Related posts:

1. How to Turn on the Verizon Palm Pre Plus Mobile Hotspot
2. Verizon Palm Pre Plus: Lookin’ Good
3. Verizon Palm Pre Plus - All About the Verizon Palm Pre Plus

I was in attendance at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration this past February. One of the events we participated in was the official press kick-off of the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program. They had chosen volunteer families representing each of the states to come to Disney World, receive recognition and participate in a large volunteer activity. Although I wasn’t there as an “official” volunteer, I was actually one of the million Give a Day, Get a Disney Day participants (see my badge?!) and it was an amazing experience all around. It was interesting to be there as a member of the press AND as a volunteer. I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience it.

My volunteer activity was actually pretty simple. A local YMCA needed help with set up, serving and clean up for a spaghetti dinner. The event was fun and I enjoyed chatting with the kids and their families. The staff told me that they rarely have any help at all and were surprised by how quickly we had things ready to go. We ended up standing around for almost an hour before the event began because the work was done in half the time. While there, I also had a chance to talk with some of the other Give a Day volunteers. One of the families I volunteered with chooses to volunteer on a regular basis. They were considering donating their Disney tickets to charity. One of the women at the event committed to becoming a long-term volunteer with the organization. Although none of us had met, we bonded over our shared experience with the program. And we had fun asking each other about our planned Disney trips.

I chose to use my ticket to get an early start to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Upon collecting my free Disney ticket at the Magic Kingdom, I received a “VoluntEAR!” badge. Everywhere I went in the park, Disney Cast Members asked about my volunteer activity and thanked me for giving back. I know it’s their job, but as a solo traveler, I really appreciated their comments. I was even offered a special after dinner treat as a thank you for my volunteer work. I didn’t do it for that reason, but it’s so nice to be recognized even when you aren’t looking for it.

Volunteerism is a part of my life. I don’t always have the time to commit to big projects, but I try to help out now and again as I can. I believe in giving back to the community and I think it’s essential to think of others besides yourself and your immediate family. I didn’t need Disney to convince me that volunteering is important. But Disney pulled off something I didn’t expect. They made volunteering feel magical, too.

I hope that Disney will bring back Give a Day, Get a Disney Day, or even offer some continued incentive for volunteering, such as the special Fast Pass exchange card.

Related posts:

1. Disney Social Media Moms - My Recap
2. First Star to the Right
3. Blissdom: Staying Open to the Possibilities

Sweet & Salty Soft Pretzels

I love to bake. I’m not necessarily a master at it, and now I can’t use eggs, but there’s something about making things that I grew up buying in the store that appeals to me. It started with a little thrill that you can actually bake bread at home. And then - what?! - you can make bagels? Then I started getting a little crazy and trying more complicated things like chocolate croissants (not easy, but certainly yummy).

So, somewhere in my baking-crazed mind, I developed this vision of baking with my kids. I imagined us adding ingredients, mixing and sampling together. I have baked a few times with Bug. He’s got a good personality for stuff like that because he’s careful and focused when he wants to be. On the other hand, he never stops talking, which means that I sometimes have to check off each cup of flour as I add it to the bowl so I don’t lose count. LadyBug has never had any interest in baking and that was fine with me. She tends to be a whirling dervish sort. The type you’d include if your baking vision included walls coated in flour and oil.

Well, one day last month, I had another vision. In it, I was making soft pretzels with my two little sous chefs (now 2 and 4 and certainly ready for something as simple as a pretzel). I sat the kids at the island and started pulling out ingredients as they peppered me with questions. “Just give me a minute to get out all of the ingredients…” “Yes, we’re making pretzels.” “Yes, you can eat one when they’re finished.” “Yes, your sister can also have one when they’re finished.” “No, we still need the rest of the ingredients.” And on like that.

As I made the dough, I was admittedly a bit stingy about what I’d allow them to add. They tend to be somewhat… well… klutzy. LadyBug got to add the water (with help) and Bug added the brown sugar after each of the kids dutifully sampled it to make sure it tasted ok. I’m not sure how, but I think I managed to get all of the right ingredients in with all of the correct quantities. Even with so many never ending questions. The fun part, I explained to them, is actually making the pretzels.

