master"PIECES" of my LIFE

I Have A Dream...

I have decided to stick with love.  Hate is too great a burden to bear."  Martin Luther King, Jr.

happy veterans day!

land of the free BECAUSE of the brave

11-11-11

happy st. paddys

there's not a lick of irish in our family (spanish, italian, austrian yes, but irish- no).  but i love the color green and i love to decorate so this sits in our foyer for this week.  the little file folder booklet is for a class i took a few years back & i write about how lucky i am to be blessed with my family.

and as i learned from sebastian's homework last night, st. patrick wasn't irish either.  he was british captured by the irish as a teen.  he lived in captivity in ireland for quite a few years only to escape to france and eventually make it back to britain.  back home he studied to be a priest and later became bishop.  on his own accord he returned to ireland to establish christianity.  

pretty interesting, huh?  i thought so.  not sure where the leprechaun, rainbow, pot of gold, four leaf clover or any of the other stuff play in but amazing that my kid's homework is still teaching me stuff.  love it!

slainte!

"for each petal on the shamrock this brings a wish your way.  good health, good luck, and happiness for today & everyday"  irish blessing quote

verteran's day

thank you to all the men & women who have served this country past, present & future.

photograph compliments of dreamstime.com

9-11

always remember.....never forget

God Bless America!

photograph compliments (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler) via Yahoo.

voting is a privilege

 

don't forget to vote.  although it's our right as united states' citizens, it truly is a privilege.  i think when we all get caught up in the political campaign craziness we all lose sight of what truly is important.  as a united states citizen who was born in a foreign country, i feel very fortunate to be able to vote in the most important country in the world.  and although we all don't agree on the different candidates, issues, proposed plans, etc., i would bet (& i'm not a gambler) that we all agree that we love our freedom.  that being said, it's not only our right and privilege to vote, but it's also our duty.  i'll get off my soap box now.  god bless america!

photograph courtesy of stockexpert.com

i love this woman!

sarah palin.  matt had told me about her when john mccain announced his running mate, but like most people i didn't know much if anything about her and had not heard her speak until last night.  she rocked the house!  her speech was right on point, fact based, inspirational, motivating and radiated sincerity.  matt's right; it's a brilliant choice for vice president by john mccain.  i have to admit before last night i was not very excited about this presidential election and now i'm extremely energized.

every time a new president is elected into office history is made, but this presidential election will truly write history.  regardless which party wins this election, it will go down in history as a pioneering moment.  my great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandchildren will learn about this along with washington, lincoln, jefferson, roosevelt, etc.  amazing!  and after hearing the republican national convention last night i would love and hope sarah palin has the honor to go down in history at this level because this woman gives all women a good name.  she's incredibly bright, has chutzpah and moral fiber, a sense of humor and yet she's incredibly feminine at the same time.  i'm a feminist and traditionalist all at the same time and struggle with the stereotypes associated with women in power.  unfortunately, a majority of the women at higher levels lose some of themselves in order to hang with the big boys.  not sarah palin!  and i love that about her.  she's real people with her own personal struggles who uses power in a very fair and honorable manner to promote progress and change.  she makes me proud to be a woman and an american.  and with that i leave you with one of alaska's bumper stickers: "coldest state, hottest governor".  only in america baby!

{pictures courtesy of aol news}   

merry christmas

to one and all.  wishing everyone a very healthy and joyous christmas from the Materazo Family.  Feliz Navidad.

in honor...

Happy Veterans' Day.

God Bless America.

{flag pictured at entrance of Rombauer Vineyards in Napa, CA - June 2007}

my contribution

So during my daily blog hopping i found out from Ali that today's blog action is the environment.  If you're a fellow scrapper i recommend you read Ali's post, since it has some great ideas. 

As a family of five, one of them being of the furry, four legged, tail-wagging variety, i'm astounded by the amount of garbage we generate every week.  One of my biggest pet peeves?  Those gazillion plastic bags we get everywhere you go- Safeway, Wal-mart, Target, etc.  Everywhere i turn i seem to come home w/ more & more bags. Sooooo this has become one of my new best friends.  I'm not partial to the color red, but i did love their design & who doesn't love shopping at Target, right?  But that's not really the point here nor why i decided to become a recycle bag lady.  I do NOT want to come home with any more plastic bags.  That's one of the little things I'm doing to contribute!  My husband claims it's just another excuse to own yet another bag, but it really isn't.  I was born in Uruguay, and my grandmother always used a mesh bag at the grocery store, everyone did, that's just how it was done.  It wasn't politically correct or environmentally minded it was just culturally the way it was.  And for a few years I've been thinking of picking one up during our visits down there but I always seem to forget.  So here I am following a tradition for drastically different reasons, and it not only makes me feel good that i'm doing this but it also reminds me of my grandmother who i hope is looking down at me from a clean, clear sky! 

This picture is also my photo of the day for my "a year to remember" class at http://bigpicturescrapbooking.com/ with heidi swapp.  I LOVE it when i'm efficient!  I hope you will all join me and become a bag lady with me (bag men are also welcome).