Piece of Cake

May 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Private Selection for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love to bake.  Cookies, cakes, puddings, whatever your pleasure I enjoy making it.  Thankfully, I rarely eat what I bake.

But sometimes there isn’t enough time to bake something from scratch.  Sometimes you want instant gratification.  That’s where the sponsor of this post comes in.

Private Selection is a premium private label brand carried exclusively at the Kroger stores (Ralphs out here on the west coast, Smith’s Fred Meyer elsewhere).  I’ve told you about their products before, chips, meats, snacks and now we are going to talk about cake!

Private Selection™ Upside Down Cakes make it as easy as1-2-3 to bring a gourmet experience to any meal or occasion.  Made with only the finest ingredients, they elevate dessert to the next level with rich flavors, indulgent aromas and a beautiful presentation.

Private Selection Their cakes are a premium quality without the premium price, they come in 3 flavors – Amber Honey Apple slice, Double Chocolate Molten and German Chocolate Fudge.  These aren’t your grandmother’s upside down cakes.

To help you try them you can get a Private Selection Upside Down Cakes coupon just for spreading the love.

*The coupon ends June 2, 2013.  Official Rules. In order to load these coupons to your card, you will need to log in to your Kroger (or local affiliate store) account or set up an account and enter your card number.  Limit one use per digital coupon.  Digital offers are not eligible on Manager’s Specials, cannot be combined with manufacturer paper coupons on the purchase of a single item and do not double.  Not all items are available in all stores.  A limit of 150 coupons can be loaded per household at one time.

Once you have your llimit of coupons go to http://www.privateselection.com/store-locator/ to find the store closest to you.

And one last thing……take a bite for me.

Check out Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Facebook and Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Pinterest.

Visit Sponsor's Site

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Treasure Trove Indeed

May 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

IMG_0383Caitlyn and I attended the DIsney on Ice Treasure Trove performance last week and I can’t begin to explain how much she loved it.  All of her favorite characters, especially the “handsome princes” were in attendance and at one point Prince Charming pointed and waved to her.  Swoon!

We sang along, we danced in the aisle and we had an amazing time.

Thank you Feld Entertainment for the complimentary tickets.

Caity looks just a teensy bit happy.

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See Dad Run

April 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

SEE_DAD_RUN_SEASON_1_GALLERY

Scott Baio, Chachi, my first “real” boyfriend was a dead ringer for him.  I should look Bryan up on face book.

This is a fairly new show where Scott plays a former television star, his role was america’s favorite dad, and now he is a stay at home dad to his three kids.

The usual hijinks occur each week with the normal kid problems, but I don’t find it “redone’.  I enjoy both Scott and Mark Curry, and all of the kids are cute and can even act (what a concept).

I just got a press release about the next episode and thought I would share with you.  If you watch let me know what you think.

 

“See Dad Get Janie Into Kindergarten” -

The Hobbs youngest child Janie (Bailey Michelle Brown) wants to start kindergarten. David (Scott Baio) submits an application and gets an unexpected visit at home from the school’s principal. Is he really ready to see his baby go off to school? Meanwhile Marcus (Mark Curry) wants to apply to be on a reality race around the world show and goes all in for the casting process.

 

Don’t miss this all-new episode of “See Dad Run” this Sunday April 14, at 8pm ET/PT on Nick at Nite.

 

“See Dad Run”  stars Scott Baio, Alanna Ubach (“Legally Blonde”), Mark Curry (“Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper”), Ryan Newman (“Zeke and Luther”),Jackson Brundage (“One Tree Hill”) and Bailey Michelle Brown.

 

The series is executive produced by Baio and comes from creators/executive producers Tina Albanese and Patrick Labyorteaux with executive producers Nat Bernstein and Mitchel Katlin serving as showrunners.  Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey also serve as executive producers through their production company Bischoff Hervey Entertainment (BHE).

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Happy Birthday to ME!

February 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Adrienne Birthday redeux

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Scraps

December 20, 2012 By 2 Comments

Scraps is a new toy.  It kinda wants to be a Mr. Potato Head, but it also thinks it is an 80′s throwback.

The idea is that you can attach different body parts (eyes, limbs etc.) via buttons and if you buy more than one the parts are interchangeable and different to each toy.

That’s the catch.  The PR company was nice enough to send me one to have the grands try.  They tried it.  Caitlyn was bored within 5 minutes, she connected the body parts and walked away.  Madilyn picked it up and cradled it a bit (she loves “babies”) but it didn’t hold her attention for long.  My ever technical and analytical Matthew turned it over a few times and asked what to do with it.  I showed him that he could take off the pieces and put them back on and he looked at me like “AND?!”.  So I handed him my iTouch and he walked away.

