Blogfrog

How to Protect Your Phone // iPhone 5 GIVEAWAY

0 · Mar 25, 2013 ·

iPhone 5 GIVEAWAY // When I was a girl, one of my favorite books was a book about what people did for work. I wish I could remember what it was called or who it was by, but I don't. I loved this book! It talked about all kinds of people doctors, teachers, engineers, but my favorite section was about the lady who worked at the telephone company. They showed her working on the lines and then where all the lines went. Several lines went to homes and businesses and then they showed a little girl talking on the phone in the car. That just blew my mind!!! Now keep in mind… this was the late 70's early 80's (yes, I know I'm dating myself…) Cell phones weren't even around as far as my young mind knew but, the idea of talking on the phone while in the car was aaaaamazing!! I thought that would be the coolest thing EVER!!!

By the time I was in my early 20's I had my very first CELL PHONE! I had one way before any of my friends and family, because I wanted to be just like that little girl and be able to talk on the phone ANYWHERE! So, yes… My phone means a lot to me. It was one of my 1st dreams that actually came true.

Over the years, phones have become smarter and as sad as it is to say… my phone is my 2nd brain at times. I don't even know my husband's new cell number… Because my phone, "Hazel" knows it for me. Hazel keeps track of all my appointments and assignments. Without her I would be even more of a mess than I already am. She is my lifeline to my kiddos, my connection to my sweetheart, she is the way I stay in contact with family who live hundreds of miles away from me. She is like life blood in the middle of an emergency, when I am scared or panicked, I know I have Hazel and she will help connect me to the person I NEED at the time. Even if that is just a reassuring word from a loved one or a game of Angry Birds to calm my nerves and pass the time.

Where would we be without our phones? Hazel is like my 5th child. I feed her each day and make sure that she has all the power she needs. I clothe her in her protective case to hopefully preserve her life as long as possible. There is nothing worse than that feeling between dropping your phone and that long fall down, pleading with the universe… "Please don't let this time be the time my screen shatters!" My oldest daughter Hales a.k.a Lil'Whip, has an iPhone as well, and managed to drop it off a cliff a few years back. She was rappelling with the other youth from our church with her phone in her skinny jeans (I don't recommend this method of travel for poor phones.) With all of the climbing and wiggling, her phone shimmied out of her pocket and right at the worst time fell out and took the tumble of it's life. I can imagine how Hales felt as she watched her phone fall and hit rock after rock on it's way to the bottom of the cliff. Crazy as it sounds, after the fall… The phone still worked, it was just that the screen was in about a 1000 pieces. Hales never wanted to protect her phone with a case, because it wouldn't fit in her skinny jeans with the added bulk of the case. She learned her lesson that day!!

Now I know, that even if her phone had been wrapped in bubble wrap, it wouldn't have survived that fall. But, how many times a day do our phones come face to face with the concrete in the parking lot, the corner of the table, worse yet… a toddler! Some days, my only goal in life is to just keep my phone out of the toilet. So, why do we leave our phones unprotected? These are our babies, our lifelines to our loved ones. In most cases they represent a significant investment. Is it vanity? We look at the smooth sleek lines of the phone, the shiny surfaces and we don't want to cover up it's magnificence? Well, that's… dumb! They won't look as pretty with little nicks and scratches.

Our phone is our life, why are we not protecting it? PureGear’s DualTek® Extreme Shock Cases provides the best protection against bumps, smacks, and knocks.

For a chance to win a iPhone 5 equipped with a full line of compatible PureGear’sDualTekExtreme Shock Cases, click here and enter your email address!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PureGear DualTek. The opinions and text are all mine.

Campbell’s Address your Heart // Making Heart Healthy Food Choices

0 · Feb 25, 2013 ·

Campbell's Address Your Heart // I have been blessed…

I have been blessed with a healthy family. As a child and young adult, I was blessed to have many happy, healthy years with my Grandparents and other older extended family members. My parents are still healthy and active as Grandparents for my children now. We've been blessed with healthy hearts, thank goodness. However, hundreds of thousands of families are tragically effected by heart disease every year. According to the CDC, 600,000 people die of heart disease every year. That's 1 out of every 4 Americans, who are dying from a very preventable disease.

Now, even though my family has been blessed with healthy hearts so far, I know it's because they have all worked hard to make sure they've stayed healthy and strong, so that their hearts have had a fighting chance. Many of us think that can be a rather daunting task in our fast food lifestyle these days. I have to admit, I am one of those who struggle at times. Life is just so busy.

This week alone, I will probably log more hours at my daughters school, than at home. I was at school all day Saturday for the NFL speech meet, Sunday we had several hours of church meetings, for the rest of this week Hales is performing in Grease at her High School here in Lincoln. That means that I am at the school every evening helping to feed the kiddos, parent meetings, ticket sales, and attending the show. It's a busy week. The sad thing, that's only 1 out of my 4 children. My little guy, Gage is turning three this weekend and of course I need to make sure he has a special day full magic and apparently blue cake (his request.) The list could go on and on… I KNOW I'm not the only one in this boat.

I also know, that regardless of whatever is going on in our lives… Nothing is more important than making sure we STOP and address our hearts. If I don't teach my children healthy habits, that lucky streak may suddenly disappear. Quite honestly that idea terrifies me. What if my children have to endure the tragedy of loosing a loved one because we couldn't take the time to make sure we took care of our hearts.

