Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom

Fa La La La LA ... La WINNERS Laaaaa

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:55:00 +0000

As promised I'm popping in today to announce the winners of the Wii Nerf Sports Pack, Wii Nerf Wheel and the UBER COOL Kraft Foods basket o' bodacious bounty.

The Elves over at Randomizer picked the following Nuggetiers to bestow some Holiday cheer upon (the rest of ya will just have to spike that Egg Nog to get your "cheer" on. Bleck egg nog!)

Tracy of Northeast Craftworks & Design... A talented Newbie blogger and child of the hippie era just like MOI! Wonder if she got stiffed with a freaking Carb and Carrot birthday cake for her 6th birthday, too?! ...wins the Wii Nerf Sports pack. CONGRATS!

And the lovely.. whatever her name is cuz it ain't in her profile, MOM of Mom's Place. A mom of FIVE.. so kicks my butt in the complaining about how many kids I've got department.. wins the Wii Nerf Wheel. I have a feeling there will be some bickering over who gets to use that one. SHALOM!

Last but most certainly not least is Katie of Bring on the Lloyds. She had me at, baby feet. Katie is the lucky winner of the bountiful basket o' good goodies from Kraft Foods... I say we demand cookies from her. CONGRATULAZIONI!

Alright before you start fussing at me, ED, let me just say there will be LOTS more to come in 2010.. including my first EVAH Twitter party (so um yeah you'd BETTER be following me on twitter BEE HATCHES!). I'll get back to pitching fits on Fridays, hosting Drabby To Fabby with Cheapskate Mom, droning on and on and on about things that get me going, OH and I'll even be debuting the "OFFICIALLY unOFFICIAL" Nuggetier badge/hat/callingcard thingy as yet to be identified. Will you be the first one to have the HONOR ~~inflicted~~ bestowed upon you? We shall see.

I'll be on a bloggy break until after the mayhem of the holidays. Hope you all have a great whatever the heck you celebrate!

Winners, PLEASE email me your address. The companies that generously provided the giveaway items will be mailing your loot directly to you (so don't bug me okay?! just kidding you can bug me. not really)

Your Christmas Card, courtsey of my kids!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:04:00 +0000

Ho Ho Ho Nuggetiers, not being judgmental there just holly, jolly and junk. I'm on a bloggy break, aka in holiday zombie mode, until I pop back it on Christmas Eve EVE to play the Good Elf and announce the winners of the Wii accessories and Kraft gift basket o' goodies contests.

We've been snowed in for DAYS now and my kids are driving me bonkers. Yes I realize that it's a short drive, BE NICE! They must have played a particular YouTube video 2,147,208 times in just THREE days! So I've desided to ~~infilct it upon you~~ re-gift the dam thing and let YOU get it stuck in your head too! CRAP the freaking GRINCH stole the Embeding code for the video.. go watch it though it's a hoot! I LIED! It was just my CRAPTASTIC tech skills!

Christmas is Creepy by Fred
Merry Christmas Nuggetiers! You have really made this an amazing, fun, insightful, informative and inspireing year. Let's take it down here and get all "real" and junk.... I FREAKIN' heart you maaaan! Have a happy, safe, fun holiday. Here's hoping none of you get a Swiffer, an ugly handbag, a hideous light up holiday sweater that's FOUR sizes to big for a hippo, or a really nasty hang over <----- All items I've PERSONALLY received and can therefore vouch for their suckiness. If you DO happen to get one of those mean hangover things, I hope someone got video of you "earning" it (they can email it to me and I'll post it!)

Peas, Out.

Give em a piece of your mind!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:25:00 +0000

Have you ever visited a website and thought to yourself, "I SO could do a better job at that!"? Being that I'm a ~~know it all~~ wise Nugget I find myself saying that about MANY things.

SO it was no shock to MOI when I was contacted to give my learned opinion (remember I have one or three billion of those) on the re-launch of Kraft Foods FaceBook fan page and the new YouTube Kraft Foods Channel

And my thoughts? SAHWEET! Really I like just about everything about both sites. The videos are short, simple and easy to understand. Being that I'm slow, busy and have no patience this is a PERFECT fit. I liked that the Facebook page has everything from recipes to PHONE APS! I could do with an index of recipes by category as I've got a short attention span. I've given my ~~overly wordy and foodie snobified~~ detailed suggestions to the team. You'd think THAT would be enough eh? But NOOOO they want to know what YOU think as well! And they are willing to bribe you for your thoughts, JUST KIDDING! What they have done is provided the opportunity for you to win cool stuff.

Visit both sites. You'll find great recipes, forums for exchanging ideas and tips, videos, product info and more. Come back here and leave a comment with your thoughts. What did you like. Was there anything you thought they could do without? Do you have a brilliant idea for something they could add? When you do that you'll be entered to win this basket of goodies provided by Kraft Foods. (the only limit is your GENUINE opinions, leave one comment for each thought. 1 comment = 1 entry)

Kraft Foods has generously filled the basket with 4 delicious holiday recipes from the Kraft Foods Kitchens, a Zak Designs garlic peeler, an HA Mack Olive Wood mixing spoon, NEW Velveeta Rotini and Cheese Whole Grain, Planters cocktail peanuts, Planters pecans, Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate, Stove Top, Honey Maid cinnamon crackers, Jet Puffed marshmallows, Oreos, Kraft salad dressing, NEW Maxwell House Blend coffee, NEW Ritz Brown Sugar Cinnamon crackers and NEW Wheat Thins Flatbread crackers. ($65 retail value)
Kraft Foods also launched the Twitter handle: @KraftFoods. Feel free to ~~tweetstalk~~ follow them like I do. Today they tweeted THIS AWESOME advice on what to do with leftover cranberries

Got leftover cranberries? We've got the recipe for you: Cranberry-glazed Cinnamon Cheesecake. http://bit.ly/5jEh87

What they are looking for is your HONEST opinions. So THIS is your chance. TELL EM WHAT YOU THINK! And hey you could win some great loot ta boot (oh lookie I rhymed there, Poet Laurette of The Nugget set).

EXTRA ENTRIES: Join the Nuggetiers (aka follow my blog or subscribe to my feed). TWEET all about it (1 tweet = 1 entry. MUST leave the tweet link in a comment). Blog about this post. This really is a great opportunity to help Kraft Foods build a community that YOU would like to be a part of. SO invite your readers to join in and give their opinions too.

The contest ends at 6pm EST on December 22, 2009. Open to US residents. The winner will be announced on December 23, 2009. PLEASE include your email in your comment so I can find you!

The Chicken Nuggets of wisdom was gifted with the same basket of product that has been provided for givewaway.

Have fun BUT BE SAFE

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:39:00 +0000

Tis the season of toys, fun, twinkling eyes and dreams come true under a sparkly tree, menorah or festivus poll. As parents though we know we have to be ever vigilant about the safety of our kids. With that in mind I'd like to turn off the snark-o-matic and bring you some important information from NSF International.

They area not-for-profit, public health and safety organization that has been testing products for chemical safety for more than 65 years.

They have provided us with a list of things to look out for this holiday season.

1. Be Wary of Stores That Carry Discontinued/Older Merchandise.

This holiday season, one in three toys tested still contains harmful chemicals and 18 percent of toys tested still contain lead. Toys sold that were manufactured prior to recent legislation could still contain high lead content or other harmful chemicals.

2. Be a Savvy Second-Hand Store Shopper

Inspect the toys to verify that they are in good condition and contain all original instructions for proper use. Recommendation: Be very careful when purchasing used toys. (Worth noting: Most donation houses (e.g., The Salvation Army) are no longer accepting toys).

