Impressions of @mom2summit from a NON Mom! #mom2summit

I do Blog Conferences like I do my vacations, my preference is to do a different one each year. When I go on vacation I try to visit somewhere I have never been and I like to do the same with Blogging Conferences. Even with workouts I like to diversify and can't repeat the same type of workout over and over. It is just intrinsic to my personality. (If you are astrologically inclined, I'm an Aries, and we like to pioneer. Coincidence? You decide).

Mom 2.0 Summit went down in May in Atlanta and while it may seem odd that I am recapping it now, I did 'micro blog' and share my experiences as they happened via twitter, but it's when I take time to process everything that I experienced, that I tend to be more succinct.

You did read my headline correctly, I am NOT a Mother. While I do have a uterus/womb I haven't quite yet decided to use it, so I am not a Mom Blogger. Sadly if you are woman you are automatically lumped into the category of 'Mom Blogger'. If you are Latina, you are automatically a 'Latina Blogger'. I never wanted anyone to 'niche' me as I never chose to niche myself. The closest thing to a label I am willing to accept is "Lifestyle". And the beauty of that label in my opinion is that I do not need any one brand to garner content or make me 'relevant'. So long as I have life, I will have content.

Which leads me to the question I am sure you are asking in your head, Why did you attend Mom 2.0? For a wide variety of reasons, including:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I had never attended this conference before

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I had never visited Atlanta before

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I am a Best Buy Blogger Brand Ambassador and they invited their Ambassadors to attend as they were Supporting Sponsors of the Conference

But most importantly, Conferences are an incredible opportunity to learn and grow! And stretching my wings is exactly what an Ascending Butterfly is supposed to do!

Some of my Favorite Moments and Takeaways:

This one was filled in: 'Beauty is Instagram' - There is something beautiful about how instagram captures everyday moments in life!

This one was filled in: 'Beauty is Playing Outdoors' - Sometimes families are 'too connected' - spending time outdoors in physical and creative play is a panacea to the spirit! For both young and old alike!

The photo above is from a Garden Party that was sponsored by Dove. Dove was the conference title sponsor and they challenged us all to define what Beauty Is. The answers were all as varied we are, and that to me was the beautiful thing!

If you had to fill in that blank: Beauty Is ________ what would YOU  say?

Above: The dress I am wearing is by IGIGI and the shoes are by Earthies.

The photo above was from an offsite Garden Party at a very beautiful venue called The Estate in Atlanta - the 2013 winner of The Buckhead Beautification Award. Dove also offered Bloggers an entire Beauty Suite within the conference venue  where bloggers enjoyed Hair Touch Ups, Manicures and Cocktails in a very relaxed atmosphere. It was a great place to slow down and get away from the hustle and bustle of the conference floor and to take a moment to connect with other bloggers too!

Left: Tracy from Ascending Butterfly (ME!) and Deb from Just Short of Crazy - Best Buy Brand Ambassadors working the booth during Mom 2.0 Summit!

Best Buy made work fun and addition to the Ambassadors hosting a twitter party in honor of Mother's Day while we were there (a fun way to bring those who couldn't be at the conference in the mix too!), the Ambassadors took turns at Best Buy's Booth to engage with bloggers, demo amazing products like the Misfit Shine, Dyson, and Sony QX10 (a lens that helps turn your Camera Phone into a DSLR! which you will see a review of here very soon) and they also hosted giveaway drawings for attendees to have a shot at winning the great products being displayed. As you can see from the photo above we were having a Charlie's Angels moment with the Dyson. Best Buy and their great vendors who came along with us sure made work feel more like fun. I love working with a brand who you can truly be yourself with, and makes everyone feel like a team! Best Buy is always looking for bloggers to join their WOLF Blogging Program and I can share that this Ambassadorship by far is one my favorites! I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the program.

Bloggers who stepped up to the Best Buy Booth had a chance to win the Misfit - Bloom Necklace for Shine - Stainless Steel as pictured below:

Press on the Photo Above and you can go directly to Best Buy to purchase this Necklace for any special fitness lover in your life!

