Spreading holiday cheer, uncommonly (Giveaway)

I've decided this year I want to immerse myself in holiday festivities. Christmas concerts, craft shows, lights displays -- bring it on! And then there is gift giving. I find such joy in finding just the right gift for giving to a particular person. (Wait until Mike sees what's under the tree for him!...Keep it clean, people.)

Part of that sharing that holiday joy, I've decided, is going to be sharing the opportunities I get as a blogger with you loyal people still tuning into the 4th Frog. I've been given an opportunity to share a bit about Uncommon Goods. In exchange for writing this, UncommonGoods.com offered me a gift certificate. I'm going to use part of that gift certificate for YOU -- If you win this giveaway, you will be able to choose one item from the $25 and under category of Uncommon Goods.com and I will have it shipped directly to you.

Now, I really do try to shop the mom and pop stores and give the small businesses my business. But I did some looking at Uncommon Goods before agreeing to write this post and saw several reasons to consider them a source for holiday shopping:

• They are committed to treating their employees well, giving all full and most part-time employees health insurance. 
• They seek handmade, organic, and recycled products to sell.
• They want to help you do good by offering you a chance to designate a charity to which they will donate $1 at checkout. $1 is not a lot, but every little bit adds up -- to more than $1 MILLION so far! 

But really? You'll want to click over and shop Uncommon Goods because they have great stuff, even for those hard-to-buy-for men in your life. Do you have newlyweds on your gift-giving list? Check out this great selection of gifts for couples (young and old).


So what did I find that I thought was great?

Words Cubed -- a great addition to the creative "toys" I keep at my desk for inspiration

A Hole Paperweight -- So simple, so clever, as is the F Bomb paperweight.

Handmade Copper Wall Flowers -- I have the perfect spot for them in my house.


And so much more! But you know what's ever more awesome, Uncommon Goods offers FREE stuff for everyone. There are 13 different free printables you can download.

So, if you're an online shopper, consider giving Uncommon Goods a look, not just for the holidays, but for birthdays, weddings, and more.

If you'd like a chance to win my giveaway at UncommonGoods.com, please click the link, check out the $25 and under category and comment wherever you are reading this post -- on the blog or on Facebook. Let me know what from the category (or anywhere else on the UG website) you would like to see wrapped up for the holidays this year. I will draw a winner on Wednesday, November 16.

My writer friends, an Amazon gift card giveaway & #SunshineSharing

I fancy myself a writer, but if it weren't for the internet, my writing would be unknown. (Well, it's practically unknown even with the internet.) What I mean is that I haven't written a book, yet. I have a couple of ideas rolling around in my head and even have one that I've gotten a small start on.

Several people I know personally are writers, as in written, edited, and published real books writers. When my friend Jennifer Parker announced the publication of her book, Messy Blessings, earlier this Spring, I thought about all the people that I know who are published authors. It's kind of amazing, really. Honestly, what an accomplishment.

So I wanted to share those people and their accomplishments here. Check out the books and let me know what you think.

Messy Blessings by Jennifer Parker. I first met Jennifer in college. It turns out that she has actually known Mike since they were both in diapers. Messy Blessings tells the very true story of Jennifer's youngest daughter Hope who was born with a severe heart condition. Miraculously, Hope is a happy 8-year old today, despite a stroke that robbed her of her speech when she was very young.

Slaying the Debt Dragon by Cherie Lowe. I met Cherie through the blogosphere and flew beside her in a WWII stunt plane several years ago. Cherie and her husband Brian have been on a journey to pay off debt and find riches that money can't buy. The amount of debt they slaughtered in just four years will astonish you. Cherie's approachable writing style will make you feel like you've made a friend.

How Sweet the Sound by Amy K. Sorrells. I met Amy through a mutual friend when Charlie was just a baby. She is a nurse. When she told me she was a writer too, I thought, "yeah, right." When How Sweet the Sound was published, I bought it and promptly left it on the nightstand for a while. When I finally read it, I was sorry that I waited so long and I had doubted that a nurse could also write. This story is a modern-day retelling of the story of Tamar in the Old Testament.

Then Sings My Soul by Amy K. Sorrells. I haven't read Amy's second book, yet. But it's central figure is a 90-year old man and you know how much my heart loves elders. This book is definitely on my to-read list.

The Forgotten Girl by David Bell. Ok, so I don't actually know David Bell. But his wife, Molly McCaffrey was my roommate for our first week of college, before we moved into our respective sorority houses. Molly and I re-connected via Facebook and that's how I came to know David. So he "counts" for the purpose of this blog post. The Forgotten Girl is a thriller, as are several of David's books.

Listen to Your Mother by Ann Imig. Ann is the brainchild of the Listen to Your Mother speakers/readers series that takes place during the month of May all over the country. Like David, I don't personally know Ann, but I've been honored to be in two LTYM productions, so that's enough connection for me. What's more, one of my Indianapolis cast mates, Natalie Cheung-Hall, has her piece "She Knew It," included in Imig's anthology.

