It is official. Starting today, my house will be under construction for the next month. It’ll be cool when it is all done. However, I am not exactly looking forward to living in a construction zone for the next month. I finally took some before pictures: (though they did a little electrical work last night)
I am so bad. I have been so busy since I got back, I am finally now writing about this awesome event. I was contacted about this the day before my birthday (I know, what a great birthday present!!!). Sony wanted to talk to 15 mommy bloggers and give us some cameras (I didn’t know this last part till the day before I left for the trip!). All expenses paid trip, how could I say no?
I flew out on April 16th to San Diego. They got me an a flight through Midway (which I seriously needed since Midway is only 15 minutes away and Ohare is about an hour). Sitting in the airport always sucks, but I made due. My plane flight there sucked. A little girl screamed the whole way. This is why I don’t fly with my kids. I am terrified that is going to be me. The mom was by herself, and she walked up and down the aisle for the four and half hour flight. I felt so bad for her.
We then got to San Diego and I had a limo driver waiting for me. He had my name on a sign. It was super cool. I know I’ll never see that again. He took me to the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla (it was about a half hour drive). The hotel was awesome (I’ll be writing about it on my travel blog, so I won’t go into too many details here). Sony had boxes set up in our room (to use to Fed Ex our cameras back). They also had left us headphones for our kids, a rose, and two chocolate candy bars. They obviously know the way to a woman’s heart. We were on our own for Wednesday night (though we did have a $50 certificate to use at the restaurant). I met up with Deanna and Anne Marie , and we went to dinner. I had filet mignon. It was super yummy. It was one of those steaks that you didn’t even have to chew it — it just melted in your mouth.
The next day we had to be at breakfast at 9:00. We had a buffet breakfast (which was awesome). This is the view we had from the room we were in. Beautiful, isn’t it? We spent the first two hours after that introducing ourselves. We then had lunch out in the beautiful sunshine. We were only out there for about an hour eating some of the best food ever and I got sunburned!!! Here’s a list of all the awesome ladies who were there (if you have more blogs that I haven’t listed, let me know and I’ll get them added):
After lunch, we got to learn about Sony and the impact of women on their business (Let me tell you, we have a huge impact!!!). We then got to start playing with the cameras we got. Oh wait, I didn’t show you the cameras yet —-
Camera #1: Sony Cybershot
Camera #2: Sony DSLR-A300K
Camera #3 – Handycam HDR-SR10
Yes, Sony gave us all three cameras! They also set aside time for us to work with their trainers so we could learn how to use them!
We then got instruction from photography expert Me Ra Koh. She gave us shooting instruction and tips of how to get specific results. She was really nice and she’s a blogger too!
We then got to go out to the beach and play with the cameras!
We then got a little bit of time to run up to our room and get ready for dinner. I took these pictures from my room!
We then met up with Sony and went to dinner at the Azul Restaurant. I got back to the hotel between 10 – 11 and went to bed.
On Friday, (April 18th), we met again for breakfast. Me Ra took some of our photos and critiqued them for us. She told us how to make our photos better. We then had a presentation from Rocket XL (the advertising agency who helped pull this all together). Us mommy bloggers ended up taking over that session with our opinions and thoughts.
After this session, we were able to do whatever we wanted till we caught our plane. Sony also gave us certificates for the spa, so I went and had a deep tissue massage. I then ate lunch and then had to get on my plane.
And that was my trip to San Diego!
My sister over at Karebear Central is walking in Walk America this weekend up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Since we are in the middle of a remodeling project, the kids and I aren’t going up there. However, I would love to surprise her and help her raise money for such a great cause!
I truly believe that without the research the March Of Dimes has done, my kids would not be here. I had preterm labor issues with both of my children. If they (the doctors) wouldn’t have been able to stop it, my kids would have been born too early and probably would not have survived. My cousins two children were born extremely premature. Her daughter was only 3 lbs when born.
If you ask around your friends and family, you will be amazed at how many people you know that have benefited from the March of Dimes and their research. With that in mind, please consider donating to March of Dimes March For Babies. All those who donate will be included get a link from both me on this blog and a link from my sister on her blog. For anyone who donates $20 or more, I will also write a review about your blog (or whatever you want) over on my Lisa Reviews blog. Leave me a comment if you donate. Thanks!!!!
Some days, the funniest things come out of Madison’s mouth. On Friday, Madison was complaining that she was thirsty. I went and poured her a glass of apple juice (which I diluted with water from the kitchen faucets). I gave it to her to drink, and she made a funny face and exclaimed to me that she “doesn’t like green juice!”. I was thinking, green juice? I gave you apple juice that is red. then it dawned on me. The cup that I put her juice in was blue which made the juice look green! Once, I explained that to her, she had no problems finishing if it.
This must be a stage thing, since all of a sudden, she is super picky about her food now. She always is telling me she hates mustard. Yet, she eats it all the time and just doesn’t know it.
Have you visited the Izea Forum yet? If not, you definitely need to go visit the boards. Why? Well, first of all, they just completely redid them. They have a brand new look. It is a tad different looking than the old boards, but it only takes a little while to figure our your way around there. Another reason to check them out is because of the community. Izea posters are an awesome community to be a part of. These are some of the kindest most caring people I have ever met. Some of us have met in real life, but the majority of us have never seen each other ever. However, if you are having a problem with an opportunity you took, problems with your blog, or even problems at home, there is someone who is willing to give you a hand. For free. I know, it is hard to believe, but it is true. When I was pregnant with Will, there was even a thread guessing when he was going to be born! (I forgot who won that one — Amy, maybe?). All I know is that I have met some of my very best online friends on there. Another cool feature on the new boards is that you can report people if you have a problem with them. Instead of a discussion turning into a flame war, you can get a moderator to put a stop to it and reign everyone in. Speaking of moderators, I am one there, so that alone should make you check it out. LOL. In all seriousness, the Izea forums is your one stop shop for both information and community. Go check it out! 
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