I am planning an American-themed party. I should be very excited, but I am doing it more as a chore than anything else -- my friends have been so wonderful to me that I feel the need to ... well, throw them a party! I wish I had my stuff together, I would have thrown it in honor of my birth. Alas, the window of birthday party opportunity has passed. I'll just make a bunch of American box birthday cakes in my honor. Mmmm cake....

Pictures forthcoming.

I've been keeping busy. Filippo is out of nursery for the summer, so we spend all day together. It's pretty fun. We've been starting our days by going to Floyd and playing with whichever kids cross our paths. Then, we either color and "help" Nonno out in the garden, or we lounge by the pool all day. Love it. The weather is sufficiently scalding, and the pool is so wonderfully cool and clear and entertaining. Also, the summer naps are so very satisfying.

<-- Love this picture of the cool little dude. (Speaking of "cool," he's adopted this particular slang from Tata Lindsey, and continually asks me if things he's doing or seeing are cool. "Is this cool, Tata Lindsey? Is this so cool?") .

Other than watching Filippo, I keep myself busy planning parties and hanging out with my boyfriend. That's right, you heard me say it (well, no you didn't, but you saw the end result of me thinking it in my head and then instructing my fingers to type it out on the keyboard into the blog window): boyfriend. I have an Italian boyfriend. I'm pretty sure that makes me the coolest girl ever. Did I mention he's in a band? Well, that would be a lie really -- he IS the band. All mention of "Dany" (Danilo) henceforth refer to my very cool, very Italian "boyfriend."
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<-- I don't think we look particularly stellar in this photo, but it's the only one I really have of him, so just use your imagination to picture us more attractive.

I'd like to take this time to mention that he doesn't speak very much English (though boy is he learning fast), and either that speaks very highly of my Italian language abilities or very low of Dany's and my inter-relationship communication. .

Trips planned in the near future:
Italian day trips, such as Venice, Florence, Milan, etc. with two of my Uno's girls who are coming to visit.
A veritable European tour with Laurel.
Something something with Seanic.
A long weekend in Ireland with Tata Alley.