My Annual Contest & Sweepstakes Thank You!

My six faithful readers know that I am a Terrible Sweeper/Contest Enterer, and that as a year ends I like to thank the wonderful companies and organizations who have made my wins possible! My sweeping hobby started 15 years ago when I entered Oil of Olay's "My Most Romantic Summer" Contest and won it- and a fabulous, luxe trip for Dan and I to the Golden Door Spa in Arizona! And I immediately thought: "I can do this!" LOL I began entering sweeps and contests with a passion bordering on OCD, mostly in the wee hours, night after night, when many of my friends were playing Farmville or Candy Crush. And they laughed at me... until I started winning more trips with plane tickets! To date I've won us 6 trips, including ones to Israel, Vietnam and Chile, as well as to San Diego, hot-air ballooning and wine-tasting in Virginia, and that first one to Arizona! I've also won a number of business contests for the Elkhorn Inn, including this year's SCORE Business Championship Award, as well as other truly splendid things, such as $1000 handbags, $500 shoes, fine jewelry, and a Big Green Egg smoker for Chef Dan- things that, honestly, we never would have been able to enjoy, otherwise!
One of the coolest things about "sweeping" is that in the process of entering to win things, you learn about products you didn't know about, and if you're lucky, you get to try them for free! And if not, you often go and buy them, anyway! (The down-side is you learn about new products you really want- things you didn't even know existed 5 minutes before. LOL)  
And so on to this year's Thank Yous:

The Absolute BIGGEST win of all this year was the Elkhorn Inn & Theatre winning the SCORE Business Championship for West Virginia! I only learned of the contest about a week before it ended, and right before our February vacation! I wrote up the story of our Inn and why I believed it to be a unique business, and submitted it, knowing that our entry had to get 100 votes to even be considered... and while Dan drove us to Florida, I Facebooked and Tweeted on my mobile incessantly, urging people to please vote for us, in the hope that I'd get that 100 votes! Amazingly, in one week we had over 10,600 votes- and we won! The Elkhorn Inn was awarded a $1000 gift certificate for Sam's Club, and we used it to get Chef Dan a brand new refrigerator, and I received an all-expense-paid trip to Houston, Texas to attend the SCORE Business Champion Awards Ceremony and Training, as well! The day the winners were announced, WVVA News television turned up at the Elkhorn Inn, and the amazing outpouring of wonderful media coverage for the Inn, and for our 15 years of promoting McDowell County, West Virginia tourism, has been nothing short of fabulous! We were covered by WVVA News television five times, for everything from planting our Sunflower Meadow, to having Mark Twain at the Inn this fall; we were featured on Hoppy Kercheva's Talkline Radio (thanks, in great measure, to Homer Hickam), there were articles on the Elhorn Inn on the Trains Magazine Blog and ATV Illustrated, features on the West Virginia Tourism website, and the Inn was featured as  one of the Top Ten Most Romantic Getaways for Seniors, and one of the Top Eight Fly Fishing Getaways, too! I even got myself a "Business Champion" Pink Satin Sash to celebrate! :-)

Elisse receiving the Business Champion Award

Elisse & Chef Dan at Sam's Club, Bluefield, VA

The Business Champion Award Winners in Texas

Chef Dan taking delivery of our new fridge!

Elisse in her "Business Champion" sash!

Last year I wrote about my mother having successfully beaten breast cancer more than 20 years ago for the "Tough Enough To Wear Pink" campaign for breast cancer awareness, and this year I was gifted with a gorgeous pair of "Tough Enough To Wear Pink" Cowboy Boots by Twisted X Boots. I wore them in Texas on a FEMA disaster response deployment, and, amazingly, a lot of big, tough Texas men complimented me on my "great boots"- and they ALL knew they were for Breast Cancer Awareness!

Wearing my Twisted X Boots in Texas on a FEMA deployment

I won a delicious Bokksu Box of Japanese treats and teas, including the fabulous Green Tea Kit Kats I'd been Dyyyying to try! Bokksu is unlike any other Japanese snack box! They are totally in love with Japanese snacks, and they craft truly authentic Japanese gourmet experiences for  Members around the world. Their collections are sourced directly from artisanal producers in Japan, and you won't find their delicious snacks and teas anywhere else! If you love all things Japanese like I do, you will LOVE Bokksu!

