Blogger · Girly Girl

Twilight Eclipse Premier Party

While I was in Utah, I was invited to attend a Twilight Eclipse premier party at Thanksgiving Point. The best thing about it was that it was at 8pm instead of midnight.  {{squeal in delight}}  I got all the perks of seeing it first without the sleep deprivation hang over the next morning.

I was a bit under-dressed as there were people dressed up as werewolves and full costume.  The party was crazy fun with mom-tini’s called “Edwards Kiss” and “Jacob on the Beach”.

I got the hook up thanks to these lovely ladies who are also fellow bloggers.
Allison, Rachael, and Marie.  {{hola!}}

It was a crazy fun evening.  Miss you Carina!

Allison and I just couldn’t pass up this photo op taken from someone’s car!  How funny to drive around with Edward as a passenger.{{bwaahaa!}}

Yep, we left with some fun swag.  VIP guest passes, “Paw-sta”, buttons, cup, and necklace. 
Huge thanks to everyone for such a lovely time in Utah! 

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What’s My Story – Project MomCasting Submission

Did you know that there is Project MomCasting, an in progess?  It’s a TV series based on Online Moms and several of my fabulous blogging friends have entered.  It got me thinking, why not?

Hi, I am Laurie and here’s my story…

I’m a crafty girly-girl with three boys.  My oldest has high functioning autism, my middle has ADHD, and my youngest is well, 4.  {{enough said}}  We’re a loud but loving bunch. There’s nothing I won’t do for these precious souls. I’m honored to have them.

I love to decorate my home and almost every room as a theme.  I love a theme!  Yes I painted that shoe canvas myself to match the hand towels in my pink bathroom.  Cuz’ they’ve got to match.  Duh.

I grew up in a financially unstable home with the most creative mother on the planet.  She was not comfortable selling the things she made.  Since we struggled to keep the lights on growing up, I gained a passion to help to promote creative women with Tip Junkie. I love to feature, promote, teach, and market Mom-preneurs.  Tip Junkie has an entire directory and many programs to do just that – promote women in small business.  This is a huge motivating factor of why I do what I do every day.

I also believe that we can use what we do best to create Moments that Matter for ourselves and our family.  I’m so passionate about it that I wrote an eBook on the subject. {{wink}}

I’m a bit OCD in the organizing department and I hate to re-invent the wheel.  Therefore I created Executive Homemaker which has over 300 free printables for busy moms.  It’s my way of helping us stay on top of things, bring in the OTT {{over the top}}, with efficiency and grace.  {{love it!}}

I’m silly, love to laugh, driven, serious about my blogs, and adore my family and friends.  I love to host a party, attend girls night out with friends, love Sci-Fi movies and action flicks!

That’s just a quick blurb about moi.  {{hugs from Texas}}

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Chic Click Carnival

This week I’m participating in the Chic Click Carnival. I’m Laurie {from Tip Junkie} and this is my personal blog where I share my life as a wife to a techy husband, mom to three boys, and full time blogger.

My most exciting post on my blog right now is where I finally announced my new eBook: Memories that Endure are Moments that Matter.  It’s about turning the little things into something that you and your family will cherish.  It took over 6 months to write and edit and I’m really stoked about it.

My favorite peep of the week is Mama’s Losin’ It. I’ve met her in real life a couple times and she’s fantastic!

Mama's Losin' It

She hosts a writer’s workshop each week wehere you’ll receive prompts on what to blog about.

Mama Kat is crazy funny and has a quick wit.  I’m going to miss her Bachelorette recaps each week now that the show is ending.

P.S. Christmas in July starts on Tip Junkie this week!
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Chic Click Carnival

This week I’m participating in the Chic Click Carnival. I’m Laurie and this is my personal blog where I share my life as a wife to a techy husband, mom to three boys, and full time blogger.

Right now I think my favorite post is about Fabric Care University where I won a challenge with Tim Gunn and finally learned how to do my laundry correctly. 

