Open for Bizzz

We are officially open for business! Not quite sure yet if we are insane, but I always try to look on the bright side! I figure we will do great as long as we tell all of our friends and they tell their friends about us! Here is the deal so I only have to explain it once! Jack and his family have been in the business for 30 years! We had Angelo's for 20 some odd years and in that time Jack and myself opened Luca- Deli! We sold both 4 years ago and honestly never looked backed! Jack went to work for his family in their construction and dry-wall business and he LOVES it! We have always done catering on the side and that has kept Jack happy doing what he loves most and that is cooking! Well here we are 4 years later, w/ a VERY SLOWWWWW economy, and the owner of the building could not find anyone to rent it out, so after much discussion and a couple bottles of wine ( he knows how to get me)HA! We decided to go it again, this time w/ his Aunt Cathy as a partner! She worked at Angelo's all those years and has been cooking along side Jack, so it made sense! This will allow Jack to handle the stresses of two businesses! It will be the same menu as before, but this time we are really looking to push the catering end of things as well! We will do office party's, corporate events, private party's including Kids make their own pizza party's all the way up to weddings! We also have Jacy from Sweet J's confections making all kinds of goodies! I'm sure this will be great! Wish us lots of luck!!!!!

tadpoles

So with all of the rain last week, we enjoyed inside days and The American Girl Movie, and... a trip out to Golden Gate to THE dollar spot (any excuse to got to this particular dollar store is well worth it) this is where the wonderful Mrs. Chaney had the hot idea to get these fun little containers and go "tad-poling" The recent monsoon week that we had left a beautiful fresh crop of these baby froggies! The"canal" frontage of the Chaney's home provided the most wonderful afternoon excitement! The kids had no fear as they scooped up these fun little guys and put them in their respective containers! Funnier were the mommies who were scraping up the one that missed their delivery into their new homes! YUCK!! We probably caught about 100 tadpoles but we made a rule that they could all keep 3-5 for going home! You see we are gonna watch them grow into little frogs!(fingers crossed, little prayers).. we are feeding them amphibian food and so far all are alive! Even after Abby managed to spill hers all over the office rug!YUCK again!! bye the way that was first thing in the morning w/ my eyes half open just starting to take my first sip of coffee! The Chaney family even brought us a refill of "canal" water to refresh their new habitat! I use the term "canal" because our kids DO NOT play in the ditch thank you very much!HAHA! All joking aside they had sooo much fun and at the same time this has prompted a Google search from the kids on their new "pets" so I am feeling a little educational! I know the Google thing is hysterical, cuz I don't think the encyclopedia is in their vocab! Here's to more fun, rainy days!!

So, on our way thru Alabama, we stopped in Mobile to tour the U.S.S ALABAMA! So exciting! This is something I thought might be kind of lame, but we ended up spending 4 hrs. really enjoying ourselves. A few facts, she shot down 22 enemy planes in WW II. W/ her crew on board she weighed 90,000 tons, she was commissioned in 1942 and retired in 1992! Along w/ seeing the on board hospital, dental office, cafeteria. galley where all of their meals were prepared, we also saw the officer quarters and where these brave soldiers slept! A little eerie and very interesting! We also toured the flight hanger and some really cool aircraft from the early days to present day Operation Freedom! then the tour of the submarine! I swear, I have so much respect for these men after seeing the cramped way they lived for months at a time! Some of the passages were a little nerve racking wondering if we could make it thru! Can,t you guys see the headlines now... "Naples family stuck in historic Navel Cruiser due to narrow opening"HAHA! All joking aside I recommend this to anyone traveling thru! Definitely gives you perspective!

more Mississippi

Just a few more shots of Mississippi! I couldn't leave em out! Super cool Steve on his Motercycle... My mom-mom and Abby, they have such a great bond, the shrimp boats! So many more, but I had to share a few! I love the last one if me and Jack! I am sure the kids saw this "look" way to often!

