KinKast Iphone App Review and Giveaway ($50 MRSP)

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Living away from the majority of my family makes communication hard sometimes and I love sending them videos of where I live, my surroundings, little activities and videos of my puppy! However, with the program that I've always been using, I get frustrated because literally, any video over 10-11 seconds long and its too long for me to send. I don't feel comfortable uploading them onto public video sites either as I really only want my family to see it. So, I was really glad when I heard of the new Iphone app, KinKast. Its a free app to begin with and you can take videos either in their application or use videos that you've already taken previously on your iPhone or i. Its really simple to use and as soon as you take the video or select which one you use, you can share it by typing in someone's email address.  The great thing about this app is that, the recipient does not have to sign up for an account. They automatically get an email with a link to watch the videos. 


Check out this demo:


As I was playing around with the app, I noticed that you can select to send just one video or several at a time to someone. And, you don't have to worry going over your data plan because the app comes preset to upload in the background when you get connected to a wireless connection. Its also kind of smart because it uploads little bits at a time so that when your internet connection gets cut off, you don't have to reupload it again from the beginning.  If the video's not on your iphone, fine, go online to upload your video there and its the same thing! Easy enough for the most tech newbie out there... 

So, there are two plans:
1) FREE!! Your videos are saved for 30 days from the day of upload on the KinKast servers. Pretty sweet deal for connecting with your family!
2) Premium plan, which offers slightly more...All for less than 2 cups of coffee a month:  $4.99/month or $49.99/year. It gives you the following features: unlimited storage on KinKast servers, all videos always available online, videos are safely backed up online, and no ads. Best of all, your videos aren't deleted after 30 days so if you want to send the same video later on, it'll still be there!


Overall, I think KinKast is really convenient and I have been looking for an app that allows me to send my family videos of my everyday life. This works great for that and I don't have to worry about the hassle of making my family sign up for additional accounts! I would definitely recommend it to anyone; it makes communication that much easier between families and friends.


Buy It: Download the FREE version of KinKast on your iPhone in the App Store. If you want to upgrade, the Premium plan is $4.99/month or $49.99/year.


Win It: One very lucky Whirlwind of Surprises reader is going to win a KinKast Premium Membership for a year (MRSP $49.99).

To Enter (MANDATORY): This must be entered as ONE entry before the bonus entries count! I will check. PLEASE Leave a contact email in your entries if it is not found in your profile, if I can't contact you, you can't win.

1) Follow Whirlwind of Surprises on Google Friends Connect

Bonus Entries -Please make sure you put 1 comment for each entry. e.g. If it says 2 entries, put 2 comments.

• Like Whirlwind of Surprises on facebook. Please leave your first name and last initial-1 entry
• Like KinKast on Facebook -1 entry
• Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post. Please leave your link. -2 entries.
• Grab my button and tell me where its at -2 entries
• Enter any of my other giveaways -1 entry
• Follow Whirlwind of Surprises on Networked Blogs -1 entry
• Follow KinKast on Twitter
• Follow Whirlwind of Surprises on Twitter and ReTweet this: RT @cinnybbs @Kinkast #Win a Premier membership ($50) from #WOS #kinkast http://bit.ly/hbPdVG Worldwide Ends 03/27. #giveaway sharing video
• (can be Tweeted up to 3x daily for extra 2 entries each time. Each tweet must be 2 hours apart. Leave your tweet link)
• Subscribe to Whirlwind of Surprises via email. -2 entries

Giveaway ends 11:59 pm EST on March 27, 2011. Open worldwide!! Winner will be drawn by a random number generator, posted on this blog and emailed. Winner must respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.

Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above have been provided free of charge from the manufacturer or PR firm for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Whirlwind of Surprises and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view my full disclosure.

Until next time,

Like what you see? Follow me on GFC and twitter (@CinnyBBS) to get the latest updates. Like us on facebook or join us through Network Blogs. Leave me a comment if you'd like me to follow back on any of these.