Press on the Photo Above and go directly to Best Buy to purchase the Misfit Shine Fitness + Sleep Monitor.

The coral color for the Misfit - Shine Activity and Sleep Monitor, is an exclusive color to Best Buy! It measures steps taken, distance traveled and calories burned, tracks how well you slept, provides up to 30 days of data storage without syncing, boasts 12 LED lights to help you see in low-light situations and functions as a watch! It is water-resistant up to 164' for underwater use while you swim or engage in other water sport activities. It is crafted from Aircraft-grade aluminum material - so you know it's durable!

Press on the photo above to purchase The Sony - DSC-QX10 at Best Buy

The Sony - DSC-QX10 is an 18.2 Megapixel Attachable Lens-Style Camera for Most IOS and Android Mobile Phones. Available in either black or white, it turns your regular mobile phone camera into on that is capable of taking DSLR quality photos with the simple click of an attachment! This little guy was quite popular at the Best Buy Booth during Mom 2.0 Summit and for good reasons. Most bloggers hate lugging their heavy cameras around but do so because they don't want to miss a moment or end up with a grainy photo. Well not anymore folks! I will go into this one in more depth later!

They also featured several products by Dyson at the Booth including:

Press on the Image above to purchase the Dyson - AM08 Pedestal Fan White/Silver at Best Buy

Press on the image above to purchase the Dyson - DC59 Animal Bagless Cordless Stick Vacuum at Best Buy 

I reference the DC65, DC59 and the DC44 Animal Stick Vac HERE. And will be offering full product reviews on the misfit products as well as the Sony Qx10 so stay tuned!

Other Notable Moments from the conference included:



Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The Panels - ALL of them! Each panel I attended blew me away. I am not new at this, and my biggest complaint about many conferences is that the panels are always geared to very new bloggers. And I was once very new so I understand that it is necessary to offer panels for a variety of knowledge levels, but Mom 2.0 impressed me more than any conference in awhile with panels that actually spoke to me at MY level. It was very much appreciated.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fruit of the Loom gave out underwear - Now there is swag you will use literally EVERY day!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fandango had a fun photo opp and gave us a gift card so we could catch a movie as well as some popcorn (that got devoured in my room so it didn't make it to the movies!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I geeked out when I met the folks from Sea Pak because I love their Spring Rolls - I go super far out of my way to get them as I can't convince my local supermarket to carry them.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Adobe Revel gave us cute macro lenses for our phones and we learned about their GroupPix app that is free for Android and iPhone. The app allows users to gather and share photos while they are at events, they hosted the official conference photo album which contained contributions from attendees. You can create an event in the app, set up an invite code and then users you give the code to can share photos.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - We also learned about EveryDrop a new water filtration brand developed by Whirlpool Water, you can use it both at home as well as on-the-go.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Dove offered a super cute nautical inspired Stella & Dot Tote Bag loaded with great Dove products including their Dove Pistachio Cream with Magnolia that has become a new favorite!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The Honest Company (whose logo is a butterfly by the way) gave us a great assortment of their products to try out, you know how much I love both butterflies and brands that do good right? With every purchase from The Honest Co. a donation is made to families in need!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The Zen Suite - I think it explains itself but with a Mattress so comfy I didn't want to get up, and PureCare mattress and pillow protectors that have a pocket where you can insert AromaTherapy Sachets, it was definitely a very popular suite during the conference!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Trapper Keeper is back baby!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Weight Watchers Brownie Bliss - Yummy and guilt free? um YES PLEASE!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Microsoft Surface 2 - While this is separate from the conference, I have to thank the folks at Microsoft who helped keep me connected with a Surface 2 Tablet that allowed me to not miss a beat while at Mom 2.0! I love the Surface 2, it is a hybrid tablet with the functionality of a laptop, runs full MS Office, it's keyboard is it's cover and as I edit a ton of photos I added on a great travel mouse and the Surface was not only my portable office, but I was also able to help co-host a Best Buy Mother's Day Twitter Party while I was there on this bad boy!



