Look Ma! I'm eating my lunch...

These were such cute pictures of Saya that I thought I should share them with you. It's her attempt at eating Mac 'n Cheese and Veggies. These were sent to me while I was working. I just love being able to see my Saya baby when I am away from her. Makes me miss her like crazy!


Pictures courtesy of the hubs...

PS: I have no idea what her bib says :)

Latest Addiction

Angry Birds

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Need I really say anything more? I know, I know I am so late with it but I just started playing it last week and I am already addicted. I knew what the game was as my hubby would lay in bed playing the game on his phone but never got my hands on it until my Nook Color was updated to the latest version which now accepted apps. As you can imagine, Angry Birds was the first app I downloaded and as of yet I have not regretted it.

For those who live in the dark, Angry Birds, is the #1 paid app in the US and in many other countries.

Below is a snippet from the website:

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified castles.

Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 120 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy. 

Protect wildlife or play Angry Birds! --Rovio

What I love about the game is that it is challenging and thought provoking. Now you can get lucky with some of your shots especially in the earlier levels but as the levels go on, you have to really think about the best spots to aim your birds in order to be as destructive as possible but also annihilate those pesky green pigs. Oh and if you are unsuccessful, those pigs will poke fun at you give you this little smirk...Grrrr! :)

I also think the characters are so darn cute. When the birds hit an object they make the funniest little noises. My hubby and I crack up all the time. I think they are so cute, I would even think about picking up the plush toys. I know my little Saya would love them...or their noses really!

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At one point the app was (and may still be) FREE for Android users but for me it was $2.99. I am also not aware of the cost for other platforms. Check out the website for further details!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

I am Gianna...

I AM...

Child of God. Wife. Mother. Daughter. Sister. Step-Pawrent. 

Computer geek-ette. Blogger. Wannabe foodie. Crafty. 

Lover of Arts. Book worm. Sports fanatic. 

Dreamer. Motivated but Lazy. Timid.

Positive. Selfless. Humble.

Beautiful. Curvy.  

I HAVE...

An AMAZING family 

A very small set of close GREAT friends

Battle scars of life on my body, mind and heart

Struggled with my self-image my entire life...too skinny, too thick or too fat

A low self confidence even when I am confident I can do it

A conflicting relationship with my FIL and struggle daily with it

Been letting other's negative attitude affect my happiness

An insane memory but I wish I could press the delete button for nonsense

A tendency to worry about EVERYTHING

A hard time not caring about all things

OCD-like tendencies

I WANT...

To have more time with my family

Attention without being noticed

To feel appreciated

To be more motivating and less criticizing of myself and others

To be more in shape...physically, spiritually and emotionally

To complete my "101 in 1001" list

I PRAY...

I can balance my selflessness and still help myself

For eternal happiness, health, and love

I can let God take control

I can forgive and forget

I can continue to live the life I want to live

I can prevent other's negativity from chipping away at my happiness

I FEAR...

Not dying but dying alone

Losing myself

Losing the ones I love the most

My nightmares will come true

Whether you believe this to be true or not, this is my current self reflection. I have recently found that I needed to truthfully evaluate my life and all things in it. This is the good, the bad and the ugly but a work in progress!

Charity of the Month

This is not only related to task # 2 of my "101 in 1001" list but donating to a charity or a non-profit organization is something that I am passionate about. It is a way that I can help others even though it is of monetary nature. Prior to me knowing about this list, my hubby and I had discussed donating monthly to an organization in need. So this is my chance to do so.

The purpose of my "Charity of the Month" posts is not for me to ask you to donate (although, that would be quite generous of you) but to bring attention to these groups while providing high-level information on the charity or organization. In addition, I will give a little background as to why I chose them.

The first charity I chose is The Coco Foundation, in honor of Coco Lazaridis. 

Their mission statement:

"The Coco Foundation was founded in 2010 with the goal of providing resources and support to individuals, families, and friends impacted by pediatric cancer. Furthermore, the organization seeks to achieve three primary objectives:

• To help fund clinical research aimed at improved diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancer
• To raise awareness about pediatric cancers and the important role of cord blood, bone marrow, and blood product donation in cancer treatment
• To provide personalized support and information for children and their families while dealing with pediatric cancer diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and related expenses

The Coco Foundation was founded by Coco’s mother, Ali Lazaridis, and a group of highly qualified board members who work tirelessly to ensure the smooth operation and success of the foundation on a daily basis. Learn more about the foundation’s Board of Directors." -- The Coco Foundation

Meet Coco:

"Coco Lazaridis was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) at age three months in November 2009. After intensive chemotherapy treatments and a successful cord blood transplant, she has been at home in remission for over seven months."

