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}

Win $25 in Pampered Chef Products!

Hello, my name is Jessy, and I'm a Pampered Chef-aholic. Yep, I know, that entire statement is pretty dang tacky. The fact is, I totally love Pampered Chef products.  I'm a huge fan of all things baking/cooking-related (particularly the delicious results of my kitchen experiments).

Every fall, I do a Pampered Chef party.  This year, I'm doing my party online - feel free to browse and place an order: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/debbiescorner?page=products-main&showId=3801276.

I decided a fun way to spread the news about my party, and maybe get more orders would be to do a giveaway!  Entering is simple, and no purchase is required.  Just use the Rafflecopter form below.  You will dramatically increase your chances of winning by placing an order.  This giveaway will end on October 14th, that will give me time to connect with you for your address, and the products you choose, which will be shipped directly to you from Pampered Chef.

I'm hooked on the awesome stoneware, all of the different kitchen gadgets, and I LOVE to cook using the different spice blends and rubs.  If you've never tried Pampered Chef before, I REALLY recommend it!

Be sure to come back daily for additional entries!! Sorry out of the country folks, this giveaway is limited to the Continental US only.


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Check out my other giveaways!!

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!

Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids Giveaway Event - November 12 - 22

Pretend to be shocked when I tell you I love Christmas.  Come on, it's not that hard - maybe throw a gasp out for me.

I found a great giveaway opportunity with a Christmas Theme through Makobi Scribe (one of my absolute favorite blogs for wonderful articles and giveaways).  They are offering a really fun event this November called the Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids Giveaway Event.  Every participating blog will have a prize with a minimum value of $25, I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but it'll be awesome and very festive!!!

Check it out!

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!!!

Win a Fandango Movie Pass!

If you're at all familiar with this blog, you know I'm hooked on movies.  Fact: I don't just love to watch them in my living room, I also like to watch them at a theater.

Recently, I won a code for a single movie ticket on Fandango - worth up to $12, and because there are no theaters in my area that sell tickets through Fandango, I thought I'd share it with one lucky reader!

Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below - come back daily - see if I've added any new entries, and get all of the available entries in!

*Note: I just had to adjust the form, I realized I'd put the wrong end date in - this giveaway ends on 8/31!


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