We LOVE Stitch (and FunBites Luv-It Giveaway!)

John and I both love bite-sized food ... especially when it comes in fun shapes. With the FunBites cutters that gets easier to accomplish. All you have to do is place the cutter over the food, rock it back and forth a little, place the popper on top and pop the pieces out!

Most recently I've used their Luv-It cutter for the hearts on my Madame Vastra & Jenny lunch from yesterday and for John's Stitch lunch for today. I suspect I'll be using it a lot with Valentine's Day coming up ... and if you keep reading you'll have a chance to do the same!

In the lunch: PB&J sandwiches made with FunBites Luv-It & Stitch cutter, cheese hearts made with FunBites Luv-It, grapes, Sixlets  

We've used the Luv-It for sandwiches, cheese, and even tortilla crisps on salads!

  And now you can win a Luv-It Cutter of your very own!    The giveaway will end at 11:59pm Eastern Time Sunday, January 27th. I will then contact the winner and if no reply is received within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Scholastic @Storia_eBooks Giveaway!

John with his lunch for Monday and the Storia eBook it's based on: Learn About Weather: Snow

 Unless this is the first time you've been here I'm sure you already know what HUGE fans John and I both are of Scholastic's new eBook service, Storia. When I was growing up I would always get excited when the Scholastic Book Fair happened at school or those Book Club order forms would get sent home to my folks. John started to get those same order forms sent home with him when he was in preschool and I always try and make sure that he has at least one item with his name on it when the orders come in.

Now we don't have to wait!

With Storia eBooks I have 24-hour access to their online store where I can always find a great book to add to his "bookshelf." And he loves them. The app download is free and comes with five books of varying reading levels. This isn't just a beginning reader app ... this goes from 3 up to 14! (And even older if, like me, you still enjoy a well-written "young adult" novel from time to time.) Some of the books are even enhanced with added bells and whistles and activities for the kids to click on!

From Scholastic's online press kit:

 You can also check out the far more complete "About Storia" page!

(Not sure if you're device is compatible? Give them a call at 1-855-STORIA1 -- they have AMAZING Customer Service reps and I'm sure they could tell you!)

Now a cute pic of John and some of his Storia-inspired lunches:

And NOW the big huge exciting news!

I contacted the good folks at Storia via Twitter not too long ago and asked if they would be willing to sponsor a giveaway here at What's In Our Lunch Bags? 

I was thinking maybe a couple of books ....

They're giving 20!!! 

That's right, boys and girls. One extremely lucky reader will be receiving their choice of TWENTY Storia eBooks to load onto their virtual bookshelves! Perfect timing for the holiday season, too! 

Have more than one kid? No problem. You can set up multiple bookshelves within the app easy peasy lemon squeezey (as John would say)!  

 

Storia will be providing a list with over 100 titles to choose from. I must admit, I'm more than a little jealous of whoever wins. I would probably stock up on books John would enjoy reading now and grab a handful for when he advances in his reading skills a bit more!

Entering the contest is as easy as a couple of comments. They are both mandatory entries. If you don't do them, you don't win.

MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Follow Storia eBooks on Pinterest and leave a comment here with your Pinterest username so I can check.

MANDATORY ENTRY #2: Follow Storia eBooks on Twitter and leave a comment here with your Twitter username so I can continue to stalk you.

That's it! No need to share (although that would be nice) or to like or follow me (although those would be nice, too). 

Leave those two comments any time between now and 11:59 PM ET on DECEMBER 10, 2012 (which happens to be my birthday -- I like giving stuff away on my birthday) and on December 11th I will notify the winner of their awesomeness. (Which means that I need some way to contact you. If your email isn't linked to your profile or I don't somehow already talk you on a regular basis, I need to now how to get you.)

PLEASE NOTE: At this time, Storia is available to be downloaded by anyone in the United States and those with APO/FPO addresses only.  Sorry my international peeps!

ThrifTee Gear Waste Free Lunch Bag Giveaway (and review!)

GIVEAWAY CLOSED! CONGRATS TO BETH!

Of all of the things that I've been thankful for lately one of the most fun has been the opportunity to try out ThrifTee Gear and have my own custom lunch bag made out of a t-shirt of my choosing (being, of course, a Doctor Who bag! I know ... I'm a geek.)!

I love that it's a mom-based company.
I love that it helps further my quest to provide John and myself with waste free lunches in that it's made from an upcycled shirt.
I love that I have complete control over how "normal" or "geeky" it can be.
I love that regardless of the shirt chosen it's pretty much guaranteed to be the coolest lunch bag out there.
I love that they're big enough to fit an EasyLunchbox flat (more on that in a bit).
I love that they're great to take to work or to school. Kids, tweens, teens, adults ... they're great for everyone!
I love that they aren't just for lunch. Mine has already been to work, John's school, and the grocery store as a purse ... holding my reusable shopping bags & wallet!

And what I REALLY love?

I LOVE that ThrifTee Gear has given me the opportunity to give a bag to one of my readers!

Now, about my Geeky Awesomeness ... then on to how you can get your own!

It took me a little while to decide which shirt to use but I finally decided on my Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey shirt. The image was a bit longer than would fit onto the bag. The bag dimensions are 12" x 12" x 4" but for the image it would have been better if I had chosen something closer to 9" long. It's still a great bag that John and I have both fallen in love with!

Before cramming it full of stuff to take to work:

Everything that I planned on taking the night in question -- an Easy Lunchbox, my Psych thermos, the new Christopher Moore thick paperback & wristlet:

And it all fit perfectly!!!

