Okay people! The CT Chevy Girlfriend Getaway campaign is offically underway! Those of you that follow me on Twitter or Facebook have seen me hinting about something fun coming up with Chevy…THIS IS IT! I am super excited to be part of this amazing campaign!!
I picked up the car at a launch event on Wednesday. Not only did I get to pick up this awesome Malibu, I got to meet @Moomettes and @TheMommyologist. It was a blast! Had a fun lunch and met so many nice people.
We are going to be blogging and video blogging on the Girlfriend Getaway website for the next month all about our experiences with the Malibu. I can’t wait! This is going to be a lot of fun. I will be taking you along on some FUN “missions” with my Malibu, so keep checking back!
Beginning August 30th, if you visit any of The NEW CT Chevy Network Chevy Dealers and test drive a new Chevy Malibu, you will receive a $40.00 Spa finder gift card. Woot! How cool is that! Test drive a cool car and then head over to the Spa! You can also enter to win an amazingly cool Girlfriend Getaway trip for two to Ireland! Check out girlfriendgetawaychevyct.com for more information!
SafeSocial, a new AOL product that launches today, can help you protect your children, even if you aren’t a social media expert. SafeSocial helps you:
· Find out where your child has online accounts
· Know who your child is “friends” with online
· Get notified if your child is in a conversation about violence, suicide or drugs
· See photos your child has posted online, and others’ photos in which your child has been tagged
Another benefit? You can monitor all this activity without being a “helicopter parent.” Your child will have to agree to be monitored, but you won’t need to connect with them on the social media accounts, or hover over their shoulders in person.
Guest Post by Regina Lewis, AOL Consumer Advisor
These days, your teens’ “friends” aren’t just the kids hanging out in your kitchen and family room, they’re hundreds of contacts on their “friend” and “buddy” lists. More than 50 million teens (ages 13 to 17) are online worldwide and the average number of “friends” is 130. For many teens, these numbers are even higher. It’s not unusual to have more than 500 “friends” and more than 1,000 profile photos.
So, how can you realistically keep up with your child’s vast circle of “friends” and ongoing status and photo updates?
1. Become a “Friend”
For starters, you can become your child’s online. They’ll need to accept your friend request. This can be easier said than done. In some cases, you may get push back. It’s your call how strongly you press.
There are more private alternatives. A new product called SafeSocial lets you privately see everything you would as a “friend” and even more. Many kids prefer this route. Remember, you’re not “spying” on them; you’re simply doing your job as an informed and involved parent.
2. Curb the Comments
If your child is reluctant to accept you publicly as a “friend,” be sure not to push your luck by excessively commenting on their page once you are granted access. Grandparents can be over-commenting culprits, too. Often teens find this “embarrassing” and it may even lead to having them “un-friend” you. It happens all the time.
3. Get a Report Card The new parenting tool SafeSocial offers a time-efficient and thorough way to keep tabs on your children’s social networking without being too intrusive. It delivers an easy-to-read report card providing a 360 degree view of their overall social networking— what they’re saying and doing and who their friends are.
This answers one of the biggest issues facing parents all over the country—feeling like you need to spend hours each week monitoring your child’s online activity and still not really being sure if you’re seeing everything (they can filter your view) or what you might be missing (what’s happening on their friends’ pages).
4. Watch the Friends
All friends are not created equal. Some your children may know well, some they may barely know at all. You can get a good feel for their entire list via SafeSocial’s Friend Engine, which takes an extensive look at your kids’ friends and checks them against more than 50 databases to see if they may not be who they say they are. You’ll be alerted when an adult becomes a friend of your child, when someone looks suspicious or has no or few other mutual friends with your child.
5. Loaded Language and Photos
Specific words that may come up in strings of conversation— sex, drugs, alcohol, suicide and so on and suggestive or violent language will be flagged, so you can hone in on the suspect dialog versus reading every post. This helps prevent missing something inadvertently.
