Almost over...

This is the final school week, so really pushing through it. I have officially finished all of the work for two of my three classes, and have to get four quizzes and one test done by Friday at 11:55pm...I can do it. Unfortunately, this last class, I think I would have to get almost perfect scores on everything to get a solid "A", but my other two classes were "A's"...but we'll see. Maybe my teacher will drop the lowest test grade or something? :)

Going to start my new job this weekend, I think...I have to confirm, but sounds like the likely scenario. Super part-time, and exciting. Pay is not that high, but it is made up for in its' benefits of flexibility and already knowing this job (I worked there about 10 years ago).

At the same time, slowly making the transition to total vegan. I am at stage vegetarian already, but need to cut out the milk and cheese. To be a real vegan again, I would really have to do better monitoring of my ingredient labels, as I am sure that the bread I buy has some type of bad ingredient. Oh, I'll have to switch my coffee creamer too! Not for nothing, I did just buy this coffee creamer, and it's Bailey Irish Cream, and it's fantastic!! Very enjoyable coffee over here.

Sorry such a short blog today, but I am going to go watch Avatar with my son, and have a nice day before I go hop back into the world of quizzes. God Bless, and I hope everyone is having the amazing weather experience that we have had here in Florida for the past three days! Life is good <3

Whoo!!!

On the final countdown for school! I have been missing my blog already, but had to get three reports done that had deadlines on the 15th and today :/  Got them all done early, so thank goodness! I will be very happy when this term is done, it has been a challenge. Other good things happening...I was offered a part-time job with one of my best friends, with a very flexible schedule. I have not been away from my son, really, since he was born. A few hours here and there, but have been inseparable mostly. :)

I am going to do everything I can to get my son enrolled in Primrose near our house. I took of tour of this school on 3/3/2012 and I fell in love with the whole thing. It's clean, gorgeous, the curriculum is amazing, the owners are great, and best of all, my son had a great time touring around, too.

I am still on my road to health recovery, and have found a really great site for anyone going for the same goal. CalorieCount.com. It's a really great community of people, and there is a great set of tools for managing a healthy diet. It's better than just logging food; it will actually calculate everything for you, grade your daily diet (and overall), and let you know where you are high/low in nutrients. It is really helpful and eye opening.

Other than that, just reeling over all of the information that I have been learning in school. It has really made me re-examine the way I view the world. I have acknowledged, once again, how unfair this world seems to be, and can see more clearly now how quickly we are dividing into merely two segments of class...the very few really rich and the rest of us. Having to research into things of this nature lately, I could not see any sign of this effect not taking place. What we all should have left is hope. Maybe hope alone is all we need to get things turned around.

Happy Day After Easter!

It has been quite a busy end to this week. It has been a very family member filled weekend. I had my little sister and her boyfriend over Saturday and Sunday, and we finally had some time to catch up with one another. Yesterday, we all went to my Step-dad's house to see his family that was in town...and my God, these kids are no longer kids...it's mind blowing. But I feel very blessed to have seen them all, and get the time to visit.

Other than that, I am working on getting all of my school work completed on time. I am taking (3) three-credit courses in the second half of the term, so they are condensed and super hard. I am keeping up, and nothing has been late, and grades have been good. It is a grind, but worth it. Working too many hours has always made me put school on the back burner. Now that I am a mom, I have felt the desire again to get this part of my life done, and now that I am unemployed, what better time? I am taking as many classes as possible online so that I can have my son home with me. He has never been to school or daycare, since he  is only two, so I like having him with me. I have looked into a really nice school close to home, but it's $210.00 per week (worth every penny, in my humble opinion), and I do not have it at this point. As soon as I do, I want to try out the 3 days/week @ $170.00.

And the juggling act continues...but I have definitely caught my stride, and I am looking forward to whatever life has to throw at me. As long as I get to have as much time as possible with my son, get time for my family, get to hang out with my sister, and can keep my house together, I think that I am doing good. I sometimes miss having time to hang out with friends, or going out with them, but in the grand scheme of things, I think this is better. Why pretend I have the time or money to throw around when I just don't? I am positive that my friends know I miss and love them, but the show must go on, and when the time comes, we son't miss a beat.

Typical Wednesday's

When you are an unemployed student/single-parent, the days will eventually muddle together, and weekends only matter if you are trying to avoid the movie theater. Us? Well, my son and I are mid-typical Wednesday right now. Today started with reading books to my son, dancing around to Dora the Explorer, and cleaning...lots of cleaning. My son, turned two at the end of last month, and he rips through our house like the Tazmanian Devil...working on remedying this, amongst other things. Some great things that we get to do in this wonderful Florida heat would be swimming. I would love for my son to be able to swim by the end of the swim season (about six months away). The beautiful thing about him being in the water is that he is not scared. He tries to wiggle out of my arms because he thinks he can swim without assistance. If I had some disposable income, I would love nothing more than to go through the infant swim lessons with my son. He loves the water, and that's a great sign, because we will probably be spending a lot of time at the pool because it's close, it's free, and it's fun.

