Blonde Moments...with Jamie!

"CHRISTMAS LIGHTS" BY COLDPLAY

2010-12-18T06:58:00.000-08:00

It's a big song for Christmas here in Italy and my fave Christmas song this year! "Christmas Lights" by Coldplay!

PARAMORE, SONGSTEALERS?

2010-10-16T04:43:00.000-07:00

A band called Tenspoke Indies says Paramore stole their song, "Starlighter" when they made "The Only Exception." What do you think?

WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS BEFORE?

2010-06-19T04:15:00.000-07:00

People are freaking out over Adam Lambert's new look for his upcoming "Glam Nation" tour, specifically because the new pic shows a freshly shaved head. Lambert says not to worry though because it's only shaved on one side. Gross! I think that's worse!

The costume is kind of neat, but I can't help feeling I've seen something like this before. Ahhh, that's it:

TOM CRUISE JUMPS ONSTAGE WITH THE PEAS

2010-05-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

Tom Cruise jumped onstage with the Black Eyed Peas at a London show after Fergie called him a wuss! She said 'Don't be a wuss, you've got to come on stage for the last song.'

Will.i.am said: 'He rocked out to I've Got a Feeling. The crowd loved it.'

Cruise has grown close to the band after working with them on the soundtrack of his new movie Night And Day.

Will.i.am said: 'I'm a fan of Tom's and I was so thrilled when they asked me to collaborate.'

LOST FINALE IS TOMORROW! ARE YOU READY???

2010-05-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

In case you're not caught up on "Lost" and want to be ready for this weekend's finale, here are some of your favorite artists to explain what's been going on!

MTV Shows

I HEART LADY GAY GAY

2010-04-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

A Tennessee high schooler was sent home from school and asked to change his shirt after showing up at school with a shirt that read, "I heart Lady Gay Gay." Gaga showed her support for the teen with a tweet saying "Thank u for wearing your tee-shirt proud at school, you make me so proud, at the monsterball, you are an inspiration to us all. I love you." Later she tweeted, "Been in the studio for days and hours of record after record, and when I hear that a little monster was discriminated against by teachers…It reminds me of my commitment + love for u, and the deep unconditional devotion I feel to write music that will deliberate you from prejudice." "I love you Cole, you just be yourself. You’re perfect the way God made you."

LADY GAGA'S FASHION-RELATED HEALTH PROBLEMS

2010-03-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

The Sun has reported that the crew on a flight from London to New York had to help strip Lady Gaga this week when her outfit (black and yellow tights made out of tape and Alexander McQueen shoes) caused her to swell up. Get the full story HERE.

LADY ANTEBELLUM ON OPRAH

2010-02-20T04:50:00.000-08:00

Lady Antebellum performed "Run to You" on Oprah Friday. If you missed it, check it out now!

LADY GAGA AT BRIT AWARDS

2010-02-20T04:25:00.000-08:00

If you missed it here's what Lady Gaga wore to the Brit awards. It was supposed to be a tribute to late designer Alexander McQueen.

ROBERT PATTINSON: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

2010-02-12T23:13:00.001-08:00

I love when Jimmy Fallon plays Robert Pattinson!

JAY Z, RIHANNA AND U2 TOGETHER FOR HAITI

2010-01-23T00:27:00.000-08:00

If you missed Jay Z, Rihanna and U2 performing at the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon then check this out. It's a GREAT song called “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)” The song will be packaged together with the rest of the songs from the benefit on a digital album. It will be available starting January 25th on iTunes, and 100% of proceeds from the sale will go to Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Oxfam America, Partners In Health, Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, and Yéle Haiti Foundation.

LADY GAGA'S WORST YET!

2010-01-09T01:02:00.000-08:00

She's really outdone herself this time. This has to be Lady Gaga's worst look yet! More important than how did she do that is how did she get it out again? I don't wanna know! More on her hair HERE.

DAUGHTRY ON ELLEN

2010-01-09T00:36:00.001-08:00

Daughtry was on Ellen this week, performing their latest, "Life After You." Check it out!

LADY GAGA BAD ROMANCE BY THE SIMS

2009-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

It's the Sims re-creation of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" video. Slightly less gross!

BLG IN BASKIN ROBBINS COMMERCIAL

2009-12-05T02:19:00.000-08:00

DAUGHTRY & VINCE GILL @ CMAS

2009-11-14T02:57:00.000-08:00

COLBIE CAILLAT ON DWTS

2009-11-07T01:03:00.000-08:00

Colbie Caillat sang her latest "Fallin' for You" on the Dancing With the Stars results show this week.

KATY'S DISCO BALL MANI

2009-11-07T00:55:00.001-08:00

Katy Perry recently tweeted a pic of her new disco ball manicure. How cool is that!!!

ZAFFERANA OTTOBRATA 09

2009-11-07T00:41:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's Fall again and we've officially been here in Italy for a whole year! It's gone by so fast! I loooove this time of the year, and it's even better in Sicily. There are so many wonderful festivals to enjoy, like the Zafferana Ottobrata! The town of Zafferana is a small mountain town on Mt Etna. They have an Octoberfest every year. We enjoyed it so much last year that Mahlon, Dexter, Trish and I headed up the mountain for the festivities again this year!