Educate Yourself About Recent Toy RecallsCheck the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html) to verify which toys have been recalled. Toy manufacturers also post additional testing information regarding their toys on their web site.
4.   Consider Getting the Kids That Shiny New Toy, After All
New federal laws have paved the way for safer toy testing requirements. Buying your kids new toys improves the chances that the product they’re using are safer. NSF International has tested and certified that Sprig Toys and Green Toys are two examples of manufacturers producing products that meet new Federal laws.
5.       Purchase items that are appropriate for your child’s age and ability level.
Most toys will contain an age grade label, such as 12 months +, or 3+. Use this as a guideline to find developmentally appropriate toys for your child’s given age.
6.       Read the Safety Warning Labels
These labels are used to caution consumers about potential hazards associated with the product (flammability, small pieces/choking hazards, etc.). Products with small parts, small balls or marbles can be particularly dangerous to children under 3 years old.
7.       Listen to Toys that Make Noise to make sure they’re appropriate for your child.

Have a SAFE and HAPPY HOLIDAY Nuggetiers! I'll be back tomorrow with ONE MORE GIVEAWAY then I'm taking a break until Christmas Eve EVE when I'll announce the latest batch of winners. ME I'm ALWAYS A WINNER cuz I've got YOU BABE-S!

May the Schwartz be with you....

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:26:00 +0000

Remember SpaceBalls? It has to be one of the best parody flicks ever. Forget Scary Movie! This one has the Schwarts, Princess Vespa and Joan Rivers voicing the C3PO-esque character. And who could resist Jon Candy dressed up like a dog? NOT ME! So I totally planed to ~~rip off~~ pay homage to this masterpiece of modern theater in my review of the Nerf Wii Sports Swords. You know how the story goes. Girl finds great toy, girl plans to Vlog about it. Girl finds out she has to make sheep AND Wise Man costumes. Girl has 2,347 cookies to bake and 433 gifts to wrap. It's an age old tale really. Fear not though I still plan to Vlog about them.. how can I not? I have 3 year old, a Yoda costume and green face paint. It's like a primal blogger's instinct it MUST be done!

For now, what I can do is tell you what we think about the Nerf Wii Sports Resort Swords and the new Nerf Wii Sports Pack. IF you were one of the 2 1/2 people who ~~subjected yourself to~~ watched my Squeeballs Party Vlog you'd know that my son, #3, is the consummate EXPERT on all things Wii. What you didn't get to see was that The DH and our teen, #1, are not beneath stealing a toy from a 5 year old and playing with it! All three of the guys give two thumbs up to the swords. SHOCKING HUH? What IS shocking is that I dig them too, and frankly I'm not a big fan of video games. The swords are light weight, it's easy to install the Wii controller with just a snap, and if I say ~~get really ticked off at and~~ accidentally bop The DH in the head.. the fact that they are made of NERF material saves a trip to The Jerry Springer show.

The Wii Resort Sports game is actually my FAV! The sword play game is fun and even a bit of a work out if you go all Zoro and stuff. I do have to make sure that the gang doesn't play "against" each other. Somehow that ends up being a time out moment rather than family game night. My 10 year old, #2, liked the ping pong paddle in the the Sports Pack Plus. She says it makes it feel like she is REALLY playing the game. And from a kid who we say joins every sport just for the uniform (she is a fashionista for sure) that is saying something. What I liked most is that all of these things where made from Nerf materials so if someone whacks someone, or a cat even, nobody is really hurt. They were all easy to install the Wii controller in as well. If you are buying a Wii, Wii games or accessories I HIGHLY recommend all of these products. They add to the feeling of being in the game, which is the best thing about the Wii to me. The only draw back is they are not gnaw proof. We found this out when #4 (who is 3) got frustrated and bit part of the putter off. Oh well can't win em all sweetie!

BUT you can win the Wii Nerf Sports Pack (standard) or the Wii Nerf Wheel right here at The Nuggets though!

We'll make entering to win easy. Tell me what your what your FAV toy was growing up. Just leave a comment. MAKE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL! You can get 1 extra entry per tweet and blog post.

Contest ends CHRISTMAS EVE EVE.. aka Dec 23rd at 5 pm EST, so I can pick a winner and get back to the kitchen! I like to think that it would add to your joy to know you'll be getting another toy ~~to pick up off the floor every stinking day~~ for after the holiday. Winner will be notified via EMAIL (if I can't find you snooze you loose. If I pick you and can't email you I'll pick another winner 48 hours after I announce the first winner). Open to US residents only.

I was provided a copy of Nerf Wii Swords, Wii Nerf Wheel and Nerf Wii Sports pack plus to review and keep. No additional compensation was made in exchange for this review.

Whaaatevvvverrrrr Wednesday

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Have you ever seen the ad for a product called AcipHex? Well just in case you don't ~~spend hours a day mindlessly staring at the TV, like moi~~ watch the ads they have a website.

What were the product naming folks, who undoubtedly pull down six figures, thinking when they came up with this one? The phonetic pronunciation of this product name is, and I shit you not, ass-a-fex. Turns out it treats stuff like burping and bloating. I'm thinking you might want to isolate yourself after ingesting this treatment as it certainly sounds like we're moving DOWN the gastrointestinal railway here. One might just take pause and ask one's self, "Self, why on earth would they name a product ASS EFFECTS?"
before discussing this option with your doctor as advised in the ad.

So maybe AcipHex is not for you. Fear not however because the savants of the pharmaceutical industry have an even MORE amazing offering for us. According to the pitch for this pill, it can relieve your symptoms AND land you a spouse! Yep single folks there is hope.You not-so-singles who might be looking for a change of scenery should give this one the once over. You see failed relationships are not in fact caused by petty selfishness or unnatural attachments to one's mother. Money is never the problem and who cares if you can't keep it in your pants ~~Tiger~~. The issue all along was digestive discomfort! Just ask the folks who make Prevacid. Their ad shows us the single woman, in a desperate search for husband NUMBER TWO. After belching in the face of bachelor number one she pops "the pill" and fast forward to the next frame, we find bachelor number two and guess what.. HE LIKED IT SO HE PUT A RING ON IT! Tell it Beyonce!

Ah the wonders of modern medicine, no?

(Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for this post. In fact if you come looking for me and I'm inexplicably missing without a trace. Start with the drug companies. I think I may have just ticked them off. )

Note to the drug companies: Hey any publicity is good publicity right? And who am I anyway, just some lowly little OLD mom who blogs. Only 6 people read my blog anyway. Two of them are relatives. Three are certifiable. And one is already a devoted customer despite the chance that curing that nasty skin rash might have caused them to sleep-drive to the doctor to see if they did in fact end up with lymphoma and also ask about their swollen tongue and those darn Suicidal Tendencies..."No mom I'm not on drugs, all I wanted was a Pepsi JUST one Pepsi but you couldn't give it to me!".. I digress)

I'd ALMOST be willing to pop out another kid for THIS!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:21:00 +0000

Has the that inner stylist in your head ever coerced in you into buying those TRE CHIC new shoes that called your name from that store window, thus forcing you to take them home and love them forever? WHAT it can't be just ME hearing voices that tell me to shop. I KNOW you ~~are just as crazy as I am~~ hear it too! And has that same ~~psychosis~~ ever compelled you to say... buy an outfit JUST for those shoes? It's kind of like the old horse before the cart thing. BUT they were on sale, red patent leather, 4 inch stunners just waiting for YOU to come along, right?!

