I heart Link Ups... Dear Monday :)

Linking up with Happy Day for Dear Monday... you should too :)

Dear Monday, we meet again! I'm a little happier to see you this time though because it's Halloween and I'm back home in Sicily with my loveeee  :) Also, you're one day closer to PARIS! Thanks for all your many blessings. BUT do you really have to bring me so many dead-lines for school work every single week? Geeze.

Dear Halloween, you're so uneventful this year. No costumes, no candy... not even any trick-or-treaters! I'm pretty heart broken over this. Sicily doesn't exactly celebrate the same as the U.S. and I don't like it. Hmph... Happy Halloween anyways! At least we carved our pumpkin!

Dear Paris, I cannot contain my excitement. I will be seeing you so very soon! Tomorrow evening actually!!! See you then :)

Dear Muscles, please stop aching. I know I worked out for the first time since umm... August, but please cut me some slack. I'm simply trying to make you look deliciously hot, and it takes torture to look fab... I promise. Remember how awesome you looked in Freshman Year of college? Heck, you even looked awesome a year ago... how about we work together to get back to that... we're not THAT far from that point now. We just need to tone a few areas. So please please please stop aching so we can keep going! Love you! haha

Dear Husband, Can I please just tell you how cute you are? Or how amazing? I just can't get over how much I love you or how you make me love you more every single day. I never ever ever expected to find a love like this, I surely didn't think that I deserved it... and honestly, I NEVER thought I would snag YOU. Hahaha I love you, booboo. And P.S. told ya I was a baller at Black Ops :) hehehe

Dear COMM215, I hate you. We're only one week in and you're already wayyyyy worse than GEN200. UGH. Why must you suck so bad? I hate you. Thanks for taking over my life in a terrible way.

Ciao Bellas :)

Liebster... so blessed!

So... now that I'm settled back in here in Sicilia, I figured it is high time I get around to sharing this! Two wonderful ladies (Stephanie @ Blonde Highlights and Miss.C @ the NOT tacp wife) gave me the Liebster Award (thanks y'all!) and now I get to pass it on!

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

And here are my 5:

1. Kasey Lynne @ a little kasey love

2. Janey @ A Few of My Favorite Things

3. As it were or even if it weren't

4. Growing Up Blonde

5. It Happened On A Sunday

Definitely go check out these ladies' blogs! I tried to choose a few that I haven't already handed out awards to recently... so some of them are relatively new reads for me, but I absolutely love reading them and I hope you will too! :) 

Anyhoo, that's all for right now... hubs is supposed to be getting off work early-ish today so we all know what that means.. speed cleaning and a "quick" shower before he gets home lol!!  

CIAO BELLAS!

I'm baaack!

Hello Lovies! I'm back in Sicily, safe and sound! I had an amazing trip at home but you know I missed the hubster. It felt like I was gone for 2 months instead of 10 days... forreal. Being home with the lover-boy is great :)

Anyhoo... The flight back (or should I say 3..) was terrible pretty bad and the airports were even worse.... and if anyone wants my personal opinion on American Airlines or Windjet, feel free to ask. All I'll say here (instead of going off on a rant...) is that I do not recommend either company. Stay far far away if at all possible. ALTHOUGH, I lucked out... the plane from Chicago to Rome (8.5 hours) was NOT full so the seat next to me was empty! This means that I was able to LAY DOWN (remember, 5' tall) and sleep the whole way home!! :) Yay for half-empty airplanes!! Even if it did feel like we were falling out of the sky instead of flying... crazy turbulence the entire way :( 

BUT I made it... and so did my luggage (after a little confusion in Rome)... and thankfully my Hubs was dutifully waiting on me when I arrived at the Catania airport. Gotta love seeing that pretty face after 20+ hours of traveling alone (Actually, gotta love seeing that pretty face pretty much anytime! hehe).

