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Get Your Kids Outside Again with GeoMate Jr.

December 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

geomate jrWant to get your kids outdoors more, and away from the video games, then why not have technology help rather than hinder you in this endeavor.  Geomate JR.  feeds kids desire for technology and gadgets, but also makes it a fun adventure to be outside and active.  This handheld GPS device is specifically created for geocaching, and come preloaded with 250,000 Geocaches.  With the help of an update kit, even more geocaches are available.  What an exciting way to get your kids interested in the outdoors.

The Internet and television may be dominating leisure activities and zapping outdoor time for kids, but that won’t slow down the fast growing trend millions enjoy: GPS treasure hunting called, geocaching. Thanks to Apisphere, Inc., the company behind Geomate.jr (www.mygeomate.com), children, their families and adventure seekers from all walks of life can get hip with the increasingly popular and fun geocaching phenomenon, a great group activity for scouting, summer camps and schools. Geomate.jr, the first and only device of its kind, combines technology and outdoor play while providing hours of geocaching entertainment; it is preloaded with 250,000 geocache locations.

Sadly, according to the Outdoor Foundation, outdoor activity among children ages 6 to 17 declined 11 percent in 2008. “Geomate.jr offers a way to reconnect our children with family time and nature while encouraging them to be active, get outdoors and explore the environment,” says Warren Hewerdine, co-inventor of Geomate.jr and Apisphere’s vice president of marketing. He says, “Savvy kids will get their technology fix from the easy-to-use device, and it eliminates the traditional fuss of Internet connections, downloads, coordinates and preplanning to provide a spontaneous geocaching experience families can enjoy anytime, anywhere.” Geomate.jr acts as an electronic compass, guiding you to within yards of a geocache.

People all over the world have enjoyed geocaching but up until now, the GPS receivers required were expensive and difficult to use. “Geomate.jr is about the size of a granola bar and built tough so it can take a beating. The contoured grip fits comfortably in the hands of kids and adults,” says Hewerdine. “Then all you have to do is head out to a local park, the back country or just down the street to get started on creating lifelong memories and a new found appreciation for the outdoors.” The Geomate.jr makes a great gift idea any time of year, and thanks to its size, it is a perfect stocking stuffer around the holiday season.

Products available include:
Geomate.jr – Geocaching GPS
Retail: $69.95
Pre-loaded with 250,000 geocaches covering all 50 U.S. states, just switch it on and be directed to your closest geocache.  European, Canadian, Australian & New Zealand versions are also available.

Geomate.jr – Update Kit
Retail: $24.95
The key to update any Geomate.Jr with the latest and greatest geocaches for the U.S. or for around the world.  Other features such as being able to create a private geocache list and Pocket Query support are also accessible with an Update Kit.

Geomate.jr – Combo Pack
Retail: $94.95
Everything you will ever need in one box including a Geomate.jr, an Update Kit, a Geomate.jr Travel Tag, batteries, lanyard, and documentation.

Geomate.jr is available for purchase at major outdoor retailers including REI, L.L. Bean, Gander Mountain and Eastern Mountain Sports.  It is also available through Target, Amazon.com and Geocaching.com. For more information about the Geomate.jr, including demo videos, please visit www.mygeomate.com. Follow on Twitter: @geomatejr and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/geomatejr.

Product sample provided.

Filed Under: Children, Electronics, Holiday Gift Guide 2011 Tagged With: , ,

Get Rewarded for Using Your Current MasterCard to Holiday Shop #heres2mom #cbias

December 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

heres to momDo you end out doing all the holiday gift shopping? Don’t you deserve a little bonus for all that time and effort?  MasterCard is ready and willing to give you one!  Just register your MasterCard credit or debit on the Here’s to Mom page on the MasterCard website, and when you spend $200 online between the time you sign-up and December 31st 2011, they will reward you with a $20 prepaid MasterCard.  Registration is a quick and easy process, which takes less than a minute, and requires very little information.

