The Headless Family: Reviews and Giveaways

Giveaway: Win a Soccer Ball Signed by Brandi Chastain!

2011-08-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

This giveaway is now closed. Random.org chose comment #3, Lisa Noel. Congrats, Lisa!

You may remember the great session that I was able to attend at BlogHer by Gatorade? I had a great time and learned a great deal.

One of the guest speakers was Brandi Chastain, of US Women's Soccer fame. Yeah, she's the one that did this:

I remember watching that on tv and thinking "What an awesome sports moment!" I'm kinda hokey like that. Yet: still cool.

It was great to hear Brandi speak to our group: as a sportswoman, a wife, and a mom. She's really just like us... except the perfect legs that go to her armpits. Ahem. No, she really is. One story that I remember her telling is of her son trying out for his college soccer team and getting through to the final cuts.... and getting cut. (Sidenote: I wouldn't want to have been the dude that cut Brandi Chastain's son. Just sayin'.) Her heart was broken for him, just like any mom's would have been. I love that her lesson out of that was that soccer was HER path, not his. A lesson that we should all take to heart! He will soon graduate from law school, so I think he's done pretty well for himself.

And that's the thing. Wanting our kids to BECOME, to succeed, in whatever they choose, whether it be on the field, in the classroom, in life in general. Isn't that what every mom wants? GatoradeMoms is sponsoring the BECOME movement where moms, dads, coaches, even grandparents pledge to help the young people in our lives to BECOME the amazing people that they are supposed to be. Every pledge on the BECOME website gives $1 to the Women's Sports Foundation. All it takes is your name, email, and city.

The Giveaway: One of my readers will win a soccer ball signed by women's soccer legend, Brandi Chastain.

How to win:

You must sign the pledge to be eligible for one entry, and any subsequent entries. No pledge, no win. Leave me a comment telling me you've done this. Just click on the word BECOME above to go to the pledge page.
Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook. (up to 2 entries) You must leave the link to your specific tweet/update in the comments. (Obtained by clicking the date stamp under the entry.)
Like The Adventures of the Headless Family page on Facebook and tell me that you did/do here in the comments.
Each person can enter up to 4 times, as listed above.
EACH ENTRY MUST INCLUDE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS.
This contest will run from August 29-September 19, 2100. Winner will be chosen by random.com and contacted by me, by email, for shipping information. If the winner does not respond within 3 days a new winner will be selected.

Good luck!

What I Learned: BlogHer Sponsors

2011-08-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

Below are some of the awesome conference and expo sponsors that made the BlogHer Conference possible for so many bloggers like me. Today I'm highlighting those sponsors that gave me some awesome coupons for free/nearly free products. Many of the websites/Facebook pages offer coupons, too, so if you see one that you're interested in, check them out, download the coupons, and go forth and save money!

King's Hawiian
Dannon OIKOS
Pine Sol
Dove Ice Cream
Yankee Candle
Allegra
Puffs
Sabra
Dole
McDonald's
Tropicana
Lipton
Lay's
Got Milk?

I will be highlighting more of the companies that I met at BlogHer, so stay tuned!

What I Learned: BillMyParents

2011-08-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

Are you a part of the Anti-Green movement?

While at BlogHer last week I was treated to lunch and a session about BillMyParents. BillMyParents is a new tool to help parents teach their teens about budgeting and spending. Similar to a debit card, it allows parents to load a teen's allowance/spending money on a card. Then, when the teen goes shopping or out with friends it will text message the parent where the child was shopping and how much money they spent. It also allows you to turn off the card if you deem necessary or if the card is lost or stolen. The card is free for the first month and $3.95 each month thereafter.

I think that this is a great tool to start teaching teens about our almost-cashless society. (It's hard to get used to the idea that you're spending actual money when it's not in your hands.) Especially great if you have a teenage girl that is a shop-a-holic!

I also have to say that the BillMyParents advertising/public relations campaign is brilliant. And very funny. Please watch the videos. I loved them!

I was treated to a special lunch at the BlogHer conference by BillMyParents to hear about this service. No other compensation was received. My opinions are my own, as was the choice to write about the service.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus

2011-06-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

Meet me over at Inland Empire Family for details on going to the circus in Southern California!

Dressing (Literally!) For Summer

2011-05-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

Over the last few years I have been buying and wearing dresses more often. I think I quit buying them when I worked for a restaurant and had to wear the 'uniform' of black polyester pants, men's dress shirts, and ties. Not very feminine, but then I lost a few pounds, fashion trends turned, my kids were older so my husband and I got out more, and I was able to find things that looked nice on me.

The biggest occasion that I buy for is the BlogHer conference, but there are also graduation parties, weddings, Girl's Night Out, and nights out alone with my husband that I dress up for now. Nothing makes me feel prettier than a dress and high heels.

