Healthy Breakfast Options and Giveaway

**Disclosure - I received product samples from Shirley J to complete this review.  All opinions are my own based on my experience cooking with the samples provided.  

I was really excited last month to hear from a company that I hadn't heard of before called Shirley J.  Shirley J is a baking and cooking products company that is all about making everyday cooking easy and simple. They have been around for 30 years and are most known for a product called Whisk Bliss, a universal cooking base to make quick, creamy soups, sauces, etc.   The timing was perfect when I first heard about them...I was about to embark on a healthier eating plan and having a healthy hearty breakfast was a key part of my eating makeover.  I needed to incorporate a breakfast that would keep me from getting the snack cravings by 9AM that would send me to the snack shack for unhealthy options.

Enter the Shirley J Timeless Grains Cereal - Cranberry Almond.  Below is the product description from the Shirley J website.
With 18 natural grains, nuts and fruit we've given you the perfect combination for better health, higher performance and quicker recovery in our all-natural cereal. 32 oz. Ingredients: Oats, barley flakes, cranberries, rye flakes, organic evaporated can juice, almonds, long grain rice, yellow corn flour, wheat, amaranth, millet, flaxseed, buckwheat, organic quinoa, spelt, cinnamon, sesame seeds and sea salt.

The cereal sounded perfect to incorporate in my healthier eating plan.  I enjoyed looking around the website and discovering some new recipe ideas for other ways to prepare the cereal instead of just as a hot, oatmeal. Anything with cookie in the title for breakfast appeals to my sweet tooth!  The site is really helpful so you can search for recipes by product or by meal type.  So convenient to select the product you have and see several recipe options for you to try.

For my first recipe to try, I prepared a full recipe of the hot cereal by combining 1 C cereal mix with 3 C water.  It took about 15 minutes to cook on the stove top and was super easy.  I just made sure to stir every once in a while to prevent any spots from sticking to the pan.  Then I portioned out the cereal into 3 reusable containers so that I had 3 breakfasts ready to take to work.  Each morning as I packed my lunch bag for the day, I included some chopped fresh apple to add to the hot cereal.  It was easy to reheat each container for about 1 minute in the office break room and then when I got back to my desk I added the fresh cut apple.  Any fruit would do to add in and truthfully the cereal was just as good without it.

Hearty hot cereal got my brain fired up for a full day of work! 

I also tried the breakfast cookie recipe.  I think if I made this one again I would reduce the peanut butter because that taste simply overpowered the other flavors in the cookie.  I might just increase the apple sauce to still get a moist cookie but with a better blend of flavors.

Ready for the oven...each cookie had cranberries in it! 

I also got a chance to try the Shirley J Mugging line, which are baking products meant to be prepared in the microwave in single serving sizes.  I tried the Quiche mix but didn't have any fresh mix-ins to add to my mix.  I think next time I would incorporate some of the mix in suggestions on the box to get more flavor and a more filling breakfast option.  Some fresh ham or even veggies would have been a great addition...I'm not a very good grocery shopper since I don't always plan out meals in advance.  Something I need to work on!

I haven't had a chance to try out the Mugging Chocolate Brownie Cake yet...part of my healthy eating restructure the last few weeks has been to reduce extra sugary foods in my eating habits.  The photos of the cake look awesome so I'm looking forward to trying it as an evening treat once I start incorporating small doses of sugar back into my diet.

Now is your chance to try out some of these yummy Shirley J products.  I'm running a Rafflecopter giveaway to try out some of the same products that I tested.  Please enter below!  The contest will run through 8/14 and I will announce a winner on the blog.  You can earn entries multiple ways and some allow you to earn entries each day.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Congratulations to Debbie from at Healthy Running Mom on winning the Thorlos sock prize pack.




Let's hope that your new Thorlos keep your feet healthy and happy through all your training efforts!



If you didn't win, visit the Thorlo website for their offer to try a pair of socks.  You just pay for shipping and handling.  Thanks to all for entering!

New Shoes For Me and You Too!!! Giveaway!

It's officially back to school season and that means it's a good time to update your wardrobe.  The changing seasons are always a good sign that it's time to update with a couple of new pieces.  As athletes we have to remember to update both our fitness and non-fitness wardrobes! Stay tuned to the bottom of this post for an exciting giveaway!

I got started on updating my wardrobe with some new shoes purchases...

First up, I took advantage of the tax free holiday in August to pick up another pair of Saucony Grid Omni 11 running shoes and SuperFeet DMP insoles. These insoles ensure that I have great stability and support for my feet.  I've noticed less blisters from this pair of insoles so that's a big bonus on top of the tax free savings!

