tre mesi in america...

today marks three months that we've been back in the states. (and also two years that we've been married!)

to the three people who read this blog (or at least log on to find that nothing new has been posted) i apologize.... needless to say a lot has happened in these three months.

first and foremost, luca is a superstar.
he had his first official photoshoot, and will appear both on a toy box, and also in the catalog. he's just the cutest kid! i'm not sure if this will turn into a regular thing, but the kid has potential for sure. this way he can pay for his own college! (because by 2022 when he's ready for NYU, the place will cost $300,000 a semester.)

aubrey and i are dealing with our new life situation on a daily basis. everything from attempting to re-create the great caffe' from sant'eustachio in the morning, to complaining about the selection and quality of wine in this country. we're total snobs and we know it. trying to find a blend of being "interesting" and snobbish is not really that easy.

ok its time for the quick re-cap.

13 september
we wake up around 3:30 in the am, shower, and i start to move the 7 enormous bags downstairs. i scheduled a pickup for 4:30. im shaky and sweaty after all the luggage is ready to go, but not necessarily from the early morning workout. we manage to get luca changed without waking him up too much.

i head down to wait for giuseppe... 4:30. 4:36. 4:40. this is a roman who is usually very punctual (not very usual for a roman) i give him a call. he's in bed. i forgot that in italian, instead of saying 4:30 in the morning as you would in english, they say 4:30 at night, but meaning the morning after. (he thought it was supposed to be 4:30 am on 14 september. anyway he rushes over and we get to the airport on time. 1st mission accomplished.

at rome's fiumicino we get to the check-in desk, after have our last tour of the city for a while. i load all the bags on - and they are all under weight. 2nd mission accomplished. however, we can only check 6. we have 7. i offer to pay extra and get turned down... so now we have to truck around the airport with 4 bags and luca in the stroller. we get to the x-rays and since bag number 7 was supposed to be checked-in, it gets searched. and they find about 10 little scissors, 3 nailclippers and a large pair of scissors. questions.... answers.... the romans let us go on, but we need to throw out the biggest pair of scissors. I ask about the 10 little ones, and they, no problem. those are ok…

plane takes off to paris – no problems. aside from the 10 little scissors and 3 nailclippers. apparantly the french don't agree with the italians about boarding an international flight with sharp objects on your carry-on.

now comes the 4 hour layover. luca was awake for the flight to paris, but is sleeping once we land. it’s ok. the only good thing about CDG is the smoking areas! at least you can count on the french for something... we kill 4 hours by eating lame sandwitches (but on good bread) and taking turns walking around the terminal while the other one watches the boy.

the plane to newark is now delayed by one hour. when we finally board, the plane is near empty. it was like a dream. the three of us occupied an entire middle row. aubrey and i on either end, and luca with 2 seats to himself in the middle. he was so great on the plane, i even got to nap a little.

long story short (i know, too late) we're delayed again on landing, and by the time we finally get to bed, we've been up for well over 24 hours straight.

shortly after we took our first real vacation since 2002. the lovely brownish-grey sands of wildwood crest, nj. at the same resort i vacationed with my parents from ages 4-16. it was totally surreal to be back in that hotel. remembering things i had long forgotten. eating at that italian restaurant (bad idea) and just having a week to relax on the beach with my family. it was fantastic.

shortly after the vacation i scored a job. im back to editing in my dimly lit room, making tv again for major cable channels, and major network shows. its not the news, and i am happy about that. and im getting more comfortable with the people, and they seem to dig my work. so i am happy about that... and its in manhattan. i love being in the city everyday, although i am finding it a real pain in the arse getting out late at night. see, since there is high demand for editors these days, they don't have enough rooms for the amount of people they have. so i am on a 6pm-2am shift. problem is that the last bus back to jersey leaves at 1230. so i've been driving to hoboken (25 minutes) walking 6 blocks (4-7 minutes, depending on if i stop for coffee) to the path train (12 minutes) then to the BDF or V (5 minutes). its not a bad commute IN. the first couple of weeks when i didnt have the schedule down there were some nights when it took me 2 hours to get home. now i got it. i just hate driving, only to take a subway. parking is way too expensive. it's my only option at this point.

halloween.
i missed luca trick-or-treating since halloween fell on a weekday this year, and the fact that we don't live in rome anymore, and i can't just take a day off whenever i feel like it. but he was spongebob. that kid lives and breathes spongebob. and i must say, i am totally into it myself. he scored lots of candy, also thanks to the halloween party a few days before hand. it made his normal smile just a little bit bigger.

thanksgiving.
my first thanksgiving in america in 3 years. of course, i missed the annual bash at clark's house, but it was wonderful to just be at home, with all 19 of us at aubrey's parent's house. it was kind of like being at clark's come to think of it... we ate, and drank (some more than others) and i ended up in the hot tub at the end of the night. it was a great day.

the next day was aubrey's grandfather's 90th birthday. they were up from miami for the holiday. although i have known this man for 10 years now, it just finally dawned on me exactly how long of a time 90 years is. it's amazing. and aside from his speed, you would never know he's been walking this earth for the past almost-century. he's totally with it. i spent the next few days thinking about myself at 90. if i get that far. kids, grandkids, great-grandkids... a full life. all those experiences. imagine if he had a blog from when he was 28... that's a lot of cyberspace.

christmas plans.
we're almost done with our shopping. saturday we're having lunch together in the city at alfredo's. fettuccine alfredo was invented in rome by a dude named alfredo. (clever, huh?) he's got THE famous restaurant in rome, which we've never been to. and one in new york, which we are going to on saturday. i figure it might be a good bet for quality italian food. but i still have some reservations about it. i'll post a review after...

next sunday is the annual cece christmas party, which i'm sure will be fun. although my cheeks will hurt at the end of the day.

aubrey and i have been talking about our plans for the springtime. where to move to? buy or rent? stay longer here? brazil? australia? kenya? suburbs or city? we haven't come to much of a conclusion. but its a beginning to say the least.

there ain't nothing like startin over.