This will be my third appearance in the Chicago Marathon. It was my first-ever marathon in 2005, with a time 4:30:54, and I went back in 2006 and completed it in 4:34:08.  I initially wanted to complete the race in under four hours this year, but I’m starting to think that might be too aggressive of a goal. So, my goal now is to go faster than 4:30. And, I’m starting a new nutrition program that I hope will result in an 8-10 pound weight loss, which should also make me faster, right?

I’m really looking forward to this particular race because two of my closest friends are going to travel with me to Chicago and we’re going to make a “Girls Weekend” out of the affair. We haven’t chosen our hotel accommodations yet, so that’s next on the list.

Then it’s time for me to start shopping for new running shoes. Any suggestions? I’ve been training in New Balance so far, and I may stick with those, but I”m open to suggestions.

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You get a sense of how delightful your visit is going to be when you walk into the lobby to check-in. The lobby area is gorgeous and gives you the sense that you are staying at a resort — plus the desk staff is so efficient and accommodating that there isn’t any lobby chaos.

The rooms are large and have all the amenities. There’s a spacious front room with  a nice television, comfortable couch, good size desk and swivel chair, counter and sink equipped with a coffee maker (an essential in my opinion) as well as a refrigerator and microwave. Of course, the hotel offers free wireless Internet access and I had a lot of work to accomplish while I was visiting, so the Internet speed was important to me. I wasn’t disappointed. At one point, I had a problem accessing a secure site for one of my clients and I called the front desk. I was immediately connected to tech support (which made me groan internally, suspecting that I’d be on the phone until my next birthday). Instead, I was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency and my problem was resolved effortlessly.

The bedroom area of the suite was standard and very clean. We had a room with two double beds, which was perfect for our needs. The beds were comfortable, the room temperature was easy to control, and very little, if any, noise filtered from the hallway into the back bedroom part of the suite. Housekeeping was as efficient as the lobby staff and things we needed (an extra pillow and more coffee) were delivered to our room within minutes of our requests. We enjoyed being able to rent movies in our room that are still in theaters for a cost of about $12 per movie, which made for a cheap “date night” for my husband and I after putting our youngster to bed (another plus of staying at Embassy Suites when traveling with children — there is a separate room to make them go to bed at their regular bedtime!)

The biggest PLUS of this hotel, however, is the amazing breakfast! We honestly could not believe the spread, which is free of charge! It included:

• An omelet station with multiples choices including meats, cheese, peppers and even spinach (heaven!)
• Pancakes
• Waffles
• Sausage & bacon
• Hot oatmeal and toppings
• Cereals
• Fruits
• Donuts and other pastries

The hotel saw to all the details, such as warm syrups for the pancakes and waffles, hot sauces and salsa for those of us who like to spice up our omelets, jellies and jams, and even extra omelet-making stations when the lines started getting long. Even on Sunday morning when it was very crowded, we didn’t have to wait long for a custom omelet and hotel staff kept stopping by our table to see if we needed anything.

Each night, the hotel also offered a happy hour with free drinks and snacks. And we ate at the hotel restaurant one night, which offered a decent menu, good service and good eats.

The hotel is a stone’s throw from the airport and an easy drive to other Oklahoma City attractions. Rates range from about $109 to $144 (these are estimates). It’s a little higher than a few other nearby hotels, but when you factor in the money we saved on breakfasts, snacks and drinks, it’s a wash. Plus, the service, amenities and rooms are superior. I’d give it five stars and recommend Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City to everyone traveling to that destination.

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Now, Snapfish– my all-time favorite, most amazing photo site — is offeirng you a chance to create Priceless Disney Memories.

Snapfish wants you to make magical Disney memories on a 5-day/4-night Disney Parks vacation to either Walt Disney World® Resortin Florida or Disneyland® Resort in California. If you win, you’ll also receive a $200 Snapfish gift certificate so you can turn your Disney experiences into shareable keepsakes. Enter here for your chance to win!

Make Your Own Disney Memory Calendar

You can also create a year full of Disney memories on your own 12-month 12 x 12 wall calendar – and the first 100,000 individuals who enter the sweepstakes will receive a redemption code to receive one free from Snapfish (taxes, shipping and handling not included; calendar must be redeemed by 2/28/11).

If you’ve never explored Snapfish, now is the time. I’m an avid amateur photographer and scrapbooker, and I’ve explored many of the photo sites on the Web. Snapfish beats them all in quality, scope of products and price!!

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I honestly cannot believe that it’s already time to start thinking about snow and ice, and I know some of our neighbors to the north have already done some shoveling. I’m not the best about preparing my car for the winter, so I found this video helpful.

