BlogHer: A Week Ago Thursday? Avery SocialLuxe Lounge ROCKED!

It seems unreal that BlogHer 2010 started just a week ago last Thursday when I flew into Newark on the red-eye from LAX. It was 6:30 in the morning so 3:30 PST but I wasn't tired, even though I hadn't slept much on the flight. I was just a few miles from Manhattan and the excitement and adrenaline that had been building up all year carried me through the next few hours. I took the shuttle with no problems to Port Authority. Then I walked to the Sheraton on 52nd to drop off my suitcase. I wanted to stop by Zabar's on the way to my friend Donna's place so I walked from Midtown to the Upper West Side, the exact same route I took back and forth to work when I lived in New York. It was so surreal, passing Columbus Circle, Lincoln Center, Gray's Papaya. I couldn't resist getting a fresh sesame bagel at H&H (in your honor KMY!) to eat with my Zabar's cup of coffee. So good! When Zabar's finally opened at 8 AM, I made a beeline for the coffee section. So many choices, but not so much room in my suitcase so I opted for just one pound of their aromatic hazelnut coffee. I took the crosstown bus to Donna's and then CRASHED.

But it was only for a short respite because I had to meet another friend for lunch in Soho. I'm glad I was by myself when I got off the subway because there were so many memories that came rushing back, the late nights at Balthazar, the Saturday treks to Kate's Paperie, spending way too much at the cosmetics counter at Bloomie's, but then I was jolted back into reality by a sight that I thought I would NEVER see in Manhattan, much less Soho. A CROCS store. It was huge and filled with every CROCS shoe you could imagine. I never owned a pair of Crocs before I lived in Southern California so I was shocked to see the store in one of the trendiest areas on the planet. Of course I had to go in and of course I spied about ten different kinds that I wanted to get for H&R. I restrained myself, just barely, since I had just bought them Crocs in the next sizes up and I didn't want to buy for years in advance. I think it was the strong smell of rubber that really woke me up to meet my friend Sharon in a less than comatose state.

After lunch at Famous Ben's Pizza, I walked back up to Union Square, then threw in the towel and took the subway back to the hotel. Afternoon coffee with Jane gave me the energy I needed to prepare for the Avery SocialLuxe Lounge, my first BlogHer 2010 event. I got to the party right when it started, and I'm so glad I did because it meant I was first in line to get the manicures and massages that were offered inside. I absolutely love the purple color I picked for the manicure and wish I had remembered the name of it because I'll probably never find it again. The shoulder and arm massage provided by Aveda superstars was so relaxing that I promptly fell down the stairs after they finished working on me. Totally worth it! Only one huge scrape--and I was able to fix my broken heel so no harm done. I figured I should sit down after that so I grabbed a delicious coffee drink made by Beau, the fabulous International Delights barista. Even before I started blogging, I only used International Delight coffee creamer because of the company's commitment to sustainability and because it doesn't use unfair labor practices like its closest competitor. I was so excited when I saw them at the party! Refueled and ready to go, I checked out the new fall line at Stride Rite and took a Glam photo with some fellow bloggers. After I heard who the 2010 BlogLuxe winners were, I had to run to another event. Literally. In heels. My feet did not appreciate that and it was a godsend when I opened up the SocialLuxe swag bag and found antibiotic ointment and bandaids to put on my feet in the morning. Many thanks to Avery and the other SocialLuxe Lounge sponsors for a fantastic party and the wonderful party gifts!

Clean Water Blogivation contest: Vote and Donate Water

Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water (Source: World Health Organization and UNICEF). That’s one in eight of us. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses. 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation. If there is anything on which all of humanity can agree I would venture to bet that it is the right of each person to water. This is an issue I've been involved with for some time now so when I came across the Clean Water Blogivation campaign (open to all female bloggers) at BlogHer last week, I knew I had to participate. If my blog receives the most votes, I will win an opportunity to join Dr. Greg Allgood on a clean water expedition to Africa and a $15,000 donation to my favorite charity tackling water issues.

Going to Africa would be the realization of a long-cherished wish, one that I've had since studying both East and West Africa as a history major in college. And a $15,000 donation to charity: water would be used 100% towards directly funding water projects. But I'm realistic, I know that my little blog doesn't have much of a chance to win, and that is not why I'm posting today. Each time you vote for my post in the Clean Water Blogivation contest (voting is once per day until August 27), Proctor and Gamble will donate a day's worth of clean drinking water (2L) to a person in need in a developing country! I would love to be able to give 1000L of water through my Random Mommy Readers. Just look at this video and see how Proctor and Gamble, in alliance with the Children’s Safe Drinking Water program, has provided clean drinking water to the people most in need by distributing PUR water purification packets—an innovation that easily turns contaminated H2O into safe, drinkable water.



