Our Pop Secret Movie Night ($50 VISA Giveaway)

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to commentor #240: Terri P!

As you already know, our family recently went on a mission to prepare for our upcoming Pop! Camera! Action! Movie Night.

As you can see, our adventure included shopping for movies and lots of snacks.

The girls had a hard time deciding on which movie they wanted to watch but they all agreed on one thing, that we had to have Pop Secret Popcorn . . . Hawaiian Style.

So what is Hawaiian Style popcorn? Here on the islands we call it Hurricane Popcorn and it consists of, well, popcorn . . . plus butter, arare (japanese rice crackers) and furikaki (japanese seaweed). Hey, don’t knock it until you try it! It’s a local favorite!

Then we transformed the living room into a viewing area and everyone picked out their favorite spot, snuggled up in blankets, and enjoyed the show.

We finally decided to watch the movie that we all enjoyed when it first came out in the theaters . . .

Our family liked this movie so much that we think it should win Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards. And if we were in charge of the show (and thank goodness we’re not) . . . this is how it would go.

So there you have it! Our Pop! Camera! Action! Movie Night courtesy of Pop Secret.

You can get in on the fun by entering the Pop! Camera! Action! Sweepstakes where prizes include a 3D Home Movie Theater, Netflix Subscriptions, or a Swag Bag containing Cobra Digital Personal Camcorder. Not to mention tons of Pop Secret Popcorn! Enter today!

WIN IT!

How would you like to win a box of delicious Pop Secret Popcorn, a box of yummy Raisinets + $50 VISA Card? To enter:

• Just stop by Pop Secret and enter their sweepstakes before midnight, Feb 20th. It’s really quick and easy!
• Then come back and mention in comments that you did. That’s it!
• A random winner will be selected and notified via email shortly thereafter.
• The winner will then have 2 days to claim their prize.

To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.

• Subscribe to An Island Life’s feed.
• Follow An Island Life on Twitter.
• Tweet this giveaway (once daily). Enter to win some Pop Secret Popcorn + $50 VISA card courtesy of @kailani & Pop Secret! #PopCameraAction
• Already “liked” An Island Life on Facebook.
• Already a “fan” of An Island Life’s Facebook Fan page.
• Place our button in your sidebar.
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here and to Pop Secret.

This giveaway is open to US addresses. Good luck!

This post was written for Mom Spark Media & Pop Secret who provided the items used in this event and   the giveaway prize. By entering this giveaway, you are acknowledging that you have read, understood, and agree to our disclosure policy.

The Vaseline Dry Skin Patrol Go Dog Sledding in Duluth, MN

Out of all the stops on the Vaseline Dry Skin Patrol’s mission to rescue dry skin, the BearGrease Dog Sledding Marathon was the one I was looking forward to the most. I had no idea what to expect but just the thought of those cute dogs pulling me as I comfortably rode in the front basket of the sled sounded so cool! Little did I know that we would not be riding on those sleds but driving them . . . by ourselves.

On the day of our dog sledding lessons, it was 19 degrees and snowing. I couldn’t believe how cold it was and when I woke up my skin felt dry and frozen. How in the world would I survive a whole day outside? I even started feeling a little itchy after getting out of the shower probably because of the extreme difference in temperatures. I knew that this would be the ultimate skin test. I made sure I covered myself in Vaseline Intensive Rescue and got dressed . . . layer after layer after layer.

Then it was time to go outside. OMG . . . was it cold!

This was the first time I’ve even been in falling snow and I was surprised at how wet it was. I had 2 warmers in each of my gloves and boots but my fingers and toes still felt like they would freeze off. I started wondering at what point do you get frostbite? And if you did get frostbite, would you even know since you can’t feel anything due to the numbness? The good thing was that my skin didn’t feel itchy anymore.

We headed up to Eagle Lake in search of local legend, John Stetson, who would be teaching us how to dog sled. Stetson, the owner of Epic Adventures, is an Arctic explorer and has logged 100,000+ miles on dogsleds. Ask anyone in town and they all rave about what a great man he is. And he was. His patience and sense of humor made me feel confident that I would survive this.

After a few lessons on dog sledding terminology . . . Whoa (stop), Easy (slow), Gi (right), Ha (left), On By (keep going) . . . it was time to get the dogs. They must have sensed what was going on because all of a sudden every single dog there started barking and howling. It was so loud that it was almost scary. They were all jumping and pulling on their chains just begging for a chance to pull the sled.