To help you prepare your car for winter, Midas has created a Midas Winter Safety Kit which can be stored right in your car for any of those winter road emergencies! And they want to give one — valued at $100 — to one of my readers. The winer will receive:

• $50 Midas Gift Certificate
• Jumper Cables
• An Emergency Thermal Blanket
• First Aid Kit
• An Ice scraper/Snowbrush
• A Flashlight
• Storage bag
• Water

Giveaway Guidelines:

To enter the contest, you MUST become an email subscriber to Lipstick to Crayons. The subscribe button is in the upper right corner of the site. Once you subscribe (or if you are already a subscriber), leave a comment below telling me you did so, and make sure the email address you provide is the one you used to subscribe. After completing this mandatory first entry method, you can gain additional entries by doing any or all of the following (but be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do):

1. Blog about this contest
2. Share your favorite winter road trip or “must have” winter essentials
3. Tweet this giveaway on Twitter (you can do daily tweets, but leave a comment each time you do)
4. Follow @MyMidasGuy or “like” Midas on Facebook
5. Add Lipstick to Crayons to your blogroll or my button to your sidebar
6. Become a fan of Lipstick to Crayons on Facebook.
7. Post a link to this contest on your Facebook page.

This giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. Central time December 10, 2010.  Be sure to include a valid email address with each of your entries. Winner will be randomly chosen via random.org and will be notified via email and announced on this post.

If  winner does not claim the prize by December 13, 2010, she will forfeit the prize to an alternate winner who will be drawn at random.

USA residents only please!

NOTE: I received this prize package to provide to my readers from Midas.

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. CONGRATS TO SHELLY, COMMENT #112.

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To enter, America can visit www.folgers.com from October 1, 2010 through November 30, 2010, and submit a 200-word essay answering “What is the best part of wakin’ up at home during the holidays with Folgers coffee?”

Five winners will receive a seven day, six night trip in December 2010 for themselves and up to three other guests to travel to their hometown destination within the 48 contiguous United States.  Each trip includes round trip airfare, hotel accommodations, a rental car, $1,000 spending money and a Folgers gift basket.  Travel origination and destination must be within the 48 contiguous states. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C. 18 years old or older.  Void where prohibited. See www.folgers.com for Official Rules, entry information and complete details.

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AZO Products wants to remind women that they need to be prepared: maintain a healthy urinary tract and don’t be caught without access to relief!

Did you know that:

• After the flu and the common cold, urinary tract infections are the most common medical complaint among women age 18+, and it has been estimated that up to 60% of women will experience the unbearable pain and discomfort of a UTI at least once during their lives. The rate of repeat infections is high as well – about 20% of those who experience one UTI will have another.

• It is estimated that 75% of women will experience at least one yeast infection in their lives. And half of all women will have more than one.

• Feminine, or vaginal itching can be caused by anything from a yeast infection to hormonal changes, excess perspiration or even tight clothing. Typically, the cause is vaginitis, which is the inflammation or infection caused by bacteria, yeast, viruses, chemicals or even tight clothing. It’s very common, with most women experiencing some form of vaginitis at least once in their lifetime.

AZO offers products to diagnose a urinary tract infection (UTI), treat UTI symptoms and help maintain a healthy urinary tract, as well as provide all- natural relief and prevention of yeast infection symptoms and fast, immediate relief from feminine itch.

An “AZO emergency kit” can provide women with the products they need when dealing with a urinary tract infection, yeast infection or feminine itch. And they want to give one of my readers one of these kids in a Vera Bradley makeup bag!! The bag will contain:

AZO Cranberry® – 50 Count Tablets – Maintain a healthy urinary tract with all natural AZO CRANBERRY® tablets! Now with high-potency PACran, urinary health promoting probiotic and vitamin C! AZO Cranberry contains PACran, a high potency cranberry supplement made from early black cranberries, which have the highest proanthocyanidins (PAC) content. PACs are natural compounds in cranberry that help block the attachment of harmful bacteria to the bladder wall. As an alternative to drinking lots of cranberry juice that is loaded with sugar, take AZO CRANBERRY® tablets – without the extra calories and tart taste!

AZO Standard® Max Strength – 24 Count Tablets – To relieve UTI symptoms, trust AZO STANDARD® MAXIMUM STRENGTH, the #1 pharmacist-recommended brand. Get fast, maximum strength over-the-counter relief of UTI symptoms with AZO Standard® Maximum Strength. These tablets provides fast, maximum strength OTC relief of urinary pain, burning, urgency and frequency and are specially formulated to go directly to the site of discomfort and providing relief right where it hurts, unlike general pain relievers.

AZO Test Strips® – 3 Count Strips – Is it really a UTI? Find out with AZO TEST STRIPS® — the same UTI test that doctors use and trust. Treating a urinary tract infection early is the key to fast relief and preventing more serious problems. With AZO TEST STRIPS®, you can take a UTI test at home safely and simply, then call your doctor with the results.

AZO Yeast® – 60 Count Tablets - Stop symptoms now with AZO YEAST® — the over the counter tablet for all natural relief and prevention of yeast infection symptoms. Don’t wait for that vaginal cream to kick in! Relieve symptoms fast with AZO YEAST® – the fast homeopathic yeast infection treatment to naturally relieve symptoms of a vaginal yeast infection and prevent future recurrences.

