Become your own bottling company?
Posted by Jen in Eco Women: Protectors of the Planet! on February 9, 2010
Recycla has written before about her search for the perfect soda. She doesn’t drink sodas very often — perhaps once every month or two — but she does love the occasional Coke with her pizza or one of her husband’s divine grilled burgers.
What Recycla does not love is the fact that Coke uses high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in their U.S. sodas, as opposed to the sugar used in Europe and Canada. Recycla can assure you that European and Canadian Cokes are superior to the American version.
Because Recycla is so anti-HFCS, she has searched far and wide for sodas that contain only sugar or honey as sweeteners. She is even willing to pay more for a superior product. This search has been going on for two years and is ongoing, as the products she likes are not always available.
For example, Recycla’s daughters don’t drink sodas all that often — only once or twice a month — but when they do have sodas, they like root beer or creme sodas with their pizza. Recycla found a great root beer that is produced in her home state of Virginia; unfortunately, it appears to be no longer available. She also found a creme soda that is made by a family-owned company. Alas, her local Whole Foods no longer carries it and she has not been able to find another local store that does. She looked into mail order but found the costs to be prohibitive.
Recycla’s husband is a different kind of soda consumer. He has a three cans/day Diet Coke habit that stretches back more than 20 years. Yes, Recycla recognizes the health issues associated with this level of soda consumption but has been unable to convince her husband to change his ways.
Because of the sheer number of sodas that Recycla’s husband consumes and the rest of the family’s desire for quality products with no HFCS, Recycla and her husband have discussed the possibility of making their own sodas.
As it happens, several weeks ago, someone from Sodastream, a company that sells home soda makers, approached Recycla and asked if she would be willing to review their products for this blog.
Whenever any of the Eco Women are asked to review products, they have a group conversation about the product first and decide it if fits in with their mission. The Eco Women agreed that, while reducing soda consumption is something most Americans should do, Sodastream’s products offered the possibility of at least cutting back on waste. Recycla agreed to do the product review.
When Recycla’s sample soda machine arrived (via FedEx because of the CO2 canister that is the water carbonator), she was so excited. Unfortunately, this excited waned when she opened the box and discovered that the soda maker was made entirely of plastic and not a very durable one at that.
Recycla was sent the Fountain Jet, which is the company’s basic model that sells for $89.95, including one carbonator and two plastic bottles. While Recycla is not entirely opposed to plastic, this is the kind of plastic that will surely end up in landfills and she doesn’t feel that this particular product will stand the test of time.
Recycla also received assorted soda mixes. A 16.9 oz. (500 ml) bottle of soda mix produces approximately 33 cans (12 liters) of sodas. Each bottle of soda mix costs $4.99 at the Sodastream online store and you can buy ten bottles for the cost of only nine, which helps increase the savings.
Recycla received two BPA-free plastic 1 liter bottles with her soda maker. The bottles may not go in the dishwasher and must be handwashed, which is almost never convenient for anyone. Stainless steel bottles are available, however, they are twice the price. Recycla thinks it would be a better choice environmentally if the company eliminated the use of plastic bottles altogether and provided only glass and stainless steel options.
As for the carbonators, they come in steel bottles and the empties can be returned to the company for refilling. Once the canister is empty, one can order a pair of new carbonators online for $49.95 plus shipping. Frankly, this seems a bit expensive.
But let’s get to the soda-making part…
To get started, Recycla had to first insert the carbonator in the back, which she did easily.
Then, to make sodas, she filled one of the bottles with very cold water and attached it to the front of the soda maker. Attaching the bottle was an awkward process that never really got any easier with practice, but would have definitely been easier if Recycla had been born with a third hand.
Once the bottle was in place, she pressed a button at the top of the machine to activate the carbonator and add lots of lovely fizzy bubbles to the water. This part of the process took less than 30 seconds. Unfortunately, no matter how tightly Recycla attached the bottle to the machine, water leaked out of the top of the bottle and made a mess on the soda machine and the kitchen counter. She was also afraid to tighten the connection too much, as she was concerned about breaking some of the plastic parts.
