A Halloween Treat Giveaway That Can Help You Lose Weight!

I had to make the graphics for this awesome giveaway Halloween related. If there are two things I love in life it's Halloween and Quest Nutrition!

As summer has come to a close and fall is now beginning, people sometimes tend to become less active. When that happens, it is essential one watch they eat, and go for healthier choices. Therefore this giveaway could not come at a better time. Quest Nutrition makes healthy eating enjoyable and exciting. To me, that is the most important part.

Quest Nutrition is giving away a variety box of their famed protein bars and a variety box of their new protein chips to THREE different winners -- all flavors included! 

The contest is open to residents all across the world; not just the United States. However, you must be 18 years or older to enter. ALL entries into this contest will be verified. If a submitted entry is found to be false, all entries submitted by that person will be automatically disqualified. This contest has no cash value and no purchase is required.

The giveaway starts Tuesday, October 7th and ends Wednesday October 15th at midnight. The winners will be drawn at random via random.org. Once the submissions are verified for authenticity, the winners will be displayed via blog post on Friday, October 17th!

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A Quest Nutrition Giveaway for My Birthday!

It's my birthday, friends! Today I turn a quarter of century old and I am no longer allowed to say I am in my early 20's. It is bittersweet I guess, but I enjoy growing older. Age does not matter to me; how I feel does! I feel 35 and depending on who you ask I look it too, hehe. 

I love giving to my readers. You guys keep me going and have grown to be such amazing friends. What better way for me to say "thank you" than to give out delicious Quest Nutrition products for you not only to enjoy, but to assist on your weight loss journey and/or keep healthy. 

As I reflect and think about my "birthday wish and/or wants", I find myself not craving material things like I usually do. Purchasing my new car was both exciting and incredibly needed. Since that stress is off of my back, I feel happy and content. 

-- Continue to lose weight: I am down 62 pounds since 11/25/2013 and I have 25 more pounds to go until I am "satisfied" and transition into the "maintaining" stage.

-- Finish my first fictional book titled "Pretty, Lies". I am about halfway finished and then the intense editing and changes will begin. I think if I stay focused big things could come. There is already something in the works. I would also like to send it to 10-15 of my blog readers to read review -- I would like to receive honest feedback on it. If any of my bookworms are interested, please let me know!

-- Stay true to myself and not focus on negative things people say. It is a known fact that not everyone will like you. Sometimes a person will not know a thing about you and still not like you. Sometimes people will not understand you or anything you stand for, which makes their "assumptions" completely wrong. There is a quote I like; "“I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.” That is something I want to focus on more. Growing a blog, trying to make a name for yourself, and chasing a dream that is not considered "normal" is both very rewarding and hard. As I have been on this wild ride, I have experienced wonderful opportunities and rewards, but also some negativity and hate. However, I am hungry to be more than I am, so I will never give up. 

-- My father's cancer to not spread so aggressively and more cancer treatments become available. (My fingers are crossed; we have been informed by Duke that there are really good medical treatments that should become available soon.)

-- My mother to receive her monthly MS medication (it is $6,000 a month). This wish has been granted! An organization has helped my mother and she will now be receiving her infusions. She gets her first one Friday. Thank you, God! Unfortunately the treatments cannot repair the flares she has experienced the past few months, but they can prevent new lesions, so we're praying for the best. 

-- My words to help and inspire other men and women to live their best, healthiest, and most fearless life possible. Knowing that I help other people gives my life meaning. I want to see everyone be successful; and whenever I can help, I want to do it. 

Now on to the fun stuff about the giveaway:

• You must be 18 years are older to enter.
• This is open worldwide.
• All entries will be verified -- if a submitted entry is found to be false, the person is immediately disqualified and other all entries submitted by the person will be void.
• The giveway runs from Wednesday, July 30th at 12PM EST to Wednesday, August 6th at 12PM EST. 
• Winners will be chosen at random via Random.org. 
• Winners will be announced via blog post on Friday, August 8th.

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All About The Week + Quest Giveaway Winners!

Since it is Friday and my brain is ready to shut off for the weekend (ha, who am I kidding, it is always ready to shut off) I am going to partake in the fun Friday 5 and favorites link up's and share randoms about the week that has been!

