Yesterday was tough for me. Learning the news of Maddie's passing hit me hard. Knowing Heather and Maddie mostly through her blog, I didn't think that would be the case. But, as you know, the relationships we develop online often happen quickly and when we connect, the connection is deep. I will be attending Maddie's service next Tuesday in Los Angeles, and I've joined a team of other bloggers to walk in the March for Babies on April 25th. The love and support on the web has been amazing to witness.
If you'd like information on how to participate, please email me. There are fund raising efforts for the walk, for Maddie's service and Stefanie of Baby on Bored is organizing a grocery trip.
Update: Maddie's service is at 2:30 on Tuesday 4/14 at Old North Church at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills. Please wear purple in honor of Maddie. Cards can be sent to 11870 Santa Monica Blvd. #106-514, Los Angeles, CA 90025.
Baby Madeline Spohr (Maddie) has died. I met Heather for the first time at an event a few months ago. We didn't have a lot of time to talk, but I remember Maddie smiling at me.
I read through Heather's blog to get to know her and understand Maddie's medical history and their connection to March of Dimes. No one should have to go through what Mike, Heather and Maddie have. Please make a donation today to March of Dimes in Maddie's honor.
Yesterday was a perfect Southern California day. It was the kind of day to stay in bed past 9:00, have coffee on the patio and flip through the Sunday paper.
It was the kind of day to ignore emails and Facebook, Google readers and Twitter.
It was the kind of day for flip flops and tank tops, lawn chairs, a good book and kids playing in the yard.
It was the kind of day for taking new bikes out for ride, enjoying the breeze and faces turned up to the sun.
It was the kind of day to fire up the grill for burgers and corn on the cob.It was the kind of day that doesn't end when the sun goes down.
It was a meet-the-neighbors-at the-pool-after-dinner kind of day.
The best way to end a day like yesterday would be sipping an ice cold Mike's Hard Lemonade in the jacuzzi, watching the kids do Canonballs into the pool.
That's the kind of day yesterday was. It was the perfect day. It was my day. And it was just the kind of day I needed.
I've never considered myself much of a gadget freak. Now that I've been blogging for awhile, I realize how many cool things I've missed out on. Being able to review a product is a fun privilege and perk of blogging, and when the product is from a local company that makes it even better. The more involved I get in social media within my community I realize we've got a lot of great companies in San Diego with some amazing innovation and creativity.
Erik and Rob have definitely demonstrated those traits with Live SpeakR. The portability alone makes it far superior to any of the other docking speaker systems I researched. The sound is great as long as you use a good quality MP3. I have two songs in my library that I didn't know I need to replace until I heard the fluctuations on the Live SpeakR. Watch the video for a demo of how to use the system and to hear the sound quality (and a minor guest appearance at the end by my husband).
Right now, the system only comes in black but I know a white version is in the works. I'd like to see brushed stainless and the option to customize them with a skin. I definitely can see using the speakers later this year during the breast cancer walk. A lot of walkers strap small speakers to their backpacks and fanny packs and play really upbeat music.
I would buy a pink skin if some of the proceeds went to breast cancer research (or red for HIV/AIDS research, purple for March of Dimes, etc. etc). Erik and Rob also told me they are maybe, possibly, hopefully going to develop a version for those of you with that other type of phone (rhymes with Blackberry).
I want to say a huge thanks to Erik and Rob for waiting so patiently for me to get this up. Also, if you follow HAROand Peter Shankman on Twitter (@skydiver), he is having a massive 12-hour 1 Year Anniversary Twitter giveaway today. One prize every eight minutes until 6:30 tonight and the Live SpeakR system is one of the prizes.*
(They gave it away at 12:30pm CA time. The timing of my review was a total happy coincidence!)
The word grandmother often makes people think of home cooking and fresh baked pie. For me, when I think of my Gramma (or Nanna to Drama Kid) I think not of pie, but of pie dough.
When I was young, we could take the train from Chicago to St. Louis and we visited our family often. There weren't too many little kids in her neighborhood so Gramma came up with a way to keep me occupied. She would have a ball of pie dough wrapped in plastic waiting for me in the fridge. I'd play with that dough for hours then put it back in the fridge until later.
By the time our visit was over, that dough would be gray-black with dirt, specks and carpet fiber and I'm sure it looked horrible in her fridge next to the leftovers. But it made me happy. Which is all my Gramma has ever wanted to do.
Thanks, Gramma for the pie dough and putting up with my whining over the Hydrox versus Oreos and Vienna Beef over Ball Park Franks. Thanks for making all my friends jealous with my birthday/back to school wardrobe. Thank you for making my favorite breakfast every time I ask. Thank you for doing all the laundry when you visit and letting Drama Kid walk on your back.
Thanks for all the belly laughs we've had over the years and for being such a great Nanna. I love you Gram. Happy Birthday! (dough photo from here)
Melanie Sheridan is a Southern California lifestyle blogger writing about her life as a stay at home mom turned work at home mom. She married her high school sweetheart 211 years ago and they share one amazing kid. She is an avid reader, shoe slut, Twitter addict, chocolate fiend, newbie photographer, closet gadget girl, wannabe foodie, late iAdopter, recovering shopaholic and a Pinning Fool. Melanie is very active in San Diego's social media community and freelances with small business owners.
