Pioneer Winner!

So I just came in from finally scooping the 6 inches of snow off of my car.  I figured two days of burial under the white stuff was probably enough!  It’s freaking windy out there!  but the skies are clear and bright blue!

Right, so you probably don’t care about that.  Poor Victoria and their one snowstorm of the season. hahaha.  Pick the winner already woman!

Without further ado….

The winner of The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels is…

#3 – Conny from Finding My Happy Place and A Day in the Life of a Rebel

“Snow days...curled up with a book and my laptop in my bed with the door locked so none of my kiddies can find me...who am I kidding?
They always find me. :)”

Congrats Miss Conny!  Send me your mailing info and I’ll get this book off to you the next time I feel like venturing out into the cold, cold air!

Snow Day Giveaway!

So this morning I woke up to the biggest snow storm we’ve had all Winter here in Victoria.  What the heck?!  It was Spring here two days ago.  I saw cherry blossoms, damn you!

Most of the city is taking a snow day, and even though I work at home and snow days don’t really exist for me I still get caught up in the excitement my friends are feeling about staying home with their pj’s, kids, or good books.

I had plans for a giveaway this week anyway, but this just made it seem even more appropriate.  Who wants a good book?!

Not long ago The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, released her new book Black Heels to Tractor Wheels based on her true life love story.  Expanding on the wildly popular serial memoir Confession of a Pioneer Woman, Ree’s memoir covers everything from her giddy twenty-something days dating surfer boys to the night she first met her husband, Marlboro Man, to their hot-and-heavy courtship and wedding. The book picks up where the website leaves off, telling the story of their dream honeymoon in Australia and their first years as a married couple.

The Canadian publishing company sent me a copy of the book, and once I sat down to read it I pretty much didn’t want to put it down.  I read it over the course of three nights and was wishing for a second book in the series!  It’s an incredibly romantic, cute, and hilarious love story!

I know there are a lot of Pioneer Woman fans that read my blog so I asked if I could have another copy of the book for a giveaway and the Canadian publishers were happy to oblige.

So let’s make it easy!  Leave me a comment below telling me your favourite thing to do on an unexpected snow day.  Me, I love to bundle up for a walk in the white stuff, then come home to a hot cup of tea, a cozy blanket and a good book.

One entry per person. I will tally up the entries and choose a random winner this Friday, February 25, 2011 at 12:00 noon PST.  Make sure you leave me a way to contact you!! Contest open to Canadian residents only (sorry y’all). 

Maybe I will read it again after my walk!

Weekend Win

I just returned from a quick overnight visit to see my Mom.  A little relaxation, a little shopping, and a bigass cheeseburger. :) 

As promised I have chosen the winner of my extra bag of Starbucks Christmas Blend.  ***drumroll pleeeeease***

The lucky recipient is…

#30 – Laura from Live well, laugh often, run much. :)

Regarding her favourite Christmas movie Laura wrote:

“I have a lot of favorites...but A Christmas Story is my fav. Partially because when I was home after my 1st yr University, I watched this with my dad...who told me he had a gun like this and found it before Christmas. At 19 it really was a bonding moment for just us.”

What a great holiday anecdote Laura!  Shoot me an email with your address and I’ll send off your beans ASAP. 

As for everyone’s favourite Christmas movies…looks like the classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas wins! How could it not?!

[source]

Second place is tied by A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life and Elf.  I just added Elf to my repertoire last year…and even though it’s not a classic I have watched Love Actually every year since it came out.  Love it. :)

A little something for YOU!

For the first twelve days of December Starbucks is offering up a “12 Days of Sharing” promotion.  Each day there is a different holiday special.  Yesterday’s special was a Buy One Get One deal on Christmas Blend coffee beans…so of course I stopped on by and took advantage of this.

Now I have in my possession two bags of coffee and I thought I would get in on the sharing and offer one up to you guys to say Happy Holidays and thanks for the bloggie support!

So I think a festive little giveaway is in order.  To enter to win this extra bag of caffeine just leave me a comment on this post telling me your favourite Christmas movie.  I will randomly chose a winner on Sunday (Dec-5th) evening when I get back from visiting my Mom.

Open to Canada and US residents (sorry overseas people, I’m footing the postage bill on this one). 

Note: Make sure I have some way of contacting you if you win. If your Google account, etc is private then please leave an email address. 

***CONTEST CLOSED***

We haz a Winner!

