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

The Stuck in a Good Book Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Stuck in a Good Book Blog Hop!

With this giveaway hop, each blog is supposed to have a giveaway based around a book they just couldn't put down.  For me, this is simple.  My absolute favorite book in the past ten years or so has to be Into the Forest: A Novel  by Jean Hegland.

If you're a fan of dystopian books, this will be right up your alley.  I don't want to give away anything more than necessary, but the plot revolves around two sisters who are surviving in a world that has fallen apart around them.  Please note: there is a big distinction between surviving and thriving, and these girls are surviving.

This is beautifully written, and really is just an amazing story.  I'd like to give one reader a paperback copy of the book from Amazon (US readers only), OR, you can choose a $10 Amazon gift card, and you can pick out your own book.  You can just let me know when you win!!

To enter, just complete the rafflecopter form below (it will be live starting on September 20th), and be sure to check out some of the other blogs involved in the hop below that! And be sure to check out my other Giveaways!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

12 Days of Gifts Galore 11/25 - 12/6

Hooray for Christmas! I'll be participating in the 12 Days of Gifts Galore Giveaway Hop this November.  I promise I'll come up with an AWESOME prize!!!

If you're interested in participating in this hop, head on over to Mama's Baby Cupcakes and sign your blog up!

If you have recommendations of what I should do for a prize (in the $25+ range) let me know. I was thinking Christmas DVDs or Blu-Rays, but then gift cards are pretty darn swanky, especially for folks when they are buying Christmas presents...

Check out all of my current giveaways!

Win a $10 Amazon Gift Card in the Under the Sea Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Under the Sea Giveaway Hop - hosted by  I Am A Reader Not A Writer & The Musings of ALMYBNENR.  My giveaway will start on September 14th, and you'll have the chance to win a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card.

Recently, I won the book "Wake" by Amanda Hocking from a different blog hop, and really enjoyed it.  This book is the first in the Watersong Series.  It's about a girl who has an unexpected connection to the water.  The Kindle version is $9.99, so you could redeem the gift card you win for it!

Be sure to pop over to my Stuck in a Good Book giveaway - where you have the opportunity to win a copy of Jean Hegland's book "Into the Forest" or a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway