See ya later Dallas!

We're movin' to Longview!

Bryan recently accepted a new job that's really going to do great things for his career. He is really excited about it and can't wait to start. We aren't exactly sure when we will "officially" move though. His start date is September 26, but more than likely I will end up staying here through at least October 16th so that I can finish out the season with Vigilantes. That is unless some company decides they just HAVE to have me now.....ha! Right. Not getting my hopes up on that one. Good news is, I just got promoted last week! I now have a management title and I am exempt and making more money than I was. Too bad it will only be for a little while. Hopefully though, having the management title, it will help me find a job easier out there.

We haven't put our house up for sale yet as we are waiting on the relocation company to set us up with information about a relator that we should use. Since Bryan's new company will be paying for our move, as well as the closing costs and realtor fees on our current house, we need to use someone that is familiar with that whole process. FINGERS CROSSED our house sells fast. If we can't sell our house, and I find a job, we'll have to rent for a little while. If we can't sell our house, and I can't find a job....well, we're going to have to live with Bryan's parents for a little while. And as much as I love his parents....we don't really want to LIVE with them. So, I'm praying that I can at least find a job pretty quick. I've applied for a few positions but haven't heard anything yet. If you know someone that lives out that way and knows of any jobs available, hook me up! :)

Bryan and I are both very excited for this huge change in our lives. We can't wait to get out of the busy hustle and bustle of DFW, as well as all the CONSTRUCTION AND TRAFFIC. This will be a great new chapter in our newlywed lives! :)

The Amalfi Coast & Pompeii

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Pompeii is FULL of history and it's incredible to see the preservation of a lost city that was once completely wiped out by a volcano. The Amalfi Coast was absolutely breathtaking. We decided that we would love to come back here and stay at a hotel on the beach for a future vacation. The Amalfi Coast IS Italy in every sense of the word. Rustic, lush mountains full of vineyards, lemon and olive groves, fantastic food, and beauty.

When we first pulled into port, we were greated by this gigantic (and a little random) castle.


Once we got on our bus to continue on to Amalfi, we saw the infamous mountain itself. Mt. Vesuvius.

Notice the 2 peaks; it wasn't always like that. The explosion was so massive and intense that it actually changed the shape of the peak. Poor unsuspecting Pompeiians.

The next few pictures do not do justice to this area AT ALL. It was the most gorgeous place I've ever seen. Rolling green hills every where you looked, dotted with quiant little country houses and churches. Every single house had its own vineyard, tomato vines, and lemon trees. Because this area is SO mountainous, it would take you forever to get to a grocery store. So, they just grow it all on their own. Heaven.


Then we finally made it to the other side of the mountains, and it was just as beautiful. I actually can't decide if I liked the hilly side or the coastal side more. It's a tough call. The water and the sky were the exact same color and there was virtually NO horizon. It just looked like a continuous blanket of blue. It was really strange, but gorgeous.


I thought these wildflowers were really pretty


We made our way into the city of Amalfi. It was a cute little town full of shopping, cafes, and gelaterias.


We stopped at a little cafe and enjoyed cappuccinos and a canoli on the patio.


Then the adventure began. After we shopped and at lunch, we had to make our way back through the mountains and towards Pompeii. Holy. Cow. When the windey roads were first built, they were made for horses.....NOT buses and cars. At each curve, there was a big mirror nailed up on the cliff so that you can see who is coming from the other direction. It's completely dangerous and there are no guardrails. Needless to say, things got hairy when our tour bus...and two more behind us....were trying to make our way through the mountains and throwing in crazy Italian drivers.

THAT is another bus no more than 6 inches away from us. It was terrifying.


This is a guy that got out of his car to try and direct traffic. We got stuck in a 30 minute traffic jam on the side of a mountain when we came upon a curve at the exact same time another bus was trying to make the curve. You have no where to go besides.....back. Well, trying to back a tour bus up a mountain when you've got two more behind you plus other cars, is obviously not an easy task. We couldn't go anywhere and neither could the other bus. So this poor guy (and many heated flailing of arms by frustrated drivers) tried to fix the situation. It finally worked and the bus broke out in applause.



After we made it back through the mountains, we made it to Pompeii. It was raining, but luckily it only poured for about 10 minutes before we started our tour. There were souvineer stands and food trucks outside the gates where they were selling lemons like THESE. Some of them were the size of a cantelope!!


