Annnnnnd JUST WHEN…

Annnnnnnd JUST WHEN…

I’m starting to feel really goooooood about the way I look 👀 

ODIN APPEARS…

Looks me over and glances at my purse and says, OH AUNT MARY, is that a rag you’re wearing there??? I was liiiiiiiike, YUP, it’s Christmas Sunday and I was just thinking to myself you know what would really add to my Christmas outfit today?A RAG!!!! 😅🤣😅😂😅🤣 I was liiiiiike ODIN ITS A PURSE!!!! He’s liiiiiiike oh a purse 👛 ok, I just thought was a rag!!! Like totally serious too!!!! Well I’ll be wearing my rag to Landmark Conference next week!!! 🙌 

♥Mary Frances :)

You might be Italian IF…

YOU HAVE EVERRRRRR DRIZZLED…

Pasta sauce over your popcorn 🍿!!!

True story last night peoples… I made pasta sauce for Christmas and I know I shouldn’t toot my own horn buuuuuuuuut it was soooooooo gooooooood!!!!! I looooooove my sauce… there is NO ITALIAN RESTAURANT that can beat me… well that’s me being humble… Bahahahahaaa!!! Anyways I was like how should i season my popcorn and bam 💥!!!! 
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I really hope my pastor sees this because he thinks zebra 🦓 popcorn is gross!!! I was like how do you NOT like zebra popcorn??? This was. All during Bible trivia at the school after devotions, sometimes I like to stay JUST TO HELP THE GIRLS BEAT THE GUYS!!! Buuuuuuut the boys  actually won, this ONE TIME,  buuuuuuut ONLY BECAUSE PASTOR JOINED THEIR TEAM!!! Also because I can’t keep my mouth shut when I know the answer even when it’s for the boys team… I just get soooooo excited cuz I feel smart cuz the Bible is the only thing I really have the right answer for… soooooo anywaZ back to the popcorn…I was liiiiiiike, what’s REALLY GOOD is Carmel and cheese popcorn mixed together!!! and pastor was like that’s DISGUSTING!!!! Sooooooo I can ONLY IMAGINE what he’d say if he saw MY ITALIAN POPCORN!!! (He’s not a foodie!!!! Lol) 
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♥Mary Frances :)

When you can’t see the sun…

I went hiking 🥾 this morning and I was really hoping for some rain because hiking in the rain and listening to my stories as I hik in the rain is one of my absolute favorite things everrrrr!!!! Buuuuuuut despite the clouds ☁️ there was only a few little sprinkles!!!

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Still the weather was beautiful and it was a very enjoyable hike. When I got to the top of the mountain, there is this big rock 🪨 that overlooks the valley and I always rest on it and just chill and enjoy the view before hiking back down! 

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I laid back on my rock to look up at sky and the clouds but I could not keep my eyes open to look! It was the weirdest thing buuuuuuut even though the sun was completely covered by the clouds, the sun was directly behind the clouds right above me and just the radiance of the sun was still to strong for my eyes.

AND THAT GOT ME THINKING:

Even in my hardest, gloomiest, darkest times, the power of God has still radiated so strongly in my life!!! Nothing can ever cover or over shadow the power of God. The love of God is so much stronger than the darkness of this world!!! 

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“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
♥Mary Frances :)

Priscilla comes to visit!!! For

Soooooo I’ve been meaning to blog about this foreverrrrr and I just kept forgetting buuuuuuut my friend Priscilla came and visited me this summer!!! We had literally met a 1 month earlier, the last night of AMA , after church just chilling with everyone at night and we were laughing so hard about stuff an the next thing I knew she was coming for a visit!!!

You guys have noooooo idea I just was soooooo sick!!!! I warned her… just to let you know I am soooooo sick 😷 buuuuuut she still came and I felt bad cuz I’m usually like, go, go, GO!!!! Buuuuut she was totally chill about me wanting to nothing buuuuuut sit there and talk!!!! And we literally just on the couch ALL DAY  and talked and talked and she told me her testimony and I told her about every guy that has everrrrr broken my heart which IS actually is a very short list and I was liiiiiiike, wait so we’ve only known each other for a month??? How’ve we only known each other for a month???? 

OF course I had enough energy to get coffee!!! We got these orange 🍊 cold cream coffees and they were sooooo bomb 💣 

And of course I did NOT lose my appetite like a typical GINTY and we went to Fry Bread house for dinne…

She was pretty impressed with them!!!

Sunday morning she got to experience my cooking skills, she saw first hand that I can make an immaculate kitchen look like a tornado 🌪️ swept through it in less than five minutes… and ALSO that I absolutely can NOT multitask… not only can I NOT talk and drive, I can NOT talk and cook… the first batch of breakfast sandwiches got burnt buuuuuut we stopped talking for the rest!!! Lol she even got to experience the fire alarm going off for me!!!! Bahahahahaaa 

Church ⛪️ time!!!!