One of the best parts were the fire roasted chestnuts! I couldn't resist! And they were just as good as grandpa used to make them. It was the perfect piping hot snack to enjoy while we walked around in the freezing cold :o)

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures this year but here are some things we saw:

A radio station was doing a remote in the middle of the main square! That's the first time I've ever seen that here and I was really excited!

This was right out front of the stand where we ate...sausage panini. Gross!

What a great dog! He posed for a picture for me. He must be used to it! This little guy was the biggest team Catania fan I've ever seen!

But this by far was the cutest thing I saw all night:

RIHANNA SPEAKS!

2009-11-07T00:35:00.000-08:00

Rihanna has finally spoken about the whole Chris Brown ordeal. You can watch the video from Good Morning America HERE, or read below from Reuters:

R&B singer Rihanna broke her silence on Friday about the night her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown attacked her, saying he had bitten her, put her in a headlock and left her bleeding and swollen.
"It wasn't the same person that says 'I love you.' It was not those...eyes," Rihanna, 21, told Diane Sawyer in an interview on ABC television's "Good Morning America" show.

"He had...no soul in his eyes. Just blank...He was clearly blacked out. There was no person when I looked at him," she said.

Brown, 20, singer of hits like "Kiss, Kiss," was sentenced to five years probation and 180 hours of community service for the assault in February on the eve of the Grammy Awards.

He has apologized publicly and although the pair briefly reunited, Rihanna said she now has "no desire at all to be with him."

Rihanna said the attacks started with an argument over a text message Brown received while they were driving home from an industry party.

"I couldn't take it that he kept lying to me. And he couldn't take it that I wouldn't drop it. And...it was ugly," she told Sawyer.

She acknowledged police reports that Brown bit her, put her in a head lock until she had trouble breathing, and punched her several times in the eye.

"I fended him off with my feet...but it was not like, it was not like a fight with each other. I just...I really just wanted it to stop," she said.

Her screams prompted a passer-by to call the police.

"I was bleeding, I was swollen in the face," she said. "So there was no way of me getting home, except for, my next option was to get out of the car and walk. Start walking in a gown, in a bloody face. So I really don't know what my plan was."

Rihanna said although her wounds had long healed, she had flashbacks and scars inside.

"The thing that men don't realize when they hit a woman, it's...the face, the broken arm, the black eye, it's going to heal. That's not the problem. It's the scar inside.

"You flashback...you...you remember all the time. It comes back to you whether you like it or not. And it's painful. So I don't think he understood that," she said.

BRITNEY'S NEW VIDEO "3"

2009-10-31T03:03:00.001-07:00

KANYE WEST GETS SLAPPED

2009-10-31T02:29:00.001-07:00

You know you've always wanted to do it, and director Spike Jonze actually did! Check out this 'behind the scenes' video from Kanye's latest video shoot:

WILL.I.AM'S NEW HOME RECORDING STUDIO

2009-10-10T03:51:00.000-07:00

It's Will.I.Am's new recording studio, right in his own home! Read more about it from the LA Times.

MARRIAGE TIPS FROM DAUGHTRY

2009-10-10T03:38:00.000-07:00

Chris Daughtry's dispensed marriage tips for those of us in need of a little boost, so basically 90% of us out there. Chris Daughtry might spend days, weeks, and more away from his wife of nine years, Deanna, and his two kids, but apparently his relationship is going strong. Well, if he's got something figured out, we're listening.

"Honestly, I think the biggest thing is to do what we say we are going to do," Chris Daughtry told PEOPLE. "When we say we are not going out partying, don't let them find out that you were out partying. We don't party. We hang out ... We're not out hanging out with random girls and all this stuff. We entertain each other and keep each other in check."

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE!

DEXTER IS 1 MONTH OLD!

2009-10-03T01:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, he's growing right before my eyes! He just gets cuter every day! Here are some new pictures.

BABY DEXTER IS HERE!

2009-08-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Dexter Felix arrived on his due date, August 27, 2009! He was 7lbs 8oz and 18.9 inches long. Though we had to stay an extra day in the hospital because of jaundice, we're home now! Dexter is glad to be here since there are no lamps for him to lay under...and NO blood tests!

BELLY PICS!

2009-08-24T13:43:00.001-07:00

I just got some maternity pics back today and thought I'd share! The baby should be here this week...pray for us!

BEATERATOR

2009-08-21T02:57:00.000-07:00

THE FRAY COVERS "HEARTLESS"

2009-08-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

The Fray did a cover of Kanye West's "Heartless" that Kanye liked so much, he posted it on his own blog! Listen to it here:

WHAT YOU DIDN'T SEE ON GMA

2009-08-08T05:53:00.001-07:00

David Cook, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert performed Friday on Good Morning America...here's the song you didn't see!

Web Exclusive: 'American Idol' Triple...

Shared via AddThis

MJ COVER BY RAINTIME - BEAT IT

2009-07-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a sweet cover of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" by Italian metal band, Raintime:

KATY'S STUPID OUTFIT

2009-07-25T04:23:00.000-07:00

Katy Perry performed in New York City outside the NBC studios for the Today Show this week. When the guitar wouldn't fit over the dice on her dress, she said, "Now I feel really stupid. This is a stupid outfit. You can have it afterward."

