Friday, November 18, 2011

I've MOVED! :)

Just a quick note all I have finally taken the plunge and bought my domain. You can now find me at www.strandedintheburbs.com

Come by and see me, I've missed you guys.

Karina
:)

Friday, September 9, 2011

Come Party #MILFF Style


Happy Friday everyone! 

So if you haven't heard on Twitter, I am part of a #MILFF  party. Now before you get all dirty thinking, #MILFF is a hastag created by Holly Pavlika from Big Fuel (@HollyPavlika) who lives in NYC.  #MILFF stands for #MomsILikeToFollowFriday.  We all tell each other who the other cool moms are on twitter and it has really been great for me to meet all these moms on Twitter I never would have if it hadn't been for #MILFF


Holly has  reached 5,000 followers (which is insane in the twitterverse) and we are having a party to celebrate on Friday September 9th at 9pm EST. 9/9 at 9pm get it? 


Here are some of the prizes you can win.;
  • Shirts
    20 #MILFF T-SHIRTS
    ($20 VALUE)
  • Freshalicious
    4 "FRESHALICIOUS" COOK BOOKS
    BY STACEY FOKAS
    ($29.95CDN VALUE)
  • Kathy Buckworth
    4 KATHY BUCKWORTH BOOKS
    "The BlackBerry Diaries: Adventures in Modern Motherhood","Shut Up and Eat: Tales of Chicken, Children & Chardonnay","Journey to the Darkside: Supermom goes home","The Secret life of Supermom"($20 VALUE EACH)
  • Vitamin Blast
    VITAMIN BLAST - 2 CASES OF WATER
    FOR US ONLY
    ($19.95 VALUE)
  • Squishables
    4 MINI SQUISHABLES - PUSH TOYS
    ($19 VALUE)
  • Voli Vodka
    VOLI VODKA - PRIZE PACK
    TOTE BAG, SHAKER, BOTTLE OF VODKA, BEACH TOWEL
    ($50 VALUE)
  • Life Science
    LIFE SCIENCE -
    1 PRIZE PACK OF IRONKIDS ($50 VALUE) AND
    1 PRIZE PACK OF ADULT ESSENTIALS ($50)
  • The Children's Place
    THE CHILDREN'S PLACE -
    5 50.00 GIFT CARDS WITH
    A 25% OFF VIP COUPON
  • SoConnected
    SoConnected -$25 STARBUCKS GIFT CERTIFICATE
  • CLIPPO -
    $50 CLIPPO GIFT CERTIFICATE
  • Baby D drops
    1 BOTTLE (VALUE $20)
    Free Dora The Explorer growthchart for "liking" theBaby Ddrops Facebook page.


And because we all love our friends, you can also nominate your favourite MILFF in the #MILFF Contest! Use #MILFFqueen as the hashtag and a short (this is twitter after all!) reason why you are nominating them. The #MILFFqueen will win a $50 American Express Gift Card courtesy of Mom-entum & Big Fuel. 

So make sure to tire out the kidlets and have them in bed by 9pm EST (sorry west coasters) and join some #MILFF's to part-ay! :) 

Friday, August 12, 2011

Five Blogs I like to Follow Friday - #2

Happy Friday all!


In an effort to ramp up my writing, I am forcing myself to write something no matter how small every day.  I may not finish a post, but I will start one at least. (small steps, right?) 


As you may or may not know, I bloody love reading other blogs. In fact, I think it can qualify as an addiction. I read tons and since this is the reason why I don't write more, I figured let's use this productively and write about the blogs I love to read. 


The first five blogs I love to love are here Since there are so many more blogs out there but I want you to pace yourself, here are the next 5 that I love. 

  • The Journey Continues.......  Heather Hamilton is a mother of 3, who has recently lost one of her twins Zack.  Her story and posts make me cry and leave me in awe of how strong she is and how she has turned this event which has changed her life and her family's forever into something good, something positive and something that will make a difference. The charity she has set up on Zack's name Zack's Dream Room  is raising money to make York Central Hospital a better place for kids and their families.  Warning, do not read this blog if you sit in an open concept area at work, trust me and you will thank me later. 


  • Nic Nac Maniac Nerina has a gorgeous blog. It is like she has taken every romantic, frilly decorating idea I have ever had and put it in one place.  Seriously, love it. She is so generous with her praise and support for other bloggers. You will get addicted, trust me. 

