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Published 01.25.2010 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

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I love New York City most during the Holidays

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Published 11.25.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (4)

Remember my 40 Before 40 List? I've been enjoying actually doing the things I have been dreaming about.

So, when I was invited by the nice folks representing NBC get a private viewing of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Balloons, I was all over it.

#28. Take my son to see the balloons being filled on the eve of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

It was awesome.

Me and Spongebob all up close

Inflation Instructions

Thank you, Kim, for the photo

If you're in NYC next year, make sure to stop by and see the balloons up close. There's a viewing area that's open to the public; it's crowded but moves along nicely.

Also, while on our private tour (yeah, rubbing it in), Kim of Mom In The City and I discovered that all the parade balloon handlers are Macy's employees. (Some employees have been participating for over 50 years!) However, employees can sponsor their friends and family too. Any readers out there who want to sponsor me and Kim next year? Bueller?

Don't forget, tomorrow's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade televises on NBC starting at 9am (all time zones).
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If you're going to be in town now through the Holidays, I can't recommend enough attending the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. I bought tickets last year and this year went as the guests of MSG (the show's producers). At this point I think we've officially made it a holiday tradition, which we'll happily continue.

Here are some pictures I snapped.

Now thru Sunday, December 6th the fine folks at MSG are offering Orchestra seat tickets starting at $49.99. This offer is valid for 32 performances of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular playing between now and December 13. Use code NOV when purchasing tickets. If you’d like to see a full listing of the valid performances, click here.

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Oh, one more time of the year when I love New York City... Cherry Blossom season in late April. Visiting the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is on my 40 Before 40 list as well since it has one of the largest collection of blooming cherry blossoms. Stay tuned.

Are Mom Bloggers the New Spokespeople?

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Published 11.02.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (6)

Having launched this website in mid-2006 I have seen and participated in the evolution of the social media landscape. In 2006, bloggers didn't get the respect they deserved from journalists and corporate America alike. That is, until those guys realized that bloggers ranking higher in Google than them and had much higher engagement in terms of discussion on their blogs than the brands did one the "community" pages of their sites. Then in 2008, it was the power tweeters who finally earned the respect of bloggers when Twitter became a crucial player during the protests to the Iranian election. Yeah, that's been a fun trend to watch emerge.

Also, it's no longer new news that mom bloggers have amassed the scale of voice and attention by the mainstream press and corporate America once reserved only for the technology bloggers. With that has come press access to high-profile events, commonplace appearances by mom bloggers on national morning talk shows as well national print periodicals citing these mom writers as expert sources. Huzzah, indeed!

So, what's next?

I am seeing a trend in spokesperson opportunities for mom bloggers and, I, too, have taken upon that work for companies such as VTech Kids (I am on the advisory council) and Little Debbie Snacks (more on both below).

Last week, eMarketer published some statistics that confirm that brands and marketers would do well to hire well-trusted website publishers, over celebrities in fact, as they are ranked high as trusted sources to gather information.

See how a blogger ranks ahead at 2.9 and a well-known celebrity at 2.2? High-fives all around.

In the case of my experience with Little Debbie, I was hired for a couple of hours in NYC to help them launch their Share-a-Thon campaign (for which they are also advertising on this website). Little Debbie is going around the country handing out their new free cupcakes (four years in development, yo) to strangers on the streets.

Having never done this before, it's surprisingly fun to ask strangers "How about I trade you a cupcake for a smile?" People, that line totally works! We gave away hundreds of cupcakes in no time. And, I got New Yorkers in busy midtown to smile at me. Win-win.

For VTech Kids, my role includes being on their Advisory Council and writing regularly for their monthly newsletter, all of which I immensely enjoy.

So, back to my bloggers as spokespeople thoughts.... I think we're going to see more of this either through long-term relationships (like mine with VTech Kids) or via short-term campaign-based opportunities. And, I think it's fabulous. I think it's great that marketers recognize the value web-based personalities and experts can bring to a campaign and are compensating them for it.

On our end, as bloggers become spokespeople, we have a responsibility to not steer from our editorial guidelines and moral compass. We have stated clearly that at Alpha Mom we turn down advertising of products that I personally wouldn't consider buying for my family and my standards are even higher if I am asked to do spokesperson work.

I am very excited to see how this trend unfolds!

Getting Closer to Forty, Crossing Off Items & Having Fun

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Published 10.23.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (6)

Even though I have been writing elsewhere for this here website, I haven't visited this corner too much because I have been busy working, traveling or just plain having fun.

Hiking in La Jolla with Kashi

One topic that I MUST write about is my birthday. It's now a couple of weeks past, but boy-o-boy was it fun. I was a guest of one of my favorite food companies, Kashi* and started the day with a hike led by the Kashi executives themselves. If I could pick one way to start a special day, it would be hiking (Kashi did not know this; they are just who they are, doing what they do). In fact, pre-motherhood I was an avid hiker, going on hiking adventures in North America.

Anyhow, now that I am 38 years old the point of this piece is to reassess my 40 Before 40 List, the one I created last year at the request encouragement of my friend Amy.

As we review my list, I'm also putting it in the context of some decisions I've made over the past 12 months.

Decision #1
I am very proud thus far of what I have done, particularly as I have proceeded at a nice non-manic pace and actually enjoyed the process. My goal is NOT "accomplishment" but rather fun or doing something that is very meaningful to me.

