Summer Time Family Fun with Fried Dough

Join our family fun with some Fried Dough "Crostelle"! 

Produced & Directed 8/2017

(all my little Italians, click on that small square on the right hand bottom of video above to make screen bigger while watching! Don't worry, we gotchya!)

It was party time, celebrating my beautiful nieces birthdays as they were home for their summer visit from Virginia.  It's  our chance to be with them enjoying a gorgeous day and special family fun together.  Mom & Dad got the house ready, my sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles brought the families with hungry tummies, Aunt Clara brought the dough and I brought the Camera Man!! Haha, that would be my hubby of course, but with all these components, we couldn't resist but to have a little video fun together while the kids "frolicked to and fro" haha!! So enjoy this video as much as we enjoyed celebrating!  And Happy Birthday my beautiful-fun-loving angels, Zoe (12), Layla (8) & Emery (7). (Stay tuned they may be hosting a Cake-Bake-Off soon!)

Embracing Breakfast; Just. Be.

Betch'ya thought I was going to give tips on a hearty healthy kick start breakfast?!  Nope, sorry but I am going to share an even better chat...

Monday mornings; starting off after a busy weekend of the usual crazy schedules, family-friend-fun and yes, time with one another that we don't get often.  Mondays are just tough getting up and back in routine but for most work places, its chaos and tons to "catch up on" because technically, the world still carries on Saturday and Sunday.  Anyways, Mondays...

Cake Pops! Cake Pops! Cake Pops!

We love making our Cake Pops to share with friends, family, classrooms and even special party treats!  Cake Pop Production definitely goes into full effect when it comes to Valentines Day at this house!  Let those adorable cuties of yours take full participation in making each one with their special touch, that's the fun part!!!  Thanks to our dear friend Abbey that gave us the original and simple way to make them, perfecting it with a different recipe every time!! No special "Cake Pop Baker" needed!! Keep it super simple, fun, and as less dishes possible for clean up!!

Fuel it up or Drain it out!

Energy vs. Time with Matthew Kelly

  

Great clip right?! A little refresher on what most of us already know??

I was always so quick to say, "we all have the same amount of time, its how we manage it", and most of the women I know manage their schedules pretty tight filling every second of the day with maybe a quick bathroom break.  This was the assumption of, "everyone will make the time to do whatever they'd like, it was about adjusting priorities".  Every minute accounted for anything, and everything we choose to do, need to do, want to do.  Except when we completely crash of exhaustion and our crazy schedules catch up with us.  That is when we find everything is put on the back burner because we don't feel good or are just. completely. wiped. out.

#50ShadesDarker Thumbs UP!

Thank you to Ryan Jay Reviews, my girlfriend, Liz and I got a sneak preview of this exciting movie that we've been waiting TWO YEARS to see since the first 50 Shades of Grey 2015!!! This trilogy written by E.L. James came to theaters after amazing book reviews and fans couldn't be more ecstatic to see the domineering Christian Grey come to life with the flawless and at-first-timid Anastasia Steele.  Before anything else...The soundtrack is a MUST HAVE without a doubt!

 #50ShadesDarker, had us giddy at the end of it, feeling the love and excitement that everyone feels when they first fall in love themselves and yes, maybe even blush a little...ok alot!  Christian finds his way back into Ana's heart as Ana finds her way to be "completely" in his after a difficult past that she wants to be let in on. This time Ana feels Christian has changed his ways, until one haunting moment he is forced back to do what he is trying to put behind him and be called "master" without choice.   Growing up in a difficult past had him dealing with it dangerously.

Liz, Ryan Jay & Connie

With having read the books so long ago, there were still some surprises that had you in tears and joy all at the same time wanting these two to be forever together.  Grey's brother and sister had a small part in this film but no disappointment, considering you didn't feel the connection on screen with either of them.  (The book is always better in this case getting more of a Grey Family Feel with the siblings!) Grace, "mother", played by the talented Marcia Gay Harden, was played perfectly with the beautiful Kim Basinger as "Elena".  Both of these ladies brought everything right from the book onto the screen and you wanted more of them in the opposite ways they showed to "protect" their Christian helping him move forward from his past.

Sneak Preview before Movie released!

What else did you want more of...MR.CHRISTIAN GREY!! #LoveIsLoveIsLove!  Watching him do whatever it takes to keep his Ana and how he rids of all boundaries to let her in completely makes your heart melt wanting to fall in love with innocence all over again (well, for me and my own handsome hubby of course)! Ana is whitty and funny and stronger than ever in this film allowing Christian to be in her life with mutual agreements of "many".  Neither one giving nor taking more but both all in together.

Love conquers all! No secrets & no rules this time around with Christian and Ana make it funny, loving, steamy hot, protective and empowering to never doubt your talents and be ready for the opportunity (career wise, you kinky minds out there!)  Don't miss it this Valentines Day, definitely better than the first and a must-see for every 50/E.L. Fan out there!

*2018 FIFTY SHADES FREED*2017 FIFTY SHADES DARKER*2015 FIFTY SHADES of GREY*

"Resisting Happiness" by Matthew Kelly

Join Julia and I on our journey reading,
"Resisting Happiness"
written by Matthew Kelly
with our 7 Series Videos,
just click below, smile & enjoy:

#1 of 7 Resisting Happiness Intro

#2 of 7 Resisting Happiness Chapters 1-6

#3 of 7 Resisting Happiness Chapters 7-12

#4 of 7 Resisting Happiness Chapters 13-18

As we find ourselves becoming professional taxi drivers & serious fans of keeping up with our kids crazy schedules and driving them from one place to the next each day, we also find ourselves taking the time to talk with friends old and new all while our kids become involved in many of the same school and sports activities.

We may not know this at the time,  but its the season while our kids are growing with their group of friends and we find ourselves growing with the parents of those friends!  As our kids grow together as neighborhood friends, or as a team or club, WE grow together with the parents as well.

This is where our worlds reconnect!  Julia and I had met in college briefly.  Years later we find ourselves again in our enormous world, with our own girls at the same age, same school, involved in the same activities and Julia and I reconnect once again on a new level of growing closer to God. She shared this book with me and I shared it with a few others.  With the great response from discussing it, here is where we share our online book chat of "Resisting Happiness" with YOU!  Please take the time to watch the 6 minute introduction to our upcoming Book Review (& links following above) and join us and many others on our Happiness Journey together.