It is official

We have a First Degree Black Belt in the house!!

E passed testing and on May 9th he will be inducted.

We are so proud of him!!

What an accomplishment.

Ciao all.

Stay tuned...

BIG news coming your way!!

Ciao all

Lazy Sunday afternoon

 

We had a busy weekend. We were grateful to be able to spend Sunday afternoon being lazy at home after church. Ethan playing with the Iphone and Bella drinking juice out of the container... Nice. Hey, she gets that from her dad! That's my story and I am sticking to it!

Busy busy week ahead. Ethan tests Wednesday. Let's pray he can break his boards. If so, then he is "officially" a First Degree Black Belt! Tonight in class he did not do so well and did not break his practise boards. Tomorrow he is attending class again. Hopefully the extra class will help him. We will see.

Ciao all.

Snail Hunting

 

You've gotta love Kindergarten! Bella's homework for the weekend was to go on a "snail hunt" and then tell about what she found. Well, last night it rained here. Really rained. And then today we had a freaky hail storm run through, so there were snails a plenty to hunt! These are a few of the specimens we found. I love Bella's face. She's really not too sure whether she likes the snails or not...

Have a good weekend all.

Ciao.

Easter Creating

 

What I came up with. The papers were very "springy" to me. I thought they would work well with turning the photo black and white. It is what it is. I am happy.

Ciao all.

One step at a time...

I am pleased to announce that Ethan passed his endurance test on Saturday. He is one step closer to becoming a 1st Degree Black Belt. Now, for those of you that have no idea what an endurance test is - it is a 10 hour test wherein you get to reproduce every form you learned from white belt up by memory (and for Ethan that was 4 years ago...) as well as do boot camp drills - sit ups and push ups and crunches and jumping jacks etc. etc. All is done on command. All is done until the Master says you are done. Get the idea. ENDURE. And endure with integrity and passion. No whining. No crying. No giving up. No saying "I'm tired". No saying, "I can't". Immediate failure for any of the above. Ethan did his best and did not give up and he passed. We are soooo proud of him. He is an incredible kid.

I am off to do some scrapping. Shocking. I have printed off the pics from Easter and want to get those done while the house is quiet. Marc and the kids have gone to the park. Need to take advantage of this weather while we have it - 15 degrees and sunny. Amazing.

Ciao all.

20+18...

That is how old I am today. I think it has a better ring to it. I am NOT a birthday person - well, one to celebrate MY own birthday. I would rather the day go bye without any fanfare, but bring the gifts please! Just no cake and singing. Today I was lucky to be able to celebrate my birthday with my entire family and that was nice. Just so happened Easter fell on my birthday... ha ha

My mama gave me the shoes and handbag. I told you she had good taste! LOVE the shoes! They are super comfortable to boot. Who would have guessed high fashion and comfort could co-exist??!!

In celebration of my 38th, I thought I would post 38 things about me - the good, the bad and the ugly.

1. I consider myself Italian before Canadian.
2. I am obsessed with the Twilight series. Seriously, grow up!!
3. I think I could have put my children through university with the money I have spent on shoes and handbags to date...
4. I have only had one true love in my life, and next month I will have been married to him for 15 years.
5. I don't have any best girlfriends. All my girlfriends have betrayed me in some way and have wounded me and I refuse to let anyone in anymore.
6. I am extremely protective of my family.
7. I am stubborn.
8. You NEVER want to get in an argument with me. I will always win, and probably make you cry by the end of it.
9. I have a memory like an elephant.
10. I can probably sing every song that was ever created in the 80's.
11. I have cleaning issues. Serious ones. And I get angry/disgusted with people who don't share my same views on order and cleanliness.
12. I am not patient.
13. I see the world in black and white. There is wrong and there is right.
14. When I was a kid I wanted to be a flight attendant. I thought that would be the most glamorous job in the world until my 10th grade english teacher told me that I would be a glorified waitress. Well, that blew that.
15. Then I wanted to be a history professor. I was gearing up for that when in my 4th year I worked for the Dean of History and he talked me out of that and said I should go into law...
16. If I could quit my job/career tomorrow, I would. Without one second's hesitation. It is never what I wanted.
17. I want to run my own design firm.
18. I am in the stages of developing the plans for our next house.
19. I am in the stages of planning our trip to Italy next summer as a family. It will be the first time Marc and Bella have been. I am very excited for this!
20. I have no sense of direction. None. Don't ever say to me north or south. I have NO idea what you are talking about.
21. I hate the outdoors.
22. I hate being hot.
23. I love the rain.
24. I could eat gnocchi every day of my life.
25. I will only drive European made cars. And after my accident, I will only EVER drive German made cars.
26. I want to buy the new BMW X5 as my next car.
27. I have never travelled in my own country. I think Calgary has been the farthest I have travelled in Canada...
28. Given a choice to travel though, I will chose Italy, England or France over anything else. Oh, not true. Add Austria to the list!
29. I don't drink coffee or tea.
30. I don't drink alcohol.
31. I don't smoke. I have never tried. And I never will.
32. I don't often dream. And I never remember my dreams if I do happen to dream.
33. I hate horror movies. What is the point of them?? That is not entertainment!
34. I love to drive. Especially alone so I can play my music really loud and sing along without anyone interrupting me.
35. I had a fantastic childhood! Really great memories.
36. I am blessed beyond measure to have two children who are funny and kind and intelligent! They amaze me everyday. They teach me everyday.
37. My first real job was a teller for CIBC - I was 16 yrs old and I had NO idea what a debit or a credit was! I worked for CIBC for 8 years. I was robbed 3 times in those 8 years. Each time it was so painfully obvious what was about to happen that I was able to lock down my cash and pull the alarm without the moron ever knowing what hit him.
38. I am happy with whom I have become.

