How’s your weekend going?
We are at the peak of fall colors and activities over here! These roundups are popular, but take me so long to compile that I’ve decided to aim for once a month instead of every week (or every other).
BLOG WORTH READING
- 106 Excuses That Prevent You From Ever Becoming Great. Chris Brogan.
APP
- Sid’s Science Fair App: Based on the animated preschool series Sid the Science Kid from The Jim Henson Company, Sid’s Science Fair App encourages children ages 3 to 6 to explore and experience science. Sid’s Science Fair supports PBS KIDS’ curricular focus on STEM – science, technology, engineering and math. The app includes three fun mini-games that build science and math skills. $2.99 at the iTunes App Store.
BLOGGING
- Mom Bloggers, an infographic by Scarborough research. This interesting study shows, among other findings, that mom bloggers are much more politically involved and socially mindful than their non-blogging counterparts. Interesting, no?
- Why You Need An Authoritative Voice Before Accepting Sponsored Blog Posts. Blogging Pro.
- How to Find Free Pictures for Your Blog. Daily Blog Tips.
COOL WEBSITE
- Bring Science Home: Learn how to keep your candy cool with physics, find the hidden colors of autumn leaves, make moon cycles with an orange, and much more! Every week, Scientific American features a fun, new, science-related activity that parents and their six- to 12-year-olds can do together, often with common household items. Adults will find easy-to-follow instructions and simple materials lists as well as additional background to help them explain the key concepts. For more information about the program, please visit the website at: ScientificAmerican.com/BringScienceHome.
CRAFTS
- Magnetic Activity & Chore List. Cute idea! Home Made Simple.
- How to Reupholster a Chair. The Motherload at MomAdvice.com.
HEALTH & FITNESS
- How to Turn Your Walk into a Run: A Walker’s Guide to Running. SparkPeople.
- Tips for Creating a Healthier Work Space. 5 Minutes for Mom.
FOOD
- Variations on Green Chile Stew. MexGrocer blog.
- Daigaku Imo (Japanese Caramelized Sweet Potatoes). Sandier Pastures.
FREEBIE
- Free appetizer! McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant has partnered with Ocean Spray to challenge its bartenders nationwide to shake, stir and muddle their best cocktail they could, using delicious Ocean Spray juices. The three finalists are now going head-to-head in a public vote on the McCormick & Schmick’s Facebook page through November 13, competing to be featured as the newest specialty cocktail on the McCormick & Schmick’s bar menus nationwide. And, just by casting your vote, they’ll give you a coupon good for one free Happy Hour appetizer on your next visit!
- Free holiday card samples! Using code 5HOLIDAY, you can order up to 5 free holiday card samples from Tiny Prints. Offer expires 11/8. Samples can be ordered from the individual card pages.
GOOD CAUSE
- Share-It-Forward: For millions of girls in developing countries, sanitary protection is a luxury item and the lack of affordable resources can have devastating lifelong consequences. Unable to afford sanitary protection, countless young women resort to dangerous alternatives or simply avoid school for the duration of their periods, which can lead girls to abandon school altogether and increases their vulnerability to poverty and disease, including HIV. Recognizing this often overlooked crisis, the o.b. Brand has created the Share-It-Forward Facebook campaign to raise money and awareness for Huru International, a non-profit organization that provides at-risk young girls in developing countries with the resources and knowledge they need to complete their education and safeguard their health. Now through December 5th, the o.b. Brand will donate $1 (up to $25,000) for every person who visits the o.b. Outreach Tab on the mighty. small. movement Facebook page and “Shares” a message about Huru International’s mission. Please help us spread word of an important cause and support women in need. Will you help Share-It-Forward? Like the mighty.small.movement. Facebook Page and spread the word!
TOYS
- People’s Play Awards: Time to Play’s editorial team has reviewed literally thousands of toys over the past year to come up with the best and the brightest in 25 categories. Now, it’s your turn! Voting is open through November 28th, and America’s Wish List will be unveiled on a special live webcast on Friday, December 2nd. From December 3rd through the 15th, they’ll be giving away one of the nominated toys every day. To enter, fill in the form after placing your vote!
