It's A Dansko 20th Anniversary Professional Clogs Giveaway!

Do you know what this shoe signals? Happiness.



Yep. It's real.



Oskar and I were thrilled to get this box of 20th Anniversary Professional Dansko clogs in the mail today not only because my feet love a new pair of Danskos and he loves a new box to nest in, but also because we get to give one pair of these fantastic shoes to one of you to help Dansko celebrate its 20th anniversary. Yes, you.



To commemorate the occasion, Dansko partnered with illustrator and typographer Jessica Hische to create a special limited edition Professional clog with a "...design [that] features words reflecting the Dansko 'way of life' — our core values and commitment to thoughtful, conscious living". They've done a gorgeous job creating a warm, rich-looking shoe patterned with words such as Breathe, Think, Dare, Share, and Live Boldly strung around it. Frankly, my feet feel inspired.



THESE COULD BE YOURS, but we'll get into that later, because there are two more reasons that this giveaway is a good one, aside from the fact that these babies might end up on your feet.

The first good reason is that Dansko wants you to help celebrate its 20th anniversary by giving back through their Share Your Way of Life promotion. When you submit your Way of Life, Dansko will donate $1 to one of the following charities of your choosing: The Conservation Alliance, Teach For America, American Red Cross, Action for Healthy Kids, Save The Children, or Heifer International. So, go share of yourself and give something back!

The second good reason is that, on top of entering this giveaway here, you can enter Dansko's drawing for a chance to win the limited edition print of the artwork by Jessica Hische that inspired the 20th Anniversary Professional. There will be ten prints given away to random entrants, and you'd better hurry, because the promotion ends Nov. 25, 2011.

Okay, now on to why I love Dansko's Professional clogs so much.



They have this great heel structure that makes their shoe fit with all the comfort and breathability of an open-backed clog while still having an enclosed heel. The heel is built solid and wide so that it still covers your foot while allowing your heel to move up and down freely within the shoe. If you've ever had problems with your heels blistering in new shoes, they won't do it with these, because your heel won't actually rub up against anything when you walk.



As you can see, they have a contoured insole that offers good arch support. I have a couple of older pairs of this style of Dansko, and the arch support has held up well over the years.



Believe it or not, Dansko clogs have excellent shock absorption, and I am a huge fan of their rocker bottoms. That curve you see along the bottom of the shoe allows you to walk with a more natural heel-to-toe motion that keeps your feet from getting tired, and there is also a roomy toe box. You can wiggle your toes up and down in your shoes! Toe wiggling is very important to a happy life.



They have pretty decent tread, as well. I wouldn't wear them out on sheet ice, but they keep me upright.

If you ever go try a pair on, they will feel a little strange at first because of that unique heel structure and toe wigglability, so keep a few things in mind when finding a good fit:

• You want to be able to slide at least the tip of your pinky finger between your foot and the back of the heel of the shoe. If your heel rubs, the shoe is too short.
• The Dansko clog is built to fit over the top, high part of your foot. If it feels looser all around than you are used to with shoes, that is because of the heel and toe fit. Your foot is meant to be able to move around at the front and back.
• Dansko clogs use European sizing, so make sure to check your size against their chart to find the correct size.

So, are you ready to win a pair of 20th Anniversary Professional Dansko clogs yet?



If you would like ONE chance to get your hands on a pair of 20th Anniversary Professional Dansko clogs, do one of the following; if you would like TWO chances to win, you can do both of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me why you want these shoes, and, if you are so moved, about your most memorable anniversary, be it romantic or otherwise.
2. Post the following tweet on Twitter:
   This pair of fab Danskos might be mine. Or yours. @schmutzie's got a giveaway: http://tinyurl.com/danskoclog  #danskoclog

I will pick one lucky person at random using random.org on November 29th at midnight and announce the winner here and on Twitter.

In the meantime, you can head on over and become a fan of Dansko on Facebook and follow Dansko on Twitter, because it's the friendly thing to do when you're trying to get free stuff from them, yes?

Now go out there and win this thing! And don't forget to give a little something back.

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UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed to new entrants, and a winner has been picked at random using random.org, and that winner is PsychMamma! Congratulations!

And thank you to everyone else who entered. I wish I could give away one hundred pairs of these fantastic shoes and make all your feet happy.

A Blundstone Boots Giveaway? I Don't Mind If I Do!

I'm a fan of Blundstone Footwear, so when the opportunity came up to give a pair of their boots away to my fellow Canadians, I said WOO-HOO!

I also yelled WOO-HOO! at the mailman this morning when he delivered my new Blundstones. He actually leapt backward into the hallway. Stop yelling at the nice mailman, Schmutzie. Oops.



