Yoplait Yo-Plus Review and Gift Bag Giveaway

I got a chance to try Yoplait's new Yoplus yogurt this week. Having tried other yogurts offering to help my digestive health, I was expecting something less than lovely. I had a nice surprise when I opened the top and started to eat my cherry yogurt. Good flavor and nice texture. A nice change from others I have tried.

I give it an A+.


You can go download a coupon for $1.50 off a 4-pack of Yoplus yogurt. Isn't that generous of them?

If you go to the Yo-Plus website you can take their survey, sign up for their email newsletter, get another coupon for $1.00, and learn how it works, among other things.

With probiotics, 3 grams of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin D you can not really go wrong, can you? We women need to take care of ourselves. There are not a lot of ways to both treat and take care of yourself. What better way to do it than with a tasty snack which is also good for you?
Yoplait has been generous enough to say I can choose three of you to win one of these gift bags. It's a good-sized bag, with a 32 oz. water bottle, a notebook, and a coupon for a free 4-pack of Yoplus. Good stuff, all of it!

Here is how you can enter to win:

-For one entry, tell me how you are trying to maintain good health.

-For one entry, go fill out the quick survey at the yoplait site. Come here and leave a comment saying you did.

-For one entry sign up for the Yoplait newsletter. Leave a comment here saying you did.

-For one entry sign up for my email updates or for RSS feeds. Leave a comment saying you did.

-For one entry tweet about this giveaway. Leave a comment with a link to your tweet. You may do this daily if you wish. Write your own tweet or here is a tweet you can use:

"YoPlait Yo-Plus Gift Bag Giveaway @ If You Could See What I See http://tinyurl.com/d2tw5l go enter! Please RT"

-For one entry follow me on blogger and leave a comment saying you did.

-For one entry fave me on technorati, digg, kirtsy, stumble, facebook link, etc. this giveaway and leave a comment saying you did.

-For 5 entries blog about this giveaway. Leave 5 comments for your 5 entries.

That's a lot of entries, right? But if you really want to win and you can think of other great methods of entry go for it. Be sure to leave a comment here.

The three winners will be drawn some time on April 1st. If you get your entry in by the time I do the drawing, you are in on time. I think this is U.S. entries only.

**My friend Jessica was also giving away 3 Yoplait Gift bags. It ended March 30th. If you entered hers you can give yourself another entry in mine. **

***I will now being doing this drawing by hand since I forgot my own rules (yay, me!) and deleted what I thought were accidental extra comments. You will get 5 comments for blogging, even if I mistakenly erased your comments. Sorry. I'm just that brilliant sometimes.

Omni California Plaza, Los Angeles

From the moment we arrived at the Omni California Plaza we were treated like valued guests. Considering we booked our trip on Priceline, let's just say I was not expecting this. Sometimes you book a trip online at a discount site and the hotel treats you less than stellar. Not the case with the Omni California Plaza.

Omni Hotels have what they call a Select Guest Program. Go enroll, you'll thank me later. Because we enrolled in Select guest before we went, they knew our preferences. Corner room, check. High Floor, check. King bed, check. Quiet room, check. Newspaper of choice, in our case the NY Times, check. But that's not all! They also brought the Los Angeles Times every morning. You can be catered to in other ways as a select guest as well. Pillow preference, Smoking vs. non, near elevator or away, etc. There are just too many options to list here. Registration is free, so go check it out yourself.
My favorite part of being in the Select Guest Program was the complimentary drinks (your choice of one hot & one cold drink per guest) they sent up in the morning. We always chose the hot chocolate and the orange juice because they were both out of this world. I don't know how to duplicate their hot chocolate or I would - every morning. And with a quick search I've found this! (Hey, sometimes it pays to click my links and just see what I'm talking about, folks) Another wish granted, courtesy of Omni hotels.

Our location was great, the view was great, the room was great, and the staff was very accomodating. When I say the view was great - even though we were in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, we could see the Hollywood sign from our room.

If you are staying in Los Angeles, I definitely recommend this hotel.

About The Poll

I had this poll in my sidebar:

You find a company with a WONDERFUL product. You write a complimentary email, which is understating it, and they send you back a rude email. Do you recommend their product to others?

There were exactly 50 responses.

