As you all know from my previous blogs, my grandparents came from Turkey to visit almost 3 months ago! (I know, time flies by when you are having fun) It seems like it was only yesterday I was trying to get their paperwork together.

Anyway, we have decided to go for round two of a tour of New York City. Our first round ended quite fast, because my grandmother got car sick. And the weather has been cold for us to go out all this time that they have been in the US. So this time around, my friend Amanda and her mom wanted to take my grandparents out and use their truck. (Sheila (Amanda's mom) thought that since it's a bigger car, the ride would not affect my grandma as much as it did last time. Believe it or not Sheila was right! We drove to the city- grandma sat in the front- got to the city around 2 pm and were there until 10 pm. Grandma was fine the whole time and she enjoyed herself a lot.

We went to the Statue of Liberty, Freedom Tower, South Street Seaport, China Town, Central Park, Empire State Building and Times Square. It was a very tiring day and thank goodness we had a car to get from point A to B with. But overall they had a great time. It is going to be very sad when they leave in less than 2 weeks! 

I have been going camping with my family since I was a little girl. It has always been so much fun and honestly I prefer nature over TV, gaming, and going out. It is just so peaceful and relaxing to get away from all of our electronics.

Summer 2012 was the first year we took our daughter camping. It was such a great experience for my little family to bond with each other and enjoy the outdoors. We made s'mores, kabobs, corn and baked potatoes around a fire. We did plenty of activities including fishing, canoeing, swimming, crafts and just learning about all of nature around us.

I must admit that my husband and I did give in to our daughter watching Netflix on the iPhone; we were too tired by the end of the day to fight it. Check her out below camping 21st century-style in her folding chair. (I can't wait summer camping trip 2013!)

Most people knew Pat Summerall for his iconic voice. After all, the former New York Giants kicker's broadcast career spanned six decades. But Summerall holds a special place in our hearts here at Motivators (and not just because we love football).

In 2008, the broadcaster signed on as a spokesperson for Motivators. Summerall greeted visitors to Motivators.com with that famous voice. "Put your trust in Motivators for quality products, excellent pricing and the highest level of service," he said.

We'll never forget Summerall and his commitment to football, sports broadcasting and the Motivators brand. May he rest in peace.

Now that the warmer weather is here to stay, I am anxiously waiting for this year's hiking trip.

Every year people from my local Infiniti forum take a cruise out to Bear Mountain. The experience of driving in a pack of nice cars, with good people and spectacular scenery, is priceless. Although I am so out of shape, I just hope my body can handle the trek up to the summit.

I won't forget to bring my custom outdoor equipment. I will be sure to have my binocular with me to look at the beautiful landscape. Now to start working out to get fit before the big day.

This past weekend, was quite adventurous. I dropped by a friend's house while on my way to NJ for a few minutes on Saturday afternoon. While on my way out, my husband and I noticed a little boy on a bike across the street crying and yelling "help me!" Immediately, we went over to him to see what was wrong. Crying hysterically, he explained that he was following his dad on his bike but had lost him and did not know which way to go.

After looking around for a while, we realized there was no one on a bike anywhere nearby. My husband even drove around in his car in the surrounding streets to see if he could find anything - but no luck! I stayed with the little boy, Nikki, the whole time in hopes that someone would come looking for him, but there was no one. I tried talking to the little boy in between his hysterical crying. I tried calming him down to see if he knew any phone numbers that we could call, but being that he was only 7, he did not have any numbers memorized. He did know his home address however. Immediately, I did a reverse lookup of the address online and verified the name the little boy gave me and confirmed it was his house. My husband plugged in the address into his GPS and decided to drive by the house to see if he would run into anyone. After he got there, he called me to tell me there was a bike in the front yard, but no one home and no cars in the driveway. Just as he was about to hang up the phone, a woman approached him to see what he was doing around the house. It was Nikki's mom! After explaining the situation, she immediately jumped in her car with a friend and followed my husband to where we were.