Well we are home from our road trip to my family reunion in Biloxi Mississippi! We took my 2 nephews along C.J and Jacko! The kids were great, but I must have you close your eyes for just a moment and have you visualize 5 kids in the car... 3 of which were very gas filled boys! uhggg! The kids love to explore and discover new things and boy did they! One of their favorite memories will probably be going out to the fish camp on the bayou that my family has had a little cabin at forever and spotting gators! I did this as a kid and I felt it a right of passage for my babes! You wait until dark, then we all sit on the dock w/ flashlights in hand and splash our feet in the water. then we wait and scan the water w/ our flashlights until we see their beady little red eyes pop up! Ooohhh! the excitement! Then as they check us out and swim closer we throw marshmallows (we found they really enjoy Cheetos) in the water and watch them SNAP it right up! Crazy to some but to my gang very normal! ( if there is anything normal about them)LOL! We also went and checked out the strip in Biloxi, so different since Katrina! The casinos are BIGGER and BETTER than ever, but gone is all of the historic sights of the civil war and the beautiful old homes along the beach! WE had a ball at the Hard Rock, where we had lunch and Jack had a little luck in the Casino! We took a walk along the Pier and checked out all of the shrimp boats! We even hung out and chatted w/ some local shrimpers who gave the kids a little overview of shrimping! Not to mention some good eats! Friday night was an awesome crab and shrimp boil, along w/ my cousin Terry's famous seafood gumbo! Saturday was brisket and ribs, w/ all the fixins... beans, potato salad, wilted lettuce, garlic brad and awesome desserts! We had fun! We visited ths U.S.S. ALABAMA in Mobile , but that will be another post, as I am not as tech savvy as my other BB's (blogging buddies)! This is where I need a crash course on digital scrapbooking! Way too many pics! Somebody help me! felling overwhelmed but happy to be home...

Speaking of girlfriends... This is Char-Char! Happy B-day girl! This is such an awesome woman! She is an incredible mama, sister, aunt. cousin, daughter, wife and most of all ... my friend! This girl can light up the world with her smile! She is all around GOOD! I miss her and wish she would get her ass back to Naples so we could celebrate properly! I hope all your wishes come true Char, cuz your 1 in a million and you deserve all your 35 years can dream of!

girlfriends

So seriously! I have some of the greatest friends! Today you meet "My Darcy" She is so great, my kids love her and I love how she loves them! we met in High school, along w/ "Fro" aka Andrea Chaney. These are the friends who ya get with and it all good! No need to put it on, find something to talk about! It just comes naturally! We swam, had lunch, swam some more! The Chaney-- Lucarelli kids are great together! They all had a ball w/ Aunt Darcy and playing in the water! I am so grateful that I still get to hang out w/ people who I grew up with! Just seeing mine and Fro's kids play is awesome! I love these girls because they have known me the longest! Speaking of I just started this whole face book thing and it is quite fun!One of my longest(dare I say oldest.. GASP) friends found me on there! I have to give a shout out to Kristi as I know she reads this! Sorry for rambling, but that is why this post is called "girlfriends" yep I'm lucky enough to have some of the BEST girlfriends in the world!!! I hope you enjoy the pictures evn more I hope you all have that "girlfriend" you connect with! I hope you all are enjoying your summer and I hope you all are HAPPY! cuz that is what matters most!

Well another holiday weekend and we had so much fun! We went to see the fireworks on the 3rd up at Miromar! They were awsome! I love to watch my kids faces as they watch the sky and then they get so excited with all of the BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!! The 4th was spent on the boat w/ friends!! The kids were born to be out on the water, (they have so much of my dad in them) We came home and grilled out w/ Aunt Darcy, then we watched all of the fireworks fom our backyard! We actually have good fireworks over here so no need to go crazy trying to get down to the beach! Saturday was spent just being lazy, and now we are heading up to Germain arena! Jackson has a hockey game this morning! I am loving staying home this summer, considering last summer we were here for like a week! I do miss my family, I am sure they were all at Pick-wick this weekend having a ball! Well enjoy a few of our pictures and hope you are enjoying your summer!

Are these the same boy! Yep cuz that little baby in the pic. is turning 9 years old today! I still see that little baby in him! Every time he looks at me I see that little "mama's boy" wanting me to give him all of the love my heart can! I said I would never forget what they were like when they were babies! I remember the way he smelled, how he fit into my arms just perfect, the sound he mad, even his sweet little cry! Here's the thing, as much as I miss that baby, it only gets more fun! Watching him grow is a gift! This is one cool kid! He makes us laugh so hard our cheeks hurt! He has all the wonder and zest for life that we all need! He loves sports, dirt, anything HIGH, is super daring(i say this like it is a good thing)! This sweet, cool, awesome kid is 9 today! I feel like I could relive every moment of this day 9 years ago, it seems like yesterday! I can honestly say, without rushing it that I truly look forward to the future w/ this guy! I now know it only gets better!!!!