Macaroni Grill & Wanchai Ferry At Home - Prize Pack Contest

Date-cation the new wave for cash and time-strapped couples? Hubs and I haved enjoyed special evenings together and they really help rev up a sometimes harried and hectic married/family life - we totally understand the value of investing time together to benefit our marriage! I've missed special date nights with my hubs because of our budget saving efforts. Thank goodness Wanchai Ferry and Macaroni Grill At Home products have entered the picture to give us some well-deserved "couple time" together without busting the budget! These flavorful and easy to create meal kits provide deliciou taste, semi-homemade convenience, and some special time together at home for a fraction of the cost of a meal at a sit-down restaurant - plus we avoid the hassle of one-hour waiting for tables and less-than-ideal babysitter rates! I just crack out the nice dishes, some candles and put the kids down a bit early and relax with my special guy and a glass of my favorite wine! I even have a special dessert and a DVD planned...

Enjoy an Asian escape with Wanchai Ferry restaurant-inspired dishes by simply adding your own protein to delicious entrees like Cashew Chicken, Spicy Garlic Chicken, Orange Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken. Or bring the romance of Italian cuisine to your kitchen with Macaroni Grill favorites such as Chicken Piccata and Angel Hair Pasta, Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta, Chicken Alfredo with Linguine, Garlic & Herb Chicken Penne, and Chicken Marsala with Linguine.

So stay in and go all out!® Make your meal an experience by perhaps adding some ambiance with candles and flowers.

For more information and dinner tips, visit WanchaiFerryAtHome.com and MacaroniGrillAtHome.com. And be sure to follow Macaroni Grill on Twitter and "Like" the Facebook page to keep up with all of the latest news on your Macaroni Grill favorites!

Be sure to take advantage of this online coupon http://www.myblogspark.com/uc/main/198d/ for $1.50 off two packages of Wanchai Ferry and/or Macaroni Grill Dinner Kits!

PRIZE PACK CONTEST:
Enter my blog contest today to win a free Date Night Prize Package of one Wanchai Ferry dinner kit, one Macaroni Grill dinner kit, and a $25 Visa gift card to help you enjoy your own Special Date Night At Home. Please post a comment and tell me what your at-home Date-Cation plans will be. One lucky winner will be randomly selected from all entries received by Monday, 11/22; 12PM. Be sure to include your email contact information. Winner will receive the Prize Package directly from MyBlogSpark. Contest open to US residents only. Thank you for participating and Good Luck!


Wanchai Ferry, Macaroni Grill At Home and MyBlogSpark provided me with a prize package as well as a second prize package for a blog contest to facilitate my honest review.

Hershey's Moderation Nation - Win a Prize Pack!

"Everything Good In Moderation..." - Sometimes it's especially difficult to embrace this wise philsophy - especially during the holiday season! Our friends at Hershey's steps in with some great tools and suggestions to help us all enjoy without guilt...

With Moderation Nation, a new national program created by the Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition, (HCHN) in collaboration with the American Dietetic Association, you can now have access to a variety of tools that will help you achieve moderation - and you don´t even need to give up your favorite foods!

For on-the-go needs, the new Moderation Nation iPhone app, free and available on iTunes or via www.themoderationnation.com, will reward you for the activity you´re already doing, while encouraging you to do even more in a way that suits your busy lifestyle. With an easy-to-read tracker and a comprehensive list of activities to choose from, you can earn badges for your progress and go from a Starting Gun to a Healthy Hero!

The Moderation Nation Web site (www.themoderationnation.com) provides a host of new tools for you and your readers, including:
Recipes and Expert Tips. Here you´ll find advice from Cheryl Forberg, registered dietitian (RD) for NBC's The Biggest Loser, award-winning chef and New York Times best-selling cookbook author


Additional recipes and tips from Regina Ragone, Food Director at Family Circle magazine; Keri Glassman, author of the O2 diet; and Liz Ward, author of Expect the Best Pregnancy.


