Cold Stone Creamery and Make-A-Wish Foundation-Sept 30 FREE Ice Cream and GIVEAWAY

CONGRATULATIONS TO #6 AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG! Please respond to my email within 72 hours. Thanks everyone for participating and look out for a new giveaway soon!
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While I've been training for the San Jose Half-Marathon and raising funds for Ullrich CMD research, I've been thinking a lot about kids who have life-threatening illnesses and how lucky I am that my boys are healthy. R was sick every day from month 1 to month 11 of his life with one infection after another. I remember being so frustrated and agonizing over what we could do to help him feel better. At one point the infection was so bad it spread throughout his upper respiratory tract and turned into pneumonia, for which he was hospitalized. Life finally got better for all of us when he had ear tubes surgery in month 11. When I think about what a big deal I made about it and compare it to what parents of really sick kids go through, I do feel a little ashamed of myself.

I found out about 11-year-old Kate at the Dinner’s On Us event sponsored by Bloganthropy.org and Child's Play Communications at the Blogher conference in New York last month. Kate has a life-threatening congenital spinal-cord condition. Her Make-A-Wish Foundation wish was to be the Cold Stone Tastemaster and she’s hoping ice cream lovers around the country will dig into the exclusive ice cream Creation that she developed. Cold Stone Creamery and the Make-A-Wish Foundation are inviting the country to help make Kate’s wish come true by participating in the “World’s Largest Ice Cream Social.” I had a chance to sample her creation and was amazed that the young chef could come up with such a flavorful Creation. I was also inspired by her making a wish, unlike a trip to Disneyland or another amusement park, that means part of Kate's life will always be a part of our national zeitgeist.  


Throughout September, every Cold Stone store nationwide will sell paper wish stars for $1 each. The month-long fundraiser will culminate in the ninth-annual “World’s Largest Ice Cream Social” this Thursday, Sept. 30. During the social, Cold Stone locations will give away three-ounce portions of Kate’s Creation from 5-8 p.m., while encouraging guests to make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Cold Stone Creamery has supported the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2002, generating more than $3.6 million in donations.

Kate, who hails from Tampa, Fla., was inspired to become this year’s Cold Stone Creamery wish kid after she attended last year’s social. An ice cream connoisseur, Kate discovered that a wish kid has the responsibility of creating an exclusive Creation for the “World’s Largest Ice Cream Social.” When the Make-A-Wish Foundation asked Kate for her most heartfelt wish, she knew she was the perfect candidate for the position. In March, Kate traveled to the Cold Stone Creamery World Headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz., to work with the Cold Stone Tastemaster to mix up this year’s Make-A-Wish Creation. Kate was named “Junior Tastemaster” and invented Kate’s Creation: caramel apple ice cream mixed with graham cracker pie crust, chocolate shavings and apple pie filling. Her exclusive Creation will be featured at Cold Stone locations throughout September. “My wish day at Cold Stone was the most delicious day of my life!” Kate exclaimed.

I hope Random Mommy ice cream lovers and supporters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation will be part of Kate’s wish and visit their local Cold Stone Creamery on Thursday, Sept. 30. You will get FREE ice cream this Thursday, and to help you continue to enjoy Cold Stone creations, Random Mommy is giving away one $10 Gift Card for future use!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: Contest period runs from Sunday, September 26, 2010 at 3:01 PM (Pacific) until Sunday, October 3, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite dessert, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.


Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)

1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, the prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at Cold Stone Creamery for their generosity! Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples at the Bloganthropy event to facilitate my review.

Time for GLEE-Review

I always find that I give things that have some iota of a connection to me more of a chance than I would something that is completely foreign. I think most people do that. So when I found out that Glee was based on show co-creator Ian Brennan's experience in show choir at Prospect High (just over five miles away from my high school in Park Ridge, IL), I knew I had to check out the show. And another totally nonsensical reason why the show caught my attention is because "Gleester" is the nickname of one of my best friends. Of course that made me completely predisposed to like the show on a subconscious level.

And the verdict? I LOVE Glee. I am definitely a Gleek. What other show has four or five soundtracks from one season? I have the first two volumes, and hope to get the Madonna tribute and the Sectionals edition. From the beginning I thought that Lea Michele reminded me of Idina Menzel from Rent and Wicked, and at the end of the first season she guest-starred as Rachel’s biological birth mother! How cool is that!? Because my parents are immigrants I don’t know many of the classic rock and pop songs from decades ago. This show has definitely introduced me to a lot of old school songs. The renditions that the Glee cast were phenomenal, but I also love the original recordings to classic hits such as “Somebody to Love” and Heart’s “Alone.” I can’t wait until the second season starts next Tuesday (September 21), especially since Charice will be joining the cast. Don't be hating on her because of the botox!

