January 23, 2012

I Suck At Money

Ok, I think it’s confession time. Not like this one is any big secret, because I’m pretty open and honest about it with pretty much anyone and everyone.

Here it goes…

I totally suck at money.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m great at spending it. But I totally suck at saving it, and I suck at having things in order so I can file my taxes properly, and I suck at planning for the future so that hopefully I won’t have to sit here telling you how much I suck at money thirty years from now.

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a super-awesome event at the Warren Tricomi Salon in NYC, hosted by GoGirl Finance, Manisha Thakor, and my good friend Jill over at Glamamom.

 

 

GoGirl Finance was created by Caryn Effron in an effort to help women feel confident about managing their finances, and Manisha Thakor is basically a guru on all things money related. These two ladies share a similar mission…to educate clueless women like myself about how to manage their money and feel ready and prepared for the future financially. And Jill from Glamamom…well, if I even have to introduce you to her then you are totally missing out on knowing one incredibly awesome chick. (And she dresses way better than I do). Together, the three of them put on this amazing evening to help put us on the path to make this our “Best Year Yet” as far as getting a handle on our personal finances.

Ok, back to the event.

I had a fresh blowout.

I said BLOWOUT (get your damn head out of the gutter).

 

 

I chatted it up with some really great peeps.

 

 

There may or may not have been “refreshments.”

 

 

But the most important part of the night came when we all listened to Manisha Thakor give us tips and advice on just how important it is to take charge of your finances early in life, and to save now to ensure your financial security down the road. Basically, if you don’t get your shit together early on, you’ll find yourself in a real pickle during the time in your life when you aren’t supposed to be worrying about this shit.

 

 

Taking care of your finances is just as essential to your personal health and well being as all of the other things you do to make yourself feel important, beautiful, and appreciated. (I’m making this my new mantra…).

Yeah…I definitely have a few things to work on to make 2012 my best year yet. But GoGirl and Manisha Thakor made me feel better about taking the necessary steps to get on the right track.

 

Photo Credits: Rebecca Weiss Photography

 

6 Comments
Posted Under: Events
September 26, 2011

My Trip To Los Angeles For ConAgra’s Child Hunger Ends Here Campaign

Now that things are finally getting back into some sort of a routine around here, I think that it’s about time that I told you all about my trip to Los Angeles at the end of August as a blogger correspondent for ConAgra’s Child Hunger Ends Here fall campaign. ConAgra has partnered with Schools Fight Hunger in an effort to give 5 million meals to Feeding America.

My Los Angeles trip was a whirlwind weekend that was eye opening, informative, and also a lot of fun (even though Hurricane Irene forced me to leave a little bit early)!

The first thing that we did upon arriving in Los Angeles after having lunch and networking for a bit was to hop on a bus and tour the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. For whatever reason, whenever I heard the term “food bank,” I always pictured something that was more of a “food pantry.” I figured it was some little building with a little room with shelves in the back and cans stacked on them.

Boy was I wrong!

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is actually MUCH larger than I thought…and though there definitely were “shelves” with food stacked on them, they were quite a bit higher than I could reach!

 

 

 

We were given a tour of the facility and got a good idea of how everything works and how local organizations get their food from the food bank to give to people in need. Every city in this country has a centralized food bank similar to the one in Los Angeles that is the source for all food donations made. From that location, charitable organizations pick up their food and distribute it from their own locations.

Along with learning more about how food banks work, our group did a service project for the LA Regional Food Bank. Our task was to sort through bins of tomatoes and separate the good ones from the ones that we most definitely would not want to see in our own grocery bags.

The majority of people who are seeking food assistance are not people who are homeless or on welfare…these are people just like us who are having a tough time in this economy and need a little help. It is a very humbling experience to stand in line for food, so the food bank ensures that everything that is donated is of top quality. We wound up going through 3700 pounds of tomatoes, which were then donated the following week!

 

Sorting Tomatoes

 

Our group at the LA Regional Food Bank

 

The actual kick-off event for the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign was the following morning right on Hollywood Boulevard. Let me just tell you…if you’ve never been to Hollywood, it’s probably not what you have pictured in your head. I’d say that the people watching alone is similar to what you see on the Las Vegas strip. It’s loud, there are crowds everywhere, and odds are good that you’ll see a man walking around in a Yoda costume.

 

Me & the other bloggers at the kick-off event on Hollywood Blvd.

 

The goal for the kick-off event was to pack bags full of ConAgra products to give back to the food bank to be sent out to those in need, and we had a very special celebrity helping us with this initiative!