The Giveaway with Sunshine Rewards

As I was thinking about writing this blog post, an opportunity from Sunshine Rewards came along to do a giveaway for a $50 Amazon.com gift card. I thought it would be a great tie-in for this post. So, there are three things you should know:

1.) The links above will take you to the Amazon.com listing for each of the books. If you buy one of the books from that link, I will earn a few pennies from your purchase.

2.) Sunshine Rewards provided me with a $50 gift card of my own for participating in this giveaway.

3.) I totally love and support independent bookstores and make purchases at them whenever I can. But I also really enjoy the ease and efficiency and don't-have-to-leave-my-chair of Amazon.com. So I felt ok about hosting this giveaway. If you win, you are free to spend your gift card on anything at Amazon.com, not just books.

What is Sunshine Rewards?
Sunshine Rewards is a shopping and discount site that offers you the opportunity to earn cash back on online purchases, shares special discount opportunities for members, and allows you to earn rewards for surveys. The owner of Sunshine Rewards is someone whom I have known through the Indiana bloggers network for several years. For a little more info, check out the FAQ on their site.

Enter to win! (Begins at midnight on July 1)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

KitchenAid Mixer on your wish list? Enter to win one!

One of the greatest things about being a blogger in Indiana is having the opportunity to get to know and work with several of Indiana's farming families. Much of that opportunity has come from the Indiana Family of Farmers. I've learned so much about where our food comes from and how dedicated these farm families are to bringing nutritious food to my table.

Now IFOF wants to learn from you -- and they'll give you a shot at winning a 5 Quart Artisan KitchenAid Mixer just for sharing your thoughts on food safety and nutrition.

What's required of you?

Click the survey link, then answer just 10 questions (click, click, click) about your perceptions of food safety and nutrition. Once you complete the survey, you'll click "DONE" and be taken to the entry page for the KitchenAid. Simple as that. 

Do you have to live in Indiana to complete the survey? 

NO. If you eat, or feed other people, and you have opinions about food safety and nutrition, you're eligible to participate.

When can you enter? 

Well, NOW would be good. But the survey will be available until December 20. But seriously, don't procrastinate. You're thinking about it now. Just do it. Now. Please.

Ready? Set? Opinionate: IFOF Survey.

-- Contest is open to U.S. residents ages 18 and over and ends 12/20/13. --

This post was sponsored by the Indiana Family of Farmers; I received compensation in exchange for sharing this survey opportunity. I did not receive a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, which, given my culinary history, is probably a very good thing.

This is not your mother's Happy Meal. #giveaway

When I was a kid, going to McDonald's was a special treat, not a regular occurrence. On the rare occasions that we did go to the Golden Arches, we were never allowed to order a Happy Meal.

"It's cheaper to just get a hamburger and fries," my mom would say. "You don't need a crappy toy and we have pop at home."

Let me tell you, friends, today's Happy Meals are NOT your mother's (or your childhood's) kids meals. (Can you say kid-size fries and apple slices?) In fact, right now McDonald's Happy Meals will not come with a crappy toy. Instead, children will receive one of four different original books featuring characters from McD's latest advertising campaigns that encourage kids to eat right and exercise.

(Have you seen the commercial with the goat? I'm lovin' it!)

The 4 books that are offered as part of the series are:

• "The Goat Who Ate Everything"
• "Deana's Big Dreams"
• "Ant, Can't"
• "Doddi the Dodo Goes to Orlando"

In conjunction with what I'll refer to as the Happy McBooks offer, McDonald's of Central Indiana is leading a "Give a Book, Get a Book" campaign. When you donate a new or gently used children's book at one of these locations, you will get a "Be Our Guest" card for a free Happy Meal. The donated books will be distributed to the Ronald McDonald House at Riley Children's Hospital, Indy Reads bookstore, School on Wheels and other organizations in need of children's books.

And now, for the McGiveaway!

Because I agreed to work with Indy With Kids and McDonald's of Central Indiana, I have the opportunity to host (again, my words) a Happy McBooks McGiveaway.

One lucky winner will receive a week of 5 happy meal coupons (good at Central Indiana McD's), a $10 Amazon gift card and a copy of a Happy Meal Book. If you don't live in Central Indiana, go ahead and enter. It's worth it for the Amazon gift card alone.

To enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For my participation in this campaign, Indy with Kids and McDonald's of Central Indiana have given me Happy Meal coupons and a Target gift card. Opinions about crappy toys and awesome goat commercials are all mine.

Life's too short for sucky blog posts -- let me make it up to you (#GIVEAWAY)

I don't really like to publish sucky blog posts, but it happens sometimes. (Fortunately, I think, once in a great while.) My last post -- Cereal for lunch?  -- definitely wasn't one of my best. Trust me, that's not the way I intended it.