Even my sister liked her!!! She said good job on FINALLY making friends with someone that’s NOT annoying!!!🤣😂

After church ⛪️ a group of us went to a Thai place called Malee’s!!! It was sooooooo goood!!!!! Bomb coconut 🥥 shrimp!!!

And then it was time to say goodbye 👋 
Buuuuuuuuuut NOT FOR LOOOOONG… she’s staying with me for Landmark Conference next week…
And single Apostolic MEN, guess what?????
She’s siiiiingle!!! 😜 😘 

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Monday!!!

This is your reminder that you better watch out, you better not pout, cuz those scales are gonna be jumping up high if you don’t!!!! Lol 😆 

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You guys, I am TRYING SO HARD TO REACH my 40th birthday 🥳 weight loss goal by the end of the year and the scale has been stuck at the same exact weight to the exact ounces four days in a row and I literally ate very little all day yesterday and guess what????

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You think 🤔 I’m going to say I finally hit my goal right??? 

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Nope 👎 

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This is the part where I say….

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I LOST 4 OUNCES!!!

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BAHAHAHAHAAA!!!

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This is the part where there IS the possibility that I’m gaining some muscle since I’m drinking A LOT of protein shakes and high protein yogurts buuuuuuuut it’s still REALLY ANNOYING not to be seeing the scale change!!!!

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What can I say??? I can only do my best and the rest is up to God… buuuuuuuuuut…

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THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!!!

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Eat good til Christmas EVERYONE!!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)

Single Saturday!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

LPC Ladies Cookie Exchange 2023!!!

Sooooooo our annual ladies cookie 🍪 exchange is always a biiiiiiig blast 💥 every December!!! It is sooooooo much fun 🤩 and we always have a such a gooooooood time!!!

I don’t know how many years back now, I started adding in an outfit contest to encourage everyone to DRESS UP!!!!

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This year I added in a PINK category since pink is ALL the rage right now…the ladies walked down in their categories and then everyone turns in their ballots for each category…

Sister Bishop even did a little model wave 👋 when she walked down to show her outfit- I think that may have been my favorite part of the whole night… 😂🤣

The winners: 
The pinkest: Malia
The Classiest: Denae
The Merriest: Ally
Little Miss Merry: Chelsea 

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Gift 🎁 exchange game!!!

Guess which guy’s name I told them all to say when I snapped the picture???? Hint: I’ve NEVERRRRRR met him… soooo it’s NOT JESUS!!! 

It was a grand time together and I already have plans for next year… I think we need an ACTUAL carpet for everyone to walk down modeling their outfits!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

LCA Christmas Recital 2023!!!

I loooooove our church ⛪️ school, Landmark Christian Academy’s Christmas recital we do every year…

It’s like the official beginning of all the Christmas festivities 

The kids playing the bells to Jungle Bells and last year Lucy Karlson officially named them the Landmark Ding- Dongs… you gotta meet Lucy, she has the best and funnest personality everrrrr!!!!

Literally THE WHOLE REASON Odin decided to take piano 🎹 this year, for these two minutes to SHINE!!!! 😂 (takes after his aunt;)

My first Christmas outfit of the season!!!

Younger LCA KIDS- Abby, Ellie, Lucy, Chelsea, Bella, Odin & Kyle!!!

Older LCA Kids- Levi, Kenzie, Malia, Grace, MJ & Will

And the night ended playing four square… I looooove this game because I enjoy playing sports buuuuut neverrrr play because I’m soooooo horrible at them and it’s a guarantee that the team I’m on will most likely lose because of me, buuuuut with four square, I can have fun, LOSE and it only affects me and no one has to pray through over me losing the game… I just laugh and play again… UNLESS I I have a miracle and win and then I neverrr shut up about it!! 😝 I think that racquet ball and pickle ball are the same way if anyone wants to teach me how to play????

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Monday!!!!

Ahahahahahaaaa!!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Red and white dough twisted together, infused with peppermint flavoring and little pieces of peppermint candies- Grandpa’s Candy Cane Cookies. 

