Two Monkeys & A Washtub

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Review & Giveaway: BRUGO Travel Mug (These mugs are amazing!) - Closed

This giveaway has ended! Thanks for visiting!

Brugo Mug (with top removed)

Working full-time, I am typically running out the door with a hot cup of coffee each morning on my way to the office. I have a Tassimo® coffee maker, so making a cup of coffee is the last thing I do right before walking out the door. I prefer to drink my coffee on the way to work (it’s a 30 minute drive, and I like to be caffeinated when I get to work), but I always burn my mouth when I take those first couple sips (gulps)! I was really excited to try out the BRUGO travel mug with its promise of delivering your hot beverage at the perfect temperature every time using their patented temperature control chamber while keeping the rest of your coffee hot longer. There are two options for drinking your hot beverage with the BRUGO travel mug, you can “tip and cool” using the cooling chamber or sip bypassing the cooling chamber.

I received the BRUGO travel mug in Seaglass, and the color really reminds me of the pieces of glass we picked up while walking the beaches in Australia (I love it!).

BRUGO Mug in Seaglass

As I said before, I am a coffee gulper, regardless of the temperature so it took me a little while to get used to the “tip and cool” feature of the BRUGO travel mug since it is truly a sip of coffee. I used the “tip and cool” feature of the mug while the coffee would have burned my mouth and after about 15 minutes or so of being patient, I switched to bypassing the cooling chamber. The “tip and cool” feature really does work to cool the coffee and being an engineer, I really want to disassemble the lid to figure out how it works but I like my mug too much to destroy it!

I am excited to say that I no longer burn my mouth on my early morning coffee while driving to work. I tried the mug out for a couple of weeks and really liked it. It fits well in the car cup holder, looks appealing, and fits in my Tassimo® coffee maker, so would likely fit in a Keurig® as well. My only disappointment is that the mug is hand-wash only, which works great at the office but I always tend to leave my travel mug in the car since I try to stick to one cup of coffee a day and I can be too lazy at the end of the day to hand wash it for the next morning.

I know you're ready to buy your own BRUGO travel mug (these will make perfect gifts too), and right now you can save on your purchase of any 2 or more mugs (only $14.95 each when you buy 2) and receive free shipping when you spend $50 or more - Stock up now so you're ahead for the holidays!

Giveaway Details:

Jolex, Inc. has offered to send one winner a BRUGO travel mug (company will select the color, but all the mugs are really pretty). This giveaway will end on August 22nd at 9:30PM Central and the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

Mandatory Entry:

Visit BRUGO travel mugs and tell me one thing you learned about the mugs or something that makes them truly unique. You must complete the mandatory entry for any extra entries to count!

Extra Entries:

(if it states 2 extra entries, leave 2 comments, 3 extra entries, leave 3, etc.)

1. Follow Two Monkeys & a Washtub via Google Friend Connect (2 extra entries)

(if you already follow, just let me know)

2. Like Two Monkeys & a Washtub on Facebook (3 extra entries)

3. Like BRUGO Mug on Facebook (1 extra entry)
(Please let them know Two Monkeys & a Washtub sent you!)

4. Follow monkeyswashtub on Twitter (2 extra entries)

5. Follow BrugoMug on Twitter (1 extra entry)
(Please let them know monkeyswashtub sent you!)

6. Tweet about this giveaway leaving the link in a comment (you can tweet 2x a day (at least 1 hour apart) and grab an extra entry with each tweet!)

" Win a BRUGOtravelmug @monkeyswashtub @BrugoMug http://goo.gl/fb/qIbqc ! #giveaway ends 8/22 "

7. Subscribe to my blog via email or RSS (2 entries for each, you can do both)

8. Follow this blog on Networked Blogs (5 extra entries)

9. Enter this giveaway into a linky and leave me the link where to find it! (5 entries for each linky entered)

10. Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to it. (5 Entries)

11. Enter any of my other giveaways (1 Entry for each giveaway)

12. Grab my NEW button over there on the left. It must be the new one or the entry won't count and leave me a link to where I can find it on your page. (3 Entries)

Disclosure: I received the BRUGO Travel Mug from Jolex, Inc. in exchange for my honest review and opinion. No additional compensation was received.

The reviews above are my honest opinion and my differ from others.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

No-Go BlogHer Blog Hop - I'm In!

In order to participate, visit To Be Thode and Musings of a Marfan to get all the details, and then answer a few questions about yourself and your blog!

Here are the questions we want you to answer:

1.When did you start blogging?
Started my first blog in September 2008, and moved to this one in late February 2009! Blogging is my creative outlet! I work a job that keeps me "between the lines" so I can be myself, write about what I love, and do a little graphic design here!

2.Why did you start blogging?
Same reason I blog, I needed a creative outlet! Blogging is a fun hobby for me and the additional perks of product reviews and giveaways keep it entertaining!

3.What is one thing you are going to do this week that is WAY cooler than going to BlogHer?
I will be celebrating my son's 4th birtday! Definitely WAY cooler than going to BlogHer (or anywhere for that matter)...even have the day off work to spend with him! We take it off every year!

4.Share a post that you think says a lot about you or is your favorite.
I will share a series of posts because I think my Finding Me Mondays really show who I am, and I am hoping that there are others in my same position that can be motivated to tell their own stories! I also love my dog, Logan, so feel free to check out his pictures and stories too!But really...I'm not choosy, so feel free to look around and read what you like!

Probably my most "mommy" post and hardest post, was sometimes you just have to watch them sleep...and listen to them breathe...to know that they will be okay!

