Monday, November 29, 2010

Gratitude Giveaway Round Two!



Just when you thought Thanksgiving was over, we decided to keep it going. We are kicking off round two of our GRATITUDE GIVEAWAY!!!

Please join us in keeping the attitude of gratitude going strong. We were so moved by the entries of the last giveaway! There was such a huge abundance of love in those emails and it really is an awesome way to show someone special that you recognize their giving heart!

All you have to do to enter the GRATITUDE GIVEAWAY is send us an email to info@mypeaceandlove.com telling us about a special woman that you know of, who deserves recognition for all of the good that she does. In the subject box, please put the word "Gratitude". All entries must be received by 12PM PST, on December 22, 2010. Along with your story, please attach a photo of her. We will share the winning letter and photo right here on our blog. Along with sharing her story, the winner will receive this Gratitude bracelet from the DINA MANZO LOVE ROCKS collection. Retail value of $125.00 



For any of you who entered the last giveaway, feel free to resubmit your letters. They were wonderful! You never know, it might win this time around:) 

Winner will be announced on December 23, 2010. Good luck!  

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

And The Winner Of The Gratitude Giveaway Is...



Deciding on a winner for the Gratitude Giveaway was much harder than we expected. Much harder. All of the entries were beautiful stories and many brought tears. Thank you to all who entered. Your words were beautiful!


The winner of the giveaway is Jill Kincer. Her daughter, Elizabeth wrote in and here is her story...


 I am writing to nominate an individual for the gratitude giveaway. I guess I will begin by giving a little background information on myself and my nomination. My name is Elizabeth Kincer, I am an 18 year old Senior attending Seymour High School, and I have 2 brothers (Kyle who is 16 and Cameron who is 9). I have been accepted to attend Indiana Business College and intend on pursuing a degree as a Veterinary Technician, a passion I have had since birth. 

My brother Kyle is an excellent student, and he has had a passion for music his entire life. He can play any instrument that you put in front of him, and he will play it well! (Not that I am jealous or anything) He has been a drummer in a local teen band "7 Car Pile-Up"  for about 5 years and hopes to "make it big" someday, and I have no doubt with his talent that he will.

My other brother, Cameron, is our "baby". He was diagnosed with Autism several years ago. He is the smartest little boy I have ever seen and I truly can not wait to see what amazing things he might accomplish in his life. I love to just hang out with him and watch cartoons, teach him new things (the kid is like a sponge for knowledge), or help him with "I Spy" books. He is just so much fun! Which brings me to my person for nomination...

My mother, my best friend and absolutely most amazing strong woman I have ever met. She is a single parent, and when she was really struggling with Cameron's issues I saw a change in her and it really scared me at first. He was in full medical meltdown several years age prior to his diagnosis. I didn't know it at the time, but later found out, that she was probably having a nervous breakdown herself. Her child was sick, very sick, and she didn't know why and she couldn't "fix" it. She couldn't "kiss" it away or hold him until he felt better, and this made her feel like a failure as a parent. This made me so sad because my mom has always been our rock. She kept this family as stable as possible, she made everything flow, and was and is our everything, and for her to feel like a failure was a life altering state of being for all of us. I saw, what could have easily been a family's demise and ultimate breakdown, this woman pick herself and her family up, stand up tall on two very strong feet and that was "it". She was determined not to let this get any of us down. She found out everything she could about Autism. She made changes and adjustments in our everyday lives that would better Cameron's life, but she did it in a way where there was very little disruption for the rest of us. She worked with Cameron constantly to better his health and living conditions, and she sacrificed so much to do so. 

My mother is constantly giving to and for her children, family and friends. We are always in the forefront of her mind in everything that she does. I have seen her buying food for a family with four small children that had no food for them, even though we barely had enough for ourselves, and at first I was so angry and I asked her, "why are you doing that when we don't have that much for ourselves?" Her answer to me was, "Well, we are ok and if I have a little to help then thats one child that won't go to bed hungry." I felt so overwhelmed with emotions and at the same time inspired! She has given people rides to work when they couldn't get there when she had no idea how she herself would cover the next gas fill, but never asked for a dime from the people she was helping.  She can not keep jobs for very long at a time due to Cameron's needs. It will often cause her to miss work because she is the only one that really can deal with his emotional and social issues. She has searched long countless hours for grants and assistance, but has had no luck. At this point both of our vehicles are broken down, and my brother doesn't have a car yet (it isn't looking good for him anyway) so I am not quite sure what we will do about the working situations and getting Cameron to his medical appointments, but I want her to know that we appreciate her. We realize how much she does, how much she has done, how much love she pours out to us. We don't have anything at all, no vehicles, house is old and falling apart and way to small for us, we never get to go "out" and do things other kids do, Cameron has never been on a vacation and he always asks mom to take us to Disney World (which I know rips her heart out to know she will never be able to take him), she struggles to put gas in the tank, keep the lights on, and  put food on the table  (I often worry how Kyle and I will make it to college) I know this causes countless sleepless nights for her, just knowing that she is doing the best she can but not being able to provide the basic needs. We all feel so lucky though. We are all together, we are in good health, and we have a roof over our heads, and that is 100% due to this amazing woman! I love you mommy!



There is really so much more I could go on about this woman, but I think you probably get the idea. Her name is Jill Kincer, she is (as I mentioned) a 35 year old single parent of 3 awesome and amazing children (we get that from her!). She currently attends Hair Force Beauty Academy to get her license for Cosmetology. She is currently unemployed, but hopefully if we can get transportation and gas that will be a temporary situation.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this e-mail. I think this would be the most amazing way to show her how much she is appreciated. She would never think we would do anything like this.

Thanks again,

Elizabeth Kincer


Monday, November 8, 2010

Gratitude Giveaway



Since November has that special holiday in it where we are supposed to pause and be thankful, we thought it would be the perfect month to kick off our GRATITUDE GIVEAWAY!

This is how the giveaway will work: Every month we are going to give away one of our Gratitude bracelets from the Dina Manzo Love Rocks collection to one special person who deserves a special thank you. So, if you know an extraordinary person who gives more than they take, we want to hear about them. All you have to do is email us and tell us in your own words why this special someone should win the Gratitude bracelet. That's it! That's all you have to do.



We will announce the winner of  the first GRATITUDE GIVEAWAY the day before Thanksgiving on Wednesday, November 24. Along with winning the bracelet, we will also share your inspiring story here on our blog.

Please email your stories to info@mypeaceandlove.com . If you can, please attach a photo of this special person too. Can't wait to hear from you guys! xo

Friday, November 5, 2010

Dina Manzo Love Rocks Collection



We are extremely excited about our new DINA MANZO LOVE ROCKS collection. By chance you don't know who Dina Manzo is, she is a former housewife on Bravo TV's the Real Housewives Of New Jersey. Much more than that, Dina is an exceptionally loving and giving person who is not only the founder of Project Ladybug, a not for profit charity catering to children battling cancer and their families, but she is also a BIG time animal lover who invites animals into her home who are moments away from being put to sleep forever. And this is exactly why we've partnered up with Dina for this very special collection. She rocks! Like us, Dina deeply believes in the importance of positive energy and the wonderful healing properties of gemstones.


The DINA MANZO LOVE ROCKS collection includes necklaces and bracelets and are designed to specifically promote Protection, Gratitude, Fertility, Peace & Love, Belief, and Good Luck & New Beginnings. We hope that you will enjoy them for years to come! The collection is available now on www.mypeaceandlove.com and will also be available in a just few days on www.dinamanzo.com .