The sled was tied to a tree and the 5 dogs were hooked up by their harnesses. I was introduced to my lead dog, Sparkler, and told that I should bond with her. I looked her in the eye and said, “If I fall off the sled, don’t leave without me!” I had no idea if she understood me or not but she just kept staring at me as if she was thinking, “Is this girl for real or what? She better hold on for dear life!”

Then it was time to go. All of a sudden, chaos erupted again as they started jumping and jerking forward. They were so loud that I started to feel a little anxiety as I stood by myself on the sled. What if I fell off? What if we got lost? What if I hit a tree? I had no idea what the course looked like and knew that Stetson lived on 80 acres of land. I wondered how long would it take for everyone to notice that I wasn’t on the sled anymore?

They untied my sled from the tree and we were off! Luckily, the dogs knew where we were going since I was too scared at first to shout any commands. However, once I got my balance and got used to the movements, I took a look around and was awed by my surroundings. The untouched snow-covered land was absolutely breathtaking. It was only when a tree branch almost hit me in the head that I remembered that I needed to pay more attention. And Sparkler, bless her little heart, kept looking back as if to make sure I was still there.

At the end of the wooded trail was a downhill shoot that opened up onto the frozen Eagle Lake. It was here that I met up with Kari & Michelle as our dog teams took us around this beautiful area that went as far as the eye could see. I found it to be a real challenge to make sure my dogs didn’t go too fast and get tangled up with the team in front of me. I kept trying to put my full weight on the brakes but the dogs were a little stronger than me.

All in all, I think everything went very well . . . if you don’t count the time my sled hit a tree and I almost got buried in the snow, or when I jumped off my sled when Michelle’s dog team went off the path on the frozen lake and my dogs tried to follow her, or when 2 of my dogs got into a fight and one tried to eat the other.

At the end of the day, I felt this event was a success because I left with all my fingers and toes in tact, no broken bones, and the softest skin around. In fact, the dry itchy skin I woke up with that morning never even crossed my mind during the day’s event. It allowed me to concentrate and enjoy what was going on around me with the confidence of knowing that my skin was well taken care of.

Here’s a video of Michelle @ The Adventures of Supermom going on her first ride:

Thank you Vaseline Intensive Rescue and Duluth, MN for the experience of a lifetime!

Vaseline Dry Skin Patrol Stop #1: Philadelphia Marathon
Vaseline Dry Skin Patrol Stop #2: Aspen Colorado
Vaseline Dry Skin Patrol #3: Polar Bear Plunge, Coney Island NYC

I was compensated by Vaseline for my time to travel. All opinions are 100% my own. Photos courtesy of Zippy @ Champagne Living.

I took the Plunge . . . and lived to tell about it

I have to admit that I was a little nervous about our 3rd stop on the Vaseline Dry Skin Patrol’s mission to rescue dry skin . . . The Polar Bear Plunge at Coney Island. I mean, what sane person would jump into the icy waters in the dead of Winter? In fact, when I first heard about this event I was a little concerned about my safety . . . I thought, “Aren’t polar bears dangerous? How in the world are we supposed to swim with them?”

I kid you not.

My blogging friend Cathi had a good laugh at my expense over that one as she tried to explain what really goes on there.

Okay, no polar bears. Ha. Ha.

When we arrived at the area where the Official Polar Bear Club members gather, I was impressed by all their enthusiasm. They were such a happy group of people who were excited to share their sport and wisdom with us.

We also had the very brave Dr. Jessica Wu with us who suggested that we apply lotion before heading into the water. This would help to lock moisture into our skin and protect it from the rough elements. She also mentioned that we should re-moisturize as soon as we get out of the water so that the cold air wouldn’t dry us out.

About 30 minutes before the big moment, we took off our jackets and lined up with the Polar Bear Club members. About 2,000 people were expected to participate with another 10,000 spectators cheering us on. When they blew the horn, everyone made a mad dash to the water. There were so many people around us that I couldn’t even see the camera crew. That’s when I knew we would have to re-shoot the whole thing. But that didn’t stop us from going in.

And Oh. My. God. . . . was it cold!

Yet strangely, I didn’t feel the urge to run out screaming in pain. I just stayed in the water and kept jumping around and laughing with all the other crazy people. Finally, I noticed everyone else leaving the water and thought I had better join them or I may never find them again in the madness.

Yes, I survived but did my skin? I’m happy to say that it did. When I walked out of the water I was so cold that I couldn’t even feel my feet and legs. I thought for sure my skin would be as dry as a bone when I toweled off and changed clothes. Amazingly, my skin looked just as good as it did before I went into the icy waters. I am a true believer in Vaseline Intensive Rescue.

Thank you to Vaseline and the Polar Bear Club for an experience that I’ll never forget.

