Totally Together Reviews

BlackBerry Style Review and Give Away

2011-01-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and BlackBerry.

The contest has now ended. Thank you so much to all who entered. Winners will be notified by a BlogHer employee via email.
THANK YOU!

This is a compensated post. I was given a BlackBerry Style (with free service for 2 months) and paid for my time to test the phone and write a review.

I really like my job. Everyday I pinch myself that I get to stay home with my children and earn money (in my pajamas!) by writing about things I want to write about.

It's pretty sweet. I'd highly recommend it.

Because I do my work on the internet, I try to stay away from it when I'm not at home. I haven't purchased a Smart Phone, and truly enjoy the time I have outside of the house--- when I'm not plugged in.

I don't want to be reminded that I have 158 unread email when I'm at the park, or at gymnastics, or on a run, or while folding laundry during a Real Housewives of NY marathon.

But *everyone* has a Smart Phone these days, and I can't lie: I sort of wanted to give the whole thing a try.

Because of this, I quickly agreed to test out the new BlackBerry Style when BlogHer asked if I was interested. When the box came, I unpacked it and plugged it in to charge up high, away from the baby. When the light alerted me the phone was fully charged, I began pushing buttons to try and figure out my new number and place a call. Now this is where I need to come clean: I HATE READING INSTRUCTION MANUALS.

hate hate hate hate hate instruction manuals.

This is why I like my crockpot(s) so much. I plug them in, push a button or two, then walk away. I don't want to download a manual, or watch a DVD or YouTube video in order to figure something out. I get it that I'm pigheaded. I get it that manuals are written for a reason, not everything is as easy as a crockpot, etc etc etc. I get it.

But it's who I am, and Dr. Phil says that I should embrace who I am. so there you go. It took me a while to find the instruction manual, and when I did, it was straightforward and I figured all the features and bells and whistles out. And there are a lot!
I can make calls (and the calls don't drop! and I'm in the Bay Area and I'm constantly being hung up on by my friends who have that other phone). I can access all 4 of my email accounts. I can go on twitter, I can finally text people, and I can google things. super cool.

I do find the buttons a bit small for my liking, but maybe I have abnormally large fingers. I'm not sure.

I love the feel of the touchpad button for navigation. It works really well for moving from one application to another. The picture-taking feature works wonderfully. I've never been able to take photos from my phone before---this is great for sending pictures of the kids to Adam when he's at work. I always worry he's missing out on things.

As much as I liked all the bells and whistles, I'm just not sure I’m ready to be a SmartPhone girl. Maybe I was born in the wrong decade, I don't know. I hate seeing people walk the streets with their heads down because they're too busy playing with their phones. I don't want to be that person.

I'm scared that the need to "just check one thing" when out and about would get out of control. For right now, my job just isn't that important---if someone really needs to get ahold of me, they can by calling my (terribly outdated and archaic) cell.

BUT!

That doesn't mean that YOU aren’t ready for a SmartPhone! You might desperately need or want a new BlackBerry Style (it's very pretty).

good news! I've got 2 brand-new factory-sealed BlackBerry Styles on the Sprint Network to give away via a random draw.

Interested? You should be! HOW DO YOU WIN?

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.

The Official Rules are available Here

For more information, please Visit the Official site

THERE ARE MORE CHANCES TO WIN! Visit the Exclusive Offers section

good luck!!!

week 4 (out of 4) $100 Olay Visa Gift Card Give Away

2010-12-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Olay.

The contest is now over. Thank you so much to all who entered. A rep from BlogHer will select a winner randomly and contact via email.
Have a fantastic New Year!

Good Morning! It's the week before Christmas, and all through the house:

eh. I'm too tired to rhyme.

Today is the first day of Winter Break, and I'm so happy to have the kids home with me. I hate how much time they're away during a typical school day. Today we're staying in pajamas, watching a Santa Claus(e) movie marathon, and doing puzzles. It'll be lovely.

Right around 2:15 everyone will start shouting and I'll threaten to cancel Christmas.

because we're completely normal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's the 4th week in a row I'm giving out a $100 Visa gift card thanks to the generosity of Olay. I've been using the Total Effects for over a month now, and I'm actually surprised that the bottle hasn't run out. It's not even sneezing yet!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I recently shared on the Totally Together site my daily morning routine. I cram a lot into my mornings, because I seem to have the most energy before 11 am, and like to accomplish a bunch before slacking off the rest of the day.

On a typical weekday, my mornings look something like this:

somewhere between 4 and 5, I’m up with the baby. I always always always have a mental battle about getting up for the day or climbing back into bed. 96% of the time I climb back in bed.

6am alarm goes off for Adam; I usually get up about 6:15 and make the bed quickly so I don’t get back in. :-) I do a quick master bathroom wipedown and gather laundry to start.

