Stay tuned to be the first to read about and see (photographs) my experiences in Detroit, at the The North American International Auto Show, and for what I learn about Ford’s green initiative..which I am very excited about.

If you have questions that you would like for me to ask Ford executives, leave them in the comments below.

I will put a list of other bloggers who are attending the The North American International Auto Show here later today or Monday morning.

DISCLAIMER: I was invited to participate in this program by Clever Girls Collective, Inc. in partnership with Ford and Ogilvy PR. Ford Motor Company paid for my travel and accommodations at the 2-day Driving Green Technology event, I was not compensated in any other manner for my time. My opinions posted here are my own.

We have 5 Clicker.com beta invites to give to the first 5 GadgetGoddess.com readers who click the link at the bottom of this post.

What is Clicker.com?
Clicker.com is the complete guide to Internet Television. Clicker.com makes it easy for me to find the type of show I’m looking for any time. A couple of nights a week, after the kids go to bed I like to watch TV but there are times when I can’t find a good show to watch on TV. Clicker.com lists all types of TV shows and links directly to the website/page where I can actually watch the show I choose.

As massive amounts of programming move online, consumers are entering a world of infinite choices, all on-demand. Great! Finding the show you want to watch? Painful. Thousands of episodes from thousands of shows are housed on thousands of different sites, mixed among billions of random clips and videos.

Clicker catalogs all broadcast programming online, along with TV-quality Web originals, from these silos and delivers them in one seamless, organized experience so you can easily discover what’s available to watch (and what isn’t) online, where to watch it, and what’s worth watching.
Invite link:

http://www.clicker.com/invite/ipjvegd65ukBo6xPNGfcXA

We have highly personal and sensitive information on our computers – passwords, credit card numbers, bank statements, photos – and who knows what type of people can get a hold of it!

When I want to get rid of a computer I would like to feel sure that my private data, photographs, passowrds, etc.. have been truly erased not to be found again, right?

Did you that:

• 74% of discarded PC hard drives contain private data that can be easily read and recovered… even if the drive has been reformatted
• Did you know that deleting files doesn’t work
• Even after deleting data or formatting a drive, it takes basic knowledge of a PC to find private data

With iolo DriveScrubber you can:

• Permanently erase files, pictures, documents, credit card info, bank statements, passwords and more
• Securely wipe all drive data before selling, donating or recycling your PC
• Restore your drives to like-new after virus or spyware damage
• Wipes PC drives, flash drives, cameras and more

I have 2 computers that have been sitting in my attic for over 3 years because I was too afraid to give or throw them away or recycle them.  iolo DriveScrubber 8 solves that problem easily and you don’t have to be a genius to use it!  iolo DriveScrubber 8 has tons of features and tools that will give you the reassurance that you can erase all of that private data and get rid of that old computer once and for all!

Where to buy: iolo

How much is it? around $20

GIVEAWAY!
We are giving 5 lucky readers iolo DriveScrubber 8. Just leave a comment to this post telling us why you want to win a copy (do you have 3 PC’s that you want to get rid of, etc..) and Tweet your friends about this giveaway to earn an extra entry!  Be sure to leave your twitter name in the comments below so we can check for your tweet.  Contest entries accepted until October 11:59pm October 18th.

My sister and I just arrived at IzeaFest which is being held at SeaWorld Orlando this year and I’m stoked! I can’t wait to hear what all of the speakers have to teach us and tell us about.

Follow me on Twitter to get my up to the minute (maybe every couple of hours actually) updates on IzeaFest.

Whether you just bought an iPhone or you are thinking about buying one, My New iPhone is for you.  The books explains every detail of the iPhone from working with the keyboard to voicemail to how to browse the built in YouTube feature for videos. 

This project-oriented book will have you using your iPhone like a pro in no time.

Author Wallace Wang will show you, step-by-step, how to:

• View weather predictions, traffic patterns, flight information, and stocks
• Take notes, text message your friends, and browse the web
• Customize your iPhone by rearranging icons and changing its wallpaper and sound effects
• Find and install the best new applications and games
• Browse iTunes, listen to music, and watch YouTube videos
• Use Skype to call your family for free
• Create your own ringtones and get free podcasts and audiobooks

Enjoy My New iPhone and why don’t you let me know what your favorite iPhone feature and/or iPhone app is while you’re here!

Buy the book at Amazon.com here: My New iPhone: 52 Simple Projects to Get You Started

Price: $20

So I’ve been using my new Frigidaire appliances for about a month now and am LOVING all of them. Each of them has saved me time in one way or another and I am excited to tell you that my Frigidaire range has saved me more time than I imagined.. partly because of my 9 year old and partly because of its amazing features.
The Frigidaire Range passed the More Me-Time Guaranteed test.

Sebastian, my 9 year old, absolutely loves using our new Frigidaire range and I appreciate that a whole lot which SAVES me time!   So far, he’s made pancakes, macaroni and cheese, and roasted potatoes.. after I cut and prepared the potatoes of course.

What’s interesting is the following:
* Did he cook before we got our new range? Uh, no.
* Did he prepare food before we got our new range? Uh, no.
* What gives? Let’s see.. maybe it’s the Quick Boil feature? The shiny stovetop surface? The 5 racks in the oven? The huge capacity? The 5 stovetop burners? I don’t know!?

Read more about my new Frigidaire Range and how it has helped me save time and how you can enter to win your own brand new Frigidaire appliances, on The Mommy Insider here.

