Happy Birth Mother’s Day!

To celebrate, I am partnering with Blessings In a Basket, a wonderful online community for birth moms. Blessings In a Basket believes there is a Big Tough Girl in each of us. Part of their incredible community includes a retreat. This year the retreat is actually A CRUISE! Say whaaaa?

Who is this cruise for?

The Big Tough Girl Cruise is open to all big tough girls including Birth Mothers AND Adoptive Mothers AND Adoptive Mama Hopefuls.

This amazing retreat will include an art workshop on the serenity deck at sunset, open birthmom/adoptive mom panels where we will open the lines of communication-learn and heal from each other, private group sessions, so many free goodies for each of you, on-shore excursions and so much more. This will give you a chance to get away, come together and harness the healing power of the ocean and to do some major cleaning to your soul house!

• The 4 day cruise leaves from Los Angeles and stops at Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico.
• It departs LA on January 27th and returns back on January 31st.
• All Big Tough Girls need to be in Los Angeles BY January 26th. You will be meeting at a pre-assigned spot for dinner to enjoy an evening of getting to know everyone before you head to sea the next morning….let the vacay begin!
• The full cost is $600 and includes a shared hotel room on January 26th {in LA}, your cruise, all of your supplies for your soul work and the fabulous Big Tough Girl goodies.
• You are responsible for your travel and for your hotel if needed after we dock in LA on the 31st.

AAAAAND, I am giving away a FULL cruise pass. That’s right, we are celebrating Birth Mother’s Day by giving away A CRUISE! (Insert trumpets playing!)

To honor all you Big Tough Girls whom I call birth mothers (especially the three I love so dearly), there really is no better way than by giving one of you a much needed vacation with people who love and support you.

P.S. Even if you don’t win the giveaway, I hope you will still consider the Big Tough Girl Cruise as something that could help you grow and learn and heal. More details on the cruise here.

{Comments 3}

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
• 

• Tweet
• 

Categories: Adoption, Giveaways • Tags: Blessings In a Basket

I have found the most superior iPhone case.

I shall illustrate such a claim with a story.

Imagine a person that looks EXACTLY LIKE ME walking along the sidewalk. In her right hand she is holding the top of her phone like so…

She is just going about her business without a care in the world when she finds the last remaining 4 inch sheet of ice in Utah one bright, sunny Saturday. Her feet fly out from under her and both hands slam down behind her on the sidewalk.

Her right hand, holding the phone, is fine. The phone is fine. The case has a little scratch on one of the corners. No broken screen. Nothing.

Her left hand turned into this:

You see what I mean? BEST iPHONE CASE. EVER. If only I had been holding a SkidLids encased phone in each hand my life would be so much easier!

The case is based on helmet technology with the soft cushion being inside and the hard shell being outside. It makes perfect sense.

Since said case probably saved me from breaking both of my arms, I HAD to share it with you. I am in love with this case.

I am giving away TWO iPhone mobile SkidLid cases–one for an iPhone 4/4s and one for an iPhone 5.

To enter, just use the handy Rafflecopter widget below.
 
Disclaimer: I was compensated for this post, but the life saving love that I have for this case is ALL MY OWN.

Did I mention that it’s also bulletproof? Oh wait…

{Comments Off}

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
• 

• Tweet
• 

Categories: Giveaways, Reviews • Tags: SkidLids

Utah is known for having The Greatest Snow on Earth.

It’s partially why my parents would bring us East Coasters to Utah at least once a year for some spring skiing. We loved it. We lived for those spring break vacations on the slopes as a family.

My dad taught all 3 of us older kids to ski at a resort in Maryland in a giant ice storm when we were little. (World’s most patient man.) Coming to the powder in Utah was so dreamy!

My dad grew up skiing (he’s from Utah). As a kid, I remember watching him ski moguls with my jaw hanging down. It was like his legs were made of rubber. How did they bounce off those bumps so fast?

He made a tradition with us kids of giving us a Snickers bar on the lift ride up for the last run of the day, calling it The Snickers Run–a little sugar rush to help us end a great (and tiring) day in the snow. AH! Thinking about it makes me miss him so much.

Skiing is a family activity that I will always cherish from my childhood. (That’s my brother Matt in the green jacket, by the way. He is hardcore.)

This ski season is the season to teach your kids to ski.

This post goes out to all my fellow Utahans: You have got to teach your kids to ski! We East Coasters were always so shocked when we came to The Greatest Snow on Earth and people that lived in it didn’t know how to ski.

That said, having lived here for over a decade now, I get it.

It’s a lot of work to teach kids to ski.

It’s cold.

It’s expensive.

Picture courtesy of Emily Hill from Is this REALLY my life?

Spring skiing at Wolf Mountain may be the answer.

At least that is what we found. I was all amped to take my oldest (5) for a day on the slopes at Wolf Mountain, but then I broke my arm so Mr. R took the day off and went in my stead. They had a GREAT time. Tyson couldn’t stop talking about it when he got home. He still can’t!

Wolf Mountain has a great ski school with group and private lessons available. In fact, it is known as one of the best beginner mountains in the Rockies. Tyson loved the Magic Carpet (like a moving sidewalk for the snow) which let him get up the bunny hill easily and practice his new skills with his instructor. (He loved her, by the way.) When I asked him what he learned he told me about pizza (snow plow) and french fries (parallel). Adorable!

And you guys! It’s SPRING! Finally! It’s the best time to ski, in my opinion. It’s not too cold …in fact, I’ve even skied in a short sleeve shirt during the spring. It certainly is warm enough for your kiddies to have a great time and not complain too much.

Then there is a the price issue. Skiing is historically pretty expensive but at Wolf Mountain lift tickets range from $10-$37! (HOLY MOLY, y’all!) And get this: CHILDREN FIVE AND UNDER SKI FREE EVERYDAY. I love it.

If you are like me, you are thinking that maybe you need a season pass for next year. Here are the rates from the 2013-2014 ski season.

 I feel so strongly about getting your kids on the slopes that I am giving away FOUR LIFT TICKETS to Wolf Mountain for you to go enjoy some good old fashioned family time on the slopes just like I had growing up.

I will even throw in a couple Snickers bars for your Snickers Run at the end of the day! You can carry that tradition on too. My dad won’t mind.

This giveaway will be hosted by Rafflecopter. Enter on the widget below.

**Lift passes expire on 3/24/13.**

Disclaimer: I was compensated for this post with free lift passes and a day of skiing/lessons/lunch for my family. Opinions are all my family’s own.

{Comments 4}

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
• 

• Tweet
• 

Categories: Giveaways, Reviews • Tags: Wolf Mountain Resort