Once we got inside the gates, one of the first things we saw was this area. I think its an arena where gladiators used to fight much like the Coloseum.

This is where the gladiators were held until it was time for them to fight.


An amphitheater


The streets of Pompeii


These were homes,stores, and restaurants that lined the streets


The courtyard of a house


The mosaic tile entry to a house


This was their forum. Kind of eery with Mt. Vesuvius in the background, huh?


Just off the forum, they had hundreds of artifacts that they had found. Pots, bowls, architecture, and even a dog and a couple of humans...

They say that it looks like this dog was chained up and he was trying to get away :(

And this was the most shocking thing I saw on the entire trip. I just can't believe how PERFECTLY this guy was preserved. I mean, you can see the folds in his shirt!

This appears to be a little kid


Ok, I'll stop being gruesome now.

This was a Basilica at one time


Then we FINALLY got some pizza! I was not about to leave Italy without getting a slice of pizza. It was so good too.


Well that concludes our stops on our Mediterranean honeymoon. Although, I got our "film" developed from the Rome camera disaster and got the images on a CD. Most of them came out ok except for inside St. Peter's :(. SO BUMMED because it was gorgeous! Oh well.....guess that just means we'll have to go back! :)

I'll post those pics from Rome and random pics from the ship next. Then maybe one day I'll make it around to Cambrie's bridal shower, my showers, the wedding........maybe. :)

Honeymoon Part II: Rome (well some of it)

Day 2 on our Mediterranean cruise was Rome. Rome in about 8 hours? INSANE. There is SO MUCH to see and do in Rome. I felt like we just skimmed the top of it. But at least we got to see a little bit of all the major stuff. Our ship docked in Civitavecchia, which is about an hour and a half bus ride from Rome. Pair a very heavily accented Italian tour guide with a 5am wake up call- we pretty much slept the entire way to Rome. Hope I did't miss out on much scenery! Rome was so fascinating. I love history, and Rome is the capital of the world when it comes to history. It's EVERYWHERE.

First off, we'll start with the crazy drivers. HOLY MOLY. Traffic in Rome is alot like New York- without the traffic regulations. People just drive and park where they want.

These cars are actually parking on the median. There really aren't "parking lots" in the city. And the streets are so narrow, they have no choice but to just park up on the curb.

Oh yeah, and their gas stations? Just right there on the sidewalk! If you want to get gas, you block an entire lane of traffic.



This is the best picture I got of the Coliseum. More on that later.... :(


Trevi Fountain (It looks exactly like the one in Vegas....well, the one in Vegas looks just like the real one in Rome I guess I should say)


It's really hard to get a picture of yourself when you can't trust anybody to steal your camera!


Wishing to return to Rome!


Pretty sure I would hate to have this job. Like I said, people are crazy drivers!


The Roman Forum. It would be impossible to post all of the pictures I took here. I seriously took over 100 pictures just on this site alone. It was incredible. The amount of DETAIL that went into EVERY SINGLE piece of architecture is just unreal. And the fact that some of it is still standing after thousands of years is unbelievable. Everything back then was just so MASSIVE. The Romans did nothing small. Everything was grand. Why they needed these buildings so big, I have no idea. But they are beautiful.








The Arc of Titus! I felt special.


And that concludes what I have of Rome.....where is the Coliseum? Where is Vatican City? The answer to that question is they are still trapped in a $30 disposable camera. I got a little camera happy in The Roman Forum. So much so, that LITERALLY, as soon as we walked up to the Coliseum, my camera died. I just about cried. I tried every trick I could think of to at least just get ONE picture of it up close and personal. But I got nadda. So after we toured the Coliseum (which was pretty cool. I couldn't understand a word our tour guide said, so I really missed out on alot of information about it), we walked out and of course there were little street vendors trying to sell little over priced Colisum trinkets. One of the vendors had some disposable cameras. For 15 euros. I had no choice. We still had to go to St. Peter's Basilica and there was no way I wasn't getting any pictures of it. I have yet to get them developed. I'm pretty worried about how they are going to turn out. St. Peter's is one of the oldest cathedral's in the world, full of history, and all I had was a lousy point and shoot film camera. It still makes me want to cry. I'm hoping that when I go to get it developed, there is some way I can put the images on a CD so that I can post them. I'll let you know how it turns out....

Up next, the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii! My favorite part of the trip!