Scraps of My Geek Life » BlogHer

Striiv Will Change The Way You View Fitness

Michele — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:28:55 +0000

Striiv (affiliate link) is a personal trainer in your pocket and will change the way you view fitness. I had the opportunity to see a demo of Striiv at the Zebra/Blogging Angels Breakfast at BlogHer and I was blown away. I can’t even describe it and do Striiv justice, so go ahead and watch the Striiv video.

Striiv in Action

How awesome is it to be more active and help a charity at the same time. I think the game aspect of the Striiv is a great motivator also. I know that I tend to be more active when I am tracking my activity.

Now that I have the Striiv and have had a chance to try it out, it is a lot of fun and the competition definitely keeps you moving. I have had some issues with the Striiv staying on my pants. I do not wear a belt and I wear mostly leggings. The Striive is bigger than your average pedometer and is always falling off my pants. You can use it in your purse or pocket also which helps when I have my purse or pockets.

But I love knowing that if I am more active with Striiv, I will not only be helping myself, but also others.

Disclosure: I received the Striive to try out, however I was not asked to do a post. I have doing it because I feel it is a great product that will benefit you. All opinions are 100% my won.

Let’s Talk About the Striiv!

Do you track your daily activity? How do you feel about helping out a charity while being more active?

just be enough striiv challenge week three (dialmforminky.com)
New Tech Product: Striiv Portable Fitness Device – Rewards Thru Everday Exercise (techmamas.com)
Striiv: Getting Me Moving (fromhiptohousewife.com)

Striiv Will Change The Way You View Fitness originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Sony Moms, Photos & Fun Blogging Event; Sony “Gets Its”

Michele — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:19:29 +0000

I was invited to spend the day with 15 awesome bloggers at the Sony Moms, Photos & Fun event in San Diego prior to BlogHer11. Kimberley Blaine of Mommy to Mommy TV and Sony hosted the event on the rooftop at the Hard Rock Hotel. It was a beautiful August day in San Diego and it was an event filled with networking, learning, fun and relaxation.

Instagram shot taken with iPhone 4.

Sony Moms, Photos & Fun

Wednesday evening we had dinner at Anthology where we had time to get to know our fellow bloggers and we received the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-WX9 compact camera along with a quick tutorial on the basic features. This was a great time to get to know bloggers in a quiet intimate atmosphere. We enjoyed lots of laughs and really good food (and of course some wine.)

Jeanette Kaplum & Heidi Leder checking out the Sony Cyber-shot WX9.

The next morning we spent an hour with Brian Smith, a Celebrity Photography. He gave us so many tips, tricks, hints and ideas about photography. Brian uses the Sony Cyber-shot WX9 because of its compact size (easier to carry in your pocket when you do not want to carry a big load). He was the perfect person to answer our questions about the camera and photography in general.

Brian Smith, Celebrity Photographer.

All day Thursday, we were on the rooftop of the Hard Rock Hotel. It was a gorgeous view.

View from the Hard Rock Hotel rooftop.

Sony Moms, Photo Walk

Brian took us on a Photo Walk along the waterfront where we learned more photography tips and tricks.

Sony Moms, Photos & Fun Group

He pointed out the many photo ops that I would never have noticed and we were able to practice as he pointed out different photo ops.

Brian Smith giving us photography tips.

And after his awesome tips on positioning, I ended up with this picture of Jeanette Kaplun. I will have a post or two in the future with some of the tips I learned while at the Sony Moms, Photos & Fun event.

We were welcomed back to the rooftop with this gorgeous trail of petals into the spa that was set up for our pampering.

The Sony Moms, Photos & Fun were treated to mini facials, foot soak & reflexology, hand exfoliation & massage, aromatheraphy, mini massage, paraffin treatments, mini manicure, hair styling, make-up, shimmer body dusting and a photo shoot with Brian Smith. During the afternoon, there was plenty of time to talk with Sony, bloggers, Brian and to find out more about Sony and the brand.

