Last night Ryan and I arrived in St. Pete by 6 p.m. to meet my parents and one of my dad’s colleagues at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club to check out the facility as a potential wedding venue.

We enjoyed touring the various ballrooms before sitting in the lounge to enjoy some cocktails. Fun! The Yacht Club is definitely a gorgeous facility and we have some thinkin’ to do!

When we came home we all enjoyed several bowls of hot homemade chicken soup with sweet corn and edamame and a frozen pizza (forgot to snap a pic of my two slices… oops!).

Homemade Soup

Mom’s Wedding Dress

When I first walked in the door to my parent’s house I immediately saw my mom’s beautiful wedding gown hanging up. She brought it out of storage because my mom, sister and I are all heading out to try on dresses today! Exciting!

 After dinner my sister zipped me up in the gown and I did a lil’ fashion show in my mother’s dress. It actually fit, which was neat!

In My Mom's Wedding Dress

Modelin' the Dress

Ta Da!

My dad is convinced I need to wear this on my big day. He’s so cute because he always talks about how perfect my mom’s dress was and how gorgeous she looked.

Unfortunately I’m not sure that the turtleneck and long sleeves are Florida-appropriate.  

I’m excited to see some dresses today! YAY!

Breakfast and a Morning Run

This morning I woke up at 6 a.m. This is after going to bed at 2 a.m. My mom, sister and I always seem to stay up late talking whenever we get together! I just couldn’t seem to sleep in because I was excited for the day.

I decided to make the best of the gorgeous weather and leashed up Sadie for a fast 5-mile run. I LOVE running when the weather is cool because it doesn’t feel nearly as difficult. It’s great! I was truckin’ the whole time and Sadie was lovin’ life.

When I got home I made an awesome breakfast. I prepared a fruit, yogurt and granola parfait, topped with whipped cream.

Breakfast Parfait

I layered Yoplait cherry pie yogurt, Oikos blueberry yogurt, raspberries, blueberries, granola and Honey Nut Cheerios to make my pretty lil’ parfait. It was delish!

Photographer

After breakfast and a much-needed shower, my mom, sister, Ryan and I headed off to meet with a potential wedding photographer.   

The Ladies

Ryan and I needed two attempts to get a decent picture…

Take One

Take Two

The photographers we met with were two young girls who were very sweet but so far have only taken portrait pictures and have never shot a wedding. I love their style though because they capture moments and emotion in their images. I’m just not sure if we want to take such a huge leap of faith with photographers with no wedding experience. We’ll just haveta see!

Now we’re off for my FIRST attempt at trying on wedding dresses! I’m actually a little nervous but so excited! We have about a million different pictures torn out of magazines or printed off the internet to bring in as references. Let the madness begin!

1. Just watched happiest baby on the block – armed and ready to swaddle, swoosh, swing, shake (no, not shake wildly, gentle, like my favorite jello that I’m fresh out of), and side lay butters. butters be born so I can five S ya!

2. Watched 2 kids rob some guy in the loop today. So totally heartbreaking. These kids have no respect for themselves or others. And man you should have seen them run. If they’d only put that much effort into their school track team. They’d have endorsement deals lined up for miles. Seeing that also puts me on alert…I’m always on alert, paying attention of my surroundings. But now I’m like a cat with their ears back. Hisssss.

3. Bob’s birthday was just lovely. I’ve kept very quiet as to what exactly we were doing on his birthday as not to worry myself too much. See, last week, the midwife let me know that the ultrasound from 2 weeks ago came back with a low amniotic fluid count. Of course the first thing I do when I get home is get right on the stupid internet and freak myself out. Then I freak bob out with all the stupid information I pull up. stupidstupidstupid. If the midwife had major concerns she would have just sent me to the hospital. But she didn’t. she simple requested another ultrasound before the next apt. So we did that and we found out that not only is butters just perfect but that the fluid is actually above where they want it at. Apparently the tech that did the recent ultrasound missed a HUGE pocket of fluid. So for bob’s birthday he was reassured that his lil butters is just fine and got to take home photos too (and our scanner is down so I can’t show you butters darling lil feet!!). Not to shabby I say. He also received a cake with a bear sheriff on it (hey, you tell me you want a bear sheriff on your cake and you receive…I even threw in a custom illustrated bear sheriff by lil ol’ me).

