Like millions of Americans I stayed up last night watching the Miss America Competition on television. I remember being a young girl and staying up watching the competition every year with my late grandmother. This year I sat up with my iPhone happily chatting on Facebook and Twitter, while also texting with my father who was watching as well. It was all quite entertaining. Just in case you missed it… here are a few of the awkward moments highlights.
Awkward Dance Moves, Recreational Marijuana, and The #1 Most Codependent Song on the Planet…
January 13, 2013 By 11 Comments
Nissan Habitat for Humanity Facebook App
March 25, 2012 By 1 Comment
Nissan just launched a hilarious Facebook app to celebrate their partnership with Habitat for Humanity and to get people involved with their efforts to build sustainable homes for those in need. The partnership between Nissan and Habitat for Humanity began in 2006, following the devastating Katrina and Rita hurricanes. Together, their goal is to build affordable, sustainable homes for families in need of decent housing.
So far, Nissan has donated $7.5 million in grant money and donations to the organization, built 50 homes, donated 104 Nissan vehicles to help building efforts, and over 5,000 Nissan employees have volunteered over 56,000 hours for Habitat for Humanity. This program is fueled by Nissan owners and employees, and you can check it out and see how you can get involved by visiting http://www.nissanusa.com/
The Nissan HFH Charity Game is an interactive video experience that lets you input commands which Nissan “builders” will perform. The game invites you to have a little fun with the volunteers in a virtual Habitat build: type in a command, and the volunteers will do as you say. The fun starts when you command an otherwise mild-mannered volunteer to smash windows, or, in one case, throw things (items are returned, mysteriously, by a giant penguin). This is all a lot of fun, but the purpose is significant: to support the building of green homes for deserving families.
My favorite is the guy volunteer – I just love the faces he makes. He reminds me of that guy from “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” Watch him “throw” the pipe:
Check out the app here: http://www.facebook.com/
The players with the top 100 scores will get recognition in the form of a personalized video from Nissan volunteers, where they will hammer a nail for them as a thank you, as well as a Nissan t-shirt.
The girls and I had a ball playing with the app. It was a great way to tell them more about Habitat for Humanity and give them some perspective on how fortunate we are to have what we have in a light but effective way. I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to help one of my cousins a few years ago and had a really fantastic time. The Tween asked if we could volunteer again, and I will for sure make that happen this year. I’ll add it to my Life List.
Check it out and play the app, and spread the word to your friends. Oh – and ask the man volunteer to “scratch” the pipe… it’s hysterical.
Crabs In A … Crock Pot?! The Crock Pot Girls
September 6, 2011 By 22 Comments
A few weeks ago I was Blog Hopping and saw a link to the Crock Pot Girls Facebook page. I immediately hit “Like” and was excited to see 30,000ish fans posting recipes and chatting away. In the days after I noticed more and more of my Facebook friends had also “Liked” the Crock Pot Girls page, and I thought nothing of it. In fact I kinda prided myself that I had “discovered something first.”
Today on Facebook I saw mention of the “Crock Pot Girls Drama” and how it may have been a “bot” that generated literally hundreds of thousands of fans for this page – putting it over Facebook pages such as Rachel Ray and Hungry Girl; two Nationally known websites. Upon Googling, I found hundreds of sites – both in support and opposition – for Crock Pot Girls. I also looked on their Facebook Page where I am a fan, but all looked fine – no sign of the “drama.”
So I started asking my friends… “do you remember ‘liking’ the Crock Pot Girls Facebook Page?” EVERYONE said yes. Everyone.
One friend said that someone was even talking about the Page at her child’s football practice – recommending it to the other moms. Another said she “Liked” them just last week after hearing some other friends rave about them.
So why would people think that this is anything more than a fantastic idea that has brought remarkable results?
Many bloggers have dug into the fact that the domain CrockPotGirls.com is registered to a man who is a self proclaimed “SEO Expert” and affiliate marketer – insinuating that the three ladies paid for their fans, therefore making them less legit. However one fan defended the Crock Pot Girls, claiming that the man is actually one of the girls’ brother in law.