That’s right. My vision included my two cutie-pies rolling out little “snakes” of dough and folding them (with some help, surely) into cute little pretzels. What my vision failed to include was my kids dropping their dough on our less-than-clean floor just moments after I handed it to them. It failed to capture the springiness of the dough, which basically ensured that no child could ever roll a snake long enough to make into a pretzel. It missed that even I found the dough tough and tiresome to work with and that LadyBug would decide that “throw the dough on the floor” would make a fun game.

What did I do? I kicked that vision to the curb and got serious about the whole thing. I took Bug’s “log” (he never could get a snake) and cooked it as is into a lovely pretzel rod. I doled out smaller pieces of dough that was just right for nibbling, smashing and dipping in water. And I enlisted Big Guy who was unlucky enough to walk in before the whole process was complete.

And I learned quite a few things from the whole endeavor. First, cooking with my kids is certainly an adventure. Second, a pretzel by any other shape still tastes as salty (or sweet if you snag a cinnamon sugar sample). Third, my self-proclaimed non-artistic husband gets pretty creative when asked to roll out some dough  (he made all kinds of curly pretzel-shapes). And fourth, my vision of pretzel making with my kids will have to wait until they get a bit older. We had a different vision to live out that day…

P.S. Making soft pretzels is actually pretty easy AND fun. Make sure you find a recipe that calls for you to boil them before baking so you get a nice, chewy texture like you’d find in NYC!

No related posts.

This contest is now closed. Please check back for more great giveaways! Congrats to Katy, our very lucky grand prize winner!

Woo! I’ve been using my Verizon Palm Pre Plus and blogging about it for the past month or so and have been having a lot of fun. It’s a pretty cool phone! Thanks for taking this journey with me. I have one last post to put up. I need to do a video, which is not exactly my strong suit. Anyway, it’s time for the big finale - your chance to win your very own Verizon Palm Pre Plus (service not included), plus a $25 Verizon gift card so you can stock up on apps or accessories.

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THE RULES. IF YOU’RE CONFUSED, JUST ASK!

To Enter (once per person/household):

1. Take a look at my previous Palm Pre posts (Lookin’ Good, All About the Palm Pre Plus, How to Turn on the Mobile Hotspot, Downloading Music) and then come back here. Leave a comment on THIS post (right down below) telling me what you think your favorite Palm Pre Plus feature will be when you win this fabulous giveaway!
2. Make sure you enter the correct email address in the email spot on the comment form so I can reach you. Please DON’T put your email in the actual comment.

Details:

• Contest will end at 11:59pm Eastern on March 17, 2010.
• U.S. addresses only (sorry, international friends!)
• Adults (18+) only
• Winners will be chosen via random.org. Winner must comply with all rules mentioned here, or a new winner will be selected. I will have the final decision in this matter.
• I will email the winners who will then have 48 hours to respond and claim their prizes. [Depending on the circumstances, winners may have additional time to respond.]

Bonus Entries:

• Subscribe to this blog via email/RSS (once)
• Blog about this contest using the full url *no shortened links* (once)
• Tweet about this contest (max 1 per day)
• Follow this blog on Facebook (bottom right column)

To claim bonus entries, please post one comment on this post per bonus entry (include permalink or tweet url).

Questions? Contact me.

This giveaway is part of a campaign with Verizon and The Motherhood. I received a Palm Pre Plus, phone service, compensation and the giveaway items in exchange for exploring the product and sharing it with my readers. No guarantee was made of positive coverage and all opinions are mine.

Related posts:

1. Verizon Palm Pre Plus: Lookin’ Good
2. How to Turn on the Verizon Palm Pre Plus Mobile Hotspot
3. Verizon Palm Pre Plus - Downloading Music

Week 3: Win a $25 Verizon gift card

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THE RULES. IF YOU’RE CONFUSED, JUST ASK!

To Enter (once per person/household):

1. Take a look around Quirky Fusion and then come back here. Leave a comment on THIS post (right down below) telling me about a Quirky Fusion post that made you laugh, cry, learn something new or just stop and think. Please include the title of the post and why it struck you. And, yeah, you’re working a bit harder for this gift card!
2. Make sure you enter the correct email address in the email spot on the comment form so I can reach you. Please DON’T put your email in the actual comment.

