My Favorite Giveaways Around the Web!

Laptops and Tablets and Phones, Oh My!

Dolby Lounge is giving away Dolby-enhanced prizes like Lenovo laptops, Acer tablets, and LG phones in a Facebook/Twitter contest that ends Friday!  With each entry comes a free download of "12 Dubset DJ mixes", too. I have no idea what that is, but if I were a cool kid, I bet I'd know. ; )

To enter, either  go to http://twitter.com/dolbylounge and follow, then tweet out the answer to the question “How do you Surround Yourself?” with the hashtag “#dolbylounge” 

OR follow these instructions to enter on Facebook.

Contest Rules Ends on Friday.

Fun-da-Middle Fundamentals Gift Pack!

This is a really cute giveaway: a cupcake-making set for those cupcakes with a creamy filling inside!

It's on a blog called Having Fun Saving, and here's what you can win:

• One sample of new Betty Crocker Fun da-middles cupcake mix
• One cupcake pan
• One oven mitt
• One package of cupcake liners
• One box of cupcake gift notes

Just comment for initial entry, and there's instructions on what to do to get s'more!


Ends today, so you had better hurry if you want to enter!

Scare Up a Box of Delicious Cookies for Halloween!

Over at a blog I just discovered called the ReviewWire (which really needs a more eye-catching header IMHO), they're giving away a box of Smiley's Halloween Cookies! 

To enter, you'll need to check out the Smiley's Cookies website and comment on the giveaway with your favorite Smiley's Cookies. Additional entry methods are also available.

[ Note: Why do delicious cookie places not ask me to host a giveaway? I have the One Sweet Tooth to Rule Them All.  Smiley's, I'm looking at you. Hook me up.]


Also ends today!

Spookamole Recipe Contest

Avocados are good for you, and I know I don't eat enough. Let's be honest: unless it looks and tastes good, I'm not likely to change, either. This recipe contest asked for creative recipes with avocados, and since I love Halloween, I was delighted to see some recipes for items I would actually serve and eat myself! Voting is open to the public, and I didn't have to register to vote (I liked the Witch's Fingers). Check it out and vote for your favorite recipe to win!

Voting ends on October 16th.

Dove Chocolate Discoveries Home Starter Kit

Okay, this contest is unique.

You can win a "starter kit" of Dove Chocolate Discoveries, worth about $159, AND what makes this really different is that Dove Chocolate Discoveries is one of those businesses where you go and demonstrate the products in parties hosted in other people's homes.

Now, I don't know anything else about the business side than that. But I do know that Dove makes some awesome chocolate! 


Plus, If you don't want to start a business, there's a lot in this kit for any chocoholic would really enjoy. 

I personally actually have some experience in this home party stuff. I used to be a Partylite consultant, which I really enjoyed doing. Even though I was one of their best saleswomen in my first few weeks in the company, I found I didn't make all that much money doing it. You could get their starter kit free by signing up enough people to host parties with you as the consultant. I did that with the help of my wonderful friends,  but you also have other expenses that come out of your own pocket. 


Sometimes your mentor could help with the forms and materials, and I had a really nice mentor, but she decided to stop mentoring(!) and kinda left me in the lurch. And I couldn't even get mad at her because she went into the ministry for her church! Yes, really.

So why, you may be asking yourself, if I didn't make a lot of money and all that happened, did I enjoy doing it? 

Because I was a SAHM, and working as a Partylite consultant let me get out of the house a few times a month while my spouse watched the kids! I met a lot of people, I enjoyed demonstrating, and my husband and I really liked their candles, (I don't think I could be in sales if I had to sell something I didn't like; I just don't have it in me). So even though it wasn't that profitable for me, I know my Phone Phobia kept me from calling "leads" like I should have, and I probably could have made more money if I did more of that. Also, some people really did make money. 

Most importantly, I had fun doing it! So I consider the whole experience a plus. Since this contest reminded me of all that, I am including it here.

So If you love chocolate, or if you are maybe looking for a little side business or a way to get out of the house, you can enter the contest here 

This one ends on Friday.


Note: It looks like the contest is part of a Mom Central campaign. I've done some blog tours for them, but I am NOT part of this one and I don't have any affiliation with Dove Discoveries AT ALL, or any of the other contests mentioned above.