Next, I moved into specialty apparel.  I had an evening wedding to go to and wanted a new dressy sandal.  The shoes were pretty comfortable until the dancing portion of the evening.  My foot kept sliding forward and the peep toe was hurting from that.  I love fancy shoes even though I don't wear them that often.

New flats on the left, old on the right.

In my everyday shoe crusade, I was looking for a new black flat to replace a pair that have no structure or cushioning to them and found a cute pair on sale.  Unfortunately, I need to break them in...thankfully I had some extra shoes at work because just a few hours into the day and I had cut both heels.  I think I'll check out the Pinterest rage for breaking in your shoes and see if that works!

And lastly, the shoes that I have been most excited about.  Cowboy boots! Last month I told you all about attending the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged conference.  One of the sponsors was Country Outfitter and part of their sponsor program provided paid registrants with the opportunity to participate in an outreach campaign.  I was so excited since I've never had boots before and I was even more excited to go on a fitting adventure and find out that cowboy boots would fit my legs!

I spent hours pouring over the Country Outfitter website reviewing the different brands and styles.  In the end I decided on a pair by Tony Lama the Women's Dusty Cherokee boot.  One of the big things that I was looking at was toe shape...and their site helps you search by brand, boot type, or toe box!  We got our boots at the conference just in time for a fun party where we learned some jig dancing from a local fiddler.  The boots were super comfy and felt great!  I wore them with a denim skirt and can't wait to include them in my Friday casual wardrobe this fall at work. 

Rocking out my Tony Lama's during the conference!

Chances are you are just like me and spend a lot of your time in running or other athletic shoes.  It's time to refresh your casual wardrobe and Country Outfitter is here to help.  One of you will win a $150 gift certificate that you can use to update your wardrobe with some new boots.  I just know that you'll love them too.  This contest is open to both men and women since Country Outfitter stocks boots for all, even kids!

Did you get that...$150 gift certificate can be yours!!! All you have to do it enter!


To enter:
MANDATORY - follow this link to submit your email address so that you too can receive occasional updates on new products and exciting announcements.  Leave a comment telling me you have completed this step!

Bonus Entries - Leave a comment for each that you complete. Please make sure your comment identifies you or your email so that I can contact you if you win.

1) Like Running with Whit on Facebook here
2) Like Country Outfitter on Facebook here (They run some great contests so you'll enjoy their page!)
3) Share this Giveaway via Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest by linking back to this contest post. 

Important Notes:
Disclosure: Country Outfitter provided me with boots to review free of charge. 
Eligibility: Contest is open to US Residents and must be 18 years or older to enter.  No purchase necessary to win. 
Timing: Contest entries will be accepted until September 30th.  Winner will be announced on October 1st!

Fuel Your Summer Racing Giveaway

This weekend I attended the inaugural Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged conference at the remote and beautiful Ozark Natural Science Center.  The conference brought together 45 women from across Arkansas and Missouri to talk about blogging and social media.  There was an awesome swag bag for the attendees and so my friends I am happy to share my good fortune with you through a series of upcoming giveaways.  First up is a gift pack from Murphy USA.

Murphy USA operates over 1000 gas stations across 23 states with many of their locations in the parking lot of your local Walmart store.  They are known for offering low gas prices and 93% of the time that they have surveyed it they have the lowest price in town! What a time savings to know you are going to get the best price always.

I was really surprised to learn that Murphy USA is so active in social media.  They have a Facebook page and offer an iPhone app.  I had never ever considered that you could get discount coupons on gasoline purchases but Murphy USA offers various promotions throughout the year including free offers for drink/snack items and even cents off per gallon promotions.  Just sign up for their Murph E-offers program.

To be honest, I am not a devoted brand loyalist for any gas station.  My choice usually depends on where I am when I run low and yes I wait until I get the notice for 50 miles to empty before filling up.  We have a new Murphy Express store that I sometimes go to and one of the things that I like about it is that they have video screens at each pump which help keep me entertained while pumping gas.  They also offer some great specials on sports drinks, sodas, and snacks.

Water bottle, Koozie, Gift Card, Pedometer, and Personal Fan! Oh my!!!

So how does this relate to Fueling Your Summer Racing? Well, if you are like me then you have at least one race on your schedule this summer that requires a road trip.  Murphy USA was very generous to offer up a $15 gift card in our swag bag which you can use towards your gas purchase to help on your travel expenses.  This prize pack also includes a nice big water bottle so that you can focus on hydration while driving to/from the race and even a personal fan in case the heat of summer is too much to bear!

