Being a blogger, one might think that I am all up to date with the latest technology.  Well, while it is partially true, the area that I have not been tech savvy in has been with smartphones.  I still have my old, trusty cell phone that makes and receives calls.  It has a camera (not a very good one) and will text, but I am extremely slow with it.  While even my dad and mom have moved into using a blackberry and a smartphone, I am still in ancient land.  So when Nokia asked if I would like to try out the all new Nokia Lumia Windows phone, I thought “Heck, why not!”

The first thing I noticed right out of the box was its sleek design.  I love the white color of this phone.  It also comes in black that my husband really likes.  All I had to do was put in my T-Mobile SIM card and all of my information transferred over.  I immediately started playing around with the settings and set the coloring to pink!  I love the pink and white combination.  For even more customization you can add a color cover.

It took me just a couple of minutes to get my Gmail account set up with the phone.  The Nokia Drive app was already installed so I got to play around with that as well.

Features

• Available in a black or white finish, with colored backs for customization, the Nokia Lumia 710 features a 3.7-inch ClearBlackWVGA scratch-resistant display (a must for those with curious children!) for outstanding outdoor viewing and a Qualcomm 1.4 GHz Snapdragon(TM) processor providing speedy access to entertainment and information on-the-go!
• It also features a 5-megapixel camera with Nokia’s leading camera technology, enabling you to take pictures in almost any light condition and then share on social networks and with friends and family in under five seconds.
• The pricing of the Nokia Lumia 710 is unmatched. Starting as low as $49.99, it’s the perfect phone for moms on a budget who need to stay connected!
• The Nokia Lumia 710 features great tools like Office Notes for to-do and shopping lists, as well as apps such as Fandango, Groupon, CNNireport, and Nokia Drive.
• Great apps for moms from Sesame Workshop, exclusive for Nokia Windows Phone users – available through the Windows Marketplace.

My Thoughts

It has been an easy transition into the smartphone market.  Since I use a lot of social media, I have enjoyed having a lot of my online tools right in the palm of my hand.  I have only used Mac products in the past, so getting to know Windows all over again was a little bit of a struggle, I just say that because I have an i-pad and an i-pod touch that I have been using for travel and on the go and I am very familiar with how they operate. I have used both facebook and Twitter successfully from this phone to stay in touch with my blogging buddies.

My old cell phone only had to be charged about once a week.  If this phone has a weakness for me it would be its battery life.  I found that I had to charge it at least once a day.  I hear that its pretty normal for a smartphone to have to charge that much, but I am not used to that and found it to be a burden.  I have had a lot of mommy brain lately and I have found that the phone has shut off a lot because I didn’t charge the battery.

Downloading apps from the app store is really simple.  I found that the selection of apps is great with a little of everything for everyone in the family.  The camera on this phone is a 5 megapixel and is much better than the one I have currently.  Surfing the web is as simple as putting in the web address.  I love seeing my blog in miniature form!

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this phone to anyone looking for a smartphone that is easy to use and affordable.  I think this new Windows phone from Nokia is a great alternative to higher priced phones that do the exact same thing.

Want to win one for yourself?

Win It

One (1) lucky reader will win the new Nokia Lumia 710 Windows phone for themselves!

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Open to US residents only. Good Luck!

A huge thank you to Nokia who provided the products featured in this post. This review is my honest opinion and is not influenced by any other source.

I can’t believe that it’s that time again, tax season.  I can’t say that it is my favorite time of the year, but it is necessary.  As a blogger, I have to round up all my receipts from the year and figure out how to claim it all.  We have a desk in the basement where we store all of our personal and blogging stuff for the year.  It is also my husband’s retreat for when he wants to get on the computer because guess what?  I am on the laptop a lot.

Our Home Office

This tax season, Elmer’s and X-ACTO have teamed up and offered me a shoppertunity.  I recently visited my local Walmart and purchased the X-ACTO Spira pencil sharpener.  You can read and view all my pictures on my Google + page here.

The large selection of X-ACTO Pencil Sharpeners at Walmart

I have been using X-ACTO pencil sharpeners at my school for years.  I always choose this brand because they hold up to all the use and abuse that first graders can deal.  The ones I have at school are great because they sharpen all shapes and sizes of pencils.  My students use large, developmentally appropriate pencils and they use them every day.  I have to have a dependable pencil sharpener around or else it is a real pain.