When the big box arrived at home, I had great plans for an awesome post, one that would do me and General Mills proud. I shot probably 12 minutes of video for the post. It turns out, I'm not a very good videographer. The sound and light was too low. I cut off words and images of the Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme cereal. It was, as they say, a "hot mess."

So my enthusiasm for writing the post went from rocket high to submarine low. I just kept putting it off...until I was literally on top of the deadline. So what I wrote and what you got was a less than stellar post. I didn't even include a giveaway because I had misplaced the giveaway information.

HOWEVER...I am prepared to make it up to you. Thanks to the uber-organized and super helpful people at MyBlogSpark, I am once again in possession of the information I need to to be able to give away a Hershey's Cookies & Creme cereal prize pack!


The lucky winner of this prize pack, which is provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark, will receive:

• 1 Box of Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme Cereal
• 1 Cereal storage container (my kids' favorite part of the pack)
• 2 Cereal-To-Go containers

TO ENTER:
Entering to win is easy -- Visit the General Mills website and leave a comment here, telling what your favorite General Mills cereal is.

If you'd like a second entry, visit the 4th Frog Facebook page and comment on the link to this post  that you'll forgive me for not working up to my potential in the original Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme post.

This giveaway will be open until 5pm EST Friday, August 9.

A Mormon-umental Giveaway (#MoTab)

I don't actually have a bucket list, but if I did, seeing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform would probably be on it. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have my pencil in hand because this particular wish is about to come true. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the Orchestra at Temple Square is coming to Indianapolis and I'm going to see them...and you can too!

How do you know if you want to see and hear one of the most famous choirs in the world? Well, either you just know or you watch this video preview and get goose bumps:



I got my tickets by offering to host this giveaway and you can get yours if you win it. Thanks to Moosh in Indy and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for hooking me up with this opportunity.

Here's the 411:

The Choir will perform at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis on Friday, June 14 at 7:30pm. The winner of my giveaway will pick up his or her tickets at Will Call. If you are the winner, you'll need to e-mail me your full name and phone number.

To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me the name of your favorite hymn. All entries must be received by 8pm on Wednesday, June 12.

For more chances to win, check out the giveaways at these other blogs:

Basilmomma

Family Fun in Indy

Tastes that take me home -- #giveaway

I grew up, mostly, in Dayton, Ohio. It's not too far from my now common-law-hometown of Indianapolis, which is nice because that means I get back there often enough to satisfy a few hometown cravings:

• Marion's Pizza -- the deluxe version with a deluxe salad on the side. The pizza crust is thin and crispy and delicious. The salad has tiny, little cubes of mozzarella and green olives, along with all the other salad usuals. It's the olives that make it fantastic!
• Super Subby's -- I order one of three things at Subby's. Turkey on wheat with provolone and light mayo. Tuna salad on wheat with lettuce and tomato. Or Subby's chili with mushrooms and provolone. I got hooked on that cup of deliciousness when I was working into the wee hours of the morning at Adventure Golf.
• UDF Cherry Cordial Ice Cream -- This is the one item for which I will break my "no buying food from a gas station" rule. It's pink heaven with chocolate pieces in a bowl.
• Esther Price Candies -- Esther Price was my first taste of GOOD chocolate. It will always hold a special place in my heart. 

The only problem is that in order to enjoy these treats, I have to actually go to Dayton to get them.

Fortunately, there is one more hometown food that I like and can get anytime I want to. That would be Mikesell's potato chips and pretzels. I get those right in my own grocery store. My favorites are the Groovy Chips and the Baked Pretzel Rods. So when the PR peo -- WAIT! This just in! You can buy Mikesell's and Esther Price Chocolate Covered Potato Chips! Do I hear Mother's Day calling?!...but I digress...

 
As I was saying, when the PR people for Mikesell's contacted me to ask if I would like to receive some samples of Mikesell's newest snacks, it didn't take me long to say "sign me up!"

What I received was a box containing samples of three products:

• Kettle-cooked Sour Cream & Onion chips -- Quite tasty. I'm not usually a fan of the onion part of sour cream and onion chip, but the flavor of these was mild enough to be enjoyable. The chip itself was thick and nicely fried.
  
• Kettle-cooked Bold Jamaican Jerk chips -- Mike tried these and liked them (I was too chicken.) He said they were "Hot. Unexpectedly hot, but the burn died down quickly.
  
• Cinnamon Toast Puffcorn -- These were not our favorite. The cinnamon came through nicely, but we weren't fans of the texture. However, if you like the Taco Bell cinnamon crisps, these would be a good snack for you.   

And now here's the part you've been waiting for...you can win a three-month supply* of Mikesell's snacks -- the three I listed above and other Mikesell's snacks. 


* Please note: I'm not sure if these Mikesell's people have ever met a teenage boy. So let the caveat emptor say that one person's three-month supply may only last a week in someone else's house. 

