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?[…]

Recently, we noticed a cardinal nest in the pine tree right outside our family room window. Last week, the eggs hatched, and there were three teeny babies popping their heads up waiting for mom and dad to feed them. We positioned a ladder inside the house, right near the window, so that we could observeRead more about Saving Baby Birds[…]

Took my daughters shopping this afternoon and passed a sign at Victoria’s Secret that made me pause: FREE mini-dog plush with purchase of our new Push-Up bra! It seems to me that if you’re old enough to wear a push-up bra, you ought to have outgrown the “stuffed animal” phase. No?

Toddlers & Tiaras on TLC. Train wreck television at its finest. Every show seems to follow the three-mom formula: you’ve got the fat unattractive mom who lives vicariously through her skinny (for now) little princess, the former pagent contestant mom who doesn’t know any other way of life than glitz and flippers, and the control-freakRead more about Toddlers & Tiaras: Oh, the humanity[…]

Exactly 16 years ago today, I became a mom for the first time. Sweet. Happy Birthday, Christina!