Like a Living Room on Wheels

Two weeks ago GM gave me a Yukon Denali Hybrid to drive from Los Angeles to the Venetian in Los Vegas for SITScation, a small conference for new bloggers. The conference was lovely, storming the party of Blog World Expo was fun and networky, and staying in the Venetian was indulgent. I learned how to place a bet at the sports book when I bet $10 on Notre Dame and I won even though they lost because they beat the spread. Ha!

But the true luxury of this roadtrip was the vehicle. I really wished I was using it for a family trip because the first thing I noticed (well, besides the sheer size of it) was the drop-down video screen, the DVD player, and the two sets of wireless headphones that came inside. We could plug our kids in and not have to hear from them the whole time. While roadtrips are great for family bonding, sometimes you just want some quiet already.

What I got instead was constant entertainment from my friend Katie, as we shared our life stories on the long drive. The size and cushiness of my seat, the smooth ride, the purring, sometimes soundless engine, all conspired to make me feel very comfortable. The hours passed quickly.

Once we got to Vegas, that's when I got nervous. The Denali's retail price was over $64,000. If I so much as dinged the thing, I have no idea what would happen. Did I mention that it's enormous? We were sitting up so high in comparison to our normal little cars that we actually ducked when driving up the ramp inside the Venetian's parking garage, because we were afraid we wouldn't make the vertical clearance.

Black leather seats. Onstar. GPS with a sassy voice that made me name the car "Supafly." I started to tell people it was like driving a home theater.

As far as gas mileage, here is what I can tell you. I failed to do the math. I guess I was tired or something because at the times when it would have been appropriate to write down the miles and the gas pumped, I did neither. The car itself told me that it averaged 18 mpg for the trip, but I have to say I feel like we did better. We started with a full tank, and only had to put 3/4 of a tank back in to make it home.

If I had a spare $60K hanging around, I probably would not spend it on this. If everything else was taken care of, however, and I had a family of hockey players, well, at least it's a hybrid.

Six Degrees of "A Very Brave Witch"

This is one of those posts about a kids' DVD that started out as a quick review and giveaway but quickly devolved into the mad ramblings of a mother sidelined by a terrible headcold. I have been putting off this review for oh, about three months and I feel so bad about it that I am posting this anyway to purge myself of the demon guilt.

I work for a company that does behind-the-scenes stories about the making of movies. Much of what we do turns up on the movies' DVD's as bonus material featurettes. One of our proudest accomplishments are the DVD and Blu-Ray of the movie "Coraline," directed by Henry Selick and starring the voice of Dakota Fanning.

Here's where my foggy brain splits off into weirdness. Henry Selick also directed "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and we went to a Halloween party last weekend hosted by our wonderful friends Dennis and Julie. Dennis happens to be a "NBC" fanatic, and the entire house was decorated with props and images from the movie. He turned the garage into a twisted funhouse, complete with a giant blowup figure of Oogie Boogie. Yikes.

...and Dakota Fanning's little sister Elle voices the title character in "A Very Brave Witch" by Scholastic which I agreed to review. It came quickly in the mail and I let it sit for weeks. And then I showed my children the DVD finally, prepared to log where they laughed and where they screamed.

What surprised me is this lovely little DVD is a collection of short videos that are story books come to life with animation and voice talent. The readings are paced like someone is reading you the story. The music is not overpowering. The animation is not complicated. In short, it is the opposite of sensory overload. And I loved it.

My children, who are accustomed to the slick CGI in Pixar films, were bored. When I showed it to them in the morning they were more engaged by it. And then I showed them "The Nightmare Before Christmas," which is a stop-motion animated film, quite unlike CGI in its way. They loved that, too. And then another showing of "A Very Brave Witch?" Absolutely entertaining. I had to desensitize the kids from the other stuff in order for them to enjoy the simpler things.

Watching this DVD with them made me want to sit and read them the stories the old fashioned way.

GIVEAWAY: Two readers who comment here WITH CONTACT INFO IN THE BODY OF THE COMMENT by the end of this week will receive this DVD as a gift from Scholastic. Comment away!

The GM Yukon Denali Hybrid, Act 1

Well, if you count Katie from Overflowing Brain, then I guess I do have one. Now is a good time to visit her blog, because she has something of an "about me" post up in there.