Yoplait:

It’s not laugh out loud but is the kind of commercial that makes you smile when it comes on. It’s absolutely silly the way she’s having it out with an icing bear sheriff. It’s also a refreshing venture from Yoplait’s usual parade of unfunny, poorly executed commercials. Hopefully this will be the start of a new trend with them.

Also if you’re wondering the actress is Melanie Paxson. Check out her credits here: IMDB

Jeg er glad i yoghurt, samtidig som jeg forsøker å begrense energiinntaket, og i flere år har jeg hold meg til Yoplait sine null-varianter. Nå er disse søtet med kunstig søtningsstoff, som magen min etterhvert har satt seg kraftig i motverge til, så jeg måtte slutte med Yoplait. Og Pepsi Max (hulk!) og sukkerfrie pastiller. Og sånn.  Nå er det jo bare en fordel for skrotten at den ikke får mer aspartam og lignende elendighet, men det har nå vært et savn likevel.

I kjølehylla i butikken i går fant jeg Tines nye “lette” yoghurt med merkenavnet “Ja”, med bare 3% tilsatt sukker, ikkeno’ kunstig søtstoff og bare 0,7% fett.  Jeg kjøpte varianten med bringebær og boysenbær, og – den er kjempegod 

Endelig lettvinn og deilig hurtigfrokost tilgjengelig for meg igjen.   Anbefales!

Here’s the killer chart…

During the launch of the Fiber One Bar, General Mills could see a nearly exact correlation between weekly online postings and volume.  As Mark Roddicks, General Mills’ CMO, points out in his inspiring presentation General Mills Goes Social, it’s the kind of chart you can take to management to prove the value of consumer participation in the development and launch of products through social media tools.

General Mills has a stable of well-known, iconic food brands, including such favorites as Pillsbury, Cheerios, Green Giant and that venerable but ageless queen of the kitchen, Betty Crocker.  Back in the 40’s, the Betty Crocker brand received up to 3,000 letters a day from passionate homemakers.  Social communities built around brands have existed for decades.  Only now, thanks to today’s online social tools, General Mills can leverage the power and passion of those communities in unprecedented ways.

Here’s just a few examples of how General Mills is “going social,” because, as Addicks says, the company has only recently started on this journey and continues to learn as they go.

General Mills regularly gets new products into the hands, and kitchens, of engaged consumers before they launch.  The company uses social media tools to encourage those consumers to talk about the product, share experiences and feed back opinions and suggestions.  Not all the feedback is positive, but that’s how the company learns.

Two tools they use for this are My Block Spark and Pssst…, which invite connected consumers and bloggers to participate and provide them with platforms to share and provide feedback.

By leveraging communities in this way, General Mills builds early awareness and involvement among influencers, which facilitates fast word of mouth when the product actually launches.  Progresso Broth was launched through the Pssst… community with almost no support from traditional media.

One way General Mills gets the conversation going is by saying to consumers, here’s why we created this product, here’s how we think it works, tell us what you think.  Feedback can be in different forms, including video, and the ensuing dialogue provides rich insights for the product developers and food experts.

General Mills brands also support a number of causes.  The effectiveness of these programs has been enhanced through web 2.0 tools put in consumers’ hands.  The Yoplait “Save Lids to Save Lives” initiative in support of  Susan G. Komen for the cure saw participation increase by nearly 50% when women were provided with online tools to set up their own teams behind the program.

Addicks understands that going social with consumers with this degree of transparency can seem pretty radical to C-suite members who are used to a traditional tell and sell approach.  One way he suggests to get started is within the company itself.  One of the first things General Mills did was to create a common portal inside the organization, which enabled employees to form communities, discussion groups and interactive best practices.  This helped senior management understand the power of becoming social by demonstrating the power of the organization to help itself through these kind of tools.

Inspiring stuff.  You can see the presentation deck, as well as a video of Addicks presenting it, at the Business Building Blog.

I don’t usually blog about stuff like this, but I’m somewhat offended by the way Yoplait Yogurt is running their Breast Cancer Initiative. Basically, if you think you’re helping by buying yogurt with pink lids, you are wrong. For any donations to be made by Yoplait you need to mail the pink lids back to them.

That’s traditionally not how campaigns like this work. I think most people are accustomed to the total donation amount being based off of total sales. Yoplait seems to be exploiting this by requiring consumers to take one extra step. I think the inevitable result is that most people will either not notice the additional requirement, or simply choose not to fulfill it.

