Baby E's First Blogger Event: Tiny Prints 2011 Holiday Party

When I received the invite from Tiny Prints to their Holiday 2011 Blogger Party, I was hesitant to accept because I didn't know whether I should or could take Baby E. She behaved fabulously at BlogHer (a blogger conference not a singular event), but would she be equally well-behaved as a more awake four month old? I decided I didn't want to use her as an excuse not to do something so bravely RSVP-ed "Yes"! I know, something crazy like projectile vomiting or a diaper explosion could have happened. She could have cried nonstop or been disruptive in another way. But I trusted her past performance to be indicative of future results and I'm glad I did because she was the perfect lunch partner.

Baby E slept through most of the event so I was able to listen to and see the Tiny Prints marketing team present the 2011 Holiday Cards. There were some beautiful cards that really captured people's characters rather than the typical family pose. I really liked the ornament cards and the ones that incorporate design on top of the photo. The ornament card called Red Lantern (above) was designed by Bridget Moynahan for the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation. Finally, a holiday card for charity that looks great! This is only one of the Celebrity Cards available through Tiny Prints this season. There are also many designs that overlay the design on top of the photo (right). I think cards like these say to the recipient, "we really thought about how we wanted to share our family with you this year."

The team at Tiny Prints also shared a really great idea for displaying holiday cards that they made from some thick posterboard. I am going to copy it as a craft that my boys and I can do during the Thanksgiving Break (no school all week!). I'll be using the scissors and then I'll have them color and bedazzle the tree! Then we'll tape the tree to the wall instead of the cards. This is such a perfect idea for displaying Tiny Prints cards because many of them have images on both sides that you want to be able to ooh and ah over throughout the holiday season.

Ed Han, the CEO of Tiny Prints, was at the event and spoke to us about the new Tiny Prints photo books. I didn't know this, but Shutterfly acquired Tiny Prints and its sister company Wedding Paper Divas earlier this year. (The M&A lawyer nerd in me was thinking, "what a synergistic transaction!") So it only makes sense that photo books are now available on both these sites. I used Tiny Prints and Wedding Paper Divas earlier this year to order invites for a baby shower and my sister's bridal shower, respectively. I was really impressed by the ease of the design process, quick turnaround and the high quality products I received. I expect that the photo book process would be similar and can't wait to make the one provided us by the company in our gift bags.

Ed talked about how he made one as a time capsule with his kids and that they would make one every ten years to document their lives. I LOVE that idea! I think that will be the project the boys and I will do during Winter Break. Baby E woke up after Ed's talk and he came over to say hello to her. Her first CEO photo opp! She took it all in stride. All in all, the Tiny Prints Holiday 2011 Blogger Event was a really great time for me to connect with other bloggers and with a company of which I have been a long-time fan. Thank you Tiny Prints for a delicious lunch and a fun event!

I was not compensated for this review. I did receive a gift bag at the event and will receive product samples as a result.

Holiday Vacation Days Approching: Explore Winter! Review

Lately I've been thinking of home schooling because everyday H complains about being bored at school. I vowed I would never do it (I'm not a very patient teacher), but if I don't help him be the best that he can be, then why am a SAHM at all? Last year when H had school break I was happy to let him play because his preschool was really academically focused so he needed the break. This year, I am determined to teach him something during those off days so his brain development won't stagnate even more. If it goes well I will think about home schooling more seriously. If it doesn't? Well, then I might have to go back to work full time so I can pay for him to go to private school! 

 Luckily just as I've been having all these thoughts, I was given the opportunity to review one of the books from Nomad Press. Nomad Press is an educational publisher located in Vermont, dedicated to sparking the interest of young readers in the fascinating world around them. Nomad Press books promote independent and interactive learning with fun, hands-on projects that help kids explore the history and science behind a wide range of topics. H and I looked through their catalog of books and he chose Explore Winter! as one he'd like to try. It was absolutely the perfect one for us to try during the upcoming Thanksgiving and Winter breaks.