register

If you are like myself, and try to do as much holiday shopping as possible online, to avoid the shopping crowds, then this is the perfect opportunity for you.  You can shop anywhere you wish online, and break up the purchases however you like.  The only requirements are that, you must be a U.S. resident, the purchases be made on a registered MasterCard, and meet the $200 threshold.bhg holiday storeI kicked off my shopping for this promotion at holiday.bhg.com.  The shop has a wonderful array of unique kitchen items.  The bake ware selection is particularly enticing.  I’m a Bad Santa, I bought myself a little present on their website.  My splurge was the Mini Tart Pan with Tamper, a BHG exclusive.  Check out my Google+ story, to see some of the other great options there.mini tart pan and tamper

Don’t wait to register your MasterCard, at Here’s to Mom, since purchases don’t count retroactively.

Offer is only open to U.S. residents, ends 12/31/2011

Join the #cbias gang during a Twitter party on December 15th at 1 p.m. EST  (#heres2mom).  We will be discussing the promotion and the party hosts will be giving out prizes, as well. (register at: http://bit.ly/tomj42)

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All experiences and opinions presented here are my own.

Filed Under: Deals, Shopping Tagged With:

Playing Secret Santa with JCPenny’s Santa Tag

December 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

jcpenney logoI am participating in a fun blogger’s version of Secret Santa this year, hosted by Mom Central.  The participating bloggers have each been assigned another blogger to play Secret Santa to.  We select the gift, and then use JCPenney’s Santa Tags to add a message wishing the recipient happy holidays, and reveal our identity.  Pretty cool, isn’t it.

Santa Tags are a great way to add a little extra excitement to  Secret Santa exchange.  Each tag has a QR code, which is scanned with your smartphone’s camera.  The sender scans the code, and is then directed to add their phone number.  JCPenney then promptly calls back, and records your holiday message to the recipient.  Attach the self adhesive tag to the gift, and when the recipient scans the QR code, they will get your message.

how to do a Santa TagI had a lot of fun selecting the gift, and am curious who my Secret Santa is.  I was a bit concerned about using the QR code and reader, because I only just recently switched over to a smartphone.  This is the first time I ever used a QR reader app.   I was very easy though.  Downloading the app was simple and fast, and the process of creating the Santa Tag was very easy, much more so than I thought it would be.  It was a terrific way to add a special personalization, to a gift.

Check out how fun and easy this new gift giving tool is for yourself : Santa Tags

secret santaI wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of jcpenney and received a jcpenney Secret Santa gift and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Filed Under: Shopping Tagged With: ,

Awesome Christmas Stockings on a Budget

December 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Most of us are watching our budgets closely this year, when it comes to holiday gifts and stocking stuffers.  Christmas Stockings, especially for children, do not need to cost much to be exciting on Christmas morning.  The key is fun items and candies, that provide a big mess of immediate gratification. See here how I filled 3 stockings for my daughter (yes, she has three stockings) at Dollar General , for just $25!

inexpensive stocking stuffers for kids

I made sure to get her some Crayola items and Elmer’s Glue Sticks, since she enjoys doing little projects, with her therapists and I.  The Fusion Ball packs a lot of fun for just $6 and the little pull back ATVs were just $3 for the package.  The 3-D Moveable T. Rex is too big to fit in the stockings, so I will probably assemble it and put it beside the stockings or under the tree on Christmas morning.  She likes the Dino Dan show, so I think this $5 toy, may well go over better than more expensive gifts.  I also grabbed some inexpensive candy and a bag of Tropical Trail mix.  I already had the stockings themselves and candy canes, so I didn’t get those, but they can also be gotten at Dollar General at good prices.

stocking stuffers from dollar general

One tip would give anyone regardless of their budget, is to break things up.  It makes dumping out the stocking more exciting, as everything tumbles out.  You can see here, that I unpackaged the ATV toys, Glue sticks and individually wrapped candies.  It makes the stocking contents seem like more, as kids empty them.

 inexpensive Christmas stockings for children 

Here are the completed stockings.  I will just assemble the dinosaur and add the leftover candy canes, from baking projects on Christmas Eve.

