Cancer Sucks! Support LAF’s Livestrong Challenge
By April on Oct 30 Filed In Activities, Events, Sweet Leaf Tea Company News 4 Comments
A huge perk working for Sweet Leaf Tea is the free events that employees get to attend or participate in. This past weekend was the Livestrong Challenge and as sponsors of the event we were given entrances to the 5K run and the bike ride. I am all about working out for free and getting a good training ride in, so I was not going to let this opportunity pass me by.
Livestrong Challenge Starting Line
Our new Sr. Mgr. Financial Planner, Brian Hack was my partner for the 45 mile ride through Dripping Springs. If you know anything about the Texas Hill Country, then you know that it’s not flat. There was a lot of up’s and down’s in this ride much like the challenge of living with cancer. It was so inspiring to see the notes and flags pinned to participants jerseys with the name(s) of the person that they were riding for. There were many times during that 45 miles (4.5 hours w/lots of rest stops) where I teared up from reading why folks were doing the ride. I was riding in memory of my father, who lost a short, horrible battle to the Big-C 7 years ago, and for my friend Jim who is trying to kick cancer’s ass currently. It was an absolute honor to ride for the both of them and for everyone else out there living, fighting, surviving, or mourning the loss of someone they loved. I wish I was talented enough to have taken pictures while I was riding, because one of my favorite jerseys said “cancer sucks”. I don’t think it gets much plainer than that.
My wedding day (me, Dylan & my folks) 2/12/02. Dad passed 7/6/02.
What are YOU doing to fight this craptacular disease?
Sweet E-Scavenger Hunt for Fun Fun Fun Fest Tix
By Happy on Oct 29 Filed In Austin, Texas, Events, Social Media, Sweet Contests 2 Comments
Ready to win some tickets to Fun Fun Fun Fest? We’ve got 3 pairs of weekend passes and 1 pair of PIP (Pretty Important People) passes up for grabs, but you gotta earn ‘em! Find the right answers to our Sweet E-Scavenger Hunt and email them to SLTFAN@sweetleaftea.com to put your name in the running for the tix.
1. What is the last cocktail listed on our ‘Mixers & Fixers’ page on SweetLeafTea.com?
2. According to the poll on our Facebook fan page, what flavor has the most votes?
3. Who did we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to in a video on our YouTube page?
4. On our blog (http://SweetLeafTeaBlog.com), who wrote the first blog entry that appears in the October 2009 archives?
5. What image is the profile pic of our main Twitter handle, @SweetLeafTea_1?
6. How many people from Sweet Leaf Tea have a Twitter handle? Hint: “Tweet Leaves”
7. Add us on Facebook (http://facebook.com/sweetleaftea), and follow us on Twitter (http://sweetleaftea.com/#/tweet_leaves)
PIP Passes are sold out! Want to win em? Go for the gold by completing the Sweet E-Scavenger Hunt, plus complete the following task:
Upload a photo of yourself with a bottle of your favorite Sweet Leaf Tea flavor to our Facebook fan page’s wall / fan photos.
Entries due by 11:59PM CST on Monday, November 2nd.
Winners are awarded tickets only — travel and lodging is NOT included.
GOOD LUCK!
Sweet Leaf Costume Contest!
By Guest on Oct 28 Filed In Activities, Sweet Contests, Uncategorized Add a Comment
Creepy post by Jackie Gilles. (Bad-ass Fall intern.)
Pumpkins are being carved, candy is being bought, and skeletons are appearing on desks at the Sweet Leaf offices. Yes it’s true–it’s finally that spooky time of the year again–Halloween is creeping around the corner! While I might be the worst person ever at thinking up good costume ideas, I know that many of you out there look forward to October 31st for months so that you can finally dress up as your favorite rock star, decade, or popular current event (last year’s favorite seemed to be foreclosed houses…).
This is why we are holding an official SWEET LEAF TEA COSTUME CONTEST this year just for you! We know our Sweet Leaf fans will show us the most creative, fun, crazy and scary costumes around, especially for some free sweet tea!
How to enter:
1. Take a picture of you lookin’ fly in your Halloween costume with a Sweet Leaf something visible in the picture. You can be drinking some Sweet Leaf or dressed as Granny herself, whatever you want–just get creative! Ex. If you’re going as your favorite Country Western singer Willie Nelson, don’t just wear a regular ol’ bandana–wear that awesome free bandana you got at ACL this year!
2. Upload your photo to our Facebook fan page as a wall photo by November 1st.
3. Start voting for your favorite costume on the poll on our fan page starting November 2nd ending November 5.
4. The winner of the poll will be announced November 6th and will win an awesome Sweet Leaf prize pack and a case of his or her favorite Sweet Leaf Tea!
There are, however, three rules:
1. Keep it clean, guys, or Granny will have to get out her peach switch!
2. Tell your friends to enter–everybody loves costume contests and a chance to win free Sweet Leaf!
3. Have fun. Duh.
We can’t wait to see your SWEET costumes and your creative ways to incorporate Sweet Leaf Tea and Granny into the picture.
