Going... going.....

Well, it's Sunday 21 December and I leave Tuesday morning... which means I've only got one more day to finish outprocessing, then hit the road! Woohooo!

Yesterday I said goodbye to a lot of my Italian friends in our choir. So hard... then this morning was spent saying goodbye to everyone at church, especially the worship team. I'm not big on "goodbyes" but more like "see you laters", cause we're hoping a lot of our friends come to visit us in Utah. Great skiing, beautiful scenery, and of course us and Baby Baz!! And speaking of the little bugger, Elaine goes to the doctor on Tuesday (yes, the very day I fly out of Italy) to find out the sex... but the doctor's going to just write it down so we can find out together on Christmas morning, yay!! (Thank you Laura Smith for the fantabulous idea!!) Pray that my son is ready to show who he is... wait, did I just say my son? I mean my baby... yeah, that's it! ;-)

Sunshine and Snow

Today, after another 6 inches of snow the SUN came out! It was a welcome break from the grey skies and shadowless days. I took a break between Doctor appointments ( I had 2 today) to drive out near the house we put an offer on and check out the neighborhood. Much to my delight, I discovered that the house is a 8 minute walk away from this beautiful nature park, pond and 7 mile walking trail.

Walking the edge of the pond


Where the stream meets the pond


snowscape


Back in that neighborhood is our hopeful house!


Bat box... bat friendly neighborhood keeps the mosquito level down!

Is this home..part 2

OK so.... that first house didn't work out. So goes the house hunting game... it is indeed a HUNT!
Found this one a day later... love it just as much. A bit smaller, but BEAUTIFUL kitchen and room for a guest room with full bath AND a wine cellar in the basement! SCORE! SO the offer went in on this one today... it's a little more complicated since we need a 3rd party approval on this one... it's bank owned or something like that :) But I will keep you all updated!


In the meantime I am quickly learning to drive in SNOW, as we got about 9 inches here over the weekend and are expecting more throughout the week.

I have been checking out local theaters are such so after baby is born I can get back on stage! There will be auditions for Evita in August.. that gives me 2 months to lose baby weight and get back in there... hey, it's good to have goals right? :)

Jason closed Beauty and The Beast to a HUGE crowd on Sunday and said goodbye to our Theater family in Aviano. If you want to see some clips of the show, you can go to youtube and search for ACT Beauty and the Beast. The movers are at the house today and tomorrow and Jason will be on his way here next week. I'm so excited for him to arrive and for us to be back together.

That's all for now... ope you are all doing well. Someone have a glass of Merlot for me!

Is this home?

So today I went out looking at houses with my Realtor once again. 2 weeks ago I founds a house that I loved that was a bit out of our price range... so today I saw the inside, took a zillion photos, ran home to talk to Jason and send him the pics. By 4:30 this afternoon I was in the Realtor's office making an offer... with the out that Jason needs to see it in person first before anything is final. He and Samson will be arriving in Salt Lake on Chirstmas Eve at 4pm. Just in time for Chirstmas!!! Anyhow, We offered a lot less than asking, but who knows, they might take it. So now we wait. It's a beautiful home, great neighborhood, etc. Back yard needs some serious personality but that is part of the fun of making it your own. They have till Friday to accept our offer. I hope I can sleep tonight. Tomorrow, I need to go car shopping! LOL


Could this be the one????

Welcome to Utah...

About a week ago Me and Ginger ( our cat) made the long and slightly depressing trip, leaving Italy for our new home in Utah. We're here on "medical orders" until the AF says Jason can come too, at which point our things will be packed up and sent here. I've been to 2 doctors already and the baby looks great. My Parents drove out from California and we have been hanging out and looking at different neighborhoods, trying to find a good place to buy a house. Thanksgiving was spent with friends of Jason and I's from Aviano that are stationed here now. It's wonderful to have familiar faces here.
So I sit in a TLF hotel room and the only thing I want for Christmas is Jason and Samson here so we can start this new adventure together. Wishing you all a happy holiday!

Arrivederci Italia!

Say it isn't so!!!! well, it is... Due to my pregnancy being "high risk" The Docs have decided to PCS Jason and I back to the USA and cut our European lifestyle short. :( We will be moving to the Ogden, Utah area where will be stationed at Hill AFB. All of this is happening VERY quickly! I will be leaving Italy by Thanksgiving and Jason will join me hopefully by Christmas.
As much as we LOVE Italy and Europe, we know this is what is right for us and best for the baby and me. So in our last few weeks here we are trying to see and do everything we can, just take it all in and be blessed that we've seen SO much and had SO many experiences over the past 5 years that a lot of people never have in a lifetime. More updates soon....