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released Season 1 on DVD and Blu-Ray today and here are just a few of my favorite special features on the 7 disc DVD set:
Disc 1:
* *   Pilot - Director's Cut
Disc 4:
* *   Glee Music Video
* *   Full Length Audition Pieces
* *   Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session
* *   Dance Boot Camp
* *   Jane Lynch A to Glee
* *   Meet Jane Lynch
Disc 5:
* *   The Power of Madonna
Disc 7:
* *   Glee Sing-Along Karaoke
* *   Staying in Step With Glee
* *   Bite Their Style: Dress Like Your Favorite Gleek
* *   Behind the Scenes of the Madonna Episode
* *   Making of a Showstopper

If anyone wants to start a middle-aged mommy glee club with me, let me know! This show definitely makes me want to get up and sing. I hope the second season will be even better than the first!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive a copy of the DVD for review purposes.

San Jose Half-Marathon October 3rd Run, Walk, Hobble, Crawl

UPDATE: I ran a 10K and didn't die! I even came in four minutes ahead of Stewart who had to stop and walk several times due to his bum knees (several combat tours will do that to you, my friend). The boys had a chance to catch up with Sophie the same weekend. Such silliness---it made me all the more determined to put on a good effort in this race for Sophie. Thanks to all my friends, family and readers for your support! I definitely could not do it without you!

Three things I've learned so far during training:

1. Do not have your husband drop you off 5.5 miles away from your house so you will be forced to run home if the route includes several stretches where there is no sidewalk or space on the road for you to run.
2. Do drink water before running a 10K because they might not have water stations till mile 3.5 and you might be near fainting by then.
3. Don't buy running shoes that are too small for you because they are on super clearance sale.

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On Sunday October 3rd I will be doing a half-marathon. Notice I don't say running, because there is no guarantee that I will be able to run the entire race. Of course that is my goal, but it has been 11 years since my last marathon and half-marathon. Any woman who has had kids can tell you that a 30-something mommy body is less cooperative than a 20-something single woman body. If you've been following my blog and my posts on the LA Moms Blog, you know that a 5K that I could run easily with minimal training back in the day, now knocks me out for over a week. Since the 5K in February, I didn't run much, but when I got an email from friends Eunice and Andrew asking me to join the Cure CMD Team for the San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon on October 3rd to raise awareness and funds to support CMD research, I knew I had to do it.

Eunice and Andrew's daughter Sophie is battling a rare genetic disease called Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD). It is the most common type of CMD, a group of neuromuscular disorders that currently have no cure or treatment. Kids with CMD are born with serious muscle weakness, and their muscle tissue breaks down faster than it can repair or grow. Some children are never able to walk, others inevitably lose this ability by their teens, and all must eventually rely on respirators to breathe. The disease is often fatal by the time a child reaches his 20s. If I knew that H or R would die in his 20s, I would be a complete wreck everyday, thinking that some little thing might be the beginning of the end. Eunice and Wonki are definitely made of sterner stuff than I am because they have fought this fight with Sophie from the beginning with more grace and strength than I could have thought possible. I think that has translated into Sophie's personality, because she is sweet, funny, smart and generally in good spirits. Considering how difficult it is for her even to walk a single step, Sophie is truly an amazing little girl. Watch this video of Sophie walking:



I have joined the Cure CMD Team to raise funds to find a cure for Sophie and the other children with CMD. I started training at the end of July in time to run the BlogHer 5K and have been adding mileage slowly but surely every week. In a couple of weeks I'll be running a 10K in order to prepare my legs for race conditions. As a member of the team, I have committed to raising at least $500. So here's the pitch, if you are a regular Random Mommy reader, would you please consider donating $1 or more to help me reach my goal? I will give you a complete money-back guarantee. I may not run the entire way, but if I don't finish the race, I will return every cent of your money. I will track the progress of my training and my fundraising till race day. If you knew Sophie, you would agree that she deserves to have a full, rich long life. She was born just one month after H, and I joked after taking this photo that they would be prom dates as well as crib mates. Please help make that a possibility. If you need any more convincing, here is Sophie singing Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me:



Thanks everyone! You can donate under my name (scroll down) via Paypal on the Team Cure CMD site here.

