zone perfect blog forward challenge goal check in and GIVEAWAY

It's that time again! Time to check in and evaluate where I am with my 2014 goals. So far I have truly enjoyed this challenge that Zone Perfect has put on. It has really made me check in with my goals continuously rather than making them on January 1st and checking them on December 31st. And this year that would be so much easier to do!

my original post... current updates in purple!

.: fitness :.

• join the 100 club at pure barre by the end of march. done, so let's update this one. i'd like to reactivate my PB package once i'm cleared by my MD and finish out the year doing at least 2 classes a week. i'd love to do at least 3 a week, but i don't know how realistic that is schedule-wise. 

• continue to work out at least 5 times a week until the big day. i wasn't great about this one, but too late to change it now. my updated goal is to be active with everly at least 5 times a week. even if it's just a 15 minute walk outside, i want to start early setting that example for her. plus she loves being outside (it usually calms her when she's fussy) so it'll be a win, win. 

• i don't want to make a bunch of post pregnancy goals as far as this category goes. i've never had a baby before, and i'm not going to pretend i know how i'll feel afterwards. i hope to get my butt back into pure barre for the bounce back after baby program. and i hope to run some races in the fall. but we'll see. i go see my OB tomorrow and she'll hopefully clear me to run. i've felt mostly good postpartum, although i think it's easy to forget what you're body has been through because you don't feel bad, and push it to hard too fast. last week we moved across town and i definitely over did it. carried too much weight, too many times, and got too little sleep. not smart. i'd like my first race back to be the Cherokee Harvest 5K, because it was the last race I did before I found out I was pregnant last year!

.: health :.

• stay within a healthy weight gain range for me (15-25 pounds). didn't happen, i gained a whopping 40 pounds. thankfully, 20 of that dropped fairly quickly. so now it's time to get rid of the other 20. 

• join weight watchers after the baby is born. joined last week, went to weigh in and the meeting times have changed and no one was there. fail. i'm going friday. 

• aim for 100 ounces of water a day. did it, still doing it.

• keep a healthy snack on me at all times! did it, still doing it.

.:  spiritual :.

• finish reading the Bible. finished the old testament, now i'm in matthew!

• join another connect group at church. haven't done it, need to do it, want to do it.

• begin volunteering at church. still helping at the coffee counter (well i took a few months off with E).

• find a book about praying for your children and put it to good use. i haven't found a book so if you know of a good one let me know. i've obviously been praying for E like crazy. 

.:  everything else :.

• date my husband. life gets crazy, we get into routines, not all of them good. i want to make more of an effort to make him feel special and loved. this has been hard, not so much because of Everly, but because of the house sale and move. we're almost settled in our new place and hopefully we'll get back to our normal soon!

• journal about my pregnancy and then the baby's life at least once a week. i might do it on the blog, i might just type it in a word document, i might just write it down in my planner... but i want to write it down. i've been keeping notes on my phone to put in her monthly updates, which i will share on the blog. 

dear future self,
whatup!?! this is your january self. you know, the all excited, ready to make lots of goals self? so wherever you are in 2014 when you read this, remember how important these goals are to you. you spent a lot of time thinking them through, and they are extremely realistic. so when you want to get lazy and quit, suck it up, buttercup! you've got a lot on your plate now, so balance and prioritizing are going to be the key. you know what's most important, your family and your faith... but you've got to take care of yourself too. you're no good to Brad or Everly if you're worn down and a mess. take care of them, take care of yourself, and let all the silly stuff go. 

**giveaway**

the amazing folks at zone perfect have sent me some goodies to pass along to y'all! it's a very fun care package that includes a variety of things... lip gloss, hair ties, hand sanitizer, a pedometer, and a box of zone bars among other things!

enter by leaving me a comment telling me what has been your favorite way to stay active this summer! giveaway closes Monday August 18th at 9pm. winner will be announced next week!

pictures from the asheville marathon and a pro compression winner

they just posted the pictures from the marathon, i'm not that impressed.

when i think of running my first marathon on the biltmore estate, i'd like a good picture of me running with the biltmore in the background... but no such luck. there were photographers on both sides but apparently only one of them was the official race photographer. i was looking at the wrong one.

this is one thing that i think rock and roll does really well... the race photographers are in bright orange or yellow vests. you know who to look at. and when there's a big landmark they even have stations set up where you can run over and get your pic taken [las vegas sign].