Daddy A Go Go -Grandkid Rock Childrens' CD Review

Former CNN producer John Boydston gave up his job long ago to become a stay-at-home dad and leading advocate for kids rock and roll music and are we glad he did! John Boydston's, aka Daddy a Go Go, newest CD is called "Grandkid Rock" and is comprised of 16 of his all-time best tracks from his 7 previous albums, many of which have won awards in the past. Five of his past CDs have actually made Amazon.com's "Best of the year" critics' list. He started out in 1998 when his sons were ages 3 and 5 and now his sons are teenagers and helping out in the band! Talk about being family oriented! The  tracks on "Grandkid Rock" are suggested for children ages 3-10 and have a total runtime of 40 minutes.

Its not your typical children's tunes as it has a feel of classic rock and yes, in my humble opinion, a slightly country feel in some of the songs. However, I do love the guitar music in this and I can see parents that are fans of classic 60's rock loving it just as well. LOL, my parents always told me I loved rock music as a kid and I was the crazy little kid that always danced and sang as much as I could when I heard my favorite songs and I tell you, this would probably be on my list of favs as well. :)


Filled with humor and rhymes, I'm sure everyone in the family will enjoy singing along and dancing to this one! Go give Daddy a Go Go a visit and listen to his samples online and you'll see what I mean!

Visit Daddy a Go Go.


Buy It: Grandkid Rock can be purchased for $11.99 from Amazon.com, CDbaby.com, and daddyagogo.com, iTunes and specialty toy and bookstores April 19, 2011.

Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above have been provided free of charge from the manufacturer or PR firm for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Whirlwind of Surprises and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view my full disclosure.

Until next time,

Like what you see? Follow me on GFC and twitter (@CinnyBBS) to get the latest updates. Like us on facebook or join us through Network Blogs. Leave me a comment if you'd like me to follow back on any of these.

Winners!! Who could they be?

Happy long weekend to both my Canadian and American friends! Surprisingly enough, 2 different holidays but we all get Monday off! :) So, I'd like to add to your weekend happiness by announcing two winners of recent giveaways that ended.

4-time Emmy Winning Jamie Broza's "I Want a Dog!" Kids CD Review & Giveaway (US/CAN) 02/19
Congratulations Angie! You were the lucky number drawn. 

This is what she said:

AEK said...

follow via GFC under AEK

Thanks!

angiedkelly at gmail dot com

Progresso Soup Light Review and Souper You Giveaway (US) 02/16
Congratulations Louis! You were the lucky winner drawn!

Here's what he said:

Raven In A Blue Room said...

I like Progresso on facebook (Louis Here)

schnitzomage {at} gmail {dot} com

Thank you so much for everyone's support and participation! I've emailed the winners! Remember, winners have 48 hours to respond and claim their prize or a new winner will be drawn.

Until next time,

Like what you see? Follow me on GFC and twitter (@CinnyBBS) to get the latest updates. Like us on facebook or join us through Network Blogs. Leave me a comment if you'd like me to follow back on any of these.

Pillsbury Bakeoff Giveaway -03/12

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Alrighty, my friends, its time to let those creative juices flow and get those hands dirty. The 45th annual Pillsbury Bakeoff is on! Submit your original recipes that look great and taste great in one of four recipe categories below until April 18, 2011 and be one of 100 lucky finalists that have a shot at the grand prize of a million dollars!

• The Breakfast & Brunches category includes casual brunch or weekend family breakfast ideas. For example, sweet rolls, pull-aparts, pastries, breakfast breads, egg dishes or breakfast sandwiches.
• In the Entertaining Appetizers category, entrants can submit appetizers and snacks to serve at casual gatherings with family and friends or for holiday entertaining. For example, bite size appetizers, tartlets, pinwheels, puffs, bruschetta or focaccia.
• The Dinner Made EasyTM category encourages home cooks to create easy-to-prepare main dishes that will delight your family. For example, pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, foldovers, casseroles, chilis, soups or savory pies.
• Quick and easy treats for anytime celebrations can be entered into the Sweet Treats category. For example, cookies, pies, tarts, brownies or bars.

The contest finals run from March 25-27, 2012 at the Peabody Orlando Hotel in Florida. Find out more information on the website.