Follow along on our last tour stop being held in Duluth, Minnesota for the Beargrease Dogsled Marathon on January 29th.

Would you take the plunge?

Hitting the Slopes with the Vaseline Dry Skin Patrol

Talk about going out of my comfort zone!

This past weekend I was in Aspen Colorado on our 2nd stop as a part of the Vaseline Dry Skin Patrol. It took me 17 hours to get there and I thought I would freeze to death as I walked off the tiny DASH-8 aircraft at the Aspen Airport. However, my thoughts about catching hypothermia quickly disappeared as I took a look around and saw how beautiful it was! It was like something out of a movie or post card.

There’s something to be said about being in a small town. Everyone was so nice and accommodating . . . from the hotel shuttle driver who helped me track down my lost luggage, to the food delivery guy who had to make two separate food runs to our hotel because I just couldn’t make up my mind, to the very happy front desk clerk who just returned from his very first Hawaiian vacation.

As you know, I’ve only had one “snow” experience in my lifetime when we took the family to Lake Tahoe three years ago. Since then I haven’t had any desire to go back. I like the idea of snow (sitting my with laptop by the fireplace as the snow falls outside) but actually being in it is another thing all together. So when I found out that the temperatures in the mountain could be in the negatives, I started having second thoughts.

When I woke up on the morning of the video shoot, I noticed two things . . . that I had a massive headache (probably due to the altitude) and that my skin felt really tight (probably due to the extreme cold). I think my warm weather skin was going into shock. Of course, I had lots of Vaseline Intensive Rescue on hand so I made sure I covered myself before I left the room.

Then we headed to Snowmass where we met up with actress Wendie Malick and celebrity dermatologist Dr. Jessica Wu. I wasn’t sure what to expect since I haven’t really met anyone famous so up close and personal. However, both of these amazing ladies were the nicest and most down to earth people you could ever hope to meet. Ms. Malick was so personable and took a real interest in our lives and how we were chosen to be a part of the Dry Skin Patrol. Dr. Wu has the most beautiful complexion in person and gave me some great skin care advice to help with my age spots. She’s even emailed me to let me know that she’s sending me some of her skin care products to try out for myself. How cool is that?

Then it was time to hit the slopes. My ambitious goal was to be able to glide down the mountain and come to a stop on the bottom by spraying everyone with snow with my graceful turn. Uh yeah . . . in my dreams. Once I actually got my skis on, all I wanted was to not fall and break a leg in front of the camera.

Luckily, we were treated to an hour-long ski lesson by some very patient ski instructors. I tried really hard to follow what they were doing, however, they wanted me to move my legs in ways that they just weren’t meant move. I can still hear them yelling to me as I went down the hill, “Pizza Wedge! Shin to boot!” We took several runs down the kiddie hill with 4 year olds whizzing past us until it was finally time for lunch.

In the afternoon, we had a real treat waiting for us. An obstacle course was set up on a little steeper hill with 4 flags that we had to maneuver around. At first I thought it was a joke. I mean, I could barely go down the hill in a straight line without taking out anyone along the way. Now I had to go side to side? I could totally see myself crashing into one of those flags and rolling down the hill into a huge snowball.

However, believe it or not I actually made several runs down the course without falling once! I was in shock! I started to think that maybe I have some kind of hidden ski talent that I just never knew about. I could see myself on the Black Diamond hill as I make the vertical trek and jumping a mogul along the way. US Ski Team . . . here I come! And then my bubble burst when I started to slip backward down the hill with no way of stopping. I helpless screamed for help until our still cameraman, Patrick, came to my rescue. As far as I was concerned, my Olympic dreams were over.

Seriously, being on the slopes was the most coolest experience ever. I am so glad that I decided to step out of my comfort zone and participate in the Dry Skin Patrol’s mission to deliver one million great skin days this winter. The kindness of everyone on the production team – Unilever, Alcone, M Booth, Rocket XL, EventNet, Time Inc, and the film crew – has been amazing. The beauty of Aspen was breathtaking. And my skin has never looked or felt better – warm weather or cold.

Michael (Rocket XL), Me, Brian (Unilever), Laurie (Guessing All The Way), Stephanie (Alcone), Katie (M Booth)

So what’s next? We’re off to the Polar Bear Plunge in NYC on New Year’s Day to brave the icy cold waters at Coney Island! Send warm thoughts!

Go Team Vaseline!

Follow along with the Dry Skin Patrol on the Official Vaseline Facebook page. While you’re there enter to  win a trip to one of these amazing places!

I am being compensated by Vaseline for my travel time.

Next Page »