I have a confession to make: I don't do much shopping online. There are a variety of reasons but mostly because I'm very picky about how clothing fits, so rather than having to jump through a bunch of hoops to return something I usually just drive around to try things on. When Shabby Apple contacted me to do a review of their dresses I was skeptical, but agreed to do it. Their women's dresses are cute, so "Why not?" right?

I received the Bali H'ai just in time for... the coldest spring that I can remember in California. While I haven't had occasion to wear it yet, (have I mentioned how cold it is here?,) the fit is AWESOME. It's cotton, (easy care, FTW!,) with just a little stretch for that perfect fit. I will certainly be taking it to San Diego this summer for the conference, and I'm also thinking of wearing it to my high school reunion in July, not to mention my husband and I usually go out for our birthdays. Subtle yet sexy, don't you think?

I had a difficult time deciding which dress to try. The sherbet colors are amazing.

The names of the collections are fun. Think: South Pacific, Oh la la, and The Silk Road. They have several styles for those of you who try to enhance a less-than-full bust-line:

They also have dresses to balance your figure, like this:

The other thing that I like about Shabby Apple is that you won't find anything hoochie on their site. No micro-mini skirts, no 'how-low-can-you-go' necklines. These dresses are beautiful and celebrate a woman's figure without resorting to trashiness.

Make sure you Like the Shabby Apple Facebook page, and tell them Headless Mom sent you!

Would you like to have a Shabby Apple dress of your own? Use the discount code: headlessfamily10off at checkout and get 10% off of your total purchase.

Now go!

Disney On Ice Giveaway

2010-12-29T12:28:00.000-08:00

I'm giving away a FAMILY 4-PACK of tickets to Disney On Ice Mickey's Magic Show over on Inland Empire Family.

You can win them over there. Good luck!

Christmas Cards Made Easy With Shutterfly

2010-10-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

For years friends have been talking about how easy it is to use Shutterfly for printing pictures, making photo books, and making unique holiday cards. "Yeah," I thought, "but isn't it faster to have them printed locally?" Um, that would be a great big NO!

Finding the best Christmas card for your family, or business Christmas cards, is as easy as a few clicks, and the best part is that your order typically ships within one business day. No more running to the store to place your order, then running back to pick it up, PLUS! no waiting in line! For busy moms like me that is the best part. I don't need one more place to go during the rush of Christmas prep.

Since I've been a slacker for 2 years now, (I know! Totally embarrassing!), I HAVE to get cards made this year. I'm thinking something like this one:

It would be perfect to showcase my 3 gorgeous kids, no? I'm also more than a little in love with these New Year's cards (or maybe it's just the darling little girl? either way,):

Or what about personalized thank you cards? I adore these:

Don't take my word for it, though, go check them out for yourself. There are literally dozens of great designs to choose from. You'll be glad you did!

Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here to go to Shutterfly for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season, and make sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.

This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Mmmmm, Yummy.

2010-09-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

The Big Toy Book and Sharpie hosted a great little event while we were in New York City last month. We were asked to come to a suite for some 'Sweets in the City,' and I had no idea what to expect.

When I arrived we were greeted and offered wine (mmmmmm, my fave!,) and the prettiest and yummiest cupcakes that I've ever had. Yes, those at the bottom of the picture were red velvet!

Photo courtesy of www.tammycedarphotography.com

The Big Toy Book is a great resource for moms who want to easily find great products for their kids: toys, apparel, books, and more! My favorite thing from this party was the Perplexus. It's a 3D maze game that my boys immediately loved, (not to mention my husband, the biggest kid of them all!)

I love how my boys have to think 'out of the box' to be able to get the ball through the different tracks. And yes, I love it too, mostly because it doesn't have a screen, if you know what I mean! Join the Big Toy Box community and watch the Big Toy Book's Facebook page for great deals, including their current deal of up to 52% off Halloween costumes!

Sharpies are my all-time favorite pens...and now I can use them for everything! Check out the new retractable pens (my fave when I was working for a restaurant,) and the liquid pencils...soooo cool. I happen to keep my Sharpie pen in my purse to label kid stuff before I even hand it over to the kids... no more "That's mine!" around here!

Thanks to Corrine and the rest of the Big Toy Book/Sharpie team for a great evening in NYC, and I'm not just saying this because they thought I had the best business card!

Kodak Bus Tour-Easy Share is Easy!

2010-08-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about BlogHer this year was actually the day before it started. I had the good fortune of attending the Kodak Bus Tour with many other bloggers to test out Kodak's new Easy Share M580 camera with the coolest share features.

Before I tell you about the Share Button, though, you've got to check out these great pictures! (The entire Bus Tour set can be found here.)