To enter to win the free prize pack of snack sensations, leave a comment on this blog post (which means if you are reading this on Facebook, you need to click through and leave your comment on the actual post) answering the question below:

What kind of chip person are you? Regular? Baked? Kettle-cooked? Flavored? If you're more of a pretzel person, you can let me know that too.  

Also, if you are reading this on Facebook, check out the Mikesell's Facebook page too.  

I will draw a winner using Random.org on Saturday, May 4 at 9pm EDT. The winner will be announced here and on the 4th Frog Facebook page. The hungry winner will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.
 
Giveaway open to U.S. residents ages 18 and up only. 

(Please excuse the wonky formatting on this post. I've been messing with the code to fix it and I'm just calling it "good enough.")

Something smells good in here (Giveaway)

If you walked into my house anytime between a few weeks before Christmas and now, you might have thought that I was baking up a delicious storm. You would have been wrong.

What I was doing was enjoying the scent of Cozy Vanilla Sugar, part of the Holiday Collection sent to me by the smell-good folks at Febreze.

When Febreze first came out, Mike and I regarded it as a way to get the smell out of places where the dog had sat too long or where a naked-bottomed toddler had learned the hard way while potty training. It was an odor neutralizer. Not having a dog or toddler around for a while, I'd kind of gotten disconnected from the brand.

Then, after I'd responded to a giveaway offer in an e-mail (I do have two stinky boys), the Febreze Holiday Collection arrived on my doorstep and I was plenty surprised.

This is what I received:

• a Vanilla Sugar Febreze candle
• a can of Vanilla Sugar Febreze Air Effects Spray
• a Vanilla Sugar Febreze NOTICEables® wall plug-in
• a two-pack of NOTICEables® re-fills

My favorite was the NOTICEables® plug-in. I put one downstairs in the guest bathroom. The scent was so welcoming. There is a switch on the back of the plug in that allows you to control the rate of the scent release. When set to "high", you could smell Vanilla Sugar as soon as you walked in the front door. The low setting contained the scent mostly to the bathroom. Either way, the smell was soft and natural, which is a good thing if you ask me.

Annie quickly absconded with the other one for her bedroom. She is a scentaholic -- and I was happier to let her have the plug-in than the candle, which I put on the kitchen windowsill.

Here is what Annie thinks of the Febreze NOTICEables® plug-in:

 
Speaking of magic -- that's one of the six scents in the Febreze Holiday Collection:

• Apple Spice & Delight: The warming scent of fresh-baked apples coated with sweet cinnamon (available only online) 
• Cozy Vanilla Sugar: Sweet as notes of vanilla that comfort you like a cocoon of blankets
• Cranberries and Frost: Rich as ripe cranberries and frost on a white winter’s day
• Glistening Alpine: As soothing as a tree-lined mountainside glistening with the scent of pine
• Winter Magic & Glow: Crisp as sunshine-lit icicles in fresh, frosty air 
• Holiday Bloom & Cheer: As cheerful as a chorus of holiday aromas blended with winter blossoms

I think the Winter Magic and the Cranberries and Frost especially would carry right through the Valentine Season.

The Giveaway

Not only did Febreze give me a gift pack of yummy-smelling stuff (and information about the product), they want you to have one too. One lucky 4th Frog reader will receive a gift pack that includes a $10 Febreze coupon booklet and a $15 Visa gift card! If you use those coupons and watch the sales, you can snag a bunch of Febreze items with the Visa gift card.

I'm going to keep this one simple.

To enter, leave a comment with the scent you would choose if you are the big winner. For an extra entry, like The 4th Frog Blog on Facebook and leave a comment below letting me know you did (or that you already do). The winner will be drawn at 9pm, Wednesday, January 9. The prize pack will be sent directly from Febreze to the lucky winner.

Thanks to Febreze for this smellarific opportunity. I can't wait to see what springtime scents are available! You can keep up with Febreze on Facebook or on Twitter, too.

NOTE: Febreze® does not represent or warrant the accuracy of any statements or product claims made here, nor does it endorse any opinions expressed within this blogsite.

Will everyone stop eating Sheri's M&Ms?!

About a month ago, over on the 4th Frog Facebook page, we conducted an M&Ms vote. It was a spin-off of the elections, so I asked people to vote for M&M Plain or M&M Peanut.

It would appear that my readers are the independent sort because there were a lot of write-ins. Here's how the returns came in:


Peanut M&Ms - 10 votes

Pretzel M& Ms - 7 votes

Plain M&Ms - 4 votes

Peanut Butter M&Ms - 5 votes

Almond M&Ms - 2 votes

Dark chocolate M&Ms - 2 votes

Mint M&Ms - 2 votes

Coconut M&Ms (blech! Sorry Leah) - 1 vote

Because we were having so much fun -- and because the Halloween candy was on clearance at Target -- I decided to give away one 1 lb. bag of M&Ms to one lucky voter. Sheri, who has been a 4th Frog reader for as long as I can remember, was the chocolicious winner. I promised to send her a bag of her favorite M&Ms, the pretzel variety.

