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.
To my younger self — don’t let anyone or anything bring you down. Be true to who you are. Live, laugh, and be happy.
My advice: Enjoy the journey! It will all work out in the end. :)
I also just tweeted the giveaway: https://twitter.com/shmelissa/status/263701630317387776
One piece of advice: Even though it seems like forever, high school does end. There is a whole other world out there.
Thanks for having a non-twitter entry! I actually am part of Pinterest, so I repinned your No Bake Peppermint Patty Bars!
I would tell myself to hold on! Life get’s better. Bad things will happen, and you will learn and grow from them. Life goes on :)
Dear 16 year-old me,
Years from now you will realize that being different is WAY better than fitting in. Give yourself permission to be unique, ditch the people who make you feel inadequate, and allow yourself to be your own person. Find what it is that interests you, even if no one else understands how amazing it is. Don’t let fear hold you back- be able to take risks and allow the unknown to happen. Above all things, remember that you are AMAZING!!
Love, yourself
And I pinned your lentil walnut loaf with balsamic glaze recipe. I’m planning to try it out for Thanksgiving this year :-)
I’d tell my 16 year old self to think before you react. I’ve only gotten better at this in the last couple years. lol.
I would say to my younger self: the hardest thing to do is say you’re sorry, and admit you were wrong. It is a lifelong thing to learn how to sincerely apologize and it’s hard to do sometimes, but it’s better to move forward than hold a grudge or be stubborn.
I also tweeted =) @Bakeaholic
The advice I would give my younger self is to stay in school and accomplish to have a great education in order to have a great career! The people I once trusted and failed me would definitely not being in my life ever if I knew now what I know now! Thanks
Just because you can’t see the sun on cloudy days, it is still there. It WILL shine again!
Advice to my younger self? I’d tell myself that the best thing I could possibly do was listen to myself and not let others dictate what my life should be like. I might have gotten out of a bad situation earlier.
Younger me- don’t be so afraid to talk to new people or try new things. Rejection is not the end of the world :o)
I would tell my younger self to not be so quick to judge all of humanity. Just because there is so much bad in the world doesn’t mean that everyone is cruel. There is too much hate in the world and hating everyone does not lead to less hate.
I also tweeted the giveaway. :)
I would advise my 16 year old self to not spend so much time worrying about what you are going to be when you “grow up”, no one really knows!
I would tell my younger self that some of the most toxic people in my life were the ones who were the closest to me. I tried too hard to keep up with these girls who turned out to be assholes (pardon my language), but it took me another 10 years or so to figure that one out and once I did there was a huge weight of self-doubt and self-loathing that disappeared.
I would tell my younger self that those big bangs are not OK. Ever. They never looked good.