10 things I can’t live without

the learning, earning and fitness mama

1) A good book

My favourite thing to do is read. Dr Seuss said ‘the more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the more places you go.’ When I read, I get transported to another world, I’m a different person and I can  have 100 different experiences all in the comfort of my home. At the moment I am loving the Game of Thrones book set- dragons, lions and dwarves! Oh my!

2) Face cleanser

Most nights I can get at least 6-7 hours of sleep. When the little ones are unwell or have some serious gas going on down there- I’ll be lucky to get two hours of sleep. Enter miracle cream. Even after an all nighter I will force myself to cleanse my face in this stuff. It helps to un zombie-fy my face. My skin just loves me for it- so will…

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Angelyne, the Billboard Queen

Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta

Sunset Boulevard billboard

Yesterday I was in one of those “Whatever Happened To?” modes and was thinking about Angelyne, the billboard queen of the 1980s who became a Hollywood icon by having a billboard of herself.

Her life was pretty mysterious and you can’t find too much information via Google.

She came from out of nowhere but did a few music videos (really good, like a cross between Blondie and Missing Persons and Berlin) and cameo appearances in movies, most famous, “Earth Girls are Easy.” But then she also did some low budget films in the 1970s. She also sang in a band called Baby Blue.

Angelyne didn’t have a rich husband who paid for these billboards, she was single and said the money came from investors. She was also a candidate in a 2003 California recall election.

No one knows the  real age of this eccentric lady. In some…

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The Art of Noise: Hip-Hop Project

Chilling at Central Perk

mypassengerdiaries

The first episode of Friends aired a month before I was born. I started watching it when I was ten. Up until now, I keep watching and re-watching it…after all, who could get bored with it?

One thing that I’ve always wondered about when watching an episode of Friends is how it would feel like to sit in Central Perk, their coffee shop hangout. Last week, during a VIP Studio Tour at Warner Bros Studios, I got the chance to do just that.

It is smaller than it seemed on camera, but there are various movie tricks they used to make it seem big. The actor of Ross Geller, David Schwimmer, is a very tall guy and he could walk from the door to their sofa in three strides. He always had a line when he walked in to divert our attention from the fact that he crossed the room so…

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The Queen Mary

A Note From Abroad

Monday, March 2nd ~ On board the Queen Mary

The Queen Mary

I was so excited to have my sister and brother-in-law stop by on their way to Arizona. Their time with us was limited, and we opted to take a day trip to Long Beach to tour the Queen Mary. Built by Cunard line in Clydebank, Scotland, she was originally known as job #534.

Although Cunard had maintained a legacy of naming their ships with names ending in “ia” such as Mauretania, Aquitania and Berengeria, legend has it that the tradition was ended due to a miscommunication of sorts.

“As per protocol, legend states that the Cunard directors went to ask King George his blessing of the ship’s proposed name saying, “We have decided to name our new ship after England’s greatest Queen,” meaning Queen Victoria, the King’s Grandmother. Upon which the King is reported to have stated, “My…

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Mistresses talking about Seduction

Why wear sunglasses on a dark, cloudy day?

Kevin Hellriegel's Blog of Worthless Advice

You know what drives me nuts?

People who wear their sunglasses on dark cloudy days.

Sure, I know you can have a bright cloudy day and need your sunglasses. You need your extremely cool sunglasses on bright sunny days; I get that.  I’m a photographer and I am aware of the amount of light I see every day.

No, I’m talking about dark, overcast, ready to pour down rain on you days. I’m talking about people who insist on wearing sunglasses regardless of how dark or light it is outside. I’m not talking about the old grandma types that need them because of cataracts. I’m talking about people who are old enough to know better but want to look “good” in their shades. They can be in their twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties, and they still insist on wearing sunglasses when they clearly don’t need them.

Granted, some people’s prescription…

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A Cheesy Christmas Tradition

Unspoken

belsbror

Nearing midnight, I was still awake. As I tossed and turned in my bed, I thought of different ways to approach her without being too obvious that I was overly attracted. I knew she could read my actions if I came on too strong.

It was not the first time I courted a girl. I was not as amateur as I looked at age 26 although my calm disposition often painted a picture of an insecure man, unsure of his worth when facing the opposite sex. In some way, the image worked in the past because some women found it a sign of being down to earth.

I decided to perform a well-disguised serenade, something totally unorthodox that she would not even suspect I was starting to influence her feelings toward me.

Months earlier, I bought a portable DVD player, the successor of the Walkman cassette player. One of the…

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Crazy Pasta Child’s First Blog

Oh dear!

Being Italian has always been a synonym of pasta eater.

Yes. It is.

Since that crazy of Marco Polo brought pasta from China, the destiny of Italy and Italians had been written.

In each country of the world if you tell you are Italian they will say to you pasta! With a biiiig smile!

Some years ago, it was worse because people also told you: ah! Italia! Pizza, spaghetti mandolino!

Well, there’s another problem: we speak a lot and we speak with hands, so we are considered pasta eaters and and also a bit insane.

In spite of all, I’m proudly:

Italian child (well…. Grown up child, that’s better)

Pasta eater

Speaking lover

Hands speaker

I can cook pizza but I can’t play mandolino, first of all because it’s an old instrument (I prefer electric guitar) and and also because his music is sad.

Proudly crazy pasta child because our country is a small little shining star in the world.

Call it ITALIA, call it boot if you prefer, but we still go on eating pasta and speak with hands!

And we are as famous as the pope!