I think if they had more than one (there are 12 available), I think they would have enjoyed it more.  But if you are only going to buy one?  Don’t bother.

 

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Epic Mickey Infographic

December 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This graphic first appeared on the Disney Interactive Blog

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Epic Mickey 2 The Power of 2

December 3, 2012 By 5 Comments

I told you all about my Epic trip to Disneyland, but I have expounded on the reason for that trip.  Epic Mickey 2 The Power of Two is one of the latest (and most anticipated) video games by Disney Interactive.  Ever since the F**ckers broke in my house last year, I no longer have a game system, but the wonderful people over at Disney Interactive sent me a copy of the new game to play and review.  I asked my friend Alan to check it out for us and this is what he had to say.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of 2

 

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of 2 is the sequel to the successful Epic Mickey released in 2010.  After saving the world of forgotten characters, lead by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and discarded theme park attractions known as Wasteland, Mickey has returned to confront a new danger to the realm.  Oswald, Walt Disney’s cartoon creation before Mickey Mouse, returns as a fully fledged hero and playable character.  Together, Mickey and Oswald team up to confront the mysterious new forces threatening to destroy Wasteland.

Epic Mickey 2 has a lot going for it in terms theme, style, and fun.  The game can be played solo, or a second player can drop in or out at any time, making the transition from solo to co-op play seamless.  The art direction of the locations and characters is also strong.  The game shows a distinct Disney sensibility and inspiration from known properties with just a sense of something being a little “off,” as though created from description rather than personal knowledge.  For Disney-fan parents watching or joining in, there are many older characters and scenarios that reflect the old fashioned cartoons seen as children. Introducing some of these lost images to a new generation is a bonus.  The game play itself is solid, with the ability to use paint to create or thinner to destroy in order to solve the player’s problem creating interesting play style choices.

All is not well with Epic Mickey 2, however.  While the art of the game is great, the technical execution is not.  I played the Wii version, and there is no way around the fact that at times this game is ugly.  The hand drawn-esque cut scenes are much more interesting looking.  Controls are also frustrating at times, as it often feels that the characters are just slipping around.  The camera can has issues, but the ability to center it behind your character at any time helps.  Further, at least once I encountered a complete game breaking bug.  A quest item needed to progress fell through the game world and was unreachable.  Because the checkpoint system works so quickly (generally a good thing), there was no way to back track to a prior save point or reset the items.  I had to start from the very beginning.  Thankfully I was not too far in, but the chance of something similar happing later is a bit disconcerting.

As a final note, the game’s style is a double edged sword.  Adults and more mature children might find it to be unique and interesting, as I did.  Very young children might not be so enthralled.  The half broken, mechanical versions of known characters, turning characters into puddles with paint thinner, and the look of the ravaged, “almost” Disneyland might be slightly disturbing to particularly sensitive children.  It isn’t outright scary, but it’s enough to consider how sensitive a young child might be.  As a whole, the game is fun to play, funny, and has enough visual interest to entertain both a player and an observer.  However, the technical side of things, from controls to camera to game breaking bugs, could have used some work.  Epic Mickey 2 wouldn’t be the first game on my wishlist, but if you have a Disney nut in the house it’s definitely worth a look.  Epic Mickey 2: The Power of 2 is available on Wii, Wii U, XBOX 360, Playstation 3, and PC.

 

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Dancing With the Stars All Stars – Episode 1

September 25, 2012 By 3 Comments

Here we go!  Are you ready?  Obviously I wasn’t because it is now (as I type) 9:45 Tuesday evening and I am just now pushing play on the DVR for Monday’s Premiere Episode.  The judges promise to be tougher this season, since every one has been there done that.  They have also changed up the scoring system a bit, adding in half points.  I don’t understand why, really, on something as silly and trivial as a Reality Competition show if something is better than a 7 but not quite an 8 can’t you just give the “contestant” the benefit of the doubt and round up?