Mark Salling from Glee was there to speak about why it was important for him to get involved with Child Hunger Ends Here. I have to admit that I did not get to meet Mark or see him pack any bags because I had to leave the event for LAX right after he came out, but I did at least see him take the podium! (And yes, he’s pretty freakin’ good looking).

 

Mark Salling, a.k.a. "Puck" from Glee

 

Now that I’m back home, I can’t wait to help spread the word about how people can get involved with this campaign in their own communities.

There are two ways that you can be a part of “Child Hunger Ends Here” and help a few less children go to school hungry in this country.

1.) Register your school at ChildHungerEndsHere.com and help your school host its own food drive. Every school registered will also be entered to win $10,000 towards field trips!

2.) Collect the UPC code labels from the boxes and/or cans of ConAgra products, and then give them a participating school in your area. Schools can be found at SchoolsFightHunger.org. The school will then send in the UPC codes to ConAgra. For each UPC code sent in, ConAgra will donate one more meal to Feeding America.

This is such an easy way to give back, and to get your children involved with helping others! I hope you will join in!

Last week, I appeared on Mass Appeal again to talk about my trip to Los Angeles and the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. Below is the video clip from my segment.

Disclosure: I am being compensated as a blogger correspondent for the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. My travel and lodging expenses for the Los Angeles trip were also taken care of. All opinions expressed in this post are my own and were not influenced by ConAgra.

 

 

4 Comments
Posted Under: Events, vlog
August 22, 2011

“Child Hunger Ends Here” With ConAgra Foods and Schools Fight Hunger

The cat’s out of the bag…and I am so thrilled to let you all know today that I am officially a blogger correspondent for ConAgra Foods for their 2011 fall “Child Hunger Ends Here” campaign. I am so honored that they asked me to be a part of raising awareness about child hunger right here in the United States of America.

 

 

So often, we hear about programs which aim to help feed children of other nations, but people don’t seem to realize just how bad the child hunger problem is right here in our hometowns. Did you know that one in four children in this country doesn’t know where his or her next meal is coming from? ONE in FOUR.

There is a very good chance that one of your child’s classmates is included in that statistic. But you’d probably never know it. Child hunger really seems to be kept kind of quiet in our school systems…and ConAgra’s mission is to change that.

For their fall “Child Hunger Ends Here” campaign, ConAgra has partnered with Schools Fight Hunger, in an effort to get local schools all over the country involved in the campaign with a goal of donating 5 million meals to Feeding America during the school year.

As a blogger correspondent for ConAgra, I’ll be talking to you about the issue of child hunger and how you can get involved in your community over the next couple of months.

In the meantime, I’m busy packing this week to get ready for the ConAgra “Child Hunger Ends Here” kickoff event in Los Angeles this weekend. I’ll be flying out to LA on Friday, where I will be touring a local food bank with nine other incredible bloggers, in addition to attending the kickoff event on Saturday morning.

A certain Glee star will also be joining us…so stay tuned for a recap of my trip and more about the campaign sometime next week!

(And one more thing…think about those ONE in FOUR kids the next time your child wants cereal for dinner. Quit stressing over it and just give him or her the darn bowl of cereal and be happy that you CAN).

 

*Disclosure: I am being compensated for my role as a blogger correspondent for ConAgra, but all opinions expressed about the campaign are my own. My travel, lodging, and meal expenses are also being taken care of for the kickoff event in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

 

19 Comments
Posted Under: Events
July 13, 2011

Sometimes I Miss Rockin’ The Baby

My little dude is 5-years old, and I gotta tell ya…I freakin’ LOVE this age. In fact, I’d totally freeze it if I could. This is my favorite age so far, because he is getting so independent, and he’s so smart and says the funniest shit, and at the same time, he’s still a total cuddle bug.

But as much as I want my little man to stay 5 forever, sometimes I still miss rockin’ my baby to sleep.

Today, I’m linking up with one of my best bloggy gals, Shell, over at Things I Can’t Say for her “Rockin’ the Baby” event.

 

 

A few weeks ago, Shell hosted “Rockin’ the Bump,” where we all got to show off our pregnant bellies. And yes, I showed some skin in my post…(who says baby bumps can’t be Mom Sexy)?

“Rockin’ the Baby” is the perfect follow up to “Rockin’ the Bump,”, so without further ado, here are a few of my favorite pics of my little dude.

How freakin’ cute was he?

(And please don’t judge my ratty-ass hair in the last photo. I had not moved to Connecticut yet when this picture was taken…so I had not found my hair guru at that point).

 

 

Bug-Eyed Baby (This one makes me laugh every time)!

 

 

 

Teething biscuits and exersaucers don't mix.

