Happy Halloween!

I know, I know... it's been a LONG time since I've written anything. But, with all my new found time (my daughter started Kindergarten!) I figured I would really do my best to get into blogging!

My little Cinderella is fast asleep for the night.. it took all of 10 seconds. Trick or treating sure can be exhausting when you are 5! I love how excited she gets over every little piece of candy that gets dropped in her bag (that she does not eat!). I wish she could stay this age forever.

Anyway, like I said, I have all sorts of time on my hands now! Which means I've been doing more baking! I'll be posting some chocolate peanut butter cookies tomorrow. I found the recipe on Pinterest and they are amazing!

Super Bowl XLV!

I know, I know.. I haven't been keeping up with the 30 days of me! A friend on my facebook is doing something with pictures, I might start that instead!

This weekend the husband and I celebrated our Valentine's day. My mom wanted to watch our daughter so we figured since we'd have the day/night alone we'd spend it wisely! We ended up with tickets to a Philadelphia Flyers game (woohoo!!) and that's where we were Saturday night. Thirteen rows from the ice watching them beat the Dallas Stars 3-1! In just a little over a month we will be at the game again for our Christmas present from my Dad! Suite tickets.. can't wait! (more on that when the time comes!)

So, here we are on Super Bowl Sunday! I don't care to watch the game. Football isn't my thing, so I am holed up in my bedroom watching stuff off my DVR. However, I will take any "occasion" as a chance to bake and since we were having a mini "party" at my Mom's today I thought, "why not make a cake?!" So, here it is:

It's a 4 layer chocolate cake with buttercream icing and fondant accents. The helmets and football were made from rice cereal treats! I had a few icing mishaps (read: a certain 4yr olds little fingers) and touching that up was difficult because the icing had already set. Oh well! Live & Learn!

There you have it! I hope whomever you are wishing to win tonight does so!

Day 7... My best friend!

Fourteen, almost fifteen years ago I moved to Delaware. I was 11 and awkward. I watched all the "cool kids" hang out at the girl's house across the street. Fourteen, almost fifteen years later.. that girl is my best friend. I consider her my sister.

Loving

Amazing

Understanding 

Reliable

Encouraging

Nice

Lauren is kind hearted, funny and one of the strongest people I know. I've watched her overcome things that I could only wish to have a fraction of her strength if I went through the same. She's going to school to become a social worker which I think is the perfect job for her. After all, she's essentially been my therapist for the past 14years, so I am positive she will be great at helping others! I share anything and everything with her and she doesn't judge. As long as we are together we are having a good time, even if that means we are doing absolutely nothing. When I look back on important parts of my life she was always around. I feel truly lucky to have her as a best friend and my life is honestly better because she's in it. I look forward to what's to come in our lives.. as I am sure it will be filled with friendship and laughter!

She's a great Aunt to my daughter. Bella loves her!

Day 5 & 6

Today I am going to combine days 5 & 6!

Day 5 My definition of "Love Day"

I call it Valentine's Day. I don't get too wrapped up in the hoopla of Valentine's day. I prefer that my husband and I make different days all year love days! I don't need a specific day to tell/show my husband I love him. We usually do something little on Feb 14, but I also do something little for the other love of my life.. my daughter!

(this is not my picture, I found it on google, but I LOVE it!)

Day 6.. My day!

My days are not all that eventful.. but right now my life revolves around my sweet little 4year old! Monday's and Friday's Bella and I like to sleep in. Although, we usually are up before the husband even leaves for work at 8:10am. Once we are up we eat breakfast in our pj's then get dressed and start our day. What we do changes everyday. Sometimes we hang out with a friend, other times we head to Delaware and do some shopping. Other days we just hang around the house, cleaning, playing games and spending time together. Tuesday-Thursday Bella goes to school for a couple hours in the morning. I have to enjoy my time with her now because next year she will be starting Kindergarten! My baby is getting so big!

