I have been blogging for so many years that I often forget how much my readers truly don’t know about me. Majority of my close friends were met online through the social media world and often times during conversations something from our past will come up and we both are shocked at things we never knew. In the blog world you share current events and stories or tweet what’s happening at any given moment but we don’t always mention our past.

Did you know that before becoming a Social Media Strategist and working in the social space full time I was part of the corporate world? I used to work for the DFW Airport Board as an Inspection Coordinator for the Code Enforcement Department. After that I spent nearly four years working for Lockheed Martin on the F/A-22 Program. I loved my jobs in corporate and loved all the people I worked with. Fortunately I was able to realize those jobs were just that,jobs, and not my passion therefore not a career path for me. Even though they were amazing jobs! Becoming a Social Media Strategist has opened the door for me to be more available to Gabby once her special needs became more severe. That’s one blessing I’m thankful for daily.

Did you know that Go Daddy actively employs and promotes corporate women? The chief human resources officer, VP of PR and VP of marketing are all women, as are several high-ranking individuals in the legal department. I love to see companies have active female corporate roles outside of just being their spokesperson.

Most of my readers know that I feel strongly about community involvement. Giving back to charities, whether it’s with time or funds, is a passion of mine and something I’ve been blessed to witness first hand with my daughter on both the receiving end and giving front.

Did you know Go Daddy gives back in a big way? That’s right! In 2011, Go Daddy donated more than $5 million to 56 charities both at home and around the world. From the Arizona Humane Society to Hope for Haiti, you can learn more about the diverse array of charitable organizations Go Daddy supports at www.GoDaddyCares.com.

I love learning about what large companies are doing behind the scenes. There is always so much we never know about companies we do business with.

There’s a lot you don’t know about Go Daddy! Including all the tools they have for bloggers! Check out www.godaddy.com to learn more!

Join the conversation for your chance to win 3 year Unlimited 4GH Hosting from Go Daddy!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Go Daddy. The opinions and text are all mine.

For the past couple of years the kids and I have added coins to a few containers in the house.  Just random containers such as a collectible wine glass I received at a festival, a metal basket and even a collector cup I got from the Broadway Musical, West Side Story.  For the past year the coins have set on the top shelf inside a cabinet in my office, not being touched or cashed in.  We even had some coin wrappers available to roll the coins and take them to the bank but never got around to it.

Thanks to Collective Bias and their #PayPalCoinstar campaign, I was told about the option of visiting our local grocery store, Brookshire Grocery, to use their Coinstar kiosk and transfer my change to my PayPal account.  As someone who doesn’t usually carry much cash on me this option worked perfect.  It’s the easiest way for me to have extra funds in my PayPal account and be able to transfer directly into my checking account.  Nothing beats the convenience of driving down the road to access my PayPal account.

I went through all of our coins and picked out several Chuck E Cheese tokens.  I found it funny that along the way my son must have added any extra tokens to our stash of coins.  I was trying to make sure that there was only change in the containers before heading to the Coinstar kiosk.  Little did I know it wasn’t necessary and the kiosk will actually reject any foreign money {which I had several coins from my trip to England mixed up in the batch}.  It also kicked out one Chuck E Cheese token that I must have missed.  The Coinstar kiosk spits those coins back out with ease for you to collect and take home.

I placed all the coins from the three containers in an easy to carry cloth shopping bag.  The coins were heavy so using a nice comfortable bag made this much easier for me.

After arriving to Brookshire Grocery I found the Coinstar kiosk immediately inside the door.  It was clearly marked and noticeable that the Coinstar features offered PayPal services.  There was three options using PayPal… You could withdraw money from your PayPal account, add funds to your PayPal account or cash in your coins to automatically transfer to your PayPal account.  I transferred my coins directly into my PayPal account.

Pouring the coins in and listening to the machine sort them was kind of fun.  I had to make sure all the coins were fed in correctly using their metal tray.  It was super easy and the kiosk was touch screen with clear step by step directions.  I was extremely impressed with the fact the Coinstar kiosk broke down the number of each coin you deposited.  I could see how many quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies I dumped into the machine.  I found that interesting.

I received an email notification immediately after transferring my funds.  I was able to check my email and PayPal account from my iPhone and had access to the $119.19 that I transferred in coins.  There was no time lag at all.

