My Thoughts Exactly by Annette Kniola

June 1st, 2014 That's right! I am running for Fire Commissioner, seat 3, here in the Big Corkscrew Island Fire District. I was unopposed until the other day, so today I am spreading the word among our community. Let the campaign begin! Oddly, my opponent has never been seen before out here in the Estates, let alone ever been heard of. Who is he? Where does he live? Yet files to run against me? What's up with that? (Being a bit silly here, but just couldn't' resist!) I mean, there is nothing wrong with anyone running whatsoever, but where did he come from? Though I do recall meeting him a couple of weeks ago at a meeting. That night he was "for" this Big Corkscrew/ North Naples merger, as long as it's for the benefit for the fire department and the community as a whole. And I agreed. Then just two weeks later, he's "against" it? What gives? He now wants to see the BCIFD merge with Golden Gate/East Naples. Really? Y...

May 18th, 2014 I'm back! I bet you all thought I ran away. No, can't say I ran away, well, maybe for the weekend. I am sitting here in Fort Lauderdale at my brothers house and enjoying the utmost peace and quiet. No kids to worry about, no laundry, no work, and no animals to tend to. Absolutely nothing! I even wrote to a friend that I just may go skinny dippin' in the pool if I want to. And no, my brother and his girlfriend are not here. They are off in Germany and I have their pad all to myself. Maybe I'll even hit the strip clubs tonight! Lol! Because I can! But really,I won't. But that would be a total trip! No, after this blog, I am heading to the beach and tonight to a good movie. All day yesterday I went shopping at the Sawgrass Mills Mall and I think I walked about 10 miles. That mall has no end! But I bought some new dresses and shoes. I get to where more dresses again, because if some of you don't know, I lost 50 poun...

April 12th, 2014 You have no idea how much I have been wanting to write about my past year. As you may have noticed, I do not write weekly like I used to because of circumstances in my world that have happened. My life has been quite the whirlwind I never thought I would have to go through. But I did, and I sit here today, truly happy and truly blessed. I am sure some of you have heard by now, but I have recently divorced. Yep, that's right, a single mother of four boys now. I never dreamed I would be in this position after 20 years of marriage, but it is what it is. What's most important is that I am happy. Since then, I have been very much relying on my boys to help me more around the house as I start back in my career in real-estate. Every day each son has a chore, if not chores, marked down that they need to fulfill before I get home. It has become very structured. Those chores include laundry, emptying the dishwasher, vacuuming, to mowing the...

March 24th, 2014 I don't know about you, but I am having a very difficult time dealing with reality in the world today. Reality of life in this day and age and what my children and myself are heading into. From what I see, I don't like it. Either I am in for a serious rude awakening or I better do something to change it. Or then again, if I do change it, will it reflect a negative in our future? I just don't know anymore. Every single day, I go back for a minute and reflect on my youth. Life was easy and wonderful then. Now I compare it to what I see in my boys. I see my 17 year old with his first cell phone, going to school and working. My 13 year old consumed with so much technology, I have to text him to see how he is doing. I mean really? Hopefully he'll grow up and be a graphic designer. Then my two youngest boys, ages 11 and 8. What a complete headache! And you know what's causing that headache? It's called a PS3. If you are...

February 25th, 2014 A couple of weeks ago I had a meeting with John Cox, President of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. We met to talk about Opportunity Naples and lot's of other good stuff. What is Opportunity Naples? On their website they sum it up pretty good. It reads; Opportunity Naples is a three-year economic development strategy that will advance economic opportunity for all residents of Greater Naples. The process will be held over the next eight months, leveraging the thoughts and opinions of Greater Naples residents and leaders. Public input and stakeholder perspectives, along with a thorough analysis of the Collier County’s competitive position, will directly inform the process. The result will be a best-in-class strategic plan comprised of actionable, measurable goals set in a collaborative framework to ensure Greater Naples thrives for decades to come. Did you notice in that paragraph that they continually use the words, Greater Naples?...