  • Beyond Post Partum As someone who suffered from PPD, I really wish I had found this blog in 2009.  Amber is honest, supportive, and overall rational in the often irrational world of post-partum moms. If you ever meet a new mom, you must send her this blog. She reminds us to be kind to each other and most of all to ourselves and who doesn't need to be reminded of that once in a while, right? 

  • Listen to Lena Lena is gorgeous, funny and has some serious kick-a** eyebrows (I mean this in a good way :P ) As a new mom, I loved listening to her advice and reviews  just in case I decided to get out of my sweatpants and look fit for public viewing. She breaks it down and even makes it seem easy for someone like me. Plus, she has THE best giveaways and who doesn't like free stuff? 

  • Lainey Gossip Ah Lainey, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I have been reading her celebrity gossip blog since the day it was a subscribe-only newsletter and I have been hooked ever since. When I read her blog I feel like I know her (which is the greatest compliment I can give to a writer), she has the best scoop, obsesses about fantasy celebrity pairings as much as I do, and refuses to report on "sad smut" i.e kicking someone when they are truly down à la Amy Winehouse.  She uncovers the "business" behind Hollywood and makes you see just how manufactured everything is in that town.   

So there you have it, my next 5 blogs. What do you think? Do you hate any of these? Let me know and if you have any you would like to recommend, feel free to let me know. I am always looking to feed my addiction. :P


Have a great weekend, everyone! 





Thursday, August 11, 2011

Being Connected

So the past year has been pretty huge for me.  In 10 months I have gone from a corporate drone who loathed going into work every day to a WAHM who gets up every day energized and loving my new life which is AWE-SOME!

I have been so lucky and so blessed to meet great friends like @InfoSara, Anne Green, Optimom , Holly Pavlika and many others who I don't have the space to name through Twitter. I first started dabbling in Twitter and Social Media because as a media person,, it was my job to stay on top of what was going on and nothing had more going on than Social Media.

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't get Twitter in the beginning. (and am willing to admit that the person I followed was Kim Kardashian..I know, I know) So I followed celebrities but for the most part, none followed me back (except for Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt but we'll save that story for another day) 


Thankfully I quickly got bored of them all, and searched for people while semi-like me were smarter, stronger, & that I learned so much from.  Twitter is a place where people are different and you can always find someone like you or at least will say something nice when you`re having a bad day. Trust me, ask for some good vibes on a bad day and see the response you get.

Last fall, when I quit my job 2 conferences were happening; Blissdom Canada & She`s Connected At the time I was insanely jealous as I read the tweets of women supporting & learning from each other but also learning how to support their dreams and families with their passion.  This was one of the most important things I learned from their conference tweets & blog posts. We all know that following your passion is always amazing but you know what is even more amazing. Getting to fulfill your passion and get paid for it. (Can I get a woohoo!) 


So of course when the Blissdom Canada tix went on sale I snapped one up, which was lucky as they sold our in 90 mins, and on Tuesday was thrilled to discover that I was selected to attend She`s Connected (WOOT WOOT!) I am both thrilled and terrified to meet all these women and have dusted off the treadmill & started researching outfit choices.

I think when it comes to getting paid, we as women tend to play down the value we have and discount it as just a `hobby` or `something to do while the kids nap` but in truth brands WANT & NEED us. More and more, they are competing in an increasingly crowded space for the attention of consumers.  I am happy to report that thanks to the team at She`s Connected and Blissdom we are finally getting the recognition we deserve.

So thanks to both Blissdom Canada & She`s Connected - can`t wait to see you both this fall!

P.S. If you do want to attend She`s Connected click the badge on the right and apply. Newbies, Oldies, big-time bloggers, small-time bloggers, all are welcome. Heck, if they invited me it just proves there is a chance for everybody :P 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Summertime

Hey everyone!

Sorry it has been so long but believe it or not, I have actually been playing outside this month! Gasp!

You see this is the first summer in the past 12 years that I have actually gotten a tan without going on a true vacation. Sad but true.

We have spent afternoons at the park, breakfasts outside, & dinners by candlelight and it has been Awe-some.  It has been good for me, good for Max and good as our family as a whole. I have been able to worry just a little bit less about what is to come and just enjoy the moment. Isn't that what summer is all about anyways?

I have way more to say on this but a certain someone needs "Night, Night Hop" read to them just one more time......

PS. In all seriousness, I have been severely neglecting the blog but all that will change in August, I promise!  Girl Guides Honour (OK so was never a Girl Guide and that's a whole other post but you know what I mean, right?)

XO