Ciao all.

Easter

I love Easter. Not because of chocolate. I am not a chocolate person. I love Easter because I believe in Jesus Christ. That he atoned for our sins. That he suffered and died for us and rose again. All so that we can return to live in Heaven once more. What a wonderful gift.

I also love Easter because of my family. I love spending time with them. I love being with them. It is such a joyful time. My family really REALLY rocks! We are all hilarious. And gorgeous. But that is besides the point! hee hee It is a privilege to be a member of my family. And I ensure each "new" member who TRIES to join my family is aware of this privilege. Too hard? I don't think so...

Have a wonderful Easter all.

Ciao

Earthquake in Italy

What an awful tragedy. The quake happened in the neighbouring province of Abruzzo, so my family did not feel anything in Campobasso, Molise. They are all safe. Thank goodness for small miracles. Italy is quite mountainous and this quake hit without any warning. Scary. Hundreds dead and thousands without homes... They are all in my prayers.

My Saturday

It is a beautiful Spring day here, so what have I done? Gone shopping, of course! Come on. I picked up my mama and we headed out to the new H&M in South Surrey and did some shopping. I bought new outfits for the kids for Easter and my mama bought me one of my birthday gifts. Can't show or tell until next week. Sorry. And my second gift from my mama has to do with my most favourite thing in the world - shoes! Yup. She bought me new shoes. They are spectacular! You will have to wait to see them also. Very architectural. And Italian, of course. hee hee My mama's got good taste - where do you think I get it from? The apple does not far fall from the tree.

And also because it is a sunny Saturday, I have baked. Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and banana butterscotch chip muffins. Now I need to head outside and take a a look at the garden and see what is up. It is still too cold out to actually plant anything. But I am itching to start decorating outside and get the yard looking springy. I have to move the urns and take down the gazebo and pressure wash the back deck and move the flower pots, etc. etc. Just stuff. It needs to be done. I have big plans for the yard this year, but I am not sure they will come to fruition. Marc does not have the time to build the projects I want done and I think hiring them out will put the projects over budget... We will see.

Well I am off to clean up and then my little family is heading to a noodle house for an early dinner. Marc has meetings to get to tonight.

Ciao all.

From the mouths of babes...

WHY GOD MADE MOMS

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers? 1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is. 2. Mostly to clean the house. 3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers? 1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us. 2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring. 3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of ? 1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean. 2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom? 1. We're related. 2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom? 1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff. 2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy. 3. They say she used to be nice.

What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him? 1. His last name. 2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer? 3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad? 1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot. 2. She got too old to do anything else with him. 3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

What's the difference between moms & dads? 1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work. 2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them. 3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's. 4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time? 1. Mothers don't do spare time. 2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect? 1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery. 2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be? 1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that. 2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me. 3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Bakerella strikes again!

Come on!! HOW cute are these!!??!! I sooo am making them for Easter this year. We have our big family dinner and egg hunt out in White Rock at my aunt and uncle's place. I will bring these along as an extra treat this year for young and old. Seriously. Tooo cute!!