Thursday, March 4, 2010

Winner Announcement - Ascending Butterfly's Book Club Giveaway Winner!


Congratulations to *'Cynthia' confirmed winner of Ascending Butterfly's Book Club Featured Book in the Spotlight, February 2010 Giveaway! I know Cynthia will enjoy reading 'Dancing With Butterflies' as much as I did. Join me in congratulating our winner! We would like to thank our sponsor for this great giveaway. We look forward to working with you again soon!

Thank You for choosing to spend a part of your day with Ascending Butterfly; and Remember to enter our active giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page!

For those that didn't win who would like to purchase a copy, get it at a great price here:



--Ascending Butterfly's Editorial Team

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*We post our winner's username/comment name instead of full name

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Kettle Cuisine Review and Giveaway!

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor Kettle Cuisine, We look forward to working with you again! The winners have been notified and upon confirmation his/her follower name(s) will be posted both here and on our homepage. Remember: There are still some great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!
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Today's Butterfly Sponsored By:


Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The North East has been pelted with snow this winter. And the weatherman is saying there will be more snow this week! I'm getting pretty snowed out and a bit stir crazy to be honest with you, but one thing still holds true for me, nothing is better when it's cold outside than a warm bowl of soup! Nothing says comforting to me more, and there is definitely nothing that I want to eat more when I have a cold or the flu.

I recently had the opportunity to try what I'd like to call a 'hot bowl of comfort' from Kettle Cuisine. Two hot bowls of comfort actually!

I sampled the 'Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans' and the 'New England Clam Chowder' and they were absolutely perfect on a cold winter's Day. There are ten chef-inspired varieties that are all natural and all gluten free. The savory soups, hearty chilis, and rich chowders are available in convenient, single serving bowls and can be found in your grocer's natural food freezer. They arrived in an insulated box packed with dry ice, these are in no way like the canned soups you are used to.



New England Clam Chowder

Equal parts rich and satisfying, Kettle Cuisine's New England Clam Chowder starts with fresh light cream from local New England dairies, then we add hand-shucked clams, perfectly sautéed onions, and potatoes peeled just moments before cooking.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - High in Iron
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Good Source of Vitamin A
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 15g Protein


Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans

Kettle Cuisine's slow-simmered Angus beef with a blend of Southwestern spices, red beans, ripe tomatoes, hand-chopped peppers and spicy green chilies for a chili as hearty as it is wholesome.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - High Fiber
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Good Source of Vitamin C
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Good Source of Iron
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 22g Protein

They were both fresh and very tasty. The chowder wasn't as thick as I am used to in a traditional clam chowder, but I expected that as these are specially prepared with gluten free, dairy free diets in mind. The clams were fresh and there was tons of potato in it, it was hearty even though it wasn't thick. The Angus Beef Steak Chili with Beans was my favorite of the two. It was amazingly hearty and very satisfying!

WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at Kettle Cuisine would like to provide 3 winners with the opportunity to become official Taste Testers! The Grand Prize winner will receive their choice of soup shipped directly to their home and two runners up will each receive one free coupon AND a $1.00 off coupon as well . (Don't you just ♥ Kettle Cuisine?)

How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and (2) Visit Kettle Cuisine and pick another soup (other than the two being reviewed!) that you like and leave the LINK to that soup in your comment entry! (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com, If it is visible in your profile, just say so, that's OK!). Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning! This giveaway is open to USA residents who are 18 years of age or older.

Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Wednesday, March 03, 2010 until Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 11:59 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you already have our button, just let us know, you will still get extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow me @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter (this is ascendingbutterfly’s editor) and give me your Twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet this: Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - #ascendingbutterfly + @kettlecuisine Soup #Giveaways! Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ #win here - http://tinyurl.com/ygogz2g

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here).

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Kettle Cuisine (and don't forget to write on their wall that Ascending Butterfly sent you!) on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @kettlecuisine on Twitter HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's Ning Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Subscribe to receive Ascending Butterfly emails using our Feedburner widget on the upper right hand side of the page below the follower thumbnail pictures! (If you are already a subscriber you will still receive extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - NEW METHOD OF EXTRA CREDIT, Ascending Butterfly is a nominee for the Bloggers Choice ’10 Awards in the ‘Best Blog About Stuff’ Category - http://bloggerschoiceawards.com/ Where it reads total votes, there is a yellow box that reads 'Vote' Press there to vote, you must be logged in to see the number increase/vote registered. You can also vote directly using the button located on our home page and below:

My site was nominated for Best Blog About Stuff!

