im puttin this here for shel so she sees it when she gets back:

GOOD MORNING!
BOY HAVE I MISSED EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU!!!!!



I'M BACK HOME, SAFE AND SOUND. DROVE INTO OUR DRIVEWAY AT 2:10 A.M. . . It was good to get out of the sky at 10:25 p.m. last night before today! I was a little nervous since we were in the airport yesterday when they were talking about the new "tape"....whewwww....boy was it good to set my feet back on US SOIL!!!

WHAT A TRIP IT WAS! IT WAS GREAT! I HAVE LOTS TO SHARE WITH ALL OF YOU.

ITALY IS A GREAT PLACE AND BOY OH BOY....WHAT FOOD, WINE, SWEETS, BREADS, CHEESES, DRIED ASSORTED MEATS AND PASTA THEY HAVE....... DAILY...AND FISH - I DID EAT LOTS OF FISH............ AS I DO LOVE FISH...BUT THEY HAVE THE BEST FOOD!!!

I ACTAULLY WEIGHED...I COULD NOT STAND IT..LOOKS LIKE ITS A LITTLE OVER A 4 POUND GAIN . . NOT BAD - I WAS REALLY WORRIED. I'M BACK ON IT TODAY!

THERE IS NOTHING DIET IN ITALY...AND I MEAN NOTHING....NO DIET COKES, NOTHING LIKE THAT (DID FIND A COCO-COLA LIGHT 2 TIMES) (ALSO KNOWN A DIET COKE...) THEY LOOK AT YOU LIKE YOU ARE CRAZY WHEN YOU ASK FOR ANYTHING "DIET" . . . EVERYTHING THEY EAT IS THE REAL STUFF...NO SPLENDA, SWEET-N-LOW...ONCE IN A WHILE AT BREAKFAST WITH COFFEE THERE WAS SOME DIET SOMETHING OR ANOTHER FOR THE SWEENTER! THE COFFEE WAS STRONG, I USED REAL SUGAR AND CREAM! yUUUUMMMMMM! I KNOW, I KNOW..BUT AFTER ALL I "WAS ON VACATION"!! LOL

BUT ALL IN ALL...I ATE PRETTY MUCH WHAT I WANTED . . I DID TRY NOT TO EAT TOO MANY SWEETS. ITALIANS LOVE THEIR SWEETS AT BREAKFAST..AND ICE CREAM...THEY EAT THIS STUFF 24 HOURS A DAY..AND I MEAN THE GOOD CREAM ICE CREAM! THE REAL THING! YES..I DID INDULDGE...BUT ONLY 4 TIMES! THERE WERE TOO MANY OTHER GOOD THINGS NOT TO MISS. LOL.... !!

DIET PRINCESS....BOY DO I HAVE "ITALIAN WEDDING" TRADITIONS FOR YOU...it was a great experience and of course we understood NOTHING during the ceremony...even though my DH was standing with the groom up front since he was "best man".....it was awesome - the bride's dress was handmade and embroidered with beautiful design and also many hand sewn small pearls.....

The reception was also interesting..more on that too....like about 5 6 7 courses of FOOD - i'm not even sure how to count them all....it lasted for 5 almost 6 hours.

"wave" to everyone! I see there are a few new challengers on board and so welcome to all of you too!

AP...HOW IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GIRL??? I'VE MISSED YOU...It does sound like you had a good dr. appt. with chiro!!! ((((((((((((AP))))))))))

I'LL WRITE MORE LATER. I'M SORTA "WIRED" AFTER BEING GONE SO LONG.
XOXO

HUGS TO EVERONE....AND YES, DPRIN..I CONCUR ABOUT OUR FRIENDSHIP AND SUPPORT...AND IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN SAID ON A BETTER DAY!




[This message has been edited by andreaphilip3 (edited 09-11-2003).]