There are several ways to enter this giveaway. Please leave a comment for each task that you complete.  The giveaway will run through Monday, June 20th and a winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, June 21st.  Good luck!

Mandatory: (one entry per task)
Become a follower of my blog.
Visit the Murphy USA Store Locator and tell me the closest store to where you live.

Optional: (one entry per task)
Follow MurphyUSA on Facebook
Follow MurphyUSA on Twitter
Mention this giveaway on your blog, Facebook page, or via Twitter.

Please note that this gift pack was provided to me as a conference attendee.  I was not compensated for my review of this retailer. 

Another Round of Rush Hour

If my math is right, it has been about 3 weeks since I have been at a Rush Hour Speed Workout.  That is way too long as I discovered tonight!

The temp this evening was warm and windy. Let me clarify that...the temp was very warm. Our track is situated near an elementary school and preschool and the preschool building is at one corner of the track.  This provides one small area of shade and when the temps are really high we can often con Mike Rush into starting from that corner of the track.  Tonight I had to bribe him with homemade salsa in order to let us start from the shade.  It didn't do a ton of good though since he decided to have a workout with very little rest in it. 

This workout was designed to help make 5K pace seems easy...especially the finishing kick at the end of a race.  We started out with 2x200m with 20 sec rest between them at our desired finishing pace for a 5K.  Everyone got to take 60 sec rest after the 200's before starting a reverse ladder.  The ladder began at 1600m then went down by 400 m for a ladder of 1600, 1200, 800, 400.  Each of these distances was to be done at 5K pace and included a 100m shuffle of active recovery between each rung instead of standing rest.  At the end of the 400, everyone got another standing rest of 60 sec and then it was time to repeat the 2x200m with 20 sec rest.  The goal was to equal the pace of the first 200's!

So that's what the workout was supposed to be if you followed it exactly as Mike prescribed.  Unfortunately the heat got to me and wore me out.  During the 1200 I had to stop for a little water break and to wet down a sweat rag  to help cool me off.  During the 800, I took another quick break to cool off and pull myself together.  Each of these instances subtracted about 200m because I cut across the inner field of the track in order to meet back up with my running partner Anne. She is such a trooper and much stronger mentally than me.  I think my paces were in the range of where I wanted them to be but I really only paid attention to my 200 splits which were right around an 8 min mile.  I would kill to run an 8 min mile in a race!

Another fun workout and Mike has given me until Wednesday to drop off my salsa bribe! Next week, the group is starting speed workouts to prepare for the Twin Cities Marathon in October. Even though the marathon is not my goal, Mike thinks that doing the longer distance workouts will help with my half marathon goals.  He is going to offer some breaks so that those focused on shorter distance races have an option to shorten the workout. I'll keep you posted on how the workouts change over the coming weeks. 

Have a great week and stay tuned for a giveaway this week.

Run Happy - Giveaway Winner

This morning I drew to determine the winner of the Run Happy t-shirt giveaway.  I wanted a fun way to draw so I listed all the comment names on small slips of paper and placed them into my Shark Sprint pint glass.  The Shark Sprint was my first ever triathlon in 2009 and thinking of that accomplishment always makes me happy.

There were 31 entries into the giveaway. 

The lucky winner was from comment #2 made by Heather.

Heather wins the Run Happy t-shirt as well as some samples from SBR's TriSwim product line.  While Brooks helps me Run Happy...TriSwim helps me Swim Happy! Congratulations to Heather!!!

Heather please email me at runningwhit at hotmail dot com with your mailing information so that I can get your prize in the mail to you. 

Shuttered In

You won't believe it but Northwest Arkansas received about 18" of snow this morning.  That's right another 18" on top of the 8" we got last Tuesday and the 5" we got last Friday.  That's a lot of snow for Arkansas! I believe today was a record breaker for the most snow in one day in the state of Arkansas.  Some areas just to the south of me got 24".

Needless to say, I did not make it outdoors for a workout today. I had some conference calls during the day which kept me busy but I did get out to shovel the driveway.  The sun came out and I have found that the faster I clear the driveway the better.  Not that I'm driving anywhere soon but it just feels good to know that I could at least drive down my driveway since the street hasn't been cleared yet.

