out in the living room waiting for her bus before the sun is even thinking about coming up if the sun were to show its face today since the white sky is barely distinguishable from streets newly covered from snowfall during the night when it occurs to me, "I wonder if there's school today?"

Two-hour delay. Bummer. Not that there's a delay (lots of accidents out there) but that I didn't figure it out before the whole house was awake.

I know, I know: I've been scarce around here again. It's not like I haven't been blogging! The other one just garners more of my attention, that's all; I'm a wee-bit obsessed with our finances as of late. But in a good way, I think.

It's funny, because before I started the other blog I would keep thinking of things regarding money that I wanted to write about, but it just didn't seem appropriate for this blog, which is why I started another one. I really had no idea how much thought I could give to finances until I started writing about them. Apparently, I have quite a bit to say!

Unfortunately, it takes quite a bit of my free time to write about it -- and then some, if I'm to be honest. (You probably wouldn't want to stop by about now and make use of my bathroom -- this blog hasn't been the only thing left by the wayside.)

In the meantime, we have been (trying) to get ready for John's deployment, which is imminent. I'm not supposed to say exactly when ("opsec, people!") (John's words) but it doesn't help that "They" can't seem to figure out when, either. His flight time changed a couple of times before they figured out that they were getting him mixed up with another guy deploying from base with the same name.

We're getting pretty tired of that.

In the meantime, we've been enjoying some of these.
And trying to finish up this...The tile is just lying there, not glued down at all or anything. I think he just finished cutting it last night. What do you think?

The kids all know now, of course, that their dad is leaving, not that it really means anything to the little ones: it'll make more sense once he's actually gone and not sitting there with us at the dinner table anymore or reading books to them at night.

But we're all good. At least for now. You might not want to ask me a couple of months from now. *wink*

$5 Dinners

My friend Erin's new cookbook has just been released! It was featured on Good Morning America this morning. Woo-hoo!

(Click below to view the GMA segment with cutie-patootie George Stephanopoulos.)

The Best Cookbooks of 2009

You can order your own through Amazon, or go to her website where she's also doing a great giveaway of ten of her cookbooks every day for the next two weeks!

I ordered a few copies myself from Amazon. Unfortunately, they didn't get here in time for her signing party she hosted this evening. But don't worry -- I know where she lives. And as soon as they come in I'll be getting them personalized and mailed to a few lucky recipients of my own... ;)

Got Snow?

It's snowing! Seems so appropriate for the first day after the last day of school! (follow?)

And no, I'm not ready for Christmas! Thank you for asking. You?

I hope to be after Monday, though, when I hope to get some final shopping done. I guess we'll see if the road conditions stay one step ahead of the weather conditions...

I feel so sad about neglecting this blog so much lately. Like I've been neglecting an old friend. I have so many excuses, the likes of which I hope to resolve by early next year (heh-heh) so that I can get back to the business again of blogging as usual. Even just the act of writing in this blogger format feels so comfy and familiar. *sniff*

Many of you may have noticed that I've been working on a new blog. I started it in blogger, the same platform as this blog, then decided to take it up to the next level and make the switch to self-hosting on wordpress.

Oh. my. word. I had no idea what a can of worms I was opening. It's like the Pandora's Box of Blogging: Once the top is off you lose all control of what comes out; you just hope you can keep your wits about you and keep up. Widgets and plug-ins and CSS code (huh?) and feedburner and themes and open hooks? That's just a sampling. Talk about a learning curve. I'm still reeling. (And still climbing.)

I even messed around with some html code widget tag-on thingy that put some post thumbnails at the end of each post on this blog. Did you notice? Only I didn't know that it would grab posts from both of my blogs on blogger. My bad. And I was too worn out to go back and figure out how to take it off. Now I'm curious what will happen over time as I'm no longer updating the other blog through blogger, so I'm going to leave it for now. If that bothers you or confuses you, I'm sorry. Just think of it as taking one for the cause of Jolyn's Blogging Education.

I leave you, for now, with greetings from Olivia and Peter while they were playing in the snow this morning.

"We're making a snowdog, not a snowman."

Of course!

It's not the 14 or so inches that the East Coast is seeing! But the kids are enjoying our first real snowfall regardless and couldn't care less. And it's still snowing! And the forecast calls for more tomorrow, and the day after... So we shall see.

Now, Where Were We?

I know, I know. Poor, neglected blog. You sweet thing. Now there, mommy's back now. You miss me?

