Wake Up Maggie, I Think I Have Something to Say to You #TimeWithRod

I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.

Maggie Mae was the very first Rod Stewart son I can remember singing into my hair brush.

It had to be almost 40 years ago!

Today, Rockin' Rod is back! For the first time in almost 20 years Rod has released a new album, Time. 

Stewart wrote and produced 11 of the album's 12 cuts. 

Stewart rediscovered the spark for songwriting while reviewing his life for his recent memoir. 

"Suddenly ideas for lyrics were piling up in my head," he says. "Next thing I knew, I had a song called 'It's Over' about divorce and separation. And now I was getting up in the middle of the night and scrambling for a pen to write things down, which has never happened to me. I finished seven or eight songs very quickly and I still wasn't done, and it became apparent that I would eventually have a whole album of material to record." 

 

Along with the release of Time, Stewart is set to embark on the European leg of his Live the Life tour on June 1st, while American dates with Steve Winwood will kick off October 17th.  

 I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.

New Build-A-Bear Workshop Store at Orland Square

Disclaimer: We received free products for attending the Grand Opening, all opinions are my own. 

This morning TC and I were invited guests at the grand opening of the new Build-A-Bear Workshop store at Orland Square!

The new store heightens the traditional bear-making experience with a bold new design that incorporates modern technology. The Orland Square store is enhanced to provide a richer, more interactive experience for Guests. The new design received rave reviews when it was introduced in six U.S. markets in the fall of 2012. Overall sales in these locations have exceeded expectations. Based on these results, Build-A-Bear Workshop plans to open 20-25 newly designed locations in North America in 2013.

“At Build-A-Bear Workshop, we are continually innovating to provide breakthrough experiences and products for today’s generation of tech-savvy Guests,” said Maxine Clark, founder and chief executive bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop. “We are thrilled to bring our newly imagined store to Orland Square and look forward to having fun and making memories with our Guests.”

“Build-A-Bear Workshop’s newly designed store concept will be the perfect complement to Orland Square’s family friendly shopping and dining mix,” said Gayle Gleespen, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Orland Square. “As a leader in the interactive retail space, Build-A-Bear Workshop is providing a special destination to Orland Square that we know our families will enjoy for years to come.”

Guests who visit the new store will see a noticeable change to the company’s trademarked stuffed animal-making experience including:

• An interactive storefront that is enabled by Microsoft’s Kinect technology and interactive touch elements. Guests can play games and view the latest product offerings as they enter the store.
 • The Love Me station allows Guests to customize their furry friends with special personality attributes displayed as emoticons on an interactive table. Using Samsung’s SUR40 with Microsoft® PixelSense™ technology, Guests add unique traits - like brave, silly, and smart - to their red satin heart, which is added to their stuffed animal during the Stuff Me process.
• The Hear Me station features an assortment of high quality sounds that can be added to stuffed animals. Using an interactive touch screen, Guests can select and load popular hits from current music, sounds, or their own voice onto a chip to further personalize their stuffed animal.
• The Fluff Me station features a digital bath tub enabled by Samsung’s SUR40 with Microsoft® PixelSense™ technology. The tub magically recognizes the items as they are placed on it and reacts with sensory effects such as virtual bubbles that appear when play soap is placed on the “water surface.”
• The Name Me station, where Guests use a viewfinder or “Bear-O-Scope” to reveal the special attributes they added to their stuffed animal. At Name Me, Guests also create a one-of-a-kind birth certificate that includes a photo of their new furry friend. Through these interactive elements, Guests can personalize the bear-making process and have a different experience each time they visit. The store includes a number of technology platforms that enable Build-A-Bear Workshop to continue to update the store experience. Similar to how one might download a new app to a mobile device, the company is able to update the stations inside the store with interactive experiences that are relevant to certain product launches and seasons.

Only Build-A-Bear Workshop can put a smile this big on TC's face!

To take a virtual tour of the new store visit: http://bit.ly/QAoJqJ

Disclaimer: We received free products for attending the Grand Opening, all opinions are my own. 

All My Children and One Life to Live on The Online Network!

Disclosure: I am participating in a campaign from One2One Network and The Online Network. I have not received payment for this post. My participation makes me eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated are my own.  

All My Children & One Life to Live are back and better than ever!*

The beloved soaps are getting a new life online and will premiere on Hulu Monday, April 29th at midnight. They will also be available on Hulu+ and iTunes for on-the-go viewing. 30 minute episodes will be available each weekday, with a recap on Friday!

All My Children actors include returning actors include Debbie Morgan as Dr Angie Hubbard, Julie Barr as Brooke English,Sal Stowers as Cassandra Foster, Eric Nelson as AJ Chandler, Denyse Tontz as Miranda Montgomery, Jordan Lane Price as Celia Fitzgerald, Ryan Bittle as JR Chandler, Eden Riegel as Bianca Montgomery, Cady McClain as Dixie Cooney, Ray MacDonnell as Dr. Joe Martin, David Canary as Adam Chandler, Heather Roop as Jane McIntyre, and Francesca James as Evelyn Johnson will be returning once the soap moves online.

One Life to Live actors include Corbin Bleu as Jeffery King as well as returning actors Erika Slezak as Victoria Lord Buchanan, Robin Strasser as Dorian Lord, Tuc Watkins as David Vickers, Robert S. Woods as Bo Buchanan, Kassie DePaiva as Blair Cramer, Jerry verDorn as Clint Buchanan, Florencia Lozano as Tea Delgado, Melissa Archer as Natalie Buchanan Banks, Hillary B. Smith as Nora Buchanan, Kelley Missal as Danielle Manning, Josh Kelly as Cutter Wentworth, and Andrew Trischitta as Jack Manning. Recurring actors include: Sean Ringgold as S haun Evans, Shenaz Treasury as Rama Patel, and Nick Choksi as Vimal Patel.

Tune in:

The Online Network - www.theonlinenetwork.com
AMC on Hulu - www.hulu.com/all-my-children
OLTL on Hulu - www.hulu.com/one-life-to-live

Catch a sneak preview right now:

AMC teaser http://www.hulu.com/watch/468389
OLTL teaser http://www.hulu.com/watch/468388

Disclosure: I am participating in a campaign from One2One Network and The Online Network. I have not received payment for this post. My participation makes me eligible for a prize drawing. All opinions stated are my own.

*Since these shows are "off network" their content is more adult oriented and includes profanity and other material not appropriate for younger children.

Easy Peasy Oven Cleaning

OK first of all, please don't judge me, I'm baring all in a confession here.

I've NEVER cleaned my oven! Well not NEVER EVER, but NEVER this one that we currently own!

Stop that!

I see you rolling your eyes!

I've wiped it up and gone out of my way NOT to make a big mess, but I've never actually rolled up my sleeves and did whatever you do to clean your oven.

But now, I as I wait to exhale, I thought it would be a good time to clean the oven.

I remember seeing somewhere on Pinterest that you could sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of your oven and spray with vinegar and walk away and the oven would basically clean itself.

Being an optimistic skeptic, I thought I'd give it a try before heading to WallyWorld for something stronger and a gas mask. I wasn't really expecting it to work, but OH MY GRANNY and HOLY SCHNIKES BATMAN!

It works! It really works!

I'm very impatient, so I had to scrub a little almost instantly to see if it was working and UH MAY ZING!

I wish I had taken better before pictures! I did manage to get a little corner where I hadn't sprinkled the solution, you can see the grossness below.

Sorry you have to cock your head to the side like that.

That last picture is without any elbow grease! I was just so excited I had to sit down and blog about it!

Now I'm off to find a cure for cancer or something!