Well I'm sort of feeling that way these days about baby gear. There are several problems with THIS horse-before-the-cart scenario. Not the least of which is that you can't put a baby in a suede bag, lovingly tuck it into a box and store it on a shelf until open toed season rolls back around. There is the whole raising it until it turns 18, putting it through college, popping for it's first sofa, footing the bill for it's wedding all so it can come over for the holidays, drink too much spiked egg nog and tell you that you were the (say it with me gang) WORST MOM EVER!

THAT said though have you seen some of the stuff out there these days? I mean they have a breast pump that weighs less than a pound. Where I had to lug the DDs over to the local dairy and get hooked up to one of those four pronged vacuum thingies you see Bessy sporting.. NICE visual there huh?

AND had THIS highchair been available when ANY of my kids were small, MAYBE I could have avoided strapping my kids into that big-blue-fish-laden-toy-covered-flashing-light-bejeweled monstrosity that hogged up my whole kitchen for YEARS on end!

Turns out Parents Connect from Nickelodeon is hosting the World's Largest On-line Baby Shower and I'm tellin' ya the loot they are GIVING AWAY is almost cool enough to make me want to pop out my 5th kid!

I was thinking.. maybe I could adopt a Cabbage Patch Kid and carry it around in one of those strap on sling things they are giving away. You wouldn't have me say, involuntarily committed for that or anything would ya? Okay so maybe the better idea is to win it and give it to a friend, relative or even a local Children's Hospital. Because there is NO way I'm missing out on the fun just because all my kids are big enough to have smelly feet now. How does that happen anyway? I mean they go from having heavenly tootises that smell like Angel farts to sporting the human equivalent of rotting cabbage stank between their toes!

So here is the 411 on the PARTAY from my lovely Bloggy Buddy and fellow Spartan, Jessica McFadden, author of A Parent in Silver Spring, 2009 Nickelodeon Parent's Pick blog award winner, writer of the Washington Times A Parent In America (now THEMS some serious props eh?)

The online party will be hosted by The Shower Diva Susan Newton, the guru of baby and bridal showers.

1) Log In or Register for ParentsConnect.
Visit: http://www.parentsconnect.com/me/registration/index.jhtml

2) Head over to Pingg, RSVP "Yes!" and then use the "Share Invite" feature to invite everyone you know! The person with the most guests wins a $650 stroller!
RSVP here: http://parentsconnect.pingg.com/babyshower

3) Come to parentsconnect.com on December 16th anytime between 10am - 8pm ET for all the fun stuff about baby showers - the gifts! the games! and like Jesscia says... without any of the suck!
Visit: http://www.parentsconnect.com/connect/boards/bootcamp/baby_shower/chat_it_up.jhtml

I'll see ya there, I'll be the one in the corner spouting ~~obnoxious comments~~ sage advice about the ~~insanity~~ joy of parenting four kids from teens to tween to toddlers. (just kidding more than likely I'll be quietly hanging out near the punch bowl, have pity on me and say "hey")

NOTE: I don't have to disclose a darn thing because this post is just an invite to the fun, I didn't get anything, I wasn't paid, nobody slipped a mickey in my java.. so TAKE THAT FTC! Oh um I mean, just in case you were wondering you nice g-men at the the FTC.

A very Nuggets Christmas sing-a-long

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:48:00 +0000

(sing with me Nuggetiers.. to the tune of "Over the River and Through the Woods")

Over the Verazzano------>

AND through THE FOG--->

From Grandma's house we came.

Oh how I HEARTNYC!
but Brooklyn is SOOO LAAAME!

Over the Hudson and to the Potomac knock it off kids,
you need a SMACK!
YEAH so the house is a big nasty mess fest
get off my EFFING BAAACK!

I haven't been blogging, or even gone jogging,
oh the guilt it grows and grows
AND there is this fat man who says I've been naughty,
or so HE THINKS knooowwws!

I think I start drinking
At The DH start winking
is that just TMI?

ONE more Chirstmas pagent?!
Oh hell no!
I think I'll freakin' crrrryyy!

Thanks for the sing-a-long gang.. NOW it's your turn! Go forth and pilfer a holiday tradition and Nuggetize it to show your solidarity! Take a small stand against the stress that is the holiday season.. Bah Nugettbug!

Winners Wednesday

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:21:00 +0000

The following, ~~minions~~ Nuggiters were smiled upon by the Gods of Random Number Generator...

Joy Winner of the super cool super savvy Eco chic products from Project XS. I was like Randomizer say wah? When her number showed up. That she won this prize package is kismet at work! Being a long time BBF (blogg best friend) I've gotten to "know" her a bit. She.. GET THIS... makes amazing art work out of re-purposed and recycled items! That is too cool, and kind of creepy.. maybe Randomizer has become self aware and is now reading our blogs.. "Hello Dave" ooooh

Next up, can we tawlk, coffee tawlk style? Jackie, who doesn't blog and who's email in her profile will not open for me, so if you know her shout out to for me, wins the Challenge Butter and OXO kitchen gadget contest.. it's like BUTTAH I tells ya!

SQUEEEEEEE, the Squeeballs Party Wii game winner is none other than Christina of Rant Rave Roll who BTW won off the number she was assigned for tweeting all about The Week in Reviews event here at the Nuggets.. see it pays to worship me and do my bidding!

Didn't win? Don't get all mad and stuff and go off unfollowing me or sticking a pin the nearest nugget voodoo doll.. I'm getting back to my "normal" blogging in the weeks to come .. HA I said NORMAL, BUT I still have a few giveaways on deck as well... can you say Nerf or Wii? or Wiinerf? That sounds like some German designer breed dog, like a Puggle huh? So stick around, ~~hang on my every word~~ and we'll have some more fun. Teaser.. my next post will be about pharmaceuticals and gastrointestinal disorders..how FUN is THAT gonna be?!

It's beging to look a lot like SITSmas!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:19:00 +0000

Welcome my SITStahs! One of the BEST things about being a member of SITS (besides all the comment wubbin') is SITSmas and the chance to link up and learn even more about the fabulosity of the wide world of the SITStahood! Oh and the fun giveaways don't hoit needer.. So here is my SITSmas post, I hope you have a Jolly Good time reading and playing along with the gang from SITS.

Here are the BEST gifts I've ever received ~~even though I'd like to return them now and then~~

My SITSmas gift to ME is this year will be the years of endless torture this last picture will give my teenage son.. This is ALMOST better than one of those naked baby pics!

Notice the absence of The DH.. ~~no publicly viewable photos could be located~~ I keep the good stuff for MYSELF.

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is a

HOWEVER... I suspect that since The DH took me to VEGAS and I got to meet

TIFFANY AND HEATHER.. WOOT!

and since my mommy came too and

bought me one of THESE!

I figure that Christmas came in October for me.. so I'll just settle into some spiked nog of some sort.. NOT EGG! Eeeewwww who the heck ever thought, "oh hey lets mix some RAW eggs with cream, sugar and spices and serve it up as a holiday TREAT" I think maybe they must have been drinking the SPIKED part before hand! Then I'll kick back and enjoy some lovely blog hopping on this MERRY MERRY SITSmas!

How to TRICK your kids into learning with Jumpstart

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:24:00 +0000

I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jumpstart learning games. I actually started using them WAY back when #2 was little. At SITScation in Vegas I was all GOOGLY EYED when I got to meet the fantabulous Carissa Rogers of GoodNCrazy. Undaunted by my ~~insanity~~ hero worship she ACTUALLY had a conversation with me. In that convo she offered me a trial subscription to Jumpstart online and said she'd give my contact info to their PR team (silly girl she must not have know how I'd hound them.. he he). The team ~~to shut me up~~ sent us their Wii game Pet Rescue. Being the ~~obsessive one~~ little techie in the family #3 took to it right away. He enjoys unlocking "presents", with-in the game. Little does he realize he's "playing" MATH! He also digs creating his "dude" and picking out diggs for him. I've been AMAZED by the things he's learned just "playing" the game! He's gotten so good that he conceded to teaching his little sister how it's done. WELCOME to my 3rd vlog (and yes I STILL have NOT figured out how to size the file to my blog!)

