Pet Video Contest to Win Grand Prize Trip to Westminster Dog Show & Natl TV Ad, Ends 8/27

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Worldwide, the family pet dog is the epitome of one's best friend. Every day of their too-short little lives these sweet animals are ever faithful. They walk with you, swim and dive with you, lick your tears of joy and sorrow, cuddle with you, and sometimes even sleep with you -- like Dexter, our Miniature Pinscher does with our family.

What's makes your dog so special? Here's your chance to shout it from the rooftop why your own canine is like no other and win some awesome prizes in the process. All you have to do is enter Purina's How is Your Dog Great? Video Contest running now until August 27, 2012. 

If you are chosen as the Grand Prize winner your dog's video will be spotlighted in the brand's national TV commercial to be unveiled at the 2013 Westminster Kennel Club All Breed Dog Show in New York which is being presented by Purina Pro Plan. That's not all. If you are the winner, your personable and photogenic pooch and two of his or her doting humans will all receive a trip to the Westminster Show including airfare and hotel accommodations. Each of the ten finalists will also snag a year's supply of Pro Plan brand dog food.

To enter to win dog lovers are invited to upload a short film that is no more than two minutes in length to the Pro Plan Channel on YouTube. The video you submit should celebrate the facets of what makes your dog especially great. 

The Purina brand's manager Robert Tochterman explains, "We hope to inspire all dog owners to discover and celebrate the greatness that lies within their dogs."

Each video submitted will be evaluated based on three things: originality, creativity, and composition. Shortly after the August 27 contest deadline ten finalists will be picked from all entries received by an independent panel of judges. Public voting begins on September 10 until October 8 with everyone being asked to choose their favorite video from the final ten. The Grand Prize winner will then be chosen based on a combination of the public vote outcome and the independent judges selection team.

Enter the Purina Pro Plan
 How is Your Dog Great? Contest

HERE

Remember to hurry: Entry deadline is 8/27/12  

About Purina Pro Plan

Purina Pro Plan supports and their owners on their personal journeys toward greatness. The brand offers a complete line of dog and cat food made with high-quality ingredients that result in both great nutrition and taste. Available in an array of formulas suited to all the stages of a pet's life, lifestyle and breed.

FTC Disclosure:  I was compensated for this sponsored post made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Travel Tip: A Unique Professional Flight Carry On That Consumers Will Also Appreciate

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Whether you are a veteran air traveler for business or just take flights once in a while traveling with your children for family vacations, it's always a good idea to emulate the pilots and the rest of your in-flight crew when it comes to traveling in the most practical way possible. After all flight attendants are the ones that set the trend for us garden variety fliers with rolling carry-on bags narrow enough to roll down the aisle, right?

With that in mind, it might be a good idea to follow in the footsteps of these pros once again with the uber chic functional family friendly new Crew Cooler II from eBags.

This bag was definitely inspired by the work styles of those who travel the skies nearly every day. But there are a bunch of reasons I think consumers should also consider this compact carry-on bag the next time you jet off on any sort of trip -- short-haul and long-haul flights as they are known in the airline business.

As you can see from the pictures in this post this bag shown here in the color Blue Yonder has some unique features you won't see anywhere else. With on board food and beverages being so lame yet so expensive these days, this carry-on will not only pay for itself in the money you'll eventually save using it, it will also make bringing the food and drinks you have purchased after passing security a breeze. 

Don't like the professional looking drab bag color pictured here? Not to worry, this bag wonder comes in five other colors including Green Envy (the hue I would have picked if I had been given a choice of which product I would receive to review), Sinful Red, Tropical Turquoise, Pitch Black, and Grey Matter.