but anyways, there you go. i'm working on my recap which will probably be the longest post i've ever done. i apologize in advance :)

and what you've all been waiting for, the winner of the pro compression socks is:::

christy email me what size and color socks you want, plus your address and i'll get that over to pro compression. a big thank you to all of you all for entering [apparently you all LOVE pro] and thanks to pro compression for offering a pair of socks for this giveaway!

if you want to order some pro compression, use the code MARCH for 40% off and free shipping. plus you get entered in a giveaway that they're hosting!

my favorite things:::: giveaway #3

so here's the last giveaway in my 'marathon must haves".... the pro compression marathon sock.

i love them for running:

i love them for recovery:

riley even loves them:

pro compression was the third compression company that i tried, and luckily, the third time was a charm! :) i have no reason to look any further!

how i use pro compression::::

• running
• recovery
• i sleep in them the night before long runs to make sure my legs are fresh
• as my mid week runs got longer i even wore them to work so my legs would be ready to run when i got home... then i noticed how much they helped [i'm on my feet for 10.5 hours straight] so now i wear them to work a couple a times a week!

what sets them apart::::

• higher quality materials [helps with comfort and also great moisture control]
• great compression level [mmHg 22-26]
• great colors and fun prints
• they're constantly working and finding ways to improve their products
• i have larger calves and i like that while these socks offer great compression, they don't cut off my circulation right below my knee
• they're made in the USA
• i know first hand that their customer service is amazing. seriously. timely, considerate, attentive, and really a pleasure to work with. 

pro compression has generously offered up a pair of marathon socks to one of my readers! you can gain entries by:

• checking out their website and telling me what color you'd choose.
• follow pro compression on twitter
• tweet about the giveaway ( include @courtneymelson and @procompression)

FYI::::

pro compression also does a sock of the month and check out this month's socks!!!

how cute are these? you can use the code SOM3 to get 40% off [it works for calf sleeves too!]

leave me a comment for each entry. this giveaway will end at midnight [est] on tuesday march 5th. 

pro compression is providing one pair of marathon socks to the winner, i purchased my own. all opinions are my own. 

rearview mirror:::: february 2013

first things first... congratulations to coy!

email me so i can get your information over to iFitness! 3xacharmrunner at gmail dot com.

.: running :.
i logged 112 miles this month in my final month of marathon preparation. i can think of one 7 miler i missed [shingles], but i hit all my long runs. the number is lower than i expected, but i guess february's short and that plus taper = less miles.

i've been a ball of anxiety about the marathon. yesterday i even panicked and convinced myself that i hadn't registered [for some reason IMathlete does not list the marathon in my upcoming races]. who does that?

i feel like i'm in a good place as far as running goes. i've completed my training cycle and i still like to run. that's a win. i'm not sure what kind of running i'll be doing after sunday though. i'm hoping to add some actual speed/tempo/hill workouts instead of just running x miles. we'll see.

.: weight training :.
i cannot even tell you how excited i am to get back to this. part of my anxiety lately revolves around my  crappy eating and lack of body confidence. i was in such a good place while i was training with fitness poynters and i can't wait to get back to that!

if you're interested, steve's got some great specials going on right now in honor of the arnold classic. they're good until midnight EST March 4. i highly recommend him and you can always email me if you have any specific questions.

.:reading:.
i never used to do this, but i'm reading multiple books right now. i don't recommend it!

little bee is the only one i actually finished this month. i liked it but it was so sad.
currently i'm reading:
eat & run [scott jurek]
the ultimate beginner's running guide [ryan robert]
cross roads [wm. paul young]
three cups of tea [mortensen & relin]

overkill much? classic example of doing too many things and not doing any of them well.

.: 2013 goals :.
no real progress here. i am making a conscious effort to shut my laptop and read instead of just wasting time online. i reactivated my FB account yesterday [mostly because i wanted up to date marathon info] and i'm pleased to report i'm not spending much time on there. if it becomes a time suck it'll have to go again.