Since I've been home (arrived around 3:00pm yesterday) I've done pretty much nothing but cuddle/sleep. I slept over 16 hours last night... and that's not counting all the hours on the plane (can you even consider that real sleep?) lol.. I guess my body is trying to catch up with all the jet-lag. I'm still exhausted and drinking coffee... of course :)

Well......  I will update you more on all the shenanigans from home as soon as I get a chance... But right now, it's time to bake muffins and plan our trip to Paris (woo! leaving on Tuesday!! I'm sooo turning into a jet-setter... I practically live at the airport, ya know?) Soo, look for pics/updates from my trip home. They'll come soon.

Ciao Bellas!

Pumpkin Patch & Pen Pals..

 Monday I was absolutely blessed with the opportunity to visit Oak Mountain Academy (remember, I'm visiting Georgia still... just a couple of days left!) and all of the wonderful students! I also got to go on the Pumpkin Patch field-trip with my niece, Kamryn! :)

My angel, Kami

Trying to find the perfect pumpkin...

Being a very indecisive little lady!

 

She had specific "qualities" that her pumpkin had to have...

1. Tall, not short & fat

2. Cute stem

3. Big enough to paint a face on

4. Small enough that she could carry it herself

lol... oh geeze.

This one?

Nope...

THIS one! :)

My little bit, making paper jack-o-lanterns!

Presh.

Kami's class! Tooooo adorable.

Kami & her friend, Julia

My sweetness... look how sassy! :)

After the field-trip, we returned to the school and Heather (Kami's mom & a teacher at the school) took me around to visit her students (a.k.a. Aaron's pen-pals!!!)... Precious! I had so much fun telling them about myself, Aaron, Italy, the Italian language, the Navy, etc. They had tons of questions (good ones too!) and they even stumped me with "What kind of satellites does Aaron's command use?"....... ummm, idunno. Haha! I'm so happy I got the chance to meet them though! I hope that someday Aaron gets the same opportunity!

Oh and btw, in case anyone is wondering, the wedding went great as well! I'll throw in a few pics...

The Bride-to-Be (aka my cousin that is more like a sister, Mallory!) sporting her new hairstyle... Kami wanted to "play beauty shop" hehehe.. She looked like Sporty Spice!

But Kami didn't like the outcome... hehe

Oh and btw, if Mallory knew these pics were online I would be dead...

so lets just make this our little secret..

Heather, Maid of Honor

(aka my other cousin that should've been a sister)

Also, Kami's mom 

(yeah, for those of you paying attention, Kami isn't technically my niece... she just calls me "Aunt Ash" and I consider her a niece because we're wayyyy too close for her to be my "2nd cousin"... following? Confusing, I know.)

The flower girls gettin' jacked up on Mountain Dew pre-wedding.

That's the groom's lil sis & Kami, of course :)

The groom... we shall call him TyMac.

He's been a close friend of mine since 6th or 7th grade...

He even took me to his Junior Prom (gasp!)

The Beautiful Bride, Mallory

at this point she was having a few pre-wedding jitters... hence the face.

Me & BrittBrat, Matron of Honor & Bridesmaid!! 

(aka my Heather's cousin that should've been my cousin.. or even little sis.... we "adopted them into the family" as my family so lovingly says about their family... we're real close knit around here, y'all.)

This is my DadO

Don't ask me why we call him DadO or who came up with it... none of us know.

But he's my grandfather & one of the most loving/giving people on the face of the earth.

Here he's playing Mal & Ty's "Guest Book" hehehe :)

(oh and btw, the guitar guestbook was my idea... Ty is veryyyy musical.)

Heather again, with our cousin Jon 

(Mallory's little brother whom I ADORE... he's my fave cousin... but again, lets just make that our little secret)

Precious newlyweds!

Congrats Mr. & Mrs. McSwain, I love you both.

Oh hi! That's me...

Remember how stressed I was over this dress? All for nothing... it was ADORBS.

I know this lighting is bad, but it's a beautiful rich brown color w/ an open back.. and POCKETS!

I was obsessed.

Had to post this... Too presh.