I bought the bag and put it in a hiding place at home until I could get to the post office. Apparently, it wasn't hidden well enough because some kids who will remain nameless found the bag and ate all of Sheri's M&Ms.

So I bought another bag and hid them really well that time. The trouble was that I knew where they were and in a moment of uncontrollable weakness, I opened the bag...and ate every last pretzelly chocolate bite.

Intending to make good on my promise, I bought a third bag of Pretzel M&Ms and tucked them away in a different hiding place. Ironically, instead of the Halloween decorations the original bag had, this one was sporting a Christmas theme.

Friday afternoon I was all set to go to the post office and mail Sheri her prize. Well doggoneit, someone had opened that bag, too.

So I am devising a plan to get Sheri her Pretzel M&Ms. I have several options:

1. Buy another (4th!) bag of Pretzel M&Ms and drive directly to the post office.
2. Buy another bag of Pretzel M&Ms and store them in an empty tampon box, which I'm certain at least 3/5 of my family will not go near, until I can get to the post office.
3. Skip the Pretzel M&Ms and send Sheri a Target gift card so she can buy the M&Ms for herself.

Somehow I am going to make this right. Even if I have to eat 3 more bags of M&Ms to do it.

Call 'em, text 'em, Facebook 'em, TELL 'EM (Giveaway)

Sometimes when my head hits the pillow at night, I think about if I talked to my kids that day. I'm sure I told them stuff -- hang your coat up, do your homework, no more videogames, brush your teeth. But did I really talk to them?

Did I take the time to ask about the doodles on Annie's hands and listen to the tales of friendship attached? Did I check in with Charlie and ask about how things are going with the lunch table crew? Did I tell Robbie how proud I am that he is taking such an interest in doing well in school?

I think we all have days like that. We all have people in our lives who need to hear something from us. Last month, I was invited to a Hallmark Moments & Milestones event in Indianapolis. They think telling people what they need to hear is so important, they've created a whole campaign around it. (OK, so they kind of have a vested interest in the idea, but they happen to be right.)

In true Hallmark fashion, they took this room full of bloggers and started by pulling on our heartstrings with this video, created with snippets and photos from our blogs. (My contribution is Amy M.)

Now, tell me you aren't reaching for the Kleenex right now. 

Then we each wrote our "Tell Them" thought on a piece of paper to share with the room. Here is mine, inspired by the whining and scowling that comes with getting into the driver's seat to drive to three different schools, play rehearsal, basketball practice, Cub Scouts...

Once we all dried our eyes from that little share-fest, we got to hear from two Hallmark writers and an ornament designer. Seriously, me getting to get a little peek inside the inner workings of the brain of a Hallmark writer is like Charlie having a chance to learn shooting technique from Michael Jordan.

After hearing about the ornament design process, I will admit to feeling more than a little bit guilty that I'm not a mom who buys her kids a new Hallmark Christmas ornament each year. Hey, those things are pricey. However, I will say that learning all the steps involved in the process -- did you know they make and dress with real fabric 7 models of each little figure, I can appreciate the cost a little more.

This ornament was carved in clay first, then molded in plastic, then produced in pewter.

Maybe I'll start buying one family ornament each year. 

Even though it was mid-October, we enjoyed frosted Christmas sugar cookies on custom-designed paper plates. If my mother-in-law were still alive, this is so something she would buy. Well, she would ask me to buy them because she would never be able to figure out how to order online.

This cutie on my plate is the daughter of one of the bloggers who was there. So I was very careful not to smear frosting on the plate, so I could wipe the crumbs off and let the mama take the plate home. Oh yes, I did. If it was my kid's face on a paper plate, I would have collected every plate in the room. Your kid's face on a paper plate? That tells them "You're special."

(Want to order plates like these? Or personalized Christmas cards? Use the code BLOG30 at Hallmark.com and enjoy 30% off your order!)

And then, there was the swag. Oh yes, the swag!

There were Thanksgiving greeting cards, interactive story books, ornaments, recordable books, and my favorite, the Text Bands.

Text Bands are wrist-watch like devices that allow kids to type a message (up to 10 characters) into their band. Think of it as "Tell Them, the digital version." The message scrolls across the face of the band -- URCOOL or BSTFRIEND or LUVMOM. Then when the kid bumps knuckles, high five or shake hands with another band-wearer, the messages swap. Up to 24 messages can be saved on the band. Click the picture to the right for a demo.

The Text Bands are meant for kids, but I could see a few uses for husbands and wives -- TONIGHT?...

Anyway...moving along...

The Giveaway
I think the Text Bands are so cool that when Hallmark offered me the chance to do a giveaway of one of their products on my blog, I picked Text Bands. Lucky you!