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will not accept your entry. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the product are expressly my own experiences. I was provided product to review and the sponsor is also fulfilling product to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of my experiences with this product. All product provided by Kohnstamm Communications on behalf of Kettle Cuisine.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Tuesday, March 02, 2010 - Today's Words of Inspiration and Great Giveaways!


Set the Day to Music

I've spent most of the day singing along to music, a playlist with all my favorites has been the soundtrack to most of my day today.

I'm not saying it made my work any easier, but I certainly enjoyed doing it more. But even more fun was having others sing along with me! Most experiences are just that much better and more fun when shared. Doesn't it seem to go by faster when you are talking to someone in the line at the Bank or the Post Office?

Today I encourage you to reach out. Make a connection, and I don't mean a virtual one. Talk to someone. I can guarantee it will make your day 'lighter', better somehow; and theirs as well.

Use 'Today's Words of Inspiration' as a breathing meditation to still your mind, quiet your thoughts and bring in positive energy. As you inhale bring in only positive energy by saying in your mind, I breathe in positive energy (or you can say creative energy if that is what you wish to create more of) and as you exhale, Affirm out loud today 'I embrace new connections!'

Spend some time each day enjoying focused breathing AND soul guided meditative visualization, in doing so, you can bring about amazing, profound and powerful changes in your life.

Visualize yourself manifesting something unique, guided by universal forces that emerge spontaneously from within your soul. Do this at least twice today and see how by taking a moment away from the hectic pace and breathing in positive energy and affirming what you wish to create, your thinking will become different.

Remember, attitude really does determine altitude.

It is OK to *Re-Tweet* the link to this post and You can find me (@Tracy_Iglesias) on Twitter here! Twitter love: re*tweet by copying and pasting the following into your update field:

OK to RT: @Tracy_Iglesias #ascendingbutterfly - Today's Words of #Inspiration and Great #Giveaways! - http://tiny.cc/n4Thx

Make this your best day ever, Bless and Be Blessed!

Don't forget to enter the great giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page! It's just our way of saying Thank You for choosing to spend part of your day with us. We are really happy you landed HERE! Don't forget to use the share button below any inspiration to stumble, digg, tweet or share with your friends on facebook and twitter! And if you want to share inspiration with other members, Ascending Butterfly has a NING group with real time chat HERE

ENDING SOON ALERT: February 2010: The Ascending Butterfly Book Club review & GIVEAWAY - Featured Book in the Spotlight! Dancing With Butterflies, closes Tuesday, March 02, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST enter HERE! Stay tuned for March's title which will be posted this week!

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will not accept your entry. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

Monday, March 1, 2010

I am an official General Hospital Brand Ambassador! More GH Fun!


General Hospital Monday

As you all know from my post last week I am an official General Hospital Brand Ambassador! In an effort to connect with others who share my obsession for all things GH, I thought I'd make this another 'GH Monday'.

This Week's Juicy Storyline Topic of Discussion: This week on General Hospital a cop is determined to put his mobster father behind bars and might have to use his brother to do it. Also this week, Dante questions his own brother— will Michael confess or will Dante realize on his own that it was Michael who was responsible for killing Claudia and not Sonny? This great story line is sure to generate controversy and conversation! I can't wait to hear what YOU think is going to happen! So readers, are you team 'Dante' or team 'Michael'? (I am and always will be team 'Jason' but since he's not officially the topic of discussion.....)

And if you haven't already figured it out, I'm entirely obsessed with 'Jason Morgan' played brilliantely by Steve Burton! Here is some Jason Eye Candy for you!


Steve, please stop making bad look ever so good!  MWAH!!

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I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Sunday, February 28, 2010 - This Week's 'Moment of Gratitude' and Great Giveaways!



On Sunday's, 'Today's Moment of Inspiration' becomes the weekly 'Moment of Gratitude'. While I do still live in Gratitude each and everyday, I decided to change this feature to a weekly to allow a full week of Inspirational messages and focused breathing meditations.

This week, I am grateful for:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I am very happy to have my laptop back from the repair shop! The wordless days were driving me nuts! (Yes I know I should have been grateful for the opportunity to have some stillness, but what's an inspirational blog with no inspirations on it???) Having it back has also enabled me to get all caught up on your entries into the giveaways as well! (Now are you happy I have it back?! LOL)  :)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Ascending Butterfly was given not just one but TWO 'One Lovely Blog Awards' this week! This time we were nominated by Jana at Boobies, Babies and A Blog and Bri from at Silver Savings, Freebies, & Giveaways


Thanks Jana and Bri, I love your blogs too!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I am grateful to report that Ascending Butterfly is a nominee in the Blogger's Choice Awards '10 in the 'Best Blog About Stuff' Category, Please vote for us!