You can even opt to be immediately notified via an email alert. This piece could prove priceless in protecting your children’s safety and managing their reputations.
While every conversation and image is archived, you can adjust the settings to simply view those that are called out. This lets you give kids more privacy as they mature. You will also see all photos, including those other people post of your child. Young people tend to push the envelope with photos and videos, so checking out this section of the report card is critical.
Overall, social networking is an integral part of many teenage lives and an opportunity for your kids to learn to express themselves in a creative and responsible fashion. It’s too big a trend to ignore. You can embrace it with these new tools on your side. For more information, visit www.safesocial.com, www.safety.aol.com and www.reginalewis.com.
AOL Consumer Advisor Regina Lewis (www.reginalewis.com) is a national TV and radio contributor and Internet trend expert. She knows the tips, tricks, secrets and shortcuts for making technology work for you.
So, I’m going to this little blog conference called BlogHer. You might have heard of it. If you are on Twitter I’m sure you are sick of it if you are not attending.
I am going to New York City tomorrow and not coming home until Sunday. No kids. No husband. Just me. And for real, you are getting me. I did not buy new clothes, or get my hair done. I will be in jeans most of the time. At least I think so. I do have other stuff I am bringing to wear, but I really just want to be comfortable. I really want to be me. Not so everyone else can see who I really am. But so I can see who I really am.
It has been a long year since last years BlogHer. I was fairly new to blogging and not really sure where I fit into the whole thing. I did not feel like I “belonged” at BlogHer. Who was I? What do I bring to the table? There were going to be amazingly talented women there. Women I admire. Women I read. They deserved to be at BlogHer.
But as the year has gone by, and I have taken this time to really look at my life. All of it. Blogging included. I have realized I was an idiot. I deserve to be at BlogHer. Everyone does. We all bring something to the table. We all have our voice. I cannot compare my self to another blogger. No one else has my life or my voice.
So this weekend is so much more than just a conference to me. It is a part of my journey. I am still finding my way. Still learning who I am.
I am finally going to meet so many people that I truly admire. Friends that I have gotten to know so well. Friends that know me so well. We are there for each other, even though we are so far apart. Now I can hug them and let them know how much I adore them. How much they are a part of my journey. How they have changed me. For the better.
I am going to BlogHer to feed my soul. To be me. To learn more about me. To get inspired to be better. As a person. As a writer. As a friend and a Mother.
I am so excited to finally be able to share with you something I have been working on. My OpenSky Shop! i know some of you were wondering what the countdown clock was all about, and this is it. It is a count down to the day my shop will be open.
My shop launches August 10th!
What is OpenSky? OpenSky is an online shopping experience all its own. It is all about buying from people you know and trust. Think of it as an online Main Street of family owned shops. MY shop will be a shop where you can actually ask questions about products, and I know your name and what you like. If you need something, I will try to find it for you. I will only sell products I know and love. Just like I would call my friends and tell them about something that I just bought, I will be sharing that same information with you.
One of the products I will be selling in my shop is the Skooba Skin. Love it. I had been looking for a laptop sleeve for my mini for awhile. I have a bag I put my laptop in, but wanted something to also protect it, when I was traveling. I liked the Skooba Skin because I can use it in a bag, or on its own. There are handles that fold over so you have the option of using it alone. I am taking it to BlogHer with me, so if you see me come over and check it out!
It is going to be a BLAST! I can not wait to share all of my favorite products with you!
If you are interested in becoming a seller on OpenSky click HERE
If you are interested in becoming a supplier on OpenSky click HERE
I am so happy to be participating in Elmer’s #bagitforward campaign. This week the kids and I went shopping for school supplies to donate to our local elementary school. We had a really great time, and the kids loved the idea of doing something to help kids. Check out our Whrrl story at the bottom of this post, and see all the cool stuff we were able to donate!
