Filtrete gives back

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Sep 092010

I’ve tried not to inundate my readers with a lot of information from my trip to BlogHer, but this is one of the things I learned about that I really wanted to share.

One of the green improvements that I was most looking forward to at BlogHer was their Filtrete water bottles. Because I drink water just about exclusively, that was the thing I NEEDED most.

In our BlogHer totes, we received a reusable, refillable Filtrete water bottle (which I LOVE), and at various places around the conference were rows of filtered water stations for us to use as much as we needed. They were constantly busy, I’ll tee you! I used my Filtrete water bottle the whole weekend and the trip home.

In addition to the bottles, Filtrete also donated $5,000! to American Rivers on behalf of the BlogHer community.

They also displayed a great new system for those of us who use bottled water at home. The Filtrete Water Station by 3M holds up to 4 water bottles and fills in seconds from your tap water. I’d hoped to win one at the conference, but alas, I didn’t. However, Filtrete has given me use of a $5 coupon for myself AND for the use of my readers! Isn’t that awesome?

The Filtrete Water Station:

Filters water directly from the tap into four, BPA-free reusable water bottles — they’re dishwasher safe and come with an attached top and handle
Provides the convenience of bottled water without the cost and waste
Helps reduce chlorine taste and odor and sediment
Allows you to filter one, two, three or four bottles at the same time
Saves up to 3,000 plastic bottles from ending up in landfills

Currently, we take our 1-gallon water bottles to a local store who offers water refills for $.32 a gallon, but it’s such a huge pain in the youknowwhat to lug them back and forth. With this system, we wouldn’t need to!

For more information, visit http://WaterStation.com .

Then, come back here and download the $5 coupon! (Just right click and save to your harddrive.)

One of the hardest parts of going back to school, I think, is when you’re different from other people. It could be that you have freckles, or your hair is shorter or longer or you have a third eye. It could be anything different, but as we all know, the differences are what stand out. So when I was offered the chance to let my readers know about Percy, the Perfectly Imperfect Chicken, written by Rick Rieser, I jumped at it because it’s a wonderful teaching story without your children really realizing it.

Meet Percy. Percy is a Perfectly Imperfect Chicken – as we all are. Percy’s yard mates, i.e. the “perfect” chickens, find out that Percy isn’t so perfect and want to ostracize him for it. But Percy comes back and shows them that his differences are what makes him special and unique.

In reading this story to my daughter, she would ask me why the other chickens were mean to him, because she’d not been in a school situation, had never really experienced the “mean” crowd. Subsequently, I’ve also used the example of Percy when we’ve watched a movie or read other books with a similar theme, and recalled how Percy would have reacted or how he must have felt when that happened. It’s a wonderful example of tolerance and compassion to bring to the children in your life during Back to School season, when we could all use a little reminder – and there are no cuter reminders than Percy!

Percy the Perfectly Imperfect Chicken was written by Rick Riser, and was published at FastPencil.com, a site where you can write, publish and sell your own book!

I have a wonderful surprise, too! I have a copy of Percy, the Perfectly Imperfect Chicken for you to win.

Win!

Winning is easy, of course.

For each step you choose to complete, leave a separate comment. On September 3rd, I will draw a winner through random.com from all qualified entries. I will email the winner. They will have 3 days to respond. If they do not respond in that time, I will draw another winner. US entrants only, please.

Google friend connect me
Comment and tell me what your favorite part of going back to school was.
“Like” my page over there on my sidebar
For 2 entries, go to RickRieser.com and tell me in 2 different comments the places that Percy hid.

Removed due to author site being inaccessible.

For 2 entries, join my new mailing list. This list is strictly to be notified of future contests and giveaways, you will not be spammed. If you do this, just leave 2 comments as well. You can join over in the sidebar as well.
Share this giveaway on Facebook.
Follow my rss feed by email.
Tweet this giveaway by clicking on the Twitter birdie right here. You can tweet twice a day.

Do one, do all, it’s up to you!

Note: I did not receive any product or compensation for this review – I did it because we love the book and wanted to share it w/you, the readers.

My family loves ice cream. Any flavor, any form, they love it. One of their favorite brands is Good Humor. With a brand like Good Humor, you KNOW what you’re getting is good. It’s a dependable brand you can trust. The varieties they have means we can always find something that appeals to all of us.

My favorite is the strawberry shortcakes. I remember choosing those back in MIDDLE SCHOOL! We’d get ice cream a couple of times a week with our lunches, and I’d always pick those. I still do, despite the whole lactose intolerance thing, simply because they’re just THAT good.

Typically, I buy the multipack – this consists of THREE different varieties, which is perfect for the five of us. They contain “sundae” bars (nutty-buddy), vanilla bar (chocolate covered ice cream) and ice cream sandwiches. Perfect, right? BUT! When the ice cream truck comes around, my kids scramble outside and one might grab a strawberry shortcake, another might grab the chocolate éclair – and think they’re in 7th Heaven!

To celebrate their 90th Anniversary, Good Humor is having a HUGE celebration called the Good Humor Sweet-stakes. They are giving away 10,000 prizes!

