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AT-AT Attack Battle Game Review & Giveaway

May 2, 2013 By

Are you ready for Star Wars Day? If your family is a lover of Star Wars, you can celebrate this epic day (May the Fourth) by winning the Angry Birds Star Wars AT-AT Attack Battle Game by Hasbro!

Now, we don’t play Angry Birds at our house. We tried the app – both Jack and I – but it just made us too angry. It is aptly named. Something about those pigs laughing at us hysterically when we don’t beat a level is too much. It was better for us to erase the game than it was to slam our phone and iPad against a wall.

We do love the concept of Angry Birds, though – a puzzle game where you fling birds at jerky pigs hiding in cleverly configured bunkers. Puzzle games and snark are right up our alley! When the Angry Birds Star Wars game came out, I really wished we did like the game (even if they did leave out the ewoks). So I was delighted to see that Hasbro created a physical game to putter around with. Who doesn’t love flinging flying objects in order to knock things down?!

We received the Angry Birds Star Wars AT-AT Attack Battle Game to test out. Here’s the description from Hasbro:

Stack, launch, and destroy with the AT-AT ATTACK BATTLE GAME, which includes 21 blocks to create the signature AT-AT, a LIGHTSABER LAUNCHER and 12 ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS figures — including two that are exclusive to this set! Players can also unlock ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS in-app content with a special code in each pack. (Approximate retail price: $39.99; Ages: 5 & up. Available: Now)

Now, I know this doesn’t have anything to do with the actual playing of the game, but I have to give a shout-out to Hasbro with regard to the packaging. There were no zip-ties and only one plastic tray to contain the bird and pig figures – the rest was cardboard folded in creative ways to keep the pieces in order. We got the whole set out of the box in about 30 seconds! THIS is frustration-free packaging!

My friend Sabrina and I went to town setting up the pieces for Jack (we were excited, okay!). The plastic headpiece for the AT-AT was a bit tough to put together, but it is sturdy so I think it will outlast many wallopings by flying birds. There is a beginning suggestion for how to set up the pieces on the AT-AT platform but there are a bunch of different configurations you can come up with – it’s a bit like Tetris. I’m sure if you’ve played the app enough, you can mimic some of the set-ups you’ve seen there.

There are four birds and eight pigs that come with the set. Each of the birds has a hole in the bottom that you place on the peg on the launcher (it looks similar to a sling shot). You hold the base of the launcher with one hand and pull down the lever with the other, then let go. The launcher sends the bird flying right at the AT-AT and those jerky pigs! It’s REALLY satisfying to knock down a bunch of blocks and see the pigs fly. Bonus: If you miss, the pigs don’t make a peep!

Launching things is one of Jack’s favorite past-times these days, so this game had his interest right away. He didn’t seem to have any complaints, although it took him a few tries to figure out how to aim the launcher and determine the necessary distance for his target. Once he got the hang of it, he didn’t want to stop.

I could see older kids getting bored with this ‘game’ somewhat quickly, though – it doesn’t have any rules so it’s more of a toy than a game. Also some may be bothered by the fact that it takes much longer to set up the blocks than it does to knock them down. Jack thinks setting up the blocks is part of the fun, though.

Side note: At a $40 retail value, I would have loved to see this game come with a carrying case because once you assemble the head of the AT-AT, it won’t fit back in the box it came in. If you have babies or toddlers in the house, you’ll want to keep the pig and bird figures away from them as they may present a choking hazard.

Do you live in the U.S. and want to win the AT-AT Attack Battle Game and have your own Hasbro GameNight? Entries will be accepted through May 4th. Modes of entry:

Mandatory:

  • Tweet about this post OR share it on Facebook or Google+ (leave a comment with your tweet URL or Facebook/Google+ info) – 1 entry

Additional Entries:

Good luck and May the Fourth be with you!

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Disclosure: I was provided with the above-referenced product in order to provide my review but am receiving no compensation for this post. All opinions expressed here are my own. For more information on my reviews, please see my disclosure page and my summary of sponsored content.