 

Joey Fatone and Kym Johnson – Cha Cha Cha – (PYT): Beaten by one of his All Star competitors (Apolo Anton Ono) he is out for redemption.  The dance was good, not great, but good.  I adored him during his season and was rooting for him to win, I don’t think this season will be any different.  Unrelated and catty, I HATED Kym’s outfit. Score: 20.5

Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough – Fox Trot – (We Don’t Even Have to Try it’s Always a Good Time): Winner of Season 8, for the record I don’t think winners should be competing so it kills me not to root for her because I adore Derek.  It makes it even harder when she dances like this.  Awesome.  I didn’t notice much actual Fox Trot, but I loved what I saw.  Score: 22

Sabrina Bryant and Louis Van Amstel – Cha Cha Cha (What Makes You Beautiful): The surprise elimination heard round the world!  It’s no secret everyone was astonished when Sabrina was voted off, but her fan base was not old enough to stay up for the show.  Now maybe a few years later, considering she won the competition of the last dancer voted in by the public, that may work to her advantage.  As for her dancing tonight, the way the judges spoke to her you would think it was terrible and yet Len finalized by saying it was his favorite so far.  wtf?  Score: 22.5

Helio Castroneves and Chelsie Hightower – Fox Trot (Pride and Joy ): Another winner.  But I feel differently about Helio (I still don’t think he should be here or should win), I think he is here trying to unsully his reputation.  A bit of gossip if you will, he cheated on and left his wife just after he won DWTS Season 5 and lost a bunch of his new found “fame”.  I think he is here to try and win it back.  We’ll see.  A little more Fox Trot than Derek choreographed so that plays well with the judges, shame he had some technique problems.  Score: 21.5

Pamela Anderson and Tristan MacManus – Cha Cha Cha (You Know I’m No Good): I enjoyed Pam on her season, I think some didn’t like her because of her clothing choices but her dancing is nothing to sneeze at.  Leave your church morals at the door and just relax and enjoy the show.  I think she needs to sharpen her moves and stop trying to “act” out the song, maybe she could go pretty far.  Score: 17

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani – Fox Trot (Big Spender): They came very close to the Mirror Ball last time, I think they may go all the way this time as well.  They have great chemistry together and she can dance.  That’s a winning combination.  Score: 21

Apolo Anton Ono and Karina Smirnoff – Cha Cha Cha (Party Rock): I wonder if their song of choice was intentional this week?  Since he is another winner he is at the top of my list to go home.  Personally I think the costumes were more entertaining than the actual dance.  Len disliked it and Bruno loved it, same thing different season.  Score: 22

Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd – Fox Trot (Call Me Irresponsible): I love him.  I find it ironic that the show he is on (Switched at Birth) is on opposite DWTS, thankfully I DVR both and can watch.  There is a reason he made it to the finals, and I believe he will be making it there again this season.  Bruno asked for an encore, Carrie Ann dubbed him the winner already and Len said it was sophisticated.  Score: 24

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas – Cha Cha Cha (Blow Me): Not gonna lie, I don’t think she deserves to be here as an “All Star” but she is here nonetheless.  She has certainly “loosened up” since her last turn on the show, and I think improved greatly.  It will be interesting to see what Mark does with her.  Score: 19.5

Drew Lachey and Anna Trebunskaya – Fox Trot (Love Song): Interesting partnership, Drew won Season 2 and Anna was partnered with the runner up.  Anna is a tough cookie, as a winner I don’t want Drew to go far, but I think I may be SOL on that.  As a fill in host for one season he definitely has the fan base, let’s hope he doesn’t have the judges.  Score: 21.5

Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerskovskiy – Cha Cha Cha (Bang Bang): Season 1 winner, she started all of this.  She is at a disadvantage in that her season was half as long as all the others and she doesn’t know all of the dances.  But she is still a winner.  The judges loved her, but thankfully not as much as Gilles.  Score:  21.5

Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerskovskiy – Fox Trot (Set Fire to the Rain): I love these two as a couple.  They are comfortable with each other and have more fun than any couple I have seen on this show.  her dress tonight was gorgeous (not just because it was purple either!) and her dancing was pretty good as well.  Score: 19

Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke – Cha Cha Cha (Chain of Fools): The last of our winners.  Cheryl hasn’t won since she was partnered with Emmitt the first time, maybe he jinxed her.  let’s hope the jinx remains.  The dancing was good as you would expect it to be and the judges were all smiles and butterflies.  Len even proclaimed it the “best” dance of the evening. Score: 24.5

 

Do I sound to harsh on the winners?  Yeah, too bad.  There is a reason they won, they’re really good.  Bring back an entire season of winners to make it more fair.

Highest score of the night – Emmit Smith – 24.5

Lowest score of the night – Pamela Anderson – 17

Since I am watching this a day late, I will forgo the “update” and just let you know the results now.