We're headed to Vegas as soon as I finish this post, for SITScation, a tiny little blogger conference, kind of like the Cinderella to BlogWorldExpo's rich stepsisters. GM kicked down a Yukon Denali Hybrid, which can fit about 3,438 more people, but it's just the two of us. Good thing, more room for our evening gowns.

The car makes little chirping noises even before you turn it on. It comes with wireless headphones for two. It's a sweet ride. Now let's see if I can adjust to a hybrid. More from the road at Whrrl.com when I put up stories.

You can almost see the drool

Free Crap Santa Claus

I have declared the Great Free Crap Giveaway a success. And here's why:

The enormous pile of free crap that was too good to throw away but not useful for me has been reduced to a small tote bag's size.

I may have brightened the days of a handful of people, even just a little bit.

It cost me less than $30.

Now, that $30 is not an amount that I toss around with no thought. I mean, I could have just trucked the whole mess to Good Will or Salvation Army.

This post was meant to be a quick update about what's left. But since I did this, I went to a few events and added three more bags of free crap to the pile. I hope you all know that when I say "crap" I mean it in a snarky, loving way. Some of the free crap I get is not crap at all, like the Hershey's Dark chocolate bar, for example. You can never go wrong with giving me free chocolate. Oh, unless it's made with ground herbs and cranberries and bark, like that one from Barney's I got at some event. Sorry, Barney's, but you cannot give a woman chocolate that tastes like that chocolate bar did. It tasted like SOAP. Even if it's "good for you," a substance does not deserve the name chocolate unless it tastes good.

So. Some people got fun little packages in the mail this week and some of them even tweeted about it. That's all I ask. Spread the word, people. Tell your friends about me. I like the attention. I even buy it with free crap.

Ho, ho, ho.

The Great Free Crap Giveaway

You guys, seriously. With all the free stuff I have collected over the last few months, my organized desk is in critical disarray, and now is the moment when I surrender.

So.

I'm holding a huge giveaway, cluttercast or Freecycle style, in which I list the stuff that I have extra version of, and whoever claims dibs gets it. That means if you are from far away I will be paying the postage myself, so what's in it for me?

Well, all I ask is that you

A) Comment and tell me which free thing you want and leave a clear way to contact you , and that means an email address. If you are squeamish about leaving that here, email ME at ktphop@ gmail.com along with your comment.

B) Link to me somewhere, like on Twitter or Facebook or Stumble or something. Hits are like money.

C) Come back once in a while. Read me at Uptake or Roost or LA Moms Blog. Or follow me on Twitter. Every once in a while I write stuff that pleases the masses, so it must be slightly good.

D) Choose only one item per comment, please. If there are multiple people who want something, I'll use my best judgement, and possibly favoritism. Hey, I'm spending my own money on this, so I get to do it how I want.


Here is the Great List of Free Stuff up for grabs:

1. A Got Milk? snazzy pack of two drinking glasses, an ice cream scooper, a magnet and a booklet of milkshake recipes.

2. Courtesy of Johnson and Johnson, a box of Splenda packets, 100 count

3. Also courtesy of the big J&J, a stick of Band-Aid Friction Block, which reduces blisters when you wear new shoes.

4. A YourZone 4X6 picture frame, purple, with a marker. This is a dry-erase picture frame perfect for a tween.

5. Two packs of o.b. tampons, each with a reusable carrying case that makes it look like retro-cool dental floss.

6. Wet brand couple's lubricant gift pack. Yes, it's as naughty as it sounds.

7. A 100% silk scarf, maroon and pink, with a barely perceptible product logo on it (Roseangel Hibiscus Tequila, I'll throw in the yummy drink recipe booklet too).

8. For Pasadena residents, a Gift Certificate for one scoop of...something, at POP Champagne and Dessert bar.

9. A set of cruelty-free hair products from David Babaii for Wildaid - Volcanic Ash Root Amplifier and Hair Polish.

10. For Los Angeles foodies, Hungry?Deck Los Angeles - a pack of 52 coupons for LA eateries.

11. A coupon for free admission for 2 to The Comedy Store on Sunset in Hollywood (2 drink minimum).

12. Coupons for free drinks at Border Grill Santa Monica and Ciudad

13. A discount coupon for Layers Cupcakes.

14. A free pass to The Viper Room.

15. A blue kitchen apron, full size, with the Zojirushi logo on it. (Incidentally, they also gave me a kick ass bento box, chopsticks, a kitchen timer, a takamura sushi maker, and a really nice cooking lesson, during which I actually made a California roll, and it was GOOD. But I'm keeping that stuff.)