This year I won a number of fine beauty products and cosmetics, and perhaps there's a message in there somewhere... LOL

Kerasilk from Elle

Orogold

Revlon Matte Lipsticks also from Elle

Vichy Winter Skin Care

Beessential Body Care

One of the loveliest things I won this year was a Body Care Gift Tin from Beessential  and having now discovered them, these are Definitely products I'll be buying again, both for myself and gifts! Beessential makes natural skin care products by hand from start to finish, from their own bee hives! They uses fresh, pure honey, beeswax and Propolis from their family farm in Ohio, and blend them with other natural ingredients, such as Coconut, Olive & Virgin Hemp Oils. They make everything themselves, and all their natural body washes, body creams and hair care products are free of harsh chemicals like sulfates, parabens and PEG.

Vera Bradley Backpack

Thanks to being a "Crowdtapper", I often get to try new products, many of which I've grown to love. This year my favorite was Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Honeysuckle Essential Oil Body Wash, which smells and feels DIVINE! Mrs. Meyers makes bath and household products with essential oils from flowers and herbs that not only smell fabulous, they really work! They have a gazillion garden-fresh scents, too, include Lavender, Lemon Verbena, Basil, Geranium and many, many others!

Mrs. Meyer's Honeysuckle Essential Oil Body Wash

I was sent a stylish Vera Bradley backpack from Vogue, for being an "Influencer" :-)















Most recently I won a really fabulous $250 gift certificate for custom-made pillows from The Pillow Collection   thanks to Havenly, and I am truly excited about this, as I have wanted outdoor pillows for the Inn's front porch for a long time! This was a Great Hanukkah present, and picking out pillows will be my Spring Decorator Fun!

  

PUR "Love Your Selfie2" Makeup Palette

I won a Fabulous "Love Your Selfie 2" makeup palette from Pur Cosmetics! 

 

Flight 001

This was a GREAT win for a gal who travels a lot- both for business, such as FEMA disaster response operations, and for pleasure with Dan when I can! Flight 001  is, literally, a one-stop shop for the traveler, with luggage, bags, adapters, in-flight comforts, bottles, containers, Spacepaks, Go Clean, Seatpaks, and other cool travel things! I won Spacepacks, among other things, and they are so great!

Yeti Tumbler

I also won a YETI tumbler- and let me tell you, this is No Ordinary Tumbler! This is a $30 Tumbler with a captial T and a BACKSTORY! This Tumbler is a LIFESTYLE! This Tumbler is an Aspirational Tumbler! It's the Entry Level Product on your way up to the $1299 Yeti Tundra Cooler! While I was deployed to Texas, I had the chance to visit the "home" of Yeti, their Official Flagship store in Austin, where I got 2 hats as an award for having eaten my sticky-fingered way thru Texas, getting stamps in my "BBQ Passport" along the way!

Me, doing the Yeti Beer Thing in Austin!

Arrow Rivet Gun

And finally, I managed to win something for Dan- and at Christmas time, too: an Arrow Rivet Gun! And it even came with rivets! This is probably THE ONLY TOOL that DIY Dan didn't have, and he was thrilled!

Mrs. Meyer’s Bodywash: Garden-inspired cleansers I love!

Many of you know that I am a bit of a “garden fanatic”, always looking for new herbs, flowers, and veggies to plant in our garden at the Elkhorn Inn, and thanks to being a member of Crowdtap, I recently had the opportunity to sample (and now review) a great garden-inspired product:  Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Honeysuckle Body Wash! http://www.mrsmeyers.com/honeysuckle-body-wash/ I have to say that I am Very glad I got to try it, because I’ve now found a new product- and a new line of products- that I really love and will be buying more of! The natural, garden-inspired fragrance of the Bodywash is really delicious- naturally sweet honeysuckle, not cloying or chemical-smelling, and I love the way it leaves my skin feeling:  smooth, silky, and really clean! I use it in the bath, as well as the shower, because while I find a shower invigorating, at night I really love to soak in a hot, fragrant tub before I go to bed to really relax myself! And I've found that Mrs. Meyer’s Honeysuckle Body Wash is a lovely way to do just that, and go to bed clean and fragrant!