After the water was carbonated, Recycla added in the soda mix. She was sent a nice variety of flavors, including diet cola, orange, and crème soda. She poured a small amount of the soda mix into the green cap from the mix’s bottle and then s-l-o-w-l-y poured the mix into the bottle of carbonated water. Note: If you don’t pour slowly, the entire mixture will fizz explosively and go all over your counter, your floor, and yourself. Trust Recycla on this.
For reasons Recycla cannot fathom, the soda mix cap has a double rim around it. Try as she might, she was not able to pour the mix without some of it ending up between the two rims, where it pooled until it then leaked out and made yet another mess.
Messes aside, let’s talk about flavor, because that’s the most important part, right? How do the different soda mixes taste?
The Sodastream company makes a big deal on their website and in their marketing materials about how their soda mixes are not sweetened with HFCS. What they do not mention — except in small print that’s not easily found — is that they sweeten the soda mixes with Splenda. Recycla recognizes that not everyone has an issue with artificial sweeteners, but she does. She would prefer to stick with ingredients that were not created in a lab, plus she thinks that artificial sweeteners taste terrible.
Before agreeing to review the Sodastream products, Recycla had searched through their website and found the information on the Splenda, which was almost a deal-breaker for her. However, after a great deal of thought, she was willing to open her mind a bit and give it a try, just in case it was better than she thought it would be.
When the Sodastream kit arrived, Recycla made crème soda first. She took a sip and gagged. The Splenda had a very heavy, chemical flavor. She didn’t tell her children about the Splenda and, when they tasted the crème soda, they immediately screwed up their faces in displeasure and pronounced the soda to be “disgusting.” Recycla then made diet soda for her husband. He gave it the college try but ultimately pronounced the product “undrinkable.”
Unfortunately, Recycla now has several bottles of unopened soda mixes that she and her family refuse to drink, as well as a soda making kit that is now useless to her.
Recycla has since gone online and read dozens of reviews of Sodastream’s products. There are quite a lot, as it appears that the company’s marketing people have been effective in reaching bloggers like Recycla. She thinks it is important to disclose that, in general, she found that many (but not all) bloggers were complimentary about Sodastream’s products. In most cases, they were not eco-bloggers like the Eco Women, so they were not looking at the products from an environmental point of view, not to mention that quite a few of the reviews were by bloggers who were self-admitted soda addicts.
Recycla recognizes that this review will not please the people at Sodastream, but she believes that it is her job to be honest with her readers. Plus, she hopes that maybe the Sodastream company will read about her concerns and then make some positive changes to their products.
Recycla is not an employee of Sodastream and, other than receiving a free soda kit, received no other compensation for this review. All photos courtesy of the Sodastream website.
Filed under: 3 Rs, food
Retired astronauts plant American flags into their own chests
Posted by Lincoln in Lincoln Michel's Tools for Teething on February 9, 2010
The New Society
after Robert Bly’s “The Great Society”
Dentists will drill holes in fences to monitor their neighbors.
At night, evangelists drain the motel pools
As apes appear hauling barrels of oil to refill them.
On city ledges, pigeon courts dole out painful sentences to captured doves:
The legs of senators are trapped in gofer holes.
Dogs sniff at dark clouds brewing to the east.
The President daydreams of invading everything
Except his own skull.
The pregnant cement of city streets has split open with weeds.
Talking heads cough up balls of static on TV: The suburbs brood.
The traveling salesmen returns home covered in blood, again.
Wet children in their lawns stare troubled at each other
Before vanishing to their dinners while
Retired astronauts plant American flags into their own chests.
Holiday Lake (Mudbog?) 2010
Posted by wagsoutside in Wags Outside on February 9, 2010
This weekend’s Holiday Lake 50K++ ultramarathon promises to be a wet, snowy, muddy mess. The trail is currently covered by about 5″ of snow, with another several inches forecast. Later in the week, the temperature is expected to rise a bit, so the snow will turn to slush and then to mud. Figure in around 300 runners covering the same single-track trail for 16+ miles, and then doubling back and covering the same ground again, and one can only imagine what a slop-fest it will be. I wouldn’t be running it otherwise.