45 of you (90%) said "No"
5 of you (10%) said "Yes"

Thank you for helping me out. A few of you asked if this was a hypothetical situation or if it really happened. It really happened. I was so torn because the product was A++, but the dude doesn't know how to talk to people. And it's not a big company. I'm not sure how many people they employ, but I know they make their own products and have one store. For all I know this guy is an owner/co-owner. They are hoping to build internet business. Because I loved their product I was about to 1: order a lot and 2: talk about it a lot, in a lot of places. Then I got the email and wondered if I would have been happier not knowing about this product/these people in the first place. After all, if this is how someone treats customers who are ready to spread the word about them when they are hoping to build business through word of mouth, how will they treat everyone else? What if, God forbid, someone had an actual complaint? Do I want to send people to be treated poorly? After all, the world doesn't really need their product. (Although I do contend I am happier with it than without it. Considerably happier.)

After the poll I have decided not to direct any business to their company. I'm sort of sad about it, because I was so excited. Most people seem to feel it is better this way. And since I was so torn I am going with public opinion on this one. I will not have anything negative to say about them. Not publicly anyway. My friends read the letter when I first got it since I could not believe it and thought maybe I was taking it wrong. They agreed it was out of line.

I ordered their product again. I will order from them in the future. They are that good. I just wont be shouting from the rooftops "Hey, this is the best _________ ever!"

Thank you for your help.

By the way, do you have a good company you can recommend? Please share. It can be an Etsy artisan, a huge company, a mom & pop shop. Whatever impresses you.

Congratulations, Flip Notes Winners!

Here are the two Flip Notes winners:

Carolyn G. - Emerald Flip Notes

Josie - Wild Green Flip Notes

Congratulations! I will be contacting each of you shortly.

Look for a new giveaway in the next couple of days.

World's Best Husband Meets World's Greatest Lover.

My husband has appreciated Ray Bradbury since he was very young. He would take his books in his backpack to make Boy Scout camp outs tolerable. The stories affected him in many ways. One thing it did was give him a love for the United States. I think because of Ray Bradbury I am the luckiest girl in the world. Without him, I may have never known my husband.

Every once in a while over the past few years my husband would announce to me that Ray Bradbury was having a speaking engagement at this or that place. He would say he really should go. There were always reasons why he did not go. Usually it came down to there being so many responsibilities he just did not think he should do it. In February there was another speaking event. In Los Angeles. This is where I pull down the map of the U.S. just like Tom Hanks did in Sleepless in Seattle and start counting states out loud. Ohio is not right next door to California by any stretch of the imagination. I knew my husband was waiting for me to tell him why it would be imprudent to make the journey. But this time I did not indulge that particular fantasy. This time I encouraged him to go. I found us a really great deal on airfare and hotel and off we went!

We arrived early to Sierra Madre High School. Two hours early. Just in case, you know? There was no way we were going to miss this. We walked around the town and into lovely shops with even lovelier shopkeepers. After an enchanting walk around the town we headed back to the high school and took a seat in their quaint auditorium.

Ray was introduced, and he began to speak. I wasn't expecting to be wowed by him. I am not sure exactly what I expected. Someone impersonal and formal, talking about writing in some mundane way. What an unexpected treat we had when Mr. Bradbury spoke! I guess the first thing he did which was unexpected happened before he even spoke. They had a table set up on stage for him to sit behind to give his talk. He asked them to remove it. I found it charming that he wanted to be more intimate with us. I wont tell you what he said, although I might add a video if I can work it out. He has a great sense of humor and an absolute love of life. He's the kind of guy we could sit up with late at night, talking about all sorts of things. He would be great fun in a game of "Apples to Apples." He would likely not be impressed with my writing skills. But then, neither are you. So what?

My husband had some communication with a man named John. I don't know John's last name, I just knew to look for the guy with the dragon pin on his lapel. He helped me make my husband's dream come true that night. So John with the dragon pin on your lapel, wherever you are, I love you. And thank you. I know that's not enough, but It's all I have right now.

My husband was grinning like a ten year old birthday boy getting a table full of dreams as Mr. Bradbury spoke. It all went by way too fast. Mr. Bradbury got a much deserved standing ovation by a loving crowd. When it was over they announced he would sign a book for the first 100 people who got in line. I pushed my husband saying "Go! GO! GO!" This is not typical behavior for me, but he'd brought a handful of books and all his hopes with him to California and I was not going to let him leave disappointed. He got his book signed. In the end everyone there got a book signed. Mr. Bradbury didn't let a soul go home disappointed. Least of all my husband. *nod to John again

I'll give you a very brief, quite surprising synopsis of what Mr. Bradbury said:
College - no.
Libraries - yes.
He gave himself the title "World's Greatest lover."

*Check out my other blog to see how I molested Ray Bradbury!