From Champagne Wishes to Diaper Dreams

Hey Everyone! Hope you are all enjoying a beautiful fall. Jason and I were in Heidelberg Germany last weekend and it was just beautiful! Tons of fall colors mixed with morning mist and a tall cup of starbucks... yes, life was good! Still is!
About a week or so after I got back from my romp across the champagne region of France we discovered that I was 4 weeks along with our first child! So, I guess that's the last of my extravagant wine tasting trips for awhile. I just hit week 9 and aside from having the flu, I'm feeling great. No morning sickness, a little fatigued. We are super excited and wow, were we surprised as most f you know Jason and I had started the adoption process ( just the paperwork), but that's how they say it always happens.
One bonus about being a diabetic is the frequent ultrasounds and checks. WE got to see our little blob and it's good, strong heartbeat this past Thursday. It still doesn't look like much and was wiggling so we didn't get a clear shot, but here you go! Please keep us in prayer for health and for the Docs here in Italy...

Air Force Ball

This past Friday night Jason and I attended the 61st Birthday party of the USAF, also known as the Air Force Ball. We had a great time with our friends and were honored by the presence and speech of a Vietnam Vet and POW. Here are a few pics!

Ladies of the Chapel


My friends Tracy and Michelle


Our First AF ball! :)

Champagne Adventures

Overlooking the Valley of Champagne!

Last week I left Jason and the kids ( Sam and Ging!) at home and took for a much needed girl vacation with my wonderful friend Joni. I am stealing part of her post and making it mine because she has such a better way with words than I do and besides, I took all the pictures on our trip!

Monday morning I flew to Brussels and Joni picked me up from the airport. Three hours later we were driving along the AutoRoute in France surrounded by thousands of hectares of vineyards, for as far as the eye could see in every direction. The sun was shining, the grapes were growing, and we were ready for some fun!

At the Vineyard of Moet Di Chandon



We zipped past Reims, the biggest city in the region and continued out through the countryside, crossed the River Marme and arrived in the tiny village of Reiully where we had a room booked for two nights. The Bed and Breakfast was perfectly quaint. We crept up the creaky old steps and found our little room, overlooking the garden, complete with old exposed timber roofing. The proprietor recommended a fabulous restaurant where we enjoyed some local cuisine and table wine before heading out on our first outing.

Our B&B's Owner's Garden with the B&B in the background


We drove a few kilometers down the road to the town of Hautvillers; or as Joni calls it... Hauviliurseusrssssuieursssuuuuuu where we wandered around and found a small Champagne House (Maison de Champagne). We tasted our first champagne, sat out on the lawn, admired the scenery and just soaked in the beauty of the moment in time. This town is famous worldwide as being the home of Don Perignon, the Benedictine monk who perfected the techniques for making champagne in the 18th century, however the Maison which actually the makes the champagne after his namesake is in the town of Epernay just down the hill.

The next day we had the chance to focus on the town of Epernay which is home to most of the big-name Champagne houses in the region. Beneath the city is carved hundreds of kilometers of cellars, which store millions of bottles of champagne. The cellars are carved into the chalky limestone which provide the perfect aging environment for the wine... cold and moist.

The first stop of the day was Champagne de Castellane where we got an in-depth explanation of how champagne is made, from the first fermentation to the second fermentation, aging on the riddling racks, disgorging of the sediment, topping off and finally corking. It was a great way to start things off.

Riddling Racks in the Cellar

Second we toured the cellers of Mercier. Mercier was somewhat of a revolutionary in the field of marketing. This winery is the one that was advertised at the World Fair in Paris in 1900 from a hot air baloon. They also brought the world's largest wine barrel, by mule train to Paris as one of the most noted features at the World Fair. The champagne was great and we bought lots of souvenirs in their boutique. We rounded off our tour with the famous Moet et Chandon! We had clearly saved the best for last. This is the champagne house which actually makes Don Perignon among other fine bubblies which we got to taste at the end of the tour. We were on the last tour of the day and had a fabulous tour guide. Down in the cellars we could actually see our breath as we walked through only a small portion of the 22 kilometers of tunnels they own. It was absolutely immaculate down there. We even got to see the carved barrel that was a gift to Moet et Chandon from Napoleon who always stopped there to stock up on champagne before going into battle... except for when he went to Waterloo... and we all know what happened there...hmmmm...