Where it reads total votes, there is a yellow box that reads 'Vote' Press there to vote, you must be logged in to see the number increase/vote registered. You can also vote directly using the button located on our home page and below:

My site was nominated for Best Blog About Stuff!

Your vote is appreciated, winning this category will bring Ascending Butterfly the recognition that will help us attract bigger sponsors and offer more prizes to our loyal readers! This is not a daily, it's a one time vote only. If every Ascending Butterfly follower votes just once, we would sweep the category for sure!

What are you grateful for today? I'd love for you to write in and share what you are grateful for this week. The more you say it, the more you speak it, and the more you live in gratitude, the more you will find reasons to be grateful for. So join me on this journey of gratitude and inspiration. And you can post here daily (even though my list will be posted weekly).

Remember, attitude really does determine altitude.

It is OK to *Re-Tweet* the link to this post and You can find me on Twitter here (@Tracy_Iglesias) Twitter love: re*tweet by copying and pasting the following into your update field at Twitter:

OK to RT: @Tracy_Iglesias This Week's 'Moment of Gratitude' and Great giveaways! - http://tiny.cc/n4Thx

Don't forget to enter the great giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page! We will be offering multiple giveaways all throughout 2010! It's just our way of saying Thank You for choosing to spend part of your day with us. We are really happy you landed HERE!

ENDING SOON ALERT: February 2010: The Ascending Butterfly Book Club review & GIVEAWAY - Featured Book in the Spotlight! enter to win this month's Book Club Title 'Dancing With Butterflies' by Reyna Grande HERE!

For those of you who are interested in keeping a gratitude journal this year, here is my recommendation and a direct link to purchase it:


Make this your best day ever, Bless and Be Blessed!
˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will have no way of informing you if you win, and we will have to select another winner. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Winner Announcement - Ascending Butterfly's MOR Cosmetics Giveaway Winners!



Congratulations to *'CherylS22', * 'Pat' and *'SkipTheLaundry' the confirmed winners of Ascending Butterfly's MOR Cosmetics Giveaway! I know they are just going to love their prize. Join us in congratulating our winners! We would like to thank our sponsor MOR Cosmetics for this great giveaway. We look forward to working with you again soon and thank you so much for the opportunity to offer this great giveaway to not just one, but THREE winners!

Thank You for choosing to spend a part of your day with Ascending Butterfly; and Remember to enter our active giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page!

--Ascending Butterfly's Editorial Team

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

*We post our winner's username/comment name instead of full name

Friday, February 26, 2010

Weekend Words of Inspiration and Great Giveaways!



Welcome Home Laptop!

I received quite a few emails asking where the inspirations have gone! As most of you know my laptop was in the shop for repair, and it is finally back! Welcome home baby, I missed you SO much! Thanks so much to my UPS man who braved the snow and brought me my laptop back!

I truly didn't realize how much I missed the portability and convenience until I didn't have it. This must be what 'you don't fully appreciate what you have until it's gone' really means! LOL

The poor patient had a lot of parts that needed to be replaced and I'm happy to report it's fully recovered now. I spent the morning doing 're-installs' including antivirus/firewall programs, photos, music etc..... It's running better now than it was before! If only our lives had a re-set button! I am happy to report that inspirations are back! And I'm also fully caught up on contest entries (no easy feat, we have had very enthusiastic responses to the current giveaways!).

I also wanted to share, that I am a guest blogger at Linea Pelle's Life+Style Blog, my article 'From Rocker Street to Rocker Chic' is up now (it's dated February 24, 2010) and can be seen HERE

Because it really hits home, let's take some time today to appreciate our often over-looked blessings. Those things that are so much a part of our day-to-day lives that we take them for granted.

Use 'Today's Words of Inspiration' as a breathing meditation to still your mind, quiet your thoughts and bring in positive energy. As you inhale bring in only positive energy by saying in your mind, I breathe in positive energy (or you can say creative energy if that is what you wish to create more of) and as you exhale, Affirm out loud today 'I take nothing for granted, I am fully aware of my many blessings-both big and small!'