NICK PALATAS IN MOVIE MAGIC MAGAZINE

2009-07-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Nick Palatas, is all over the latest issue of Movie Magic Magazine! I can't help it, I'm just so stoked about his new movie, "Scooby Doo - The Mystery Begins!" I've cropped some of the pics for you to see. Also, here's what Director Brian Levant had to say about Nick!

"Nick is a very unique talent in that he's a very, very smart young man who's playing a very spaced out, somewhat dimwitted person. That's a rough job - there's a lot of weight to having to be funny, endearing, charming and sweet every day. I'm really proud of the way Nick has progressed every day, every scene, every week. He has grown and inhabited it, and to say he has become Shaggy is a credit to the hard work he's put into dumbing himself down and being open to the possibility of being a blank page every time he walks into a room."

Of course, little does this director know that being funny, endearing, charming and sweet every day comes naturally for Nick ;o)

Oh yeah, everyone knows my other cousin, Cameron Palatas, has booked a feature film, right? You KNOW I'll have more details as I learn 'em!

ROB PATTINSON VS DANIEL RADCLIFFE

2009-07-18T09:30:00.001-07:00

WORST...VIDEO...EVER!

2009-07-17T14:00:00.001-07:00

Spencer Pratt's video "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here" is pretty much the worst video ever. I guarantee you don't make it all the way through!

DEAD BY SUNRISE

2009-07-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington talks about his new project, Dead by Sunrise:

MTV Shows

SEAN KINGSTON FIRE BURNING DANCE CONTEST

2009-07-11T04:09:00.000-07:00

KELLY CLARKSON'S I DO NOT HOOK UP HOTLINE!

2009-07-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

Kelly Clarkson's taken her latest hit, "I Do Not Hook Up" to the next level with the I DO NOT HOOK UP HOTLINE! Simply give the number 973-409-3267 to any unsavory gentleman who's hounding you, and he will be informed later that you are not interested!

TAYLOR SWIFT & T-PAIN

2009-07-11T03:46:00.001-07:00

I know...it's stupid...

DAVID COOK ON MICHAEL JACKSON

2009-07-04T04:00:00.001-07:00

MTV Shows

TIZIANO FERRO IN TAORMINA

2009-07-03T06:24:00.001-07:00

Last night was a perfect night in Taormina. If you've ever been there, you'd probably say it's the most beautiful place you've ever been to. Taormina is a city built cliffside by the Ionian Sea. Its streets are cobblestone and lined with pretty shops and outdoor restaurants. Every alley is abundant with flower pots and pretty balconies. A glance in any direction is the perfect snapshot you'll want to store away in your memory forever.

Taormina is also known for its ancient Greek Ampitheater, that people can explore during the day. At night, they sometimes host concerts too. Last night, Tiziano Ferro played at the greek ampitheater, and my friend Trish and I were there!

I took plenty of pictures and even a video of my favorite song, "Alla Mia Eta". But trust me, none of them do any justice to what we witnessed last night. Imagine hearing some of your favorite music while sitting in the ruins of a giant Greek Ampitheater. The singer is silouetted in purple lights in front of the partial Greek columns, and behind that, the Ionian Sea. It was AMAZING!

KATY PERRY'S PIZZA BATH

2009-06-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

Katy Perry tweeted this pic of herself in the bathtub...with a strategically placed pizza!

LADY GAGA LETS SPARKS FLY!

2009-06-26T07:13:00.001-07:00

Lady Gaga shot fire out of her tatas at the end of her performance at the Much Music Awards last week in Toronto. Watch it here:

MY BUMP, MY BUMP, MY LOVELY BABY BUMP!

2009-06-26T07:01:00.001-07:00

I'm 31 weeks now! I can't believe only 9 more weeks and I'll have a new baby boy! Here's the latest bump pic. I feel like the girl from Willy Wonka who turned into a blueberry! This pic is from the Corpsman Ball here in Italy with my friend and fellow preggo, KK!

CARELESS WHISPER...THE ORIGINAL!

2009-06-20T05:44:00.001-07:00

For those of you who remember Careless Whisper before Seether re-made it, and for those of you who are too young to know Seether's latest is an 80's remake...here's a blast from the past! Careless Whisper, by Wham!

THEY DON'T CALL HIM PITBULL FOR NOTHIN'

2009-06-13T03:19:00.000-07:00

Rapper Pitbull was caught on tape punching a fan he pulled on stage. What was the problem? The adoring fan decided to shower him with money, throwing bills directly in the rapper's face! Can you imagine! Throw money at ME any day!

KELLY CLARKSON IN AUSTRALIA

2009-06-13T03:01:00.001-07:00

Kelly Clarkson had what she calls her favorite interview on Austrailian TV. Here's a clip, it's pretty hilarious!

BUTTERFACE

2009-06-11T05:06:00.000-07:00

It's a parody of Lady Gaga's "Pokerface." This is "Butterface." Know what a butterface is? Everything looks good butter face!

OPEN UP AND SAY OWWW!

2009-06-09T03:34:00.000-07:00

Poison singer Bret Michaels ended up with a broken nose and busted lip the other night during the Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall! Here's how it happened...pay attention when the backdrop comes down, OUCH!

