Benjamin Dash Miami | November 2013

Are you a runner looking for a fun and unique challenge? Benjamin Dash in Miami might be one worth checking out. 

Benjamin Dash is an innovative 5K course running event that gives Dashers the opportunity to grab flags worth monetary value.  They will have the choice to either donate to their favorite charity or keep it for themselves. Runners will have to maneuver through a numerous, uniquely designed obstacles that will test every specific attribute that can be thought of, especially to keep the large wave of runners moving. They will then finish the race where runners will be paid for the amount of flags they have captured.

Here’s the twist, all the flags on the obstacles will have different values so participants will ever know the amount they are running with on hand. If you think that was it, you’re wrong! Runners will need eyes like an eagle for there will be charity warriors whose sole purpose is to take your flags to promote their own charity. After completion of the race, runners will be accommodated with drinks and food, as well as entertainment from a live band. If you're up for a different kind of competition, check out Benjamin Dash online to find out more. There are early registration discounts as well. Use the promotional code: BUGS747 (in all caps) for a 10% off discount.

You can find Benjamin Dash on Facebook and Twitter.

This is not a sponsored post. I just thought I would share this event with my readers that reside in Florida.

Get inspired with Miracle-Gro's The Gro Project

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
We are in prime gardening season and everyone seems to be getting into it. Miracle-Gro is doing The Gro Project to help you get some fun ideas to make your garden project easy and enjoyable. After all, who want what should be a fun time to feel like a chore? I just love the fun garden projects on the Facebook page. The "toyranium" is something that you can do with your little ones and they will feel a part of growing their very own plants. They can learn how plants are good for the environment and hopefully grow to enjoy gardening for life. Check out the short video below:

With the cost of food constantly rising, it is a smart move to grow your own fruit and veggies. This year, we did a lot of outdoor containers for our fruits and veggies and did an in-ground garden bed with our ornamentals.  We made sure to start with Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix for our containers. It is made to keep the right amount of moisture so you prevent over and under-watering.

So far we have strawberries, pickling cucumbers, green beans, hot peppers, Meyer lemons and herbs. We started our planting about 4 weeks ago and it is astonishing how much they have already grown! We have baby green beans rapidly popping up as well as many blooms on our cucumbers and peppers. I really think that I will check out an indoor garden project that my son can help with. He really enjoyed planting the strawberry plant for his daddy as you can see!

The strawberry plant has gotten so big and we can't wait for it to bare actual fruit! 

Be sure to "like" Miracle-Gro on Facebook to join The Gro Project. If you want to share your own creations on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook, be sure to use the hashtag #MiracleGroProject

Wordless Wednesday | Prom 2013

My oldest daughter went to her senior prom a couple weeks ago. She looked like a princess!

Smooth Fitness Update: Get your kids into fitness early #SmoothBlogger #spon

I am participating in a campaign as a Smooth Fitness Ambassador and will be reviewing a treadmill from Smooth Fitness in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts/opinions expressed are always my own.

I enjoy getting my walk/jog/run on in the morning during the week. When you have a 5 year old around, it can be a challenge to get your workout complete, without interruption. My son has been so curious about our Smooth Fitness 5.65 treadmill. He often stands by and watches the belt move and you can tell he wants to try it out for himself. Of course a treadmill is not made for small children, so I occasionally let him walk on it with the power turned off.

He has become very creative and gets on the mini trampoline that we have set up not far from the treadmill and makes up his version of exercising. He walks and jogs in place and tells me that he has his very own treadmill. He enjoys when I have my music hooked up to the adapter so he can have a fun workout as well. It's amazing how much his coordination is improving with his pretend treadmill workouts. We both get our exercise in without any interruption and he is being conditioned to having fitness become important at an early age.

If you are thinking about purchasing a high-quality treadmill for your home, I greatly recommend Smooth Fitness. We researched treadmills for 6 weeks prior to receiving ours and nothing can compare. It is truly gym quality and Smooth Fitness has different models to choose from as well as financing and payment options. For what you will pay in a year for a gym membership, you could have paid for a treadmill in full and have your own private at-home gym. Here are a few features of the Smooth Fitness 5.65 treadmill:

SmoothDrop™ Folding Frame: Soft Drop, Easy to Fold Design

Industry Leading Warranty: Lifetime on frame & motor, 5 years all parts & electronics and 2 year in home labor.

SmoothDrive™ 2.75HP Motor: Powerful, Quiet, Durable Operation

Im-pression™ Shock Absorption: Helps Reduce Impact on Joints

Be sure to check out Smooth Fitness on the web, Facebook and Twitter to learn more about their line of treadmills and elliptical machines.

London Festivals with the Family: To Go Or Not To Go?

The summer season is nearly here and with summer comes the opportunity to enjoy festivals. While they’re certainly not everybody’s cup of tea, they can be incredibly exciting, with live music and activities to keep everyone busy throughout the days.

Whether you’re a festival veteran or a complete fledgling, having a family can sometimes affect your ability to enjoy festivals in all their glory, with many people choosing to give up on the idea altogether. It goes without saying that the festival experience changes somewhat when children come along – the idea of being wild, young and free doesn’t necessarily exist anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy them.

 If you’re wondering whether to head to a festival in the capital this summer, you can click here for budget accommodation deals in London so that you and your kids have somewhere comfortable to lay your head.

While some people will be ruling out the concept of a festival with their brood, others may be weighing up the options. What are the pros and cons of taking kids to these summer traditions?

 Pros
 • The learning experience for your kids is immeasurable
 • Fun-filled for the young ones, in an environment they wouldn’t ordinarily see
 • A chance to appreciate culture, hone their creativity and appreciate child-friendly activities
 • A great opportunity to spend some quality time with the children this summer

 Cons
 • Inevitable responsibility – you won’t be able to be crazy like you may have done a decade ago!
 • They may mean you miss music you were hoping to see because they clash with the activities your children would like to participate in
 • Early nights to coincide with sleepy ones

Luckily nowadays, it’s not all about taking children to adult-orientated festivals and hoping that they enjoy it. There’s a whole host of child-friendly festivals all over the country which provide a schedule of entertainment that cater for the youngsters too.

Family-friendly festivals offer a great chance for everyone to enjoy some quality time together this summer and a reason to spend a little time away from the creature comforts together. While many may choose to throw themselves into the deep end and camp for the duration of the festival, if you’re a complete festival newbie, it would be more advisable to click here for budget accommodation in London so that you have a fresh pillow to retire too once the festivities are over.

The LolliBop Festival (August 17th – 19th, Regent’s Park) is the ultimate festival for kids. Radiating good vibes, while catering on the most part, towards little ones, it returns for its third year in 2013 and includes the Gruffalo Live, Waybuloo, Mister Maker and Little Angel Theatre. There’s plenty of activities throughout the weekend to keep them busy and provides a superb day out that’s based around them. Take the plunge this summer and start a family tradition of heading to an annual festival. You’ll wonder why it’s taken you this long to realise just how fun-filled and enjoyable they are with the brood in tow.