Local Seattle SUBWAY® restaurants are tackling the serious topic of obesity with a fun contest to reward students for healthy eating and exercise habits. Today through September 27, public, private and homeschooled students in the Seattle area ages 5 to 14 with parent permission can draw a poster or create a video showing how they “Get Fit Like the Seahawks.”

Contest entries will be judged by a local panel with two grand prize winners being selected to receive a $1,000 fitness grant for their school or educational institution, a $500 SUBWAY® Card, an autographed Seahawks football, and two tickets to an upcoming home game. Three honorable mention winners will receive a $100 SUBWAY® card and two tickets to an upcoming home game.
Visit FreshFitSeattle.com for more info and entry forms. Be sure to go enter the contest if you live in the Seattle area!

Obesity rates in Washington have almost doubled in the past 15 years according to a study released by Trust for America’s Health. The study reveals that 11.1 percent of children and adolescents in Washington are considered obese. Obesity in children is generally caused by a lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns or a combination of both.

“We are excited to broaden our partnership with SUBWAY® restaurants through the FRESH FIT® Video and Poster Competition,” said Seahawks president Peter McLoughlin. “We want students to share their success stories and how leading an active lifestyle helps them to succeed.”

Today, we are giving FIVE of our U.S. readers a chance to win $10 SUBWAY® gift cards! Just leave us a comment telling us what you do to help your kids (or yourself) stay fit, be active, or eat healthy. For a second entry, post about this giveaway on Facebook and leave us another comment with a link to it. Make sure you leave a way for us to contact you if you are a winner! This giveaway will end Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at 11:59 pm PT.

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Time to announce the milk unleashed giveaway winner. The winner of a milk unleashed variety pack is...

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I have been needing to replenish my birthday card stash for quite awhile now. It is amazing how fast I go through them! Luckily, EKSuccess Tools recently mailed me some of their fabulous tools so I could get to work. Because we have been having gorgeous sunny weather here in Seattle, I decided to go with bright colors on my cards. Plus, birthdays should be bright and fun celebrations, right?

Here is the stash of supplies that EKSuccess Tools sent to me.


They really were perfect for helping me make these cards. The awesome part about these tools is that on the packaging they have QR codes that you can scan on your smartphone to get project ideas! How clever is that! It sends you to videos that offer ideas and help for some projects using the tools. Love it.

Let me take you through this first card that I made...

First I cut my card and then used the bone folder tool to make a crease. I love this tool!It makes the perfect, even crease without ripping the paper. The other end can be used to adhere rub-ons or for smoothing. It is really so versatile and a must-have tool.


Next I wanted to make punched strips of colored paper to place all across my card. This dot border punch was so cute, I really wanted to use it to make a big impact.


I love the punches. They are so easy to use since you can line up your paper to follow the line of pattern so you know you are getting the perfect, uniform punch each time.

I punched down one side of the strip of paper, then turned it around to punch the other side. Then I lined up and glued each strip onto my card.
I used the EKSuccess Tools retractable knife to trim off the little edges that I needed to precisely cut. I love this tool because it is very safe to use and has a little compartment with blades so you can keep them contained. It also has a part to put the used blades in.

Next, I cut some rectangular card stock and used the dual tip silver marker to write a Happy Birthday sentiment on the card. These markers are such a pretty color and I love that I can add a hand written message on cards.

I added a little ribbon bow, and then attached the message to my card using the EKSuccess Tools 3-D foam dot circles. I use these all the time! I love being able to add dimension to cards by popping items up. Makes cards so fun!

Voila...a Happy Birthday card!

My second card was super simple! I covered my card in patterned paper. Then laid a strip of white card stock across it. Then I used my EKSuccess Tools 1-inch circle punch to cut circles to place on the strip. I probably use this size punch more than any other. It is the perfect size for so many things!

I alternated between patterned circles and solid and then used my 3-D foam dot circles to pop them up across the paper. Add a ribbon, a sentiment, and you have another birthday card!
Somehow, I don't think these two cards are going to last me very long! I plan on making more in the very near future, and now I have so many perfect tools to help me out.


I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with EKSuccess Tools and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

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As you have probably noticed, we have brought posts to you that are part of our work as BlogFrog Influencers. It is a network of bloggers and active social media users. BlogFrog has a great community of influencers like us who write posts to share information, advice, and content with our audience.

We love being a part of BlogFrog! It is important to us to be involved in networking and influence with other writers and bloggers. We really are a community and it is great to all be part of something we love and believe in.

The great thing about BlogFrog is they really work hard to match us with brand programs that will fit with what we want to share with our audience. We can select or decline any brand programs and we really like to choose the posts that we are excited about or products we love and feel like we want to share. BlogFrog also enables us to earn money on our blog so that we can continue to fund other projects that we love to post on our own as well.

As a part of the BlogFrog Influencer Circle, I have the chance to create meaningful, authentic content for brands I love. If you’re a blogger interested in new opportunities, join BlogFrog’s Influencer Circle and check out some of the top brands already working with BlogFrog.

If you’re a brand looking to work with online influencers, learn more about BlogFrog’s Brand Solutions here. Now, I’m curious. What do you love most about blogs and blogging?


This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BlogFrog. The opinions and text are all mine.

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It’s back to school time which means car pools, soccer practice, recitals and maybe a little time for mom thrown in for good measure. Having an on-the-go lifestyle can be challenging to say the least and Milk Unleashed is here to help!