 

 

 

How cute is my little lobster?

 

 

 

54 Comments
Posted Under: Events
June 13, 2011

Interview With Jennifer Garner: How Jennifer Saved Me From Total Embarrassment

Last week was pretty freakin’ good for The Mommyologist. We finally had some super-warm weather in Connecticut and I squeezed in a little pool time with my son. I also scored some really great deals at Old Navy and got some totally Mom Sexy skirts for summer. And lastly, I got the chance to sit down and interview celeb mom Jennifer Garner after she kicked off the Frigidaire Kids Cooking Academy Summer Session at Blue Hill Restaurant at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, NY.

 

jennifer garner

Jennifer Garner and the kids

 

I went out to Stone Barns on behalf of Babble.com. I have been a Celebrity Blogger for their Famecrawler blog for almost a year now…and though I’ve done some great celeb interviews over the phone, this was my first real life in-person gig. And it was AWESOME. I totally dug every single second, and believe it or not, I really wasn’t all that nervous.

Well…at least I wasn’t all that nervous until they told me I’d be interviewing Jennifer Garner directly after CNN got done with her. Are you freakin’ kidding me? CNN?

I wasn’t sure how I was going to follow an act like that, but once I got in the room, I was ready to put my game face on and take on the interview like an old pro.

I was introduced to Jennifer, who gave me her famous smile, put out her hand for me to shake, and then we hopped into our director’s chairs so the interview could be taped. And then she thanked ME for coming out to talk to her that day. Um…for real??

 

jennifer garner the mommyologist

The Mommyologist meets Jennifer Garner

 

In case there was any doubt in your mind about just how down to earth Jen really is, I have the perfect example which proves that she may be an A-lister in Hollywood, but she’s really just a mom like the rest of us.

Right before the interview started, Mr. Video Camera Man looked at me and said something along the lines of, “We don’t have an extra mic for you. Do you need us to tape the audio of you asking the questions, or do you just want Jennifer to answer them?”

And then there were CRICKETS people. CRICKETS!!!!

I looked at Jennifer Garner (JENNIFER FREAKIN’ GARNER) with this blank stare on my face and said:

“Why am I not getting this??”

She smiled and kind of laughed and explained that she would incorporate my questions into her answers, and then Mr. Video Camera Man would place slides into the edited video of my questions before she answered them.

After she translated Mr. Video Camera Man’s words into non-tech-geek-mom-friendly language, I totally got what was about to happen, and proceeded with the interview.

To hear more about the Frigidaire Kids Cooking Academy program, you can watch my interview with Jen in the video below…and if you look really closely at the double oven behind her, you can kind of see my reflection. Oh yeah…and you’ll hear my Mom Sexy voice laughing a couple times towards the end of the video.

I’d like to personally thank Jennifer Garner for talking to me like a normal mom friend would…and saving my ass from complete and total embarrassment.

I think I may be her new biggest fan.

 

 

*The PR firm sent me that first photo…so I’m assuming they won’t sue my ass for using it.

43 Comments
Posted Under: celebrity, Events, interview
May 17, 2011

Why You Should Attend More Than One Bloggy Boot Camp

Ok…so it’s been a little over a week since I’ve been back from Bloggy Boot Camp in Boston…and I’m already having serious withdrawal from hanging with my favorite online peeps.

 

BBC Boston Totally Rocked!

 

Seriously…going to a blog conference is kind of like going to a high school reunion, except that at blog conferences you don’t have to worry about getting stuck talking to some asshat who wouldn’t give you the time of day in high school but decides you are the hottest shit going at the reunion and won’t leave you alone for the entire night.

I’m no Bloggy Boot Camp virgin…as I attended the very first one back in 2010 in Baltimore. When I attended the Baltimore conference, I’d been blogging for about five months, so I was still pretty much a newbie. You can read my recap of that conference here.

I have to admit, when I signed up for BBC Boston, I signed up mostly because I wanted to network and see my online friends and the SITS girls, Tiffany and Francesca, again. I figured that I’d pick up some good information while I was there as well, but since I had already been to BBC Baltimore, I wasn’t sure that I’d actually learn anything new.

I WAS WRONG.

And now I’m here to tell you that there are plenty of reasons why you should attend more than one Bloggy Boot Camp. Whether you just started blogging yesterday or have been hitting publish for years, everyone will take away something useful from this conference.

Here is a sample of things I learned that I totally would’ve missed out on had I not made the decision to attend BBC Boston:

1. I learned that I definitely know my brand, and I know what I want my role to be on the web. Amy Bradley Hole gave a great presentation on branding, and she gave us some key questions to ask ourselves when trying to determine what our brand is. The best tip I can give you from her presentation is that if your brand isn’t unique to you, then you’d better throw it out and start from scratch.