MY TAKE:

This was my first Mom 2.0 Summit but it won't be my last that's for sure. It was the first time in a long time that a conference offered panels where I took so many notes! I learned a ton at Mom 2.0 Summit, met so many great bloggers who were willing to share and were super welcoming. Not once did I get the stink eye when I told someone I was not a Mom (which sadly has happened at other parenting conferences and does sometimes happen at local events in my city), and was impressed with the amount of time I was able to get with each brand. That doesn't always happen when a conference over packs people into a small venue. They chose an amazing venue that was well-layed out and while the swag was fab, it was the panels and the fact I could make real connections with brands that seemed to really want to be there and make connections too that were the main standouts for me!

And special shout outs to the brands that helped to make this conference not only possible but enjoyable. Best Buy who have truly made my Ambassadorship with them feel like family, IGIGI who has helped me re-discover the joy of wearing dresses again and have helped to make fashion fun for me again after a very long period of time where I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin nevertheless in my clothes, Earthies shoes that make comfortable footwear super fashionable and Microsoft for keeping me productive, with files from my home computer in the cloud, using the Surface was totally seamless and allowed me to take notes, make outlines for posts, update my database, keep track of my calendar, (both appointment and editorial) and help me be able to co-host a twitter party with ease while on the road.

The 2015 Mom 2.0 Summit will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona, will I see you there?

What is the best conference you have attended in 2014 so far Butterfly? (or if you haven't yet attended any, which one would you like to attend?)

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FTC Disclosure: This recap post is NOT sponsored, however I attended the conference as a guest of Best Buy. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure. There are affiliate links included in this post. And some items mentioned were provided to me free of charge, however this did not influence my opinions, all opinions are 100% my own.

The @Dove Self-Esteem Weekend 2012 - Start the Conversation! #DoveInspired

Statistics show that women have trouble taking a compliment. When you tell a woman her dress is beautiful, she is prone to say 'This Old Thing?'. Why is that?

I have always wondered why this was so, and so does Dove. If you do too, you can participate in a Nationwide Conversation where you can join women across the country from October 5-7th, when Dove will be holding a nationwide rally to talk about Beauty, Confidence and Self-Esteem. Use this weekend as the impetus to commit to talking to the girl in your life during this weekend and beyond about both Inner and Outer Beauty. It all starts with a simple conversation and it all starts with you!

Anxiety About Looks Begins at an Early Age and holds girls back from reaching their full potential

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 72 percent of girls (ages 10-17) feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Only 11 percent of girls (ages 10-17) are comfortable using the word beautiful to describe themselves

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - When girls feel bad about their looks more than 60 percent globally (age 15 to 17) avoid normal daily activities such as attending school, going to the doctor, or even giving their opinion

Aren't those statistics sad and shocking? Don't know how to begin the talk? Download the Guide HERE, it gives you great starting points and questions you can ask to help you learn what your daughter, god-daughter, or niece feels about herself and about Beauty. The initiative is also available in Spanish, where it is titled 'Vive Mejor Hablemos' or "Let's Talk". As a Latina, I am super happy to see that the initiative is being done in Spanish as well as English! Empowering our girls before society can knock down their self-esteem is essential! They still won't find enough faces they can relate to in mainstream media, so raising confident young women and instilling that within them while they are still young is very important!

The initiative can be found on Facebook in both English and Spanish and you can follow the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag @Dove #DoveInspired as well.

My family was great at instilling Self-Esteem, which was important because the school system as well as other students when I was younger certainly tried to knock it down, and having that strong foundation made it easier for me to remain confident even when the world told me I shouldn't be, even when the television really didn't have any faces I recognized or could relate to. Even though I was born here, my mother was and my maternal Grand-Mother was too, and we spoke 'perfect' English, I was pulled out of an honors class and put into an ESL class WITHOUT my parents consent. That day I told my mother and the next morning she was at the school correcting the situation. But it was scary and was a confidence shaker, and even though it was quickly corrected it was just a reminder that I was 'different' somehow from everyone else.