Obviously the mom was very scared and crying hysterically, hugging her son tightly when they were reunited. She repeatedly thanked us and gave us tight hugs as well. Apparently her son had been lost for a few hours and the police were out looking for him, along with the entire family and neighbors. Luckily we were there to see the little boy cry for help and were able to reunite him with his family. After seeing how emotional the mom and son both were, it brought tears to my eyes to see a happy ending and I am glad I was able to help.

Being involved in such a situation, it got me to think about how important it is for children to have some sort of ID tags on them at all times in case they get lost or need an emergency contact. Even though children are taught their home addresses and phone numbers as early as possible at school, not all children are able to memorize so many numbers. After all, it is not just a home number we have to think about anymore. Nowadays, almost all members of the family have their own individual cell phone, along with the home phones and work phones. Just so much to memorize! That is why when I saw this ID tag for children online, I thought it was brilliant and essential for all parents to get for their children. 

Life has been good to Alicia Keys over the past year, and now the singer is ready to give back.

On Monday, the Grammy Award-winning artist flew to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of an HIV program at United Medical Center. According to the AP, the women opened up to Keys, sharing "their experiences with the virus, including the fear and stigma associated with the disease."

Keys, who has met with women with HIV across the world, says it's time to connect conversations about the virus, both here and abroad. With the help of the Kaiser Family Foundation, Keys supports "Empowered," a campaign that aims to raise awareness about HIV, especially among women. "Empowered" also provides funding to community-based organizations with the same goal. 

Way to go, Alicia! We love that you're part of such an important awareness initiative.

P.S. I couldn't help but notice that the 'Empowered' logo would look great on a custom printed pen. Just sayin'!

Today we take a moment out from talking about all of the things that bring us joy and happiness on this blog and send our thoughts and prayers out to those affected by the tragedy that occured today in Boston. 

After 2pm today, Patriot's Day, the Boston Marathon was horrifically interupted by two major explosions by the finish line of this world famous race. Runners and onlookers alike were injured and immediate panic set in. 

In moments of tragedy, Americans come together and unite to help those in need. Today all of us here at Motivators have those affected by today's tragedy in our hearts and minds.

New York and Boston, two cities known for their rivalry. Today, all of us -- New Yorkers included -- send our love and thoughts to Boston. Myself and all of my colleagues certainly wish everyone affected the best.

Thanks, Motivators, for my beautiful wedding favors! After much debate about what to order and how to do the imprint and what kind of logo to use, Matt and I finally decided on travel coffee mugs with a full wrap. I'm happy to report that they came out perfectly.

We chose travel mugs because now that Keurig machines have become so popular, more and more people are bringing coffee into work with them instead of buying coffee on the way to work. Plus, travel mugs are eco-friendly and good for things like tea and water as well. These particular mugs are beautiful (I may be slightly biased...) so that's an added bonus too.

I can't wait to see what our family and friends think of them... in about two and a half months (eek!).

For years now my dad and I have talked about getting motorcycles so we can cruise the back roads of Pennsylvania. For the past month he began getting serious about it and talked to several people on Long Island. Finally he made the big leap this past weekend.

On Saturday I tagged along and checked out one of my favorite bikes, the Honda Shadow. On Sunday we had the beautiful candy red bike delivered to our house. I was in charge of the paperwork and whipped my out my favorite promotional pen, the promotional eco-friendly gel pen to make it official!

My pops loaded it on the trailer and headed back off into the distance to enjoy his new toy!

Did you know that over the past three years, approximately 500,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs were created? Sure, the American economy still isn't what it used to be, but an increase in products made in the USA is a trend that can only help.

Time reports that some of our nation's most successful companies have jumped on board:

"Apple, famous for the city-size factories in China that produce its gadgets, decided to assemble one of its Mac computer lines in the U.S. Walmart, which pioneered global sourcing to find the lowest-priced goods for customers, said it would pump up spending with American suppliers by $50 billion over the next decade — and save money by doing so. And Airbus will build JetBlue’s new jets in Alabama."

Not too shabby. And if the trend continues, America certainly could make an impressive comeback. According to Time, for every $1 of manufacturing activity, the American economy gets $1.48 in return. That's amazing.

Buying U.S-made is easier than you think, too. In fact, Motivators offers a vast selection of promotional products made in the USA, which includes everything from promotional diaries to mugs.