The PUR packets are unique in being extremely effective in removing dirt and pollutants like arsenic while removing greater than 99.9% of parasites, 99.99% of viruses, and 99.9999% of bacteria. PUR packets are also proven to reduce diarrheal illness by up to 90% in particularly vulnerable people like those living in refugee camps. I watched a demo at BlogHer and it was amazing how they transformed a container full of dirty brown water into one that was clear and purified. Please help get this clean water to those who need it by participating in this campaign. You can vote for my post through the widget below. Every vote and every drop of water counts, so much more than you can imagine. Thank you!

Stonyfield Farms Yogurt Review and GIVEAWAY

CONGRATULATIONS TO NUMBERS 7 AND 13! Please respond to my email within 72 hours. Thanks everyone who entered!
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H&R both started on YoBaby yogurt at 8 months old. H's pediatrician said that yogurt is more easily digestible than whole milk and could be started at that age since H had already started on stage 3 foods. I started R at that time because he was having food issues (not eating) and I was desperate to get him eating anything. For some reason, YoBaby was one of the only "baby" foods he would eat. So when I was given the opportunity to review Stonyfield Farm yogurts and host a giveaway for my readers, I was happy to do it since Stonyfield Farm yogurts have always been a part of my (I've eaten my fair share of O'Soy) and my kids' diets. 

It was the first time my kids tried YoToddler, which is a fairly new line that bridges the gap between YoBaby and YoKids. It contains protein, iron and DHA (the omega-3 fatty acid that helps brain development) that toddlers still need in their "grow" years. Whole milk YoToddler comes in 4-cup single flavor packs with DHA in both Apple with DHA & Iron, and Strawberry Banana with DHA. Like its predecessor, YoBaby Plus Fruit & Cereal, YoToddler combines fruit & cereal with the benefits mom wants (DHA, iron) in a delicious organic yogurt that picky toddlers love. I don't think the boys cared that YoToddler is certified organic, but I know they loved the taste because they ate it all up. As their mom, I definitely appreciate that there are no artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colors or flavors. We also tried YoKids Squeezers. Stonyfield's low-fat YoKids yogurts have 25% less sugar than the leading kids yogurt and only pure, organic ingredients. H&R absolutely love the Squeezers. They finish them every time, which they don't do with the other leading brand of yogurt tubes. I think it's because the Squeezers are less sweet and also have a slightly higher milk fat content so they don't get overwhelmed with a sugary taste in their mouths. Whatever it is, they love them!

YoToddler and YoKids are kosher and feature Stonyfield's exclusive blend of six live active cultures. I'm a firm believer in the power of probiotics. My boys had problems with regularity and it was only when I started introducing probiotics into their diet that they stopped having those kinds of issues. I think when people don't see the word "probiotic" in big letters on a package they tend not to realize that all yogurts have them. All Stonyfield products have an exclusive blend of six live active probiotic cultures--more than any other leading national brand. Probiotics strengthen your immune system and support your body’s natural resistance to harmful bacteria. It is especially helpful to enhance our immune systems, which tend to slow down as we grow older.


Stonyfield Farm, celebrating its 27th year, is the world's leading organic yogurt company. Its all natural and certified organic yogurt, smoothies, milk, cultured soy, frozen yogurt and ice cream are distributed nationally. The company advocates that healthy food can only come from a healthy planet. Its use of organic ingredients helps keep over 180,000 farm acres free of toxic, persistent pesticides and chemical fertilizers known to contaminate soil, drinking water and food. To help reduce climate change, Stonyfield offsets all of the C02 emissions generated from its facility energy use. The company also started a nonprofit called Climate Counts which shows people how they can help fight climate change by the way they shop and invest. Stonyfield also donates 10% of its profits to efforts that help protect and restore the Earth.

Stonyfield Farm will give two Random Mommy readers the opportunity to enjoy these yogurts and see the benefits of their proprietary probiotic formula. One Random Mommy reader will win a prize pack of YoToddler yogurt coupons, an Eric Carle illustrated growth chart, and a Preserve green travel bowl. The other Random Mommy reader will win a prize pack of YoKids yogurt coupons, a YoKids superhero cape (like the one modeled by H), and a Preserve green travel bowl.


HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 2:01 PM (Pacific) until Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on your favorite way to enjoy yogurt, 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) 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 winners. The winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 72 hours to respond to my 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 Stonyfield Farm for their generosity! Good luck!

