Planet Weidknecht

3/10/12

Is Your Baby The Most Beautiful?

For more than 20 years Paradise Galleries has been a leader in bringing the magic of award winning dolls to collectors around the world. This year, the company presents a new and unique contest to find the most beautiful baby and have a master sculptor recreate his or her likeness in clay for molds to be made for reproduction.
The complete doll will be available just in time for the Holiday season 2012 and will be featured in the coveted Holiday keepsake catalog. To sign up to receive the Company's catalogs go to the Paradise Galleries website.
To find the beautiful baby for this unique doll 10 contestants will be chosen from entries made through the following Rafflecopter. The highest considerations goes towards the entrants with the most entry points. Once the 10 are chosen, their photos will be posted on Paradise Galleries' Facebook Page for people to vote. The baby with the most votes on March 25, 2012 @ 11:59PM will be the winner of Paradise Galleries Beautiful Baby Contest.
Photo Submissions:
All photos must be emailed to: [email protected]. And must meet the following rules:
1) Show the full face and head. No bonnets, hats, sunglasses, etc.
2) Images must be .jpg, or .tiff format and no larger than 5 MB in file size
3) Please indicate your Full Name, Address, Phone Number, Email Address and Full Name of the Baby and their age
4) Once a photo is submitted it is considered a final submission and may not be modified or edited, or replaced. Contestants may submit no more than one photo.
5) Retouching of Photos: The submitted contest photograph cannot be retouched: nothing in the photographs (people, animals, scenery, objects, etc.) may be altered, removed, augmented or rearranged. Cropping is permitted, as is modest darkening or lightening of parts of the image.
6) Limit one (1) Entry per person, per email address and per household. Entries received from any person or email address or household in excess of the limitation will be void. All Entries become the sole property of the Company and will not be returned. Additional entries from the same household during the Contest Period will be disqualified.

I just scored a bunch of $5 movies for my daycare kids!

Mission Save Energy and Win Winner

Now Accepting Mother's Day Gift Guide Submissions

Would you like your product featured in the

Planet Weidknecht

2012 Mother's Day Gift Guide?

Send a letter of interest to

[email protected]!

The Spring Cleaning Blast

Warm weather is right around the corner and it's the perfect time to give the house the ole' "once over". If you need a little motivation, we're giving you a chance to win a $60 Amazon gift card to buy yourself some new cleaning supplies (and maybe some chocolate, yes, lots and lots of chocolate). To enter, simply follow the 16 participating blogs on Facebook. Want to earn extra entries? Follow the Twitter pages of these fabulous blogs! Happy Spring! Ends at 12:01am on 3/18/12.

That rare moment when preschoolers play together nicely.

Six More Planet Weidknecht Winners

$50 Friday Winner 3/8:

Plus Five More Winners!

3/9/12

Limited Openings

Synovate doesn't accept new members very often

so hurry and get in today!

Discover Your Inner Iron Chef

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Sign Up for Makobi Scribe Father's Day Event

It is a perfect time to find what gifts you would like to give to your father. Makobi Scribe is proud to present Father’s Day Gift Ideas Giveaway Event from June 10 12:01 PM EST to June 18 at midnight EST and is accepting signups now HERE.

3/8/12

Today is $50 Friday

Everyone loves cash, right? How would you like a chance to win $50 EVERY FRIDAY? Well, I am very excited that I have joined with an amazing group of bloggers to offer you a WEEKLY cash giveaway! Cool, yes?

Even Picasso scribbled as a toddler.

Flash Giveaway - Win Two $10 Amazon Gift Codes - #MissionGiveaway

FLASH GIVEAWAY!

24 HOURS ONLY!

WIN TWO $10 AMAZON.COM GIFT CARDS!

ONE FOR YOU TO KEEP!

ONE FOR YOU TO GIVE AWAY!