The Spira Electric Pencil Sharpener

The Spira pencil sharpener sharpens a standard #2 pencil so it works great for home use.  I love the sleek design.  It makes it nicer to display on your desk if it looks cool.  I love how with a push of a button the bottom comes open to empty all of the pencil shavings.  It makes it so simple to clean and use.  Right now X-ACTO is offering a $3 off coupon on their Spira Electric Pencil Sharpener.  Click here to get the coupon for yourself!

To stay informed on all of Elmer’s and X-ACTO products be sure to follow Elmer’s on Twitter and X-ACTO on Facebook.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias  #XACTO All opinions are 100% mine. 

As I look back on 2011 I am amazed at how much my blog has grown.  I have had amazing opportunities this year that I am still pinching myself asking if it really happened.  Between several blog trips, a TV appearance, and some amazing product reviews this year has been the best blogging year that I have ever had.  I wanted to pay homage to 2011 by highlighting the best products and experiences of this past year.

Best Blogging Trip

This past year was amazing when it came to events that I was invited to.  I was able to visit two movie sets, I was invited to attend a foodie event, but by far the best trip of 2011 was my LA trip last January.  I was invited by Disney to attend the red carpet premiere of Gnomeo and Juliet.  I was able to interview celebrities such as Emily Blunt and James McAvoy.  I was also able to meet Elton John.  He surprised me how down to earth and friendly he is.  At the end of the movie premiere we were treated to a performance!  You can read all about my trip here and here!  I can’t thank Disney enough for my experience and I hope that I will be invited back sometime in the future.

Best Product Review

I have had amazing product reviews this year.  I love my KitchenAid food processor, Keurig, and our Electrolux Vacuum is amazing.  However, hands down the best product reviewed this past year was our Whirlpool Duet Washer and Dryer.  I have never been so excited to do laundry before and even after 4 months, I still love it!  This set is amazing and I continually find more and more features to rave about.  Be sure to read all about my experiences here!

Best Recipe

I wanted to focus more on my adventures in food this year.  I was able to post more recipes this year than any other year.  I had a lot of fun created these cupcakes for Father’s Day this year!

Favorite Personal Post

My husband started the Daddy Letters last June and I have loved his letters that he wrote to our son.  My favorite was the first one when he talked about the first time he knew he was going to be a daddy.  I hope that I can convince him to start them up again soon!

Favorite Wordless Wednesday

I love this picture of TJ.

I am looking forward to what 2012 brings A Mom’s Impression! I hope that I will have as many amazing experiences like I had in 2011.

I do know that we will be expecting a new little one in May… so bring on the pink!

I get a lot of packages when I am reviewing products.  A few years ago I bet FedEx, UPS, and USPS barely knew my name and address.  Now I know they know where I live, and probably cringe knowing that if they have a large package that makes a lot of noise, my very large dog will go ballistic on them!

I used to love it when the delivery people would drop off a package.  When I was really looking forward to a review item, I could almost envision the package going through the conveyor system in the warehouse awaiting a trip to the delivery vehicle.  I could see it sitting in the truck awaiting its turn through the picking system ready to be scanned and set on my porch.  I would sometimes track it and watch as it traveled across the country to my little house.

A blog is more than me writing about some fantastic products.  It involves PR representatives, writers, moms, entrepreneurs and of course the delivery people.  This mommy blogger says “Thank you” to all those people who work for FedEx, UPS, and the USPS for your hard work in making sure I get the products I need so quickly. Oh yeah, and also thanks for not making such a racket that my dog goes crazy and wakes up my son from his nap!

I am so very excited to introduce Kait to you!  Kait is a dear friend of mine who is joining A Mom’s Impression as a writer. She will be sharing her love of being a mom with you as well as reviewing (and giving away) some baby products.  Here is a little bit more about Kait and her family:

My name is Kait and I’m a new mom entering this crazy world called motherhood.  My husband and I had our son, Coco, in October and I wouldn’t change a second of this new life.  Recently I returned to my job as a teacher and am learning how to balance being a mom and working.   I am excited to be able to share with you my opinions and stories, the likes and dislikes and Coco’s favorite products with you as a writer for A Mom’s Impression.

Please join me and welcome Kait to the A Mom’s Impression family.  I am so exciting to hear more about a new mom’s experience with juggling the demands of motherhood for the very first time!

Thanks to Trop 50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 fabulous wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to help grant a friend’s wish!

When asked to write about five fabulous bloggers I thought it would be an easy thing to do.  I know a lot more than five fabulous bloggers.  The problem I fell into is that I was only asked to write about five of them.  It is a lot harder than it sounds. While I am showcasing five today, there is a lot more fabulous bloggers out there whom I love to read.