Details:

• Contest will end at 11:59pm Eastern on March 14, 2010.
• U.S. addresses only (sorry, international friends!)
• Adults (18+) only
• Winners will be chosen via random.org. Winner must comply with all rules mentioned here, or a new winner will be selected. I will have the final decision in this matter.
• I will email the winners who will then have 48 hours to respond and claim their prizes. [Depending on the circumstances, winners may have additional time to respond.]

Bonus Entries:

• Subscribe to this blog via email/RSS (once)
• Blog about this contest using the full url *no shortened links* (once)
• Tweet about this contest (max 1 per day)
• Follow this blog on Facebook (bottom right column)

To claim bonus entries, please post one comment on this post per bonus entry (include permalink or tweet url).

Questions? Contact me.

This giveaway is part of a campaign with Verizon and The Motherhood. I received a Palm Pre Plus, phone service, compensation and the giveaway items in exchange for exploring the product and sharing it with my readers. No guarantee was made of positive coverage and all opinions are mine.

Related posts:

1. Verizon Palm Pre Plus - All About the Verizon Palm Pre Plus
2. Verizon Palm Pre Plus - Downloading Music
3. Verizon Palm Pre Plus: Lookin’ Good

Q. How difficult is it to download music?

A. It’s not difficult at all to download music and with 16GB of space, you have plenty of room for your favorite music. I was able to sync my Palm Pre Plus using Windows Media Player (what I typically use on my PC) and a providing basic directions for other options as well.

Amazon MP3: The Palm Pre Plus comes preloaded with the Amazon MP3 app. You can purchase and download music easily this way.

Windows Media Player: Connect your Palm Pre Plus to your computer using the included USB cable. On the Sync tab, click “Refresh Devices” and name your device. Then you can copy music into the pane on the right and click “Start Sync.” Easy peasy.

Apple iTunes: I have heard, but haven’t tested, that iTunes sees your Palm Pre Plus just as it would an iPhone.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the music sounds relatively good, but a pair of headphones wouldn’t hurt.

Related posts:

1. Verizon Palm Pre Plus - All About the Verizon Palm Pre Plus
2. Verizon Palm Pre Plus: Lookin’ Good
3. How to Turn on the Verizon Palm Pre Plus Mobile Hotspot

Q. Does the Palm Pre Plus have a QWERTY keyboard?

A. Yep! Here’s a picture of it open.

Verizon Palm Pre Plus with the Keyboard Open

Q. Is there a space for a micro SD card?

A. No, but the Palm Pre Plus comes with 16GB of storage.

Q. How is the battery life on the Verizon Palm Pre Plus?

A. The battery life is mediocre. Compared to other smartphones with touch screens, I think it’s about on par (but I don’t have scientific evidence to back this up!). If you’re used to a more simple phone, or even a smartphone without a touchscreen, you’ll find the battery life significantly less. With moderate use (when I’m outside of the house and checking regularly throughout the day), I get about a day of use (one full “Mom day”). You’ll want to get in the habit of charging it each night. Using the Mobile Hotspot feature will dramatically decrease your battery life, so keep the charger on hand when traveling. Also, the Palm Pre Plus (unlike the Palm Pre) has a matte black backing that works with inductive charging units.

Q. Are there any apps that help extend battery life?

A. I did some digging and found info on a homebrew app that allows you to schedule the activation/deactivation of airplane mode. Airplane mode turns off WiFi, Bluetooth and cell connections, all of which consume battery life. For more info, read this BNET post on extending battery life on your Palm Pre.

Q. Is the Mobile Hotspot a feature that you can turn on or off each month? This sounds like a great travel tool, but I don’t travel often enough to have to pay $40 every month.

A. Not yet. Right now, you have to add it as part of your overall phone plan. I think we’re all hoping that Verizon provides some a la carte options that allow us to buy chunks of time/data as we need it.

Q. How difficult is it to navigate from one app to another?

A. It’s SO easy! This is one of my favorite features on the Palm Pre Plus. Each time you open an app, it opens as a “card.” You can scroll through open cards, close one, select one, etc., all while using intuitive gestures on the phone. You can keep your several of your favorite apps open at the time time!

