Cedar Point Halloweekends Ticket Giveaway - Winner at bottom!

In case you're new here, Cedar Point is one of my family's favorite vacation spots. Between the excellent rides, super clean facility and helpful staff, it has earned our undying loyalty as our favorite amusement park.Thankfully, Ohio is just an easy day-trip away so that we Illinois residents can still enjoy the park over the weekend.

And weekends are where it's AT each fall! Halloweekends are Cedar Point's fall-time special weekends during which the employees deck the "Halls" with all things SPOOKY. Family-friendly fall decorations line the paths and drape the rides while several more "intense" haunted houses are available for those more suited for the spookier side of Halloween.

Interested? Sound like a blast? You can win a family 4-pack of tickets for the 2012 Cedar Point Halloweekends! All you have to do is enter a comment below, being sure to include your email address. Tell me if you've been to Cedar Point in the fall, if you love or hate Halloween, who you'd take or just say "Pick me" and you'll be entered into the drawing. The giveaway ends on Tuesday, Sep 25 at 12 pm CST. I will use Random.org to pick a winner.

EDITED TO ADD WINNER:

Congratulations to #4, Mom24! Enjoy your time at Cedar Point! I will be emailing you today with the information to contact Cedar Point. Thanks to all for entering!

*1 entry per person, please. 
*If I cannot find your email address or if you do not respond within 48 hours, I will have to pick another winner to enjoy these tickets.
*Some restrictions may apply. 
*I received nothing in return for this post. No money, no tickets, nada. I just want you to have the opportunity to go to the park and Cedar Point agreed with me!

Disney On Ice: Treasure Trove!

Disney on Ice is coming back to the Chicago Allstate Arena! From September 13 through September 16, you can be a part of the magic and fun for an incredible discount! Use the code MOM at the Ticketmaster checkout and receive 20% savings on weekend and 40% savings on weekday shows!!

Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lion King and many other Disney favorites will amaze you on the ice. My children always enjoy the Disney on Ice shows and I am thrilled to bring them to this year's newest! If you have any little ones in your life, this is a fabulous outing for the entire group.

Be sure to check out all of the details on the Ticketmaster site and don't forget to use the code MOM at checkout for some awesome savings!!

*disclaimer: I will receive tickets for my family to see this show in exchange for this post, but all opinions remain my own.

Vegan Indian Cooking - a review

Sometimes, I receive products to review that just don't motivate me. Either the item isn't my style or the product itself is just kind of... meh.

And sometimes I receive products that positively speak to me! Sometimes, they unexpectedly excite and inspire me!

The Vegan Indian Cooking book by Anupy Singla arrived at my house this morning. After cautiously opening the wrapping, my daughter and I just about drooled for 2 hours straight, plotting and planning the recipes we are going to test out.

Chickpea Poppers

I KNOW! Vegan? And Indian, to boot? Can I pull this off? Especially when many of the ingredients are, to be honest, foreign to my shopping list? Well, after watching a documentary on the amounts of meat that our bodies ingest in comparison to the amounts of meat that we actually require to be healthy individuals, I am committed to giving this "Less Meat is More" idea a proper amount of attention and dedication. And with our upcoming date night to Standard Market and Grill on Saturday night (yes, we're going to a "grocery store" for our date night. But you haven't seen a grocery store like THIS before. It is truly a unique experience!), I shall have ample opportunity to purchase ingredients for some of the easier recipes like the Chickpea Poppers, South Indian Stew and Lemon Brown Rice.

My only concern with this cookbook is that not all of the recipes have pictures to show me exactly what it is I'll be concocting. And when one is cooking a totally new recipe, it helps to know if the end product is supposed to be green and lumpy or brown and smooth... :)

The Happiest Veggies in the Fridge...

Aren't you just in love with the colors from my garden? Don't you just wish that you could be partaking in the pasta sauces and salsa and other delectable concoctions I have been whipping up this summer?

And all of my delicious fresh veggies and herbs have been lasting and lasting and LASTING in my new Whirlpool refrigerator. I am totally confident when I put a bowl full of freshly picked produce into my fridge that is armed with the FreshFlow Filter, that they will stay that way until I need them.

I know I've said it before, but I do so adore my lovely new fridge! Have you checked out the Whirlpool site to see if they have any items that may appeal to you?

*Disclaimer: I will be reviewing this Whirlpool refrigerator for the next year. Though these posts will be sponsored, all opinions and words will be my own.

How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular hits Chicago!

Edited to add:

We SAW it and it was AWESOME! If you have the chance, you really must go and see this live show. It's unlike anything you've ever seen and the dragons were BEAUTIFUL and thrilling and SO realistic!


Have you seen the commercials for this amazing show? Have you watched the trailers for the live action creation based on the hit movie from Dreamworks?

