I am in the market for a new car. Well, when I say "in the market" I mean that I accost strange people in parking lots when I see a vehicle I think would fit my family of five and immediately question them about how they feel when it comes to MPG, leg room, leather vs. cloth and of course, CD player sound quality. I have only had one woman run screaming from me. (At least, I think it was me. It could have been my Doberman in the car growling out the window.) So, when I was offered the chance to test drive a new Saturn VUE- Greenline, I jumped at it. In fact, I jumped so hard that I think I knocked over the nice people offering. I do love to test drive new vehicles. That new car smell. That clean car atmosphere. The radio stations that I get to preset myself. Let me at least give you a small disclaimer. I own a Saturn. I bought it when they boys were one and three years old. Tiny little people. People who had car seats and sippy cups. A time when my daughter was not only not yet born, but not even an idea. We knew for sure that a Saturn SL2 would work for us for years. And it has. For 10 years to be exact. But you see, the kids have decided to grow up (not to mention we added another!) and now, well, the nearly 6 foot tall teen is a bit crushed in the back seat of the car when all 5 of us go for a drive. If the car grew with the family, I would drive it forever. Honestly, I have never owned a car that has been as good to us and as dependable as our Saturn. Therefore, of course I was going to jump at the chance to test another version of a Saturn. The nice gentleman dropped off the car and was very cool when I squealed and jumped up and did my "new car in da house" dance when he passed over the keys. I raced to check out the VUE as soon as he left. It was love at first site. I loaded up the husband in the back seat. (Hey! The kids were in school and I had to check for leg room. HE FIT!) We drove around and did what all people do when they are in a new car. Played with the windows and honked the horn. So far it passed my personal tests. But, if I was going to actually consider buying one of these (or even giving my thumbs up for it), I was going to have to check out the important details that really do make a difference between having fun driving a car and really wanting to buy it. The Saturn Vue Greenline Hybrid is the first GM vehicle powered by a new, more affordable hybrid system that delivers an estimated 20-percent improvement in fuel economy, depending on driving conditions. It delivers an EPA estimated 27 mgp in the city and the best highway mileage of any SUV at 32 mpg. The Vue's hybrid system costs under $2000. The full vehicle stats at less than $23,000. Meaning, economical, efficient and you don't have to sell a kidney to afford it. Driving the Green Line is, well, just like driving any other mid-size SUV. If I didn't know any better, I would only notice the difference when I came to a stop. In fact, I am pretty sure most drivers won't notice anything unusual until they've stopped at a red light or stop sign, too. In most situations, the engine completely stops…as in turns off. It is like an engine stall but without the horrible groan that precedes it or the panic that ensues when it is in fact a stall. Actually, it just smoothly shuts down. While stopped and in "eco"mode all the interior features remain operational, such as the climate control, radio, etc. As soon as you take your foot off of the brake and move, there is no hesitation or delay. Lifting off the brake engages the electric motor-generator and smoothly restarts the gasoline engine so you're under way again with no fuss. Unlike other current hybrids, however, the Green Line does not run any distance on pure electric power; the motor-generator is a hybrid "helper." The net result is that saving fuel has never been more painless. Finally, I can have a vehicle large enough to fit a teen, tween and diva grade schooler-- without watching them being forced to rest their heads on their knees as they fold themselves into a backseat. All without the guilt of knowing I am harming the environment. Actually, just the opposite. I could feel that I was actually doing something that would benefit both my family and the world around me. (Yes, I will totally hug this tree while loving the Vue!) At the end of the week, the nice men at GM came to get the Vue. (Door to door service rocks.) And, he didn't even call for help when I threw myself at his feet clinging on and begging him not to take it away. As he dragged me down the sidewalk, he told me he was glad that I enjoyed the week, but could I PLEASE let go and give up the keys? I did. Honestly, I really did love the Vue and the fact that Saturn and GM are moving closer towards being more economically friendly and help to protect rather than harm our environment. I hope more companies jump in and start realizing that larger families need options that are economically and environmentally friendly.
[Disclosure: I received nothing in return for test driving and reviewing the Saturn Vue. No financial compensation or free cars were offered. As I told the wonderful people at ParentBloggers, I have no problem talking about free test drives on my blog. I figure every now and then you can handle it. Oh, and by the way, I have the same policy with Matthew McConaughey, too. I will blog about that test drive, too, if I am ever offered. Just so you know.]
As a Mom to three kids of various ages, it takes everything for me to keep up with their schedules, my husband's schedule--not to mention my own. Oh sure, I am good at knowing that the teen has somewhere to be on a certain day and time, but many times I forget that it conflicts with the soccer practice of the tween which of course most likely coincides with something the little one has to do. 
For such a small book, this educational series is packed with practical and interesting material. I am sure that it will maintain it's prime spot in our car so that she can pull it out on car trips, playdates and even long trips to the store. One thing that kept her interest is the bright colors used. It seemed more like fun than a typical educational workbook. A bonus that we both loved was the reinforcements at the bottom of every page. Phrases such "You're smart!" and "How extraordinary!"