Moderation Menus. Seven-day meal plans - with snack ideas - that will help you plan out your week. Each menu is based on an individual lifestyle, such as Single, Adults with Kids and Adults with No Kids.


Balance the Meal. This cool balancer tool allows you to input your main dish and its preparation method; in return, you´ll receive ideas for complementary side dishes that round out the meal smartly.


Useful Facts. Here you´ll find everything from a "portion distortion" guide - providing cues on what actual portion sizes should look like - to a grocery shopping fact sheet - to a guide on how to start and maintain a food journal.

Hershey's and MyBlogSpark provided me with a "Moderation Nation" prize pack, which includes a Moderation Nation t-shirt, Hershey´s chocolate and a nutrition journal to track your food and activities as well as another Prize Pack for one lucky reader! Please post your comment on my blog and tell me what is your favorite Hershey's chocolate moment. One winner will be randomly selected from all entries received by Monday, 11/22/10; 12pm. Winner must be a US resident. Please be sure to include your email contact information in your comments so we may reach you. Prize will be mailed to winner directly from MyBlogSpark. Thank you for participating - Good Luck!

I received a prize package for myself and the opportunity to host a contest for an additional prize package for one winner from Hershey's and MyBlogSpark to facilitate my review.

Life-Long Potty Learning Or Things Momma Never Told You: Cottonelle Flushable Moist Wipes

Is it time to "clean up your family's act"? LOL
Since my personal potty training journey never seems to end - kids and hubs are certainly well beyond diaper stage and graduated to the toilet a number of years ago, I imagined that my potty learning was complete - until I really focused on the "end results"! I recognized that some additional benefits could be realized by everyone since trying a sample of Cottonelle's Flushable Moist Wipes! I keep them handy on the very cool Command Hook enclosed free in a promotional packaging available in stores now. These flushable gems come packaged in decorative containers which easily match your decor.

To help break the ice on "toilet talk," the brand launched GetFreshWithaFriend.com, which features a special "Funny or Die" video (check it out and you might just see a familiar face…) as well as fresh reward offers that encourage people to try the products. Current users of the product even describe trying Cottonelle Flushable Moist Wipes as an "aha moment."
I definitely did! Who doesn't want to feel fresher and more comfortable through their day? I have personally recommended getting the Cottonelle wipes for every bathroom in your home to my friends - I even find them to be invaluable during my monthly cycle - what a relief!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of the Cottonelle brand and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Bing Supports Schools: "Our School Needs"

I am a busy volunteer parent with the Our Savior Lutheran School of St Petersburg Parent-Teacher Organization. This challenging economy continues to challenge both public and private schools in providing excellence in education with more limited resources. Bing is helping with their "Our School Needs" Project. Every school has an ever-growing "wish list"... Our school needs a new roof, funding for instructors in enrichment programs, and textbook revisions.

In a bid to win $100,000 for their school, parents, students, and teachers around the country have been telling Bing what their school needs through essays, photos and videos. You can read some of their amazing stories here. Soon a panel of judges, including critically acclaimed, Academy Award-winning director and producer, Davis Guggenheim, of Waiting for Superman and An Inconvenient Truth fame, and DonorsChoose.org founder, Charles Best, will narrow down the entries to 15 finalists.

Starting October 27th, it's up to the public to determine the winner. And, the first 30,000 people who vote each day also will receive a free $3 DonorsChoose.org giving code to support the classroom project of their choice. This is a great opportunity to help other schools in need. If 50 people to vote each day from October 27 to November 5 and redeem their $3 codes on DonorsChoose.org., collectively that's $3,000 -- imagine how our community could help benefit local schools by participating!

