Sunday, January 31, 2010

Winner of the Chocolate Martini's!

Using Random.org the winner of the Chocolate Martini Giveaway is:

Deborah said...

I became a facebook fan of Dove Chocolate Discoveries, Independent Chocolatier Kim Sprague (ID: Deborah Rosen) asthenight at gmail dot com

January 29, 2010 6:31 PM

I'm emailing you right now to get your mailing address...  :)  Congratulations Deborah!!!!  For those that did not win - contact Kim Sprague to schedule your own Chocolate home party, your friends will love you for it!

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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Chocolate Martinis - A Giveaway!

I'm very excited to introduce this amazing woman - Kim Sprague.  She is a mother of three, who loves doing Chocolate Parties.  She is a psychotherapist who gave up the business world to take care of her kids.  Her experience with her sons' four year battle with Cancer prompted her to become actively involved in raising funds for Pediatric Cancer and to combat their own large medical bills.  Contact her to schedule a home Chocolate Party or if you are interested in becoming a Chocolatier!

Kim writes...


Valentine’s Day is all about love and romance …well at least that’s what we’ve been told. Marketers have pushed puffy pink hearts, sassy red negligees, and candy printed up with provocative phrases for weeks now, reminding us of that perfect love, that we either have, or don’t.


Let’s face it, for many Valentine’s Day doesn’t always end up the way Cupid might have hoped.


If you are a lonely-heart, don’t fret. I can help you make the most of St. Valentine’s special day.


Maybe you have found the special someone that sets your heart aflutter, but diaper changes and bedtime stories have you too pooped out to celebrate. No worries….I can help you light that fire of love again!



Dove has packaged love in a bottle; Dove Chocolate Martini Mix. Imagine decadent, creamy chocolate that can be shaken with your favorite vodka….berry flavors for the wild at heart, espresso or hazelnut for the romantic in you. There are a variety of ways to make a chocolate martini that will reflect your own personality of love.

Recently, Dove did an event where they sampled a variety of flavored vodkas with their Chocolate Martini Mix, and hundreds of participants chose pear vodka and pepper vodka as their favorites. Really. What flavors do you think would taste best? I’ll give you a chance to find out!


Whether you are planning to gather all your single friends together for a fun night, or you have a certain someone you want to cuddle up with, I have the perfect give-a-way to make the night a success.


I’ll ship a, “Girl’s Night Out” kit to a lucky winner. The GNO kit includes a 32 oz bottle of Dove Chocolate Martini Mix, a stainless steel martini shaker etched with the Dove Chocolate Discoveries logo, and 4 martini glasses.

Your Valentine’s Day relief will arrive direct to you, by February 14th.  The giveaway is only open to residents of the contiguous 48 states.  Be sure to list each entry you make in a separate comment.  Here's how to enter:

Mandatory first entry: Go here then come back and tell us what you'd want to buy!

This giveaway will close on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at midnight PST. A winner will be announced Sunday January 31st. If you don't include your email address in your comment, please email it to OCMomActivities at gmail dot com so that you can be contacted if you win. Note that we will need your mailing address on Sunday January 31st to ensure you recieve your Chocolate Martini's before Valentine's Day!


If you don’t win, you can still enjoy Dove Chocolate Martini Mix and other luscious chocolate goodies. Check out my website and let me know what you’d like.  You can also watch more about Kim Sprague on this YouTube video:

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Sunday, January 24, 2010

Pacific Waters Spa at the Hyatt - Win a Luxurious Spa Day!

Okay... so there are some seriously cool perks to this blogging thing, like *ahem* having to test out the amazingly wonderful spa services at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Pacific Waters Spa.  Yes, tonight a bunch of us Mom Bloggers got the chance to sample a number of the absolutely amazing services they have to offer.    

It's been awhile since I've taken the time to pamper myself, six years to be exact.  Six years ago I had my last pregnancy massage.  As Moms, it is super hard to find the time, let alone plan out time for rejuvenation even though we all know we desperately need it.

The amazing staff at the Pacific Waters Spa rolled out the red carpet for us.  We began lounging by the fire in the lounge. 


Then came a back massage.  Then we went on to have an amazing hand treatment. Next came a tour of the facility (note the amazing outdoor firepit!)



 Next up were some amazing, simple, easy to do at home spa treatments (watch for posts with the directions over the next few days).  We were then treated to this amazing buffet of gourmet spa food...

Okay... now that you probably hate me right now... here's YOUR chance to win an ENTIRE day of pampering at the Pacific Waters Spa.  This will include a 60 minute Facial, 60 minute Massage, 60 minute Body Wrap and either the 60 minute Thalasso Bath or Sea Salt Foot Therapy.  Want to know how to enter?  It's simple!  Become a fan of Pacific Waters on Facebook or follow @HyattSpaHB on Twitter.  You'll need to tweet or post on the Facebook wall the following phrase for it to count:

"I became a fan of Pacific Waters Spa after reading OCMomActivities!"