Hershey hanging in the driveway

My best workout option was again the trainer.  I was due to receive some Netflix movies by mail today but the snow actually stopped the mail.  That's okay because I was able to watch Netflix On Demand through my Wii.  I went with Shutter Island for today's selection and talked myself into a long bike workout to make up  for all the junk food I snacked on during the day.  I actually went for 90 minutes on the trainer.  That's the longest I have ever ridden on the trainer for and I don't know how some of you do it! Whoo, that's a long time.  The movie was good and I have to admit that after watching the end (from the comfort of the couch!) I'm confused.  Was he crazy or not?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the Brooks Run Happy t-shirt, here.

My Own Version of Ironman

I have a secret...I'm not a huge fan of NFL football.  While the majority of the country was watching the Super Bowl I watched some HGTV until I talked myself into a little workout.  I had a movie from Netflix so I decided I would watch part of the movie while doing some bike trainer intervals.

I got on the bike at 8:02 and decided a 58 minute workout would be optimal (I'm a little behind on my time goal for the month so thought I could pick up some extra minutes!)  While spinning in an easy gear I came up with my workout.  Lesson learned...never trust your math while working out! I decided on a ladder that I thought would get me to 40 minutes of intervals and then my warm up and cool down time.  It wasn't until after my second ladder that I realized my intervals were going to be short.  My interval set was a decreasing time ladder with increasing resistance.  Between each rung of the ladder I did a 1 minute standing run in my big chain ring.  I started at 10 minutes and worked my way down by 2 minutes each ladder rung with a bonus extra 2 minutes at the end too. 

You are probably wondering where my title post comes in? Well, the movie of choice for my ride tonight was Ironman 2.  I know the movie came out a while ago but I'm a little slow sometimes.  It was a good distraction for while I was on the bike. It didn't require any thought to follow the plot and I was able to stay interested and get the full workout in. 

Don't forget some great giveaways going on this week:
Tanita Body Composition Scale
Gu Giveaway Pack
My AWESOME Run Happy T-shirt and Prize Pack

Cabin Fever Run Happy Giveaway

It seems like most everyone has had some sort of yucky weather this week from rain in some places to ice and snow for those of us lucky ones!  A while back I was lucky enough to win a contest sponsored by Brooks Running. A little secret was that I had already won before so lucky for you guys I am hosting a giveaway.  The winner will receive one Brooks Run Happy cotton t-shirt.  There will be some other fun goodies in the prize pack including some TriSwim product samples because I just love TriSwim products. 



I love the combination of the Black and White Prints in the Glycerin Diva Jacket!

I haven't blogged too much about it but I am a huge fan of Brooks products. How can you not love a company whose slogan is Run Happy?!? For products, I adore my Brooks Adrenaline shoes and have a cornucopia of previous color combinations.  My summer time favorite shorts are the Brooks Infiniti Short Tights.  They keep my legs chafe free in the crazy hot and humid weather.  I just suffered the ridicule of my friend and running store owner Mike for wanting the Brooks Glycerin Diva jacket (pictured above.)  I spotted the Diva jacket on a Facebook post from another running store.  Mike and crew declared it one of the most ugly jackets they had ever seen but eventually agreed to order it for me.  The jacket came in and is super cute (Mike even admitted that it was much better in person too!) I can't wait to sport it on a run and I'm fairly certain that it will make me Run Happy!

Back to the Giveaway...the prize is a Run Happy cotton t-shirt in size Medium.  There will be some additional add-ins including TriSwim samples and other goodies.  The giveaway will run through February 11th with the winner determined via a random drawing.  The winner will be announced by February 14th. 

For entry please leave a comment for each:

Mandatory for One Entry - Become a follower or tell me if you already are

Bonus Entry - Become a fan of Brooks Sports on Facebook or tell me if you already are

Bonus Entry - Sign up for The Loop email newsletter (you could win a pair of shoes from Brooks!)

Bonus Entry - Leave a comment about how you Run Happy

I received this prize as a contest prize and I have not been compensated for my review and love of Brooks products!

Fun Giveaway Coming Tomorrow!!!

Stay Tuned for a fun giveaway post tomorrow morning.  I want to help you Run Happy!!!

The Week So Far and the Unexpected Fun

Monday night was my first speed workout of the new year.  I had taken two weeks off from speed with the holidays and my post-PR half marathon performance.  Our coach had a relatively easy workout on deck for us...2x800, 2x1000, 2x1200.  The first of each interval was run on a slow pace from marathon to half marathon to 10K on the 1200.  The second of each interval was to be run on 5K pace with no rest between the two intervals in the set.  After each set we got 1 min 30 sec. rest before starting the next set.  I must tell you that we only hear marathon pace for our workout maybe once or twice a year.  My running partner and I loved the relaxed pace and we definitely felt the pickup for the faster interval. 

