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Thursday Thirteen: Happy Anniversary Edition!

27/2/2014

Ciao a tutti! Hi, everybody! It's that time again, and this week, I've prepared a special little tribute to my hubby of ten years - and tomorrow, that number is official! That's right, our tenth wedding anniversary is Friday the 28th, and I thought I'd "celebrate" a bit by sharing some of my favorite photos of my hottie hubby, Alessandro, taken over the years.

So now, please allow me to share with you:

Thirteen Photos of My Hubby!

1) August 2003, when we first met in person after a months-long "courtship" on the internet and telephone.

2) 2004 - Our first (and so far, only) Christmas in Tennessee. The weather was remarkably warm that year.

3) 2004 - Alle in his Green Cross gear. (Gotta love a man in uniform, eh?)

4) 2006 - Alle tries to persuade Santa that we'd both been very good that year. Santa wasn't buying it, though.

5) 2005 - Our first trip to Ferrara for Easter Monday.

6) 2004 - A stop in Lucca on our honeymoon trip.

7) The photo Alle sent me in 2003 which made me fall head over heels for him. Taken in Ireland.

8) 2004 - Alle clowning around in Siena during our honeymoon trip.

9) Alle (on the right) poses with his friends during a rest break on a ride. (I think this was 2006 or 2007, but I'm not sure.)

10) Alle with his newborn niece, Mia in 2008.

11) Alle poses for me in Fontanellato in 2006.

12) Alle and me, in Pisa (of course) in 2006.

13) Alle has some Daddy-Daughter Bonding Time with Doodle in 2008.

And there you have them: Thirteen Photos of My Hubby!

I think you'll agree he's a cutie, eh?

And since this is a special edition of my Thursday Thirteen, I've prepared an equally special final photo for you all.

It's a little different from the usual fare (to say the least), but...

I sure hope you don't mind!

Squeeeee! Baby Alle!

Ciao for now! :)

20 Comments

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Photos Which Inspired 27 Stages

25/4/2013

26 Comments

Ciao a tutti! Hi, everybody! Thanks for dropping by for this week's Thursday Thirteen. Since I'm very busy, preparing for my trip to the US next week and wrapping up all the work on 27 Stages, I thought I'd share a few pics which have inspired me throughout the long slog from start to finish.

So, yeah, it's a blog of cyclist photos. *clears throat*

Anyhoo... Please, allow me to present to you

Thirteen Photos Which Inspired 27 Stages!

A rider cleans off post-race in the famous Paris-Roubaix velodrome shower hall.

Post-crash recovery.

Philippe Gilbert's legs after winning a stage of the Vuelta a Espana.

I'm endlessly amazed at how closely they can ride together in the group.

A peek inside a team bus during the Giro d'Italia. The "crash pad" for Alta VeloCidad's bus is based on this shot and a few other team buses I've found online.

This is *literally* the moment where the story started taking shape in my head. As I watched Cancellara receive the maillot jaune, I was speaking to my husband on the phone (he was in Italy, I was in the US). When the camera panned out and showed Cancellara on the podium, I said, without thinking, "I want to lick his legs." My husband didn't miss a beat and said "If you can catch him, go right ahead." That moment, combined with the team politics on display by the Astana riders (specifically Contador and Armstrong) led to the creation of 27 Stages.

Fabian Cancellara's legs as he stands atop the Paris-Roubaix podium after winning the race in 2010.

This is one of my all-time favorite photos, and even now, looking at it makes me want to write a story for it.

There is a scene in 27 Stages which was written before I saw this photo, but which mentions a photo Abby takes over her shoulder without even looking, after sensing someone is watching her. When she looks at it later, she finds Federico was in the crowd after all. This is *literally* the sort of image I imagined her capturing.

Riding in the rain isn't just wet, but cold, too. No wonder they all look so miserable, eh?

In my next life, I want to come back as a fly so I can spy on the boys in the bus.

This year's Milan-Sanremo race proved that there is nothing - absolutely *nothing* - I can write which will ever compete with real life. But I will keep trying.

Cancellara falls to the ground after winning this year's Paris-Roubaix by a bike length.

And there you have them: Thirteen Photos Which Inspired 27 Stages.

Of course, there were many, many more photos than this to inspire me since 2009. I simply can't share them all, though.

Which is a bit of a shame, really.

And I know I owe you at least one more pic, so...

I hope this will do.

Gilberto Simoni. Cyclist.