Sony Moms Photos & Fun Rooftop Spa

Sony Gets It

Because of the intimate nature of this event, I learned so much about Sony and about taking pictures. I have seen a big difference in my own pictures since the event. None of the pictures in this post are touched up. Usually I do my Photoshop Elements magic on my photos, but I wanted you to see the quality of the pictures from the Sony Cyber-shot WX9 camera.

You will see a lot more photos from my Sony WX9. I’m not sure how I survived blogging this long without it.

Lunch on the rooftop. And a Diet Coke!! There was a constant flow of awesome treats.

Words to live by! Sony Moms, Photos & Fun.

Sony Moms, Photo & Fun Foot Soak & Reflexology Treatment.

Making my own sugar scrub. Smells good!

After a costume change, I was ready for my glamour shots. This one was taken by Heidi Leder:

Sony Moms, Photos & Fun Cyber-shot WX9. Taken by Heidi Leder.

Here are a few shots taken by Kimberley Blaine as I waited for my photo shoot with Brian Smith.

Lady-in-Waiting taken by Kimberley Blaine. Sony Moms, Photos & Fun event.

And of course, there was champagne with fruit.

Me with Brian Smith at the Sony Moms, Photos & Fun event.

The Sony Moms event was the perfect way to start the chaos of BlogHer. This was one of the best events I’ve attended. It was a good balance of brand information, learning, networking and relaxation.

ScrappinMichele All Glammed Up

Here are my professional shots taken by Brian Smith. What do you think?

Used with permission. Taken by Brian Smith.

The Sony Moms, Photos & Fun Bloggers!

Art & Soul

This is not the last you will hear of Brian Smith and Sony. Brian has an awesome book titled, Art & Soul to raise money to keep arts in the schools coming out soon. You can pre-order it today.

Sony Moms, Photos & Fun Video Recap

Thank you Kimberley and Sony! Check out Kimberley’s video recap of the Sony Moms, Photos & Fun event.

Sony Photo Fun Mom Event from Kimberley Blaine on Vimeo.

Sony Moms, Photos & Fun Slideshow

And here is a slideshow from our photos on Flickr.

Disclosure: I was invited to attend the Sony Moms, Photos & Fun event. I received the Sony Cyber-shot WX9 camera, camera case, 2 nights stay at the Hard Rock Hotel and the event. I was not obligated to post about the event. I chose to write about it because it was an awesome event. All opinions are 100% my own. Post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

Sony Moms, Photos & Fun Blogging Event; Sony “Gets Its” originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Looking Awesome at Blogher11 With Fresh Produce

Michele — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:02:20 +0000

If you know me, then you know that I do not like to get dressed up at all. I prefer to be very comfortable. I would live in my PJs all day every day if I could. I discovered Fresh Produce Clothing last year and I have been a fan ever since. Everything is made with comfort in mind.

Fresh Produce sponsored a few of my BlogHer11 outfits because even when I have to look nice, I want to be comfortable.

Fresh Produce for Traveling

The first Fresh Produce outfit I wore was perfect for traveling to BlogHer. Coming from the DC area, it is a long flight and often I have to get right to work so I need to look nice too.

This top has a HUGE pocket that was great for keeping my ticket, phone, id and a few dollars. It also doubled as a hand warmer on the COLD airplane.

Tahitian Flower Travel Tunic in Thistle

I ended up wearing this cami under the tunic. I thought that if it was really warm, I could take the tunic off and I would still have a shirt on.

Simply Cami

These Fresh Produce Getaway Clamdigger Pants were so comfortable. I had them in gray and I love them. You can wear them cropped or all the way down. For me since I’m short, the cropped style was more comfortable.

Getaway Clamdigger Pants_

And here are a few pictures of me in my Fresh Produce outfit before I left home. I was alone, so the best way to get a full length picture was in the mirror.

And this was really early in the morning as I was leaving to catch a 6am flight. So please excuse the tired face…

Fresh Produce For Brunch

And the second outfit I have from Fresh Produce for BlogHer is this tank dress. This dress was the most comfortable. I wore it on the last day of BlogHer because I attended a Ladies Who Tech Brunch and I was getting on a plane and flying 5 hours home. Once again, I wanted to be very comfortable. The dress easily went from looking dressy to being a comfortable travel outfit.

