In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)  launched a fun contest to find the top 150 hidden travel gems in our country. IHG sponsored this hotel stay and my participation in this campaign, but all opinions are my own.

For Mother’s Day, I wanted to do something fun with my mom but sadly I didn’t have the time to get to Ottawa. I solved this problem and met my mom half way in the beautiful city of Kingston which is half way for both of us.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Kingston – Waterfront which has both an indoor and outdoor pool. Sadly there was no sun. Sniff. But this gave us more time to enjoy the room!

We loved the pillows, which indicated if they were firm or soft. What a great idea.

Not sure if you know this but IHG® Rewards Club is currently running a unique 150th Hidden Gems Contest!!

IHG®Rewards Club will be celebrating Canada’s 150thBirthday with a Contest to Curate Canada’s Top 150 Hidden Travel Gems. The top 150 hidden gems from coast-to-coast will be selected by IHG through a contest just in time for Canada Day!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Visit their website:
2. Follow the three easy steps!

PS Love how this contest is so user friendly!

I took the time to find this this hidden gem called “Martello Alley” in downtown Kingston. Naturally I’ve submitted into this contest. Wish me luck!!

Hope you get a chance to enter the contest too.

Its not a surprise that IHG® Canada is a leader in hospitality, travel and leisure and the go-to destination for Canadians!

For more information:

Website: www.150canada.IGHrewardsclub.com

Instagram and Twitter: @IHGRewardsClub, #IHG150

Disclosure: My hotel stay was complimentary however all opinions are my own

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This Mother’s Day,  Rabba Fine Foods has joined up with OASIS to offer mothers (and their loved ones) an opportunity to win some exciting prizes – all for sharing #RabbaMomMoments on social media.

Sounds easy and sounds fun. True Story:  I recently participated in a contest at a trade show and I won!!

Entrants for this contest, are encouraged to showcase the realities of motherhood – happy, proud, silly, and even frustrating. Entrants who share their posts or tag three friends will receive an extra entry into the sweepstake for a possible total of three contest entries.

I can definitely show case the reality of motherhood and I bet you have a few stories to share as well.

Here’s a “motherhood moment” – I’m proud that my kids have found jobs. It’s not easy out there to find a job and I’m over the moon that both have found employment over the summer.

Here’s another #RabbaMomMoment that I posted on Twitter:

On Sunday May 14, winners will be announced on Rabba social media accounts. Prizes include:

· First place: a weekend trip for two to New York City including airfare and accommodations (1 winner / prize worth $1,500)

· Gift certificates to a day spa (3 winners / each certificate worth $250)

· Rabba $50 gift cards (5 winners)

Now that you have finished reading this blog post, I hope you pick up your smart phones and start to enter the contest.

Here’s where to post your #RabbaMomMoment: 

Twitter: @RabbaFineFoods

Instagram; @RabbaFineFoods

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RabbaFineFoods/

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE A WONDERFUL MOTHERS DAY!!

Disclosure: I was compensated for this blog post however all opinions are my own.

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I’m pretty pumped about the upcoming Pan Am Games and would like to share my enthusiasm with a contest. Yes….a contest where you could win $200 worth of atoma products!

atoma, is actually the Official Pharmacy to the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. In addition to the partnership, atoma will be supporting ALL the athletes taking part in the Games. Through its four banners (Guardian, I.D.A., The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy and PROXIM), the brand will provide pharmacist services, prescription medications, first aid supplies and atoma over-the-counter medications to all athletes participating in the Games.

Here’s a bit more about atoma products:

atoma offers quality products with the same active ingredients as national brands, at everyday low prices*.

atoma products can be found in two categories:

Health and Wellness (such as first aid, foot care, medical care, skin care, sun care and more)

Hygiene (such as baby accessories, soap and bath products, hair care, shaving and grooming and more)

Clearly at this time of year I seem to go through more sunscreen and more pharmaceutical products in general!! Wouldn’t you agree?

When atoma was created, their goal was to bring you high-quality products with the same active ingredients as national brands, but at lower prices. They guarantee your satisfaction or your money back.

There’s something to be said about a pharmacy that is indeed a pharmacy. For example these stores don’t sell eggs, milk or bread.

OK back to the contest:

All you have to do to win this $200 gift card is leave a comment below and answer the following question:

Which level of SPF  protection do you choose, when purchasing sunscreen?

(SPF 30, SPF 60 etc)

This contest is open to all Canadians and will end on July 18th, 2015 at midnight.

My mom is so attached to her pharmacist that she was driving 20 minutes out of her way to go there even though there was a pharmacy 2 blocks from her condo. #truestory.

For more information: www.teamatoma.ca

Twitter: @McKesson_ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mckessonCA

Disclosure: I’m an ambassador for McKesson Canada, however all opinions are my own.

