Just wanted to share a fabulous Mother's Day giveaway from Utah's Best Vacation Rentals. They're giving away a FREE TWO NIGHT STAY in a select vacation property. One winner will also receive a $50.00 Dinner Voucher to Madelines Steak House in Sandy, Utah and a Professional Theraputic Massage. Amazing!
To enter, just use the Rafflecopter widget below and make sure to tell me if you win!
I love being a mother. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. But sometimes…it's rough. Diapers, dishes, and runny noses are my daily routine. Not going to lie, I'd love a break! I was so grateful to visit Massage Envy in Sugarhouse and get my pamper on! (Not to be confused with getting my Pampers on. That's my baby!)
Between the table massage, the chair massage and the sugar foot scrub, I was almost too relaxed to drive home! The therapists were fantastic, asking me about my activities to know exactly where I might need the most work done. Sarah even taught me how to stretch my arms to avoid getting carpal tunnel.
Not only was Massage Envy good to me, they're being GREAT to you!
To celebrate Mother's Day, Massage Envy is giving one of my local readers a complementary 1-hour massage at any Massage Envy location along the Wasatch Front. (The gift card must be redeemed before May 31. If you are unable to do so, please don't enter.)
Enter through the Rafflecopter widget below.
I'm not the only one offering this awesome prize. For more chances at winning, visit these ladies' blogs!
Becky @ UTAH SWEET SAVINGS
Leanne @ ORGANIZE YOUR STUFF NOW
Marissa @ RAE GUN RAMBLINGS
Melissa @ FABLIFYIT
Stacie @ NITE OWL CREATES
Taralyn @ KEEP MOVING FORWARD WITH ME
Vanessa @ OUR THRIFTY IDEAS
In case you couldn't tell from my pancake post, I love Shirley J products. I was able to try four of their cookie mixes for a very special event…my daughter's baptism!
My daughter turned eight in March and, in our church, that's when they can be baptized. All our family came for the baptism so we needed to feed the clan! Enter milk and Shirley J cookies…
I can't imagine a simpler (or more delicious) spread!
Shirley J's cookie mixes couldn't be easier to use. You either add water, shortening, or butter and mix. That's it! I made the Classic Sugar Cookies, Coconutty Macaroons, Oatmeal Jumbles, and Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies.
The sugar cookies have a delicous crunchy outside with a chewy center. It's hard to find a good sugar cookie but these fit the bill.
Macaroons were the crowd favorite. I added cocoa to the mix to make them chocolatey. I also added chocolate chips to the oatmeal cookies. You can never have enough chocolate!
The ginger molasses cookies were the perfect mix of spice and sweet. Basically, all of Shirley J's mixes turned out some delicious cookies! Plus, by using their mixes I minimized time in the kitchen and maximized time with my family, which was the most important thing for me.
To help you maximize time with your family, Shirley J is giving away one lucky winner FOUR cookie mixes, a $25 gift card to their website, and a special Mother's Day Gift Set.
This prize package is worth over $75. What a way to tell Mom how much you love her. Or what a way to treat yourself! Enter by using the Rafflecoptor widget below. The contest ends Friday night, so get your entries in quick. After all, Mother's day is just a week away!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I'm not sure how many people I know sell It Works!, but I have been skeptical with every Facebook post I see touting it's amazing powers. I'm a firm believer in diet and exercise, but I'll try almost anything once, so I contacted my local gal Laurianne about It Works!.
Though It Works! is primarily known for their wraps, they also have a line of vitamins, supplements, and skin care. I decided to try the much-discussed body wrap. You can apply it anywhere, but I decided to use it on my poor, post-baby tummy.
The wrap is coated on one side with a botanical-based cream that is supposed to tighten, tone, and firm the skin through detoxifying where it's applied. It's quite large and covered the front of my entire abdomen. To keep the wrap in place, I rolled myself in plastic wrap like a leftover casserole.
The wrap smells like Icy-Hot and made my tummy quite cold! It wasn't bad, but man, it woke me up! I left the wrap on for the recommended 45 minutes. You can leave it on longer, as long as there is still cream on the wrap, but I'm too impatient for that.
I'm a numbers gal, so measured my upper, natural, and lower waist prior to applying the wrap. After 45 minutes, there was no change to the upper or lower measurement, but my natural waist was down 1/4-inch. Better than a kick in the head! After 72 hours I measured again to no change.
Enough about the numbers, it's the pictures that tell the story.
Using the wrap wasn't a life-changing event for me, but it's also recommended that you do a full cycle of four applications, 72 hours apart. Who knows what would have happened if I had done that? But I'm curious to see the difference that one wrap could make for you and so is Laurianne. That's why she's giving YOU a chance to WIN an It Works! body wrap!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I have a confession to make. I hate pancakes. Really, really hate them. I always have. I think it's the consistency. Once they have syrup on them, they turn into mush and that's sooo not appealing to me. I make them for my family because they love them and I always end up eating something else. But I admit, I cook a dang good pancake. It's all about the flippin' timing. So when I won a prize pack from Shirley J that included a can of their Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix, I decided to show you my mad skills.
I normally make my pancakes from scratch, but this mix was so easy. Just add water? I'm down!
Don't mix the batter so much that the lumps are gone. Overmixing creates too much gluten, which creates a dense pancake.
To tell if your pancake is ready to turn, the key is in the bubbles.
Once bubbles start to form and pop around the edges, you know they're ready to turn.
See…perfect!
Here's the finished product.
Believe it or not, this is my plate and I finished it! I really enjoyed it. My family did too. I asked them which they liked better, mine or Shirley J's. All of them answered the latter. Homemade schmomade, I'm going with Shirley J from now on!
And thanks to Shirley J, you can too! They've generously donated a Pancake Prize Package to a lucky reader!
One of you will win the Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix, a Shirley J whisk and apron and a $25 gift card to Shirley J, a package worth over $50!
You have until Sunday, April 7 at midnight to enter. This contest is open to US residents only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned in some of my posts for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe my readers will enjoy. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Jill Swensen