Uh, I think I failed rotating pictures. Quintessential New York shot.

What bloggers do when given a cool Kodak camera.

I love taking pictures of buildings. Could you tell? These were all shot from a MOVING BUS. No lie.

Sparklecorn Party. I love the movement in this. A happy accident!

Laurie and Suebob on the tour.

Are you really into loading your photos to facebook or flickr? Then this is the camera for you. When you take a shot that you know that you want to upload you tag it, in the camera!, with the location you want it to go, as well as with names, places, etc. When you get home, all you have to do is plug it in to your computer and, with a couple of easy clicks, it automatically uploads the pictures to where you told them to go. No more uploading to your computer, then to all of the other sites. Skip the middle man, yo! Oh, and you can email pictures with the same few clicks. How cool is that?

For me there was a small learning curve with a point-and-shoot, (I've previously only owned a DSLR,) but once I learned a few tricks I was good to go and loved all of my shots. The biggest trick? Simple. Hold down the shutter button slightly for the camera to focus before you actually take the shot. Hmph. I should have known. All of the specifics on the camera can be found here. You know, all of the technical stuff that I don't really understand. All I know is, Hey! Great pictures!

This camera also shoots video, and has multiple automatic settings, (such as close up, landscape, etc.,) red-eye reduction, and is small enough to keep in your purse for everyday shots. Great for a mom like me that doesn't want to lug the 'big' camera everywhere.

Lastly, something that I didn't get to do while in New York but wished that I had was get my picture up on the Kodak screen in Times Square. Are you going to New York soon? Follow the steps for the Thousand Words campaign to get your photo on the big screen. You can even time it so you'll be there to see it! Totally wish I'd had a chance to do it. *Sigh* Next time, right?

A huge THANK YOU to Kodak and Ketchum for making this day possible, and for the M580 camera!

Kodak supplied me with this camera to take on the bus tour. No other compensation was received, and the opinions of the camera are my own. This post also contains affiliate links, you know, for a few more pennies.

Sea-Pak Shrimp

2010-01-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

Last month I was contacted to review a product from the Sea-Pak Shrimp company. Through the holidays I tend to cook, a lot!, but knew there would be a perfect day in early January to try it.

Yesterday was that day.

One of my boys had been sick at home for 2 days so I had been unable to get to the store for a 'real' grocery shop. By yesterday we were sadly in need of a meal that consisted of something other than soup or left-overs.

On the way home from scouts I ran into the store to check out the selection of Sea-Pak products.

I decided on the large box of butterfly shrimp and got some rice and a veggie to go with it. It was a super easy dinner to make. The shrimp were of the "open the box and bake" variety-perfect for an evening that followed a busy afternoon. The shrimp "pack in 135 mg of Omega-3's and 65 IU of vitamin D per serving." My kids don't always like fish, so this is a great way to get extra omega-3's into their diet.

My kids? They loved this shrimp! I made the whole box (20 oz.) and there were only tails left. Headless Dad liked them as well, but thought that there could be less breading since he couldn't taste the shrimp very much. Me? I enjoyed them too. They were tasty, crispy, fast and easy for a busy weekday dinner.

Make sure you visit the Sea-Pak website to check out all of their products. They also have a recipe section, and you can sign up to receive emails that contain printable coupons, which is great because this line can be a little pricey in my frugal opinion.

Thanks, Sea-Pak for making our Wednesday dinner tasty and fast!

Smelly Washer Winner

2009-11-21T21:52:00.000-08:00

The winner is #1, edmontonjb, Jonnie from A Mom of Boys With Toys. I'll be contacting you tonight for your information.

Congrats!

A day with etnies

2009-11-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

Living in Southern California not a day goes by when I don't see kids-young, old, and every age in between, riding a skateboard. Until Tuesday I had never thought about the technology that went into the shoes. Helmets, yes. Shoes, no.

I was invited to the Sole Technology headquarters in Orange County to learn about their company, their biomechanics lab, and their line of skateboarding and action sports shoes.

Sole technology is the parent company of the etnies, Emerica, es, thirtytwo and Altamont brands. The company, founded in 1986, was the brainchild of Pierre Andre Seinzergues, when he couldn't get skate shoes that would last more than a few hours at a time. Skateboarding is extremely hard on shoes!

My favorite part of the day was visiting the Sole Technology Institute. From their website:

The Sole Technology Institute or "STI" is the world’s first and only scientific sports research lab dedicated to the study of action sports.

This is Ryan, and he is a lab rat. Seriously. That's what they called him.

He gets to do this for his job.

He lands on the square, it is called a 'force platform' and it measures how much force is exerted on the body. This lab has measured up to 17 times body weight in force on the human body. In comparison, running only exerts about 5 times the force. That's some serious force.