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Shortbread dough dipped in milk then rolled in sesame seeds, cooked until golden brown. Best served while still warm with hot chocolate- that’s Grandpa’s Sesame Seed Cookies. As one takes a bite of this next cookie their mouth will be filled with a variety of delightful goodness. This cookie is crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. It is filled with the sweetness of almond paste and yet salty from the taste of pine nuts- these are Grandpa’s Pinoli Cookies. The all around favorite cookie is a 3-layered, Neapolitan-Italian-flag cookie. In between each layer is a filling of fruit preserves and topped with a thin layer of melted chocolate. Once the chocolate is hardened they are cut into tiny, bite-size squares. We simply call these- Grandpa’s Three-Colored Cookies...
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Every year, at the end of November, my Grandfather, Joseph Mangino, a retired New York City Policeman, would begin his holiday baking. Grandpa was a big man with broad shoulders, a loud booming voice, chubby cheeks a big smile and a twinkle in his eye. Everyone loved his baking and looked forward to it. Then one year everything began to change. .
“I don’t know Franny,” my grandpa says to his daughter who is my mom. “I don’t think I am going to be able to send cookies out to everyone this year.”
“Why not?” Asks my mom.
“I just don’t feel up to it,” he says with a sigh. “I don’t think I could get it all done.” I couldn’t imagine Christmas without Grandpa’s baking. It was a part of who he was and a part of what made Christmas.
“We’ll help you make them,” says my mom. “You can teach the girls. They need to learn anyways.” 
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So the baking lessons began…The thing about Grandpa’s baking lessons was that it didn’t matter if you already knew how to bake. When you were in HIS kitchen, you did things HIS way! I remember standing in the kitchen one day after putting all of the dry ingredients in a bowl; I got out the hand mixture to blend it real well. I plugged it into the wall then stuck it into the bowl, which was on the kitchen counter.

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“Uh, uh,” said Grandpa. “Stick the bowl in the sink and then begin mixing it. This way if any of the flour comes out it will go in the sink.”
“Okay Grandpa,” I said. Next I got out the eggs and began cracking them into the bowl.
“Uh, uh,” said Grandpa. You gotta get a separate bowl and crack each egg individually to make sure the egg is good. Otherwise if one egg is bad it will ruin the whole batter.”
“Okay Grandpa,” I said. I began rolling the cookies out and putting the lumps on the cookie sheets.
“Uh, uh,” said Grandpa. “Those cookies are way to big. Make them smaller.”
“Okay Grandpa,” I said with a sigh. .
When I would get something right Grandpa would nod his head in approval.
“Atta girl Maria, atta girl.” Then when I would take the cookies out of the oven and they were just right Grandpa would smile. “Beautiful, beautiful,” he would say taking a bite.
So became our tradition, each year at Christmas time, my mom, my sister and I would take turns on different days baking cookies with Grandpa. .
“You gotta get this right Mary” Grandpa said to me one year as I baked. “I might not be here next year to show you how to do it.” I was startled to hear him say this.
“Don’t say that.” I said looking up from what I was doing. I couldn’t imagine him not being here.
“Well you never know,” said Grandpa. “Everyone dies some time.”
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We all knew that Grandpa was getting weaker with each passing year. His body was deteriorating from Parkinson disease, but we didn’t want to think about it. .

Then one day it happened. Grandpa died. I remember sitting in his recliner in the living room watching as early in the morning two men from the mortuary came to take his body away. A soft blue blanket covered him as the men rolled his stretcher down the hallway, through his kitchen and out of his house. It took a while for the reality of the situation to really sink in. Grandpa was gone.

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However the things that he taught us still live on...

As Christmas time comes around my family and I begin our baking. It’s a family thing and my brother John has picked up the role of BOSSING everyone around now. Through the laughter and teasing of who broke the cookies and who cooked them too long, I remember Grandpa’s words to me;“You gotta get this right Mary, I might not be here next year.”
“ Don’t worry Grandpa. I promise, I am going to get it right!” I start mixing the ingredients in a bowl on the counter. Then I remember and put the bowl in the sink. I pull out a separate bowl for the eggs and hope the cookies aren’t too big. As I take the cookies from the oven, I know Grandpa would be smiling, nodding his head in approval, satisfied in knowing that his cookies are still being baked. If I listen closely as I take a bite of a cookie I think I hear Grandpa. “Atta girl Maria, atta girl.” I take another bite and savor the taste. “Beautiful, beautiful!”

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Happy Birthday Grandpa Mangino!!! 

Your memory and the things you taught me foreverrrr live in my heart!!! Biologically speaking, I may only be 51% Italian, buuuuuuuuut, my HEART is 200%!!! ITALIAN GIRL FOREVERRRRRR!!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Italian Question!!!

Question: HOW DO YOU STOP AN ITALIAN FROM TALKING???

Answer: YOU TIE UP THEIR HANDS 🙌 

You knooooow, cuz Italians talk with their hands!!!

 Buuuuuuuuuuuut, I’ll tell you, 

im A LOT MORE ITALIAN THAN THAT!!!! It would take more than tying up my hands to shut me up…You’d have to gag me too!!!

😂😇😂😇😂😇😂😇😂😇😂😇😆😝😜🤣🙃🤪😉

♥Mary Frances :)