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 tweeted!
I would tell myself like others mentioned that life gets better after high school. High school is probably the toughest time for many kids, including myself.
I also tweeted the giveaway.
I would tell my younger self that my happiness does not depend upon anyone else. It’s all on me.
I would tell my younger self that I could make it on my own, I didn’t need to be in a relationship so young, making compromises and sacrifices that never, ever paid off.
I would tell my younger self to think more about the food choices she was making and to enjoy living so close to family and friends. I would also highly suggest that she start taking the opportunities to travel more as soon they become available and to start thinking of the things she wants to try and adventures she wants to take – then take steps to make them happen!
Thanks very much for the giveaway opportunity. I truly enjoy your blog every day, LOVE your recipes, and am so happy for your continued success – including the VegNews award – love that magazine and your award is much deserved! Happy OSG anniversary!
I would say to my younger self: “Love yourself and be secure in that love. What other people think of you is none of your business. Rely on God to enlighten you as to who you are and do all you can to make the most of the gifts He has given you.”
I would tell my younger self to not spend countless hours over many years chasing skinny and trying to attain some physical ideal you think will make you happy. Dont define your existence by your physical self.
I’d tell myself to only spend money on things I absolutely love and can imagine keeping forever.
I would tell myself to enjoy every minute of being young…instead of desperately wishing to grow up!
I would tell myself that there’s no use being so incredibly self conscious. All it will do is hold you back. It might seem like everyone is looking at you, but it’s not true!
Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
I’d tell myself to be grateful for my body and stop beating myself over what I saw as my faults. Because as each decades passes, I’ll look back at pics of myself when I was younger and think, “Wow! I looked great!” Why waste so much time with nonconstructive self-criticism when I could be living in self-acceptance?
I’d also tell myself not to throw away my Magnum PI lunchbox. It was really cool.
Tweeted (@faiththomas)
I would tell my younger self to not take everything so personally, and to love yourself! I would also tell myself to do self-breast exams starting at 16 – I waited until 32 to really start and found some too-mahs (in my best Arnold voice) – thankfully they were caught early. Oh, and one more thing – DON’T take mom’s car out joyriding at 14! Oops.
Dear younger me,
CHILL OUT!! Stop taking life so seriously. Everything happens for a reason. Yes sometimes bad things happen, but they are lessons teaching us how to deal with certain situations. These can later be used as a learning experience.
LIVE AND LEARN LITTLE ONE!
Everything WILL work out in the end – just relax and enjoy life :) Oh and eat the damn cookies.
Sincerely,
Older (chilled out) Karlee
I pinned!
I would tell myself to do what I love no matter what it is or what other people think. Don’t let fear or embarrassment keep you from pursuing your passion.
Great Giveaway!
I would remind myself that the golden rule-” treat others like you want to be treated” applies to yourself as well. I spent WAY to much time self-loathing rather than self-loving and WAY to much time worrying about what others thought about me rather than what I thought about myself. I now have two kids and am doing the best I can to teach them to be loving and thoughtful people.
A lot of good advice in here! I’d say don’t worry so much about the future, but get out there and do stuff that will make you happy. Start sooner. Take music lessons. Go to more concerts and plays. Get involved more outside of school. Live a little. Develop a sense of style. Figure out who you are and be yourself. Brush and floss every day.
And buy stock in Twitter when it comes, because you’re going to post this contest on it. :)
I also tweeted the giveaway!