STi has used these measurements to develop better shoes to protect a skater's feet. They developed a machine to test the fabrics used in the shoes and their patented esuede stands up to grip tape better than other fabrics that they put on skate shoes. So cool!

For the moms of little ones, their new Grow With Me fit for toddler shoes is genius. They meticulously measured toddler feet and found big differences from adult feet-and made shoes to grow with your child. Instead of keeping a pair of shoes for just a few months, the removable insoles help your toddler's shoes last for a whole extra size.

So here's the good stuff for you!

If you live in Southern California:

During the time of the promotion (Nov. 17- Dec. 4) selected etnies retail partners will be giving an etnies tote away as a gift with purchase of each pair of etnies shoes. The following local retailers will be participating in the promotion:
• Orange County
Newport Shoe Bootery (Shoe Box)
41041 Newport Center Dr.
(Fashion Island)
Newport Beach, CA
92660
• Los Angeles
Urban Feet
329 W. 6th Street
San Pedro, CA 90731
• Inland Empire
Powder & Sun
16210 Bear Valley Rd.
Victorville, CA. 92392

For all others interested in purchasing etnies shoes or apparel:

etnies exclusive promotion includes $10 off for every $40 spent on etnies.com and free
shipping. The promotional code is “ETNIES FAMILY,” and this promotion will run from Nov.
17 – Dec. 4.

So take advantage of this great opportunity to get great shoes for your little skater at a great price. Believe me, I'm the cool mom right now!

Is Your Washer Smelly?

2009-10-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

You know, it's bound to happen. After a few years and several thousand loads of laundry your washer gets that musty smell. Don't worry, it happens to all of us, that dirty little secret and the reason we never open the door to our laundry rooms while giving a house tour.

Recently, the people at Smelly Washer.com asked me to try out their product and sent me a sample bottle. After a summer of hot days and a fall of stinky football clothes I was glad to oblige.

It's recommended that you use a full washer and hot water only on the first cleaning, which I did. I did not smell much difference after the first run, so I decided to try it with some old towels that also had a musty smell. I ran two loads of towels according to their soak/clean/wash instructions (Easy Peasy!) and THAT'S when I noticed a huge difference. No more Smelly Washer or towels! And even better? It has lasted for over a week. Even with temperatures hovering in the 90's.

The Smelly Washer website also has a great page full of odor removal tips that you should definitely check out.

Smelly Washer would like you to have the opportunity to try their product, and here's 2 ways:

First, comment here, and I will be giving away one bottle to a reader. You may tweet this giveaway for a second chance to win (leave the link to your tweet in a second comment.) I will keep this contest open until November 20th. I will use random.org to select the winner and you will have until the evening of Nov. 23 to get back to me or I will choose a new winner. Contest open to readers in the US or Canada only.
Second, Smelly Washer is offering my readers a 10% discount on their product through November 30th, 2009. Make sure you use the promo code headlessfamily5 before you check out. (A note about the price...If it were me, I might look at the price and decide that it was a little much. Let me assure you, my lovely and faithful reader, that one bottle will last you a very, very long time and will be worth your money.)

Thanks, Jeff and the Smelly Washer team for the chance to sample your product!

This giveaway is now closed.

Building a Better Sandwich

2009-10-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Orowheat

Have you ever wished that you could improve on the normal everyday things in your life? A better car? A better vacuum cleaner? What about something as simple as a better sandwich?

Pshaw! you say. My sandwich is fine. Why would I want to improve that?

I say, you don't know what you're missing, and I'm not even a sandwich girl!

Last Friday I was sent three kinds of Oroweat bread from their Dutch Country line to try: 100% Whole Wheat, Extra Fiber, and Potato. I had already planned on having BLTs for dinner so we dove right in. I am not kidding when I say that it was the best BLT I've ever had. I lightly toasted the potato bread, added fresh cooked bacon, tomatos from the garden, a little light mayo and some lettuce....mmmmm, divine.

On Saturday after my son's football game we decided to make some french toast for brunch. [To make french toast: Eggs (approx. 1 egg per 2 slices of bread), milk (a splash or a little more), and cinnamon, mixed well, then dredge the bread and cook in a hot skillet until golden brown.] Honestly? I will never make it without the Dutch Country Potato bread again. Ever. evereverever.

Lest you think that all we ate was the potato bread, let me introduce you to the Dutch Country 100% Whole Wheat. Headless Dad has always insisted on whole wheat bread, and our usual brand has High Fructose Corn Syrup so over the years I've tried other brands that don't have it. All to no avail, until now. None of the Oroweat varieties we tried have any HFCS. Score! All through the week HD has had his lunch sandwich on the Oroweat 100% Whole Wheat and he said the other day, "Hey, I really like this. We could switch to this bread." I hope Oroweat knows what a huge compliment that is!