Study Break GIVEAWAY-Marmaduke, Animal MASTERMIND and Rubik's Slide

CONGRATULATIONS TO #3, 4, 10, AND 5! PLEASE EMAIL ME IN THE NEXT 72 HOURS WITH YOUR PREFERENCE OF PRIZES. PRIZES WILL BE ALLOCATED IN THE ORDER OF YOUR RESPONSE TO MY EMAIL. Thank you to everyone who entered and stay tuned for more fun giveaways.
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In celebration of Back To School season, I thought what would be more appropriate than a Study Break Giveaway? After all, I could give away a ream of paper and some notebooks, but wouldn't you rather win a copy of the Marmaduke DVD or a cool new game you can share with your kids during a study break?

Last week, the boys and I went to the 3 Dog Bakery in Los Angeles to celebrate the Blu-ray and DVD release of Marmaduke on August 31. One of R's nicknames is R-Dog so he felt right at home with all the dogs that came to play at the party. He tried to feed all the dogs the special doggies treats and I think he may have overfed a few of them! But right when it was their turn to take a photo with Marmaduke himself, R became shy and only H got in the picture.

The boys loved the actual movie, even though they didn't know that it had all-star cast of voice talents, including Owen Wilson, George Lopez, Kiefer Sutherland, and Fergie. It's about what happens when Marmaduke (Wilson) moves to a new neighborhood (Kansas to the OC!) with his family. The super-sized teenage dog soon discovers he just doesn’t fit in—literally! Marmaduke can’t help being a one-dog wrecking crew, causing fur-flying chaos wherever he roams. But, with the help of his friend, Carlos the Cat (Lopez), Marmaduke finally gets his bearings and becomes a part of the community. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will give two Random Mommy readers their own DVD copy to share with their families.

If your kids love to play games as much as mine do, they would probably like Pressman Toy Corporation's new Animal MASTERMIND® Towers, a new children’s version of the classic game of Codemaker vs. Codebreaker, designed for kids ages 6 and up. Like classic MASTERMIND, the new Towers version is a game of logic, problem solving and fun that challenges players to figure out their opponent's code in as few turns as possible. To play, children stack their animal tiles in a special tower. Players take alternate turns trying to guess the order of the animals in the other player’s tower by asking questions such as, “Is your giraffe below your pig?” This new vertical children’s edition of MASTERMIND teaches important skills in three levels of gameplay, entertaining children as their matching and logical thinking skills progress. Animal MASTERMIND is the first in a series of MASTERMIND games in the new vertical format. Upcoming editions will feature licensed children’s entertainment properties such as Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants™, Disney Fairies™, Disney®, and kids’favorite Looney Tunes™ character. R was too young for it, but H (age 4) could play with a bit of coaching. I think they had the most fun stacking the animals. Later I had the chance to play with H while R was asleep and it went much better. We went from 4 to 6 animals stacked in a short period of time. H absolutely loved it and said he wanted to play it "ten hundred times!" One Random Mommy reader will get the chance to stack animals and play Animal MASTERMIND Towers with her/his kids.

For older kids (H couldn't figure it out but Stewart had a blast with it), Techno Source is coming out with a new electronic version of Rubik's Cube. Rubik’s Slide has over 10,000 brain-busting puzzles. The object of each puzzle is to rearrange the pattern of lights by shifting and twisting until they match the solution for that puzzle. With two ways to play and multiple challenging levels that train your brain, it's the game that's easy to learn and impossible to put down! One Random Mommy reader will get the chance to try and put it down!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 10:01 PM (Pacific) until Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving the name of your favorite study break activity, and leave your e-mail address OR sign in to comments using your Blogger ID, making sure your Blogger profile is public and includes your e-mail address.

Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry, it counts if you've done any of these so leave a comment for each one)
1) Follow me on Twitter
2) Tweet this contest (http://tinyurl.com/236vf2j) and leave the tweet url
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar

If you don't leave a qualifying comment and your e-mail address or public Blogger profile, your entry will be disqualified. I reserve the right to extend the contest period. At the end of the contest period, I will utilize Random.org to randomly choose the FOUR winners. The winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my e-mail with their order of preference for the movies. Prizes will be allocated based on order of response to the e-mail. If the winners do not respond within 72 hours, the prizes will go to the next place winners as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. A huge thank you and much appreciation to my friends at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Pressman Games, and Techno Source for their generosity! Good luck!

I did not receive compensation for this post. I received product samples to facilitate my review.