One day, I hope to approach the first ultra of the year in great shape, trained, rested, and ready to rumble. Saturday will not be that day. Work, weather, and a general malaise have hampered my training, and I had nearly made peace with the thought of taking a pass on Holiday Lake.
And then came the snow, and I realized that this will be no ordinary ultra. Just as last spring’s Promise Land 50K will be remembered for its heat and humidity, this year’s Holiday Lake promises to be remembered for its snow, mud and muck. How could I pass up the experience?
I harbor no illusions about running a PR. Given the conditions, few if any will be able to do that. My main goal – really my only goal – is to beat the 8 hour time limit. I believe that’s doable, but given fitness level and trail conditions, it’s no sure thing.
If nothing else, the experience should give me something to write about.
P.S. For anyone who thinks that 8 hours for a trail ultra through the snow and mud sounds easy, come join me on the starting line at 6:30 a.m. next Saturday. You might want to bring an extra pair of dry socks.
brothers
Posted by emory in black and white on February 9, 2010
There she is, Miss America
Posted by Jen in Jen on the Edge on February 9, 2010
The Miss America Pageant was last weekend (a week ago).
I didn’t even know that the pageant was scheduled. Didn’t it used to be in September?
Anywho, the winner was Miss Virginia. Can I hear a shoutout for my home state?
For those of you keeping count, that makes this the third winner from Virginia in the pageant’s history.
[Yes Texas and Mississippi, I hear you down there strutting and preening over your dozens of pageant winners. Shut it. Most states don't start training 'em up at birth.]
What’s much more important is the fact that Virginia is the home state of eight, count ‘em 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, EIGHT U.S. presidents.* Now that’s something to be proud of.
[* For those of you who don't have that information readily available in your brain cells: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.]
Anyway, getting back to the pageant, I’m sure this will just stun you, but I didn’t watch it. I don’t watch reality TV or any live programming at all, but surely I wanted to watch 50+ women wearing tranny makeup jiggle across the stage?
Um, hell to the N-O.
I used to watch the pageant religiously, but now avoid it if at all possible. And I really don’t want my girls to watch it until they’re old enough to understand that the show is a bad influence on impressionable young female minds.
I can hear you saying, “But Jen, the show is a scholarship contest and those women are out there doing good things for the less fortunate.”
And I say to you, trust me, the show makes young impressionable girls feel bad about themselves.
Want to know how I know?
I can distinctly remember watching the pageant one year when I was about 14 or 15. During the swimsuit competition, each contestant’s vital stats were flashed on the TV screen, including weight. Even though I weighed only 107 or thereabouts, I distinctly remember seeing those numbers and worrying that I weighed more than a couple of those malnourished females.
So yeah, bad influence.
But, here’s the thing, I have to be careful about what I say about pageants, otherwise someone who has known me for a real long time could call me out as a hypocrite.
Mmm hmmm, that’s right people, I have a pageant in my past. My very distant past.
Now, my original plan when I first started writing this post a week ago was that I was going to dig out some old photos, scan them, and then write a lengthy post about it. Only, I have since achieved none of these things, due mostly to the fact that I’ve spent an incredible amount of time stockpiling food and supplies for our Long-Ass Winter and then shoveling snow, to be followed by resting up from my exertions, only to have to repeat the entire process over and over again, as it almost never stops snowing here in Virginia. It’s possible that it might be weeks or months before I can stop inventorying toilet paper and wondering if I have enough to get through the next nor’easter.
I am going to tell you that I was never Miss Roanoke or Miss Virginia, that the pageant that I was in was much lower down the totem pole. I will also state quite clearly for the record that there was no swimsuit contest. But I did wear tranny makeup, so there’s that.
On the off chance that I 1) dig up the old photos and 2) actually scan them, would any of you be interested in me humiliating myself in such a manner?
Extreme Parenting
Posted by Elisa Bricker in Traveling with Baby on February 9, 2010
We went a few weeks ago for our 6 week check up with our midwives, Brynne and Deren of Mountain View Midwives. I have posted before on my birth story about how much we loved and appreciated our home birth experience.
