Took a trip to visit my cousin Joyce in Virginia this weekend to celebrate a “milestone” birthday with her. In a nod to all of the Saturdays we spent at our grandparents’ house in Brooklyn, I gave her a bottle of Absolut Brooklyn vodka (special edition by Spike Lee).  I have no idea how theRead more about Happy Birthday Joyce![…]

Today we celebrate The Feast of St. Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the human father of Jesus. For Italian Americans, especially those of Sicilian descent, we commemorate this day by giving thanks to St. Joseph for all of his intercessions and help throughout the year. It’s a day when we gather togetherRead more about St. Joseph’s Day traditions[…]

Enjoyed another great family trip to Captiva this month. Here’s a shot of one of the many gorgeous sunsets we enjoyed during our stay. Unlike last year’s Winter Break when we had an unseasonably cold, rainy streak , the weather this year was sunny, warm, and absolutely perfect. Captiva Island, off the coast of Ft.Read more about Snapshots from Captiva Island, Florida[…]

No one. It’s an obscene amount of sugar. Way too much. But that doesn’t mean I’m not eating this entire box. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today, the Italian American service group I belong to held it’s annual “Heritage Day.” It was a great event, with over 100 people in attendance. We had traditional Italian foods available for tasting, one of our members gave an Italian language lesson, and a professional opera singer sang some beautiful arias. I helped pull together aRead more about Italian Heritage Day: Treasures from Home[…]

Went to the first Town Hall of the year today, where Governor Christie took questions from the crowd and talked for about an hour about issues that concern residents of New Jersey. He discussed the Christie Reform Agenda and challenged everyone there to join him in making the changes necessary to put New Jersey back onRead more about Christie’s Town Hall[…]

Attended Governor Christie’s State of the State address today. The overall message: we’re still in a tough spot, budget-wise, but things are better than they were last year at this time. We’ve made some progress, but still have a long way to go.  Reforms are necessary in order to keep the pension system afloat, and both partiesRead more about […]

Earlier this week, over 1000 blackbirds fell from the sky in Arkansas, dead on arrival. Conspiracy theories abound as to what may have caused this mass flash mob of death. Allow me to add my two cents’ worth: I think it was caused by a military weapon, one that uses sound waves to disrupt theRead more about Dying Birds in Arkansas: A Theory[…]

Last year, I met a true craftsman at the Rennaissance Faire in NY. His name was Steve Vlasich, and he and his wife Cindy are the owners of Clear Creations. Steve is a glass artist, crafting custom-made designs of all shapes and sizes. He had all types of birds and griffins and dragons for sale,Read more about When the Yak met the Fox[…]

Last year, I purchased a Mazda CX-9, and have been very happy with the vehicle–with one notable exception. There were times when I started the car and immediately noticed a high-pitched sound going off periodically, almost like a dog whistle or hearing test beep. It was intermittent, really annoying, and I couldn’t tell where itRead more about High-pitched noise in your Mazda CX-9?[…]