2. I learned how to write an effective pitch from Carol Schiller, which is something I really needed more information on because I’ve never written a pitch before. I am so happy that I have heard Carol’s expertise so that I don’t look like a complete and total self-centered piece of lameness when I do go ahead and write that first pitch. Carol taught us that we need to solve brand’s problems instead of going on and on about how awesome we are. Brands want to know what we can do for them. They don’t really give a rat’s ass that your Facebook fans think you are all that and a bucket of chicken.

3. I learned that I’m really not all that great at writing headlines, and this is an area where I need to improve. I mean, my post titles are usually cute and funny, but are they always SEO friendly? Erica Voll from Mommy’s Fabulous made me ask myself that question. And she really is fabulous, just in case you were wondering.

4. I learned that though I’ve been talking about setting up an LLC for like 6 months now so that I can file all of my freelance/blog related income under one tax return doesn’t really do me much good unless I bite the bullet and set the damn thing up. My Friday night last minute BBC roomie Sarah Visbeek taught me that. (And she also tried to assure me that I did indeed pay for the food I ordered at the lobby bar on Friday night. The complimentary wine from Mirrasou, one of BBC’s sponsors, had me in a bit of a fog over whether I’d actually paid my tab).

5. I learned from Modchik that blog posts really aren’t all that pretty without cool pictures in them. As you can see from this particular entry, this point still hasn’t quite registered with me.

6. I don’t even know how the heck to sum up what I learned from Katja Presnal. She basically just made me want to get out of my chair and do cartwheels and dance around to “What a Feeling” from Flashdance. As she spoke, I kept hearing, “Take your passion…and make it happen!!” She is living proof that hard work, determination, and a positive attitude will take your social media career to the next level.

 

These are just a few tidbits of all of the amazing things that were heard and said at Bloggy Boot Camp Boston. I would like to end this with a point that Tiffany Romero made that I truly think all women online need to hear and take to heart:

 

“THERE IS PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY TO GO AROUND. SHARE THE LINKS AND SHARE THE LOVE.”

 

Be happy for other bloggers when you see them succeed. When they succeed, we ALL succeed.

Now hurry up and go buy a ticket to one of the upcoming Bloggy Boot Camps. Hell, I may even go for a third.

 

 

 

32 Comments
Posted Under: bloggy boot camp, Events
April 4, 2011

Workin’ The Mom Sexy at Getting Gorgeous

I don’t mean to brag, but I had a really fun weekend. Like really fun and really amazing and full of laughs. Ok, maybe I’m bragging a tiny bit.

On Saturday, I hopped the train into the city and attended the Getting Gorgeous with Degree event in New York, hosted by Audrey McClellan and Vera Sweeney. When I heard the title to this event, I figured that it had Mom Sexy written all over it. And I was right.

There were some amazing brands at Getting Gorgeous, from Weight Watchers, to Hanes, to Belli, to Sandals Resorts, to Miraclebody Jeans, and the nice folks at Simply Orange Juice who handed me a mimosa when I walked in were pretty awesome as well.

But my favorite thing that I did at Getting Gorgeous was getting my hair done by Hair Room Service, a company which caters to celebrity clients and offers a mobile hair, make-up, and nail beautifying unit that will come to wherever you are in the city and make you look Mom Sexy as hell. You can check out my glam session in the video clip below:

In case you were curious, Tina from Life Without Pink was taking pictures of me while I got sexed up. That’s who I was blowing kisses to. (And I’d like to say a huge thanks to my camera girl and partner in crime this past weekend, Cheryl Budge).

And here’s a great shot of Tina and me after my makeover was finished.

Mommyologist

The Mommyologist & Life Without Pink

It was so awesome seeing my friend Tina again, and I also had the pleasure of finally meeting another online friend who has been a huge source of support and inspiration for the Mom Sexy Revolution, Elena from Ciao Mom:

The Mommyologist

The Mommyologist & Ciao Mom

I’m not gonna lie…it felt good to get pampered at Getting Gorgeous. And it just reminds me that each and every single one of us deserves to feel beautiful and appreciated on a daily basis…not just at fun events in the city.

Getting Gorgeous was a great reminder to me that I’m doing something right with the whole Mom Sexy thing. And if I have it my way, every single woman with an internet connection or mobile device is going to be inspired to take her sexy back.

Big changes are coming to The Mommyologist. Stay tuned.

31 Comments
Posted Under: Events, Mom Sexy
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