Hmm, let's see, where to begin... Let's just summarize, shall we?

• We went trick-or-treating.
• We've taken turns being sick.
  
• Sean-Peter earned another trip to the ER (with a little help from his sister).
  
• I spent a lot of time finishing an assignment for my writing class.
• The rest of my writing time has been spent posting to my other blog.
  
• I've wasted a lot of time trying to transfer my other blog over to my own domain.
  
• When I started the process I didn't realize it involved writing code.
• I don't do code.
• I've tried.
• John's feverishly reading and writing a paper for his class.
• Oh, and Olivia lost a tooth. See?

• John's on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again, on-again.... Honestly, I lost track. Anybody recall where I left off with the latest on his deployment?
• Anyway, it's off-again. Officially.
• But there's another one that might be on.
  

Isn't this fun!

Sean-Peter's fine, by the way. Turns out there's a reason Bill Cosby always told us on that one commercial that we should never stick anything in our ears, other than our elbows. And then you couldn't help but sit there and try to stick your elbow in your ear. Remember that one?

Olivia was almost as traumatized as Sean-Peter. Almost.

"I was just trying to clean his ear!"

He's been in for a follow-up once, but needs to go in for another next week. His ear drum didn't rupture, according to the ER doc, but it did bleed a lot, and the second doc wants him back after the dried blood has had a chance to clear up a bit on its own, so's she can see in there all the way right-like.

Isn't this fun!

Otherwise we're all good. "We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?"

(Name that movie.)

Hint: Use the Force.

I do hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Veterans Day! Kids are off of school here the next two days, so my "weekend" starts early...

Oh, and I'm going to Chicago on Sunday! Whoopee for me! A road trip. All. by. myself. What is that, anyway? Anybody have any books on tape to recommend? I'm going to visit an old, old friend -- we grew up together, for pete's sake. She never married and never had kids. She might as well live on another planet.

I might like it there...

"Bellies in Bloom" and a Giveaway

My cousin Hannah created an amazing blog, "Bellies in Bloom" that focuses on holistic health care, pregnancy, and natural childbirth. Recently she posted a series chronicling her personal, heartbreaking experience with an ectopic pregnancy. She's been a massage therapist for several years and recently became a doula. (She lives in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area if you are interested these services!)

Right now she has a great giveaway on her blog for some cute cute handmade baby shoes or some beautiful earrings. Go check it out and leave her a comment to enter! You have until tomorrow...









(Stephanie -- if I get lucky in the drawing your new baby girl will have some adorable new shoes coming her way!)

Watch Erin on the Rachael Ray Show Tomorrow!

My friend Erin from $5 Dinners is going to be on the Rachael Ray show tomorrow! (Tuesday, April 21st.) As the title of her blog suggests, she's all about preparing economical meals, and she got herself a gig up in the big city to tell all about it on national television.

Erin wrote to the Rachael Ray show several months ago, not long after she started her blog, in response to a segment the show did with Whoopi Goldberg where they were discussing the idea that it is more expensive to eat fresh produce and healthy foods. Au contraire. Erin immediately wrote in disputing the very notion, then promptly forgot all about it.

Until last month when Rachael Ray's people called her! Then came to her house! Then invited her to New York City to be on the show!

My heart goes all a flutter just thinking about it. I have no idea how she got herself through it all without fainting, except that she's way more with it than I am. I say again, Erin, don't forget us little people!

Check your local listings for the show. In the Dayton area it's on at noon. And if you have a life, you know, set your DVR.

I for one plan on doing both: My DVR will be set, and as soon as my youngest child gets on that school bus at ten minutes before 12:00, I'll be in my car heading over to Erin's house to watch it live. Along with about fifty of her other closest friends. *wink*

***

Oh, and if you haven't checked out 5dollardinners.com, you should. It's a phenomenal blog and really will motivate and give you ideas on how to save on your grocery bill.

The Happy Housewife Guest Post

I wrote a guest post over at "The Happy Housewife" (she's on my sidebar), "How Does Your Husband Help While He's Away?" Go on over and take a look -- and leave a comment, too, if you don't mind, so's I don't feel like a schmuck and she's sorry she posted it.

Plus, I'm sure some of you have lots to say on the subject, and I really would like to hear some more ideas on the issue. We've got a TDY coming up in about a month, and it will have been almost nine months since John's last one -- that's like, 10 years in military time.

And if you're not reading Happy Housewife, you should. She's a military spouse who home schools her (six going on seven) children; she posts great, frugal recipes; and she writes about managing and organizing her home, which just warms my little HGTv heart, I tell you what.