EMINEM & BORAT'S BUTT

2009-06-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hahahahahahaaaaa this is the funniest thing that's ever happened at an awards show...period! Sacha Baron Cohen's bare backside straddled around Eminem's face! It doesn't get much better than that!

AI JUDGE OUTS ADAM?

2009-05-30T04:16:00.000-07:00

There's a big controversy now after Idol judge Kara Dioguardi apparently "outted" Adam Lambert Friday on The View. Seriously, is there anyone who didn't know? There are pictures to prove it! See the pics and Kara's appearance on The View here:

JAMIE FOXX DOES GEORGE STRAIT

2009-05-30T03:34:00.000-07:00

Jamie Foxx singing at the CBS special honoring George Strait, "The King Of Country", ACM Artist of the Decade.
Event took place at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena, broadcast on CBS on 5/27/2009.

KATY PERRY - WAKING UP IN VEGAS

2009-05-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

I love this video! I woke up in Vegas every day for a week last summer...I miss it!

DAVID COOK ON IDOL FINALE PERFORMANCE

2009-05-23T04:09:00.001-07:00

David Cook paid tribute to his late brother during an emotional performance on this week's American Idol finale. Here's what he had to say about how he got through it:

MTV Shows

LINKIN PARK & THE NEW TRANSFORMERS

2009-05-23T03:36:00.001-07:00

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

2009-05-23T03:01:00.001-07:00

SCOOBY DOO! THE MYSTERY BEGINS!

2009-05-06T05:26:00.001-07:00

If you've ever even met me, then you know that my cousin, Nick is starring as Shaggy in the upcoming movie, "Scooby Doo! The Mystery Begins!" The trailer is out now. Check it out here!

DID YOU SEE?

2009-04-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

Lady Gaga is known for her bizzare fashion, but did you see what she wore out to dinner this week?!? My guess is you can't read her poker face because you're too distracted by her black, geisha lipstick! She may be crazy but I just can't help her...I love it!

#1 ITALIAN VIDEO THIS WEEK

2009-04-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Standby by Lost:

FERGIE-NOT-SO-LICIOUS

2009-04-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

I saw this pic of Fergie on TMZ...what was she thinking?

NICKELBACK'S LATEST SONGS

2009-04-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

Nickelback's singer, Chad Kroeger talks about their 2 latest songs, Gotta Be Somebody and If Today Was Your Last Day:

MY BUMP, MY BUMP, MY LOVELY BABY BUMP!

2009-04-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

This is 20 weeks, half-way done!

Geez, how much bigger can I get!!!

CASTELBUONO & CEFALU

2009-04-16T10:43:00.001-07:00

Mahlon and I got to go on a trip a couple weeks ago with our friends Shana & Kyal and Trish & Jessie to Castelbuono and Cefalu! I was super excited since both cities were used in the film, Cinema Paradiso! Cefalu is now officially our favorite city in Sicily. It's so beautiful, and was my first opportunity to get my feet in the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean is COLD by the way!!!

This was our view on the way to Castelbuono!

My view standing on the Castle steps looking out.

All of us in front of the castle. This castle was used as the school in the movie Cinema Paradiso!

The town of Castelbuono:

Now to beautiful Cefalu! Recognize THIS from Cinema Paradiso?

ASHLEE SIMPSON POSTS BABY PIC!

2009-04-11T05:37:00.000-07:00

Ashlee Simpson has finally given us a good peek at her baby with Pete Wentz, little Bronx Mowgli. She posted it on her Twitter page earlier this week.

IT'S A BOY!

2009-04-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here's the 1st picture of our baby boy, Dexter! He's due on August 27th. We're completely stoked!

ZOINKS!

2009-03-29T04:19:00.001-07:00

It's coming out soon...the new Scooby-Doo Movie featuring my cousin, Nick Palatas as Shaggy!

ITALY'S #1 VIDEO THIS WEEK

2009-03-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

The #1 video in Italy this week, according to MTV Italy is Sincerita by Arisa!

NE-YO ON THE ELECTRIC COMPANY

2009-03-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

How funny! I didn't know The Electric Company was even on anymore! Some of their musical guests lately have been Common, Wyclef and Ne-Yo! Here's Ne-Yo's beautiful song about the letter "H"!

CARNIVALE

2009-02-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

Mahlon, Kari, Shana, Trish, Heather and I all enjoyed a night out in Acireale this week for Carnivale! Carnivale is celebrated all over Italy, and is a special time for fun and indulgence before Ash Wednesday and Lent! It's like Mardi Gras, only without the drinking. Carnivale is a family event and there are lots of kids in costumes...little princesses, kings, super-heroes and fairies running around in the streets. Vendors line the streets selling food, candy, toys, masks and hats. A lot of Italians were wearing big, crazy hats...and many of them were American hats featuring stars & stripes!

Besides the parade, the greatest thing about Carnivale is the mess. All the kids and teens (and some of the adults, including us) carried around bags of confetti and cans of silly string, and would sneak up behind people they didn't know to attack them with it! We got really into it, and were actually in an all-out war with some of the kids and teen groups. Despite the language barrier we were all playing together with them and laughing like crazy. It was so much fun!

ALL HOT, NO COLD IN ITALY!

2009-02-20T02:40:00.000-08:00

Katy Perry gave audience at the San Remo Song festival in Italy a big show recently with a striptease! The Sun reports that she came out on stage in a white jacket, then threw it off to reveal this black & blue striped getup in honor of her fave soccer team, Inter Milan.

