The Mad Mom's Manifesto

Enjoy Cheap Movies Throughout the Summer!

Staycationing seems to be the way to go this summer. We'll be making the most of what LA has to offer for free or on the cheap. Many movie theaters offer cheap movies during the summer, how cool is that?  Whenever I take my daughter to the movie it's like going out on a date because I'm spending at least $30 on tickets and food!  Cheap is definitely the word of the day.  Here are two LA theaters participating in the Summer Movie Club programs: http://www.freeshiet.com/Los-Angeles/Free-Events.aspx

AMC Theatres has $1 movies on Wednesdays, 10 am from June 17-Aug 5.

Cinemark Movies (a little bit of trek to Woodland Hills) has 10 2nd run films for $5 from June 9 through Aug 12. Click on the link to see the schedule.

Check out the Free Shiet for some more LA freebies.

• $1 movies from June 17 – August 5
• Shows starting at 10:00 a.m. every Wednesday

Are You Colorful Enough? Enter Maybelline Contest

Here's a press release I got today.  I would love to enter but somehow don't think I'm quite as colorful (or extroverted) one would need to be in order to compete.  Good luck if you enter!

Maybelline New York and MORE magazine LAUNCH contest celebrating America’s most ‘colorful’ women.  Grand Prize Winners to Star in a Short Film and Meet Candace Bushnell as part of an All-Expenses Paid Trip to New York City!

What makes your life colorful? Maybelline New York and More magazine want to hear your story!

 Maybe you’ve started your own business based on a personal passion, or you’re a community leader who everyone looks up to. Perhaps you dedicate your time and energy to a cause, or use art as a means of creative expression. Tell us how you exude confidence, optimism and personality while balancing a variety of roles – at home or at work – all with grace, flair and style!

Three Grand-Prize winners will:

    * Star in a Maybelline New York “Colorful Life” short film

    * Take a fabulous, all-expenses paid trip with a guest to New York City

    * Receive a Maybelline New York Makeover by a professional make-up artist

    * Meet Candace Bushnell, best-selling author of “Sex and the City”, at her Webisode Premiere Party and appear in a “behind-the-scenes” webisode

 Women can enter the nationwide contest today by logging on to www.Maybelline.com/ColorfulLife. The contest ends June 30, 2009. Winners will be selected by Meredith Publications and Maybelline New York.

New Fave Detangler

Ok, in addition to having an inordinately large amount of books about writing and not having written many books, I also like to spend my money on...drink? Nope.  Clubs?  Nope.  Shoes?  Well, plead the fifth on that one.  I spend way too much time and money on hair care products because I'm always in search of that magic potion that makes combing out my daughter's hair less time consuming.  I've tried A LOT of stuff and talk about false promises.  The other day while in Target (shopping just for one thing and leaving with 10, you know the drill) I stumbled upon a new product from the Just for Me line  by Soft & Beautiful - Hair Milk with Soy and Honey Straightening Mist.  I washed my DD's hair last night and it was so easy to comb through.  You have to be very liberal with it though, I know I went through a third of the bottle (it's only $4.99 though, pennies when compared to the overpriced and Knot Very Good detangler by Kinky Curly).  It definitely made her hair more manageable, I used it in conjunction with the Soft & Beautiful Botanicals 3-N-1 Botanical Oil.  I find that it gives our hair a nice sheen and is a great remedy for a dry scalp.  It also acts as a great detangler but I find if you use too much it gets too oily.  I sprayed it on her scalp and used the Straightening Mist to comb through.

Bookcase Under the Stairs

Here's my ode to apartment therapy.  I'm always looking for storage solutions.  The space under the stairs is underutilized and just begs for a make-over.  Here's what I was working with:

So I had someone come in and knock out the wall and build a bookcase.

Wasn't crazy about it.  Found someone on Craigslist to finish it off and I think they did a great job.  I haven't painted it yet but put the books in there to get them out of my garage.  What do you think?

Writers Conferences Abound

I was unpacking some boxes the other day (yes, six months later and I still have a garage full of boxes!) and finally got around to putting away my books.  I had forgotten how many books I have on the craft of writing!  I think I've single handedly kept Writer's Digest in business.   I've never met a book about writing that I didn't feel the need to buy.  And now we're heading into my favorite time of year...summer writers conferences.  I had been eyeing The Maui Writer's Conference. It's over Labor Day weekend.  I'd been twice before years ago and it was fabulous (of course, it's in Hawaii). I looked at the list of presenters and it doesn't seem to be as big as it has been in the years past (because of the economy I'm sure). Then there's the SCBWI Annual Children's Writing Conference in the beginning of August over in Century City.  I went two years ago and heard Neil Gaiman (author of Coraline) speak and was generally awed by all of the children's writers in the room.  A new conference recently hit my radar, the Williamette Writer's Conference in Portland.  Every session has a workshop I want to attend (which is rare) and there are going to be plenty of editors and writers to network with. This is the same weekend in August. They are all in the same price range although Williamette comes in by a nose as more cost effective.  I have four novels that I wrote that are a good rewrite (or two or three) away from being finished, so this gives me even more motivation to get my act together.  I'm reading Ariel Gore's How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead and she so accurately describes that love/hate relationship you have with your work in progress when you hit page 100.  I'm so there.

