Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers winner!

We have a winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my quick giveaway of the Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers. I think this was the perfect time for a giveaway like this because who couldn't use some free veggies around the holidays? I know I could. So, I hope our winner enjoys them, too!

Yes, I used random.org to pick the winner of this giveaway and it is . . .

Tami from Velvet Races!

Congratulations, Tami! Email me with your address and I'll get your prize pack sent off right away (felicehalf at yahoo dot com).

Thanks to General Mills and MyBlogSpark for this giveaway!

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers review and giveaway.

The vegetable growing season is pretty short here in upstate New York so I tend to rely on frozen vegetables a lot during the late fall, winter and early spring. Tossing some frozen broccoli, peas & carrots, or spinach into soup, pasta or stir fry is easy and helps me make relatively healthy meals.

So, when I was invited to review Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers, I jumped at the chance. I use frozen veggies anyway, why not try something new?

I received this prize pack:

Steamers, two placemats, a broccoli stress toy, spoon, and bowl.

The Valley Fresh Steamers are a "steam in the bag" product that you pop in your microwave to cook. I went for the broccoli option on the steamers and served them as a side dish one night for dinner. They were tasty. But here's the thing: I didn't love cooking them in the microwave.

Now, I have nothing against the microwave. In fact, I love my microwave and use it often. Several times a day. But, for these veggies, it just didn't work for me. See, you have to put the bag in the microwave to cook and almost guess that you are putting them in for the right amount of time. I didn't like that. I felt like I had no control and I worried that I would not steam the veggies for long enough. Turns out that wasn't an issue because I actually ended up steaming them for a little too long. 

But, as I said, they were tasty and I enjoyed trying them out. And, I admit, having one less pot to clean wasn't a bad thing ;-)

Check out their web site HERE for more information.

Would you like to try the Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers for free? I have one prize pack (identical to the one pictured above) to give away. To enter, leave me a comment letting me know if you enjoy frozen veggies in your diet during the cold months.

Additional entries:

As always, you can gain extra entries. Remember, though, you must complete the required entry first! (Leave one comment per entry for the additional ones to count):

• Follow this blog, or let me know that you already do (leave a comment)
• Follow my main blog, or let me know that you already do (leave a comment)
• Become a fan of The Happy Runner on Facebook, or let me know that you already are (leave a comment)
• Link to this giveaway from Facebook or Twitter (do as often as you'd like, just leave a comment each time)
• Link to this giveaway from your blog (leave a comment)

This giveaway will run through Tuesday, December 27th at 11:59pm EST and the winner will be announced on Wednesday.


Good luck!

Want to read more from The Happy Runner? Stop over HERE for more giveaways, reviews, and running- and parenting-related posts. 

Disclosure: Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark

New women's sports company.

I recently found out about Bia, a new sports company. They are just started and it looks like they are going to begin with a fitness tracking site. You can sign up to get their email newsletter and if you do, and you also get some other people to sign up, they'll send you a bag of goodies! So, go HERE and check it out!

Dare to Try.

Thanks to L'Oreal for sponsoring my post about my favorite beauty looks, tips and tricks! Check out Makeup.com for beauty advice from the experts.

If you're anything like me, you wear the same old makeup, day after day. But doesn't that get boring? I mean, how exciting is brown eye liner and black mascara? Not very.

I remember back to my early makeup wearing days when experimentation was the name of the game. Blue mascara? Sure thing! Purple eyeliner? Uh, yup! Sparkly blush? Sign. Me. Up. Hey, I came of age in the 80's when teens were all about colorful eyes and big hair.

Now, I'm pretty boring. But! I've been trying to branch out a bit, as I wrote in this post. And the two things I am "daring to try" this year are eyebrow definition and sassy lip gloss.

I have some easy-to-use brow definer from Trish McEvoy that I think works well. Since I tend toward a more natural (and, I admit, often makeup-free) look these days, too dramatic a look is scary to me. By going easy on the brow definer, I can frame my eyes and give myself a "finished" look without looking like a totally different person. I've also had success defining my brows using an eye shadow brush dipped in brown eye shadow. To do that, though, I need to be very careful not to let the shadow splatter flakes of color on my face. It takes more control and concentration on my part so, honestly, it is just easier and quicker to use a pencil-like brow definer!

The sassy lip gloss, on the other hand, is a bit more fun. I love lip gloss! Tarte's LipSurgence is great, as is L'Oreal's Colour Juice (love the Golden Splash for the holidays!).

If I'm super honest, though, what I would really like to be able to pull off is a bolder lip. Lip gloss, while sassy and fun, is still safe. A bold lip? Not safe at all.

I would like to sport a daring lip.

When I had my makeover, the makeup artist gave me a bold rust-colored lip:

I know I am not a cherry-red lipstick kind of gal. Nor am I a fan of deep aubergines. But I think I could go bolder than natural. I think I could be more daring. Rust? Orangey-pink? Eva's Caramel? I think those colors are calling my name.

So if you see me this December, you just might see someone sporting a daring lip. Or maybe just a glossy one :-)

Are you daring when it comes to makeup? Do you have a favorite bold lipstick that you think I should try? Let me know!

Have a great day, everyone!

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I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. Click here to learn more about Makeup.com or become a Facebook fan by clicking here.