Not enough yet?  Well, by becoming a fan you automatically receive 20% off any 60 minute treatment.  Love that!  Pacific Waters Spa is also offering some simply amazing seasonal memberships that I'll tell you about in another post.  You won't believe the amazing pampering you can purchase for a lot less than you would think it would cost!

* Note that this giveaway is intented for the blogger who gives the most referrals and I am choosing to pass it on to one of my readers instead.  :)

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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

School Lunch Idea

These last couple of weeks have been super busy! In my quest to improve my health, I've taken a look at what I pack in the kids school lunches also.
Thankfully, my boys are great eaters but I have to admit out of sheer convenience I had been buying the Lunchables far too often.

While doing my "System Re-Boot" this last week (SUPER successful by the way), I had to plan dinners further ahead of time and I had to ensure they were easy at the same time. Using one of my favorite Kitchen gadgets (my George Foreman Grill) I was able to not just get dinner prepped for the boys... but the main course of their lunches! Talk about productive!



So... Try making sliders (baby hamburgers) or hot dogs and making one extra go include in the kids lunches the next day. My boys loved it!

What other healthy, nutritious and easy lunch ideas do you have? I'd love to hear them!

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Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Homemade Peppermint Candy Cane Sugar Scrub

Okay, so I've been in denial but I guess I will have to admit the holidays are over!


So what on earth am I supposed to do with all these leftover candy canes? Then I remembered the amazing Peppermint Scrub I was shown how to make at the Albertsons Mom Blogger event last month! It's super easy, luxurious AND will sneakily dispose of all those candy canes... The instructions are below. :) Let me know any other easy self-pampering ideas you have!








Peppermint Scrub


An empty jar with a lid
1 cup granulated white sugar
6 candy canes/peppermint candy (approx ¼ cup), finely crushed into a powder
1/2 cup olive oil
6 drops peppermint essential oil (optional)


Pour the granulated white sugar and crushed peppermint into the jar. Put the lid on the jar and shake it to mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients into sugar mix. Put the lid on the jar and shake it to mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well blended. Label the jar as desired.


*P.S.
I have one that I have been using and LOVE it!!!!

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Monday, January 4, 2010

My "System Re-Boot"

I'm really not sure how to explain it, but lately I've just felt like my body needed a "system re-boot" -  if that makes any sense.  I've always had a vegetarian tendency.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good cheeseburger or homemade meatballs, but when it comes to home cooking, I've always leaned towards preparing meatless meals.  I've been searching for something to do that was like resetting my body after all the allergy issues and daily stresses I've been through lately.  I am not a "diet" person, but I knew I needed to do something.

I'm pretty excited about what I am lovingly calling my System Re-Boot program and thought I'd share with all of you in case you wanted to join me!  It's pretty simple and is basically all about eating fruit, veggies and nuts (or beans) and amping up your exercise a bit. Most important is drinking a lot of water (with fresh lemon to assist in liver cleansing).  This is probably a really good point to remind you that I am not or have ever been a doctor.  Always check with your doctor and do a "gut" check before starting any new exercise or diet program.  This is simply what I am choosing to do and it appears to be pretty healthy.

Pretty simply you can eat as much fruit and vegetables as you want (to ensure you don't feel hungry), eat a few handfuls of nuts each day and start the day out with a non-dairy protein drink.  The goal is to snack on a handful of fruits or veggies every two hours to avoid hunger and keep your metabolism active.

I did my grocery shop yesterday and found myself laughing at the shopping cart because I had obviously spent sooooooo much time in the produce area.  I bought fresh avocadoes (as a yummy treat), dried apricots for my sweet tooth, fresh whole pineapple, apples, bananas, carrots, fresh spinach, several heads of lettuce, fresh garlic, zucchini, grapes, asparagus and lots of tomatoes.  I also bought a protein non-dairy vanilla banana smoothie to have with breakfast. 

I'll let you know how this goes, my plan is to follow this for at least 10 days, see where that gets me, and then I'll decide if I want to continue to follow it.  I'm also looking forward to losing a few pounds in the process!

The most difficult part of this undertaking is organizing the dinners for the kids because they are eating differently (although I can mix in a lot of the fruits & veggies from my meal plan).  I've got sliders one night for the boys, hot dogs one night, chicken nuggets another and spaghetti o's another, so they are covered.  And for my husband, we'll he's eating some of my stuff and some of what the boys are having.  But I was not game to cook 3 different meals each night!

Are you making any shifts in your diet now that the holidays are over?  I'd love to hear about them!

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