Now we are giving out virtual bags of school supplies, and for each post Elmer’s is going to donate ten dollars to Adopt-A-Classroom!!!
Did you hear that???
Elmer’s is going to donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom! $10 for each virtual #bagitforward post!
Who are you going to give your backpacks to? Leave me a comment and let me know if you are participating. Can’t wait to see your posts! Make sure you leave the link to your post on the #bagitforward site! And don’t forget to check out my Whrrl at the bottom of this post!
HOW CAN YOU JOIN? It’s easy.
* Participate in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward and by giving away a virtual bag of school supplies and creating a blog post with specific rules described below.
* Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom.
* You can give as many virtual bags as you want.
* The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward will officially begin at 12 AM EST on July 22, 2010 and end at 12 PM EST on August 12, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us before or after that time period will not be counted.
* The blog post link has to be submitted in the comment section below for your participation to be counted.
* In addition copy and paste the following text into your blog post:
ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES
* Copy and paste these rules into your blog post.
* Create a blog post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your Back to School shopping trip at Walmart.
* Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
* Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
* Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
* Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by August 12, 2010).
* Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.
I have lived in the town I live in for most of my life. We moved here when I was in second grade. I spent a year in New York when I was sixteen, and a couple of years in Litchfield after I got married. But I ended up back here. Even though I said I couldn’t wait to leave, it is hard to imagine not being here.
My town is not really considered a “small” town in this area. Although it felt like the smallest town in the world growing up. And that is what I love about it as an adult. One of the reasons we wanted to move back here was the diversity. Our children can see and learn about almost every culture just by walking down our Main Street. Mixed within the bars and resturants are beautiful trees, flowers, historic houses and water fountains.
It is funny how you look at the world so differently after you have kids. I always thought I’d want to raise my kids in a big city to make sure they were exposed to everything, and had amazing experiences. Who knew I would go back to the place that gave me my best memories.
When I told my son Jake we were going to have a Kung Zhu party here at the house, he just rolled his eyes and walked away. He was totally not interested. My daughter Chloe was thrilled since she already LOVED her original zhu zhu pets she had recieved for Christmas.
Well that all changed when the box arrived at our door. When we opened it, and he looked inside and saw all the battle gear, he was hooked! He has been playing with all of it ever since. As a matter of fact, he is sitting here next to me playing with the set on the floor right now.
Our Kung Zhu party was a huge hit! The kids LOVED it. All they wanted to do is battle each other. It was a lot of fun. Jake had fun showing all the kids how everything worked, and how cool the whole set was. I had a hard time with pictures because we were playing so much! But I managed to get some, so check out our video of the kids playing below.
Now for the fun stuff! The Giveaway! We are giving away one Kung Zhu prize pack. Mandatory entry:
Leave a comment telling me what you favorite toy was growing up!
Extra entry:
Follow The Budge Bunch on Google Friend Connect
Leave a comment for every entry! Good luck!
Giveaway ends 7/16/10 11:59 pm EST
For more information about Kung Zhu check out their website!
Thank you MomSelect for providing all of The Kung Zhu pets and accesories for our party!
Congrats to Tina! Please email me your mailing address!
Call me a dork!
I have been looking so forward to Price Chopper opening up in Middletown. Today was the grand opening. We got there around noon, and it was pretty crowded. We were shocked we found a parking space! Once we were in the store though it didn’t feel as crowded as I thought it would. Seemed to be a good layout, and flow. Chloe was on cloud nine to see BALLOON ANIMALS! She is now the proud owner of a balloon puppy and has already said that she wants to come to Price Chopper every day.
I was so mad that I didn’t have my camera with me. I always have it in my bag, but I forgot to put it back in after uploading pictures from the weekend. I’ll have to get some good pictures the next time I go. Which I know will be soon. My daughter Chelsea had an Oreo smoothing and she LOVED it. There were tons of samples. Even brownies. Every single employee that we talked to was SUPER NICE. That is extremely important to me. There is nothing worse than bad customer service.