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

BlogHer 2010 Discounts and Deals

My full posts are brewing but I wanted to share these deals with you as soon as possible since they're only available for a limited time:

Hillshire Farm: $1 off any one package of Deli Select lunchmeat
Juno Baby: 15% off first purchase with code beginner
Cambria Cove: 10% off with code SOCIALLUXE

Stride Rite: 15% off online purchase with code BLOGHER2010
Torrid: $5 off online with promo code CHECKUSOUT at checkout
SOAP.com: 15% off first order with code BLOGHER2010

Here are just a few photos from Blogher in the meanwhile:

Live Blogging Technical Issues

Lesson number 1, when you're traveling with an electronic product for the first time, make sure the power source you've chosen actually works. I power up my iTouch with my iGo whenever I travel so I thought I could do the same for the iPad. Umm...not so much, probably because my iGo came out before the iPad. So my plans to live blog the entire Blogher conference were stymied by this issue. Only after I got back did I think, "oh, I should have asked the nice rep from Kraft's Big Fork Little Fork app if I could charge my iPad at her booth." Live and learn. Here is my excerpt on Friday that never made it online. Now that I'm back, I'll have time to organize my photos and thoughts into more cohesive posts:


My first Blogher conference session on Friday was the one on FTC regulations. One of the panelists was Stacy Ferguson, an attorney at the FTC (she qualified her statements by saying, "these are my own opinions and do not represent the views of the FTC"). I had asked my friend Donna from law school and her baby E to come to the session with me so we could pretend we were in Professor Pitofsky's antitrust class again. Except this time I wouldn't be wearing my Eye of Sauron watch. She politely declined stating that E probably would not sit through the session and we instead met for lunch. After the afternoon expo visit (can't really live blog from expo when you are walking around), I had just enough time to organize some of the swag (I knew I couldn't take it all with me) before I had to go to the Aiming Low EZPZ event sponsored by HP. I met some very special ladies whose blogs I will definitely be checking out once I get back to my own computer back in SoCal. I wish I could have stayed for the entire event but had to leave early to meet my friend Ann who took the Chinatown bus down from Boston just to see me. Ann and I had a fabulous dinner at Braeburn in the West Village. Then we walked to the Blue Note for the 12:30 show. By 1:30 I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore and we took a cab back to midtown.

Live blogging from Blogher 2010

First time live blogging from an event. I'm here at Blogher 2010! I borrowed Stewart's iPad so I could take notes easily and post (although I had to learn how to cut and paste on the iPad, not intuitive!). Bruce Jenner is here with Pepsico, only mentioning that bc he was born on the same day as me and I did a report on him in middle school. Had a great time running through central park this morning for the Blogher 5k. I only got a photo of myself in my tutu (tutus for Tanner) in my hotel room bc I didn't want to carry my camera while running. But I did get a photo of some other women in tutus and tiaras at the Gatorade breakfast after the run. This is just a note, my full posts will go up next week after I've had a chance to digest everything. So far met some really fun ladies at Avery SocialLuxe, Child's Play Bloganthropy Awards, and a cooking demo with Chef Scott Leibfried sponsored by Bumblebee at the Viking Test Kitchen. Definitely looking forward to sessions and visiting the expo. More later.  

Vote for JustOne at Sweatshirt Blanket Blog

Just One is an organization I'm involved with that addresses issues of extreme poverty. Ever since I've been involved with the group, I've learned so much about things that are hidden in our community. For instance, many of the illegal aliens that people are so upset about working in our country are here because they were forced or brought under false pretenses. You know those massage parlors or chiropractor offices that you know offer more than just massage--many of those women are modern day slaves and have been trafficked into this country. I posted about their plight and human trafficking on the LA Moms Blog. Just One is a group that is working to combat this hidden evil in our communities through their One Voice to End Slavery initiative. (If you live in the South Bay area of Southern California and are interested in participating in the formation of a coalition against trafficking in the area, please contact Jim Loduha.) Another Just One program is Laundry Love. Laundry Love Projects partner with local laundromats in cleaning the clothes of those living in shelters, motels, cars, garages and on the streets. It also helps families who are struggling financially, such as those who have been recently laid off and a free trip to the laundromat means another meal on the table. These are just a couple of the issues that Just One is trying to address and I am extremely grateful to be part of an organization that does so much good. That's why I nominated the organization to be profiled as a cause on the Sweatshirt Blanket Blog. I wanted to raise awareness about these issues and about Just One. Please read the profile and vote for Just One to win a dozen customized sweatshirt blankets free of charge to distribute to those people that so desperately need help in our community. Thanks for reading!