On The Road (Sky) Again
January 18, 2010 by CraftyMama
Filed under Conferences
I have always enjoyed traveling but never really got to do much of it. We would goto the beach each summer and that was about as far as I would get. I have always wanted to travel more and since I have started blogging my wish has come true. Over the last year I have been fortunate enough to visit the following places
Nashville, TN ~ my first blogging conference Blissdom! It was so exciting to meet all of my Twitter friends and form new friendships that have continued to blossom. The wealth of information was so overwhelming for a newbie, but without it I don’t know where I would be today.
Austin, TX ~ SXSW Interactive, what an experience this was! Felt like a lost fish in the sea but made some FANTASTIC friends and connections.
Chicago, IL ~ Blogher! What a great time, so many faces, so little time. And who could forget BowlHer! BEST party EVER!
Click here to see where I have been and where I am going!
Live.Create.Contribute With Zone Perfect and VH1
October 29, 2009 by CraftyMama
Filed under Where The Fun's At
Abbott Nutrition has partnered with the VH1 Save the Music Foundation to help raise funds and awareness for musical education in our schools.
The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in American public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child’s complete education. Since 1997, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation has provided $45 million worth of new musical instruments to more than 1,700 public schools in more than 100 cities around the country, impacting the lives of more than 1.4 million public school students.
From now until 12/31/09 you can go to Zoneperfect.com and key in the upc’s from your Zone Perfect bars to help raise funds. For every wrapper .05 will be donated and for every box .50 will be donated. For every upc you redeem you are helping to save the music and you are entered to win some great prizes as well. The Grand Prize~ a trip for 2 to SXSW 2010! Don’t let this great opportunity to Live.Create.Contribute pass you by go now, get some Zone Perfect bars and start making a difference in the lives of children across the country because “music education=brainpower.”
~Kim
SXSW ~ Part 1
April 29, 2009 by CraftyMama
Filed under Where The Fun's At
I have so much I want to share with you I have decided to break it down into a few separate posts.
Today’s post is about how I got to SXSW.
I want to start by thanking Walmart and Pledge to End Hunger for sponsoring my trip. It was an amazing trip that I could not have made without their help!
If you haven’t heard about Pledge to End Hunger please go here and see what you can do to help fight childhood hunger in the United States. So far thanks to everyone who has signed the pledge, Tyson foods has donated 3 semi trucks full of food to food banks in Austin, TX, St Louis, MO and Indianapolis, IN. Each truck contained 35,000 pounds of food! Pledge to End Hunger is still working toward a goal of 5,000 signatures on the pledge. If you have not pledged yet please go to Pledge to End Hunger now and sign!
I attended the conference as a representative of the new Walmart program called More than Elevenmoms. This program is an extension of the 11 Moms program John Andrews and Rockfish Interactive created for Walmart. Our community is a group of parents and bloggers who help support the Walmart and 11 Moms brands. John Andrews held a contest for the members of the community and the prize was a trip to SXSW for one lucky member, ME! Thank you John, I owe ya!
So off to Austin for me! I found out I would be sharing a room with Michelle from Sparks and Butterflies, (she won the trip from a contest that was held at Blissdom) and I would be flying part of the way with Robin from Pensieve (she also won the trip at Blissdom). Prior to leaving we all shared our interests, packing lists and apprehensions with each other and found out we had a lot in common! I also found out I would be meeting all but I believe 3 of the 11 moms. I was so excited to have the chance to meet all of the fantastic women I talk to online on a regular basis and to make new friends with bloggers I did not know much about.
I met up with Robin in Dallas and we flew to Austin and her friend Lisa picked us up at the airport and took us to a fabulous local Tex-Mex restaurant for dinner. Can I just say, I could eat Tex-Mex for the rest of my life. By the end of the trip, lots of people were sick of it but I could still be eating it! Thanks Lisa and Robert for the fantastic taste of local cuisine.
Once we got to the hotel it was off to get our conference badges and meet our roomies. The hotel was great check out this view! Coming from Pittsburgh, I cannot believe how flat Texas is! I could see forever, it was like looking out at the ocean.
Walmart and Rockfish left a little something to welcome us to Austin.
I ended my long travel day with a fantastic night sleep in a comfy bed ALONE! no kids, no dogs, no snoring hubby. It was pure heaven!
Wordless Wednesday ~ SXSW
March 26, 2009 by CraftyMama
Filed under Where The Fun's At
You can goto 5 Minutes For Mom to see this weeks other Wordless Wednesday Posts 
Enjoy
Pledge to End Hunger
March 6, 2009 by CraftyMama
Filed under Where The Fun's At
I have signed the Pledge to End Hunger will you?
The following is taken directly from Tyson Foods website:
“For the next couple of weeks, we’ll be involved in a collaboration with a number of great partners, including our longtime friends Share Our Strength. Designed to increase engagement in hunger relief, the Pledge to End Hunger will be highlighted in an online effort peaking at Austin’s South by Soutwest festival, by social media superstars Beth Kanter and Chris Brogan.
You can find out more about the Pledge to End Hunger here. For every person who signs the pledge, Tyson will donate 35 pounds of food to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. If we get 1000, signatures (a truckload of food), we’ll continue donating, up to two truckloads of food to the states with the most signatures.
At Tyson Foods, we’ve always donated food to hunger relief. But only in the past nine years, have we taken a strategic approach to doing it.
Some critical things we have learned: We can leverage what we’re doing in making donations beyond the value of the food delivered. We can use donation events to shine a spotlight on the need in our country. We can engage new stakeholders. We can create new awareness of the groups and people on the front lines of the fight against hunger. And if by doing so, we bring a return on investment to our shareholders, we can keep the efforts sustainable, even when our company is not making a profit.
Social media have already proven to be natural and effective tools in expanding a critically-needed conversation in our country about hunger.
We’re excited about the Pledge to End Hunger. It brings new partners into the issue of hunger, and allows us to support Share Our Strength, who came alongside Tyson as a phenomenal partner when we made a formal commitment to hunger relief in 2000. It’s built around the energy and enthusiasm of South by Southwest and offers the prospect of bringing thousands of new minds and fresh ideas to bear around a social problem that’s inexcusable in a country with the finest food production system in the world.
We can’t wait to see what happens. Please join us.”
Please take a minute, visit the site and make your pledge today
Thank you!