Whoops!  When I scheduled the draw time for my nifty little giveaway I totally forgot that I would be at physiotherapy at noon today.  Thankfully no one entered between now and then so no big deal.  :)

It was super fun reading through all of the comments about everyone’s childhood Thermos’.  A few of you also had a Holly Hobby like me but there were tons of other fun ones.  Aw, good times eh?

[photo ‘borrowed’ from online classified ad…no link available]

Well this new Thermos insulated bottle isn’t sporting any cute characters but it’ll keep your water cold and your body hydrated. 

By luck of the draw, the winner is…

[source]

#40 – Liz from Liz Runs DC

Liz and I have been twitter/blog buddies for ages so it’s super fun that she won!  Girlie didn’t tell us what design her Thermos sported as a kid but she did tweet the giveaway love. 

Congrats Liz!!  I’ll email you for address details!

Cold Matters

It’s actually been a couple of months now since the nice folks at Thermos reached out to me and asked if I’d like to test out a couple of their coolio water bottles.  I was swimming in a sea of packing, moving, traveling and unpacking but when I came up for air I was glad to take them up on their offer.  We all know my love of getting #waterlogged and reminding everyone else to drink up too!

At the same time this was all going on Thermos Brand was running a social media frenzy on their cold products, including a fun Twitter Party for #ThermosCold where a panel of Cold Matters Coaches got together with the Twitter world to discuss health, fitness and hydration.  During that chat I actually won another Thermos bottle!

So all in all I received THREE brand spanking new water bottles to test out.  Since I am only one gal, and already own a couple of water bottles that I still like to use I decided to part with two of the three Thermos bottles.

My Mom became the recipient of this awesome Roho Bottle.  She drinks a crazy amount of water, likes to keep it cold, and was going through way too many plastic store-bought bottles of water.

Now she can tote this around in her car without wasting plastic!  I love the leak-proof push-button top, sippy spout and integrated handle…very practical and useable!

I decided to keep the green Intak Bottle for myself because it is durable BPA-free plastic(actually copolyester!) and I love the sippy spout and lockable lid.  Perfect for carting around to yoga without worrying about spillage or making noise with the lid during practice.

This one is also perfect for #waterlogged challenges because it has this great little rotating counter to let me know how many bottles I’ve consumed that day. 

The third (and honestly, the BEST) Thermos bottle is for you guys.  the stainless steel Insulated Hydration Bottle features TherMax double wall vacuum insulation for maximum temperature retention.

Those of you that prefer your water icy cold will love this one.  It also has this tres cool hygienic sipper lid with attached lid.  No more dropping your lids or fumbling during workouts.  Excellent.  Another feature is the sweat-proof design…it won’t leave water rings on your table!

In order to win you can do any of these two things:

1) Leave me a comment telling me what character was on your Thermos as a kid.  I know you had one!  I am fairly certain my soup went to school in a Holly Hobby Thermos.  (Mom, can you confirm that?)  :)

2) Tweet about this giveaway.  Mention @balanceblog (that’s me!) and @ThermosBrand (because they did provide this prize after all!).  Make sure you follow them because they constantly have giveaways and cool information.

Easy peasy, right?

Contest is open to all readers (I’ll be mailing via Canada Post).  One entry per method per person please.  I will use a random number generator to chose the winner on Friday, October 29th, 2010 at 12pm Pacific Standard Time.

Good luck everyone!  Tell all your friends!

Smoothie & a Winner

Happy Friday everyone!  I don't know about you all but I'm kinda stoked for the weekend.  Feeling like I need a recharge over here!

Yesterday was rushed and a bit random, but it did involve a deeeeelish snackie plate lunch...

And awesome pre-workout smoothie....

This involved this...

And a take on this.  Modified to fit what I had on hand. Yes...avocado, banana and coconut do make a delicious protein filled treat.

Group Training involved some more of Tia's favourite hill torture and as I suspected mucho lunges and squats.  Although I should not complain because all of that tushie training does seem to be helping my piriformis pain!

Dinner was a fly-by affair.  I literally ate leftover chicken salad standing over the sink in the kitchen.  I had long lost friends to visit!

In honour of my HoneyBar giveaway, I had to snack on this yummy Nutty Crunch bar too.  I'm totally in love with the bars full of nuts!!

Oh, so I suppose you would like to know who the winner of said giveaway might be???  Hmmmmmmm???  :)

Well fine.  Without further ado… the winner is…

[source]

#15 = Amanda from Get to Goal

She wrote: “I would like to try them all but to name the top ones...Trail Mix, Cranberry Delight, Nutty Apricot...So good sounding!"

