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Archive for Guest posts

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet Preview

March 12, 2011 Guest posts, Reviews, Riding in cars with kids 2 comments

I was invited to attend a Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet Preview in Dallas, TX. My schedule didn’t allow me to attend, so in my place I sent Kurt Kilpatrick. Kurt has over 30 years of broadcasting experience, and, incidentally, he is my dad. The following is his guest review!

top up

The first thing that comes to mind when one views the new 2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet is WOW!

This new concept car, soon to be on the market, is the world’s first all-wheel-drive convertible from Nissan.

The vehicle has a Crossover functionality with open air access and everything from the interior and exterior features screams “premium, top of the line, thoughtful, intuitive technologies”.

We are all familiar with the Murano Suv from Nissan. But the Cross Cabriolet is not just a Murano with the top chopped off.

Change in style and function is apparent from the front to the rear. It is a brand new vehicle which truly catches the eye and stimulates the sensibilities.

The top goes down with a touch of the button in about 20 seconds and stows like a two seater convertible.

One push of a button and the open air surrounds you as you sit in a luxuious cockpit with leather body hugging seats, and an instrument panel fully loaded with a Go-Navigation system, and Bose audio system.

The front seats are spacious and accomodating. The back seats are comfortable and spacious and not cramped at all.

Nissan likes to say the CrossCabriolet has “innovation without limits.” One cannot argue differently. This car is HOT and EXCITING.

Then came my road trip in the CrossCabriolet. The top was down when I pulled out of the hotel. The first intersection I came to, people started looking, smiling, and giving my set of wheels the thumbs up and mouthing the word, “AWESOME”.

The MuranoCrossCabriolet has a 3.5-liter 24-valve DOHC V6. The powerful 265 horsepower and 248 Lb-ft of torque was evident. I zipped out onto the freeway in Dallas and the standard intuitive all-wheel drive system performed with a great attitude.

The engine was so quiet you could not hear it running, the power of the pull was outstanding, and the road handling and smooth ride were all terrific. I felt completely safe in this convertible wonder with the Nissan advanced air bag system, vehicle dynamic control, traction control system and dual pop-up Roll Bar for rear passengers.

My road trip was a success driving in inner city traffic, then on the freeway, and then navigating to the destination point. It was about a 50 mile test drive. This is a performance car with all the bells and whistles, style and innovation, safety and looks that exudes fun, class, and innovation without limits.

It certainly will transform everyday tasks into exciting adventures when you drive one. I believe the Murano CrossCabriolet will appeal to a variety of car enthusiasts from ages 40 to 55, including married couples with teenagers and married empty nesters who want to still enjoy the driving experience with class and style.

The price? You can have a 2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet in your garage for about $46,390, fully loaded and equipped.

If you value quality, innovation, style, value, and elegance with a hint of playfulness you will fall in love with the 2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet available this Spring from Nissan.

Thank you for the preview Nissan. WOW!

Kurt Kilpatrick, Mom Most Traveled Correspondent at Large

Disclosure: Kurt Kilpatrick was provided airfare to Dallas and lodging at the Hotel ZaZa in Dallas. The opinions about the CrossCabriolet are his own.

Olivia The Great Children’s App for iPad

March 8, 2011 Books for children, Guest posts, Reviews No comments

Olivia The Great for the iPad is a nice addition to our collection of Olivia children’s storybooks.

The iPad bring storybooks into a new level of interactive enjoyment. Olivia already has great stories for kids, but adding it to the iPad makes it even better.

When I showed the app to my son he immediately took the iPad from me and wanted to do it on his own. We got to the ?rst page where you are to ?nd hidden objects in the scene and my son quickly realized that all the objects you click on made a noise and disappeared, not just the one that you are looking for. So it became more about clicking on every object than it did about ?nding the ones we were looking for.

The best part of the app was watching my son make the magic tricks perform. You a given a series of moves at you make on the iPad with your ?nger and each one makes another trick happen.

Every time he learned a new one he wanted to make sure that I watched him perform the magic trick.

This is a great app for any Olivia fan!

Visit www.facebook.com/OLIVIATV to learn more about Olivia and to see what she is up to every day! Olivia’s Facebook page will also help keep you up-to-date on the latest Olivia news, tips and more from the star herself.

Guest review by Craig Hartin, a man with an iPad and a dream. Follow him on twitter.

Wrapsol for iPad

December 24, 2010 Guest posts, Reviews No comments

Guest review by some guy named Craig.

