"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste...."

Actually, I'm a woman of the struggling middle class and my taste runs much higher than my credit limit. Next year, I'll turn the big five-o. I am married to a wonderfully tolerant man and together, we have five kids, all of whom have basically flown the coop. In my professional life, I am a fundraiser for a local hospital and I take great satisfaction in knowing that what I do helps so many needy patients and their families. At home, I am the mom of two critters, a sweet female boxer and an insane Chocolate Labrador.

Writing has been something that I have always enjoyed doing. Growing up, I had a manual typewriter. I would spend hours pounding out papers for school and at one point I stopped handwriting in a diary and began typing it out instead. Something about the sound of the typewriters keys was quite soothing. Raising a large brood of kids didn't allow for much free time, so my writing was pushed aside. Now, I have an abundance of empty hours, so, I'm back at it. This time, I'm hearing the click-click-click of a keyboard instead of the manual keys and 'ding' at the end of the typewriter margins.

You'll find that my blog is often more of a story telling site or a place for me to vent my opinions about social issues, than it is a mere discussion. I'll have posts and reviews on cosmetics, because I am a make-up junkie. On occasion, I write about my children and their adventures. And, I often write stories about my dogs, primarily the crazy Lab, Mr. Riley.

I've been told that I am loud, opinionated, outgoing, animated, somewhat stubborn, giving, soft hearted and funny. I would tend to agree with those descriptions. I take great pride in my Italian heritage and I love making people laugh. I hope the humor in my stories translates to a smile on your face.

This blog is called Cheap High Heels and a Hot Flash, because at this stage of my life, the title fits. Five years ago it could have been called, 'Everything is still Perky'. Five years from now, I may change the title to 'Arthritic Knees and Rock'n Some Blinged-Out Flats'. Who knows? What I can say, with certainty, is that I need a 12 step program for my cosmetic and hair product obsession. I never met a pair of cheap high heeled shoes that I didn't like. And if I had money, I'd take a trip to Italy, move to a cooler climate, play in the snow, buy a house with acreage and fill it with horses, a barn, lots of Boxer dogs. I'd also have one heck of a make-up mirror!

I hope you enjoy my writing.

Ciao!