Randomness and Creator of Many Creations

I am desperately seeking some motivation to write my annual Christmas email letter, to no avail. Instead I am finding myself distracted by completely random things like this government web site that offers cultural awareness assessments in areas of current, ahem, interest. I couldn't resist taking one of the arabic ones; and apparently, 14 years since my time at DLI really is too long. Go figure.

I really have been neglecting my Google reader for awhile, meaning I'm way behind on blogs I like to follow. So what better way to procrastinate? I swiped this you tube from "Et tu?" (see my sidebar) and I got such a kick out of thinking of my dear friend Ruth (Ruth, oh Ruth? Wherefore art thou Ruth?) who has five kids, wondering how many times she has heard each and every one of these comments.



Speaking of blessings, we finally got down to Cincinnati yesterday to the Creation museum, which focuses on Genesis and the scientific support behind God creating the world in six days some 6,000 years ago as opposed to some molecules randomly converging and evolving over millions of years. I have been wanting to get down there ever since my sister told me some eight months about this creation (ha-ha, pun intended) of Ken Hamm's which is strategically located in an area of the United States that makes it accessible by drive from the majority of the 48 States.

I knew we were taking a chance going with the little ones, but I figured at the very least we would just view the free live nativity scene and walk the grounds, which include a petting zoo. However. What with sub-freezing temperatures these activities were either canceled or moved inside, which was okay with us because we had already decided to go ahead and give the museum a try, kids or no, a decision made much easier with the incredible admission rates offered to military which got our family of five into the museum for just $24.32. (Although Sean-Peter would have been free regardless because of his age.)

And doing it over I would not take small children, unless you are okay with going through at a pace that small children require as opposed to taking your time to read and listen and view and soak it all in. And there's a lot to soak. Anyone who thinks that believing in the bible requires leaving your intellect at the door should take up the challenge this museum helps display to readily disprove that notion.

From what I was able to pause and view I could tell that I was fortunate to have already studied many of these truths through Faith Bible Institute courses I took at our church in Italy. If you haven't had an opportunity to take any of these courses, or haven't even heard of them, I would urge you to look into the curriculum and the possibility of your church offering the class, which is available on DVD. It's extremely in-depth, but accessible to the average layman. Or, you know, laywoman. No need to discriminate here.

So I am definitely encouraging John and Conner to return, sans kiddos. Not that I wouldn't want to go back myself; it's just not as high a priority. But for Conner it really is a prime age to benefit from this knowledge all laid out in a way that shows how commonsensical biblical truth is in much the same way that public schools (and books, and tv shows, even cartoons...) make evolution out to be a done deal. Since taking FBI (yes, go ahead and laugh; that's how they refer to it) I haven't been able to look at children's books the same, what with talking about dinosaurs living before people millions and millions of years ago, like it's an historical fact and not a scientific theory.

And speaking of dinosaurs, that is the big draw of the museum for the wee ones. In fact, Olivia is already asking when we can go back to the "Dinosaur Museum", as children readily refer to it: I'm not trying to say it's not appropriate and beneficial to small children; it's just that adults will personally benefit more without their distraction. Olivia and Sean-Peter did enjoy the dinosaur displays and the Flood Room (my name) in particular, with its video and sound effects and dioramas of the ark. And both of them really got into the over-sized industrial-strength puzzle of the ark, while Conner and I devoured the touch-screen computer puzzles of the ark in varying difficulty.

My only complaint about the museum is I wish they had recommended ages posted for their various videos. "The Last Adam" in particular I would not have taken in my four- and five-year-old. I felt it was too intense for both of them, and not at all engaging for a four-year-old who probably needed a nap. He wasn't being noisy, but he couldn't sit still and I know he was distracting to the couple near us; however, opening the door to leave would have distracted the entire small auditorium by bringing in the light.

And now since I have started this post I have heard back from my friend Ruth, who got my email about the you tube video above, and confirmed that she indeed has heard all of these comments in some shape or form. So tell me, honestly, are you a guilty member of the commenting party? heh-heh. I admit I do wonder how a mom of five, six, seven -- or more-- does it, and I am sure I am guilty of gawking from time to time. And I hope they will take this as an apology on all of our behalfs that it's not that we don't think it's worth it. We just don't know how they do it. And I have nothing but admiration for those who do.