Explore Winter! starts off with a discussion on winter and why the seasons change. Each of the chapters explores a different aspect of winter. H can read, but this book is a little advanced for him so it worked best if I read it to him. Older elementary school children could definitely read this on their own and do the activities with minimal parental interaction (of course you can interact more if you want!). I decided the boys would like to start with the hibernation chapter because they love to play in boxes. We talked about which animals hibernate and discovered many new facts. Did you know that some amphibians freeze solid under leaves on the forest floor? Or that the word for reptile hibernation is brumate and they do this by letting their bodies grow cold which means their hearts beat only once every few minutes? Fascinating stuff!

The boys had great fun with the activity. Contrary to what most people believe bears don't hibernate in big caves. They hibernate in spaces that are just barely big enough for them to fit inside so it acts as insulation. So the boys and I found a box for them that they could barely fit. Then they each wanted a box and flashlights and played hibernation on and off all day. The boxes were destroyed by the end of the day! I'm looking forward to teaching the other chapters and doing the activities during the upcoming no school days. I know they will LOVE the chapter that involves making ice cream. This is such a great book I've decided to give it and other Nomad Press titles as Christmas gifts. Wish me luck in my teaching endeavor!

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

What do I get my FIL for his birthday: Wikets Search Feature

I have run out of ideas on what to get my father-in-law for his birthday. Past birthdays and Father's Days we've gotten him belts, shirts, nature DVDs, golf balls, and even a large screen LCD TV for his 60th. I don't want to get him something we've already gotten him so I am getting a bit desperate since his birthday dinner is on Friday. (He doesn't read my blog so writing about it here won't ruin the surprise.) If only he were on Wikets, then I could figure out what he likes (that I could afford). I actually don't like the Amazon wishlist because when someone buys me something off the wishlist, it means they didn't have time to think about what I would want on their own. With Wikets, you can see what your friend likes and get him/her something similar. You can look at their recs and even search by category either from their profile page or through explore.

Beyond the gift idea, maybe you really trust your friend's opinions on something or know that you guys have similar tastes. I have to admit, seeing that Barney Greengrass was one of the alpha testers of Wikets made a huge impact on my decision to sign on to the project. BARNEY GREENGRASS! Anyone who loves deli food in NYC knows who I'm talking about. Barney Greengrass is THE place to get bagels and lox on Saturday mornings on the UWS. Just seeing his name made images of my NYC life flash before my eyes. And I could now see what he likes through Wikets! He's actually a descendant of the Barney Greengrass that is the restaurant's namesake (the deli is over 100 years old), but he still has connections to the NYC restaurant scene that would make any foodie green with envy. So of course I trust his restaurant recs. Meaning, the next time I'm in NYC I will be trying one of these restaurants that I found through this Wikets search!


But that still doesn't help me with my current dilemma. I only have three shopping days before the dinner. What can I get my FIL that is not hackneyed and overdone? I thought I had the best idea ever when I saw a book on Amazon entitled Best American Poetry 2011. MY FIL is a published poet in Korea and I know he also reads poetry in English. But then I read the reviews, which were not so good. I don't want to give him something that he would just put aside as not being up to par. Making him something with the grandkids photos on it has already been done and there are only three days left anyway! If you have a suggestion on what I can give a golf-loving poet, please share. Better yet, rec it on Wikets and I can buy it and get us both points!

My link to Steve Jobs: Connecting the Dots to Wikets

After Steve Jobs passed away, like so many other people I listened to his famous Stanford commencement address. Something he said resonated with me, "Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

Ever since I started blogging I've wondered on more than one occasion why exactly I was blogging. At first it was to record my life and times as a SAHM but then it seemed to take on a life of its own. When I started, one of my good mommy friends who was also a blogger told me that the LA Moms Blog was looking for writers at the time. Once I joined the SV Moms syndicate (now a part of Technorati), I was invited to all sorts of blogger events. The boys and I had great fun at these events; I met a lot of fabulous women and learned about the blogging world. But my motivation in blogging? It wasn't to become the next Dooce or STLMommy or Momfluential. I had no ambition to crush the world of mommy blogging. It was an education, but to what end? And then this past August, a couple of days after BlogHer, it all sort of came together.

