Contests!

Enter local contests! You all know me and Intentional Winning. I love to enter local contests. I am entered in one this coming weekend - an Iron Chef Challenge at the Honey Festival. We have one hour to assemble an appetizer, a main dish and a dessert. All must include honey and the secret ingredient that will be revealed to us 24 hours before the event.

Being a baker, I created my dessert recipe from scratch, completely original! My appetizer was my brainchild with inspiration from one I saw but disliked the combination of ingredients and my main dish is one of Dave's favorite recipes. Dave also created a cocktail for me to serve the judges first. It noted in the rules we could do that if we wanted to but no extra credit would be given. Can't hurt! I will share my actual dishes next week and let you know what happened.

I've entered and won a number of contests including first place at the Mandarin Festival last year and also a cupcake and cookie contest. Entering contests not only pushes you in the area of originality but presentation, too. You have to do something that is not the norm, if you come up with your idea too easily, it's not original. You need to think of not only what tastes good, but how to layer flavors, choose ingredients that compliment each other and have a variety of textures. There's more to it than meets the eye, so give it a try. It's a great experience and when you start winning, people will want to know who you are and where they can buy your goodies!

Contests!

After all, contests are how Intentional Winning was conceived! Photo contests are one way to not only figure out what your point of view is, but also to practice and let other people see your work.

There are thousands of contests out there but one that I like is the Costco Photography Contest. You do have to be a member of Costco, but there are many, many other contests that are free to enter as is this one if you are a member.

Contests on local levels will be easier to win or place in than national or international contests, but i say put your photos out there! You can't win if you don't enter!

Mad Housewife Wine - Winning Story

I have a friend in Minnesota. She is a mulit-business owner who also has five kids all under the age of 10! I carefully packed my bags for the trip to visit and brought her a bottle of Mad Housewife Merlot. As soon as I landed in MN, I opened my suitcase at the airport to present her with my offering, she practically rolled on the floor laughing and crying at the same time. I understood why she was laughing, but I asked her why she was crying. She replied through her tears, I never understood how insane my life is until you gave me this bottle of wine that says it all! We are still laughing and tweeting about Mad Housewife!

Thank you for the great entry! Please email facebook@rainierwine.com with your shirt size, color selection, and shipping address so we can get your super stylish MH tee out to you right away!

New promotion: Buy six bottles of The Mad Housewife and get a free T-shirt! See www.madhousewifecellars.com

Cheers all!
@TheMadHousewife
On Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/search/?init=srp&sfxp=&o=&q=Mad+Housewife#/MadHousewife

I'm A Winner!

Many of you know I win things. Everything from a CD, to movie tickets, to trips around the world. People ask me, "How do you do that?" And my reply is always the same, "I intend to." This subject is actually what launched Intentional Winning in Life. The other answer to the same question is, "I play." You can't win if you don't play. Combine my beliefs, I play and I intend to win, and you have Intentional Winning at Winning!

Three weeks ago I put ZipperBack Gloves (www.zipperbackgloves.com) in the running for a $1000 grant through the Intuit's Love A Local Business contest. Once I entered the contest, I had to rally my network of friends to nominate ZBG to be one of five weekly winners of the grants. Today we learned we won!

When I spoke with the woman from Intuit, she said that two of the other companies who won this week were in it from the beginning and were just a few nominations away from winning in the previous two weeks. Persistence pays off and today that's to the tune of $500 cash and another $500 in business services! You can't win if you don't play and when you do play, you have to believe you can win!

Join Me And Win!

Celebrate the arrival of summer with the Mom Central Summer Giveaway Bonanza! Each week, Mom Central will post new giveaways just for Moms and their families on MomCentral.com. We'll have tons of great prizes throughout the summer for you and all members of your family. Some of our giveaways include:

• Hoover Cyclonic Bagless Upright Vacuum: This new vacuum from Hoover removes more dirt than other cyclonic bagless vacuums due to its patented wind tunnel technology and embedded dirt finder. With power controls on the handle, it reduces bending to get to those hard-to-reach places and easily moves from hard floor to carpet.

• Crayola Play Sand: Transform an ordinary sandbox with a splash of color or design colorful art projects with a 20 lb. bag of Crayola Play Sand. The sand doesn't stain hands and features an easy-to-carry handle to make transporting easy on Moms.

• Jeep Tandem Stroller: Built to accommodate your growing family, the Tandem Traveler Stroller features sun canopies, reclining seat backs, car-seat adaptors, and cup holders that will leave you feeling like the coolest mommy on the block.

• Razor Jr. Electric Wagon: Put a modern spin on the classic wagon with the Razor Jr. Electric Wagon. Traveling safely at 2-3 miles per hour, parents have assistance while cruising the block.

Visit Mom Central, check out all the prizes, register and win! http://www.momcentral.com/