Queen Mother Blog

Friday, January 22 I had the privilege of attending a press event at The Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.   The Please Touch Museum was unveiling the new traveling exhibit "Exploring Trees Inside and Out".  This interactive exhibit, sponsored by Doubletree Hotels & the Arbor Day Foundation, encourages visitors to explore trees, well, from the inside and out!


There were various activity stations which appeal to a variety of ages and learning styles:

• The "become a forest creature" area lets kids don costumes of birds, squirrels, butterflies, etc. in front of a green screen which projects them onto different backgrounds.  This was a big hit with the kiddos because who doesn't want to see themselves on tv?
• A giant acorn where you can help a seed grow (Rayna loved hiding in the acorn, it was like a private little house for someone her size)
• A station for smelling & guessing various tree-related scents and another for hearing & guessing tree-related sounds
• The coloring station--sit on mini acorn-shaped chairs and draw a picture of a tree (of course the simplest thing would be Rayna's favorite, right?)
• A little spot perfect for toddlers to make a "nest" out of soft twigs
• And of course a tunnel and slide area to let out some steam

This exhibit was designed for ages 2-10 & gives kids a multi-sensory way to learn more about the great outdoors.  It gave us a little taste of both spring and fall smack in the dead of winter.  Exploring Trees Inside and Out will be at the Please Touch Museum until May 2, 2010 & is included in the price of regular admission.


On an extra note, this was our first trip to the Please Touch Museum. I have always wanted to go, but I'm not a fan of driving into the city in general, especially with Rayna in tow. Sarah from Chester County Moms had mentioned this event & nothing motivates me like trying something for free. :)

We were able to check out the whole museum while we were there and Rayna had a blast. She is just about two years old, so she was thrilled with every little thing at Please Touch. It was larger than I imagined, with lots of areas to explore, such as a train station, an Alice in Wonderland area and the big hit, the ShopRite Supermarket.  It didn't take long for Rayna to "lose it" however, and we had to leave sooner than I would have liked, so I definitely want to go back soon.  In addition to all the different areas, there is also a carousel (which is not included in admission) & I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Please Taste cafe, which had reasonably priced lunch items & lots of healthy options.

To learn more about the Please Touch Musuem, click here to visit their website. For more information about Exploring Trees Inside and Out, click here.

Disclosure:  I was granted free admission to the museum as part of the preview for this exhibit.  I was also given free parking and carousel tickets while I was there.  I was not under any obligation to write this post.  All opinions are mine. 

I mentioned in an earlier post some of the cool blogging-related events that I'm going to in the near future.  One has already passed (The Martha Stewart Show trip), I had another one pop-up that I went to on Friday (a trip to the Please Touch Museum--review coming soon!) and my Mrs. G's event is this week.

And then I also glossed over a couple biggies.  Blissdom & The Disney Social Media Moms Conference.  I am insanely excited about both of these.  And I mean insanely.  Is it terrible to admit that I find myself completely preoccupied with them lately?  Well here's the scoop on them, in case you don't already know.

According to their website, Blissdom is "the premiere conference for women who find and express their bliss by publishing online."  This conference is a fun way to finally meet a bunch of online friends whose blogs I currently love & to also make new connections.  Then there's the actual conference sessions.  I'm so excited to learn more about how to grow this little blog into something that will be more fulfilling & rewarding for both me and you, my darling reader.  Right now I have a bunch of blog-related thoughts and questions swirling through my head that I can focus on during the conference & absorb all the information I can in the presence of others who have done the same.  Last night Marc & I actually used a babysitter and got out of the house together (a small miracle) and I feel like I bored the man to death with blog & twitter talk.  I am also pretty sure I'm boring the heck out of my friends and family on a daily basis, and I'm looking forward to chatting with others who know that there's a difference between Blogger & Wordpress.