I think my daughter will be thrilled with her stocking loot on Christmas morning.   Dollar General  has lots of great options for the rest of the family too.  You could fill a stocking on a budget, for nearly anyone, with goodies from this store.  No Dollar General near you, no worries.  Many of their items are available online as well, with free shipping!  So don’t fret about a tight budget, just visit your local Dollar General or surf over, and fill all your stockings inexpensively,  in one quick trip.

Visit Sponsor's Site

Filed Under: Misc., Shopping Tagged With: , ,

Gathering New Tree Trimmings for our New Life #kmartholiday #cbias

November 30, 2011 By 6 Comments

holiday bowMuch has changed for my daughter and I, since this time last year.  My husband and I are now separated.  My daughter currently participates in nearly 30 hours per week of in home ABA therapy, on top of attending preschool.  Due to her therapy schedule, we are in our home the vast majority of our time.  Dragging the musty old fake white tree in from our garage was just not going to cut it. It was never meant to be our primary tree, just something I bought to display the vintage ornaments I had picked up at estate sales.  I decided M and I needed a fresh tree and ornaments for our new life.

Timing was perfect when I was offered the opportunity to have Kmart sponsor our tree trimmings this year.  The challenge, to decorate my holiday tree with $100 in items from the trim-a-tree dept. at Kmart.  I already knew that Kmart had some lovely holiday lines this year, so I was happy participate.

midnight clear tree

Great colors, but not for my parlour.

My double parlour where the holiday tree is displayed is painted orange, so I wanted to go with a simple color scheme for the tree.   I ended out deciding on mostly gold, with a handful of silver  items and clear lights.  I found that by shopping while items are on sale $100 can easily create a lovely tree, from skirt to topper, at Kmart.  I mixed items from a few different designer lines & their trim-a-tree product line, but if you are having difficulty making sure your tree has a “tied-together” look, sticking with the selections from one line will ensure a designer look.

Here are the items I selected for our tree:

My grand total ended out at $105.   The completed tree reveal is soon to come.  Since I did not have links for some items (probably only available in-store), I included pics of those items below.  For even more pics of all the goodies available in the holiday decor dept at Kmart check out my Google + album.

shatterproof ornaments

These tubs are a fantastic buy! Shatterproof, so great if you have pets or small children too.

decorative ornament hooks

These really showcase an ornament.

glass bird ornaments

These are lovely... I may get an additional set, because I like them so much.

gold tree skirt

I got the one in the middle of the pic, with the ruching & stars. I little flashy for my usual taste, but heck it's Christmas.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias  All experiences and opinions presented here are my own.

Filed Under: Shopping Tagged With: , ,

Vtech Multi-tasking Phone System is a Great Gift for Busy Moms

November 21, 2011 By 2 Comments

As a blogger who frequently features recipes, I am often in the kitchen preparing a dish for publication, while watching my daughter and recording the ingredients as I add them.  Several other things are probably happening at the same time as well.  I simply can’t hold a phone and get things done efficiently, but I still want to keep in touch with my friends and family.  Answering the phone, when I have my hands covered with flour or just touched raw meat, is just not going to happen. I assume most busy moms can relate with that scenario.  We don’t want to miss important phone calls, but dropping everything to check who is calling, is inconvenient to say the least.vtech ls6475-3 review

These issues were a constant annoyance for me, so when Mom Central, was looking for bloggers to review the Vtech LS6475-3 phone system, I jumped at the chance.  The feature list was quite impressive, and would solve most of the phone issues that had been troubling me.  I have not been disappointed.