I've been wearing them all day, but I didn't put them on until I had put my own, personal stamp on them.

There's nothing wrong with The Original Blundstone in brown. It's a beautiful boot, and it's one I've coveted for quite some time, but I had this pot of burgundy shoe polish in the hall closet, and it was beautiful, too, so what could I do?



After sullying my perfectly good looking pair of Blundstones, I took them out for a walk.

They hung out with some flowers.



They helped me to carry three skillion pounds of cat food and cat litter over several blocks in 31°C (88°F) heat while wasps pelted me with their bodies. I don't know what is up with the wasps this year, but they're hyper-aggressive and seem to have evolved from being mere scavengers to being straight up predators.

Let me tell you, it's really hard to flail and run with three skillion pounds cat food and cat litter.



I should probably tell you a little more about the specifics of the Blundstone boot that makes it so loved by me:

Their oiled leather keeps out inclement weather and road salt.

The sole and leather upper are joined together without stitching, so grit can't get in between the two.

The patented Shock Protection System reduces foot strike shock by 33%.

They have TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) outsoles that are not only slip resistant but are also oil and acid resistant and won't break down at colder and hotter temperatures.

They last for years.

Also? They hang out with terrific sandwiches (which, if you are in Regina, Saskatchewan, can be had at the Italian Star Deli).



Oh, and they have removable insoles, which I find is always a bonus if you've got orthotics to fit into the boots or if you want to slip in an extra set of insoles for more cushioning, although, after running around in my Blundstones all day, I can't imagine that you would need any more. The soles on these babies are fantastic.



I don't know if all Blundstone boots come with a hat, but mine did, and let's just say that my head and hats are not a match made in heaven.



Not to oversell these Blundstones or anything, but I even went so far as to shoot video of myself doing a terrible soft shoe in a public parking lot after walking around in them all day just to show you how much I really mean it when I say that these boots are comfortable:



I don't dance for just anybody.

So, without much further ado, I'd like to give you guys a chance to win a pair of these! And, actually, I'd like to give you two chances to win.

If you live in Canada and you would like ONE chance to get your hands on The Original Blundstone, do one of the following. If you would like TWO chances to win, do both of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You can tell me why you want/love Blundstones, or you can just talk about your day or your kids or whatever.


2. Post the following tweet on Twitter, complete with hashtag:
   I want to win a free pair of Blundstone boots, because @schmutzie tells me they're awesome - http://tinyurl.com/FreeBlundstones  #FreeBlundstones

I will pick one lucky CANADIAN (sorry, all you non-Canucks) at random on Tuesday, September 13th at midnight using random.org, and then I will announce the winner both here and on Twitter.

Good luck!

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UPDATE: The contest is not closed, because the free pair of Blundstones has been won by nowlansgirl!

WEN® Hair Care Products Are Awesome, And You Want To Win Some

It's a WEN® hair care products giveaway!



As you can see in the photo below, I have all of just about no hair, so you may wonder why I am doing a giveaway of WEN® hair care products:



Just because I have very short hair doesn't mean that I don't have hair and scalp issues. My hair tends to become greasy fairly quickly, which, when it was longer a few years ago, I could cover up on the second day after a shampoo with a little extra hairspray or a quick ponytail. These days, though, the grease is really apparent if I don't wash my hair every day, so I actually have to wash my hair twice a often as I used to.

With all of the washing, even my short hair was feeling a little dry, and my scalp was often itchy. It occurred to me some time ago that my conditioner was merely covering the damage that the harsh detergents were causing, and I also thought that maybe I was promoting my scalp's oil production by drying it out with detergents every day.

Enter the lovely PR lady, Heather. She asked if I was interested in trying WEN® hair care products, and after I found out that they were free of sodium lauryl sulfate and damaging detergents, I said YES! to a 30-day supply of WEN® hair care products, which includes the Cleansing Conditioner, Styling Crème, Re Moist Intensive Hair Repair Mask, Texture Balm, and a wide tooth shower comb.


Ignore my co-worker, Onion. He's a fame whore.

WAKE UP. Are you still with me?

I know how fascinating my hair woes are, but I needed to throw in that bit of backstory so that you would believe me when I tell you that WEN® hair care products are really, really fine hair products. This wasn't initially even supposed to be a giveaway, but after using the stuff for almost a month, I decided that I wanted to share the awesome and asked for some more just for you.

See? I LOVE YOU.