I’m pretty unhappy about this, so I decided to send the following letter to General Mills.

I am writing with regards to Yoplait’s Breast Cancer Initiative. While I feel the goals of raising awareness and donating to breast cancer research are admirable, I feel that Yoplait is running their campaign in a misleading and disingenuous manner.

For some time I have been purchasing Yoplait yogurt with pink lids under the mistaken impression that I was contributing in some small way. However, I recently discovered that these purchases are wholly without efficacy unless I actually send the lid covers back to Yoplait.

While I now see this is explained on the yogurt containers I do not feel sufficient effort was made to clarify that the lids need to be mailed in for any donation to be made by Yoplait. The campaign seems to be designed to garner publicity for purportedly being a socially responsible company, while at the same time relying on consumer unawareness and apathy to minimize the actual contribution Yoplait makes.

I would strongly suggest that Yoplait reconsider their tact –Yoplait could make a sizable contribution regardless of product sales if breast cancer research were truly a priority. At the least I would urge Yoplait to revise their campaign to correlate the amount donated to all pink lids sold, rather than just those mailed in.

If anyone wants to send their own letter they are welcome to use any/all of that text. The address is:

General Mills, Inc.
P.O. Box 9452
Minneapolis, MN 55440

Apparently Target Grocery Aisle: Part 1 was my most popular post! So here we go with our second installment (please excuse the camera phone photos – yes, I WAS that crazy lady walking around Target taking pictures…): Of great interest is the discovery of Pocky in the Asian aisle! The Kashi cereal was also on sale, plus a $3 off two Kashi products coupon (ripped straight off the box) made it less then $3 for both!

We all know I’m not a food blogger — but I do love to eat healthy foods … and like to talk about food, eat food, think about food.

So it’s only natural that I was more than thrilled to be dubbed  a “healthy diet and lifestyle influencer” by Julie (on behalf of Yoplait), who has graciously offered a fabulous new promotion to share with my readers!!

Free stuff — yea! Nice way to end the week, right?

Per Julie, “Yoplait’s new Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt is the only leading national nonfat yogurt with 5 grams of fiber and only 50 calories. Available in four flavors – Strawberry, Vanilla, Peach and Key Lime Pie, Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt is a tasty treat that not only adds guilt-free flavor to snack time, but also contributes 5 grams of fiber to your daily intake (20% of the recommended daily value).”

Julie has offered me 50 four-packs of Yoplait’s new Fiber One 50-calorie yogurts to offer my first 50 readers who sign up on the Fiber One Mini-Microsite. On the microsite (embedded below), you’ll find more information on Yoplait’s Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt and weight management tips.

About Yoplait Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt
Yoplait Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt is the only leading national nonfat yogurt with 50 calories and 5 grams of fiber.
Available in four flavors – Strawberry, Vanilla, Peach and Key Lime Pie – Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt is a delicious snack that is good for you, contributes 20% of the recommended daily value of fiber and is a good source of calcium as well as vitamins A and D.

Instead of munching on boring lower-calorie foods, you and your readers can now snack with zero guilt on Fiber One yogurt, a tasty way to help watch waistlines and keep calorie counts in check.

Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt features a ‘Hungry Girl Seal of Approval’, the first nationally distributed yogurt to receive this endorsement.

Yoplait Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt is available in the yogurt section of grocery stores nation-wide.

All you need to do is visit the microsite and be the first 50 and a free 4-pack is yours!

FTC disclosure: I was provided with this information, product for sampling and this opportunity by Yoplait.

For 18 years Yoplait has played a part in women’s health and well-being, promoting heart health, osteoporosis prevention and general fitness. But because breast cancer is a threat to the health and happiness of all women,  the contribution – and your help – feel especially critical.

STATEMENT FROM YOPLAIT

To date, Yoplait, its parent company General Mills and its Foundation have donated more than $18 million to the breast cancer cause over the past 9 years. Here’s what we’re doing:

There doesn’t seem to be too much on sale this week that I will be chasing after. But here’s a great opportunity to grab a few packages of pork for the grill or freezer.