So here's the deal. This contest is open from now until midnight on Saturday, November 17. I'm using one of those fancy RaffleCopter widgets to collect entries. The winner will be drawn on Saturday morning and your set of 2 Text Bands will be sent to you directly from my new friends at Hallmark.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We have a winner (and more chances to win)!

Cheeseandicecream, aka Nathan Miller! I think Nathan and I would get along very well. He can have the cheese and I'll take the ice cream.

Nathan's entry (which had no bearing on his win, as his number was chosen by Random.org) said this:

The greatest thing about baseball is how time seems to slow down and makes you realize how much you have and to appreciate the true essence of the game. I would love to take my and my finances family to the game that night. Thanks for the chance!

Nathan -- Send your snail mail address to me at 4thfrog70 (at) gmail (dot) com so I can have the Indiana Family of Farmers send out your tickets.


For those of you sad that you didn't win, fear not! There are several other Indiana bloggers hosting the same giveaway. Check them out here:


Redefining Perfect

Angel's Homestead

Family Fun in the City

Chaos is Bliss

Basilmomma

Kat's Cafe

GR-8 Indianapolis Indians ticket giveaway

I don't do a lot of giveaways, but from time to time one comes along that sounds like fun. This is one of those times. The Indiana Family of Farmers has invited me to take my family -- AND ONE OF YOURS -- to the June 11, 2012 Indianapolis Indians baseball game.

A lot of giveaways are set up for families of 4, which leaves someone out if you're in my family of 5. But IFoF is letting me give away 8 tickets to its Family Night at the Ballpark. That means even a big family can have a big night at Victory Field.

Gates open at 5:30pm with the game beginning against the Rochester Red Wings at 7:05pm. In addition to tickets to the game, the winner of this giveaway is invited to join IFoF for an in-game picnic that begins at 7:30pm. You can choose to watch the game from the Coors Light Picnic area or from Section 120 on the first base side of the stadium.

Sounds great, right?  

Here's what you have to do to enter:

Simply leave a comment with your favorite thing about going to a baseball game AND how many tickets you'll need. If you want all 8 tickets, great. If you only need 4 or 5, let me know that too and I can give the other tickets away to someone else. Be sure to leave your e-mail address or make sure your e-mail address is available on your profile.

For extra entries:

1. Like the 4th Frog Blog on Facebook and leave a comment below that you did.
2. Like the Indiana Family of Farmers on Facebook and leave a comment below that you did.

Entries will be taken until Friday, May 25 at 8pm. I'll use Random.org to choose a winner (or winners if the first person doesn't need all 8 tickets).

Good luck! I hope to see you at Victory Field on June 11!

And the winner is...

Entry #7, selected at www.random.org -- Sadie!  (@Ohiocatfish on Twitter)

Sadie, check your e-mail for your giant fortune cookie certificate from Eversave.

Thanks to everyone else for the entries.

Party on (and win free food!) - GIVEAWAY UPDATE

The Super Bowl party is still rocking in Indianapolis! Yesterday, I took my Mom and Dad down to Super Bowl village to soak up some of the atmosphere. They had a blast. Check it out:

The requisite pose in front of the iconic XLVI on Monument Circle

As close as we'll get to the Lombardi Trophy this year

Loving the mash-up of NFL with Indy Car

My favorite Super Bowl XLVI image, I think

An ad or a warning that Madonna is doing the halftime show?

My mom said this was sacrilegious. I said I was just giving the Pontiff peace.
I think he was at St. John's praying Madonna won't do anything embarrassing

It is definitely "Party On" around here. And you can join in the fun!  

Eversave Indianapolis is hosting a Big Game Bash party on Twitter at 1pm today. Follow #SuperEversaveIndy to join the fun to answer football and Indy-related trivia questions for the chance to win prizes. At 2pm, a grand prize winner will snag a $100 gift certificate to Penn Station East Coast Subs, which has locations in 14 states.

If you don't have a free Eversave account, you can get one here. It's one of my favorite daily deal sites.

If you don't have a Twitter account (and the previous information is Greek to you), don't fret. I'll be doing an Eversave giveaway right here on my blog today. Check back here or watch the 4th Frog Facebook page for more details. (If you do have a Twitter account, you can follow me at @4thFrog. Leave a comment below with your Twitter handle so I can be sure to follow you too.)

The Giveaway

 You will be ever so fortunate to win this giveaway from Eversave Indianapolis -- especially because it's an internet deal and you don't have to live in Indy to win! One lucky 4th Frog reader will win 2 giant custom-message fortune cookies ($20 value). Shipping is on you and starts at $6.50. Eversave Indy gave me the same deal for hosting this giveaway. It might be a fun way to announce a vacation or something to the kids.

To enter, leave a comment here on the blog with a fortune you'd like to find in a fortune cookie.

