Because it looks like he's leaning...

Ahh, the Leaning Tower of Pisa

I am pretty sure this was the most overrated of all the sites I saw. It was hot, no walking on the grass, and there were people everywhere trying to sell stuff. Not my idea of fun.

Florence was beautiful. The streets were wider and everything just seemed calm. This is the view from Michelangleo's hill. You can see all of Florence from the top.

Tara and I smiling on Michelangelo's hill.

View of the Uffizi Gallery from the bridge. They have some amazing paintings in there. "The Birth of Venus"- it was way bigger than I was expecting. I saw the most beautiful picture of Mary and Elizabeth there.

Gates of Paradise

Awesome Mosaics in the baptistry

Kira, Me, Carly, and Megan.

(that is my cute hat I bought at the flea market)

We found this cute park down from our hotel. It was fun to watch people come walking their dogs and just hanging out.

More Sweet Mosaics

I think my whole Europe experience was defined by food. This pastry was so delicious. The old man who sold it to me was so cute- he even said Ciao Bella. Obviously he was charmed by my poor attempt to speak Italian!

One of the Oldest Universities in Europe.

The boat ride to Venice! It was raining!

Me on a bridge in VENICE!!

In front of this church people let the birds crawl all over them. I didn't probably because I was raised by my mother. They could of had diseases!

Magnum Bars! The Best!

Gondola ride. Expensive but totally worth it!

Carly and I with our Vans!

Megan and I being cute on the Rialto bridge. Lots of fun shops with glass and leather books! Loved it!

Parting shot of Venice!

On An Evening in Roma

Waffles? Did you say Waffles?

Dear Family-
I miss you more than a million red M&Ms! Germany is absolutely one of my favorite places. I got to stop in Wittenburg and see where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses. He was an amazing man! At the Luther museum they have his Bible with his notes in the margin! It was so cool! I had the best potato salad there(I am really branching out because it had some weird things in it-I am trying to be open minded!).
Then I was off to Berlin. I got to see the last remains of the Berlin wall. Cobblestone still runs through the street where the wall stood. It was powerful to be able to stand in a place where 20 years ago it wouldn't have been possible.
Now I am in Copenhagen! Last night they had a huge Halloween festival so the streets were crazy!! I saw the original Christus and paintings by Carl Bloch. The feeling was amazing. I had the most delicious waffles with jam and cream! Delicious!

I LOVE YOU! See you soon!

Love Melissa the Beautiful

P.S. I saw the Little Mermaid statue. I will definitely have to watch the movie when I get home. In fact i have a long list of movies to watch. Anyways love you!

I have Confidence!

Dear Family-
The Flea market in Florence was amazing. I found the cutest hat that I have now worn every day! I took a gondola ride in Venice! It was a little pricey but everything I had ever imagined. The shopping there was also amazing-but don´t worry I am being wise about it. Now I am in Austria. The mountain and trees here are not like anything I have ever seen! I am in love with them! I saw the Sound of Music Gazebo- it is so much smaller then in the movie! No wonder she was able to leap from bench to bench in high heels! I love you all and miss you tons! Postcards are on their way!
Love- Melissa the Beautiful

Miss you, Miss you

I am in Italy(safe and with my money intact)! I love it but I miss you all(and our homemade pizza-Italy has nothing on ours)! See you soon!

The Long and Winding Road....

Will lead me here.

This is the Girls Only Car

Probably the best part of the trip down to Vernal.

Welcome to Vernal- Land of the Dinosaurs

Grandpa Dave's Memorial

Learning the Value of a Straight LINE

Every now and then I get this random urge to sew. I don't know why but it happens. I usually end up picking a complex pattern, cut out the pieces, and then wait until my mom gives in and does the whole thing for me. This time I swore it would be different.

I picked out this cute Vogue pattern and cute fabric(see fig.1).

Fig.1

After cutting the fabric out then letting it sit for a week(the fabric looks better after sitting around), I finally began sewing. I tried to do it by myself only asking for my mother's help when I couldn't understand. Those instructions are not easy to understand so I was running up the stairs about every 2 minutes.

I finally got the front and back sewed together(see fig.2- try to ignore my face).


After much work I finished the collar(fig.3). I always liked my neck- I think it is one of my best features. Fig. 3
Stay tuned for more updates- pictures, crazy stories. Hopefully the pictures will be of me smiling and not of me looking like I am on drugs. Until tomorrow!

Paper chains, Paper chains

Counting Down the days until EUROPE!

All You Desire

I have several reasons to be excited this week!

1) My dear kindred spirit Allison is coming to visit! We are going to Lagoon and other such fun attractions!

2) I am making a dress(hopefully with my mother's help so that it looks good!) The fabric is cream with small purple flowers. It kind of reminds me of a Little House fabric.

3)The movie Becoming Jane is coming out! It looks cute even if kind of cheesy. Watch the preview Here ! I like Anne Hathaway so I will enjoy it!

Ticket to Ride

This was not my best week.

Things got a little worst on Wed. evening. The girl who had promised to work for me while I went to the funeral called and said she wouldn't because she had covered for me on Sat. She said it in a snotty voice that made me think she was just doing it to be rude. It was rude.

Then on my way to Mama Inez for 6 dollar nacho night when I rear-ended the car in front of me. He slammed on his brakes and I slammed on mine but it was too late. Of course I did the thing I always promised myself I wouldn't do. I cried.

The man wasn't upset. He told me that his car was a piece of junk anyways(in his attempt to make me feel better and to get me to stop crying). He called the police, while I tried to call me dad and explain to him where I was.

My dad came, the police came. They gave me a $75 ticket for driving too close since I admitted it was my fault. The tow-truck came to take my car. Everyone left.

That is the end of the story of my first ticket.

Oh My Goodness!

HAIRSPRAY

+

=
Almost Perfect Night or One Swell Evening

Ooh, there's gonna be fireworks

On the 4th of July!

Foot in Mouth

It always happens that when you are talking about someone in not so glowing terms that their mother/girlfriend/significant other is standing behind you taking in every word.

I am sorry.

Out for the SUMMER

I am making a Summer/Sunshine compilation of songs in celebration of summer. So far I have

-Candy in the Sun (totally reminds me of Jr. High)
-Steal My Sunshine
-Walking on Sunshine
-Here Comes the Sun
-Daydream Believing
-Summer of '69
-My Girl

I am looking for some more ideas!

What songs remind you of SUMMER?

Crazy Days of Summer

1) I had a snow cone this week. For me snow cones signal the start of summer! It was Tiger Blood and it was delicious!

2) I bought a purse! It is a super cute purse made by Jessi(who is awesome anyways because she lets us borrow her Gilmore Girls DVDs!). Summer is always made better by a cute purse! It is big enough to hold my journal, books, and other stuff I take to work!

3) I went ice-blocking on Saturday. My body feels like it has been ran over but it was sure fun! Who knew that sliding down a hill on a block of ice and then crashing in the dirt could be that fun! I hope I can get the grass-stains out of my clothes.

* On a side note- the other day at work I saw a man with a Winnie-the-Pooh tattoo. I asked myself " What would possess a 30-yr old seemingly normal man to get a tattoo of Winnie-the-Pooh?" I couldn't figure it out.

Pictures

She has no time..

two jobs + an early morning paper route + new calling= little time to blog

It is coming...

High School Musical 2!

Read about it here!

*Picture not from new movie! Sorry!

It doesn't get any better...

"You look like a boy cause you have no lipgloss."

I should have known.