January 5th, 2014 Happy New Year everyone! I know it's been quite some time since I have written. Call it writers block or simply call it the holidays. I'll call it both. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years. Looking forward to this year and plan on making it the greatest one thus far. Hoping to work on many opportunities that come my way, making the best out of each and every one of them. I do have so much to write about in our community and all the happenings of Collier County, but today, I would rather start off my first post of the year with my little inspiration. Over the past couple of months, I met a man by the name of David Horsewood. Owner of Fire by Light, LLC., out of Knoxville,Tennessee. I have not physically met him, but have linked with him on the business site called LinkedIn. I find myself going to his profile more than I should, but continually find his words so inspiring. David and I have since gotten in touch wit...

January 27th, 2014 I don't know what's gotten into the wildlife out here in The Estates, but I must say, it's beary crazy! Last Monday I headed over to my sissy's house to visit and get the game cameras set up. My sister Mary has had her garbage can repeatedly knocked over on a daily basis. More than likely a bear. So it was time for the ole game cameras to be put to use. So that night, we hooked up the cameras, did a little bear dance and waited for the next morning as to see what came. Bingo! A mama bear and baby bear were captured on the cameras. Awesome! You can view these photos on my Facebook page. You may have to scroll down just a bit. It's called A Beary great Monday night! You'll see us nutty sisters doing our bear dance too. ;) https://www.facebook.com/annette.kniola I went ahead and posted the bear pics on my Estates Facebook site too, and apparently this mama bear has three cubs in the vicinity of Mary's house...

December 6th, 2013 So the word is out, the conversations have begun! Yes, we are finally focusing on the future growth of Naples. A group by the name of Market Street Services recently submitted a draft proposal to the Greater Chamber of Commerce, outlining an economic development strategy for all of Collier County. This proposal takes into account, competitive assessments, targeting business analysis, marketing review, plan implementation, timelines, experiences, cost estimates, and final steps. The main goal is to improve places where we work and visit, enhance the lives of those that live and work in our communities, continue positive change, passing the world to future generations. What's cool about it, is the Market Street group will basically be organizing us! The plan is to take many community leaders, whether it's individuals derived from Greater Naples Chamber, Partnership Collier, civic leaders, business leaders, elected officials, "su...

Decem ber 14th, 2013 This time last year was tough on all of us. It was that deep down painful feeling in our hearts we all felt when the news broke about the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings. For me it felt like 9/11 all over again. I remember being glued to the TV in total anguish. I still can't believe to this day something like this could happen. But it did, and it could happen to any of us, on any given day. A couple days after the shooting, still numb to the whole tragedy, I made a video. I asked family and friends on Facebook to come up with a song for the video. Many had great ones, but the one that stood out the most was, 'Jealous Of The Angels' sung by Jenn Bostic. It was perfect. You can watch the video at this link below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvSX6yS-ptM Shortly after this video was published, Jenn Bostic herself contacted me, thanking me for doing the video and using her song. I thought that was so nice of her to do t...

November 15th, 2013 So I go out the other day to run my typical errands. My first stop was Pet Smart. As I wandered to the back in search for my ever so tasty meal-worms, I stopped and paused for a moment, silencing myself to listen, tipping my ear up ever so slightly. What is it I'm listening to I wonder? Hmmm...is that Christmas music? For the love of God, it was! As I continued to listen to the music, thankfully the store had good taste. It was my wonderful Josh Groban singing Silent Night. But really I thought, Christmas music, already? So I grab my 500 count meal-worms as they danced inside their container, then asked the gentlemen high up on the ladder, "Why do they have Christmas music playing, already?" He responded, "I know, they have had it playing for two weeks now and it's about driving me nuts!" "You nuts? Me nuts?", I said. (Surprised he wasn't ready to leap off that ladder) I don't know why, bu...