For extra entries:

1. Tweet: My fortune says I win with @4thFrog and @EversaveIND http://bit.ly/wFekft -- and leave a comment here saying you did.
2. Facebook: Post this message on FB -- My fortune says I win with @4thFrog and @EversaveIND http://bit.ly/wFekft -- and leave a comment here, saying you did so.

Entries must be received by Saturday, February 4th at 6pm.

If you don't have confidence in your own good fortune and want to snag the Save for yourself, click here to buy the deal for $10.

A winner and a loser

The winner
In a case of "the last shall be first," Random.org selected comment #34, Caralyn, as the winner of the Chex Mix Muddy Buddies giveaway. If you want to learn more about Caralyn, check out her blog Blink and You'll Miss It. Caralyn, send me your address at 4thfrog70 (at) gmail (dot) com so I can have your Muddy Buddies prize pack sent directly to you.

The loser
You should never trust a recipe that a bad cook recalls from memory. I got it close, but left out a few things. I realized this when I came across the recipe I'd printed out. Here is the correct version:

Caramel Pork with Vidalia Onions

1-1/4 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 c. chicken broth
3 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced (I used dried)
1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes
1 whole lime, cut into wedges

Heat a medium skillet over high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork, saute 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt. Add onion and garlic, stir-fry 2 minutes.

Stir in broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and red pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thick. Serve with lime wedges. 

I squeezed one lime wedge over the pork on my plate. It was really good. So there you go. The correct recipe. Just one more reason why this will never become the 4th Frog Cooking Blog.

Needlessly delicious giveaway

You know that yummy snack/dessert with chocolate and Chex cereal and powdered sugar? People around here call it "puppy chow," though it's definitely not one for the dogs. It makes appearances at holiday parties and scrapbook overnights. And now, on grocery store shelves!

Always looking for the next best thing, the people at Chex decided to take that yummy treat and pre-package it. They call it "Muddy Buddies" and I got a chance to try it through MyBlogSpark.

Muddy Buddies is made with corn Chex, peanut butter, chocolate and a "powdery sweet coating." (I sure hope that's a euphemism for sugar.) Like other Chex mixes, it has 50% less fat than regular potato chips, which might make you feel less guilty eating it...unless you eat the whole bag by yourself.

When my Chex Mix Muddy Buddies gift pack arrived from MyBlogSpark, I actually did share it. The gift pack included:

• A serving bowl
• A magnetic clip
• An airtight OXO container
• A bag of Muddy Buddies

Mike, who is not a real sweets eater, said "these things are needlessly delicious." I would have agreed, but my mouth was too full of Muddy Buddies to say anything. Amazingly, we did have enough restraint to get the Muddy Buddies into the container and put away, though we didn't bother with putting them in the serving bowl. They lasted a little over 36 hours, thanks to the fact that we did not tell the kids they were there.

I have to say that I might have enjoyed the airtight container than I did the Muddy Buddies. It's in my pantry now filled with popcorn kernels.  The lid has a button you push to create the seal. Seriously, I'd buy a whole set of those containers if I could.

Now for the giveaway:

You, too, can get a Muddy Buddies gift pack from Chex Mix through MyBlogSpark! To enter, leave a comment and let me know where you would take Muddy Buddies. Will they be an at-home treat? A lunchbox snack? A substitute for Cracker Jack at the ballpark?

For an extra entries,

1. Like 4th Frog on Facebook
2. Like ChexMix on Facebook
3. Tweet this: @4thfrog, ChexMix Muddy Buddies & #myblogspark = a delicious giveaway, http://4thfrog.blogspot.com

Then leave a comment here that you did. Entries will be accepted from now through Saturday at 9:00pm EST. The winner will be selected using Random.org. The Chex Mix Muddy Buddies gift pack will be shipped to the winner directly by MyBlogSpark.

I scream, you scream for FREE ice cream

It's almost summertime! And summertime means ice cream time! (Well, for me, so does fall, winter and spring, but that's not the point of this post.)

Have I ever told you how I feel about ice cream? Let me remind you -- I LOVE it. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be ice cream.

I like the 50-cent McDonald's soft serve cone for a not-too-indulgent treat. I like Maggie Moo's dark chocolate and Cinna-Moo mixed with almonds for something special. And if I'm near a Baskin-Robbins, it's definitely the chocolate peanut butter. And I don't keep ice cream at home because that would be trouble!

In fact, the only downside to ice cream is that pesky fat and calorie thing. But it seems that new frozen yogurt shops are popping up all over the country. It's like ice cream without the guilt. All-natural, probiotic, gluten-free and kosher. Not only is it delicious, it's also very PC.

And today through Sunday, I'm hosting one delicious giveaway with Eversave.com. One lucky winner in the Indianapolis area will win a Save at Red Mango Frozen Yogurt, plus $5 in Save Rewards to use on an Eversave daily deal of their choice!