The crazy unexpected surprise was that on Tuesday morning I woke up with sore abdominal muscles.  I can only guess that the final 1200m interval where we were picking our pace up every 200m was an extra hard ab workout for me! Whoopsie, no more 2 week breaks from speed work.

Tuesday I reached out to a swim coach who is hosting a clinic in a few weeks in Tulsa.  The clinic conflicts with our Annual One Hour Postal Swim Meet and I wanted to see if she could do any other dates that weekend. I heard back from her immediately and found out that she is a Univ. of Arkansas alumni and would be more than happy to come to NWA that weekend and host a clinic here.  I've reached out to our local pool to see if they are willing to host the clinic because having the pool will be the first step in actually making this clinic happen.  I'm really excited and hope we can pull it together.  The coach is Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen and she has held numerous records including Master Swimmer of the Year. 

Today my unexpected fun came from starting early before our group run.  The group run begins at 6PM but I was able to get there and start at 5:30 which meant I got to run for almost 30 minutes in the fading sunlight versus complete darkness.  It was awesome and I didn't have to wear my headlamp and the temps weren't super cold yet either. 

Is your week off to a good start?  If you haven't taken a chance to enter my Pay It Forward giveaway, please follow this link to do so.  The two books that I am giving away were both great reads and full of inspiration and motivation to help you start 2011 off right!

Pay It Forward Giveaway

A few weeks ago I was really lucky to win a giveaway hosted by Jason over at Life of An Aspiring Triathlete.  The giveaway included two books 17 Hours to Glory and The Long Run (see below for my book review). These two books are full of motivation and inspiration and are definitely worth sharing via this Pay It Forward giveaway!  Just like Jason, I will be hosting a giveaway of the two books to one of my readers.  I'm going to use the same general entry procedure that Jason used when he started the giveaway. 

So here are the rules.....very simple:

1- Be a follower

2- Promise to pay it forward that once you are done reading these books you will have a giveaway as well to send these on to the next person

3- Promise to notify Jason at jbaha [at] gmail [dot] com when you put the giveaway up so he can follow where the books are travelling.

4- Promise that if you get the book and there is no more room to put something motivating that after you read it you will mail it back to Jason (he will pay for the shipping) so that he can see where these books have travelled and all the motivating words in them.

5- Promise to write something motivating in the books, doesn't matter where.
6- Promote it on your Facebook, Twitter, blog, write it in the dust on your car or kitchen table, talk about it at the PTA meeting.....you get the point.

Do it all in one comment.  There will only be 1 entry per person. The giveaway will end Sunday January 9th at 12pm CST.......Good luck to all.....PAY IT FORWARD!!!!!

The Long Run Book Review


The Long Run is the story of Matt Long, a New York City firefighter who was severely injured while riding his bike when a commuter bus ran over him.  I first heard of Matt Long's story when Runner's World did an article on his recovery in 2008.  It was a hard article to read because the extent of his injuries was so severe.  The book is just as open and honest with the injuries that Matt suffered as well as the emotions that Matt experienced during his recovery. 

Prior to his injury, Matt had completed the New York City Marathon in an impressive 3:13:56 and had completed numerous triathlons including the Lake Placid Ironman.  He was definitely an athlete in both his personal life as an athlete and professional life as a firefighter.  His recovery process included setbacks and triumphs and it is truly inspiring to follow the journey that he took.  The book is pretty easy to read and written in a very conversational style.  It was emotional to read at times as Matt struggled with surviving the injuries and learning to find his former life in his new body.  You will definitely find inspiration in Matt's story.

Motivational Music

Beth at Shut Up and Run is hosting a giveaway for the Subway Commit to Fit contest.  One way to enter is to leave a comment with 5 must have songs in your music playlist.  You should check out her contest...the prize is a new iPod shuffle and $10 iTunes giftcard.  Below is my response and don't go stealing my song choices. 

Whitney said... 127



Let's see...I Run to You by Lady Antebellum, 21 Guns by Greenday, I Did It by Dave Matthews Band, Don't Stop Believing by Journey, and Simply Irresistible by Robert Palmer. I'm kind of all over the board with my picks but they all perk me up for different reasons and I've used them in strategic points of my playlists for that extra burst of motivation.

Now, I'll share the explanation behind why these songs motivate me! Some of these are newer additions and others are from when I first started using my iPod while running and I would make special playlists for my races or long runs.  Now, I stick to shuffle and just enjoy whatever random mix comes on, but these songs still add a little pep to my step!
 