I even brought the Fresh Produce Tank Dress with me on our beach vacation. I wanted something I could wear over my suit so I’d be ready for lunch or shopping AND I could dress it up with some awesome blingy shoes and be ready to go out for a nice dinner. I never needed it for dinner, but it was great to know it was there.

Pockets ‘O Plenty Tank Dress

Here is me in the tank dress. I wore it with a white tank top I had and paired it with a boyfriend shirt I also had in my closet. In my hotel room getting ready.

And here I am at the Clever Girls’ Ladies Who Tech Brunch. I got a lot of compliments on the Fresh Produce dress. Everyone said that color looks great on me and of course it’s orange.

Disclosure: I received the clothing from Fresh Produce to wear at BlogHer in exchange for this post. All opinions of Fresh Produce are 100% my own.

If you are looking for comfortable clothing for conferences, every day wear or vacation, check out Fresh Produce. So many of their outfits can be worn at the beach and at a conference depending on your accessories.

Looking Awesome at Blogher11 With Fresh Produce originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Tech Companies Supporting Women Should Be At BlogHer

Michele — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:42:15 +0000

I attended my first BlogHer in 2009 and I expected to see at least a few tech companies supporting women, but, I was disappointed. Last year in New York, there were a handful of tech companies. I felt it was worth my while, but I still wanted more. This year, BlogHer in San Diego had a good share of tech companies supporting women.

Sony Supporting Women at BlogHer

BlogHer is all about supporting women and blogging, so I would expect to have many communities and industries represented at BlogHer. While I would love if it were all tech companies supporting women, that isn’t realistic and it isn’t what BlogHer is all about.

Yahoo!, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

My BlogHer disappointment in 2009 showed that tech companies supporting women was not a high priority, even though women were often the decision maker of purchases in the family including computers. It has been a slow process, but many of the tech companies are seeing the value in marketing to women and in particular, moms. This may not be a new concept for many companies, but for the tech companies it is.

Microsoft, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer.

Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

There is a big difference between selling to women and marketing to women. The difference is as big as the differences between men and women. Sure, tech companies do not have a problem with women buying their products. But to really market to women, you need to be where the women are. You need to understand how and why women make decisions when purchasing technology. BlogHer is the perfect conference to talk to women and find out what they want and what drives them to make a technology purchase. Tech companies supporting women should be at BlogHer!

Samsung Relax Zone, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

Tech Companies I Support

When I am looking at companies to work with, I want to be sure that the tech companies are supporting women and not just selling to women. The company needs to support women by being where we are and having conversations with us. Chicalogic is one of those companies that definitely supports women. Their tag line is,

Empowering Women in the Information Age.

Chicalogic Lunch, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer. Photo by @TechSavvyMama

I strongly believe that more technology companies will follow Chicalogic and work to empower women. The tech companies supporting women may be slow, but we have made some strides in the past few years.

More Tech Companies Supporting Women

Logitech, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

HTC, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

LeapFrog, Tech Companies Supporting Women at BlogHer

Disclosure: This post was written as a ChicaAmbassador. I am compensated for my participation. All opinions are 100% my own.

Let’s Talk About Tech Companies Supporting Women!

Did you go to BlogHer? What are your thoughts about the number of technology companies present at BlogHer? Are enough tech companies supporting women?

BlogHer 2011 – Conference Highlights (marketingtowomenonline.typepad.com)

Tech Companies Supporting Women Should Be At BlogHer originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

4X Probiotic; No News Is Good News

Michele — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:38:42 +0000

I have continued to use the Member’s Mark 4X Probiotic Digestive Care Supplement for another month. My true test of how well my digestive health is doing was BlogHer11. Every time I go to a conference, I have a lot of stomach issues because my schedule is off, I’m not eating well and I’m not getting enough sleep. So how did I do?