By the end of the day we were all champagned out so we had a nice little dinner and went back to our room for some much needed sleep. The final day arrived and we sent off our postcards and packed up. On the way back north we stopped in Reims for some shopping and to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. We arrived at Joni's parent's house that evening at sat down to a wonderful home cooked meal complete with Mom's apple pie!

The next morning Joni, her Mom and I headed into their little Dutch town and did a little shopping until it was time to catch our plane back to Italy!

Me and Joni at Mercier

Hodge Podge of Happenings

It's Sunday evening, I am packing to leave tomorrow morning to meet my wonderful friend Joni in Belgium so we can drive to the Champagne region of France and spend the next few days touring the vineyards... Jason is upstairs on the old computer watching the footballs games. "Why" you ask "isn't he watching the TV?" Oh, that would be because the small tornado that ripped through our neighborhood took down our antenna. It also took tile shingles off the roof, several neighborhood trees down, and a light post. The big tree next to our house was struck by lightning. Thankfully no one was hurt. BUT It's opening night of the football season and after Jason and our friend Tom's attempt to climb up on the roof and repair the antenna, it was no use. Thankfully tv stations broadcast on the internet now. BONUS, he's getting a cultural / language lesson because the station is in German. But he is yelling and very happy right now, so all is well in the world.

In other news Jason and I made the decision last weekend that we are going to adopt! We are very excited, and scared abotu this journey but after much prayer on both are parts, we feel this is the road to pursue right now. We still want biological kids, but really feel this is right now us; so please keep us in prayer as we start the begninings of A LOT of paperwork!

Ok, I need to finish packing and get some sleep, got an early flight! I will post pics of my adventures when I get back. In the meantime, here's 2 storm pics from today....


Damaged Tree next to our house


Beautiful Rainbow and Reminder of God's Promise!

AH, summer. We have been doing a lot of NOTHING lately and it's been wonderful. We both get home at a reasonable hour and I cook dinner and we eat together. Sometimes we watch TV, sometimes we walk to town for gelato but it's the first time in a long time neither of us have a show or some project. Last Saturday we decided to head about 15 minutes up the road to a little vineyard / roadside eatery called "Il Chiosco". There we joined a handful of Italians and other tourists for a light lunch of FRESH speck (smoked ham), melon and caprese ( mozzarella cheese and tomatoes). After we ate we took a walk through the vineyards and enjoyed the beautiful views of the mountains and vines. The quickly ripening grapes reminded us that a new season is coming soon... harvest and fall. Both of us will be busy again soon with theater, Jason will be in school and somewhere in my spare time I am finally learning to play guitar. Till then we relax and cherish this SLOW time together...We hope all of you are well and enjoying your summer as much as we are :)
.
mmm...HUNGRY!

Gettin some SAMMY love!


The Vineyards

SPLUNK!

This past Saturdays Jason and I headed just across the Slovenian border ( with our new 35 euro Slovenian car tax sticker) to a place called Skocjan Caves Park. We spent the day hiking around the edge of the ravine and took an amazing tour down into the caves. At the lowest point we reach approximately 500 feet below the earths surface. It was breath taking and incredible, but we couldn't take pictures. Which of course means to us, don't get caught, but due to lighting issues, we didn't get much. (shrug) It reminded me a lot of "Lord of the Rings" and some of what we saw was so surreal I could hardly believe it wasn't man made. After almost 2 hours underground, we emerged back into the sunlight at the bottom of the ravine into a garden of eden like setting. It's amazing to me what God keeps coming up with in nature. After we got back up to the top, we hiked a little more around the top area, found a beautiful old church and tiny village, then headed back to Maniago.

This summer has been wonderful so far, we have had nothing on our agendas and have just been enjoying each other adn trying to make up for the loss of last summer when Jason was deployed. We are planning a few more adventures in the near future, we'll keep you posted!


This is a bridge where the tourist path crosses over the river that runs through the cave. If you fall off it's about a 150' drop to your impending doom...

Ok, I stole this pic from the website, but it gives you an idea of what the caves are like...

Back out into the world, the end of the caves

Waterfalls and lush green, a bit of eden found in Slovenia.

6 years, 2 days and counting....

6 years of Love, friendship and fun!

