Free Vancouver Canucks Fan Pack

Fin is giving away Canucks Fan Packs. I've ordered mine! Have you? (Photo: WriterGal)

Are you a Vancouver Canucks fan? By entering your name and address they will mail you a special “one-of-a-kind” fan pack which includes:

• 4 player cards (chosen at random),
• a Canucks sticker, and
• a tattoo.

I just ordered mine! You can get yours on the Vancouver Canucks Website.

I’ll post pictures of the Fan Pack, when it arrives, on the WriterGal blog. Stay tuned!

GO CANUCKS GO!

WriterGal Guest Blog on Granville Online

WriterGal (Ashley Mikulik) was a guest blogger for Granville Online on Tuesday. The Online editor of Granville Magazine asked if I would like to be a guest blogger and post my article about Richmond Country Farms on their website.

Of course I said YES!

Here is the article posted on their site: Granville Magazine Vancouver.

Below are some photos from the market. Enjoy!

WriterGal Using Social Media to Promote Flight Centre Contest Entry

[Download PDF of this Press Release: Flight Centre US Photo Contest]

Using Social Media to Promote Flight Centre Contest Entry

Vancouver Photographer, WriterGal, Makes Top 15 List For Photo Contest

For Immediate Release

WriterGal's photo in the Flight Centre US Photo Contest

Vancouver BC-August 25, 2009: Yesterday, Vancouver amateur photographer WriterGal (aka Ashley Mikulik) was announced as one of 15 finalists in the Flight Centre US Photo Contest and she will be using her social media networks to promote her entry and get votes.

Her photo of Donald Duck near Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is one of 15 photos that you can vote for in this contest. “The top photo, as voted by you, will walk away with a cool prize pack courtesy of our friends at MOO and earworms and the gang here at Flight Centre,” says the Flight Centre Blog.

“This is the first photo contest I’ve entered and I’m super excited about the response I’ve gotten on day 1 of voting,” says WriterGal, “I know first-hand the power that social networking can have so I’ve been promoting my photo on Twitter, Facebook, my personal blog, and local forums.” She is hoping that the local community, as well as her network of family and friends, can help her win.

Voting will take place on the Flight Centre Blog. Anyone can vote, but you are only allowed 1 vote per IP address, per day. Voting ends on Aug 31.

“I’ve had success promoting through social media sites like Twitter,” says WriterGal, “They are amazing places to connect with new people, share fun websites, and socialize.”

“I’m still somewhat of a newbie at photography, so I’m really excited that I’m a finalist. Hopefully this will encourage other hobbyist photographers. Even people like us can shoot great photos!”

About WriterGal (Ashley Mikulik)

Ashley Mikulik (aka WriterGal) just launched The WriterGal Blog (www.writergal.ca), where she shares her experiences about living in Vancouver as well as marketing, communications, social media, and website tips for small businesses. Ashley is a professional writer, editor, and designer who “dabbles” in photography and videography. She also maintains a Flickr account with her best photos (www.flickr.com/photos/writergal).

Media Contact
Ashley Mikulik
Email: ashley@writergal.ca
Website: www.writergal.ca

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Casual Portraits @ Ambleside Park

Do you think the camera hates you? I used to think that, then I had Vancouver Photographer Dan Doan (@DanDoan on twitter) take some casual headshots of me at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver.

I was totally impressed. They turned out really good, although there were a few that I’ll save for my private blooper reel. My goal was for a casual shot that I could use as a bio picture for an upcoming guest bog post on another local website (I’ll post the link when it’s up).

Here is a sampling of some of the best photos from that afternoon:

You can post your praise of Dan’s photos here, or you can follow him on Twitter (@dandoan). Be sure to say you found him though the WriterGal Blog.

Country Farms Richmond: The Best Local Produce

We love food and cooking with fresh produce. My favourite place to get local produce is Richmond Country Farms (north end of Massey Tunnel in Richmond, BC).

Country Farms has spoiled me so much that I absolutely detest buying produce at the local grocery stores. The fruits and vegetables at this local market are fresher, less expensive, richer in colour, and in most cases larger than their supermarket counterparts.

…Plus, most of their products are locally grown (within the Lower Mainland or BC)!

Mushroom Comparison

The other day I desperately needed mushrooms for some stuffed mushroom caps. I bought them from the local supermarket and they were small, and somewhat bruised. Yesterday I went to Country Farms and they were much larger, whiter, and fresher than the supermarket ones. They tasted a million times better too!

Local Produce Prices

The prices at this market are also very good. For example, I can usually fill 1-2 cloth shopping bags with fruits and vegetables for between $10-15. Quite often they have 2 large bunches of spinach for $1, and yesterday they had 3 large bunches of the largest green onions I’ve ever seen for $1 and truckloads of Sweet Corn at 3 for $1.

I try to go at about once a week. Yesterday, I bought some Okanagan Cherries and I made a fresh cherry pie. Despite a minor incident with the knife I used to remove the pits from the cherries, it was VERY good!

Please go check them out on your next produce shopping trip. You’ll see why I’m excited about them!

Country Farms in open from 9am-8:30pm every day from about April to December. www.countryfarms.ca

Welcome to WriterGal.ca!

With the start of a new month, I also start my new (and first-ever) blog. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time, but paying work came in and that took priority (I’m sure you understand).

I am very excited about my first blog.  I have been ghost blogging for a while and now  so it’s about time that I started my own blog to share what it’s like as a young Vancouverite with big dreams.

As you follow along with my blog you will learn more about these dreams and follow my progress.

I look forward to educating, entertaining, and inspiring each of you!