And I say this as a mother of only three banshees who as I type are pummelling each other with empty wrapping paper tubes in the next room yet still the din is deafening. Sometimes I find myself gawking at a mother of multiple children because they're all so calm. That's the part I don't understand.

A Shout-Out to My Entrepreneur Friend, Erin!

Oooooooh!!!! I am so excited for my friend, Erin! And I feel like I know a celebrity. (Don't forget us little people, okay, girlfriend?) She started a blog, $5 Dinners, just a few months ago...and she was just featured on Fox local news! Her blog has really taken off, and will only go farther! (further?) Go check it out! (It may even help you save money!)

I think ABC is going to do a segment on her in February? I am so excited about the potential this creates for her and her family and the income this can provide for them. She's been a little freaked out taken aback by its success, but it really has been a blessing for her. She is a strong, Christian woman, and I know she is going to find the perfect balance between this unexpected business success and the priority that she places on caring for her family. Congratulations, Erin!

Go Read This Blog Post, "How Would You Know?"

This is one of the most original, thoughtful things I have ever read on the morality of abortion. Go, read it now. And if you're wondering if she writes like this all the time, she does. (She's over in my side bar as "Et tu?" but her blog is now titled "Conversion Diary". She's a former atheist who is now Catholic, and she examines everything. "Musings of a former atheist", as she calls it. But don't be fooled: it's highly intelligent, compassionate and analytical.)

None of you were right! (I think)

My oh my, such anticipation for the price of a chair! I wish I could say I’ve been leaving you all on the edge of your seats (heh-heh) on purpose. Alas, I am simply finding it very difficult to sit down (oh har-har!)at this computer for a myriad of reasons. Some of which are noble and involve reams of wallpaper border needing stripped and miles of trim needing painted glossy white. Oh, and the doors. Mustn’t forget those wonderful 70s-original hollow-core doors, their deceptive beigy-ness all the more glaring against their freshly painted borders. Must. Fix. That. (Preferably before it’s time to put this house up for sale.)

And I have been reading, again, finally. I discovered the novels in the travel section at the library and have been going through them. One. By. One. A few goodies so far: Rita Golden Gelman’s Female Nomad, David Elliot Cohen's One Year Off, and Eric Weiner’s The Geography of Bliss. And did I mention I DVR’d all the back episodes of House? Oh, woe me, another obsession. Must watch. Them. All.

Another reason I find myself going days without even checking my google reader is because I have a teenager constantly vying for time on the computer to get his fix on things like Navy Field and Tribal Wars and fascinating you-boobs you-tubes like the one below. Go ahead, watch it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Because stealing a glimpse into what 13-year-olds consider entertainment is a bit, er, disturbing mind-boggling numbing. It reminds me of the first time we discovered Teletubbies, stuck in a motel outside St. Louis while attempting a cross-country move with a three-year-old (yes, the same son) during a blizzard (not advised). John and I realized that we had both stared at the Tv screen, numb and mute, mesmerized by what can only be described as cartoon crack. Seriously, is something embedded in the video stream that attacks your semi-consciousness? Hmmm...that might explain the video below.

But wait, I’ve almost forgotten the chair. That beautiful hardwood chair that YES was a bargain at (drum roll please) ... $20! I found myself getting a little confused with the Starbucks analogy that I foolishly introduced (since I don’t actually buy coffee at Starbucks that often) but the gist I got was that I need to find out where you all go shopping! Seriously – where do you find chairs like that for less than $10? Please take me with you! I’ll even let you blindfold me so your secret will be safe.

But first watch the video. Apparently this Fred character is all the rage, at least if you’re an American middle schooler. So don’t blame me; I’m just trying to keep up with my son’s influences. Some of which are points to argue for moving back overseas, if you ask me.

Rojo Mojo

I just watched the most amazing video that I just have to share that I found through this wonderful blog that I just love to visit and have kept meaning to share for the longest time but just haven't gotten around to it.

Planet Nomad already talks about the dynamic duo who make guitar magic on this video, and she even got to see them in concert. I am so out of it that I am just now hearing about them (how oh how bad off would I be if there was no internet -- no blogs? oh, I shudder) but already I want their CD (better yet, DVD, because watching that "blurriness which is her hand" is really almost half the joy) and am finally motivated and inspired to start calling around this still newish (to me) city of ours about guitar lessons for my 12-yr-old that I have been promising him for, uh, awhile.