Day 4... What I ate today

Well, this is pretty unexciting but here it goes!

Breakfast:
Orange
Wheat Chex w/skim milk
Bottle of Water

Then, I didn't eat again until I grabbed a piece of pizza after I got my nails done. It was too greasy so I didn't eat much of that. I think I am going to have another orange though!

Today was a pretty dull day. Just hung out with the hubby and my daughter. We went to a couple stores and then I met a friend to get our nails done. Now, I'm cozy on the couch with the husband watching the NHL Skills Competition. Supporting Giroux and Briere! Love my Philadelphia flyers!

Day 3.. My Parents

My parents divorced when I was 11 or 12. However, they are two of my best friends. I talk to them daily and each are very very special to me. They have since both remarried and I love both my step parents, so, it's like I have four parents!


My Mom:
I talk to my mom everyday about everything. She lives about 20minutes away (I'm lucky considering we are military) and I see her quite a bit. She's there for me whenever I need her and I will always be thankful for that. She's softspoken, generous and loving. She is a lot like my Grandmother.

My Dad:
My Dad has always treated me like a princess. Still calls me that to this day. Doesn't matter if I am 5 or 25 I will always be Daddy's little girl. He lives in NC so I don't get to see him as often as I'd like but I talk to him all the time. He's a fantastic cook and always cooks like he's having 100 people over for dinner. (We ARE Italian, so this at times could be possible!) He's my go-to guy for advice on everything. He would do anything for me or my brother (and our spouses,children). I am very much like my father. He's outspoken, caring and generous.

My Stepparents:

Jackie, my step-mom is great! She's tons of fun and I love when I get to spend time with her. We can shop for hours, sit and talk or just take random outings together and we are always laughing the whole time. She's always willing to help out with anything and treats me like her very own.

Andy, my step-dad is great as well. He's down to earth and is somewhat of a jack of all trades! He's a firefighter turned handy man and now he's almost done getting his RN! Yup, he's going to be a nurse! He's a hard worker and excels at anything he does. 

 I know most people would have just written about their two biological parents. But all four people are very important to me. I am very fortunate to have four people that love and care about me like they do.

Day 2.. My First Love

Like every young girl I thought I was "in love" many many times. However, when it happened for real I knew. I was 18 and fell head over heals for a guy I had known for years.

My junior and senior years in high school and first year of college I made TONS of trips to North Carolina to visit my brother who was stationed at Ft Bragg and my Dad who moved down there. My brother was married at the time and he was young too.. only 19. So, him and his wife always had get togethers where I would meet all my brothers coworkers. Come on.. I know I'm not the only one who thinks soldiers are cute! Since I lived 6hours away I never thought much about dating these guys but I was good friends with a few. Stephan included.

One night at a party (NYE, I believe) something just changed and I told Stephan how I felt about him. After that, we quickly became a couple and for the next almost year I was totally in love. I had to go back to school but we spent countless hours on the phone and I went to NC every chance I could get. He deployed during my second semester of college for 4months. As soon as my semester was over I packed my things and headed south. We were inseparable.  Towards the end of the summer he got orders to Italy (hello, I'm Italian!) and we talked marriage and what we would do. He even talked to my Dad about me going with him. I thought for sure I was going to get a ring any day.

I went to Delaware to visit my Mom for a few days and he called while I was at a lake with some friends from high school. He said he was over my house having dinner with my Dad and brother. Obviously, I was excited thinking he was talking to them about marrying me. Big mistake. Huge actually. The next thing I heard was "I don't want to be together anymore." I was shocked. I kicked him out of my house (from over the phone!) I mean seriously.. you broke up with me while sitting in my room? Hats off for the jackass of the year! Either way, my heart was shattered. My first love was also my first true heartbreak.

However, a month or so later my sister inlaw took me out still trying to cheer me up and that's when I met my husband :) Almost 6years later and I am still happily married.