Bottom 3 couples:

Pamela and Tristan

Bristol and Mark

Drew and Anna

Voted Off:

Pamela and Tristan – Sorry to see her go.  Not a huge surprise.

Give me your thoughts, do you agree with the results?  Who was your favorite?

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Mabel’s Label’s

September 19, 2012 By 2 Comments

Recently I was given the opportunity to receive and review a selection of Mabel’s Labels for the grand kids.

For Caitlyn we received the Ultimate Back to School Combo which includes

  • 40 Skinny-Minis™
  • 50 Tag Mates™
  • 16 Shoe Labels
  • 2 Teeny Tags™

We put the Teeny Tags on her backpack and her lunch box.  The Skinny Minis on her flashcard sets and the Tag Mates on her pencil box contents.  We went a bit rogue and used the show labels on her pencil case and homework folder.  her shoes never come off her feet at school so it isn’t like they will be lost.  Everything else tho?  Each of those pieces have been lost at least once in the past 2 years.  Now we are covered!

For the Twins we received the Preschool Shoe Labels.  They are really cool, each “label” is half of a whole, a left half and a right half, so when you put the shoes together you can tell which goes on which foot.  They were being obstinate the other day and wouldn’t let me put them on their shoes, so we put them on their lunchboxes instead.

All of Mabels are laundry and dishwasher safe.  You can put them on and through anything!

I don’t want to say “I can’t wait for Caity to lose something”, just so we can have it returned because someone saw the label.  But I kinda like the feeling that if she does, it has a better chance of getting returned.

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Flappers 2 Milk Minimum

September 3, 2012 By 4 Comments

First off, any comedy club that will serve me milk is tops on my list for sure!

Recently, my friend Amy Anderson was performing at Flappers, a local comedy club here in Burbank.  A few of our colleagues from MomsLA got together and went to watch her perform.  never disappointed with Amy’s performance I was also impressed with the comedy club itself.

I noticed one of their flyers talked about a kids show called “2 Milk Minimum” (a play on the two item minimum at most clubs) and took the initiative to ask the manager if we could host some mommy bloggers for a show (shocker I know!).

I was so glad when Desiree Eaglin and Jeanne Fratello showed up with their families.  I met my new best friend  and Jeanne’s son laughed so hard he fell off his seat and almost knocked over my table!

The amazing Michael Rayner balancing a wheel barrow on his chin!

Michael Rayner hosted the afternoon and Joseph Tran was the “headliner”.  While some of his material was over the kids heads it was nice for the adults to have something to laugh at other than the kids.

Each week there’s something new and playful to see.  The performers have been featured on networks such as Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network, and have included, Corey Edwards (Hoodwinked!), and Dee Bradley Baker (SpongeBob Squarepants).  Resident host Michael Rayner has performed his juggling show all over the world, at every public library in the county of Los Angeles, and on television including The Late Show with David Letterman, Attack of the Show, and Sesame Street.

Flappers Comedy Club is celebrating its 2nd annual Birthday on September 7th, 8th and 9th  2012 and they want to invite the general public to their birthday party.    To celebrate they  are offering Free Admission to all their Friday , Saturday and Sunday shows in  Burbank to all local residents and the surrounding communities.   There will be shows on Friday and Saturday at 7:30, 8:00pm, 9:30, 10pm, and 11:30pm, and Sunday at 7pm and 9pm in both the Main room and in the Yoo Hoo room.  They do ask in that all our guests respect the two item minimum in the showroom.  Which honestly is easy to do, they have a full kitchen with really great food (I recommend the french dip).

This offer is also extended to the aforementioned show TWO MILK MINIMUM which is held on Saturdays at 4:30pm.  Doors open at 4:00pm.

The all star Headliner Lineup that weekend will include Darren Carter the Party Starter, James P. Connolly, Throwing Toasters, Michael Rayner as well as Several Celebrity Drop ins. There will also be live music on the patio to kick off each night. Guests will be invited to  enjoy celebratory champagne toasts, birthday cake, and lots of laughs.

Flappers Burbank is located at 102 East Magnolia.  Doors open at 4:00pm to offer our full menu for grown-ups and a Super Cool Kids Menu which includes chicken nuggets or mini burgers and fries, and mac & cheese, and much more for only $5. The show is the perfect place to celebrate your kids birthday party, you can even bring your own cake and there’s no cake corkage.  Show tickets are only $10, and kids under two get in free.  The location has free parking at Sears or Ashley Furniture across the street. Tickets, reservations, and more information can be secured online at www.FlappersComedy.com or on 818.845.9721

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