BlogHer11 Digestive Health Test

How did I feel at BlogHer? I felt fantastic. My stomach did bother me the first night, but that was about it. I’ll admit, I was trying to get enough sleep every night because I knew that too many changed factors would mess me up.

As I said in my previous post about 4X Probiotic, I have added the probiotics to my diet this year per my doctor’s request as part of a healthy digestive health plan. I had 10 rough years of digestive issues and surgery last winter that we believe will fix my problems. I was getting my probiotic from eating yogurt, however, I switched to the 4X Probiotic when I was offered the opportunity to review the product. I was getting tired of eating yogurt every day.

I have not seen a change when I changed from the yogurt probiotic to the 4X Probiotic. When it comes to my stomach issues, no news is always good news.

4X Probiotic Results

So, yes, I am very happy with the results I have from the 2 months I’ve been using the 4X Probiotic Digestive Care Supplements. I will continue to use them in the future.

Disclosure: I received a 3 month supply of the Member’s Mark 4X Probiotic Digestive Care Supplements in exchange for this review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Let’s Talk About Probiotic!

Do you use probiotic as part of a healthy lifestyle plan?

4X Probiotic; No News Is Good News originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Heading to BlogHer With Some Cool Stuff #BlogHer11

Michele — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:12:11 +0000

Next week I’ll be heading to BlogHer with 3,000 other bloggers (mostly women) in San Diego. I’ve never been to San Diego, so I am looking forward to seeing a new town. I’ve been warned that I may not want to leave. EVER! Especially since I’m a beach bum at heart.

This is my third BlogHer and I’m pretty excited about it. It’s a whirlwind few days, but it is a lot of fun. I love meeting new people, connecting with brands, going to parties, dancing, laughing, hugging and learning. It’s awesome to be with others who really “get me” and I don’t need to explain what I do over and over. It won’t be rude for me to stand in a group of people tweeting while talking. As a matter of fact, if I don’t tweet that I’m standing and talking with you, that would be rude.

I’m not attending BlogHer alone…I’m bringing a few cool gadgets and some new clothes with me. These are items are sponsored, so after BlogHer, I will be doing a full review of them all.

My BlogHer Gadget Sponsor

The first gadget is a bit of an experiment. I hate carrying around a laptop because I end up with so much other stuff, so I’m going to try to get by during all of BlogHer with only my iPad 2. iLuv sent me an iPad 2 Professional Case with Bluetooth Keyboard. That will make taking notes with my iPad during sessions a lot easier.

BlogHer Personalized Gadget

The second item I’m bringing with me to BlogHer is a personalized iPhone case from uncommon. This was a lot of fun to make and I’ve had it on my iPhone for the last week. I get so many people asking me about it. It’s been a great conversation starter!

BlogHer Fashion

Every year the discussion turns to, “What will I wear?” I will be wearing a few outfits from Fresh Produce Clothing. Here is what I’ll be wearing while at BlogHer:

Tahitian Flower Travel Tunic in Thistle

This looks so comfortable for a long flight. It has a huge pocket which would be great for my phone, etc when I travel and I’m always cold on airplanes so the longer sleeves will be great.

Simply Cami

This I will wear underneath the tank dress below. Probably on Friday night.

Getaway Clamdigger Pants_

These I will wear when I travel and I may even wear them again one day. They look so comfortable to wear for a long day.

Pockets ‘O Plenty Tank Dress

I love this tank dress and it is so comfy. Perfect for the beach location of BlogHer

BlogHer Sponsors

So those are my sponsors. I will write full reviews of the items after I get back. If you want to see any of these in person, stop me!

Disclosure: I received all of these items free in exchange for my use during BlogHer and review of the products. All opinions are my own. I am paying for my BlogHer conference fee, flight & hotel room for 2 nights on my own.

Let’s Talk About BlogHer!

What gadgets are you bringing and what outfits are you wearing to BlogHer?

