Practice makes perfect

Anyone who knows me knows how much I like taking pictures. If you read this blog, then you obviously know that as well. For as long as I can remember (since High School to be exact), I have wanted a good quality camera but you know.. those things are just so darn expensive. I've had some great 35mm and digital camera but after a while, they seem to break or become "old". Every time I go into an electronics store, I like to browse the cameras and see what's there and dream that maybe one day I'll have one too.

Well, I'm happy to say that my darling hubby found a solution for me! Technically, it's part of my Christmas present but since I paid half of it, it's really not a present. A friend of his was going to sell his old camera and buy a lens for his new one. Since my hubby is ALWAYS thinking about me, he spoke to his friend and long story short we bought his old camera. We got a GREAT deal on it and I'm so happy to finally this camera that I've always wanted. It also could not have come at a better time. It gives me a chance to practice before the baby gets here!

This is actually not a picture I took with my new camera but I love the way this palazzo looks with all of the snow.

I took these from the balcony the day after I got the camera so, I was still trying to figure out the settings and zoom.

This was from our other balcony.

Christmas Day-

Carlo brought home a candle that we lit for Christmas and placed next to our Nativity.

I was too tired to get up from the bed so I took this laying down.

These are our teddy bears: Bubu & Teddy.

Bubu belongs to Carlo (has had him since he was 5)

Teddy is mine (had him since I was 5 too!)

Yesterday morning, I decided to take a picture of myself with my new camera.

It was a beautiful, clear day in Torino.

Carlo went to the store to buy something for his mom and he came back with more books.

He also bought one for the baby so that we can read to her now.

Topolino is Mickey Mouse

When the weather is nice, we continue our Sunday tradition by going for a walk. We went downtown to test out the new camera.

These are my favorite lights. I think I took about 20 pictures in this Piazza alone.

The Mexican store that I go to for my Tortillas is in this Piazza so, we stopped by to look at their display. Maybe next year, I can buy this aluminum Nativity.

I've always wanted a night shot of Palazzo Reale .. and now I have one!

Not to mention a clean shot of Via Roma.

Every time I take a picture of this street.. it's ALWAYS blurry.

This one is just for my Mom & Dad. I thought they might like to see Santa hanging from the balcony & window.

Christmas Celebrations

I thought about posting some of these pictures earlier but, I wasn't quite sure what to say so I thought I'd just wait and do one big, long post about Christmas. (instead of several small ones). I'm happy to report that our first Christmas in Italy has been wonderful. It started with our Ward Christmas Party. We decided to be late and show up at 8 pm. As we walked in, we realized it was a dinner... a little piece of info not mentioned at church. We found our seats and waited for them to announce that we could go get our food.

I didn't take a picture of the spread but you better believe there was tons of food.. and it was GOOD!!!!!! Carlo even mentioned that how delicious everything was. I was quite happy he came with me. Some of the members remembered him from the Valentine's Party and he met the super cool Sister Missionaries that always come over for lunch. He said he had a great time.

We had a lot of entertainment from the church choir

I was pleasantly surprised by the big turnout!

Sorella Jacobson and Sorella Huber made Brownies... I made sure to get one before they were gone!

ps.. Sorella Jacobson is from The North Pole! Alaska that is!... she knows Santa Claus! (seriously.. she says there's a guy who changed his name to Kris Kringle)

Babbo Natale brought gifts for all of the kids!

On Christmas Eve, we went to Mamma Adelasia for a quiet dinner at home. Nothing special and nothing fancy... we were saving that for the next day! Christmas Day we went to Moncalieri to have lunch with Zia Anna and her family. (Mamma Adelasia's sister) I was too busy eating to take pictures of the food but after 2 hours I was stuffed! We started with some snacks like chips and peanuts then had our Antipasti (starters) which was Prosciutto Cotto & Crudo, Cheese & Salame, then finished with Salmon garnished with oil and cheese. Then it was Cannelloni filled with ricotta cheese and zucchini. Our meat dish was Wild Boar with oven roasted potatoes. I've NEVER had Wild Boar before and it was AWESOME!!!! We finished the meal with some fruit salad and then Panettone.