Ok, so those are serious-sounding reasons to want to go to Blissdom, but it's going to be just plain fun, too.  The conference is being held this year at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN & thanks to my friend Yukline (who has regaled me with tales of how much she loves it there) I have been wanting to experience that hotel for a while.  So after we're session-ing it out in the amazing hotel, there's also parties...including a party with Harry Connick Jr.  Wait, what?  Yes. Harry Connick Jr. will be performing for us & I might even be getting a little photo op!  Swoon!  If you want to check out more about the Blissdom Conference, click here.

Before I had decided to bite the bullet and book the Blissdom trip (ok, I just have to acknowledge the alliteration there) we had been thinking about booking a little family trip to Disney World sometime in February.  I absolutely love Disney World and am always trying to scheme a way for me to get back there.  Well, for one reason or another the Disney plans were tabled and I signed up for Blissdom.  We then thought about making a little family trip out of that, but Marc thought being alone with Rayna while I was in the conference sounded like no fun at all & that I would get the most out of the sessions if I didn't feel like I had to rush back to them.  So there went the family trip altogether.


Flash forward a couple of months and I see all this talk swirling around online about a Disney Social Media Moms Conference.  Some other mom-bloggers had gotten invites to the conference & then it suddenly was opened to the rest of us.  I excitedly (or frantically, rather) read Marc the details from this post and we were giddy over the insanely good deal. How could we pass up a Disney trip for only $350?  To make a very long story a tiny bit shorter, after waiting on pins and needles I was confirmed for the trip and we were able to book the airfare exclusively using frequent flier miles!  The airfaire was going to be pretty steep, so to cash in our miles for this was really worth it for us.  If you're interested in reading the itinerary for the Disney conference you can do so here. 


I feel so super blessed to be able to attend both of these amazing conferences.  I am expecting to get so much out of both of them, but of course they cost quite a bit of money.  (Bay, you mean your blog isn't supplying you with a steady stream of income?! hehe)  This is where the term "sponsorships" comes into play.  If you know of any relevant companies who would be interested in sponsoring me to these or future conferences, please let me know.  In exchange for sponsoring any level (travel costs, registration fees, etc.) I could put together a personalized marketing plan that could include sidebar advertising, tweets, blog posts, etc. just drop me a line at queenmotherblog(at)gmail.com.

Of course I can't wait to tell you more when the time comes.  If you are going to be at either of these events, please leave a comment so I can look for you!

I am honored to present my first guest post, written by Debbie Schaeffer of Mrs. G TV & Appliances.  I am a part of the Mrs. G's VIB program and have already learned so much just after attending one event (if you missed my post on the first event be sure to click here and check it out!)  Now I've learned that the government is rolling out a "cash for clunkers" program to help you replace your inefficient home appliances. Here is Debbie to explain it for us:


Many customers ask about “Cash for Clunker Appliances” or “Cash for Appliances” rebates ever since Secretary Chu announced a $300 million rebate program, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created early summer 2009 to encourage purchases of energy efficient appliances. This program is actually called ARRA Energy Efficient Appliance Program. It is easier to say Cash for Appliances – and easier to remember what the program is designed to do!

Most customers are expecting a significant dollar rebate, a la the huge rebates offered during Cash for Clunker Cars. Because Mrs. G TV & Appliances is committed to helping our customers, we wanted to help explain the program and get everyone up to speed.

First, a little background on the program: Nearly $300 million of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has been set aside for state run rebate programs for consumer purchases of new innovative ENERGY STAR® qualified home appliances. Each state picks their own time frame and designs their own promotion, within certain DOE guidelines.

First let’s look at New Jersey. If you visit the government’s Energy Savers site, click through to New Jersey and you will see that our state rebates for energy star refrigerators, clothes washers, and dishwashers are anticipated in April 2010 (and are subject to availability). Rebates will end when funds are depleted, so your best bet is to shop early. Right now Pennsylvania is not offering rebates for home appliances (i.e. refrigerators, washers, dishwashers), but if this changes, we will be sure to pass along the information!