.: life :.
february was a better month for me. i got a few things out of the way that have been kind of hanging over my head and that always feels good! i have some stuff going on but i haven't decided how much i want to share online. not trying to be mysterious, it's just a can of worms that i'm not sure i want to open.

brad and i are planning a summer vacation to jackson, wyoming and i'm super pumped about that. if you have any tips/recommendations please let me know!

my favorite things:::: giveaway #2

first of all, the winner of the Gu giveaway is::::

missy, email me your address and i'll get your fuel out to you!

and on to another favorite thing of mine, a true marathon must have!!!

when i started running i had no idea how much junk i would need to carry with me. fuel, hydration, music, phone... where are we supposed to put it all?

i purchased an iFitness belt at the expo for my first half marathon and wore it the next day... and for every half marathon since! i feel like i broke the golden rule for racing [nothing new on race day!] but luckily it worked out perfectly for me.

i chose a double pouch belt and it provides enough room for me to pack my phone and fuel. it is not bulky, even when packed to the gills. and i cannot stress this point enough, it seriously does not move, bounce or slip. it has an adjustable strap and i love that it's thick and lies perfectly flat.

showing off my double pouch belt after Run The Bluegrass

iFitness also sponsored 12 in 2012 last year and generously provided us all with single pouch belts. i use this belt for shorter distances, when i don't need both my phone and fuel. 

my single pouch belt

why i love these belts:::

• they don't bounce, slip, or ride up
• they don't chafe
• they're water resistant
• adjustable strap
• they don't smell [even after repeated use and sweat drenches]
• they are made well and they don't show wear

iFitness has generously offered up a belt to one of my readers [the winner can choose a single or double pouch belt]! 

to be entered in the giveaway, head over to iFitness' website and tell me which belt you'd choose if you win. 

for extra entries you can:

Follow  iFitness on twitter

Tweet about the giveaway (include @iFitnessInc and @courtneymelson)

this giveaway will end at midnight [EST] on thursday february 28th. iFitness is providing the prize to  one winner. all opinions provided above are my own. 

my favorite things::: giveaway #1

as much as i'd love to give everyone of y'all ALL of my favorite things... i'm not oprah so i had to settle for this. i've picked a few of my marathon must haves that i'd like to share with you all over the course of the week leading up to the big race.

when i started running i was totally clueless about fuel. i couldn't for the life of me understand how people ran so much and kept their energy up. as luck would have it, i stumbled upon the running blog community and found a wealth of information about race fuel.

i've experimented with a lot of different fuels and I've finally seemed to find what works best for me. for half marathons i prefer to use one pack of Clif Shot Bloks. They're delicious and give me just enough energy. I tear into them at mile 7, and consume one every mile until the end.

for marathon training, however, i began searching for a different plan. i'd tried Gu before and hated it, but apparently I just hadn't find the right flavor for me.

through trial and error [aka, gagging on several flavors] i found three flavors that i actually look forward to consuming:  peanut butter, chocolate outrage, and vanilla bean. i've used them for all my long runs and they sit well and also give me a good burst of energy.

in my experience, the only bad thing about gels and chews can be that sometimes i just feel empty. you know that hungry deep down in the pit of your stomach feeling? i had that during my 30K. i just wanted some solid food!

you all know that for racing reasons i split up my two twenty milers. in hindsight that may have not been the best idea for multiple reasons, one of which, i fueled during those breaks with natural peanut butter on ezekiel toast. so now, i have no idea how to fuel for on race day. GREAT.

so i'm trying to decide on race day fuel. should i take 4 Gu's with me [i used 2.5 during my 30K], should i take 3 Gu's and a pack of Shot Bloks, should i pack a five guys burger?

give me your opinion on how i should fuel for race day and i'll enter you for a chance to win an assortment of Gu energy gels. i'll include my favorite flavors plus some others in case your taste is different than mine. 

this giveaway will end at midnight on Tuesday February 26th (eastern standard time).

three things thursday...

my first marathon is in 10 days... 10 days!!!!!!! i'm nervous, excited, scared, and counting down the minutes all at the same time. starting tomorrow i'll be able to start stalking the weather conditions so i can start deciding on what to wear hopefully. i don't know why but that detail is stressing me out! i can't even decide which socks to wear [i have never raced in compression socks, and my longest run in them has been 12 miles so i'm thinking i shouldn't actually wear them for the race... but a part of me thinks they'd make my legs feel so much better!].

do you all ever get the racing bug? i've been so consumed with the upcoming marathon that i haven't signed up for many races at all. at strawberry plains when dawn was showing me her race calendar, it started to creep back up on me! i'm hoping to be a little more selective this year [last year my decision making process was, 'do i work on the day of the race? no? okay i'm doing it']. this year i'm going to mostly try to stick near home and maybe pick one or two races that require a little travel [ps the flying pig doesn't count as one of these races because brad's family is in cincinnati and we'd be going there anyways ;) ].


