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

I don't need a press release to tell me about stress relief

A few days ago, I received this PR pitch in my e-mail:

I thought to myself, "I don't need an expert to tell me how to release my stress. I have up-close-and-personal experience with that all by myself." So today, I'm going to tell you how to release stress in less than 5 minutes without buying someone's book.

Eat something. Today is National Donut Day, but a donut -- or 3 -- can make stress disappear right quick. Another good choice is a chocolate frosted brownie. Ice cream is always helpful, too. You can try to harness the stress-relieving power of carrots if you'd like, but I can't promise results.

Throw a hissy fit. Stomp your feet. Bang your hands. Scream. Cry. Blurt out whatever words make you feel better.  If "Oh pickles!" is the phrase that pays in your stress relief, holler it with gusto.

Color. Grab some crayons and paper and color. I don't know if it's the rhythm of moving the crayon  back and forth across the paper or if it's the satisfaction of smashing wax against something, but I find coloring helps when I am stressed.

Swing. Quick! Find the nearest playground and hop on a swing. Pump your legs, breathe in the air as you lean back, exhale as you swing forward. Works every time. Unless it's raining. Then it might just add to your stress. Also, if you have a violent streak and might be tempted to kick over some little kid running in front of your swing, head to the bakery instead. (See above: Eat something.)

Pray: My priest will be happy that I included this option in my list. Praying that God will come and annihilate whomever it is that is causing you stress probably won't be very fruitful. But praying for peace, calm, understanding, or strength is a good idea.

Fart. Let's be honest. Sometimes stress gets you right in the gut. Let a big, stinky one rip and chances are you'll feel much better.

What are your favorite ways to relieve stress?

My first Unwich experience

There are a lot of things to love about Jimmy John's. Tasty food. Free delivery. Funny commercials. Thinny chips. Salt and vinegar chips. The Vito (that's an  Italian sub with salami, provolone, capicola, onion, lettuce, tomato & Italian vinaigrette). The hot peppers that are so hot I order them, let the juice soak in and then take the actual peppers off before eating the sandwich. And of course the bread. Oh, the BREAD. 

I don't know what it is about Jimmy's John's bread, but it is soooo gooood. It also has a lot of carbs, which I'm trying to cut back on. Plus, without the bread, the calorie count for a Vito falls to 340 from 600 calories. So today, I decided to give an Unwich a try. For my first experience, it was decent. I'd give it a 7 out of 10. Some of that was JJ's fault. Some was my own. 

Those are not my man hands. I didn't take a before pic, so I had to Google one.

I ordered a #5 Unwich, the Vito, with no onions. I got a #5 Vito with onions. I was so distracted by the new unwichian adventure that I forgot to order hot peppers. (I had it delivered, so I couldn't take it back to make it right. Although, if I was in the store, I probably would have let #1 & 2 slide anyway. It wasn't that big of a deal.)

I knew I'd seen signs at JJ's before about how to eat an Unwich, so I Googled it just to school myself on the proper technique. It seems the cardinal rule is DO NOT UNWRAP THE UNWICH.

Then, I UNWRAPPED THE UNWICH. Yes, I did. I know I shouldn't have, but I did. The lettuce was sticking out the end kind of floppy and it just seemed awkward to eat it all wrapped up. Plus, I didn't want to get a biteful of paper. (For what it's worth, I unwrap my Taco Bell, too.) Once I had it unwrapped, then it was really awkward to eat. So, I got a plate and cut up my Unwich to eat like a salad. 

Functionally, it worked pretty well that way. Flavorfully, I kept thinking how much better this salad would be with a little more dressing and a side of that delicious Jimmy John's bread. And I knew that in about 2 hours I was going to be hungry again, which turned out to be right on the money. 

Speaking of money, when you order an Unwich, they charge you the same amount they charge for the sandwich. That seems kind of like a crock. That's like saying the bread is free, which it's not because if you try to buy the bread by itself, it costs 50 cents. So it seems like an Unwich should be at least 50 cents cheaper. 

Maybe next time, I'll just order the regular Vito (no onions and add hot peppers, please), then dump the guts onto a plate to eat with a fork and save the bread for the kids or to freeze and make garlic bread with later. I would also make sure I had some fruit or Thinny Chips to go with it.

Do you wish you had an Unwich?