Giveaway, Gift Guide, & Giving Back

'Tis the season for giving (and getting) and the inter-webs are filled with tons of fun and festive giveaways. I've rounded up something I've been working on as well as a gift guide and a giving back opportunity from two of my friends.

Giveaway: The 25 Tacky Days Sweepstakes

This Sweepstakes is near and dear to my heart, as I have been working for the past couple of months with an amazing team of people developing a new site that will be launching in 2012. I have taken on the role of The Social Media Manager and am loving it! To spread some Christmas cheer, we're hosting a 25 day giveaway. That's 25 chances to win what totals $2700 in prizes! $100 Visa Gift Cards are being given away daily and on 12/13 and 12/24, we're giving away Amazon Kindle Fires! Enter here: http://sweepstakes.tacky.com, or by clicking the 25 Tacky Days widget on my sidebar. One entry is all it takes- don't miss out! If you Tweet, you can follow us, birdie style (@tackyco).

Gift Guide: 25 Days of Iron Mamas Clean Eating

Iron Mamas is my go to website for kicking my workouts up a notch. I used to take classes from Kelly when we both lived in Charlotte and am so happy she now shares them on her website. Kelly recently started a clean eating blog, Clean Eating, Iron Mamas Style where she posts clean recipes and great nutrition advice. During the month of December, she's doing a 25 day series where she is posting recipes, tips on maintaining a healthy lifestyle during the holidays and creative gift ideas for the healthy foodies in your life! She has already given some great ideas and I can't wait to see what else she shares. Head over to her blog to get some of these great ideas (and for extra motivation to stay healthy during the ultimate season of sweets and treats, too!)

Giving Back: Donation December

My west coast sister, Danica, is doing something AMAZING. She is raising money on her blog for Locks of Love. She is committing to raise $500 during the month of December at at the end of the month, she will donate 10 inches of hair! This is the third time she will be donating to Locks of Love. That's a total of 30 inches of hair. If you are looking for little ways to give back this holiday season, you can click over to Chic Runner and read her Donation December post. Make sure you have a tissue and if you donate, tell her that I sent you!

Hope everyone is having a merry & bright week!

Workout Wednesday

I love working out almost as much as I love food. I know. I cant' believe I just said that either.

The thing is, these two pretty much go hand in hand for me. It's funny how that works. The better we eat around here, the more motivated I am to back it up with intense workouts and the harder I workout, the more my body craves the good stuff. We stick to a mostly clean diet and never make ourselves feel guilty about the occasional late night ice cream indulgence. Everything in moderation is what works best for us. It's all about having a good balance.

Ever since my freshman year of college, I have been a fitness fanatic. I started by using the elliptical and as I worked up my endurance and saw the pounds melt off, I was running 5 milers on a regular basis. I quickly realized how great my workouts made me feel and when I noticed they were also forcing me to make healthy decisions without even thinking. WIN! Since then, I have changed my workout routine dramatically, adding in resistance and strength training and more variety in my cardio for the day. Mark has been preaching to me about interval training but I will admit I kind of didn't listen. Fast forward to my Google session entitled "Carrie Underwood's leg workout" and "operation: MUST add interval training to my workout regimen" began. Sorry I didn't listen to you, Mark. The main thing about my workout routine is that I try to keep it fresh with variety and intensity. Great music helps, too. Oh, and cute workout clothes.

Though I quit doing the whole CrossFit thing, I did learn something very valuable from this little endeavor; I'm tougher than I give myself credit for. Not only did I learn how to push myself physically, but also mentally. And what a feeling that is!

Below are some of my favorite go-to websites for workouts that work:

Iron Mamas: (Check out the 5k-50s workout. I do this one at least once a week. I attended Kelly's classes while we were both living in Charlotte so when we both moved and I found out she was blogging workouts, I breathed a sigh of relief. Iron-Mamas workouts are by far my favorite and work me the hardest. I swear by them! Kelly just launched a new blog as well for clean eating. Be sure to check it out: www.ironmamas-cleaneating.com)

Blogilates: Cassey is hilarious and full of energy! I love her POP Pilates videos, interactive website community and good health tips. She also offers workout printables! I love a good printable. Try challenging yourself with the 20/20 workout or this killer fat blasting abs workout. If you are on Twitter, you can follow Cassey- @Blogilates.

Tone it Up!: www.toneitup.com (Karena and Katrina are adorable! Fun workouts, videos that are easy to follow and tons of great recipes. Follow them on Twitter- @ToneItUp)

This type of post may or may not become something I regularly blog about but when I am passionate about something and find resources to fuel my excitement, I love to share.

Make today a great day!