Mrs Meyers Bodywash on my tub...

 Another great plus, is that Mrs. Meyer’s Bodywashes are really inexpensive- a big 16 oz. bottle is only $7.99! (They also have a really good coupon on the website right now:  http://www.mrsmeyers.com/) I do wish that a store in our area (southern West Virginia or Bluefield Virginia), such as Walmart, carried Mrs. Meyer’s products, but as they don’t, we’ll be ordering online…) The Honeysuckle Bodywash contains Aloe Vera Gel, which softens the skin, and a unique blend of essential oils, including flax-seed oil.  It makes a delicate foam that really rinses clean, and leaves my skin smooth and soft.  And it’s been terminologically-tested to be gentle on the skin, as well.

How it arrived from Crowdtap!

Mrs. Meyer’s products are made with essential oils and are truly garden-inspired, and as I am BIG into gardening and love natural scents (who wouldn’t?!), for me this is a major plus!  They have a lot of great garden-inspired cleaning products, such as household cleaners, laundry products, and air fresheners, as well as body and hand care products, and now that I have experienced the lovely scent of the Honeysuckle Body Wash I want to try them all! Check out this list of the natural scents of their cleaning products : Basil, Lavender, Lemon Verbena, Geranium, Sunflower, Rosemary, Bluebell, Radish Honeysuckle, Apple, Watermelon, Parsley, Rhubarb, Baby Blossom, Peony, and Lilac! Don’t these sound wonderful? They’re definitely not the “run of the mill” or chemicals scents you usually find in cleansers and cleaning products! Top of my list to try are Basil, Sunflower, Radish, Watermelon, and Parsley! Check out their webpage here for info on all their different scents: http://www.mrsmeyers.com/scent/

Mrs Meyer’s products are made with essential oils from flowers and herbs- which I love (I even have an essential oil diffuser on my desk next to my computer!), and so they not only smell nice, they really work hard, and are great cleaners! Other very good things are that Mrs. Meyer’s products are “earth-friendly”, not tested on animals, and their products don’t have chlorine bleach, ammonia, petroleum distillates, parabens, phosphates or phthalates. Yay!

Another thing I love about Mrs. Meyer’s, is Thelma Meyer herself! She is the inspiration behind the products: a down-to earth Iowa homemaker and a real, live person! I like her philosophy of being “perfectly imperfect”-  I guess because heaven knows I’m imperfect! LOL  As she says: cleaning is something that just has to get done, so if you can make cleaning more pleasant, why wouldn't you? My sentiments, exactly!

The Mrs. Meyer’s website is really neat, too, because it doesn’t just advertise their products; they have a great “DIY” page with a lot of nifty craft ideas:  http://www.mrsmeyers.com/do-it-yourself-projects/

I also follow their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrsmeyerscleanday/  and Pinterest page, as both have lots of neat ideas, too: https://www.pinterest.com/mrsmeyersclean/

One of the great things Mrs. Meyer’s does is sponsor “green” projects, and this year they are sponsoring events on Plant Something Day, May 19. In Chicago, Illinois and Austin, Texas they will be planting and gardening with the American Community Gardening Association, and online they will be donating $5 for each MrsMeyers.com order between May 15^th  and June 5^th to the ACGA, up to $10,500- AND each order will also come with a little something to help you get your own garden growing- while supplies last, so hurry up and order! How cool is that?! We will Definitely be planting something on Plant Something Day at the Elkhorn Inn- probably our Sunflower Meadow, as well as herbs and veggies! Will you be taking part, too? Did Mrs. Meyer's inspire you to do something "green"? Tell me in the comments! http://www.mrsmeyers.com/our-story/garden-inspired-giving/

Hot pepper plants for the garden!

Our Sunflower Meadow across from the Elkhorn Inn

 

I'm a #CoolAger! Thanks, Philosophy, for pointing that out!

Thanks to being a Crowdtapper- a member of Crowdtap- I recently had the opportunity to try Philosophy's "uplifting miracle worker moisturizer"- their "cool-lift & firm moisturizer for face & neck". 

I'm a #CoolAger, all right!