Heading to BlogHer With Some Cool Stuff #BlogHer11 originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List; Add Your Blog

Michele — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:22:22 +0000

This is my third BlogHer and every year I meet a lot of people and I see you all on Twitter, but I don’t often go to your blog. Why? Well, probably because there isn’t a nice neat BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List for me to use to check you all out.

BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List Story

So I decided to create one with the help of a new feature on the Skinny Scoop. That is how the BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List was born.

If you are attending BlogHer11 in San Diego, add your blog to the BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List. Include the topics you blog about and your Twitter ID in the details. Now we can find our “birds of a feather” and find a lot of new blogs to follow. Please tweet out the BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List with the #BlogHer11 hashtag so others can add their blogs. Feel free to embed the list on your blog too with a link back here. The more, the merrier.

Skinny Scoop Lists

Below is a list. I’m calling it the #BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List. If you are going to BlogHer11 and you have a blog, add your blog to the list. Simple.

BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List

BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List (Attendees)

BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List Assignment

Add your blog to the BlogHer11 Blogger’s List.

Directions to add your blog:

Go to the BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List on Skinny Scoop
Click on the Add a Suggestion.
Click on “add details and images manually”
Add your blog URL, details (topics you blog about & Twitter name), upload pic if you want.
Click “Save Item” and you are done.

Check back often to check out the new blogs added.

BlogHer11 Blogger’s Blog List; Add Your Blog originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Lessons I Learned Eating Healthy Choice for Lunch for 3 Months

Michele — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:22:41 +0000

Yes, I ate a Healthy Choice frozen meal for lunch for the last 3 months while participating in the Better for BlogHer challenge. (disclosure: I was given free coupons from Healthy Choice to purchase the meals). I was worried at first that I would get bored and crave something else. But, instead I found that I really liked knowing what I was going to eat for lunch. Before I started this, I would often skip lunch because I was working and I didn’t know what to make so it was easier to just grab some pretzels and keep working. But, now I stop around Noon and make a Healthy Choice meal which takes just about as long as it does to get the pretzels and Deit Coke out.

Eating a Good Lunch

In the past, my afternoons were often very unproductive. I was tired, drinking way too many Diet Cokes to try to keep my energy up. I found that when I ate a good lunch, I had more energy and I drank less Diet Coke. Who woulda thunk that all the experts were right!!

During the challenge, I had the opportunity to talk with the Healthy Choice nutrition expert, Tara Gidus. Here are some of her tips for me:

Eat light and eat often.
Eat within an hour of getting up.
Expose kids to different foods (even if they don’t eat it, offer it)
Grazing (for kids) is not a bad thing because they are eating light and often keeping levels even throughout the day
Fruits are a good sweet alternative

Grazing is NOT a Bad Habit

I had asked her about my kids eating all day long which I always saw as a bad thing. She pointed out that eating a little bit of food every few hours (as long as it’s good food) is not a bad thing. That was a critical point for me. I realized then that my kids were naturally following what I was trying to teach myself to do, yet I was scolding them for it. That has made a big difference in my house. I have instead tried to be sure we have healthy options ONLY in the house so that when they are eating every few hours, they are making good choices. I don’t worry so much anymore about how much they are eating at dinner. I want them to learn to eat when they are hungry, NOT when I tell them we are eating. It’s a hard lesson for me.

Positive Changes

Overall, the challenge was very positive for me. I learned some very valuable lessons about how much eating affects our moods every day. I had read it and I sorta believed it, but this challenge had me taking a really close look at how my eating habits changed after I started eating a better lunch. I also learned that planning meals in advance means you will eat healthier. You don’t stand in front of the pantry trying to find anything that you can prepare quickly because you are starved. I usually end up eating chips and dip.

I urge you try this challenge even if it’s just for a week. Replace one meal with a Healthy Choice meal and see how it changes your day.

disclosure: I was given free coupons from Healthy Choice to purchase the meals. All opinions are my own!