It gave me a chance to try all of the products at one time. I grabbed the Blink Smudge cleaners and got all of the front windows fingerprint free. Then grabbed the Spill Grabber and Stain Lifter that was suddenly needed when I slammed on the brakes (thankyouvery much SUV in front of me!). The mesh totes were perfect for me to gather up the miscellaneous items that I keep stocked in the car. And the Trash Tossers? Please! Road trip with kids + snacks = trash. I loved having easy access to trash bags without having to pray that I had some old shopping backs stuffed under the seat. (Though, if I did, I would have cleaned them up by then.) Honestly, I think these are way overdue products for busy moms who spend half of their lives in their car. I keep some of the product attached to the back of the seat and some in the glove box, but my Saturn is loving that I am enjoying these products so much. Of course, I had to wait until the end of the trip to climb into the back seat to clean, but even so, I was giddy with these cleaning products. And so was Sally. (That's my car. Don't judge me. I've had her longer than my daughter. Of course I named her.)
The title of the book alone was enough to get my interest. But as I dug in, I began to become one of those parents who realized that this book was written for me. For my children.
by Jennifer Trachtenberg, MD, gives you the tools to reverse some of these bad habits. And who of us as parents don't want to help our children live the healthiest lives possible?
Don't they make a beautiful couple?
Is it wrong that I slept with this:
I even licked it a little. And whispered words of love and devotion to it.
~~~~~
So, all those times I made fun of geeks for getting in line early for a midnight release of something and all of those times I rolled my eyes and all of those times I said, "You wouldn't see ME out at midnight for some stupid game!"...well, I owe you an apology. I won't actually give you one, but I do owe you one.
Monday night around 11:00pm I found myself in the electronics department at Wal-Mart with 2 other 
When the phones arrived, much to their relief the phones were "cool" and they received the "official cool seal of approval." No Mickey or Minney Mouse covered their phones. In fact, they looked just as awesome as any other flip phone they might purchase elsewhere. They received cool silver flip phones. I have to admit, I liked the way looked as well. But the purpose of the cell phone was not to look cool. For me to set it apart from the rest of the pack it had to offer something that other cell services did not. Disney does that. And they do that well. This is truly a family friendly plan. We have had the VIP service which has allowed us to try out all of the amazing features they provide. They have amazing features.
I think one of my favorite service is the Family Locater. This service has the ability for the parent's to use their phones to track the location of the cell phone of their child using GPS technology. It is extremely accurate. (And truth be told, I have used it more than once to find my kiddos. Not because they were not where they said they would be but because they were going several different places and this way, I knew where they were. Especially if they were not answering their phone.) I love knowing that as long as the cell phone is on my tween, I know where he is. Big Brother watching? Nah. Just a concerned parent. Of course, the kids wished that they could track their parents, but it isn't a two way thing. (Do my kids really need to know if I am at the mall when I should be at home working? I think not!)
In addition, they have a Family Alert feature. This allows any member of the family to send out a message that will be sent to everyone else's phone. You know, for those times when you need to let your tween or teen know about a different after school plan or that dinner times have changed etc. Some days I would just get a message from one of the boys saying, "Hi!" to everyone. It is nice to be able to keep in touch with the entire family with just one message that gets sent out to everyone.
Family Monitor feature helps you stay in control of your family’s wireless spending. Check usage, and as the Family Manager, set voice minutes, text and picture messaging allowances, and receive an alert when an allowance is reached. Also, Family Managers can set spending limits on downloadable entertainment content that both you and your kids can enjoy. Online I can use the Family Control Center. I keep tabs on my kids phone usage, their whereabouts, and even set the hours when they can use the phone. Yes, that last one is a bonus. Just in case one of the boys forget to turn off their phone in school, I can set it to where they cannot receive or make phone calls during certain hours. But, seeing as that could be rather restrictive if I needed to reach the boys or send one of our awesome Family Alerts they have added the option that they are able to receive or make calls to certain phone numbers even during restricted hours. That means they can still reach me and I can still reach them when it is necessary. In school the rule is that they cannot have their cell phones on. However, the cell phones have ring features that range from ring and vibrate down to no sound or vibration at all. Which comes in handy when they are not allowed to have their phones. They can lock it in their locker yet still be able to get to it if they need me or have the ability to check the messages after school to see if their Dad or I have sent any family messages.
See these three women? Love. Them. (They are totally my new BFFs! Really! Call in and ask them.) They are the 
From there it just started. None of the awkward, "I am that blogger you don't know that gushed all over you and therefore was given this great chance to talk to you because everyone was tired of me begging to get in touch with you."
In fact, they said they were reading my blog. My blog. This blog. Right here. The Radio Ritas read my blog and verbally commented on things I wrote. How I didn't fall into a dead faint right there is beyond me. But I managed to babble-ass something 
We talked about Nelsie's book, 
It is not often that I will find a person, place or thing to gush about. Okay, I gush alot, but you totally need to understand that this particular gushfest involves a role model, a person I admire more than coffee (yes, that much) and a woman who took time out of a hectic publishing schedule to answer the questions of a wanna-be, naive author who had nothing to lose by bombarding her with questions. Who am I talking about? Why the amazing, cooler than cool, badder than bad Ayun Halliday. (Ayun as is rhymes with ray gun, just so you know.) I will admit that I pretended to be all cool when she asked me to be on her virtual bok tour, but that lasted about 5 seconds before I fainted, came to and emailed her back an emphatic YES. I have admired her for years, so it was a no brainer.
To celebrate the UK release of her book 