Okay so this clip isn't showing you WHAT they learn.. BUT you now know what a BOY mouth looks like and that Pink is BEAUTIFUL..and that my daughter is a bossy, fashion obsessed, little diva in the making. THANK God her bro will be able to tutor her!

We've picked up their new game Escape from Adventure Island for his birthday and I'm pretty sure he'll LOVE it too! And if he does, I suspect he'll "want" to vlog about it. He thinks he's quite the STAH after The Nuggets Week in Reviews!

Don't forget to ENTER to win the giveaways from The Week in Reviews (most end between Monday and Tuesday!!!)

FTC DISCLOSURE: The Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom blog was provided product from this company for review and/or giveaway.

SQUEEEEE .. balls that is

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:01:00 +0000

By now you've figured out my dirty little ~~not so~~ secret; I've got a mean Twitter addiction... BUT unlike some of my other vices like coffee, cheesecake and 4 inch heels, this obsession has led to MORE than caffeine jitters, cellulite and credit card debt. Twitter introduced my whole family to Bully and the rest of the Party gang at Squeeballs. They are a CrAcK uP! I was TOTALLY stoked when Bully himself showed up at the Nugget lair.. He agreed to do a Vlog for us..

(yeah I'm STILL tech STOOPID and can't figure out how to get the video file to compress and fit my 3 column layout.. DEAL WITH IT!)
I have to say this game is TOTALLY unique. At first I thought the cooking game was sort of morbid. I mean these little dudes are CUTE and they make bratwurst out of them! But the sheer joy my kids get playing it makes it all just silly fun. And lucky for us the following press release was made yesterday:

"Share the joy this holiday season with "Squeeballs Party," a family friendly video game by Performance Designed Products (PDP). The Nintendo Wii and DS game was recently reduced to $19.99 in time for the holidays."

That is an AMAZING price for a Wii game! You can find the gang at places like Toys-R-Us, Walmart ~~my arch nemesis~~, and Amazon. OH OH and guess what.. they even have iPhone and iPod touch apps!! (we all KNOW that I've been a VERY good Nugget this year and that the fat man had BETTER bring me a freaking iPhone!)
BUT what kind of a Chief Nugget in Charge would I be if I couldn't GIVE ONE AWAY TO ONE OF YOU?!! (that is a rhetorical question by the way). The gurus of gaming at Squeeballs have bestowed upon The Nuggetiers one FREE copy of the game for the Wii.. What do we say? Well SQUEEEE of course, DUH!

To win, go visit the world of Squeeballs THEN come back here and tell me who your favorite charter is THIS IS REQUIRED FOR ALL OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT! For extra entries become a FaceBook Fan of the gang, ~~tweetstalk them like I do~~ follow them on twitter @squeeballs, and/or Tweet THIS post.

contest open to US residents only, ends 12/8/09 11:59 pm EST. Winner will be announced before December 11th so that you can have the Squeeballs gang over for the holidays!

FTC DISCLOSURE: The Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom blog was provided product from this company for review and/or giveaway.

WOW Wii WE have WINNERS!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:59:00 +0000

The Gods of the Randomizer have spoken. BTW, I didn't enslave my kids this time cuz frankly I didn't feel like writing down 102 names to be picked out of a hat, call me lazy.

The numbers bestowed upon us by the little demigods living within my PC were 56 and 41. Yeah that's out of sequence but that's how they spit them out and quite frankly I'm not gonna mess with the Gods!

So let's put a "face" to the numbers. DRUM ROLL PLEASE

#56 is... RAS of Optimistic Cynicism who wins the Wii Fit Plus

#41 is... Julie of Just Say Julie or Metamorphosis and Marshmallow Fluff who wins the Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 game
NOTE TO WINNERS, you MUST contact me with your 411 within 72 hours of winning announcement or another winner will be drawn!

Didn't win? Don't worry, I've got a couple more Wii tricks up my sleeve JUST IN TIME for the holidays!

P.S. if you are a numbers counter and you notice that there were actually 105 comments on the contest post and the numbers don't match the winners names.. that is because I commented twice YES I COMMENTED ON MY OWN BLOG DON'T JUDGE and our lovely Nuggetier who lives in Egypt, Cairo Typo commented but didn't want to enter.

It's a BEAUTY filled life: The Diva's Guide to Drugstore Beauty

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:01:00 +0000

I'm a lucky Nugget.. really I am. Not only do I have a fabu hubby and kids, fun BBFs (bloggy best friends) like YOU but I also have some of THE COOLEST friends in real life. Among them is The Nuggets resident beauty EXPERT, Mariana Howard. With a career in the Beauty industry that spans over a decade Mari has worked for some of the big names in the business like Perricone and Dr. Brandt Skincare (both great brands I SO CAN NOT AFFORD!). She is currently the National Training Director for Victoria's Secret focusing on their cosmetics line. Yeah that's Heidi on their homepage, we're like twins huh?! Mari has written the DEFINITIVE guide to beauty on a budget JUST FOR US! I'd like to give her props for her whit, wisdom, beauty, rockin' new boobies and being one of my bestest best friends in the whole wide world, MWUAH! Now go forth and BE the divas I know you ALL ARE!

OH since we're talking Victoria's Secret today and yesterday I hurt Ed's feel bads saying he was a Grinch.. GO READ HIS HILARIOUS post about how VS stole all his money HERE

The Diva’s Guide to Drugstore Beauty

Since I was a kid, I have loved shopping the cosmetics aisle in drugstores. Growing up in Eastern LI, it was “cool” to take the (long) walk to Genovese on Old Town Road with a girlfriend to pick up a new flavor of Lip Smacker or some “Electric Youth” by Deborah Debbie Gibson perfume. Even then I was a beauty junkie in search of the latest fix as prescribed by Sassy magazine.

And now, despite being in my thirties with an almost 15 year career in the Beauty industry, I still can’t stop in a Duane Read/Rite Aid/Walgreens without browsing the latest offerings by Maybelline, Max Factor, L’oreal, etc. And more often than not, I walk out of there with some little makeup trinket or skin care treasure that I can’t wait to get home and play with try on!

Being that it’s the Holiday season and most of us (with or without kids) are going to be spending money on people other than ourselves for the next 4 weeks, I thought it would be a good time to share some of my favorite “drugstore” Beauty finds. Some of these items are actually found at places like Target, or through an Avon Representative, and the prices are approximate. But the main idea is, quality beauty can be bought at bargain prices and, in some cases, is identical to what you may buy at a department store for 2 to 3 times the cost!

So here are my 12 favorites – one for each of the proverbial days of Christmas – all tried and tested by yours truly:

1. Nail Color: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in “Jumpin’ Jade”, $4.99. A dark green with a pearl finish, it’s a great color that’s perfect for the holidays and fantastic for an “edgy” look all year long. The formula really does dry lickety-split, and the brush gives a smooth, even coverage with just a stroke or two. Expert tip: Base coat is everything! Use a matte one for the best “grip”; the better a color clings to the base coat, the longer the color will remain chip-free. Wet ‘n’ Wild makes a good one for about $1.

2. Facial Cleanser: Garnier Nutritioniste Nutri-Pure Daily Exfoliating Gel Cleanser, $6.49. This is best for combination or slightly oilier skin types. I love the refreshing “zing!” feeling I get on my skin as I’m massaging it on…great for a morning “pick me up!”