If you're looking to add a little extra fiber to your diet, then the Extra fiber Whole Wheat is a great choice. With 4 grams of fiber per slice, (compared to 3 grams in the Whole Wheat or 1 gram in the potato,) you might expect it to be 'thicker', but that is not the case. The texture of all of the Dutch Country breads is smooth and light, and the Extra Fiber is no exception.

Because these breads are soooo good, Oroweat wants YOU to get your own chance to try them for yourself! (You are lucky! This stuff is goooooood!) Here's what you need to do to win a Oroweat prize package featuring a selection of breads:

Leave me a comment here telling me about your favorite sandwich. (Do not use one of my examples above!)
You may blog about this contest, leaving your link in the comments here for another entry.
No duplicate comments.
You may receive a third entry for tweeting this contest and leaving a link to the tweet in the comments here.
Giveaway open to US residents, aged 18 years and over.
Winners will be selected via random draw (random.org) and will be notified by email. Make sure you leave a valid email in your comment!
You will have 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be drawn.
Please see official rules here.

The contest runs from 10/26/09 and ends 11/26/09. So get crackin'! There are 8 chances to win so make sure to enter everyone's contests.

Another way to win is to Enter to win a $500 grocery gift card at the roundup page on BlogHer.com.">visit BlogHer.com's Review page to enter for a chance to win a $500 grocery gift card! Just in time for the holidays-what could be better?

Oh yeah. The Oroweat Dutch Country Potato Bread, that's what.

The New Anaheim Hilton and the OC Bloggers Ball

2009-08-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we Southern California bloggers were given a very special treat. Hosted by Marcy of The Glamorous Life and the newly renovated Anaheim Hilton, the OC Bloggers Ball was a chance for OC bloggers to get together and do what we do best. Eat and drink, and talk about blogging!

The renovation is really lovely. Although this emblem below is their old one it is a cool picture anyway.

The lobby is spectacular. Grand and inviting, you instantly feel like you're in a special place. (This arrangement was about as big as I am!)

Luckily for us we were treated to Twittertinis and Blogitos for a special price. (Twittertini-"A martini with a chatty twist...possibly making you want to talk in 140 characters" and the Blogito-"Like a traditional Mojito, only funnier and more informative." That Hollie is a funny one!)

Carlos, the restaurant and banquet manager put together an amazing spread for us. He chose several items off of their restaurant menu to serve us in "mini" -style so we would be able to sample lots of items. Their signature item is a Cobb salad, served layered in a large martini shaker. Signature because Carlos came up with the idea based on their restauranto logo-a martini shaker! Talk about yummy.....

These are two of the appetizers that we were lucky enough to sample: shrimp cocktail (in the shooter glasses,) and ahi tuna (on the plates). Not only is the food delicious, but the presentation is out of this world. As a former restaurant worker, it's impressive.

And the desserts? Divine. Anything that looks like this should, and did!, taste like heaven.

Special thanks to Carlos, Hollie, and the staff of the Anaheim Hilton for a lovely evening. I can't wait to join you again! And if you are in the area, visiting Disneyland or other Southern California spots, make sure you check into the Anaheim Hilton. It is worth the trip! Be sure to check out the Anaheim Hilton Blog for special rates and events, and follow them on Twitter for news, contests, and more.

For more on our evening go here, and here, and here, and here.

Here's What's New at Ford

2009-08-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

So many of you brought up issues that Ford is already addressing. Let me fill you in on what Ford is bringing to the marketplace to address YOUR issues!

Jane said:

"I'd also like a rear camera and/or sensor so that I know when there's something small behind me, like (god forbid) a child or a tricycle."

One of the coolest features that I was able to experience at Ford was the BLIS (Blind Spot Information System). This feature alerts the driver when there is something next to you or behind you. In our testing situation, we were in a Taurus parked between two much larger vehicles. Upon beginning to back out of the parking place we heard a light beeping and saw a yellow light appear in the right rear view mirror. This was indicating that there was a car coming from the right side, even though we couldn't see it.

Britta asked about hybrid/fuel effeciency, and sleek design.

The 2010 Fusion Hybrid has that. This car will get approximately 41 mpg city/36 mpg hwy. Notice that is backwards of a regular engine! (Normally, mpg rates are higher for highway miles.) Personally, I love it's design, and it has a smooth ride. I was able to ride in this one, and even the back seat has GREAT leg room. (Did you hear that Heather? Lots of room, even in the back seat! Although no room for the stroller in this one. It did have an ample trunk though, for a folded one.) I was riding with Jackie, and she loved that the digital display would "grow" leaves when she was doing better on mpg. We decided that it would become an obsession to make more leaves appear the further we drove!

