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Get Me Some Swag…Our Swag Party and Awesome Sponsors #Brandcation #GulfCoast

Posted by html404 on May 9, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Business, Fun Stuff

Surf Burger

After our Blogger Olympics, we ate dinner at Surf Burger. It was so funny because being the social media mavens that we are all of us could be seen with our phones tweeting, posting to Facebook and Four Square what we were doing! I had their Surf Chick, which came with their stick fries and a grilled chicken sandwich. It was very good. The service was friendly and very hospitable too.

Brandcation would not have been possible without all the awesome sponsors our hosts worked with in providing so many of our activities. So I hope you will join me in giving them some social media love.

Event Sponsors:

Adventures Unlimited: Post coming up this afternoon, but we spent all day Saturday here on a beautiful piece of property! In the air and in the water…

Portofino Island Resort: Which I already posted about here.

Dunkin Donuts: Sadly, I don’t think I ate a single Dunkin Donuts bagel, but I hear they were delish!

Jambu: They sponsored our Blog Olympics which I posted here.

Hotel Coupons: A great place to save money and start planning your next trip!

Circle PR: Thanks to these ladies we got to see dolphins in real time.

Dole: Fruit breakfasts thanks to Dole.

Star Gazing: This was amazing and would have been the coolest homeschool field night! Dewey even had an accessory that allowed us to connect our iPhones to the telescope to take photos and videos of the moon!

Brandy Goleman Photography

Swag Sponsors:

After dinner at Surf Burger, we all gathered in one condo in our pjs for a Swag Party. Jambu Footwear had provided bags and our event hosts had filled them up with goodies from all the sponsors listed below. There were some oooos and ahhhhhs as well as a few squeeeeees as things were handed out! (Right, Jenn? ;-)) I haven’t even tried everything yet.

Brandy Goleman Photography

Sorry for the red eye, tried editing and I blackened whole heads!

Mogo Charm
Tervis Water Bottle – This kept my water for hydration on the river while tubing
Capsul Cases
The Village Company
Hasbro
Kidz Bop – My little ones are loving rockin’ to this.
Carex – Definitely a handy little kit to have in the medicine cabinet.
Lush Gourmet Foods – They’ve got yummy sugar coated nuts!
Nivea - My daughter and I haggled over the lip glosses.
Lady Fortunes
Pami Pocket - I ditched the little compact wallet I took to Florida for this, as it was perfect to hold my cell, cash and identity during all of the fun activities over the weekend.

Island Def Jam Records
Ayala’s Herbal Water
Wikki Stix - My son got these and is very excited!
Phone Fetcher - This looks like a cool product, can’t wait to put it to good use!
Page Stationery – I love any kind of stationary and ours was personalized with our blog name!
Cereusart
Annemarie Gianni Skin Care
Veri Peri Sauces
Twin Cottage Industries – Amazing handcrafted items!
Kids Gear – My children love the headphones I brought home and I’m lovin’ the peace it brings so I can write!
Smart Mouth
Sacs of Life
Bright Star Kids
KleenSlate – This is a fun little paddle shaped wipe off board.
EAD Designs – These are terrific and I can’t wait to find homes for them!
Wahmies Eats – These were great! I really want to get some casserole covers to save on foil and plastic wrap.
Blue Orange Games – One of my daughter’s snagged the game we received and she and her siblings have been playing it!
DVO Enterprises – Provided a recipe software that organizes your recipes! Can’t wait to get this implemented!
Wordlock – A cool word lock.
Pampers – Provided us with a thing of wipes and a coupon some diapers! They sponsored Tiffany.

Two of my roomies, Sheri and Colleen.

Giveaway Sponsors:

Rubbermaid
Etching Expressions
Belkin – Great little portable charger that I gave to my husband for his cell phone.
Velvet Pepper
Frangelico
Tiny Love
Atlantic Luggage – This piece looked awesome and was incredibly light!
Drama Queen Bows

Photos are mine taken with my iPhone, except the full view of the Jambu bags and the first photo of the swag party those are Brandy’s, since I left our Nikon home…good thing too because I didn’t have much time to take photos!