3. Mascara: Cover Girl Exact Eye Lights Mascara in “Black Pearl”, $8.50. Disclaimer: This product will really do nothing for bringing out the color of your eyes. But it is a very good basic mascara that lengthens and defines lashes well. It also doesn’t flake, which is a big plus for contact lens wearers like me. Insider info: Refuse to give up your Lancome mascara? What if I told you that Lancome and L’oreal are actually the EXACT same company? ‘Tis true – the Lancome mascara you’d normally pay $25-$30 for at Macy’s has an identical twin in the L’oreal line for $7-$10. The ONLY difference is packaging. I kid you not.

4. Body Moisturizer: Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula, Moisturizing Body Oil with Vitamin E, $5.49. In a word – AWESOME. Leaves skin feeling drenched but not greasy, silky-smooth to the touch with a sexy sheen. Smells great too, without being all perfume-y. Make the hubby’s eyes go “POP!” by drizzling some of this stuff after a shower while your skin is still damp and wearing a low-cut negligee for some after kiddie-hours sexy time. ;)

5. Facial Moisturizer: Olay Definity Color Recapture Anti-Aging Moisturizer + Sheer Illuminating Coverage SPF 15, $29.99. Ok, so this may seem like a fortune compared to the other things I’ve suggested, but it’s really 3 products in 1: a light moisturizer, a sheer face tint and a sunscreen. Pretty good price for all of that, if you ask me! The texture is gorgeous and it gives skin an overall luminosity that’s hard to come by in cold and windy winter months. Comes in Fair/Light and Light/Medium. I’m Latina and the latter works great for me, but I’m hoping there will be an option for deeper skin tones soon.

6. Eye Shadow: Loreal HIP Metallic Shadow Duo in “Gilded”, $7.99. Ladies, THIS is your budget-conscious eye shadow alternative to MAC. The defining feature of MAC cosmetics is the high pigment concentration in their colors. HIP (High-Intensity Pigment) by L’oreal is a very worthy contender for the pro-makeup crown. “Gilded” is a great combo for brown, green or hazel eyes; use a light hand, as the intense pigment means a little goes a long way. There are lots of other shades in this line to choose from, too.

7. Lip Color: Sonia Kashuk Lip Gloss in “Hibiscus”, $11.99. Again, this is 2 products in one: sheer lipstick tint on one end and sheer high-gloss plumping color on the other. The color is simply to die for! Great on ANY skin tone, it gives lips a juicy and lush appearance – think “ripe peach.” The gloss has a slight tingling effect that is pleasant, not alarming. Use the gloss over the tint or use each one by itself. Either way, this product delivers a perfectly irresistible pout.

8. Exfoliator: Avon Anew Clinical Advanced Re-texturizing Peel, $25. These pads changed my life. Really. Flakiness? No prob. Large Pores? Not anymore. Dull, lackluster skin tone? Ha! There is a catch – you WILL feel this working. It’s a pretty intense tingle. I’m lucky to have strong skin that tolerates more aggressive treatments, so I use these 1-2x a day. But I would recommend easing into it – try it once every other day to start. This is the one product I have insisted that everyone from my co-workers to my hairdresser try out, and no one has been disappointed yet.

9. Shampoo/Conditioner: Bed Head Control Freak products (prices vary). Does a great job of keeping frizzy, unruly hair in line. The styling products – serum and hair straightner- are definitely worth checking out as well. With the dryness that winter brings, you may want to work these into your hair care routine a couple of times a week to tame flyaways.

10. Fragrance: Bonne Bell Skin Musk Oil, $9.95. The musk trend in fragrance has been hugely successful the past few years, with designer scents like Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker and Narciso Rodriguez For Her being among the biggest hits. Both of these fragrances have musk as a main note. But Bonne Bell’s Skin Musk is the original, and in my opinion, still the best scent to convey warmth, womanliness, girly sophistication and sexiness all at once.

11. Lip Balm: Avon Dew Kiss, $.99. My absolute fave for 2 decades. As long as I have one on my nightstand, one in my purse and another in my bathroom I’m never not-kissable. And I totally credit it for the fact that I can’t even remember the last time my lips were chapped.

12. Foundation: Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Liquid Foundation SPF 20, $14.49. I like that this has a built-in brush for easy, even application, contains SPF, and lets the user control the coverage. For the price, it actually gives a really nice “airbrushed” look that still has a hint of dewiness for a fresh-faced appearance. To clean the brush: buy some spray-on brush cleaner, spray down the bristles between each use and wipe clean with tissue.

Since I know Lara’s Nuggetiers are cool peeps AND tweeps, please feel free to add me on Twitter to ask any Beauty questions you may have – I promise I’ll answer!: @MariHoward.

I hope you decide to treat yourself to some of these “stocking stuffers” – make the most of the season by making time to have fun getting “prettified!” Happy Holidays y’all, and I hope to be tweeting with some of you soon!

Talkin' Trash

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:57:00 +0000

How many of you are going to buy someone a gift this holiday season? I'd wager at least a FEW of you are (we won't count Ed he's a Grinch). When you're out stalking sales, trudging through traffic and spending crazy amounts of cash how much thought goes into the impact of your gift BEYOND the unwrapping frenzy?

I'll admit it here, for the ~~six people who read my blog~~ world to read, that I don't generally think much about the global impact of gifting. I'm sort of a grab and go girl. Which I think is understandable if not excusable, as I have a gaggle of offspring to shop for. Yet in the back of my harried brain is that inner hippie my parents raised me to be. NO she is not smoking wacky tabacky and doing Hatha Yoga (Mari!). She is my own personal Jiminy Cricket and sometimes something comes along that lets her shine.

This time that something also lets my inner Heidi Klum out.. YES Mrs. Seal lives in my brain.. what you think that's odd or something? Well then YOU haven't been here around long, have ya?! Heidi and Jiminy were so excited when I got the opportunity to review products from XS Project.

Simply put XS Project is were chic and cause come together in the perfect mix of function, form, fashion and philanthropy.

The minds behind the project saw the problem..

80,000 tons of flexible plastic packaging is manufactured each year in Indonesia

They heard the plight of those in need
There are an estimated 350,000 – 450,000 trash pickers in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Most of them undocumented and living on a monthly income of aboutUS$ 30 to 35 per family.
They found the right creative and passionate mind
Visual artist and environmental activist Ann Wizer, who conceived of this initiative in the mid-90s while living in the Philippines.

And they brought it all together to build the XSProject Foundation. Dedicated to enriching the lives of artisans the concept is to provide jobs for those with few income-generating opportunities.The project is ever evolving, working with new designs, materials and concepts.

I was provided with this pen case, that my 10 year old fashionista daughter has already laid claim to

What struck me first about it is that there was NO way I could ever tell that it was made from post consumer materials let alone plucked from a trash pile in Jakarta! She LOVED the color and the tag sewn onto the case that states "This product is handmade from waste collected by Jakarta's TRASH PICKERS". She is a budding Eco-Chic diva and you would have thought I'd handed her Prada!

The XS Project also sent me this great notebook cover

which will adorn The Nuggets daily planner, aka keeper of the keys to the Nuggetdom and the ONLY reason I ever get ANYTHING done (not that it's EVER on time). The hard surface will provide an instant writing table anytime one of my BRILLIANT schemes pops into my brain, and the lovely colors will make it easy to find in the bottomless pit that has consumed my work desk!

So back to the gift giving idea.. imagine that you bought say.. your FAVORITE Mom who blogs this lovely "Market Market" tote

NOT only would you be giving her a CHIC and ECO friendly gift.. you'd be giving the gift of self reliance and a shot at financial security to a family a world away but with the same hopes and dreams that you have for your own family. Simply put, buying something from The XS Project Shop will be a gift for more than just the recipient. PLUS I she will look SO FREAKIN' HIP!

