So my mom’s family is Italian and, well, quite huge. It all goes back to my great, great-grand parents, the virile Angela and Antonnio Ferrante. They had 10 kids, and the youngest is my Auntie Rose. Auntie Rose is my Nonnie’s (grandmother’s) aunt, and she’s 91.

I remember being younger and going to the Aunties’ house for New Years. It was Auntie Angie (deceased) and Auntie Rose’s house, playing card and eating the traditional Sausage and Risotto dinner.  And after dinner, we’d make sfinges.

Sfinges are these delicious donuts and, well, this year I made a video about them:

In the past, cynicism and apathy ruled. Rebellion from what everyone else was doing kept me in an aggressive non-conforming state of mind. Fighting the system, only cause it’s there and I was itching for a fight.

The party, and the number changing, was the only thing different about the day.

I half pretend to keep this time, just like last year. The band is loud and I’m wandering the shadows, wishing I was never here.

Somewhere, things changed. This overwhelming hope started to creep in. Little by little, my  disenchantment washed away. Optimism is now first and foremost. The future does hold good things for me, because of the good that chases after me.

I still one better the norm. Resolutions are done away with and replaced with specific goals and timelines.

This is my future and let’s see what we can do with it.

A year goes by and I’m staring at my watch again, and I dig deep this time, for something greater than I’ve ever been, life to ancient wineskins. And I was blind but now I see.

It’s always a good idea to pay attention when you’re driving.

When you don’t pay attention, you do things like smash your sister’s car into to the back of someone else’s SUV.

When you don’t pay attention, you mess up your sister’s bumper and will have to spend part of you savings fixing it.

When you don’t pay attention, people will tease you.

I left the mountains and went to the sea.

Also, I’m getting a little burned out on dogs. I never thought I’d say that. Could it be that I’m a cat person?