Check Out My Lego YouTube Playlist And You Could Win A $50 LEGO® Gift Card!
Feb 6, 2013 Contest/Giveaway
[This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the winner, Michelle.]
[This post was commissioned by BabyCenter.]
I’ll never forget the day I was sitting at Jake’s Tae Kwon Do class with Fiona, who was about three years old at the time. I was on my laptop, and I had given her my phone and headphones to amuse herself. I searched my YouTube app for “Dora Videos” and scrolled through the videos to make sure that there weren’t any results for porn stars named “Dora.” Nope, they were all familiar-looking cartoons.
At some point Fiona tapped me on the shoulder and said innocently “This isn’t Dora’s voice.” I grabbed the headphones and listened. Sure enough, someone had dubbed in porn-ish voices and noises over the cartoon. Oy.
This is one of the reasons why I love The Official LEGO® Channel so much! Jake is eleven and a compete LEGO® fanatic. They’re everywhere in our house. Plus he’s in his third year of being on a First LEGO® League Robotics team, which uses those amazing programmable LEGO® Mindstorm sets. I knew he’d love The Official LEGO® Channel, and I wouldn’t have to worry that he was watching something inappropriate.
It has stop-motion shorts, videos about how building with LEGO® bricks helps kids later in life, designers presenting their LEGO® kits and explaining how they came to be, and even just some silly stuff, like the SpongeBob SquarePants theme done in LEGO®. I added that one to my playlist of favorite LEGO® videos.
You can make your own playlist for your children. Not only do you get hundreds of safe, interesting videos for your child to watch, you also don’t have to worry about the internet being the internet, because the comments are disabled on most of the videos. The ones with comments seem to be mostly benign, but if you want to be extra careful, just don’t include any videos in your playlist with comments enabled.
I knew that Jake would love watching the videos. He plays with a lot of the LEGO® Star Wars™ and LEGO® The Lord of the Rings™ sets, has the XBox video games, etc., so those videos fit right into his existing interests. But what surprised me was how much I liked the videos geared more toward adults.
I thought that the four-part “blocumentary” about AFOL (Adult Fans Of LEGO®), adults who have taken LEGO® building far past the casual hobby stage, was fascinating (you can find it on my playlist). One of the participants summed the phenomenon up well: “Dorkdom has gone up in popularity. There’s freedom in being old enough not to care.”
My playlist just has my own favorite videos in it. I didn’t bother putting Jake’s in because he’s old enough to browse the channel and watch the ones he wants to. If you want to make your own playlist, it’s really easy:
· Visit YouTube.com/LEGO and watch one of your favorite videos
· Click “Video Options”
· Select “Add To Playlist”
· Sign-in using your YouTube login
· Add your selected video to an existing playlist or create a new one
· To prevent non-LEGO® videos from being recommended, build your playlist using only Official LEGO® Channel videos.
The Giveaway
I’m giving away a $50 LEGO® gift card that can be used in a LEGO® store or online, and it’s really easy to enter. Just tell me in the comment section of this post something you love about LEGO®. It can be your kid’s favorite set, a memory from playing with them as a child, your favorite LEGO® video, anything good.
For a second entry, you can tweet about the contest with a link back to this post. The tweet must contain “@SelfishMom” (but should not start with it). Or, you can just copy and paste this:
Want to win a $50 Lego gift card? @SelfishMom is giving one away! Enter here: http://slf.sh/XVUmdq
Make sure to leave a second comment with a link to your tweet, or it won’t count (instructions on how to find and post the url of your tweet can be found here).
That’s two entries per household please. Prize fulfillment will be carried out by BabyCenter. The prize will be delivered six to eight weeks after the giveaway ends. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter, and prize can only be shipped within the US. Void where prohibited by law. The giveaway ends at noon-ish on Wednesday, February 13th, 2013 and the winner will be chosen approximately 24 hours later.
The winner will be chosen by random.org. The winner will be emailed and the winner’s name will be posted at the top of this post once the winner is verified. It is each entrant’s responsibility to make sure that their entry appears in the comment section, and to contact me before the drawing if there is a problem. Entries that do not follow the rules stated in this post will not be approved. See my complete Giveaway Rules page for more information.
Good luck!
This post is part of a sponsorship on BabyCenter.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 9 and 13. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Tell Me How You Met A Special Someone, And You Could Win TWO Windows Phones!
Jan 31, 2013 Contest/Giveaway
[This giveaway has now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations to Jeannine S, the winner.]
This morning while Fiona was getting ready for school a commercial came on for a dating site, and the people talked about how if it hadn’t been for that dating website they never would have met. Fiona turned to me and said “Did you and Daddy meet online?” I tried to explain to her that “online” as she has always known it (she’s eight) didn’t exist back when Daddy and I met. In the ‘80s if I was “online” I was probably standing in front of Shea’s Buffalo Theater trying to get tickets to a-ha. (If you don’t know who or what a-ha is, just stay off my lawn, OK?)
So how did we meet? There’s this great Facebook app that helps you tell your story through pictures and updates and other events from your Facebook timeline where you and another person have crossed paths. This is amazing. What a thing to be able to see your shared online history in a nice little package!
The only problem? My husband has NO facebook history! None! I got him the account years ago just so that I could grab his name for the custom URL, because maybe some day far in the future he would want it. And the account has just been sitting there.
It’s quite pathetic, really. I’m his only friend. Oh, others have tried. I logged on to his account one day a couple years after I’d created it and he had dozens of friend requests just sitting there, dozens of people thinking that he didn’t care about them enough to click a button and let them into his online life.
So, making our “How We Met” story was fun in an amazing, OMG-I’m-married-to-a-ghost kind-of way. He’s not even tagged in any of our pictures. Why bother, he’ll never see them! You can see our whole How We Met story here, and laugh at the fact that all of the “friends” in our story are mine. For goodness’ sake, he doesn’t even have an avatar. He might as well not exist.
My husband. Isn’t he handsome?
But, since most people are not completely social-media-averse like my husband, you will probably get a story from the app that is less one-sided. And it doesn’t have to be a romantic partner – you can use the app to make a How We Met story with a friend, too! Whoever is special to you.
So how did we meet? It was summer. I was about to start my senior year of high school, he was about to start college. We were both on the verge of breaking up with our high-school boyfriend/girlfriend. And I got a crappy summer job going door-to-door raising money for an environmental organization. And he worked there too.
We were only there together for two weeks, but we exchanged phone numbers. We had a few innocent dinners, and talked each other through the break-ups. And the rest, as they say, is history. :-)
The Giveaway
So, what’s your story? Click here to create your own How We Met story! Then leave a link to the story in a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win two fantastic Windows 8 Phones: one to keep, and one to give away to that other person you share so much with! The winner will get a red HTC 8X, and a red Nokia Lumia 920. The winner will get to choose either AT&T or Verizon phones (all set-up and monthly charges will be the responsibility of the winner – I’m just giving you the phones).
Then leave a link to the story in a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win two fantastic Windows 8 Phones: one to keep, and one to give away to that other person you share so much with! The winner will get a red HTC 8X, and a red Nokia Lumia 920. The winner will get to choose either AT&T or Verizon phones (all set-up and monthly charges will be the responsibility of the winner – I’m just giving you the phones).You must leave a comment with your story link on this post in order to be entered. You can only enter once. Prize fulfillment will be carried out by the Windows Phone team. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter, and prize can only be shipped within the US. Void where prohibited by law. The giveaway ends at 11:59pm PST on February 13th, 2013.
The winner will be chosen by random.org. The winner will be emailed and the winner’s name will be posted at the top of this post once the winner is verified. It is each entrant’s responsibility to make sure that their entry appears in the comment section, and to contact me before the drawing if there is a problem. Entries that do not follow the rules stated in this post will not be approved. See my complete Giveaway Rules page for more information.
Good luck!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has Compensation Levels of 8 and 9. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
For a chance to win a new Windows Phone, click here to take a quick survey
Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Windows Phone.