Thank you to all of the above sponsors for taking an interest in 32 bloggers who went coastal in Pensacola, Florida! We appreciate all you gave to make this event possible!

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Blogger Olympics at #Brandcation #GulfCoast Thanks to @JambuFootwear

Posted by html404 on May 9, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Fun Stuff, Travel

I was one of the last ones to arrive at Brandcation on Friday afternoon. There were about four of us who were latecomers. After we arrived it was basically time to start Blogger Olympics. We were all put on teams in advance according to condos. 4 condos = 4 teams. I was on Lynsey’s team, Beachin’ Bloggers in blue, along with my other condo mates. Then the other three teams were: Trisha’s team was SEO’s in white, Kim’s team Ladybugs in red (they had adorable red wings even!) and Nicole/Blondie’s team Snark Attack in pink. Our four team leaders are also the fabulous women behind this event.

Photos courtesy of Brandfluential and Brandy Goleman Photography, our photographer for the weekend.

We did everything from a digital scavenger hunt to building White House sand castles, water relay, a hula hoop competition (my teammate Denise won that one! Yay! She rocked!) to the Hawaiian relay (had to dress in a grass skirt, necklace and coconut bra thingy!)

Jenn, my teammate, getting read for Hawaii!

We laughed, cheered and I even chased Alison to try and get a photo of her fruity drink for the digital scavenger hunt. Just plain old fun!

In the end, the SEO’s won. Runner ups in order: Snark Attack, Ladybugs and Beachin’ Bloggers. We were last, but hey that didn’t affect our level of fun!

A sheep trophy was awarded to the winning team, the rest of us received a Brandcation medal for our prize.

You are going to be hearing a lot about Brandcation. We had amazing sponsors and all of us really want to show our appreciation to each and everyone of them. Jambu Footwear was the main sponsor of the Blogger Olympics. Check out their snazzy footwear and please consider following them on Twitter and Facebook too.

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I’m a Coppertone Water MOM!

Posted by Brande on May 9, 2012
in Baby Products, Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Health, Parenting, Personal Care Products, Safety, Seasonal Stuff, Sports

Summer is coming, don’t forget your sunscreen!

Growing up I remember using the bottle with a little girl loosing her bottoms to the puppy. Well, here I am years later still using Coppertone for myself and family.

I received a brochure called “Sunderstanding”. It has great information, I’d like to share.

I’ll be updating you periodically on how we are doing with our Coppertone Sunscreen. We’ve really only had one day so far here in NJ where temps were above 70, and I didn’t have my Coppertone Sunscreen then. It’s been rainy and soggy here, so I’ll keep you posted! But, for now you can head to Coppertone’s webpage and print out a coupon or download their MyUV Alert app through Itunes.

I’m very excited about being selected to be Coppertone Water MOM!

Thank you Coppertone and MomSelect!

“As a member of the Coppertone Water MOMS group, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit. No monetary compensation has taken place and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience”

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Back from #Brandcation & @PortofinoIsland #GulfCoast

Posted by html404 on May 8, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Travel

I had a lovely weekend away at Brandcation in Florida. We stayed at Portofino Island Resort and it was beautiful! The white sand beaches, the clear water and gorgeous views of the “Sound” (kind of like a bay but not, and it’s what is shown in the photos of this post) and the Gulf of Mexico. I had never been to this part of Florida before and would love to go back again….with my family so they can experience all that I did! As it was I was texting my husband, sending photos and videos so they all could see what I was seeing.

The resort not only had beach access, but a outdoor water park right in the water at the beach area and each one of the five towers had their own pools. There was also a spa and cafe/restaurant on site as well.