Another website full of information for New Jersey energy efficient appliance rebates is New Jersey Clean Energy. If you take a look at rebates and promotions as of December 29, 2009 the ARRA funding of NJ’s $8.33 million for incentives are tentatively scheduled for April 2010. For now, it’s a sure bet these rebates will happen in April.

This plan highlights home appliances rebates as follows: clothes washers will receive a $35.00 rebate, dishwashers will receive $25 to $75 rebates and refrigerators will receive $75 to $100. Do not be discouraged by the low amount. Don’t be surprised to see added incentives from the manufactures and exclusive rebates from Mrs. G’s!

New Jersey currently offering two rebates for home appliances. A $50 rebate to recycle your old energy guzzling refrigerator that is still working. The refrigerator early retirement incentive will dovetail with the ARRA Energy Efficient Appliance Program. New Jersey also continues the $75 rebate on Select Tier 3 Energy Star Qualified Clothes Washers and a $25 rebate on the purchase of dehumidifiers that have earned the Energy Star label. These rebates will continue through December 31, 2010.

So, if you want to wait till April to take advantage of aggressive rebates to stimulate the economy and do your part to make your life more energy efficient, be sure to stop by Mrs. G’s and talk to one of our knowledgeable sales staff and they can help you pick out the best appliance for you.

We understand not everyone can wait until April to purchase new appliances for their home. Until the rebates are finalized, Mrs. G’s will give you the best guaranteed lowest price possible with outstanding customer service. No one can beat that! We have 75 years of experience and very satisfied customers on our side!

In the meantime read up on the rebate programs and stop by our showroom to find a great selection of ENERGY STAR® qualified home appliances!

Thanks Debbie!  Want to know more about Mrs. G TV & Appliances?  Click here to visit the website.  For more information on Debbie click here.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit in the audience of The Martha Stewart Show.  Martha had a special call for the audience to be full of bloggers, who would be live-blogging and tweeting from their seats using netbooks, iPhones & Blackberrys.

If you missed my earlier "live" posts that I wrote while sitting in the audience, you can check them out here and here.  The show was a lot of fun to watch; Martha has a gorgeous set for her show (would you expect anything less?) and I also had a great time in NYC, since I arrived the evening before.

I met up with a group of Philly mom bloggers and we stayed together at the Holiday Inn Express Madison Square Garden, which gave us a great rate.  (Thanks Kelly for arranging the deal for us!)  The location of the hotel was perfect, we were within walking distance of Penn Station (I took the train in from NJ) and Martha's studio in Chelsea.

The night we got in we attended a tweet-up (a Twitter meetup) at the Roger Smith Hotel in midtown.  We had dinner there & then moved over to the bar where the tweet-up was occuring.  It was so great to meet and greet people who I tweet with and whose blogs I read.  One darling friend made my night by recognizing my face as "Queen Mother Blog!"  So that rocked. :)

After gobbling up the hotel's free breakfast (which was actually quite decent, not the usual Continental breakfast of stale bagels) we headed over to Martha, where I met up with my friend Linda from TGFMom.  I told you earlier that she was the one who suggested I attend, thanks Linda! :)  We then were herded into the holding cells where we waited to be placed into the studios.  Here's a pic of me (far right), Linda (middle) and our other 'real-life' friend Heather (who has a great blog called Penny Pinching Mama-thanks to her for the pics) while we wait in the holding area:


I'll spare you another recap of the show, but I will touch briefly on a few random points:
1.  I was struck by how lovely Martha was in person (and I mentioned her killer stilettos) and she seemed very gracious and friendy.  After the taping of the show, she answered some audience questions and she didn't seem like an ice-queen at all, which is actually how I kind of imagined she'd be.
2.  The ice queen was Martha's daughter Alexa.  Phew!  Everyone I've talked to who watched this show was taken aback by how unfriendly and mean-spirited she was.  Apparently Alexa has made a name for herself by making stabs at her mother, so maybe this is a persona?  I don't know, but I have to say I cringed when she said that, as a blogger, she doesn't read anyone else's blogs.  In my world, writing a blog and reading other blogs are inseparable.
3.  A little confession: I was a bit disappointed that the only audience gift we got was a cookbook from one of the guests.  Linda & I were both really hoping for a copy of Martha's "Cooking School" book, which was being featured on the show.  Or I'll admit, I was also holding out hope that the "blog show" guests would get some cool gadgetry or something social media related.  I'm not too bitter about it, because any gift at all is a bonus, but I especially felt bad for the bloggers that made huge efforts to be there for the show that day.  I overheard one girl talking about how she flew in for the show!