Paola quickly learned Carlo's name and had no problem calling me Yaya!

Zia Anna loved her Cowgirl hat that we got for her!

Carlo will someday learn how to properly hold a child!

We ate so much that by the time we got home, (6pm) we were ready for bed! Of course, it doesn't stop there. Here in Italy we also celebrate the 26th which is St. Stefano. Generally you're supposed to get together with more family and eat.. lightly. So, we had Mamma Adelasia come to our house for lunch for Minestra (soup) and MORE Panettone.

this panettone was made by the bakery in our neighborhood

Pear & Chocolate Panettone

we reserved it 2 weeks before Christmas and it was a good thing too.. it was the last one they had!

We took the opportunity to rest that day because we had an appointment to meet with some family members that night. We happily left our house at 9pm and got back at 12:30 am! There's nothing like eating more Panettone with family to help keep you up all night. Luckily, we got home late so that I could Skype with my family who were all at my parents house for Christmas celebrations. As my brother said, there's nothing like spending Christmas with 50+ cousins! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to video chat with them but I did get to speak to a few people and it was still nice.

We finished the weekend quietly at home with more Panettone and a walk downtown. Luckily for us, this is just the beginning. Here in Italy, Christmas lasts another 12 days until the Epiphany (January 6th). So, you can be sure that I'll have plenty more to write, more pictures to show... and more Panettone to eat!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know I did!

Birthday Shoutout

Well, we've nearly reached the end of 2009! I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. So, we end our year of Birthdays with another Holiday baby! My sister somehow had 2 holidays babies. Mika was born on Halloween and Markus was born on Christmas Eve.

Happy Birthday Markus Clay!

wasn't he just the cutest little baby!!

I love Markus! I loved being able to watch him grow up and take his first steps (after his 1st birthday) around the house. I loved being able to take thousands of pictures of his cute little chubby face. I have so many fun memories of Markus.

- taking his first steps walking around the outside of the house holding on to the wall.

- getting a tooth pulled because there was a spot on it that turned out to be an infection.

(we used to call him spotted tooth)

- having a "window" in his mouth made it really easy to give him liquid meds when he needed it.

- used to love saying.."Choo Choo"

- used to climb on to things then cry because he couldn't get down.

- climbed up on to the sink, slipped and busted his lip, & got a black eye... he looked like Rocky!

Markus & Mika- April 2000

One thing Markus says he doesn't remember is his INFATUATION with DINOSAURS! Markus was obsessed with them. And as you can tell from the pictures below, I'm not exaggerating. He could spot the tiniest picture of a dinosaur and start yelling.. "Dinosaur, dinosaur!" He loved dinosaurs sooo much that one time, he got a rash on his hands (prone to native american children... which he and mika are.. they're half Navajo) and we told him he was turning into a Dinosaur!

Markus with his collection

Markus also likes to goof off. He's the silly one in the family....making jokes, just saying funny things, or making funny faces.

Markusaurus-notice the dinosaur hands! & if you click on this picture, you might be able to see the "window" in his mouth.

see.... silly!

july 4th, 2009

Oh... Markus.. you're growing up so fast. Can you slow down a little bit. I miss you and all of your cool drawings. I hope you're still looking for aliens on the moon for me. Next time I see you, I want a full report on what you find. I hope you can come visit us this summer so we can take you to eat all of the pizza and gelato you can handle!

Happy Birthday Markus!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Yaya, Carlo & Baby V.

Birthday Shoutout

It's another December birthday shout out! This one is might special for several reasons...

1)- He turned 65!!

2)- I am 1/2 of him!

3)- He is my daddy!

HAPPY 65th BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN!!

*this is one of my favorite pictures of me and the little man

I would tell you all of the ways that make my dad super cool but I'm not because it would make you sooo jealous that you would want to be a part of my family. What I will do is give you a short list of "My favorite things my dad does."

- makes up his own words to songs

- dancing in the kitchen

- makes yummy Saturday morning breakfast

- teaches me Car Maintenance

(which is why Carlo calls me a mexican boy.. i know more about cars than he does!)