Here's what I've done so far:

#1. Read the Wizard of Oz with my son
#2. Make exercise a regular part of my life again. (If I don't work out I get cranky and twitchy now)
#3. See fireworks for the first time through my son's eyes. (this past July 4th)
#4. Raise money for a cause that is important to me by walking. (on April 26, 2009)

Here's where I've made some more progress:
#5. Finish reading the Harry Potter series. I think I gave up at Book 5. (I've picked up the series again; but not done!)
#6. Throw my first Halloween Party. DONE!
#7. Become a US Citizen. (Perhaps my most important goal; I'm very close; just one last interview with the INS and then I'll be sworn in).

Decision #2
At least for me, I've learned that lists are only good if you actually schedule the items. When you schedule things, they get done. Admit it, a To-do List does not command as much respect. Below are the items that I will be scheduling because I am dying to do them, require reservations and once they're in the calendar they WILL happen and I expect to love it!

#8. Take trapeze lessons with my son.
#9. See Madame Butterfly performed by the Metropolitan Opera.
#10. Take my son to see the Nutcracker.
#11. See my favorite ballet again, I'm Old Fashioned by Jerome Robbins. I sure hope NYCB performs it soon.
#12. Spend the night at the Hayden Planetarium with my boys.

Decision #3
I've also realized that my original list contained an awful lot of traveling. Yes, I would love to travel to all of these places over the next two years, but I love being with my husband and son too. Big Sur isn't going anywhere but my son is changing before my eyes and I want my weekends for him. Also, with my husband's work and son's school schedules, visiting ALL these places as a family within 24 months is just not feasible or realistic. So yeah, the vast majority of trips are being scratched from my list and replaced with seven other dreams.

New Additions:
#13. Build my son's Family Tree. At a blogger immersion at Ancestry.com I was introduced to the amazing genealogical sources out there.**
#14. Cook more often. Definitely working on it!
#15. Make yoga a regular part of my life again.
#16. Finish decorating my apartment to my satisfaction.
#17. Go Letterboxing with my son.
#18. Start a weekly Family Game night.
#19. Renew my driver's license (I let it expire; d'oh. In my defense, I live in NYC and public transportation is just better).

Travel Item I'm keeping:
#20. Visit Jackson Hole.

Items that continue on the list:
#21. Make a batch of fried green tomatoes.
#22. Learn to snowboard.
#23. Read the first Harry Potter with my son.
#24. Learn the recipe to my mom's Tomato Rice with Shrimp.
#25. Watch Gone with the Wind for the first time.
#26. Take my son on a walk through the campus of my Alma Mater.
#27. Take a hot air balloon ride.
#28. Take my son to see the balloons being filled on the eve of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. DONE!
#29. Go sledding in Central Park.
#30. Visit the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens on Cherry Blossom Day.
#31. Have my wedding album published. Shameful, I know.
#32. Have my wedding video finished. Gosh, I hope the video company is still in business.
#33. Catch-up on Family Albums for each year. Where did I leave off?
#34. Take my son to Ground Zero and (if he is emotionally ready for it) explain what happened on 9/11.
#35. Throw my first Holiday Open House.
#36. Set up a DIY outdoor theater and invite other families over for movies and popcorn.
#37. Redo my home office.
#38. Re-read my favorite book, Song of Solomon.
#39. Find a new favorite book.
#40. Vote for the first time. (But first I need to become a US citizen)

So, I'll keep you abreast periodically of how I'm doing. Or, you can just check back here where I'll update the post.

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* I participated in a blogger trip to visit Kashi HQs. They paid for my trip, including travel, lodging, activities and provided me with products. It was a blast and I continue to love their all natural foods!

** I participated in a blogger trip to visit Ancestry.com. They paid for my trip, accommodations, and provided me with products. I am now addicted to Ancestry.com and creating my family tree.

Participate in a Day of Service on 9/11

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Published 09.07.2009 | Permanent Link | Comments (3)

Yes, I was in NY on September 11th, 2001. In fact, I was 10 blocks north of the World Trade Center and watched with my naked eyes as the jet fighter planes arrived five minutes too late to stop the second plane attack on the towers.

It was a terrible day wherein I lost several friends. But that story is for another day.

What I try to remember about the days post 9/11 are the images of the country coming together, those who put aside their own health (and sometimes daily lives cross-country) to help in on-site rescue efforts. The waiting lines to donate blood were insane. It was like every doctor in the city rushed to the hospital. (But they waited for ambulances that never arrived). Once re-opened, our highways were filled with trucks driven by construction workers descending upon NYC to help lift the wreckage that was trapping expected survivors.

Apart from shock, everyone felt utter helplessness at the new reality. As Tuesday progressed into Friday, collectively as a nation we were all still hoping for the best, but it was becoming increasingly clear that the unimaginable had really happened.

And there was nothing we could do about it.

So we, in NYC, moved on as best we could to help the survivors, the families of the slain and those working tirelessly at Ground Zero, as it was newly minted.

At some point that week I had heard a tip from a fashionista friend, that the Hard Rock Cafe had set up a volunteer station to prepare sandwiches for recovery workers. All bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I arrived on Saturday morning to discover that hundreds of other New Yorkers wanted to help too. There was no room left inside. So I snuck in.

And, I never have and probably never will enjoy making dozens of PB&Js as much as I did that morning.

Last year's 9/11, was the first for which I didn't cry. I was even able to celebrate a birthday with a really great friend that evening. But I felt guilty. I don't want to forget 9/11. It's an important day in my history and this nation's history.

So, when President Obama signed legislation to federally-recognize September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance for the first time, I smiled. Our country deserves this.

September 11 is more than just about the tragedy of that horrible day in 2001, it is about the selflessness and service we all demonstrated as a nation in its aftermath.

In recognition of the first anniversary of the National Day of Service and Remembrance, the 9/11 Day of Service Website has volunteer activities listed. You can search by zip code, city, state and area of interest. I know what I'm doing Friday morning already. Do you?