AZO Itch Relief – Topical Analgesic Cream -With maximum strength anti-itch topical analgesic and 7 skin-soothing ingredients, AZO ITCH RELIEF Maximum Strength has everything you want – and nothing you don’t. When you experience feminine itching, get relief that’s fast and long lasting with AZO ITCH RELIEF Maximum Strength. Available in analgesic wipes and topical analgesic cream, AZO ITCH RELIEF Maximum Strength contains the skin- soothing ingredients you want — and none of the skin-irritating alcohol, steroids or controversial paraben preservatives found in the other leading brands.

AZO Itch Relief – Analgesic Wipes – With maximum strength anti-itch topical analgesic and 7 skin- soothing ingredients, AZO ITCH RELIEF Maximum Strength has everything you want – and nothing you don’t. When you experience feminine itching, get relief that’s fast and long lasting with AZO ITCH RELIEF Maximum Strength. Available in analgesic wipes and topical analgesic cream, AZO ITCH RELIEF Maximum Strength contains the skin-soothing ingredients you want — and none of the skin-irritating alcohol, steroids or controversial paraben preservatives found in the other leading brands.

Giveaway Guidelines:

To enter, visit the AZO product Web site and then come back here and tell me in a comment below something you like about the site.  This is a mandatory first entry.

To gain extra entries, do any or all of the following, but be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

Like AZO on Facebook.

Follow AZO on Twitter.

Subscribe to Lipstick to Crayons (upper right corner of this blog).

Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

This giveaway closes at 11:59 p.m. Central time on October 11, 2010. USA residents only. The winner will be announced here and notified via email. If the winner doesn’t respond by Oct. 13,  an alternate winner will be chosen.

** The Vera Bradley makeup bag that the winner receives will not necessary be the same pattern as the one in the picture. The color/pattern will be randomly selected, but it will be current color/pattern, not a retired one.

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRIS, COMMENT #1!

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A UK couple has found a novel way to holiday like there’s no recession by organising a home exchange during the 2012 Olympics. With no hotel bills, the benefit of free accommodation and the ability to exchange everything from cars and bicycles to boats and skis, home exchange has quickly become the best way to experience the world like a local and to stay for free.

“We have agreed to an exchange with two American couples for the period of the Olympic Games,” says HomeExchange Member Karen. “In Rochester, we now have a high speed rail link direct to Stratford International which will take our exchangers direct to the area of the Olympic park. During the exchange we will be staying with relatives who may accompany us to the US for the second half of the exchange.”

Homeowners looking to escape the Olympics and holiday like there’s no recession now have the perfect opportunity with HomeExchange, where two families swap homes for holidays. It means that except for getting there a holiday nearly anywhere in the world doesn’t have to cost anymore than staying at home.

“We got the idea of escaping the Olympics with home exchange when some of our Members started telling us that this is what they were doing,” says Ed Kushins, HomeExchange President. “They weren’t looking forward to the disruptions the Games would bring to the UK with more traffic, noise, crowds – just the logistics of getting around. With people realising they can see the Games without accommodation expenses, the opportunities are endless and what better time to get away!”

Unlimited exchanges can be taken with no additional per day or per exchange charges of any kind. HomeExchange even guarantees that if for any reason you don’t make an exchange in the first year, the second year is FREE. Members simply log on, create their listing with photos and a description, choose a location they want to visit, and begin coordinating an exchange with other Members across the globe for only GBP5.95 a month.

HomeExchange.com is the global leader in home exchange with 36,000+ listings in 130+ countries with a UK version of the website.

For more information Olympic home exchange oppportunities, go here.

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Together with Snappy, the Snapfish site mascot, Snapfish is offering fantastic deals and will host member’s selected favorite road trip stories and photos from around the country so other members can discover the best destinations across the land of the free.

To kick off the journey, members can enjoy 20% off digital photo frames using the code ROADTRIP712 by July 18. (Ordering a digital photo frame from Snapfish is a great gift idea because you can have it “pre-loaded” with pictures you upload to Snapfish).

Additionally, throughout the month, members can access exclusive deals on a variety of Snapfish best selling photo gifts from posters to jewelry and photo books at http://summer.snapfish.com/.

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To qualify for the chance to win, contestants need to tell Funjet Vacations who their favorite Disney character is and why at www.Funjet.com. Two grand prize winners will be randomly selected from the eligible entries.

Each grand prize winner will receive roundtrip airfare for four to Orlando and a 5-night Magic Your Way® Package Plus Dining with accommodations at a Walt Disney World® Resort Deluxe Hotel and a 5-day Magic Your Way® Ticket with Park Hopper® and Water Park Fun & More Option.

In addition to the grand prizes, Funjet Vacations will be randomly selecting daily winners from eligible entries to receive fun Disney merchandise.

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