Week 17: Did you ever wish you had more brothers or sisters and why?

I used to always want an older brother - someone to watch out over me... I guess, being the oldest, that would have been impossible! I also used to want a sister because I only had a brother. I used to always ask my parents to have another baby... never happened!

Week 16: What games did you play with your siblings?

My brother Peter and I used to play a lot of different games (board games, etc.) but we also used to play with our Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars together too. He always smashed them up but I never wanted to do that with mine because I wanted them to be "nice". We also used to have kickass games of Hide and Seek with the kids in the neighborhood - well into our teens. These were so awesome and we used to play when it got dark. We would all dress in dark clothes and just play for hours - it was so much fun!

Week 15: Do you have any brothers or sisters? If so, how many and in what order were you born?

I have one sibling - a younger brother - Peter Grillo. I was born in August of 1967 and he came along in May of 1969. He and I were always close as kids and we remain close to this day. I really enjoy spending time with him - whether it be just he and I or together with our families. He is married (to Kristen) and together they have 2 children - Kelsey who is 7 and Ricky who will be 3 in July.

Week 14: If you could ask for anything you wanted, what would it be?

Wow, this is a tough one... there are SO many things I want (Chris to get a better job, me to be thin, an awesome car, the chance to go to Disney, a new house. Okay, to pick one I would have to say financial stability would be my number one choice. This would allow us to be able to do a lot of things that we can't right now. I certainly don't mean to sound materialistic but, I would love to be able to afford a bigger house - not a HUGE one but one that would give us bigger bedrooms and a finished basement. The kids are getting bigger and poor Maggie's room is so tiny! Oh well... we are together and happy and healthy so I really shouldn't complain!

Week 13 : Where would you prefer to be right now - mountains, desert, beach? and why?

THE BEACH! I just love going to the beach (even though I don't like the way I look in a bathing suit) and could go every day! I love to sit there and relax, read or sleep and listen to the waves. It is very relaxing to me... I totally prefer the ocean and I have to say my favorite beach is Mayflower Beach at the Cape. When the tide goes out... it goes WAY, WAY out. The sand is very smooth and there are barely any rocks in the water. Maggie and I found tons of sand dollars there last summer - can't wait to go back!

Week 12

List 10 objects you own that have sentimental value (whether others see it or not).

Oh boy... It's hard to really have to think when you think everything you have is special! Here goes...

1) I have this little juice glass that has a sand art design in it that I have had since I was in Elementary School. I made it at a fair in town somewhere and have always kept it with me. Amazingly, when I moved from my parents' house to our first apartment and then to our second apartment and then to our current home, I have never dropped it or messed it up!

2) Chris bought me a Boyd's Bunny the week before our wedding. We went to dinner (it was Easter Sunday) with my family at the Old Mill Restaurant in Westminster and he bought that for me in the gift shop. It has spawned a collection...

3) My engagement and wedding rings.

4) Wedding mementos - dress, photos, video, etc.

5) Baby mementos of each child and their baby books.

6) My grandmother's jewelry - Granny's pearls, her Aquamarine ring and some others and my Grammy's rosary beads.

7) Cards and letters from my Granny and Gramps - it's nice to see their handwriting.

8) Porcelain tea set that I used to play with when I was little at my grandmother's house.

9) My immediate family's photos... along with cards and letters from Chris, Justin and Maggie that I have saved.

10) Trinkets and treasures that Justin and Maggie have made for me or given me from preschool through the present.

Week 11

Do you live a high-tech or low-tech lifestyle?

I would say that I am somewhere in between. I spend a lot of time on the computer - both at home and at work - and I rely on it to keep me up to speed on lots of things - work, home, family, Girl Scouts, sports teams, etc. I would say that I really need to use my computer every day and feel lost when I don't.

I also use it to organize pictures and spend time each day on Facebook - usually time I should be doing other things, oh well!

As far as other things go, I have a simple cell phone - not one of those "fancy" Blackberry or iPhones and I really do not care for texting. My husband and I are the only ones in the house with phones - the kids do not have any. We do not have a flat screen tv (still have an old-fashioned one) and we only have a VCR and DVD player - no TiVo here or DVR!

I guess compared to when we were first married, technology has definitely become more prevalent (did I spell that right) in my life - we did not have cell phones or a computer or a digital camera for that matter. Now we have all of those things, can take photos and keep them on disks or drives and shop and do research online.

