The Hunking Herald



Mallory too tired at breakfast to hold her own head up!



I thought I'd give a bit of an update on what has been going on over the last week. We switched Hotels to more of a Residence type hotel with two bedrooms, living area and kitchen. It has really been working out well and allowing Mallory and I to get out more during the day. There is a big pond to walk around and besides being eaten alive by mosquitoes, Mallory enjoys seeing the ducks, baby ducks and the turtles in the pond. Her other favorite  is GELATO, "the pink one." This is strawberry of course or in Italian "Fragola" I remember how to pronounce it by remembering one of my childhood favorite shows"Fraggle Rock" Anyway, she loves Gelato and has mastered eating it out of a cone!

I've been out an about quite a bit with an English Speaking Women's group who get together for things like book club, cooking classes, wine tasting, crafty type dates, and coffee/brunch. I won't be partaking in a hiking, eating, wine tour thing happening in September, since I'll be 8 months pregnant, but it certainly sounds like a BLAST!
Josh and I have been looking at houses and have it narrowed down for the most part. It is difficult to find a house that is big enough for our growing family, our gigantic dog, and visitors of course!

For Father's Day, we had big plans of going into the Center of Milan to see the Duomo, but the tour we wanted was full. Instead we had a relaxing day around our hotel filled with naps for everyone and a nice stroll to the playground where we almost avoided being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Here in Italy, mosquitoes are part of the culture. I know this because I have been bitten at all times of the day AND there is a commercial for a baby doll that gets mosquito bites. She comes complete with hydrocortisone cream, band-aids and a fly swatter! Strange, but definitely the norm around here! The mosquito problem is a little worse where we are since we are mostly surrounded by sweet corn fields and rice fields which hold standing water and well... increase the risk of west nile virus by about 1,000%! I don't know if that is the EXACT percentage or not, I'm really just taking a guess. :)

We also had our first trip to the laundromat. They are very small and cannot be found as easily as one would think. Maybe if you are a local, sure, but certainly not for a foreigner. We managed to fit 2 weeks of laundry in 2 loads. The dryers are pretty costly due to the fact that most Italians don't dry their clothes with a dryer, they hang dry their things. We put our clothes through quite a few 10 minute cylces and still had damp clothes to bring home to lay out on our patio. The way I think about stains on clothes has completely changed. Mallory always wears a Bib now, and as soon as I get back from somewhere I change out of my clothes into what I call "hotel clothes" in order to keep my more presentable clothes cleaner longer. Here is a picture of Mallory enjoying her time at the Laundromat!

We are headed to Rome on Thursday for a nice long weekend to celebrate our 5th Anniversary. Never in a millon years would I have guessed  I would be spending my 5 year anniversary in Rome! We will be meeting up with our friends Dusty and Jackie who are honeymooning there! I have requested they smuggle in a bag of goldfish for Mallory. She still asks for them daily and of course we can't find them over here! Abig thanks to my friend Susan and her husband Jamie for giving us a bit of a hotel hook-up while we are in Rome! Thanks guys!  

I had my first driving experience yesterday when I took Josh to work. It wasn't too bad, I can be a perfectly good defensive driver when I want to! Watch out for the mopeds though, they really do come out of nowhere. They have more roundabouts than New Jersey. Take New Jersey roundabouts and multiply by 1,000. Seriously they are every 1/2 mile here. Nothing really groudbreaking to share on this subject, obviously.

A Tastefully Simple Update: I have had quite a few people inquire if I am still selling Tastefully Simple and YES I AM! My website is completely open for business! www.tastefullysimple.com/web/lhunking Here you can view the online catalog or if you prefer to have a hard copy in hand e-mail me at Libby6423@yahoo.com and I will have my State-side assistant get one out to you immediately. I have not hit my leader sales requirement yet for the month, so if you have been thinking you need to stock up on your favorties like Beer Bread, Cool Drink Buckets, Seasoned Salt, Absolutely Almond Pound Cake or a perfect gift for an upcoming birthday or event or BY GOLLY...try these fantastic products for the very first time, NOW IS THE TIME! Be sure to tell your friends too! Just visit my website to place your order. I am currently running multiple specials while I am in Italy, I hope you'll participate in at least one!

1. Birthday Club: E-mail me with your birthday and you will receive Incentives and special gifts during your birthday month. If your birthday is this month, E-mail me NOW!

2. Catalog Competition: Each month, I will have a minimum of 2 hosts holding catalog parties where they collect orders online easily from friends, family, neigbors, and co-workers. The host with the most sales at the end of the month, will receive an extra $15 in Free products! I am still looking for Hosts for July, November, and December for 2011!  If you would like to earn free products while helping me to reach my monthly goal, please let me know immediately.

3. If you don't currently get my monthly newsletter, e-mail me a request to receive it when you e-mail me your birthday and I will add you right away. Along with my newsletter that goes out once a month, I sometimes send out SUPER SPECIALS you won't want to miss!

Thank you for your support, I appreciate you.

A big blog update to come next week when we return from ROME! Pray we don't melt in the heat or get robbed, and yes, for you Catholics.... I'll tell the Pope that you didn't mean it and you'll do better next time! :) 2 Hail Mary's and an Our Father for you!

Ciao!