Our midwives have always taken the time to talk with us, let us make our own decisions, and are so supportive of the mothering process in general. This visit was a simple check up and there wasn’t anything pressing to talk about – Lucien has been growing, eating, and sleeping well (he is in the 75th percentile for length and the 90th for weight, and is sleeping about 6.5 hours at a stretch during the night now that he is 10 weeks).
While at our visit, Brynne and I got on the subject of parenting types. We have taken Lucien with us everywhere from a very early age. We went to a bridal show at three weeks, a wedding vendor Christmas party at 5 (with an impromptu dinner out with friends afterwards), we’ve been home over the holidays to stay with family, and the list goes on! While I imagined holing up with my little newborn over the winter months, that was not our reality – and I don’t really regret it.
When I mentioned how on-the-go we’ve been she said, “I’ve seen two extreme types of parenting that work well for people – the first is the schedule parenting. These parents have baby home at a certain time, do bedtime a certain way, etc. and that works well for them.”
Then, she said, “On the other extreme are the “rock band groupie” type of parents. These moms and dads take baby wherever they go and baby eats and sleeps whenever and wherever and these parents are happy too. The parents who languish in the middle are the ones I see who are struggling and unhappy.”
Thank goodness we had this conversation! I had been feeling a little guilty that we weren’t part of the scheduling crowd. How wonderful to be given the freedom to call ourselves part of the “groupie” parents who chose this lifestyle because that’s what works well for us. We have changed diapers in restaurant booths and nursed in public places, and that works well for us – we have a happy, healthy boy to prove it.
YOUR TURN: What parenting style works well for you? Are you finding yourself in the middle, and is that working for you and your family?
Doused in the water of baptism
Posted by The Rev. James Richardson in Fiat Lux on February 9, 2010
I came across this item below the other day and it really smacked me. This is from the blog of The Very Rev. Dr. Brian Baker, who is the Dean of Trinity Cathedral, Sacramento, our home parish. It is about the radicalness of baptism. Please read this all the way through...A few weeks ago I preached a sermon on Baptism. It is one of my favorite sermons. Since I preach extemporaneously, I can be surprised by what happens when preaching. In this sermon I included part of a poem I had heard 12 years ago. I loved these words but I had never connected them to baptism before.
It was written by a classmate of mine. We were in our first week of classes of a three-year program we had just started. Our assignment was to re-contextualize an ancient text. We were to take the text and write something that would express the sentiment of the text so it made sense in our modern context. We were given several passages from which to choose. Martha Due (now Robertson) and I chose the same passage, Amos 5:18-24.
Here’s the second part of that passage:
21I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. 23Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. 24But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amos is writing against the Israelites who are looking for the “Day of the Lord” to deliver them from their enemies who are about to attack them. He says, Why are you looking for the Day of the Lord when it is you who will be judged. God is angry because the Israelites have not been caring for the poor and needy. He then launches into the passage quoted above.
The last verse became a popular refrain in the civil rights movement.
I don’t remember what I wrote. It wasn’t memorable. I do remember what Martha wrote. Or to be more precise, I remember the last few verses of what she wrote. Keep in mind the connection between “justice flowing down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream” and the civil rights movement.
Here’s my memory of how Martha’s ended her poem:
“Douse me with those waters forced through a fire hose to Birmingham pressure and give me companions with whom to rise from the pavement and build”
I remember when I heard those words read in class. We were all moved. It was a holy moment. We just sat in silence. I wish I had the entire poem.
My new realization is that in Baptism we are doused with those waters. We are knocked over by, and drenched with, the waters of God’s justice and compassion and we are given companions with whom to rise from the pavement and build God’s Kingdom.
Every few years I come to a new appreciation of baptism; I discover a new way this ritual shapes the spiritual life. Thank you Martha for this new understanding of baptism.
