Contest now closed. Congratulations to Cassandra, comment #65:

What stresses me out? Driving–too many aggressive drivers and drivers that don’t obey traffic laws–makes me nervous and stressed, and sometimes I end up resorting to the same road rage tactics that annoy and stress me out.

What do I do to relax? Breathe deeply and try to refocus. Music and aromatherapy help out a lot. Sometimes I need to give myself an adult time out.

The details are on the way; check your email. After you get out of time out.

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If you are just here for the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival, I must apologize. I am about to tell you a long story that you really don’t care about. Feel free to skip ahead.
But for my faithful, regular readers (Hi, Mom!) I thought I’d ramble on unceasingly give you some background on why I chose this particular item to giveaway.

So, ahem…
Two months ago I went to the dentist for a cleaning and an exam.
Maybe he’s just nice.
Maybe he says it to all the girls.
But…
He glowingly praised my beautiful gums and went into raptures over my advanced flossing skills!
Okay, maybe not quite raptures, but he did say I was doing a very good job.
Which is why I was more than a little startled when I developed a tooth-ache, or rather a sharp pain, in one of my molars.
Did I mention, I floss?
I do have a filling in that tooth (and several others), due to a childhood diet of pilfered jello straight from the box. I wondered if that old filling had come loose since my exam.
Last week I returned to the dentist to have the tooth looked at.
It turns out that I have probably given myself a hairline fracture from clenching my teeth. It’s small enough that it does not even show up on an x-ray, but if I don’t take care I will eventually need to get a crown.
And flossing won’t do a thing to stop it.
I clench my teeth in my sleep when I am stressed. And once I start, it’s hard to stop.
Apparently, I am not alone in this habit. My dentist mentioned that he is seeing a sharp increase in these kind of tooth fractures. Blame it on the economy, gas prices, terrorism, or the fact that Jim didn’t propose to Pam, we are a stressed-out bunch.
There was little he could do for me than give me some Sensodine and advise me to try to reduce my stress level.
In the car on the way home, I turned on a movie for my girl so I could make a couple of phone calls. When I picked up my cell phone, I realized that it was broken.
Talk about stress! I was a full ten minutes from home.
I might have said “Crap!” or something like that.
I might have tried frantically to fix it before throwing it across the car.
And then I might have pulled over so I could pick it up and try to fix it again.
But it still did not work.
To take my mind off the phone, I grabbed a random CD and put it in. In moments my car was filled with soothing music and a soft voice counseling me to get comfortable and take some deep breaths.
It was a copy of a meditation that a friend had given me about a year ago. I had never made time to listen to it and it ended up in the car.
Let me just say – meditating in the car? Not so relaxing, but it did get my mind off my broken phone.
When I got home I looked up the website that the meditation had come from.
Stin Hansen created My Thought Coach. And, um? Wow. (How’s that for articulate?)
After listening to some samples, I subscribed.
For $6.95 a month, here’s what I get (quoted from MyThoughtCoach.com):

Membership includes unlimited streaming and downloads of every MP3 on the entire site.
You can:
· log in and listen as often as you want from any online computer,
· download and place files onto your MP3 player
· burn your own individualized CD
New content will be added regularly to each section of the library. You will receive an email notification each time a new MP3 is added.
· Easy and secure payment via PayPal.
· Cancel subscription any time.
· No hidden fees or obligations.
· We will never sell or distribute your e-mail address to anyone.

Member or not, send or listen to the growing list of free e-mp3s at any time.

The site has guided affirmations for everything from becoming motivated to work out to letting go of anger or ending emotional eating.
There are also MP3s to listen to while you exercise. I can’t wait to try those out.
My daughter has been enjoying the relaxation exercises for children; in one she gets to visualize soaring on the back of an eagle. She is listening to them at bedtime every night.
Go check it out, there are lots of samples to listen to.
And I am trying to set aside time to meditate and release stress each day. Next to flossing, it’s the best thing I can do for my smile.

My long winded story is over; you can stop scrolling now.
I’ll be giving one of you lucky readers an entire year of stress relief, healthier living, and just all around happiness an $83.40 value.
The winner of this giveaway will receive a year’s subscription to My Thought Coach, generously sponsored by Stin herself.
Go there and look around. Find your inner peace. Then come back here and enter to win!
Contest is open to anyone with a valid email address.
To enter, please leave me a comment about one or more of the following:

• What stresses you out
• Things you do to relax
• Your favorite brand of floss

Please do not say, “Count me in.” That’s just boring.
I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday, August 2nd sometime in the afternoon.
Good luck!

PS: Will I need a crown? Will I continue to floss? What other adventures will I have?

or….
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Four out of five dentists agree, Frantically Simple is good for your smile.
The fifth one? He’s just mean.