- likes to give speeches (or spiches)

- always wants to help everyone

*Little Man

Happy Birthday! We wish we could be home to eat lots of cake and ice cream with you but we'll have to wait until you come back to visit us in April. Valentina is already excited to meet her abuelito... she even says she wants to be brown like you and that she is cute because she is your granddaughter.

Happy Birthday!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Yaya, Carlo & Piccolina

*i like to call my dad 'little man' because when you're little, your dad always seems so much bigger than you. then you get older and taller and your dad doesn't seem so tall.. in fact, he starts to shrink!

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

A few days after Thanksgiving, I started looking at my iTunes library and searching for my Christmas songs so that I can start doing the Jingle Bell Rock. As I was finding some songs I realized that I didn't have very many. I used to have a lot and somehow they have magically disappeared. Needing to fill my house with the sounds of Christmas, I browsed the Holiday section on iTunes and found some essential songs that were immediately added to my library.

I also came across Andrea Bocelli's newest CD: My Christmas. Now, I like Andrea Bocelli and I love Christmas music so I thought it would be a good purchase. What I didn't know that it was a GREAT purchase. I have listened to the entire CD everyday since I bought it. It's so beautiful and peaceful and magical. I now love Andrea Bocelli... in fact, last week, Canale 6 (Mediaset) aired his Christmas special from the Kodak Theater in L.A. I wanted to watch it so bad that I had been waiting all day and night for it to come on. Of course it started as soon as Carlo came home and was ready to eat dinner. Luckily, I had already prepared everything on the table and he told me to go watch it and not worry about him.

If you're needing an extra Christmas boost... I suggest buying this CD. You'll absolutely love it!

*these are just some clips from the Christmas special & YES... that is The Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing with Andrea!!

I have 2 songs that I love on this CD. The first is Andrea with Mary J. Blige singing: 'What Child is This?' It is so powerful that you can't help but love it!

And the next one would be Andrea with the Muppets. I love this rendition of Jingle Bells.. it's so fun!

*i especially love the remarks by the muppets!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

*Andrea Bocelli - the great Italian Tenor was born in 1958 with glaucoma. At age 12 became blind from an accident that occurred while playing soccer. Info from Wikipedia.

*David Foster- Grammy winner- singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, musician and arranger- has worked with EVERYONE! Info also from Wikipedia.

Baby: Sex, Names & Guessing Games

Let's start with the last one... Guessing Games! So far, I've been told by 4 different people that I'm having a girl. I've been told by other's that I'm having a boy. Well, everyone has their guesses and some are even guessing one gender just to say that it will be the opposite. My niece Mikaela says she wants me to have a girl (then said because you will get the opposite of what you want.. so therefore she really wants me to have a boy).

Well today was the BIG DAY! I had my 2nd trimester sonogram and well.. it was still a guessing game. The doctor says.... IT'S A GIRL! (although he couldn't be 100% positive because the legs were closed but.. he says that he is pretty sure it's a girl) So that's what we're going with.

We were so lucky to have a Doctor and assistant who did a great job on the Sonogram. We came home with 17 pictures of the baby. Now, I'm not sure if this is routine in the States but they measured EVERYTHING. I've got pictures of her brain, her face, her kidneys, heart & even the bones in her legs & arms along with the measurements.

Today, I realized that I hadn't been updating you on my progress and for that I'm sorry but there really isn't much to say at this time... Especially when I don't have monthly appointments like you would in the States. Unless you want to know the results of my last blood work, nothing has been going on since the 1st sonogram in October. So, to make up for it, here's a picture Carlo took just a few hours ago.

21 weeks (5 months)

Now that we pretty much know what we're having, we can finally call the baby by her name. This is something we've been thinking about for at least a year. I already had names in mind when we decided to start trying but that list of names got shorter and shorter until there were only 3. The names we had in mind were:

Alessandra

Giada

Valentina

Now, I love the name Alessandra BUT... Carlo has a cousin by that name which means... there already is an Alessandra Piacente.... NOT very original! So that name went quickly out the window. So then.. it was between Giada & Valentina. I love the name Giada. It's not that common and that's why I like it. Also because Giada De Laurentiis is one of my favorite Celebrity Chefs from the Food Network. (She's even better than Rachael Ray.... there... I said it!!!)