Stay up to date with new features by following Coinstar Twitter and liking Coinstar Facebook as well as following PayPal Twitter and liking PayPal Facebook.

You can also view my full Google+ story including more photos from my PayPal Coinstar experience by visiting me my album on Google+.

Full Disclosure: I have been paid (at Coinstar’s request) to try and blog about Coinstar’s products/services as part of a Collective Bias shopper insights study. All opinions are my own. #CBias

I have recently fallen in love with Polyvore. I even introduced T to it and she has created several sets. She has a collection of outfits she is putting together for our future trip to Paris, France.  When searching on Polyvore I only look at items listed for $50 or less.  It’s nice ‘window shopping’ for dream fashion but I wanted to keep my sets realistic and I normally wouldn’t spend more than $50 on one article of clothing or any accessory.

Below is the very first set I created and I actually own just about every piece here, maybe not exactly but pretty close.  I have been wearing a lot of black and gray lately and I just love that hat.

AboutOne 2.0 is the newly improved online family organizer.  I’m most excited about the launch of their new app.  As you all know I’m a huge iPhone fanatic and I use it for just about everything.  My iPhone calendar syncs with my calendar on my Mac and I instantly schedule all of Gabby’s doctor appointments on my phone while in the doctor’s office.  There is no way I could remember all of her appointments if it wasn’t for my alerts.  I love the idea of having AboutOne 2.0 sync my online organizer with an app on my phone.

One of the features is medical information storage.  Next time I’m at Gabby’s doctor appointment and they decide to change her medication (which happens often) I can update our records instantly before I forget.  Having a daughter with special needs makes it extremely important to know what medications she takes and when the doctor started and stopped each one.  There have been many occasions where we had to dig back through old files to remember when she last took a specific medication and determine if it was the right decision for her to try the medicine again.  Also keeping track of side effects and other medical history is important.  Even events such as seizures or mood swings.  Having this information stored on my iPhone app as well as my online organizer will make it easy for me to have the information at my finger tips to share with a doctor, family member or caregiver.

AboutOne 2.0 has a nice calendar system you can share with other family members.  T and I will be able to see the schedules planned for the week or month and even keep track of special occasions such as birthdays.  Contact information is another great perk with the ability to include photos in your address book.  AboutOne 2.0 works with your existing calendar and database.  Do you use Google Calendar?  No problem and no need to change, just sync up.  You can also organize and store your photos, videos and even the kids’ artwork from school.  No need to carry around old receipts and important documents, store them right on your phone using the new app.

I’m excited to see AboutOne 2.0 launch next month.  I hope you are too.  You can signup today to be notified when the launch is complete.  Super easy to signup, just include your email address.  It’s free.

Full Disclosure: I was compensated for my time sharing this information with you.  All opinions are 100% mine just like the words of this post.

Last Fall I discovered my love of baking cakepops. For Halloween the kids helped me with the sprinkles and decorating.  Then for T’s Breaking Dawn party I baked red velvet with cream cheese icing cakepops for our candy bar, which turned out delicious.  The kids enjoy helping me with the baking, although I know they are just in the kitchen waiting for their favorite part, to eat them…

For my niece’s Sweet 16 she asked me to bake her cakepops.  The only thing she told me was that her favorite colors were metallic blue and black.  In the past I wrapped each cakepop individually when handing them out but this time I wanted to display them on a stand in resemblance of a cake.  All the cakepop stands I found at stores only held a few or weren’t very fancy.  My good friend found an idea on Pinterest of using Styrofoam as a base and building your own.  So, that’s what I did…

How to Make a Cakepop Stand:

1. Gather supplies.  I decided to go with a four tier stand for my cakepops therefore I had to purchase four slightly different sizes of Styrofoam.  You’ll also need a hot glue gun and glue sticks, spray paint of your choice and trim for around the Styrofoam to make it decorative.