6:25 baby usually up by now, so I change and feed her. Big kids usually get up around now, too

6:30 Adam starts coffee and empties dishwasher. Big kids get breakfast—usually yogurt and fruit, rice cake with PB or cream cheese, or cereal

6:45 big kids get dressed, make beds, tidy rooms. I help if need-be, or stick to baby-wrangling

7:00 I put baby in highchair, feed her something and usually have a ricecake with peanut butter or something similar with my coffee

7:15 sometimes I get dressed now, or I start on big kid lunches

7:30 my grandma arrives to help with the baby. I use this time to finish getting dressed, clean the kitchen dishes, finish kid lunches. I’ll flip the laundry if it’s done with the wash cycle

the halfhour between 7:30 and 8 are a blur—the kids let the guinea pigs out (they have an outdoor run) and feed them, the baby poops around now and needs changing, I feed her again. If I’m waiting for an important email I’ll quickly scan the subject lines, otherwise I try hard to not succumb to the temptation to get online.

Grandma listens to the kids read outloud, play instruments, or something along those lines. I’m not really “in charge” right now, Grandma is.

8:00 leave to take big kids to school; Grandma stays with the baby

8:25 I’m back, feed baby, change her and get her ready for a nap. I have coffee with Grandma

9:00 Baby goes down for AM nap, and Grandma leaves. I start work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In 2008, when I did my yearlong crockpot challenge, I was working full time from home. I ran the calendar section for Bay Area Parent, and worked 4-5 hours a day for BlogHerads.com. In order to get my professional work done, and still juggle the demands of cooking and posting daily on the crockpot site, along with keeping the kids and Adam happy, I got up every day at 4am. It was nutty, but I found I treasured the alone time I had in a quiet house. It was me and the coffee pot from 4-6am, and I got into a fun little rhythm each day.

Sometimes I did what I called a “split-shift” and went to bed at 8pm, then got up to work from midnight to 4am. I found this middle of the night work really exhilarating---my brain was buzzed and I had a heightened state of awareness.

I am not sure how I made it.

I find it fascinating how your body responds when it’s pushed to it’s limit. Although I know I was tired during this time, I physically felt great, and even trained and completed a half-marathon. I’m sure I LOOKED tired though. I wish Olay Total Effects had been invented!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

stuff I have to include:

Feel like your moisturizer’s fresh feeling can’t last all day? New Olay Total Effects Cooling Hydration instantly cools and leaves skin with a moisturized fresh feeling that lasts from morning to night. The lightweight formula also fights 7 signs of aging for younger looking skin. For more information visit https://www.olay.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So there you go. I try really hard to cram a lot in during those wee morning hours. What’s your morning look like? Are you more active in the early morning, or late at night?

Write your answer below and I’ll enter you in a $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway (pretty much the same as CASH! woo hoo!)

Leave a valid email address so I can contact you. I’m not farming your email addresses, nor am I sharing them with BlogHer or Olay. When the contest ends, I’ll delete them all. I promise.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) Read the official rules for an alternate form of entry.

This contest will end on Monday, December 27 at 5pm pacific. Good luck to all and have a very Merry Christmas!

Week 3! of reading about my skin! and about Olay! and a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card! (3 out of 4)

2010-12-13T04:44:00.000-08:00

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Olay.

(public domain clipart image)

The contest has now ended. Thank you to all who entered! The winner will be notified via email from a BlogHer representative.

This is the third week that I’ve been using the Olay Total Effects 7 in 1 Anti Aging Moisturizer.

I feel pretty good! I’m happy with the way my skin looks and my friend Georgia, NO LIE, said I looked really healthy yesterday.

she then swore at me, but that’s okay. That’s what good friends do.

I just had my birthday, right before Thanksgiving. I turned 34 this year. My children have decided that I am now officially : Medium.

Which is better than Old.? Right?

I’ll take it.

According to the kids, MEDIUM extends all the way until 60.

I’m sorry mom.

The one thing I’m definitely noticing about having a baby in my almost-mid-thirties instead of my twenties, is that I’m SO MUCH MORE TIRED. As I wrote in my first post, I don’t really have an excuse for this. The baby sleeps fine, I just seem to jerk awake willy-nilly throughout the night.

I exercise (pretty much. 3 out of 5 days? 2 1/2 out of 6 days?) daily, I’ve cut out excess alcohol and sugar (except for this past weekend because it's Christmas party season, and it wouldn't be polite to just sit there. and I'm an awfully polite person), and for the LOVE OF MOTHER NATURE I will not give up caffeine, so I’m just going to have to suck it up.

The good thing is my skin looks pretty gosh darn good, if I do say so myself.

And I do!

(public domain clipart image)

stuff I have to include:

What about you? On a normal day do you wake up feeling refreshed? Do you need caffeine to get started in your day? Have you tried cutting out sugar or alcohol? Are you ready to take drastic measures and eat only raw foods?

Write your answer below and I’ll enter you in a $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway (pretty much the same as CASH! woo hoo!)

Leave a valid email address so I can contact you. I’m not farming your email addresses, nor am I sharing them with BlogHer or Olay. When the contest ends, I’ll delete them all. I promise.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

This contest will end Monday, December 20 at 5pm Pacific.

good luck! oxox

Olay 7 in 1 Anti-Aging Moisturizer and Visa Gift Card giveaway (post 2 of 4)

2010-12-06T05:12:00.000-08:00

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Olay.

This contest is now over. Thank you to all who entered. The winner will be contacted via email from BlogHer. Happy Holidays! xoox

I am not a very girly girl. I really wish I was sometimes, just so I could bond with my friends when they begin talking about the newest and greatest product, or where to get the best facial or massage in town.

