Happy B-Day Kato!

I am exceptionally lucky; not only is my sister one of the most awesome people ever, she is also one of my best-friends! Hooray, hooray!!! A few words to describe Katie: big-hearted, helpful, supportive, loyal, clever, open-mined, non-judgmental, and sarcastic. (Just to name a few.) She is also enviously dedicated to her family. I must also give her props for her impeccable taste and collection of music, my music library is perpetually indebted. She will eternally be my super cool older smart-ass sister! Thanks for always being there for me, you have no idea how appreciative I am. Love you Katie!

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.

~Isadora James

Sister to sister we will always be, A couple of nuts off the family tree.

~Author Unknown

A Woman’s Intuition: A Conversation between Sheila and Tony

Sheila: “What would you do with a million dollars?”

(I fully expected Tony to reply with some sort of strategy to acquire massive quantities of uber fast motorcycles and cars and then devise a scheme to race both of them all while becoming a legend.)

Tony: “I think I would like to volunteer.”

(I was touched. Clearly I misjudged my husband. I hung my head in shame.)

Sheila: “What cause would you like to be involved with?”

(Tony mischievously smirked.)

Tony: “The track….”

(I made a valiant attempt to keep a straight face. I failed and initiated laughter.)

Yes, he was referring to the race track. Moral of the story: A woman should always trust her instincts and a man, at least this man, will always have a teenage boy lurking inside craving the need for speed.

The Journey to Womanhood

It is a day every girl looks forward to. When this day comes, the girl’s life is forever changed. For better or for worse now begins the journey to womanhood. Many may find it peculiar that I am dedicating a post to this day in Alex’s life. It’s a beautiful thing that should be properly recognized by all. The day I am referring to is, of course, a girl’s first… ROCK CONCERT. I remember my first rock concert well. I was 13 years old in the upper bowl where the acoustics were dreadful, rocking out to the Smashing Pumpkins. It was the best. Alex’s day came last night at the tender age of 12, rocking out to Royal Bliss. She was so stoked. She was even lucky enough to have Jenn, Katrina, and me there with her.

Urban Emo Grunge

Emo... who are we kidding? We are at trio of dorks!

It was a perfect night. I have absolutely not complaints. For example, I wouldn’t complain that it was advertised that the doors would open at 6:00 pm and we waited out in the cold until 7:30 pm when they finally let people in. I also wouldn’t complain that once we were inside the temperature was maybe 5 degrees warmer than it was outside. Furthermore, I wouldn’t complain the bathrooms were so incredibly disgusting that I was considering popping a squat in the alleyway behind the building and risking public humiliation just so I wouldn’t have to hover over a portal to hell, a.k.a. the toilets at this fine establishment. On that note, I wouldn’t complain that there were so many people smoking that we left smelling like an ashtray. In addition, I wouldn’t complain that I was under the impression that the concert would be over by 9 pm and we didn’t end up getting home until 1:45 am. Moreover, I wouldn’t complain that I made the foolish decision to wear 4-inch stiletto boots that I stood in for over 6 hours and that my feet were almost completely numb by the end of the night. In my defense, beauty is pain. Stephen Dunn put it eloquently when he wrote, “Oh vanity makes everything a little lovelier.”


In conclusion, it was a rock concert. The music was good and Alex had a blast. She even had the honor to meet the lead singer and guitar player after the show. It is a memory she will always keep with her and I am happy I was able to be a part of it.

Decades Day

Last week Alex’s school had a “Decades Day”. Alex decided to dress from the 80’s and put a modern twist on it. The pictures speak for themselves; she looked incredibly awesome. You may notice that she has approximately 10 inches of hair missing. She got a haircut and donated her tendrils to Locks of Love. I LOVE the style of her hair. It fits her punk personality perfectly. The other day when I picked her up from play practice she told me that she and her friends saw some cute boys and decided to give them nicknames. I had to laugh. Why? Because my friends and I did the exact same thing when we were in 7th grade. I went home and brushed off the dust from my 1995-1996 journals to reminisce what clever handles we selected for our crushes. Warning: If you weren’t one of my friends in 7th grade the remaining information in this post will not be in the least bit compelling or make any sense whatsoever. (Charlyn, Heather, and Krissey should get a kick out of this.) There was Blondie, Hair Boy, Kilometer, and… (drum roll please)…. Hot Fudge Sunday! Yes, Hot Fudge had all of us swooning. We even developed a logo for him. All I can say is the times change but girls will always be girls.

The Groundhog says...

PunxsutwaneyPhil says "Six more weeks of winter." The day after the groundhog saw his shadow we wake up to a foot of new snow!!! I'm done with the cold... and the snow... and winter in general. I can't wait for spring... my sandals are calling to me (sigh). At least the kids had fun playing in the white stuff today.

Today is the day...

Today is the day that Tony is officially one year older than being old! Ha, ha!!! Okay, okay, I am quite aware that 31 isn’t the least bit old, but I have the right as his young vibrant 24 year old wife to rub it in. Tony is so much more than my husband; he is the father of my children, my best friend, my lover, and a certifiable bad-ass! Every time he looks at me I feel like the most gorgeous girl in the world. I can’t believe that we have been married for over 5 years. I know that many people thought the odds were against us when we decided to get engaged after dating for only one month. Well lover, we proved them wrong! It has been one crazy, sexy, cool ride. Happy Birthday! I love you!!!

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

I wanted to take time and pay tribute to a remarkable man, Martin Luther King Jr. His words were always so awe-inspiring. Below are a few of my favorite quotes of his:

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.”

“I believe the unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant”.

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

“Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

I was extremely blessed to have a mother that taught me to sincerely care. She taught me to never judge a person by the color of their skin or what church they did or did not attend. How many relationships and experiences I would have missed out on if I had been prejudice. It deeply saddens me that discrimination still exists. How much we could all ascertain if we took a step back and got to know each other for the content of our souls.