At 6:00 a.m. on April 13, 1969, a screaming, crying, domineering 6 lb. and 13 oz. infant was born at Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.
Fun Fact about this Photo (say that 10 times fast!):
This is one of very few baby photos of me where I'm NOT crying. (There, Frank, I said it, are ya HAPPY?!)
1969 - Me with big brother Frank, who taught me how to beat guys up. That skill came in handy later on!
We lived in South Philadelphia until 1979, where Frank and I attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic school - the same school my father attended.
(Many scans on this page are higher than 72 DPI; please be patient while they load)
First Grade
Kindergarten class photo
First Communion - family photo
Horseback riding at Hidden Valley Ranch, Cape May, NJ
My love for photography and videography most likely stems from my dad taking lots of photos and movies of us growing up.
Fun facts about this photo:
The fireplace: FAKE
The Xmas tree: FAKE
The dog in my arms: FAKE
(duh!)
The stockings: Made by Nana, mom's mom
The lamp: A gift to my mom from my other grandmother
Friends of my parents gave me my first typewriter for my 10th birthday - an old, manual Underwood.
I never did learn how to type properly (well, ok, now I can sometimes stop looking at the keys!) but in the meantime, they created a monster... I typed all kinds of stories and other fun stuff.
I especially love this photo because today I work as an editor full-time. So fitting!
We moved to Cherry Hill, NJ in 1979, where I attended St. Peter Celestine School and Cherry Hill West.
In junior high and high school, I started singing in the school choirs and talent shows. Couldn't win any contests back then to save my soul, but I did get some solos in the choirs and made it to All-South Jersey Chorus.
I graduated in 1987 - the stole I'm wearing is for PAVAS (Performing and Visual Arts Society).
I started classes at Glassboro State College in the Fall of 1987 as a Communications-Radio/TV/Film major. It took me ten years to complete my degree, but in the meantime, I met Tom (who would eventually become my husband) in the college concert choir.
My poor mother was in shock when I announced I was dating a man 10 years my senior, but she got over it the moment she met him!
I have a degree in Communications from Rowan University and have recently worked as an editor, but the degree and experience are proving useless in this economy at the moment. So I've been more of a stay-at-home mom in the last year to my daughters Marni (5) and Corinne (1).
Since my husband used to work a lot of nights and weekends (he was a newspaper copy editor), I used to fill up some of that time attending concerts and seeing local bands, most of the time toting along my trusty camera or camcorder - one of them, anyway... you don't even want to know how many still cameras I own! (Check back on the home page for links to some concert photos I've taken.) But more recently, I've spent most nights and weekends being Mommy to Marni and Corinne.
I used to run a Web site for my brother's cover band, SCREEM! (he's since joined other bands, though I'm not their Webmistress), and have a Web site to showcase photos of Secret Service Band (Philly-area party band) as well. I used to work as a photographer in my spare time, mostly shooting weddings, but that's gone by the wayside since motherhood!
Tom and me at a family wedding, 1988.
If this photo (circa 1992) is any indication, there are lots of fun stories in between - some boring, some silly, and many unfit to publish on a family web site!
So I'll fast-forward to NOW.
Photo by Marie Ranoia Alonso (1992)
Tom, me and Marni - December 2005
A few years ago, I placed in a singing contest called South Jersey Idol, sponsored by Miles Technologies, to raise money and awareness for the Christopher Reeve Foundation. That resulted in me getting a part in a choral group that performed at Miles Technologies' October 2006 event benefiting the Reeve Foundation, A Step Toward Hope.
My mom always says she wonders where I get my energy from... I honestly don't know! Energy, I have - I just usually lack TIME!
I guess that's everything!
If you're not asleep yet, stick around and check the home page for active links. (I say "active" because I'm always behind!) Happy surfing!
I come from a very musical family - my brother Frank has sung and played bass professionally for over 20 years, many of my cousins played guitar and held family sing-alongs (as did my grandfather, who passed before I was born), and my mother and aunts could all sing beautifully. So, it follows that I have been singing for my family since I was a kid, and publicly in choirs, karaoke bars, and anywhere else I could get away with it (LOL) since I was a teenager... I have no formal training beyond some piano, organ and guitar lessons, plus a very attentive high school choir director, Roslyn Osborne. Nonetheless, the guys in Secret Service trust me to join them onstage as a guest singer when I'm there (and I've even recorded a few tunes in one of the guys' home studios, oooh-ahhh!), as does my friend Rich Meyer (One Man, One Guitar, One Good Time).
It was a wedding that Secret Service played at (that's one of the band guys in the light blue-green print shirt), and a good number of their fun-loving fans were there, what can I say...
Above: Me singing at Curran's Irish Inn with Secret Service, summer 2006.
Below: Me and hubby Tom singing with Secret Service at the annual Welborn House Party, August 2006.
