Sling Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the sling giveaway is:  Catherine MacKechney!  Congrats and I will be contacting you with the info for claiming your sling!  Thanks to everyone who entered, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I might be able to do another sling giveaway soon...

Read more...

Sling Giveaway!

Attention all babywearers:  this giveaway is for YOU!  Sevenslings has a great, new sling that you can see here.   They are in fun fabrics, and made of a blend of cotton and lycra, they will fit baby and yet not stretch out or lose shape over time.  Plus, machine washable, because you KNOW you'll need to wash it.   I love love LOVE carrying my babies in slings and there are so many benefits besides just the ease of getting around with baby.

Rules:
-Leave a comment here for one entry.
-Tweet the link for one entry.  (Leave a comment here so I can keep track.)
-Post the link on Facebook for one entry.  (Leave a comment here so I can keep track.)
-Post on your blog for one entry. (Leave a comment here so I can keep track.)

The contest will close on Saturday (Sept 18), so this is a real quickie!  Enter now or forever hold your peace.

The winner of this giveaway will receive a code for a free sling (or for a gift package for only $5).  You will have to pay your own shipping, but even paying for shipping means a GREAT deal on a sling!

Also, if you're here for the giveaway, come check out my real blog about my real (crazy) life.

Read more...

The Big Deal!

You may notice something new on my good old Pickle-Hating blog.  It's a widget in the sidebar, looking very much like the graphic below.  HauteLook on Blogher is going to offer great deals exclusively to the readers of the Blogher network.  You can click through my widgets (which somehow sounds kinda dirty) and register as a user to get the great deals.  If you just head to the Haute Look site, you won't be nabbing the good deals.  Here's a link and there will be one showing updates of the deals on my main blog.

Read more...

Crystal Light Winner!

And the winner of $100 from Crystal Light and Blogher is....

PHYLLIS!   

As picked by random.org.  Congrats, Phyllis, and thanks everyone for entering!

Read more...

Crystal Light CORRECTION: ALMOST CLOSED!

***CORRECTION!!!***

 You may enter the Crystal Light drawing until August 5th by leaving comments on any of the four posts marked Crystal Light below.  Sorry for the confusion!

Read more...

My Mental Toughness > My Physical Toughness

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Crystal Light Pure Fitness.

When it comes to labels, I would not consider myself athletic.  Or sporty.  If I were a Spice Girl, I'd probably be Goofy Spice or Odd Spice.  That being said, I do work out five to six times a week and play an intensely physical sport in roller derby.  I enjoy exercise and have my whole life been a decent skater, but overall don't see me fitting in with great athletes or super sporty people. I don't think I give myself enough credit.  Sure, I was a bookworm growing up, but I also loved playing outside and climbing trees and kickball.  I played both soccer and tennis, and though I may not have been on varsity, I did start and play almost every gave in soccer and once won second place in a tennis tournament.  (Um, okay, so there were only three people in the tournament.)  For me, I've found that having the confidence in my ability really strengthens my ability and allows me to excel.

 The hardest physical challenge I ever had (besides giving birth) was backpacking in Colorado in the summer of 2000, and it's a great example of how the mental feeds the physical.  I was working in Texas at a church and we took a small group of guys and girls from zero feet above sea level to something like 2000 feet above sea level to backpack in the mountains for five straight days.  The altitude sickness alone had people puking and panting and crying after an hour of hiking. As a leader, I felt the pressure to really stay positive and keep going, despite my own exhaustion.

The beauty makes it look easy in pictures.  

I still remember that first day:  an ill-planned 9-hour hike to our first campsite.  Our guides must have really overestimated our stamina.  By the end, people were stumbling and had passed their heavy packs onto our guides, who were trying to balance their own packs as well.  We stopped to make camp and basically everyone crumpled to the ground.  Ten minutes later, our guides informed us that we really needed to move our campsite to a space about two football fields away. After a nine-hour uphill hiked with 40 pounds on your back, two football fields is an immense distance.  Especially after you've put your pack down and allowed yourself to rest.  The idea of putting it back on to walk even two-hundred yards is insane.  The guides felt bad and offered to make several trips themselves over the small hill, carrying other people's packs for them so they could just walk.  The offer was SO tempting, let me tell you.  I wanted to weep when I strapped my bag back on.  But I did it.  I put on my pack again, forced myself to stand, and put one foot in front of the other to get over that last hill of the day. The week did get a little easier, but most days I spent telling myself:  "Just one foot in front of the other.  Just one foot in front of the other.  Keep moving."

I felt incredibly proud of myself and our team of teenage girls for making it to the end.  Not that there was really a choice--once we started out, the only way to finish was to FINISH.  We didn't have the luxury of pillows, personal hygiene, or food choice.  No Crystal Light or sodas or coffee--only water from nearby streams mixed with a tiny bit of bleach.  (Yes, bleach.) At the end of the week, the camp was so impressed with my ability that they asked me to stay on and be a guide for the summer.  As much as the idea of repeating that same intense struggle, going without deodorant or bathing, and living out of a backpack for two months appealed to me, I kept my job at the church.

This is the last post for the month sponsored by Crystal Light Pure Fitness, which means the last chance for you to comment and win $100.  I hope you've also been taking advantage of reading other blogger's posts for more chances to win--visit the roundup page here to read and comment.  For rules and restrictions, click here. As we close, what is your proudest fitness accomplishment?  Leave a comment for another entry to win $100 from Blogher and Crystal Light.

Read more...

We Done Got Punked

Rob and I had a hot date last night to a dinner hosted by My Blog Spark, a group of bloggers that get to try and review products. I actually hadn't reviewed anything yet, so was surprised to get the invitation for a free meal and gift card just for being a part of it. I will, as you know, do about anything for a free meal. Rob and I assumed there would be some kind of presentation or something they were selling, but we didn't care. As I said: free meal.

We kept waiting for the trick, but there was no presentation, no forced and awkward conversation--just Rob and I at a table with a great four-course meal and a gift card in my purse.  Still, we thought there HAD to be something to this free dinner thing.  And what was with that guy who was videotaping everything? We were just finishing up our main course when the waiter dropped off the fortune cookies.  Rob opened his first and chuckled, then began to read aloud.  It went something like this:  Surprise!  The meal you just ate was actually a frozen entree from Wanchai Ferrry!

We knew there was a trick!  That just wasn't the one we were expecting.  Not.  At. All.  Especially given that my meal, Spicy Garlic Chicken, was fabulous and even passed the Rob test.  (He has very high standards for Chinese, especially when it comes to the dishes with fried chicken pieces and sauce.  He's a snob in that way.)  The chicken was great, the veggies were fresh, the sauce was spicy and sweet and wonderful.  A frozen meal, really?  Good thing I've got coupons!!

Overall, we had a great date and a funny night with the whole surprise aspect.  The good news is that not only did we find a great new product from the grocery store, but we found a restaurant we really liked.  Shanghai River provided the drinks, soups, appetizers and deserts--only the entree was from Wanchai Ferry.  Rob and I both about died over the beef skewers, which come with their own little fire pit you can heat the steak on at your table.  I like fire.  I like beef.  What's not to like about beef skewers?

So, thanks to My Blog Spark for a great deal and a great punk!  I will definitely be checking my freezer section for Wanchai Ferry AND heading back to Shanghai River to skewer me some beef.

Read more...