Posts Tagged ‘Contest’

Easter is almost here, and that means a three day weekend for some of us (yay!). I often find Easter weekend flies by and, between shuffling from house to house for family obligations, I barely get a moment to myself. It's always a fun weekend, but it can also be a little tiring. This year I vow to block off some time to do a few things I enjoy.

Here are 3 ways to enjoy your Easter weekend
1. Get outside
Ham. Frittata. Broccoli Salad. Egg Bread. Chocolate. You name it, and I'm full of it on Easter weekend. With all the eating and running around it's easy to forget to get outside and enjoy some of the beautiful spring weather. This year, be sure to fit in a walk in the park with your family, or meet up with a friend for a jog.

2. Sleep in
If you're lucky enough to get Good Friday off, be sure to sleep in. Ask you partner to mind the kids/walk the dog/clean the bathroom/go grocery shopping. Whatever you do just don't set the alarm. It's time to catch up on your beauty sleep.

3. Have an Easter egg hunt
This was once the best part of Easter, right? The Easter egg hunt doesn't have to be reserved for those under the age of 12. Challenge your spouse or siblings to an epic egg hunt, hiding treats in all sorts of fun places. The team that finds the least amount of eggs has to take the winning team out for drinks! (Tip: Do not hide chocolate Easter treats under radiators. They will melt.)

Easter giveaway
We're giving away an amazing basket of Green & Black's Easter treats to help you enjoy your Easter weekend.

This Green & Black's Organic Easter Prize Pack includes four large premium organic, Fair Trade chocolate eggs and 3 boxes of premium, organic Fair Trade mini eggs. Check out the photo and drool!

Eating lots of chocolate is another great way to enjoy Easter.

In order to win just leave a comment here telling us what your favourite thing about Easter is. We'll announce a winner on Thursday, April 21.

On Wednesday, I found myself in the Timmy's drive-thru waiting for my turn to roll up the rim while listening to Gord Downey on CBC Radio 2 and wearing a toque and my red Olympic mitts.

Pretty Canadian.

A winning rim. Sadly, not mine. Image via Wikipedia

What was your most Canadian moment of the week? Did you come face-to-face with a deer on a Banff sidewalk? Did you apologize to someone who accidentally tripped you? Did you gripe about the possibility of a spring election?

Post a comment and let us know. I have a prize for the most Canadian moment. The winner can choose the prize from a few that I have available (books, cosmetics, a variety of handsome sundry items sure to please.) You choose. Hooray for democracy!

We're giving away some incredibly terrific prizes on Twitter throughout the month of December. This is them:

Treat yourself and your fam this holiday season
There'll be treats-a-plenty if you're the lucky winner of one of these two gift packs from The President's Choice Brand.

Get out of the kitchen and into the party with this crazy-delish Holiday Survival Kit loaded with yummy treats, valued at $100, including allll this good stuff:

• MUST TRY! PC® The World's BestTM Jumbo Cashews
• MUST TRY! PC® 100% Ground Coffee - Hawaiian
• MUST TRY! PC® Dark Chocolate with Cranberry and Almonds
• MUST TRY! PC® Gourmet Belgian Chocolate Collection
• NEW! PC® Premium Fruit and Nut Collection
• NEW! PC® Artichoke & Asiago Cheese Yogurt Dressing
• NEW! PC® Thick Cut Pizza Flavour Rippled Potato Chips
• NEW! PC® 100% Sparkling Fruit Juice - Kiwi Berry
• NEW! PC® White Chocolate Covered Sponge Toffee
• NEW! PC®  Butter Tart Square (OMG, running out to buy these right now. BRB.)
• NEW! PC®  Cinnamon Buns Mix
• NEW! PC® Cracker Collection
• NEW! PC® Chocolate Fruit Fancies
• PC® Baking Square Mix - Belgian Chocolate
• A $10 PC® gift card to help stock your holiday survival kit with the MUST TRY! PC® Puff Pastry Hors D'Oeuvre Collection or the NEW! PC®  Angus Sliders Mini Angus Beef Burgers
• A copy of this year's President's Choice® Holiday Insider's Report® to help you entertain smarter, not harder this holiday season

For a chance to WIN one of two Holiday Survival Kits from The President's Choice Brand, just follow @canadian_living on Twitter and tweet: Follow @canadian_living and RT this for a chance to win a prize pack from PC: http://cdnl.vg/ep62RU

Stay healthy over the holidays
If you're like me, getting enough veggies is the last thing on your mind during the hectic holiday stretch.

Luckily, one serving of Garden Cocktail has two full servings of veggies: it's just the thing to boost your health over the holidays. And Mott’s Garden Cocktail doesn't have that thick, tomato-y taste, so if you’ve tried vegetable cocktails before and didn’t like 'em, Mott’s Garden Cocktail might be your thing. There's also a low-sodium variety that has 78 percent less salt.