Giveaway begins at 11:59pm EST on 3/9/12

and ends at 11:59pm EST on 3/9/12

My quest for healthy delicious snacks continues! I have discovered a company right here in my little town of Pflugerville, Texas called Boundless Nutrition. They make the Perfect Fit Protein Cookies and the Oatmega 3 Wellness Bars. I received seven different samples and decided to try one per day over a week. Since they can be used as a snack or a meal replacement, they fit right in to my weight loss plan.

The first one I had to try was the one with the most unusual-sounding combination of tastes...the Blueberry Pomegranate Crunch Oatmega 3 Wellness Bar. It contains Omega-3, Protein, Green Tea, and other healthy ingredients. It's crunchy and chewy and full of wonderful taste. What a sweet way to get my fish oil intake!

Boundless Nutrition leads the industry in Omega-3 bars and I could see why when I bit into the Chocolate Peanut Oatmega 3 Wellness Bar. Peanuts and Dark Chocolate in a healthy protein bar with only 6g of total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, and 0g of trans fat. This yummy treat has 14g of time-release Protein and I had it for lunch with a side salad. I wasn't hungry until dinnertime.

Day three was definitely a cookie day! I tried the Perfect Fit Chocolate Chip Protein Cookie. It's gluten-free, low sodium, with no soy, no egg, and no wheat. The milk protein in it is hormone-free and it contains 3cups of green tea. This cookie is absolutely delicious. It definitely has a chewy texture to it and I enjoyed it with a cup of rice milk.

You know those chocolate mint cookies the little girls sell every February? Do you like those? Then you are going to LOVE the Chocolate Mint Oatmega 3 Wellness Bar. I could eat one of these every day! This one is my absolute favorite of all the Boundless Nutrition products. Their 100% all natural products are loaded with antioxidants and have no GMOs.

The White Chocolate Macadamia Protein Cookie was my favorite of the three kinds of cookies I taste-tested, even though I liked them all. Those chunks of white chocolate are so creamy. This cookie is crunchier than the chocolate chip one. With 4g of fiber and 10g of Protein I can eat cookies without shame!

The Mocha Oatmega 3 Wellness Bar had an amazing texture to it. It was softer than the others I tried, smoother I guess is the word I'm looking for. Need more calcium in your diet? These goodies have 25% of daily recommended intake and they have 50% less sugar than other bars. The fish oil in their products does not contain any heavy metals, dioxins, toxins or mercury, so you can be assured of a quality product.

My last treat was the Perfect Fit Peanut Butter Protein Cookie. As I reached day seven of my sampling of these treats, I was a bit sad because now I'm out of them. The Peanut Butter cookie was an excellent cookie and I'll definitely be looking for more bars and cookies at my local HEB grocery store and at Whole Foods grocery store. You can also purchase them online. Be sure to connect with them on Facebook and Twitter too!
Disclosure: I received these products at no charge in exchange for my honest review.
See more of my giveaways HERE.

Another Fabulous Giveaway!
One lucky Planet Weidknecht reader will get to choose either a box of 12 cookies or a box of 12 bars in whichever flavor they wish. To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Only the first entry is mandatory; all other entries will help increase your chances to win. You must be at least 18 years old, have a US address, and follow Planet Weidknecht in at least one way. This giveaway will end at midnight est on 3/23/12. Good luck and happy, healthy eating!

$50 Friday Tomorrow

Define Me to a Tee Personalized Shirt - Review

International Women's Day is March 8

Seven Ways to Empower Women and Girls:

1. Save a woman’s life in child birth:
Did you know that in countries like Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, and Bolivia, having a baby is one of the most dangerous things a woman can do? By helping train local midwives in remote communities, you could save a life. Visit StrongWomenStrongWorld.org to learn more.

2. Mentor a girl close to home:
A growing poverty rate, poor-performing schools, and teen violence make it tough to be a girl growing up here in our own country. Reach out and influence the life of a young girl in your own community by volunteering as a tutor or mentor. Get connected at BBBS.org.

3. Use your voice to stop trafficking:
Human trafficking and sexual exploitation affects girls and women in horrific ways all around the world, but the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in the US Senate can help end the practice. Contact your Senators and ask them to renew this bill to protect women and girls, both here in the US and around the world.