Since the smell of the Pad Thai cooking in the studio made us very hungry, we were getting ready to run over to a Thai restaurant (gotta love New York for availability of pretty much whatever you'd want to eat) when we spotted Martha's "crowd pumper-upper guy" Joey Kola outside the studio.  He was such a fun character during the show, getting the crowd clapping and even making a very brief cameo on-camera to deliver a gift basket.  Linda wanted to take a picture with him while we were in the studio so she was stoked to see him outside, ready to have his picture taken with us :)


All in all it was a fun trip, I was able to meet so many online friends & share a really cool experience with them.  Going to NYC is always so much fun, but also wears me out really fast! :)

Well I managed to get a couple of "live" blog posts up while I was in the studio for Martha Stewart, but the show taping really flew by fast.  I was able to be in the audience of Conan once and realized that even though these tapings aren't live, they might as well be.  They don't pre-record multiple takes of things; everything just goes really smoothly the first time.

Immediately after taping, I ran to Spice (an NYC Thai eatery) so I could try some Pad Thai for myself.  And immediately after that? I wanted to get home and see my little one :)

I'll get a full Martha recap post up later with pictures!

The next guest, Jeff Blumenkrantz is wearing an apron with a picture of him and Martha on it (his face is super-imposed over Russell Crowe's lol), and it's so cute...you can tell he really is a super-fan.  He is doing a year of cooking through Martha's Cooking School book, a la Julie & Julia.  He is chronicling it all at his blog called Jeff & Martha: My Year of Cooking Fabulously.

Ok, they just cut a slice from a round cake, and Martha had an awesome tip: When you are cutting wedge slices from a round cake, don't serve the first slice, slice up two and remove the second piece. It will come out neat and perfect. Love it!

Next up was just Andrew Ritchie who is another Martha enthusiast.  They just did a really cute card craft project using yarn, that actually looks like a wannabe-crafter like me could actually do.  I'll try to link up to it later...

:) How's this live-blogging going? I don't have a cool widget for chatting like my friend Heather at Penny Pinching Mama, but I think I'm doing pretty well!

I don't get out to anywhere near as many blogger events as I'd like to & that's something that is on my list of blog-related goals for 2010 (among MANY other things, such as making the switch from Blogger to Wordpress--anyone have recommendations on this? I need someone who can take me there from soup to nuts as I am tech-stupid!)  That aside, I love to meet new people and make friendships and connections along the way.

Well, let me just tell you that the blogger events goal?  It is already in over-drive for me!

Recently, my "real life" friend Linda from TGF Mom passed on information about a special audience casting call for The Martha Stewart Show before I heard about it from anywhere else. The girl is a Martha Stewart show junky! ;o)  Martha is having a show all about blogging and wants real live bloggers in the audience with their iphones and netbooks!  I excitedly applied and was accepted to go.  Then I found out that half of the world (exaggeration) was going to this very same show & it has turned into an *overnight* NYC trip complete with a tweet-up the night before & a blog-buddies lunch the next day. Hooray!  Oh yeah, and seeing Martha Stewart up close and personal! :) I am sure we will be doing some type of live-blogging from the show, so look out for that on Thursday.

