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 younger self…. Robin, you are beautiful just the way you are and you don’t have to worry about your future relationships, you will find a man who loves you with all his heart and will always think you are beautiful too. Don’t be afraid to be yourself. Don’t be worried about pleasing others, they don’t care as much about you as they do themselves and what they think others are thinking of them. Just love yourself, love Jesus and love others without expectations!
I would tell myself that I don’t have to define myself through other people’s opinions. Still working on this!
Tweeted the giveaway! What a great one!!
I would tell my younger self not to worry about what other people think. Do what you think is right and live big.
I would tell my younger self to not worry so much about what others think. You are making the best decisions for you at that particulary moment in time. Stay strong and believe in yourself! You will end up exactly where you are meant to be at the right moments. Enjoy the ride…it goes by faster than you expect!
My advice to my younger self would be this: Your “life” isn’t what you own. It is what you live. Jobs and money come and go, learn to live fully but simply, within your means and enjoy every second you have. Also: Eat curry sooner, you’ll love it and cook it all the time once you do.
Thank you for your amazing blog!
My advice to my younger self would be to stop being a bully. It may seem funny then, but you’ll regret hurting those peoples feelings for YEARS. Some of them you’ll get to apologize to later, but some of them you won’t and it will haunt you. Be nice. It’s just better.
Dear Younger Self – I know it smells bad and feels icky, but put on all the sunscreen you can find. You live in South Florida- stop being silly. Sun damage isn’t cute.
I would tell my younger self to not be so caught up in the drama. Life goes forward no matter what and all the stuff you sweated back then, matters no longer!
I also tweeted!
Dear youngerself…..trust yourself!!!!!
I would tell myself, “You are beautiful! Love yourself and all you are!” And…a psych degree is pretty worthless! :)
Dear younger self,
You’ll be happier once you accept that you don’t need to be good at everything, and you don’t need to do everything. Accepting who you are doesn’t mean you can’t still grow and change, but it means you’ll be more content with yourself in the meantime.
Also, I tweeted the contest! And I love your blog! :D
I would tell my younger self…
Find an exercise you really enjoy and STICK WITH IT!
Also:
It’s good that you like a variety of things (art, acting, web design, etc) but you should try to stick with one thing for long enough to become quite good at it. It’s nice to be sort of good at a big variety of things, but it’s really good to be great at a couple things!
And:
Please stop tucking your hair behind your ears! You look silly, you know you look silly and it’s really not that hard of a habit to break, you can do it! ^_^
(and I really love the comment about telling your younger self to save money for a fancy blender! I sure wish I had of done that haha)
I would tell my younger self that life can be lived and enjoyed to the fullest. Don’t hide behind your fears!
Dear younger self,
Please don’t obsess over what your life is going to look like in 10, 15, 20 years time. Things have a way of coming together whether you expect them to or not. You’re going to be happy experiencing your life, even if it takes you to places you never expected. Live your life in a way that makes you truly happy – putting yourself first. Do what you love.
I would tell my younger self to be confident and have compassion and respect for myself–I am still reminding myself of this :)
Dear teenage self, try and trust those people out there. While some might be ‘evil’, most of them are actually only trying to help you, not to harm you in any way. You’re missing out on so many great chances by always being afraid. And, actually, opening up to others might eventually even help you find some true friends! And… just smile more often. :-)
I also tweeted about it! https://twitter.com/Laurra/status/265647100832931840
Dear little Abby,
Your mom is really going to be your best friend. She’s totally worth your time. I promise.
Pinned your sticky toffee pudding :)