Committing to a first generation iPad was not without worries. "What if they come out with a new one, faster one or better one. What if this one breaks, or has problems like the iPhone 4."

But in that decision making I never thought, “What if I scratch it?”

Go to an Apple Store and they will talk about how hard it is to scratch the glass, they will even take car keys and scrape it across it to show you.

Well, they have never met my 7 year old.

"Here’s your iPad back, daddy".

"Um, where did that that one inch scratch in the middle of the screen come from?"

I tried not to let it bother me, but I could always see it.

Well Wrapsol has found it’s way onto my iPad.

Wrapsol makes a screen protector to scratch-proof your screen. When I first got the kit, I was glad to see that it came with a liquid solution to help put the film onto the iPad, much like what you would use for window tinting. This makes setting and resetting the screen for perfect alignment a little easier. Please beware that this is not a quick job. You have to be very patient when putting the film on. It can be very frustrating to get it centered and to get all the bubbles out. And even when you get finished it doesn’t look quite right.

But give it time, once it dries and has sat for an hour you can’t tell that you have a cover on it at all. The kit also comes with a protective film for the back of the iPad as well.

So you don’t have to worry about scratching the aluminum backing. Now when my kids get it I don’t have to worry as much. They can sneeze on it or get dirty fingers on it and I can just wipe it down. The best part that I can no longer see my scratch on the screen. Don’t ask how, but it doesn’t exist anymore. For some reason it doesn’t show up with the protective screen on. If you own an iPad I recommend picking one up today.
The new Wrapsol Clean screen protector starts at $14.95 and can be found online at Wrapsol.com or in retailers like Walmart, Staples, etc.

The Clean is custom fit for many devices such as the iPad, iPhone, iPods/MP3 players, Kindle, Samsung Galaxy and many more.

Kung Fu Panda Holiday Storybook 1.0

December 16, 2010 Books for children, Guest posts, Reviews No comments

Guest review by Craig Hartin

Having kids means always being excited about Christmas even during the summer.

Thanks to iStoryTime, my kids can get a new story this holiday season. And what better way for them to enjoy it than with it being for the iPad (the household ?ghts over who gets to play on it when I get home from work).

The book follows the story of Po who has to host a winter feast for a group of exclusive guests. This causes problems with Po because it means missing out on his normal holiday tradition, spending it with his dad.

Not only is the story well told but it leaves a good warm feeling afterwards; a lesson that the holidays aren’t about getting things but they are about spending them with friends and family.

The book was created from the Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special that aired on NBC, so every page is a rendered image from the TV special. This means that every page is amazing to look at and is true to the show.

One of the options available for the iPad book is for the book to read ITSELF to you.

This is a nice touch because it uses the actual characters voices of Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman. My youngest son wants to go through it twice. One time we will let it play for us and then he wants to go back through it with us reading it together.

For only $2.99 this is a great addition to your child’s storybooks. Get it at http://www.istorytimeapp.com/!

Craig Hartin is a man with an iPad and a dream. Follow him on twitter.

Bento for Ipad

July 17, 2010 Air travel, Guest posts, Reviews No comments

guest review by Craig Hartin

I have used Bento on the Mac for a while. I was very excited to see that it was an available app for the iPad.

I mainly use Bento to help keep track of projects that I am currently involved with at work.

It is also a great way for me to keep up with all of my travels and schedules for both work and home.

I want to start by talking about the Contacts, I am a fan of Apple Contacts and was a little worried about going to something new.

But Bento made that easy and automatically pulled in all of my Apple Contacts into Bento. This was great because I didn’t have to do anything to import them or organize them. On top of that there is a lot more options for information to be added than what you are given with Apple Contacts.

My concern was what was going to happen when I need to add a new contact and have it in my Apple Contacts list as well. Guess what, it automatically adds it in to the Apple Contacts when you close out of Bento.

Another great feature is being able to send emails directly from Bento without having to leave the program; just click the email address of the person in the contacts of who you want to email and a pop-up window comes up for you to email them.

The biggest thing that makes Bento great is how customizable the libraries are.

The program comes with dozens of prebuilt libraries that are all customizable. But, if you don’t find what you are looking for you can build you own.

I was in need of one to keep up with flights, so I began to customize my own.

bento1

I created lines for flight numbers, date and time of the flight as well as check boxes for confirmations for hotels and rental cars.

This has proved very useful when things get a little crazy in the day to day of traveling.

