Graduation from The University of Cincinnati

So, Michael and I have officially graduated from the University of Cincinnati and we are truly enjoying our summer and having a lot of fun! We leave for Germany tonight and it is off to Italy on Sunday and we will be sure to post plenty of pictures when we get back, but I had to post these graduation pictures before leaving.

Michael was the only one of us that actually walked in the Ceremony on the 13th of June and I sat in the stand and took pictures but I was sure to buy my tassel so I could atleast wear a cap and take part in all of the fun afterwards!

Michael now has a Degree in Architecture from UC's DAAP Program and I have mine in English Literature from the Arts and Sciences Department, hence the signs.

Pizza e Gelato! Il Più Delizioso Cibo!

I believe that my first meal when I arrive in Italia in a little less than two weeks will look something like this...


True Italian pizza and a heeping helping of the most delicious gelato that beats American ice cream hands down. Now, if only I could find a way to bring some of this home with me to Ohio. I guess I will just have to eat as much as I can while I am there!

Michael and I leave for Europe in exactly two weeks and I can't wait!  I have been looking forward to and planning this vacation for the past year and a half with Mike's twin sister, Tish, since the four of us, me, Mike, Tish and her husband Trevor, will be going together.  We fly into Frankfurt, Germany to visit with my parents for a few days, where they have been serving a mission for the church, and then we head down to Italy where we will be visiting Venice, Florence, the Cinque Terre region and Rome.  I would love any suggests for great restaurants, parks, gelati spots that we could visit on our trip.  I sure hope the past year of taking Italiano at UC will pay off at least a little bit!  Ciao and any suggestions would be great!

Mr. Tilney!

I'm looking forward to reading some really great books this summer and I've decided to pick up where I left of from last August and finish the rest of Jane Austen's novels that I never read. I took a really great class a year and
a half ago on Jane Austen and her books but we only had time to read four, so I now only have Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park left to read.









To get me ready and in the Regency mood, I've rented Northanger Abbey and watched it with my niece Aubree. This is definitely one of my favorites of Jane Austen's novels and I do believe that Henry Tilney is my favorite of her male protagonists... Oh, and the 2008BBC version of Northanger Abbey only makes me enjoy him even more. Just imagine his wonderful facials expressions in the movie as an added appeal to his charm, an early 19th century Jim Halpert character who becomes even more cute with each smirk he gives!

Sometimes...

Sometimes life just makes me want to smile. I had one of these moments today. Nothing specific, just the thought of how happy I am right now and how wonderful my life can be. It made me smile.

Dying of Anticipation...

I don't know if anyone has noticed my countdown timer but as of now I have roughly 6 days until graduation but this is not exactly as great as it sounds. I still have to look forward to three papers to be finished, two of which are due on Friday, a final in My Discourse Communities class on Thursday (probably the most boring class I have ever taken in my college career) a final on John Milton's Paradise Lost, and another final on Italian that is comprehensive and spans all the way back to September of last year. I don't think I have ever dreaded and hoped for something so much in my entire life. Number 1 on my list of things to do this summer is enjoy a good ole meaningless summer novel that I can unabashedly devour by the pool.

Michael on the other hand has technically already graduated and is currently 'vacationing' in Mexico since his final day of work was last Friday. And I can't wait for him to come home this Thursday! The first thing on his list of things to do this summer? Mow the lawn.