My favorite peep of the week is Cut & create!  Jana is a fabulous graphics designer with mad skills here are some of my favorite posts of hers:

Blogger · Business Owner

Fabric Care University with Tim Gunn

Last week Proctor and Gamble flew me out to attend the Fabric Care University and edu-macated moi on the process of cleaning laundry.

I was stoked! Finally I will get the ins and outs on how to get my whites white and stains out of my boys clothing.  Better late than never!  {{wink}}

Friday night we all met up at a gallery for a little get-to-know-you party and our host was Tim Gunn from Project Runway! {{squeal in delight}}


He was completely delightful and exactly how he is on the show; engaging, kind, and fabulous.  He did a quick introduction of Proctor and Gamble and Tide then surprised us with a challenge.

That’s right, we were divided into groups according to the colors on our name badges and then had 30 minutes to turn a plain white t shirt into something completely different and unexpected only using a few items and a glue gun from a bag on the counter.


The pressure was on people!  I’ve watched every episode of Project Runway and I wasn’t going down with out fight.  Luckily, I had a group who felt exactly the same way and we went to town.


 
Our goal was to use the items in unexpected ways and to eliminate all the white from the shirt.  The blue at the bottom was actually the inside of the bag that all of our supplies were in!  No one else use the bag, and no one else covered the entire t shirt.

As we were preparing to present to Tim Gunn, Daniel suggested that we say that we were inspired by “Tide yellow”.  That dude is brilliant!

The back was crisscross black lace.  It’s not practical by any means but it won us FIRST PLACE, baby!  Yep, that’s right.  Out of all 5 of the contenders Tim Gunn thought our was the best.  {{shoot yeah}

Each member of our team won a $50 gift certificate.

It was such a crazy fun night.  I was able to recconnect with some amazing women I’ve been in the blog conference circuit as well as meet some new fabulous women.


Yes, I had a blast but I also learned SO much!
 

 

Q.  How to get Whites the Whitest:

Did you know that people in different parts of the world have different opinions on what is white?  For instance, we in the US want our whites to have a blue hugh while someone in another country wants a yellow hugh.  Who knew?!?

Well, Proctor and Gamble does.  They can recreate any water condition anywhere on the planet and that’s how they test their products.  They use microscopes to compare their cleaning enzymes with their competitors to make sure that Tide is the best.

A.  Tide power with Bleach
 
If you want your whites to be white with a blue hugh use poweredered Tide with Bleach.  Fill your water and when it’s 1/2 way full, drop in your Tide.  Once it’s full then put in all of your clothing.

{{I don’t have time for that so I’ll have to stick with my method of dump in Tide, let fill a little and then put in my clothes.  Sorry P&G}}



Q.  When & Why do you Use Fabric Softener?

I had no idea the importance of fabric softener.  I actually thought it was a gimmick used to make more money.  HA!

A.  Fabric Softener is used to keep the fibers in your clothing from splitting
which causes fade and wear.  You put it in the fabric softener compartment of your washer and it will distribute during the spin cycle.  OR if you don’t have a dispenser because you threw it away {{like I did}} you can use the Downy Ball.

Why is it important?  Because the nicer your clothes look and feel, the longer you’ll keep them.  It saves you money, honey.

Q.  Why is there so many Tide options these days?

Again, I thought this was a total gimmick to try and make more money with a marketing effort.  {{yes I’m a bit jaded}}But Dude!  You would not believe the science that goes into Tide.  It’s seriously impressive. 

A.  Due to the changes in fabric each season and for different fabrics, the folks over at Tide are constantly evolving as we evolve.  For instance, the coolest thing I learned was about Tide Sport.  You know the Under Armor that takes away your sweat when you work out?  Well that fabric is specifically designed to trap the sweat inside it.