- GIANTmicrobes: These plush toys and merchandise are based on tiny microbes like the cold, flu, and brain cell. My favorite item is the adorable kid friendly soap dispenser that looks just like the common cold plush and makes kids want to wash their hands. For more info, visit http://www.giantmicrobes.com, and follow GIANTmicrobes on Facebook and Twitter.
TV/MOVIES
- Minnie’s Bow-Toons: Premieres Monday, November 14 on Disney Junior. “Minnie’s Bow-Toons,” follows the adventures of Minnie Mouse and her good friend Daisy Duck as they run Minnie’s Bow-Tique, a specialty shop stocked only with colorful bows and bowties. The series premieres with a new episode airing at 8:55 a.m., ET/PT each day during Minnie’s birthday week, November 14 – November 19 on Disney Channel and DisneyJunior.com. Fans can also log on to DisneyJunior.com/Minnie to play Minnie-themed games and download new coloring pages, as well as see a special sneak-peek of the following day’s episode before it premieres on air!
- Dora the Explorer: Celebrate with Dora: Available on DVD on November 15. Enjoy all of Dora’s favorite holidays and fiestas in this new three-DVD box set, Dora the Explorer: Celebrate with Dora. This special set includes Dora’s Christmas!, Dora’s Halloween and Dora’s Big Birthday Adventure, all in one gift-able collection! Created by Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment, Dora the Explorer: Celebrate with Dora has a suggested retail price of $29.99 and runs for approximately 291 mins.
TIS THE SEASON
- 5 Educational Things To Do With (Halloween) Candy. Mommy Maestra.
- 100 Days of Holidays at Parents.com. Sign up to get the best ideas for holiday recipes, crafts, treats, decorations, and more! Parents.com.
- Respect the Bird: Is Thanksgiving as we know it an endangered species? With Halloween’s ghosts barely banished, each year retailers push the Christmas season upon consumers earlier and earlier – and all at the expense of the Thanksgiving holiday. A survey from Allrecipes.com, the world’s #1 food site, found that 82 percent of Americans think Christmas is marketed too early and the Thanksgiving holiday gets too little attention. To savor the true meaning of Thanksgiving, Allrecipes is inviting turkey lovers to join its Respect the Bird! movement, a grassroots effort to tune out the distractions of Black Friday that intrude upon Thanksgiving week. On www.RespectTheBird.com turkey fans can take the Respect the Bird Pledge, a promise to fully enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and not begin shopping for the December holidays until after November 24, and get recipes and tips for their Thanksgiving festivities.
CONTESTS & PROMOTIONS
- America Recyles Day video contest: In honor of America Recycles Day (November 15) USAgain invites K-12 schools to submit short videos (2 minutes or less in length) highlighting how their school is making a difference by ‘going green.’ Videos will be judged by USAgain on their creativity and clarity of message and winners will be awarded cash prizes of $500, $300 and $250 respectively. Open to all K-12 schools, the contest is a fun and educational way to raise recycling awareness and earn cash for schools. All entries must be received before November 30, 2011. See complete rules and details here.
- 3rd annual Tiny Prints Talent Search Contest: Enter for a chance to win the grand prize of $1,000 cash, plus a $500 Tiny Prints gift certificate! Tiny Prints is looking for your cutest baby, kid, family, couple, and pet photos! Entry period ends on November 15, and voting begins the next day. Enter the Tiny Print Talent Search Contest via Facebook or on their website.
- MyPlate Fruits and Veggies Video Challenge: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is challenging Americans to create short videos (approx. 30 seconds) that provide innovative, easy, and practical tips on how to eat more fruits and veggies on a budget. The video challenge supports First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, which is dedicated to ending childhood obesity. The videos can be songs, skits, or how-to videos, as long as they feature one tip and the message ‘Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.’ Nine winners will be awarded cash prizes. The deadline to submit a video is November 15, 2011 at 5 p.m. EST. For more details, please visit fruitsandveggies.challenge.gov.