October 30th, 2013 This morning as I was out by the shed, a squirrel made an appearance from up a tree. I looked up at him, looking closely into his eyes, and he opened both arms up to me as if he were saying, "Where have you been? We miss you." My heart melted. I thought to myself, "Annette, really, where have you been?" The squirrel was right. I have been so out of touch with my outside world, it's almost like I have given up. Given up on all my little squirrel friends that I fed peanuts to daily. Given up my enjoyment of my red bellied woodpecker, Red, and her two new babies. Given up just sitting in my backyard like I always have while observing Mother Nature. Why, I thought? It's amazing what happens when life events unfold. The loss of my turkeys, Tom and Jerry, is especially still so hard on me. And my rooster, Roid. No more cock-a-doodle doo, no more gobble, gobble, gobble. All gone. No wonder I have lost all interest, ...

October 15th, 2013 Writing this today reminds me of the day I wrote Keep the Faith back in June of this year. Not much on my life has changed since that blog. Deep thoughts and changes continue to work my heart heavily from many circumstances that have come and gone. Some good, some bad, and most that will last forever in my mind. If you go back to my last blog of 2012, it's almost like I predicted my future. That blog was called, 2013-My Year of New Resolutions. The first paragraph read; "Looking back at the year of 2012, I will admit, it hasn't been my best year so far. Lot's of ups and downs in my life, consumed by not only me, but others too. Yet I find myself pushing along with my head held up high, always keeping strong, holding on for any possible light at the end of each tunnel. I have a strong spirit, it's just who I am and always will be. I must keep the faith." Just from reading that today, I see I wrote keep the faith in th...

September 23rd, 2013 Just a couple of days ago, I was enjoying my two turkeys, Tom and Jerry, and the last of my two chickens, Roid the Rooster, and Spice. But the last couple of days, all four seemed a bit off. Following me everywhere I go, hanging out in the garage or nearby, like something was watching them. It should have been a red flag for me, but I unfortunately ignored the signs, thinking it was nothing. I had actually given 6 hens away a few weeks back, because every day it seemed like one would end up missing or dead. Too heartbreaking and I kind of figured something was watching and eating them. Then yesterday came with the most heartbreak of all. I realized I did not hear any cockadoodle-doo as usual from Roid this Sunday morning. So I did my morning routine to feed the chickens and turkeys and was mortified at the sight of the pen. Feathers everywhere! Inside and out, were trails of feathers leading into the woods. You could tell the turkeys...

September 5th, 2013 It's all over the news, the internet, the papers. Syria and war. Or really, if you read between the lines, it's really going to be Russia -vs-US. Worse yet, the possibility of World War III. Yeah, I may be getting a bit ahead of myself, but here is my reasoning why. Russian President Vladimir Putin is one bad seed. I have never seen such cold blood run through one man's veins in my life. If anyone needs to be executed, it's him. He is fully backing Syrians military and their President, Bashar Assad. Another bad seed, who by the way, continues to parade around with his wife like the two are actually doing good for their country, as the doors outside continue to be splattered with bloodshed. Sickening really. Russia backs Assad all the way and has made it clear they are going to supply Assad's army with weapons that have never been seen before in the middle east. Russia has already supplied Syria with well equipped air and ...

August 28th, 2013 I see all over the internet about this Miley Cyrus performance. I never watch much TV, let alone MTV Music Awards, but I have to say, I must have missed quite a performance. So just this morning, I had an itching to write a blog. So I thought, why not about Miley? Well, it took me forever just to find the damn video, let alone a clear version of it. Which you can find on the link below. I suggest watching it before reading the rest of my blog. http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/942064/we-cant-stop-blurred-lines-give-it-2-u-medley.jhtml#id=1712039 Anyway, I finally watched it and realized, hey, she acts just like me! Crazy!! Really, it was something else. Inappropriate, yes, especially when there are kids watching the performance. I would have made my kids shut the TV off or turn their backs. I saw Will Smith's family reaction and his kids faces looked like they were ready to drop to the floor. In the video, Miley kept singing, "It...