With 23 different dragons of varying wing spans of up to 46 feet, the massiveness of this production is one that is sure to impress even the most critical of live show-goers. In fact, Toothless (the main dragon character) flies a total of 1.2 miles through the duration of the show. I find that AMAZING. The technology and precision involved in configuring that must be so specific!

It's been a hit in Australia and New Zealand and it's sure to be a hit across the United States. With effects and action like the snippets I've seen, I imagine it will be a fanTAStic experience!

Details on the Chicago show are below, but if you are located elsewhere in the States, be sure to check out their home page for information on your nearest city's shows!

We can't wait! 

 ~ ~ ~ ~ 

DREAMWORKS HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR will appear at the United Center on Wednesday, July 25 at 7:00 PM; Thursday, July 26 at 7:00 PM; Friday, July 27 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, July 28 at 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM; and Sunday, July 29 at 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM with free parking at official United Center parking lots for all performances.

Photo credit: Jeff Busby

Across the nation, for all shows on Monday through Thursday, you can save 25% off all tickets by using the code MOM at the checkout through Ticketmaster (see the promotions and special offers box).*

*certain restrictions may apply.  

* disclaimer: I will be receiving complimentary tickets for my family in exchange for reviewing the show and spreading the word but all opinions remain, as always, my own.

An Even BETTER Cedar Point Giveaway!

Updated at bottom with winner's information!

Did you miss my first Cedar Point giveaway? Did you enter and not win? I'm sorry about that. Because the park is definitely worth the effort it takes to enter giveaways for the chance at being pulled.

How about we try and make one of you feel better about not winning last time? How about an even BETTER giveaway?

Cedar Point would like to offer one reader 2 one-day passes for entry into Cedar Point. AND they are adding two FAST PASSES to that offer, as well!

For the uninformed, Fast Passes are the magical* passes that a person can purchase in addition to their regular ticket so that they may enter near the beginning of the line for most of the rides in Cedar Point. Want to ride Millennium Force AND Maverick AND Top Thrill Dragster AND Raptor, all in one day? Without the Fast Pass, it may not be possible. Those lines are generally 1-2 hours, depending on the day of your attendance. But WITH the Fast Pass, you can not only ride them all, but ride them as many times as you want!

The thought of that just made my heart go pitter-pat...

HOW TO ENTER:

Please be sure to include your valid email address. If I cannot get a hold of you, I will have to choose another winner. 

Please be sure to enter a separate comment for each entry. I will be using Random.org to randomly (heh) select the winner based upon comment #. If you only comment once, you will only have one chance to be picked. If there is a duplicate comment, it will count in the line up, but cannot win. The next comment with a valid entry will be the winner.

Ways to enter:

1. Comment and tell me who you'd take on this awesome experience.

2. Tweet about this giveaway linking back to @justanothermom and @cedarpoint . Please use a separate comment for each tweet. Limit of 5 tweets, please!

3. Share this giveaway on Facebook or any other social media site being sure to link back in the comments.

4. Follow me on Twitter @justanothermom

5. Subscribe to my blog via Google Friend.

Best of luck to you all! Contest closes at 12:00 midnight CST on Thursday, July 5.

*They're not really magical. Though it will feel like they are; trust me!


Disclaimer: I was provided with passes to Cedar Point and Soak City in return for writing a review and giveaway. But ALL opinions are, as always, my own!

~~~~~

Updated with winner on 7/6/12:

Using Random.org, the winner of this drawing is #22:

Congratulations to David Lobner! I hope you have a fabulous time at Cedar Point!


If you didn't win this drawing, be sure to keep tabs on Just Another Review Blog for possible giveaways in the coming weeks.


Thanks for entering!

Be Our Guest... a giveaway to the Chicago Shakespeare production of Beauty and the Beast

The Chicago Shakespeare Theater is providing yet another fabulous source of live entertainment for your family this summer! My family has been privileged to attend several shows over the past few years at the Shakes and are so excited to catch Beauty and the Beast which will run from June 28 through August 26th. With a run time of about 75 minutes, it's the perfect length for the smallest of all theater-goers with a show topic that will interest both the young and the young at heart.

You can purchase tickets via their box office or enter below to win a packet of 4!

To Enter Giveaway:

~ Comment below about who you'd bring to see the show!

~ Tweet about this giveaway and link back.

Best of luck to all! Contest ends at 12 midnight CST on Sunday, June 24.
______

Edited with winner:

The winner is #2, "newhere6303". Congratulations and enjoy the show!



*winning 4 tickets may only be used from June 28 through July 13 and are subject to availability. I have been given tickets in exchange for a giveaway but all opinions of the Shakespeare Theater are my own.