Here is my list and the reasons why I think they are fabulous.

Dear Crissy is a bloggers blog.  What do I mean about that?  I love to go to Crissy’s blog to read about social media, parenting, photography ticks and she also has fantastic reviews and giveaways.  Crissy seems so down to earth and I love her style of writing.  She isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions and I admire that.  I love the layout of her blog and how easy it is to navigate.  Her photography is also a highlight of her blog.

Following In My Shoes is a parenting blog written by Rachel. Rachel chronicles her life as a mom, wife and Christian.  I love reading about her family and she recently introduced me to Everyday Elements a training website for people wanting to learn to edit their photos with Photoshop Elements.  I am inspired by her photography.  I really relate to Rachel, and that is why I think she is fabulous!

To me, Cat is the epitome of a fabulous blogger. Her blog 3kidsandus chronicles the life of Cat, her husband, and her 3 adorable kids.  I love reading about her little stories that she writes about her kids and being a wife and a mom.  I can completely relate to her life.  She has been an inspiration to me as I have begun my blogger career.  She has helped me become who I am as a blogger (I bet she doesn’t even know).  I am also in love with her second blog, Oh My! Sugar High that she writes with Emilie (another fabulous blogger).

I absolutely love The Creative Junkie.  If you need a good laugh about motherhood or being a women, head on over to The Creative Junkie.  She is witty and really would be a great stand up comic.  She tells it like it is and makes you laugh when you read it.  I promise that you will visit often after visiting the first time. I think she is fabulous because she keeps the world laughing!

I think I saved my favorite blogger for last.  The Spohrs are Multiplying chronicles the life of Heather, Mike, Maddie, Annabel and Rigby.  The family has gone through so much over the past few years and Heather has told her story from the beginning of her difficult pregnancy with Maddie, her being a miracle baby and being a new mom.  Maddie passed away in April of 2009 (just days before my son was born) and Heather and Mike continued to post about thier life.  I so admire their courage to write so openly about what life is like after loosing a child.  A year ago they welcomed Maddie’s sister Annabel to the family!  It has been a wonderful experience watching Annabel growing up.  The adventures that she and her dog, Rigby, have together.  Heather writes so honestly that you can’t help but get drawn in.  She also creates some beautiful hairstyle tutorials that I have seen and used (God knows that I desperately needed it).

I could go on and on about some more fabulous bloggers that you should know about, but I will go ahead and stop at these five.  I hope that you visit their sites and check out how fabulous they really are!

Don’t forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to support a friend’s wish. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.

I have exactly a half of an hour to write this post to say farewell to 2010.  2010 was a year that I will remember for a long time.

The year started out wonderful.  My brother and sister in law just got back from Africa with their newly adopted son.  He is just 9 months older than TJ and I know that they will be the best of friends.  We had the best holiday celebrations with TJ enjoying eating the bows and being with both sides of the family.

February was hard as we saw our Indianapolis Colts lose the Superbowl, but we are still so proud of what they have done.

In April, TJ turned 1 year old.  I think I had been planing my child’s first birthday since I was about 18 years old. Finally at the age of 32 I was able to throw my child a birthday party.  I wanted a monkey theme and went all out.  TJ got his little red wagon that I had also dreamed about giving my child one day.  A lot of dreams came true.

In June I was invited to my first blogging trip to St. Louis to the Build A Bear Bearquarters.  I learned a lot about this wonderful company and met a lot of fellow bloggers.  I had a wonderful time, but it was also the first time I had been away from my son for more than one night and I really missed him.

July was a lot of fun.  It started with a trip to Idaho to be with my family over the Fourth of July holiday.  We had such a good time and TJ enjoyed spending time with his family.  We also had our very first emergency room visit on July 4th because TJ’s fever wouldn’t break and it was dangerously high (being a first-time mom, I totally freaked out).  He was fine and ended up with a $250 stuffed teddy bear.

At the end of July we traveled with my husband’s family to Michigan.  We were fortunate enough to test-drive the Buick Enclave for the trip and totally fell in love.  This is the next car that we will own!  Michigan was a lot of fun hanging out at the beach and watching TJ play with his cousins and extended family.

School started in August, and I immediately fell in love with my new class.  They are so adorable and eager to learn.  It makes my job a lot easier when I have 25 smiling faces that hug me hello every morning.  TJ started a new daycare/preschool program that we just love!  It is amazing what they do with the 1 year olds.  TJ does an art project almost every day!  They love my little man and I thank them so much for taking such good care of him.