The kind people of XS Project and Tellem Worldwide have teamed up to bring the gift that gives and GIVES MORE to a lucky Nuggetier. Riddle me THIS to win..(aka answer any one of the following questions in the comments section to get an entry. One entry per answer, one answer per comment.. SO answer all 3 questions in 3 SEPARATE comments and get 3 entries! confusing enough?) And since the best way to help the project grow is to get the word out, everyone who tweets a link to the SHOP page of the Project XS website gets 3 MORE entries (be sure to include @dipaolamomma in your tweet or publish the link in the comments).

Question 1: Why is the manufacturing and use of plastic drink pouches on the rise in Indonesia?

Question 2: What are the two most important interconnected goals of the project manufacturing?

Question 3: What is your PERSONAL favorite item in the shop?

Contest in open to US residents only. Ends Monday December 7th at 10 pm EST. Winner will be announced on or about Tuesday December 8th.

FTC DISCLOSURE: The Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom blog was provided product from this company for review and/or giveaway.

update.. I'm runing LATE

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:05:00 +0000

If you've been around a while, me running late is NO surprise! Yet some how I still feel ~~obsessed obligated compelled~~ it's only fair to let you know that today's post will be delayed a bit. Sure like you're sitting around WAITING for it. I know what you're really waiting for is the winner of the Wii Fit and Jillian Michaels giveaway.

As it turns out I SCREWED up on Sunday when I posted that I'd be announcing the winner today. In truth the contest reads...

"Contest ends December 1st at midnight EST. Winners will be announced December 3rd. "

SO than means you have until midnight TONIGHT to enter! I'll be announcing the winner on THURSDAY.. sorry for any confusion... but honestly I'd be SHOCKED if a whole week went by that I didn't screw something up. At least this didn't involve a heat source or the emergency room.

It's like BUTTAH!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:27:00 +0000

WELCOME to day one of the officially unofficial kick off of the FIRST evah official, Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom Week in Reviews. This event is the result of ~~lazy blogging habits~~ weeks of preparation. I've been working hard ~~stalking more popular people on twitter for hours and ignoring everything else~~.

Here is how it's going to work... in my befuddled brain at least. Every day I'll bring you something new. We'll kvetch, you'll comment, I'll set my ~~minions~~ Randomizer to work picking winners where loot is involved. Because I'm socially awkward and have an obsessive desire for adoration from strangers on the internet, you MUST be a Nuggetier (aka follower, subscriber, devoted stalkeratzzi) in order for me to buy you off with free crap. Any questions?

On with the FUN already!

Today it's all about the butter babe! I don't care if you're (cough Jennie G) all into being a fit little thing, heck I'm workin' hard to be right there with ya, but... NO ONE can deny the power of butter. And I'm not talking the "everything's better with BOO GONE it on it" I'm touting the REAL thing here Nuggetiers. The beauty is that the old cliche "all things in moderation" (bleh) leaves room for a lovely pat of the GOOD stuff even in the most health conscious diet every now and then . That said, there are varying degrees of good. Much like wine, butter has it's versions of both Boon's Farm and Cristal. I don't know about you but give me the Cristal!

So we've established I'm a butter snob then right? That said I was really excited when I was contacted by Challenge Dairy and asked to help them spread (ha ha, butter.. spread.. I made a funny) the word about their KILLER giveaway and the AMAZING quality products they produce. What better way to do that then to get your butts in the KITCHEN?! Challenge, challenged me to come up with a recipe for a side dish or snack for the holidays using their butter and spices from the AMAZING Spice Islands line of products.

They sent me dill, smoked paprika and Beau Monde, plus some coupons for the BUTTAH. I'm sorry but I can't help myself I HAVE to do my Mike Myers as Linda Richman..

impersonation every time I say the word butter.. it's just one of my lovely neuroses, discuss amongst yah selves.

Since dill is sort of an.. how shall we say.. pungent... flavor I chose to give it it's own SHOWCASE **sparkly sparkles and jazz hands recommended**. Being that Challenge Dairy makes a lovely spreadable butter I chose to use it instead of waiting around for the stuff to come to room temp. Then I chose to use cream cheese and ended up freaking waiting ANYWAY! Once the cheese was room temp (8 oz of it) I added it to 1/2 cup of spreadable Challenge BUTTAH. I could have stopped there.. REALLY I could have just noshed on the whole bowl hiding in my closet so no one would judge me... but seeingashow this is a whole share-it-with-the-blogosphere-thing I figured I'd take one for the team and keep on cookin'. To the butter and cheese I added 1tsp of Dill Weed (that's how the label reads, makes me laugh.. Dill WEED ha!) 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cracked white pepper. Sure you could do black peppercorns and yeah it could be just "regular" pepper but where is the annoying foodie snob fun in THAT?! Next I popped all that creamy savory goodness into my sorry excuse for a food processor (hello KitchenAid, if you are reading this blog, which you SO should be. I'd totally pimp it out for one of THESE). Now for the piece de resistance.. 3 oz of smoked salmon.. YUMMO! Pulse this until smooth and lovely. I got all Martha with it and piped it on to crostini with a star tip and topped it off with some sliced green onion. WHA LA, salmon mousse en crostini! Easy peasy one two threesie!

Next up I tipped my hat to the crazy people in my family, okay so that is MOST of them, and created.. CAJUNS-R-NUTS my own little buttery, spicy, crunchy side dish for BEER! Knew I'd get ya with that last one. Here is what you'll need.. 1 pound of PEECANS, pah cauns or pecans to us civilized folk. 1 stick of Challenge Dairy's European Style BUTTAH, 1 tablespoon of the OH so GOOD Spice Islands Beau Monde seasoning, 1/2 tablespoon of their smoked paprika, 1 tsp (or 1/2 if you are wimpy on the spicy stuff) of cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Preheat your oven to 350, then melt the BUTTAH in a sauce pot. Add in the seasoning, mix it WELL and pour it over the nuts making sure to coat them all. Cover a cookie sheet with baking parchment and spread the nuts out in one even layer. Bake for 6 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool.. a step my 16 year old choose to ignore resulting in him sounding like he has a speech impedement.. place em in a dish, grab your brew and turn on the FOOTBALL!

Now that you've decided that I simply MUST invite you to my next holiday party, let me let you down easy. Want to WIN? WELL you've come to the right blog baby! Challenge is giving away a vacation prize package to beat them ALL! 7 days and 6 nights for FOUR at Montana's Mountian Sky Guest Ranch! DUDE they even have a SECOND place (they call it first since the other is GRAND but who has time for semantics when there is WINNING to be done?!)... $850 worth of kitchen gadgets and spices from Spice Isands and one of my PERSONAL FAVS OXO. Here is what I'm thinking.. the contest ends Dec 31st, enter NOW and if you win either of the two prizes.. I GET A CUT, after all I told you about it right, and um I'm like SO FUN and you TOTALLY want to hang out with me in Montana or share your kitchen goodies with me just to win my favor.. right.. RIGHT?! (just kidding you keep it, but take a picture and send it to me).
I'm not as COOL as Challenge Dairy.. BUT I can bribe you with free stuff!

LIKE THIS

The prize pack contains two FULL VALUE
coupons for Challenge BUTTAH products
an OXO whisk and spatchaspoonula thingy.

To enter MY giveaway you MUST be a
Nuggetier. Then leave me a comment telling
me what your FAV holiday recipe made with
BUTTAH (duh) is. Extra entries for tweets AND
a whopping 10 entries if you post your recipe
on your blog and link back to me.