So, as you can see, the wedding went beautifully and my trip home has been full of fun :) Tomorrow is my last FULL day here... and other than the tearful goodbyes, I'm really looking forward to leaving (my mom got upset when I told her this...) but not because I don't love the US, Georgia, and especially my friends and family.... it's because my HUSBAND is in Sicily and wherever he is, is home to me. I cannot express to you how much I wish I were there already. I'm getting all mushy just thinking about it.... So, I'll end on that note.

Ciao Bellas & Happy Fall :)

You remember that one time when I said I was going to do all my homework before I left Sicily so it would be complete before my trip home?? Yeah, well.... that didn't happen. And now I have 2.5 hours to write the rest of my essay (oh, you know... just approx. 700-750 more words... no big deal, right?) But what am I doing instead? Procrastinating like it's my day job. Ohhhh yeah. I found this (below) on facebook... and I couldn't pass it up. Anyhoo... enjoy getting to know me (bahaha..)

The ABC’s of Me:

A. Age: 21 :)

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore you dislike: ALL! Just kidding... washing/drying silverware. I really want a dishwasher :(

D. Dogs: Bella Mae.. my 2 year old Boston Terrier. Sadly she is currently living with her Granny (aka my mother who coincidentally hates being called Granny... hehe)

E. Essential start to your day: Um, hello... Coffee. You do not want to talk to me before my coffee.

F. Favorite colors: Pink... the ultimate girly girl, right here.

G. Gold or silver: White gold, please & thank ya.

H. Height: 5 foot nothin'... lol

I. Instruments you play(ed): Um... does the recorder in 3rd grade count?

J. Job title: Housewife & college student... my friends back home call me the "professional tanner" because they think I lay out at the beach all day... 'tis not true, my dears. haha

K. Kids: Hopefully 2-4.. in a year or two.. it all depends on where we're sent next!

L. Live: Sicily, baby! :)

M. Mom’s name: Teri

N. Nicknames: Ash & babygirl (via my Diddy)

O. Overnight hospital stays: Never... well, not since I was released from the hospital as a newborn. haha

P. Pet peeves: Smacking/eating noises, dragging feet, poor grammar, bad spelling, and manyyyyyyy other things. I won't continue this list. Those are my top 4.

Q. Quote from a movie: Honestly, I have so many favorites that I can't pick just one. lol I'm a quote fanatic.

R. Righty or lefty: Righty

S. Siblings: Adam, my 18 year old "big little brother"

T. Time you wake up: Usually about 9 am... sometimes I "oversleep" til Aaron calls around 11 am though... hehehe

U. Underwear: Almost everything I own is Victoria's Secret. Just sayin'... 

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Raw onion, mushrooms..

W. What makes you run late: The fact that I hate mornings.... and the fact that I take a million years to get ready if I don't feel like getting ready.... lol Aaron hates it.

X. X-rays you’ve had: Um, my entire body about a million times... I've broken, torn, sprained, ripped, bruised, contused, or badly injured everything from my head (2 concussions) & neck, down to my pinky toes... LITERALLY. I was very active when I was younger... I played softball for 13 years and cheered competitively for 7 (according to my parents, I was dropped on my head a few too many times... hehe)

Y. Yummy food you make: Cupcakes! my fave.

Z. Zoo animal you like: Zebras are my fave!

I'm done... does this mean I should go do my homework now? Gosh darn it.... :( 

haha Ciao Bellas!

Linking up with Happy Day for Dear Monday!

Dear Monday, another love/hate day for us... I love that I'm home spending time with my family, I love that we're one day closer to seeing the hubs... but I hate that I'll be saying goodbye to my lovies in just 3 short days! :( 

Dear Georgia, thank you for finally letting me witness some FALL weather! I have thoroughly enjoyed it and spending time here with my fam!

Dear family, I love love love love love you. I will hate saying goodbye on Thursday and I will miss you so much. Thank you for a fun 10 days.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. McSwain, HAPPY WEDDING! Congrats, newlyweds :) I love you both so very much and I am so proud for you both. 