First, I want to thank you guys for your participation in the Quest Nutrition giveaway. They emailed me to let me know how much feedback they received from it, so I am hoping we will team up again very soon away to give you guys more products! I have tell you, even on my darkest and hardest days, you guys never fail to make me smile and give the that push I need to keep going. As I said earlier this week, it has been difficult adjusting to the abundance of changes ensuing in personal life, but you guys make it worth it. This my passion. It's hard work, but I love it. Some of you say I inspire you, but you will never know how much you all inspire me. Thank you for all of the meaningful and heartfelt comments and emails. They gave me hope and faith. OK enough sappiness...

Last week when I was in the grocery store, I happened to see a trial/travel size of John Frieda's Curl Reviver Mousse. Since it was like $1-$2 I figured why not try it. I love big hair. There are three things that can never be too high in life - one's heels, hair, and standards. Ha! I forgot it about over the weekend, but found it on Monday morning when I was fixing my hair for work. I absolutely love this product! It gives tons of volume, does not weigh the hair down, and it adds just enough curl - not too tight, but not too dull. It is like a wavy/beachy look. If you want an affordable, good product to add volume, I say give it a try!

Tuesday I awoke to hitting the 50 pound loss mark. It was exciting and rewarding. It's been a lot of hard work getting my life and body back, but I continue it one healthy choice and one kick-ass workout at a time. I have really stepped up my cardiovascular training over the past 2 months. I believe it is really helping. Of course, clean eating must be the top priority, but intensifying workouts never hurt anyone! Plus I rarely ever drink anymore. In August of 2010 when my gym first opened, I used the StairMill. My gym is huge - 3 stories, and only has two StairMill's. It is the hardest cardio machine I ever used besides the Jacob's Ladder (I wish so much I had access to this machine!). Last year I did not use it at all. I lost motivation, so the last thing I would want to do is use a machine that pushes me to my limits. Even earlier this year, I stayed away. Finally, I snapped out of it and I have been using it again at least 4 times a week. The StairMill aids tremendously in training to make me stronger while hiking and jogging. I can absolutely tell a huge difference strength wise. If you have access to this machine at a gym, use it! It is hard, but worth it. It makes me sweat like no other. Do not expect to use that machine and look pretty. It is all about hard work. When I first started using it a few years ago, I could barely do 10 minutes. I kept it and kept working and now I can do an hour. Do not be discouraged if you can only use this machine for a few minutes - just keep trying! It is worth it!

To celebrate my 50 pound loss, I went to Polished Nail Bar for a pedicure. I never ever get manicures or pedicures... I do everything myself at home. However, this past weekend I decided to treat myself to manicure and pedicure since I worked so much last week and my body was aching. I loved it. I received a leg massage that my calves were so thankful for, the chair vibrated your back, and you are served a class of Chardonnay. That is my idea of relaxing. Thus I went again. I didn't even need another pedicure, but I loved the massage and relaxation part of it so much that it felt worth it!

Wednesday, my Ipsy bag came! What do you guys think about yours so far? At first glance, I was not excited. I love makeup and color. This bag just seemed kind of... boring. However, now that I have received it, it is not so bad. I am eager to try the hair mask; I am always looking for good products for my hair. I never wear concealer so I am happy to have a tube to try out! If anyone wants to try my facial cleansing wipes for something they received - let me know. I' m open!

If you don't know what Ipsy is - it is a monthly makeup bag you receive via mail. It is only $10 a month and with that you get a makeup bag and 3-4 beauty products. You are billed on the first of every month and products arrive between the 10-15th! When you sign up, you get to customize your settings so you get products closely matched to your beauty preferences. If you want to join, please click here and use my link! I will appreciate you!

My mom arrived yesterday! She is here for the weekend and I am so excited to have her here. She single and ready to mingle, so I hope to show her a good time this weekend. We already started it good last night. We went grocery shopping at Target, bought some goodies at Ulta, then had dinner and a cocktail at one of our favorite restaurants "City Tavern". Now to get through this work day, then it will be time for the weekend!

Least but not least, I have the winners from the Quest Bar giveaway! They are listed below and were chosen via Rafflecopter who used Random.org. All entries were verified and I will email the winners for their shipping address! 

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