At 57 (I'm a #Boomer born in 1959), I Do like to think of myself as a #CoolAger - one who at least tries not to let anything stop her, and for whom age is only a number! My mom is THE ULTIMATE #CoolAger- at 94, and a WWII US Army #Veteran, she is a 165 avg. bowler and a Great golfer (see photos below), as well as a professional artist- and a 20-year breast #cancer survivor/thriver! She has been my Cool Aging Inspiration for many, many years- my whole life, actually- and as a result, I have a lot to live up to in the Cool Aging Department! LOL

My belief is that being able to be a #CoolAger, and to keep doing the things you love and want to do, depends a lot on genes- and I'm counting on having my mother's! But it is also an attitude, and a determination not to "let the turkeys get you down", as the expression goes! I HATE when people advise others not to do the things they love and want to do because of their age! As long as you want to and enjoy doing the "crazy" things you've always loved to do, keep doing them!! For me, being a #CoolAger is also doing what ever I can to make myself both look and feel good, and as youthful as possible. No, barring a miracle, I'm not gonna look 35 again (dang! LOL), but I can strive to look as good as possible. Living now in Extremely Rural West Virginia (as opposed to NYC, where I'm from and lived for many years), means I don't have access to monthly facials and spas and shopping, and such, so I really have to do it all myself! I don't wear makeup every day now, either, so it's important to me that my skin look as good as it possibly can without makeup. I do a lot of research on natural medicine, which I rely upon for my health, and I take Ayurveda (Indian) herbs every day as they really do make a difference in how I look and feel. And as an Official Anti-Aging Beauty Product Junkie, I am Always looking for the newest, best, and most 'cutting edge' anti-aging beauty products to hold back the hands of time (at least visually LOL), and so I was really excited to try Philosophy's "uplifting miracle worker moisturizer", as it promises, in only 4 weeks, to make one's skin feel more firm with a better bounce, with one's facial contours appearing more sculpted, youthful and defined. In 8 weeks, 75% of the women who sampled it showed a clinical improvement in skin firmness, radiance, and texture! That is pretty darn impressive!

I've used a number of Philosophy products in the past and have always been pleased with them, and I was pleased with this one, too! (Thank you, Crowdtap!)

I really like the way the uplifting miracle worker moisturizer feels when I apply it- it's cool and lightly firming. You can see from the photo of me applying it, that my skin has a nice, smooth sheen to it. It's absorbed quickly into my skin, my face does feel soft and hydrated all day, I've experienced no breakouts or other issues, and my makeup goes on smoothly on top of it. It is a great moisturizer! To be honest, however, I was, frankly, expecting more... more visible anti-aging results, faster, I guess, especially as it's $65 and not an inexpensive product... I am using it on my face, neck, and decollete, twice a day, and I am going to continue using it to see if I get more "lifting" and "firming" results over time. Philosophy does suggest that for best results it should be used together with their "uplifting miracle worker instant-effect cool-lift & tightening moisturizer booster", which supposedly provides "instant results"...  and I want to try that, along with this moisturizer... Not cheap, but heck- I AM worth it! :-)  

My 94 year old mom- #CoolAger Extraordinaire!

My 94 year old mom playing golf last month...

As you can see, I received the full-size product to try from Crowdtap, which was great, because to see results with a product like this you really do have to give it a fair shot and some time to work- it's unfair to judge a product after only sampling it once or twice. I HEARTILY recommended joining Crowdtdap if you enjoy market research and giving your opinions on products- sometimes you get to try them, too!
SO: the bottom line is: YES, I really like Philosphy's uplifting miracle worker moisturizer, and the cool, firming feeling it gives, and the way my skin looks and feels after I've applied it, and YES, I'm going to keep using it! AND I'm going to lash out and buy the serum, too! :-)

Curel Hydra Therapy Wet Skin Moisturizer works for my Super dry skin!