August 15th, 2013 I say it over and over. Life is too short. I can't even describe in words the way I feel right now about such a young friend passing. Her name is Tina Marcouex and she was just 44. She died Friday, August 15th, at 3:30pm in Wisconsin from a sickness she has been battling for almost a year. I have known Tina since I was 13. Classmates throughout middle school and high-school. With only being in a class of 117 kids, we are all very close. Tina is now the fourth classmate of 1987 to die, and it's get harder each time one goes. Especially with us still so young. We grew up together with many good memories but have since grown apart due to the distance of where our lives have left us. She was always full of life, great personality, so silly at times, yet always pouring out tons of love. For years in high-school, her and I became very close, but as our lives progressed, and I moving to Florida, things simply changed. It's been well o...

August 12th, 2013 There are two topics of discussion that have been on my mind. Both upsetting to all of us parents that have kids in school. The first topic is the Common Core Standards that was developed by a group of governors and non profits that has since been implemented here in Collier County. It's basically our national school curriculum headed by our federal government that is sweeping the country as I write. The more I think about it, it was implemented and defended by Jeb Bush. Even Obama, my buddy, has even given cash incentives to promote it through a Race to the Top competition, heavily funded by Bill Gates. Our government is taking total control over our kids education while making money at the same time. 45 states have already adopted this program since 2010, Florida included. Here's the site for the Standards of Common Core; http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/K/OA What really got me motivated to write this was a you tube video by E...

July 8th, 2013 This past week had been crazy! And since today is Monday, I thought the title was perfect. To begin, I will say one word. Rain. And lot's of it! Recently I received a message on my Estates Community Facebook page of one family's drainage situation. And they are not too happy about it. The family lives off of 43rd Ave NE, off Everglades Blvd. Apparently the water in the ditches were draining into Everglades Blvd rather than into the canal. On their behalf, I contacted Mike Stone who is the Road and Bridge Maintenance Supervisor for our area. He was kind enough to go out and take a look. The answer the family received was that all was normal, even as other streets remained dry. Not what they expected to hear. In the meantime, others have since posted comments in reference to the rain; "Yes! We live off of 35th Ave NE. The ditches are full & everyone's yard has a small lake in it. The water doesn't seem to be flowi...

July 2nd, 2013 For the past few weeks since school has let out, I have been home practically 24/7 with all of my boys. Since then, we have done all kinds of little excursions, have had many interesting moments, and of course, sprinkle a little boredom to that too. Each one of my boys have their own little passions. My youngest especially. Recently he won a bag of flower seeds at our GGEACA Spring Fling. That bag of seeds turned out to be the highlight of his summer. After that night, he just couldn't wait to get home to plant them. And we did. Today, the blooms are beautiful and he is so proud. We call it "Matthew's Garden". If you really want to see some of his flowers, I will post some on my Facebook page as a public post. https://www.facebook.com/annette.kniola Next up is my 10 year old, Benjamin. What a unique child. One of the most spot on, athletic, organized, and extremely wise child. He too has passions, but not so much the flo...

June 18th, 2013 Recently I have been faced with an exorbitant amount of circumstances that have certainly given me much more thought into my life. Thought that continues to lead me into the path of my faith. As I look back at a blog I wrote for my 2013 new years resolution, I remember writing how I was so thankful I was to leave the year 2012 behind. Well, this year hasn't gotten any better, no matter how many times I write that it will. But I constantly remind myself life is great and that I can push on. And I will. This past Sunday at mass was the most difficult mass I have ever attended. With personal issues that have crept recently into my life, I am just so thankful of Father Bob at St. Agnes Catholic Church. My husband and I, along with our boys, sat peacefully as Father Bob preached the sermon of the day. I was shocked as he read the sermon, as though he were speaking to me. Personally, I couldn't handle it. I had to get up and get out of t...

May 12th, 2013 It was the year 2003 at North Collier Hospital Birth Center where I was scheduled to have a C-section and expecting my third boy, Baby Ben. As I lay there for the birth of you, I remember calling out to the doctors that it was the best C-section ever! You don't hear that every day now do you? It was nothing like the one with your older brother, where I swear to God, I died twice and even saw "the" light! But really, that light was just the hospital light above my surgery table. :) Yeah, every one of you four boys came out the same way, all nice and new. After your birth, they held you up over the sheet above my belly. The one that separates you from seeing anything going on. I got a brief look at you as you cried and cried, all covered in blood. Good strong lungs I thought as I laid there all cloudy and numb. And to this day, I realized they never brought you over to see me. They whisked you away pretty quick and I never questi...