Congrats Amanda! Send me your delivery information and I’ll pass it along to the lovely people over at HoneyBar.

 

TGIFriday y'all.  I see a cardio session and a cocktail in my future.  How bout you?

Honey of a Deal

Wow.  Feel free to groan at that title.  Obviously it's been a while since I had to come up with an imaginative title for a giveaway.

Wait.  What was that?  Yes!  The return of the giveaway!! 

After a few busy months and no fun treats to thank you for stopping by I have a great one for you! HoneyBars!

The lovely people at this all natural Canadian snack bar company were kind enough to send me a sample pack of their tasty bars.  I've been enjoying them for about a week and now it's time to share some of the love with you guys!!

They are offering up a variety pack of one dozen assorted bars (and maybe a few coupons!!).

WHAT IS A HONEYBAR?
HoneyBars are great tasting snack bars that just "happen" to be healthy. They combine some of Mother Nature's tastiest ingredients, held together with ONLY honey.

Seriously deeeeelish.  I haven't met a bar I haven't liked yet!

Try some of the original HoneyBars..and maybe some of their Everyone's Organics Bars...or how about a Nutty Crunch Bar.   As always, it's super easy to enter. 

In order to enter to win this great prize you can:

• Visit the HoneyBar website and then leave a comment on THIS post telling me which flavour you think you would like.
• Tweet this: “A Honey of a giveaway! Win a @Honeybar prize pack from @balanceblog: http://bit.ly/cA7779”, then come back and leave another comment here telling me you tweeted.
• (Follow @Honeybar while you are at it!)
• Post a link to this contest on your blog, then come back and leave another comment here telling me about it.  (Make sure you include a link to your post.)
• Do all three things for multiple chances to win!

Contest is open to Canadian and US residents.  One entry per method per person please.  I will use a random number generator to chose the winner on Friday, August 27th, 2010 at 12pm Pacific Standard Time.

Good luck everyone!  Tell all your friends!

Ohhhh…the Winner!!

Woah!  I totally missed the noon deadline for picking a winner for my Vitalicious giveaway!  Good thing no one entered since then!!

Please forgive me as my morning has been busy welcoming Jen and Cat to town and preparing for my weekend guests and weekend fun!  :)

Without further ado… the winner is…

#63 = Crystal from Bye Bye Fat Pants

She wrote: “I really want to try their Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip VitaTops! Chocolate + Peanut Butter = YUM-O in my book!”

Congrats Crystal!  I’m jealous!!  Send me your delivery information and I’ll pass it along to the lovely people over at Vitalicious.

A quick glance at the entries shows me that Crystal was not alone in her wish to try the Fudgy PB Vitatops…seems to me that was the most popular flavour!  Close second goes to Chocolate Mint.  Nom!!!

Superlicious Giveaway!

As luck would have it…the timing of my return to regularly scheduled programming happens to coincide with my monthly giveaway schedule!  I guess this is a bit of a thank you for putting up with my travelling shenanigans.  :)

Quite some time ago I received a fabulous sample package from the lovely people over at Vitalicious.  You’ve seen me post here and there about their tasty, low cal, all natural VitaMuffins and VitaTops.  Well, it’s now time to share some of their snacks with you all!

This is quite a package.  They are offering up one fantastic SuperSampler Pack…it’s amazing!!

Assortment of 100-calorie natural muffin tops and brownies:

4 Low Fat Deep & Velvety VitaBrownies
2 Low Fat Chocolate Mint VitaTops
2 Low Fat Banana Nut VitaTops
2 Low Fat Triple Chocolate Chunk VitaTops
2 Low Fat Deep Chocolate VitaTops
2 Low Fat Fudgy Peanut Butter Chip VitaTops
2 Low Fat Golden Corn VitaTops
2 Low Fat CranBran VitaTops
2 Low Fat AppleBerry VitaTops
2 Low Fat RaisinBran VitaTops
2 Low Fat BlueBran VitaTops

 

I am especially jealous of the VitaBrownies, Banana Nut VitaTops and Chocolate Mint VitaTops.  I haven’t had the opportunity to try those yet…I may just have to order my own!!

Many of these varieties (especially the muffins) are available in your grocer’s freezer…but if you cannot find them, they have an incredible online ordering system with quick and easy delivery.  I foresee a batch of these in my freezer once I get moved and settled back out West.  :)

Anywho…without further ado…as usual, it’s easy to enter!