Ning: The future of online social networking? - CNN.com

Cool article.  Ning: The future of online social networking? - CNN.com.  My friend Yazzy hipped me to Ning months ago.  Such the techno forward thinking gal, she's been all over Twitter too.  I've been on Ning and I think I set up a group but I haven't had time to really focus on it. You know, between managing my MySpace and FB pages, sending Tweets, managing connects on Linked In and uh being a mom, how am I supposed to find the time?  

Me, Only Better...Personal Branding

I was cruising on this site Scribd.  They just launched a Beta version of their store, it allows anyone to upload and sell their works.  Talk about an audience, doesn't hurt that they are one of the more popular sites on the web with 60 million unique users.  I'm always looking for ways to market my books. I noticed many authors were offering free excerpts of their works as opposed to just selling it (Scirbd offers 80% to sellers).  I came across an interesting read, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success.  While it seems to target Gen Y job seekers, I think the same info can be use for those with a more entrepreneurial spirit. Check it out here. Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success

Alright all you blogstars, Amazon has opened its Kindle platform to all bloggers.  Your RSS feed can be accessed by Kindle subscribers and you'll get 30% of the profit.  Amazon will set the price of the subscription.  Better start marketing those blogs and bringing in those readers!

We went to a new dentist today and we both LOVE her!  I found it online believe it or not. I was going to call my pediatrician for a reference but they weren't open and I was impatient.  If you're in the Los Angeles area, I highly recommend it.  It's called Smiles Peidatric Dentrist and Dr. Reem Kabbarah is the dentist.  First off, it looks like no other dentist office we've ever been to, check out the photos on her site.  The office is very colorful and state of the art. They are also paperless (or should I be trendy and say eco friendly?), so you can fill out all the paperwork online.  We were a little late to our appointment, traffic, what else?  So we caused a little bit of a chain reaction for the patients after us. One grandmom was complaining about having to wait but that was kinda our fault.  They've been open for almost a year.  Dr. Kabbarah has a really great bedside manner, she's very soothing with the little ones. Doesn't hurt that there's a flat screen tv in just about every room with movies playing to keep the kids' minds off of the procedures.  Kortney gave her two thumbs up.  

Hi, my name is Sibylla and I'm a Crackberry addict.  Whew!  Now that's that out of the way, let me share with you my other little habit...all things Gmail.  Without those two things, my life would fall apart.  Not literally, but plenty of appointments would be missed.  Utilizing Gmail's calendar on my Blackberry has saved a few trees cause it's been bye bye to Filofax, DayTimer and Franklin Covey - yes, I've tried them all. Now that Google has updated its calendar to include tasks...it's on and popping!  Now the only downside to this new feature is that I can't sync it on my Blackberry...yet.  Hopefully that's in the works.  For now though, I can sync my calendar and contacts wirelessly and have my appointments appear on the home screen.  I can also go into the calendar feature on my computer and edit my tasks and assign due dates.  Technically, I can jump on the browser on my BB and access my tasks but it's not as convenient, I have to log-in, etc.  This new feature is a start though, it brings me one step closer to world domination, err I mean keeping up with the laundry, school plays and dentist appointments.

Will Blog for $$

Alright all you blogstars, Amazon has opened its Kindle platform to all bloggers.  Your RSS feed can be accessed by Kindle subscribers and you'll get 30% of the profit.  Amazon will set the price of the subscription.  Better start marketing those blogs and bringing in those readers!

No More Tears at the Dentist

We went to a new dentist today and we both LOVE her!  I found it online believe it or not. I was going to call my pediatrician for a reference but they weren't open and I was impatient.  If you're in the Los Angeles area, I highly recommend it.  It's called Smiles Peidatric Dentrist and Dr. Reem Kabbarah is the dentist.  First off, it looks like no other dentist office we've ever been to, check out the photos on her site.  The office is very colorful and state of the art. They are also paperless (or should I be trendy and say eco friendly?), so you can fill out all the paperwork online.  We were a little late to our appointment, traffic, what else?  So we caused a little bit of a chain reaction for the patients after us. One grandmom was complaining about having to wait but that was kinda our fault.  They've been open for almost a year.  Dr. Kabbarah has a really great bedside manner, she's very soothing with the little ones. Doesn't hurt that there's a flat screen tv in just about every room with movies playing to keep the kids' minds off of the procedures.  Kortney gave her two thumbs up.  

Staying Organized with Gmail

Hi, my name is Sibylla and I'm a Crackberry addict.  Whew!  Now that's that out of the way, let me share with you my other little habit...all things Gmail.  Without those two things, my life would fall apart.  Not literally, but plenty of appointments would be missed.  Utilizing Gmail's calendar on my Blackberry has saved a few trees cause it's been bye bye to Filofax, DayTimer and Franklin Covey - yes, I've tried them all. Now that Google has updated its calendar to include tasks...it's on and popping!  Now the only downside to this new feature is that I can't sync it on my Blackberry...yet.  Hopefully that's in the works.  For now though, I can sync my calendar and contacts wirelessly and have my appointments appear on the home screen.  I can also go into the calendar feature on my computer and edit my tasks and assign due dates.  Technically, I can jump on the browser on my BB and access my tasks but it's not as convenient, I have to log-in, etc.  This new feature is a start though, it brings me one step closer to world domination, err I mean keeping up with the laundry, school plays and dentist appointments.