Filed Under: Gear, Reviews, Shopping Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 16 Comments

Box Tops Pantry Stock Up Giveaway

February 15, 2013 By

If you have a child attending public school, you likely spend at least a little bit of time ripping little squares off the packaging of your pantry contents and collecting them in an envelope to give to your kid’s school. You maybe even hit up your childless co-workers for THEIR box tops. (I can’t be the only one!) I know that since Jack entered Kindergarten, I’ve become much more aware of which products I buy at the store and whether they have the Box Tops for Education label on them. I’m much more likely to choose a brand that will help my son’s school – especially if it’s a better product than the alternative.

Did you know that since its introduction in 1996, the Box Tops for Education program has provided $500 million in funding to schools? That’s a lotta money and it’s the simplest thing in the world to collect little squares of paper and drop them off at your school. These things are on TONS of products that parents buy – food, containers, organizational products, etc.. I guarantee you have these sitting in your cupboards right now. (If you aren’t using them, send them to me! California schools can use all the help they can get!)

Check out this press release detailing the Box Tops program:

Cash-Strapped Schools Welcome Record-Setting Funding from Box Tops
Box Tops for Education® Raises More than $500 Million for Schools

Minneapolis, February 1, 2013 ─ Box Tops for Education®, the nation’s largest school fundraising program, today announced that it has earned more than half-a-billion dollars for schools across the country since it started in The General Mills program began as an experiment on boxes of Cheerios in California with first year earnings of only $1 million. It has grown to include more than 240 participating brands providing needed cash for 90,000 enrolled K-8 schools. At the heart of the program is more than 75,000 volunteer Box Tops for Education coordinators who motivate local school communities to collect the 10-cent coupons which are redeemed for cash schools use for whatever they need most.

To celebrate this milestone, this winter, the program is offering a variety of bonus Box Tops on more than 50 million packages at grocery stores and at btfe.com, allowing shoppers to double their earnings with select products.

School budget cuts have made the program more and more important over the years as it provides unrestricted cash to help schools with their basic operating needs and programs that would not be possible otherwise, such as field trips, textbooks, musical instruments, playground equipment, classroom technology and arts and cultural programming.

“I witnessed the power of the program when I visited several schools in the state a few months ago,” said New Mexico governor, Susana Martinez. “After seeing how easy it was to earn cash for schools, I started encouraging everyone to participate to help students get the things they need most to improve their education experience. I congratulate Box Tops for Education on reaching this impressive level of support for students
everywhere.”

“We are very impressed at how far the Box Tops program has come,” said Mark Addicks, chief marketing officer at General Mills. “To say that we’ve awarded schools more than $525 million through this simple program is amazing to us. However, it’s due largely to our participating brand partners and passionate coordinators that have propelled the program to this level.”

On average, schools in the U.S. earn around $900 annually through the program, but many schools earn more than $20,000 by clipping Box Tops, participating in bonus programs and shopping 300 online eBoxTops® retailers at the Box Tops Marketplace®.

About Box Tops for Education
America’s schools have earned more than $525 million through the Box Tops for Education® program since the program started in 1996, including $47 million just since March 2012. More than 90,000 schools use that cash to purchase items such as computers, library books, art supplies and playground equipment. Schools can earn up to $20,000 by clipping Box Tops coupons from 240 products and can earn eBoxTops by shopping online through the Box Tops Marketplace. To learn more and for a list of participating products, visit www.btfe.com.

Facebook at www.facebook.com/BoxTopsforEducation
Twitter at www.twitter.com/BTFE

To celebrate the awesomeness of this program and their $500 million milestone, I am hosting a Pantry Stock Up giveaway. One lucky winner will get a box full of products with the Box Tops labels right on them. You can stock up your pantry AND help your child’s school raise money at the same time with these tasty items:

  • New Peanut Butter Toast Crunch® cereal
  • Nature Valley® Chewy Trail Mix Dark Chocolate Cherry and Protein Salted Caramel
  • Fiber One® Protein Bars
  • Progresso® Recipe Starters
  • Food Should Taste Good® Chips
  • Green Giant Fresh® Box Tops for Education pencil pouch
  • Hamburger Helper® Sweet & Sour Chicken and Parmesan Crusted Chicken
  • Betty Crocker® Mac & Cheese and Au Gratin potatoes
  • Kleenex® wallet pack and 184 count box
  • Scott® toilet paper (4 roll) and paper towel roll
  • Avery® dry erase weekly calendar
  • Ziploc® bowls and bags
  • Yoplait® Frozen Yogurt free product coupon

Check it out:

To enter:

  • Leave a comment and tell me if you collect box tops for your child’s school!