Tags: Giveaway, tech, Windows Phone 8
Having XBox HD Streaming Issues? Try This Router (and I’m Giving One Away!)
Jun 20, 2012 Contest/Giveaway
[This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner, Wendy, comment #12. Thanks for entering!]
I’d always assumed that WiFi routers were all pretty much the same: just get the latest one from a known brand name, and you’re good to go. We’ve been using one from our cable company that’s very new. It worked fine, as far as we could tell.
Our main TV, a Samsung, connects to the internet via WiFi. We can access Netflix, Vudu, and lots of other services. The picture is always good. The only problem is that we never hooked it up to our surround sound system (and it would be hard to do at this point), so while the TV’s sound is very good, it’s not surround sound good.
This is why we usually end up watching Netflix through the XBox, which also connects to the internet via WiFi. Only problem with that is, after a few minutes of playing an HD movie or show, it drops down to non-HD. I searched the internet for a solution, and most message boards and reviews discussing my particular situation said the same thing: XBox throttles the signal. I had no idea why Microsoft would do that, but it didn’t seem like there was anything we could do about it. So, we choose between excellent sound, or excellent picture.
Get any TV online with WD TV Live–and a chance to win one!
Jun 19, 2012 Contest/Giveaway
[This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner, Stephanie, comment #12. Thank you to all who entered.]
The ability to play Netflix movies and show the pictures from my laptop on a TV is so prevalent at this point, I get annoyed when I can’t. With the WD TV Live Streaming Media Player from Western Digital selling on Amazon for a price so low they wouldn’t even show it to me unless I put it in my cart, there’s little excuse not to have every TV in your home connected to the internet and your home network.
My favorite thing about this box is its size. Its footprint is smaller than a standard square napkin:
In fact, it’s so small and light that you can hang it on the wall with just a couple of screws or nails.
Setup was extremely easy. I hooked up the included power cord and RCA cable and put the batteries into the remote. It scanned for WiFi signals (you can also hook it up directly to a modem if you don’t have WiFi), and I chose mine and put in my password. I have to admit I was worried at this point – the WiFi signal was only showing one bar. I’ve never gotten anything to work on one bar. To compare, my laptop in the same location gets four or five bars.
I went right to Netflix and signed in with no problem, and started streaming an episode of The Office I’d been watching the night before. It loaded quickly and played all the way through! On one bar!
Win a play kit from Let’s Play!
May 18, 2012 Contest/Giveaway, Paid/Sponsored Post
[The following post was written as part of my paid ambassadorship with Let’s Play, a part of the Dr Pepper/Snapple Group]
A little while back I asked you to take the Let’s Play Pledge. Did you do it? Thank you! Or if you didn’t, why not? It’s really easy – you just pledge that you’ll spend an extra hour a week playing with your kids. Simple, right? And think about all of the things that would improve if you played for an extra hour: you all get an extra hour of exercise, you get quality time with your kids, and they might even behave better after letting off some steam.
What have I done with that extra hour since I took the pledge? I’ve been hula-hooping with my daughter. And while she is amazing, I completely stink! Seriously, I used to be good at this! I think that was back when I actually had a waist for the hoop to travel around. But I’ll keep trying.
To help you have some fun with your kids, I’m giving out three Play Kits, packed with fantastic stuff. Each kit has:
10’ Play Parachute- Sand Bucket
- Jump Rope
- Carton of Sidewalk Chalk
- Let’s Play frisbee
- Ideas for playing, including apps, resources, and games you can create with chalk
Entering is super easy: all you have to do is take the Let’s Play Pledge, and tell me that you did in the comment section of this post. If you’ve already taken it before now, tell me that!
For a second entry, you can tweet about the contest with a link back to this post. The tweet must contain “@SelfishMom” (but should not start with it). Or, you can just copy and paste this:
Want to win a great #LetsPlay play kit, including a 10’ parachute?!? Stop by @SelfishMom’s site and enter! http://slf.sh/MrC8Qz
Make sure to leave a second comment with a link to your tweet, or it won’t count (instructions on how to find and post the url of your tweet can be found here).