But the things that rob young girls of confidence are universal issues, bullies, boys who don't know how to be respectful, and more, it's up to us to make sure we keep up with the pulse of what that young girl in our life is going through. For me as a lifelong music lover I keep track of all things music and videos, and the highly sexualized lyrics and videos of much of today's popular music is actually having a very detrimental effect on the Self-Esteem of young girls. We need to be sure they understand that being objectified isn't beautiful and they should NOT feel like that is how they need to act or look to be beautiful, to be confident, or to be accepted.

When one of my nieces was younger, she accompanied me and another of her Aunts to a popular department store and we were swimsuit shopping for an upcoming family vacation. She picked up the skimpiest bikini on the rack much to my dismay and ran to a mirror and held it up to herself and said she wanted it. I knew that was my opening. I did not want her thinking that was appropriate or acceptable, she was way too young for a bikini, but most importantly I wanted to understand why she felt that swimsuit was important to her. What made her think it would make her more beautiful?

Me being the youngest Aunt there is an automatic assumption I will be the 'fun Aunt', but being fun and allowing them to get away with murder are two very different things. I always turn out to be 'tougher' than they expect. But for me it's teaching them life lessons in a way that makes them understand how to make the right choices, not just for the adults in their lives to make it for them.

In my family Inner Beauty was given the importance many place in outer beauty, we were taught one of the most beautiful things you could do was share with others less fortunate. Achievements were recognized not with bribes for doing the right thing, but acknowledgement for a job well done.

Teenage actress and singer KeKe Palmer, a voice of inspiration for girls, will kick off the weekend with a march to Times Square in New York to call for a national discussion on girls' self-esteem. Dove is committed to inspiring all women and girls to reach their full potential, and the weekend is one of the many ways in which the brand brings to life its vision to create a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety.

KeKe Palmer will join 250 members of Girls Scouts of the U.S.A., Girls Inc., Boys & Girls Clubs of America and The Young Women's Leadership Schools (TYWLS) as they march alongside their moms and mentors. The girls will carry signs saying "Let's Talk," in an effort to ask women everywhere to start a conversation on beauty anxiety that girls experience and how it impacts their self-esteem. My mom actually brought the First Girl Scout Troop to our borough, and I remember all the struggles she went through back then trying to find space, trying to rally the parents to take the organization and what it could do seriously and not just use it for a free after-school child sitting service.

"Like most girls there have been times when I have felt insecure about my looks," says KeKe Palmer.  "I am lucky enough to have a mom that I can turn to in these moments. She helps me feel more confident, and I know girls everywhere need and value that kind of encouragement. The Dove Self-Esteem Weekend is all about starting a conversation and helping girls develop a more positive relationship with beauty."   ~ Keke Palmer

Even the Award Winning Keke Palmer has experienced being bullied on twitter, she recently confided in a Huffington Post Interview. Even celebrity does not shield girls from attacks to their self-esteem. Empower your girls today!

Amazing Things can Happen When We Come Together – in English AND in Spanish

Dove Self-Esteem Weekend events will take place in cities across the nation, including New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.  Boys & Girls Club of Venice, Calif., will host an event for 1,000 people on Saturday, October 6^th. Teen singer Jessica Jarrell, who joined the brand earlier this year as an ambassador for the "Women Who Should be Famous" program, will perform.  In Miami, parenting expert, People en Espanol columnist Jeannette Torres-Alvarez will host a parenting workshop about helping girls develop a positive relationship with beauty.  Look online at www.Dove.com/self-esteem for further details about an event near you. 

The Dove Movement for Self-Esteem aims to reach 15 million girls globally with self-esteem programming by 2015. Together with experts and key partners, the brand has reached more than 9 million girls. The commitment to this goal is underscored with a Spanish-language web platform that will house self-esteem resources and reach countless more girls. Women who wish to access these materials in Spanish can visit www.vivemejor.com.

Your Purchase Counts - Discover the Dove^® Difference

Dove is committed to inspiring all women and girls to reach their full potential. The Dove Movement for Self-Esteem invites all women to join us in creating a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety. Each time you buy Dove you are helping them and their charitable partners provide inspiring self-esteem programming for girls. They have reached more than 9 million girls so far and with your help they can reach their target of 15 million by 2015. Your day to day purchases can help to empower so many!