Get extra entries for:

Please submit a comment for each entry. All entries must be received by Friday, February 22nd.

Please note: This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

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Disclosure: Information, products and promotional items have been provided by General Mills and Box Tops for Education and its program partners. For further information on my media policies, see my Disclosure page.

Filed Under: Gear, Parenting 101, Reviews, Shopping Tagged With: , , , , , , , 43 Comments

Save Your Money, Save The World

November 14, 2012 By

Last week I attended a luncheon hosted by my local electric/gas company PG&E and Opower, thanks to Mom Central. The purpose of the event was to share information on how to conserve energy and save money. As a new and, frankly, flat broke home owner, I was very interested in the topic. I need all the money savings I can get and I live in California – home of the rolling blackouts – so if I can avoid those, all the better!

So, here’s the deal with PG&E and Opower. PG&E is the utility company for the majority of California and they have enlisted the help of Opower, a software company, to employ an energy management system that will help engage and encourage customers to conserve energy. PG&E’s revenue is no longer based on how much electricity people use; instead there are regulations in place that state they must develop energy savings programs in order to receive profits. This is a huge win for the environment as it makes everyone more aware of conserving precious resources and a win for consumers because it will save money and keep the power on longer.

A fact that really struck me was that since 2008 Opower has saved enough electricity to take a city the size of Oakland off the grid for an entire year. They’ve done this by harnessing the power of our peers because research has shown that the best way to get people to cut back on their energy use is to educate them about what their neighbors are doing. It’s easy not to think about how much you use on a daily basis and live in La La Land thinking you’re doing plenty for the environment, but if you get a report that shows that you are an energy hog compared to your neighbors? Well, damn, that makes an impact! No one wants to be the asshole neighbor – particularly when they find out they’re being put in a higher rate tier and paying more money because of it.

For my fellow PG&E customers, there are some awesome things in store on the PG&E website. The first is already available – if you log into your account online you can run various reports on your energy consumption and get tailored tips on what your household can do to lower your consumption and save money. It’s super easy to find out about rebates and other incentives you qualify for with this interface, as well. Anybody need some evidence to show their spouse that the old piece of crap refrigerator that clicks all day long needs to be replaced? This is your chance – you can probably even qualify for cash back.

My favorite graph is the one that shows you how much electricity you are using at different times of day – I figure you can catch someone stealing your internets at noon on a Tuesday if you pay attention – “Hm, what’s that curious spike in the middle of the day when no one is home?” You might also be able to detect a malfunctioning appliance before it shuts down completely on you.

Many customers are now receiving printed reports along with their paper bills that show what their consumption is right alongside their neighbors’. A lot of the houses on our block are the same size and have a lot of the same features inside – so if I find out I’m using more electricity than most of my neighbors, I can then go and figure out what they are doing that I’m not! Maybe it really is time to replace those windows.

Even more fun is the social apps Opower has developed. For instance, they’ve partnered with Facebook in order to implement an app that allows you to see how you stack up with your friends as far as energy consumption goes. Nothing like a little bit of friendly competition to inspire environmental conscience, right?

I’ve jumped right into using the online tools. Our energy usage is pretty good so far and our bills are manageable, but I’m hoping we can fine tune what we do around the house and make the most of every dollar. (I know my husband is hoping this gets me to turn off more lights around the house. But I NEED LIGHT!) PG&E has shown that those customers who simply log in to the site to review their account and energy usage save 23% more on gas than other customers. One of the tools to assist with this is their energy alert system, which triggers an email, phone call, or text message when you are about to go into the next (more expensive) rate tier. If there are only a few days left in the billing cycle, maybe you can bundle up a bit more and take shorter showers until your next cycle begins and save a bit of cash! I know I would use that cash for a latte…

Opower is partnering with utility companies all over the country (and the world!), so keep an eye out. Here is a list of where they are now so that you can take advantage of these awesome tools:

  • AEP Ohio (OH)
  • Arizona Public Service (AZ)
  • Burbank Water and Power (CA)
  • Commonwealth Edison (IL)
  • Connexus Energy (MN)
  • Constellation / Baltimore Gas & Electric (MD)
  • Southern Company / Gulf Power (FL)
  • National Grid (MA, NY)
  • Pacific Gas & Electric (CA)
  • PPL Electric Utilities (PA)
  • San Diego Gas & Electric (CA)
  • Xcel Energy (MN, CO)

Have you heard of these tools before? Are you using them? If not, I hope you all will all join me in using these tools so that we can start saving money AND the environment.

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I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of PG&E and Opower. I attended an informational luncheon and received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Filed Under: Domesticating, Family, Reviews 2 Comments

iPieces Game Review and Giveaway

October 23, 2012 By

The iPad is big in our house. Jack has really taken to it and uses it for all manner of things. It’s been a life saver while dealing with clinic visits and extra time at home! Jack’s favorite thing to use it for, of course, is games. When I spotted the iPieces games from Pressman Toy at BlogHer a few months ago, I got excited. I readily agreed to provide a review and offer you, dear readers, a chance to win an iPieces game of your choice!

 

What drew me to iPieces was not only the fact that they use tangible game pieces (I like things I can hold in my hand!), but that they use the technology of the iPad to offer interactive games that people already know and love. I’ve wanted to share my love of board games with my son, but didn’t desire to have a billion board game boxes lying around the house with missing pieces. These iPieces games come in compact game boxes that are about the size of two decks of cards and have very few pieces!

We received both the Fishing Game and Air Hockey to review. Jack was familiar with the board game version of the Fishing Game, so he went for that one right off the bat. It comes with four ‘fishing rods’ that you use to catch fish and drag them across the iPad screen to a bucket in the corner. There is a pelican that flies by and tries to steal fish from your bucket, so while you are trying to catch fish you also have to keep an eye out and block the bird.

It took two games before Jack got the hang of using the fishing rod – it has a flat end that you have to keep in contact with the screen when dragging the fish. He kept trying to drag too quickly and would end up dropping the fish when the rod rocked and lost contact with the screen. He got the hang of it pretty quickly, though.

The Fishing Game is a four player game, but we just played with two players. We had fun competing to catch the most valuable fish and there was enough room on the iPad screen that we weren’t constantly bumping into one another. I think if there were more players, the difficulty level of the game would be raised a bit and the competitive aspect would ramp up, too, as players fight to find an open spot to catch a fish and try to navigate the other fishing rods to get the fish to their bucket.

Verdict: After we played a few 3-minute games, Jack kept going by himself – the game can be played with only one player, as well. Win! This one is definitely a keeper.

We also tried the iPieces Air Hockey game. This required a bit more of an explanation for Jack since he’d never played air hockey before. I felt a bit bad playing against him when our skill levels are so different. His reflexes just aren’t as fast as mine! This one has two physical mallet pieces, while the puck is digital. I didn’t love the pieces – one of them had gotten chipped during shipping so the round red base kept coming off. The mallets felt too small for adult hands, as well.

The format of air hockey doesn’t translate all that well to a small screen, in my opinion. I can imagine if you got two iPads and each player had their own screen, that would make it so you aren’t constantly coming so close to the midpoint line and the other player. In our case, Jack kept forgetting that he couldn’t cross over the middle line in the court and I don’t really blame him – there’s not a lot of room on the screen to sling those pucks like there is on a real table.

Verdict: The Air Hockey game is probably better for children, although my 6 year old didn’t totally grasp the rules. Teens and adults will probably prefer to play air hockey on a real table where they can stretch out.

iPieces are available for purchase at Amazon, Toys“R”Us, Barnes & Noble, K-mart, Radio Shack, Learning Express, and BJ’s Wholesale Club stores nationwide.