heads up to you all... as a thank you for putting up with my rants and tangents i'll be hosting several giveaways next week. i honestly can't thank you all enough for your support and encouragement during this training cycle [and always!]. i'll be sharing some of 'my favorite things' with you all, so be sure to check back next week. and check back often... i'm hoping to do 4 or 5 giveaways and most of them won't last much longer than 24 hours!

shingles rears its ugly head again

after my last 20 miler it took me the whole week to get back to normal. my legs felt really dead and i muddled through my runs for that week. so i wasn't surprised on tuesday when my five miler felt like a fifteen miler.

wednesday i woke up and noticed a little scratch near my right eye. this wouldn't normally cause me any alarm, but last year i had shingles in the exact same place.... and it sidelined me for almost a month. so what did i do? i ignored it. went to work. came home to run my 8 miler. 

it was doomed from the start. i was dizzy. disorientated. had no energy at all. i walked a lot and finished stopped after five. you've gotta be kidding me. yeah, my day of denial was over. i have shingles. 

thank God my only symptoms [other than the awesome blisters on my face] have been flu-like symptoms but they've seemed to pass pretty quickly. last time i didn't feel bad, but my rash was bigger and i had HORRIBLE neck pain. i'm so thankful that this seems to be a lighter case. the scariest part though is that this time it's actually in my eye too. my eye doctor checked everything out on friday and  said that it isn't in my cornea [which can apparently cause vision loss], i just have to use some drops and leave my contacts out for a while. 

see, not so bad! [ps i'll have a review on my glasses later this week, i got them free from firmoo!]

saturday i was able to get through my last long run before the marathon [12 miles], which i was so  thankful for. i took thursday and friday off after my horrible wednesday run [so i ended up being 7 miles short this week] so it was really important for me to finish this run. i am a big fan of the saying 'trust your training.' i can't trust my training if i don't follow the training plan. this close to the marathon, it was a big deal for my mental game to finish this run. 

now it's taper time. my longest run next week is 8 miles. and two weeks from today, i'll be running my first full marathon. i cannot believe it's almost here. it seems like a long time coming. 

and some fun news for you all, expect some fun giveaways the week leading up to my race! i'll be sharing some of my favorites with you all!

i love a good mail day!

doesn't everyone love getting mail? i always looked forward to holidays when i was away at school because my mom sent the BEST care packages. i even dreaded finals a little less because our church sent us boxes full of candy and treats! 

anyways, i've had a couple of good mail days and i wanted to share and say thanks! 

i joined lisa's healthy valentine's exchange and received a bunch of goodies from larry. 

lock laces, nathan reflective bracelets, body glide and chocolate! larry i hope you see this thank you and let me know if you have a blog, i'd love to check it out!

this showed up a week or so ago and i was so excited!  i shared it on instagram [courtlauren05] but i forgot to share it with you all. rnr gives you heavy medals if you complete more than one race in a year. i did two so i earned this one.

i won a giveaway on neon blonde runner's website a few weeks ago so i was thrilled when these showed up:

i love them, thanks katherine [and sunglasses shop]!

last but not least, today i received some more lock laces!

how did i get them? you AUTOMATICALLY get a pair when you sign up for amanda's spring bootie buster challenge! how great is that? i'm so excited to put these in my wave riders! thanks amanda! the challenge starts march 4th [i'm using it to make sure i stay active post marathon!]. i've done two of amanda's challenges previously and i HIGHLY recommend them!

sign up here!!!

Spartan Sprint and New Handful Winner

Can I just mention real quick how I'm freaking out about this race?!? A part of me is majorly excited and the other part is flipping its you know what! I just read that you have to do 30 burpees for any skipped obstacle. I thought you only had to do 10. Shit.

It'll just be me and Matthew doing the race. Brad's work puts on a 5k every year and it's Saturday of course. Missy was going to join up with us but had some very understandable reasons to change her plans.

Say a prayer for us. No one needs a broken leg.


And on a lighter note, I'm treadmill shopping. Anyone have any advice?

And PS, the first winner of the Handful bra never claimed her prize so I did a redraw:

Congrats to Suz!! And if you don't read her blog get your booty over there right now, she's great! Suz, send me an email (3xacharmrunner@gmail.com) and I'll get you hooked up!