The sale prices were great. I forgot to print my coupons before I left! Thanks Michelle for reminding me! Check out her awesome site for all of the latest sales and deals at Price Chopper. She rocks!
So, if you are in the Middletown, CT area. Make sure you check out the new Price Chopper on Washington Street. You will love it. It is nice to finally have a store in that plaza again!
I was sooo looking forward to the weekend. Last week was crazy busy and I couldn’t wait for it to end. Who knew the weekend would be even crazier!
Friday night actually was pretty low key and nice. We watched Alice in Wonderland and stayed up late. Chloe was acting like she was scared of the movie at the end so she could sleep in our bed. I knew she wasn’t, but I let her sleep in the middle. Someday she won’t fit. And I will miss it.
Saturday morning we woke up all sore from sleeping all weird and getting kicked and kneed by Chloe all night. But oh well, it was to be expected. Jake was so thrilled to go to his friends birthday party at the movie theater. He had a blast and after we picked him up, we headed to my brother in law’s house. So far, the weekend was going great. we had fun seeing their new house and the kids had a great time hanging out with their cousins.
After dinner Kevin did not look right, and he was shaking. It was totally weird and came on really fast. But was very similar to when he has passed kidney stones in the past. He was in a lot of pain. I drove us home and he went right to bed, and tried to sleep. THEN just when I thought I could relax a bit, Jake came into the room and said that he didn’t feel good. And then the rest of my fun began for the night as Jake threw up all night long. I felt so bad for him. He was so sick.
After staying up all Saturday night, I still had to get Chloe to the Go Far Go Fast running event in the morning. Jake was so upset he had to miss it. They were both looking forward to it. I tried to explain to Jake that, that happens all the time. You are so excited to do something and then that is when you will get sick. It never fails. Sounds like a lovely heart to heart, right? So, Chloe had an awesome time at the race and seeing her friends. It was a great event, and we are already can’t wait for next year.
Later that after noon Kevin seemed better and Jake was looking more like himself. We had an early dinner and Jake and Kevin went to bed. YAY! I thought. Sickness gone!
I thought wrong. Ended up bringing Kevin into the the ER. He got worse after going to bed. After hours and tests in the ER, they sent us home with the thought of Lyme disease. Waiting for the official blood tests results. He has some kick ass meds, and hopefully he will be better soon.
I have to admit, I had never heard of One eskimO before I received the CD from One2One Network. But being the music lover that I am, I could not wait to get it.
LOVE. IT.
Seriously, I really do. Love it so much that I listen to it all the time while I am sitting here at my desk working each day. Totally forgot I had to review it. I wasn’t listening to it for the review, I am listening to it all the time because IT IS THAT GOOD! A few of my favorites are “Hometime” “Kandi” and “Amazing”. My fifteen year old daughter came into the room and immediately need to know who I was listening to, and is now a huge fan as well. Check out theOne eskimO Websiteto learn more about this critically-acclaimed English band fronted by singer-songwriter Kristian Leontiou and includes musicians Pete Rinaldi (guitar), Jamie Sefton (bass, horns) and Adam Falkner (drums).
You can check them out live here:
Jun 01 Toronto, ON The Guvernment
Jun 03 New York, NY The Beach at Governor’s Island
Jun 04 Boston, MA House of Blues
Jun 05 Essex Junction, VT Camplain Valley Expo
Jun 06 Hunter, NY Mountain Jam Festival
Jun 08 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Thtr
Jun 09 Grand Rapids, MI Orbit Room
Jun 12 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall
Jun 13 Kansas City, MO Crossroads
Aug 14 Denver, CO Mile High Festival
i received this CD to review from One2One Network. all opinions are my own.
Okay...when I switched to Wordpress, my Google Friend Connect decided to hate me. If you were following me before, you need to re follow. For the love of all that is Holy...it will not transfer for me. I gave up. Yeah, I'm a total slaker...