Upon opening the box, I was immediately impressed with the sturdy sleek well thought out design.  The handsets while thin, still have a decent weight and length to them, making then comfortable to hold.  They seem like they could readily handle being dropped, which inevitably happens.  I also like the ample size of the push buttons.  The buttons on my old phone were far more difficult to press accurately.  The audio is a bit clearer too. The answering machine has an effective simple design.  The primary functions are toggled across from each other on a large circular button, so I barely have to look to play, skip, delete or repeat a message.  A vast improvement on my old system.

The Vtech LS6475-3 has already beat my old system in all the functions they share, but the Vtech has many additional convenient features:

  • Voice Announce Caller ID  The phone announces who is calling.  This saves me from dropping what I am doing, for telemarketers and such.
  • Push -to-Talk  This handy walkie-talkie feature will avoid the need to holler to family members from different sections of the house.
  • Handset Speaker Phone  Put the phone down and continue your conversation, even let other family members join in the discussion.
  • Cordless Headset  Continue about your business, while having a conversation.  You are completely hands free to do household chores or projects, while talking on the phone, anywhere in the house.

I am very pleased with this multi-tasking phone system, and have no qualms about recommending it.  I actually have no complaints so far with using it.  It has made having phone conversations while dealing with daily household activities far easier.

This would make a terrific gift for the busy mom in your life.  The set comes with two handsets and one headset, but is expandable up to 12 devices (two of which can be cordless head sets), and retails for $99.95.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of VTech and received a product sample to facilitate my review.

Filed Under: Holiday Gift Guide 2011, Household Tagged With: , ,

A California Wine Club Membership Makes a Wonderful Holiday Gift! (Discount Code)

November 16, 2011 By 1 Comment

california wine club discountLike many “foodies” I enjoy wine, but often find myself grabbing the same “safe” bottles when shopping.  The California Wine Club has been a fun experience for me, since it has brought two bottles of quality wine to my doorstep each month.  I am getting a mix of red & white wine, but the option is available to get just red or white, if you have a strong preference of one over the other.Blind Faith pinot noir

This month the featured winery was Castoro Cellars, of Templeton California.  The package included the 2010 Paso Robles Gewurztraminer and 2010 “Blind Faith” Paso Robles Pinot Noir.  The Pinot Noir was smooth with nice berry flavor, and just a hint of smokiness, an easy drinking wine that stood up to drinking by itself ( I had a couple glasses Castoro Cellars 2010 Paso Robles Gewurztraminerwhile installing my bedroom flooring).   I feel it would also pair well with a large range of meals.  I am not at all well versed in German style wines, so I had no expectations when opening the Gewurztraminer.  I found it to be fruity and a little sweet, but not overpoweringly so at all.  If I had to try and pinpoint the fruit flavor, I guess it would be a cross between pineapple and pear. The acids in this wine are subtle…  just enough.  This wine would be nice with delicate dishes, that would be overpowered by typical white wines.  I guess I should start trying more German style wines.

In my opinion a California Wine Club Membership would make a fantastic gift for any avid cook, as well as, anyone who simply enjoys a nice glass of wine on occasion.  The club makes tasting wine an easy and enjoyable experience, that you can have right in your own home.  Each moth the club sends 2 bottles from a small California winery, nicely packaged to ensure no broken bottles.   An informative magazine is included with each shipment, which tells you about the producing winery, the family that runs it and information about the wines themselves.  If you have never experienced small estate wines before, you’re sure to be surprised at how distinctive they each are, and knowing about the people that made your wine, adds a little to the enjoyment, as well.

California Wine Club Discount for my Readers

The California Wine Club has generously offered a special trial deal for my readers. Just $13 for the first shipment with no obligation to stay!

If you prefer to do two red or two white wines, rather than one of each no problem.  To take advantage of this deal use the promo code: blommi and follow this link to  The California Wine Club.  You will also get 10% off gifts!

