So it’s only been about a month and a half since Nana (mom) passed away. And though it seems like Ania and Ryan are doing a little better with each day, I am still deep in sorrow and perhaps even depression. I honestly feel like I am frozen in time. Like my entire life just […]

Tuesday afternoon, I had received a message from Joe asking if I would like to make an image that would be placed between the wheels on the back of Optimus. Something I never expected to happen and took me by surprise. The image would be in memory of his mother Judy. If you recall, I […]

30 years from now, what will you think of when people mention the year “2020”?  Will you think of your job? Or perhaps the job loss you suffered as a result of a worldwide pandemic? Will you think of all the plans you had at the beginning of the year? Or all of the opportunities […]

When my mom (Wiesia) was about 13 her mom (Maria Glatz) moved to the US.  (Can you imagine leaving behind 2 of your daughters so you can come to the US?) Mom and my Aunt Ela (Ela Bak) pretty much were on their own.  My aunt moved to the States when my cousin was 4 […]

I lived in Warsaw for the first 11 years of my life.  Ul. Wspolna 41 m 12, Warszawa. It was a city life, ironically filled with a lot of freedom.  I would take the bus, tramwaj (sort of like a tram/trolley), walk to school, get snacks and ice cream with  my friends, go to their […]

Where it all started… Well you see my mom ( Theresa Durzewski Tonello) was cooking me for 9 months! Finally I came but not before my mom had roast beef!! No lie, its my favorite thing to eat :). I had it at my wedding in 2012 hahaha! Delivery was not cool for mom T. […]

The pandemic of 2020. COVID-19. In one word…you SUCK!! I’m sure for anyone reading this, a simple keyword search on COVID will give you plenty of information on it. So I won’t bore you there. But it was responsible for the shut down of an entire country, and the demise of any plans for success […]

The people listed below I had partnered with alongside Optimus. Some had replica cars. Others I thought would be a good partnership. Turns out they are ALL evil and/or not people I want to be around. These are my ‘letting go’ letters to each of them (I didn’t send it to them, this was me […]

I have to say today ended up being one of the worst days of my life as far as family goes. Long story short, it was a Sunday and I was home all day. I wanted to spend some time with Ryan, and Ania wanted to go to BJ’s. I tried hanging out with Ryan […]

Today was a very stressful day for me as a parent. A local gym place (Freedom Gymnastics in Brodheadsville) offers something they call ‘Ninja warrior training’. It’s like an obstacle course where kids get to try some difficult maneuvers and things. Ryan was really into watching the TV show American Ninja Warrior, and he also […]

2019 Rollercoaster year So in a nutshell, 2019 was about 2 things – rebuilding family, and dealing with a-holes that caused me to change how I share Optimus.  On the family front, we got to take a few short trips together in Optimus. We took a family getaway to Maine where we spent an afternoon […]

I had grown comfortable in my job. Life was predictable, paychecks kept coming, and we just kept living. But for me, life was getting dull. I had everything I wanted, I had a family that loved me, and yet I was still growing depressed. And a lot of it had to do with work. I […]

2017 A new beginning The our lives changed forever. The year that started a new beginning. The year my affair was discovered. The year you and I rekindled our marriage and worked on each other for the first time in a long time. The year we felt like a couple again. The year we experienced […]

Our marriage changed slightly. We were both feeling the stresses of work, and we both struggled to spend equal time with each other and our son while also managing our businesses. We snapped at each other a bit more, and struggled to find our ‘happy’. This year was very tough. Even though I was home-based, […]

2016 This will be OUR year! This is the year of change. BIG things are ahead for the Fiduccias. It’s time to see what we are really made of! Ania plans to bring in $300,000 in earnings before payouts, I plan to finally turn a profit with America’s Footprints and bring in at least $50,000. […]

Saying I was a bit nervous is an understatement.  This is a moment that most teens long for.  It is a time in their life where they get to tackle the challenge that had plagued them for so long – to earn the right to be behind the wheel of a car and explore the […]

It’s Nov 9, 2016 – and I’m extremely worried about our family’s finances. I went out on a limb for many things these past few years. I left my steady income job. I started America’s Footprints. And I built Optimus. I have completely exhausted our entire life savings. As it stands today the only money […]

This was a blog article I wrote for America’s Footprints. The “project” I was referring to throughout the article is the Optimus build. We are weeks away from getting the base model truck. So stress has really overcome me now.  Here’s what I wrote. Enjoy!  🙂 ———————————————————————- Growing up my mom would always tell me: […]

This was an email I sent to mom and Ania. It was in response to mom’s offer to help us pay for things like food and health insurance as a result of the shitty financial situation we’re now in…because of me and the strain Optimus placed on us. —————————————————- Nana, I really appreciate your willingness […]

It is April 16, 2018. These past few weeks have seriously tested me and my family. For some reason the universe is exposing us to a lot of the hatred that exists on this planet. A short summary of what’s happened: 1) Indiana Comic Con – I had Optimus on display there for the weekend. […]