Happy Planet Giveaway!

Things I love, in no particular order:

1. Coffee that is already prepared and poured for me when I stumble, bedheaded, into the kitchen at 6:00 a.m.

2. My 4 year old's obsession with homework and desire to work on his "homework" every waking hour.

3. Wearing my hair as it is naturally: curly (this only works in the winter but, boy, does it save time).

4. Feel good food.

5. Working from home.

I rarely work with brands on this site, but some I can't resist…

Some embody the values I hold dear, some have great prices and products that I use on the regular, some just seem to fit.  Happy Planet is one of those brands.

I purchase Happy Planet soups whenever I hit up our local grocery store. I can tell you that they are delicious, they are easy, and they make me feel good. {You know, feel good food. One of those things that I love}.

Happy Planet is a Canadian company committed to creating all-natural juices & smoothies & (my fav) all-nautural and organic soups. Their Potato Leek Soup and Thai Coconut Soup are unbelievable!! {and, yes, I have been purchasing them all on my own - no freebies}. Everything tastes fresh, everything I have tried from them has been delicious, and their commitment to giving back is kind of the icing on the already delicious empire they are building.

So, take a minute to check out their site, because Happy Planet is giving away $60 of product vouchers (available for redemption in stores).

Contest Details:

Happy Planet is giving $60 of product vouchers (available for redemption in stores) to ONE lucky Sleeping Is For Losers reader. Contest closes NOVEMBER 5, 2013 at midnight. Canada only.
Winner will be chosen using random.org.

How To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what Happy Planet product(s) you would stock up on if you were chosen as the winner! {dare to dream}.

Extra Entry:

Tweet out the following for an additional entry:
WIN $60 worth of @TeamHappyPlanet product vouchers from Sleeping Is For Losers (@sarahnewk): http://tinyurl.com/lusg7vv


Good Luck!

PS- Happy Planet is sending one of my readers, Kathy, to the National Women's Show in Toronto this weekend! How awesome are they?

Home Office Makeover (and a HUGE GIVEAWAY)

I'm not sure if a Staples employee visited my home recently, but they certainly have good timing. Because, the day my Staples home office makeover gift card arrived, my office looked like THIS:

Yup, like that. 

I have worked at home for over two years and my office looks like a hurricane hit it pretty much every day. Paper, some toys, and a mishmash of pens and whatever else my kids were able to steal away from me when I'm not looking. The reason? Other than the need to keep them busy while I answer emails or work on something for a client, I have NO STORAGE. 

We bought a cheap desk over 8 years ago and that is what I have used ever since.

So, when the aforementioned saviour of my home office, Staples, offered to provide me with $150 to makeover my office, I JUMPED. I needed a way to get the crap paper off the floor of my office and away from interested, little hands.


So this cutie to the right and I headed out to the store, armed with a gift card and a dream (and a sucker because bribery works!).

And I just have to say that I scored, big time.

First, I already have an affinity for Staples. 
Row upon row of organizational tools, pencils, paper, and everything in between appeals to the teacher in me. Truth? The best time of the school year (when I was teaching) was the week that all the supplies I had ordered the year before arrived in my classroom! Nothing better than everything feeling fresh, cleaned and organized.

After a thorough search of the store, Will and I settled in what I like to call the "Martha Stewart aisle". 
Everything in this aisle is beautiful and functional and (according to the packaging) easy to assemble.

Upon in depth conferencing with my two year old, we agreed to purchase the Wall Manager system in black and picked up the following:

• cork board;
• white board;
• shelf;
• drawer & shelf combo;
• two Wall Manager boards;
• two hooks and clips;
• a wall caddy; and
• two clips

But of course, this wasn't enough. In addition to the Wall Manager system, I picked up:

• one HUGE package of paper;
• one HUGE spiral of coloured sticky notes;
• a box of small clips
• two banker boxes to store all my unnecessary to use but necessary to keep files; and
• a desk-sized filing system for all those files I need AT HAND.

All of this for less than $150. 
AMAZING, right?

On a Sunday morning, I sent my husband up to my office to install my new Wall Manager system. I expected him to be gone for the rest of the morning…instead, he was gone 10 minutes. 

That's it. 

When the box says "easy to install" apparently it's right. 

I, on the other hand, spent the next 1.5 hours working on re-organinzing my disaster of a home office. 

And here are the results:

My fully assembled (in 10 minutes!!!) wall organizer - it is the perfect size for all those important papers and notes that need to be kept in sight but away from little hands!

My clips and pushpins, safely stored in my Wall Manger system and away from the kids.

Paper, banker boxes, a desktop filing system and more sticky notes than I could dream of!