Karen and Marcy both mentioned the entertainment system so I must mention here:

From the Ford website:

Available SYNC® in-car voice-activated communications and entertainment system and more. SYNC® is an in-car voice-activated communications system that allows you to operate most popular MP3 players, Bluetooth®-enabled phones and flash drives with simple voice commands.* Segment-exclusive SYNC includes 911 Assist™,** Vehicle Health Report, real-time traffic conditions, turn-by-turn directions and other information.

What this means is that your ipod plugs into the system and you tell it what you want to listen to. It will automatically connect with your phone so you can tell it what to do. The button to activate all of the SYNC's systems is on the wheel, right under your left thumb. For me, though, the coolest part is the 911 connect. It is free for the life of the car. Seriously. You'll never have to worry about calling 911 in an accident again, and there's no fees to access it, either.

Becca mentioned her bad back. Boy, does Ford have a feature for you!

Multi-Contour Seats with Active Motion: I wish that you could have sat in these seats like I did. I was ~~moaning~~, uh, sighing the second I sat down. And I don't even have a bad back. The back and bottom of these seats have multiple air chambers that fill and deflate for a mild messaging action that not only is more comfortable but relieves sciatic pressure and improves circulation during those long drives. Next time you're anywhere near a Ford dealership? Go for the seats. Just sayin'.

I would also like to add that the new EcoBoost engine ROCKS! Marcy mentioned that she want's serious power, and that is what this engine gives you. V8 power, baby, with V6 effeciency. Yeah, I was skeptical at first, too, until I drove it. And punched it. And flew down the road. I was lucky enough to drive the Lincoln MKX. Oh my. Now THAT is a nice car. One that I would want yesterday (if I were actively in the market for a new car. Do you need a test driver in Southern California? ;-) )

Some other things I'd like to mention:

On most models I noticed that there were controls for the gas and brake pedals. Great for either short or tall people.
The MyKey System is cool for families of teens. It is programmed (by you) to only go up to 80 miles an hour, have a top volume on the radio, remind all passengers to buckle up, remind the driver when fuel is getting low, and gives speed warnings, among other things. All issues that we worry about when our teens get behind the wheel solo! (MyKey video here. My friend Jenn is in this one!)
Easy interior door clean-up. (Looks and feels like leather. Seriously. But it wipes clean!)
The quality of the controls on the dash was nice. Not like the cheap plastic of some other cars. The feel was far superior.

For my, and others' opinions on some of the new features check out this video.
For the Active Park Assist video go here.
For more blogger reviews of the test drives and of our day, go here.
And finally (enough with the links, already!) go here for more pictures of our day.

I want to thank Monty, Karen, and all those at Ford for a spectacular day. They didn't know that I will be in the market for a new car within a couple of years but I was certainly sold. The Ford Motor company is changing their reputation, and I, for one, am on board!

Have you MADE a Ford, Lately?

2009-07-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Ford Event, "What Women Want," was last Thursday, and I was not prepared for what we experienced. (What was I expecting? I'm not sure, but my expectations were certainly exceeded!)

After a breakfast and bus ride we arrived at the Chicago facility, which included the assembly line for the all new Ford Taurus and the Lincoln MKS.

Our first stop was the virtual lab. This first picture is what a "model" sees when wearing virtual reality gloves and glasses. (Oh yeah. Look at me with all of the fancy names for stuff!) This simulates the ergonomics of elements in the engine so that they can study if it is easy or hard to work on or assemble the engine based on where things are located. Even in reaching for something the workers can only assemble something with so much strength, so this is how they make sure that everything can be reached and worked on without, say, breaking their backs?

My group took the tour of the assembly line floor next. I'm not sure what I really expected, but it was clean, the temperature was comfortable, and the workers were really happy and friendly. Special thanks to Dawn Diggs for stopping to answer some questions that our group had!

This picture shows the cars being carried on a monorail-type thing. Since the cars don't have wheels yet this moves each car down the line. Sometimes, like in this picture, they go higher so the workers can easily reach the lower parts of the car: the engine, etc. At other times the track goes lower so the workers can get to the interior easily.

The next picture shows the installation of the side-curtain air bags. The doors are off so that they don't get dinged in the process of installing all of the interior.

This is the guy that gave us our tour. Uh, by snafu I have lost all of my company information (Big blogger FAIL) and I didn't take note of his name. He was awesome, as was the plant manager, Jan Allman. (Please, someone, leave his name in the comments!!!)

This blue car is the 2010 Lincoln MKS, with it's wheels on the ground, fully assembled for the first time. Pretty cool, huh? You can see a hand on the wheel...this guy (and some others,) get to drive them for the first time to another part of the plant for finishing touches. I could have that job!