MY BIRTHDAY LUAU

2009-02-15T06:33:00.001-08:00

My awesome friends threw a party in honor of my birthday, Hawaiian style! It was great! We had fresh fruit, veggies and kebabs, so yummy! There was even a grass skirt going around, and though a few people wore it over the course of the evening, no one rocked it like Mahlon!

I got some great presents too! Mahlon got me a big stack of Disney DVDs! My girlfriends pitched in some $$ so I can take the Italian lessons I wanted, and also signed us all up for a night out for Carnivale in Acireale next week! It was everything I wanted! In fact, when I blew out my candles, I didn't know what to wish for. I couldn't think of a thing! I've got everything I want. I'm a lucky girl :)

SAINT AGATA FESTIVAL

2009-02-12T04:13:00.000-08:00

Last week was the big festival to honor Catania's patron Saint Agata! My friend Amber and I got a chance to take the bus there to enjoy the festivities. It was so exciting! The whole city was decorated in lights! There were giant candles for sale everywhere to help the people to show adoration to the lovely Saint. Street vendors were everywhere with special candies, fruit, doughnuts and the wonderful Nutella-filled crepes! People in the Piazza Duomo in Catania were packed in like sardines, dressed in white robes with little black caps and wearing ribbons featuring Agata's portrait. Here's what the Piazza looked like:

Amber and I were lucky enough to meet a great Italian family who spoke English well, running one of the little "Saint Shops" in town. These are the stores that sell statues of the saints, necklaces, bracelets, rosaries, you name it! Ornella and Joseph were a great couple who ran one store. They were there with Joseph's mother, and together they told us the remarkable story of Saint Agata!

CLICK HERE TO READ HER STORY

When Agata's statue came out of the church to be carried around town, the people cheered and shouted "You're so beautiful!" to her. They waved white handkerchiefs at her and fireworks went off. It was amazing!

NEGRAMARO - MERAVIGLIOSO

2009-01-31T01:41:00.000-08:00

Negramaro is a great Italian rock band. I've got one of their CDs (they've got a lot of them though, they're apparently very popular here). Their single, Meraviglioso, is #2 on the Italian charts right now. I'm not sure about this one. It's a weird ballad, doesn't seem as cool as a lot of their other stuff. Anyway, see what you think. Doesn't the vocalist look like a chubby Chris Daughtry?

DANILYNN DOING GREAT!

2009-01-31T00:57:00.000-08:00

Look how beautiful Anna Nicole Smith's daughter Danilynn is becoming! The baby met Judge Larry Seidlin (remember, the Anna Nicole judge who cried while deciding who little Danilynn would go to) for the 1st time recently as he and Larry Birkhead appeared on Larry King Live. Judge Seidlin said, "Everything is working out. Larry is a great father."

That's good to know!

AAR DOES WOMANIZER

2009-01-17T02:02:00.001-08:00

BRITNEY'S AB-FAB!

2009-01-17T01:28:00.000-08:00

Britney's come a long way since the 2007 VMA's! Remember this:

Look at her now!

MY OWN JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE

2009-01-16T06:59:00.001-08:00

Ok, so we've been in Italy for 3 months and I've only got one complaint. Since I've been here, the number one thing people say or post on my facebook wall is "Oh I bet the food is wonderful! I'm so jealous of all the food you're getting to eat over there!" Yes, it's wonderful...BUT IT'S ALL THE SAME! The number one thing I miss about the states, besides all of you, my loved ones of course, is the American food! You know, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Greek...all that good ol' American food!

In New Bern there was Osaka. I used their drive thru at least once a week for Hibachi Steak and vegetables. Even better was the more expensive Musashi. That was the one where they cooked the food on the table in front of you. Last night I attempted to re-create the Japanese Steakhouse experience! No, I didn't cook the food on the table. I didn't flick a shrimp at anyone or make a flaming volcano out of onion rings. But I did make a pretty meal!

See? I even made that white sauce they serve that we call "liquid crack" because it's so addictive. I found the recipe online. It's Hibachi steak with fried rice, zucchini, onions and mushrooms. Wasn't as good as the original, but it was pretty good. Maybe I should've made the onion ring volcano!

GREEK AMPHITHEATER, TAORMINA

2009-01-09T14:42:00.001-08:00

So, a couple weeks ago we all went to Taormina. The coolest thing I think I've seen here so far, besides the volcano, is the Greek Amphitheater there. The view from the amphitheater was almost....ALMOST as great as the view from Heinz Field ;)

That's me and Tamila, our friend from the Republic of Georgia. She was dancing while I sang "Georgia on my Mind." Tamila likes that song.

This picture was snapped after I finished singing "Midnight Train to Georgia" to Tamila. She'd never heard of it, but she loved it.

Another beautiful view! Nothing as beautiful, though, as my rendition of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," which is Tamila's new favorite song :)

TIZIANO FERRO

2009-01-09T02:00:00.002-08:00

It's my current favorite single, "Alla Mia Eta" by Tiziano Ferro. I don't know what he's talking about but I love this song!

TAORMINA

2009-01-09T02:00:00.001-08:00

Of all the towns in Sicily we've been to so far, Taormina is my favorite. In fact, I've decided it's where we'll take our out-of-town visitors (whenever we get some!)

