Wordless Wednesday: The Magic Returns...

Just a couple more weeks until we return...

Jumpstart Your Holidays with Hallmark! Twitter Party Friday

The holiday season is upon us! As the temperature continues to drop, the pressure beings to rise as we all want to make sure our family and friends have a holiday season to remember. With so much to do - preparing your holiday card list, sending out invites for holiday gatherings, preparing your home - getting ready for the holidays can be a challenging task. If you're feeling a little stressed out as the holidays get closer and could use a few tips on how to make this holiday season memorable for all the right reasons, let Hallmark's experts helps you get a few things checked off of your list early during Hallmark's "Jumpstart Your Holidays with Hallmark Twitter Party!" Cozy up to your computer, bring your favorite warm beverage, and get ready to breathe a collective sigh of relief with fellow moms!

#Hallmarkmom Twitter Party

When: Friday, November 13th from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. ET

What: Chat with Laurie Monsees (Editorial Creative Director), Megan Haave (Editorial Writer) and Maureen Dilger (Product Manager) of Hallmark Cards, who will be sharing tips on how you can connect in a more unique and personal level with your family and friends during the holidays. Laurie, Megan and Maureen will also take questions from the group on ways to help put your personal stamp on your holiday greetings!

How: Follow Laurie, Megan, and Maureen at @lmonse1, @MoReen, and @meghmk and your hostess, @ResourcefulMom and tweet with the hashtag #Hallmarkmom.

Hallmark wants to hear from you, too! Share those unforgettable holiday moments with us during the party, because let's face it - memories are part of what make the holidays so special. So whether it is that one holiday photo that always makes you giggle, or if your toddler wrapped the dog up in gift wrap - we want to hear about it.

And what would a holiday celebration be without a few goodies? Hallmark will be giving away $100 worth of personalized holiday cards at Hallmark.com AND a one-hour consultation with a Hallmark "Card Concierge," a Hallmark writer who will help you with any holiday card questions, to three moms who have the best holiday stories! Others who answer trivia questions will win $25 worth of personalized holiday cards at Hallmark.com they can send to friends and family!

RSVP Here: You do not need to RSVP to participate in the party; you must participate in the event to be eligible to win a prize.

Another Year of Blessings...

On Sunday I celebrated another birthday. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it is the perfect time to look back on my year and appreciate the blessings I have been given.

I am thankful for...

- work at a time when many are being forced to go without...
- the health of my family...
- the amazing online friends I've made in the last year...
- opportunities, opportunities, opportunities...
- the growth of my children into charming little people...
- quiet moments amid chaos...
- travel, for both work and pleasure...
- the support of my husband...
- the chance to do it all again this year.

National Adoption Month - Twitter Event

November is National Adoption Month, and Adopt Us Kids is helping recruit and connect foster and adoptive families with waiting children throughout the United States. Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families, the national photo listing website contains photos and information about children in foster care. This year's outreach is focusing especially on the African American community in keeping with the effort to diligently recruit from communities representative of the children in care. Thirty-one percent of the children in foster care waiting to be adopted are African American; African American children are overrepresented in the foster care population relative to their percentage in the U.S. general population. Because of this, African American children often wait longer to be adopted.

To learn more about adoption from foster care and how to help spread the word about children in care waiting for a forever family, please visit Adopt Us Kids. To search for children in your area, visit the Adopt Us Kids Child Search.

Please join us tomorrow from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST on Twitter for an informational chat about the benefits of adoption as well as adoption from foster care. To participate, please follow @perfectparent and @ResourcefulMom, and use the hashtag #AdoptUsKids. Facebook users may also wish to become a fan of AdoptUsKids on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AdoptUsKids.

This campaign is brought to you by Global Influence, the former Momfluence network.

Updated Twitter Party Calendar

Twitter Party: Women on Their Way with MomSelect

The holiday season is all about togetherness and for some that means travel as they make trips to visit far-away loved ones. Whether your planned trips are for business or pleasure, MomSelect is holding a Twitter party sponsored by Wyndham and Women on Their Way to help you get the most out of your miles!

Women on Their Way is an online resource where you can find everything you need to plan and book your next trip. In honor of the newly launched community featuring popular bloggers, Jane Air Crew, we'll be sharing travel tips, experiences, and giving away some great prizes. And although we'll be talking travel, you can take part in the party right from home! I'm excited to be working on another Twitter event with MomSelect and hope that you'll be able to join us:

Women on Their Way/MomSelect Twitter Party
Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Time: 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST

Location: Twitter, hashtag #WOTW

Host: @MomTalkRadio (Maria Bailey, Founder of MomSelect and seasoned traveler)

Join us as we dive into all aspects of both business and leisure traveling, from mommy guilt to toddler meltdowns. And of course there will be great prizes that you can use at home or on the road - inspiring books for moms and kids, Wyndham Rewards points which can be redeemed for anything from travel to apparel, and even a week-long vacation certificate from EVRentals.com!

And before the party gets underway, you even have the chance to win an awesome Flip Video Camera, the perfect way to capture all those on-the-go travel moments! Enter to win the Flip by:

• Clicking HERE to RSVP
• Tweeting out the details of the #WOTW party between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the day of the party
• Joining the WomenOnTheirWay Community by this Wednesday the 11th

Do all of the above for extra entries to win this coveted prize! Be sure to follow @AlysonAdventure, @MomSelectAmy, and me - @ResourcefulMom - throughout the evening for updates, prize information and contest details.

Good luck and tweet you there!

And All That Swag: What Happens When the Party Ends?

<-----------I bought this e.l.f. makeup for myself today. Tomorrow is my birthday, and I wanted a little treat. I remember lip gloss in a tin with a sliding top from when I was a kid. The flavors are chocolate cupcake, sugar cookie, and peppermint patty. The entire set was $3. Three. Need I say more?

But the main reason I bought this set today was because I was introduced to e.l.f. at BlogHer.

There was a lot said about "swag" after the BlogHer Conference this summer. For those of you new to the term, swag consists of free product, coupons, discount codes, and other goodies provided by companies to bloggers at events in the hopes of forming a relationship and spreading the word about the product. I sent mine home in a box so heavy that I'm embarrassed to share the cost of shipping. And that was after I donated quite a bit of it and packed the toys into my carry-on luggage.

It has now been three months since BlogHer, and I had quite frankly stopped thinking about the swag discussion until I stopped to buy this lip gloss today. What happens after the swag? Do bloggers really connect with the companies, use the products, share their satisfaction with others? I have to say yes. I love e.l.f. and have used their make-up consistently since BlogHer. Now that I can find it in Target, it will be even easier to buy. The same thing happened with the salon line of Suave products. I've been using Suave shampoo for several years, but at BlogHer I was given shampoo and conditioner from the Suave professionals line. I am so happy with the change in my hair since the switch that I will continue to use that line from now on.

The same questions can apply to review products. Do I still love and use the products after the review? Would I still give a favorable review after months have passed? I cannot think of a single instance when I wrote a positive review and later changed my mind about that product. The review product that I have used most and am most happy with is the Kidz-Med Thermofocus 5-in-1 thermometer.

Have you ever received an item of swag or to review that led to a continued use of that product?