One of my best friends told me her husband was launching an iPhone app and he needed someone to work with him to reach out to women bloggers. I told him that I wasn't an expert by a long shot, that I only knew just enough to call myself a blogger without embarrassment. I heard his pitch and the app seemed interesting. Even though this man had driven me to the hospital when I was in labor with R, that alone would not have been enough to convince me if I didn't see value in the project. After all, I didn't spend all those years valuing companies for corporate M&A transactions for nothing. I took the plunge and signed on as a consultant to Wikets. It was only after I read the words from Steve Jobs' speech that I realized that the dots had connected. Since then (which in tech time seems like ages ago), I've been working on this project that launched last night at midnight. Of course, the connection to Steve Jobs is also made complete by the fact I'm working on an iOS app.

Wikets is the first social mobile commerce application designed to enable anyone with a mobile device to share their best recommendations for products and places with people they trust. For launch it has been designed for the iPhone (iPad users can also download it but will be using the iPhone interface), but it will become available to other platforms down the line. It's like Twitter in that there is a feed that shows a certain number of characters per rec. But unlike Twitter, that rec can expand out to a mini review that captures more of what someone has to say about a certain product or place. Also unlike Twitter, Wikets is designed to be about your social community; you follow only the people whose recs you trust.

What made it compelling for me was that I would have my friends available to me at all times via their recs. How many of us have wondered what a friend would recommend for something at the very last minute? Like you land in Austin or you're at Best Buy and you want your friend Corey to tell you where to eat or what computer to buy and the timing doesn't make sense for you to call/text/email/FB Corey. Well, if you and Corey are both on Wikets, you can just look up Corey's recs! A couple of weeks ago, I had to buy a present for Stewart's niece who was turning 7. It was near midnight, when I do all my shopping online, and I thought, I wish I could ask Nellie, my friend with the 7 year old daughter, what she would recommend. Of course, she lives on the East Coast so it was 3 AM her time and there was no way for me to ask her since I had to buy the present at that moment in order for it to get to Stewart's niece on time. If I could have found her recs on Wikets, that would have been perfect!

What makes this app so great for busy moms is that you can store all your favorite things in one place. Unlike some of the other apps that have recently launched, it's not about rating the most delicious dishes on the planet or finding the most beautiful things on the internet and getting someone to notice that you found something extraordinary. Wikets is a way for us to share our favorite kid-friendly places, doctors, toys, books, music, snacks, and anything else with each other to make our lives easier and better. For the product recs, it even comes with the ability to buy those exact things through our phones to save us time. So if someone finds a great deal on diapers on Amazon and recs it, you can buy through the app and get it right then instead of going to your desktop or going to Amazon through your phone's web browser.

And, wait for it, the best part of the app is that you get something out of it every time you use it! Making a rec and re-recing/wishlisting someone's rec come with points. One point for each action. Then if someone buys through your rec, you and that person get the amount of points for the sale price that the product. 2500 points = $25 gift card! So when you are playing the mom waiting game those times when your baby falls asleep in the car, you're outside the school to pick up the kids, or you're standing on the sidelines at soccer practice, you can make recs and get points that will ultimately get you something that you can use to buy something for yourself. I like it because it's something that's easy and fun that I can do in as many minutes as I have. I get to read my friends' recs and re-rec or wishlist if I'm not up for making recs myself, but if I have a little more time then I can make recs that are related to what I'm doing or not. I made this rec at the Grove last weekend because I saw the restaurant and remembered the great breakfast I had there, even though I wasn't eating there that day.

So if you are open to trying a great new app on your iPhone or iPad, use the promotional code "randommommy" for 200 bonus points when you sign up for Wikets. It's free and it's available at the app store right now. I will be blogging the rest of this week about more features of Wikets so come back to learn how to maximize the app and your points!

I was not compensated for this post. I am a consultant to Wikets as their blogger outreach manager but the opinions in my blog are my own.