I was also able to add URL address as a column to put in information about the hotel or a conferences that I would be attending.

Some of the obvious templates really do come in handy as well.

The To Do list, for example, is one that I started using right away.

I was never a fan of it on my desktop computer because I was always on the go and would forget to check in and see what I had to do.

On the iPad I can check things off as I go, or change them to task for the next day if needed.

bento2 I did find myself making a grocery list with it the other day too. I carried it through the store as I shopped. Not the most convenient way to use Bento.

Sure, it was great to have a list of what I needed, but I found that not being able to have large enough typing columns is a bit of a problem and I hope that with an update they will adjust this to be able to display all of what is in your list or column.

Overall, Bento is a great app for the iPad. I find myself attached to the iPad and this makes it even easier to stay on top of projects, travel and even my groceries (if I wish).

Craig Hartin is a man with an iPad and a dream. Follow him on twitter.

Technorati Tags: Bento for ipad,ipad apps,review,travel apps

Sewing A Friendship

June 13, 2010 Books for children, Guest posts, Reviews One comment

book Sewing a Friendship is written and illustrated by an extremely talented 10 year old girl, Natalie Tinti.

She wrote the book to spread her message that friendships are created when you have the courage to include others in work together.
It’s a perfect summer story for young female readers who love reading chapter books!

This 88-page book is packed full of adventure and excitement that will keep the reader glued to its colorful pages from beginning to end.
Meeka, Sokron, Jonsy, and Nina are the best of friends and excited about the start of summer! Their adventure begins with getting out of school and talking about a pink sleepover. What’s better than a pink sleepover?
Then, they find an invitation to a fashion show. But things do not run smoothly when Kiki Shaver gets in the way.
Will the girls still be able to have fun and participate in the fashion show? You will discover a delightful story of how Kiki was able to turn her life aorund to sew friendships for life.
Natalie’s imaginative writing style with eye-catching descriptions and illustrations to match is a win win. This is attested to by the Silver Winner 2009 Award for Readers Favorite.

Natalie is an inspiration to young writers everywhere. Pick up your copy of Sewing a Friendship today at your favorite retailer, online or brick & mortar.

Guest reviewer Nikki Biddison is an educator and an activist for improving life for impoverished Cambodians. Check out Sustainable Sanitation Cambodia.

Shard Necklaces: Found Objects of Remarkable Beauty #Giveaway

April 18, 2010 Coupon codes, Giveaways, Guest posts, Mom stuff, Reviews 128 comments

shard1 Of the many different and unique kinds of jewelry in the Jayne Cairns Designs collection, the one-of-a-kind Shard Necklaces are my personal favorite. I must have at least 3 or 4 of these now. They are made out of Chinese pottery shards that have been turned into pendants and hung on several strands of pearls.

During their shopping excursions in Beijing, Jayne and her daughter, Angela, found many lovely pottery shards. These are set in a silver and copper bezel. Each shard is completely unique! Some have designs with birds and flowers, some with dragons and crickets, while others have patterns and pines that reflect the Asian influence.

Shard2 Stories vary about the origins of the one-of-a-kind pottery and porcelain pieces individually selected for JCD Jewelry shard pendant and freshwater pearl necklaces.

One tale says that the shards, remnants of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, are gathered from small villages throughout the Chinese countryside. Another legend is that the shards were found during an archeological dig at the site of a Chinese pottery factory, operating somewhere between the Ming and China dynasties. The mystery of their origin may never be solved.

What we do know is they are well loved by the many customers who buy and treasure them.

The shard necklaces are created using strands of delicate seed pearls, potato pearls and Swarovski crystals. The necklaces, which come in two lengths, 18” and 24”, are fastened with a magnetic clasp. The strong magnetic closure is very secure and eliminates all the fumbling with challenging fasteners! Once you try them, you’ll fall in love for yourself.

Earring1 Another jewelry feature I really like are the lever back ear wires that are used in most of the JCD Jewelry earrings. They prevent the earrings from slipping out of your ear. Even though they are not available in every color, the Star Seeds earrings are a great match to the shard necklaces with seed pearl strands. I love the way the seed pearls and Swarovski crystals dangle. I feel they make me sparkle!

Every time I put on a necklace or pair of earrings from JCD Jewelry, I walk with confidence and feel more attractive. Plus, I love the compliments I receive when wearing Jayne’s jewelry.