I get haircuts about twice a year. I do like manicures and pedicures, but usually only get them if I’m doing a big event—so less than six times a year.

I do most of my clothes shopping online, or at the mall at a store that rhymes with Darget.

I usually don’t try clothes on first. I just bring them home.

I’m not very picky—I figure if things fit okay and I’m somewhat presentable, I’m good to go.

I seem to have pretty normal skin. Before having kids I’d get breakouts here and there, but nothing to be terribly upset about. I did order that sort-of-famous skin stuff off the TV when it was popular to do so, but found it dried my skin terribly and I canceled the subscription (and the subscription thing seemed like a big scam).

I do wear a bit of daily makeup. I rarely leave the house without a touch of concealer under my eyes, some mascara, and a bit of lip gloss. And while I promise I brush my hair daily, I only blow-dry it about once a month (if that).

I don’t really have a reason for the way I am. I’m definitely frugal, but I think it really stems from an overall lack of interest. I’m just not interested (right now) in taking the time to indulge in a beauty routine. I like the way I look. Adam seems happy, the kids don’t appear embarrassed, and I stopped biting my nails (mostly. I still spread DNA throughout the house when I’m on a tight deadline and feel nervous) so now my mom is happy.

So when Olay sent me their new 7 in 1 Anti-Aging Moisturizer, it was kind of neat. I think (scratch that. I KNOW) I wouldn’t have taken the time to go to a store, or even order it online unless they sent me it to try.

But I’m glad it’s here. I like it. I think I’m going to continue to use it, and I’m thrilled that I can just order it through Amazon, because to me shopping in my jammies is the ultimate in luxury.

I really liked reading your comments last week about what you do to keep your skin looking fresh. Most (practically all!) of you credit younger looking skin to drinking water (I need to up that, most definitely), exercise, proper diet, and sleep.

That's fantastic. I can do that! WE can do that!

stuff I have to include:

What about you? What’s your daily beauty routine like? Are you a girly girl? Answer in the comment section for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card (pretty much the same as CASH, woo hoo!).

Leave a valid email address so I can contact you. I’m not farming your email addresses, nor am I sharing them with BlogHer or Olay. When the contest ends, I’ll delete them all. I promise.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.

d) Please see BlogHer.com for a complete list of rules

You have 1 week to win this particular gift card, but I have 2 more in the weeks to come. Please visit BlogHer.com for the complete list of bloggers giving away giftcards---there are so many chances to win! Lots of Visa $$ for everyone!

This contest ends on Monday, December 13 at 5pm pacific

good luck!

Olay 7 in 1 Anti-Aging Moisturizer review and Visa Gift Card giveaway (post 1 of 4)

2010-11-29T09:01:00.000-08:00

This contest is now over. Thank you to all 509 entries. The winner has been selected and will be contacted by BlogHer. There are 3 more Visa giftcards on the way, though!

Thank you. oxox

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Olay. I was given a product sample, and paid for my time to write and conduct the giveaway.

I have three children, ages nine, six, and almost-eleven months. They are all girls.

On a regular night I’m up between three and five times. I don’t mean this to happen---the baby sleeps really well---it’s not her, it’s me. She usually goes down at 7 pm, gets up at 4 am to eat, then sleeps again until 6 am. I have NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT.

This post isn’t about complaining. Or whining.

It’s about not feeling quite as young as I used to. And that my birthday was last week, and for about a month leading towards my birthday I feel terribly old.

O. L. D.

So when Yvonne asked if I’d like to make a bit of money writing about a new Olay product that was supposed to help me to look and feel younger, I said ohyespleasethankyouverymuch.

Also. One of the dads at school told me I looked tired a few weeks ago. I’m sure he was trying to make conversation, but dude.

STICK TO THE WEATHER.

Seriously.

Anyhow, I opened the FedEx package for the Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Moisturizer, and I’m not going to lie.

I was kind of a tiny bit disappointed.

I wanted more. I wanted a whole slew of bottles and tubes to play with and I wanted velvet boxes or ribbons or something. Something more.

(I know. I was raised correctly, I promise. I should have been immediately thankful and grateful and I wasn’t. It was not my finest three minutes.)

due to this initial twinge of entitlement, it took me a few hours to test it out. After my evening run, I washed my face well (just with hand soap and a washcloth) and smoothed a tiny bit on.

No tingling, no stickiness, no gloppiness, no needing-to-wash-my-hands-afterwards feeling.

I kind of liked it.

It’s only been 3 days that I’ve used the moisturizer regularly, and I while I don’t think I look surprisingly different, I do feel sort of refreshed. My skin looks glowy and kind of moist and dewy (total dweeby thing to say, sorry)—enough so that I’m intrigued to keep it up to see what else might happen.

I also like the price, and since I’m a terrible cheapskate, that’s kind of important to me. I don’t normally put much glop on my face, but if you do, the package says that this one bottle (retailing between $16-20) will do the following:

line minimization
cooling moisturizer
energizes appearance (I see this one right away)
gentle exfoliation
pore refinement
free radical defense
subtle lifting

which is great, because you can clean out your medicine cabinet! I do like things decluttered…

stuff I have to include:

Thanks to Olay, I have a $100 Visa giftcard (pretty much CASH, woo hoo!) to give away to a random commenter.

I’ve got 4 in all, which means you get to hear about my skin for FOUR WHOLE WEEKS!