4. Invest in a small business owner:
Websites like WorldVisionMicro.org or Kiva.org connect you to hardworking women entrepreneurs, waiting to realize their dream of a dressmaking business, chicken farm, or food stall that will help them provide for their family. Even better, when the loan is paid off, your donated funds are loaned out again and again to make a bigger impact.

5. Provide the ticket to education—clean water:
One of the most common reasons girls in poor communities miss schooling is the lack of clean water in their village. Millions of girls and women spend several hours each day fetching water—often dirty and dangerous to their health—instead of attending school. Give the gift of clean water, and open the door to education for a young girl.

6. Band together with like-minded women:
Whatever your passion for helping other women, you’ll do it better—and have more fun doing it—with other women excited about the same cause. National movements like Women of Vision can connect you to a network of resources while allowing you to grow your own local group of women who want to make the world better for girls and their mothers.

7. Tell the women in your life that you care:
Empowering women starts right in our families, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Celebrate this International Women’s Day by writing a note of thanks to that teacher who encouraged you years ago, picking up coffee for that new mom in your office who’s struggling to balance it all, or telling your own sister, daughter, or mother how much you appreciate them.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

Today's Best Deals

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Spring Fashionista Winner

Thank you all for entering my giveaways!

Come see what else I'm giving away HERE.

Great Swag Swap Winner

Many thanks to all who entered!

Didn't win this time?

Enter more of my fabulous giveaways HERE.

3/7/12

Wedne$day Wealth Giveaway Link Up

Feeling Lucky?

Link up all your giveaways here

and enter to win some great stuff.

Thank you for coming by today!

Spring Cleaning Tips and System Mechanics Software Giveaway

Useful PC Clean Out Tips, sponsored by www.iolo.com

Delete unused, old or duplicate files, emails, email addresses, bookmarks and favorites. With System Mechanic’s “Remove Junk Files”, “Remove Internet Debris” or “Find Duplicate Files” tools, you can recover a lot of lost space - and a lot of time wasted while looking for files on a cluttered hard drive.

Organize your files. Make sure to use a logical file naming system and put them into folders that make sense and are easy to remember and access.

Defragment your hard drive. While it won’t categorize your files (you have to do that manually, see #2 above), defragmentation will speed up your access to them, again saving you valuable time. System Mechanic’s “Defragment Hard Drive” tool defragments even your Windows system files, providing noticeable speed improvements.

Back up your files and programs at least every month. Imagine all the time wasted if your files are lost. Back up regularly to a separate device like a portable hard drive or set up an automatic online back-up service.

Uninstall programs that you no longer need or use. To make sure they are completely uninstalled and do not leave any residual clutter, use System Mechanic’s “Remove Installed Programs” to uninstall even the most stubborn components.

Once you’ve uninstalled unused program, make sure to clean out your registry as well. Invalid or out-of-date registry settings can slow down your computer’s boot time. Use System Mechanic’s “Repair Registry Problems” and “Defragment and Compact Registry” to save valuable minutes off your boot time.

Further improve your computer’s start-up time by removing unnecessary start-up items. Many programs lodge themselves in start-up without your knowledge. Remove them using System Mechanic’s “Optimize Windows Startup” tool.

Once you’ve organized all your files into folders, make sure all the shortcuts are still accurate. Use “Repair Broken Shortcuts” to get all your shortcuts in order.

For an ultimate clean out, try iolo’s DriveScrubber (a stand-alone utility for permanently wiping data from hard drives, offered also as part of System Mechanic Professional). DriveScrubber can securely wipe out all your hard drive data or you can use a more selective approach, removing only your personal files and leaving the programs intact. Definitely opt for this clean out option if you are planning on donating your computer to make sure your personal information is not recoverable.

For a complete PC clean out, don’t forget your PC’s outside. Clean the screen, dust the keyboard, clean the mouse. After all, your computer deserves some pampering too.