Portofino Island Resort was spectacular. It was clean, snazzy and the service was excellent. Truly topnotch accommodations. For 32 bloggers we had four rooms with eight women in each. Each room had three bedrooms and each bedroom had its own bathroom, I think, at least ours did! We also had a walk-in closet and the master bedroom had an even larger bathroom and walk-in closet! Then there was the living room/dining room, a kitchen and laundry room. Very spacious.

Even though we did not have time to use all of the amenities offered, it is definitely a place I would visit again.

Check them out on the web, Facebook and Twitter.

All photos are mine, unless otherwise stated. I was too lazy to watermark them! And in the words of my daughter, please do not steal them! If those that steal photos even read blog posts!

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Mother’s Day Gift Ideas – PeaceLoveMom

Posted by Brande on May 8, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Children's Clothing, Encouragement for Moms, Fashion, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Products for Mom, Reviews

Mother’s Day is coming! What a better way to celebrate than to receive a new shirt celebrating motherhood! Head over to PeaceLoveMom and get one today!

They have a variety of shirts and other products, including short and long sleeve shirts, tank tops, even Maternity! In addition, PeaceLoveMom also has accessories and kids and baby items! Can’t find the perfect gift? They also have gift certificates!

I received this burnout short sleeve shirt. Turquoise is shown here.

My Review:

I received a burnout shirt in a mossy color. For those who are not sure what a burnout shirt is. Here’s a picture.

It’s got a worn out, weathered, vintage look to it. You really can’t tell unless you hold the shirt up. If/when you wear a shirt like this you may want to wear a tank underneath to better cover your undergarments. The weathered look makes the shirt very soft and it’s long enough to keep everything covered.

The shirt says “Peace Love Grateful Mom”, which suites me just fine. As I am VERY grateful to be a Mom!

There are wonderful presents for expecting moms or any moms! Don’t forget Mother’s Day is May 13th! Head over to PeaceLoveMom to order today! Happy Mother’s Day!

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

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Motivation Monday: Brandcation…here I come! #GulfCoast #Brandcation

Posted by html404 on April 30, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Business, Monday Motivation, Travel

This week’s Motivation Monday post is to prepare to head to Brandcation in Pensacola, FL on Friday. I will be gone for the weekend. Looking forward to learning from some professional bloggers. I am especially interested in finding out how they have grown their blogs from part-time income to full-time income, as this is one of my goals for this year. I am also excited to see the ocean again. Having grown up on Atlantic coast I get a hankering for a trip to the ocean every summer, as it’s been 7 years since I saw it. It’s been 11 years since I have been to Florida, but I have never been to Pensacola. Doesn’t the photo of Portofino below look gorgeous? Definitely looking forward to the beautiful views!

I will be leaving my crew in the capable hands of my husband, who will have my girls to help him run the household while I am gone. I’d be lying if I said I don’t have qualms about heading off by myself. The mommy guilt over leaving my 20 month old, who happens to be still nursing as strong as an infant several times a day and thru the night. I look at him and I will miss him, his cuddles and smiles. I comfort myself with the fact that I will be barely gone 48 hours. My husband says he will be armed with chocolate milk to comfort our little guy while I am away. Chocolate milk is something my husband loves and that he will bring home and share (sometimes) with the little ones. More recently it’s been baby to prepare him for when I am gone.

Brandcation has been planned by 3-4 awesome ladies and so many sponsors that it is incredible! HotelCoupons.com is a major sponsor, as is Adventures Unlimited, Circle PR, Jambu Shoes, Stargazing, Portofino Condo, and Dunkin’Donuts. There are many other sponsors who sponsored other bloggers to attend or have provided lots of different samples and products for us to try. I will be mentioning them in upcoming posts. We will be having a PJ party on Friday to talk about all the amazing brands and see all the items that were sent especially to us for this event. A huge thank you goes out to each and every one of them for making this event possible! We are all in awe and so very grateful to be attending Brandcation 2012!

I am sure I will have many new stories to share upon my return, so stay tuned!

