Kevin & Amanda » Giveaways

Spend a Minute with Millstone and Enter to Win a Keurig! Winners Announced!

Amanda — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:00:50 +0000

Time’s up!

The winners of the Millstone and Keurig Giveaway are:

#328 Bridget: “My favorite tradition is taking my daughter to see a performance of the Nutcracker! =)”

#835 Kathy Iverson: “My favorite holiday tradition is the my husband’s family sleepover on Christmas Eve! We all gather together at his sister’s home, we drink hot chocolate and everyone puts on their brand new jammies. When the kids go to sleep, the parents put out gifts and prepare for the morning! The whole family wakes and spends Christmas morning together!”

#1280 Jennifer: “When I was growing up, my mom always made cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate for us on Christmas morning. My husband always had a breakfast casserole. I have continued making his favorite casserole for Christmas morning.”

Congratulations girls! What beautiful traditions. I’ve sent ya’ll an email. Merry Christmas!

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Nielsen Massey Vanilla Giveaway (Winners Announced!)

Amanda — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 08:00:06 +0000

Time’s up!

The winners of the Nielsen Massey Vanilla Giveaway are:

#361 Lindsay: “Plain, for sure. No sense in ruining what is already delicious! :)”

#601 Erin: “i just ran across your blog last weekend, and i am hooked!!! :)”

#1086 Stacie M: “I would eat the vanilla ice cream on top of apple crisp or topped with chocolate, peanut butter and crushed up pretzels!! YUM, wish I had some now :)”

Congratulations girls! I love all of your sweet smilies. I’ve sent ya’ll an email. Happy baking!

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Microplane Essential Kitchen Tools Giveaway (Winners Announced!)

Amanda — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 08:00:11 +0000

Time’s up!

The winners of the Microplane Essential Kitchen Tools Giveaway are:

#26 Maureen: “Very hard decision, I guess first my Chef’s knife, then my cast iron fry pan.”

#740 Caroline: “My dough blade!!! I use it almost daily which is silly because I don’t make bread everyday. But I love it and could not get through my cooking frenzies without it.”

#1087 Heather Jenkins: “I love my apple corer!”

Congratulations girls! I’ve sent ya’ll an email. Enjoy your new goodies!

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Black Friday Giveaway: Calphalon Bronze Nonstick 11-pc. Cookware Set (Winner Announced!)

Amanda — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:00:48 +0000

Time’s up!

The winner of the Calphalon Bronze Nonstick 11-pc. Cookware Set is:

#1831 Katie

Congratulations Katie! I’ve sent you an email. Enjoy your new cookware!

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Masterbuilt Fried Turkey Thanksgiving Giveaway

Amanda — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:00:50 +0000

Time’s up!

The winner of the Masterbuilt Indoor Electric Turkey Fryer Giveaway is:

#1216 Andrea

Congratulations Andrea! I’ve sent you an email. Enjoy your Masterbuilt Fried Turkey Thanksgiving!

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Brand New 7-Quart Kitchenaid Giveaway

Amanda — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 07:11:40 +0000

Time’s up!

The winner of the 7-Quart Kitchenaid is:

#852 Aimee Poe

Congratulations Aimee! I’ve sent you an email. Have fun with all your holiday baking!

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It’s the Silhouette Cameo…

Amanda — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:00:01 +0000

Time’s up!

The winner of the Silhouette Cameo is:

#642 Caitlin

Congrats Caitlin! I’m so excited for you and your new bundle of joy. I’ve sent you an email!

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Watercolor Portraits by Rachael Rossman (Winner Announced!)

Amanda — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:00:14 +0000

Time’s up!

The winner of the 8×10 watercolor portrait is:

#214 Kelly

our new cockapoo puppie neely…so we can remember this awesome time in our family!!

Congrats Kelly! I’m so excited for you and Neely. I’ve sent you an email!

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Day Trip to Trout Lake Farm

Amanda — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:00:41 +0000

Last week I spent a day at the Nutrilite Center for Optimal Health in Buena Park, California for a health and nutrition event hosted by Amway. Yes, you know, that Amway. The person at the party you don’t want to talk to because they’ll try to sell you something? Note: I am not affiliated with Amway in any way, but was invited to this event along with Jenny from Picky Palate, Emily from Busy Mommy, and Lori from 24/7 Moms for a comprehensive health assessment to determine the best health management program for my genetic type. My genetic type. I was a bit skeptical at first, but my curiosity got the better of me. I couldn’t resist. And I am relieved to report that no one tried to sell me anything or tried to get me to sell anything the entire time I was there! Whew.