April 24th, 2013 Good news! We can go out and buy our fellow commissioners and directors some breakfast, lunch, or just a glass of iced tea! Yeah! Maybe I should have waited another week to buy Commissioner Fiala some lunch, hey! The new ordinance is great. I have been out numerous times in circumstances where I wanted to simply pick up the tab, but the old ethics ordinance continued to stand in my way. Not any longer! Last week I went out with Commissioner Fiala to a very nice lunch at the Sam Sneads at Lely Resort. We have been wanting to get together for quite some time now, but this past season has been overwhelming for the both of us. Donna and I both share a big compassion. And that's our surrounding communities, the kids, and our parks. Especially the parks and what we both would like to see happen. I want our future Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park, she wants a pool at Eagle Lakes Park. We plan on putting our heads together to make them b...

April 6th, 2013 There are so many stories I want to tell lately that I just can't stand it! Today I have to write about Roid the Rooster. Roid was supposed to be a hen. Back in August I picked out many baby chicks which I thought were to be hens. I really didn't want to deal with any more roosters since I ended up with three the last time and the fights amongst them just didn't sit well with me. Anyway, we pick up a few Rhode Island Reds, a couple of Ameraucanas (the one's that lay the green eggs), and a couple of Black Sex Links. Don't even ask me how they came up with that last breed, I really don't want to know. The baby chicks grew and grew, but one Rhode Island Red in particular was exceptionally bigger. We decided to name her Roid after steroids, since she was so big. Well, a couple of months later, you could see by the comb and wattle, that we definitely had ourselves a rooster. Plus he started to act like a male anyway. (I w...

March 13th, 2013 I hope everyone is having a great Spring Break! I know I am and I could not resist but to write about how silly our Spring Break has been. This past weekend, myself and my boys headed up to Peace River Campground for some very much needed rest and relaxation. There we met up with camping friends, the Morrison's, Romeo's, Lynch's, Bee's, and Tomlinson's. Some of us in tents and some of us in campers. I must say, the Kniola's have the luxury of a 5-Star 5-Diamond resort style tent(kidding). Plenty of space to house a large family for sure. The nice touch this time around was all the help I had to set up as if we were an Amish community. Tom Romeo was kind enough to prepare everyone for our arrival as he unrolled "DANGER" tape all around my tent. Yes, the Kniola's have arrived! Thanks Tom, I am now branded. ;) After we were all set up, the best part to the whole trip for our kids was the chance to go motorcyc...

February 26th, 2014 It has been almost two weeks now that my friend Duane has passed. I have not written anything about Duane because I have been patiently waiting to see what the family has planned. Duane was my Wisconsin cheese-head and Packer buddy. Always vocal and ready to roll at most meetings throughout Collier County. Duane was a great civic leader and strong on fire consolidation in our county. Duane was great at sending silly emails and serious ones too. The last one he wrote to me had a special touch. Like he knew his time was coming. He wrote this to me back in early January, just before he found out about his cancer. It was very sweet. Annette, May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand. -Duane Another wonderful friend to Duane is Jim Flanigan. Jim has devoted himself with pre...

February 24th, 2012 Before I start into my little rant, I do want to say one thing. Life really is great, but there are moments I simply do not understand. It seems at every corner of my life, a new member of laziness arrives. It really is quite pathetic the amount of time and energy I give to the many things I do. Lately, it's just cleaning up messes for those who were too lazy to do in in the first place. It has gotten utterly ridiculous in today's society because I do believe laziness is running rampid throughout. And it's not funny. What give's people? You say you are going to do something, then do it! Don't offer everything but your blood to make it happen, then in turn walk out the door and completely be blitzed by a mind sucking memory varmint and not produce? I am a big on commitment. It's a very important character trait I hold very close and respect at all costs. Especially since most of my commitments are for our commu...