As for me, I never felt more beautiful than when I presented my College Diploma to my Mother, it was her dream for me because she didn't get to finish, and I think we BOTH shined that day, check out our happy faces below:

Achievement is beautiful, Honesty is beautiful, teaching your daughter she's beautiful, letting her get that positive feedback from YOU will shield her from a world of hurt later on!

Butterfly Do you KNOW you are beautiful? You ARE!

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FTC Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign via Latina Bloggers Connect and Dove. However, all opinions expressed are my 100% own.

Do you 'Dare to Bare'? Are your pits Little Black Dress ready?

This post is sponsored by Dove(R) ClearTone(tm) Deodorant - designed to visibly reduce underarm dark marks and even skin tone.

I"m in the middle of a New York City Heat Wave, and we are days away from August, the most sweltering month of the year in the city that never sleeps. This is primarily a public transportation city. A transit system that unfortunately is sorely lacking in many ways, (yet the prices continue to soar, but that's a topic for another post!), one of the things many NYC subway trains lack is AIR CONDITIONING! The platforms are usually feel like it's 200 degrees. And when you get a subway car with no AC on, particularly during 'rush hour' you come home feeling like you just did vikram yoga. Layers of clothing, starting usually with suit jackets get peeled off, and whether you are standing or sitting you are assured of one thing, seeing (and unfortunately often times smelling) many armpits! The people lucky enough to get a seat have a view of a sea of armpits!

In the summer most of us have no choice but to Dare to Bare. Are your arms 'summer ready'? Little Black Dress Ready? And guys, don't for one second think this can't possibly apply to you, I see those pits when you put on those white t-shirts!

You can either solve a beauty disaster or prevent it, and dark under arms are totally both 'solvable' and 'preventable'. Like all of the skin on our bodies, armpits need some exfoliation too, so make sure when you use your favorite scrub, you get those pits too! It's the shaving that causes the dark marks on your armpits so be sure to use an ounce of prevention to spare yourself from that pound of cure!

photo credit: babble.com

Tips for keeping underarms from getting 'dark':

1) Make sure to use a sharp blade - never use a dull razor and that's good advice for anywhere you shave, not just your pits. Dull blades make you go over the same spot multiple times and that's exactly what you DON'T want to do. Make sure your blade is sharp and you shave in one direction.

2) Balance your 'dry vs wet' - Built up sweat is a bad thing, so be sure to use an anti-persperant, not just a plain deodorant to keep your armpit area from building up sweat. But like all skin it does need moisture too, so be sure to give it some moisture, a dab of lotion in the evening is a good idea, and if you play sports in the summer a sunscreen lotion should be applied to your underarm area as well, while it will probably get way less sun than other parts of your body, the SPF protection is still important.

Photo Credit Torsten Schon/iStockphoto/Getty Images

3) Lightening - What works for your elbows, works for armpits too, good old fashioned Lemon Juice! You can make a paste with 1/2 cup of lemon juice, 1 tsp of cucumber juice and 1 tsp of Tumeric Powder and let it sit for 15-20 minutes (my recommendation would be for those gals who color their hair, to schedule some time on the weekend and kill two birds with one stone! You could also put on a facial mask and then just jump in the shower afterwards and wash it all off!). Remember lemon juice can cause irritation if used too often, so please don't do this daily! (Licorice Paste and Sandalwood powder work well too!) And because I love a bonus, with the leftover tumeric and lemon, make a tea, as a tea, turmeric and lemon helps sooth the pain from a sore throat and works to fight free-radical damage. Lemon, reduces the risk of some diseases, such as nephrolithiasis, a kidney condition. Lemon also has antimicrobial and antiviral action that works even better in conjunction with other ingredients including turmeric. So this combo is a one/two punch that works wonders for your insides as well as your outside!

4) For Prevention AND Cure - Use Dove Clear Tone Deodorant daily, with regular use it will even your underarm skin tone and repair irritated skin with frequent use. What Ambi products do for your face and now body, Dove Clear Tone does for your armpits!

Whether it's to feel more confident in your strapless dresses, tank tops or bathing suit, a little 'armpit 101' goes a long way to feeling confident enough to 'Dare to Bare'.