The problem:  Your washing machine doesn’t get the trapped sweat out of the Under Armor!  No ma’am.  That is why certain types of clothing stink even after they are washed.  It’s because all of that grodie mess didn’t get out.   {{yuck!}}  Tide Sport has a special enzyme that opens up the fabric particles that trapped the sweat – then another enzyme that grabs the sweat and traps it so that it is drained into the water in your machine.

Dude.

Yes, it’s that cool.  I learned even more but I’m waiting on some cool materials that they’ll be sending me so I can give it to you straight and not give you my lay-mans rendition.  {{wink}}

Q.  What Did You Walk Away Learning The Most?

A.  You can use just one Tide product and you’ll get by just fine.  It’s designed for that.  Tide is forumated with some cool enzymes that no other product on the market has.  However, if you want really awesome clothes that look great longer, well, then you need to have a couple differnent Tides.

Laurie’s Laundry Suggestions:

Use Tide with Bleach Power for your Whites and White Sheets – wash on hot.
Use regular Tide for colored sheets and towels – was on hot.
Use Tide Sport for Under Armor, Sport Clothes, Mowing the Lawn Clothes, etc.
Use Tide Coldwater for everything else – wash on cold to save money honey!
Must buy a Downy ball.
 
I’m not going to go out and buy them all at once, just over time I’ll start my collection.  I have all boys and doing laundry right is a big deal.  I spend way too much money on new clothes because I don’t wash them correctly and take care of them like I should.

Stay Tuned – More to Come…

Blogger

Uncle Bens Cooking Event

I was invited to a blogger event to learn about the new UNCLE BEN’S® Whole Grain White Rice with Missy Lapine, The Sneaky Chef.

Since I don’t cook I was completely clueless as to what all the hub bub was about. I met Missy before we went into the kitchen and asked her if she worked for Uncle Bens. {{do’h!}}

But the oh-so fabulous Amy was totally in the know {{as usual}} and even brought her copy of Missy’s cook book for her to sign.

They are introducing their new product, “New UNCLE BEN’S® Whole Grain White Rice is the first and only whole grain rice that looks and tastes like white rice. The new product provides moms with a secret weapon to incorporate whole grains at dinner.”
{{Taken from Amy’s Blog – because I didn’t pay attention}}

We cooked 4 of Missy’s meals and they all turned out great. I took my time in the kitchen very seriously.

Well, OK maybe not. {{wink}}

I learned a bit but had a blast! Huge thanks to Mom Central, Uncle Bens, and The Sneaky Chef for such a fun afternoon.

More check-ins at Viking Cooking School
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You can also check out Amy and Holly’s blogs.

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How the SITSgirls Changed the Tip Junkie

Once upon a time, five girls who had a passion for blogging united and formed the crazy named company, Chic Chick Media. After two years of working together, Skyping, E-mailing, Twittering, Blogging, creating a text ad widget, and becoming Social Media Mavens they were finally able to meet in real life at Bloggy Boot Camp in Phoenix.

Me, Kim, Cindy, Heather and Tiffany – the Chic Chick Media girls

I was stoked to finally meet Kim from Today’s Creative Blog and Cindy from Skip to my Lou with whom I have a fondness and just adore working with.

The conference (Bloggy Boot Camp) was hosted by the SITSgirls who gave me my first speaking gig at SITScation last October. Before that, it never would have occurred to me to attend a blogging conference, let alone speak at one. After some serious soul searching, I realized my place among the blogging community and my responsibility to help teach other women what I have learned. After all, it goes hand in hand with my passion for promoting creative women. Once I got over my fears, it felt like a natural extension of Tip Junkie.

Angie, Francesca, Me, Cindy, Kim, Jyl, and MamaKat

The SITSgirls are continuing to do what they do best; unite women! Thanks to them and their conferences, I have become friends with the most incredible women and get the opportunity to meet more on a regular basis.

Me, Marlyn, and Lisa Leonard

Bloggy Boot Camp in Phoenix was a crash course for new bloggers who want to take their blogs to the next level. What the speakers taught took me two years to find out on my own and I was honored to be apart of it.

