CityMama™

And the winner of the Wii + Wii Fit is...

I don't know yet!  I am still reading entries!  They are all so cringe-worthy it's hard to choose! I truly feel sorry for all who entered. (Hee!)

Keep checking back.  I will post winner's name soon!

And we have a winner!!!!!!

First, let me say that I have never laughed so hard while reading blog posts. For every one of you that farted during gym class or went to gym class with no shorts on (see Ellen's comment) or thought they had gotten the better of a Nordic-Track or treadmill or had toilet paper fall out of your previously enhanced cleavage in front of jocks or Sweated to the Oldies, or worse to Barbie or leaked breastmilk all over your step aerobics studio or been whacked in the face with elasticized excercise equipment or crushed a beloved pet while doing yoga, I truly felt your pain and embarrassment...and I laughed.

There were plenty of excellent stories to choose from, but I was really going for really embarrassing. Not just "thank-god-that-never-happened-to-me embarrassing," but reallyreallyreally cringe-worthy. The kind of embarrassing situation that you could imagine yourself being in. The kind of embarrassing situation that sticks with you AS IF you could imagine yourself doing it because you came close to being there yourself.

As I was reading posts, I asked myself: could I feel you turning beet red? Could the bottom drop out of my stomach in abject horror along with yours? Could I experience your shame as if I were there? As if it were me? That's the kind of burn I was looking for, and lo, I believe we have found it.

But first, the runners up. They all get some sorta prize because you don't cross lines like these without getting SOMETHING in return. Not sure what that is yet, but I will make it good.:

Who wants a Nintendo Wii + Wii Fit? Come on, you know you do.

Yes. And booze helps.

Note: CONTEST IS OVER, but you can still scroll down to read all the cringe-worthy entries!!

It's true. I am giving away a Wii + Wii Fit. Let's talk fitness, shall we?

There was a time in my life when I used to dance every day. All through elementary, junior high, and high school. Even in college, I didn't give up my dance classes. I could never imagine a life without some form of dance.

Then I switched majors halfway through college and had to work my ass off to finish school on time because there was no way I was staying in LA for one moment longer than I needed to. That meant the dance classes went bye-bye.

When I started working full-time, not being a morning person, I only had evenings to work out. Looking for that dance connection and inspiration, I went in search of a fun workout program with an emphasis on music and movement. And I discovered:

Jazzercise.

Yes. Oh, yes.

Jazz hands! (Actually, it wasn't like that.)

My very first podcast

Recently I had the pleasure of participating in a podcast for Electronic Gaming Monthly with Jenny Lauck, Shane Bettenhausen, and Jennifer Tsao about the Nintendo Wii. Apparently there is some controversy in the gaming world surrounding Wii's strategy to court so-called Alpha Moms (an advertising term for supposed influential moms) to promote their gaming system. Listen in (click the 9/3 podcast on EGM Live) and see what's it all about. We're part of the second segment beginning at around the 21:27 minute mark.

In case you can't tell us apart, Jenny is the funny one and I'm the one that pauses awkwardly and says "Um" and "I mean..." a lot. /cringe.

Jenny also wrote it up more brilliantly that I ever could on Three Kid Circus.

And, yes, my DS is still in its box.

Wii Had So Much Fun

This weekend, I hosted a party along with Nintendo, that brought (mostly blogging) mamas together for an afternoon of fun and gaming on the Nintendo Wii. So far Nintendo has hosted 24 of these parties across the country, and they are smartly tapping into women, and especially mothers, who are the decision-makers in the family when it comes to large purchases.  Get the women hooked, and their family will be a Wii-owning family. I think it's safe to say, that the strategy worked yesterday.

The theme of the party was "Mom's Night Out," except we all got together during naptime to par-tay. One of my favorite restaurants, Zibbibo (the Restaurant Lulu group's Palo Alto outpost), catered the affair and, most importantly, brought along a bartender to mix up mojitos, margaritas, and cosmos to keep the mamas "hydrated." It was a hot day, after all.

I jokingly told the Nintendo folks that they could expect moms to: 1. show up on time and 2. immediately get down to the business of having fun. I was right. With only three hours to spend away from the kids, these moms weren't going to waste any time. Oh no.