Seattle, Tempe, and San Diego Area Adventure Run on July 6 (FREE with PRIZES) and Giveaway Reminder

Quick note with two timely items:

For my readers in the Seattle, WA, San Diego, CA or Tempe, AZ Area, Roadrunner Sports is hosting an Adventure Run with TONS of prizes/giveaways on Thursday, July 6, 2011.  I wish I lived closer to the Seattle store!  Best of all, registration is FREE!  If you go, let me know what goodies you were able to score!

And, don't forget, our Giveaway ends TONIGHT at 9 pm.  And don't forget to include your bonus entry!

Being Nutritionally Prepared and OUR FIRST GIVEAWAY!!! [GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED]



Out of necessity, I began packing my lunch EVERY day about 4 years ago.  Eating out is just not convenient for me.  Sounds odd, but true.  I have found, however, that nothing is better than bringing my own lunch and snacks.  I have a choice when I pack my food for the day and if I choose wisely it is very easy to stick to my intended intake for the day.  Of course, on days where we celebrate Birthdays and other special events, I lose some control, but given the consistency of my intake day after day, those days really don't have an impact. 

When I was returning to work after the birth of my son, I needed a new lunch bag/milk bag.  A friend with Thirty-One Gifts mentioned a great special on thermal lunch totes.  I have always loved the look of Thirty-One items, particularly the casual totes and home organization items.  So, I decided to order one for myself.  I also decided to order one for each of my girls.  Our bags are pictured above.  I love mine.  It is the perfect size whether I take a sandwich or a Lean Cuisine and all my snacks.  Seriously, that is a LOT of snacks.  Most days my bag holds not only a sandwich, but a yogurt, a cheese stick or cottage cheese, two pieces of fruit, a granola bar, and occasionally other containers of fruit or nuts.  And, it is more than enough room to bring home a few bottles and my empty containers.  They clean up marvelously as well.  I was not surprised though that I loved my bag. 

What I was surprised about was how much my girls like them.  They are so proud to carry their bags whenever we head out for more than just a few errands.  We use them for packing lunches and snacks ALL. THE. TIME.  In fact, I have to hide them at home so they don't carry them around all day!  And, when I say they clean up well, if you knew my youngest daughter you would know it would HAVE to clean up well for us to still be using them 5 months after we got them!  The biggest reason I love these bags is since the girls are so proud to take them everywhere, we all prepare healthy snacks and avoid the fast food nightmare.  And, it is so much cheaper to be prepared with healthy snacks from home!  Who knew cute little bags could have such an impact on my kids, who always would ask to stop at McDonalds!

So, when I mentioned to my friend I wanted to do a post about how much I loved these bags, she was so gracious to offer to provide one for a GIVEAWAY!!  My first giveaway to my readers!  The winner will receive one thermal tote and get to choose their fabric!  So, here is how it will work:

The Giveaway will end at 9pm PST on Thursday, June 30.  I will choose a winner at random from the comments left below and post the winner here on Friday, July 1.  I will send you an email (so be sure to include an email address) and will need you to respond to me within 48 hours to receive directions on how to order your thermal tote!  There are several ways to enter, the first entry is mandatory and each additional item below will give you one additional entry:

1.  MANDATORY entry:  Visit Thirty-One Gifts and tell us in a comment which fabric you would choose for your thermal tote and tell us what would be your favorite healthy snack to carry in it.

2.  Subscribe to my blog via email or your favorite feed and leave a comment telling me you did so.  You must confirm your subscription.

3.  Like From the Glider Rocker to the Finish Line on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so.

4.  Share this Giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so.

5.  Follow From the Glider Rocker to the Finish Line on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you are a follower with your Twitter name.

6.  Retweet this Giveaway on Twitter and paste it in a comment below.

7.  Email Christy at Thirty-One through her Thirty-One web page to subscribe to her email list and leave a comment below telling me you did so.

Good Luck Everyone! 

Disclaimer:  This Giveaway has been provided by Christy at Thirty-One.  I have and will not receive any compensation for this Giveaway or my review of the thermal lunch totes.  All opinions offered on the thermal lunch totes are my own.

Let's Kick it Off with a Way to Save or Even Get FREE Gear!

One of the easiest ways I have found to get some of the little extras to make training more fun or more comfortable is by using Swagbucks to search the internet!  By registering for Swagbucks, you can earn, well, Swagbucks that you can trade in for gift cards (or other prizes if those prizes interest you!).  My personal favorite way to earn is to use my Swagbucks to get Amazon gift cards.  Over about 4 months with just searching the web through the Swagbucks site, I have earned over 50.00 in Amazon gift cards to put towards books, dvds, beauty products, music downloads, and now I am saving them to put towards an indoor bike trainer!  I was very skeptical at first, but this site is legitimate!

The search engine is a combination of google and ask.com - it has proven time and time again accurate.  You can also download a toolbar to add to your regular internet toolbar that can provide additional ways to earn Swagbucks!

If you are interested in learning more, I have put the Swagbucks' button on the side of my blog - just click on it and check it out and start earning to do the internet searches you would perform anyway!  And, save on things you need, or maybe those little extras you couldn't otherwise afford! 

So, what would you buy with your Amazon gift cards that might keep you motivated or give you knowledge to take another step towards success?