A large group of us went to Taormina, including Kari & Adam, Shana & Kyal (or Shanyal, their new blended name), Trish, Tamila & Irakli (Kari's friends from the Republic of Georgia) and Mahlon & Me!

Unfortunately, it was a very cold and rainy day. Normally we should have had a great view of the volcano, Mt Etna. It was beautiful, though, despite the weather.

There is a major shopping road in Taormina called "Corso Umberto". At the end of the road is the big Greek Amphitheater. Sadly, my camera died before we got there. Everyone else took pics though, and as soon as they get around to posting them I'll steal them and post them for you!

Here's the whole group of us at the archway to Corso Umberto.

The first thing we did was eat lunch (of course!) Kari and I split a pizza:

And we all shared this appetizer, grilled eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms with giant globs of cheese on top...now you're talking!

Some of the shops along Corso Umberto were pricey, but beautiful to look at:

Here are some of the traditional Sicilian puppets we see everywhere. You can still attend puppet shows too. I read an ad that said something like:

Fun for the whole family! Bring the kids out to a traditional Sicilian puppet show! Warning: Some scenes may be graphic!

What the heck?

Here's the piazza in the middle of the shopping road. It was on of the most beautiful ones I've seen. There's a beautiful spot overlooking the Ionian Sea. The boys were talking about how cool it would be to see someone fall over the side.

Some of the guys were arguing over whether or not they could see Italy from this point. Hahahaha...silly boys. I knew what they meant though.

We love Taormina. I can't wait to visit again (with more money on a prettier day!)

TRAMPELLED BY GEEP!

2009-01-01T03:03:00.001-08:00

There are some weird sheep here they call GEEP. They're like a sheep/goat hybrid with long tails. Shana and I were driving the other day and nearly got trampelled by them!

PEOPLE'S BEST OF 2008

2008-12-27T04:32:00.001-08:00

People.com came out with the Best of 2008 and it's great! Here are some of my favorites:

"I feel so embarrassed."

– Miley Cyrus, apologizing before the release of her back-baring Vanity Fair photo, to PEOPLE

"I'll see you at the debates, bitches."

– Paris Hilton, responding to Sen. John McCain's use of her image in a presidential campaign ad with a spoof video of her own, on FunnyorDie.com

"You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick."

– Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, introducing herself to voters at the Republican National Convention

See all of People's Best of 2008 here!

FALL OUT BABY

2008-12-27T04:12:00.000-08:00

Meet Bronx Mowgli Wentz in his Internet debut!

THE ROSSDALES GO TO CHURCH

2008-12-27T04:10:00.001-08:00

Pop music's coolest family attended Christmas Eve services looking cute as ever!

GOSPEL CHOIR IN GELA

2008-12-22T05:16:00.001-08:00

Our Sigonella Community Gospel Choir was invited to sing at a church in Gela! There were several local Italian organizations who went in together to send a bus to pick us up, and then throw us a reception at a beautiful hotel! Here's where we arrived in Gela:

It says, "The Community of Gela Wishes Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"

There was a nativity scene underneath.

The piazzas were decorated BEAUTIFULLY!

With more nativity scenes!

They don't put Baby Jesus (Gesu Bambino) in the manger until Christmas morning. He was there though! One of the non-english-speaking Italians handed me the Baby to take a picture. They all thought it was so funny how nervous I was to take Him!

This is the church where we sang. People were crammed into every bench, and those without seats stood in the back. The mayor was there, along with the local news! The TV cameras were on us for the whole concert! The smiles on the faces in the crowd were priceless! Everyone clapped along and some of the ladies were trying to sing along in a language they didn't understand!

One couple in our group are missionaries who started a church in a nearby town. They're our translators. Guiseppe got up before each song to tell the people in Italian what our song was about. I think our Chaplain was nervous when they asked him to explain what "gospel" meant!

Here's the whole choir:

After we sang the party moved to a beautiful hotel, Hotel Sole! They held a reception for us with MOLTO BUONO local food and they even had a singing group to perform for us! This was the highlight for me:

LADY GAGA ON THE TODAY SHOW

2008-12-20T01:58:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS IN CALTAGIRONE

2008-12-19T03:56:00.001-08:00

Kari, Trish, Shana, Aiden and I got really brave and travelled to Caltagirone all by ourselves Wednesday. Kari was a champ and drove us all. The experience taught me that GPS really is a wonderful thing!

Caltagirone is a city famous for handmade pottery. There are at least 2 pottery shops on every street. It's beautiful but very expensive!

Other than pottery browsing, we spent time looking at the various Nativity displays! There were like 8 of them in town. We saw 3 of them. This is the one at the Piazza Duomo.

It was on a tall set of stairs. You can see it behind Kari here:

The town has fliers everywhere with street maps pinpointing the spots where you can find the Nativity scenes. You walk in through the velvet rope, pay a Euro or so, and walk through the scene. Here's one:

We also saw a scene that was built to look like the City of Caltagirone:

There were lots of tours going on that day. We saw tour guides taking groups of adults or groups of school children through town to see the displays. Can you imagine going on a field trip to see a nativity scene??? That would never happen in the US!