Quote Of The Week

My dear son, Zachary said this to me a couple of days ago:

"Yes, I'm going to be a doctor and all you're going to have is your little blog. And I'm not going to give you any drugs."

Punk. I swear, I have not asked him for drugs. I don't even think I was about to ask him for drugs. And I might feel inclined to add I don't ask people for drugs on any type of a regular basis. Not even my doctor. Honestly, the kid is a wise-guy. I have no idea where it gets it.

Would it be wrong to have a contest to see who gets to torment him for me, should I ever decide to give myself a well deserved vacation from him? I will fire up the Contest Machine right now!

Just Make Me Soft & Smooth, Please.

Here are, in no particular order, some great cosmetics I use all the time:

Mary Kay Satin Hands - Nothing I've ever seen compares to this quick but lovely system.
Mary Kay Satin Lips - I can take or leave the balm, but the mask is a must-have.
Lancome La Base Pro - Makes my face feel the softest ever. This is wonderful beyond words.
High Résolution Eye Collaser-5X - Makes my eyes stop the puffy and takes away wrinkles.
High Résolution Collaser-5X - Vacuums out my wrinkles. Hooray!
Absolue Ultimate Night Bx - BIG difference overnight. Seriously!
High Résolution Refill-3X - Great moisturizer. Feels good, not greasy.
High Résolution Night Refill-3X -Another night miracle maker.
Tweezerman Lash Comb - You must have this. No other lash comb compares. At all.
Softlips - I've tried all kinds of lip stuff and I like this the very best. Tubes are everywhere!

You'll Flip For This Giveaway! Affordable Luxury

Would you like to get to the grocery store with your list intact? Typical notepads get worn and dirty around the edges. Besides, who wants to carry spiral wire in her purse anyway? Not me. Carry Flip Notes instead. They are just as lightweight as any other little notebook. Your paper is not only protected top and bottom, but on all four sides with their unique design. The pen holds the whole thing together. What a clever way to make sure your pen is always with your notebook. Flip Notes gives you a way to express yourself with about fifty stylish varieties.

I first found Flip Notes at Miss Molly's Tea Room in Medina, Ohio during the Christmas shopping season of 2006. I bought one (along with a package of paper refills) for my friend right then because I thought they were so neat.

I'm sure right about now you are thinking you want Flip Notes yourself. Well of course you do. I know that! So does Flip Note Fan. Which is why Flip Note Fan sent me three of these. One for me, two for you. I took the pink one pictured up top. It's my favorite of all the Flip Note designs. Although, if you are looking for gift ideas feel free to buy me the pink ribbon one or the XOXO design in red. Don't stop there, one to match each purse would be nifty!

Oh, right... this was supposed to be about you now. Here are the two Flip Notes I have to give away:

Emerald Wild Green

I am going to give you a bunch of ways to enter this giveaway.

First, in order to enter you must go to Wellspring's site and come back and tell me which Flip Notes variety is your favorite. This is the mandatory first entry. If you fail to do this none of your other entries will count. Besides, they have a lot of nice things over there. Take a look and think about Mother's Day, birthdays, and even Christmas. This would be a great item to keep on hand for those "Oh no!" gift giving times. When you need a nice little gift at the last moment, grab one of your Flip Notes. At a price of only $9.99, it is definitely an affordable luxury.

Okay, on to the additional entries. Since I know you love these, I'll offer a bunch. Be sure to leave a comment for each additional entry.

For one additional entry, tell me which of the giveaway colors you prefer. Grand prize winner will get their choice of color if they have done this.
For one additional entry, vote in my poll.
For one additional entry, subscribe to my blog in a reader.
For one additional entry, follow my blog on Blogger.
For one additional entry, follow Flip Note Fan on Twitter.
For one additional entry, fave me on Technorati and share the link in your comment.
For one additional entry, email friends about this giveaway and cc me. tammigirl at gmail *dot* com.
For one additional entry, leave a Tweet at Twitter. Please give your twitter name and link to your tweet in your comment. You may do this each day if you wish. Please leave a new comment here each time for your extra entry.

For two additional entries add the url to this contest to your Facebook page. Leave the link to your profile in your comment. (Leave two comments to get your two entries)

For five additional entries blog about this contest with a link back to this giveaway. Leave the url to your post in your comment. (Leave five comments to get your five entries)

If you can think of something else to do for extra entries, go ahead and give it a try. I will not bite. I promise.

U.S. entries only, please. This contest will be open through Monday, March 16th. I will draw on Tuesday. If you get your entry in before I do the draw, you are in.

Good Luck!