To cut down on my wordiness, here are five reasons why I like WEN® hair care products in point form:

1. The cleansing conditioner doesn't contain sodium lauryl sulfate, which some believe to be toxic, or harsh detergents.
2. The conditioner is the shampoo, which means that I can stop doing that thing where I forget if I've used my conditioner or not and end up repeating the shampoo process just in case, which sounds stupid, but I really do that a couple of times a week.
3. It smells like almond and mint. Yum.
4. My hair has become ridiculously soft. Thanks to the Re Moist Intensive Hair Repair Mask, my head feels like my kittens now.
5. Unlike most hair styling products, the Styling Crème and Texture Balm aren't sticky or heavy or flaky. My hair stays soft and styled without turning into a gummy helmet!

So, here's the part where you get to play along and maybe win some of this fantastic stuff to try and love for your very own.

If you are in North America and you would like ONE chance to get your hands on a WEN® hair care 30-day supply, do one of the following. If you would like TWO chances to win, do both of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You can tell me why your hair needs WEN® or just talk about your day if you want to.


2. Post the following tweet on Twitter, complete with hashtag:
   I want to win a WEN hair care 30-day supply, because @schmutzie tells me it's awesome - http://tinyurl.com/ForTheWen  #ForTheWen

I will pick one lucky person at random on May 22nd at midnight using random.org, and then I will announce the winner both here and on Twitter.

Now go comment and tweet! This WEN® hair care line is definitely worth it.

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UPDATE: The winner of the WEN® hair care line 30-day supply is Lidia! This means that no more entries will be accepted. Thank you, everyone!

You Should Probably Enter To Win A Free Photo Book From Shutterfly and I, Because They're Darn Spanky

Despite the fact that spring is coming on with all the verve of a snail on quaaludes — I live in Saskatchewan, and WE HAD MORE SNOW LAST NIGHT — I'm starting to feel that energetic thrum moving through me. It happens every spring. I am filled with a near-anxious excitement over new things, whether there are new things happening or not. Of course, I'm lucky this year, because there are actually new things to celebrate. This will save me from manically searching for meaning while I clean out the backs of our closets.

Oh, who am I kidding? I don't clean out the backs of our closets, except for when we move. When we moved last fall, I discovered all the musical instruments from my elementary school music classes and am still fairly certain that I need to learn how to play the recorder, ukulele, and kazoo to some level of proficiency.

Aaaaanyway, on to celebrations, because it's Spring!

My friend Mrs. Wilson just had huge chunk of a boy very recently, and this seems to be the time of year when everyone is having smaller and larger chunks of their own, and so it just seems fitting that there should some spanky birth announcements or photo books to crow about them, which is why — jeebus, my sentences are long today — I am giving away a Shutterfly 8"x8" photo book.

If you would like ONE chance to get your hands on a Shutterfly 8"x8" photo book, do one of the following. If you would like TWO chances to win, do both of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You can tell me how you're going to use the photo book or just say hello if you want to.


2. Post the following tweet on Twitter, complete with hashtag:
   I want to win a Shutterfly photo book - http://tinyurl.com/shutterflyFTW  #shutterflyFTW

I will pick one lucky person at random on April 22nd at midnight using random.org, and then I will announce the winner both here and on Twitter.

So, go forth! Comment and tweet! Your beautiful photobook awaits you.

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Are you a blogger, too? Click here to register for a chance at 50 free announcements!

This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

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UPDATE: And the giveaway winner has been chosen. It is Brahm (alfred lives here)!

An Interview With The Lovely Jen Lee And A Giveaway Of Finding Your Voice

I met Jen Lee during my most favourite ever blogging conference session ever, Blogging As Storytelling, at BlogHer '09 in Chicago. I spoke to her briefly after the session, immediately decided that she should become a citizen of my semi-nomadic yurt-dwelling community, and have followed her online ever since.



If you know Jen, you know the thoughtful and creative force, the awesome, that is she. If you do not know Jen, let me introduce you to her, because to know her is to love her. She is a writer, photographer, and storyteller raising a family in New York and bravely helping to forge a new genre "...that marries story, myth and poetry to the wisdom mined from [the individual]..."

She is also the author of a course that helps you guide yourself to your own storytelling voice, Finding Your Voice: A Multimedia Course, a course that she and I are giving away to one of you lucky readers for free at the end of this entry, because you are so keen. The course we're giving away includes an audio learning program, an interactive workbook, a handwritten blessing, and private access to a course-specific discussion board.

Jen let me interview her about the course, how she came to create it, and why finding your voice important.



First, tell us a little bit about who you are as an artist and storyteller.