Handful Bra Winner!!

As picked by Random.org, the winner of the Handful bra is:

Congrats Danielle! Email me at 3xacharmrunner@gmail.com by Wednesday so I can get your sizing and contact information!

HANDFUL BRA:::: Review & Giveaway

A few months ago I contacted Jody at Handful regarding their super cute bras that I was seeing all over the blog world.

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I loved the way they looked -- the cute straps, the colors, and the most noticeable thing:  the 'bunching' in the middle (AKA: no more uniboob!).

When I contacted Jody she was very honest with me, and I REALLY appreciated that. I'm a D. She flat out told me that this bra was not going to be a sports bra for me, but that I could try it as an everyday bra. I thought her honesty was refreshing and I greatly appreciated that she still wanted me to review the bra.

So specifically for the girls who aren't members of the IBTC (not that I don't love you guys... I'd kinda like to be a member, but I've gotta look out for my large chested sisters here)...  :)

You know how it sucks to wear a real bra (underwire, non-sports bra) all the time? Yeah, it does. The best example I can think of is traveling. When I'm in an airport/car/plane/etc. all day the last thing I want is some stupid wire poking me in the rib.

I have two Under Armour 'sports' bras that are pretty comfortable:

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While they're comfortable, they do nothing for my girls if you know what I mean. They kind of look like a fat roll, uniboob. I will not wear a fitted shirt when I'm wearing these bras.

I had high hopes for the Handful, and I'm so happy to say that it exceeded my expectations. To sum it up:  It gave me comfortable support. The material is so comfortable!! The straps didn't dig into my shoulders. I did like the bra better with the pads removed, and I love the shape it gives me! I also loved the way the cute pink straps peek out in some of my shirts (FITTED shirts!!!)

After I crowned the Handful my new go to travel bra, I tried it out in some other ways. I wore it to lift weights and for an hour long yoga class. It worked perfectly!

Right now at Handful.com you can get the pink, nude and cocoa bras for only $28!!! Black and white are $40 each.

Jody was also awesome enough to offer one bra up to a reader!!!! Would you like to try your own Handful?

Here's how you can enter (please leave a comment for each):
 - Like Handful on Facebook
 - Follow Handful on Twitter
 - Go check out the Handful video and tell me your beach party or road trip essentials.
 - It'd be awesome if you followed me on Linky followers :)

The giveaway will be open until the 10th at midnight. Good luck!!!

I Love Getting Things In The Mail!!

I went to the gym today after work and knocked out 4 miles on the treadmill. {Pet peeve:  Standing at the front desk waiting for the girl to scan my key card for 5 minutes. Seriously. I understand you're on the phone but say it with me, "Multitask."} It is killing me to have to run inside during this awesome January weather. But there's no way I'm running the dark by myself. 

When I got home I found a package from CLICK. I'm so excited to try this out tomorrow morning and so thankful to SUZ for having such a great giveaway!!

It's been a great mail week! Yesterday I received this beautiful baby:

iFitness is sponsoring our 12 in 2012 effort! I already have one iFitness belt (double pouch that I purchased at the expo for my first half marathon) and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!! I was so excited to get this cute one!! More coming on it later but Riley just had to model it for y'all:

No he doesn't have cataracts, that's just the flash! lol

Have any of you all every been to Tybee Island? Any tips/secrets/random information that you'd like to share would be greatly appreciated. I've never been and we're trying to plan a vacation!

Giveaway Winner!

The winners of the Zone Bar giveaway are:

 Congrats to Stefanie and Sarah!

Email me at 3xacharmrunner@gmail.com and I'll get your Zone Perfect bars sent out for you to enjoy! Thanks to everyone who participated!

Really Random Monday

Have you entered my GIVEAWAY?


Thank you all so much for your feedback on my amazing race scheduling. When I first realized what I'd done I had a major freak out. When I told Brad he replied, "Oh that is not a good idea, you do not need to do that." So there it is in writing so he can say I told you so if he needs to! I'm just going to train and see how I feel and go from there (I think I'm going to do it, SHH don't tell him!).


Brad and I did some shopping after church yesterday and you should really go to Dick's Sporting Goods if you're out. It's clearance time, check it out:

3 pairs of Nike tempo shorts and a pair of UA shorts for 33 dollars!! They had a lot of shorts in really bright colors and at 7-8 bucks a pop you can't beat it!