2 Days ago Jason and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. It's been quiet the adventure with all the ups and downs you can fathom...but the one thing that we are so proud of is our affection for each other. When we were first married, we would hold hands, etc. and everyone would say "oh, you're newly-weds,give it a few years, it will wear off" we;;, we did and it hasn't so "ttthhhhpppppp" to those people.
Our anniversary was Sunday and we had church things going on, so yesterday we took off and had a mini vacation to a near by town called Trieste. They have a beautiful castle and gardens that we wandered, had a picnic lunch on the water and just enjoyed each others company...

Trieste Harbor

Jason Chilin by the water

Elaine sitting pretty

Golf

SO... this post is really belated... but a few weeks ago I golfed my first game. It was a blast! My friend Laura and I just went out, took are time getting a feel for the game, and of course, did not keep score! We enjoyed ourselves (even though we were both HORRIBLE!) It took us 3 1/2 hours to complete ...9 holes. LOL Nowhere to go but up, right??? WE went out again the following week, there was much more frustration and foul language this time around... but we can't wait to go out again! :)

The First swing... horrible form!


lining up the putt...

Extreme Yard Makeover

OK, maybe not EXTREME, but definitely needed! We have a really tiny yard and I've tried to grow actual grass multiple times, but that never really happened, then with Jason gone last summer I didn't do anything with it. This year, we realized how much we loved having people over (we used to all the time when we did the singles ministry) and wanted to start holding BBQ's again... but first, the perfectionist in me needed to do something with the yard... cause this is what it looked like before...



And here's what it looks like NOW...TADA!!!!!


And at night the trees have lanterns ( but I want to get a few more)


Isn't it pretty?!?! It's not much, but I actually like opening my front door now and relaxing in the yard. We had a great BBQ on Saturday night with the worship team. Sunday afternoon I sat out here, painted my toes, had a beer with my dog on my lap and my cat in the shade under the tree. Life is good. :)

Back from Germany...

Jason and I returned from our Germany trip a few days ago. We had a great time enjoying the beautiful city of Heidelberg! Alas, we only returned with nomination certificates, me for Best Actress and Jason for Best Actor in a minor role. In fact our cast got 23 nominations
(our most ever). But it was a wonderful get away.
The pictures of us together are on my friend's camera, so in the meantime, here's us...separately.

The other few days we had in Germany we spent in downtown Heidelberg eating and drinking and soaking up the sun. We brought Samson with us and he had a great time chasing pigeons downtown and drinking beer... yeah.

Happy man, even happier dog


Beautiful Skies...


FOUND! I needed earrings to go with my dress...


Lunch at Vetters... an ACT tradition

That's all for now... hope everyone is doing well!

Sunshine and Germany

Today is going to be a glorious day!! It has been rainy and gloomy here for months, despite it being "spring" for awhile now. But today it has been BEAUTIFUL outside, all sunny and warm but not too hot!! I went for a bike ride through some nearby Italian towns for about half an hour... it rocked! I considered going for a light run too, but since we'll be in Germany this weekend I won't be able to bike, so I'll run a lot then.
Thaaaaat's right, we're going to Germany... today! This weekend is the awards banquet for Toppers (Tournament of Plays) and we'll see if our show last month (The Baker's Wife) did well enough to garner any nominations/awards! Meanwhile, we'll be in Heidelberg having a blast with a lot of the cast up there... shopping, beer, walking around, and Starbucks! LOL Rob and Kim James are riding up there with us so we'll have a great time!
Just pray for safe travel and good weather. I'm VERY encouraged by the great weather here (I've been a tad worried with all the rain... seriously, I've been waiting for Noah to come out of hiding with another ark), and I hope the weather is similarly gorgeous in Heidelberg.

Ciao! Hopefully when we write next we'll have some trophy pics to post!

Ciao

Well, Tuesday morning I took the folks to the airport, bid them farewell and sent them back to the land of Sunshine. Though the trip wasn't anything like I envisioned it, I am so glad they came to see us. This is the first time they have been to the BAZIOTIS home, so It meant a lot to me. Our last few days together we took some adventures by driving around the local area and saying " What's down this road?" I think I gave my Mom a heart attack a few times attempting to maneuver my SUV down some of these Italian streets, but we had fun. They will be happy to know the weather HASN'T gotten much better since they left as it is STILL RAINING! Anyway, back to the daily grind of Italy for Jason and I now.
Here are a few pics from our adventures...

Bridge off the mountain Highway

Church in Masure ( I think)


Daddy Taking pictures


Beautiful Path off the highway ( and me obstructing the view!)