You are so totally lucky!

To enter the giveaway, write in the comment section your #1 favorite anti-aging secret (for me. I'm taking notes.) Please leave a valid email address so I can contact you. I'm not farming your email addresses, nor am I sharing them with BlogHer or Olay. When the contest ends, I'll delete them all. I promise.

RULES:

1) No duplicate comments, please

2) You may receive 2 total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

-- leaving a comment below

-- blogging about this contest, and leaving a URL in the comment section

-- tweeting about this contest, and leaving a URL to the tweet in the comment section

3) Please read the official rules for an alternate form of entry

4) This contest is for US residents only (I'm sorry. not my rules.), ages 18 and older. 5) The winner will be notified by email, and selected by a random drawing. Please respond within 72 hours, or a new winner will be chosen.

5) Click here for additional blogger Olay reviews---and MORE chances to win!

This contest will end at 5pm Pacific, on DECEMBER 6 (that's a Monday).

Uncommon Goods Giveaway!

2010-11-29T05:13:00.000-08:00

This contest is now over. Thank you to all (308) who entered. Three winners will be chosen randomly and contacted via email.
THANK YOU!!!! xoxo steph

(this is a paid-in-product review. I am going to receive 4 bubble vases from Uncommon Goods for hosting this giveaway. I am going to use these vases for teacher presents.)

I'm done with my Holiday shopping.

Don't get mad. It was REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY easy this year, because not only did I order everything online (except stocking stuff. I did go to the Dollar Tree for that, because where else are you going to get stocking stuff?) I ordered pretty much everything from the same place.

Uncommon Goods.

I found Uncommon Goods through Amazon. I was searching for Fred and Friends products, and was redirected to Uncommon Goods for shipping. I ordered what I wanted (this was back in September), and asked for a catalog.

And then I fell in love.

They have neat things. REALLY neat things. I got pretty much everybody on our list recycled glass items. I bought beer steins, wine goblets, the super-cool bubble glass vase (shown above), and cheese and cracker plates made from a recycled wine bottle (totally cute).

I also bought a soup and sandwich tray because I just couldn't resist. I might have to keep that one.

After bragging about my shopping being complete on twitter, Uncommon Goods contacted me. They asked if I'd like to host a giveaway.

SO HERE YOU GO!

I have 3 of the totally awesome recycled windshield bubble vases to give away to you!

To enter, leave a comment below about your holiday shopping habits. Are you a black friday person? or do you wait for the last minute? Do you have a bunch of people on your list, or are you whittling it down this year?

Please leave a valid email address so I can contact you. I'm not saving email addresses, nor am I sharing them with anyone from Uncommon Goods. When the contest ends, I'll delete them all. I promise.

I will choose winners this Friday, December 3rd at 5pm pacific.

HAPPY CYBER MONDAY! Now get shopping!!

:-)

A Great Big Huge Thanksgiving Giveaway!

2010-11-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

(super cute Turkey found at Viking Quest)

This contest is now over. Winners have now been notified. Thank you SO much to all who entered! More fun stuff is on the way!
have a fantastic Thanksgiving,
steph

Hello there! If I did the math correctly (and that's always questionable, since I was an English major) it looks like we have sixteen days until Thanksgiving.

SIXTEEN!

Raise your hand if you're cooking.

Me! I am!

it looks like I'm cooking for 33. That's the most our teeny-tiny house has ever had for a sit-down meal, but I'm not in complete freak out mode (yet).

Mostly because I'm in denial but also because I've got an arsenal of great help thanks to my friends. I've got some books to give away FOR FREE(!) to help you with your Thanksgiving plans.

I'm going to hold one contest for all the books, and will raffle them off one at a time by picking numbers from the random number picker thingamajig. This means that by leaving a comment you are entering to win any one of the following awesome and spectacular books. You may garner additional entries by tweeting/facebooking/emailing/or blogging about this contest.

(LOL. I used the word "garner" in a sentence..."

anyhow...

FIRST UP: My friend Tricia at Once a Month Mom has compiled an awesome Thanksgiving/Holiday Planner e-book, and has generously supplied THREE for this giveaway. This is an awesome planner. Tricia has worked it out so you can shop, prep, and cook for your holiday meal---for up to 18 people! This isn't a gluten-free meal guide, but is easily adaptable for those adhering to a gluten free diet.

SECOND: Gluten Free Girl and The Chef by Shauna and Daniel Ahern. The Aherns are rockstars in the gluten free community, and revolutionaries for everybody else. Gluten free does not mean boring. Gluten free does not mean bland and tasteless. Shauna and Daniel have produced a beautiful book with extraordinary recipes---1 part memoir, and 2 parts cookbook: this is a must-have for all gluten free folks, and for anyone else who just likes darn good food.

THIRD: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook by Ali and Tom Segersten. I met Ali and Tom in October at BlogHer Food, and was immediately impressed at how low-key and REAL they were. I appreciate how their back-to-basics approach to nutrition and whole-food philosophy is vital for both your body and the planet. Every single one of the 200 recipes are ALL gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. SCORE!

FOURTH: The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. I've given away Elana's book before, and I'm happy to do so again. Elana has perfected the art of using almond flour for her baked goods---this results in VERY moist and decadent desserts---and they're packed with protein and good for you! Elana also demystifies cooking with agave nectar, something I was scared to try before reading her words.