The one below is the all new, 2010 Taurus SHO. Seriously, a HOT car. Notice the new body style and fancy rims. (There are other great features, too, that I'll talk about in my next post.)

Rawr!

My sincere thanks to Ford for making this day possible. I can't wait to tell you about the rest of what I learned!

What Women Want- a Ford Company Event

2009-07-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

I have been chosen to participate in an event in Chicago sponsored by Ford Motor Company this Thursday. Totally squee-worthy! But!

I need your help!

While I'm there I will be participating in discussions on what women (or men!) want in a car. So spill it!

Consider the following:

What's important to you when you get in your car?
What do you need from your vehicle?
What do you have to have in your car?

Your comments here WILL have an impact on the designers, engineers, and marketers of Ford, so seriously, spill it. I want to hear it all. All aspects of a car are game. Design? check. Fuel Efficiency? check. Communication/Entertainment Extras? check. Safety? check. Overall Quality? check.

I know from the welcome letters that I've been receiving that I will have TONS of information for you, so can you help a sister out?

Thanks! And stay tuned for some great news from Ford!

Oh, and if you want to follow the discussions on Twitter, just search the hashtag #FordBlogHer. I'll be using it a lot in the upcoming days so stay tuned!

Chick-fil-A Winners

2009-06-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Skyesofblue, Vixen, and Marcy at The Glamorous Life. All 3 of them will get 2 coupons to Chick-fil-A to try their new Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Enjoy!!! I will also be sending one coupon to Auds of Barking Mad because she has family in my area.

Thanks for entering and watch for more reviews coming soon!

Chick-fil-A and a Give-A-Way

2009-06-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have always loved Chick-fil-A. I actually remember the first time I tried one of their chicken nuggets. I was a teen and they had opened their first location in the mall, and were giving away sample bites. Oh, how I fell in love. Then when I tried their waffle fries for the first time? Heaven in a small bag, my friends! I was hooked.

I was recently given the opportunity to try their newest product, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich. It is currently only available in 3 test markets and we here in Southern California are so, so lucky to be one of them. As you may know, we are in the middle of baseball playoffs for my older son and I'm reeealy trying to not eat at the snack bar any more this season. We ran to our local Chick-fil-A to fill up before the last game, and to have a taste test of the new sandwich.

First, can I say that one of the things that I've always loved about Chick-fil-A is that they take Sundays off. I really applaud a company that values a day of rest and families. Oh, and the fact that even in the west they still serve sweet tea. Go southern roots! Second, I adore that this is a fast food restaurant that has helpful people that will refill your drinks for you. Honestly, they have smiling, helpful people that actually come.to.your.table. That, right there, is worth the price of admission.

Headless Boy #1, who is 9, was all about trying the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, and he really liked it. He did say that it was "kinda spicy, Mom," I guess it was good that he had a drink close?! He said that he would have it again, so there is some taste test success, right there. Headless Dad was a little more skeptical, but pleasantly surprised. He tried it straight out of the bag, with no sauce, and ended up loving it. He even said that it doesn't need anything else on it-this from a mayo freak, y'all! As for me I was prepared to love it and I did. I think that was the perfect amount of spice-hot, but not so hot that my mouth was burning. Headless Boy#2, at 7 years old, has not discovered a love for spicy things yet but agreed to have a bite. He said that it was good, but too hot for him. I guess we'll give him a pass since he's seven.

So, in a nutshell? The Spicy Chicken Sandwich is a hit with the Headless Family! Thank you so much to Chick-fil-A for giving us the opportunity to try them, and from me so I didn't have to cook before the game. Heh.

It's Giveaway Time!

If you would like to try the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, I have 7 coupons to giveaway. Just follow the following guidelines:

Leave me a comment on this post with a valid email address, telling me what your favorite thing on the Chick-fil-A menu is. (Only your first comment must contain this information. You can be lazy on subsequent entries, see below.)
You must live in Southern California for this one. (If you'd like to check for a restaurant near you go to their Restaurant Locator page.)
You may enter once every day, from today until midnight, pacific time, on Thursday, June 11, 2009, in honor of my kid's last day of school. (More than one comment per day on my time stamp will be deleted.)
You will have 48 hours to respond to my email with a mailing address or I will need to choose a new winner.

Again, thanks to Chick-fil-A for feeding my family quickly and a little healthier this week!

New Winner

2009-05-15T09:04:00.001-07:00

Since one winner never contacted me I had to choose a new winner for the Dry Cleaner's Secret Giveaway.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2009-05-15 16:03:24 UTC

Congratulations to Angela. Please get back to me with your information so I can get it out to you right away!

Winners!

