Shellie's Beautiful Mess

I know it's been a while since I posted on here. I've actually been taking a writing class and so I've been focused on those assignments instead of blogging. Don't expect a huge improvement in my writing as a result. It was mostly a writing class for myself to just be inspired by new ideas. I took it at the place I go to for therapy, so it was mostly for that purpose. I might share with you some of the stories I wrote for that, later. But, for now, I'm going to continue to introduce you to my family. Next, is Roger Paparazzo. I refer to him as my brother. Technically, he's my ex-husband's brother. And he, of course, is married to Lis (Elizabeth Paparazzo), who I told you about in my last post. He  works as a CNA. He does in-home care. From what I can tell, he's very good at his job. He's the man of the house (obviously), and he definitely brings home the bacon. He's a very good man. Honorable in his dealings. Very faithful to his handicapped wi...

I promised I would introduce my whole family, but after the cats I found it very difficult to find any inspiration, especially after all the rude comments from people who need to insult others to build themselves up. Sad. Anyway, I'm going to do my best to introduce you to Elizabeth Paparazzo or Lis as she likes to be called. She's my sister....sort of and Chloe's Aunt. You'll learn more about Chloe later. Anyway, Lis is married to Chloe's dad's brother if that kind of helps you get the picture. Some people think it would be awkward living with their ex-husband's family, but it really isn't. It's no different than just having roommates that you knew from earlier in your life. It hasn't changed how they view me. Lis is one of the most amazing people I know. I used to not think much of her, because of her weight, weird allergies that don't make sense to me, and other health issues that I was sure she brought on herself. It turns out most of the...

Small pause in the interviewing everyone in the family. Today's my birthday for whatever that's worth. Somehow after 40 they seriously lose their charm. I wouldn't even celebrate it if I didn't like presents and dessert so much. I mean seriously, what do we do on our birthdays? Do you realize what we celebrate? I mean, think about it. You celebrate the day you put your mother through excruciating pain and you came out bloody and naked and more than likely screaming. I mean, yeah. I know. I get it. We've lived another year, which, I don't know about you, but given what I've done to that naked, bloody body I should have been dead a long time ago. But I'm not. Forty two years old today. Yeah. I just admitted it. But whatever. I don't feel 42 years old. Of course, we say that, and what do we know about it. I've never been this age before. All I know is when my dad turned 40 it was like he was practically dead. Now, I'm over 40 and consider myself...

I am Mercy Paparazzo. I am about 5 months old. For the first few months of my life I lived outside. It was fine at first, cause it was warm all the time. But it started getting colder at night. I was out there with my brothers and sisters and mom and dad. Mom could only get so much food for us. Someone in the house nearby fed us and we found an opening that allowed us into the basement, so we could stay warm. But I was not to trust the humans. One day they caught me. They kept me in a cage all night. Someone came to pick me up the next morning. I was scared. But she took me to a house where I got to stay. Not in the basement. I had the run of the house. At first they kept me in the cage most of the time and put me in a sand box every now and then. I got to be out more when I figured out they wanted me to go potty in there. Soon I learned that my parents were wrong about these humans. They loved me. They let me sleep in their beds and snuggle up to them.  They feed me every day and ...

I'm sure you're wondering who Jewel Paparazzo is. She's a cat. She's about 10 years old. We have another cat named Mercy. She's just about 4 or 5 months old. She was a stray so we're not exactly sure. To introduce  you to the rest of the family, of course, we have me, Shellie. We also have my 14 year old daughter, Chloe. And then there's Aunt Lis (Elizabeth Paparazzo) and Uncle Roger Paparazzo. Yes, we have a very non-traditional family. It works. I also have 2 other kids. Angela is 16 and Jeremiah is 18. They both live with their dad, aka, my ex-husband.  I'm going to do a blog for each of them. Well, the one's that live here in our crazy, happy non-traditional family. Why am I starting with Jewel, you ask? Well, she's the oldest cat in the house, therefore she's the Queen. All cat owners will understand. I'm Jewel. I am in charge of this household. They seem to think they own me, but they are sadly mistaken. I own them. I was Chloe...

My grandfather passed away in 2009, if I remember correctly. My grandmother had passed the year before or so. Anyway, when I think of my grandparents I think about what their house seemed like when I was little. They lived in this huge house on top of a hill just outside of Tekoa, Washington. It seemed like a castle to me, towering over the much smaller houses beneath it. And the King and Queen lived inside. Those were my grandparents. As you entered the house usually the Queen (my grandmother) was in the kitchen preparing something. And then you went into the living room and the King (my grandfather) was on his throne with his feet up either watching tv or checking the back of his eyelids for holes. He wasn't sleeping. Not at all. And some people thought that throne was just an ordinary recliner. Nope! It was a throne. But make no mistake, we all knew that when it came down to it, it wasn't the King that was in charge. You wanted anything you went to the kitchen and asked the ...

I recently saw a movie that inspired me. It's called "Mom's Night Out." And, yeah, the main character of the movie started a blog at the end. Total coincidence. Or maybe it isn't. Who cares! The movie naturally reminded me of when my kids were little. I mean, I never had a pair of heels like the ones she found in her closet when she was "hiding."  In fact, I was a bit of a tomboy. Me and my family joked about heels being against my religion. But something strange happened to me when my kids were in elementary school. After I came out of the fog of not sleeping for like 8 years! I felt the need to feel beautiful. Some of you will know what I mean when I explain this. Some of you won't. Many of you that know me are probably thinking, "But you are beautiful." I know that now ! Before I had children I knew it, too. I wouldn't have admitted it, for fear of being seen as arrogant. Now, I just don't care, so go ahead and think I'm arro...