Forbes Arnone's Blog, page 14

A-Z Challenge ~ In My Mother’s Footsteps #atozchallenge

I’d like to share with all of you the first book I’ve ever published. In My Mother’s Footsteps is a novella about love, secrets, forgiveness, and family.

Summary:

Anela Alborn’s life is a lie. After growing up without the love of a father, her mother reveals his identity. Tragedy strikes and she sets off on an adventure that leads to more than she could ever imagine. Bumping into Christian Sivers distracts her from the real man of her dreams, her father. Will he live up to her dreams? And does she follow in her mother’s footsteps?
Filed under: Writing

A-Z Challenge ~ Happy #atozchallenge

    Who likes music? I can’t write to music, but I love how it can help me brighten my mood or depress me depending on the song. Today, I’m going to post the video to the happiest song I’ve ever heard. If I’m feeling stressed, down, or even just lazy all I have to do is play this and I feel better. And really, because I am pretty lucky, I have a lot to be happy about.

 So, let’s get Happy with this adorable video.

 

Filed under: Writing

A-Z Challenge ~ Happy

    Who likes music? I can’t write to music, but I love how it can help me brighten my mood or depress me depending on the song. Today, I’m going to post the video to the happiest song I’ve ever heard. If I’m feeling stressed, down, or even just lazy all I have to do is play this and I feel better.

 So, let’s get Happy with this adorable video.

 

Filed under: Writing

A-Z Challenge ~ Google #atozchallenge

I was born in the 70′s and we didn’t have Google back then. In order to get information back then we had to go to the library, or if you were lucky you had a huge bookcase filled with Encyclopedias. Those big books from A-Z had all sorts of various information about anything and everything. However, now that I think about it, the information was a bit limited.

But nowadays, we have the web and, well, Google.

In 1997, Google.com is registered as a domain on September 15. The name—a play on the word “googol,” a mathematical term for the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros—reflects Larry and Sergey’s mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web.

This has changed the way we research, learn, and look up info. When my kids ask me a question that I don’t know the exact history of or that I don’t know at all, our go to answer is … Google it. We often start conversations during dinner that are historical and complex so we can learn, and almost every time we have to look something up on Google. It’s so easy and convenient to be able to pull out your cell phone and look up dates, names, and locations of anything.

As a writer, I get a lot of my information from Google.

What do you Google?

Filed under: Weekly Snippets

A-Z Challenge ~ Google

I was born in the 70′s and we didn’t have Google back then. In order to get information back then we had to go to the library, or if you were lucky you had a huge bookcase filled with Encyclopedias. Those big books from A-Z had all sorts of various information about anything and everything. However, now that I think about it, the information was a bit limited.

But nowadays, we have the web and, well, Google.

In 1997, Google.com is registered as a domain on September 15. The name—a play on the word “googol,” a mathematical term for the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros—reflects Larry and Sergey’s mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web.

This has changed the way we research, learn, and look up info. When my kids ask me a question that I don’t know the exact history of or that I don’t know at all, our go to answer is … Google it. We often start conversations during dinner that are historical and complex so we can learn, and almost every time we have to look something up on Google. It’s so easy and convenient to be able to pull out your cell phone and look up dates, names, and locations of anything.

As a writer, I get a lot of my information from Google.

What do you Google?

Filed under: Weekly Snippets

A-Z Challenge ~ Florence, Italy #atozchallenge

A few years ago, we were lucky enough to do some traveling in Italy. Starting in Venice, we traveled our way down to Rome, stopping many places on the way. However, my favorite place of all was Florence or Firenze as they say over there.

Being in Italy was something special, as I am about half quarters Italian. If you want me to break it down, I think ¼ is from my mother’s maternal parents, which are from a small provence outside of Naples. The other ¼ is from my father’s paternal parents, which are from Sicily. I’m also ¼ Scottish and the last ¼ is a mix of Greek, French, and I don’t know what else. :) So, now that you know my blood lines, I’ll get on with Florence.

I have this love of Dante Alighieri and when I found out we were stopping in his birthplace, I was so excited. So, let’s star with the view of Ponte Vecchio we captured from the David statue.

Ponte Vecchio Florence, Italy

 

Statue of David at Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence, Firenze, Italy

Dante was not hard to find, as there was tons of references to him all around the city. Below is, supposedly, his first home, which is now a museum.

Dante Alighieri’s 1st home and now Museum.

Here is a statue of Dante outside the Santa Croce Church.

Statue of Dante Alighieri

When you travel to foreign places without a local to show you around, it’s difficult to know where the best restaurants and best hotels are location. However, in Florence we had the best hotel and meal from all of the places in Italy we went. Walking around the small town, we felt so comfortable and at home. It was such a strange sensation, but one that felt right.

I could have sat in the Piazza della Signoria all day people watching and inspecting the statues. This plaza houses some of the most incredible statues I’ve ever seen all in one place. I’ll share a couple of pictures. I don’t want to bore you all.

The Fountain of Neptune by Bartolomeo Ammannati

Piazza della Signoria

I definitely would like to return to Florence one day. I imagine myself sitting in a corner of that plaza people watching and writing.

What’s your favorite place to travel?

Filed under: Writing

A-Z Challenge ~ Florence, Italy

A few years ago, we were lucky enough to do some traveling in Italy. Starting in Venice, we traveled our way down to Rome, stopping many places on the way. However, my favorite place of all was Florence or Firenze as they say over there.

Being in Italy was something special, as I am about half quarters Italian. If you want me to break it down, I think ¼ is from my mother’s maternal parents, which are from a small provence outside of Naples. The other ¼ is from my father’s paternal parents, which are from Sicily. I’m also ¼ Scottish and the last ¼ is a mix of Greek, French, and I don’t know what else. :) So, now that you know my blood lines, I’ll get on with Florence.

I have this love of Dante Alighieri and when I found out we were stopping in his birthplace, I was so excited. So, let’s star with the view of Ponte Vecchio we captured from the David statue.

Ponte Vecchio Florence, Italy

 

Statue of David at Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence, Firenze, Italy

Dante was not hard to find, as there was tons of references to him all around the city. Below is, supposedly, his first home, which is now a museum.

Dante Alighieri’s 1st home and now Museum.

Here is a statue of Dante outside the Santa Croce Church.

Statue of Dante Alighieri

When you travel to foreign places without a local to show you around, it’s difficult to know where the best restaurants and best hotels are location. However, in Florence we had the best hotel and meal from all of the places in Italy we went. Walking around the small town, we felt so comfortable and at home. It was such a strange sensation, but one that felt right.

I could have sat in the Piazza della Signoria all day people watching and inspecting the statues. This plaza houses some of the most incredible statues I’ve ever seen all in one place. I’ll share a couple of pictures. I don’t want to bore you all.

The Fountain of Neptune by Bartolomeo Ammannati

Piazza della Signoria

I definitely would like to return to Florence one day. I imagine myself sitting in a corner of that plaza people watching and writing.

What’s your favorite place to travel?

Filed under: Writing

A-Z Challenge ~ Entrepreneurship #atozchallenge

My dad has always been an Entrepreneur, and I started working for him at a young age. He always made me feel a part of the business. Working for his business was like working for myself, because if I helped the business, I was helping the family. Make sense? Well, it did to me. However, when I graduated high school, I wanted to spread my wings and get my own work experience. So, I began my ten year career in Corporate America. There I learned that regardless of how hard I worked and how much I accomplished, none of it mattered. I was just a number.

My work life shifted once again and so did other things, which led to my dad needing me to run his business. He had moved out of State and needed someone he trusted to take care of things. It was a perfect opportunity that came at the right time.

Working for myself at a company is no different than deciding to write books. There’s discipline involved, making your own hours, and arriving at your job daily without fail (even if it’s the dining room table in your pajamas).

For the past year, I’ve been juggling both, running a company and my writing career. All this on top of going to college full-time and running my household. Okay, that’s a lie … my husband runs the household now. I try to help out every once and a while, but he’s taken over most of the duties. Thank goodness for him.

I love working for myself. I love being able to take a day off to watch my son receive an award at school or take my dog to the doctor. And we all know that there’s another side to that … we never get to fully clock out of work.

So, what are some of the pros and cons of being an Entrepreneur?

 

Cons

~ You are always on the clock.

~ You work 24/7. Try to shut off your brain… go ahead … I dare you.

~ Money fluctuates. You don’t receive a set paycheck. Sometimes you make a lot and sometimes you don’t make enough to eat.

~ No benefits.

~ Work comes first sometimes. Deadlines may cause other responsibilities to be placed on the back burner. Family and friendships will suffer.

~ Sometimes you lack inspiration and there’s no one there to push you.

Pros

~ No boss. Yes!

~ You make your own hours.

~ Sometimes money is really good.

~ Family can benefit from your flexibility.

~ It’s easy to work from wherever you are.