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Free Family Tree Builder

Posted by Brande on April 19, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, News Worthy, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Thrifty Thursday

Ever thought of doing a family tree? Well here’s your opportunity! I found a website called My Heritage, from here you can download a free Family Tree Builder 6.0! Here’s what My Heritage’s site has to say, “The best free genealogy software in the world 31,373,916 downloads so far, but who’s counting…”

It also come in 37 different languages, I didn’t even know there were 37!

They have a celebrity and fun section. Where you can make a celebrity morph and look a like meter.

Check it out! http://www.myheritage.com/

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Cash Giveaway: Enter to Win $850 Cash!

Posted by html404 on April 17, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Contests, Giveaways

We all have bills to pay, many of us have children to feed, clothe and educate. To do all of these things what do we need? Yep, cash. The blogosphere offers many opportunities to enter giveaways, but since the beginning of the year I have been noticing a lot more cash giveaways.

Today I discovered a spring cash giveaway that has the grand prize of $850! Gotta love that, eh? One of the entry options is to create a blog post, so here I am. If you’d like to enter to win the Hello Spring Cash Giveaway, head over to Diva Fabulosa!

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Mommy Vacation, Blog Vacation, Brandcation

Posted by html404 on March 29, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Travel

I will admit I am pretty much a home body. My husband and I are not apt to go on dates or it’s very rare. I have never gone anywhere overnight without my children. I heard some of you *gasp*! The closest I have come to doing so is when I went home to Canada when my dad was sick back in 2002, even then I had a 4-month old with me! However, that is about to change come May 4-6th when I attend the 3rd Annual Brandcation Bloggers Gone Coastal. Call it a mommy vacation, it won’t really be a blogging vacation since I will still be doing some social media stuff, besides the whole event is centered around bloggers and blogging! I have never attended a blogging event either and am very excited and nervous now that I have taken the step of faith bought my ticket, paid for my lodging and booked my airfare! I have never met any of these women except for our online interaction, but I have learned a lot from many of them.

Brandcation

What is Brandcation anyways? It an annual event that is only open to a select few bloggers – only 30 tickets are sold. Once they are gone, they are gone. I got one of the last few, I cut it that close! Only about 5 PR tickets are sold. Incredible brands sponsor this event to keep costs low for the attendees and an amazing group of women organize all the activities! (Thanks Trisha, Lynsey and Kim! And any others behind the scenes!)

There are no classes or workshops, all networking is done in conversation making it personal, enabling attendees and PR to connect face to face real life style.

I have wanted to go the last two years but have been unable to due to being pregnant and having a baby under a year. I still can’t believe I am going this year!

Let the Fun Begin!

P.S. If you happen to be a brand or company reading this and think my blog compliments your product or service, I am seeking sponsors for this event. Please contact me for more details about partnering with me to share your brand with 30 other bloggers. Thanks!

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Taking a Break from Blogging! – Monday Motivation

Posted by html404 on March 26, 2012
in Blog Stuff, Business, Monday Motivation

I read an article last week about blogging less. A few different reasons were given, however, these are the ones that struck a chord in me and made think about taking a break from blogging. Here’s why:

1. For higher views on posts.
2. More time to promote posts.
3. More time for the blogger!

Blogging Less & Taking a Break from Blogging

I can burn myself out trying to blog 7 days a week, though lately I have certainly had enough content! Therefore, since my VA business is growing thanks to USA Virtual Assistants, and it is going to be busy this summer with different farm activities getting in the groove of having animals and all; I thought I would try blogging three days a week starting in May, if not sooner. I haven’t decided which days, but I am leaning towards Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays so I can truly have the weekends for my family. All too often I spend the weekend doing up my blog posts for the week since I am busy during the week days working on projects for clients. I’ll let you know for sure towards the end of April, if not before.

I would like to catch up on some overdue posts for Alternative Consumer, plus do some other guest posting as well. Most of all I just want to catch up on life at home. After all I don’t have to blog every day to make money, I just need some good old content and maybe I will write better posts if I took some time off.

Taking a break from blogging is my motivation this week! What about you what’s motivating you this week?