Then what's next on my plate?  Another awesome session of Mrs. G's VIB series.  Remember my Mrs. G's blogger event with Electrolux post?  If you don't, just click that link and read all about it (and tell all your friends...the more unique clicks the more entries I get for a new dishwasher! ;)  At the end of the month, the Mrs. G's Very Important Bloggers have the pleasure of meeting Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, author of "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" and a child nutrition expert.  I am slightly obsessed with nutrition these days, so I'm excited for this!

AND THEN (this is where I wonder if I have completely lost my mind, in a good way) I am going to the Blissdom Conference AND the Disney Social Media Moms Conference in February!  These are both amazing trips that I can't wait to tell you more about!  As usual lately, I'm super short on time, so I promise to share more details on these in another post very soon because I am so, so excited about them!

Tomorrow December 3rd from 4-7 PM I will be at Red, White & Brew in Mt. Holly, NJ as a vendor for their Girls' Night Out shopping event.  Since I am a Couponizer Coach, I will be there selling The Couponizer, which makes a great gift--perfect for the eventual $20 white elephant exchange ;o)

Red, White & Brew is a really cool shop in historic downtown Mt. Holly that is a boutique wine, beer & spirits shop.  I just stopped in today and they have a great selection of little-known wines that are very affordable (which would also make great gifts!).

There will be a variety of women/mom-preneurs available to shop from (which I don't even have to say is so much better than shopping at mass retailers).  So if you are in the area, please stop by & check us out!

Well you already know I'm always behind on my blog posts, but I just had to put this up...eventually! Two weeks ago (actually it was the same day as my Mrs. G's blogger event with Electrolux) I went all the way up to NYC for a super-fun event hosted by Aiming Low & Hp.


Since I normally don't travel 10 miles outside of "my zone" I had to drag one of my dear girlfriends to come with me. It was quite an adventure for me and Blaire since this involved actually taking mass transit.  On our train was a costumed (I hope) guy dressed completely as Christian Bale in American Psycho: full business suit, clear poncho *covered* in blood (his face was also covered), and he was carrying a briefcase and some type of weapon (was it a chainsaw or an axe? We couldn't really tell).  Anyway, since Halloween was quite a few days away we were a little extra spooked about the dangers of NYC!

We made it off the train and hopped in a cab to the hotel.  While we were there, we got some free food, free drinks, met some really cool people 'in real life' & ogled products from Hp, in that order.  Here's me and Blaire at our table (You already know I take horrible pictures, but the horrible-ness of these is because they are from my phone)





I had a blast and just wanted to finally share it with you.  Hope you aren't too jealous of my jet-setting lifestyle! ;o)

This past Wednesday I was able to attend a lovely event for local bloggers being held at Mrs. G TV & Appliances in Lawrenceville, NJ. I was invited by my twitter-friend Hilary Morris, the author of Mrs. Mo's New Jersey blog, whom I actually had the pleasure of meeting a little while ago at another NJ-blogger event. Hilary is the "assistant coach" of the Mrs. G "Very Important Blogger" series--a series that Mrs. G CEO Debbie Schaeffer put together to educate us bloggers on a variety of topics and products. The event was eye-opening for me in a bunch of ways, as I was able to confirm that I am completely behind the times in household technology!

Last Saturday, August 29th, I had my Couponizer Brunch Seminar at The Tortilla Press in Collingswood, NJ. Like I mentioned earlier, I knew this brunch would be a great way for me to introduce the Couponizer system and how to get started saving REAL money using coupons in a fun and relaxed way.

So many people tell me that their coupons are a mess, they don't have the time to use coupons, etc. Yes, clipping coupons does take some time, as does learning how to use them effectively, but the savings you can realize *every week* makes that brief investment SO worth it!

At this seminar, first we got settled & ordered our brunch. The brunch specials at The Tortilla Press are awesome and a really great price (click here to visit their website!) Once we were enjoying the fresh squeezed oj and the delicious cinnamon nachos I went through the basics of how to save money with coupons, in general. Hint: Planning is #1!

After we enjoyed our meals, we got into the basics of the Couponizer system. Here I am going over how to use the Couponizer to keep organized while you are in the store: