Adpropo is in its beta phase, testing out some different ways to provide fun & games with brands. There are four main elements of the site:

PLAY: Live online Treasure Hunts for cash and prizes, games, contests and more.

SHARE: Idea Labs encourage consumer interaction and collaboration with brands. A Message Center allows consumers to sign up for the brands that matter to them and then receive info within a designated on-site Inbox.

WIN: Incentives include virtual points, cash prizes, gift cards, and support of great charities based on participation. As the site expands, so will the prize and support opportunities.

CHANGE: adpropo is all about changing how consumers learn about brands (to a better way for the consumer). Plus, by tying cause support to activity, adpropo would like to change the world!

How can you check it out?

Sign up for adpropo at www.adpropo.com.

Check out the list of Treasure Hunts by clicking on that tab - those are the most interactive and have the biggest prize opportunities! Sign up early for any that you can make - they all happen LIVE and online, and registration closes at Go time.

Go onto the detail page and click the red Register button (you have to be logged in to the site)

Read the information provided

Show up a couple minutes early to make sure your clock isn't different than the site clock - and to review details and make sure you are set to go.

The next Treasure Hunt is scheduled for:
May 16th at 9 PM ET for $2,500 in giveaways (THIS Wednesday)
(Keep your Facebook page open to adpropo because some trash talk / updates might just break out during the events!)

Go to the Games section and try out the picture puzzles and trivia challenges. The Idea Lab is the place for sharing ideas and feedback - the site is brand new, so help get some conversations flowing.

Good luck and have fun!

1. 1984-1986 - High school performances with my lifelong friends who got to celebrate with me at Becca's Bat Mitzvah as we laughed and reminisced by the chocolate fountain I never did get to try.

2. September 11, 1992 - The first moment I met my husband - I had just moved into Manhattan and I had been set up on a blind date with him. He rang the bell, I opened the door and there he was. This super cute guy who was funny, smart and was really into me. The rest as they say is history.

3. December 24, 1995 - The night we got engaged - my husband pretended to get us pulled over by a cop. He made me get out of the car, he opened the trunk and there were dozens of roses and a box with a diamond ring. If you're wondering what happened next, I said yes and we raced to both our parents houses to share the great news.

4. August 18, 1996. Our wedding day - truly a fairytale experience. I remember the rabbi re-telling the story of how we met and saying how we were fated to be together (the yiddish saying is Ber-shert). Best reception ever at Temple Israel in Lawrence. We never did get invited to another affair there and I was totally bummed because I always wanted to taste their food.

5. Our Honeymoon in Italy - I never will forget the two weeks we shared traveling from Venice to Florence to Rome to Positano. Sure it was stressful - like the time I left my father in law's video camera on a water taxi in Venice, or the morning I made my husband drag our suitcases through the train when they announced a track change in Italian, but overall, it was also filled with romance, laughter, great wine and some of the best dishes and desserts we had ever sampled in our lives.

6. July 1998 - Moving into our first house in New Rochelle. We thought it would be a "starter" house but instead, it has become the one place our kids will fondly remember as their childhood home.

7. April 4, 1999 - Giving birth to Rebecca Drew - it took over 36 hours but it was well worth the wait. A beautiful baby girl who continues to amaze us year after year.

8. May 13, 2002 - The birth of our beautiful son, Dylan - who arrived three weeks early while I was coordinating the finales of CSI, The Amazing Race and The King of Queens.

9. November 2010 - My husband and I celebrating our 40th birthday with close friends and family at Mickey Spillane's in Eastchester.

10. May 12, 2012 - Rebecca's Bat Mitzvah - she chanted like pro, amazed us all and looked so beautiful. Plus the day couldn't have been more picture perfect - 77 degrees, sunny with an absolutely gorgeous setting at the Surf Club. I am so proud of everything our daughter has accomplished so far and can't wait to see what life holds in store for her.

So there you have it - 10 moments I will never forget. Much more to come. Good thing I don't get my son's Bar Mitzvah date until next year!

Verizon Wireless wanted to do something special for moms for Mother's Day. So instead of giving away what they thought moms want, they actually asked moms for their input. And the one thing most moms would love is a day off, with maybe a manicure and a nice dinner out.

Verizon listened and came up with a huge giveaway you can nominate your own mom for!

The Perfect Day Giveaway Sweepstakes Grand Prize Package includes: a manicure, pedicure, massage, facial, laundress, house cleaning, and dinner/restaurant voucher or gift card for $350 (approximate retail value: $1,350).

Does your mom deserve a special day of pampering? I know my mom does.

The Contest begins on May 10 at 12:00 a.m. ET and ends on May 11, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

How to Enter Verizon's Perfect Day Sweepstake:

Follow @VerizonWireless on Twitter. Then simply tweet out a message that makes a positive statement about your mom for Mother's Day in the following format:

My mom is the most incredible woman I aspire to be. #PerfectDay @VerizonWireless

Your entry must include both #PerfectDay and @VerizonWireless to be entered in the contest. You can enter 5 times per day during the contest (max 10 times).

The grand prize will go to the best tweet of why your Mom deserves the #perfectday. So tweet away to enter your mom for this amazing giveaway!

{Prizes: ONE (1) GRAND PRIZE: Perfect Day Giveaway Sweepstakes Grand Prize Package. Prize package includes: manicure, pedicure, massage, facial, laundress, house cleaning, dinner/restaurant voucher or gift card for $350 (terms and conditions of voucher or gift card apply) (selected by sponsor in its sole discretion). Approximate Retail Value ("ARV"): $1,350. Official Rules. This is a sponsored post.}

In honor of Mother's Day, we've got some links to some incredible essays about moms - and two of my personal favorites (my own mom and my grandma) are a part of this list! If you've written a tribute to your own mom, we want to hear it! Comment on this post with a link to your blog or share an anecdote here about the special Role Mommy in your life!

A Tribute to Moms...
A Tribute to My Grandma by Beth Feldman

Like Mother, Like Daughter? by Beth Feldman

Walking as Healing by Jeanne Muchnick

Remembering Mom by Dayle Herstik

My BFF by Lenore Stoller

Being a Parentless Parent by Allison Gilbert

And one more incredible anecdote from Melanie Notkin, author of Savvy Auntie: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers, and All Women Who Love Kids

"The day my nephew was born, I promised him I'd love him twice as much. My mother had died many years before he was born and I immediately felt like it wasn't fair to him, to have one less woman in his life to love him unconditionally. I try to give him, and now his sisters, more love, more time, more inspiration... and yes maybe a few more gifts since my mother can't be here to give it to them. She would have loved her grandchildren more than I can even imagine.

My mother had had a heart attack at age 42 (my age now). Her cardiologist brought her back to life, and in her mind, gave her more priceless time with my brother and me. So for the next decade, until she passed away, she sent a gift to her doctor's children on their every birthday. She had never met those kids, but was so grateful for the time their father had given her and her own children to be together, that she became their Fairy GodAuntie, sprinkling a little Auntie magic on their lives. Now, with Savvy Auntie, I think how fortunate I am to have been inspired by my mother, a woman who knew that loving and celebrating children not-your-own is a gift. And every time I look into my nephew's and nieces' big brown eyes, I know she's proud." - Melanie Notkin

Add your link to your Mom tribute below or comment now! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Mother's Day!!!

From a celebrity interview with "Five Year Engagement" stars Emily Blunt and Allison Brie to must have gifts and book picks and graduation party ideas from the gals at PartyBluPrints, we've got something for everyone in this issue. Take a look...

Dr. Aaron Tabor in his own (or his publicist's) words: A graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Tabor has devoted his career to researching and developing scientific and medically-based anti-aging solutions. His ground-breaking natural skin care therapies and weight control products help women achieve total health, wellness and beauty from the inside out.

Very promising and well-worded, but it doesn't really give you a feel for this man's passion and depth of knowledge (did you know that there are 1200 chemicals banned for use in cosmetics in Europe as opposed to our 10? How scary is that?) Sitting with Dr. Tabor and discussing the dilemmas/delights of the aging process gives you a sense that a man has finally figured out what women go through. Remarkable. Perhaps it's because, as Dr. Tabor says, he went into his line of work to "help my mother manage midlife." A man who loves his mother and knows how to use kiwi seed extract to combat undereye circles? Love.

Dr. Tabor's approach is "inside out beauty"; a 50/50 split between internal supplements and external creams and serums. I loved this immediately, because, my passion for Twizzler Pull'n'Peels aside, I'm all about healthy food and the notion that what goes inside shows up on the outside.

So I've been a test tube monkey, faithfully taking my supplements and slathering my creams for a week and a half now, and the sixty-four thousand dollar question (an idiom, not the price of Dr. Tabor's products) is: do they work? Well, as with anything, time will tell. But I will say that I've seen a difference in my skin. For real. Am I imagining it because I want so much for it to work? I don't think so. Within a week, I saw change, small, but still promising. So I'll check back in when I've used the products for a month and let you know.

If you want to check out Dr. Tabor's goodies, go here, the newly re-launched site Healthy Directions. A leading health publisher and provider of proprietary, doctor-formulated nutritional supplements, skincare and weight-loss products, the site has has redesigned to provide consumers with targeted, doctor-guided information on common health conditions.

Disclosure: I was given Dr. Tabor's products to test. I was not compensated for this article. All opinions are my own. Including the opinion that a man who loves his mother and wants to help her age well is a good egg.

Shari Cabelin is the founder of Dusty Earth Mother and New Jersey editor for Mommy Poppins.

So what can I do to reduce the swelling on the side of my face? Well, according to one of my Facebook friends, I can put hot water on it for a few seconds and it should go away. Considering my family is making jokes about my welt, here's hoping it goes away before Saturday.

The good news is that I fit into my dress. The bad news - the dress can't cover my face. Two words. Oy vey.

Fast forward to today and you'll see moms and dads sharing the big news sooner than ever before. Call me crazy, but there used to be a time when you'd wait three months before announcing to the world that you had a little bundle of joy on the way. But with Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter, everyone and their uncle is now tweeting the lines!

So how can you share the joy and celebrate your pregnancy? Try one of these ideas on for size:

Gender Reveal Cakes - Ask your ultrasound technician not to tell you the results. Instead, have them seal the gender results in an envelope. Then, take the envelope to a bakery, which can tint cake batter pink or blue, then cover it with icing. At a special party, cut into the cake to reveal the baby's gender.

Dadchelor Parties - Moms-to-be aren't the only ones getting celebrated. Dadchelor parties, also known as man-showers, diaper parties and daddymoons, are fun ways for expectant fathers to celebrate their last, child-free months, as well as the upcoming baby. Make sure the date of the party is at least one month before the baby's due date. Start planning at www.dadchelorpartyinvitations.com.

Pregnancy Portraits - Professional photographers are receiving more visits from moms-to-be as they pose for portraits and immortalize their pregnancy as a treasured keepsake. Many maternity photos are taken at the beginning of the third trimester. Review the photographer's portfolio to ensure their style is a good fit with yours. Discuss the types of photos you want, what to expect at the shoot and options for albums, prints and other photo-related merchandise.

Babymoons - These vacations are when parents-to-be take a trip before the arrival of their baby. It can be an exotic excursion or a quiet weekend getaway close to home. Whatever you chose, make sure you minimize your travel time and maintain access to medical facilities.

Themed Baby Showers - Celebrities are taking this event to an extreme, as seen with Jessica Simpson's over-the-top Charlotte's Web-themed extravaganza. For unique shower ideas, visit the Hostess with the Mostess (www.hwtm.com). You'll find suggestions for boy and girl parties, as well as gender-neutral, themes for twins and multiples, and styles that range from fancy to casual.

Finding out that you're pregnant is a very exciting, emotional time. If you want to start planning for your baby's arrival as soon as possible, the Early Result Pregnancy Test by First Response is the only test that tells you six days before your missed period. And that allows you to start planning for your pregnancy sooner - including how you'll tell your loved ones that a bundle of joy is on its way.

For more information about First Response pregnancy, ovulation and fertility tests, please visit www.FirstResponse.com.

You may be hearing all about how quinoa is a protein filled, tasty grain, but have you thought about it as an alternative for burgers at your next BBQ? Impress your vegetarian guests with these delicious and easy to prepare burgers You can brown them in a pan and then finish off on the grill. Enjoy!

Quinoa Vegetable Burgers:
Makes 8 burgers
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained (makes 2 cups cooked)
2 cups water (to cook quinoa)
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
2/3 cup grated carrots (squeeze dry)
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry or grated zuchini
Zest of 1 large lemon-optional
3/4-one cup healthy pancake mix or flour (if it is too runny, add a little more so you can shape into a patty)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Parchment paper
Method

Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside off of the heat for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and set aside to let cool.
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa with onion, garlic, carrots, spinach or zucchini, zest, flour or pancake mix, baking powder, egg, salt and pepper. Form mixture into eight patties and pan fry to brown on each side, a minute or two.Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or place on a grill. Bake or grill, flipping halfway through, until lightly browned and just crisp, about 25 minutes in the oven, a little less on the grill. Serve with a creamy sauce like mayo mixed with chili sauce, tahini sauce, edamame dip or beet dip found on the Take Back the Kitchen blog.

For more great recipes from Alma Schneider, visit her at Take Back the Kitchen.

If you're home this Wednesday, hope you'll have time to watch and tweet with us. Make sure you follow @Rolemommy @TheTalk_CBS and enter the hashtags #TheTalk #WhatsUpWednesdays and you'll be good to go.

In fact, here's a cheat tweet if you'd like to share with virtual friends!

Join the conversation with @TheTalk_CBS this Wed. at 2 PM,ET! See you on May 2nd for our 1st #What'sUpWednesday #TheTalk live tweet up!

Hope to Tweet you there!

Take a look...

I recently got the chance to meet two of the stars of the film, Emily Blunt and Alison Brie and they confided how they managed to keep it together despite the fact their co-stars oftentimes had them in hysterics.

From a cringeworthy scene where Violet gets shot in the leg with a crossbow, to several improv moments featuring Jason Segel and Chris Pratt that had them rolling on the floor, it's hard to believe Emily and Alison held it together. So how did the they keep a straight face while filming alongside two of the funniest young actors on the planet?
Emily Blunt: We didn't. Alison's a pro. She works on "Community" and she's surrounded by funny people all the time but I have no self control. But Alison out of the whole cast was the best at not breaking and I was by far the worst.

Alison Brie: But when I break it's the worst because I start crying immediately and Emily would look over at me and would say "stop crying, you're always crying."

Guess which scene caused Alison and Emily to completely lose it...

At the beginning of the film, Suzie is a hopeless screw up who gets knocked up after a one night stand with Tom's cheesy best friend (played by the hilarious Chris Pratt), while Violet seems to have the perfect life after Tom proposes to her on a rooftop and the pair have a picture perfect engagement party. But before you know it, Suzie and Violet's roles switch completely. Here's their take on both their characters:
Alison: The entire character changes during the course of the film. Suzie is a disaster but as her life progresses, she becomes more responsible by circumstance.

Emily: Tom and Violet keep getting it wrong and life keeps getting in the way of making things perfect. It's interesting how the dynamic shifts between them.

While Tom's life falls apart after he moves to Michigan and loses himself in tacky sweaters and deer hunting, Violet has finally found a career she loves which inevitably drives a wedge in their relationship. When asked what she thinks can keep a couple together, Emily shared this candid response:
Emily: Life is complicated and it's shape shifting all the time and you have to be able to roll with the punches. Something that I found hard to learn as a British person was communication. It's a word that we all are terrified of in England. I think if you're in a relationship, you have to talk to each other and you have to be forever generous and I think the best relationships that I've seen of my friends and hopefully that I'm in is that you don't clip each other's wings. You have to really empower the other one to be everything they can be.

If you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, then I have the solution - take your partner or your best girlfriends to see "The Five Year Engagement" - it's from the producers of "Bridesmaids" and trust me when I tell you it's the funniest comedy of the season! To find out more about the film visit the official Five Year Engagement website and visit Tom and Violet's hilarious wedding blog.

The Matrix Awards is a ceremony for women who pursue careers in communications - from journalists, to publicists, to broadcasters and actresses, it's the Emmy's mixed with the Pulitzers - it's glamourous and smart - just the way I like it!

What I absolutely love most about this luncheon are the incredible speeches that are given by both the presenters and the attendees. Some of the esteemed presenters included Barbara Walters, Lesley Stahl, Meredith Vieira, Katie Couric and Rocco Dispirito. To me, the most impressive presenter was not a celebrity but Deputy Chief Theresa J. Shortell - one of two Deputy Chiefs in the entire New York police department who introduced Matrix winner Glenn Close. There wasn't star power in the room yesterday but women power. Women who were capable of taking over the world!