From Left to Write: Lost Edens

In Lost Edens, author Jamie Patterson struggles to save her marriage which may or may not be already over. Keeping her attempts a secret from her family, she attempts to mold herself into the wife her husband wants her to be. As a member of From Left to Write book club, I received a copy of this book for review. You can read other members posts inspired by Lost Edens by Jamie Patterson on book club day, October 27 at From Left to Write.

After reading this book, I was really happy that Jamie was able to leave her husband and get a divorce. I don't think that sentence is a spoiler because she wouldn't have been able to write this true story if she were still with the abuser. After reading it, I wanted to find her husband and get revenge for her. Visions of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill were the first thoughts to pop up. But as the saying goes, the best revenge is living well, which Jamie seems to be doing. I am really happy for her.

Reading the book made me think of a close friend who needs help. She is an adult who has withstood years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her father. Her father has called her stupid, dumb, all sorts of hurtful names. He's screamed at her for being overweight and once ripped a cookie out of her hand because she didn't stop eating it fast enough. During her childhood years he threw things at her, but now his abuse is mostly verbal and manipulation through guilt trips. I want to tell my friend to quit her father. A man who does that to a child is NOT a father, he's a sperm donor. Of course, it's not my place to tell her to do that, so all I can do is support her until she can come to the realization that she needs to be free of him.

A battered spouse without children can leave her spouse and break off all ties. But what does a battered child do--especially if the abuser also abuses the other parent and the other parent is unable to leave? My friend wants to maintain her relationship with her mother. If she doesn't answer the abuser's phone calls and doesn't comply with his wishes, he blames the mother and takes it out on her. So she feels like she's stuck. She also thinks that her father has a mental illness stemming from a long-diagnosed hormone disorder, which he won't seek treatment for because he doesn't he doesn't have medical insurance. So what can she do? When she tells me what is happening to her, I get so angry and want to call the police. But what would I tell them? That an old man is badgering his grown daughter? If she were under the age of majority, there would be help out there for her. But since she's an adult, the state no longer has the ability or desire to intervene.

A lot of what is going on is cultural. My friend is Asian. The Confucian society of her background places filial piety as one of the first virtues of their culture. The father-son relationship is one of the five human relationships that define all of life. To be a good son or daughter is a value that is instilled from the very beginning of life. There is a joke(?) that goes something like, if your mother and your wife are drowning, who would you save? The answer is obviously your mother because you can always get a new wife. People think that they lose stature if their neighbors think that their children are not treating them right. If a parent commits suicide, it is because the children did not do their duty. My friend is carrying the weight of all this cultural expectation on her shoulders as well as her love for her father in her heart. My friend, if you are reading this, know that I feel so sorry for what you are enduring. I hope things change for you soon. You are a good daughter. You are the BEST daughter.

Technology as Friend: HTC Rhyme Review

Stewart will tell you that technology is not my best friend. I once tried to get the wireless router at my in-laws house to work so I could watch a bar exam review lecture and managed to bring down the entire system. I had a smartphone for work but didn't use the data feature for a year and a half because I was scared that I would break it. Even something as simple as scanning a check to deposit it online has been something I've been avoiding for some time. But as my mid-life crisis age approached, I've decided that I need to be more adventurous and find my inner tech geek. I downloaded skype and talked to Stewart while he was working in France. I signed up and started reading Mashable. Then when HTC contacted me to review the new HTC Rhyme (available only through Verizon), I signed up to do it because I did not want to simply be comfortable with my old people phone!

The first thing that made me like the phone was that it came in PURPLE. I have long been a lover of all things purple and having a purple phone, even for a little while, to match my purple purse and my purple pea coat was fabulous! When I turned on the phone, one of the first things I noticed was that the screen is bright and vivid. The 3.7” size is more than adequate to allow you to watch video or a quick clip on Youtube without feeling a pressing need for more space. The slick user interface known as “HTC Sense” is an added layer of software that actually enhances the user experience. It allows for quick access to your camera, contacts, friend updates, and any multimedia you might have, and more importantly, doesn’t appear to bog down the operating system or performance in any way. The 1 gigahertz processor readily handles all the tasks that I’ve asked of the phone, including streaming video, without much of a hitch.  This phone doesn’t have access to 4G, but 3G seems to handle all the data requirements I’ve asked of the phone.