26 Comments

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Pieces of Eyecandy from 2012 (Possibly NSFW)

20/12/2012

21 Comments

Ciao a tutti! Hello everybody! Welcome to this week's Thursday Thirteen! This time around, I've decided to a "Greatest Hits", of a sort. I thought I'd share a collection of what is, for many visitors to this site, a highlight of their visit (or, in some cases, the reason they drop by in the first place).

So please, allow me to present:

Thirteen Pieces of Eye Candy from 2012!

January started off with this treat, in the post 13 Things I Like About Twitter.

Also in January was the post 13 (More) Frequently Misused/Confused Words, which featured this popular lad.

In February, I shared 13 Things Which Make Me Happy.

Another post in February shared 13 Reviews of Ask Me if I'm Happy, along with this pic of Luca Argentero.

In March, I shared 13 Photos of Fabian Cancellara, along with this photo of someone who certainly is NOT Fabian - but I sure didn't mind!

Also in March was this gem, shared in honor of 13 Ways to Celebrate International Women's Day.

In September, I had 13 Questions for Jill Pennington, which came along with this photo of Italian Olympic swimmer Filippo Magnini.

These British Olympians accompanied my post of 13 Photos from Lago di Como.

This shot of cyclist Marcel Kittel was the bonus for 13 Things Which Cheer Me Up.

October also saw 13 Images from Passo Ghisallo, which concluded with this shot of the infamous Paris-Roubaix showers.

In November, the post 13 Random Images concluded with this shot of rugby player Dimitri Yachvili.

Also in November, I shared this lounging beauty along with 13 Things I Need to Do. (No, he wasn't on the list.)

And, finally, this cutie accompanied my list of Thirteen Random Thoughts in November.

So there you have it: a recap of some of the finest eyecandy I had on offer in 2012!

I hope you've enjoyed this stroll down memory lane.

And if you need still more incentive to drop by, well...

I hope this will do!

Ciao for now!

21 Comments

13 Photos From the Start of Stage Three of the Giro d'Italia

12/5/2011

10 Comments

This week's topic is the result of a lot of mixed emotions for me. I had planned for some time to share photos I'd taken at the start of Stage Three of the Giro d'Italia. Unfortunately, the tragic events prior to the stage's end gave me pause.

In the end, as you can see, I've opted to share the photos after all. After a neutralized stage in Wouter's honor on Tuesday, the race is on in full as of Wednesday. I offer these photos in that same spirit.

So, here we have

13 Photos From the Start of
Stage Three of the Giro d'Italia.

The trophy for the Giro, along with the jerseys of the various leaders: Pink for the overall leader, Green for the mountains leader, White for the best young rider and Red for the points leader.

Alessandro Petacchi - points leader after Stage Two.

Doogie Howser! No, wait, it's Vasili Kiryienka of Team Movistar.

Brice Feillu, post-sign-in.

A leap of leopards: Davide Vigano', Oliver Zaugg and Bruno Pires of Leopard Trek. Monday was also Oliver's birthday.

Alberto Contador, winner of the 2008 Giro.

Mark Cavendish, overall leader after Stage Two, with his Ombrellina (umbrella girl) to keep him company before the race start.

Richie Porte.

The riders chat while waiting at the start line.

Tyler Farrar.

The final three shots I'd like to share are my photos of Wouter Weylandt. He died after his crash on the descent of the Passo del Bocco, just a few hours after these photos were taken.

There's no eye candy this week, but I hope for a more festive posting next week.

Ciao for now...

10 Comments

Thursday Thirteen: Happy Anniversary Edition!

Thirteen Photos of My Hubby!

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Photos Which Inspired 27 Stages

Thirteen Photos Which Inspired 27 Stages!

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Pieces of Eyecandy from 2012 (Possibly NSFW)

Thirteen Pieces of Eye Candy from 2012!

13 Photos From the Start of Stage Three of the Giro d'Italia

13 Photos From the Start of
Stage Three of the Giro d'Italia.

Kimberly Menozzi

Please note: Thanks to an increase in spam comments, I'll be approving the comments before they post. Sorry!

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Categories

Thursday Thirteen: Happy Anniversary Edition!

Thirteen Photos of My Hubby!

Thursday Thirteen: Thirteen Photos Which Inspired 27 Stages

Thirteen Photos Which Inspired 27 Stages!

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Pieces of Eyecandy from 2012 (Possibly NSFW)

Thirteen Pieces of Eye Candy from 2012!

13 Photos From the Start of Stage Three of the Giro d'Italia

13 Photos From the Start of Stage Three of the Giro d'Italia.

Kimberly Menozzi

Please note: Thanks to an increase in spam comments, I'll be approving the comments before they post. Sorry!

Archives

Categories

13 Photos From the Start of
Stage Three of the Giro d'Italia.