Okay!

This contest will be open until Monday, November 15 at 5pm pacific.

Please leave a valid email address, or sign into Blogger or OpenID or whatever account you have so I can contact you. I am not collecting these email addresses, and I'll delete all the comments once the winners have been selected and identified.

Happy Cooking!

Cuisinart 4-quart Slow Cooker and Make it Fast cookooks winners

2010-10-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the slow cooker and cookbook package giveaway. A huge honking thank you to Cuisinart for hosting this----we appreciate you!

If you were not lucky enough to win, keep an eye on your local store and Amazon.com. Slow cookers go on sale during the fall and winter months!

the winners are (I'll contact you via email):

1) GrowMyOwn

2) Lindsay (last name starts with a B.)

3) Kendra (numbers in email address are 1224)

4) Joy from Hawaii

5) Roxanne and Antonio

Congratulations to the winners, and look for an email from me!

xoxo steph

Cuisinart 4-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker Give Away

2010-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

This contest is now closed. Thank you to all who entered! Winners will be notified via email and announced Monday, October 11.

oh it's so pretty.

And you could have one of your very own!

Every single day someone writes and asks which programmable 4-quart slow cooker I use.

This is it. The Cuisinart PSC-400. Thanks to Cuisinart's generosity I have 5 to give away.

This slow cooker is programmable for up to 24 hours and has high, low, and warm settings. The lid is secure---no gap, and no wobbling.

I've been using this cooker about three times a week for the past nine months.

It rocks.

Would you like one?

What if I throw in a Make it Fast, Cook it Slow cookbook and preorder you the not-yet-released More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow?

sound good?

okay. The contest is open until 9pm pacific on Sunday, October (Crocktober!) 10th.

To enter, please leave a comment below with a valid email address so I can get in touch.

yay! Thank you, Cuisinart!

Win and Play with PowerAde Play!

2010-05-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

June 10, 2010. this contest is now OVER. Thank you so much for all 274 entries! The winner of the $125 Visa Gift Card will be notified via email.
thank you!
xoxo

This is a compensated review by PowerAde Play and BlogHer. I was given POWERADE PLAY to try in my own home, and was paid for my time to write the review. I was not paid to write a positive review and all thoughts written below were my own.

My two big kids are active in sports, specifically soccer and softball. Adam and I think it's important for them to do something physical in their spare time (and our school system no longer has PE, thank-you-so-much-budget cuts...) and we both like the teamwork and camaraderie that happens in organized sports.

Since they are of different ages, and are in different leagues for both of their chosen sports, our family often spends the day at the soccer or softball field. The whole day. Because of this, I usually need to bring along a cooler or bag of snacks and lunches. Since we have allergies, we don't hit up the snack bar all that often. And usually it's closed (thank-you-again budget cuts...).

Even though I've never signed up to be a Team Mom, I'm around an awful lot, and do what I can to support the coaches. Most of the time this means just sitting and watching, and helping with snack distribution.

When I was first approached to write a review for POWERADE PLAY, I hesitated. I'm not a sports drink kind of person, and I rarely let my kids drink regular juice, much less a sweet brightly colored punch drink.

In fact, before I had children of my own, I'd see kids with the bright red or orange or blue faces at the park and think to myself that I would never let my kids drink that kind of stuff. But reality sank in, and I agreed to do the review for the following reasons:

1) There is no high fructose corn syrup. NONE! I read every single bottle, and couldn't find it anywhere.

2) The bottles are 12-ounce size and the entire bottle is only 60 calories. SIXTY!

3) My kids are growing up. I hate it that they are, and I'm tempted to Google how to stop time the way Evie could on Out of This World, but the fact of the matter is they are getting older. And bigger. And they don't want to drink organic 100% juice out of little boxes or pouches in front of their friends on the sports field.

4) The juice is in a bottle, and not in a pouch or box, so it can be re-sealed. I like that the bottles can be tossed into a sports bag or a backpack without leaking colored stick everywhere.

5) Adam plays tennis on the weekend and likes to drink sports drinks along with bottled water when he plays, and I'd rather buy one product only then a few different kinds. We both really like the orange, an awful lot.

So how did they taste?
My children hands-down loved the orange and the blue. We were in charge of snack at softball on Saturday, and they handed out the purple and red juices so they could hoard all of the orange and blue for themselves.

I tried all of the drinks and thought they tasted good, and weren't as sweet and concentrated as that other sports drink. We had quite a few of our little neighborhood friends try this sports drink, since we were given so many bottles.

The only flavor that drew criticism from the kids was the purple. They thought it tasted a bit like medicine (yet they still drank it...?). Weird.

The great big question: Would I buy this?
Yes. I would. I really would. I've already noticed that there are 6-packs at my local Safeway, and last week it was on sale. I'm going to have to turn in my organic hemp and tye-dyed clothing and my California Hippie membership card.

P.S. my friend Lisa just emailed and said her daughters loved the blue, and wanted to know where to buy it. Lisa is just as Hippie as I am/want to be, and this was a big surprise to read.

Now! The fun part! Thanks to PowerAde Play, you have the opportunity to win $125
to spend on your child's team/favorite activity.