Photo of St. Paul's Memorial Church baptismal font by Bonny Bronson
Late Night Music (Elvis Costello is a cool guy edition)
Posted by Jamelle in The United States of Jamerica on February 9, 2010
Elvis Costello — circa 1989 — performs “Veronica” for a group of Warner Brothers employees.
a lovely ending
Posted by andrea in bella eats on February 8, 2010
Last week, while sharing lunch with a friend, standing in line at the post office, answering phones at work, passing a stranger on the sidewalk, Charlottesville folks were discussing snow. Big snow…at least for our little city. The forecasters were predicting another huge storm, rumored to rival the December 19th event that pushed its way into the #4 slot on Charlottesville’s list of historic snowfall totals. It was all very exciting, and a tad bit scary. We were warned of the heaviness of this snow, expected to be so much wetter than the last accumulation. We were told to prepare for power outages and potential roof collapse, to be ready to spend days in our homes and to have the supplies required to get us through that time.
The city was a flurry of activity (ahem…pun intended) as residents scrambled to buy stores out of their supply of milk, eggs, and toilet paper. Snow shovels were a hot commodity, with those shops that managed to receive shipments putting a one-shovel-per-customer limit on purchases. We bought ice melt and candles, bread and cans of tuna, charcoal for our grill and meat and potatoes to place over the flame should we lose power and the use of our oven. We settled in, prepared for the worst, ready to weather the storm.
In the end we wound up with nearly 15 inches of snow, 10 inches less than predicted after sleet clinked against our windows and prevented substantial accumulation for most of Friday night. We were lucky enough to lose power only once, and then for only an hour. Although the city did a fine job of clearing primary roads during and after the storm, we still chose to remain at home, warm and cozy, for the entire weekend.
Brian and I have become quite adept at preparing for long periods of isolation in our house. We stock up on the necessities already mentioned, along with certain items that help to keep us entertained and pass the time – wine, multiple disks of Entourage, magazines and books, baking supplies. The last is the most important for me, as I take comfort in the fact that even if the sky were to dump 48 inches of snow across our lawn and we were to lose power for 7 full days, I could still make bread and cookies in our Big Green Egg. Also, I really like to bake, and the thought of three, uninterrupted days to do so makes me very, very happy.
And so, along with the necessary non-perishables and paper goods, my grocery bags contained milk and eggs, flour and yeast as I left the market Thursday afternoon. I browsed through my cookbooks that evening, imagining each one of my mixing bowls tucked into various corners of the kitchen, plastic wrap stretched tight across their tops, plump balls of dough slowly rising within. Brian requested something sweet, a dessert-ish bread to smear soft butter across as an after-dinner snack. Not one to ever pass on the suggestion of something sweet, I dove right into thoughts of a bread swirled with cinnamon and sugar, laced with figs and walnuts, the crumb sweetened by a touch of honey.
The loaf I was hoping for emerged from the oven just as the snow started to lighten Saturday evening. The intoxicating mélange of fresh-baked bread, sultry cinnamon, earthy walnuts and syrupy figs will forever bring to mind the vision of a silver-cloaked sun setting behind frosty trees, their limbs glimmering with a mask of tiny diamonds. A lovely ending, indeed.
Cinnamon Fig Walnut Bread
adapted from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart, with inspiration from Tara of Seven Spoons
makes two 1-1/2 pound loaves
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (or whole milk), at room temperature
- 2 tbsp honey
- 3-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour, plus extra
- 1-1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
- 2 tbsp vegetable shortening, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup water, at room temperature
- 1 cup dried figs, chopped
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (for cinnamon sugar swirl)
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon (for cinnamon sugar swirl)
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Method
- Dissolve the honey in the buttermilk by heating both over low heat. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Sift together the flour, salt, yeast and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, shortening, buttermilk mixture and water. Stir together with a large spoon (or mix on low speed in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) until the ingredients come together and form a ball. Adjust with flour and water if the dough seems too sticky or too dry and stiff.
- Sprinkle flour on a counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). The dough should be soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. Add flour as you knead (or mix), if necessary to achieve this texture. Knead by hand for approximately 10 minutes (or by machine for 6 to 8 minutes). Sprinkle in the figs and walnuts during the final 2 minutes of kneading (or mixing) to distribute them evenly. If you are kneading with a mixer, you’ll want to finish kneading by hand to avoid crushing the figs and walnuts, and to be sure to distribute them evenly.
- Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
- Mix together the 1/2 cup turbinado sugar and 2 tbsp ground cinnamon. Set aside.
- Butter two 4×8 loaf pans.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece into a 5×8 rectangle. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough, leaving a small border around the edge of the dough.
- Starting at the short end, carefully roll the dough into a tight log*, sealing the seam as best you can. Tuck the ends up towards the seam, sealing as best you can. Place the log in a buttered loaf pan, seam-side down. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Spray the tops of the loaves with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free location to proof for 60 to 90 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350* with the rack in the middle of the oven. Uncover the loaves and brush the tops with melted butter. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.
- Bake the loaves for 20 minutes. Rotate the loaf pans 180 degrees and continue baking for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the loaves are golden brown on top and lightly golden on the sides and bottom. They should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.
- Immediately remove the loaves from their pans and cool on a rack for at least an hour before slicing and serving.
*I’m guessing that my loaf pulled apart along the swirl because it wasn’t rolled tightly enough. It is still perfectly textured and delicious, the slices just don’t hold together well as you bite into them.
The landscape during and after a winter storm is an amazing sight, always changing, different from one minute to the next. Every few hours I piled on layers of warmth, tucked my jeans into my boots, forced a hat over unruly hair, and trudged outside in the swirling snow to capture some of the magic.
Black market pickles, and other recent reads
Posted by Green Scene in Green Scene on February 8, 2010
Cul-de-sacs are actually more dangerous for kids, and the number of the cars on the road is decreasing. Who knew?
For Kids: Imaginative Rain Gear
Posted by Dr. Dolly Garnecki in Traveling with Baby on February 8, 2010
Welcome to the Valentine’s Day Gift Guide on Traveling with Baby. From now until February 14th, you’ll find great Valentine’s gift ideas for the whole family. You’ll even have the opportunity to win some of the products featured on the Gift Guide–isn’t that lovely?
—————————————————————————————————–
A couple weeks ago, we had too much rain, and my son could have worn his new Kidorables Dinosaur rain boots indoors to keep his toes dry.
We haven’t had much rain since then, but we’ve had GOBS of snow. If you live in central Virginia, you may have heard the terms Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse used to describe last weekend’s two foot onslaught (on top of all the other snow we’ve already had this record-setting winter).
So, instead of splashing in rain puddles, Calvin’s been wearing his rain boots everywhere, and especially tracking through the snow. I love the great rubber gripping treads in slushy or packed snow. He loves the dino teeth and eyes. His favorite part? He can slip them on all by himself. He proudly stomps around and announces this feat every. time. he puts them on. every. time.
Although 14 degrees is still too cold to head outdoors with a thin rain coat, he’s armed and ready for the rains of spring in his matching dinosaur rain coat. I like the wooden dinosaur hanger that comes with the coat.
Don’t you just love the orange spikes on the shoulders? It gets better. Check out the pockets. Look at this little guy on the right side. 
Adorable! There’s more…
See this one on the left? That’s one cute brontosaurus.
But, they’re not nearly as cute as the little guy wearing the coat.
After an afternoon of sliding through the snow fort and cobbling together a snow baby, Calvin likes to head indoors for a cup of warm lemon-blueberry tea followed by a soak in the tub to warm up his fingers and toes.
After the bath, he roars around our home in his dinosaur towel.
I just wish the photo above had sound…can’t you just hear him roaring? There’s little pockets in the top claws where he can grab on to create the perfect dino dude.
See what I mean?
And when he’s not pretending to be a dinosaur, then he just walks around in a very big green hat.
The towel arrives rolled up and secured with a pretty white bow.
It’s tucked nicely in a reusable plastic bag with a canvas strap so you can keep it dry when you haul it to the pool in the summertime.
If you get a lot of spring rain in your neck of the woods, Kidorables creates fun ways to present your valentine with an imaginative and practical gift. Besides dinosaurs, they also feature their classic ladybug and frog designs. Not into dinosaurs? How about pirates, firefighters, mermaids, or pink cats?
If you’re going to have 6 more weeks of winter, check out the knit scarves, and gloves & mittens available.