Key functional design elements include

• A separate easy-to-get-to double zipper enclosed compartment at the top to keep the things you need while traveling that don't require refrigeration 
• A mesh zipper mesh pocket in the lid to store condiment packages, napkins and utensils
• A separate well-insulated compartment below the lid that will likely keep things as cold as you need 
• A front pocket that opens like a top-loading folder to prevent things from spilling out either in the terminal or while you are in the air
• Cleverly-designed side pouch pockets on each side that expose mesh expandable holders that are perfect for storing water, bottled drinks and cans of soda
• Plus once you use this yourself with so many places to organize things, I bet you'll think of some other very helpful assets this bag has to offer

I know I sure could have used this new Crew Cooler II on the three-week European vacation I took with my family earlier this summer -- but this nifty bag didn't arrive for review until after I'd returned home.  For sure if you're a mom like me this potentially can make feeding your kids and hubbie a whole lot more of a sane, mess-free experience.

You can bet this mom blogger and social media strategist will be taking this bag on our upcoming family sojourns to New York and to Cancun this fall. It will also be on my must-bring list for future work-related flights whether I'm off to another blog conference like BlogHer or to attend meetings with Toyota and Verizon, the two brands for which I currently serve as brand ambassador.

Me in a (Gouda) Cheesy pose in Amsterdam, Holland, July 2012

The Crew Cooler II is available for $31.99 from eBags.com. For additional information you can connect with the eBags Brand on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

FTC Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. As stated above in this post I received the product to facilitate this review. I did not receive any other compensation. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Dannon Debuts New Yogurt Line - Thousands Take the Taste Test at BlogHer 2012

Good Food

#2 Post in a Series

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4 Fresh New Activia Breakfast Blend Yogurts are Born at BlogHer 12

I'm a mom of triplets plus one more born within a year so when I hear of another arrival of multiples it tends to get my attention. In this post though, instead of telling you about a new set of triplet or quadruplet babies being born I'd like to share news about the newest foursome of yogurts to join the Dannon family.

A trio of bloggers take an Activia break at the Dannon Booth

Me spreading the news the old-fashioned way at the Dannon BlogHer Photo Booth

From August 3-5  thousands of attendees at BlogHer 2012 -- the largest ever annual conference for women and mom bloggers -- were treated to the opportunity to be among the first to try Dannon's new Activia Breakfast Blend yogurt collection. Over the course of this event that ran from Thursday night through Saturday approximately 4,000 full size cups of Dannon Activia Breakfast Blend, Light & Fit and Oikos yogurt brands were served in the BlogHer Expo Hall at the Hilton New York.

The Dannon team answers questions and serves Dannon products at the booth

MommyBlogExpert in Blue & White w/ the Giant Size Dannon Spoon

The new varieties bloggers got to try included Vanilla, Apple Cinnamon, Maple & Brown Sugar and my personal favorite, Banana Bread. These not only come in four flavors they come four 6-ounce cups to a package so if you ask me, these qualify as quadruplets!

In addition to being an excellent source of great tasting-protein for show goers to fuel each day of this mega gathering in New York City, The Dannon Company booth also provided a quiet place to sit down, rest your feet, and chat with old and new friends, all while trying something new and healthy. Other fun things at the exhibit included rewarding bloggers with branded sparkling green aluminum water bottles for tweeting about the product launch to their followers and a fun photo booth with silly props like those you see me modeling in this post.

Watch for another MBE story with more about the growing Dannon family's newest additions: the Activia Breakfast Blend quads. Next week Mommy Blog Expert will not only be posting more photos from the brand's BlogHer 2012 debut, this blog will also be featuring and quoting some of the Tweets I liked best about the product that were published during the conference. Whether you attended BlogHer 12 or not you'll definitely want to stay tuned to read all the buzz about the new product line. Who knows? You may even see one of your Tweets and a link to your own Twitter page spotlighted in that upcoming post!

Dannon Quadruplet Towels - Don't miss what MBE is cooking up next!

FTC Disclosure: I have partnered with Dannon to help promote the Activia Breakfast Blend brand. I have been compensated for my time commitment to review this product line. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.