Crowdtap sample of Curel Hydra Therapy Moisturizer

I have very dry skin, including "scaly" Psoriasis on my elbows and knees, which is why I was very excited when I was selected by Crowdtap to try Curel's HydraTherapy Wet Skin Moisturizer- and I was not disappointed! In Israel, at the Dead Sea, which clears Psoriasis in 30 days, we'd rub baby oil into our skin under the showers to keep our skin moisturized, and so I am familiar with the concept of wet-skin moisturizing, but Curel's moisturizer is SO much better than greasy baby oil! It's not greasy (like baby oil), and it's absorbed readily into my wet skin. It keeps my skin moisturized, soft, and smooth, and doesn't make me itch like so many other moisturizers I have tried! And I am going to keep using it!

As you can see from the photos, my arms and hands and elbows (as well as my knees) are now all nice and smooth! No redness, no flaky, dry skin, no scales! Just nice, smooth, normal, hydrated skin! I can wear sleeveless tops again! YAY! for Curel! This is really a Great product for anyone with dry skin! 

Applying Curel Hydra Therapy Moisturizer...

I keep my Curel Hydra Therapy Wet Skin Moisturizer in the bathroom on the sink, so it's ready for me when I get out of the tub! I use it every night after my bath, while my skin is warm and wet, and while I use it on my entire body, I focus on my arms and legs, as they are the driest- especially my knees and elbows, where I get "scaly" Psoriasis. I massage it in, and I don't towel off- I let it soak in. It's absorbed really quick, and it's not greasy, so there's no staining of clothing or sheets!

I have been Very pleased with all the Curel products I've tried so far (thanks to Crowdtap I was able to try their excellent "Itch Defense" products- Spray, Body Wash, and Moisturizer- products which I love and use regularly), but this is so far the best one yet!

As I've written before, Crowdtap is a great program if you are interested in giving your opinion about products, as well as being invited to sample and review them! Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments- and let me know if you've tried any Curel skin care products, and what you think of them!

RoC Multi-Correxion Night Cream & Eye Cream: The anti-aging babe's review!

I recently had the opportunity, as a member of Crowdtap, to sample two new RoC anti-aging skin care products: their MULTI CORREXION 5-in-1 Restoring Night Cream and RETINOLCORREXION Eye Cream, both of which I've now added to my daily skin care regimen.

As many of my readers know by now, I'm an Official "Anti-Aging Product Junkie", always interested in trying the latest and greatest new products in my quest for Eternal Youth! Yes, that's a bit of a LOL, but I am serious about trying to stave off the aging of my 57 year old face (and neck and chest and hands and- hell- all of me! LOL), and so I have been using a regimen of RoC anti-aging products for some time now. Back in February of this year I did a blog post on the RoC 5-in-1 Multi Correxion Chest, Neck & Face Cream, and the results were dramatic enough that I've continued to buy and use it:  http://southernwestvirginia.blogspot.com/2016/02/hows-my-neck-i-used-roc-multi-correxion.html 
So now, in addition to using Roc's 5-in-1 Multi Correxion Chest, Neck & Face Cream and Deep Wrinkle Serum, I've added their RoC's MULTI CORREXION 5-in-1 Restoring Night Cream and RETINOLCORREXION Eye Cream to my "arsenal" of anti-aging products, and I have to say that I'm pleased enough with both of them to go out and buy them once my samples are done! The night cream is light, but rich and very creamy, and I now use it every night, in place of another cream I was using. I like its moisturizing properties, and that a little goes a long way! The scent is very light and nice, as well, and it's not heavy, pore-clogging, or sticky. I've been using the eye cream morning and evening, also in place of another eye cream I was using, as I've found it to be a light and creamy eye cream that moisturizes very well, and again, that a little goes a very long way! The scent is very light and pleasant, and I've had NO problems with irritation- I mention this because I do know that some people have reactions to Retinol. 
As I said, I HAVE have seen excellent, visible results from RoC's 5-In-1 Chest, Neck & Face Cream, especially on my neck and decollete, so I am going to continue to use their products- and they are affordable enough that I can stick with the program! 

Not so bad for 57! :-)

That is seriously one of the best things about RoC products: that they are affordable and easy to find in stores, so you can actually afford to not only try a complete regimen, but to stick with it long-term, so you really do see results! Perusing their website I've discovered several other RoC products I want to add to my anti-aging arsenal- heck, I AM worth it! :-)
Have you tried RoC skin care products? Which ones have YOU seen great results with? Let me know in the comments!