When I found out that Giada is Italian for Jade.. I loved it even more! Jade has been a name that's been stuck in my head for a really long time and I just think it's really cool name for a girl. Then there was Valentina. I had heard it and I thought it was nice but it wasn't my first choice. The longer I thought about it.. the more I like it. I played around with different name combinations and I just like these two names so much that I couldn't make up my mind. That is.. until I saw this...

song is "Valentine" by Maurice Chevalier

After I saw this video, I thought how awesome Valentina was and how beautiful it sounded in 3 different languages. I decided it would be Valentina but... I still really like the name Giada. Carlo suggested using both names but using Jade instead of Giada.

Therefore.... this little girl's name is:

Valentina Jade Piacente

Belated Birthday Shoutout

I realize that I haven't posted anything in 9 days.. and I apologize but I have a really good excuse. I asked the Birthday girl for 2 pictures to put on the blog and I haven't gotten anything. Therefore, I picked them for her. Too bad if she complains... it's been 6 days since I asked... she had her chance! Anyway, this shout out goes out to my one and only big sister.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE!

Julie, me & our cousin Alma

My sister is a lot things and it would take about a week to list it all so, I'll give you the short version. She's the mother of Mika, Markus & Ali, wife of Chris, & probably the most goal oriented person I know. She's got a list of goals and ambitions that it would take a month to list it all. She's been to Ecuador and built toilets for the villages, lived on an Indian Reservation, lived in Hawaii for 6 months and only because of me (yea me!!) she finally made it to Italy in 2006 and met one of her pen pals that she had been writing to since she was younger. (High School age I think)

Julia Gulia*-

Hope you like the pictures I picked but... I couldn't wait any longer for you to send me the ones you wanted. Hope you had a great birthday and we can't wait for you to come back to Torino and visit us!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Yaya & Carlo

*The name Julia Gulia came from the movie 'The Wedding Singer'. Drew Barrymore's character was named Julia and her fiance's last name was Gulia. So her name would have been Julia Gulia. We (me & my brothers) started calling her that ever since.

It REALLY is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

I finally feel all Christmas-y! It's been a bit of a hard transition not "celebrating" Thanksgiving with a big Turkey and all of the sides. So, last Friday, it was hard for me to start thinking about Natale (Christmas). Even though Luci d'Artista has started, I don't go downtown often enough to enjoy the lights and get in the Christmas spirit. A few weeks ago, when Carlo and I went to Malibu with Jill & Florent, we took more pictures of the Artistic light displays. We plan to take a tour of the lights so that we can see all of them, but for now, here are a few.

Piazza Lagrange

Via Lagrange

Piazza Carignano

Via Garibaldi

Via Roma

Galleria Subalpina

Via Po

I thought this looked better in Black & White

Monte dei Cappuccini

Piazza San Carlo

Now that the city feels like Christmas, it was time to decorate the home. Now, like a lot of Americans, I like to decorate the day after Thanksgiving. Here in Italy, most people decorate on December 8th which is a Holiday. (Immacolata - the Celebrate of Immaculate Conception) So, when Carlo and I talked about decorations I mentioned that I wanted to start slow and just get a few things every year. In a few years, we'll get a Christmas tree but for now, I just wanted a Nativity set. So, I headed out to Carrefour and got a few things to brighten up our home. I'm just glad Carlo liked what I bought.

So I got some garland that had red bows on it and added some red ornament balls, then added a strand of white lights.

I was really disappointed in the selection of Nativity scenes at Carrefour so, I chose this simple, small and cute one. I've decided to save my pennies and buy a real Nativity in Naples. (see this post on Napoli from Ms. Adventures in Italy)

A month ago, Carlo saved his pennies and bought us a new bookshelf (because we don't have enough) for our hallway. This is where we display our art & travel books and for now, it will display our Nativity scene.

We haven't finished setting up just yet but I'm so excited to rearrange and put the other strand of lights I bought. The lights that will be here are in the shape of angels! I'm so excited to finally have some Christmas decorations in our home. It sure beats last year!! (see post & pictures here)