I have enjoyed Planet Nomad for the cultural observations that she makes as an American and educator who recently moved to Oregon after living in Mauritania, with plans for her and her family to make Morocco their home (this summer?). She's also an engaging writer and aspiring novelist of said experiences. But really, she's just fun and real and as a red-blooded american mother of three herself who's been homeschooling her children this year in a french curriculum to keep the continuity (and their spots in the system) during this year-long hiatus I find myself just shaking my head. I mean, some people thought we were crazy for putting Conner in an Italian school while we were in Italy, but that ain't nothing compared to the hoops they jumped through to get their kids enrolled in the French-based school in Mauritania to give their kids the opportunity that would provide. Hence the homeschooling: it was very, very difficult to qualify for the slots; but once you're in, you're in.

I have thought so many times of how I need to tell my aunt (aka "judy", an occasional commenter) and uncle, especially, of this blogger as they are my sole family members who lived for a time (four years) in Africa (Kinshasha, then Zaire), albeit so, so many moons ago. And they were the ones that inspired me to go to Africa myself (Tanzania) for a college semester, almost half as many moons ago. (Is that possible?)

So here's my shout out -- to Judith and Don, and to anyone else looking for an interesting, cultural-observational type read. Go read Planet Nomad!

I'll just let you read her thoughts on these amazing guitarists. So go read them. Now. Complete with how to maneuver a concert crowd like a true Mauritanian.

Suffice it to say that it had us grooving and bopping and beating our hands to the beat on the nearest hard object we could find. Not to mention staring agog at the whir of her...strumming? Can you even call it that?

Me and the kids were getting freaky, anyway. John came home in the middle of our third listening and stood there soaking it in a moment before he gave two sharp claps and said, "Garcon! hey! where's my sangria?" Yea, yea, that's french-like. But you get the idea.

Alas, we have not yet trained our kids in the art of mixed drinks. But they were more than happy to oblige with a performance of their own.

If you haven't already clicked on a link above to enjoy the music and/or the blog of Planet Nomad, I'm posting a YouTube below. Because you must, must experience these guitarists slash drummers for yourself. Especially if you are in a funk. Because you will have to move and tap your hand, at the very least. If you can even stay in your seat.

Then again, I don't have a life, so you all probably already ran into these guys ages ago. (Why didn't you tell me?) It's not like I don't try to get out -- like tonight? Conner and I were going to go to our second Italian session. But John belatedly realized that there was a function that he ought to attend after all. And I sooo don't have the last-minute babysitter hook-up going on here.

But that's okay, because I'll get the little ones down early and Conner and I will watch American Idol instead, and I'll get to see if Josiah the homeless dude gets through despite his major flub-up (I think he will) along with other favorites like the Aussie with the awesome Jimi Hendrix bone structure and the female rocker/nurse who almost died in a car wreck just days before Hollywood Week and sang her rocker heart out anyway with two broken ribs. Now that's chutzpah.

Yes, I just gave myself away, because I am an official 30-something Idol fan. But here, see John? Aw, looks like he might get his sangria after all.

Even if he has to get it for himself.

On Reading Memoirs

I've been thinking lately about my love of reading a good memoir, and how that seems to have transferred into my newfound love of reading a good blog. It got me reflecting on a time in my life when my fascination with reading about other people's lives was at a peak, especially when written in and about other cultures.

I was quite pregnant with Sean-Peter when we moved to Italy, and shortly after arriving John left on a TDY for over two months ... I was lucky: he didn't leave until the day after the movers delivered our stuff, and he got back in time for the delivery of our third child.

Despite my burgeoning belly I pretty much hit the ground running. I ended up forming fast friendships with amazing women that I had met on the rotator (military flight) and at the Lodging Facility on base, friendships that continue to this day despite the various states and continents where we all now live. Such is the military life.

It's so easy to get to know people when you're based overseas: almost everyone has left their established friends and family and routines ... and often the type of Americans who are overseas are there because they requested it, and they're not only open to new people and experiences but are actively seeking them. (There are the "other" types as well, such as the Americans who are miserable every moment of their waking lives they spend on foreign soil, very often for justifiable reasons, very often for not.) (But I digress.)

Like I said, I was quite pregnant and my husband soon abandoned me. Oh, woe me! After I picked myself up off the floor everything seemed to fall into place and I quickly found myself getting involved with the Parent Co-op on base where I could take one-year-old Olivia while I went to my OB appointments and otherwise drove around getting lost, a necessary experience in a country that purposefully arranges road signs to create optimum confusion.