Spend some time each day enjoying focused breathing AND soul guided meditative visualization, in doing so, you can bring about amazing, profound and powerful changes in your life.

Visualize yourself manifesting something unique, guided by universal forces that emerge spontaneously from within your soul. Do this at least twice today and see how by taking a moment away from the hectic pace and breathing in positive energy and affirming what you wish to create, your thinking will become different.

Remember, attitude really does determine altitude.

It is OK to *Re-Tweet* the link to this post and You can find me (@Tracy_Iglesias) on Twitter here! Twitter love: re*tweet by copying and pasting the following into your update field:

OK to RT: @Tracy_Iglesias #ascendingbutterfly - Today's Words of #Inspiration and Great #Giveaways! - http://tiny.cc/n4Thx

Make this your best day ever, Bless and Be Blessed!

Don't forget to enter the great giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page! It's just our way of saying Thank You for choosing to spend part of your day with us. We are really happy you landed HERE! Don't forget to use the share button below any inspiration to stumble, digg, tweet or share with your friends on facebook and twitter! And if you want to share inspiration with other members, Ascending Butterfly has a NING group with real time chat HERE

ENDING SOON ALERT: MOR Cosmetics Giveaway! THREE lucky Ascending Butterfly Readers can win MOR Cosmetics best selling 'Lychee Flower Soap' in what has to be the most beautiful packaging ever! enter HERE!

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NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will not accept your entry. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Winner Announcement - Ascending Butterfly's Affordable Scarves Giveaway Winners!


Congratulations to both *'Hotsnotty 2' and * 'Deb C' the confirmed winners of Ascending Butterfly's Affordable Scarves Giveaway! Join us in congratulating both of our winners! We would like to thank our sponsor Affordable Scarves for this great giveaway. We look forward to working with you again soon and thank you so much for the opportunity to offer this great giveaway to not just one, but TWO winners!


Thank You for choosing to spend a part of your day with Ascending Butterfly; and Remember to enter our active giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page!

--Ascending Butterfly's Editorial Team

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*We post our winner's username/comment name instead of full name.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Spring Into Bags Special Feature - Enter to win an Elliott Lucca Designer Bag!

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor Elliott Lucca, We look forward to working with you again! The winner is 'cdziuba' Remember: There are still some great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!


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Ascending Butterfly's 'Spring Into Bags' Special Feature launch sponsored by:



I was so excited about our new 'Spring Into Bags' special feature, I have decided to launch it one week earlier than expected! This feature was set to go live in March, but I just couldn't wait to share with you one of my favorite joys of Spring, new handbags!

This Spring, color will be hot in handbags (think 'brights' like yellows, kelly greens etc) and studded bags in honor of the 'Rocker Chick' inspired runway looks we saw at New York Fashion Week.

We all know the best way to apply runway style trends to our day to day lives lies in the accessories. None of us can show up at work with a head-to-toe look straight off the runway, but we can rock a great bag!

For Spring 2010, Ascending Butterfly will be hosting a special feature called 'Spring Into Bags' we are going to be reviewing and giving away hot handbags from hot bag designers! Fasten your seatbelts fellow bag lovers you are in for an awesome ride!

The first designer being featured is Elliott Lucca who has been spotted on the arms of celebs like Jennifer  Garner and Carmen Electra.



I was sent Elliot Lucca's "Casares Bag" in the 'Curry' Color, it's major Spring Arm Candy with it's  basketweave design from the base to the middle and the drawstring with the metalic pull stop and side pockets with branded zipper pulls that have a leather tassle accent. It's buttery soft. There is nothing like the smell of leather in the morning!

How would you like to become a 'bag reviewer'?   The winner of this giveaway will win a different bag than the one I reviewed. We'd love to hear the winner's feedback on their bag once they have had some time to test drive it in the spring!

WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our amazing friends at Elliott Lucca would like to provide 1 ultra lucky Ascending Butterfly Follower an Elliott Lucca "Lucca 3-Way Demi - Poppy Crinkle Patent Bag" (Don't you just ♥ Elliott Lucca?)


Dimensions: 13" Length, 4" Width, 8" Height, 8" Strap Drop
Exterior: Leather
Interior: Cotton
Adjustable and removable strap; can be worn as a crossbody or clutch!
Lining features two multi function pockets and a zippered backwall pocket
Zipper closure
Clean with a water-based leather cleaner and moisturizer. Use a protective spray to protect the leather surface.