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Now, time for the giveaway! This will be open for entry until Friday, October 26 at 11:59pm and is open to U.S. residents only (sorry, Canucks!). To win a free copy of one of five iPieces games (Fishing Game, Game of Goose, Air Hockey, Snakes & Ladders, or Pool):

1. Leave a comment telling me which game you would like and who you’ll be playing it with – mandatory for 1 entry

2. Go to Facebook and ‘Like’ the EwokmamaBlog page or the one for Pressman Toy (comment that you did this) – 1 additional entry if #1 is completed

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I was provided with a free copy of both of iPieces games for review. I was not compensated for my review and all words are my own. Please see my Disclosures page for additional information pertaining to products reviewed on this blog.

Filed Under: Gear, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , 4 Comments

Playing Musical Wheels

July 31, 2012 By

Within about a week, we acquired a brand new car and I got a loaner electric car to test drive thanks to Klout. Five cars were sitting in front of our house for a couple days there, including that of David’s sister who has just relocated to the area and stayed with us for a couple of weeks.

Firstly, because apparently I’m interesting or something, I was offered a pretty awesome Klout perk – a two-day loan from Chevy for their electric Volt. I’d never driven an electric car before, so I was happy to sign up. A local Chevy dealership dropped the car off at my house one morning and I got to commute back and forth to work for a couple days on their electric/gas tank. I was getting about 50mpg – HOT!!

If you haven’t seen the Chevy Volt, it’s faaaancy. Back-up camera, beeping when you get too close to another car, push button to start it up, Bluetooth and OnStar technology. Two days was not enough to fully utilize all of these fun things! And even though it was a smaller car, we were able to fit four people in it with the dog in the hatchback (he was quite comfy and got to poke his head between the back seats).ChevyVolt

DashInVolt

Around this same time, the transmission in our 9-year-old Subaru Outback went and started dying (don’t we have the best luck?!). There was also some sort of crazy leak in a bad, bad place (I was told a couple times but my head went LALALALA). The cost to fix it? $4-6k (so you know it’d actually be $6-8k). The car had 120k miles on it and just…wasn’t worth it. Not to mention, we didn’t HAVE that kind of money ’cause we just spent all our money on our house just a few weeks prior. Hot damn!

So off we went (to Costco! did you know they have a car program?) and got something we really love – a 2013 Mazda CX-5 Touring. It’s comfortable, fits all our stuff, can take us to Tahoe in the snow, gets excellent gas mileage for an SUV (we’re at nearly 29mpg right now) and is freaking FUN to drive. Not to mention I don’t get lost anymore because it came with in-dash navigation that talks to me. Woot! Oh and my favorite thing about it – if someone gets into the blind spot, a little light pops up on the side view mirror, then the car starts beeping if you try to veer that way. Safety feature FTW!

What did we do with the Subaru? Well, donated it, of course. I found out that Make-a-Wish takes car donations, so I contacted my local chapter of Wheels For Wishes and they picked up the car a couple days later. It was easy-peasy and we’ll get to write off whatever amount they are able to sell it for at auction – PLUS help make wishes come true for kids like Jack (which reminds me, I need to put in the request for him to meet Lady Gaga – true story).

We are now down to just two cars – I gave back the Volt, David’s sister moved out, and the Subaru is being auctioned off somewhere in SoCal. But all the bells and whistles I’ve gotten to test out have made it clear that my little ‘ol Civic is behind the times…maybe in a few years I’ll get to trade that puppy in.

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Disclosure: I am not being provided with any compensation for this post; however, I did receive a free loan of the Chevy Volt to test out. I was not asked nor required to write a review for the program, and all words here are my own. Please see my Disclosure policy page for more details.

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Truthiness Day 17: Book Learning

October 23, 2010 By

Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.

Before I read The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth, I had no idea why in the world anyone would ever want to have a home birth. I only slightly understood the natural birth movement.  I was interested in the idea of avoiding an epidural for two simple reasons – the first being that there was no way in hell I was going to sit still while someone stuck a needle in my spine, and the second reason was that at least half of the time, my body just doesn’t react to medications as it should.  I suspected that I would go through the trouble of getting an epidural only to wind up with the wrong part of my body numb (this happened to a friend of mine…).

