House concert with Marc Gunn

Last night I attended a house concert at my friends April & John’s house to see Marc Gunn play. It was awesome. I first saw Marc play when he was part of the Brobdingnagian Bards at DragonCon many years ago.

Marc’s music is described as “Celtic music, the traditional and the twisted. Marc Gunn combines his love of traditional Irish drinking songs with fun, twisted lyrics. It’s like a satirical jam session between The Clancy Brothers and Weird Al Yankovic. Enjoy Celtic-style songs about hobbits, cats, kilts, Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek, plus, Gunn’s rhythmic acoustic renditions of traditional Scottish and Irish songs.”

Marc introduced new songs I haven’t heard that were delightful along classics that I’ve always enjoyed hearing him play, like the Ballad of Jayne.

Marc also performed an acapella summary of Hamlet. I caught the second half.

Marc has also started podcasts and newsletters supporting the Celtic community. My favorite part on Marc’s network to follow is his Instagram account to see photos of his beautiful wife Gwen and daughter Kenzie. It is awesome to keep up with his lovely family and see how Kenzie is growing up!

I’ll leave you with one more video from last night. Don’t go Drinking with Hobbits! 🙂

What are your favorite Celtic songs?

Anxiety.

If you’ve ever met me in person and gotten to know me, you’ll realize I have anxiety. It’s not crippling or life altering, but it is there. I also worry like its my job sometimes. I know the two go hand in hand – Anxiety and Worry. There are a multitude of medications and methods to ease anxiety when it becomes a little too much to bear. Yoga, meditation, exercise, Prozac, Wellbutrin, etc.  I have found exercise, yoga, and meditation to be hugely helpful. Then PMS hits and that tiny little molehill turns into Mt. Everest for a few days. The past few years, I’ve learned to recognize it, name it and work past it. While I know medication is a clinically proven means of dealing with anxiety, I am weary of side effects.

In the last year or so, I have seen ads for a product called 1Hour Break all over Facebook. It’s an oral spray to help with anxiety made of herbs like kava kava which are widely known to help relaxation.

A few facts about 1Hour Break:

-First all natural oral spray that relieves stress & anxiety.
-Made from Kava Kava root, widely known in Hawaii for its stress-relieving properties.
-Made more effective by adding three herbs that help with relaxation; Lobelia, Passion Flower, and Lemon Balm.
This is run by a small family start up company.
–They are launching an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for manufacturing and bottling costs without getting big investors involved.



Mamavation has partnered with 1Hour Break to get the word out on their product. If you are unfamiliar with them, Mamavation is a great network of bloggers committed to sustainable living, healthier lifestyles and real food. I knew when I saw that they had partnered with 1Hour Break that it was a product worth checking into.

Mamavation and 1Hour Break are having a Twitter Party on Tuesday to discuss anxiety, stress and ways to cope with stress effectively. Please join in with the hashtag #BeatAnxiety Tuesday evening for prizes, tips to de-stress and a community of peers to connect with!

What are your favorite ways to relax and decompress after a stressful day or during a tense situation?

**I am writing this post on behalf on 1Hour Break to help them spread the word about their Indiegogo campaign launch and open up the discussion on stress and anxiety. All opinions and experiences are my own. I have received no compensation for this post and have not yet tried 1Hour Break.

Seas The Day with Royal Caribbean

I am so excited!! In a few short weeks, I will join 39 other bloggers on a trip of a lifetime – a 4 day trip to Cozumel on the Liberty of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean is sponsoring our group on a wonderful adventure. The Liberty of the Seas is a freedom class ship with tons of activities on board including a rock climbing wall, ice skating rink and even a full size basketball court and boxing ring! While I’m not entirely sure I will make it into the boxing ring, I can’t wait to scale the rock wall a few times.

This will be my second cruise. I went on my first cruise back in November to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral. We sailed to Freeport and Nassau. We had a blast at Atlantis and the kids still talk about going back on the boat. I know that this voyage with Royal Caribbean will be my best trip yet and I am so excited to go!

The next thing I need to plan – my shore excursion. What do you think I should try?

Follow along with my adventure on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! Search for #SeasTheDay to follow all the bloggers on the trip!