Today’s Flashback Friday will continue with my travels, since you all said you enjoy them. I enjoy writing them as well. It is fun to relive such an amazing trip. It is also interesting to read through my travel journal and see some of my thought processes. I have something to discuss that bothered me when reading through my entries. First, let’s look at all of the pictures and the fun stuff. Today’s flashback is to our week in Rome. Love.

We spent a good deal of time in Rome because there is just too much to see! I mean, you can’t go to one of the biggest empires EVER and not take time to explore it. From the many churches to the colossal historic ruins and monuments, we had plenty to keep us occupied.

Our first day we hit up most of the major tourist attractions. We started off at the Trevi Fountain and tossed the obligatory coin into it. It is said that if you toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain you will return to Rome before you die. I certainly hope that is true. I want to go back to Europe so badly!

After stopping there, we headed straight to the Pantheon. I had no idea it used to be a pagan worship arena.

History has never been my strong point. Although seeing things in person definitely makes them more interesting. A reason I would love to go to Israel. The only history that truly fascinates me is in the Bible and it would be so cool to see that region up close and personal. But Italy sure does have cool history too. Evident in the ruins and the Colosseum…

It feels like you’re on a movie set because it is so hard to wrap your mind around the fact that these are the real deal.

The remainder of our time in Rome, we simply enjoyed the city and explored, as well as took some day trips I will share next week. We loved visiting the many beautiful churches. I’m not even talking about St. Peter’s Basilica yet. That’s part of next week too. There are so many gorgeous places of worship. The detail and art masterpieces within the walls seem more like museums than churches, but there are people praying and worshipping all around as well. I loved it.

I admit to doing some silly sightseeing as well. I was reading Dan Brown’s Angel & Demons book during my travels and had to check out some of the locales from the book. Like this statue that, in the book, pointed to the next point on the “path to Illumination”. It’s a good book. I highly recommend it.

There is one highlight of Rome that sticks out to me. That was the one fancy dinner we took on the entire trip. We had a strict budget for most of the trip, but when we saw this nice Italian restaurant that made their pasta fresh daily right outside the Pantheon, we took up the splurge. I remember we shared some fresh lasagna & ravioli, a delectable salad, and a bottle of the house white wine. All with the Pantheon front and center.

I’m just sad I didn’t know the importance of food pictures then. I have none to share of what was hands down one of the best meals of my life. No, I’m not exaggerating. Italians know how to do pasta right. Seems like a “duh” thing to say, but there really are no other words to explain it. Fly to Italy now and experience it! If only, right?

This part of our trip was fabulous. Every day was an adventure. What saddened me while reading my journal was the fact that I didn’t seem to live it fully with that mindset. While I obviously enjoyed myself, I still made comments in my journal about wishing the time to pass quicker or other negative things. There were things about missing Peter and my family with a countdown of how many days until I could see them. Instead, I should have simply recognized I would see them soon enough but may not ever come back to Italy and then reveled in being there. I griped about how hot the hostel was in Rome thanks to no A/C, windows that didn’t open, and sharing a room with 20+ people. Um, hello??? You’re in Rome and experiencing new things that many don’t get the chance to! Get over yourself!

And what really pissed me off? During the passage that described the fancy Italian dinner I complained about feeling fat after the meal and how “luckily we walk a lot to burn off all those carbs”. How sad! I probably enjoyed the meal more remembering it than I did during it because I obviously had some anxiety. It saddens me that my negative relationship with food affected such a special moment in that way. I’m thankful I can now enjoy food with minimal issue, but who knows if I will have the same chance to taste such a delightful meal in a once-in-a-lifetime setting? I missed the full experience of it by worrying unnecessarily. My point is, don’t allow anxiety, worry, and stress to keep you from the current moment. Live life in the present. Really savor the life you are experiencing. Right now. Don’t give yourself a chance for regrets and don’t get caught up in negativity. Blessings surround us every moment. Open your eyes to them and live.

• What is a moment you missed experiencing fully because of worry or negativity?
• Have you read any of Dan Brown’s books? Would you have played the total nerd and gone looking for some of the places described in the book too?
• What is one of the best meals of your life?

