Better Late Then Never

After reading the lovely introduction given to me by Tiney, I realized I really hadn't introduced myself to any of you bloggers out there. So here it goes.

I am a 26 year old female who grew up all over the map. My life started off in Long Island, New York where I was always surrounded by lots of love and Italians. My mother is not Italian, but as a teenager she left most of her family behind and I was raised mostly among my Dads Italian family. My Italian Grandma taught my mother how to cook because if she was going to marry my dad she was going to learn how to cook for my dad. It was here I also picked up a New York accent that will creep up on me at unexpected times for the rest of my life in words like pecan (like pee + can not pee + con). At the age of 9 or 10 my parents moved me and my older brother to Utah. Now that was a change. Utah was beautiful. Stepping off the plane in Salt Lake City was like walking into a post card. The air smelled fresh and dry. The sidewalks were so clean. The mountains were breathtaking. We had never seen anything like those mountains before. It was like sitting in the the bottom of a cereal bowl and in every direction you're surrounded by Mountains. The word Utah actually comes from the Ute word for "land of mountains". Even in July some snow remains on the peaks. We arrived in Utah on a very big holiday. Pioneer Day. Upon our arrival to SLC the airline even passed out silly hats in celebration of Pioneer Day. Of course my family and I sat there wondering what the hell was Pioneer Day????
Well I'm sure you're wondering too.. Pioneer Day commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, where the Latter-day Saints (nicknamed LDS or Mormons)settled after being forced from Nauvoo, Illinois. Prior to there arrival in Utah, the Mormons were faced with a lot of tragedy. Due to the common practice of polygamy and their strict religious beliefs they were seen as outsiders in many communities and faced a lot of discrimination, even having there homes burned to the ground in Illinois. After that they set out to find unclaimed land... and in Utah, they found it. Rejected many times by the nation due to its popular religious practices, only after polygamy was outlawed in the lands was Utah able to become part of the United States. Pioneer Day is celebrated much like 4th of July. Fireworks, carnivals, cookouts and so forth. Really its a lot of fun, and who wouldn't want to participate in all of that twice in one month!!

Here's a few more cool facts about Utah. Utah has the highest birthrate of any state in the nation. As a family of 4 we were a real rarity in Utah. They also have the youngest population of any state in the nation. In 2008 Utah was the fastest growing state. 95% of the population is Caucasian. The Mormon religion accounts for 60-75% of the population, depending on which poll you read. 16% of the state is non religious and only 10% are Catholic. Now, with some of that info can you imagine why I was just lost as a child??? The point is that moving from Long Island to Utah was a VERY big adjustment for our entire family. It was really like moving to another planet. Not only was the population made up of very different people, my mom couldn't find the right brand of tomatoes for sauce, fresh mozzarella couldn't be found (yup, our beloved Polly-O was MIA), No Wise potato chips, no Cheese Doodles(my moms favorite food), and frozen artichokes were an impossibility. We couldn't find a descent pizza place, Chinese restaurant, or Jewish deli, (less than 1% of the population is Jewish in Utah), and at McDonald's they served some crazy concoction called "fry sauce". At 10 years old I had the wrong accent, I came from New York (which many of the kids thought was another country), I was the wrong religion (they thought I worshiped Satan because I wore a cross on my necklace), and I even got sent to the principals office for uttering my favorite phrase "oh my god!" in class.

Utah was a beautiful place and my parents and brother still live there. In the year 2000 at 17 years old I graduated high school in Utah. Oh yeah! Class of the Millennium Baby! Yep I was a little Millennium crazed, I drank many beers in its honor, too many I think. I have a little proof left on my old leather jacket. lol. I then got 2 jobs working as a nursing assistant, mostly night shift. I worked like crazy for a year and a half saving money while waiting for my braces to come off. Then when I finally had a release date for my braces, I dropped a bomb on my parents. I had been "dating" someone on the internet for 2 years. I had met him twice. Twice, I had picked him up from the airport and spent the week with him. Twice, I had ditched school for the entire week and pretended to be working every day... and come July I would be driving myself to Michigan to move in with him. After many fights, my dad calling me a whore many times and my mom crying many tears I began shipping my stuff in boxes to Michigan. The Day before Pioneer Day 2001 my boyfriend, Michael, flew into Utah and met my parents for the first time. The next day I packed up whatever I could fit into my car and we drove off into the sunset as they say. I'll never forget that feeling of fear and excitement in my stomach, the tears simmering in my eyes and the looks on my parents faces as I looked back through the rear view mirror. We spent the next 4 days driving from Utah to Michigan listening to my kitty cat cry the entire way. I just wanted to take a second here to thank the vet who charged me 50 bucks for the kitty tranquilizers that did not one damn thing to my kitty. All in all I remember that drive across country being total bliss. I couldn't believe what I was doing, I couldn't believe Michael was sitting next to me in the car. It was like getting my wings. It was like a dream. we stopped off here on our way across. Can anyone name all 4 of these guys? I realized while scanning it I can only name 2...
my dad insisted Michael and I stop here for dinner and for some reason I have like 10 photos of the sign.

In Michigan I started going to college. Just doing all my general studies courses with a plan to go into nursing school. After a quick 11 months in Michigan we moved to Ohio. After many struggles, curse words, and tears I finished nursing school. Took my boards (The single most nerve wracking thing I have EVER done), Spent the next day at the bar, and ran up the largest bar tab I've ever had (350 bucks, tip not included), later that evening I found out I was officially a Registered Nurse. I couldn't believe it and I must have checked the website 50 times in the next 2 days to be sure it was real. A year later, in 2006, I got married to Michael (yep, the guy I ran away with). And since I don't do anything the normal way; We had our Wedding in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace. It was amazing, and we can't wait to go back. Shortly after we bought a house outside of Akron, Ohio.

Now its 2008 almost 2009. Michael and I are happily married with 2 kitties. We have one mutt kitty Miko and my princess Buffy, a Siamese ( she is the one who cried for 4days in the car). I love my kitties dearly. Buffy spends her days following me around the house howling stories at me. Miko, my husbands baby, spends her days sleeping on our sectional couch or on the lap of anyone who will let her stay. Despite 9 years of rooming together they are mortal enemies. lol. somethings just never change. I work 3 days a week, 12 hour shifts, at the hospital. I work on a telemetry floor. We get lots of Respiratory and Cardiac patients. My job is always stressful and I'm always busy. I'm lucky if I get to pee and eat lunch in the same day, but I do love my job. Someday I would love to be an ICU nurse, but right now I love my coworkers and there are no openings in ICU. My husband Fixes steam generators, which entails a lot of hands on mechanic work, but he is also the boss. I spend My days off looking at French bulldog websites. FBRN (The French Bulldog Rescue Network) is my favorite site. Right now I don't have the 2 grand for a Frenchie. That is a big reason I check the FBRN site daily. Someday I know they'll have one in my area who needs rescued and is a good fit for me. The other reason I don't have a Frenchie yet is because my kitty Buffy is the apple of my eye and I don't know if she would be willing to share me. That's pretty much all there is about me. Unless I get knocked up or a Frenchie comes barkin up my doorstep. Lookin' forward to bloggin..

Love ya!