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.
The advice I would give my younger self would be to choose a field you will really enjoy.
I tweeted about the giveaway.
Younger Self – Don’t take yourself so seriously. However, do be brave enough to try things you don’t think you can do!
I pinned a recipe!
Dear Young Lady,
You are beautiful, smart and strong, you don’t need anything to make you whole – you are already whole and complete the way you are.
Take more time trying to make yourself happy and everything will fall into place. You spend way too much time trying to make others happy.
Also, if you begin a plant strong way of life now, you will never have to worry about how much food you put in your body, it will be beautiful and healthy naturally.
Dear younger self,
You can never be overdressed. People will judge you based on how you present yourself.
Dear young (wrinkle-less) thing:
Start eating well, exercising & saving NOW!!! Even if its only a little!
I would tell myself to wear the damn bikini because I wasn’t fat and in fact had a really good body.
I’d tell my 16-yr-old self that all of my headaches are likely from eating too much sugar!
Your mother is much cooler than you think she is.
I would tell myself not to grow up and stick to my creative and artistic side. I regret now that I gave up piano and drawing.
To 16 year old me: You are going to stop eating meat in 2 years, but you should just forget that and do it now. You will never miss it and it will be the best life choice you’ve ever made. Also, everything is going to work out. Dont dwell on the small stuff. Ten years from now you will be happier than you ever thought you could be!
My advice to my younger self would be “Say YES to that one question. You’ll regret saying NO for the rest of your life”.
Tweeted
I would tell my young self to enjoy herself, as she will get old just like those old ladies she sees, but respect those older ones – they aren’t as dumb as they seem!
Dear younger self,
Don’t waste time, take chances, and not to pop your zits!!
To my young self I would say: “find a really good yoga class/mentor. As you grow, keep finding new good yoga classes/mentors and never stop doing yoga.” If I had started practicing yoga at 16, I beleive my life would have been much smoother and filled with MUCH more self-love. Thankfully I have yoga now!
Dear Younger Self,
Start moving, start enjoying life, right this very second. You don’t have to be perfect and it doesn’t have to be the “right” time. Just challenge yourself everyday. What are you waiting for?
I would tell my 16 year old self to stop letting perfectionism drive you crazy.
Always treat others with love and compassion :) whatever you may ever be angry about at the time is most likely never worth getting angry about when you look back!