Now, have you entered OUR Real Steel and HandVibes giveaways?

Squid Are Cool

I was talking to +Ryan Penagos on Twitter yesterday about how cool squid are (I know, right?) , and I pointed out that Marvel had a dearth of squid superheroes and maybe they needed a Senor Cephalopod.

And then he blew my mind. Did you know Viper aka Madame Hydra came with the Barbie squid hair accessory?! (Okay, it's the hive version. But still!)

Happy Halloween from Cool Moms Rule!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

So you don't have a fancy costume party to go to? 

We've got Halloween covered for you! 

• Carve a pumpkin for the trick-or-treaters...and maybe WIN a copy of Lego Universe!  Use this simple stencil to turn your pumpkin into a Lego guy! Then follow 43KIXFL onTwitter and upload a pic of your pumpkin for a chance to WIN a copy of the game and a free one-month subscription. No time to carve? That's okay. Just text LEGOU as instructed below for another way to enter.

• Save 30% at Macgamestore on digital downloads.  Just add any digital download to your cart and use this code (hold your breath for startingly cryptic code): HALLOWEEN at checkout!

• Create some tasty treats: Pillsbury Brownie Bites "Lil Pumpkins"!

• Enter the Nestle Family 2010 Holiday Sweepstakes!  You could win a trip to a Beaches resort! And there's new prizes every week, so be sure to come back weekly and enter again for more chances to win.

• Turn yourself (or your kids, or your Facebook friends) into a zombie or a werewolf or other creepy creature with IMut8r for your iPhone (.99 at the App Store).  You might just want to make this your default profile pic. Or maybe not...

Above all, have a safe (and scary) Halloween!

Katy Perry sings "Hot N Cold" with Elmo. That Tart!

So, I guess you have all heard about the uproar surrounding Katy Perry and what was to be a cute Sesame Street appearance with Elmo, singing a revised version of her song, Hot 'N Cold?

The song is cute and catchy, though overly auto-tuned (like a lot of songs these days), and perfect for explaining opposites to kids, or at least that's what the folks at Sesame Street thought.

So Katy and Elmo sang a duet. And Katy, in keeping with her style, wore a gold corset dress (which, although it looks as if it is strapless, actually has a flesh-colored bodysuit underneath it).

And some Moms got REALLY, really mad. I mean, they were outraged.  Scandalized.

If you can't guess from my tone, my eyes are rolling a bit at this. There was no bumping and grinding or stripper moves in this video. It's just the pop singer wanting to play dress-up with Elmo, who is acting contrarily, thus giving rise to all the opposites in the song.

Here, wait, I'll show you:

So, did you catch the scandalous behavior of this singing strumpet?

Nope, me neither. I just don't get it.

So, what was all the supposed outrage about? Her cleavage. Her dess, folks, shows off too much bosom.

That's it, that's all.

In these days of Miley Cyrus dancing on stripper poles, apparently some Moms were sincerely offended by a low-cut dress.

 Or, as the case may be, neck-high-but-rather-transparent bodystocking.

Or at least, that's what I'm told all the fuss was about. I'm finding it hard to believe that so much outrage ensued that Sesame Street actually dropped this, in my opinion, inoffensive Katy Perry segment.

But they did. They caved.

*Sigh.*

Fortunately, Elmo has gone on record as saying he loves Katy and would love to have another playdate with her.

And Katy indicated she would love to go back, too.

So no harm's done, there's some publicity for Sesame Street and Katy, and even comedian Russell Brand, Katy's fiance', got a good laugh out of it, tweeting THIS to Katy. ; )

Tropicana Juicy Rewards Twitter Party! (With PRIZES!)

You already know I'm a Tropicana Juicy Rewards Ambassador, and let me tell you, I've really been enjoying their rewards.

For example, when you go to the Juicy Rewards website, did you know that there's a different special offer showcased every day?

Recently I was able to get a FREE movie ticket from Fandango for just 3 of my points through one of these daily offers (I still have twenty-something left; it's really easy to get points when you drink orange juice every day). So far, I have just downloaded the code for the ticket, but I haven't used it yet (I'm thinking of going to see Oceans today for Earth Day!).