Here's some quick information on past winners: 

Sue Compton of Delanco, N.J. was named the grand prize winner of the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off^® Contest in 2010 for her original Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups recipe. At the 43rd Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest in 2008, Carolyn Gurtz walked away with the million-dollar grand prize for her Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. At the 2006 competition, the 42nd Contest, Anna Ginsberg, a stay-at-home mom who you might know from her blog, Cookie Madness, earned the $1 million prize for her Baked Chicken and Spinach Stuffing. 

C'mon, a million bucks is inspirational enough but you need more? Fine, Pillsbury has been very generous and has offered a prize pack just like the one they sent me to one of my readers. It includes a Pillsbury Bake-Off^® apron, recipe book and pen. Now, you have no reason to stay out of the kitchen!

Win It: One very lucky Whirlwind of Surprises reader is going to win a Pillsbury Bake-Off Prize Pack!

To Enter (MANDATORY): This must be entered as ONE entry before the bonus entries count! I will check. PLEASE Leave a contact email in your entries if it is not found in your profile, if I can't contact you, you can't win. :)

1) Follow Whirlwind of Surprises on Google Friends Connect AND
2) What do you think goes into coming up with a winning a Bake-Off recipe?


Bonus Entries -Please make sure you put 1 comment for each entry. e.g. If it says 2 entries, put 2 comments.

• Like Whirlwind of Surprises on facebook. Please leave your first name and last initial-1 entry
• Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post. Please leave your link. -2 entries.
• Grab my button and tell me where its at -2 entries
• Enter any of my other giveaways -1 entry
• Follow Whirlwind of Surprises on Networked Blogs -1 entry
• Follow Whirlwind of Surprises on Twitter and ReTweet this: RT @cinnybbs #Win a Pillsbury Bakeoff Prize Pack from #WOS http://bit.ly/dYkszd US only Ends 03/12. #giveaway #myblogspark
• (can be Tweeted up to 3x daily for extra 2 entries each time. Each tweet must be 2 hours apart. Leave your tweet link)
• Subscribe to Whirlwind of Surprises via email. -2 entries

Giveaway ends 11:59 pm EST on March 12, 2011. Open to the US. Winner will be drawn by a random number generator, posted on this blog and emailed. Winner must respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be drawn.

Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above have been provided free of charge from Pillsbury via MyBlogSpark for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Whirlwind of Surprises and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view my full disclosure.

Until next time,

Like what you see? Follow me on GFC and twitter (@CinnyBBS) to get the latest updates. Like us on facebook or join us through Network Blogs. Leave me a comment if you'd like me to follow back on any of these.

CSN Stores and Beautyrest Classic Mattress Pad Review

So, its been a little while since I've done a review with CSN Stores and I chose a mattress pad to review this time. It was quite the learning experience and I think it'll be very helpful for those of you looking for a similar thing between mattress pads and mattress toppers.


So, here's my story. I have a futon that I had bought from Target...mmhmm, I know, its not really the best place to buy furniture but it was decent looking at a decent price. It was meant to be a guest bed so I figured it couldn't be too bad...until my friends stayed the night and said it felt a little too lumpy bumpy and I think, well, if people my age can't handle it, what's going to happen when our family including elderly members come to visit. They'll definitely stay longer and then what would I do? So, I decided I needed something to go overtop. I had no clue what a mattress topper or mattress pad was. For all I knew, they were the same thing. But nope, they're not. Quick information that I found that really helped me with my decision on which to go with. Mattress toppers tend to be thicker and are usually foam pads that you set on top of your mattress. They're also more expensive being more comfortable and probably more ideal in my case since I was needed comfort and something to cover all the "lumpy bumpies" as my friends called it. However, its a little too expensive for me and well, for my purposes, it was just too inconvenient as I felt it may shift without a fitted sheet and it would also make it difficult when I moved. Mattress pads are generally thinner so they may not be as comfortable as mattress pads, but they're a lot more convenient as some come fitted and they're well, smaller, so easier to pack and they incur a little less damage on the wallet. So, in the end I chose a mattress pad. 