There is also talk that it is a “virus” or “bot” that when one person “Likes” the page, that it automatically adds their friends list to the “Likers” number. Even weirder it has been speculated that the “bot” was creating false profiles as “Likers” since many of the profiles have little to no activity on their page. Either of these of course are against Facebook’s Terms of Service agreement.
So is this a hoax or just another “Crabs In A Bucket” story where people are looking for a way to tear these ladies down, instead of supporting and celebrating their success? Well, no one really knows…. yet. As several have said about the Blogosphere “the truth always comes out eventually” and it will eventually be known just exactly how three moms in Texas have had a record breaking few weeks on Facebook.
I hope - for their sake – that the bad things that ARE being said are wrong, and that really and truly, 1 million + other people just like my friends and I saw the page, and hit “Like” – not that a computer did it. I think the story of three stay at home moms to become such a huge internet sensation that quickly – and it be legit – would be fantastic! And if nothing else, all of this Crock Pot talk has gotten me to dust of my beloved slow cooker to try some of the hundreds of new recipes that the “legit” Likers have shared.
So what do you think? Hoax? Legit? Crabs in a Bucket? And were you a “legitimate Liker” to their page?
Blueberry Muffin Cake Pops
August 10, 2011 By 17 Comments
The closer we get to school starting, the more I am testing out my Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker to see what kind of amazing FRESH breakfast goodies I can prepare in just 4 minutes flat! (I have mentioned I love this machine, right?!)
This week I put it to the test with one of my all time favorites - BLUEBERRY MUFFINS!
Because of the little “blueberry bits” in the Martha White Blueberry Muffin mix, I was worried I was going to end up with “crunchy” muffin pops. So the first thing I did was crush all of the little “blueberries” into the batter to make it as smooth as possible. This would prove to be futile later but it did make for some pretty purpley-blue batter!
I loaded my Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker just like every other time – filling each little “hole” to just under the rim. As you can see, by the time I snatched up the camera, my little muffins had already begun to rise. That’s ok though, as they turned out perfect anyway!
I cooked my Blueberry Muffin Cake Pops for about three minutes – fearful they were going to burn. And though it looked great on the outside in three minutes, the inside told a different story.
I left the rest of them in for another minute or so, and they turned out absolutely perfect!
The only downfall to making Blueberry Muffin Cake Pops… they are very hard to BUTTER! 
I don’t know if there is a way to mix butter into the batter… but you know I am going to try it!
These turned out so well, I am certain that this will be a common breakfast here at the Moscato Household. Every single one of these little pops – the mix makes about 30 – were gobbled up before they even had a chance to get cool. Both girls – and the Hubbly – just loved them. And I admit, I even had a few of my own.
Just make this #3,482 reason I believe EVERYONE needs a Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker….
Pancake Cake Pops… With Sausage!
August 4, 2011 By 7 Comments
A couple weeks ago I got the idea of making Pancake Cake Pops using the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker. It was a huge hit and we have made them several times since then. But The Toddler kept asking for sausage, as she prefers it to bacon, so this morning as a surprise I got up early to make her some of her very own Pancake Pops with Sausage.
The ingredients are super simple – Hungry Jack Complete Buttermilk Pancake mix, Jimmy Dean Sausage and your syrup of choice – this one I choice obviously because of the deal that was offered (high five Winn Dixie!) I also wanted to check out this Hashbrown Casserole as we are huge fans of Cracker Barrel’s version.
Fry the sausage first very gently to make sure it doesnt get “crispy.” You want it DONE but still soft. Set aside and let cool while you mix the Pancake Mix with water to a bit thicker of a consistency than it calls for – like cake batter. This time instead of sprinkling the sausage on top like I did with the bacon, I mixed the cooked sausage directly into the mixed up batter and stirred it all together.
The Pancake Sausage Cake Pops cooked up perfectly in just four minutes – just like everything else in the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker. I also microwaved the Hashbrown Casserole – I have to admit it was pretty tasty! – and cut up a green apple to have some “fruit” with this “well balanced meal.” Pour some syrup on top, serve with an ice cold glass of milk and VOILA! The perfect breakfast -in only 10 minutes- thanks to the Baby Cakes Cake Pop Maker!
Bite sized perfection.
