Category: Happiness

Thursday Thirteen: Happy Anniversary Edition!

27/2/2014

Ciao a tutti! Hi, everybody! It's that time again, and this week, I've prepared a special little tribute to my hubby of ten years - and tomorrow, that number is official! That's right, our tenth wedding anniversary is Friday the 28th, and I thought I'd "celebrate" a bit by sharing some of my favorite photos of my hottie hubby, Alessandro, taken over the years.

So now, please allow me to share with you:

Thirteen Photos of My Hubby!

1) August 2003, when we first met in person after a months-long "courtship" on the internet and telephone.

2) 2004 - Our first (and so far, only) Christmas in Tennessee. The weather was remarkably warm that year.

3) 2004 - Alle in his Green Cross gear. (Gotta love a man in uniform, eh?)

4) 2006 - Alle tries to persuade Santa that we'd both been very good that year. Santa wasn't buying it, though.

5) 2005 - Our first trip to Ferrara for Easter Monday.

6) 2004 - A stop in Lucca on our honeymoon trip.

7) The photo Alle sent me in 2003 which made me fall head over heels for him. Taken in Ireland.

8) 2004 - Alle clowning around in Siena during our honeymoon trip.

9) Alle (on the right) poses with his friends during a rest break on a ride. (I think this was 2006 or 2007, but I'm not sure.)

10) Alle with his newborn niece, Mia in 2008.

11) Alle poses for me in Fontanellato in 2006.

12) Alle and me, in Pisa (of course) in 2006.

13) Alle has some Daddy-Daughter Bonding Time with Doodle in 2008.

And there you have them: Thirteen Photos of My Hubby!

I think you'll agree he's a cutie, eh?

And since this is a special edition of my Thursday Thirteen, I've prepared an equally special final photo for you all.

It's a little different from the usual fare (to say the least), but...

I sure hope you don't mind!

Squeeeee! Baby Alle!

Ciao for now! :)

20 Comments

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Songs I Forgot I Enjoyed!

24/1/2013

24 Comments

Ciao a tutti! Hi, everybody! It's been another busy week here at Casa Menozzi, but I've pulled together a Thursday Thirteen list I hope you'll enjoy. Because that's what this one is all about: Enjoying!

So without further ado, please allow me to present to you:

Thirteen Songs I Forgot I Enjoyed!

1) "Glad All Over" - the Dave Clark Five
The giddy joy of the British Invasion sound? Yes, please! Thank you!

2) "She's Not There" - The Zombies
I've loved this song since I was a teenager (in the '80s, thank you). I just...do.

3) "You're No Good" - Linda Ronstadt
Her cover of this classic, soulful song is a classic itself.

4) "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" - Paula Cole
Bitterness, brokeness, pure despair put to music. A song about what happens when you get what you wanted, but didn't really quite think it through to begin with.

5) "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" - Jim Croce
For everyone who has ever tried to share their feelings with someone they loved, and found simple words inadequate.

6) "Possum Kingdom" - the Toadies
Creepy. Icky. Fascinating.

7) "Buddy Holly" - Weezer
I like the goofiness of it. So sue me.

8) "White Rabbit" - Jefferson Airplane
Another one I've loved since high school (I was a big fan of '60s music during the '80s). Trippy. And it blew my husband's mind to learn this was the same band (moreso that it was the same singer) to record "We Built This City" and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" nearly twenty years later.

9) "Let's Live for Today" - The Grass Roots
I saw them in concert (supporting the Monkees) in the '80s. They were still darned good, too. I played this song until the tape I'd made broke.

10) "Wonderwall" - Oasis
I'm pretty sure this is the only song by Oasis that I genuinely like. (I was more a Pulp fan, after the whole BritPop thing had concluded. During it, I was more a Blur fan. I still prefer Pulp and Blur - but mostly Pulp. I could do a whole list of favorite Pulp songs.)

11) "Take Me to the Pilot" - Elton John
Rockin' it old school with Reggie.

12) "I Melt With You" - Modern English
My husband had never heard this song before. I amended that as soon as I could.

13) "Runaway" - Del Shannon
Just turn it up and enjoy.

And there you go: for better or worse, 13 Songs I Forgot I Enjoy!

Are any of these on your mixtapes or MP3 players?

Will you put 'em on there now?

I promised an extra piece of eye candy last week since I didn't share any after my interview with Robb Grindstaff.

So, naturally, I've done my best to follow through.

After all...

As you surely know by now...

I always do my best to keep my promises.

Ciao for now!

24 Comments

One day to go...

9/11/2010

0 Comments

As I start to write this, it is 10:30 in the morning. In twenty-four hours I'll be waiting to board my flight (a whole two-hour journey) to London out of Bologna.

My bags are almost completely packed (just a few items to go).

I've read and re-read my excerpts for the readings until I'm nearly sick of seeing 'em.

I've decided on my outifits for the launch and the readings. (Dressy, not fussy; quite "me", really.)

When Alle and I arrive in London, we'll find my mother and my friend who are waiting for us there (their flight gets in earlier), and we'll get them to the hotel. We'll rest, have dinner, and then?