In order to enter to win this great prize you can:

• Visit the Vitalicious website and then leave a comment on THIS post telling me which flavour you are most interested in trying.
• Tweet this: “A Vitalicious giveaway! Win a @vitamuffin SuperSampler Pack from @balanceblog: http://bit.ly/ajY5VX”, then come back and leave another comment here telling me you tweeted.
• Post a link to this contest on your blog, then come back and leave another comment here telling me about it.  (Make sure you include a link to your post.)
• Do all three things for multiple chances to win!

Contest is open to Canadian and US residents.  One entry per method per person please.  I will use a random number generator to chose the winner on Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 12pm Atlantic Standard Time.

Good luck everyone!  Tell all your friends!

Just Another Wednesday

I guess today is just another hump day.  As opposed to being “the day after Arron left forever”.  Um, since he didn’t leave forever…yet.  Back to business as usual for now.

Yesterday afternoon/evening pretty much fell apart in the healthy thoughts department.  I hadn’t planned any workouts or eats because I thought we were doing the whole sobby airport goodbye situation, and even though we found out pretty early that he wasn’t going I just didn’t have the energy to pull anything together.

I had good intentions.  Snacked on In Snax pita crisps with hummus and cherry tomatoes…

But then started wandering aimlessly about the kitchen after work…eating cookies, drinking chocolate milk, just whatever.  Meh.

Eventually Arron and Mark suggested Chinese take-out.

I may actually be still carrying my Chinese food baby in my belly. 

At least that actually put a stop to the snacking.  Even when the boys broke into the ice cream, I waited and only had a 1/2 cup. 

Anyway…today is a new day.  The emotional roller coaster is back on hold for a week and the sun is shining.  So today is the return to thoughtful, clean eating and taking better care of myself.  (You know, until next Tuesday when we go through this all over again!)

Started the day out right with coffee of course…

And a bigass green smoothie chock full of yummy goodness.

In the KA today: ice, 1/2 frozen banana, 2 HUGE handfuls organic baby spinach, 1/2 scoop Amazing Meal, 1 tbsp natural PB, 2 tsp flax meal, 3/4 cup UVAB.

And water.  Mucho water.  As much water as I can handle.  I think I may have consumed only 3 litres of water in the last five days. 

And…for some more fun today…the winner of my Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery prize pack giveaway!!!

[source]

#37 =  jax553  “I live in London, ON and just found 2 locations where they sell it! I'd love to try them all, but the Squirrelly would be my first choice since I've heard everyone rave about it! :)”

Congrats Jaclyn!!  Shoot me an email with your address for delivery and I’ll get it over to the fine folks at Silver Hills!

And on that note, I think I hear a veggie sammich made on Silver Hills Steady Eddie calling my name from the kitchen. :)

Finding Time

I don’t think I can get on board with TGIF today.  More like HFIFA!! (Holy Fack It’s Friday Already?)!!!  People, I have so much to do!!

Every. single. thing. I have tried to organize for my tax preparation has caused me some annoying time-consuming issue.  Missing papers, missing tax docs, missing passwords.  I swear I had all of this stuff not all that long ago…but poof, gone.  I’m taking my paperwork in today whether it’s complete or not.  I need it off my to-do list!

It’s stuff like this that drive an organized person like myself around the bend.  How do I not have these things?  Blah.

Anywho…when I got up today I went straight for the coffee pot…

haha, what’s new?

And then decided that I needed a protein and energy packed breakfast to help get me through the grump-zone and on with my day.  Immediately I knew it would be a green smoothie of some sort!

Rummaging around in the fridge led me to some light coconut milk…which gave me the bright idea of a Chocolate Coconut Green Smoothie. 

In the KA today: 

• 4 ice cubes
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 2 tsp flax meal
• 1 tbsp coconut
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup UCAB
• 2 huge handfuls organic baby spinach

Totally deeeeelish.  The sugars in the protein powder made up for the unsweetened milks and the chocolate gave it a somewhat malty taste.  This recipe is a keeper in my books.

When lunch rolled around I wasn’t starving and needed something quick, so I broke into the Steady Eddie again for some quick lunchtime toast.  (6 grams of protein per slice…nice!)

Schmeared with light herby cream cheese and topped with cucumbers and tomatoes.  Easy peasy.

Now back to work on my actual job, and hopefully into finding the one main ellusive tax document I need so I can cross this shiz off my list. 

** Don’t forget to enter to win some of the Silver Hills Sprouted Grains breads I’m always raving about!

** And while you are entering contests, head on over to Ali’s blog and see if you can get yourself some free CheeCha swag.  Or don’t…cuz I want it!  :)