Q. How are the free ring tones?

A. The free ringtones aren’t anything amazing, but they’re nice. They are polyphonic tones, but they are relatively simple.  Adding your own ringtones is a breeze. You’ll go into the phone app and click on the menu button in the upper left hand corner. Choose Sounds & Ringtones. You’ll see a list of installed ringtones (which you can preview). On the bottom left, you’ll see a music note symbol with a “+” on it. Click on that and you can browse any music you’ve added to your Palm Pre Plus. Choose your favorite song and - voila! - it’s available as a ring tone. I just changed my ringtone to Suzanne Vega’s “Small Blue Thing.”

Well, that’s it for now. Coming up, I’ve got posts on adding music, photos/video and apps.

Related posts:

1. Verizon Palm Pre Plus: Lookin’ Good
2. How to Turn on the Verizon Palm Pre Plus Mobile Hotspot
3. Verizon Palm Pre Plus - Downloading Music

Minnie and I (in the funky lighting)

The first night of our experience was actually a press event. Families of attendees took part in activities, while bloggers joined a cadre of other journalists to learn about new Disney ventures. In particular, we learned about the Fantasyland expansion and the newest addition to the Disney Cruise line (what I wouldn’t give for a cruise on that gorgeous ship!). We also heard about the long-term ESPN vision and how they are working to achieve those goals. After the press conference, we joined back with families for a rousing dinner filled with music, dancing and plenty of Disney character opportunities.

Day 2 started far earlier than I would have preferred with a 7:30am bus to EPCOT. That said, it was fun to arrive backstage before the park was open to the general public. We had breakfast and then listened to Guy Kawaski speak about using Twitter as a marketing tool. It was my least favorite part of the conference, in part because it was so early, in part because there was almost nothing I could/would eat, and in part because most of what Guy was talking about didn’t apply to me.

Hey, Kermit, Over here!

After that, we walked to a different World Pavilion for the Family Volunteer Celebration. One volunteer family from each of the 50 states was invited to Disney World to kick off a year of Disney’s Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program. The event, which was staged in a Disney-typical grand manner, involved the families marching in to applause from media (including us) and Disney cast members. We had special appearances by Kermit the Frog and Ty Pennington before Disney unveiled a can sculpture involving nearly 120,000 cans, plus an additional 10,000 other food items. As an aside, when I later asked  where the cans came from, they told me, “We bought them. We went over to the local Publix and picked them up.” The afternoon was filled with volunteer opportunities, but by the time we made it back after lunch, they had finished all of the work.

That night, there was a massive VIP party that closed off portions of EPCOT. We enjoyed a dinner by Chef Robert Irvine of Dinner:Impossible fame, and performances by a variety of Disney Channel stars (including Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato.)

Marissa Jaret Winokur and I

The last day of our experience was the actual conference at the Contemporary Resort. We heard from Kathy Ireland, Marissa Jaret Winuktur (Hairspray/Dancing with the Stars), Chris Brogan (Social Media Guru), Maxine (the founder/CEO of Build-a-Bear) and comedienne, Mary Ellen Hooper. All of the speakers were wonderful.  There were goodies and giveaways, including a magical night in the Princess Suite at Cinderella’s Castle.

That's my high score up there - 193700!

This evening, we had dinner at Hollywood Studios and then had two hours of private time at the Toy Story Midway Mania ride with access to Woody and Buzz Lightyear for pictures. I rode the ride countless times with the lovely and sweet KristenWDW before securing the high score of the night. By the end, the cast members let us just stay on the ride over and over!

Our conference registration of just $350 included all of the above activities/meals, as well as 7-day park hopper passes for the attendee and up to 3 additional family members. It also included 2 nights at the Polynesian resort. My favorite perk came in the form of a media fast past card that allowed us to get immediate fast passes on rides with no wait time and no restrictions, even when regular fast passes had already been distributed. Wow! And, because Disney knows how to treat us right, we were loaded down with all manner of swag from custom watches and bags to t-shirts and jackets. It was truly a magical experience both for conference attendees and their families.

I thought I’d share some highlights from the conference, as well as some things that I hope will change for future events.

Loved:

• Those crazy fast passes
• Inspirational, high-quality speakers
• Plenty of surprises and goodies
• Bloggers without families felt treated the same as bloggers with families
• The opportunity to include families with family-friendly activities

Could Use Improvement:

• Communication before the conference and especially before travel arrangements were made
• Lack of quiet space/time early on during our stay for us to connect with each other without other media present
• Extremely early mornings followed by events going into the night (give us a day with a bit of sleep-in time)

My favorite ride - Toy Story Midway Mania

Want more details? Head on over to the Cutest Kid Ever - she did a fabulous job of liveblogging the sessions. I am a pitiful liveblogger. I can’t blog and listen at the same time!