So Butterflies, What is your beauty ritual that gets you feeling confident enough to 'Dare to Bare'?


˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙ 

FTC Disclosure:  I was compensated for this post by the Clever Girls Collective. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

Celebrate the men in your life with Dove® MEN+CARE! Review + Giveaway

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor Dove (and our friends at RocketXL)! We look forward to working with you again! The winner is Louis! Remember: There are great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!

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Ascending Butterfly's Father's Day Buying Guide Pick Sponsored By:

What is Dove® MEN+CARE?

Dove introduces, MEN+CARE, the brand’s first-ever product line created specifically for men. The new products are designed for men who have a reached a point in their lives where they are comfortable with themselves, but not in their skin. Many men put up with cleansing products that are harsh and drying, without realizing these products leave their skin feeling dry, irritated and uncomfortable. Men even blame their socks for their skin irritation when it is really the drying effect of regular cleansers!

Total Skin Comfort

Dove developed MEN+CARE so men can literally be comfortable in their skin. Built on the Dove brand’s heritage in cleansing, moisturizing and care, the new MEN+CARE products offer great cleansing combined with Dove moisturizers to provide total skin comfort. Dove MEN+CARE is dermatologist recommended and clinically proven to fight skin dryness without irritation or tightness.

Through a man’s life experiences he eventually becomes comfortable in his own skin

When there’s no place he would rather be than a princess tea with his daughter – donning a tiara and all – or when little league outranks the major leagues! - Now that's a MAN!

Did you enjoy the Dove commercial during the Superbowl?

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at Dove Men + Care and RocketXL would like to provide one lucky winner with the opportunity to win a Dove Men + Care Body and Face Bar in the Extra Fresh - Invigorating Formula!

Don't you just ♥ Dove? I know I do!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and (2) Tell us What moment revealed his confidence? Guys, what moment revealed your confidence? If you are a lady winning for your dad, son, brother, uncle, grandpa or male friend, tell us about him and what moment revealed his confidence. (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com, If your email is visible in your profile, just say so, that's OK! Even if you are a subscriber, if your profile is set to private and you don't include an email we have to disqaulify your entry. Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning! This giveaway is open to USA AND Canada residents who are 18 years of age or older and have a facebook page. No P.O. Boxes!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Thursday, June 10, 2010 until Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 03:00 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email address your entry will not be processed.)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment

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Tweet this:

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Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's Community Group (with real time chat) NOTE: We switched from NING to Spruz, if you were a member of our old group you'll need to switch for this credit to count HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Subscribe to receive Ascending Butterfly emails using our Feedburner widget on the upper right hand side of the page below the follower thumbnail pictures! (If you are already a subscriber you will still receive extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Please Vote, Ascending Butterfly is a nominee for the Bloggers Choice ’10 Awards in the ‘Best Blog About Stuff’ Category. Where it reads total votes, there is a yellow box that reads 'Vote' Press there to vote, you must be logged in to see the number increase/vote registered. You can also vote directly using the button located on our home page and below: (This will be checked, so please don't cite this as an extra credit if you didn't actually vote)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - NEW DAILY: Please vote for my outfit 'Yay4WkEnd' @ Macy's Fashion director (note you do not have to register to vote for me, one click daily super fast, super easy!) HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Enter another active giveaway on Ascending Butterfly and earn extra credit, leave a comment letting me know which giveaway you entered. (This will be checked!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Comment on a non-giveaway related thread and leave the name of which one below as a comment extra credit entry.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - NEW! Press the button below and join, you get an extra entry for this giveaway and a shot at more great prizes, lets win together! (one time extra credit, will be verified before entry can be accepted)

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NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a community group page with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will not accept your entry. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow A Blog Publicly Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!

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FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the products are expressly my own experiences. I was provided product to review (in conjunction with RocketXL) and for the giveaway. The sponsor is fulfilling directly to prize winner, this in no way influenced my opinion of the product. Once a winner is selected and their information has been forwarded to the sponsor, the responsibility of prize fulfillment rests with the sponsor.