Moments that Sparkle

Fonzy and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on February 22....come July, we will have been together for 10yrs.

10yrs....

I'm sure when Fonzy and I started seeing each other, he never thought 10yrs from now we would still be together. I was 27, and had 2 boys ages 8 and 7. He was 21, living the single life. We lived in the same apartment complex and Fonzy said the first time he saw me at the mailbox, he knew we would get together. How he knew that, I have no clue, but it happened. Now almost 10yrs later we're still together. The way hasn't always been easy. We've fought, we've cried, we've hurt each, we've broken up...but we've also laughed, loved, had two beautiful boys, and have built a wonderful life. It get's better with each passing year. Yeah, we still fight and get on each other's nerves at times, but that's part of the "happily ever after"

To celebrate our years together Fonzy got me this diamond journey necklace. I've been hinting for one, but didn't expect it on our anniversary. This necklace represents the journey of our life together, our past, our present, our future....and all our moments that sparkle.

Georgia Aquarium

This past weekend we took off to ATL to go to the Georgia Aquarium. Words can't even describe all amazing creatures God has made.

Walking up to the aquarium.

Beautiful fish - this is one of my favorite pictures. I love taking pictures and really want to learn to take breathtaking pictures. This is not quite breathtaking, but I was pleased with how it turned out.


And here is Nico, one of the beluga whales. Seeing Nico kind of put a damper on the rest of the day for me. I felt so bad for him, being in this little tank. Now there may have been more tank, that we couldn't see, but it really doesn't matter....it's not the ocean. And Nico was in the tank alone. These whales live in pods, and are highly social creatures. I think they had more than one whale when the aquarium opened, but I believe two died. What a lonely life for Nico. I told Fonzy how I was feeling bad for Nico, and he said, yeah, it's like he's in prison, just for our entertainment. Yep, that's exactly what it is like...prison. It was just so sad....


Here's another picture of Nico, and the other whales I found online taken in January '06, but you can see how small the tank is. I mean, it's big, but small for them.


Here is a loggerhead sea turtle. I thought this was a pretty good picture too.


And last, but not least...one of the whale sharks.

To see all of my pictures, click here.

Happy 6th Birthday Elijah Valentino!

Mr. GQ

Loud

Confident

Sports lover

Laughs at everything

Older than his 6yrs.

Chatterbox

Daredevil

Long shower taker

Determined

Imaginative

Funny

Competitive

Mama's Boy

Shark Tales

While pulling the tails off of shrimp for dinner last night, the little shrimp from Shark Tales popped in my head and I felt kind of sadistic.

Introspect

As you can see, I've made some drastic changes to my blog. I love Betty Boop and all, but I felt my blog was too busy, too loud, too....something. So I went minimalistic (is that even a word) on you all. I guess I just needed a change. I've been thinking a lot about changes I feel need to be made in my life. I think about my older boys and how fast they grew up. At times I feel I hardly know them. I don't want to make the same mistake twice with Ezekiel and Elijah. I even went out and bought the game Operation. Remember that game? I loved it as a kid, and thought it would be fun to play with the boys. It was fun, and I plan on spending more time playing with them, before they get too old and decide they don't want to play games with mom anymore. Time just goes by so quickly. I sometimes can't believe I'm 37. At times I still feel like the young girl I use to be wondering what the heck I'm going to be when I grow up. I'm considered grown-up now, but I sure don't feel it. What have I accomplished in my life? Yes, I'm a mom to four kids, and a wife, but what have I REALLY accomplished? Have I made a difference to someone? Have I done anything to make this world a better place? When I die, what will people say about me? I don't know, I'm just feeling very introspective right now. Pondering life and what it's all about.

Computeritis of the Hand

See that bump on my wrist? I have no idea what that is. It's kinda sore and feels like a bone sticking out. Could that be from spending too much time on the computer? I should probably get that checked out.

Fat Momma

I've never been one who had to worry about my weight. I could eat whatever I wanted and still be skinny. I would eat, and eat and eat....people would warn me that one day I wouldn't be able to eat like I do and not gain weight. Hahaha.....I just laughted at them. Even after having my two older boys, (I was 19 at the time) I was still skinny. Belly pooch? What was that? I didn't have one. I would wear half shirts, just to show off my flat stomach.

Me? Get Fat? NEVER!

Fast forward to today........

I need to lose 20-30lbs. I would be happy with either. OK, yeah, I would be happier with 30lbs. Back in my hay day, I was about a size 8-9. I am currently at a size 12. Actually, let me rephrase that, I am SQUEEZING into my 12's, but would probably be more comfortable in a 13-14. Belly pooch....yep, I know what that is now. It's what I'm squeezing into these size 12 jeans and what I am constantly trying to suck in. Let me tell you, there's not enough sucking in the world.

To top it all off, now that I need to lose weight, it seems I'm obsessed with food! Before, if I didn't eat or miss a meal, it was no big deal. Now, food is constantly on my mind. It's like it's calling me. The more I try to cut back, the more I think about food and and of course that leads to eating it. I think it's all in my head. If I could just stop stressing over losing weight, then I would stop thinking about food, leading to not eating as much and the weight would just fall off.

Sounds logical, right?

Homework

I hated word problems....still do.

The first chapter book Ezekiel read all by himself!

Hometown - Dunkirk, NY

The pictures I posted of the house I grew up in has me feeling nostalgic.....I'm missing home. I would never want to move back....it's a small town, with not many opportunities, but I miss it every now and then. Dunkirk is right on Lake Erie, it's the westernmost part of NY state.

Aerial photo of Dunkirk

Entering Dunkirk on Route 60 - Welcome to Dunkirk, Home of Chadwick Bay


Niagara Mohawk - power plant


Harbor


Crashing waves

Indian statue in Memorial Park on Lake Shore Dr.


Sailing on Lake Erie w/ Niagara Mohawk in the background

Sunset on Lake Erie

75 Marsden St.

This is the house that I grew up in, but this is NOT the house I grew up in.

Huh? Let me explain...

The house has changed so much since I've lived there over 20yrs ago. Of course any house changes with time, but the changes to the house on 75 Marsden street sadden me. This may have been the house I grew up in, but it looks nothing like it. This house looks worn, small, neglected and sad. Yes....a house can look sad. The memories I have are of a bright yellow house, with an open porch that extends to the full length of the house. Why did the new owners enclose half of the porch...makes no sense to me. I loved that porch. Rainy days, you could sit out there and watch the rain fall, I played with my Barbies out there. That porch is the reason I want a porch when I buy a house.

The 3 huge pine trees in the front were full and thriving. You weren't able to see past their bulk...now they are bare and dying. Mommy use to have rose bushes along side of the house, they are long gone...just like her. This was the last place Mommy lived before she died of cancer. So many precious memories. Memories of sleepovers with cousins and girlfriends, magical Christmases, endless summer days playing in the yard. Precious memories of Mommy. Coming home after school to a house smelling of lilacs, because Mommy had made huge bouquets from the bushes out back. We had 3 lilac bushes in our backyard, along with plum trees. We had two snowball bushes that Karen and I loved to play in between. We had one row of grapes. Yep, just one, but the grapes were good. Daddy also had a garden. He planted all kinds of vegtables. There was a huge horse chestnut tree in the backyard, which we loved to play under and have chestnut fights. Behind the house was also the clothes line. Remeber haning your clothes out to dry? I can still see Mommy hanging the clothes in the summer. It was paradise, or at least when I think of it now. While growing up, I sometimes hated it and wanted to leave so bad. Funny how your perspective changes when you grow up.