$6 worth of Pork
-$6 off the other White Meat wyb (1) Kingsford Charcoal AND (1) other participating item listed on coupon

Items that fulfills the pork coupon:
(1) Glad Sandwich Bags, reg. price, $1.59ea.
(1) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, Assorted Varieties, 16-oz bottle, (Excluding Organic Ranch), BOGO $3.45 ($1.72ea.)
-$1.50/2 Tearpad
-$1 off produce WYB Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing
(1) KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce, reg. price, $1.95ea.
-$0.50/1 KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce or Marinade Item

(2) Knorr Sides, Assorted Varieties, 4 to 6.4-oz pouch, BOGO $1.49
-$1/3; $.45/1 Single Page Flyer
-$.45/1 from 08-30-09 SS
-$.45/1 (printable)
-$5/15 Unilever /Publix coupon Parade 10-04-09
-$0.50/3 (Military Q)

Scenario (Coupons Used):
- Rite-Aid $5/$20 (exp. 10/31) OR Rite Aid $5/$25 (exp. 12/19)
(1) $3/1 Kingsford Charcoal
(1) $6 off the Other White Meat
(1) Glad sandwich bags (no coupon)
(4) $0.50/1 Ronzoni Pasta
(1) $1/4 Ronzoni Pasta (military only)
(2) $0.40/1 Betty Crocker potatoes
(2) $0.50/2 Hunt’s Tomatoes
(2) $1/1 Yoplait Fiber One
(3) $0.45/1 Knorr Sides
(1) $0.50/3 Knorr Sides (Military)

*Publix Mild or Hot Italian Pork Sausage
Sale Price: $2.49 lb

*Ronzoni Pasta
Price: $1.39   Sale: BOGO
Use: $1/2 (8/2 RP)
Final Price: $0.39, or $0.20 each

*Eat Smart Broccoli Florets
Sale Price: $1

*Dole Fruit Gel or Parfait Bowls
Sale Price: $1.99
Use: $0.55/1 (8/9 SS)
Final Price: $1.44

*Lipton Family Size Tea Bags
Price: $2.53   Sale: BOGO
Use: $0.75/2 (8/2 RP)
Final Price: $1.78

*Kellogg’s Cereal
Sale Price: $1.99
Use: $2/2 (8/30 RP, if varieties with fiber are included)
Final Price: $1.98, or $0.99 each
Purchase 4 (using 2 coupons) for a total of $3.96 allowing you to get:
1 Free gallon of Publix Milk (In Ad coupon)
2 Free Publix Reusable Bags (use 2 coupons from Yellow Ad. Flyer, exp 10/9)

*Knorr Sides
Price: $1.65   Sale: BOGO
Use: (2) $0.45/1 (8/30 SS) or  PRINT IP
Final Price: $0.75, or $0.38 each

*Betty Crocker Potatoes
Price: $1.79   Sale: BOGO
Use: (2) $0.25/1 (9/13 or 10/4 GM)
Final Price: $1.29, or $0.65 each
Free Reusable Publix bag wyb 2 General Mills products (9/13 SS)

*Swanson Broth
Price: $2.59   Sale: BOGO
Use: $0.75/2 (9/27 SS)
Final Price: $1.84, or $0.92 each

*Keebler Club or Town House Crackers
Price: $4.09   Sale: BOGO
Use: $1/2 (Tailgate Like A Pro coupon booklet found in Publix)
Final Price: $3.09, or $1.55 each
Free Publix Reusable Bag wyb 2 Keebler products (Yellow Ad. Flyer, exp 10/9)

*YoPlait Fiber One, 4-pk
Price: $2.50   Sale: BOGO
Use: (2) $1/1 (9/13 or 10/4 GM) or PRINT IP 1 or PRINT IP 2
Final Price: $0.50, or $0.25 each

*Red Baron Pizza
Price: $5.79   Sale: BOGO
Use: (2) $1/1 (8/2 SS)
Final Price: $3.79, or $1.89 each

*Luigi’s Italian Ice
Price: $2.99   Sale: BOGO
Use: (2) $0.50/1 (8/16 RP)
Final Price: $1.99, $0.99 each

*Bertolli Complete Skillet Dinner for Two
Sale Price: $4.99
Use: $1/1 (10/4 RP)
Final Price: $3.99

*Halls Cough Drops
Price: $1.99   Sale: BOGO
Use: (2) $0.75/1 Refresh (9/27 SS)
Final Price: $0.29, or $0.25 each
Use: (2) $0.35/1 Cough Drops (9/27 SS)
Final Price: $1.29, or $0.65 each

After a busy busy weekend, things have finally come to a close. I woke up bright and early at 4:45 this morning and took Sean to the airport with his parents. He will be in Michigan for a month working, and I’m pretty bummed about it. Although, I am proud of him because he is doing what he has to do to get by and make some money so I’m all for it. Since I always like to see the positive side of things or silver lining if you will….I won’t have to shave my legs for a full MONTH! haha. Hoo-rah! Anyways, I gave Sean a big hug while his mom was pretty much crying and we said our goodbyes. He sent me a text 5 minutes after I had left him saying “miss you babe”. I gave him a hard time and said “Already??”