Imagine where we will be in 10 years!

Week 10: Have you ever been in a band or orchestra? Tell a specific experience.

I have never been involved in anything musical in my life. I did do the required music stuff in school and actually wanted to play clarinet or flute at one point, but just never "got" the whole reading of music thing.

So, no - I have never been and don't have a specific experience.

Week 9 prompt: What, if anything, is changing in your life right now?

Right now, the biggest changes in my life are that my daughter, Maggie and my son, Justin, will both be "graduating" from the schools they are in and moving up to the next level. Maggie will be leaving Coolidge Elementary School where she is currently in 4th grade and going to Sherwood Middle School for 5th grade. She is suddenly seeming all grown up to me - that's my baby!

Justin will be leaving Oak Middle School where he is currently in 8th grade (can't even believe that) and will be going to High School! I just cannot believe that in a few short months, I will have a high schooler! He just turned 14 on March 2nd and I often wonder where that "little boy" went - he is now becoming a fine young man.

Another change (and this may be a stretch) is that for the first time in my life, I will be involved in a sport. Now, I did ballet for 10 years when I was a kid from age 6 to 16, but I don't consider that a sport. I will be coaching my daughter's lacrosse team this spring and our first practice is next Friday - God help me is all I can say!

That's it for now... I don't think I can handle any more change!

Week 8 - What is your most indispensable possession and why?

Geez... another tough one! Honestly, I don't know that I have an "indispensable" possession - I have many things that I really couldn't live without (house, car, computer, calendar, etc.) but not one that I would consider "indispensable". I don't know if that is silly or not. However, I do have something that I consider to be "cherished" and that is jewelry that belonged to my great-grandmother - Louise Santos, my grandmother - Mary Grillo (Granny) and my grandmother (Grammy) - Mary Mayes. Now I do have things that my kids have given me or made for me and also precious photos but I thought long and hard on this one and I think the jewelry means SO much to me.

From my great-grandmother I have her wedding ring and some of her other jewelry like her charm bracelet and her mother's ring. From my Granny, I have her pearls (which I wore on my wedding day), her Aquamarine ring that she was given on her 16th birthday, her charm bracelet, her wedding rings and a string of rosary beads. From my Grammy, I have a string of her rosary beads (she said her rosary at least twice a day).

To me, having these things keeps these 3 wonderful women very close to my heart and knowing that I have these keeps their memory alive for me. I miss them all so much and it is a comfort to know that at any time, I can hold/wear/look at these items and know that they were worn and loved by them all.

Week 7 - What is your daily schedule like?

Oh boy! My daily schedule can be crazy on some days and pretty quiet on others - depending on the time of year and day of the week.

I usually get up around 6:00am and lie in bed and watch the Fox 25 Morning News until after the 6:15 weather. Then, I go downstairs and take a shower and then feed the animals - Chris will usually get up and take the dog out. I then wake up Justin at 6:40 and Maggie around 7:15 (because it takes her SO long to get herself moving). I usually leave for work around 8:35 and get there between 9 and 9:15. I work till 3 or 3:15 and then come home and usually the kids and I take the dog to the park for about 45 minutes to run around. Sometimes, I come home and go for a walk but in the winter, we like to go to the park.

Then, we come home and depending on what is going on that night - meetings, sports, etc. I would go to that and come home. Sometimes we eat early like at 6:00 and sometimes we eat late - like 8:00 (which I don't really like to do).

After supper, if I am home, we finish homework and do showers and pick up and then the kids go to bed and Chris and I will either watch tv or do laundry and more cleaning. I then usually fall asleep on the chair until late - I like to watch the 10:00 news and then Friends - if I make it!

Week 6: What were your hobbies as a child?

When I was a kid, I used to love to play with Matchbox cars and also Barbie dolls. I used to have my own box of cars and I remember that I used to be real careful with them and not smash them up like my brother and his friend did. Sometimes, I would even paint them if they needed a little touch-up. I used to make houses and store-fronts out of boxes and paper and put them on the couch in the living room and play for hours.

With the Barbies, I used to play with them at home but also with my friends. My friend Robin had the plane, my friend Joey had the townhouse and I had the camper. Robin would come to my house and then we would take the camper and the plane down to Joey's house and play.

I also used to crochet - pot holders were the Christmas gift I gave to EVERYONE one year! My friend Joey and I used to make them all the time and we loved it! Her mother used to tease us when we were older and in high school about how many potholders we made. Too funny!

