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MY SISTER WILL BE HERE IN LESS THAN 12 HOURS!!!!

(that is all)

The Past Week...

Raise your hand if you are terrible at updates... *raises hand*

I am just awful at updating my blog, answering emails, returning phone calls, etc. It's not that I'm too busy, 9 times out of 10 "I just don't feel like it" So when I got online tonight, I hadn't updated my blog in a week, I had 5 unanswered emails and 3 Facebook messages. I'm becoming the kind of friend that usually annoys me. So I told myself that tonight I was not allowed to watch last night's Glee or play Farmville until everyone was answered. To make it easier on myself, I have some chocolate to keep me company, but still....blahhhhh

The long weekend was great...on Thursday Amanda came to visit and stayed til dinner. It was great to see another American and discuss things going on back home. Plus I was able to pick her brain a little about things to see while Brandi is here. She and her husband have travelled quite a bit while here and she was able to give me some great information! And the kids just loved seeing her! She's actually going back to the US before me, so hopefully she gets a chance to come back one more time before she leaves for America.

Saturday was amazing...there was a "bread show" going on in Schaffhausen, along with a jazz festival and a motorcycle rally. I met my friend Andrew downtown (the one that scared off the Albanian stalker back during German class) and we had a great afternoon-eating wayyy too much bread, listening to jazz, looking at motorcycles and-of course-day drinking. Day drinking isn't as taboo in Europe as it is in America and it was beuatiful day to stare out at the Rhine river and drink pink sparkling wine. Or several mugs of beer if you are too manly to drink something pink. I was home by about 5 and was intending to go back downtown in the evening, but watched a Leonardo DiCaprio movie instead. He is just too cute....Bar Raefeli is one lucky girl.

Sunday was pretty quiet, and Liano came home from Dad's with some stomach virus, so Monday and Tuesday were pretty low-key as well. Yesterday I helped Stephanie put up a shade umbrella in the backyard-such work! It wasn't too heavy, but was like 8 feet high so it was crazy awkward. I'm sure we looked rediculous trying to put it up. In the end, Stephanie stood on a chair holding the top of the umbrella as high as she could while I fed the end of it into the base. Then she puttered around the yard doing this and that while I tried (unsuccessfully) to teach Liano how to catch a ball.

Today we all went to an indoor playland called Berrolino-which the kids absolutely loved. Stephanie worked on her computer and I chased the kids around. We jumped on trapolines, climbed around inside the giant playplace, played in a ball pit, the kids drove bumper cars and we just ran around. There were a lot of school kids there, but it wasn't really much of a problem. Though, at one point, I noticed one boy was running around like crazy, pushing kids, knocking them down, etc. I wouldn't have gotten involved, but she shoved Alessio at one point and he tripped and fell. So I had one of those "Did you just mess with my kid? Oh HELL NO" moments.... I followed Liano up into the playplace and when the kid came running up behind us, I stuck my arm out and "accidently" clotheslined him. He fell right over, I smirked and he slowed way down the rest of the day. Absolutely inappropriate, but whatever.

The rest of the week should be allright...with Stephanie here and kids on some holiday weekend I'm working half days tomorrow and Friday (at least I think Friday too) and then I have Saturday off. I'm techinically working on Sunday, but I'm not too sure how that'll work out as Stephanie will be here and Carlo will come to visit the kids in the afternoon. Maybe I'll get up with them so Stephanie can sleep...or maybe I'll just get them ready for bed. Or maybe it will be one of those awkward days where I'm not really sure what I should be doing, so I just slink around the house telling the boys to get their hands/shirts/toys out of their mouths and not to yell or hit each other.

And, of course, Tuesday Brandi will FINALLY be here!! So excited! We have a lot of really cool stuff planned. Plus, it will be nice to just have someone here who "knows" me. Can't wait to show her Switzerland and gossip about all the crazy peeps in Gaylord.

Allright, before I move onto those emails, one more thing....not sure if she still reads this or not, but I want to send a huge congratulations to my friend, Joan, who had her first baby the other day-a happy healthy baby girl-Lyla June!! =) I may not want kids, but when other people have them, it is SO exciting!

Emails, Facebook, Farmville, Glee....Ready, Set, GO!!!

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Ahhh...Cinco de Mayo. Mexican independence.

More importantly, Cinco de Mayo is EASILY my favorite (drinking) holiday. Bottles of Corona, shots of tequilla, massive magaritas....what's not to love? And, unlike my other favorite drinking holiday (St. Patrick's Day) it's usually warm enough to enjoy said libations outside. Plus, Mexican food rocks.

The past two years, I filled up on delicious chicken nachos at Horn's Bar on Mackinac Island and then tossed back tequilla like nobody's business. Then I stumbled around downtown, speaking Spanish and eventually finding my way to the Gatehouse to dance my ass off. Finished the night with a large Piña  Colada at Seabiscuit.

~LOVE LOVE LOVE~

Well, this year I spent the day with the kiddles, and while there was dancing and some Spanish, there was no nachos and definitely no tequilla. Sad face, I know.

I made tacos for lunch, which I was super excited about. The soft shells I bought were terrible though...super inflexible. Because of this, the kids weren't able to pick them up and eat them as normal. Still though, they seemed to enjoy them. And my Spanish nonsense throughout the day.
I have the next FOUR days off, so maybe I'll scoot on downtown one afternoon and toss a couple shots back for old time's sake. I'll let you know how that works out....

What I do know is that I am already going through Mackinac withdrawls. While spending the summer in Europe is cool and all, I LOVE summer on the Island and am super sad I didn't/couldn't go back. The job at the hotel was awful, but I love absolutely everything else. Everyone is starting to go back up there and I am super bummed. Hopefully I make it back to Michigan in time to spend a weekend up there with everyone before the season ends.

I'm sure my liver is grateful we aren't going back though. HAHAHAHA

In other news, I decided to drop the math class and pick up nutrition this fall. I figured I's much rather ease my way back into college than run face first into the wall that is algebraic equations. I think the semester will be a cakewalk.....and I'm shooting for a 3.8 GPA. Even if it mean deactivating the Facebook or moving to the library. Time to be serious, Alyssa.

Allright, well, it's nearly midnight, so I better get ready for bed. Cross your fingers that the weather improves so I can go have some adventures (and go running!) during my long weekend.

Oh, and PS,
It was brought to my attention that an expression I used in the last post wasn't exactly "politically correct".  Actually, it was apparently, "super offensive". Ummm....let me remind you, this is MY blog...MY thoughts put into MY words. If you don't like it-don't read it. Simple as that. Because I am not very ladylike. And I am definitely not perfect. I curse. when I write. I talk about drinking and depression and occasionally allude to previous drug use. I make inappropriate comments about anatomy I don't actually possess. Deal with it or don't read it. Thanks a million.