We can no longer ignore that there is a host of reality television stars who are educating our kids.

I don’t like it and I’d prefer to bury my head in the sand like an ostrich. That tact however, will leave me starved for air and my nieces and nephews without the benefit of a moral and cultural counterpoint to the “GTL” (gym, tan, laundry) lifestyle.

I’m an aunt to forty nieces and nephews all by relation and many of them they love the “Jersey Shore.” Their facination with these pop-culture nitwits finds me reaching for my rosary beads. It’s gonna be a cold day in hell before I sit back and let these morally devoid characters corrupt my little darlings. So, what’s an auntie to do?

Here’s what I came up with. Read more

While I’m off enjoying some time with family and friends you might want to check out my latest piece at Savvy Auntie.

This time of the year is tough for many. Nostalgia has a way of creeping in at our holidays tables. For those actively grieving, this time of the year can be riddled with pangs of sadness. Even more so, people who long to have children struggle as well. In my latest column at Savvy Auntie, I share some tips on how to survive this time of year when dealing with infertility or longing for children of our own.

Gobble, gobble!

Boo!

Now how darn cute is she?

This is Bianca. My 13 year old, American Eskimo Spitz. I adore her. She adores me (even when I dress her up for Halloween).

What’s so funny?

I know some people have very mixed feelings about dressing up animals. I do it rarely and when I do, it’s only for quick photo ops.

In our house, it really is a dog’s life (and goat’s life). Bianca eats only organic dog food and yes, at times, only gets spring water. She takes a multi-vitamin every day, gets plenty of exercise and so much love its been deemed symbiotic by some. But there is something that always cracks me up when I see an animal dressed up and Bianca is no exception.

So, Steph, WHERE did you get this??

Shopping for our annual Halloween BooFire a few weeks ago, my niece saw this at Target.  She tapped me on the shoulder and held up the hat. We shared nothing but a nod as she tossed the hat into our cart onto a pile of other must-haves. For $1.oo, I figured, “Who even cares if it fits?” ;-)

Remember to keep an eye out for what makes you laugh today. As I say every week, it really is the best medicine.

So tell me, ever dressed your animals up…even if just for a quick photo op?

Happy Sunday!

This Sunday is sponsored by one of my Godsons and his identical twin brother; both who share their first names with my husband and his identical twin brother. Italians really only have a few standard first names we use when naming our children. We use them from generation to generation, from family to family, from sea to shining sea.

Thursday evening, after I finished up with clients, my best friend, Stef, called and asked us to swing by to hang out with her and the kids before the kids’ standing evening date with the sandman.

Guess Who?

We piled in The Bird’s navy blue Ford pick-me-up truck, as he affectionately calls it, and drove the half a mile over to Stef’s. The garage door was up and before I could shout, “Guess who?” when I walked into the kitchen, the twins in their Sponge Bob pjs with freshly washed noggins, accosted me, smiles so big their faces had to hurt, waving pictures they drew. Read more

My nephew cutting the field out back of our house in anticipation of hunting season. (I have very mixed feelings about hunting…mostly, I don’t like it. I don’t have mixed feelings about my nephew-I love him).

I’m about to tell you something you already know.

Hold on to your panties…

Over fifty percent of all marriages will end in divorce.

Indeed, this is a sobering statistic.

“Well, duh, Steph. We know that, right?”

I know, I know but please DO NOT CLICK AWAY.

I come with glad tidings!

If fifty percent of marriages end in divorce, that means another fifty percent of marriages work!

Now you might be asking, “No $#%&, Sherlock-but what’s the secret?”

Today, I’d like to let you in on a few of my own.

Wednesday, my husband and I celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary.

Yes, we are the proud parents of twenty years of marriage-a very, happy marriage.* One with so much PDA (public displays of affection) at times people tell us to “get a room.”

*Disclaimer: DOES NOT equate with absent of cares and woes (The common misconception that happy marriages are devoid of complexity is the genesis of trouble).

As Wednesday drew near, I found myself making a mental list of why I think our marriage has been so successful. Busy formulating my list while tossing laundry into the washer and my hands deep in dirty dishes, I recalled a conversation we had last winter with my nephew. Read more

(Bianca)

Ever feel like, “Gee whiz?”

That’s how I feel as I write this post.

Gee whiz.

My Mom reserved that expression for times when there really wasn’t anything else to say.

Times like the day I called her to tell her I that I had been struggling to get pregnant, and the time when I was visiting my parents in Florida and my husband called to tell me that our dog, Bella was so sick they weren’t sure she was going to make it.  While I sat in tears on the powder blue lazy boy, my cell phone in my lap, she kissed me on the forehead, sighed and said, “Oh, Steffi. Gee whiz.”

Today, if I called her to tell her the “bitter” of my week, I’m sure she’d say, “Oh, Steffi, gee whiz.” Read more

On Sundays, I like to take note of something in my life that under the lens of hustle and bustle morphs into something sacred when I stop to take notice.

Here’s what I saw this Sunday.

Fresh from my garden…

I chopped up basil, oregano and curly parsley, stirred them into my homemade tomato gravy and served up a classic Sunday dinner-macaroni and sausage to my husband and surprise guests, our niece and nephew who biked over to see us, and their parents.  Yummy! (and sacred)