~ You can do what you want with your business. Make/write what you want.

How about all of you? What are your pros and cons of working for yourself or for others?

Filed under: Writing

A-Z Challenge ~ Entrepreneurship

My dad has always been an Entrepreneur, and I started working for him at a young age. He always made me feel a part of the business. Working for his business was like working for myself, because if I helped the business, I was helping the family. Make sense? Well, it did to me. However, when I graduated high school, I wanted to spread my wings and get my own work experience. So, I began my ten year career in Corporate America. There I learned that regardless of how hard I worked and how much I accomplished, none of it mattered. I was just a number.

My work life shifted once again and so did other things, which led to my dad needing me to run his business. He had moved out of State and needed someone he trusted to take care of things. It was a perfect opportunity that came at the right time.

Working for myself at a company is no different than deciding to write books. There’s discipline involved, making your own hours, and arriving at your job daily without fail (even if it’s the dining room table in your pajamas).

For the past year, I’ve been juggling both, running a company and my writing career. All this on top of going to college full-time and running my household. Okay, that’s a lie … my husband runs the household now. I try to help out every once and a while, but he’s taken over most of the duties. Thank goodness for him.

I love working for myself. I love being able to take a day off to watch my son receive an award at school or take my dog to the doctor. And we all know that there’s another side to that … we never get to fully clock out of work.

So, what are some of the pros and cons of being an Entrepreneur?

 

Cons

~ You are always on the clock.

~ You work 24/7. Try to shut off your brain… go ahead … I dare you.

~ Money fluctuates. You don’t receive a set paycheck. Sometimes you make a lot and sometimes you don’t make enough to eat.

~ No benefits.

~ Work comes first sometimes. Deadlines may cause other responsibilities to be placed on the back burner. Family and friendships will suffer.

~ Sometimes you lack inspiration and there’s no one there to push you.

Pros

~ No boss. Yes!

~ You make your own hours.

~ Sometimes money is really good.

~ Family can benefit from your flexibility.

~ It’s easy to work from wherever you are.

~ You can do what you want with your business. Make/write what you want.

How about all of you? What are your pros and cons of working for yourself or for others?

Filed under: Writing

A-Z Challenge ~ Dogs #atozchallenge

 

If any of you follow me on Facebook, you’d know how much I love my dogs, and, really, dogs in general. My love of dogs began when I was five years old and my dad brought home this full-grown Afghan. He was the best dog I’ve ever had. No one could come within five feet of me with bad intentions or he’d attack. Even when my mom wanted to spank me, he’d jump in front of me and protect me. She’s have to lock him out of the room first. Yes, we laugh about it now. Max really was a smart and wonderful dog and ever since, I’ve been a dog person.

 

 

This is my beautiful German Shepherd, Schatzi (sweetheart in German). We trained for three years, almost twenty to thirty hours a week for Schutzhund. It’s a combination of obedience, tracking, bite, and temperament training to test the dog’s line. If they pass all those tests, then they’re good enough to breed. This was the way the Germans determined which dogs were acceptable for breeding back in the day, now it’s a sport. It was a lot of fun and helped keep my high-energy baby nice and worked.

Both of my dogs, Rocco and Schatzi, were taught with German commands and are trained highly in obedience. I’ve trained quite a few dogs after working with them and find it so rewarding.

My Cane Corso, Rocco, is my fur-baby. He’s a huge dog, mean when he needs to be, but he is a crybaby. I’ve softened him with too much love. However, I’m not a bit sorry about it. But when he tore his ACL and needed knee surgery, it felt like my heart was being ripped out. He was in so much pain before we even knew what was wrong with him, and it got to the point where he couldn’t even walk.

So, I knew the surgery was for the best, I just worried so much for him. Then after the surgery, he really could not move. Now before surgery, he weighed 180 lbs. After surgery he dropped to 160 lbs. and there was no way I could just pick him up and take him outside to potty. It was a miserable two weeks after his operation. Worse than a colicky newborn. Loud cries all night long kept the whole house awake and even some neighbors. And nothing would soothe him. Nevertheless, we overcame the misery and he is still in recovery.

The operation caused a bit of nerve damage so his rehabilitation will take a little bit longer. We’re taking it one day at a time.

 

My babies bring me lots of happiness and contentment. They’re just as much a part of the family as my boys are and we all love them very much.

One of these days, I’d love to write a dog into one of my stories. I think they would bring happiness to a character as my dogs bring to me.

Do you have any pets? Tell me about them. :)

Filed under: Writing