I am waiting on either a call or an email to find out exactly what the price is, and I will see if I can afford to get that into the small budget that we have. I am fearful that the middle class is disappearing, and we are going to be left with a large number of under-funded families, and few families that are abundant in supply. I hope that is not the case, and that the economy starts to level off again to some type of normality. I am trying to stay positive, and am thanking my lucky stars that I am able to keep pushing forward for my degree. I figure, even if we have to do without now, I am sure that I will be able to get a great job once I have the paid-in-full degree :-)

Well here's to wishful thinking, and staying positive even when times are not easy. I hope that everyone is able to find something they love to do, and can find the time to do it. There is only one way to go...UP!

Getting Ready for the Heat

The way that I'm looking at it, I have about 12 weeks before it is blistering hot by 5am. Not only hot, but 100% humidity. That is the glory of living in Florida. Movies make it look so outstandingly perfect...but as soon as you step outside, you already feel like you need another shower. With that being said, my ultimate goal of being perfect at my balancing act, will also include a strictly regimented diet/exercise program which commences at 8am tomorrow morning. Included in this goal is to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. This is a far cry from where I currently reside, but a challenge is a challenge, and I will love every painful moment from here to success.

While looking for a "Goal-Time" Bathing Suit, I stumbled upon the site (banner below). This spurred me to become affiliated with them and bring this information to you. When there is a purchase to be made, there should also be a deal to be had. I was, and still am shocked about the amount of suits they had and the prices. So, whilst I go on about this or that, I will also try to find deals for us all to enjoy. For me, I have settled on the Relleciga Black Convertible Mono-kini...I am not sure how much working out I will have to do, or where I will get the confidence to wear it outside, but it is a great goal. :)

So the journey will begin manana, and I will be adding another side dish to the plate of life. Raise son, upkeep of home, bills, school, job search, self...I know this is a bad order, but this is what I intend to change on this journey. Have a happy day, and not to nerd out, but Season 2 of "Game of Thrones" starts tonight, so I am going to be on an adrenaline happy-high for the remainder of the day. Good times!

Jus Sanguinis (Right of Blood)

I have been investigating a new project for months now. It is called "jus sanguinis", which is the right that I have, if I can prove it through generations of paper trails, to have a dual citizenship with Italy. This excites me in so many ways! Apparently, if you can follow your paternal bloodline to Italian soil, have the documents to confirm it, you make an appointment with the Italian Ambassador and see if it gets approved. Then if it does, I will have everything needed to obtain my Italian passport.

On that note, it was not as easy as it sounds to get documents. So far, with the help of my Godfather (Uncle in Colorado), I have gotten my paternal grandfathers' death and birth certificates. I have a short-form copy of my dads' birth certificate (which does not suffice, as the long-form is required..but at least I have the document number), and the names of my paternal great-grandparents' that were born "jus soli" (right of soil). This information will help me locate their birthing information. BUT, on top of these items, I have to be able to locate my grandparents' marriage certificate, AND my great-grandparents' marriage certificate. Did I mention that before the appointment with the Ambassador, I will have to get all of these documents translated to Italian? Yeah, that's required too. 

Bright side: I will be able to go all around Europe stress-free. Until I speak, no one will have to know I am a "rude American". :-) I want to visit L'Aquila where there are 167 other Colantonio's...the place where our name originates...on a map, almost the direct middle of the country. Truly, between here and when I am able to complete this task and get a plane ticket over there...I would like to familiarize myself with the language.I want to be able to talk to my long lost family.

To New Beginnings!

My son, Dane, just turned two last week. I have been thinking that time really does fly when you are not focused one bit on yourself. VOILA...a blog was born. Since before his birth, I have been planning what days like today would be like. And, like most moms, realize how my delusions of grandeur were...off.  


Being a mom is one of the most beautiful things, but I would tell myself how I would be able to work, work out, go back to school and still have plenty of time to raise my son, teach him how the world works, and maintain my sanity. Two years later, I find myself struggling to make ends meet, unemployed, overweight, and slowly losing my mind. BUT...I have a healthy, happy little man, and I have never felt so optimistic in my life. Why? Maybe it's the insanity setting in, but I feel like there are so many things to improve that almost everything that can happen will be a check off the list.


But where do these struggles come creeping in? The energy...or lack thereof. My mind is so ambitious, and I have so many ideas, but lack the energy and time to get anything done. I realized that I was lacking a certain creative outlet to which my soul will be energized. This is how I intend to get my life back on track. And, maybe I will gain readers who will follow me on my journey. Like times past, I know this is about to get exciting. I have a lot of things planned, and hope that you enjoy where we are about to go. Thank you for reading.