In September, I turned 33.  For some reason it didn’t bother me this year to turn another year older.  I am so fortunate in life that I can’t help but just feel thankful for all my years.  September is also the beginning of NFL football, a major event in our family.  We brushed off the Colts jerseys and started routing for our home team!

TJ went Trick or Treating this year for the very first time in October.  I was so proud of him for wearing his Yoda costume.  He looked adorable.  One of my very good friends also gave birth to her first child, a boy!  We are so happy for her and her family.  TJ will teach him the ropes here very soon.

November brought a lot of tears and sadness with the loss of my grandad.  I am crying right now as I am typing this.  I miss him so very much.  My grandmother’s strength is absolutely amazing.  I hope that I have 10% of the strength that she has.  We flew to Idaho to be with my family.

December brought a third trip to Idaho for TJ and I.  We already had this booked before we had our unexpected trip in November.  I got to say that my little guy is a very good traveler.  You can read all about our fun flight here. I will leave it at that.  My husband turned 34 on December 8th, I think it affected him more than me to turn a year older.  Our holiday celebrations with all of our families were a lot of fun.  I was very excited to be home to watch the Boise State Broncos win the Las Vegas bowl.

Lastly, December brought an end to a very large debt that had been hoovering above our head for 4 1/2 years.  I cannot tell you the stress that has been lifted for 2011.  We made some bad financial decisions in our twenties and it took a long time to pay them off, but now we are looking forward to fixing the house up and saving for a deposit on our dream home.  2011 is going to be a wonderful year for us.

As 2010 comes to a close, I can’t help but to think about all the life changes that have happened to me in the past decade.  This has by far been the most life-changing 10 years I have had.  Here is a recap:

2000:  Moved to Indianapolis from Idaho

2001: Met my husband, moved in together.

2002: Not much happened… boring year

2003: Again a kind of boring year

2004: We were engaged in November, bought our house in December

2005: Married in June

2006: Graduated Collage (finally), adopted our dog Eli

2007: My husband went through the academy, I got my first teaching job

2008: We got pregnant in August

2009: My son was born on April 24 at 12:01 PM.  I started A Mom’s Impression in November.

2010:  Well, you just read the recap.

I can’t wait to tell you more about our plans for 2011, but that is another post and I am about out of time.  Happy New Year, may 2011 find you all in good health and full of love, peace and joy!

Well, some of you might have got a false malware message when you visited last week.  I had a hacker who put in a false code to scare people into thinking they were getting a virus when first visiting my site.  I have since fixed the problem.  It apparently was an issue with GoDaddy hosting so I will be looking into switching hosts here soon.

We have began accepting submissions for our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide.  Holiday products will be featured in October, November and December.  If your company is looking for some exposure please use the contact form and let me know.  I would love to include your family friendly product in our guide.  For my readers, be sure to check back often for some wonderful reviews and giveaways just in time for holiday shopping.  We already have some wonderful reviews lined up  including products from Little Tikes, Lunchables, Fellowes, Playskool, Umi and more!

If you love giveaways check back often this week, I will be posting at least three fantastic products that include a giveaway!

TJ, my husband and I have been enjoying the football season.  It has been so much fun sitting on the couch together cheering for our Colts.  I hope you and your family are finding some time to spend together making memories!

Thank you for visiting A Mom’s Impression,

My bags are packed and I am off to St. Louis for the Build-A-Bear blogger event.  I will be away for 3 days and 2 nights.  I am a little sad to be leaving my little guy (I haven’t been away from him for more than 1 night).  However, I am really excited to hang out with my blogging buddies and learn more about this wonderful company.  I will also love having a hotel room to myself for a couple of days.

If you need anything feel free to email and I will answer all my messages when I return (on my husband’s and my  5Th anniversary).

I have installed a Winner’s Page under the “Giveaways” tab.  Click on “Winners” and it will bring you to AMI’s monthly list of giveaway winners.  I decided to announce winners this way so check the page often to see if you are a lucky winner.  I will still send winner’s an email confirming that they are the giveaway winner.  Winners have 48 hours to respond to the initial email before a new winner will be chosen.  (Boy, I used the word “winner” a lot in that paragraph!)

Don’t forget to enter all of our current giveaways including the

Tassimo T20 by Bosch Giveaway

you will love this single serve coffee maker.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Father’s Day.  Thank you again for visiting A Mom’s Impression!