My new and improved, organized office space. Important notes, papers, stickies and pens are away from little hands. My files are safely stored in the closet, with the essential (working on right now) files in my desk for easy access. I actually feel like I can WORK now!

Thank you so much Staples, for allowing me to get my workspace back! 

Now for the stuff you're really interested in...

THE GIVEAWAY!

So what are you waiting for? I want you to enjoy a home office as amazing as mine…and to help you get started, Staples is going to give away a free router (worth up to $100!!!!) to one lucky Sleeping Is For Losers reader (Canada only). Check out this link for your choices...

How to Enter:

Leave a comment below (about anything you like- tell me about your home office woes, why you could use a router, or just say hi!). Make sure you include an email address for me to email you at if you are the winner:) 

Extra Entry:

If you would like a second entry, tweet out the following:

Win a router (worth up to $100) from Sleeping Is For Losers and @sarahnewk. Enter at http://sleepingisforlosers.blogspot.ca/2013/10/home-office-makeover.html 


Contest closes November 1, 2013 at midnight. ENTER NOW and Good Luck:)


*Full disclosure- I received a $150 gift card from Staples to use for the purposes of remaking my home office. Of course, you know I don't speak anything but the truth and, in this case, the truth is that Staples had great products at great prices!

So then I found Netflix...

Having good TV is a necessity in my home.

Chris works late often. I spend my evenings writing. The kids love to watch as much TV as I'll let them, but they're not given much opportunity.

So, when any of us get the chance to watch TV- either alone or as a family- we want to make it count.

And, if I'm being perfectly honest, there is very little on cable we find worthy of our precious viewing moments.

Enter NETFLIX.

I was actually a little hesitant to sign up with Netflix.
I mean, what could it offer that my (expensive) cable package couldn't?

The answer, after a month of living with Netflix, is A LOT.

I dare you not to be addicted to their made-for-Netflix series. I DARE you not to watch Madagascar 3 and the Smurfs with your kids (we may have laughed more at the Smurfs then they did- so funny!). I dare you not to love the convenience of having a show at your fingertips- Netflix was a lifesaver when my four-year-old was feeling sick and could do nothing but lie in bed with my laptop.

Chris and I have been catching up on movies that we missed during those years that we were living the life of 24/7 mommy & daddy, with nary a spare moment to make it out to the theatres. I have binged on shows that I have only heard about via Twitter and spent time laughing with my wee ones who have discovered their love of Blue's Clues and The Magic School Bus. (and Zach, the four year old, has discovered countless documentaries on dinosaurs which is like heaven for that dino-crazy boy).

The made-for-Netflix series (Orange Is The New Black and House of Cards) make for insanely smart, witty, well-written television- exactly the type of show that cable (sadly) often lacks. And don't even bother to get me started on their stand-up specials and documentaries.

But what I really love is the kid-focused programming section. It's easy to navigate, there's tons of good selection, and my kids are thrilled to get to choose a show- not just get stuck with whatever is on at that moment.

There are some drawbacks, of course. For over a week we did not have wireless internet capabilities in our home...for that entire time Netflix was inoperable. We also have a few 'dead' areas in our home that don't allow for a strong enough wireless signal for Netflix to work consistently. Chris can't live without baseball, hockey, basketball, etc. so cable is still a necessity for us, for the time being.

But, in all, the good outweighs the bad.

If your family is anything like mine, then you want your precious viewing time to matter. And for my money, Netflix is not only an economical purchase (at about $8 per month) but, in my opinion, you can't beat commercial-free, kid-focused entertainment at your fingertips.

*Full disclosure- I received a free year-long subscription to Netflix in exchange for posting my real-life experience. This is 100% my true, personal opinion. Rest assured- I'm a real, real Netflix fan.

Britney: The Video

Um, I might have an unhealthy fascination with Brit Brit.

I really do adore her- I bought her Baby, One More Time album and played it non-stop in my dorm with my friend Greg. 
And I dressed up like her for Halloween. 
And I actually own every honest-to-goodness, hold in your hands CD she has ever put out. 
And the only thing on my iPod when I run is her greatest hits album.

So she has a new video out. EXCITING. And it's not AWFUL- feels a bit like an homage to her Slave For You days- but I do have mixed feelings, because...

• Britney used to be such a good dancer, she looks like she's just phoning it in; AND
• I think she got a nose job (probably more than that, but it's what stands out most to me); AND I KEEP WONDERING
• Is she British now? When did that happen?; AND
• She feels forced

But then I realized...

• Despite phoning it in, she dances better than I ever will; AND
• Her body looks AH-MAZ-ING; AND
• She always felt a bit forced so that's not new; BUT FOR CERTAIN
• I can't wait to visit the only HMV I know of (in a mall near my house) and buy her new CD whenever it comes out (like all the other dorky moms in their 30s).