Dearest Husband, I never knew I would miss you this much in a short 10 day trip... I love you so so much. I honestly can't wait to get back to you and our home. :) Being away from you has made me realize (even more!) how much you mean to me. I am so ready to be back by your side. 

Dear Homework, just in case you were wondering... I am avoiding you at all costs. tis true.

Dear Jetlag, I hate you with every single fiber of my being. You have made my trip home a big challenge... but guess what? I WIN! :)

Dear Paris, see you soon!!!  hehehehe

Dear Sicily, I miss you!

Dear (Aaron's) PenPals @ Oak Mtn. Academy, I had so much fun meeting y'all! Thanks so much for letting me come to your school and visit. Your questions were so sweet and so funny. I hope I answered them adequately and was as interesting as Aaron is to you guys :) 

That's all for today, folks! ;)

Ciao Bellas!

Friday Fill-In The Blanks -- 2 of 'em!!

Still in GA havin' fun with the Fam & missin' Hubster.... but today I'm linking up with MilSpouse Friday Fill-In at WifeOfASailor and Fill in the Blank Friday at the little things we do! Gotta love Fillin' in the blanks :):) Yay! Happy Friday, y'all!

1. I want to be home with my sweet hubby .
2. I have  been having a blast with my family . 
3. I wish we could always be as close as we are and not let the distance make us grow apart .
4. I hope  I'm able to get everything done and see everyone I need to see before I go back to Italy .
5. I wonder  why some people are the way they are .

1.   Nothing says fall like      crisp morning, pretty scarves, and colorful leaves .

2.   My favorite autumnal tradition is   decorating with pumpkins, wearing sweaters, burning yummy candles     .

3.  My favorite fall treat is   candy apples   .

4. Fall makes me think of    family    because    it's the beginning of all the family get togethers and traditional holiday gatherings   .

5.  Autumn free form word association, go!    crisp mornings, boots, scarves, pumkpins, leaves, school, Thanksgiving .

6.  My go-to outfit in the fall is     Skinny jeans, boots, sweater, cardigan, scarf   .

7.  My favorite fall holiday is (Halloween or Thanksgiving)    Thanksgiving. I've never been a HUGE fan of Halloween (actually kind of opposed because I have a weird fear of people with masks on... lol) but I ADORE Thanksgiving and the family time... I love my family and we are so close and I love tradition :)   .

Linking up with Neely & Amber because it's THURSDAY! :)

It's OK...

That I didn't realize it would be this hard to be away from Aaron for 10-ish days... we had a long distance relationship & engagement... I thought I would know how to do this. 

That I've forgotten how it feels to be on this side of the time difference and I'm struggling to figure out when I can talk to Aaron and to find the time.

To want to go back home to my husband and to not feel bad about considering it HOME... because he's there.

That 3 of these have already been about missing my hubby... but this is our first separation since marriage!

To consider my family more important than "participation points"... and put school work off until bedtime so I can spend all the time I can with them.

To think of it as a slap in the face when someone says, "Just because you got married and had the world handed to you on a silver platter doesn't mean anything has changed around here..." :\ Ouch.

To lie to the airline rep. about luggage... of course my carry-on is the right size/weight requirement... no reason to double check... It's only packed for a 10 day trip + a wedding & rehearsal dinner.... and then get irritated (and maybe slightly scared) when it wont fit/gets stuck in the overhead bins... oops. lol

To be slightly disappointed that my trip home caused me to miss the Navy Ball :( I was kind of looking forward to that.... when else do I get to wear a fancy floor length dress? Oh yeah... to the wedding Saturday. NVM.

To really wish that I could take my dog back to Sicily with me.... 

That I'm soooo behind on posts (the pics of the Winery especially).

That being back in the U.S. (Georgia specifically) makes me really miss Europe... and realize that although I LOVE Georgia, I don't want to live here permanently again.

That I'm so distracted by REAL TV I'm going to stop here... hahaha :)

Ciao Bellas :)

Chillax, Ladies... I'm alive!