Come back later for my post on last night’s Flavors of Forsyth fun!

Evening ladies (and any gents if you’re out there)! As you are reading this I am likely enjoying a night of foodie  dreams…but you’ll just have to be patient to find out what. We have to rewind to the morning first. After all, play by plays start at the beginning.

I woke up this morning at around 6:15 and was a little groggy from being up later than expected last night. Because I was having too much fun with Peter setting up the new casa for Faith, Fitness, & Fun. How do you like it by the way? I hope you enjoy it and that it will be worth updating your readers/subscriptions, fixing blog roll links, having to remember to find me at a new place, etc. That was a hint to do those things, just so you know. 😉 I don’t want to lose any of my blogger buddies so I have to put it out there. You’re all fabulous and my life blogging wouldn’t be the same without you.

Since I was tired and had already put in some decent workouts this week, I opted for a rest day. Thursdays are generally a rest day and I love having that extra day during the week to enjoy a more relaxing morning. What better way to relax than with some Chocolate Covered Strawberry Oats and a cup of joe?

The flavor burst of the fresh strawberries, the extra chewy texture from the pinch of golden raisins + cranberries, and the decadence of Justin’s Chocolate PB made this bowl divine. Thanks Lisa for the Justin’s PB! I loved it.

After breakfast, we headed out for our morning activities. I had to go by our church to pick out a DVD to use in this week’s Sunday school class. I really like the message behind it. Andy Stanley videos are great and I look forward to using this one.

I hit up church first because then on our way back we could meet up with some friends from the mom’s group at the park. Just like every park day it was a lot of fun.

Of course swinging and slides were involved. After all, swinging is important. We also did some see-sawing and climbing. And screaming. There was a scary moment when someone’s jogging stroller tire blew and it sounded exactly like a gun shot. We all freaked!!  I don’t know why you automatically go to the worst case scenario. Reflex maybe? We were able to calm down from that debacle by going to the little lake in the park to feed the ducks. Ducks fighting for chunks of bread are more calming for the nerves than massage beds don’t ya know?

We stayed for awhile enjoying the company of our friends and the beautiful day. But growling stomachs and sleepy tots can only hold out for so long. At around 11:30 we booked it home to get Makenzie some lunch + a nap and to whip up a much craved snack for myself.

Why do green monsters taste so much better in pretty glasses? And almond bars look so much more appetizing on hot pink plates? I don’t know, but one thing I do know is my tummy did a dance for joy. It was perfect blogging fuel, which is what I did during Makenzie’s nap.

I had some lunch a couple hours later, at around 2:00. I tend to eat lunch at around 1 or 2 most days. I don’t know why but I don’t crave lunch food until then. Sadly, today’s lunch cravings were of the “I’m starting to feel the twinges of morning all-day sickness “ variety. Welcome my hodge podge lunch plate.

Morningstar Farms Buffalo “Chicken Wings”, some cheese, some grapes, some pretzels, and a square of my bottomless stash of Newman’s Own chocolate. Expect to see lots of things like this for around 2 more months. You just can’t help it during the early pregnant phases. Which reminds me I plan to include some of the fun & exciting nauseating & exhausting details related to my current state of pregnancy in a post soon. And oh! I need to do another intuitive eating post in the next few days. Don’t you love how my mind works?

After all of that, Makenzie awoke from her nap and we entertained each other in a variety of ways to wait until the Dada got home. We ran with Teddy and dressed him up in a hat. Played model with the wind blowing through our hair. Made messes, laughed, and read our favorite books.

Once “Dada” got home, I took a few minutes to finish and schedule this post so you can be reading it while I’m off tasting a ton of delicious food and having a blast here:

I will be sure to take lots of pictures for you to drool over in the near future. Have a great night everyone!

• Don’t forget to update your readers or subscriptions to www.faithfitnessfun.com! And tell me what you think about the new site.
• Do you think it is a normal reflex to have the worst possibility flash through your mind when something you are uncertain of happens like I did today at the park? Or do you just have a “meh no biggie” attitude automatically to things?
• Have you ever been to a “Taste of…” or “Flavors of..” type of event in your town? How was it?