Giving Thanks for Giving #CookingPlanit

Know someone that makes a difference in others lives simply for the joy that it gives them? Cooking Planit invites you to share a personal story about someone you know who gives their time, energy and/or love in the spirit of helping others without thinking of themselves and both you and your hidden hero could win up to $250 in cash + one grand prize winner will get to choose a local charity to which Cooking Planit will donate $1000.

You can find the full terms and share your story on the Cooking Planit Blog or on their Facebook page.

Prizes
• 5 winners will be selected from all eligible entries. $100 Visa Gift card will be awarded to the story author & $250 to their Hidden Hero (story subject). (10 prizes awarded in total; 5 story author + 5 hidden hero)
• The 1st place winner will also get the opportunity to select a local charity to which Cooking Planit will donate $1000.

Story Guidelines
When writing your story, consider the following guidelines:
• In 300 words or less, recognize an individual who is making the difference in the lives of others in your community; whether it be by donating their time, energy or love with a focus on helping others without necessarily thinking of themselves
• Provide details on how/what they are doing to improve or impact the lives of others

• We reserve the right not to post your story if it contains any of the following types of content:
• Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other language not suitable for a public forum
• Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers, or websites
• Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses, or other forms of contact information
• Critical or spiteful comments on other stories posted on the page or their authors
• In addition, if you wish to share feedback with us about Cooking Planit or other customer service issues, do not submit this feedback through the Cooking Planit Stories platform. Instead, contact us directly.
• Enjoy writing your story!

Judging Criteria
• Most inspirational and empowering story submitted

No compensation was received for this post. The information about the event was provided through Cooking Planit. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

CiCi's Drink Up Summer Promotion & $5 Buffets in July! *

*No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary gift card and information about the promotion was provided. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Yesterday was just one of those days. I hadn't planned anything specific for dinner...I should know better than to not plan out my menu for the week...so I sent my husband a text asking, what should we have for dinner. He sent back a suggestion that felt a little 'eh' about, so I said so.

Then, he suggested CiCi's Pizza. I had been planning to suggest that for this weekend knowing that they were running their $5 Buffet special and because I wanted to get new pictures of the kids - the picture studio we use is next door to our CiCi's. I told him that we could do that, if he could convince the kids that we were going to do pictures before dinner. They agreed, so I made a picture appointment and our dinner plans were set.

After the picture session, where the kids did better a job than usual of cooperating and getting through the session quickly, we headed next door to CiCi's. The line was out the door. Peeking in, we could see that the tables were mostly full and each time they cleared one, there was someone waiting to sit down. I wasn't completely surprised, they offer a good variety of pizzas on their buffet to appeal to everyone in the family, and in July, they are offering their buffet for just $5 a person (kids are cheaper - only $2.99, but that is the regular price). It was a reasonable night out, our total bill for the night was under $20. Not bad for a family dinner out that everyone enjoys.

I don't have Instagram, but if you do you will want to check out CiCi's Drink Up Summer Promotion that is running right now.

CiCi’s is giving fans the chance to win VIP vacations, grab instant-win prizes and get lucky with an Instagram contest.

Guests can visit their local CiCi’s for details on how to win one of four all-inclusive VIP vacations, one-day passes to SeaWorld or Busch Gardens or $25 in CiCi’s gift cards. The contest runs through Sept. 1.

In addition, throughout July, CiCi’s Pizza is offering its endless pizza, pasta, soup, salad and dessert buffet for just $5 at participating restaurants.

No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary gift card and information about the promotion was provided. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

How Do You Roll

What a fun contest.

Enter in on the Great Debate - how do you roll your toilet paper? Over or under?

I'm definitely a member of Team Over. I find that it is easier to use that way.



Head over to Cottonelle Roll Poll and let them know how you roll. When you do, come back here and leave a comment letting everyone know which team you joined.

By leaving a comment on this post, you will be entered to win 1 of 10 Cottonelle gift baskets randomly chosen on January 29, 2010 from all entries, courtesy of Cottonelle and the Mom Blogger's Club.

I received no compensation for this post, but am posting as an entry into a contest to win a one month's supply of Cottonelle toilet paper as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

Vote for me in the Better-For-You Tailgating Recipe Contest

I am one of the finalists in the Better-For-You Tailgating recipe contest over at Life As Mom's review site. If my recipe gets the most votes, I will win a Tailgating Prize Package from Frito Lay.

You can go here to read more and to vote for my Chips & Salsa recipe. Voting ends tonight (9/22) at 8 PM Pacific.

The recipe may be simple, but it is yummy and a great way to eat all of those fresh tomatoes growing in the garden.

Thanks!

Some Contests

Enter to win a year supply of Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets as part of their Simple Change, Extraordinary Impact Sweepstakes. Winners are drawn weekly.

Enter to win a bedroom makeover from GoodNites. Share your special bed time moments for a chance to win.

Free Cinnabon Bites and Essay Contest - April 15th

Cinnabon is celebrating Tax Day by offering Free Cinnabon Bites on April 15th from 5-8 pm. Offer limited to one offer per guest, while supplies last at participating locations, be sure to call ahead to confirm your location is participating. Find more details here.

In addition, they are running a Tax Day Bites essay contest that could win you a $100 gift card to Cinnabon. Simply tell them in 500 words or less how Cinnabon came to the rescue and put some frosting on your crazy, stressful or just plain bad day. You must enter by 11:59 PM on April 15th. Find out more details here.

Turn Your Donut into $12,000

Dunkin' Donuts has a contest going on where your donut creation can win you $12,000.

To enter the Create Dunkin's Next Donut Contest, go to Dunkin Donuts website and create your donut using a set of available ingredients, name your donut and write your donut story, explaining the inspiration for your donut. You can enter from now until April 7th. The winner will be announced on National Donut Day (what a great sounding day!) - June 5th. You can enter three times.