   

2. You’ll want to spray paint your Styrofoam outside so you don’t get paint on everything.  Make sure you hold the paint can away from the Styrofoam when spraying the paint because it doesn’t take too much and it’ll be extremely wet.  Spraying in small bursts works best.  I added a light finishing coat of glitter to add some sparkle to the blue paint.  That gave it the metallic look.  I went with Diamond Dust color.
3. After you have the Styrofoam painted and it dries, you’ll want to add the trim.  I suggest adding trim to each layer before hot gluing the tiers together.  This way it’s easier to maneuver in your hand.  Measure your trim or ribbon around each layer and then cut before attempting to hot glue around.  It’s much easier to work with the exact size of trim than trying to glue while it’s still attached to the spool. I used silver ribbon from the fabric section of Hobby Lobby for two layers and black tissue paper for the other layers.  The tissue paper actually worked surprisingly well to offset the sparkle.  I felt four layers of glittery ribbon was too much and gave it a disco look.  The black dull tissue paper helped tone it down.      
4. Once you get all the trim set in place, you can start hot gluing each tier on top.  Once all four tiers are glued together you can add finishing touches.  I went in and added some silver glitter glue on two layers.
5. Now your cakepop stand is ready to be filled.  I suggest counting out how many cakepops you want to fit on the stand before pressing the sticks into the Styrofoam.  Once you make a hole it’s not easy to hide.  Push each cakepop stick down at least an inch and a half into the Styrofoam to make sure they don’t fall over.  I suggest even further down if the tops are heavy.  You can use sticks to pre-press holes before putting your cakepops on the stand.  If you try pushing the actual cakepops into the stand without making holes in the Styrofoam first, you run the chance of knocking the cakepop off the stick.  So be very careful.

Have you seen the new MyEducation.com commercial? It’s perfect for this time of the year, comparing zombies to people who feel like they are stuck in a dead end job.  Pretty creative, actually.  I know there was a point in my life where I felt like I was stuck in a job that wasn’t fulfilling so I can relate.

Furthering your education as an adult is not uncommon.  After working in the same career for so long some reach a point where they want to try something new or learn a new skill.  Funny how when we are in high school and college we can’t wait to get out of school yet after being adults for many years we look back and wish we could do it all over again.  MyEducation.com helps you figure out how.  They match you with the perfect school that offers exactly what you need and determines if you qualify for grants to assist with the cost.

Right now MyEducation.com has a #ComeAlive contest going on where you can create your own short video for a chance to win $2,500.  That’s a nice chunk of change to assist you with your future!  What would help make you feel like you are ‘coming alive‘?

Do you feel like a zombie?

This woman reminds me of many moms I know that make sure the house is clean, the kids are taken care of, the dog even looks cute yet she never takes time for herself.  Taking the time to get back into college even part time or to take just one class can help you come alive with education!

Full Disclosure: This post is sponsored by MyEducation.com. All opinions are my own. Find out more information about the ComeAlive with MyEducation.com.

Last week The Motherhood hosted a class on Tweens and Communication thanks to Unilever and it turned out amazing.  If you missed the live online class you can read everything you missed on The Motherhood or just the summary of Tweens and Communication.  Several amazing women joined us to chit chat about raising tweens/teens, how to get them to open up about life and school without prying and how to comfort them as a mother without crossing the boundaries of being too much of a friend and not a parental.  Everyone shared advice and experiences while best-selling author and parenting expert, Rosalind Wiseman lead us in the right direction.

During the live chat they gave away a nice gift bag filled with goodies.  Two of Rosalind Wiseman’s books and some Unilever products that are perfect for building self confidence in teens by helping stay dry and fresh.

Unilever has also provided me with the opportunity to give one Vera Bradley filled tote bag away to a lucky reader.

How to Enter:

Leave a comment sharing one tip on how you encourage positive communication with your tween/teen. {ex: during dinner time have everyone share favorite part of the day at the dinner table}

Additional Entries: (one entry per comment)

• Tweet the below tweet and leave permalink in the comments

Enter the #giveaway hosted by @MommaDJane to #win a Vera Bradley tote bag filled with goodies http://ow.ly/6U2VU #DontFretTheSweat

• Follow @MommaDJane on Twitter
• Subscribe to MommaDJane RSS Feed

*Giveaway is open to all US Residents 18+ Entries will be accepted until Tuesday, October 18th at midnight CST. Any and all comments after that time will not be counted towards giveaway entries. Reader must leave a method of contact within comment and must respond within 48 hours of contact, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. Random.org will be used to select a random winner from comments on this post.

Full Disclosure: I did receive a complimentary Vera Bradley tote bag filled with the same goodies I’m offering as a giveaway.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Positive communication with your tween/teen is extremely important.  I’d love for you to share this post with others that you feel the live talk may benefit. Just a simple click of like or share on Facebook would be awesome!  You can also follow the initiative by Unilever on Facebook for their Don’t Fret The Sweat campaign.