AND I'm in the US of A! Surprised? Haha... if you've been reading any of my posts in the past.. um, EVER.. then you should've been expecting this little trip! :) I'm currently in my teeny tiny hometown in the good Ole SOUTH! (Yay! GEORGIA!) And I'm loooooooovin' it (although, I miss my husband more than I everrr thought possible).

I left Catania, Sicily airport at around 6AM on Monday morning... that means I had to be up & at 'em by 3:30AM and at the airport by 4:30... then I flew from Catania to Rome & Rome to Chicago. Then Chicago to ATL. Mom picked me up from the Atlanta airport (My brother & his gf were there also with a cutesy sign to welcome me home...) but by this time I had been awake approx. 24-25 hrs (I was only capable of sleeping about 45 mins on the plane... for some reason the other passengers thought it would be suuuuper stupid.idiotic.Iwantedtokillthem fun to fly with the window shades UP so the sun could shine in the whole way..) so I have no pics of my arrival & barely remember the ride home or what went on before bed that night...

BUT I do remember the adorable greeting my SWEEEET puppy Bella Mae gave me :) She was SO happy to see me! And she has been attached to me like a shadow ever since I've been home. I will be heartbroken to leave her again... seriously.

Tomorrow is the Rehearsal Dinner (oh yeah, did you know there was a reason I came home? hahaha) and the wedding is Saturday! I'm Matron of Honor in my cousin's wedding... and after fretting over it for MONTHS and complaining about spending $150 on a hideous dress, I am now content. It is actually GORGEOUS. I'll have to upload pics after the wedding! I'm obsessed with it.... floor length, open back, belted, with pockets! too presh. Oh and it is a beautiful deep brown color.... it's so so so pretty.

AND...... I got my huuuuuur did! For the first time since the week before my wedding! OMG... that's almost 3 months ago!!!!!! Yeah. It was WAYYYY overdue. I got it cut (not the length... just styled) and colored! Dark brown with a rich brown color foiled in for contrast! I love love love love love it. AND that means I got to spend about 2 hrs. with the BFFL :):):):):) best day eva! 

Well... I'll shut up. Just wanted to blabber about everything and letcha know I am still alive & kickin'.... and enjoying the Southern life for a few days (until next Thurs!) and missin' the hubster! :( Anyhoo... I'll try and keep ya updated... ;) 

Ciao Bellas!

(Or should I say, "Y'all come back now, ya hear?" hahahaha) 

Fill it in!

2 Fill in the Blank Fridays! :)

Linking up with both Lauren and MilSpouse Friday Fill-In at Wife of a Sailor

1.   The most selfless thing I've ever done was      lots of volunteer work in high school... and I mean a LOT  .

2.   When it comes to working out    I have a love/hate relationship. I love it afterwards... but during, I hate it. I love the results and the energy it gives me... but for some reason, since I've been in Italy, I cannot find a routine I love or even an exercise I like anymore... :( Even yoga is failing me... which is usually my go-to.     .

3.  A woman should always   respect herself and surround herself with happiness   .

4. I wish I could    win the lotto    and then I'd    fly friends & family out for visits :)   .

5.  A best friend is    your other half... your soul sister .

6.  I can't get enough of     my hubby's lovin'   .

7.  This weekend I am    spending time with my hubby before my trip home!  .

1. A word that always makes me laugh is  uscita (it means exit in Italian... but it sounds funny..) .
2. If you looked in my refrigerator right now, the oldest thing you’d find would be  potatoes... because there isn't much of anything else in there... we're about to go shopping for groceries today . 
3. If I were written about in the newspaper today, on the front page, the headline would say  "Lazy Lady Needs to Get Up & Get Dressed!" hahaha... forreals. .
4. The last movie I saw was Horrible Bosses... and I highly recommend it!!! so funny! .
5. The best thing that happened to me in the last few weeks was    getting to see my sweet nieces' faces via skype for the first time in 2 months!! .

That's all for now, lovies... I'm going to try and actually get dressed to go do some grocery shopping so my hubby doesn't starve while I'm gone next week... lol :)

Ciao Bellas!