Another thing I've learned over here is that if you need help finding something you ask the youngest person possible. Lots of the kids speak English. If you find someone in their 20s, 30s or 40s they're likely to speak Italian. The old folks usually don't speak English or Italian. Sicilian only!

ITALIAN RAP!

2008-12-13T02:10:00.000-08:00

Italian rap is awesome, hahaha! This is a popular one. It was one of the top singles for awhile in Italy and I heard it first on the radio. Check this out...

Fabri Fibra ft. Gianna Nannini - In Italia (video ufficiale)

GIVE TO CHARITY...FOR FREE!

2008-12-07T06:13:00.001-08:00

I just saw this on Fox Sunday Morning and I love it! There are 2 new sites you can use to give to charity without spending a dime, or taking any extra time out of your day :)

http://www.goodsearch.com/

This site is the same as yahoo search or google search. You choose a charity and the site donates a penny for each search you make. I don't know about you, but I google like nobody's business! Imagine how it would all add up!

The other site is: http://www.goodshop.com/

It's the same idea, except there is a list of online stores, Best Buy, Overstock, Macys, Kohls...in other words...good stores I visit online anyway. By clicking thru to these stores via the goodshop website, the stores agree to donate a % of your sales to the charity of your choice at no extra cost to you!

I will be using these sites from now on.

A DAY AT THE MARKET

2008-12-06T09:48:00.001-08:00

Today my friend Amber and I went to the market in Catania. You can get literally ANYTHING there...clothes, shoes, home decor, cookware, produce, antipasti, cheese, meat...you name it! There's even a pet store! There are a FEW disturbing things to see. Here's one of them:

I felt bad later when I saw a little girl standing by the bucket taking snails and ripping them out of their shells and throwing them back in the bucket. Poor snails!

Ok, so if THAT's not disturbing enough...you haven't seen the meat market! Sorry I don't narrate, but many of these vendors get upset if they see you taking pics of their goods, so I tried not to draw attention to myself taking this video. I need to learn to say, "It's ok! I swear I'm not from PETA" in Italian!

You'll see a whole pig here on a hook and whole chickens. The animals hanging in the back are sheep. The meat I zoom in on is horse.

CUTER EVERY DAY!

2008-12-06T00:31:00.000-08:00

Don't let little Zuma Nesta Rock's arrival let you forget about Kingston Rossdale! He just gets cuter every day!

This pic is from perezhilton.com.

Top Singles in Europe!

2008-12-06T00:10:00.001-08:00

SCARPE!

2008-11-29T05:01:00.000-08:00

Ladies, pay attention.

If you don't learn anything else in Italian you must know this word: SCARPE

It's pronounced (SCAR pay)

Say it to anyone here and they will point you toward the nearest SHOES!

My new favorite brand is Solo Soprani! My goal is to have at least 3 pairs before I return to the states. Wanna see more? CLICCA QUI!

BILLBOARD NOVEMBER

2008-11-29T02:07:00.000-08:00

Top 5 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 for Europe:

5. Amy MacDonald - This Is The Life

4. T.I. & Rihanna - Live Your Life

3. Pink - So What

2. Beyonce - If I Were A Boy

1. Guru Josh Project - Infinity 2008

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR INFINITY 2008 HERE!

OLIO D'OLIVA

2008-11-18T09:35:00.001-08:00

Today I went on a tour of an olive oil warehouse and got to see how they make olive oil from scratch! We visited the refinery in Motta S Anastasia.
The warehouse here serves both as an olive oil maker and a winery. See the sign? For today, we went to the left (a sinistra).

This place is cool. If you have an olive tree, you can pick your olives and bring them here to make olive oil for you. They produce olive oil for people all week. On the weekend, they make thier own. The warehouse is stacked with bins full of olives.

These olives still have bits of branches, leaves and their seeds.

A forklift picks them up...

and dumps them into the machine.

They're separated from their brances and leaves, seeded and cleaned. Then they fall down the chute and into the "olive smoosher". That's not actually the official term, but that's what it does.

Then they go down another chute...

and into these churns.

Basically, the olives churn until they become oil, resting every 40 minutes. The churns are numbered to help keep track of each person's olives, and the progress is shown on the screen.

It is not the same software they used in Sicily during medival times.
The olive owners stand and wait to collect their oil.

And when it's done, they grab a funnel and go for it!

The cool thing is that the olive branches, leaves and seeds are collected out back. The branches and leaves are used as mulch and food for farm animals. The seeds are sold as fuel. Many Italians use them to heat their homes, as it's much cheaper than gas. So no part of the olive is wasted! How very green of them!
This is how the weekend oil is packaged.

And the final step, into my belly!

Buono!

