Never a Dull Moment

My grandpa is in the hospital. His doctor called late last night and told my parents that he had over 102 temp and bronchitis. He really wanted him to go to the hospital but my grandpa kept refusing. Dr. feared it could develop into pneumonia. My dad had to get a prescription antibiotic and bring it to him like 11pm. When my dad got there, my grandpa was nauseous and throwing up. It was then decided to get him to Valley Hospital. My dad didn't get home until 4am.

So Much To Say!

The big news right now is that our house is close to being finished, but we'll be moving in before it's 100%.

Jay and I took off last week and spent every day from morning til' night working our butts off! We ended the week feeling like we needed a vacation from our vacation! We managed to pack up most of Jay's things and schlep them over with the help of family and friends. It was exciting seeing the place finally starting to look like a home! We also went out and put on the closet materials and over the last 2 days, Jay and his sister Randi assembled all the shelving. This weekend we picked up a refrigerator from Kristine's parents' house and spent hours cleaning it only to have it only blow hot air - ugh. We are having a repair come check it out this week so hopefully it's not an expensive fix.

Let's see, what else, what else...Jay moved his large, corner aquarium over to the house and set it up with the help of Scott. It looks great! And finally people will be able to enjoy it since it's in a better location than it was before.

I got a few hydrangea stems and stuck them in a basket of ivy in the bathroom. This is truly exciting to me as it adds to the whole hydrangea theme I'm trying to work in there!

This Friday we are getting cable, telephone, and internet set up - this is THE reason we aren't living there yet! We can't live without those necessities - primarily the TV, LOL! We already got our phone number and while it kinda sucks, I was able to make a word out of some of the numbers, so that should make it easier to remember.

OH YEAH!

I almost forgot! I got my wedding dress!!! On Saturday, July 24th, Kristine, my mom, and I went to Macy's Bridal Salon in Wayne because there was a specific dress I wanted to try on and when we saw it in person, it was hideous!! That was a disappointment but even more so than that was when I tried on the most gorgeous dress ever. Here it is, but the roses were a delicate pink: http://www.demetriosbride.com/us/collections/couture_05/highres/1273A.jpg WELL, after trying it on 2x and deciding it was "the one," Kristine looked at the price tag and her jaw dropped. It was OVER $4000!! I was dejected. I would never spend that much on a dress even if my parents were willing too. The saleslady felt bad and said she'd take 20% off and throw in a veil, but still, it wasn't doable.

We went to TGIF's for lunch and I mentioned that there was a David's bridal across the street somewhere, according to someone I spoke to on theknot.com. I called them and asked if we could come by and we did. I didn't like the greeter at the store and she instantly made me want to turn around and leave. GOOD THING I DIDN'T!

We asked for anything with pink and I tried a couple dresses on but wasn't happy - I was still bummed about the other $$$ dress. My mom asked me to just try on one more so I reluctantly agreed. I loved it! After I put it on, I didn't want to take it off! I asked for a bridesmaid dress that would match and they pulled one that we admired when we first walked in! Camps tried it on and looked great! I really felt like a bride then : ) We found shoes for the girls too!

Later in the week Diana ordered hers all the way from Tennessee! She's having it come to the Wayne, NJ store and her mom will pick it up. Last Friday, I went with Randi and Shara and they ordered theirs too! It's so nice to have another big thing DONE! And well done I might add!  ; )

 

Phew... that was a lot of writing early in the morning!

Still Shaken Up

New details came out about the suicide/murders. The father pressed the gun to the heads of his children. Unspeakable. He didn't kill himself until a couple hours later. Unbelievable. It is just so unthinkable, unjustifiable. Just plain awful.

Last night my bus had to detour just before my stop because the main road the funeral home was on was closed off by police. I can't imagine what it was like to be there. The father there too?!? I keep thinking about this tragedy, can't get it out of my head. That poor mother and daughter who have to live with this the rest of their lives. The girlfriend. It's just so sad. Those boys never knew just a few days ago that this is how they'd "spend their summer vacation."

This article appeared in today's paper:

 

Hundreds attend wake for father, two sons he killed
Friday, July 14, 2006

By JEAN RIMBACH and GIOVANNA FABIANO
STAFF WRITERS

WESTWOOD -- Hundreds of mourners -- many of them stunned teenagers in tears -- paid their respects Thursday to two young men and the father who chose to end their lives.

By evening, a line of red-eyed adults and shaken adolescents had wrapped around the Becker Funeral Home, three days after Thomas Frazza of Washington Township shot his sons, John, 20, and Kevin, 14, in their beds before turning the gun on himself.

Some sobbed and embraced as they stood before the bodies of John and Kevin, which lay in open caskets.

FUNERAL IS TODAY The funeral for Kevin, John and Thomas Frazza is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today at the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Washington Township. Burial is to follow in Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington. The cafeteria of Westwood Regional Junior and Senior High School will be open after the funeral for parents and children, with professional counselors and staff members on hand to offer support.

Kevin's casket held a stuffed teddy bear, a Rosary Novena and the jersey of his favorite New Jersey Nets player, Jason Kidd. A Toronto Blue Jays jersey and a heart-framed picture of John with his girlfriend of two years, Theresa Finnelli, were in the older brother's casket.

