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.
Don’t worry so much about what others think of you…be the best you can be! High school is such a small part of the rest of your life!
You are enough: God made you perfectly how he wanted you to be. Purebreds are indeed beautiful, but there is something so special about those scrappy looking unwanted mutts at the pound. Love yourself the way you are, not how you think you should be. The rest will come, or not…
I tweeted
I would tell my 16 year old self to just chill out and not over-think everything. Don’t worry about what others think and just be happy, healthy, and young.
I tweeted!
I would tell myself to lighten up and quit worrying so much. Listen to older, wiser people and laugh at yourself sometimes!
I tweeted! :)
Follow your dreams and don’t be concerned about what other people think and don’t worry about money.
So this contest is what pushed me over the edge to join Pinterest! I plan to use it to organize my online recipe collection (which basically means that I will be repinning all of your recipes!). My first pin was your 2-Minute Apple Cinnamon Peanut Butter recipe… which I am currently eating directly out of the jar ;)
Stay in shape. It’s much easier than trying to get back into it!
I would tell my younger self to try to be less shy, worry less about what people thought and have a good time.
I tweeted @emarion
Dear 16yr old Steph,
don’t worry so much about what magazines and commercials are telling you. Just because they say something is ‘In style’, does not mean it looks good on you! All body types can wear the same clothes and that’s OK, the styles don’t stick around for long anyways.
Live out of love, not fear!
I would tell my 16 year old self to stop worrying about every thing and to just enjoy life. Take chanced, make mistakes and be a kid! It doesn’t matter what you look like and what people think about you, just be yourself.
Love your blog, by the way, I only comment on occasion. But I figured it wouldn’t hurt to be one of 3000 comments…haha! Oh, the things I’d tell my younger self…it’s funny. Even when I was younger, I think I had an old soul. I just turned 27 a few weeks ago, but inside, I feel about 47. Not that I feel old…physically, I feel like I’m 12. But I’ve always been a few years ahead of my time. I’ll go back to highschool. My advice to 17 year old ML…”Don’t be so uptight and worried about getting in trouble or breaking rules. You are responsible, smart, and you have more common sense than most people. Live it up, and take some risks. You’ll still be on top of the world 10 years from now”. Of course, I say I should’ve taken risks…but my conservative responsible teenage years may have steered me in the right direction. Ugh. That was a hard challenge! I wish I was a more misguided youth…then I’d have more advice for me. Eh, at least it made me think. Thanks for the brain teaser, and thanks for sharing a fun giveaway!
don’t change a thing!
learn something new every day!
To be confident in myself. Follow my own intuition.
I would tell the younger me to hold her head up high no matter what…. Life will throw everything it can at you, good and bad, and the only way to make it through is to believe in yourself and have faith that you will make it. Self-confidence is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself.
Question everything. EVERYTHING.