For a chance to WIN a Mott's Garden Cocktail Healthy Holiday Survival Kit, including a bunch of different kinds of Garden Cocktail, a $50 Loblaws gift certificate, fitness supplies, and what looks to be a very handsome basket, just follow @canadian_living on Twitter and tweet: Follow @canadian_living and RT this for a chance to win a Mott's prize pack: http://cdnl.vg/ep62RU

Stay safe on the roads over the holidays
It's no surprise that almost 7 in 10 canucks say they find driving in snowy, icy conditions stressful and more than half of us avoid driving in bad weather altogether.

You can stand up to old man winter and stay safe on the roads in all conditions with a Winter Warm Up Prize Pack, courtesy of Goodyear Canada, including:

• a car trunk organizer
• a handy-dandy winter car safety kit
• a sweet travel mug with Timmy's gift card
• Canadian toque and mitts from HBC (It's those new "red mittens", BTW, which I LOVE)
• a rebate offer from Goodyear Canada to purchase new winter tires

For a chance to WIN a Winter Warm Up Prize Pack, just follow @canadian_living on Twitter and tweet: Follow @canadian_living and retweet this for your chance to win a Winter Warm Up Prize Pack: http://cdnl.vg/ep62RU

Make the kids think you're hip this holiday season
Grab-a-Scabs (icky name, cool product) are funky fabric sticker patches kids can stick on their backpack, jeans, sleeves – anything. They go on and they don't come off. The best part? There's no sewing or ironing required. And another best part? They're totally Canadian.

For a chance to WIN $25 worth of fab Grab-a-Scabs (and you get to pick which ones!), just follow @canadian_living on Twitter and tweet: Follow @canadian_living and retweet this for your chance to win a Grab-a-Scab Prize Pack: http://bit.ly/ftUhqR

Don't forget your pets this holiday!
Attention pet-lovers: We have two giant baskets (worth $300 each!) to give away, courtesy of our good friends at Iams Home for the Holidays.

Each basket is stuffed with all this good stuff for you and your furry friend:

• a holiday stocking
• a pet photo frame
• a paw shaped clock (so cute!)
• a pet bed
• a towel to wipe your pal's paws
• an I.D. tag
• a copy of the book, “Adopting the Right Animal For You”
• disposable doggy bags
• Iams dog/cat treats
• a gift certificate

For a chance to WIN one of these two baskets, just follow @canadian_living on Twitter and tweet: Follow @canadian_living and retweet this for your chance to win a giant Iams Prize Pack: http://cdnl.vg/ep62RU

Send your tweets by Sunday, December 19 for your chance to WIN. Tweet as often as you like! I'll announce the winners on Twitter on Monday, December 20. (We'll do our best to get the prizes to the winners by Christmas, but we can't make any promises.)

And the fine print: Here are the contest rules. (It's all the standard stuff, eh?)

Good luck and I'll see you on Twitter (@jenvillamere)!

Congrats to Lorraine and Lori N! You've both won a copy of the DVD Furry Vengeance, starring Brandon Fraser. In response to my question about favourite seasons, Lorraine said:

"My favourite season is spring, I love seeing the new sprouts and the world turn green again."

and Lori N said:

"I love spring! the promise of the season, the beginning of the plants sprouting and the warm air after a cold winter here in Winnipeg. I love all the seasons but spring is my fav."

Thanks for sharing. Please come back and let us know what you think of the film.

Have a great weekend.

There's nothing quite like a quiet paddle on a calm Canadian lake.

It's summer and, as the radio reminded me on Saturday, it's the perfect time to enjoy some of Canada's beautiful parks. There was lots of coverage of Canada's Parks Day (which took place just this past Saturday), but I was sad to learn that the number of visitors to our great many parks has been steadily dwindling over the past few years.

Have you been enjoying our parks? Though I'm embarking on 100 km (gulp!) hike for Oxfam along the Ganaraska trail this weekend, I won't be doing much park exploring this summer because we've just given up our car.

For all you folk who are able to get out of the city this summer check out the below articles for some great summer getaway ideas:
7 great Canadian canoe trips
Great Canadian Parks guide

Because I'm feeling rather generous on this Monday morning (and because it's been a while, I though I'd offer you lovely readers the chance to win a President's Choice Premium Water Filtration System. All you have to do is subscribe to my blog and leave a message here telling me which Canadian park is your favourite and why. It can be any park. I'll randomly select a winner on Friday, July 30.

I don't know what it is, because my partner is very eco-conscious in most ways, but I seem to follow him around the house turning the lights off after him. No matter how much I pester him, he still leaves them on. I think I'll make him sign up for the Ontario Power Authority's Power Pledge, a online pledge to reduce Phantom Power — the electricity used by some home electronics and appliances even when they are turned off. Phantom Power can waste up to 15 per cent of the average home’s electricity use.

OK, so not exactly about turning off the lights, but it will certainly keep us cognizant of the amount of power we use in our home.

Apparently for the average Ontario household, which uses about 1,000 kilowatt-hours of power a month, phantom power can cost up to $100 a year. And, three of every four Ontario residents are unaware of this invisible user of electricity.