There are 9 chances to win $100, and on BlogHer's site, they are giving away $500! Please see BlogHer's roundup page for full details and other opportunities to win.

and these are the official rules.

and this is PowerAde Play's official website.

What about you? Are you a sports drink person? Has becoming a mom changed your "oh I would nevers" mind?

Leave a comment on this post for an opportunity to help your child's team! --no duplicate comments --please sign in to Blogger, or leave a valid email address so I can get ahold of you! this contest ends: June 10, 2010. You have so much time!!

Thank you! xoxo steph

Mother's Day Crock-Pot and Make it Fast Book Give Away!

2010-04-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

This contest is now OVER. Thank you SO MUCH to all 3265 commenters!

The winners, Kimberly, Kelly, Christian, Sarah, and Leanne have been contacted. Congratulations!

Happy almost-Mother's Day!

In honor of this fantastic holiday where mothers everywhere hopefully get to do nothing (NOTHING. that is WHAT WE WANT. WE WANT TO DO NOTHING. seriously.) I am happy to announce that Crock-Pot is giving away 5 of their new designer series smart set slow cookers.
(it's very pretty.)

5!

This Crock-Pot:

--6 quarts--great size for a family
--removable, dishwasher safe insert
--one touch control panel with Smart Technology (4 pre-set time settings)
--shifts to warm automatically when cooking time has elapsed
--beautiful polished finish
--retails for $69.99 and is available at Sam's Club and Amazon

and because I happen to have written the very best slow cooker cook book of all time (it's true. I have. :-0 ) I will give a signed copy of Make it Fast, Cook it Slow to each of the lucky winners.

This contest will run until Wednesday, April 21st at 5pm pacific. Then I'll use the random number thingamabob (technical term) to pick the 5 winners who will be notified by email.

Please sign into blogger or leave a valid email address, or I can't contact you!

xoxo steph

Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook Give-Away!

2009-12-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

This contest is now closed. Thank you to all who entered! Winners have been contacted, and the books are on their way! --steph

The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook came out this summer and it's superb. Written by Elana Amsterdam, this cookbook walks readers through the steps of baking with Almond Flour---a naturally gluten free flour which creates a moist, savory, buttery texture when used for baking.

And it rises! and it doesn't crumble! and you don't need binders such as xanthum gum! or different bags of potato starch! or rice flour!

This cookbook also explains how cooking with almond flour and with a sugar substitute (Elana recommends agave nectar) creates food low on the glycemic index----fantastic for those watching their sugar intake, or for those who really should but don't because they think the food is going to turnout tasteless.

This is some good food. REALLY good food.

The kids and I are going to make gingerbread men this weekend, and are using Elana's recipe. We're excited!

Elana has generously offered to give away 2! of her beautiful cookbooks to my readers.

To enter for a chance to win, please leave a comment with a valid email address (DOT COM code is fine, of course, and I'm not going to share your email with anyone, and I will delete all comments when the contest has run it's course.) and share what you would like to make from Elana's book.

will it be the:

perfect pie crust?
cinnamon coffee cake?
gingerbread men?
fish sticks?
cheese crackers?
matzo ball soup?
pistachio chicken?
chocolate velvet torte?
olive-rosemary bread?
chocolate chip scones?

there are many more recipes in the book----but these are the ones I've dog-eared!

You can gain additional entries by blogging, tweeting, or facebooking about this giveaway with a link in the comment section.

This contest will run until Sunday, December 20, 5pm pacific. I will choose winners via the random number thingamabob.

good luck, and thank you for entering!

Tassimo Hot Beverage System Review and Give-Away!

2009-12-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Tassimo.

This contest is now over. It was supposed to end at 5pm, but I totally blanked and am ending it at 6pm 12/31/09. Happy New Year! The winner has been notified. Thank you to all 1188 who entered!

How would you like to have an absolutely PERFECT cup of coffee or mixed espresso drink without having to grind beans, do any measuring, or steam any milk? The Tassimo will make you your perfect coffee-house quality drink when ever you’d like and you don’t need to ever leave the house. Or your office. Or your pajamas.

And it is SO EASY. I’m not much on fancy kitchen gadgets. I like my slow cookers (duh), and we do own a great blender and food processor (given as gifts, thankfully, because I’m also terribly cheap), but for the most part I’m a pretty simple person, and I get overwhelmed easily if things require me to read instruction manuals or if too much work is involved in set-up or clean-up.

But this is easy. The Tassimo just needs a little plastic disk-thingy that comes already full of everything you need to make that perfect cup of coffee or espresso drink.

There are a variety of flavors available, including a Chai Tea latte and a hot chocolate. We were lucky to be given a Starbucks coffee to test, hot chocolate, and a latte. I haven’t opened the Chai Tea latte because neither Adam or I like tea. My mother-in-law loves the stuff, though, so I’m happy to have some on hand for when she’s over.

The kids really enjoyed the hot chocolate, and Adam and I both have had a few cups of the Starbucks Verona coffee, and my mom was over to try some, too---it’s delicious! It was really neat to test out the latte, and I liked how simple it was to make such an involved drink. No measuring or steaming or stirring needed!

Our coffee system also came with a water filtration kit, so I know that every cup that’s made is with freshly-purified water.

