Wednesdays are for a Hodgepodge of Goodies -- Day 3 of the blogiversary celebration

Yesterday was all about cleaning up. Today, my sponsors offer a unique array of products with different purposes. Starting with glass straws, which GlassDharma sent to me in exchange for a review. I was thrilled. You see, I have a real problem with the whole issue of plastic straws, because they are not recyclable. While it may not seem like much to toss one plastic straw in the trash, if you're honest, you use a whole lot more than just one plastic straw in a year's time. So do the rest of the people in your family. If you could eliminate your family's contribution to the growing problem of plastics in the landfill by no longer using plastic straws, would you? In order to do this, you have two choices: 1) Ask for "No straw" with your drink orders and drink directly out of the cup, or 2) Ask for "No straw" with your drink orders and use your own personal glass straw. I do both.

I received four GlassDharma straws to review and there isn't a single one I don't love using. And let me tell you, beverages simply taste better when sipped through glass. You already know you need to beware of plastic -- every day it seems we learn more reasons why it is a threat to our own health and the health of our families. So glass straws address two concerns I know those of you in the GG community have -- health and environment.

Glass straws are an excellent choice to promote reusable vs. disposable mentality. In a perfect world, single use plastics will cease to exist. A straw is just one step that creates a spiraling thought process toward other re-usables. 

GlassDharma products are guaranteed to surpass your expectations in quality and durability. Cleaning is easy, too. You simply use one of two different sized brushes (available on their website) with a bit of dishwashing detergent and hot water or you can simply put them in the dishwasher. While a straw can chip or crack if dropped, this is unusual. If it does crack, it is important not to continue using it. Simply follow the instructions for returning the straw on the guarantee page of the website. How's that for a product you can feel secure about buying?

I took my assortment of straws to the beach when my family went on vacation last week and my daughter, Jess, took some nice shots.

12mm Smoothie

9.5mm Decorative Dots Ice Tea

9.5mm Beautiful Bend

7mm Decorative Dots sipper (perfect for my granddaughter, Laura)

Check out the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to GlassDharma. 

 Since I just shared a picture of my adorable granddaughter, I might as well move right along into the photography part of today's giveaway. Valued at $175 (plus a $25 credit toward prints), the big {happy} wall fall mini session includes 

• a 20-minute photo shoot  
• professional retouching of 2-4 images
• online proofing gallery to share with friends
• low resolution, branded images for sharing online

Jen Meyercheck specializes in creating memories of a place and a time that can never be recreated, by capturing images that document real life. Here are just a couple of shots of two of Jen's favorite subjects.

Here's the catch -- in order to win this fantastic prize package, you must live (or be willing to travel) within 20 miles of zip code 15214.

As an added bonus to the local members of the GG community, Jen is offering a 20% sitting fee discount on a full session, plus a $25 online store discount to the first 5 GG readers to book and place a deposit on a session (to be completed before November 10, 2012). Book your holiday photo session now and before long you'll be looking at your own big {happy} wall. Maybe you'll even be lucky and win the Rafflecopter drawing below!

Art/Photo Display Kit by Petite Paintbrush

Another thing that makes the walls happy in the homes where there are little ones, is art... child-designed art. Petite Paintbrush is offering a custom-designed art/photo display kit so you can show off your kiddo's works of art or adorable photographs.

Of course, there's a Rafflecopter for this charming prize, too!

While we're on the subject of kids, I'm really happy to be able to offer Neale Godfrey's wonderful book, ECO-Effect to three lucky winners. I reviewed this book just a few months ago in a post called The greening of money. I think this is a book every family with children should read with their school-aged kids. Find out more by reading my review, and then enter to win one of three books.

Finally, we move from kids to pup dogs. Natural Products Network graciously donated a Harry Barker collar, leash and bowl. Harry Barker is committed to creating environmentally-friendly products for pets, including their leashes and collars made from 100% recycled plastic. 

Fun fact: every Harry Barker leash is made from 20 recycled plastic bottles. 

Their bowls are made from either bamboo fiber and rice husk or restaurant quality, high-fired porcelain which is lead and cadmium free, dishwasher and microwave safe and FDA approved.

You will find lots of environmentally-friendly products for your pets on the Natural Products Network website. 

Isn't Day 3 loads of fun? So many ways to go green! So visit websites, enter the Rafflecopters and share with your friends and family. Tomorrow, we'll be moving on to Baby and Mama Care.

And another reminder -- fill out the Rafflecopters accurately, including your FB, Twitter and Pinterest names and answering questions when asked. If you take the credit for posting comments or sharing the giveaway, please take the time to actually do so. All invalid entries will be removed. a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored giveaway and is in no way affiliated with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Pinterest. The opinions stated in the reviews are just that... opinions. Individuals may have different responses and results when using these products. Since Rafflecopter is a fair and nondiscriminatory winner-selection widget, friends and family members are eligible to win prizes. Entrants may also win more than one prize. Entries will be verified.