I also used this time to take an Italian class on base, figuring it'd be good to get that out of the way before the baby was born and I hunkered down. Because I hunker down when I have a baby. None of this pushing the baby out then training for a marathon a week later. I took this basic Italian course with an instructor who, poor thing, thought she could teach a bunch of stay-at-home moms who hadn't seen the inside of a classroom in a coon's age beginning conversational Italian through immersion. Heh-heh. We soon showed her.

What I took away from that class was basic Italian pronunciation so I could at least read the road signs that never take you where they say they will; and basic sentence structure (think "Run, Spot, Run") along with a few key vocabulary words so I could respond to Italians' questions about my children. Because Italians love children. Nothing improves the surly Italian countenance like a couple of tots. A newborn baby? You are in.

Si, si, ho tre bambini. Mia figlia ha uno anno e mio bambino ha tre messi. Si, si, e ho un altro bambino e ha nove anni. E studia in scuola italiana! Si, si, molto bene!

Yea. That's about it. Needless to say, I relied heavily on hand gestures. And what's even more pathetic is I just had to call Conner over here to see if I had even written that down right.

I figured that so long as I wasn't going to get out to see the Italy I was living in, I would at least sit at home and read about it. I read every memoir set in Italy that I could get my hands on. Oh! the joys of a tasty memoir! They are my favorite type of reading, when an author looks back on his/her life and writes with a selective memory, only dishing out the juiciest, funniest, most interesting, most poignant parts.

Phil Doran's "The Reluctant Tuscan",> Marlena de Blasi's "A Thousand Days in Venice", Joan Marbles "Notes from an Italian Garden", Lisa St. Aubin de Teran's "A Valley in Italy" .... And, yes, Francis Mayes "Under the Tuscan Sun", which is a bit over-hyped in my humble opinion. Especially since by then I had already read so many other books written by people who actually lived in Italy.

By the way, when I went to look up some of these titles again I came across this site that lists a plethora of novels set in Italy, if you're interested in more of this kind of thing: http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/book/memoirs.htm

I got to thinking about what started my love for memoirs when another blogger encouraged everyone to take a day off from blogging! and read again already. Then share what you read that day on your own blog and we can all, you know, get some great book ideas. Not that I spent yesterday actually reading any of the above titles ... (Oh, and I guess I broke the "rule" of not blogging, too, heh-heh) but I did recently read another great memoir, Amy Tan's "The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings" which has gotten me on a kick of reading the rest of her books, which I picked up from the library a couple of days ago.

Currently I am reading Amy Tan's "The Hundred Secret Senses", which I realized immediately after starting that I actually have already read it, several years ago. But in her "Musings" Amy Tan divulged her driving incentives in creating many of her characters, which often are an amalgam of fiction as well as people in her own life about whom she shares in her memoir, which is making me read "Senses" in a whole new light. I didn't actually care too much for "The Joy Luck Club", though I loved the film version. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy "The Kitchen God's Wife", and now that I know it is essentially the "real" story of her mother's life I am enthralled by its telling even more.

What these books do for me, these memoirs, is allow me to experience pieces of someone's life through their own eyes. It broadens my horizons, yes, but it also prepares me for my own experiences and broadens them in a way that couldn't fully be appreciated without the knowledge that I came away with after reading theirs first. Their telling of their lives enhances the experiences of my own.

I did eventually get beyond the "hunker down" mode, of course -- though do not underestimate the exhaustion you will experience when traveling in Europe with wee ones, oh ye of mighty ambition. Take heed, and adjust your goals accordingly. Ahem and Amen.

I noticed things during my time in Italy that I probably would not have noticed had I not spent my hunker-down time with a nursing baby in one arm and a memoir in another. It almost felt like cheating. "Did you know that three-wheeled contraption these old Italians like to drive around and slow everyone down is called an Ape?" I would say to my son and an American friend, both of whom attended Italian school. "Because their motor sounds like a bee, which of course is English for Ape." They would look at me in amazement, like I really knew what I was talking about, this mom they knew spoke only pidgen Italian.

I often miss the trees for the forest, in my own living and traveling and bumbling around. Many, many times I would read something someone else had written and would realize, "Oh, yea, I saw that, too!" I've often thought how I could be such a better writer if I could give careful notice to and mentally catalogue the details of everything I see, the better to vividly record them later for posterity.

And I am getting better with that, with age, and experience, and with this blog. And I think reading memoirs -- some in the form of a blog themselves -- have helped me to pay attention to what is real, and what is important. And sometimes, to what is real important. Besides just being a whole lot of fun to read.