I’m pretty impressed by the quality of the camera (5 MP 28mm f/2.2 camera with auto focus and power LED flash).  Outdoor shots look beautiful with vibrant colors.  Indoor shots tend to require more light, but in the right settings, can do the job. The HTC Rhyme takes much better indoor photos than my old people phone. There is an added LED flash in the back of the phone which does provide some additional light when needed. H had fun with the HD 720p video recording feature. The phone comes with 4 GB onboard memory, 768 MB RAM, and 8 GB microSD pre-installed so you can take a lot of photos and video before you have to download to your computer. (The photo on the left was taken with the HTC Rhyme.)

The primary operating system, Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 feels more polished that previous versions of Android. Among my favorite apps that come with the phone is the Google Maps Navigation, which I’ve found to be the most accurate and easy to use GPS systems. That reason alone is almost compelling enough for me to select Android over iOS, which doesn’t not come with a native GPS system.  Sure you can download one on iOS, but I recently had a melt down when Stewart told me to use it and I couldn't figure out how.

I like the fact that the phone comes with great accessories. When you open the box, you’ll see the Tangle–Free Headphones, a multifunctional Docking Station, and the Charm Call Indicator. When your headphones are in the bottom of your purse, they have the tendency to get so tangled up you just decide to forego untangling them and put the speaker on low. The HTC Rhyme’s Tangle–Free Headphones remain untangled, despite the jostling you put them through so the person working out next to you won't get annoyed. It also comes with a multifunctional Docking Station, which is a charger, an alarm clock, and external speakers for your Rhyme phone. For some reason, the alarm clocks in hotels hate me and I can't figure them out. With the docking station, I wouldn't have to anymore! And what mom hasn't missed a call or text because you can't hear the call or notifications over the chaos of a playground playdate? The Charm Call Indicator dangles discreetly from your bag or purse. The Charm illuminates whenever you get a call or text, so nothing or no one goes unnoticed.

I have to return the phone next week so that ends my purple matchy-matchy ensembles. I'm glad I had a chance to be one of the hip next generation phone people! Thanks HTC for expanding my tech horizons.

I was not compensated for this review. I was provided the HTC Rhyme to test for a two week review period. 

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Freschetta Proud to Support Pink GIVEAWAY

If weren't aware of the meaning of all the pink ribbons in the supermarket, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, other than skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), an estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States this year. An estimated 40,170 women are expected to die from the disease in 2009 alone. Today, there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.

As a member of the Freschetta Fresh Connection Community, I'm happy to share information about how Freschetta is doing its part to support breast cancer research. From September 25th-October 31st when you purchase specially marked-packages of Freschetta pizzas and Artisan Pizza Crusts you will be helping the company reach its goal of a $50,000 donation to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Specially marked packages are printed with codes that you can enter at the Proud to Support Pink website. For each code entry, $1 will be donated to this center to support breast cancer research. The site also has a place for people to share their breast cancer journey or the journey of a friend or loved one. 50 pink iPod Shuffles will be given away each week in October as part of a giveaway on the site with an additional 50 pink iPod Shuffles being donated each week to four cancer centers for use by breast cancer patients during treatments.

To encourage Random Mommy readers to check out the Proud to Support Pink website, Freschetta is offering a fun giveaway of a coupon to try any Freschetta pizza and two pairs of Freschetta Proud to Support Pink earphones--one pair for you and one pair for you to share with an IRL pal or family member as a reminder of proactive health. I will also pick two additional winners to receive the earphones I received from Freschetta!

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  Contest period runs from Thursday, October 6th, 2011 at 12:01 AM (Pacific) until Friday, October 14th, 2011 at 11:59 PM (Pacific). Enter by leaving a comment on your favorite type of pizza, 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 (once per day)
3) Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect by clicking on the sidebar
4) Like Freschetta Pizza on Facebook
5) Follow Freschetta Pizza on Twitter

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 prize will go to the next place winner as decided by Random.org. This contest is open for US Residents only. Good luck!

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