Week 5

Wow - this is a tough one! There are SO many wonderful memories - some very recent and some, much older. I guess I will go with the first one that popped into my head (for what reason I don't really know)....
I have many, many wonderful memories of Christmases when I was a little girl and my grandparents - my dad's parents - still lived in Hudson. At the beginning of the Christmas season, I would spend the day with my grandmother and we would bake fruitcake - everyone's favorite! I always loved to bake with her and we spent a lot of time baking together... I think that is why I like to bake so much and am pretty good at it, if I don't say so myself! Once the fruitcakes were all cooled, we would wrap them up and then walk to several of her neighbors and deliver the cakes. Whether or not any ever got eaten, I looked forward to doing this every year.
Another great memory at Christmas was Christmas Eve. My dad's parents and grandparents lived in a 2-family house - I would spend the morning of Christmas Eve with my great-grandmother (my Vava) and we would make codfish balls and other things. In the afternoon, my parents would come with my brother and also my Uncle Tony, Aunt Jean and their 7 kids who lived in Sharon, and we would eat all the food we made and then open presents. When they would leave to go home, we would then go upstairs to my grandparents' house and open gifts from them. Christmas day was spent at our house.
I truly treasure all those happy memories with my family and think of them often - especially around the holidays.

Week 4: Did you have a nickname as you were growing up? If you did, what was it and why did they call you that?

A nickname... well, I never really had one that stuck for a long time. My next-door-neighbor, Mark Alves - used to call me "Rolo" - probably because I liked the candy (and he probably thought I was fat).

When I was little (like elementary school), I had a winter hat - the kind with the pom-pom on top and the patch on the front. Well, the patch on the front was of "The Fonz" so some kids used to call me that (I think they were teasing me though).

That's pretty much it. I've got some nicknames now though but I will save them as I am thinking it might be a "prompt" at some point!

LOL

And now I am caught up!

Week 3 prompt:What traits (physical, character) did you inherit from your dad? from your mom?

This is a tough one and requires some "pondering". I think I look more like my dad and his side of the family (dark hair and eyes and skin that tans easily) but when people see me with my mom, they think I look like her. A lot of people have said to me that there are certain expressions that are just like my mom too (which always cracks me up). My mother is pretty quiet and a little more reserved than my dad and while I do tend to be more like my dad personality-wise, there are times when I am like my mom - I guess it would depend on the situation.

My dad is Portuguese and can be very hot-headed and very opinionated. According to my husband, I am just like him and his mother. I DO have physical traits from his side of the family - big boobs (thank you) and my hands look just like my grandmother's (my dad's mother). I really don't think I physically look like my mom (although as I am writing this, I am thinking of my feet - which are wide and flat and have stubby toes - like my mom, and I do have heavier legs which tend to run in my mom's family so I guess I DO have traits of both! Go figure.

Either way, I am proud to be like both of them.

Week 2 - Was there anything unusual about the circumstances of your birth?

Well, I asked my mom today about the day I was born and she said that there was nothing unusual.
She did say that I was 3 weeks late - guess I just didn't want to be born - and that she was pretty miserable for those 3 weeks. I was born on August 25th - right in the heat of summer - so I can only imagine!
Anyway, I was born at 10:52pm on a Friday night - during a thunderstorm. My mom said that she was all alone at the hospital (my dad was at home as most were in those days) and she said that she was scared to death! I can't believe they didn't allow the dads to be there back in those days - how cruel! I bet it's because they couldn't handle it!
Often, on my birthday, there is a thunderstorm - coincidence? Hmmnnnn???

Week 1 - Response

What is your full name? My full name - before marriage was Shelly Ann Grillo. My full name now is Shelly Ann Keene - I did not choose to keep my maiden name as part of my new married name. People are always asking me if my "real" name is Michelle, but it's not. I used to get upset about that. People also ask if there is an "e" at the end of my name - I guess that is a pretty common question. My 1st grade teacher - Mrs. Bissonnette - always insisted that I spell my name Shelley (because that was the right way) and I used to get really upset about that. Finally, my mother had to go in to the school and tell her that SHE was wrong!

Were you named after someone? I am not named after anyone and honestly, I don't know where my parents came up with that name. I heard stories that they tossed around the name Ann Marie for me but I am glad they did not name me that! Not that it is a bad name (and I guess if it was my name I would like it), but I just don't care for it.