Still, I wasn’t sure what the deal was with avoiding an episiotomy or giving my baby Vitamin K orally rather than by needle.  The book provides a ton of research laid out in a way that you can understand.  It lets you know what the risks are so that you can decide if the risks outweigh the benefits of a given procedure.  This was important because NOT ONCE did any of my medical providers offer me the risk information unless I asked for it.  Often I would ask, listen to the explanation, and then go home and do research to determine whether I was given the full scope (not surprisingly, a lot was left out).  Interestingly enough, that was at a hippie dippy birthing practice with midwives and homeopathic remedies and such.  I don’t think the providers were necessarily trying to keep information from me; I think the reason for withholding information had more to do with trying to keep me relaxed.  Still, I am not the type of person to blindly put my trust in anyone, even someone with a medical degree.  No matter what they know about the birthing process, they don’t know my body like I do.  I think it’s important for providers to work together with their patients for just that reason.

If you are pregnant and haven’t read the book, I highly recommend it.  You don’t have to read it from start to finish (I surely didn’t) – instead pick the chapters that are pertinent to you.  I turned the book often when writing my birth plan, for instance, because that was when many of my questions came up.

*Yes, the link above is an affiliate link.

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Wedding Budget Breakdown

September 29, 2010 By

The grand total price of my wedding was about $3700.  I was shocked at the end of it all that we pulled it off spending less than $5K, especially because we definitely splurged in certain areas.  For those interested, here is a breakdown of where the money went:

Beauty & Health – I could have saved a LOT in this area if I knew anything about hair and make up.  As it was, I sought out a cosmetologist from outside of the Bay Area (Yolanda from PrimaDonna Makeover) because she charges less than those here in the city.  I ended up paying for her travel time, though, so I didn’t save as much as I had hoped.  Of that $539 number, $425 went to the stylist.  It looked pretty good, though, and it was all done in my home so I didn’t have to stress about running all over the place the morning of my wedding.  It was overall worth the splurge.

Cake – I got a damned good deal here.  Doing research on Yelp for budget-friendly bakers, I stumbled on From Scratch SF, a brand new business launched by Jennifer Bratko.  I discussed my budget with Jennifer, sent her a copy of my invitation and a picture of my topper and she suggested the perfect design for my cake.  It turned out absolutely beautiful and amazingly delicious, and SO worth every penny:

Photo & cake by Jennifer Bratko

Catering – Lucky for us, David is a great cook and he had a fabulous friend to help him, so food costs were low.  The menu consisted of finger foods – salmon burgers, turkey burgers, and gourmet roast beef sandwiches.  Delish!  The total above actually includes a new grill that we got on sale at OSH.  We bought all of our wine at Bevmo with reward coupons (could have saved more if I had purchased it all during their 5 cent sale but we didn’t get organized in time) and the food was purchased in bulk at Safeway and Costco.  All of our tableware and cups were compostable and went right into the bin when we were done.

Dress & Attire – I bought my dress on mega sale at the Jessica McClintock outlet here in San Francisco.  It was $93.  It was a little long but I fixed that with a pin in the side rather than dishing out money for alterations.  David’s tux rental cost more than my ensemble!  I got comfy ballet flats on sale from shoes.com for $28 (using a coupon from savings.com*) and my jewelry and accessories were purchased on etsy.  Jack’s suit was borrowed.

Flowers & Decor – We saved money on flowers by ordering hydrangeas in bulk from Costco.  This ended up being a pain in the ass due to the incompetence of our local Fed Ex (the flowers sat in their warehouse mere blocks from my work for TWO DAYS) but we were lucky and it all worked out with only a few bunches that were compromised.  We put together simple arrangements using mason jars bought at the grocery store and tied with ribbon.

Our backyard was kind of a wasteland, so David ordered and laid sod down the day before the wedding.  At about $250, this was actually cheaper than renting any sort of astroturf and certainly less than renting a reception hall.  He also planted some flowers the same day and added in some mulch, and it looked very fresh!

Tables, chairs, and linens were another $265 (including delivery fee) and made things look more “official,” and I bought a tent (again – purchasing the tent was actually cheaper than renting one) for about $150.  Our paper lanterns were purchased in a variety of colors and sizes (less than $2 each) through JustArtifacts.com.