Thanks for stopping by and enter my giveaways while you're here (quicklinks on the top right-hand side)! If you follow me, let me know! I always follow back!

Bloggy awards are the best!

I received a new Bloggy Award! Yeah...so excited...but it has rules to follow - bummer (at least they're easy)!

1. Thank the blogger who gave it to you!

Thanks to Weezer at Weezer's Haven who always stop by to say hi and also bestowed upon me this great award! Thank you so much!

2. Tell everyone 7 things about you!

1. I coached gymnastics for 7 years and really miss the interactions with the kids as they learn new things! I was an independent coach at a YMCA in a small town and then taught special needs children in college which was probably one of the most rewarding jobs I ever had (too bad my boss was a total jerk!).

2. My husband and I were in two different states when we celebrated our 9th anniversary so we are making plans for another weekend to at least go out for dinner!

3. I love my Jeep Wrangler and wish I had more time to tinker with it and more money to get it completely rebuilt and repainted so it would run forever. It was my dream car and I bought it in college. No A/C and a manual transmission - perfect!

4. I love the beach - it gives me a sense of peace!

5. I wish I wasn't so hot-tempered!

6. If there were more available hours in the day I would spend them crafting - bead work, sewing, scrapbooking, and I would like to relearn crocheting!

7. I treat my animals like children, so somedays it feels like we have 6 kids instead of two running around the house (2 kids, 1 dog, 3 cats).

3. Bestow this award onto 10 blogs that

are new to you that you enjoy reading!

Now this is the hard one - it always hard to choose just a certain number!

(promise I'm not trying to leave anyone out on purpose)

Wickett's Waggin' Tail

Cut/Copy and Paste

Healthy Home Blog

I Still Want More Puppies

Monday, August 2, 2010

Tuesday Blog Hops! Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks for stopping by!
Be sure to enter my giveaways while you're here and there are always bonus entries for following!

Breyers Ice Cream - 2 winners (8/6)

SmartyRents.com - 5 winners (8/8) - it's like Netflix(R) for Leapfrog and VTech games

Herman T's BBQ Sauce Mix (8/10)

Near East Foods - 2 winners (8/12)

Easy Lunch Box System (8/15)

Corel Paint it! (8/17)

Doggie Doo Drain (8/25)

Leave me a comment if you follow me so I can return the favor!

Finding Me Mondays!

This week's weigh in I am at least close to the pre-vacation weight and I figure that's pretty good since we celebrated our son's birthday with a wonderful chocolate cake! I haven't taken pictures yet, except with my kids and I use them to hide me normally, but I will and measurements when I can figure out where my boys put the tape measure! Still avoiding the camera but my husband keeps threatening..so soon there will be pics - promise! Guessing you can tell I hate pictures of myself!
Monday, June 21st: 203.5 lbs, Size 14
Monday, June 28th: 200.0 lbs, Size 14
Monday, July 5th: 196.5 lbs, Size 14 (fitting a little looser)
Monday, July 12th: 196.5 lbs, Size 14 (fitting like last week)
Monday, July 19th: No scale available, Size 14 (fitting like last week)
Monday, July 26th: 198.5 lbs, Size 14
Monday, August 2nd: 197 lbs, Size 14 (still fitting the same, ready for some changes but at least I am getting close to my pre-vacation weight)

As I mentioned last week, I was able to catch up with an old friend from high school that I hadn't seen in 8 years (her first wedding to be exact when I was a bridesmaid). We had tried a few times in the in between years to get together but life always seemed to get in the way, divorce for her and then the single life, and for me it was trying to settle down, moving cross country, and then having my boys! We are on the same path now, so it was great to catch up but I did feel like the fat friend out with my skinny, hot pal (she hasn't changed from her high school cheerleader size - so jealous sometimes)! I know I shouldn't be, it should just be more motivation and in a way it is...I know the next time I see her, I want it to be sipping drinks with little umbrellas beachside somewhere and I want to be comfortable laying there in a swimsuit alongside her (and that's saying a lot!)!

Dieting, or at least staying motivated was difficult, with travel for work, long days of training, and then coming home to company and hosting my son's birthday party at our house! As anyone knows, you have to partake in the birthday cake and I just can't feel guilty about it, it's part of childhood and growing up and they wouldn't understand mommy skipping it! After this coming week, when my son's actual birthday passes it will be time to fully focus on me again! I'm tired of always putting everyone else first and ending up hurt in the end, so I am even more motivated to lose the weight...and ready to drop another 20 lbs so that hopefully my heart arrythmia will stop inhibiting my ability to exercise the way I want too! I am ready to be able to once again climb more than two flights of stairs without getting extremely dizzy...that will be the first sign of improvement!

The red dress hangs prominently in my closest (it blocks all my pants) so I have to look at it every day....it will continue to be my motivation - even if this week, life and stress took over!

Join me in the journey of finding yourself, whether it's weight loss or something else by linking up below! We could all use some support!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Monday Blog Hop - Follow Us Monday Morning!

Question of the Week: If you could make a wish list of three (material) things under $100 (no cash or gift cards) what would they be?
Hmm...this is somewhat easy, but I have a taste for expensive things found on sale! So if that counts, then and I could spend up to $100 on each item...1) new Dooney & Bourke handbag, 2) pretty watch, or 3) Cole Haan black strappy heels! Like I said, I like expensive, but I never pay more than half of original cost! Typically though I am spending all my extra money on special things for my boys or the dog!