Twitter has become a hugely popular social networking tool that provides people all over the world a way to communicate their thoughts, whether fleeting thoughts or serious news related thoughts. People have fallen in love with Twitter, and just like when we fall in love with a person, we tend to overlook the bad things or the potential for bad things to happen.

With all of the Twitter applications available for our computers and phones, it’s easier than ever to Tweet 24/7 whether at home or on the road. The fact is that the web remains a prime target market for sexual predators and people who want steal identities and can do so with very little but just the right information.
Here are a few Twitter safety tips that I find useful.

Twitter Safety Tip #1:
Never post your full name.  If someone ‘Tweets’ you telling you that you won a million dollars and asks for your full name and address.. uh, don’t do it!

Twitter Safety Tip #2:
Don’t advertise to your fellow Tweeters that you are going to Bob’s Dance Club located at 55 Bob Street at 11pm tonight.  If you have hundreds of Twitter followers you probably don’t know them all and might not want a few of your Twitter followers to know where they can find you tonight.

Twitter Safety Tip #3:
This is a tip for parents. As a parent of a 9 year old, I know how important Internet safety is.  I don’t want my son to have the opportunity to browse Twitter or other social networks so I close all Internet applications when I walk away from the computer.

I know that using Twitter is fun. There’s  something addicting about being able to post what you’re doing or what you’re feeling at this exact moment… and having hundreds of followers seeing it.  The instant feedback is satisfying especially for Twitter users who don’t have a lot of outside social interaction such as stay-at-home-moms or work-from-home-moms.

The bottom line is that Twitter safety is to be taken seriously.  Twitter is a fast paced environment and when people move fast, they tend to not pay as much attention to safety as they should.  Don’t you remember your middle school teacher telling you to slow down on your work?  Well, that’s what we need to do with Twitter.. slow down and be aware of what’s going on and who’s following you.

Please note that I use and enjoy Twitter am in no way affiliated with Twitter.

Do you have any Twitter safety tips to add?  Please share them with us in the comments below!  Thanks

I was so excited when I was given the opportunity to design my own branded SIGG Water Bottle because both of my kids have had a SIGG water bottle for 2+ years and I haven’t! It’s my turn now and mine is bigger than theirs! Childish.. I know. Sebastian has a ninja inspired SIGG water bottle while Madelyn has a glow in the dark space SIGG water bottle.

Now, through Cafe Press, you can design and order your very own personalized SIGG water bottle. Type whatever you want such as “Getting in shape!”, “I’m Green”, or your brand name which is what I did and you will instantly see what it will look like on the SIGG design of your choice. I chose the Leaves design (left) and had “The Mommy Insider” (my mom product review site) printed on my 1 liter SIGG water bottle. You can choose from 7 special edition designs. Stop bringing plastic water bottles to the gym and design your own SIGG water bottle that you will have for many many years. These SIGG water bottles can be washed in the dishwasher. Attach a caribeener to the SIGG top and then attach your SIGG to your gym bag for easy access to it all of the time!

The custom-designed bottles are available for $27.99 on http://www.cafepress.com/.

Learn about SIGG on their website here.
GIVEAWAY!
We have (1) 1 liter SIGG water bottle to give to a lucky reader. The 1 liter bottle is exactly like what you see pictured here with “The Mommy Insider” printed on it. Leave a comment here on TheMommyInsider.com related to SIGG, water bottles, and/or being ‘green’ and you are entered to win. Contest ends July 15th.

The ultimate gadgets have arrived!

As you may know from my other blog TheMommyInsider.com, I am a Frigidaire Test Drive Mom and have been waiting every so patiently for my new Frigidaire washer, dryer, refrigerator, microwave, range, and dishwasher to arrive.  Today was the day, with the exception of the dishwasher and the range which will arrive in July.

Here’s how this morning went down:
Tim, my husband, ran in our bedroom at about 8:05 (it’s amazing he was awake) this morning annoyingly calling my name over and over.. Alicia, Alicia, Alicia! I didn’t want to wake up. The first morning I’ve slept in until 8:00 in a very long time and he’s trying to wake me up? About 30 seconds later I heard Willie (the appliance installer) call out “Your new appliances are here!” like they do on the Home Make-Over show. That got me out of bed in record time.

Willie the main installman (word or not?), our fabulous appliance installers, and Tim from Electrolux/Frigidaire, installed our new Frigidaire Washer and Dryer quicker than I ever could have imagined.

It’s 8:45am and we’re having a party in my garage! My adrenaline is pumping and I can’t wait to report back to you when everything is installed and working!

You can participate in lots of Frigidaire goodness and enter to win new Frigidaire appliances!  Here’s how.

Tell Frigidaire what you would do with an extra hour a day and you’re automatically entered for a chance to win a suite of NEW Frigidaire appliances! Tell 5 friends for another chance to win. I know what you’re thinking.. an extra hour a day?  What a joke! Frigidaire wants to prove that you can have an extra hour a day with the Frigidaire More Me Time Guarantee.
For you internet obsessed moms, you can log on to My Motherload every day and take the Daily Dare for a chance to win a NEW Frigidaire Affinity washer and dryer just like the washer and dryer you see in the photograph above.

Join the Frigidaire Facebook page to see what 5 things other moms would do, read my mini Frigidaire Test Drive Mom posts and more fun stuff.

Alicia