16. Handstand Kids' Mexican Cookbook, which includes an oven mitt and is packaged to look like a sealed pack of tortillas.

17. A gorgeous diary illustrated with beautiful photos of Hawaii, a gift from Outrigger Hotels and Resorts. I'm grateful for the gift, but I'm a blogger. I don't use pens.

18. The Hawaii Farmers Market Cookbook, a guide to the fresh flavors of Hawaii.

19. A Buildabearville.com Scavenger Hunt gift pack with gift cards.

20. A ballet DVD: Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake featuring actual people, not just CGI characters.

21. A super snazzy ethernet extension cable with the BlogHer logo on it. It's retractable!

22. A lovely spring green polo shirt, women's size L, short sleeved, with Advanced Brands embroidered on the left sleeve.

23. A small pedometer with the Walmart logo on it.

24. Oh my God I just found my business card collection from BlogHer '09. That's not a giveaway. I'm just sayin'.

25. A mousepad which is also a NOTEPAD and a listmaker with days of the week on it. Liberty Mutual logo.

26. A momslikeme.com pack with post-its, a magnetic picture frame, and a plastic billfold for pictures of your kids, old-school style.

27. Five (5) USB storage devices with brand promo information. Reusable? You can have them. My dad freaked me out about corrupt files or viruses, but if you think you can wipe them and debug them, they're yours.

28. Another thing I'm keeping is the hideous sweater from Lands End that is a part of their FeelGood charity drive for Warming Families. For every sweater like this that they sell, they're donating yarn to make hats to warm the homeless and displaced. Because I support this movement, I will wear the sweater someday, and even take a photo and post it. Sorry, Lands End - the sweater is cozy and warm and feels good just like you said, but it's yellow and black with horizontal stripes. I put it on and my son said exactly what could be expected: that I look like a bumblebee in it.

29. I am also keeping the photoboothexpress.com print of the pictures of me and Ilina, Kim, and Darryle, because I heart them, and who else would want that anyway?

30. A highly coveted Queen of Spain #suckit bumper sticker. You can get one from her, she has lots, but I have more than one, so claim it here if you want it.

I also have several thousand tote bags. I might throw one in, just so you know how it feels.

Am I breaking any rules here? I don't think so, I mean, "free crap" is right there in the post title. It was all FREE. And this is the tip of the iceberg. I didn't mention ALL the free stuff that I actually use and appreciate. I like the All Laundry Detergent samples, the Lands End computer backpack (best swag EVER), the Bounce fabric softener dryer bar, my New Balance running shoes, the Springpad mini notebooks, all the other stickers I got from clever bloggers including Liz Rizzo, my Bing t-shirt, the bamboo bathrobe the The SmartMama snagged for me, my Nintendo DSi which I haven't yet actually played (is that bad?), my Chris Mann CD which is really good, and ohmygodsomanymoreIcan'tevenfinish. I have written about lots of the free products here and on other blogs where I contribute content. I have tweeted about it, Whrrled about it, and talked about it on Facebook and with my actually voice to people in real life. I've done my job promoting your products, or badmouthing them if they suck. This post alone has taken me an hour. Free isn't exactly free, although my checking account appreciates the break.

So anyway, I really mean it when I say I'm giving the above list away at my own expense. Consider it an experiment.

Pass it on! Here's the link to tweet, retweet, share on Facebook, etc.

http://stuffofprince.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-crap-roundup.html

I'll keep this open as long as I see necessary. I will try to not take another 6 months to mail the stuff out if you want it but I'm not going to run right out right now.

Enjoy!

EcoSmart Giveaway Winner and Take Home Message

Hello dear readers. I want to say something. I want to say thank you to all of you who entered the EcoSmart giveaway, that contest who's winner I am so late in announcing. I want to say, also, that I'm not sure how much clearer I could have been about the rules, but out of 15 comments, only three entries actually qualified for the drawing, which gave those lucky entrants very good odds of winning.

The winner is Adrienne of her eponymous Adrienne's House, another lovely House blog. May she be successful in keeping away the ants this year. Cheers!