That’s two entries per household, please. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter, and must live in the continental US. This contest will close at noon-ish on Friday, May 25th.
The winner will be chosen by random.org approximately 24 hours after the contest closes; the winner will be emailed and the winner’s name will be posted at the top of this post. It is each entrant’s responsibility to make sure that their entry appears in the comment section, and to contact me before the drawing if there is a problem. Entries that do not follow the rules stated in this post will not be approved. See my complete Giveaway Rules page for more information.
Good luck!
Tags: Giveaway, Kids, Let's Play
Win a taste of Brooklyn–a great gift for any occasion!
May 8, 2012 Contest/Giveaway
This giveaway has closed. Congratulations to the winner, Jodi F.
I love it when someone I know starts something great! My friend Dara started a company called With Love from Brooklyn that curates items and collections from Brooklyn artisans, so that you can have the best our borough has to offer shipped right to you at an affordable price.
Or even better, this is an easy way to send someone a thoughtful gift! I just ordered these gorgeous tea towels as a hostess gift for a party I’m going to. And I love that I know the artist who designed these towels, too. But if you don’t have a Brooklyn connection, you can get to know the artisans.
I had the opportunity to curate one of the collections on the site, and it’s really beautiful (if I do say so myself). Just think of how happy the mom in your life would be to receive these goodies from Brooklyn – three tasty treats and a gorgeous tea towel.
Whether you’re buying for a relative, friend or a client, these gift collections are unique and charming. Plus, you get the added benefit of supporting local artisans who put love into all they do.
The Giveaway
Although this won’t get to the winner in time for Mother’s Day, the Treat Yo’ Mom collection is a great gift for any occasion. Or, just selfishly keep it all to yourself – you know I support that! To win simply tell me in the comments who in your life would appreciate a taste of Brooklyn. (You must leave a comment answering this question before you can take advantage of the second mode of entry below.)
For a second entry, you can tweet about the contest with a link back to this post. The tweet must contain “@SelfishMom” (but should not start with it). Or, you can just copy and paste this:
Want to win the Treat Yo’ Mom gift collection from @withlovefrombk? Stop by @SelfishMom’s site and enter! http://slf.sh/JblxN7
Make sure to leave a second comment with a link to your tweet, or it won’t count (instructions on how to find and post the url of your tweet can be found here).
That’s two entries per household, please. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter, and must live in the continental US.
This contest will close at noon-ish on Saturday, May 12th. The winner will be chosen by random.org. See my complete Giveaway Rules page for more information.
Good luck!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 9. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Tags: Brooklyn, gifts, Mother's Day
Win a Nokia Lumia 900, “Best in Show” smartphone at CES
Apr 28, 2012 Contest/Giveaway
[UPDATE: Congratulations to the winner, comment #177, Jarvis. Thanks so all who entered.]
[UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered. The winner will be chosen and announced on Thursday, May 10th. If you do not see your comment listed, it is possible that you did not follow the instructions for answering the question posed in the post. There was an unusually high number of entrants for this giveaway who did not pay attention to the instructions and just commented in the manner of "pick me! pick me!" which, unfortunately, disqualified their entries. I tried to be as lenient as possible in my interpretation of the rules but some simply could not be approved.]
Back in January when I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Nokia Lumia 900 took “Best in Show” in the very competitive smartphone category. I got to play with one for just a couple minutes before the other people jostling to get a look made it clear that my time was up. But in that brief time I fell in love with it: the feel of it, and the look of it. I can’t wait to give a real try, which will happen in a few days when I get one to review. But why should I have all the fun with this amazing phone? Keep reading to find out how you can enter to win one too!
The great reviews for the Lumia 900 keep rolling in. Pretty much everyone agrees that it’s a fantastic phone. Why? Because Windows started from scratch, designed an entirely new and exciting smartphone operating system, and then worked closely with Nokia to make sure their phones were designed specifically for this new OS. I’ve reviewed three other Windows phones in the past sixteen months, but nothing from Nokia, so I’m really excited about this one.