Juicy Insiders can save $15 on an FTD flower bouquet of $49.99 or more for Mother's Day for just 3 points, too, so be sure to give a nudge to your family before May 9th rolls around. You deserve it! ; )

Mom Central, who has been working with bloggers like me to spread the word about Tropicana Juicy Rewards, is having a Twitter party today from 3-4 PM EST.

Here's the best part: six lucky winners will be randomly selected throughout the Twitter Party to win a $50 American Express gift card!

To be eligible to win one of the six giveaways, log onto Twitter during the party and enter a tweet using the hashtag #TropicanaRewards. Anyone leaving a comment using this hashtag during the party will be automatically eligible to win.

See you there this afternoon! Look for me on Twitter, @CoolMomsRule. This is the time when I usually pick up my kids, so I won't be on the entire time, but I'm definitely tuning in!

Oh, and here's some tips for following the Twitter party:

1. Set up a #TropicanaRewards search on search.twitter.com or on your twitter program (e.g. TweetDeck or Twirl), or
   
2. Use a twitter aggregator such as twubs.com to follow the hashtag.
   

I wrote this post while participating in the Tropicana Juicy Insiders Ambassador program by Mom Central on behalf of Tropicana. I received 12 free Juicy Rewards points and a $50 Visa gift card to use in redemption of the points and to facilitate my reviews of the program.

Where's Santa Now?!

It's Christmas Eve, and the kids are excited because soon Santa will be here.

But what's Santa doing right now?! You can show them with the latest Christmas tech:

Santa Claus Live webcam.
Inside and outside the workshop views in real time from Santa's office on the Arctic Circle.

Norad Santa
Track Santa through his Twitter stream, download the iGoogle gadget to countdown the hours, even follow him on your mobile phone!

Thanks to Chris Webb for the heads-up on these Santa links!

The Engineer, the Owl and the Rhino are off to join the family for Thanksgiving...and I'm here, home, sick in bed. Blah.

But you know what?

I'm thankful that I have all of you to share my holiday with today!

What are you thankful for today?

Check out Turkeytwitter, and add your own tweets using #thankful or #turkeytwitter as you celebrate the holiday!

Miscellania

Gwen Thompson, (Homeless) American Girl. $95.

"Gwen's father walked out on the family. Her mother lost her job.

As the little kiddies learn to read about this doll as if she's a human being, one learns that, as fall turned into winter, Gwen's mom lost her grip.

Mother and daughter started bedding down in a car.

For $95 -- more than your average homeless person would dream of spending on a rather mediocre baby substitute -- Gwen Thompson can be yours. A mixed message if ever there was one. "

I think this is very biased--though I do think it's ironic that a girl whose storyline includes homelessness retails for a whopping $95, why shouldn't our kids be learning about the reality of broken homes and homelessness?

I also wish they had an American Girl doll with a Mother/Father in the military. Anyone know if that's out there?

Woman Gets Pregnant While Pregnant

She's having two babies, but they aren't identical twins. They aren't even fraternal twins.

One of the babies was conceived 2 1/2 weeks after the first!

Very rare, this is known as superfetation.

Hey, I won a game on Twitter!

We've got a winner for our Dame Dilemma! "At a crowded event I feel someone pinch my butt. What's a Dame to Do?!" Stay tuned for next tweet

Our winner @CoolMomsRule ....please DM us your mailng info. Congratulations!

@CoolMomsRule "I'd embarrass the pincher by loudly demanding, "Get your hands off my butt!" since I can't blow him away w/an AK47 IRL ; )"

I won a copy of What's A Dame to Do? from GamesForDames!

Wha--? Where's My Comment?!

Dear Cool Moms Rule! followers,

If you've noticed your comments are not showing up as quickly, you have a stupid hate-filled comment to me to thank for it.

Yes, I had to delete a comment from the blog recently, which is something I RARELY do. Usually I reserve that only for spammers, but I had to make an exception this time. So I enabled comment moderation on the blog.

Please understand, if you criticize me, I will NOT just delete your comment! Far from it. Go ahead and tell me if I'm screwing up.

Really.

If you aren't happy with Cool Moms Rule!, I want to hear about it.

I want to know what you think, and sometimes I screw up, and I need you to call me out on the carpet for it.

Other times, well, we may have to end up agreeing to disagree.

But I will always listen.