The reason I chose this charity is because little Miss Coco Lazaridis is the niece of one of my wonderful friends I had in high school. Besides my relationship with her Aunt, my family and her family have some history together. Because we all know each other, helping out this charity meant more to me and was a no brain-er. It is not an everyday where you get to meet those who will benefit greatly from a charity you donate to. I can be 100% sure that my contribution is actually going to be helping someone I personally know and all others who are affected by something as horrible as pediatric cancer.

Unfortunately, I have not had the privilege to meet Miss Coco in person as of yet. At her first annual walk, she was not well enough to attend but at the previous LLS "Light the Night" walk, my sister had the pleasure of meeting her. From afar, I can see how darn cute she was but could also see that she has fought quite the battle. Seeing her walk around was a huge blessing as just weeks before the walk she was still at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) which was her home for many months of her young life. Essentially that is where she grew up. With obviously the work of the medical staff but with all the love and support of her family, friends and followers (Coco's Angels), Coco can now start to live a semi-normal kind of life and live a long and prosperous life as well.

If you wish to contribute to The Coco Foundation, you can do so by clicking HERE or you can also donate by mail at:

The Coco Foundation PO Box 375 Bethlehem, PA 18016-0375

If you are in the LV, you could also register to walk in the "Miles for Coco" annual walk on May 28, 2011 or participate in the Tee Time for Coco golf tournament on October 1, 2011.

If nothing else, please keep little Miss Coco in your thoughts and prayers!


Also, I am still looking for suggestions for other charities or organizations that I can donate to. Please send me a message with the charity or organization name and a little information on it. Please help me complete this task!

Fab Find

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This find is about the sister sites, Diapers.com and Soap.com. My MIL and I use Diapers.com for all things baby and I am starting to use Soap.com for household and personal items.

Here are some of the great features of these two sites:

• Competitive prices
• Great sales and instant coupons
• Free shipping with a minimum amount purchased:
• Diapers.com - Free 2 day shipping on orders over $49 but add any item from Soap.com and order ships free at $39.
• Soap.com - Free 1 -2 day shipping on orders of $39 or over.
• They accept manufacturer's coupons!
• Share the Savings program:
• If you get friends to join and they use your personalized code, you get credits you can use towards your own purchases. 
• Click HERE for more details on the program.

Want to know one of my favorite things about these sites? Your order will arrive within 48 hours if ordered by 6pm. Most of the items I have (or my MIL) has ordered has arrived the very next day to my door step. Without sounding too much like a teenager, how cool is that?

Don't let the names fool you. Diapers.com is not just for diapers and Soap.com is not just for soap. Each site has a variety of products to fulfill your many needs including natural and organic products.

We personally use Diapers.com often for Saya's diapers, formula and wipes but on occasion will buy other products as needed. Just yesterday my MIL ordered a few gates to baby proof the house which we already received this morning. We will have the house all set-up for the weekend. Just what Mommy and Papi needed! 

As mentioned earlier, I haven't used Soap.com as much but I will be using them more often. It is just so much easier to point + click and have the product delivered to me the next day to my doorstep versus getting Saya and a diaper bag ready and in the van to go to a store. There is just too much involved. It is like you have to plan a whole day for a small trip (exaggerating of course), even just to buy one product. Too much hassle. Mommy really likes this!

As for the customer service, I have only had to call them once for a question and they were great. Thus far making my experience with these websites a great one.

My best advice for you is to shop around. I am always looking at the prices between these sites, Amazon and Babies 'R Us in order to save us money. These two sites have saved us and my MIL so much money and I am so thankful we found them. Maybe they will be beneficial to you too!

To get in on the savings, you can click any one of the ads located to the left of my website or enter my savings code (GNAL1113) at the checkout screen.

Happy Shopping!!

PS: After I had written this post, I received an email from Soap.com that they went mobile! With their new mobile app, you can:

• Reorder your mylists essentials in minutes
• Browse and buy anytime and anywhere
• Scan and save
• Easy one cart checkout

Now, how cool is that? WTG, Soap.com!

{image sources: www.diapers.com & www.soap.com}

Sign of the Week

Per task # 63, I am to learn a new sign word every week. Well as you can see, I am slacking BIG time. So today I am revealing what I will learn this week and probably a couple of extra weeks. 

The reason I put this on my list is because my daughter's daycare will be teaching her how to sign as she develops. In order to better understand her and build my own skill set, I wanted to learn too. Sign language is a unique but beautiful way to communicate with others. Call me weird, but I always found it fascinating when I would watch people sign on TV as interpreters for the hearing impaired.

I am being realistic when I say that I won't be able to learn the entire language but some key words or phrases may come handy in life.

This week I will focus on the Alphabet or Manual Alphabet used to Finger Spell. Here is a poster from HowStuffWorks.com

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