Marlyn, Lisa, and I spoke during the Mom-preneur track about Small Business, Advertising, Social Media, and Balancing it all. These two ladies ROCK and are such inspirations and success stories. If you have or want to make money online these two are great examples.

Debba with Girlfriendology

It was seriously so fun to see familiar faces and work out future collaborations. {{squeal in delight}}

Lisa, Me, and Julie

I already adore Julie who I bonded with at BlissDom. It was a complete honor to be able to spend a lot of time with Lisa Leonard. I tell you, she is the real deal and has such a warm heart and kind spirit. I just loved being able to talk shop with her and get to know her better.

Tiffany planned the conference with the perfect amount of work, play, and down time. We had dinner Saturday night at White Chocolate Grille. {{yummy}}

Angie, Francesca, MamaKat, Loralee, and Me

At this point in my gush-fest, you’re probably wondering how this all applies to you? Well, here it is. Whether you’re a blogger or not, I would strongly urge you to surround yourself with uplifting, collaborative, and kind hearted women. If you don’t have that in your real life, you can most certainly find it online.

Every time I attend a blog conference, I’m overwhelmed at the warmth and welcoming that I feel from my fellow colleges. I’m able to let loose, have fun, and talk shop with people who completely get my crazy passion for blogging. {{wink}} My wish is that you feel this too.

Hugs to everyone who has helped Tip Junkie, in what ever way, become what is is today. I’m so grateful and honored and will continue to do my best.


Blog Conferences Coming Up:

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Scrubbing Bubbles Spa Day

I was invited to a Spa day at the Four Seasons hosted by Scrubbing Bubbles.

The new Scrubbing Bubble Product helps moms fight the morning madness. It is called Extend-A-Clean and you once you use it, it continues to work over the next few days.

Whoohoo – boys sink here I come. I can’t wait to see if it will keep the dried up toothpaste from sticking. {{gross!}}

* Amy – Living Locurto & IHeartFaces * Mariah – Humphries Nation * Lynley – Save The Phillips Family * Rebekah – DFW Mama * Candace – MamaMia * Angela * me * Gretchen – Who Put Me In Charge Of These People??? * Shauna – Blah Blah Blog * Rachel – Quirky Momma * Laurie – Tip Junkie * Bianca – Becoming Bianca * Cynthia – Oh So Cynthia * Kim – Savor The Days * not pictured Shannon – Milk and Cuddles & Lea Ann – Mommy’s Wish List *

I had such a fun time and it was great to meet so many Dallas bloggers. Oh yeah, the message and facial wasn’t too shabby either. {{squeal in delight}}

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You can also check out more pictures on Whrrl.

Blogger · Business Owner

I’m Coming to Arizona

Hey lovely readers and friends. I’m coming to Arizona the week of May 1st to speak at Bloggy Boot Camp – Phoenix and would LOVE to meet up with you!

Tiffany from the SITSgirls is hosting mini-conferences all over the U.S. to unite and educate bloggers who want to network, learn, and party other bloggers in your area. {{squeal in delight}}

There’s an impressive list of speakers:

Jyl Johnson Patee of MomItForward, #GNO & EVO 2010

Laurie Turk of Tip Junkie

Sugar Jones of Sugar In The Raw

Kadi Prescott of Digital Kadi

Cindy Hopper of Skip to My Lou

Kim Demmon of Today’s Creative blog

Kelly of ChildhoodClothing.com

Loralee of Loralee’s Loney Tunes

Lisa of Lisa Leonard Designs

I hope you can come. There’s going to be a special Mom-preneur track for those who want to learn how to sell things online and through your blogs. I’ll be hooking you up with my tips as well.

Since I’ll be in Arizona for a few days I thought it would be fun to have dinner and meet up. If you’re interested, leave a comment or e-mail me and I’ll tell you where and when.

I can’t wait to meet you in real life!