I Run to You - because running is what I do when life gets crazy and it is like my gift to myself. 
 
21 Guns - this is my hill running song...the pace of the music helps set my pace and keep my breathing in check on long hill repeats. 
 
I Did It - this song was playing on my iPod as I crossed the finish line during my worst half marathon (and possibly worst race) experience ever. It was a monumental finish for me and it was total coincidence that the song came on right then.  Someday I'll have to tell you the full story on the race...but to give you an idea it started at 9:30am and temps were already high 80's. My sister brought me water onto the race course and offered me a lift at the halfway point because it was that awful...but I stuck it out and finished.
 
Don't Stop Believing - it's cheesy but who doesn't love a little bit of Journey.  It reminds me of a great night listening to a Journey cover band with my friend Kelly on Bourbon Street. 
 
Simply Irresistible - this used to come on around mile 10 of my half marathon playlist and that is about the point in a run when you just don't feel your cutest...covered in sweat and that salty film that we all get! I like a little irony since I know that I am far from irresistible at this point in a long run!  This song also makes me think of the Broadway musical Contact that included this song as one of the main storylines and the dance has always stuck in my head.  View Contact video and you too can always see the lady in the yellow dress dancing swing style to this song! My friend Meridith and I went to see this show for one of our birthdays when we lived in DC.
 
What songs do you like to listen to and do you build specific playlists or just random shuffle?

Giveaway Winner

Last week I hosted a giveaway of the new book by Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh called Delivering Happiness ~ A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose.  I used Random.org to determine the winner.

Congratulations to P at Adventures of An Average Athlete on winning my book giveaway.  Send me your mailing address at whitneygsutherland at gmail dot com and I'll get your book in the mail to you. 

Book Review and Giveaway

Today was the launch of the new book Delivering Happiness A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh the CEO of Zappos.com.  I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book to read and review.  I have heard about the Zappos.com culture for years and seen Zappos.com on the Fortune list of Top 100 companies to work for so I was quite interested in learning more about how this company got started and has developed such a strong corporate culture. 

The book is broken out into three sections: I - Profits, II - Profits and Passion, III - Profits, Passion, and Purpose. The book follows a chronological review of Tony Hsieh's career from being a young entrepreneur to financing start-ups and ultimately his involvement in turning Zappos.com into $1 Billion company in 10 years. 

I enjoyed all of the stories that the book contained.  It was easy to make comparisons to my own experiences with online retailers.  I love the simplicity of the Zappos brand promise: Zappos is about delivering happiness to the world.  Zappos employees strive to deliver a WOW experience for their customers and this unmatched level of customer service has served as a competitive advantage and differentiation in the world of online retail.  Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed were the short quotes and tweets such as "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf," by Jon Kabat-Zinn and "Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself," by George Bernard Shaw.  Overall, this book was a great read and much more light-hearted than traditional business books.  The book gave me ideas to think about in how to make sure that I incorporate passion and purpose in my work. 

You can purchase this book from Amazon.com but you could win a free copy by entering my giveaway!  One winner will receive a free copy of the book.  The giveaway will run through Friday, June 11th at midnight CST and the winner will be announced over the weekend.  Good luck to all!!!

To enter:
1) Leave a comment listing your best customer service experience. 
2) Gain additional entries by posting on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter. (leave a comment for each)

*Full Disclosure: I received free advanced copies of the book, and these statements are my honest opinions of the book.

Delivering Happiness via a Giveaway!

A few weeks ago I received my first product to review which will be coming up in June.  To get ready for that Review and Giveaway of Zappos.Com CEO Tony Hsieh's book Delivering Happiness A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, I am hosting my first giveaway... $10 Shop Etc. gift card. A little cash always helps deliver some happiness, right!

The Shop Etc. Gift Card is valid at most retailers or restaurants that accept American Express located in the United States.  Funds never expire and can be used until the total value has been spent, giving the shopper maximum flexibility. This card has a $10 value and can be used for whatever brings you happiness!

You can enter this giveaway by doing any of the following...and please leave a comment for each.  If you are not a blogger, please leave your email in your comment so that I have someway to contact you in case you win. Entries will close on Friday, May 14th at Midnight CST.  

1) Leave a comment telling me what brings you happiness!
2) Become a follower or email subscriber of this blog.
3) Post this giveaway on your blog, Twitter, or Facebook

The winner will be chosen at random from the entries.  Good luck to all!