 To enter to win this yummy giveaway, do the following:

• Sign up for Eversave Indianapolis
• “Like” Eversave Indy on Facebook and/or follow Eversave Indy on Twitter
• Leave a comment here telling me what your favorite ice cream flavor or combo is.

You can earn extra entries by tweeting: “I want to win a free ice cream Save from @EversaveIND and @4thFrog”

If you don't want to wait for the giveaway, you can snag this Save for yourself. Spend just $5 for two medium, one-topping frozen yogurts from Red Mango in Broad Ripple ($10.24 value). Here's the fine print:

• Eversavers may buy 2 Saves per person and 2 additional Saves as gifts
• Customers may use one Save per visit
• Customers may add as many more toppings as they like (that fit in the cup) for just 50 cents more!
• Promotional value of the Save expires on Nov. 20, 2011

Now, don't go feeling left out if you don't live in Indianapolis. Eversave is throwing a virtual ice cream social by offering great ice cream saves in several cities across the U.S. Click the picture below to find deals near you.

Disclosure: I'm promoting this giveaway on behalf of Eversave. In exchange for participating, I earned Save Bucks. The content of this post was all written by me, myself and I. And any change to the landscape of my butt as a result of consumption of ice cream is solely my responsibility.

A Vera lovely giveaway

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was heading to Fort Wayne, Indiana as a guest of the convention and visitors bureau. The anticipated highlight of the trip was time spent at the Vera Bradley outlet sale.

If you're not familiar with Vera Bradley, then you clearly don't have ovaries or boobs, it's a company that makes purses, totes, luggage and accessories in a variety of patterns and fabrics. Each year, they have a huge outlet sale where you can find hundreds of items for 40-60% off. The sale is held at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and I had no idea what I was in for:

I ended up buying 3 purses, 2 wallets and 1 large duffel bag for $122! And lucky for me, because we were traveling with the convention and visitors folks, we got to by-pass the lines at registration and at checkout.

Oh...you're thinking I said "giveaway" in the title of this post, but I haven't gotten to the point yet? Sorry about that. I just got carried away with all the fun memories of sale shopping. So yes...I DO have a giveaway.

Courtesy of Vera Bradley and VisitFortWayne.com, I have a tote in the Viva la Vera pattern to give to one lucky reader. Annie is modeling it here:

And here's a closer look:

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post telling me what you would do with the Viva la Vera tote -- keep it, give it as a gift (to whom?), etc.

For extra entries, you can:

• Follow the 4th Frog blog and leave a comment saying you're a new follower (or you already follow)
• "Like" the 4th Frog page on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did (or you already like it)

I'll use random.org to select the winner on Monday, May 2 and will post the winner here and on the Facebook page. Good luck!

Half-baked giveaway

I've told you how much I love Eversave.com. It's a daily deal site with lots of terrific deals for fun things to do. Today I love Eversave even more because they've given me a Save to give away here on the 4th Frog! And just like my in-laws do for the un-birthday children, they've given me the same Save to keep for myself so I don't feel left out.

This giveaway is for anyone willing to drive to Broad Ripple in Indianapolis to get half-baked...pottery that is.

If you want to buy the Save, which is available through Friday, January 28, it's $10 for $20 worth of paint-your-own pottery. You have until July 26 to use the Save. The only restrictions are that you must call ahead for reservations and that you may only use one Save per payment. But if your friend buys her own Save, the two of you can go together and each use your Save certificates.

I've done the paint-your-own pottery thing before, though not at Half-Baked. I always have a cool idea in my head that doesn't quite translate to my piece of pottery, but I have fun in the process, so I don't get too hung up on the finished piece. I did have a platter that I painted a few years ago that I was really happy with. Unfortunately, it broke recently, which means this Save is well-timed.

With it's invitation to bring-your-own food and drink to enjoy while you get your creative juices flowing, Half-Baked Pottery is the perfect place for:

• Date nights
• Girls Night Out
• Bridal showers
• Birthday parties
• Parent-child outings
• Scout troops

Awesome, huh? Even more awesome is the chance to get the Save for $0 by winning it in this giveaway.

Giveaway details
One lucky winner, chosen by Random.org, will receive this Save. There are four ways to enter --

1. Leave a comment here about how you would use this Save (GNO, let your kids use it, etc.).
2. Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment that you did -- or let me know that you're already a 4th Frog loyalist.
3. "Like" the 4th Frog Facebook page and leave a comment here telling me you did (or you already do).
4. Blog about this giveaway on your own blog and leave the link here (I'll give you 2 entries for this.).

I'll post the name of the lucky winner on Saturday, January 29. Then the good folks at Eversave.com will e-mail you directly with your Save certificate.

Not sure what to get Mom for Mother's Day?

How about a new kitchen?

Check it out here: HH Gregg-It's All About Mom

But hurry...deadline is TODAY!