This is a fast machine. It gets right up to temp quick, and your cup of coffee is ready way before your toast pops out of the toaster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The super best part of the Tassimo, is that I’ve got one for YOU!

Here’s the full details of what the Tassimo Hot Beverage System includes.

To enter, please leave a comment below and tell me and Tassimo how a new Tassimo Hot Beverage System would help you in your home or office.

Please leave a valid email address (okay to write in DOT COM code. I’m going to delete all comments once a winner is picked, and am not sharing your email addresses with anyone at either Tassimo or BlogHer).

Rules:

No duplicate comments.
You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
This giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
Please see the official rules here.

The contest will end 12/31/2009 at 5pm pacific. I will pick a winner via a random number generator.

This is not the only opportunity to win! Please visit BlogHer’s round-up page for all 8 chances to win!

Good luck to all, and thank you so much for reading and entering.

$5 Dinner Mom Cook Book Give-Away!

2009-12-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

Updated 1/01/10, 5pm pacific: This contest is now over. Thank you so much to all 607 entries! Winners have been contacted via email.
Happy New Year!
xoxo steph

My friend, Erin Chase's new book: The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook comes out this December 22, and I'm so excited.

This book has 200 recipes that Erin made for her family of 4, all for $5 and UNDER.

ALL OF THEM!

She has stove top, oven, and even slow cooker meals. The ingredients are easy to come by, and Erin teaches readers how to best utilize store circulars and fliers and which coupons are worth saving and clipping. She also gives insider secrets on how to find the best coupons online and which stores will double the discounts.

This is such a valuable resource, and quite frugally priced! The book comes out this December 22, and will be in bookstores everywhere, although you can pre-order now on Amazon.com. Since Amazon has been so on-the-ball this year with shipping, I'd venture to guess you could pre-order and have the book delivered directly to your recipient in time for Christmas on the 25th, if you are still looking for last-minute gifts.

This book is also a FABULOUS New Year's Resolution gift, since many of us right now are thinking of trimming costs this upcoming New Year. There's no easier way to trim your budget than to meal plan and shop frugally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erin and her publisher, St. Martin's Press, have generously agreed to give away THREE of her brand new books to my readers. This contest is open to anyone in the US and Canada (yay, Canadians!)

To enter, please let Erin and I know what your favorite "cheap" dinner is---if you have a favorite post or recipe, it's fine to link to it!

Please enter to win only once, but you can gain additional entries by tweeting, facebooking, or blogging about this giveaway.

Please leave a valid email address in your comment, or make sure your Blogger ID has your current email address (DOT COM code is fine). I will delete all comments after the contest has run it's course, and I am not sharing your email addresses with St. Martin's Press, or anyone else. I promise.

I will pick a winner from the Random Number Generator thingy on January 1, 2010, 5pm.

good luck!

HP TouchSmart Computer Review and Give-Away!

2009-12-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

The contest is now over. Thank you to all who entered! The winner has been notified via email. I hope to have more fun reviews and give-aways posted in the upcoming year.

Happy 2010!

this is a compensated review by BlogHer and HP.

Have you seen one of these? I had not, until one arrived on my doorstep last week, but now I am seeing the ads everywhere---it must be like when you’re looking for a new car and suddenly the car you’ve decided to look into is all over the place.

Anyway, the HP TouchSmart 600 is One. Neat. Computer. and I can’t believe that our family has one to play with. It works just like a traditional computer, and has anything and everything you would possibly need in a desktop, but with the added bonus of ALL of these great additions:

--Touch Screen technology (you can use your finger as a mouse!)

--Super large 23” flat-screen monitor (that can be wall-mountable!)

--the ability to use as a Television, DVR, and DVD/Blue Ray player

--You can TALK to it, using a Blue Tooth (so super cool)

--Webcam

--Wireless keyboard and mouse that can be used up to 30 feet away

--ONE plug. That’s it! and no computer tower, which I love. It’s so clean-looking!

If you’d like more information about all the bells and whistles the HP TouchSmart 600 offers, here is the official information from HP’s website.

We’ve decided to put our brand new HP TouchSmart 600 in the kids’ playroom/homework room, where my everyday desktop currently lives (in an armoire. because it’s ugly.) I love how slim the monitor is, and that I can easily move it back towards the end of the homework table when the kids are doing their homework. As of right now, we are mostly using the Touch Smart as a way for the girls to access the Internet (limited thus far to starfall.com and poptropica.com) and to play chess.

The already-loaded HP chess game is fantastic-- I’ve never seen a better computerized chess tutor.

Adam is excited to learn more about the photo organization software (included) and the music library (included). I’m excited that he and the girls are so excited and are spending so much time playing together and fooling around with all of the programs.

Thank you so much, HP, for bringing Christmas to our home a bit early. This is a wonderful family gift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HP has generously agreed to give away the exact same Touch Smart to one of my readers, and I’m so happy to share this fantastic prize with one other lucky person/family.

Here are the rules:

To enter, please leave a comment below and tell me and HP how a new TouchSmart 600 would benefit you and your family.

No duplicate comments.

You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.

You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.

This giveaway is open to US Residents, aged 18 and older. (I'm so sorry Canadians and others!)

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.

You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Please see the official rules here.

There are other opportunities to win at BlogHer.com, so make sure to enter all the contests!