The Beautyrest Classic 100% Cotton Mattress Pad is the mattress pad I chose this time due to the ratings and the affordability. I liked the idea that it could be machine washed and dried. It also had the expandable grip skirt that can expand up to 15" for thicker mattresses. It arrived within a week of my placing the order and that's something that I love CSN for, their speedy shipping times. The grip skirt was great, it kept the mattress pad steady and prevented it from shifting around. 


What about comfort, you ask? Well, what better way to test it for comfort than to actually sleep on it. So, I spent the night on it and I slept fine, about the same as usual, I'd say. I still felt the lumps and bumps in certain parts of the futon but it did feel alright in terms of comfort. My SO, however, couldn't get comfortable and went back to our own bed less than an hour in. So, we sit at opposite ends of the spectrum on this one. He really doesn't think that the mattress pad helped any, if any at all. I figured it did help, maybe not 100% but it was enough so that I could fall asleep and stay asleep the whole night. 


To be fair though, I believe it would've worked great on our normal bed since its got a nice smooth surface on top but on the futon where there were natural dips in the surface of the bed, this mattress pad just didn't make the cut for my SO. However, for the price ($24 + shipping), I think its a decent buy.


Bottomline:
CSN Stores: Love it!
Beautyrest Classic 100% Cotton Mattress Pad: It does seem functional and was comfortable in my opinion and well, for the price, it would be alright. Would I recommend it to others? I would recommend it if you were using it on a regular bed because it would make your bed more comfortable, but definitely not on a futon that did not originally have a smooth surface. 

Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above have been provided free of charge from the manufacturer or PR firm for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Whirlwind of Surprises and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view my full disclosure.

Until next time,

Like what you see? Follow me on GFC and twitter (@CinnyBBS) to get the latest updates. Like us on facebook or join us through Network Blogs. Leave me a comment if you'd like me to follow back on any of these.

Groupon Certificate and Anima Italian Bistro Review

Okay, so during Christmas, I did a Christmas feature and giveaway on Groupon and I was also sent some Groupon credit to spend and I seriously had a tough time choosing what I wanted to use it on. In the end, I ended up going for a $30 gift certificate to Anima Italian Bistro and a $20 gift certificate to Barnes and Nobles! Food and books, it can't get much better than this!

So about the purchases on the site, I found that when I really wanted something, the site was always backlogged, I really couldn't ever sign in onto my account and I was deathly afraid that by the time I could sign in, that all the deals I wanted to buy were going to be gone! Luckily for me, I ended up being able to sign in 5-6 hours later and there was still certificates available. 

I do give kudos, however, for the deals offered. I was looking for somewhere nice for dinner for our anniversary and Anima, the Italian bistro, was the place we chose. We had never tried it before and Groupon was just a reason to try out a new place. We really made no mistake here! My SO and I are always fond of quaint, little places that have their own little atmosphere and Anima just radiated with an unique ambience that made you feel very comfortable and warm. We both loved the decor and oh my gosh, the food was absolutely delicious. We did not order any pizza, although the open brick oven made me really wish we had! We started out with appetizers and drinks before moving onto our main courses of lamb and a seafood pasta. Of course, there were more elegant names that just rolled off your tongue but to be honest, I can't remember the exact name. We finished off with desert, tiramisu and a strawberry creme which were both beautifully served in glasses. I would love to include the pictures I took but it was kind of a dim, romantic setting, lit mostly by candle light so my pictures have unfortunately turned out somewhat dark. I have to admit, the meal was not cheap, even with the help of the Groupon. Although, I loved the experience fully and it made for a wonderful place to celebrate our anniversary, I have to say, the Groupon really did help out and made for a wonderful night out and a new discovery!


In short:
Anima Italian Bistro -Slightly on the expensive side, but definitely worth it! They even had a 2 for 1 deal but only on the bar side and that was incredibly packed! 
Groupon -Sweet way to make things cheaper! What can I say?! Sometimes, it may take a lot of patience to get those groupons, but in the end, it is worth the wait.


Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above have been provided free of charge from the manufacturer or PR firm for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Whirlwind of Surprises and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view my full disclosure.


Until next time,

Like what you see? Follow me on GFC and twitter (@CinnyBBS) to get the latest updates. Like us on facebook or join us through Network Blogs. Leave me a comment if you'd like me to follow back on any of these.