Here are the contest details:

Visit this special link to learn more and vote ASAP:

www.bing.com/ourschoolneeds
Bing is awarding a quarter-million dollars in prize money divided among four schools in need, and your vote can make all the difference.
The entry with the most votes wins $100k, and 3 others will each win $50k.
Bing is giving away up to $900,000 to schools in need through DonorsChoose.org, a non-profit website where public school teachers can post classroom projects that need funding. Be one of the first 30,000 to vote for your favorite finalists each day and receive a $3 donation code to redeem for the classroom project of your choice!
The voting phase starts Friday, October 29 and runs through Sunday, November 7. America will be asked to vote on the 15 Our School Needs finalists as determined by the panel of judges. The winners will be announced Tuesday, November 9.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Bing and received a gift card and DonorsChoose.org giving code to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Listerine Oral Care Challenge: America's Tooth Fairy Campaign

This year has been a blessing of wonderful check-ups with our dentist! What a tremendous relief....our cleaning visits have gone smoothly for everyone (adults and kids). Wow, what a difference a year makes! I give props to Listerine and Reach dental care products which we've been using throughout the year. I take our oral hygiene seriously...brushing, flossing and rinsing at least 2x/day-sometime 3 times when I can corral the kids!

Our family was selected by Mom Central to participate in Listerine's Oral Care Challenge has it continues to make a wonderful impact in our dental health.
The goal of the challenge is to brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash twice a day for three weeks. I find that making the challenge fun and less threatening for the kids seems to motive their better brushing habits. We're keeping a daily calendar with stickers (similar to a star chart) with fun prizes to be earned. They don't need as many reminders or oversight to be sure to brush and floss well.

Our friends at Mom Central and Listerine provided our family with a wonderful assortment of oral care products including the new Listerine Total Care anticavity mouthwash, Listerine Agent Cool Blue tinting rinses, Reach kids brushes, and Reach Access Flosser and disposable heads! These products help motivate and inspire with great tastes and interactive technologies to keep everyone on track for at least twice daily inpsiration! I really LOVE the Listerine Total Care mouthwash...I can sometimes slack off with rinses, but the flavors are good without burn. I can sincerely feel a significant improvement in my plaque along the gumline, too!

The calendar challenge will result in positive dentist visits for everyone, and the added rewards for daily brushing, flossing rinsing goal achievement will inspire the kids...we'll enjoy a day together at Hunsader Farm's Fall Festival as a special treat!

The makers of LISTERINE and REACH have also teamed up with America's Toothfairy to launch "Trick or Treat for America's Toothfairy," a campaign to raise awareness of pediatric dental disease and help provide life changing care to underserved children. Please visit to learn more at www.AmericasToothfairy.org


I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of LISTERINE and REACH and received products to take the Oral Care Challenge. Mom Central Consulting also sent me a Global Giving gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Filtrete Water Filter Pitcher: Refreshing N Eco-Friendly

Our green and wellness journey for the fam continues throughout the week, as we strive to walk several times a week, drink more water, and reduce our carbon footprint on the environment - a tall order while leading a busy family life!

We enjoy carrying around fresh water througout the day, but hated the idea of all those plastic water bottles in the landfill. How wonderful that Filtrete, a trusted brand, now features a home water filtration system. We tried the Filtrete Water Filter Pitcher to be easy, convenient and economical. The water from our regular tap is filtered quickly and stores in the plastic pitcher in our refrigerator. We have cold and delicious water at hand without the wasteful and pricey water bottles. The filters last about 3 months, and even have a convenient notification sensor on them to remind you to change them!

In addition, Filtrete created Clear Advantages to help busy moms like me. You can register to receive seasonal e-newsletters featuring money-saving offers, filter change reminders, better home living tips and more by signing up on the Filtrete Water Filtration Products website. (http://www.filtrete.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/FiltreteUS/Filtrete/Resources/Clear-advantages/) on the Filtrete Water Filtration Products website. You can also follow Filtrete Water Filtration Products on Twitter (@FiltreteWater) (http://twitter.com/FiltreteWater) or like the brand on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/FiltreteWater) for healthier living tips.



Enjoy this special savings coupon for your Filtrete Water Pitcher Purchase:
http://bit.ly/94pwaV


I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Filtrete and received the water pitcher to facilitate my candid review.