Other than that, things are good. I didn’t have to go into work until noon today bc my boss is a cool guy, so I spent the morning grocery shopping and doing laundry. It already feels good to start to get the house in some kind of order. Tonight I plan on hitting up some bootcamp and relaxing with Dancing With the Stars.

Since this blog IS about food, working out, etc…I thought I’d share with you my midmorning snack. This was inspired by two people…1. Marlo 2. Julie (PB Fingers) so thanks girls!

Oikos Plain Greek Yogurt, Yoplait Pineapple Upside Cake, and Cheerios.

All made up!

Click HERE to get $12 in printable Eat Better America coupons for items like: Total Cereal, Fiber One, YoPlait, Biquick, Nature’s Valley, Green Giant, and Progresso!

OK…so you don’t have a cat, well, neither do I, but I have neighbors that have adopted some cute little kittens AND have three adult cats. My bags will be seeded into their household this week. For those of you that don’t know anyone personally, donate them to your nearest animal shelter, I’m sure they would greatly appreciate them. Remember…SEED TO FEED!

New FLIPS are posted! (Current Publix BOGOs, 9/23-9/29, HERE).

(1) Purina ONE Cat Food, 3.3 or 3.5 lb bag, 2/$10 ($5ea.)
$2/1 One Stop One Store Booklet
$3/1 09-13-09 RP
$2/1 Target Coupon (printable)

Scenario (Coupons Used):
(1) $5/$20 Rite Aid
(2) $2/1 Honey Bunches of Oats, Pecan
(2) $1/1 Yoplait
(6) $0.50/1 Dixie Plates (will double to $1/1)
(1) $3/1 Purina One
(1) $2/1 Purina One (Target) (used with the manuf. makes them FREE)

Subtotal: $23.49
Total (Pre-tax) OOP: $1.49

***You can always use the a couple of the freebies plus overage items, such as the Revlon tools (compact nail clippers, emery boards, etc.) to bring your total oop lower. If your Publix have the booklets located behind customer service, make it a point to request one each trip you make to the store.

Reaping In Abundance,
Kay

In this entry we will continue to explore the many places that Marissa can blog. It is extremely fascinating, and she really hopes you will like this entry, as it contains some badassity (not actually, all copyright goes to Toast P Rogers for her incomparable awesomeness) and cozy sweaters. (JUST BRING IT THE FRICK ON.) Touchy, touchy.

[5:42] I probably don’t need to be writing this on my iPod as my computer is literally two inches away from my fingers, but I figured that it would go with the theme of the entry to wrap it all up in some corny clincher-sentence way. Umm, all I have is this very value piece of advice: do not ever stand on a chair and attempt to put on a sock. You will fall off and humiliate yourself in front of the internet. And the internet laughs really loud.

I grabbed a Yoplait yogurt out of my fridge and couldn’t help but notice the pink lid.  Yes, Yoplait is running their pink lid “Save Lids to Save Lives” campaign in support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  I’m a big supporter of breast cancer awareness and the search for a cure.  I’ve had friends and family with breast cancer, so I’ve seen first hand how breast cancer dramatically affected their lives and their families.

I’m also a huge supporter of corporations making donations to charity.  Most charities would be hard-pressed to provide their services without the valued corporate support.

What I don’t like is the hoops some companies make consumers jump through to support the corporation’s charitable donation.  Yoplait, for example, will donate 10 cents for every pink lid mailed in by consumers.  So, I need to buy Yoplait yogurt, save the lids, wash the lids, put them in an envelope and mail them to Yoplait?  Then, someone at Yoplait is going to open the envelopes, count the lids and approve the corresponding donation?  Seems like a lot of unnecessary time and money to support the search for a breast cancer cure.

Yes, I know, it’s a little time and effort on my part when so many women are battling cancer and fighting for their lives.  And their families and friends are suffering as well.  Trust me, I understand and I sympathize.