Invitations – Being that I am a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, I definitely could have saved more money in this area by making my own invitations.  Instead I chose to go the lazy convenient route and get custom invitations from Ruff House Art on etsy.  I paid an extra fee of $40 for a custom design, which I’m sure others can choose to skip to save a few bucks.  I also decided not to include RSVP cards since we had a small number of guests and are close enough to everyone to take RSVPs by word of mouth/email/etc.  The cost also included matching thank you cards.

Jewelry – David’s titanium ring cost a whopping $55 at JustTitanium.com.  He wanted something super lightweight and slim fitting (1.3mm thin to be exact) and I tracked down the slimmest ring I could find and then we requested that the 2mm standard size be slimmed to 1.3mm.  David is a very particular guy.  My ring was definitely pricier, but rather than spend extra on something custom, I searched high and low for something that just happened to be made for this somewhat unique setting.  Thanks Dacarli Jewelers for providing exact measurements of the ring and a nice return policy (just in case)!

Music – You won’t see this up there because we spent $0.  We used iTunes and put together our own playlist.  Between the fact that the reception was in our backyard and it was the middle of the day, we figured there wouldn’t be much dancing anyway.  Plus, the drunk people will dance anywhere and to anything!

Photography – Photography is a tricky thing to save money on – those disposable cameras usually just generate crap and professional photographers charge a whole lotta money for their services.  I think it’s worth it to pay big bucks for a photographer, but that doesn’t mean it’s practical for the budget.  I got lucky in two ways – my friend’s brother is a photography hobbiest with some sweet gear AND my friend Sarah is fantastic behind the camera.  Photography cost us next to nothing and we got beautiful, memorable shots of the day.

Site Fee – We spent $0 on this, as well.  It was a flash mob sort of ceremony on the beach that lasted all of about 30 minutes.

Obviously, all of the help from our family and friends is not included in the cost of our wedding.  That part was priceless and really the best wedding gift of all!

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Eucerin Skin First Pledge and Giveaway

August 23, 2010 By

When I attended BlogHer I took Eucerin’s skin first pledge.  Most of my life I’ve been very concerned about my skin and treating it well.  Not only am I very pale, prone to sunburns and break-outs, and have highly sensitive skin, but my mother hand skin cancer before she was even 35.  Putting my skin first is kind of a no brainer for me.

My son’s skin is even more sensitive than mine,  and after a breakout of red, scaly, dry skin patches when he was an infant, our Pediatrician advised us to limit baths, avoid all manner of bath products, and slather him in lotion.  We were given a sample of fragrance free Eucerin lotion and it totally healed the irritated patches of skin.  We’ve been using it ever since.

Upon taking the skin first pledge, I received the bag of Eucerin lotion products pictured here (contents: Eucerin Daily Skin Balance Body Lotion, Daily Skin Balance Hand Crème, Everyday Protection Face Lotion SPF 30, Health & Wellness Journal).  Eucerin reached out to me after the conference to offer these full size product sample bags to two of my readers, as well.

So, dear readers, in order to win this giveaway please leave a comment telling me how you take care of your skin.  If you tweet this offer, you will get an additional entry (please leave an additional comment with the URL of your tweet – it will not count otherwise).  I will choose two winners with the help of Random.org on Friday, August 27th.

For more information about Eucerin products:

Disclosure – Receiving the bag of Eucerin products at BlogHer has in no way, shape, or form, affected my personal review nor mandated that I host a giveaway.  I will not receive compensation for this post and giveaway.

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Paper is beautiful

July 29, 2010 By

Not too long ago I entered a giveaway over at Single Mom Seeking’s site when she asked for ideas for wedding invitations.  The prize was a $50 gift certificate to cardstore.com.  I won the prize and have been saving it until I knew what I wanted to get.  Well, two days ago I figured it out and I ordered the Light Blue Scroll business cards (designed by Amy Suther) for my new Stampin’ Up! business.  They arrived today (how’s that for fast?!) and they are GORGEOUS!

In addition to the awesome design on the cards, I love the fact that the *recycled* cardstock is thick and heavy.  These aren’t flimsy at all!  The packaging is just as beautiful as the cards themselves, and included were a few business card holders.  I couldn’t be happier with these and can’t wait to pass them out!