2009-05-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6 4

Timestamp: 2009-05-01 16:20:17 UTC

Congratulations to Connie and Nadeez! Make sure you respond to my email with your address. If I don't hear from you by Monday evening I'll have to choose a new winner.

NOTE TO CONNIE: I cannot find an email address for you. Please email me at headlessfamily5 at gmail dot com or I will have to choose another winner.

Thanks to all of you who played along. Watch for more reviews and giveaways soon!

Dry Cleaner's Secret-With a Giveaway!

2009-04-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

I am a stay-at-home mom I don't wear too many things that require dry cleaning. Have you seen what they charge lately? Yikes! My husband works in an industry that does not require him to wear traditional business clothes, so not much dry cleaning there. And the kids? Nope.

So why did I want to try Woolite's Dry Cleaner's Secret? Well, I have a few things that I love to wear that require dry cleaning-so I don't wear them. Not even kidding. I had 4 items that needed cleaning-one for almost a year!- that I was happy to try out this product on.

The directions are easy to follow. It even includes a step for spots (not stains). I chose a blouse, a skirt, a pair of pants, and a dress of my daughters'. After rubbing the pre-moistened dryer pad on the spots on the skirt I merely tossed everything in the dryer for 20 minutes. (The directions said to do it on medium, but the dress had embellishments on it so I opted for low since my dryer tends to run hot.)

The clothes came out great! This is definitely a product that I would buy and use. Everything was soft, and had a pleasant scent, but not over powering. I was super impressed with the dress since I was worried about the beads and bow. I guess I shouldn't have worried. It came out looking like it had just come from the cleaner's instead of my dryer. It didn't work as well on the spot on the skirt, but I really have no idea what the spot was, or how long it had been there, so I'm not sure if it was the spot or the cleaner, or if I needed to rub it more?

In today's economy this is a great value-especially for items that are not super dirty. Going on an interview and need to pull out a blazer, blouse and a skirt? Dry Cleaner's secret will freshen them up perfectly. At Amazon.com a box of 14 sells for $20.03, which makes each sheet $1.43, making each piece cost only .47 CENTS to clean. Seriously? You can't clean one item for .47 cents at the corner cleaner's, much less three. I could have actually gotten one or two more items in the dryer-the website suggests that you not pack the dryer, but only 4 items took up little space. The helpful tips page on their website is great and I wish I'd read it before I tried it for the first time.

NOW! For the giveaway... I was generously supplied with 2-6 count boxes of Dry Cleaner's Secret to giveaway. Just leave me a comment and tell me why you should get one. I'll close comments on April 30 and choose the winners then. Make sure I have your email address so I can contact you. Entrants from the US and Canada only, please.

Thank you so much to the makers of Dry Cleaner's Secret for sending me this product to try!

Disclosures

2009-04-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

Thank you for visiting my review and giveaway blog. This was created for me to be able to take advantage of opportunities that come my way that don't quite fit on my main blog for one reason or another.

Any review that is posted here is my honest opinion, or that of a member of my family.

Typically, anything posted here will be about a product or service that I have received in exchange for my opinion. Often that is the only compensation I have received, but occasionally I will also have received some other payment. That may or may not be explicit, that's what this disclosure is for.

I will also include and affiliate link in some posts. This means that if you click the link then buy things from Amazon.com, I will receive a (very) small commission. Each post that contains an affiliate link will be noted as such.

If you have further questions about my review process, or would like for me to host a giveaway for you, please contact me at headlessfamily5 at gmail dot com.

More About Us

2009-04-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to The Headless Family: Reviews and Giveaways! If you have a product that you would like for us to review, or a giveaway that you would like for me to sponsor, please contact me at headlessfamily5 at gmail dot com. Would you like to advertise over at my main site? Contact me there as well. I would also love to talk to you about representing your company at various conferences for bloggers throught the year.

Who we are:

Headless Boys #1 and #2- are 11 and 9 respectively. They love to try new things and are great at giving HONEST opinions. They are currently into baseball, football, skateboarding, Nintendo DS, Wii, XBox with Kinect, and eating. All the time. They enjoy reading, math and science too, which mommy loves to no end.

Headless Girl- is a college student and on the go all day. She drives, has a part time job, and volunteers. She loves trying out new technology, hanging out with her friends and boyfriend, going to movies and out to eat.

Headless Dad- is a hard-working salesman who loves to golf and working in his garden. He might be a tough sell on trying new things, but we can try!

Headless Mom- I am a 40-something stay-at-home-mom that loves blogging and trying out new products. Especially ones that can make my daily tasks go faster, smoother, or taste better.

We live in the Inland Empire region of Southern California and love getting out in our area and exploring new-to-us destinations and restaurants.

Thanks for checking us out- we hope to be reviewing your product soon!