My point is that companies like Yoplait, who obviously hope they sell more yogurt because of their charitable donation, should make it easier for consumers to boost the donation amount. (I’d like to know if Yoplait’s sales or market share increase during the donation period anyway.)  Yoplait says they’ll donate at least $500,000, but based on the number of lids they receive, they’ll donate up to $1.5 million.

Why not give consumers an online mechanism where they can key in a donation code from each purchased container? It’ll save all the time and money from the current process.  Keep the pink lids for marketing the program and for the donation code.

Or, why not provide a matching program where consumers can donate to the charity through Yoplait.com, and Yoplait will match the donations up to $1.5 million?  Then, the charity will receive $3 million or more in donations, instead of between $500,000 and $1.5 million.  Forget the whole lid redemption process, but keep the pink lids for marketing the program.

With social marketing and digital marketing available, why does Yoplait continue to cling to the lid redemption process?  A new approach could increase awareness of the program and increase the overall donations going to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

And, Yoplait just might sell more yogurt, too.

I’ve been trying to come up with some new healthy snacks, and this weekend, I experimented with granola. I always go back and forth on granola. I can never decide if I really like it or not. I also tried my supermarket’s version of Raisin Bran Crunch (which has granola in it), and I rather like it, though the cereal itself tastes like a sweetened cereal, which is odd. But anyway, that sparked my decision to try something with granola.

Years ago, we used to buy the custard-style Yoplait yogurt and freeze it for snacks. I’ve been doing that again – I seem to be partial to the blackberry flavor. On a whim, I bought Erin Baker’s peanut butter granola while at the grocery store and decided to pair it with the yogurt. I used 1/4 cup of granola, as well as some semi-sweet chocolate chips, and spooned the frozen yogurt over it. It was a good idea in theory, but disappointing in the end. I keep forgetting that semi-sweet chips don’t do well when paired with cold things, because the chocolate doesn’t melt at all, and it doesn’t really taste chocolatey. Which annoys me. The granola was also somewhat disappointing. It didn’t really have a peanut buttery taste to it – more peanuty, which are not the same thing. I also bought some Cascadian Farms dark chocolate almond granola on the same shopping trip, so I may try that next time.

It’s so hard to find a snack that is only 50 calories or less. In the above video Lisa Lillen shows us how Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt is exactly that.It is the only leading nonfat yogurt with 50 calories and 5 grams of fiber (20 percent of the Recommended Daily Value). It is also a good source of calcium and vitamins A and D, making this an all-around great choice for dieters and those watching their weights.

Each cup includes the creamy, delicious taste you expect from Yoplait, and you don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying it. Fiber One is available in a variety of flavors including, Strawberry, Peach, Vanilla and Key Lime Pie.

I am really trying to get on a dieting kick and lose wight so I gave this yogurt a try. Even though it is packed with Fiber it tastes just as delicious as any other yogurt does. I thought it was a great snack and would also be great to add some substance to my breakfast or lunch.

Three of my readers will receive a Free Healthy & Fit Weight Management Gift Bag that includes a Coupon for a Free Fiber One Yogurt Multipack (up to $2.99), a great cooler pack and additional storage items as show below!

To enter to win a Healthy & Fit Weight Management Bag just leave a comment on my blog and tell me some of your dieting tips/tricks?

To gain extra entries do all or some of the following:

1.)Become a fan of Adventures of a Stay at Home Mom on my Facebook Page.

2.) Follow @kimmiekinkins on twitter AND Tweet about this giveaway! You can tweet once a day for an extra entry each day. (Be sure to post your twitter name) You can copy and paste: Need a snack that is only 50 calories Check out the Fiber One Giveaway- Adventures of a Stay At home Mom http://wp.me/pmAAQ-fv

3.)- Place a link to my blog on your Website

4.)- Subscribe to my blog on feedburner

This giveaway will be open through 9 pm CST on Thursday, September 24. Good Luck!! and be sure to check out this great yogurt! Plus, be sure to check out my other Giveaways here & here.

My Blog Spark has provided me with THREE bags for my readers. I chose the winners using random.org and came up with the following:

Keeling wrote:

I am a big fan of gum! It curbs the cravings!

Jessie wrote:

FB Fan@tcarolinep JessieKatie S.

and Brenda wrote:

I started crocheting again to combat night time snacking. Now instead of watching “The Biggest Loser” with a pint of ice cream or a bag of chips, I’m crocheting dishcloths! BTW – anyone need any??