Aside from committing to reducing phantom power (by totally shutting off your TV, stereo, computer, rechargeable devices and gaming consoles when not in use), you can commit to reducing your power usage a variety of other ways. And, Ontarians who take the Pledge will earn 20 AIR MILES reward miles. Plus, the Ontario Power Authority will donate 10 reward miles to a participating charity of your choice, like WWF-Canada.

If you don't live in Ontario, it's still worth checking out the site to see how you can cut down on power usage.

In honour of this great program, the OPA has offered up three AMAZING prize packs (check out the image below). They include:

• A power bar with automatic shutoff to reduce phantom power
• 1,000 Bonus Air Miles (this could get $140 in grocery gift certificates, movie tickets or even a 3 piece luggage set)
• A cute & cuddly toy panda from WWF-Canada
• Cold water laundry detergent

The OPA prize pack!

To be eligible to win, simply tell us here what you are going to do to help reduce the use of phantom power. I'll announce the winners here on Tuesday, April 20. Remember, you need to be a subscriber to win. Also, even those who live outside of Ontario are eligible to win.

I think it's official: Spring is here to stay. When I woke up this morning I ran over to my little seedlings, and alas, my cucumbers, tomatoes, kale and marigolds have all sprouted. I'm patiently waiting on a few others, though. Tomorrow I'll be heading over to my garden plot to start working on the soil and pulling out some weeds. Sounds like spring, right?

Also, I have another great giveaway for you folks. I'm offering up a year supply of Cascades Enviro 100% recycled fibre bathroom tissue (see image below)! Cascades bathroom tissue has been given the seal of approval by Eco Logo and boasts that its:

• Made of Enviro 100 per cent recycled fibres (with a high percentage of post-consumer material).
• Produced with 80 per cent less water than the industry average.
• Bleached without chlorine.

Imagine not having to buy bathroom tissue for a whole year?!

If you'd like to enter to win this prize, just subscribe to my blog and leave a response hear telling me how you're going to enjoy these first few days of a real, sunny spring. I will announce the winner here on Friday, April 9.

I'm sure you've all been thinking about gearing your garden up for spring. You're all ordering your seeds, stockpiling used yogurt containers for starting your seedlings and dreaming of fresh produce. I have a great giveaway for the gardeners of the bunch - A Garant Enviro planter (an environmentally friendly planter made of renewable resources like bamboo and rice, and will apparently biodegrade when buried or put in a landfill), a Garant Botanica compact utility shovel and a Garant Total Control cultivator!

Calling all gardeners - Who wouldn't want this nifty prize to get their garden going?

To win this prize, just subscribe to this blog and leave a message below telling us what you look forward to the most about gardening season? Is it the dirt in your nails? The exercise? The ripe produce? Share you answers here. I'll announce the winner next Friday, March 5.

Dear Santa: Save some of those cookies for me!

Have you started thinking about Christmas yet? It seems as soon as Halloween is over, the upcoming festive season is on everyone's mind. I have no doubt pretty little lights will soon be hanging from neighbourhood trees and shortly after, Christmas trees will be popping up in people's front windows (not that I look in other people's windows, I swear!).

No matter how early the rest of the world jumps on the holiday bandwagon, I can never seem to get organized early enough. Sure, I make plans in my head, but I usually don't put them into action until December 23. However, one thing I do get excited about is planning how to greenify my Christmas.

This year I'm going to buy a small coniferous tree, plant it in a pot and keep it inside for a couple of weeks over the holidays. When Christmas is over, I'll move it back outside and care for it. I'm hoping this way I'll be able to use it as a Christmas tree for a few years to come.

If you're more into buying a fresh Christmas tree every year, try to find a locally grown one and, before purchase, inquire if it's been grown in a sustainable manner.

Have a greener Christmas!

If you're stumped for ways to go green this holiday season, you should check out A Greener Christmas. It's a great book that will give you ideas on how you can make your Christmas more eco-friendly: From recycled decorations to making your own cards and hand-crafted gift ideas. Now for the good news? I have on copy of A Greener Christmas to give away to one luck reader. Just subscribe to my blog and leave a reply here sharing your tips and tricks for a greener holiday season! I'll announce the winner on Monday, November 23.

Congrats to Irene! You've been randomly selected to win a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organic Living, written by Eliza Sarasohn and Sonia Weiss.

I loved reading about everyone's favourite fall dish ... it made me hungry (and gave me plenty of cooking ideas).

Irene said: "My favourite fall and winter dish is any meat stew with hearty vegetables like carrots and potatoes served with hearty home made bread. The smell of stew "stewing" on the stove in the kitchen brings back warm childhood memories of my grandmother's cooking. Now, with our busy lives, I make my stews in the crockpot in the morning, and I still get that warm feeling when I come in through the door and know that a delicious meal is waiting for me as if my grandmother was still here."

Don't forget to enter my Raincoast giveaway. It's a good one!

Have a great weekend.