missing Italy

It's been a bit cool these past few days and I've been dreaming about going back to Italy again. Seriously, I'm obsessed, checking the price of flights (too expensive) and the exchange rate (much better than last year). I really miss the simplicity of life when we're on vacation, especially in Italy. I miss walking out of our rented apartment and down the street to get fresh focaccia for lunch. Or to the tiny market for fruit and cheese. Or hiking though the gardens on the hillside. Or having a leisurely dinner with Jen and Jim and then getting gelato. When we were there last summer I actually thought that I might not want to go back to that small town, that there wasn't enough to do, that it was too far away from the big cities. I should have slapped myself! I think it was more that I was having a hard time not doing 500 things at once. I had a really difficult time slowing down. I didn't have to keep a schedule or a routine, I was paniced that I had forgetten to print something before I left, and I was already worried about how much work I was coming back to after the trip. Now I think I have a bit more perpective and I'm sure I would enjoy every second of laying on the rocky beach.

It's interesting to see how much perspective I've gained during the last year in general. I've been making time for my health much more now. I manage to go to the gym five days a week (I love Zumba), I've been cooking at home more (yes, soup in the summer), and I've been going to bed at a decent hour every night (by midnight, hooray). I actually go to the gym in the morning, for real! Those of you who know how much I love my bed must have fallen over with that last sentence. And I've been enjoying keeping up with this space a bit more.