Congratulations!!!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by My Blog Spark on behalf of Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt. I received a Healthy & Fit Weight Management Gift Bag for taking the time to participate.

Thanks Yoplait and Publicis Modem, for going outside the boundaries of traditional marketing and advertising and doing your part to bring social awareness to an issue that affects millions of young and older women around the globe – breast cancer.

For all those out there, this spot doesn’t just highlight ta-tas or how we say in Spanish, Chi-Chi’s, but for also serves as a calling to all women to to take a pledge to themselves and their bodies. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among females 15 to 54. It’s a pretty big age gap, I know.

But this is great way to not only generate social awareness but also encourage women to take charge of their bodies given the fact that many young women think this sort of thing simply can’t happen to them.

Best of all…you no longer have to send in yogurt lids. All you have to do is TAKE THE PLEDGE. Find them on Facebook.

And don’t forget to tell us what you think…

Wildlife Strawberry Choobs

A monkey swings in to action on this packaging for Wildlife Strawberry Choobs.

My middle name is “Smoothie.”

 So naturally, It would make sense for me to enjoy sipping [more like gulping ], these blissful, refreshing, and fruity concoctions.

I’ve unearthed a smoothie recipe that reminds me of the tropics. Even the lush green color of this beverage will transport your eyes to extoic destinations unknown.

For you ladies, imagine spending a romantic evening on the beach while a handsome, muscley hunk with an Australian accent rubs you down with native coconut oil. As he massages your tension away, he whispers sweet Australian lingo in your ear. You have no idea what he is saying …but continue to  listen attentively as his melodic words send you in a trance of endless pleasure.

Well, this drink is not THAT smooooth. However, conjuring up this mental image while consuming the key lime-banana smoothie may enrich your overall drinking experience.

This recipe beckons for:

1 container (6oz) Yoplait Original 99% Fat Free key lime pie yogurt

1 ripe banana, sliced

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 cup fat-free milk

1 teaspon dry lemon lime-flavored drink mix (0.13 oz package)

1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt (yes, frozen yogurt a splurge/special treat for your health-food nuts).

I found this recipe in a Yoplait recipe book. The book promises that all smoothies featured are 250 calories or less. As a result, your waistline should not be frightened.

I was in the store today and came across something slightly alarming.

When I was diagnosed Type II Diabetic two and a half years ago, one of the first things I learned was that 90% of the “food” I had been eating for most of my life was now off-limits. I also learned very quickly (at the suggestion of my doctor) to look for the “Splenda” logo, as that was usually a sign that a product is safe for me. And I discovered how to read those “Nutrition Facts” on the back of the package that I had been ignoring all those years.

In any event, I had a craving for yogurt today. Generally, yogurt is high in sugar content, but there are some varieties made with Splenda instead. After several minutes scanning the yogurt section at my local supermarket, I was starting to feel frustrated that my search for a sugar-free variant would be fruitless… then I spotted a Yoplait Light Smoothie sporting the “Splenda” logo for which I was looking. And on the front of the bottle, in addition to the logo, Yoplait has added the words “sweetened with” to further entice the shopper’s interest.

http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t28/cahubble05/?action=view&current=c4798678.pbw

Then I turned the bottle around to look at the “Nutrition Facts”. To my dismay, I discovered that this 8 oz bottle of oh so tempting peach-flavored yogurt smoothie possessed a whopping 9 grams of sugar! WHAT?! How could this be? I scanned the ingredients list. Second after “cultured pasteurized grade A nonfat milk”, FRUCTOSE is listed (of all things… during my early education as a newly diagnosed diabetic, I had also discovered that most ingredients whose name ends with “ose” is off limits as well… glucose, fructose, lactose, etc. etc.). The Splenda (sucralose, to be precise) came second from the bottom of the ingredient list.

It seems to me that it is at the very least slightly misleading to label a product “Sweetened with Splenda” on the front and then pack it full of fructose. One would like to think that even diabetics take the time to read the nutrition facts. Were it not for a nasty episode that I once had with sugar alcohols (another story), I am generally diligent about reading them. But I’ll also confess that the Splenda logo has been enough to satisfy me on more than one occasion.

Go here for a coupon for $1.25 off a Yoplait Delights Multipack. (That is a Firefox link. If you use Internet Explorer go here, if you use Safari go here.)

Interested in entering giveaways?  Go to my other blog and see all the giveaways available to include an autographed book of “He Who Sings Last.”

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