My nerves will start kicking in and I'll become a chattering, blithering idiot, most likely. LOL! Not that anyone can tell the difference, I reckon.

No, I'm sure we'll have a quick toddle around our neighborhood before we retire to our rooms, chat and then get some rest. Thursday morning, to one degree or another, my London adventure will begin. I hope things go smoothly, and that I don't actually make a fool of myself in front of anyone.

To quote the Grateful Dead (and when you think London, don't you just think of Jerry and the gang?) "What a long, strange trip it's been..." I mean, I started out writing this little short story which I initially meant to be just for me and mine, and instead it became something much, much bigger - both literally and figuratively.

In the end, a story about Bologna is taking me to London, and then back home again where the real world will intrude once more - and regularly at that. I'll have to look on the next ten days as something out of the norm, and cross my fingers and hope and wish and pray that all goes as well as it can.

And then I'll have to knuckle down and get to writing again. I want to see where the next story takes me.

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13 Things Which Made Me Happy

17/6/2010

25 Comments

Whew! I'm busy-busy-busy this week! Still, there's been a little time to sit and reflect, and so I've had a chance to ponder this week's Thursday Thirteen topic.

So, please allow me to present:

Thirteen Things Which Have Made Me Happy!

That's me! All the way in the back of the pic! LOL!

1) I did my first ever public reading from my novel, Ask Me if I'm Happy. One of my bosses at the language school where I work asked if I would like to do a reading at the End-of-Year party this year, and since I was still here in Reggio (for once - I usually leave at the start of June), I agreed. It all went quite well, and I'm pleased to hear from my coworkers and several students that the selection I read did, indeed, stir their interest in buying the novel. Fingers crossed they'll remember in Autumn! LOL!

What a smile!

2) Seeing my hubby enjoy himself so much at various events this week made me very happy. We had the England/USA World Cup game, a trip to Fontanellato, Italy (not far from home) for a musical event, my reading last night - so many things which he's enjoyed, and so I've enjoyed them that much more!

Fabian when he was in the lead...

3) Watching the Tour de Suisse. My boy is currently in second place, one second behind the leader. This makes me happy, especially because my boy won last year, and because by most accounts, the part of the race which should be hardest for him is already over. Got my fingers crossed (again)!

Mia with Zio Alle!

4) My niece, Mia, told me I was beautiful. I reckon she's an expert on the subject, so I'm sooo pleased to hear it from her. :)

5) I got quite a few edits done - the MS is shaping up nicely and I have high hopes for completing and fleshing out a few key scenes while I'm in the US.

Heinrich Haussler, post-crash.

6) I developed new ideas for my WIP - watching the Tour de Suisse, complete with huge crashes, riding in the rain, and all the cycling drama on display has fueled my brain to get more done on 27 Stages when I have the opportunity. Not that there was a problem, I just can't work on two manuscripts at once...

No! Doodle! That is the *opposite* of help!

7) I've almost finished packing already! Considering that I'm leaving tomorrow morning, this is quite impressive! LOL!

8) Thanks to the party last night, I added to my collection of miniature Swiss flags! LOL! I know, it's weird. A running joke that's got a little out of control, but they make me smile. :)

9) The weather has been unseasonably cool this week. That makes me happy - everything I had to do has been easier to get done, thanks to the cooler air. Right now, it's raining buckets. The Italians are grumbling, but I can't help being happy.

10) Also thanks to the weather, I've slept really well this week. That's not normal for me, in June.

11) My flight leaves in the late part of the morning from Milan. So, I don't have a super-duper extra-early wake-up time, tomorrow. It should be daylight when we start our two-hour drive, which is great!

12) I have only one connection on my flight home. Atlanta. While that's not ideal, at least I have a good idea of what to expect. That helps. And then there's the fact I have a few hours there - so, no rush to get through Immigration or Customs. In as much as a 20-some-odd travel day can be reduced-stress, this one hopefully will be. (Touch wood!)

Me and Samuele - at last!

13) Finally, the thing which had me smiling all the way home from Fontanellato on Sunday night: I got to get a picture with that feller I've mentioned a few thousand times since I started blogging, the one whose music inspired so much of Ask Me if I'm Happy, and who I've adored since 2003, the first time I heard him sing - Samuele Bersani.
Which is to say:
SAMUELE BERSANI!!!!! OMG!!!!
Yeah, if I squee any louder, only dogs will hear me. LOL!

Oh, never fear, y'all. I know.

I wouldn't forget.

Even with all the wonderful happy things which have happened for me this week.

So, here ya go:

Yoann Gourcuff - French footballer

Ciao for now! :)

25 Comments

Thursday Thirteen: Happy Anniversary Edition!

Thirteen Photos of My Hubby!

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Songs I Forgot I Enjoyed!

Thirteen Songs I Forgot I Enjoyed!

One day to go...

13 Things Which Made Me Happy

Thirteen Things Which Have Made Me Happy!

Kimberly Menozzi

Please note: Thanks to an increase in spam comments, I'll be approving the comments before they post. Sorry!

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