All you have to do is pick up a specially marked single-serve Good Humor product. Choose from my favorite, Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Éclair, Candy Center Crunch or the Toasted Almond bar. Enjoy your delicious treat. When you get to the end, look at your stick. You might be an instant winner! There will be a special code on it. Take it to your computer, log on to Good Humor’s website and enter your code. How cool is that!? TEN THOUSAND WINNERS will win something from Good Humor – ranging from music downloads to shirts and hats. (Official rules are here.)

Good Humor is now on Facebook! Not sure where to pick up some Good Humor ice cream? They have a great locator tool >here<!

The Good Humor 90th Anniversary Sweet-stakes ENDS September 6th, so don’t delay. Go enjoy a special treat and help Good Humor celebrate 90 years. I know I’m going to!

PS – I hope if you win, you’ll come back and tell me!

Disclosure: Special thanks to Mom Blogger’s Club for this opportunity to review Good Humor and for the coupon for my favorite kind of ice cream – FREE!

I received a coupon for product in exchange for my thoughts on it.

This giveaway has ended. See below for winner.

I seldom buy frozen “meals” – mainly because one package doesn’t feed my family of 5. But there are times when I do buy something that will only feed the two of us who eat seafood – my 7 yr old daughter & I. So when I was asked to take a look at P.F. Chang’s Home Menu frozen entrees, I said yes.

I choose the Shrimp in Garlic Sauce because – well, yum – who can pass up garlic AND shrimp in one meal, right?

I decided to prepare it on a night when I was pressed for time, but needed something that would fill us up. We were getting ready to go to the county fair, and you KNOW how expensive it is to eat at those places, so I needed something filling and fast – and easy as possible.

You cannot GET much easier than “open package and pour into a skillet”. That’s ALL you do. You cook it on medium-high heat for 10 minutes – and I have to say, the ingredients had my mouth watering. The vegetables – peapods, water chestnuts, peppers and carrots looked SO fresh! The shrimp looked delicious – and in 15 minutes, it was DONE!

I’d also prepared some stir-fry noodles to go with it, and threw them in at the last minute to coat with the yummy garlic sauce. We went to town! It was delicious. The vegetables held up to the heat and didn’t get all mushy, like some frozen meals I’ve used in the past. The shrimp was tender and the sauce itself was good – not too spicy, not too sweet. Best of all, it didn’t taste like a frozen meal at all. It tasted like take-out.

They take about 10-12 minutes to cook in a skillet without the addition of any other ingredients and there are eight varieties available including General Chang’s Chicken, Orange Chicken, Shanghai Style Beef, Shrimp in a Garlic Sauce, Shrimp Lo Mein, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Ginger Chicken & Broccoli and Beef with Broccoli.

Some company facts

Created with the expert chefs at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro® and produced and distributed by Unilever, P.F. Chang’s Home Menu is a new line of premium Asian frozen entrées that captures the bold flavors associated with P.F. Chang’s. With P.F. Chang’s Home Menu, fans of P.F. Chang’s can now conquer their cravings for its signature Asian cuisine at home, when they can’t get to a restaurant.

Made with high-quality ingredients and featuring intense flavors, the bold, frozen meals for two are convenient and easy to prepare, going from the skillet to a succulent restaurant-quality meal at home in just minutes.

Where can you get some?

You can pick up P. F. Chang Home Menu frozen entrees in your local market in the frozen meals section, but even better is that I have a coupon for a FREE P. F. Chang Home Menu frozen entree for one of my lucky readers.

Win!

Winning is easy, of course.

For each step you choose to complete, leave a separate comment. On August 20, I will draw a winner through random.com from all qualified entries.

Go to P. F. Chang’s website and browse the delicious options they offer. Then come back here and comment with the variety you’d choose, and who you would share it with.
Google friend connect me
“Like” my page over there on my sidebar
Tweet this giveaway by clicking on the Twitter birdie right here.

Do one, do all, it’s up to you!

Note: I received a sample of the dinner described above in the form of a coupon.

and the winner is………………………………

Commenter # 12, Sandra! I’ll be emailing you!

Thanks for entering

S’MORES, of course!

When we moved to West Virginia last year, one of the first things we did was buy one of those firepit things for the back yard. It’s our first backyard, afterall, so we wanted to enjoy it fully!

So now, every time we have a fire, my kids ask me to make s’mores. How can I say no?

It’s such a simple request, really. All I need is some Hershey chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers – and they’re on their way to JOY!

LOL

My kids get to roasting their marshmallows while I prepare the crackers and chocolate. I use one square per cracker, because I am FRUGAL and like to make things last. They (murder) toast their marshmallows and then bring them to me when they’re still nice and hot, so it will melt the chocolate and then I squish it all together with the 2nd cracker. They they snatch it out of my hands and gobble it up! I maybe – MAYBE – get one or two but they can plow through the entire bag of marshmallows in less than an hour (if I let them). It’s a fun time and they love it!

Mom Bloggers Club wants to know what YOUR favorite way to make s’mores is (and this post is an entry)! Visit them here, and of course, be sure to visit http://www.smoressmiles.com/ where you can instantly win 1 of thousands of prizes!

Filtrete gives back

Percy, The Perfectly Imperfect Chicken – Review & Giveaway!(closed)

Win!

Everyone loves the Good Humor man

P.F. Chang Home Menu – a review – giveaway closed.

Some company facts

Where can you get some?

Win!

What’s better than a campfire?

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