 

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With Father’s Day right around the corner, enter to win your dad or husband the go-to tablet for his family’s digital needs  – the Samsung GALAXY Tab A. (app value $429)

• Thanks to the 4:3 screen ratio, the 9.7-inch screen offers a better viewing experience so your Dad can can create, consume and connect to his favourite content – sports, movies or magazines.
• Another great family feature is Multi-User, which allows for up to six unique profiles to be that everyone can enjoy the device with a personalized experience.
• The impressive multi-tasking capabilities will allow dad to read, email or use social media simultaneously.

I recently received a Samsung TAB S and quickly ditched my Ipad Mini.  I absolutely adore how quickly I can download apps WITHOUT remembering another password. Not to mention it’s going to sync with my Samsung Galaxy S5 phone. #ohhowIlovetechnology.

All you have to do to enter this contest is answer this question:

Why would you would like to win a SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab A? 

Just click on the REPLY button and leave a comment!!

Other important details:

-this contest is open to all Canadian Residents

-this contest will close on Monday June 15th, 2015 at midnite.

-if the winner does not get back to me by Wednesday June 18th at midnite – another winner will be selected

Happy Father’s Day!!

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These days, I have been busy using my KitchenAid Diamond Blender. I simply can’t sop making smoothies and pureeing soups. Life is good.

One evening I got creative and put together a smoothie using some of my favorite ingredients; Chocolate, Banana and Peanut Butter.

 In less than a minute I had a pretty satisfying snack. The list of smoothies I intend on making are endless and infact I have a list on my fridge as a reminder that I don’t have to make the same smoothie every day!!

I’m so excited about using my KitchenAid Diamond Blender on a regular basis that I’m running a contest to give away a KitchenAid Diamond Blender to one of my readers.

 Here’s what you need to know about the KitchenAid Diamond blender!!

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There’s lots of different ways to celebrate Mother’s Day!  As a foodie – the best way for me to spend Mother’s Day is to be surrounded by food!!! This year, I will be in Ottawa for Mother’s Day so I can celebrate this special day with my mom. She’s bit of a foodie herself  – lucky me – so this schedule will be ideal for both of us.

The day will go something like this:

9:00 am – pick up a few donuts from SuzQ Doughnuts

9:30 am — enjoy a cappucino from Illume Espresso

10:00 am – head over to Simply Biscotti for some black pepper  biscottis (not just buying one anymore)

10:00 am -11:00 am Quick visit to the Ottawa Farmer’s Market!

11:30 -12:30 Enjoy a visit with my Dad.  He’s a foodie too so we will be sharing our “goodies” with him

1:00 – visit Golden Palace for some epic eggrolls.

1:30 pm  -2:30 pm – Visit the Tulip Festival at Dows Lake

2:30 pm – hit the hightway

6:30 pm arrive in Toronto

7 pm head to Lotus Pond Chinese Vegetarian (3838 Midland Ave, Scarborough) to celebrate Mother’s Day with my daughter. For dessert we will be enjoying a Cold Stone Signature Ice Cream cake. I’ve always loved  ice cream cake and this will be the perfect way to end my day. We usually go to the Cold Stone that is located at 2005 Avenue Road  as I use to have a store at 1648 Avenue Road. To this day, I still visit Avenue Road on a regular basis even though I haven’t had the store for 10 years.

Can’t decide between the 6 inch $23.99 or the 8 inch cake ($33.99)!

I’m SO excited to be celebrating Mother’s Day in Ottawa that I’m going to be giving away a 6 inch Cold Stone Ice Cream Cake to one lucky reader. All you have to do is answer this question. Visit the Cold Stone website and leave a comment below, which flavour ice cream cake you would like to win.

The contest will run from May 7 to May 12th. The winner will be selected using random.org. The winner will have 7 days to contact me, otherwise another winner will be selected.

Happy Mother’s Day.

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On Monday March 18th, I reached 5,000 followers on Twitter. This is a big deal for me. Really. Therefore, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who reads my blog via facebook or twitter or email. I started my blog in October 2010 and it’s been an incredible journey. In fact Samsung saw my passion for blogging  (and my zest for life ) and selected me and a handful of others to attend an event last year that was truly inspirational.

I was sincerely touched that Samsung had reached out to me. They even offered me a Samsung Notebook Series 9  to give away to one of my readers!! Guess what? The time has come to say thank you and run this “thank you contest”.

Contest Rules

The contest will be open to anyone in Canada and will run from March 19 and will end at noon on April 2nd.  (which is a great way to celebrate my birthday – with gratitude). The winner will have another 7 days to contact me via email, otherwise I will select another winner. I will use www.random.org to select the winner.

All you have to do is answer the following question:  How many computers are in your household? Just leave a comment on my blog!!

Wishing everyone the best of luck and once again….THANK YOU for supporting @momwhoruns

For More Information:

Twitter: @SamsungCanada

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SamsungCanada

Website: Samsung.com/ca

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Today’s blog post is dedicated to the question: How Many Knives Do You Own? I have a lot….errr….WAY TOO MANY. It all started 20 years ago, when I never invested in a decent knife. My attitude was “I’ll buy another one”.

