I really loved reviewing RYKÄ. I participated in a ParentBloggers Blog Blast and won MORE RYKÄ!

Since I already had my wonderful white MC2-Walk shoes, I selected something different: Black Ramble Mary Janes. So cute. So comfortable! Really.

I won the shoes - there was no obligation to post about it afterwards.

But I've got to admit that these are the most comfortable Mary Janes I've ever worn. I walked around the reservoir today and my feet are sooooo happy! Admittedly, the MC2-Walk shoes have more "bounce," so they are probably a better choice for long-term walking; however, the Ramble Mary Janes are definitely a stylish second. They are billed on the RYKÄ site as "cross-trainers" and I can indeed see them in a variety of different functions. Good to put 'em on and see where they take you...

They are still giving away shoes - until October 25th - so visit RYKÄ and test your luck

Oh... and just because I won these, don't think that I am letting you out of your obligation to sign up for VocalPoint to win me a Roomba!

Seriously, I am not usually this greedy.

XO,
Kari

My mom gives tours of wine country, so sometimes gives us extra bottles from those she acquires. My husband gets free wine sometimes, usually gifts from people at work. One such find was 2005 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel from Dashe Cellars. Usually we drink the free bottles, enjoy them, and move on to the next.

But Dashe has become a favorite of mine. I've purchased several bottles and should probably just bite the bullet and buy a case. (My birthday is next month, y'all! I'll happily take some, although there are restrictions on shipping wine to CA, just as Argentina doesn't let anyone send leather in because they have plenty enough already to send out.)

I wish I were sophisticated enough to spew forth the appropriate vocabulary to describe why I enjoy this particular wine. It is definitely smoky, and not too watery. It has several different distinct notes, all of which are a melody rather than a cacophony with a bitter finish. The weight is pleasing and I have found it accompanies anything I decide to eat alongside.

Joshua Green of Wine & Spirits Magazine writes: "The soft, meaty tannins of this wine slowly release its zinfadel flavors of sassafras, cool, dark cherry and warm mulberries. It continues to lengthen with air, a Dry Creek edge to the texture that will suit Mediterranean-style roast lamb."

Certainly I am not going to have a career as a wine expert, but I thought I'd mention this special find since I've enjoyed it immensely. For me to actually buy wine when typically it floats its way into our home on its own is a huge complement to Dashe Cellars.

Really - sign up now!

My kids are pretty good at eating their veggies. The Cat loves to dip carrots (and sometimes celery) in ranch dressing. While the boys were big “Wonder Pets” fans, they ate celery pretty often. The Cat adores butternut squash and peas. Spliggle is less vegetable-happy, but will eat the plethora of meats the Cat shuns. There are definite holes in each of these kids’ diets, though.

Meanwhile, I like vegetables provided they are prepared well. In restaurants, I eagerly eat them up. But at home, the produce that looks beautiful in the store ends up rotting in my fridge as I run out of time to create something with them or they end up prepared rather blandly. I tend to get grand ideas about cooking something delicious, but then end up ordering pizza instead.

Husband and I have our favorite “fall back” meals, which are fine, but on repeat do not provide the nutritional range our family should have.

“Deceptively Delicious,” by Jessica Seinfeld, is a how-to in kitchen organization, meal planning, and - most famously – sneaking healthful ingredients into yummy food. I received this valuable resource free-for-review via the Parent Bloggers Network.

I’ll admit, I usually make two or perhaps three recipes from any given cookbook before I get bored and move to the next. Sure, recipes catch my eye, but then I forget, or I think it will be too hard, or I get lazy. Amazingly, I’ve made many recipes from Deceptively Delicious. And I know I’ll make more.

One of my favorite mini-courses in elementary school was on advertising tricks. For example, saying "Four out of Five Dentists Agree!" can really mean that of 100 dentists, any four of them agreed on something, and then there was a random fifth. "I choose dentists 31, 45, 72, and 89: That is my four that agree! And dentist 33 disagreed. So four of five agree!"

I love how people misuse statistics. Like that old, "Most accidents happen close to home!" Well duh. The majority of the times one is away from home, they travel the portion of road close to home. Going to the store? That's close to home! Of course it is more likely that an accident will occur "close" to home. That certainly doesn't mean that if you travel three hours away from home that you can relax...

And so, I should have known better when I bought this package of little gems. But I was tricked, as I am sure most are:

Looks like a nice package filled with gems! Plenty to play with!

But really:

Like it says on the package, there are only 30. All of them are visible from the window on the packaging. They didn't lie. But the arrangement of packaging certainly tricked me.

And so, "Premium Quality Crafts," I give you a thumbs-down for wasting packaging. (I should put the cereal companies and potato chip folks on notice for the same reason, right?)

I didn’t take Con Law in high school. I didn’t really enjoy history, government, or current events discussions in high school, either. Con Law, though, was a tempting title. It implied a serious student, ready for some serious business. I was curious. (And serious.)

The glassy-eyed, robust, seemingly dazed teacher who oversaw the proceedings liked to talk a lot, I had been told, and yet I only heard him speak a few times, and couldn’t understand him. I was a bit nervous for what might happen behind his classroom’s closed door. A student-driven class can be brilliant, or it can be a let-down. Amongst lots of bright and socially-conscious, politically-minded students, I decided perhaps I wasn’t up for the challenge. I elected “Brain and Behavior” as my elective; but in hindsight, perhaps the subjects aren’t too far off!

Nonetheless, Bill O’Reilly would probably have classified me as a “moron,” since he explains in the introduction to his new book “Kids are Americans Too,” that “many American kids are complete morons.” He goes on to explain that these morons are “too lazy to figure out what their country is all about.”

I had the pleasure of receiving a complimentary copy of Gwendolen Gross’ new book, The Other Mother. I dove into it enthusiastically for two reasons:

First, I am “in the middle” on the “Working Mom” versus “Stay at Home” mom battle: as a work-from-home-part-time gal, I can understand many of the benefits and drawbacks of each “type” of mother. I have plenty to say about how ridiculous this whole division is, and was curious to see how it played out in Gross’ fictional world.

Second, Gross is a friendly woman. We had a fun email exchange since she agreed to participate in the Chicago Moms Blog Book Club (sister blog of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, where I am a contributor.) She sent me a copy of The Other Mother with a personal note and a bunch of cards promoting the book. Personal contact is so refreshing, and whenever an author takes the time to respond to his or her readers in this fashion, it pays dividends. If I feel valued, I will value that author’s book!

So what did I think?