I'd like to thank Challenge Dairy for providing me with products to use at home and to give to YOU! Challenge is mostly available on the west coast, BUT it can also be found in military commissaries (which is where I got mine). If you win and can't get the product where you are I'll be happy to work out a substitution with you.

My contest ends Monday December 7th. The winner will be announced on Thursday December 10th with the goodies making it into your hot little hands just in time for Festivus!

Get READY for the week in REVIEWS!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:47:00 +0000

Hey Nuggetiers I've got a whole WEEK of fun, games, VLOGS and loot for YOU ahead starting Monday! Get a jump on the entries for things like GIFTCARDS, video games (psst it might help ya out to go check out THIS website), toys, beauty products and MORE by following me on twitter, I'm @dipaolamomma just in case you didn't know. Brush up on your OWN nuggets of wisdom AND holiday side dish recipes. I'm planning a December kick off NUGGETS STYLE! Don't forget to enter the Wii Fit and Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2010 giveaway HERE, the winner will be announced on Tuesday.

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving, filled with family, fun, food and a good old fashion NAP! Get your FIRST entry into EVERY single one of this week's contests by tweeting or blogging (one entry for each action) this post and leaving me a link in the comments. WHO RAY FORE DA HOLLY DAYZ!

A Very Nuggets Holiday

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:44:00 +0000

Twitter Moms is hosting a Dora Christmas Carol contest that got me thinking about what my five favorite family holiday activities are. I'll confess I've had a hard time getting into the spirit this year. After all Christmas has been stalking me since September, making me feel a bit pressured. But with Turkey day just days away I'm starting feel in (insert Blink 182 here).

Today is all about getting on that holiday groove. My favorite family activity is our annual cookie art day. My mom started this when I was a lil' ol Nugget. Everyone would gather in the kitchen with the 350 million sugar cookie cutouts she'd baked and tons of frosting, sprinkles and nummy bits. Mom would judge our works of art and the winner would get a prize. The one big catch, you break it YOU eat it! Sound okay right? Well it was.. so much so that we'd break a few at the start of the festivities just to nosh a bit. HOWEVER by the time we got down to the last dozen or so cookies the thought of eating even one more crumb was nauseating!

My favorite part was seeing how fancy they could get.. and then by the time the end was near they'd just end up with frosting slopped on them. I still giggle at those. We now carry on this tradition with our kids. We also have the kids do an Angel Tree donation. Each child picks and angel from the charity tree and shops for that angel. We have a wrappers partay.. you can imagine that fun. MY FAV is taking cookies to the fire house on Christmas eve. We also have a sappy holiday flick fest.. It's A Wonderful Life.. etc... I LOVE A Christmas Story best though. I don't recall EVER hearing my Da laugh so hard.

What do YOU do every year that says THE HOLIDAYS ARE HEAR for you? Tell me about it, lets get in the mood nuggets style!

I'm thinking Mr. Fox will be FANTASTIC!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:39:00 +0000

If I were making a list of my top 10 favorite movies of all time you can bet your sweet tail it would include Rushmore. That said I'll bet you can imagine me doing my blogsphere famous "Shake U hiney it's SO finey" dance when I was offered at spot in an interview with Jason Schwartzman.

Have you seen HBO's Bored To Death yet? If not, DO.. you'll thank me! This interview though was for the new movie he is staring in with the likes of Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and SWOON George Clooney Fantastic Mr. Fox. Mr. Fox is directed by the simply sublime Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Life Aquatic, I want to be on team Zissou!, and The Royal Tenenbaums).

In the film Schwartzman plays a young fox dealing with the emotional trials and tribulations of competing for his father's attention whist trying to figure out his place it the world. The movie is based on the book by Roald Dahl who authored the classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

When Schwartzman was asked if he related to his character in the film, Ash, he gave one of the best and most visual descriptions I've ever heard and actor give, it made me.. who was NOT content with waiting for the DVD release KNOW I had go to see it!

When I read the script, I completely related to this character. I mean, I literally like down to almost every aspect of it. I’m the son of George Clooney and Meryl Streep, of course in the movie. What if that was the BIG reveal? I'm here to announce I'm the son of Meryl Streep and George Clooney? .... I’m an adolescent fox, about 12-13 years old, in fox years. And I’m little. I haven’t hit my growth spurt yet, and I don’t have many friends. I get picked on a little bit, quite a bit actually. And I like a girl who doesn’t really like me back and likes my cousin actually who is living with us...

How many of us can relate to our adolescent years and pining for unrequited love? Larry Ward, where ever you are, I loved you! Why didn't you ever notice me? I must have played John Waite's Missing You a zillion times just thinking of your green eyes and seeing you at the locker next to mine after homeroom every day.. oh wait I got off topic there, SORRY

I think Jason says it best in his own words, listen to the the interview Listen HERE (thanks to my new buddy Daily Actor for his mad tech skills in cleaning up the audio and hitting the high points for us). It's been a while since I've considered venturing out with the WHOLE brood to see a movie. It's not a cheap or really very entertaining prospect to take FOUR kids to the theater.. BUT for this one I'm going to do it!

OH OH one MORE thing Mario Batali food network SUPASTAH, who's kick butt eatery Carne Vino The DH my parents and I had the mouth watering pleasure of dining at in Vegas, voices Rabbit in the movie.. AND guess WHAT he has whipped up some recipes for us JUST in time for TURKEY DAY! Courtesy of Fantastic Mr. Fox you can download Mario's recipes HERE.

One last thing, CONGRATS, to Jason and his wife Brady who are headed off to their long awaited honeymoon (the two were married in July)... BEST wishes guys!

What's with the bag babe?

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:47:00 +0000

I'll tell ya "what's with the bag".. it's a GREAT excuse for a Twitter Party/LIVE streaming internet fashion show! The Sondra Roberts handbag/twitter/stickam/super-cool-chicks-in-real-life-OMG party was a blast! The hostess with the mostests Janine of Twofer Mom (@twincident), my personal twitter idol the RAWKIN' COOL Amy of Resourceful Mommy (@ResourcefulMom) and the lovely Linda of Short Pump Preppy (@shortpumppreppy) who gave me a great geography lesson, really put on a great party!

Of course I had my "girls" to give me support (would you guess with a yap like mine that I'm sort of socially inept? wait don't answer that)

(Left to right) Jennifer of Hip as I Wanna Be (@MammaMania) looking EVER hip as always, MaryMac herself of Pajamas and Coffee (@marymac) working her boots baby! and yours truly, PUMP it up! (oh and just in case you didn't know you can find me on twitter as @dipaolamomma)

But the fun didn't end there, I got to bring home a bag.. yep! Oh and I came face to face with some of the people I STALK either on twitter or their blogs OR BOTH!

(left to right)@TechSavvyMama who unlike ME is really a Tech Savvy Mama
(yeah I'm SO gonna beg her for help!)
@Jodifur who is a REAL LIFE HERO protecting kids! She writes the blog Jodifur.com
and you SHOULD go check her out ~~cuz I said so and you're all good minions right?!~~

Oh OH I about SHAT myself when Jenn emailed me to tell me that JESSICA of A Parent in Silver spring was going to be there.. I had a full-on OHMYGODIHEARTHER bloggy rock star groupie moment. If you don't read Jessica's blog or follower her as @JessicaAPISS on twitter, ~~you are dead to me~~ you are missing out.

It was a great time. We got to giveaway stuff on Twitter, take stuff home, chat, drink wine and NOT chase kids around!

Jennifer, Mary and I finished off the night the best way EVER, booze and brownies (20 miles on the treadmill SO WORTH IT!) with our newest bestest best friend who doesn't blog BUT is the queen of all things social media, guru of the TweetUp and life long imaginary BFF, Melanie (@sisarina).