I've already picked out which shirt I'm going to have transformed next, but first you get a chance to get your own bag from ThrifTee Gear! (Keep it for yourself or use it as an awesome holiday gift!)

What You'll Win: An awesome, cool, wonderful, waste-free custom lunch bag from ThrifTee Gear (retail value $19.95)!

How You'll Win: Leave a comment! (or five if you want more chances -- leave a separate comment for each entry!)
MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Visit ThrifTee Gear and comment here about a bag design you like.
ENTRY #2: Like ThrifTee Gear on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall so I can check up on you actually doing it ... and leave a comment here telling me to go spy (or you could just copy the link to your post)
ENTRY #3: Follow ThrifTee Gear on  Twitter and leave your Twitter username in the comment here.
ENTRY #4: Follow ThrifTee Gear on  Pinterest and leave your Pinterest username in the comment here.
ENTRY #5: Share this giveaway! Blog it, Tweet it, Facebook it, Pin it ... just do it and leave me a link knowing where to find it!


When You'll Win: Entries will be accepted starting now (yes -- right now) and will cease at 11:59pm ET on Saturday, December 1st. I will use random.org to pick a winner and will contact the winner on Sunday, December 2nd. If I don't have a way to contact the winner I will have to pick again. PLEASE make sure I have some way of getting a hold of you!

IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM THRIFTEE GEAR: This giveaway is offered to US residents only. Please do not enter this giveaway if you have won or received free product from ThrifTee Gear within the past 3 months.



AND A NOTICE FROM ME: I did receive my ThrifTee Gear bag free of charge and they are also footing the bill for the winner. I was not in any way pushed into saying how awesome I think they are, though. That's all me. And John. (He keeps trying to claim the bag as his own!)

Making The Best Of The Zombie Apocalypse Review, Giveaway and Lunch!

I love it when awesomeness comes my way and I love it even more when I can share it with people I really like -- like my readers! My latest awesomeness came in the form of a novella by Alisha Adkins called Making the Best of the Zombie Apocalypse. [Please note: This is NOT a book for kids!!!]

In case you didn't already know: I freaking love zombies.

It's a humorous, heartwarming and disgusting tale that I read over the course of one wait at the bus stop and one slow night at work. I actually laughed out loud several times and "eeeewwww"ed out loud several others which got me some strange looks from co-workers and passers-by but it was totally worth it.

My lunch for work is actually based on the Survivor's Thanksgiving held by the support group attended by the two main characters:

In my EasyLunchbox: Oreos, "cherry pie" (made with Chobani Black Cherry Yogurt on top of crushed shortbread cookies), roast beef (since there was no fresh zombie flesh to be had nearby), broccoli, mashed potatoes, fruit cocktail and applesauce

It's so good to know that there could still be decent food available after a Zombie Apocalypse!

Do you know what ELSE is good to know? Alisha Adkins has generously offered to send one of my readers a copy of the book! All you need to do is leave me a comment about your favorite zombies. Your favorite zombie song, movie, book, tv show, whatever! It's going to be a fast turnaround ... almost as fast as a zombie infection sets in ... a winner will be chosen TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6th around 2pm EST.  (Make sure I know how to get in touch with you if you win!)

* Alisha Adkins provided me with a copy of the book to read and review but I totally would have purchased it on my own if she hadn't. If you don't want to risk not being chosen by random.org and want to just go ahead and buy the book now just click on the book cover. And then still enter the giveaway because you'll want to share it with a friend without having to give up your copy!

And the natural food colors winner is ....

CONGRATULATIONS, KRISTI!!!

I'm sending an e-mail to the address on your profile.

If I don't hear back from you with a mailing address within 48 hours I'll draw again.

Okay, now anyone who didn't win & wants to "unlike" or "unfollow" ... go for it! ;)

Sharing the natural color love (my first giveaway!)!

It's rare that I become so excited about something that I'm willing to buy it for someone else just so they, too, can "ooooh" and "aaaaah" with me over it's awesomeness. That's exactly how I feel about the natural color powders, though, and exactly what I'm going to do.  Peggy from the Chocolate Craft Studio has agreed to ship on my behalf to someone else .... but first we need to know who that someone else will be!

What's being given: the same 6 pack that I ordered for myself and reviewed here

Why it's being given: because I love them ... and you :)

When is it being given: entries will be accepted now through Monday, February 27th @ 9am ET. I will pick a winner (well, random.org will) and announce it once I get home from getting John onto the school bus. The winner will then have 48 hours to claim it so I can get it ordered and shipped out. In order to let the winner know I'll need contact information so unless we already talk regularly, please make sure that you leave your e-mail address in at least one of the entry comments.

Who is eligible? Unfortunately since this is coming out of my pocket and overseas shipping is outrageous I have to limit entries to addresses from the United States or Canada. Sorry!

How to enter: I asked John how many entry options there should be and he said 5 (since he is 5, I'm assuming). Please leave a different comment for each one you do in order for random to count it accordingly! And the 5 entries will be:

* Follow this site via Google Friend Connect (on the right under "Followers")
* Like What's In John's Lunch Bag? on Facebook
* Like Chocolate Craft Studio on Facebook
* Follow What's In John's Lunch Bag? on Pinterest
* Pin or repin a lunch from What's In John's Lunch Bag? on Pinterest (must be a new pinning -- some of you have pinned before ... those won't count)

Easy peasy, right?