I never thought I would enjoy wearing jewelry so much. Maybe because they’re not the traditional strand of pearls my grandmother used to wear. That being said, these are definitely heirloom quality that can be passed down from one generation to the next. Start your collection today!

At Jayne Cairns Designs, they do know one thing for certain: the voices of antiquity speak through the beauty of these reclaimed treasures. See which one calls your name…

This is a guest review by my former colleague and current friend, Nikki Biddison.

Jayne Cairns Designs offers a 20% discount for all Mom Most Traveled readers! Use coupon code MOMMOSTTRAVELED in the shopping cart.

Coupon code expires May 3, 2010.

Enter to win an 18" or 24" Shard necklace with seed pearls (Item # N1009 or N1010) and matching earrings (any style)!

1.) To enter to win, visit the website and look for another specific shard necklace style you like (besides the one being promoted, of course) comment with that specific item name. The one you select (it MUST be N1009 or N1010) will be your prize if you are the lucky winner!

One winner will be chosen at random.

2.) Email subscribers get an extra entry for as long as their subscription is active.

Already a subscriber? Leave me a separate comment on this post to let me know you’re interested in this giveaway.

Want to subscribe? Just click here: Subscribe to Mom Most Traveled by Email (Only verified subscriptions are entered for all the giveaways.)

3.) Twitter about this giveaway (include a link to this post, and @MomMostTraveled ) and comment here with your Twitter name. (once daily)

4.) Blog about this giveaway, including a link to this post. Leave me a comment with the link so I can check your post!

This giveaway is open to those with a US mailing address.

This contest will close on April 28, 2010 midnight CST.

Evenflo Triumph Advance Review and Giveaway

November 24, 2009 Baby care, Giveaways, Guest posts, Reviews, Riding in cars with kids, Safety, Travel with children, Traveling baby 208 comments

Buying a carseat is one of the larger investments you make when a baby comes along (not including teenagerly demands such as a new car, college tuition and the like).

And it’s one that parents often make in the dark.

I know when we bought our first carseat, the decision was mostly influenced by the lady who happened to be standing in the carseat aisle at Babies R Us.

The Evenflo Triumph Advance LX Convertible Car Seat is a carseat that one would be lucky to happen upon.

After extensive testing, I can vouch that it is a solid carseat. Made for children from 5-50 pounds, it can be used as a rear-facing or forward-facing carseat.

It rates high in the Consumer Reports safety rankings. And although we have not tried this (yet), the seat is also FAA approved for airline use.

The Evenflo Triumph Advance LX Convertible Car Seat was not difficult to install; Chip had it in the car (using the LATCH method) in just a few minutes. Buckley loved it and wanted to sit in it immediately…I think its wide berth made her feel like a princess on a throne.

Speaking of wide berth, that was really the only complaint we had with the carseat. In my average-sized Honda Accord the carseat took up more than its fair share of backseat space. I feel sorry for whoever has to share the backseat on the next road trip. Not a problem if you have only very small children, or never go on road trips with friends, but if you do, take that into consideration.

Another aspect of this carseat’s size is how good a fit it would be with a very small child. Buckley is almost two and smack in the middle of the recommended weight range. She fits perfectly in the seat.

However, I can’t imagine putting a newborn baby in this seat, even if it is within the range of safety. I just picture a poor sleeping baby’s head rolling around and around. And judging by some comments offered by users who did just this, that can indeed be an issue.

One of the great things about the Evenflo Triumph Advance LX Convertible Car Seat were its TensionRight knobs. These knobs allow for rapid and easy tightening and loosening of the harness straps that go over your child’s shoulders. These were a vast improvement on the typical push-pull war I have with other loosening “systems”.

The seat pad is machine washable, if a bit difficult to remove and replace before and after washing. Overall, though, the Evenflo Triumph Advance LX Convertible Car Seat is a great carseat: sturdy, safe, and reasonably priced.

Marti’s writings have appeared in Paste, Southword, Southern Living, Portico, and Lipstick Magazines.

She blogs about her culinary discoveries at blankpalate.blogspot.com

1.) To enter to win a Triumph Advance LX Convertible Car Seat, visit http://www.evenflo.com and leave a comment on this post with another product you like or something you learned.

Please don’t just comment with “Enter me” or “Sounds great”. That totally annoys me. Those entries are not eligible to win.

One winner will be chosen by random number generator.

This giveaway is open to those with a US mailing address.

2.) Email subscribers get an extra entry for as long as their subscription is active.