How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and (2) Visit Elliott Lucca and pick another bag (other than the one being reviewed and the one being given away!) that you like and leave the LINK to that bag in your comment entry! (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com). Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning! This giveaway is open to USA residents who are 18 years of age or older. IMPORTANT: Your email will be shared with the sponsor of this giveaway, your entry is your permission for us to do so. As a result, your email MUST be included in your entry!

Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Tuesday, February 23, 2010 until Monday, March 15, 2010 at 11:59 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you already have our button, just let us know, you will still get extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow me @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter (this is ascendingbutterfly’s editor) and give me your Twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet this: #ascendingbutterfly + @ElliottLucca Designer Handbag #Giveaways! Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ #win here - http://tinyurl.com/ykm2yhm

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here).

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Elliott Lucca (and don't forget to write on their wall that Ascending Butterfly sent you!) on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ -To welcome our new fans to Facebook we are offering 20% off www.elliottlucca.com until 3/9. Please friend us on Facebook to receive the promo code!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @ElliottLucca on Twitter HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's Ning Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Subscribe to receive Ascending Butterfly emails using our Feedburner widget on the upper right hand side of the page below the follower thumbnail pictures! (If you are already a subscriber you will still receive extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - NEW METHOD OF EXTRA CREDIT, Ascending Butterfly is a nominee for the Bloggers Choice ’10 Awards in the ‘Best Blog About Stuff’ Category - http://bloggerschoiceawards.com/ Where it reads total votes, there is a yellow box that reads 'Vote' Press there to vote, you must be logged in to see the number increase/vote registered. You can also vote directly using the button located on our home page and below:

My site was nominated for Best Blog About Stuff!

And since I know savvy Ascending Butterfly Readers like 'TWOfer's' I just had to let you know that Elliott Lucca is hosting a great 'Book in a Bag' Giveaway HERE



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FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the product are expressly my own experiences. I was provided product to review and the sponsor is also fulfilling product to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of my experiences with this product.

Monday, February 22, 2010

I am an official General Hospital Brand Ambassador!


My first sick day many years ago when I was still a student resulted in my introduction to my mom's secret world of 'stories' and General Hospital was one of them. I got wrapped up in the story lines and couldn't wait to ask her about them when I got home from school.

I still watch to this day, thankfully Soapnet, Tivo and Cable have made it easier to watch them on MY schedule!

I wanted to alert you to an exciting General Hospital sweepstakes that’s currently being run on the Mom Central website. One lucky winner will be randomly selected to receive a trip to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital and have a walk-on role! The sweepstakes is open until February 28th. The sign up survey for this Sweepstakes can be found HERE

Would you like to become a Brand Ambassador too? Learn How!

How to join the General Hospital Brand Ambassador Group

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - All Brand Ambassadors are encouraged to join our private brand group. In this group, you’ll have the chance to interact with each other, Mom Central and the ABC Daytime Team. Here are the instructions for signing up for this group. There are several steps involved since it is a private group!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Make sure you have an account set up on MomCentral.com. If you do not have an account set up you can register here

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Whether you’re registering with the MomCentral.com website for the first time or are logging in to our new website for the first time since our makeover, please make sure to complete the entire registration process so that you will be able to fully participate in the General Hospital Brand Ambassador group.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - If you’ve lost your MomCentral.com password, here is how to reset your password: http://www.momcentral.com/go/password/recovery

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - If you are not already logged into Mom Central, go to the Mom Central homepage and click the “login” button at the top: http://momcentral.com/
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Once you are logged in, click the “My Profile” link in the top navigation bar to obtain your Profile URL. For example, here is Community Manager Adrienne’s profile URL: http://community.momcentral.com/adriennemomcentral




Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Copy and paste that link into an email and send it to generalhospitalmoms@momcentral.com with the subject line: Please invite me to join the General Hospital Brand Ambassador Group.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Once we receive your email with a link to your profile we will invite you to join the group.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - You will receive an email in the inbox of the email account you used to create your MomCentral.com profile. It will come from community.momcentral.com

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Open the email and click on the link. It will take you to your “Member Quick Links & Notification” section on MomCentral.com

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Click on the “Group Invites” link and “Accept” the invitation to General Hospital Brand Ambassador Group.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - You are now officially a member of the group! Here is the group URL: (remember, you will not be able to participate until you have completed the steps above):


I for one would be over the moon if I won, and I'd want my scene to be with Steve Burton who makes bad look oh so good as Mob Enforcer 'Jason Morgan' (formerly Jason Quartermaine). I can just picture the scene now.....a sultry, mysterious Lady Mob Enforcer rolls into town (played by ME of course) and has to go up against Jason in an all guns blazing fight....I'm thinking we both get away less worse for wear, this way I get to come back! Or maybe I'm sent to kill off Sam, Mu ha ha ha ha ha!

