Mental Feng Shui

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! .... When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say ' bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

~Live Well ~Laugh Often~Love Much~

Yo-Plus gift bag & free coupon GIVEAWAY

In these difficult economic times, we all need to take advantage of anything free. So head over to Elebelly's blog to enter in her Yo-Plus gift bag and yogurt giveaway. Simply leave a comment with your first-borns birth date....That's it!

Not only will you receive a coupon for a four pack of Yo-Plus Blueberry Acai but you'll receive a great gift bag with a reusable water bottle.

Stay tuned here on "Gunning It" as we will be hosting another giveaway very soon....something very yummy too!

Need your advice...

I have changed the look of my website over at Chesapeake Ribbons and would love some feedback. All comments are welcome so please send some love my way. I'd especially love to hear what you think if you remember the "old look!"

Who knows....maybe you'll even win something for leaving me your feedback ;-)

New mommy website...

So today while watching the Noggin channel with my son I saw a commercial for a new website (at least new to me) called Parents Connect. What really caught my eye is that Dr. Marc Weissbluth, author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child is hosting Kids Sleep Training Boot Camp "to help get your kids sleeping better so you can sleep better. You learn about sleep rules, sleep training basics, getting kids sleeping through the night, naps, setting rewards and restrictions and more."

I have already been skimming through his book and love it! It has been passed around my "mommy network" and the moms rave about it, so I am excited to pass along this website. So now I am going to hop over to the message boards and sign myself up for the challenge! I will keep you posted. I wonder if Dr. W can give me advice on how to get Nick to sleep past 6:30 am!? (Believe me, I have tried everything too).

"Tell me about it"

I found this on FB and had to post here (this article was taken from the Washington Post)

Dearn Carolyn:

Best friend has child. Her: exhausted, busy, no time for self, no time for me, etc. Me (no kids): Wow. Sorry. What'd you do today? Her: Park, play group . . .

Okay. I've done Internet searches, I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners . . . I do all those things, too, and I don't do them EVERY DAY. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail? I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events) and I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy -- not a bad thing at all -- but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth? Is this a peeing contest ("My life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids and all us child-free folks get the same story and have the same questions.

Tacoma, Wash.


"Relax and enjoy. You're funny.

Or you're lying about having friends with kids.

Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them.

Internet searches?

I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand, while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom-friends are either lying or competing with you, is disingenuous indeed.

So, since it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. In list form. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.

It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.

It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.

It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends, well-meaning and otherwise. It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.

It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.

It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends, or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand or keep your snit to yourself."

Me: Amen sister!!!!

Finally some good video for y'all...

Time for another concert...

Yeah! I am so excited to be going to another concert...This time we're going to see Ray LaMontagne at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pa. This will be a great show, especially since the Tower is a much smaller and more intimate spot to hear music. (I saw Blues Traveler there back in my college days & was practically touching the stage).

Mike and I have seen Ray once before. Unfortunately it was kind of hard to hear him because we were surrounded by a bunch of drunk teens and college kids. I think most were there to see Guster. Plus the concert was outside at Penns Landing so it was definitely more of a "party atmosphere." God I feel old saying that!? So anyway, this time will be cool to just see Ray perform....now that we're old fogies ;-)

Congrats!

Val over at Stinky John Jones won the giveaway for the box of personalized fruit roll-ups. Have fun with it and enjoy! I would love to know what she creates...(hint, hint).

;-)

We're back....and I need a vacation!

It was a fabulous vacation, don't get me wrong, but man it was a lot of work with the baby!? She was awesome during the day but horrible sleeping at night. "Angel by day, terror by night"...and I am not good with little sleep either.

So anyway, here are a few pics just to give you a glimpse into our vacation.

Sea World (even Anna loved the shows)

Our little pirate at Sea World

Enjoying a day of rest at the resort

Where's Nick?...sleeping in the stroller actually ;-)

Just in case you feel like viewing more, I have the rest in the slideshow located in the left sidebar.

Fruit Roll-Ups Giveaway

Here's a really cool and fun giveaway sponsored by My Fruit Roll-Ups . Enter now to receive your own free code for your own complimentary order of personalized fruit roll-ups (a $30 value).

With customizable My Fruit Roll-Ups you can create one-of-a-kind,
personalized messages and designs that help to make birthdays, holidays,
or any occasion just a little more special. The My Fruit Roll-Ups site
has more than 400 graphics to choose from, or you can even upload your
own photo, artwork or logo to make a treat that is truly customized. I chose to make Valentine's fruit roll-ups to give out to Nick and Anna's friends. They loved it & especially thought it was funny to eat the "kid's faces," LOL.