To the left of the boys in the same room was the closed coffin of their father, the polished wood adorned with a spray of red flowers.

Young girls and boys hugged, at times collapsing in tears. Some left the viewing with their hands over their mouths.

"To deal with death at this age -- and one of their own ..." one mourner said.

"It's just so unimaginable," said another.

Investigators have been stumped for clues as to what prompted the killings. Those who knew Thomas Frazza well said he'd become increasingly distressed the past year by his failing pay telephone business. He was also upset over having to sell the family's home at the New Jersey Shore.

"No one knew he was in trouble," someone at the wake said. "He hid it very well."

Throughout the day, Beatrice "Betty" Frazza and her 19-year-old daughter, Jacqueline, accepted -- and at times delivered -- words of comfort as they embraced friends and neighbors. Both were at the Shore house when the shootings occurred early Monday at their Washington Township home.

"How are you guys? You guys doing all right?" Betty asked a group of shaken young girls.

Slideshows playing on two televisions, framed pictures and various collages in the funeral parlor belied the tragedy. They showed a happy family and smiling children at different stages of their lives -- at the beach, on holidays, at birthday parties.

In one, Kevin as a baby is dressed as a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween. Another shows Betty and Thomas on their wedding day. Another has them holding each other and laughing years later at the Shore. There was also a photo of Kevin and John together in a frame with the words "Me and My Little Brother."

Finnelli, John's girlfriend, had apparently assembled candid shots of him for one of the collages, each with a handwritten message or memory. Comic strips she drew for him were on display on another. At one point, she stood before it and broke down sobbing.

"I just don't understand this," she said, "and I never will."

The comics had a special note to John, telling him that someday, when her comic strip gets published, it will feature the character she created for him: "The Pirate."

"You will continue to live on in my heart forever," she also wrote.

Photos of John showed the outgoing Ramapo College student at pool parties, the ice skating rink and what friends called his favorite place on earth -- the Pascack Theatre, where he worked as a projectionist.

Theater owner Spiros Papas said he respected John not only as an employee but as a friend.

When he gave his condolences to Betty at the wake, she told him, "Are you Mr. Papas? John spoke very highly of you."

"I was happy to hear that because I worked with John for 4½ years, and I treated him like my son," Papas said.

Papas said he and John had a Monday lunch ritual.

"I would say, 'John, you hungry?' And he always said yes. So we would go out for Greek food sometimes and other times cheeseburgers."

A few nights before he died, Papas gave John a ride home after a late showing of "Superman Returns."

John appeared depressed that night, Papas said.

"He said, 'I'm having a little problem with my father. He doesn't want me to go to school,' " Papas recalled. "I asked him if a raise would help and he said, 'Yes, Mr. Papas.' "

Murder/Suicide in a Small Town

A father killed his 14 and 20 yr old sons then himself. This was in my Jay's town, Washington Township, NJ,where he still lives with his family and is only a couple blocks behind him. We pass this creepy looking house all the time in the car, on our bikes... Its all wood with no windows seen from the street at all - only on the back facing the lake. The wife and 19 yr old daughter were in South Jersey at the time.

So tragic. Why did he have to take those boys with him???

Article and news footage here: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=4353999

This is a quiet lil' suburban town. Things like this just don't happen here..

 

 

EDIT: The older boy's myspace page. He last logged on on Sunday : (

MySpace URL:

http://www.myspace.com/fubar69418

 

EDIT:

Another longer article:

http://tinyurl.com/lvuhm

Say it Ain't So!

Gawker Stalker

 

Tom Hanks was near me today. He was actually right down the block at 1pm but I was chained to my desk. I just read this on Gawker Stalker. Link above to their site:

 

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

4 TIMES SQ

Jun 29th, 2006 @ 1pm

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson in the Conde Nast Cafeteria. He looks just as puffy as I expected (meanie!). She is actually really pretty. I had so hoped for a celeb spotting when I finally got invited to lunch there!

Dave & Christine's Wedding

Our dear friend Dave and his lovely bride Christine were married on Saturday, June 17th. Here are some pictures from the happy day. We all had a really really great time. Christine looked gorgeous. And Dave didn't look so bad himself ; )

Jay was the best man. It was exciting to think that we are under 300 days away from our special day! I can't wait!!!

2nd Proposal

Last night was great. Jay and I went out to dinner for his birthday and when we got back to his house I gave him a stack of gifts. He was feeling all bad that I spent money on him on so many gifts. Little did he know one of them cost me like $800!! When he got to the box with his wedding ring, he had no clue what could be in it. He said, "is this a tie?" Cause that's the kind of box it was. He pushed aside the jeweler paperwork and polishing cloth and when he saw the ring he just stared at it completely speechless. I sorta got down on one knee and took his hand and said "will you marry me?" I was kind of laughing because I was feeling so nervous and excited. He really was in shock that I actually got it. He kept saying things like, "Honey, wow. I can't believe you did that." He was very happy and I was even more happy because it actually fit!

It was a very good and happy night : )