A hunky, handsome actor, Steve Burton gives the character of Jason the detachment and coldness needed to be a mob hit man. Burton, however, also portrays what goes on inside Jason Morgan - a loving heart aching to show itself. (inserting the words 'only to me' in my head,  pretend you didn't hear it!)

This Week's Juicy Storyline Topic of Discussion: Sonny’s trial for murder begins! One son is tormented when his father takes the fall for him while the other is called to stand to testify against his father.

What do you think is going to happen? Should Sonny take the rap for Michael?

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I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.

Monday, February 22, 2010 - Today's Words of Inspiration and Great Giveaways!


The Brass Ring is Still There

Do you remember back when you were young and rode on a merry-go-round? Did you try to reach for the Brass Ring? Did it often seem so close you thought you had it? Did you ride the Carousel each time hoping to grab the Brass Ring?

Life can often times feel like a Carousel, a constant up and down, with an endless round and round motion when you are just itching to move forward quickly and make faster progress toward your brass ring.

For each of us that Brass Ring is different. Our measures of satisfaction, success and personal fulfillment differ. But there is one constant, that we each have a brass ring uniquely our own and sometimes we can't reach it alone.

What is your Brass Ring?

I do know that the Brass Ring isn't going to fall from the sky and magically land in our laps. Despite the ups and downs, the moving farther away from it and then hurtling toward it again, it is still there. It is still within your grasp.

The how and the when is why we are here, just remember don't stop reaching out for it, one day you will get it. (Just make sure you are reaching for the right ring!)

This month has found me so much closer to my Brass Ring than I ever imagined I could be. It has given me the fuel to continue to press forward. I hope the daily words of inspiration shared here will bring you closer to your own brass rings!

Use 'Today's Words of Inspiration' as a breathing meditation to still your mind, quiet your thoughts and bring in positive energy. As you inhale bring in only positive energy by saying in your mind, I breathe in positive energy (or you can say creative energy if that is what you wish to create more of) and as you exhale, Affirm out loud today 'I reach for the brass ring with hope, optimism and enthusiasm daily!'

Spend some time each day enjoying focused breathing AND soul guided meditative visualization, in doing so, you can bring about amazing, profound and powerful changes in your life.

Visualize yourself manifesting something unique, guided by universal forces that emerge spontaneously from within your soul. Do this at least twice today and see how by taking a moment away from the hectic pace and breathing in positive energy and affirming what you wish to create, your thinking will become different.

Remember, attitude really does determine altitude.

It is OK to *Re-Tweet* the link to this post and You can find me (@Tracy_Iglesias) on Twitter here! Twitter love: re*tweet by copying and pasting the following into your update field:

OK to RT: @Tracy_Iglesias #ascendingbutterfly - Today's Words of #Inspiration and Great #Giveaways! - http://tiny.cc/n4Thx

Make this your best day ever, Bless and Be Blessed!

Don't forget to enter the great giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page! It's just our way of saying Thank You for choosing to spend part of your day with us. We are really happy you landed HERE! Don't forget to use the share button below any inspiration to stumble, digg, tweet or share with your friends on facebook and twitter! And if you want to share inspiration with other members, Ascending Butterfly has a NING group with real time chat HERE

ENDING SOON ALERT: Affordable Scarves Giveaway! TWO lucky Ascending Butterfly Readers can win the scarf of their choice including pashmina, cashmere and silk, the choice is YOURS, enter HERE!

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NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will not accept your entry. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!

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Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sunday, February 21, 2010 - This Week's 'Moment of Gratitude' and 4 giveaways (with SEVEN winners)!



On Sunday's, 'Today's Moment of Inspiration' becomes the weekly 'Moment of Gratitude'. While I do still live in Gratitude each and everyday, I decided to change this feature to a weekly to allow a full week of Inspirational messages and focused breathing meditations.