Why do I love Windows phones so much? Here are some highlights.
The Camera
Several other phones that I’ve used recently don’t have a camera button, which frankly just sucks. It’s harder to take a picture one-handed. On the other hand, WP cameras have a nifty little feature where you can tap on the screen, and the camera will focus on that spot, then take the picture automatically. This is great for those times when you don’t want to the camera to shake at all.
The very best part about having a dedicated camera button, though, is that you can wake the phone up, bypass the lock screen, and go right to the camera by just holding down on the camera button. I can’t tell you how many times I missed shots with non-Windows phones because I had to go through too many steps to get to the camera. But with Windows phones, you’ll be ready to take a picture in about two seconds or less. When my kids are doing something adorable I don’t have to fumble – I get the shot in time.
Uploading to Facebook and Twitter is super easy, and can be done right from the picture screen – no need to leave the camera and go open another app. Keep the grandparents up-to-date on what your kids are doing on the fly!
And if you’re worried about losing your photos before you can get home and sync them, you can choose to automatically upload to SkyDrive.
Tags: Nokia Lumia 900, tech, Windows Phone 7
Win a Lenovo U300s, just in time for Christmas!
Dec 13, 2011 Contest/Giveaway
UPDATE: I’d like to congratulate the winner, kim/reluctant renovator, comment #16! Thanks to all who entered.
*****
I’m going to be making one of my readers very happy next week. Microsoft Windows and Lenovo are giving away the brand-new, just available today IdeaPad U300s, in a strikingly gorgeous tangerine color.
This is the computer that can boot up in as little as 10.5 seconds, and they proved it by dropping it from an airplane attached to a parachute that would only deploy once the computer successfully booted:
And if you’re tempted to call shenanigans or assume that they used some kind of digital trickery to simply make it look like they dropped it out of a plane:
Pretty cool, huh?
From the Lenovo website’s description of the U300s:
- Slim, Ultrabook™ design for easy mobility, from just 0.6” thin
- Minimalist, one-piece aluminum shell, available in Graphite Gray or Clementine Orange (coming soon)
- Long battery life* with up to 30 days standby time
- Lenovo RapidCharge brings battery charge to 50 percent in 30 minutes
- Boot in as little as 10.5 seconds with RapidDrive SSD technology**
- Breathable keyboard uses Intel® Advanced Cooling Technology to improve airflow so PC can run cooler on your lap
- Cool-touch palmrest and intelligent glass touchpad with easy scroll, zoom and rotate functions
- HD graphics and stereo speakers with SRS® Premium Surround Sound™
- USB 3.0 port, HDMI output and 1.3M (720p HD) webcam
- Intel® Wireless Display (WiDi): wirelessly stream content from your laptop onto a big screen (requires TV adapter)
- BIOS-embedded anti-theft protection
This computer is light, super-thin, gorgeous, fast, and packed with features. I had the opportunity to keep it for myself and review it, or give it away, and the Christmas spirit smacked the sense right out of me.
So enter to win by leaving a comment on this post telling me what you would do with this computer if you won. Would you keep it? Would you give it away? Don’t worry – I’m not judging the entries. The winner will be chosen by random.org. So go ahead and be selfish if you want. :-)
For a second entry, you may tweet about this contest with a link back to this page. Or, you can copy and tweet the following:
Want 2 win a super thin, light, fast, & gorgeous #Lenovo IdeaPad U300s laptop? Head over to @SelfishMom’s site & enter: http://slf.sh/sSEIT2
Make sure to leave a second comment with a link to your tweet, or it won’t count (instructions on how to find and post the url of your tweet can be found here).
So, that’s a maximum of two entries per household please! This contest will close at noon-ish on Tuesday, December 20th. The winner will be chosen by random.org. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter. Prize may be shipped within the continental United States only. See my complete Giveaway Rules page for more information.
Good luck!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 9. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Tags: Lenovo, Microsoft Windows, tech
