SPOOKtacular Giveaway Time!

Welcome to the SPOOKtacular Giveaway Hop hosted by The Review Wire and ME - Are You Finished?  With Halloween being only a few shorts weeks away, we decided that a Hop to help you get ready was in order! This event will run from October 1 through October 15, that gives you enough time to hop on down the list and enter all the SPOOKtacular Giveaways for your GHOULS and GOBLINS! Each blogger is giving away prizes valued $25 or more. The Review Wire is hosting the GRAND PRIZE, a $100 Gift Certificate to Halloween Express! Thanks for playing along and Happy Halloween!

I am really excited to participate in this super fun Halloween-themed Hop!  I do my shopping for Halloween goods at a number of different places: Walmart, Amazon.com, Jo-Ann Fabric, and some local shops here in Maine.  I was trying to decide where I would get a gift card, and then I thought - why not let you decide?  You can choose one of the three that I've mentioned, or another place that I can purchase for you online.  

Don't forget to come back daily for additional entries, and check out my other giveaways!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Spooky Ghost costume last year -a great coworker did my makeup. I made the dress with a king size white sheet I bought at a thrift store for $1.00, a pack of cheesecloth I got at Walmart for $3.99. I definitely spent a lot of time at the ol' sewing machine, but I think it was worth it!

SPOOKtacular Halloween Giveaway Hop

1.	The Review Wire {Grand Prize $100 : US}	20.	Mom in Training {$25 : WW}
2.	How Was Your Day? {$25 : US}	21.	Moms & Munchkins {$50 : WW}
3.	Simply Stacie {$25 : US}	22.	Dazzling Daily Deals {$50 : US}
4.	roastedBEANZ {$25 : US}	23.	With Our Best {$35 : US}
5.	Rita Reviews {$100 : US}	24.	Parent Palace {$30 : WW}
6.	BrideBlu {$30 : WW}	25.	Are You Finished? {$25 : WW}
7.	Mom's Tried and Tested {$40 : US/CAN}	26.	Laughing Vixen Lounge {$27 : WW}
8.	Funtober {$75 : US}	27.	Education of a Stay at Home Mom {$30 : US}
9.	Mommy's Moments {$25 : US}	28.	Our Share of Crazy {$25 : US}
10.	Cheap Is The *New* Classy {$25 : US}	29.	Coupon Queen of Texas {$25 : WW}
11.	Life in The Dollhouse {$50 : US}	30.	Dirty Truth Reviews {$55 : US/CAN}
12.	Still Blonde after all these YEARS! {$150 : US}	31.	Mom to Bed by 8 {$75 : US}
13.	Holyjeans CHic {$50 : US}	32.	Mom Blog Society {$45 : US}
14.	Deal Sharing Aunt	33.	Barbara's Beat {$25 : US}
15.	3 Partners in Shopping	34.	Baking Beauty {$30 : US}
16.	Just Say I Told You So! {$25 : WW}	35.	Mom Always Finds Out {$50 : US}
17.	My Photopage {$25 : WW}	36.	Practical Frugality {$25 : US/CAN}
18.	Emily Reviews {$25 : US}	37.	Two Little Cavaliers {$53 : US}
19.	The Family That Laughs Together {$30 : US/CAN}

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Banned Books Week Hop!

2012 is the 30th Anniversary of Banned Books week, an annual event celebrating ALL books, and the rights of authors and readers alike to color outside the lines.  I decided to participate in this event because I am a firm believer that people need to get out of their comfort zones, and often the reason a book will be banned is because of a refusal to do just that.

To prepare for this giveaway, I did some research into what books have been banned. Off the top of my head, the only book I could think of was The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, one of my faves; like most people who read it in highschool, I saw myself as a modern, female Holden Caulfield.

What surprised me in reviewing a list of the most frequently challenged books from 1990 - 2001 (see the list) was how many of the books I would have listed as some of my childhood favorites and/or the most influential books I'd read.  Before you take a look at the list, make a list of some of your favorite books - you might be surprised how many are on the list!

Some books I would give two (or more if I had them) thumbs up:

• A Light in the Attic Special Edition - by Shel Silverstein
• How to Eat Fried Worms - by Thomas Rockwell
• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. - by Judy Blume
• The Giver (Giver Quartet) - by Lois Lowry

There certainly are books that I have no desire to have my thirteen-year-old daughter read, and I can say that after taking a painful course in college on Toni Morrison's writing, I certainly object to me, personally reading any more of her books.  However, I certainly don't feel that I have the right to make decisions about anyone else reading them. It is ridiculous to think that one person should make that type of decision for another.

My prize for this hop is either a $10 Amazon.com gift card, which you can use to pick out your own book, as I feel that anyone literate enough to be reading this is capable of picking out their own reading material.

The Rafflecopter will be available starting September 28th, and will accept entries until October 6th.  After entering, be sure to check out the rest of the sites hosting their own giveaways in the hop.  And check my Giveaways page for more prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back to the Books Blog Hop - $10 Amazon GC!

This is an easy one, folks!  I love checking out other people's blogs, and blog hops are the way to go when you want to get eclectic.  My favorite kind, unsurprisingly, is a giveaway hop.  This awesome hop is hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer (one of my favorite book review sites), and Buried in Books, which was new to me.

I decided to participate because I love to read. I'm so thankful that I managed to pass the trait on to my daughter, whose favorite pastime is hanging out listening to Pandora and reading on her Kindle.  Life is good in the Brainerd House.  This hop is great because you have the chance to visit over 200 blogs offering book-related giveaway.  My choice is an Amazon.com gift card, because I'd rather let you pick out a book than restrict you to my choices. May I make a recommendation? Recently, I finished Deborah Harkness's novels A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night (the first two books in the as yet unfinished All Souls Trilogy).  They get two enthusiastic thumbs up, but you can get whatever you'd like - heck, feel free to buy some awesome Christmas DVDS (I recently expanded my collection with the help of Amazon's resellers).

Entering is simple, just complete the Rafflecopter form, and then, if you have time, check out some of the awesome other blogs!! And be sure to check out my other open giveaways!


a Rafflecopter giveaway



Make sure to check out the rest of the giveaways!!!