This week, I am grateful for:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I am very happy to share with everyone that I was the Grand Prize Winner in the One Meaning Poetry Contest! I just found out today and I am literally floating on Cloud 9. I should preface this by saying, my Poetry is the one thing I very rarely share with anyone and it took an incredible deal of courage just to muster up the guts to enter. And now the girl who rarely shares her poetry with anyone, will have her poetry turned into a special piece of jewelry to be shared with the world! If you'd like to read the poem and see the winner's announcement, visit HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Ascending Butterfly was given another Sunshine Award today! This time we were nominated by Traci at 38 and Growing, you can see her great post HERE - It's fun spreading sunshine! Thanks Traci, we love your blog too!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I am grateful to report that Ascending Butterfly is a nominee in the Blogger's Choice Awards '10 in the 'Best Blog About Stuff' Category, Please vote for us!

Where it reads total votes, there is a yellow box that reads 'Vote' Press there to vote, you must be logged in to see the number increase/vote registered. You can also vote directly using the button located on our home page and below:

My site was nominated for Best Blog About Stuff!

Your vote is appreciated, winning this category will bring Ascending Butterfly the recognition that will help us attract bigger sponsors and offer more prizes to our loyal readers! This is not a daily, it's a one time vote only.

What are you grateful for today? I'd love for you to write in and share what you are grateful for this week. The more you say it, the more you speak it, and the more you live in gratitude, the more you will find reasons to be grateful for. So join me on this journey of gratitude and inspiration. And you can post here daily (even though my list will be posted weekly).

Remember, attitude really does determine altitude.

It is OK to *Re-Tweet* the link to this post and You can find me (@Tracy_Iglesias) on Twitter here! Twitter love: re*tweet by copying and pasting the following into your update field at Twitter:

OK to RT: @Tracy_Iglesias This Week's 'Moment of Gratitude' and Great giveaways! - http://tiny.cc/n4Thx

Make this your best day ever, Bless and Be Blessed!

Don't forget to enter the great giveaways on the upper right hand side of the page! We will be offering multiple giveaways all throughout 2010! It's just our way of saying Thank You for choosing to spend part of your day with us. We are really happy you landed HERE!

ENDING SOON ALERT: Affordable Scarves Giveaway! TWO lucky Ascending Butterfly Readers can win the scarf of their choice including pashmina, cashmere and silk, the choice is YOURS, enter HERE!

For those of you who are interested in keeping a gratitude journal this year, here is my recommendation and a direct link to purchase it:


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NOTE: Readers have asked us to make entering the contests and giveaways, faster and easier. Your wish is our command! We have moved our 'Today's Butterfly - Featured Site(s) of the day, which is where we host our giveaways, to the upper right hand side of the page. It will be located here from now on to make entering the giveaways faster and easier. Keep the suggestions coming, remember we also have a NING group with real time chat, you can give us your comments and suggestions in REAL time, how cool is that?

NOTE 2: Twitter followers: please remember you must also follow Ascending Butterfly using Google friends connect on the upper right hand side of the page for your entries to be processed. And remember if your profile does not have an email and you don't leave your email in your entry, we will have no way of informing you if you win, and we will have to select another winner. Make sure your entry or your profile have your email address!

Just a helpful Reminder: How to Follow Using Google Friends Connect:

Please look to the upper right hand side, where the follower pictures are. (Note the number of followers before you start this process)

1) press the follow button - the google pop up wizard will open, this is not an ad and your pop up blocker will not block it

2) tick the option that reads 'follow this blog publicly' once that button is selected, hit follow again - it should now read 'you are now following'

3) if the follower count went up you know you did it succesfully, if your profile has a picture, that picture will be the first one on the left side. If your profile doesn't have one, it should still be searchable on the members list. (Remember, following a blog, does NOT subscribe you to receive emails, you have to subscribe separately to do that, you will not receive emails for following)

Are you getting the dreaded 'Your Entry Can't Be Processed' message when leaving an entry or comment? Before hitting enter, highlight your comment and COPY it. If you get that message after hitting enter and your comment is still there, just ignore the message and hit enter again, then you will get a screen with a captcha code, enter the captcha code, then submit and VOILA. If after you hit the submit button the first time, you get the dreaded message and the comment 'disappeared' no worries, that's why I asked you to copy it in the first step. Paste it back in and submit again. This has worked for me when comment boxes have glitched on me, and I hope it helps you too!


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Friday, February 19, 2010

MOR Cosmetics Review and Giveaway! 3 Winners!