UNLESS, as this one comment did, you simply resort to offensive name calling, and then, yes, I'm going to take the comment down.

I might, very occasionally, use an "objectionable" word on the blog, but overall this is a blog for Moms, and we don't need to see--I am not kidding--

A nasty sexist slur crudely referring to me as, to put it nicely, a part of a woman's anatomy.

This particular comment was on the review I did recently for book The Other Girl, which I admit was not a positive review.

Hey, I can't love EVERYTHING!

So, a lone comment referring to me as (rude epithet) was deleted. It didn't criticize anything specific in my review, just basically resorted to name calling.

Interestingly enough, a Twitter account in the name of one of the characters in the book then criticized the blog, which I found hilarious! Here's the tweet:

omg coolmomsrule this stupid blog just was like salivating all over lance armstrong who is super annoying!!! she is the worse!!!!3:47 AM Sep 23rd from web

pilarbj
Pilar Benitez-Jones

Isn't that funny? It totally works for the voice of that character, an incredibly beautifl, rather shallow privileged girl.

She (whoever the author of the Twitter account is) even made the same typo in the Tweet that The Other Girl author does, and which I criticized in my book review, using "worse" for "worst".

I got a real kick out of that. I tweeted back that I was living in fear of her 6 Twitter followers (I think she has a couple more now), but I never heard any more from her about it.

My Twitter friend, @ThingsMomsLike, and I, though, had a fun discussion about it.

We're really hoping they make me a bitchy character in the next book! Like CoolbitchMom! And then she could be my friend, ThingsMomsHate!

So, see, criticism can be fun!

But using ugly sexist name-calling in comments? Not going to happen here.

So I enabled Comment Moderation, and it will take just a little longer for your comments to show up on the blog, but otherwise it shouldn't inconvenience you all too much, okay?

Thanks for understanding, you guys!

~Viv

MMMMM....Peanut Butter!

I recently won a little contest on Twitter by answering this question: how many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will the average kid eat by the time he/she is 18?

I thought about it, and I got the answer right. Ready? 1500! Here's my "magic formula": about a hundred a year, from the time he or she is 3=1500.

So, anyway, I won (!) and what was so exciting is I won a jar of P.B.Loco Peanut Butter. I had never heard of P.B.Loco before, but I'm a fan now! They have all these delicious gourmet flavors of peanut butter: Peanut Butter with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter with Caramel, even a Peanut Butter with Asian Curry Spice! I think that last one would really appeal to adults, but since I am hardly a mature person (heh), I chose the Peanut Butter with CocoBanana.

And my P.B.Loco CocoBanana Peanut Butter was delivered last week, and

Wow!

It. Is. Awesome.

The Cocobanana has chocolate in it (Mmmm) and bananas, and I wasn't sure if I would like someone adding flavors to good old peanut butter, but I can tell you it is delicious! And utterly decadent. Just a little spoonful on my finger was so rich it was like having a sundae with bananas and a chocolate topping!

And my cat jumped up on the counter to lick my finger, so I can certify that it is Kitten Approved as well. ; )

So, here's my verdict: I highly recommend checking out P.B.Loco online or one of their franchises near you!

Cool Moms Rule rating: A+ flavor, A+ quality, and A+ for pricing (yes, I won my jar, but you can get one, too, for just $6.95).

I finally checked out Cre8buzz

Last year, I got an invitation to Cre8buzz. At the time, I remember being excited about it. Back then, it was invitation only, so I felt like a big deal. ; )

Anyway, I went and signed up. Since not many other Moms or bloggers or women had signed up yet other than me, I didn't really do anything else.

And I just forgot all about it, really.

But yesterday, on twitter (where I am CoolMomsRule, if you want to follow me, btw), a friend mentioned how many Moms were hanging out on Cre8buzz these days. So I went and checked it out, and he was right!

There's a lot going on over there these days, and I am still learning the ropes. I need to figure out how to climb the anthill (still not sure about that). And I want to make some friends; people who are like me.

So, if you are: a Mom, like cats, eat too much junk food, watch too much TV, spend too much time on the internet, spend too little time cleaning your house, are passionate about your beliefs as long as you don't miss your regular TV shows or internet time (hee hee), are cynical, sarcastic, weird or geeky, or a combination of all of the above, come on over and visit me at Cre8buzz!