Ready For Orbit? Space Nation Seeks to Unearth Your Full Potential

Having your head in the clouds isn't such a bad thing. In fact, Helsinki-based startup Space Nation wants everyone in the world to be shooting for the stars, literally!

As it says on their recently launched website, "The Space Nation Astronaut Program turns your smartphone into a ticket to the stars. It’s the first free global astronaut training program. Anyone with a mobile device can take part."

The Space Nation app is currently in beta testing and is due to be released to the general public in February 2018. I have been lucky enough to get a sneak peek behind the scenes and it is going to be a gamechanger for everyday people who dream of one day traveling beyond Earth. The app will encourage users to build skills in science, teamwork, self-awareness, and other fields that will help them in their quest to become astronauts. Top app users will be recruited from all over the world to attend a real-life astronaut camp to train for a final competition, with the ultimate winner actually getting to participate in a trip to space!

Skills essential to life in the 21st century - teamwork, problem-solving, physical and mental excellence. #OrbitLaunch pic.twitter.com/1QtTf7FZQx

— Space Nation Orbit (@spacenationorb) November 9, 2017

Since its founding in 2013, Space Nation has broken crowdfunding records, acquired lab space on the International Space Station (ISS) and become the first space member of the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO. This is no fly-by-night operation. Space Nation is making the dream of space very real, indeed.

With this week's launch of Space Nation Orbit, a lifestyle magazine for hopeful future astronauts, Space Nation is looking to build a community of content creators and social media influencers to help share their mission. My longtime blog friends Katja and Candice are currently mining the talent pools of New York City, but they are always on the lookout for good recruits:

In search of universal media badassery. #orbitlaunch recruiting week in NYC Nov 6-10. Connect w/ @AmazingCanCan & @katjapresnal #Influencer pic.twitter.com/HgDbOSyhIe

— Space Nation Orbit (@spacenationorb) November 4, 2017

Not quite orbiting the world... but something like it. Katja and Salla of @spacenationorg from the Helsinki headquarters flew to NYC yesterday. This week will be all about #orbitlaunch and we are hoping to find more awesome content creators and social media ninjas who want to be part of @spacenationorbit. Ps. Head Instagrammer spot is already taken, but we are in such early stages that she has not even started yet!

A post shared by Space Nation Orbit (@spacenationorbit) on Nov 6, 2017 at 1:47am PST

I will be signing on to Space Nation's maiden voyage and I hope you will join me in Space Nation Orbit. I'll be contributing over there as a team member, too!

Small Ship Touring with Adventure Collection

If cruise ships seem too big and impersonal for your travel style, you might want to consider small ship touring. On smaller, privately-owned ships, you still enjoy safe, cozy accommodations with all the luxuries of a major liner- lounges, private baths, etc.- but you'll be able to explore waterways that are more off the beaten path than big ships can squeeze their way into.

Adventure Collection is a partnership of 10 premier adventure travel companies, dedicated to offering discerning travelers exhilarating, life-expanding journeys that nurture and sustain the varied cultures and landscapes of the world. They offer small ship tours to a variety of destinations worldwide with off-road travelers in mind. If your daydreams involve spotting wildlife in Antarctica or Africa, bicycling through the Alaskan frontier or kayaking the fjords of Iceland or New Zealand, they have a small ship touring option for you! 

I've never been on one of these trips but I'm hoping to share the experience with the whole family once the kids get a bit older. I think it would be amazing to learn about Darwin while visiting the Galapagos or taking a riverboat down the Nile. Someday.

 For more information follow Adventure Collection on Facebook and @Don_George on Twitter.

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and the WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that this post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I was compensated for my time investment and work on this campaign. All opinions, however, are my own.

Pringles Speaker

Do you have a guilty pleasure snack? I'm an avowed chocoholic but my true snack lust is reserved for Pringles. I love the crispy potato stacks and their tall proprietary cans with the seldom-needed plastic lids… as they've said "once you pop you can't stop." This is particularly true of flavors like pizza, sour cream and, uh, tabby kitten.

photo source

Okay, there is no kitten flavor, you caught me. Still, if you're indulging in some Pringles binges this summer, you might want to save your receipts. Through Halloween 2011, if you mail in receipts from four Super Stack cans and an official redemption form, you'll receive a cool little speaker doohickey that plugs into your iPod and uses an empty Pringles can as an amplifier. Like so:

I have to say the sound quality is not bad and this is definitely the loudest MP3 plug-in speaker device that I've tried. It runs on 3 AAA batteries and also works on a full can, but the bass sounds better with the empty can. I wasn't really expecting it to be so nifty. Bob actually snatched it to use while working on his garden trellises today. Roo ate all of the Pringles!

Great excuse to do some snacking this summer!

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that I received the items shown above to facilitate this review. All opinions are, as usual, strictly my own.

Do You Know The Way to San Jose?

Everyone has been asking to see pictures from my eBay trip, specifically the gorgeous hotel room. We stayed at the Hotel Valencia on Santana Row, smack dab in the middle of the most adorable shopping destination you can imagine. The weather was perfect, sunny and clear with a slight chill in the air. So all the open air restaurants had heaters. Adorable, as noted before. Even more adorable because they had holiday decorations up already.

It was a blast to wander with my blogger friends, pawing through Anthropologie, H&M, and Urban Outfitters (50% off sale prices, yeah!) but coming back to the hotel was pretty lovely. I fell in love with the faux fur throw on the bed and the gigantic mirror behind the comfy club chair.

My view from the 7th floor was stellar.
I had a little sunroom all to myself.

Even the bathroom was aesthetically pleasing.