With handy single-serving shelf safe milk there’s no need to ever run out! You can take it anywhere at anytime. Milk Unleashed goes wherever your family goes, whether it’s a lunchbox, a cooler, purse or a diaper bag.



Check out this fun blog app for games, tips, and ideas! Today, Milk Unleashed is giving away a free Milk Unleashed variety pack consisting of four shelf safe milks (white and chocolate) from: Hershey’s,LaLa, Horizon and Organic Valley to one of our readers*! Plus the variety pack will have a cow stress ball and information on shelf safe milk.
*Milk will be chosen by random from the previously mention brands.

To enter to win, try out the blog app and choose one of the options below:
--share your favorite On-The-Go Games from the blog app in the comments section
--take the Family On-The-Go Quiztacular and post your results in the comments section

Good Luck! This giveaway will end Monday, September 17th at 11:59pm PT, then we will select a winner!

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My mom taught me to write thank you cards for everything. Even if she had to stand behind me and wait as I wrote out each one, I would get them out for every birthday and Christmas gift. And even now that she's not reminding me on every occasion, I still feel the need to send thank you notes. The only thing that stops me is not having a card ready to go! But Tiny Prints is out to change that. 

For one week only, you can get 10 FREE thank you cards from Tiny Prints. All you pay is shipping (as low as $3.50). 

These cards can be completely customized and personalized to your tastes. Choose from thousands of designs, add pictures, change the text, the fonts, the colors. You get to make these cards uniquely you. 

Just use the promo code FREETHANKS when you check out and pay the shipping and Tiny Prints will send the 10 cards right away. Then...it's up to you to use them! Your mom won't even have to make you. 

Let's start a Thank You Revolution! 

Visit Tiny Prints now to take advantage of this incredible deal by September 19, 2012. 

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Pretty close, huh? And I've got the "You are getting very sleepy" quote printable in several colors for you for free! Download them free here in blue, gray, citron, and pink. Then head over to Make and Takes to see how to make this fun wall art!

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Thanks for entering the Say Hello Shop giveaway! The winner of the set of MDF signs is. . .

Congrats! Send us a note so we can get you your prize! If you didn't win, the prices are so great that you should head over to Say Hello to pick up your favorite item anyway!

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When I was at Cost Plus World Market the other day, I saw some blue corn and flax seed chips that I really wanted to try. But you know how it is. If you find a bag of chips you want to try, you know you are going to need some salsa to go with it. When you want to get some salsa to go with the chips, you end up finding two different kinds of salsa you want to try.

Then when you have that in your cart, you decide you need to come up with a dinner to go with it. So you buy a whole bunch of other items to make it happen.

Then you decide to add a few treats to that. They apparently did not make it home because they were nowhere to be found when I took some pictures. I do remember them tasting mighty delicious though.

Then get yourself ready to make a delicious dinner with all the lovely items you found at Cost Plus World Market (and eat a few chips with salsa along the way).



Santa Fe Salsa Chicken
6 chicken breasts
1 jar salsa (any kind you like!)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can black beans
optional: (some frozen corn if you didn't use a corn salsa
any toppings you like: cilantro, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

-- Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low for about 6 hrs or until chicken can be shredded. You can eat this on tortillas as shredded chicken tacos (my family's favorite) or over rice.





**Grand Prize package includes:

A trip for two to to Santa Fe, New Mexico (this is a 5 day Trip for 2 to Santa Fe which includes airfare and hotel)
Hands on Southwestern Cooking class with Master Chef
Personally signed glossy cookbook
Multi-course dinner at the acclaimed Geronimo
Southwestern Foodie Tour with a cultural kick
A $1,000 World Market gift card

There will also be 3 runner up prize winners that will each receive a $500 World Market gift card!
The Gourmet Getaway Sweepstakes runs from August 18, 2012 until September 21, 2012.
Also, if you share the sweepstakes with 5 of your friends (via FB share or email) you can receive 5 additional bonus entries!

Be sure to follow Cost Plus World Market on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest for the latest information.



This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™, but all my opinions are my own.

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Three cheers for back-to-school! I love the school supplies, the ushering in of fall, and the extra time to get things done while my kids are gone. Am I a mean mom? I have friends who cry when their kids go back (love you Melynie!), but aside from a little blubbering as they walk into the school, it's a good day for me. So I think we should celebrate with a giveaway!

But back to the school supplies for a minute--did I mention I love chalk? I do. I love it. But I have you ever tried to find a box of white chalk at back-to-school time? It's nearly impossible. After trying Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Target, and JoAnn, my husband finally tracked down a box at Office Max. What a sweetie. He knew I needed it for these darling chalkboard photo props for my kids' first day of school.

I started with these blank MDF signs I got from my friend Holly of the Say Hello Shop. She is amazing! She's a talented illustrator  and her shop is full of fun finished pieces and unfinished projects for home decor and entertaining. Here's a quick tutorial for how to take these unfinished signs and turn them into fun photo props!
How to Make a Chalkboard Photo Prop

2. When your paint has cured, season your chalkboard before using it. To do this, rub chalk over the entire surface. If you don't, the first thing you write on it will stay there for-ev-er.

Now it's time to practice your cursive writing! There has been a lot of chalkboard art going around Pinterest lately--I wish I had the handwriting of some of these people! But alas. I used my best handwriting, then shaded a little on the downstrokes.

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Thanks for entering our rubbermaid bento box and topper giveaway! We are happy to hear you all being excited about these great new storage containers! The lucky winner of a bento box and topper set is....

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