Butterviews

In early 2009, I attended BlissDom. This conference is everything I wanted in a conference. It’s smaller and more intimate than the other conferences I’ve attended, BlogHer and SXSW. I had a ton of fun. Considering my hatred of crowds, and my insecurities, it was fabulous. Whenever the people got to be too much, I was able to escape to my room and come back when I was ready. I talked to people. I had fun at their extras, like the pajama movie party. I wanted to go back this year, but our finances didn’t allow it. My finances don’t allow it for 2011 either, but I’m entering a contest. The grand prize – a full trip, airfare, conference, and hotel. I might can swing food and airport transportation. I am definitely entering. I doubt I’ll win – but the sure way not to is to not enter! Do you want to enter? No, you totally don’t, so I have a better chance to win, but I’ll give you the information anyway. I’m a member of the One2One Network, the folks holding the contest – so you have to be a member to enter. But that’s an easy and rewarding thing to do.

The Great BlissDom Conference Package Giveaway

One2One Network is kicking off a HUGE contest to bring you bliss! We are going to be giving away conference passes to three lucky One2One bloggers for BlissDom’11 in Nashville, TN January 27-28. There are three levels of prizing and all include a full conference pass ($399 value).

BlissDom is the premiere conference for women who find and express their bliss by publishing online. Speakers and panels feature the best blogging, public relations and social media pros gathering to mentor new and old friends alike.

This is Blissdom’s most exciting year, with even more incredible content, events, networking and surprises scheduled than ever before. This year’s mantra – Think Big. Be Bold. Create Your Bliss. Whether you are a blogging newbie or maven, BlissDom’11 is designed to superserve everyone!

BLISSDOM’11 PACKAGE GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Contest runs Tuesday, November 9 through midnight (EST) Monday, November 29, 2010.

The PRIZES:

GRAND prize: Full conference pass (includes Wisdom Workshops), 3 nights at the Opryland Hotel, AND airfare/travel to the conference (up to $500)!!! (~$1500 value!)
FIRST prize: Full conference pass (includes Wisdom Workshops), 2 nights at the Opryland Hotel!! (~$800 value!)
SECOND prize: Full conference pass (includes Wisdom Workshops) (~$500 value!)

This giveaway is now closed, with a winner chosen.

The One2One Network sent me a download of the brand new Five for Fighting album, Slice, which was released October 12th. Keep reading for a giveaway opportunity!

I’m a fan of Five for Fighting and John Ondrasik, so I was looking forward to hearing the new stuff.

So – what are my impressions?  As a whole, very positive.  Catchy stuff that kind of gets into your head and you want to sing along (an example is Slice for that.)  Tuesday sort of reminds me (and this is a compliment, so if you’re like my husband, hush!) of a mixed song of Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond.  It has that feel of a song that might not be that popular now, but endures for years to come.  It’s just lovely.  The melodies through the album really feel good.  I didn’t love Above the Timberline – but I can’t quite put my finger on why.  I think it has to do with the falsetto used.  Transfer is such a rich song, I loved that one – I really want you to take a listen to that one.  The album as a whole is one you should buy.  I love it, and will add all the songs (except Above the Timberline) to my iPod.

The Giveaway! An autographed CD of Five for Fighting’s Slice!  To enter, it’s very very simple.  Comment here.  That’s it.  One per person, please -  Duplicate entries will be deleted.  Deadline is 11:59pm Pacific, Wednesday, November 11th.  I’ll post the winner and I’ll send the winner an email (so make sure you enter with the correct one!)  That person will have 24 hours to get back to me with their address or I choose a new winner.  I’ll pass that info on to the One2One Network to send the winning (autographed) music your way.

Links to Take you Away:

Five for Fighting Website

Follow John on Twitter

Five for Fighting’s YouTube Channel

Become a fan on Facebook

Buy the new Album!!

Album Tracklisting:
1. Slice
2. Note To The Unknown Soldier
3. Tuesday
4. Chances
5. This Dance
6. Above The Timberline
7. Transfer
8. Hope
9. Story Of Your Life
10. Love Can’t Change The Weather
11. Augie Nieto

Where the Wild Things Are: The IMAX Experience opened Friday, October 16th and today IMAX is launching a promotion just for their Facebook fans!  And check below for an offer just for you, my readers!

Each day of this week, two lucky fans who put the Where the Wild Things Are crown on their profile picture and comment on the IMAX Wall will be entered to win an exclusive IMAX Where the Wild Things Are poster, book, and a pair of IMAX movie tickets! The crown image and full instructions will be released on the IMAX Fan Page today (Monday!)

For my readers:

Two readers – across all participating Momfluence blogs (about 30) will win a Where the Wild Things Are Prize Pack:

- An adult Where the Wild Things Are t-shirt (L or XL)

- A kids Where the Wild Things Are t-shirt (size large)

- A Where the Wild Things Are Crown

- An exclusive Where the Wild Things Are IMAX poster

- Where the Wild Things Are book

- A pair of IMAX movie tickets

To enter the contest:

1. Become a fan of IMAX on Facebook

2. Fill out this secure document

The contest ends Friday, October 23rd at 11:59 p.m. ET and is open to all legal U.S. residents age 18 years or older.

ALSO:

There will be a Twitter party – hashtag #IMAXWildThings – Monday from 9 to 10 p.m. ET and even more prizes and tickets will be awarded during that event.

Rock of Ages

Some info on the CD:

New Line Records just hammered the in-store release of the Original Broadway Cast Recording of five-time Tony Award nominated “ROCK OF AGES.” For those of you not in the know, Rock of Ages is the new Broadway musical starring American Idol finalist Constantine Maroulis. Set in 1987 in a legendary Sunset Strip rock club, a small-town girl meets a big-city dreamer and they fall in love to the greatest metal songs of the 80′s. The musical is an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake and more.

I’ll be honest… I wasn’t sure what this was. I agreed, because, well, Rock!! When I agreed, I didn’t know that this was a Broadway show. It also took me checking out the artwork and such to realize that Constantine Maroulis is a castmember. At that point I realized that I would have to add a disclaimer here, because I am no longer objective. I had a serious (totally married, pious) crush on Constantine on American Idol. I wanted to pet him and put him in my pocket.

Once I found out this was a musical, using already established rock, I was a little concerned. I was really really hoping it wouldn’t be like those covers you hear, where a really rocking song ends up sounding like Muzak. But this is… Amazing. While they changed the songs a smidge to fit the storyline of the musical, the music is straight on. And in fact I want to see if they use a live orchestra, because it is GREAT. And then I was concerned about the voices. Nothing would be worse than a wimpy version of rock. I was amazed by them!!

And seriously – I thought it WAS Jon Bon Jovi singing “Wanted Dead or Alive.” By the way – My husband was a HUGE Young Guns fan, and this song sold him on the CD. And of course “Final Countdown” reminds me of every 80′s martial arts movie there ever was. Heh.

So, this CD took me completely by surprise. I absolutely loved it. And I maybe might have made an idiot out of myself headbanging singing to it. My husband has learned to just smile and nod. If you’re into rock (think leather and hair and slow dancing in junior high) than this is for you.

I want you to buy it. No, I do have a giveaway, but since only one of you will win, you should totally buy it. See the bottom of the post for the giveaway…

Tracklisting:
Just Like Paradise / Nothin’ But A Good Time
Sister Christian
We Built This City / Too Much Time On My Hands
I Wanna Rock
We’re Not Gonna Take It
Heaven/More Than Words / To Be With You
Waiting For A Girl Like You
Wanted Dead Or Alive
I Want To Know What Love Is
Cum On Feel The Noize / We’re Not Gonna Take It (Reprise)
Harden My Heart / Shadows Of The Night
Here I Go Again
The Final Countdown
Any Way You Want It / I Wanna Rock (Reprise)
High Enough
I Hate Myself For Loving You / Heat Of The Moment
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Can’t Fight This Feeling
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Oh Sherrie
The Search Is Over
Don’t Stop Believin

If you’d like to enter for a free CD of Rock of Ages for your own, I have a simple giveaway here… Nothing fancy. No extra entries for tweets or writing about it (I simply don’t have the time to do a full blown thing right now,) just a straight up comment giveaway. Comment on this entry, and make sure you leave your email address in the proper slot. That’s it. One entry each, please. Giveaway ends (and your comments must be there) by Sunday, 8/16 at 11:59pm pacific. Good luck!

After culling the comments that didn’t fall within the rules, we were left with 350 entries in the Capri Sun $250 Visa Gift Card Giveaway. This is certainly the best response we’ve had on this site to date – Thank you for playing!

…and the winner is?

Comment number 126 is a Tweet entry from Joanna Price!