We got to sample some of the local delicacies. Cupcakes at Kara's (fleur de sel with a gushy caramel center and sea salt sprinkles on the ganache) and pyramid of tartare at Blowfish (tuna, salmon and avocado- you dump the ponzu sauce on and mush it up to eat on chips).

I can't wait to get back!

Monster Cable CleanTouch and Outlets to Go

Know what I really like? Things that make my life easier and/or better. Monster Cable makes a bunch of things that can do both, from cables for everything you own (the bane of my existence as an RTF major, pre-digital technology; I totally flunked the patch bay tests…) to headphones and accessories for all of your electronics.

Jasper uses my iPhone about as much as I do, so its lovely touch screen is frequently mired by sticky fingerprints. Monster CleanTouch  for iPhone/iPad/iPod is a spray cleaner in a small, flat container that fits into a pouch with its accompanying microfiber cloth. Yes, travelers, it is TSA-approved. The solution is ammonia and alcohol-free so it is safe to use on touchscreens but it also leaves an invisible coating that  helps to prevent smudges and fingerprints. The microfiber Monster Clean Cloth is imbued with antimicrobial AEGIS to control the spread of germs and bacteria. You know, the kind you get from a three year old picking his nose and then playing with your phone. Shudder.

I tested it on our iPhones, our iMacs, our TV. It really does reduce smudging and fingerprints! Impressive. I wish I had an iPad to test this out on, since that's its obvious focus, but c'est la vie…

The Monster Outlets to Go Power Strip features 3 AC outlets and a USB port so you can charge your iPod or iPhone and your laptop at the same time. It has a really smart design, plugging into itself to store, making it very slim and portable. I love this little guy for travel– it is a lifesaver in airports and at conferences where outlets are sparse. I had a 4-port Outlets to Go Power Strip (without the USB port) that my husband stole to use in his studio. He says the small profile makes it really useful to fit into awkward spaces where he wants to use power tools without a huge extension cord or power strip.

Disclosure: I received complimentary samples of Monster CleanTouch  for iPhone/iPad/iPod and Monster Outlets to Go Power Strip to facilitate this review. My opinions were not coerced in any way.

Great Wolf Lodge on Sale!

It's been about a year since we took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City and nary a day goes by that Roo does not ask about when we're going to go back. Today, they started a 48 hour sale on reservations from now through December, which includes their Snowland winter wonderland event. (The 48 hour sale applies to the Williamsburg, VA Great Wolf Lodge location also.)



So tempting!

Buckingham Hotel- A Palace in NYC

Living in the midwest has made me city-phobic. I love having access to arts and culture, sure, but I must admit that the wide-open spaces of Kansas have spoiled me. I've always been a bit of an introvert so too much time in the big city, packed like sardines on the bustling streets and retreating to teeny-tiny hotel rooms makes me slightly claustrophobic. I can't begin to tell you how completely thrilled I was upon opening the door to the room I shared with Kathleen at BlogHer this summer. It was spacious, even by my standards, not to mention clean and comfortable and only a block from the conference venue. Unbelievable!



The Buckingham Hotel is located smack-dab in the middle of the hustle and bustle I mentioned before, walking distance to MoMA, The American Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Central Park and a host of other NYC landmarks. The rooms are all suite-style, with sitting and dining areas and functional kitchens, which makes them feel more like apartments than dinky hotel rooms.






You can really spread out, which is definitely a plus when you're dealing with multiple bags of conference swag and trying to repack everything to go home. There's also plenty of room to entertain visitors and/or for toddlers to run laps…




I kept thinking that the The Buckingham would be an ideal home base for families traveling with kids. There are drugstores and markets close by so you could definitely save some money (and tantrums, depending on how fussy your little eaters are!) by eating meals in.




The bathroom was small but the huge curtains around the claw-footed tub made it possible for roommates to come and go without impeding each other's progress too much. I really like the original tile details. It felt like the coolest apartment you could have had in college.




The bedroom featured two comfy beds and a closet big enough to hold both of our overpacked suitcase contents. Ladies like to have wardrobe options, don't you know.

The Buckingham has a gorgeous penthouse suite with rooftop access that we got to see as it was the venue for the Hallmark BlogHer party. It is breathtaking! The hotel also has plenty of notable package deals with area attractions. Personally, I would love to experience the Buckingham MoMA Underground Gallery package, which includes VIP tickets for the exhibit (skip the lines!) and starts at just $279/night. This would make an excellent 40th birthday trip… I hear there are spooky packages in the works for Halloween, too. Another great advantage is the The Buckingham's proximity to subway stops. I've always been a subway wuss but Kathleen showed me just how easy they are to use and I was impressed with how much faster we got around compared to getting stuck in traffic with cabs.

The Buckingham will definitely be at the top of my list next time I travel to New York.

Disclosure: Our stay in a one bedroom suite at the The Buckingham during BlogHer was comped but all opinions are unbiased. If our room was horrible, I would let you know. Nary a bedbug in sight, nor a surly staffer. I was completely blown away.

Disney Wrap-up (family photos)

Both kids had a great time but it was interesting to see the differences in the way they reacted to things. Jasper bought some Star Wars action figures in the Star Tours gift shop and when we ended up back at the Character Spot at Epcot, he insisted on showing them to each and every Disney character and posing with it for photos. It was pretty hilarious because he took it very seriously. Roo, meanwhile, had been carrying around a note for Mickey the whole trip and was impressed because he stuck it into his shoe. "He doesn't have pockets, mommy!"








Roo loved Kristin's daughter Kai! They were instant best pals. So sweet.




I think we could move into the Toy Story area at Disney Hollywood Studios and the kids would be pretty content. Me, too! (Aside from the overabundance of cheerleaders due to a convention. Yikes.)


















Both kids declared It's A Small World to be their favorite. My mom is so proud!