back in sweet home chicago

alright, so it's been quite a long time since any form of update. (two months, anyone?) but i suppose that's because i've been quite busy frolicking around europe (namely, rome and england). i could go on for hours, so i'll spare you all the details and name the highlights. very few highlights, mind you. the food in italy is AMAZING...really, pizza and ice cream here will never live up to their italian counterparts. but so it goes. i'm working on getting my pictures and such, so i'll let you know when you can enjoy looking at nearly 1000 pictures of my travels! yay. i came out of italy with some lovely penn state friends (it was a penn state program, go figure) and a really nice butt (okay, i'm kidding, but our apartment was on the fifth floor, and it took 72 steps to get to the top...no elevator!). anyway, that was italy in the tiniest nutshell ever. if you want to know anything, just ask.

after italy, i met up with my mom (who had been in rome for about four days) and we headed up to england. we stayed with my cousin and her family for a few days because they just got transferred there for a year, and then we went into london for a few days. in case anyone was wondering, yep, i got to experience a terrorist attack on my trip! our hotel was about a half a block from where the bus exploded, so that made for quite the experience in london. my mom and i were okay, don't you worry, but if you want me to tell my story of the terrorist attacks, just let me know. despite the attacks, our time in london was quite nice, and we made it safely back to the US...yay!

oh yes, i sat next to a very nice boy from omaha on the way home from england. it was exciting.

sooo of course the first thing that you do when you get back from nearly two months abroad (after showering) is go to a wedding. yeppp i spent saturday night with katie dau's lovely brother, ryan, as he needed a date for a wedding and i convienently arrived home just in time. super. i managed to stay awake, thank you very much, and i knew the guy getting married, so i wasn't completely clueless. after that i promptly went home and slept...my own bed, yay!

soooo after that i haven't really done too much since i've been home. but let's update you all anyway, because i don't really have anything to do. sunday i got to see katie dau, becca, jax, and jax's friend karel from school. katie and i went to see becca's softball team play (they lost to arlington, grrrr), and my old team was playing on the field next to them. i miss softball! ahhh i'll play next year. they need another pitcher, so i could go back now.....or not. oh well. back at becca's house we played peanuts and scattergories, which always makes for a good time. i have yet to come up with a nickname for karel, but don't worry, i'll think one up.

other exciting things that i have happened:
- i got my new driver's license! that's right, i turned 21 when i was in rome, which means that i get a new license! basically, they take off the giant red boxes that highlight your birthday and say "UNDER 21 UNTIL 6/20/84" so that's super. and my picture is SO MUCH BETTER. you should see it, i'm so proud. that was quite the highlight.
- i got a birthday present from daniel, who is in china for the summer. it looks something like this:
so it's quite nice, yay!
- i learned how to successfully drive stick shift. meaning, i didn't kill the engine on our car, and i got it into first without giving my mom whiplash...about six times in a row! so maybe i'll take it out later and see if i can go for two days in a row.
- i've been training to be a lifeguard in niles, which is about 35 minutes away...hopefully i'll be certified soon so i can start working! i'm getting paid close to nothing, but it'll give me something to do. yay.
- MY ROOMIE IS COMING IN A WEEK. that's right, sara will be here in chicago next thursday. :) yay!
- i started running on monday, and it's been going pretty well...i went to get new shoes today, but they didn't have my size in the kind i wanted, so i'm waiting for them to be ordered. getting new running shoes makes me happy. :) haha

okay, this is loooooong and i should find something else to do. but yay for being home!