Happy Halloween!
Before I get to part 1 of the giveaway, I want to share a last-minute Halloween idea.
I present to you: Spooky Shakes…
They are more homely than scary, but let’s just go with it!
I spotted this on Martha and I thought it was a cute idea. To make: all you do is melt a tiny amount of chocolate (about 1-2 tbsp) and then paint chocolate ghost faces on the inside of the glass using the end of a popsicle stick. Easy.
Place the glasses in the freezer or fridge to set the chocolate. For the shake, I blended vegan vanilla ice cream (I love almond or coconut varieties), with a splash of almond milk and some ice, served with a cinnamon stick. You could even make a healthier shake by blending frozen bananas with almond milk. The chocolate faces stay intact thanks to the cold smoothies.
Now, for part 1 of the giveaway…
Today, I’m celebrating YOU – the kick-butt, Green Monster chuggin, recipe-lovin’ Oh She Glows community! On October 31, 2008, I started the blog on a complete whim, not thinking I would ever have the attention span to stick with it, but here I am 4 years later still smashing my head against the keyboard daily and chasing my dreams. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who read the blog each day and my hope is that you find as much inspiration here as I’ve found in all of you.
Now, to celebrate!
1) Blendtec Total Blender & Twister Jar
Blendtec has been gracious enough to donate one of their coveted Total Blender Classic Wildside machines (picture above) valued at $454.95 USD! Whoa baby. I’ve reviewed the Blendtec before on the blog and I can attest that it’s a great machine.
About the blender: “Total Blender Classic Series® is the all-in-one appliance that makes smoothies, fresh juice, ice cream, milkshakes, cappuccinos, margaritas, soups, sauces, bread dough, dressings, salsas, and more! It replaces up to 9 other appliances with one fast easy-to-use machine, at a fraction of the cost. This package includes the new precision tuned 4″ blade in the large nearly 3-quart total capacity BPA-free jar. The new large blade / large jar combination powers through tougher blending tasks and larger recipes with ease, and in less time.”
In addition to the blender, they are also giving away a Twister Jar (shown below) valued at $119.00 USD!
About the Twister Jar: “Blendtec’s newest innovation, the Twister Jar, is designed to blend your thickest recipes such as: Nut Butters, Hummus, Baby Food, Dips, Thick Shakes, Dressings and more! Best of all, it’s compatible with all Blendtec Home Blenders.”
Update: The giveaway winner is….
Thank you for sharing your touching (and often hilarious!) “lessons to my younger self” comments. If you are ever feeling down and need a pick me up, just read through the comments. It’s amazing to see how many of us have struggled with the same life lessons.
The lucky winner of the Blendtec machine is #3659 – Alicia Woulfe! Congrats! I will email you shortly to collect your mailing address. Thanks to everyone for participating!
How To Enter:
Giveway is now closed.
I would tell my 16 year old self that it’s okay to not stick to “the plan” and change what you want to do multiple times. You aren’t defined by anything and you’re not letting yourself down by changing your mind. Figuring out what makes you happy and who you ultimately want to be is a process so don’t be scared to experiment. I am ending with this quote because it’s a perfect summary: “The deepest secret is that life is not a process of discovery, but a process of creation. You are not discovering yourself, but creating yourself anew. Seek not to find out who you are, seek to determine who you want to be.” – Neale Donald
My advice would be to eat way more veggies than sugary foods every day!
I also tweeted the contest :)
I would tell my younger self to appreciate mothers more for all they do. Give them more of a break and all of their advice is good and they do know what they are talking about.
I wish I could go back and tell myself to pursue a nutrition degree. I live every day to read your blog and a few others and wish that I could live that life of going to food/blog conferences and creating in the kitchen and being able to write about (and actually have people listen) the food I have created.
I would tell myself that all your decisions are half-chance anyway, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you make the wrong one. We learn. We grow. We move along.
I would tell my younger self that it is okay to say no not to feel guilty for everything you can’t do!
Wisdom to my younger self – take a looooot of naps. Seriously, you have the time! AND, never ever ever say you are busy. You are not busy. When you have kids, that’s when you’re busy.
There is no ‘failure’. Just learning processes on the road to success.
I believe the term is twitted. But who knows! https://twitter.com/megans_madness/status/264084950482055169
Treat yourself with the same kindness and forgiveness that you do others. Perfection is not only impossible, pursuing it so hard makes you boring. Lighten up! Smile!
I also tweeted!
I would tell my 16 year old self to travel more!
I pinned your homemade twix recipe. Yummy!!
Happy 4th blogiversary! I just tweeted the giveaway! :)
if I could, I would tell my younger self to live more and worry less. I spent too much time in my younger years sweating the small stuff. I wished I would have lived and loved more.
Advice to young Anne: go to college for nursing. You’re going to eventually anyway, and it will be a lot easier at 18 than now at 31. Also don’t waste your time with any of the guys that you think you like – you won’t. Wait for the right one to come to you.
Happy blog-birthday to the best vegan blog!
Advice to my younger self: Follow that dream that you’ve always had. It’s ok to be scared to chase after it…but don’t let that negative, worrying voice in the back of your mind talk you out of it. There is a reason God gave you talent, ambition, a creative mind and the passion to back it up. Go for it and you will not be disappointed.
that little tiny voice inside that’s whispering?
yeah, that one. listen to it. it knows what it’s talking about.
thanks. :-)
Rachael Ann,
You are a good, worthwhile person; fearfully and wonderfully made. Never ever fret about what others may think of you and always love yourself before loving others!