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor MOR Cosmetics, We look forward to working with you again! Congratulations to *'CherylS22', * 'Pat' and *'SkipTheLaundry' the confirmed winners of Ascending Butterfly's MOR Cosmetics Giveaway! *We post our winner's username/comment name instead of full name. Remember: There are still some great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!
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Ascending Butterfly Editor's Pick Sponsored By:



Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - My running theme this week has stemmed from a burning desire to escape the bitter cold, snowy and icy' not-so-wonderland' that is New York this week! With technology challenges that include my laptop being in the shop for repair and spotty connections with my ISP, my daydreams of warm, sun-drenched and sandy beaches are pretty much all consuming at this point.

And then along comes my friends at MOR Cosmetics to the rescue! While they didn't send me on the caribbean vacay of my dreams, they did the next best thing to it, they sent me some goodies to try out that transported me with a sensory delight of aromatherapy that nearly did take me to the tropics!

MOR is a line of divinely inspired skincare, spa and body products that draws inspiration from the far corners of the globe. It was during a trip to India in 2001 to source fabrics for their homeware line that Melbourne based founders Dianna Burmas and Deon Iuretigh fell in love with the endless possibilities of blending traditional and contemporary ingredients to create an array of fragrances and beauty products. Deciding to channel all their energies into a new line of body products, they created MOR Cosmetics. With over 350 products today, the line has a cult like following and is sold in some of the world's hippest boutiques. Mor offers a range of products from bath oils and foams, body wash and scrubs, soothing massage oils, richly emollient hand and body creams, and lovely soaps and candles.

I tried out the Lychee Flower Soap, it's a MOR Cosmetics best-seller and for very good reason, the scent is hypnotic, and it instantly conjures up images of a warm beach, flowers in your hair and the sun on your skin, yes folks, it's THAT good!



And don't get me started on the packaging! It's so beautiful that it took me forever to open it because I didn't want to destroy the paper! But I know I have to do the 'hard' stuff so you don't have to, and while I did open it very carefully, the scent permeated the air in the bathroom in such a way that it rivals some of the finest candles I've purchased!

These are stunners, perfect to display in your powder room and your guest bathroom as well. (Why do guests always get the good stuff?) These are also fabulous hostess gifts!

I also had the pleasure of trying out the Snow Gardenia Body Butter. I am pretty picky when it comes to my body butters. I like them to be rich (not too thick, no too thin), to be super-hydrating (especially in winter since it's so cold and windy here that the weather tends to dry out my skin) and I like scent, I like to know it's there (not too much as to offend the 'noses' working around me but enough to know I have something special on!) and I am pleased to report, Mor definitely exceeded my body butter expectations. And that's not so easy to do!


Again, note the beautiful packaging! It's already ready for gift giving! Gentlemen take note, that special lady in your life will absolutely LOVE this! This is vanity worthy packaging for sure. Don't you just love the silk damask inspired packaging?

WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at Mor Cosmetics would like to provide 3 lucky Ascending Butterfly Followers a Lychee Flower Soap! (Don't you just ♥ Mor Cosmetics?)

How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and (2) Visit Mor Cosmetics and pick another soap (other than the one being reviewed and given away!)  that you like and leave the LINK to that soap in your comment entry! (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com). (If your email is clearly visible in your profile, you can just say so, that's OK!) Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning! This giveaway is open to USA residents who are 18 years of age or older.

Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Friday, February 19, 2010 until Friday, February 26, 2010 at 11:59 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you already have our button, just let us know, you will still get extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow me @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter (this is ascendingbutterfly’s editor) and give me your Twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet this: #ascendingbutterfly + @MORcosmetics 3 winners - bestselling lychee flower soap #Giveaways! Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ #win here - http://tinyurl.com/yjubsuu

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here). You can Tweet ONCE A DAY. If you Tweet more than that, that entry will be disqualified.)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow MOR cosmetics (and don't forget to write on their wall that Ascending Butterfly sent you!) on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @MORcosmetics on Twitter HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's Ning Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Subscribe to receive Ascending Butterfly emails using our Feedburner widget on the upper right hand side of the page below the follower thumbnail pictures! (If you are already a subscriber you will still receive extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - NEW METHOD OF EXTRA CREDIT, Ascending Butterfly is a nominee for the Bloggers Choice ’10 Awards in the ‘Best Blog About Stuff’ Category - http://bloggerschoiceawards.com/ You can press the button below to go straight to the page where Ascending Butterfly has been nominated!

My site was nominated for Best Blog About Stuff!

Didn't win? Purchase Mor Cosmetics online for less here:


















˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the product are expressly my own experiences. I was provided product to review and the sponsor is also fulfilling product to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of my experiences with this product.