Luckily, companies out there like Campbell have worked hard to create a healthy line of tasty food that is quick and easy to prepare…

Look at all those heart healthy labels. They've made it so easy to find the products that help promote a healthy heart. The lovely folks at Campbell sent my family a variety of products that help maintain good cardiac health and it was a wonderful reminder how easy it is to find healthy food on the go.

My family love these types of meals anyway… how hard is it to prepare a can of Campbell's Soup, paired it with a slice of whole grain bread topped with some heart healthy avocado? It takes less time than running through the drive through. I promise you!!

What do you do to help your family's heart health? Follow the steps below and share how you care for your heart to participate in Campbell’s contest and you could win a $50,000 kitchen makeover. Contest Rules & Prize Page.

Step 1: Submit a photo below that shows how you care for your heart

Step 2: Fill out the information required including your name, email address and zip code.

Step 3: Write a short contest entry (up to 200 words) that corresponds with the photo and share how you care for your heart. Please be honest and sincere with all your thoughts and remember to tell us in 200 words or less.

Step 4: Confirm you’ve read the Official Rules.

Step 5: Log in through your Facebook account.

Step 6: Submit your contest entry.

You can share your contest entry on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and visit AddressYourHeart.com for recipes, tips, and downloadable coupons for heart-healthy products from Campbell.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of the Campbell Soup Company’s Address Your Heart initiative. The opinions, text, and images are all mine.

Sharing Holiday Joy with Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

3 · Dec 6, 2012 · 29 Comments

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars // My all time favorite Christmas goodies are my Mom's Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars…

Some of my earliest Christmas memories are hanging out in the kitchen with my Mom and sometimes my Dad while they made their famous holiday concoctions. They had a few staples on the list… Fudge, peanut brittle (not my favorite,) your classic Christmas Sugar cookie and then my favorite the chocolate peanut butter bar. I remember dreaming about this little treat all though out the year. Not to mention the anticipation I would feel when Mom would start the task of holiday baking. She always kept the pans of goodies out in our cool garage which acted as our overflow kitchen storage. They were supposedly hidden from sticky little fingers, but no… I always found them. Nibbling little morsels here and there until the sad day when the pan of chocolate peanut butter goodness was gone for another year.

I remember that sense of pride I felt as we would travel out as a family to deliver our plate of goodies to friends and neighbors. I always felt like my Mom's holiday plate was just a little extra special because of the chocolate peanut butter bars. My Mom would always make them in a 9×13 pan and then cut them into bars. This year I made some for my family and friends in these super cute mini paper loaf pans that I found at Walmart and then wrapped them with decorative parchment paper tied with bakers twine. A nice little updated touch to an old family classic.

I just love these little treats full of messages of love from giver to the lucky person receiving the special gift. Whether it's a personalized card or cookies right out of the oven, I love sharing the warmth of the holiday season with my family, friends and, of course, my readers!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2 sticks butter (melted)

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

Mix graham crakers crumbs, peanut butter, sugar and butter together well and press into a 8×8 pan. Melt chocolate and spread on top of peanut butter mixture and chill for 30 minutes. Cut into small squares and serve at room temperature.

How to take YOUR Blog to the Next Level with BlogFrog

0 · Sep 13, 2012 · 2 Comments

When I started WhipperBerry two years ago, I had no idea where this ride would take me. I was looking for a creative outlet, a way to push myself, to hone my skills and to hopefully in turn… meet some amazing people and inspire others.

Without question, the ride so far has been aaaaaamazing! I have met some wonderful people and have had the opportunity to do some incredible things. Looking back I realize that, even though I am generally working on content on my own, developing recipes, creating projects, taking pictures and writing posts… I haven't done this all on my own. I've had incredible blog partners like BlogFrog along the way!

Many bloggers start their blogs writing about something that they are passionate about. Somewhere along the way they realize that they would like to take their blog to the next level. They would like to build a stronger community and possibly start working with brands that make sense with their blog niche. How can they do that?

I I was lucky enough to meet Rustin one of the creators of Blogfrog along with several members of his crew at Blogher 2011 in San Diego and I am so glad that I did!

I was just a little tag-along with Jen from Tatertots & Jell-o who had been invited to a dinner with Blogfrog. The dinner was incredible… {No, not the food, just standard mexican fare…} I had the chance to get to know several of the Blogfrog crew and I kid you not, they have helped me take WhipperBerry to places I never even imagined when I first started. Here is a little video about Blog Frog…

What I love about BlogFrog is that they work really hard to create meaningful engagement with their audience. When they offer a campaign opportunity, there is no pressure for me to take the campaign, I can carefully select what is right for me and for YOU my readers.

I didn't start blogging to become another commercial… I started blogging to create a community and to share my creativity. However, blogging is hard work, it costs money. If you aren't a blogger you may not realize that to keep WhipperBerry running, I spend on average about $300 – $500 a month to keep my blog going. I have to pay for a company to host my blog and I have to purchase supplies for all my posts among other expenses. Blogging is not free by any means.

I appreciate that BlogFrog has created an amazing company that has helped me take my blog to the next level. I can accept a few campaigns here and there to help cover the costs of the blog and then I can focus on creating great content to share with you. I quite frankly think that… BLOGFROG ROCKS!!

As a part of the BlogFrog Influencer Circle, I have the chance to create meaningful, authentic content for brands I love. If you’re a blogger interested in new opportunities, join BlogFrog’s Influencer Circle and check out some of the top brands already working with BlogFrog.

If you’re a brand looking to work with online influencers, learn more about BlogFrog’s Brand Solutions here. Now, I’m curious. What do you love most about blogs and blogging?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BlogFrog. The opinions and text are all mine.

Blogfrog

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Directions

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