January 30th, 2013 I cannot get enough of these eagles! They have certainly landed right here into my heart. Every morning at around 6am, I place the site up on my computer and watch them all morning, keeping the live feed going all day. My kids get up and have breakfast with them every morning too. Here's the site; http://dickpritchettrealestate.com/eagle-feed.html Ozzie and Harriet are the two named bald eagles in Fort Myers being caught on a UStream Eagle Cam since earlier this month. They have since had two babies, which I don't think they named yet. And it is just awesome to watch, especially that early in the morning because the camera has night vision too. These two babies are just adorable. They are usually alone and sleeping the majority of the time, but sometimes you can get a good glimpse of the two already fighting with each other. The little one that was recently born is quite the little pistol. He or she does not take any crap from the...

January 14th, 2013 "Mom, come here, look at this." "Mom, I can't find it, can you come here and show me?" "Mom, I want to go to a friends house, I need a ride." "Mom, what's the derivative of 3x^2 - 6x + 7?"' "Mom, I'm bored, there's nothing to do." "Mom, you know I don't eat that." "Mom, I don't feel like cleaning my room, can I do it tomorrow?" "Mom, where's my DSI?" "Mom, can we go to the pier?" "Mom, my project is due tomorrow, I need help." "Mom, he hit me!" (Sigh) And you wonder why I barely have time to write anymore! I can't take it! Trying to raise four boys practically solo is really getting the best of me. It's completely overwhelming. And it's true what a lady at church said to me last year. "Enjoy it while you can, because it's only going to get worse." Thanks lady, that really made my day. ...

December 28th, 2012 Looking back at the year of 2012, I will admit, it hasn't been my best year so far. Lot's of ups and downs in my life, consumed by not only me, but others, too. Yet I find myself pushing along with my head held up high, always keeping strong, holding on for any possible light at the end of each tunnel. I have a strong spirit, it's just who I am and always will be. I must keep the faith. Every year for me starts out fresh with hopes of a better year ahead. We all do. We have our traditional new years resolutions that may last a couple weeks, but then we end up same ole, same ole. That's me anyway. So this year, my resolution is to be consumed with more love, hope and faith. So before I celebrate this new year, I plan to stop for a moment and reflect on this past year I am gladly leaving behind. I will remember the achievements and the mistakes, promises I may have made or have broken. I will think of the laughter, great th...

December 25th, 2013 YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zniEwMNA8zw Merry Christmas Everyone! I am actually sitting here this morning patiently waiting for everyone to get up! I can't believe these kids are still sleeping and it's after 8am! What the heck! "Come on kids, Santa came and I am waiting........" I know we all stayed up late last night, but that still doesn't stop me for being the early bird that gets the worm. Heck, by 6:30 this morning my paper was read, I uploaded our "Merry Christmas from The Kniola's" video, had two cups of coffee, and now I am so bored, I felt like writing a blog. The eagerness for them to awake is killing me! Last night for Christmas Eve we had the traditional Christmas Eve party. And what fun it was to actually make a video too. Okay, so we all sucked at it, but I can't say we didn't try! It was my father-in-laws idea to do the 12 Days of Christmas, so we gave it a whirl....

December 20th, 2012 For many of us, this Christmas is turning out to be a solemn one. Even trying to get into the spirit makes you feel a touch of guilt due to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. I'll admit, it's not so joyous at all. I too have been consumed as to the whys and the hows. We all have. The posts on Facebook and throughout the internet have been overwhelming. The feeling of numbness has taken it's toll, yet the initial shock has faded. I too have been caught up in the sadness and devoted some time do a video in memory of those lost. It was the hardest video I ever made. Seeing those little faces and thinking about what the parents are having to go through as they stare at their child's Christmas gifts under the tree, knowing they will never be opened. My pain is your pain and I am truly sorry. There was also a poem that circulated that I would like to share with you. It was poem written and attached to a beautiful picture sho...