* Disclosure: I attended the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration at my own cost, but the price of the conference (including meals and hotel) for all of the attendees was at a discounted rate. The opinions contained in this post are my own.

Related posts:

1. Give a Day, Get a Disney Day - Gone Too Soon
2. First Star to the Right
3. Blogalicious 2009 - A Chance to Be Just Me

Photo Courtest of EMI Music/Manhattan Records

This contest is now closed. Please check back for more great giveaways!

I recently had a chance to review Celtic Woman’s newest CD, Songs from the Heart.  The beautiful music will be a hit with those who love ballads.

The good news? One lucky Quirky Fusion reader will win the Celtic Woman Songs from the Heart Deluxe Experience CD. It includes an 18-month desktop calendar, heart charm keepsake and VIP access to a virtual Celtic Woman community. This is sure to make a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day gift for the favorite lass (or laddie) in your life!

To Enter (once per person/household):

1. Visit my review of Songs of the Heart and then come back to THIS post and  leave a comment (right down below) telling me which song you think you’ll like most. If you are comfortable with it, please share why.
2. Make sure you enter the correct email address in the email spot on the comment form so I can reach you. Please DON’T put your email in the actual comment.

Details:

• Contest will end at 11:59pm Eastern on March 10, 2010.
• U.S. addresses only (sorry, international friends!)
• Adults (18+) only
• Winners will be chosen via random.org. Winner must comply with all rules mentioned here, or a new winner will be selected. I will have the final decision in this matter.
• I will email the winners who will then have 48 hours to respond and claim their prizes. [Depending on the circumstances, winners may have additional time to respond.]

Bonus Entries:

• Subscribe to this blog via email/RSS (once)
• Blog about this contest using the full url *no shortened links* (once)
• Tweet about this contest (max 1 per day)
• Follow this blog on Facebook (bottom right column)

To claim bonus entries, please post one comment on this post per bonus entry (include permalink or tweet url).

Questions? Contact me.

* Disclosure: This prize pack was offered, along with a copy of the CD, in exchange for a review of the product. No promises were made for a positive review and the opinions expressed here and in the review are my own.

Related posts:

1. Celtic Woman: Songs From the Heart
2. Crooning With Harry Connick Jr. and Your Songs
3. The Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs

Photo Courtest of EMI Music/Manhattan Records

“Celtic Woman: Songs From the Heart” is a collection of contemporary and traditional songs performed in a haunting style by four singers and a violinist. The songs, which consist primarily of ballads, include familiar tunes such as “Amazing Grace,” “Fields of Gold,” and “You’ll Be in My Heart.” There is also the more spirited, “Níl Sé’n Lá,” which is my personal favorite of the collection.

The women sing in pure, high tones and the music is simply beautiful, but the CD still left me wanting more. With the exception of the aforementioned Gaelic-inspired song, “Níl Sé’n Lá,” the music seemed more like something I’d hear at an Irish funeral than what I’d enjoy listening to at home. I kept hoping for just one more lively tune to showcase the violin and make me want to dance or sing along. There just isn’t enough personality infused into the music.

For those who love nothing more than a well-sung ballad, Celtic Woman: Songs From the Heart should be high on your wish list. It really is a pretty collection of songs. Unfortunately, for me it’s more lullaby than entertainment.

Here is the complete song list:

1. Fields Of Gold
2. Amazing Grace
3. Níl Sé’n Lá
4. My Lagan Love
5. When You Believe
6. The New Ground
7. Isle Of Hope, Isle Of Tears
8. The Coast Of Galiçia
9. Non C’è Più
10. The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress
11. You’ll Be In My Heart
12. Goodnight My Angel
13. Galway Bay
14. The Lost Rose Fantasia
15. O, America!

* Disclosure: I received a copy of this CD for review purposes. There was no promise of a positive review and the opinions above are  my own
.

Related posts:

1. Crooning With Harry Connick Jr. and Your Songs
2. The Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs
3. Jazz Up Your Day with Funky Kidz