Already a subscriber? Leave me a separate comment on this post to let me know you’re interested in this giveaway.

Want to subscribe? Just click here: Subscribe to Mom Most Traveled by Email (Only verified subscriptions are entered for all the giveaways.)

3.) Twitter about this giveaway (include a link to this page and @MomMostTraveled ) and comment here with your Twitter name.

4.) Blog about this giveaway, including a link to this post. Leave me a comment with the link so I can check your post!

This giveaway will close on December 3, 2009, 11:59 pm EST.

New BabyLegs Tights

November 13, 2009 Baby care, Children's fashion, Guest posts, Recipes No comments

What’s better than BabyLegs leg warmers, with their darling patterns and chub-emphasizing cuteness?
Meet BabyLegs tights, the most talked-about newbie of the fall line. Not content to have a monopoly on the leg warmer market, Babylegs has grown right along with its cutest customers.

These tights have all the comfort and fashion of original BabyLegs, and they’re perfect for keeping active older toddlers warm in the winter.
The fall line’s palette is full of rich chocolate browns, pinks, and baby blues. The stripes and polka dots are easy to mix and match with socks, or you can double your BabyLegs fun with some leg warmers on top. The extra room in back for a diaper is just the sort of detail that we’ve come to expect from this awesome company.
Buckley loved her snuggly, comfortable Nanaimo tights, and as a mom I’m happy to protect her from my own childhood memories of tights, all of which involve itchy legs. Her continuous pleading to wear the ‘gumball’ pants is enough to prove I’m doing my job.

Marti’s writings have appeared in Paste, Southword, Southern Living, Portico, and Lipstick Magazines.

She blogs about her culinary discoveries at blankpalate.blogspot.com

BabyLegs has a BIG sale right now at http://www.babylegs.com/Sale.aspx. BabyLegs legwarmers are reduced to $7, and there are deals to be had on new BabyLegs socks and tights as well. Free shipping on all orders! Hooray for bargains!

Fairly Simple

August 2, 2009 Guest posts, Project Simplify 7 comments

(Nick, AKA Dad Most Traveled has been working on the family home all summer. In an effort to simplify our lives and save money to do the things we love, we recently downsized from a 3 bedroom home to a 2 bedroom.

Read earlier installments about our journey towards the simple life in The Downsizing Journey Begins and The Great Purge, 2009, and Making Our Small House Livable)

The renovation is more than half way done now. All of our stuff has been moved to the new house but some is still in boxes and totes waiting for its place. In the beginning I thought it was going to be difficult to find places for all of our little stuff, but it seems as if there will be ample room once all the construction is finished.

All of the big projects have been completed now. I still need to get around to building a few hanging shelves in our closet (there is one closet for the entire house) and in our bathrooms.

So, the big question is how do I feel living in the smaller place? I have to say that I love it! Our other house had tons of open space but that often deterred us from really settling in to it. We never had a cozy area to hang out and watch movies or to just drink our morning coffee.

Most of the time we stayed in the office since it was the easiest room to keep cool. As hard as we tried, it never had that cozy feel. The new house has a small living room that has already proven to be a great place to relax and watch TV.

Friends have come over and, though the room is small, it has handled five people fine.

The small size is an advantage because the room can be cooled by the air conditioner in just a few minutes, keeping the energy bill low. Also, the set up allows for opening the windows and doors for a nice breeze on the not-so-hot days during the rainy season.
The kitchen is completely finished as well, except for the deep freezer we have yet to purchase.

The renovation was amazingly cheap with the total cost of the changes coming to around $400 (the biggest part of this was the granite used to make the counter top). The wooden shelves and cabinets will be great at keeping our kitchen supplies organized and are a huge step up from what seems to be the norm in Lao – an open, moldy, concrete area under the sink.
The outside work area has also been completed. We will have the oven, washing machine and dryer outside. Having the oven outside is another energy saving technique since the heat it gives off during baking will stay outside and not heat up the kitchen.

The dryer is one of least used appliances. We have had it for about 3 years now and have used it no more than 10 times. It’s just too easy to line dry everything, even during the rainy season.
It’s been about 6 weeks now since the family headed off to the States. The 3 weeks left before they come back will not go fast enough.

The first week after someone leaves is always hard because of the emptiness of the house. But then you can get to work and the loneliness subsides a little. However, it’s starting to creep back in now the more I see families walking around town. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get everything done to the house before they come back.

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