Happy Halloween from everyone here at Sweet Leaf! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Benefit for Pablove: 10/28/09 Emo’s Austin TX
By April on Oct 27 Filed In Austin, Texas, Events, Live Music 1 Comment
Here at Sweet Leaf Tea, we are all about supporting causes and helping to share the love about events. On a personal note, the fight against cancer is something very near and dear to my heart, so I am happy to help our friends at Filter Magazine spread the GOOD word about a benefit this Wednesday night, October 28th, for Pablove at Emo’s Jr. here in Austin, TX.
Come see Ben Kweller, Sea Wolf, Port O’Brien and Sara Lov jam out with lots of love in their hearts and instruments for this incredible cause.
A little background from The Pablove Foundation’s website:
The Pablove Foundation is named after Pablo Castelaz, the son of Jo Ann Thrailkill and Jeff Castelaz, and the little brother of Grady Gallagher. On May 17, 2008, Pablo was diagnosed with bilateral Wilms’ Tumor, a rare form of children’s cancer. The cancer appeared out of nowhere, with no warning signs in Pablo’s general demeanor or health. He underwent treatment at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. On June 27, 2009, Pablo’s individual fight with cancer ended. But we fight on in his name, with the spirit of love that Pablo embodied and inspired.
Every year, the Pablove Foundation gives money to improve the lives of children with cancer, at both a national level as well as a local level here in Los Angeles. As we carry out our mission, we wave a flag for anyone to see. On it are these words: Kids get cancer too. They need your help. It’s not somebody else’s problem.
Pablo Castelaz-One cool dude!
5 Tips for Finding a Halloween Costume
By Charla on Oct 27 Filed In Austin, Texas, Events, Uncategorized, arts & crafts 4 Comments
I’ll be honest here. When it comes to Halloween, I am the ultimate costume procrastinator. Every year, post the mad rush around town to put together some pathetic excuse for a costume, I’ll tell myself and my husband, “Next year we’ve got to start thinking about costumes before the week or day of Halloween.” I’m sure you can imagine how effective that tactic is. I could make it my New Year’s resolution and still come up with the same result.
Here’s a quick example of one of our most infamous last minute costumes, please note, my husband usually ends up being the brunt of the joke because I’m usually tasked with finding something and he’s not up for the chaos that takes place. About four years ago, day of Halloween, we still have no costume and yet we have a party to go to. I run around to Target, Goodwill, Spirit Halloween store, etc. etc. and each one looks like a tornado hit it. Tired and running out of time, I decide to get “crafty”. (I use that term lightly.) I left Target with a gray sweat suit, felt (black, gray, pink), one face painting kit, headbands, pipe cleaners, white fur and black fishnets. Do you have any guesses on the end result?
I was a kitty and my husband a rat (aka “el raton”). The moral of the story is that husbands should not leave the last minute Halloween costume debacle solely with their wives, or they can end up as the dirty rat.
So moving forward, I provide these handy tips…
1. Know your competition. Looking at trends for 2009 Halloween costumes is a great start. If you are a true procrastinator, nothing is worse than showing up to a party in your last-minute costume to find that you have a twin. Only your twin actually put thought and time into developing a spot-on costume and has no need for a name tag.
According to HalloweenMart the Top Five Adult Halloween Costume Trends for 2009 include the Vampire (due to hits like Twilight’s Bella and Edward, True Blood’s Bill and Sookie and The Vampire Diaries), the King of Pop Michael Jackson in all his many looks, Reality Stars like Hugh Hefner and Kate Gosselin, and Zombies (whether inspired by Thriller or the new film Zombieland).
2. Don’t be scared to get crafty. However, I’m pretty sure Swine Flu will be more than covered this year. If you’re going to get crafty and create something on your own, avoid these common costume puns and give us something more original than the Cereal Killer, Black Eyed Pea, or One Night Stand.
Watch out for the Swine Flu!
3. Hit up a truly original and fun costume shop like Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds on South Congress in Austin, TX. This costume shop is open all year long and has a plethora of ideas to get the creative cogs rolling or at least to make sure you don’t show up as yourself…or El Raton.
4. What was your favorite cartoon character or movie star as a kid? Make a list and figure out how to make one of these ideas happen. If you need help, google tv shows and cartoons of that time period. Tapping into favorite memories not only will help you get more excited about developing a great costume, but even if it turns out sub-par, you’re likely to win brownie points for striking a positive memory with some of your friends.
5. Start calling around. More than likely you have a friend or two who has a costume idea that could benefit from having more people involved. Just think of all the Village people, Thriller zombies, Smurfs, Wizard of Oz, Addams Family, Scooby Doo, or other such famous group costumes that benefit from another friend doing their part. If nothing else, they might have a costume from last year or the year before that you can borrow.
As usual, I’m still working on putting together my costume and yes, that of my husband. I’m certain we’ll come up with something, we always do. If you see us out and about on Halloween, just try not to laugh at us, but with us instead.
What are you going to be this year? I’m dying to know.
keep looking »
