Blessed is the Fruit of the Loom.

I have several halfway witty posts saved in drafts that I never quite finished. Perhaps one day they'll get done. But then a week and a half of work got in the way and now I'm sitting here staring dumbfounded at my suitcase wondering how to place 2 weeks of life into so small a space.

I can pretty much guarantee you there will be no posts until I've returned. Maybe I'll surprise us all, though.

In the meantime, I am off to Italy to see this one.

Hey, T...remember that time you WOULDN'T LET GO OF MY HEAD??

Once I get to Italy and we go to Rome and I go to Florence and Cinque Terre and whatever else I feel like doing, Taryn and I will board a plane together to go to Paris and see this one:
(C'est ma cousine, Lexie!)

Alright, y'all. Back to this packing nonsense. Ciao!

You can fake it for a while, bite your tongue and smile, like every mother does an ugly child.

New year, new layout. If you've visited my blog this week, you've probably seen it change by the second. I think I'm finally happy.
Finally.

Maybe.

We'll see.

So the New Year has been fun. At midnight on the first, I made out with a Scottish dude. Somewhere around 2 AM, there came an Aussie. Seven days later, I bought a plane ticket from Pisa to Paris. Two days after that, a plane ticket from New York to Pisa. (I thought that might help me with the whole Paris to Pisa part.) Basically, I'm trying to tell you it's going to be a very international kind of year. And a fun one, too, with little regard for others' opinions or consequence.
I like it. I'm a fan.

I'm going to try really hard to do two things while in Europe. 1) Not be scared to try new and different things, even when alone and b) Not to be an ugly American or typical tourist. I've been extra nice to all the tourists I deal with daily in an effort to improve my tourist karma. Just in case I mess up, I'd like a little positive jou-jou stored away. I ransacked Barnes and Noble recently and am loaded up with Rick Steves guides and translation tools. I think I'm going to get a real live paper journal and sit at cafes and train stations and write about all the interesting things I'll be sure to learn while traveling. Introspection! Coming soon to an Alison near you!

I'm enjoying doing nothing lately. Except today. I woke up, took down all the Christmas decorations and the Christmas tree, resulting in a floor full of tree needles. With the tree down and an empty void, I decided the living room required rearranging. Apparently, most adults do not rearrange every 6 months. I guess I still have dorm room mentality, cause I do.

I have decided that every Sunday from here on out shall be No Pants Sunday. Sunday is the day you should rest and also the day you should not worry about things like pants. No Pants Sunday. Nice ring, huh?

I didn't make any resolutions this year. I know you're supposed to and all and I usually do but this year I did not. I simply made one life goal - be awesome. I consider it my umbrella for the year. Be awesome and everything underneath will be juuuuuuust fiiiiiine.

I've seen enough, I'm not giving up on a miracle drug

I love infomercials.

I love infomercials because they tell me about things I never knew I needed. I mean, take the one that came on 5 minutes ago. Until that faithful moment, I had no idea that making brownies was such a bother, SUCH A CHORE. But now, I'm absolutely convinced that I cannot bake one more chocolate treat until I own...THE PERFECT BROWNIE.

I mean, not only does PERFECT BROWNIE make...THE PERFECT BROWNIE...but it also comes packed with ideas on how to make everyone's favorite treat even better. I swear, I NEVER thought about making a marble brownie, or M&M coated brownies or a Christmas tree stenciled brownie until PERFECT BROWNIE came along.

I simply cannot go one more day without one.

And my favorite part of any and absolutely ALL infomercials is the part where amazing announcer guy shouts AND WAIT! and then proceeds to tell you about how they're going to double your order for free (plus shipping and handling) and throw in something not at all related to what you're ordering in the first place. I am truly lucky that my bright pink Snuggie came complete with a magnifying book light. I'd be lost without them both.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go order Miss Maggie an EmeryCat.