Healthy Choice Steaming Entrees: Yum, Yum, Yum! (susanheim.blogspot.com)
Healthy Choice Coupon On Facebook – The More You Share, The Higher The Coupon! (consumerqueen.com)
Healthy Choice (lisacooking.com)

Lessons I Learned Eating Healthy Choice for Lunch for 3 Months originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Technology Brands Reach Out to Women

Michele — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 03:27:25 +0000

Article first published as Technology Brands Reach Out to Women on Technorati.

: Image via Wikipedia

Tech brands are beginning to realize what I have known all along. Women like to talk about brands and often. Women at NBCU, NBC Universal’s female-targeted ad sales, marketing and research initiative, introduced the Brand Power Index, a measure of the brands that are most important to women. Of the seven product categories represented in the top 25, tech companies made up 28%.

I always knew that women loved to tell others what to buy, but now there is a study to back that up. The results of the Word of Mouth study conducted by Women at NBCU and Keller Faye showed that women also talk about brands about 92 times each week. You might be thinking that talking doesn’t equal sales, but 62% of women felt what they heard from others was credible and believable and 51% would purchase something based on a conversation.

Photo from Microsoft image

So, why is it that tech companies have traditionally marketed their products to men? These statistics clearly show that women have a lot of influence in the decision of consumer electronics in the home.

• Women influenced $90 billion-worth of consumer electronic purchases in 2007 (Consumer Electronics Association, 2007)
• 66% of PCs are purchased by women (compiled by Marketing to Women Conference, 2009)
• 51% are Moms (Mindshare: Ogilvy & Mather)

There are some tech companies that do get it. AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) is focusing some of its marketing efforts towards women. As an AMD Mom, I recently attended the AMD Mom Summit in Austin, TX (disclosures: trip paid for by AMD). AMD is not only interested in marketing to women, but also wants to hear from women about their experiences with buying computers and improve on it. It’s about time the process of buying a new computer is simplified.

I attended BlogHer, the world’s largest conference for women in social media, the last 2 years. In 2009, there were maybe a handful of tech companies. This year, I met with AOL, Yahoo!, Ubisoft, T-Mobile, Microsoft, Firefox, BitDefender, Audiovox, Altec Lansing, Comcast, Fujifilm, JVC, LG and a few more sponsored parties off-site.

It is clear that technology brands are reaching out to women because women influence a large percentage of the consumer technology products. Our opinion of a brand influences others to take action.

Is your technology brand reaching out to women? You should be!

Proud Geek Moment – This is my first article that is posted on Technorati!!!

Technology Brands Reach Out to Women originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Healthy Choice Gets Back to the Basics

Michele — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:59:32 +0000

Have you read the ingredients on any food item recently? The experts tell us that if we can’t pronounce the items on the list of ingredients, then we shouldn’t eat it. I’ve been having a really hard time finding foods that I like AND have ingredients I can pronounce. Healthy Choice has fixed that problem for me (and you too!)

This summer I started the Better For BlogHer 90 day challenge with Healthy Choice. While I was at BlogHer, we had the opportunity to have lunch with Healthy Choice and their nutritional expert, Tara Gidus. They introduced us to the new line of frozen meals, Healthy Choice Steaming Entrées.

Healthy Choice recently sent me several of the new Steaming Entrées to try out. Here is a video showing you all the exciting new features of the Healthy Choice Steaming Entrées (bet you didn’t know that food can have features too!)

The meal was very good, but it’s the ingredients that I’m the most excited about. I like that they are making it very easy for us to know exactly what is in the product. The pictures are very helpful and all the info about nutrients and points is listed on the back.

Healthy Choice Giveaway

Healthy Choice has provided me with 3 coupons for a Free Healthy Choice Steamed Entrée. To enter, head over to the Healthy Choice website and tell me which of the new steaming choices is the one you want to try. The contest will end at 11pm ET on Sunday, September 26, 2010. I will randomly choose 3 winners. You will have 24 hours to respond or I will pick another winner.

Disclosure: Healthy Choice has sent me 3 Healthy Choice to try (free) and provided 3 Free coupons for the giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Healthy Choice Gets Back to the Basics originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.