WIN IT!
One (1) winner will receive a Kidorable umbrella of choice (retail value $13.50)!
To enter, please visit the Kidorables website, and leave a comment describing your favorite style and item on this post prior to February 14th at 11:59 p.m. Please follow the contest rules and avoid any generalized comments, or you will be disqualified.
FOR A SECOND ENTRY:Become a Facebook Fan of Kidorables, then leave a comment telling me you did so.
FOR A THIRD ENTRY: Follow @drdolly and @kidorable on Twitter for a coupon code and another opportunity to win a Kidorable umbrella.
FOR A FOURTH ENTRY: Tweet (include @drdolly) about this giveaways or the Valentine’s Day gift guide, then leave a second comment telling me that you did with a link.
FOR A FIFTH ENTRY: Blog about the Valentine’s Day Gift Guide or this giveaway, then leave a comment with a link to your post.
FOR A SIXTH ENTRY: Enter another contest on the Valentine’s Day Gift Guide, and leave a comment telling me which one you entered.
*I received product samples from Kidorables for the purpose of this review. Read my full disclosure policy.
Subscribe // Twitter me: drdolly
Filed under: Giveaways, product review, Valentine's Day Gift Guide Tagged: Charlottesville chiropractor, dinosaur hooded towel, kidorables, rain boots, rain coat, rain gear for kids
No. 24 Virginia Downs Maryland
Posted by Brian J. Leung in Virginia Sports Uncovered on February 8, 2010
Senior guard Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.) scored 12-consecutive points to open the second half, finished with 34 for the game and led No. 24 Virginia to an 82-68 victory at Maryland Monday night.
Rockering Live
Posted by Amy in A Life Less Ordinary on February 8, 2010
We've been working on strengthening E's ankle muscles with the hope she can dorsiflex better, with the hope she'll be able to walk without her AFOs on someday. Here's what it looks like now--note that she still drags her toes (it used to be her entire top of her foot last year), and that as long as she walks slowly, she can get her entire foot flat on the ground sometime during her stride. This flat portion of the stride is very new (hadn't happened before her SDR operation). You can also see how badly broken down her arch is--"rockering"--in the rear view video (do I even call this an arch? I don't know).
Keep in mind one of her hands is along the wall, and I am holding the other.
Dow Jones Industrial Average Under 10,000 For the First time since November
Posted by Bert Udler in The Politics of Now on February 8, 2010
Two of the reasons for this decline have been that the Fed is planning to start transitioning out the recessionary policies it enacted, back to more standard fiscal policy. This will included increasing the discount rate, which makes it more expensive for banks to get loans, which will lower borrowing.
Another factor for the market downturn is that some countries of the European Union are experiencing increasing debt, which could be harmful to these economies.
If we see a stock market correction of 10% or less, it probably wouldn't be too significant, considering how quickly the DJIA recovered from its March lows last year. However, we have yet to see how low stocks will fall. The government seems certain that the worst of the recession is over, and is starting to adapt its policies because of this fact. Although the worst of the recession may be over, we still have much higher levels of unemployment than usual, and a large percentage of home loans are still more expensive than the actual homes, so we could potentially see a very large market correction.
I will be skeptical of a complete market recovery until we start to see significant job creation, in turn lowering unemployment.
Book review: Celebrity Leverage – Insider Secrets to Getting Celebrity Endorsements, Instant Credibility and Star-Powered Publicity
Posted by Dave in Marketing & Branding Blog on February 8, 2010
I finished reading my review copy of this book over the weekend and highly recommend it for marketers of all stripes.
Whether you are seeking to build celebrity status within your own enterprise or whether you are seeking outside celebrity endorsements for your brand this book is packed with tangible advice and is loaded with actionable ideas and references to additional resources.
From product placements, celebrity endorsements and celebrity-themed events to branding yourself as an expert resource within your own niche, becoming a celebrity author in your own right or becoming the "go to" resource for media outlets that cover your space, you will almost certainly walk away with some new ideas and inspiration.
Get the power of celebrity working for your brand. Jordan McAuley does a great job showing you how.
