This post is NOT sponsored. I was given media accreditation to attend the event however no compensation was provided. This is a cause I personally believe in and hope to start at the school that my girls attend. We Scare Hunger was started in 1988 under the name Halloween for Hunger by Free The Children board member Dr. Jonathan White. What began as one small group of friends collecting cans on Halloween has grown into an international movement. In 2012, more than 10,000 students and individuals across the U.S. participated in We Scare Hunger, collecting more than 30,000 pounds of food to support food banks across the country. I wrote about it here. Last year, students from 180 schools across Minnesota alone collected over 160,000 lbs. of food through the We Scare Hunger campaign; ranking as the top state for food collections in 2013. Thousands of groups across Canada, the United States and the UK collected 1,677,254 pounds of food—all thanks to one innovative idea. This … [Read more...]
I Challenge You
I said I was never going to do the viral "Ice Bucket Challenge" that has been going around. I have plenty of reasons for not doing it. None of which I need to defend to you. However, I DID end of taking the challenge after being called out by a fellow Red Cross Social Media Advocate, Astronaut Abby and my neighbor Annie. I put my own twist on the challenge though and you're going to have to watch the video to see what it is! Now that you've watched the video, I'll lead you to this website: A few (impolite) questions about the ice bucket challenge. The author makes a few strong points that coincide with some my original reasons for not doing the challenge. Here's a link to the two causes/medical conditions/diseases (whatever you want to call them) that I support: Spasmodic Dystonia: dysphonia.org/spasmodic-dysphonia.php Spinal Muscular Atrophy (aka SMA): smafoundation.org What cause do YOU support? I'd love for you to share awareness in the comments below! … [Read more...]
Helping to Honor Local Heros #MNHeroes14
I am excited and proud to announce that I have been selected as one of 8 Social Media Advocates for the American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region. This is not a paid gig nor am I receiving any kind of compensation for being a Social Media Advocate. I gladly volunteered because I believe in the American Red Cross and it's life-saving efforts. My main goal as a Social Media Advocate is to promote the Heroes Breakfast on Thursday, June 5th. The Heroes Breakfast honors individuals who have made the simple, yet powerful decision to put their personal needs aside in order to help others. Awards will go to 6 local people: the founder of Serving Our Troops, a sophomore aged athlete, an Air Force Reserve Captain turned small business owner, a Lake Superior Warehousing Foreman, a former Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy, and an amputee. To find out more about these honorees, read their full profiles. I encourage you to attend the Heroes Breakfast on June 5th. You will truly be … [Read more...]
Brandcation 2014 #SeasTheDay With Me!
This past August Hubby, I, and our two friends went on a Royal Caribbean cruise. It was Hubby and my first cruise, our friends' too many to count cruise. We had so much fun that we signed up for Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society (loyalty club) and vowed that we would be cruising with them again. Next time we'll bring the kids. As luck would have it, I will be sailing again with Royal Caribbean sooner than expected! MomDot and Brandfluential present a 5 day, 4 night cruise to Cozumel, Mexico aboard the Liberty Of The Seas. That's right, I am one of 40 bloggers invited on a Royal Caribbean sponsored cruise! Ok, now you're all going, "huh? MomDot? Brandfluential? Brandcation? I've never heard those words. At least I've heard of Royal Caribbean but how are you getting to go on a sponsored cruise? That's not fair!" Let's start off with some definitions... MomDot is a blog and a blogging community. Through their forum and facebook page I have learned more than I ever … [Read more...]
Goodbye Lindsi
A little over a year ago we said goodbye to Lindsi. A few weeks later, we said hello again. At that time Lindsi tried to leave but couldn't, partly because I would't let her go. Now we say goodbye to Lindsi again, this time for good. It's been a great year, but one that has not been fulfilling, as far as blogging goes, for Lindsi. A post by The SITS girls titled 10 Things To Let Go Of On Your Blog In 2014, solidified her feelings that, for her, Toys In The Dryer is becoming more of a burden than a passion. It is time for her to let go of some of the stress in her life, and this is one thing she needs to let go. Though Toys In The Dryer sparks ideas for doing things with her children, the time it takes to post about them is no longer worth the time away from her family. I understand 100%. I am extremely sad to see Lindsi leave Toys In The Dryer. We have had a lot of fun working together and we've learned more than we ever thought we would about each other through it. In a … [Read more...]
14 New Year’s Facts for 2014
Tis the day to sit back and attempt (notice I said attempt) to relax after everyone was up late last night. We hope you had a lot of fun ringing in the new year! We thought we would celebrate the first day of 2014 with a few New Year's facts: New Year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon as many as 4000 years ago. In 45 B.C., New Year's Day was celebrated on January 1 for the first time in history under the Julian calendar. New Years Day is now celebrated in the US and Europe on January 1 of the Gregorian calendar Geographically, the world will be half way into 2014 when the time zone GMT or UTC enters the New Year. This time zone includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Morocco, Iceland, and Western Sahara. About half of the world’s population will have begun 2014 at UTC+5:30 when India enters the New Year. Pacific Ocean Islanders Kiritimati, Christmas Island and Kiribati will enter 2014 first, while American Samoa, Niue, and … [Read more...]