The day started with having my blood drawn, blood pressure taken, and an ultrasound on my carotid artery to monitor plaque build up. Then we moved on to a bone density test, flexibility test, physical fitness tests to determine cardio and core strength, and a body fat percentage test. To my relief, the scale I stepped on to determine the percentage of body fat was almost exactly like this scale that I gave away on my blog earlier this year, and the results were exactly the same as my scale at home. I’d always wondered if that thing was really accurate! Now I know.

And finally, we did a DNA swab.

What completely fascinated me about the DNA swab was that their studies have shown it’s possible to determine the the best health and weight management program for a person by their genetic type. Basically we learned that people are genetically disposed to perform optimally on one of three diets: low carb, low fat (which would be high carb), or a balance of both healthy carbs and fats. And you know what surprised me? Only a very low percentage of the population — less than 20% — perform optimally on the balanced diet. Around 40% do best on low carb, and approximately another 40% do best on low fat. And you know what else was really surprising to me? Eating a diet opposite of what you are genetically predisposed for can cause you to gain weight. So it’s possible there are those out there strictly adhering to a low carb diet or a low fat diet and still gaining weight. The results of my tests will be here in a few weeks and I can’t wait to see what they say!

After our morning of fitness, we had a totally laid-back lunch with Nutrilite’s new spokesperson, Kurt Warner. And in a room full of giggling girls, there was a whole lot more talk about his episodes on Dancing With the Stars than his two-time MVP NFL career. :) He also told us about his wife’s new book, One Call Away, and it will be my next read. Her story sounds amazing.

The next morning we were up bright and early again for a day trip to Nutrilite’s Trout Lake Farm in Washington. For this quick trip we had the amazing opportunity to take the Amway private jet from beautiful California to Portland, Oregon, where we drove over into Washington.

No lines. No waiting. No security. No seat backs in their upright and locked position. Just go to the airport and get on the plane! I could get used to this kind of travel.

This was our breakfast on the plane. An amazing breakfast burrito with salsa and guacamole and a giant bowl of fresh, delicious fruit. Definitely not your average airplane meal!

This was my view for most of the trip.

This little basket of snacks was sitting right next to me.

When we were preparing for landing, they asked if I’d like to go up to the cockpit and sit in the jump seat. Me??!

But who am I to argue? I grabbed my camera and took off before I had a chance to change my mind!

Making a big turn for landing…

Flying over the river, which is the Washington/Oregon state line, and runs parallel to the runways at PDX. Almost there!

About to land! We’re right over the runway. I have to tell you. I don’t know if it was because I was in the cockpit, or because it was a private jet, or because our pilot was incredibly skilled, but that landing was without question the smoothest landing I have ever experienced. If my eyes were closed, I honestly don’t think I would’ve been able to tell you when the wheels touched down.

On the way to lunch we made a quick stop at Multnomah Falls.

How beautiful was this waterfall. Many people there were hiking all the way to the top!

After lunch we drove over the river into Washington.

This was my first visit to the Pacific Northwest and gorgeous views blew me away.

Trout Lake Farm is the largest certified organic herb farm in North America. Their primary crops include blueberries, echinacea, oregano, peppermint, dandelions, lemon balm and white kidney beans.

The views were just stunning. You could look one way and see Mount Hood…

And look the other way and see Mount Adam.

Pretty.

My favorite part of the farm was visiting the blueberry fields. We wandered their giant blueberry field with rows and rows of blueberry bushes as far as the eye could see.

There were 14 different varieties of blueberries at Trout Lake Farm, and not only did they all taste different, but they all looked different as well.

They were delicious, sweet, and perfectly sun warmed. I could live there. Give me some frozen yogurt and I’d be in heaven.

Oh by the way! See that football I’m holding up there in the photo with Kurt Warner? The one where I’m sweating and wearing yoga pants and workout clothes? I got it signed by Kurt and brought it back as a souvenir for a special Kevin and Amanda reader. Cause I love you guys. If you or someone you know would love this football, just ~~leave me a note in the comments section of this post before midnight tonight~~. I’ll draw a winner on Thursday and announce it here on this post on Friday. See you then!

The winner of the Kurt Warner football is #203 Barbara Ford. Congrats Barbara! I’ve sent you an email.

My Favorite Knife Ever (Winners Announced!)

Amanda — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:00:47 +0000

Time’s up!

The winners of the Wusthof 7″ Santoku knives are:

#1 Sara Fehling
#90 Sarah N
#394 Pam
#1378 Kevin
#2219 Rebecca

Congrats you guys! I’m so excited for you. That was a fun giveaway — how often does the first comment win?? Plus we have a “Kevin” winner. How fun. I’ve sent y’all an email!

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