Congrats, Tshanina

Tuesday, October 4th I’ll be co-hosting a live chat on The Motherhood around the topic of Tweens and Communication with best-selling author, Rosalind Wiseman at 11:00 PM CST.  The live chat is open to the public for you to join free.  You can come chat with us or submit questions beforehand.

It’s very simple to register at The Motherhood and join the Tweens and Communication chat.  Simply visit TheMotherhood.com and click to register if you aren’t already a member of the network.  Then visit the class page, Tweens and Communication and click register and join live on Tuesday.  Remember, if you can’t make it you can submit a question today that will be answered by Rosalind Wiseman during the class.

As a mother of a teenager and currently one tween I know communication isn’t always easy.  During the text-based chat we’ll discuss ways to open up communication with your children and help make it a two-way talk.  As a teen mom I know how important communication with your children is and being able to learn how to listen and respond in a way they will feel comfortable opening up to you again.  By joining the live chat you can ask questions and even share your own experience and advice.

There are 5 other blogger co-hosts joining me.

• Carmen, Mom to the Screaming Masses
• Jen, Jael Custom Designs
• Michele, Scraps of My Geek Life
• Kailani, An Island Life
• Kristin, Only Parent Chronicles

Thanks to Unilever sponsoring this series on The Motherhood they are giving away one tote bag filled with goodies to one lucky participant during the live chat on Tuesday.  It’s part of the Don’t Fret The Sweat campaign and initiative that you can learn more about on their Facebook page.

The Vera Bradley tote bag will be filled with these items: momAgenda Desktop Planner, momAgenda Chores Pad, momAgenda Love Post-It Notes, one sample each of Dove, Degree Girl, and Degree Men deodorant, Rosalind Wiseman’s Queen Bees and Wannabes and Rosalind Wiseman’s Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials.

Full Disclosure: I was compensated for sharing this information with you.  All opinions are 100% mine and I decided to accepted the invitation to be a co-host of this live chat because I strongly believe in the message.

By now schools all over America have started back in session for a new year. My kids brought home their three week progress reports this week to mark the half way point for the first grading period. T has settled into her new classes nicely and Noah has become comfortable with kindergarten. I still walk him into his class each day, he hasn’t reached that comfort level yet. Thankfully I work from a home office and have the flexibility to take him each day.

This year we live close enough to T’s school that she can walk. It’s the first year she hasn’t rode a bus. I was taking her daily and now that the weather has been nicer she is actually enjoying the walk. I’m sure it’s because those are the few minutes each day she gets quiet time alone without her siblings and outside a busy and somewhat chaotic middle school. I bet it’s peaceful.

Gabby hasn’t started back in school yet. She has still been recovering from her surgery. We are keeping our fingers crossed the doctor releases her to return next week. She sure is missing school, her friends and her teachers. Gabby is the only one this year that will still ride a bus. All three kids will be in three different schools, should be fun to keep track of.

Some bus systems are now offering a ZPass tracking method. It’s pretty cool, honestly. The student tracking software allows the students to carry a card that is scanned each time they get on and off a bus. This is the perfect way to make sure your child gets on when they should and off at the correct stop. This would be great for parents that work outside of the home and worry about their child making it to school okay.

The school bus GPS tracking lets you check in where the bus is during their route. This is a great safety feature for unexpected vehicle maintenance needs, I’ve known plenty of buses that have broken down with people on them. Last year T was on a bus that had to pull over and switch the students onto another bus to finish the route home. It’s would also be nice to find out if your child is running late getting off the bus if you have a busy evening scheduled.

I hope one day they offer this in all school buses for all public schools. Nowadays we can never be too safe with our children. Right now I believe it’s only offered for public buses taking college age students back and forth.

Macy’s is hosting a sweepstakes where one lucky classroom will receive a makeover worth $25,000!  Want to share your school spirit?  I’m sure everyone knows a great homeroom that could use some financial help.  Entry is super easy.  Just visit Macy’s Facebook page, click the Classroom Makeover tab and fill out the simple form.  You can then share the sweepstakes on Facebook and/or Twitter.

The Macy’s Classroom Makeover Sweepstakes ends September 15th so hurry and enter right away.  Your child’s school could benefit from $25,000!

Full Disclosure: I was compensated by SheSpeaks for my time sharing this sweepstakes.