It's Amy Anderson. Cool.

03
Nov, 2010

Goodness is EASY! Now pack your lunch & get outta here...

The good people at Fresh and Easy have come up with a new line of foods called, the GOODNESS line. Why? Because it’s just that and to help get the word out I teamed up with Fresh and Easy (my favorite grocery store on the planet, btw) to throw a Goodness party at my house.

Mmmmm… food…

We even had Fresh and Easy Balloons!

The whole point of the Goodness line is to give parents/child caregivers nutritious, easy and affordable options when picking foods for kids. The line includes breakfast cereals, animal shaped mac & cheese, prepackaged fruit, baked chips, kettle corn and more and most importantly they contain no artificial colors, sweetners, flavors or preservatives, no added trans fats or caffeine and no high fructose corn syrup. This is real food your kids will love and many of the items are grab-and-go ready for snacks and lunch bags.

Aubrey & her friend get busy cooking up some more food for the party!

We tested the Goodness products out on my daughter, 3 year old Aubrey, and some of our friends and it was thumbs up all around. The mac and cheese was especially a hit and Aubrey loves the cereals for breakfast or an after school snack. Not gonna lie, so do I.

The happy Goodness testers

School season is in full swing, so if you’re a busy mom, make your life a little easier and check out the products. Now go pack that lunch, guilt-free, and eat the rest of the Halloween candy before the kids come home from school. Oh come on, I’m not the only one… right?

Fresh and Easy stores can be found in California, Nevada and Arizona. If you’re one of the lucky people to live in these states, here’s a link to find a Fresh and Easy near you!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Giveaway!

MGM just released the 1968 family classic, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, on blu-ray DVD and to celebrate, Aubrey and I attended a special screening of the movie at The Grove in Los Angeles. Where we were treated to popcorn, drinks, a Scrumptious Sweet Co. candy bar and even got to see Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes (Truly Scrumptious) in person. To say it was a bit of a childhood dream come true would be an understatement.

Aubrey was thrilled beyond words (um, did you see these lollipop bushes mommy?) and is absolutely hooked on the tittle song. Even if she does pronounce it “Kitty Kitty Bang Bang” it’s music to my ears hearing her sing a song from my childhood.

We did end up leaving shortly after intermission (yes… there’s an intermission) because the movie is 144 minutes long – you do the math. My kid is three. But she really did love what she saw and now we own the new blu-ray DVD so we can watch the parts she likes the best, right at home. The DVD also has some great extras like a sing-along, interactive games, Sherman Brothers’ demos (the brilliant composers who wrote the music for this movie and other classics like Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and The Aristocrats), Remembering Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Dick Van Dyke and more.

It had been a loooong time since I had seen this movie and I think I like it even more now. So much fun and Dick Van Dyke really is a true icon. However, if you remember the scene when all the dogs run into the Scrumptious Sweet Company factory during the Toot Sweets number, I’m about 100% sure I saw a dog fall from the upper walkway in the background. I’m not kidding. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the movie. Oy! OK… anyway… Now you need to get the DVD so you can see it, and…

Now you can! The good folks at MGM have given two copies of the new hi-def transfered blu-ray Chitty Chitty Bang Bang DVD for me to giveaway to my blog readers. Here’s how to enter the drawing – each one counts as an entry, but be sure to leave a separate comment for each action. It’s easier for me to count them this way:

1) Follow my blog on GFC

2) Leave a comment about a memory of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang OR tell me if you haven’t seen it yet!

3) Tweet this giveaway – here’s something you can copy and paste:

“Enter to win a blu-ray DVD of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on @TheAmyAnderson ‘s blog: http://tinyurl.com/29da6m7 HURRY Ends 11/7! Plz RT!”

Here’s the fine print, but I’ll actually leave it normal size so you can read it. If you remember this movie, then you’re OLD like me… This giveaway will end at midnight PST on Sunday, November 7, 2010. Two recipients will be chosen from the entries, using Random.org. A shipping address must be received from the recipient within 24 hours of notification or a new recipient will be chosen.

I was not compensated to write this review. I did receive copies of the DVD as a gift and giveaway items and attended a screening of the DVD to facilitate my review. So there.

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Tags: Amy Anderson • blu-ray • Chitty Chitty Bang Bang • Dick Van Dyke • Disney • giveaway • The Grove • The Sherman Brothers

30
Oct, 2010

XBox KINECT & Somehow, I Missed Beckham...

Lee and Aubrey are ready to Kinect!

Earlier this year, I told you about the new Kinect for Xbox 360. We got to attend the super cool unveiling event presented by XBox and Cirque du Soleil. As if things couldn’t get cooler, last weekend we got to attend the Xbox 360 and Elizabeth Glaser’s Pediatric AIDS Foundation‘s official launch party for Kinect.

Held at a swanky modern pad in the Beverly Hills Hills, we were treated to a live performance by Burnham, delicious eats, sweets and, of course, GAMES!

Aubrey got to frolic and play catch with a tiger cub on Kinectimals and cut a rug with her bestie, Isabella, to Lady Gaga’s Poker Face with Dance Central (see the video below)!

There were also mini-makeovers for the older girls, a coloring station for the younger kids and airbrush tattoos for everyone! Aubrey chose a purple and pink cupcake tattoo… because she’s bad-ass like that.

Aubrey & Isbella chillin with Kinectimal plushes

Also, apparently David Beckham was there and I didn’t even see him. See, I told you… cool. The party. Not me.

The holiday gift buying season is coming up and if you’re an Xboxer, you can keep up with current Kinect news and info in several different ways:

Twitter: @Xbox and @Microsoft
Flickr: www.Flickr.com/photos/Kinect
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/XBoxForAll
YouTube: www.YouTube.com/Xbox
Xbox 360 Kinect Experience Tour: http://Kinect.me