The contest will run until December 24, 2009 at 5pm pacific.

Thank you so much for your entries, and good luck!

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and HP.

$200 Best Buy Gift Card Give-Away Winner

2009-11-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to announce that we have chosen, at random, a winner in the Best Buy gift card give-away!

The winner has been selected through a random number generator and has been contacted.

Thank you to all 3179 participants who entered, and stay tuned, hopefully I'll have more good stuff to give away soon.

Samsung Stainless Steel French Door Refrigerator Review and $200 Best Buy Gift Card Give-Away

2009-09-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

November 15, 5pm: The Contest is now OVER. Thank you to all 3179 people who entered. The winner will be picked through a random number generator and will be posted tomorrow, November 16, and will be contacted via email.

Thank you so much for all of your entries!

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Samsung Home Appliances

I was given a new refrigerator. For FREE.

I still can't quite believe it.

About a month ago, I received an email asking if I would be interested in a new Samsung appliance. I could choose between a washer/dryer set up, or a stove top/microwave combo or a SHINY AND NEW (did I mention shiny?!) stainless steel french door refrigerator.

I picked the refrigerator.

It was a good choice.

I received a bunch of Best Buy gift cards to cover the cost, installation, and extended warranty of our new (and shiny!) fridge, and our whole family piled into the mini-van to go spend other people's money.

spending other people's money is much more fun than spending your own.

much more.

This is Matt. Matt was our Best Buy sales person guy, and he rocked.

I didn't know until this visit that the people working at Best Buy aren't paid on commission, and Matt ended up staying with us for a good 45 minutes answering questions about LCD TVs and pocket-sized digital cameras, and then we got into sort of a heated (yet still fun and good-spirited) debate over whether or not a fancy-schmancy vacuum is worth it (guess what side I was on...).

Our experience was excellent, and I'd go out of my way to shop at Best Buy again. I'm also pleased with the warranty and hold-your-hand troubleshooting options they offer in their warranty packages.

Our new (and shiny!) fridge was delivered about a week later. I was worried about installation, and how the mover people would get such a big appliance through the doorways, but I shouldn't have been. These guys were professional and kept the refrigerator doors off until it was in place, and they were able to navigate through the house just fine---no marred walls or nicks in the paint.

They were gone within 30 minutes, and everything was good to go.

Here's our new fridge, loaded with food: I am blown away at just HOW BIG this fridge is on the inside, yet it isn't imposing in our teeny tiny kitchen. It's 29 cubic feet, and our old side-by-side was 21.8 cubic feet. I thought our old fridge was small, but I never really knew how small until I started loading the new fridge and freezer and had so much room left for more goodies.

I really appreciate how the shelves fold up if you've got a large pan (or slow cooker insert!) to put in, or a tall bottle of champagne or something----those are some really cool features. I also really like the long flat drawer with the divider that we've decided to put all of our salad-making-stuff into. We routinely have little tupperwares of beans or chopped tomatoes, and they just ended up getting lost and forgotten in our old refrigerator.

The freezer with the pull-out drawer concerned me. I didn't know what it would be like, or if I'd like having the freezer down low. I love it. The bottom drawer is big---and can easily fit a few frozen turkeys, something my old freezer couldn't handle. The top pull-out drawer is ideal for frozen meat packages, or cardboard boxed items like waffles, pancakes, and pizza.

The ice and water maker is much better than we had previously----ice doesn't take a million years to make, and the pull-out container for the ice works well. Adam filled the cooler up with the freezer ice yesterday, and by the time he returned from soccer (90 min or so later) it was half-full. This would have taken 2 days with our old set-up.

The last thing I'm going to write about is the alarm. I LOVE THE ALARM. If the kids stand and browse at the fridge too long, a dinging alarm sounds until they close the doors. This is such a wonderful and practical feature. Thank you for adding this, Samsung. It keeps me from screaming from the other room "you're not cooling off the whole house again, are you?" and wakes the kids up when they are day dreaming in front of the open doors (do they really think new food is going to magically appear?)

If you happen to be in the market for a new refrigerator, I highly recommend our new fridge. It is most definitely the nicest piece of furniture we own.

Now, let's have a give-away!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The lovely people at Samsung would like to know which Samsung product would make YOUR life easier?

Your choices include:
Fridge (RFG297AARS)
Microwave OTR (SMH9187ST)
Range Electric (FTQ387LWGX)
Dishwasher (DMR78AHS)
Washer (WF448AAP)
Dryer (DV448AEP)

Leave your answer in the comment section, and 1 lucky commenter will be chosen randomly to win a $200 Best Buy gift certificate (just in time for holiday shopping!)

Please note: you are entering to win a Best Buy gift card for $200, NOT a Samsung appliance. You can use the gift card for anything of your choosing at Best Buy.

Rules (please see here for official rules and further details):

No duplicate comments.

You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.

You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.

This giveaway is open to US-Residents, age 18 and older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail (PLEASE leave a valid email address!!)

You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Contest ends: NOVEMBER 15th at 5pm (you've got a LOT of time!)

But wait, there's more!

You have 8 chances to win---there are other bloggers hosting contests, and all of the details and links are posted on this post at BlogHer.com.

My fingers are crossed for each one of you (and now it's hard to type...)