Congratulations Joanna! Look for an email from me any minute. You have 48 hours to claim your prize and give me your shipping information. If Joanna doesn’t get to me in time, we’ll choose another number for a new winner.

Thanks again to everyone for playing and sharing your morning snafu’s with the internet!

The last day to enter the Capri-Sun Sunrise $250 Visa Giftcard Giveaway on Butterviews is tomorrow! I won’t be taking comments after Midnight 7/9 Pacific, so be sure to get your entry in. Oh, and don’t comment here for the giveaway – it won’t count.

Just a quick note to say I’m doing a Giveaway over at Sparks and Butterflies – Come get your Pepsi Party Pack!

Updated:  We have a winner!

We have a new giveaway! How’d you like a free case of water?

While we’re all trying to go green and such, we still have the need for portable mass quantities – such as snack mom at the soccer game?

Here’s your chance to score some, and not take it out of your own pocket.

Here’s their recent Press Release:

Primo Launches More Environmentally-Friendly Bottled WaterInnovative Single-Serve Bottles Made from Plants, Not Crude Oil

Winston Salem, NC, April 28, 2008 – Busy consumers can now enjoy the convenience of bottled water while reducing their impact on the planet with Primo water, a great-tasting water in a more environmentally-friendly, single serve bottle. Traditional water bottles are made from crude oil, a non-renewable resource. The Primo bottle is different from all other water bottles sold in the U.S. because it is made from plants, a natural, renewable resource grown on American soil.

Plastic water bottles are created from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a petroleum-based plastic derived from limited and depleting reserves of crude oil and natural gas. These fossil fuels take millions of years to regenerate. Primo is unique and more environmentally-friendly because it is made from Ingeo™ natural plastic, the world’s first and only performance plastic made from 100% annually renewable-resources. This plastic is also commonly known by its generic name, PLA (polylactide). Primo water bottles are as durable as other water bottles, but because they are manufactured from an annually-renewable resource, they have less impact on the environment than other plastic bottles. In fact, if all plastic PET beverage bottles made from crude oil sold today in the U.S. were instead made from Ingeo™ natural plastic, Americans would save the equivalent of a billion gallons of gas each year.

Consumers will not only enjoy Primo for its environmental benefits, but also for its great taste. In blind taste tests conducted at the end of 2007 across the U.S., three out of four consumers preferred Primo over the leading spring water and four out of five preferred Primo over tap water. In fact, Primo water was enjoyed at the MusiCares® Person of the Year event, on the red carpet and in the green room of the first “green” GRAMMY awards ceremony held in Los Angeles on February 10th.

“We’re proud to bring consumers a more environmentally-friendly bottled water,” said Billy Prim, CEO of Primo Water Corporation. “Not only does Primo give consumers the great taste, convenience, everyday price value and availability that they’ve been looking for in a bottled water, it also helps them to leave a better world for their children.”

“With Primo, consumers have told us they feel good twice; once for promoting their own health by drinking more water and avoiding sugar, and twice, for helping to preserve the precious and depleting resources of our planet,” said Dave Burke, President and COO of Primo To Go.

Primo will be sold in a multipack of eighteen 16.9 oz. bottles and will be available nationally this spring in select leading retailers, including all Kroger stores in April. Suggested retail price is $4.99.

About Primo Water Corporation
Primo Water Corporation, a privately-held company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, manufactures, markets, and services mineral enriched bottled water that meets both the convenience consumers seek and the environmental benefits they desire. Today, three product lines make up Primo Water Corporation’s portfolio. The first, introduced in June of 2005, offers three- and five-gallon Zero Waste bottles and an exchange program that rewards consumers for recycling their bottles for refills. The second, launched in April of 2008, is a new line of Energy Star rated and stylish water coolers. And the third is a single-serve bottled water, in a more-environmentally-friendly bottle made from plants, not crude oil. According to blind taste tests, three out of four consumers prefer Primo over the leading spring water and four out of five prefer Primo over tap water. To learn more, visit www.primowater.com.

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You can see their three Webisodes on YouTube, which show their innovative process to make the bottle.

So. The details on the giveaway – I’m giving you a week! Leave a comment (including your email address please) on this post by Monday, June 9th, at 11:59pm. I’ll use a random generator to pick the winner from the comments. Sorry, one entry only please, or I’ll delete them. Then those primo Primo peeps will send you a whole case of water! Good Luck!