Filed Under: Food, Food & Beverage Tagged With: , , ,

Support Our Military and their Families through the sendCheer Program #sendCheer #CBias

October 26, 2011 By 3 Comments

supporting military familiesI have many personal reasons to want to support our military families.  Many of my family members have served, all the way back to the Revolutionary War.  Of course the service of family members I know and love or loved are more pertinent to me.  My father, uncles, brother-in-laws, father-in-law and my estranged husband all served.  Some were touched by combat duty during their service time, and others were not, but all were away from their families, to serve our country.  It is a thing to respect.

Care packages bring a bit of the simple comforts to our service members while they are away.  Financial assistance and services are of course helpful to the families of deployed service men and women, and alleviate some of the worry of service people,not being there to take care of things. That being said,  I have often heard the family members waiting at home say that respect and appreciation that they too are making sacrifices, goes a long way with them.  This is something specifically addressed by the sendCheer initiative from Cheerios.

sendCheer programThe sendCheer Program and How It Helps Our Military and their Families

Cheerios has partnered with the USO for the sendCheer initiative.  Shoppers can look for specially marked boxes of Cheerios with “Cheer” postcards.  These pre-addressed postcards are to be cut out by the purchaser, and mailed.  They will then be distributed to military families via the USO.  Cheerios will also donate $1 for each postcard received.  The funds will go to the USO to support programs that help our military personnel and their families.  Cheerios has already donated $150,000 and will donate up to $100,000 more based for postcards received by November 30, 2012.

Check out the sendCheer webpage for more information about the program and how it helps.

This post has been compensated as part of a sponsored charitable opportunity for Collective Bias.  All opinions presented here are my own.

Filed Under: Misc. Tagged With: ,

California Wine Club Membership: Perfect for the Holidays (plus Discount Code)

October 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

california wine club discountI shared my experience with California Wine Club with you a few months back.  I case you forgot, I liked the shipment quite a lot.   They have now gifted me a 3 month membership. So I am going to share with you what came in this month (I am receiving the red/white combo, but they offer 2 white or 2 red, if that is what you prefer). These shipments would be wonderful to have on hand during the holidays, and would of course make a lovely gift [Don't miss the special reader discount below]

This month’s featured winery is Perry Creek Vineyards.  The winery located in fair Play California, specializes in Zinfandel (one of my fave wines), but also produces quality white wines too.

zinman zinfandelTheir signature wine is the Zinfandel called “Zinman”, so I was glad this one was included in my shipment. It is an easy to drink red wine, with nice berry & chocolate flavor.  I could taste the oak aging in it, but it was not at all overpowering.  This is one of those wines that would go with so many different foods.  It can handle a spicy ethnic dinner and go right through to a chocolatey dessert.  Now that’s flexibility!  I am not surprised at all that this wine has won several awards, and was classified as a Best Buy, from Wine Spectator.  I would get this one again.

perry creek chardonnayThe second wine in the shipment was the Perry Creek Chardonnay.  It had a bit of mixed tropical fruit flavor, but I didn’t actually pull out individual fruit flavors on this one.  The alcohol content in this one also tasted more present than in many chardonnays I’ve had.  A good drinkable wine, but not a personal fave.  That is the great thing about a shipment like this though, trying out new wines, so you know what you like.

 The California Wine Club makes tasting wine an easy and enjoyable experience, that you can have right in your own home.  Each moth the club sends 2 bottles from a small California winery, nicely packaged to ensure no broken bottles.   An informative magazine is included with each shipment, which tells you about the producing winery, the family that runs it and information about the wines themselves.  If you have never experienced small estate wines before, you’re sure to be surprised at how distinctive they each are, and knowing about the people that made your wine, adds a little to the enjoyment, as well.

California Wine Club Discount for my Readers

The California Wine Club has generously offered a special trial deal for my readers. Just $13 for the first shipment with no obligation to stay!

If you prefer to do two red or two white wines, rather than one of each no problem.  To take advantage of this deal use the promo code: blommi and follow this link to  The California Wine Club.  You will also get 10% off gifts!

Disclosure: Samples provided for purpose of review.  All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Deals, Shopping Tagged With: , ,
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