When I was younger I drank a glass of milk every night with dinner and with breakfast most mornings. I've really gotten out of this habit and over the last few years I rarely drank milk, so a goal I made this year was to change this. I'm trying to drink a glass a day!

I'm doing pretty well so far, the only problem is that when I have a big glass of milk I want something like this to go with it:

I picked this up for Brad at the mall but he had picked up his own snack (pretzel) and didn't want it. And YOU KNOW I wasn't just gonna throw it away. Twist my arm. If I can just keep from buying OREOS I should be okay :)

I'm really happy that I've been able to start working out again this week. I've been struggling over the past few weeks with my neck, bronchitis, and this weird rash on my face that turned out to be SHINGLES!?! They think it's actually what was causing my neck to hurt so bad. Completely random. Just it case you're wondering what shingles looks like:

And it's starting to dry up here, it was quiet the mess a few days ago. YUCK!

I hope you all are having a great Monday so far! I'm going to shower and go meet my momma for lunch!

Zone Perfect Bars ::: Review and Giveaway!

A few months ago I contacted Abbott Nutrition and Brittany at Zone Perfect was awesome enough to send me several boxes of their bars to sample and share with you guys!

I chose to contact Abbott because no lie, they make my all-time favorite bar. Behold, the magnificence that is Strawberry Yogurt:


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 This bar is the jam. It's delicious, healthy, filling, and easy to grab when I'm running late [always]. When I find these in the store, I buy them out. For reals.

Brittany sent me these two bars to try:

I hadn't tried either of these bars (I didn't want to cheat on the strawberry yogurt) but I was really excited to try them. I liked the Fudge Graham the best out of the two. The taste of both was great, but we finished the box of Fudge Graham the fastest! They kind of taste like s'mores!

Would you like to try them?? I have two more boxes of each flavor to share with y'all! I'll pick two winners and each one will get a box of each flavor!

HOW TO ENTER (you must follow my blog to be eligible)::

• Like my new Facebook page.
• Follow me on twitter @courtneymelson
• Go to the Zone Perfect Website and tell me which bar you'd like to try!
• Extra entries for sharing on FB, twitter, or your blog!

Leave a comment for each, I'll leave it open until Saturday January 21st at midnight! Good luck!

**These bars were provided to me by ZonePerfect free of charge. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions and general ridiculousness are mine and mine alone.**

iTunes Giveaway Winner

The winner of the $15 iTunes gift card (for participating and promoting the Sock Swap) is:

Lucky number 16 is Jill! I'll get your gift card in the mail early next week!

I hope you all are having a great weekend! I had to work this morning and we're having our work Christmas party a little later. 

Holiday Sock Swap... And a Giveaway!

Okay, so a few years ago I was reading a blog around the holidays and I saw this thing called a sock swap. I thought it was a really cute idea (and I've googled for the blog to credit it with no luck, please let me know if you know so I can give credit where credit is due) and was super jealous because I didn't get to participate. I'm pretty sure we all love to get stuff in the mail so what do you all think about having one this year?!

Here's how it would go down:

• Everyone who wants in let's me know via email (3xacharmrunner@gmail.com). I will need your mailing address. This will ONLY be shared with the person who will be sending your gift. The deadline to sign up is December 2nd at midnight.
• I'll draw a name for everyone then send your mailing address to the person who draws your name. Keep it a secret!!! 
• Buy a cheapo pair of holiday socks:




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• Stuff the socks with goodies (get creative!). I'm thinking a good limit is 20 bucks, but if you all have another limit in mind let me know and I'll go with the majority.
• Mail out the gifts by December 15th. Don't worry I'll remind you! 
• Let me know when you've sent it. I probably will stalk you (send you emails, not show up at your doorstep) if you don't let me know you've sent it. Just because I'd hate for someone to spend the money, send someone a gift, and not get one in return).
• When you get your socks, post your presents and thank your 'secret sock santa'.

If it goes well and I get a lot of participation, I'll consider hosting a few of these throughout the year. If everyone ignores me I'll just make Riley swap socks with me because he loves me even though I'm lame.

Okay, so what about the giveaway???

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Everyone who participates and follows my blog gets one entry.

How do you get extra entries? RECRUIT! Spread the word however you'd like, but make sure you tell them to let me know who sent them. You'll get an entry for each person you get to participate! (Feel free to use my ghetto button that I made).