WIN A COPY OF SYSTEM MECHANICS SOFTWARE!

This week is all about Letter H.

BioFuel Caffeinated Popcorn - Review and Giveaway

Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without caffeine. I work from 7am to 6pm with eight preschoolers, five days a week. I am blogging reviews and giveaways during their nap-time and in the evenings. Plus I have two teenagers! Weekends I'm running errands, cleaning house, doing laundry, buying groceries, and entering sweepstakes. I drink a lot of caffeinated coffee to keep me going. That's a healthy step up from all the caffeinated cola I used to drink. Now I've discovered a healthy snack that can kick me into gear!

BioFuel is the original caffeinated popcorn and it is delicious! It's sweet and salty, with each bag equal to a couple of cups of coffee. They use premium popcorn kernels, their special BioFuel Proprietary Blend of sugar and caffeine, canola oil and salt to make this awesome snack. A serving size of 1.5c has only 135 calories and only 7g of total fat (1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat). I wouldn't serve BioFuel Popcorn to children, but it sure helps me keep up with them! You can purchase BioFuel online at http://www.biofuelfoods.com/. Be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter too!
Disclosure: I received this product at no charge in exchange for my honest review.
More giveaways of mine are HERE.

A SWEET AND SALTY GIVEAWAY!
One lucky Planet Weidknecht reader will win THREE BAGS of BioFuel Caffeinated Popcorn! To enter just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. You must be at least 18 years old, have a US address, and follow Planet Weidknecht in at least one way. This giveaway ends at midnight est on 3/18/12. Only the first entry is mandatory; all others are bonus entries to increase your chances to win. Good luck!

#MissionGiveaway TOMS Winner

Didn't win this time?

Enter more giveaways HERE.

Creating Success Around the World Blog Hop

Welcome to Creating Success Around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the globe. Join us! Every Wednesday our hosts on each continent will introduce some inspiring creativity from their corner of the world. Four wonderfully creative people will be featured here on Planet Weidknecht throughout March!
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March Main Hosts

THIS WEEK: Lisa of Planet Weidknecht interviews Aprile Mazey of The Steady Hand.

Lisa @ Planet Weidknecht: What do you create?
Aprile Mazey: I crochet handmade accessories like scarves, hats, jewelry and more.

Lisa @ Planet Weidknecht: Why do you create?
Aprile Mazey: I like being able to take yarn and turn it into a piece of wearable art. The amount of things you can create are endless.

Lisa @ Planet Weidknecht: Do you sell your creations? If so, how? Where? And is it profitable?
Aprile Mazey: Yes, I sell my items in my Etsy Shop, The Steady Hand. I opened my shop in January 2011 and so far have 17 sales. I know that isn't a lot but that isn't stopping me from continuing to crochet!

Lisa @ Planet Weidknecht: What mistakes have you made or lessons you have learned?
Aprile Mazey: I have made a lot of mistakes with my Etsy shop. One is assuming that once you list your items for sale people will just buy them. You have to make sure that your items are top-quality, your pictures portray your items in the best light and getting your shop the right amount of publicity to get some traffic. There is a lot to owning an online shop and selling your items online. I am learning new things every day.

Lisa @ Planet Weidknecht: What, to you is success? Have you achieved it yet, or are you on your way towards success?
Aprile Mazey: Success, for me, is making enough selling my items to cover my operational costs as well as make a little extra to put on the side. I already love what I do regardless of whether I make any actual profit from. I am on way towards my idea of success.

Lisa @ Planet Weidknecht: So what's next?
Aprile Mazey: To keep doing what I love, learning more and working my way towards success!

Blog: http://thesteadyhandblog.com/

Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSteadyHand

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thesteadyhand

Twitter: http://twitter.com/armazey

Google+: http://plus.google.com/108587743100532822837

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/amazey/

3/5/12

Five New Planet Weidknecht Winners

I'm excited to present to you the five newest winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Didn't win this time? Enter more HERE!

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