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Cell Phone Drama

July 13, 2010 By

I’ll never buy from Best Buy again.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t, but before you do – read my cautionary tale.

David and I went to an “authorized Verizon retailer” on May 29th.  David wanted the HTC Droid Incredible but it wasn’t in stock – they told us to try Best Buy.  We made our way over to Best Buy where David test drove the Incredible and fell madly in love with it while I took a liking to the Motorola Devour and it’s cheaper price tag.  It wasn’t until after David had played with the phone for a good 20 minutes that the salesperson informed us that it wasn’t in stock – not to worry, though, because I could purchase the Devour and David could put a deposit down on the Incredible, which would be in within a week.  I could activate my service with an individual plan and then once the Incredible came in we could combine them onto one account and get a family plan.  Also, being uber-nervous about these expensive Smart Phones I am sold on the Best Buy’s “black tie” insurance plan because the saleswoman assured me it’s an easier and more comprehensive option to get the phone fixed in the event of a problem.

Fast forward a week later – David called Best Buy to find out where his phone was.  He was told they got a shipment in but his name wasn’t on the list for that shipment…and oh, they had a few extra but no, they wouldn’t hold one for him until he got into the store in a few hours.  Also, they didn’t know when more phones would be in and since they process their deposits through gift cards (which are not refundable), he couldn’t get a refund.  SHADY!  He talked to a manager and was treated rudely and then I contacted some Twitter PR person and we were able to get the refund arranged.  So, yay!  We were slightly mollified.

David proceeded to order his phone from Amazon where it was $50 cheaper than BB anyway.  BUT! Amazon informed me we’d have to break one of our contracts early in order to combine the two into a family plan, which pretty much negates the savings (although David is still happy that he got his phone in a reasonable amount of time – he checked a month later and Best Buy still hadn’t gotten Incredibles in).

One week later my phone started randomly rebooting.  It happened in the middle of me looking up directions while in Napa, an area I don’t know well at all…I was pissed.  I try all the normal stuff with taking out the battery and reinserting it, etc.  The problem worsened over the next week so I trudged over to Best Buy, where an employee informed me the phone would need to be sent out for repair and it would take three weeks. Oh yeah – the deductible would also apply.  WTF – I bought the phone less than 30 days ago!!!  I was then advised to go to Verizon to get it swapped out…

The Verizon near my house is an authorized retailer, not an actual Verizon.  They could not help me and told me to go to the actual store.  It took me a while to get there due to work and having Jack and a million other things going on, but by the time I did, it had been 32 days since I bought the phone.  I checked in at the kiosk where my name was put on the waiting list to talk with customer support, and the check-in guy asked me why I didn’t return the phone to Best Buy.  I explained about the whole awful mess and frustration and run-arounds (while my phone does a new stupid thing where it just completely shuts off and won’t turn back on!) and then sat down to wait.  I waited 30 minutes and then my name disappeared off the list. I pointed this out to the check-in guy and he said he’d just let them know verbally that I am next.  He totally did that, but still I wasn’t called next and had to sit and wait.  While waiting I was finally able to turn my phone on again and a text message arrived from David – he locked himself out of the house and our upstairs neighbors (who have a key) weren’t home.  Also, he was cold.  GRR.  I told him to wait anyway and 10 minutes later I finally got to talk to a customer support person who then talks to his manager and comes back to tell me – WE CAN’T HELP YOU, GO BACK TO BEST BUY.  I remind him that I already went there and was instructed to go to Verizon and then I storm out of the store, furiously crying, because I don’t even have time to argue.  (Probably a good thing because at that point I was so infuriated I wanted to throw the phone at the employee.)

I got home and exploded all over David.  He called Verizon to demanded they fix it NOW.  I received my phone via FedEx yesterday.

So, lessons learned.  I will never buy from Best Buy again.  I’m canceling their crappy insurance plan.  Verizon kinda sucks, too, but I have no choice because they are the only carrier to provide coverage in my house consistently.  Also?  I don’t even really like my phone anymore due to all the drama (I’m sparing you from the part where Verizon provided erroneous instructions on transferring my information to the new phone).  David’s phone is awesome, though.  And so is he for getting my phone replaced when I was about to have a heart attack.

The End.  I hope!

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