A LIFE UPDATE

2008-11-17T02:27:00.001-08:00

I know I'm posting tons of pics but I'm getting lots of questions about day to day life! Here's what we're up to...
WORK: Mahlon's working at the hospital in the Emergency Room. The best thing about that (to me) is the uniform he wears. I call it his fancy pants or fire pants or hot pants uniform. It's bright highlighter orange pants with reflectors all over them! Right now he's going thru EMT training. This week he's learning how to drive the ambulance, SWEET! The hospital where he works, like everything else here, is beautiful:

Mahlon is still planning on finishing his degree while we're here too. Beyond that, he's still trying to decide exactly what his next step will be.
I haven't begun to apply for jobs yet, but I'm asking around. I have to apply for my Soggiorner's permit (that allows me to legally stay in the country) before I can get a job, and I have an appointment coming up soon for that. I've been keeping busy though. There's a free bus that runs back and forth to base all day. There are small day trips I can sign up for with my friends. And I've been working on my Italian language skills!
CHURCH: We've got a good one! There are American churches in town, but we've found the contemporary protestant service is great at the base chapel. Our chaplain is new here, and he has lots of big ideas and is starting a lot of projects right now. So it's a good time to be new! Besides the Sunday services, I've been attending the PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) Bible studies, and I just signed up for the Christmas Choir. I'm excited about that!
FRIENDS: It's great, we've already got so many friends here! Our sponsors, Mike and Renee have been great and have become great friends. We met some fun couples in INDOC: Kari and Adam, Trish and Jesse, Brittany and Marty, Heather and Joey. And we continue to meet new cool people every day!

That's me, Trish and Brittany!
This is my first experience living as a military wife in base housing and I was so worried about making friends. Everyone's been great though and so nice! I love it!
THE HOUSE: We got our express shipment, but we're still waiting for our household goods. So we're still living without all our furniture and most of our cookware and clothes. It'll be really nice to be settled in. It'll feel more like home.
THE BABIES: Cash and Baby Jean are doing ok. Kitty took a couple of days to settle in, but she's fine now. Cash was ok at first. Now he's started acting out. He's suddenly begun to freak out at night and go crazy banging around in his crate. One of our friends said that's an animal's instinct, that some animals have that reaction to the volcano's activity. I never thought about that, but maybe that's it.
SHOPPING: Is good and bad. What I mean is, cool clothes, waaaay high prices! There are some great shopping places here. It's funny though how much more expensive everything is here! I haven't seen a pair of jeans for under 100 euro. (And in case you don't know...euro's value is higher than the dollar!) Oh, and there are t-shirts everywhere that you can get at walmart for $10...selling for 80 euro or more here! Know those vintage rock shirts or family guy stewie t's, novelty t-shirts? OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE HERE! I almost wanna have someone send me a bunch and have a little stand out in town selling t-shirts on the cheap! If it wasn't illegal I'd totally do it!
FOOD: Oh my gosh everyone told me the food here was so great I'd never wanna come back to the states, that food would be ruined for me forever! Not true. It's good, don't get me wrong, but it's all the same! There's no variety here! Your choices are Italian, Italian and Italian. Oh, and Italian too! There IS no going out for chips and salsa. The thing I miss the most is ordering a giant salad with grilled chicken or steak on it. Mmmmm....I miss it! There is no ranch dressing here. Your dressing choices are oil and vinegar, or lemon juice. It's good like that too...I'm just saying...and I never thought I'd say this...
The thing I miss most of all, is American food!
Well, I miss my family and friends first. And THEN I miss American food.
All in all though, we LOVE it here!

LEONA EWWIS!

2008-11-15T03:31:00.000-08:00

You know, it happens to everyone at some point. Leona Lewis ended up looking more like Leona Ewwis the other night, as she hopped from a Glamour magazine party (in HER honor) to the Sanderson Hotel and THEN to a star-studded Agent Provocateur catwalk show.

Did you have a few too many drinksies, Leona?

She doesn't actually look that bad. Not as bad as I'm sure she felt the next morning!

MEET THE LATEST ADDITIONS TO OUR FAMILY!

2008-11-14T03:51:00.001-08:00

We finally got a car! The past couple weekends we've felt like the biggest losers ever. Here we are in SICILY, we don't have to work, it's a beautiful day, and we're sitting at home. GROSS!

It's a popular thing here at Sigonella to buy an island beater. Everyone buys a little car on the cheap when they arrive and sell it to someone coming in on the way out. Say hello to our new little beater...a Volkswagon Polo :) We've discussed names for him. Mahlon likes Little Boy Blue. I like Marco. Get it? Marco Polo?

A few weeks ago, I adopted a basil plant for the kitchen. Meet Francesca. She's already been helping with the cooking!

Ok, many of you will be sad to hear we got rid of the couch. THE couch. The one I've had my whole life, that so many friends have crashed on, and that Flave lived on for a year. Time for bigger and better things! We got rid of it and got a new one. It's just as comfy! Welcome our new couch!

Coming soon: A new coffee table and end tables! Stay tuned!

RAISE YOUR VOICE!

2008-11-12T12:50:00.001-08:00

For those who don't know, over the past 2 years, I've lost my beautiful grandmother and the most fun uncle of all time to pancreatic cancer.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

This form of cancer is the 4 killer of all cancers and has a virtually 0% survival rate.

Please take the time to click this link. PanCan is a great organization that's trying to raise awareness for this terrible disease. Their goal is to get 1 million clicks this month. Please help support the cause by clicking the pic. Thanks in advance!

Check out this PSA by Dr. Randy Pausch. You may remember him from his famous youtube video, the last lecture.

MEDIEVAL MOTTA

2008-11-07T03:50:00.001-08:00

What better way to get over post-election heartache than with a tour of a medieval castle and church? That's what I did! Check out these pics from Motta, the castle, the church of Patron Saint Anastasia, and other sites in the city!