My useless knife collection

This is NOT the right attitude. Here’s why.

A long time ago, I saw a blog post (or was it a tweet???) with the question: “What’s Your Favorite Kitchen Tool”. Many of the replies were  “MY KNIFE”.

Think about it. Do you think you could make a dish without a knife? It truly is an instrumental tool to have in the kitchen.

Because it’s so important,…I will be giving away a CUTCO knife to one lucky reader!! (value $138). All you have to do is go to the Cutco Website and leave a comment telling me which knife you would want to own.  If you haven’t heard of Cutco before, here’s what you need to know about this North American company: a) they have a Forever Guarantee b) they produce quality, SHARP knives c) they are all about offering exceptional knives and customer service.

Isn’t that easy? Isn’t this a great contest? Something tells me, I’m not the only one with a million knives in their kitchen. Actually I’ve decided that these knives are going into the GARBAGE. Ever since I was introduced to Cutco, I’m now dicing vegetables like a pro and have no need to  have useless knives in my kitchen!!

What a difference a good knife makes!!

The contest will run from Thursday Dec 6th to Friday Dec 21st and is open to all Canadian residents. A winner will be selected using random.org and will have one week to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Happy Knives = Happy Cooks. Yes?

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Quite regularly I stumble upon new businesses/restaurants/services while on Twitter. My latest find is a start up called Spinzo.

I started to chat with them via twitter and liked what they were all about. Now I want to share with you, (dear readers) what Spinzo is all about. I am also going to run a contest today with Spinzo!! What’s super cool about this contest is the fact that I could pick any prize I wanted for my readers!!

They originally offered me an iPad as a gift but I said “hmmm…my readers are mostly foodies so what about a gift to KITCHEN STUFF PLUS. Thats right…you could win a $250 gift certificate to Kitchen Stuff Plus to buy anything you want.

Love. This. Store.

When I went to visit my local Kitchen Stuff Plus, I was eyeing this piece of kitchen equipment. Now who wouldn’t want to  win a $250 Gift Certificate towards a purchase of one of these beauties?

One of my favorite appliances in my kitchen!!

Ok..back to Spinzo. Who are they? They are a Canadian Startup dedicated to offering dynamic pricing on great local experiences.

Want to know how to participate in this amazing contest?

All contestants have to do is post their purchase requests to the Spinzo Facebook page or Spinzo Twitter page.

These purchase requests can be about anything!

Important: (really important) Please use @momwhoruns in these requests: i.e : “I heard about #SpinzoSavesTO from @MomWhoRuns and I really want a new Kitchen Aid” (or another request like pots, cutlery etc)

Post requests to: Facebook.com/SpinzoToronto  OR on Twitter.com: @spinzotoronto) 

No need to leave a comment below…just head over to the Spinzo Facebook page or onto Twitter!!

So what do you think? Easy peazy contest non? Not to mention, a gift certificate to Kitchen Stuff Plus is SWEET. The contest will run from Tuesday Aug 21st to Tuesday September 4th at midnite. This contest is open to anyone in Toronto and the gift certificate can be used at any of the Kitchen Stuff Plus locations. Random.org will used to select the winner and that winner has two weeks to get in touch with me. Otherwise a new winner will be selected.

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My Dyson! Notice the clean area rug and hardwood floors?

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to attend a Dyson event at the TIFF Lightbox. I immediately replied: “How did you know my carpets needed vacuumed? Would love to attend this event.”.

I’m not kidding. I moved into my apartment at the end of September and purchased an area rug in October. Guess what hasn’t been vacuumed since? This event could NOT have been more timely.

At the event I learned more about Dyson and the team of 700 engineers who work on these innovative products. I was in awe of the determination of James Dyson (the founder) to make the first vacuum that has balls. (their words, not mine). Dyson has a great product and a great ad campaign. Everywhere I go, people are talking about Dyson. Either they have one or they want one. This is the type of buzz every brand dreams of!!

As for my “vacuum cleaner” history – it goes likes this:

Childhood: Grew up with an Electrolux that was shlepped around and hit every wall known to mankind. I can still hear my mother shrieking “watch the walls” as I did my chores.

University: Lived in Israel for 4 years and carpets arent really popular in hot climates. So for 4 years I didn’t see a vacuum.

Adulthood: Bought a stand up vacuum cleaner that lasted for years and then graduated to a house with central vac. Recently I moved into an apartment with hardwood floors and one small area rug.

I am delighted to finally own a DYSON so I can finally clean my floors and  my area rug.  Wouldn’t you know that my mom is visiting next week? Another reason, that this event was so timely.

I’m also delighted to announce that I will be giving away a Dyson Vacuum cleaner!! All you have to do to enter this contest is CLICK ON “ADD REPLY” (at the bottom) and answer the following question:

“Are you a pusher or a puller?”.

The contest will close on Monday June 11th at midnite.  The winner will be selected using random.org. Please note that this contest is open to Canadians only and the prize will be mailed to you directly. If the winner does not reply within two weeks, another winner will be selected.

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