I feel like a bag of paradoxes. Superhero brave and totally chicken shit. I'm this crazy old-school, Little House On the Prairie girl with an aversion to technology and a high need for privacy who somehow found her way into being an internet artist and a live performer. I'm someone with something to say who is always looking for a way to get out of doing it. I want to be heard, and I want to be hidden. The tension of it all feels like it will tear me apart sometimes, trying to learn to live with some kind of peace in the middle spaces, but it grounds me in my humanity. We are complicated beings — there's no way around it — and the parts that appear to be contradictory are perhaps the most interesting (and true) of all.

What led you to want to create Finding Your Voice: A Multimedia Course?

I wanted this work to be available to a wider community. It's hard knowing so many people are longing to be a part of this conversation, but are prevented from attending live events like workshops and retreats by situational or financial constraints.

Tell us about experiences you had while you developed this course at Squam?

I'm laughing, remembering the first workshop I taught there. I was SO tired, and one of my students said afterward, "You're doing more content in half a day than other instructors are doing in a whole day. What you just told us is a BOOK — do you know that?" I didn't. I had no concept of pacing, and how much people could absorb in a 3-hour period. I wanted people to feel like they were "getting their money's worth", so I was just spilling all the goods like a jackpot win pouring out of a slot machine. If it were just a question of intellectually entertaining some ideas, that would be one thing. But people stumble into realizations that really shift something on a very foundational level. The kind of things that you need time to rearrange your cells and your soul around, that make you want to lie down or not hear another word until you can process it. And I was just blazing through this stuff like a racehorse, trying to jam it all in before our time ended.

Ever since, I've been working to slow the content and the process down. It took me years of living to move through these spaces, and it's crazy talk to try and move others through it as fast as I was. I had this work — really good, foundation-shifting stuff — but I was up against the constraints of what people could absorb and integrate into their living.

I started experimenting. What could we do in three days together? I hosted three retreats last year that were three-day affairs, and I was still lopping off content left and right. Then I thought, what could we do in three months together? I wrote a 12-week voice and story curriculum last year, presenting the various parts and pieces in my Squam workshops along the way.

I often say that we don't know what we've got until we give it away, and this was completely true of my workshops and retreats. People responded to the material in a really powerful way, so I knew that I was onto something. That this work was making a difference and mattered. So I began the process of producing that 12-week curriculum, slowing it down even more and breaking it into multiple courses. Finding Your Voice is the first in that series.



What did you learn from the process of creating this course, and what do you want others to take away from it?

I've been trying to check this work off my list and move on, but one thing I'm learning is that some assignments from the universe are not fulfilled so quickly or easily. This conversation is going to have my presence and attention for some time to come.

Creating it has also been an exercise in really rooting my work in myself--my values, my story, every aspect of my expression. It's so easy to become distracted by how "everyone else" is doing it and second-guess oneself, but I have such an aversion to anything that doesn't line up with my values that I knew I couldn't present this work any other way, at least right now.

I want others to know that it's never too late to visit old injuries and process them in a new way that gives you more freedom, more awareness, more access to all of yourself. We all want to be brave, but making our way across our personal minefields is daunting, no matter how you frame it. These are my best avoid-the-blast moves, and if they get even one other person through a precarious place, I will be so deeply happy.

What is the basic first step in finding your voice, and why is finding your voice important?

The first step is to bring your awareness to an aspect of your voice that eludes you or is hard to access. Identifying that alone shifts something. Once your awareness is on it, it's pretty hard to believe those things we've been telling ourselves about how *we're fine* and *it doesn't really matter anyway*.

Our voice is like those old phones we used to make out of cans and a string--it's the communication line to our true, whole selves. It's how we reach back to the parts of ourselves we condemned to the attic long ago, it's how they come out of the dark and get to be heard along with the rest. Whatever we're creating, it will be more rich and full if we are creating with our whole voice, in all its contradictions and complexities, instead of some thinner, two-dimensional version that is simply easier to live with or more palatable for others to take.



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Jen and I want to give Finding Your Voice: A Multimedia Course away for free to one of you, because we are, all of us, storytellers, whether we're writing the next great American novel or documenting a spectacularly disgusting diaper incident.

There is nothing quite like finding your voice. It's like coming home.

If you would like ONE chance to get your hands on Finding Your Voice: A Multimedia Course, do one of the following. If you would like TWO chances to win, do both of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post. You can tell me why you need this course or about your latest cooking snafu. We're not picky.


2. Post the following tweet on Twitter, complete with hashtag:
   I want to win @jenleedotnet's course, Finding Your Voice - http://tinyurl.com/findingmyvoice  #findingmyvoice

I will pick one lucky person at random on April 21st at midnight using random.org, and then I will announce the winner both here and on Twitter.

So, have at it and comment and tweet this baby! Your voice is waiting.

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UPDATE: And the giveaway winner has been chosen. It is The Other Laura!