Just take a look at some of these inspirational quotes that I captured from the day:

What was so amazing for me was listening to Matrix Award winner Peggy Noonan. Noonan is one of the most prolific speechwriters of our time - crafting some of President Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush's most memorable phrases in history. Watching Peggy Noonan on that stage took me back to the speechwriting class I had taken in college and the required reading was Noonan's book, What I Saw At the Revolution - which I read in 1990. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to write, pursue a masters degree in journalism and become a storyteller. Every career experience I have had in my life has made me what I am today. I'm still growing and have a lot more things I'd like to accomplish but seeing all those women gathered together yesterday made me realize that when we work together, we can achieve the unthinkable.

Some more incredible quotes from the day:

Have you ever been inspired by another woman? What piece of advice did she share that you truly took to heart.

Katy's Tilapia Tacos with Red Cabbage slaw:

For the tacos:

4 tortillas, flour or corn
1 cup refried beans or black beans mashed with a fork
1/2 lb tilapia, steamed grilled or baked, salt and pepper to taste

Red Cabbage Slaw:

2 cups shredded red cabbage
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped jicama, peeled
one lime, juice squeezed
salt to taste

For more great recipes from Alma Schneider, visit her at Take Back the Kitchen.

If you and your mom are best friends like I am with mine, then The God Box will resonate with you on so many levels and will move you to tears. Whether you still have your mom in your life, or if she's since passed on, the book will inspire you to not only cherish the time you've had with your mom but also to create a legacy for your family so that they never forget how special she really is.

About the Book...
When Mary Lou Quinlan's beloved mother, Mary Finlayson, dies, her family is left bereft--until Quinlan finds her mother's "God Box," or rather, boxes. These simple containers are stuffed with tiny notes written by Mary, asking and praying for everything from the right flooring for her daughter's new home to a cure for her own blood cancer. Mary's petitions are presented with love and without expectation. Note by note, Quinlan unearths insights into her mother's compassion, faith, and perseverance, and revelations of her innermost thoughts--nostalgic, surprising, and even a bit shocking. And through the journey, the author discovers her own more empathetic, more engaged self--the woman her mother had believed in all along.

The Book Trailer...

Visit Amazon to order The God Box: Sharing My Mother's Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go. Visit www.TheGodBoxProject.com to find out more or chat with Mary Lou Quinlan on Twitter at @GodBoxProject.

Coming soon...an interview with Mary Lou Quinlan.

Although it's technically Spring, it is cold out there in many parts of the country! This comforting Greek dish created by my friend Kara will make you want to just stay home in the warmth and eat all day. It can even be modified for Passover. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Moussaka:

2 sliced medium sized zucchini, brushed with olive oil
2 large sliced eggplant, brushed with olive oil
roast at 350 degrees until wilted, about 20 minutes or more

In a large saucepan, combine:

1/2 cup tomato paste
2 cans chopped tomatoes (15 oz. cans)
3 15 oz. cans chick peas
4 chopped cloves garlic
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS agave syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 tsp salt

Cook for about 20 minutes and then pulse to a coarse mixture.

In a glass pyrex or casserole dish, layer chick pea puree, eggplant, chick pea puree, zucchini and repeat until ingredients run out.

Cook at 400 until mixture begins to bubble, about half hour and then add bechamel on top (recipe below). Let cook until bechamel is golden, about 10 minutes.

Bechamel or White Sauce (1/2 this recipe for the moussaka or save the rest in fridge):
6 TBS butter
4 cups whole milk
4 TBSflour or Matzoh meal if making during Passover
1/4-1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (adjust it to your liking)
1 tsp salt (adjust to your liking with more, a little at a time)
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

In a medium sized sauce pan, heat up the butter over a low flame until melted.
Stir in the flour with a whisk until fully incorporated with the butter.
Slowly add in the milk, whisking all the while.
Keep whisking now over a low to medium flame. Whisk every minute or so until the mixture becomes thick like pudding. This may take about 10-15 minutes.
Add in the nutmeg, salt and pepper and add more of each if you need to.

For more great recipes from Alma Schneider, visit her at Take Back the Kitchen.