Once you win the fab giveaway, simply use the code provided and just visit www.myfruitrollups.com to design and order your own carton of My Fruit Roll-Ups. It takes about 13-15 days to receive the package. It is super easy...all you do is upload the photo you want and voila! They do the rest :-)

So how do you win this awesome deal?

Head over to My Fruit Roll-Ups site, look around, and then come back here and leave a comment on how they you would design your own fruit roll-ups. For what occassion?

Contest ends on Sunday 2/15, 11pm ET.

Be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you when you win!

Congratulations!

The winner of the Chesapeake Ribbons' Giveaway has been picked...

The 'Bow & Barrette' go to Mel over at A Box of Chocolates!

Have fun with them and enjoy :-)

In need of an awesome recipe that is super easy?

So a few weekends ago I went to a friends house for a dinner party and she made the most scrumptous recipe by Barefoot Contessa. I have already made it twice since then, and everyone has raved about it asking for the recipe. (Note: It isn't healthy by any means but it's fast, easy, and appears like you've been slaving in the kitchen all day...perfect right)!?

So here it is: Penne with 5 Cheeses

Ingredients
1 lb penne
2 cups cream (I used heavy cream)
1 cup crushed tomatoes (from a can)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (or romano)
1/4 cup gorgonzola, crumbled
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated fontina
1/4 lb mozzarella cheese (as fresh as possible)
1/4 cup slivered fresh basil leaf
6 teaspoons butter (approximate, butter is to taste)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook penne for just 4 minutes (or until barely al dente, as it will cook more in the oven); drain well.
3. Meanwhile, in a very large mixing bowl, combine the cream, crushed tomatoes, cheeses and basil.
4. On the show, very fresh buffalo mozzarella was used, and it was cut into slices and then slivered (much like a julienne); I'm sure shredded mozzarella would work just fine.
5. Add cooked, drained penne to sauce and stir well.
7. Fill a shallow casserole dish, such as a 13x9 pan, then dot butter over surface in small pieces.
8. Bake in preheated oven for approx. 30/35 minutes until top is browned.

Then served with a tossed green salad and some fresh bread....Mmmm....enjoy!

Our "big" snow

So as I mentioned earlier in the week, my husband was in FL (lucky him) while we had a mini-snow "storm" (if you want to even call it that) up here in PA. We typically shovel the driveway ourselves, we're do-it-yourselves kind of folks most of the time, which meant this time the task was all mine!?! When I put Anna down for her morning nap, I got Nick and I bundled up & headed outside to shovel our long and steep driveway.....
So here is what it looked like before...great morning shot isn't it!?

And here is what it looked like afterwards:

Am I an awesome wife or what!? ;-)

And here are just a few more awesome shots I was able to capture in the morning hours...

Sooo...what's new in the Gunn household you wonder?

As usual my husband is away on business but luckily just 1 night this week. The wee ones are nestled in their beds - hopefully for a full night's sleep...Anna!?! And fortunately I have a MNO (mom's night out) scheduled later this week for some much needed margaritas. That is what keeps me sane....

But most importantly, we are getting ready to leave for FL in just 4 days. Woo-hoo! I cannot wait, but am also a little nervous as this will be Anna's first trip on the plane. Not to mention, how will she sleep down there in a pack n'play - I am a "sleep Nazi" (if you will). I try to just tell myself it will all work out because it usually does. Things always have a way of working out....right!?! We will see ;-)

So we've basically planned this trip around Mike's travel schedule. He was going down for work all next week anyway, so he said, "Let's all go down to Orlando." Great idea! We are only spending one day in Disney however. I know, I know...you think I am nuts for just doing the Magic Kingdom one day but I am not a huge Disney person like some I know (Teresa J., lol). I am sure it will just be a matter of time though. Anyway, we also plan on going to Sea World one day - as our resort is right across the street. But the best part will probably a boat ride we have scheduled with friends, to view a shuttle launch! I will be sure to take some pics and video. And then, hopefully the weather is warm enough to enjoy the pools with the kids on a couple of the other days....Keeping my fingers crossed. At least they have an indoor pool. So that's about it....besides some crazy family stuff (don't we all)?

Now off to snuggle in bed and watch some stimulating TV....Real Wives of Orange County...NOT! Oh but it's sooo entertaining ;-)