Below are excerpts from all of my original articles from various publications. Click "Read More" to enjoy the full article.
ItaliansRUs.com (originally published in La Voce Newspaper)
The day my four year old son asked for meatballs for breakfast, I happily thought to myself, 'this boy's definitely got Italian blood running through his veins!' At this moment I realized the importance of passing on to my children the love of everything Italian....
ItaliansRUs.com
I could never imagine taking my great grandparents to a drive-thru for dinner. They would surely be coming after me with a wooden spoon. A burger and fries….or let me rephrase that - an order of grease - could never be dinner to them. After all, there was much more to dinner than just the food we were eating....
ItaliansRUs.com
Being Italian, there are a few unspoken rules that we would never dare to break. Don't buy jarred pasta sauce, pre-made lasagna is taboo, men don't move out of the house until their 35….you know, the really important life rules. Every Italian knows them, and any self respecting Italian lives by them. Unless, of course, we are trying to live in a world that is both Italian and American....
ItaliansRUs.com (originally published in La Voce Newspaper)
This federal holiday has more to offer than we may think - it gives Italian families another excuse to celebrate our heritage. Since 1866, Italian-Americans have used Columbus Day to celebrate both America and our Italian passion for discovery. Today, these sentiments still exist, as do the Italian-Americans who feel them. It seems the only thing missing is the celebration. This places the responsibility (yet again) on the Italian-Americans of our generation to preserve our innate passion for life....
March 2011 La Voce Newspaper
In the land of laziness, I am the queen. It's a good thing I have four children to grab the phone or a pen for me while I lounge on the couch, too lazy to get up myself. I suppose this should be a justifiable feeling while pregnant, but let's face it - this isn't my first rodeo. This will be baby number five for us, and while I thoroughly enjoy passing the folding and sweeping along to the kids, that is NOT the reason we are having another bambino (okay, maybe a little)! I refuse to carry the heavy load of housework on my own. After all, in large Italian families of old, everyone worked together to keep the household going....
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A Modern Italian Father
July 2008 La Voce Newspaper
Every Italian knows the stereotypical image of the father. He is the one in the unsmiling black and white photo sitting down, surrounded by the women and children with their hands on his shoulder. You know theimage I'm talking about - the man who rarely spoke, but when he did, everyone listened. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I'd say it is a slightly antiquated picture. Today's generation has a whole different genre of fathers. And while you can find the good, the bad, and the ugly out there, I still view the role of the father as one of strength and respect....
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Here's To The Italian Mother
May 2009 La Voce Newspaper
I have heard it said before that the man may be the head of the family, but the woman is the neck - and she can turn the head any way she wants!
One of my favorite phrases ever, it could not be more true about ITalian mammas! For centuries, a certain reverance for the father as the head of the household has continued in Italian culture. But htis pales in comparison to the veneration given to the mamma....
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Vacationing With Kids
March 2009 La Voce Newspaper
As the springtime weather approaches, so does that vacation itch. But when the kids come along, it's easy to feel the need for a vacation after your vacation. Avoid the stress with a little advance planning....
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Christmas: Commercialized
ItaliansRUs.com
This time of year can get pretty hectic. Everyone's getting ready for Christmas - the most wonderful time of the year! 'Tis the season to hit the malls and spend all the money you don't have on outlandish, impressive Christmas gifts (half of them for people you don't even care about). Am I right? Well, if I am, it's only a result of the commercialization of this joyous holiday....
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Italian Connections
ItaliansRUs.com
It's kind of like magic --- the way that any two people, from opposite sides of the world - that have NEVER met before - can somehow meet and feel as though they've known each other their entire lives. No, I'm not talking about soul mates or true love. I'm talking about a real, live paisano!...
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An Italian Love Story
ItaliansRUs.com
Oftentimes, when times are tough, we fall into a mode of depression, assuming that things just can't get any worse. It is precisely in these moments that we must depend on family to get us through. In light of the difficult economic times our country faces, I engaged in a conversation with my grandmother, who went on to explain what hard times really meant. What I got out of our conversation was not only a valuable life lesson, but a tale of true love that tops any romantic Valentine's Day story in history....
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A Love Note To Nonna
La Voce Newspaper
While everyone else's mind is fille dwith romance and love letters, I'll be thinkng of a different kind of amore this month - the love of an Italian grandmother. Any Italian grandchild knows what I mean. A Nonna's love is unconditional. No matter what age you are, she's the one to support (and spoil) you throughout every major moment in your life....
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