So this is all nice and good right, but WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?! Well other than some links to a-freaking-mazing peeps... I'd like to know what YOU would go to a Twitter party for. Maybe Spa stuff, or some super cool toy, recipe ideas.. dish! I can't promise I'll make it happen but I sure will try!

While you're waiting though don't forget to enter the Wii Fit Plus giveaway HERE, and a heads up for next week.. on deck I've got an interview with Jason Schwartzman (was Rushmore not one of the best movies EVER?) from the new movie Fantatic Mr. Fox (can you say Clooney? SWOON!). A review of JumpStart Wii games and MORE GIVEAWAYS... think shots at a vacations, kitchen tools from OXO and MORE!

Fit Pitchin' Friday: The "R" rated Nuggets

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:43:00 +0000

Now don't give me any crap about NOT posting something I've actually written MYSELF today... I'm going to send you over to the blog of one my favorite Nuggetiers.. AND YOU ARE GOING TO LIKE IT!! No really you are.. just FYI if the F-bomb and suburban house wives rollin' in their Volvos with soaped up half naked men offends your tender sensibilities ~~get over yourself~~ don't go. On the other hand if you want to laugh your ass off go HERE
Then come back and THANK ME for having both awesome friends and being diabolically cool!

This JUST in Jillian Michael's wants YOU to be a LOSER by being a WINNER!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:05:00 +0000

Hey Nuggetiers! It's almost 8:00 here at the lair and I'd normally be lounging on the sofa with The DH, eagerly awaiting the kicking off of the next hoofer from Dancing With The Stars... BUT I just some GREAT news that needed to be spread H1N1 style!

Jillian Michael's of Biggest Loser infamy has teamed up with Sports Authority to launch her new Nintendo Wii Fit game.

Here are the details on the new launch:
Sports Authority is teaming up with Nintendo to create a new way to experience fitness gaming. The collaboration will allow Sports Authority to sell Wii gaming consoles, Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, as well as various accessories and games for the Wii, in its stores. To launch the product and to help customers get to know the Wii better, Sports Authority will create a "We know fit. We know fun." experience at 102 of their stores. Stores will feature a dedicated area with a demo unit and knowledgeable trainers to help customers try the Wii Fit Plus before they buy. This will help moms trade static workouts for ones that involve fun and fitness for the whole family.

On Thursday Nov 19th if you're near Torrance, CA ~~I hate you because you're not dealing with frozen cars in the morning~~ stop by the Sports Authority store at 3610 Torrance Blvd any time from 9:30 am until around noon-ish. WHY SHOULD YOU GO? Well other than the fact that I'll just ooze with jealousy.. you'll get a chance to meet the badass QUEEN OF BUTT KICKING HERSELF! I don't know about you, but she scares the HELL out of me. So I'd be going to check out the "world's largets Wii Fit Plus" demo that will feature 102 peeps plus Jillian doing her thang. OH and you can also win COOL swag from Sports Authority, Nintendo and Nike.. MAYBE even a copy of "Fitness Ultimatum 2010" (sounds like SOMEBODY is going for the annual "Madden" effect there).

So you say you're STUCK on the east coast with me? Do I hear a few Nuggetiers moaning about living in Minnesota? Fear NOT my darling Nuggetiers I shall NOT let you down. I have a copy of of "Fitness Ultimatum 2010" AND a Wii Fit PLUS board to give away (two winners, one prize each).

What I want you to do, is win it and GIVE IT TO ME! Sadly I wasn't smart enough to get me some swag for this one (take THAT for disclosure FTC!). Nah just kidding you can keep it *insert pathetic sigh here*

To win you need to follow me or subscribe to my feed (leave a comment telling me you do THIS IS MANDITORY!) you ALSO have to tell me what you'd eat knowing you'd work it off in like 3.2 seconds with this game.. and make it GOOD people.. I want deep fried and smothered in chocolate here! You can earn 1 extra entry for Tweeting, Facebook linking, a blog mention or purchasing a billboard (a minimum of 20 stories high). I'll need proof of these entries so leave a link in the comments or a high resolution pic of the billboard.

Contest ends December 1st at midnight EST. Winners will be announced December 3rd.
for more info on the game and where to find it visit HERE

Do you PARTAY?!

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:29:00 +0000

Now don't go being haters and all. I've got something I'd like to ~~gloat~~ tell you about. It starts with the statement "I heart Twitter". Don't tweet? Think it's all Promo Piranhas and Snark Sharks? Well my Nuggetier you are SO wrong (okay so there are few Piranha and a small school of Sharks but it's small). I've actually "met" some really cool peeps over there. Besides, if I AM doing it then it HAS to RAWK right? RIGHT?!! RIGHT?!

Maybe me endorsing it isn't enough to get ya over there. Maybe a daily dose of Nugget wisdom is about all you can take. We'll then what would you say to a FREE vacation, or a Nintendo DSi (with three games), or a $25 TJMaxx card? Now I've peaked your interest haven't I, you little consumer queens you? Well back off cuz I already WON all that stuff just by hanging out around the nest and going to Twitter parties.

I want YOU to get in on some of this action. AND I'm willing to make a FOOL OF MYSELF IN PUBLIC to get you there. This Thursday, November 19th at 8:00 pm, Janine of Twofer Mom will be sending the likes of Moi, Jen of Hip as I Wanna Be, Mary of Pajamas and Coffee, Amy of Resurceful Mommy down the runway LIVE via Stickam with the spring collection of designer bags from Sondra Roberts. We'll be tweeting as well and yes YOU can win! Handbags from the Sondra Roberts and SR Squared lines will be given to "TWEEPS" who tweet at the "hashtag" (twitter code for number symbol plus a title) #sondraroberts. All you need to do is sign up for Twitter (if you didn't already do that the MOMENT I told you to!) then go HERE and rsvp. Be sure to follow our hosts @Rescourcefulmom @ShortPumpPreppy @TwoferMom and the designer behind the couture fun @SondraRoberts. All your tweets should include #sondraroberts!

I want some NUGGETIERS taking home the prizes (and I need the moral support) so be there or I'm hunting you down and pulling your official Nuggetier card!

Oh cameras go on at 7:30 pm if you just want to laugh at us before the giving away of COOL loot starts. FYI I'm bringing Sexy Back!

Why do I bother?

chickennuggetsofwisdom@gmail.com (DiPaola Momma) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:03:00 +0000

Last week I had to take both numbers 3 and 4 to the gym with me. While I was getting ready they were ~~hounding the crap out of me~~ waiting patiently on the bed.

# 3 "Mommy where are we going today?"

Me "To they gym."

# 3 "WHY do we have to go THERE?! I hate going to the GYM!" (insert annoying 4 year old whining)

Me "I go to the gym so I can get skinny."

I pause here to explain that #3 has a minor obsession with my squishy belly. Most kids have a favorite stuffed animal or security blanket. NOT my kid, he digs my spare tire! Yeah okay, so he might grow up to have "issues" but I like that at least one person has respect for the ol' muffin top.

He then works himself up into a full-on four year old FIT! We're talking tears streaming down his face, moaning, whining and feet stomping.

# 3 "NOOOOOO Mommy I don't want you to get skinny. DON'T go to the gym! PLEEEEASE!"

Despite his very persuasive argument, and my own tendencies towards laziness, off to the gym we go. I get ~~tortured~~ a good work out, go down to the play room and pick up the kids. Each of them grabs a hand, beaming up at me, ready to get on with the day.

# 3 "See Mommy it didn't work! You're still FAT!"

Why do I bother?