Archive for the ‘Giveaway’ Category

Winner, winner chicken dinner! We ended up with 10 amazing folks signing up for the giveaway (Thanks Mama, for the late night Ravelry plug!) to win a String-Ring of their very own! So this morning, as soon as I drug myself from my OH SO WARM bed into the chill of a -4F morning, I plugged each name, in order, into Randomizer.org:

And then, after double checking the names – I hit “Randomize” on that puppy to see who won. DRUUUUUUUUUUUM ROLL PLEASE!

Congrats Charlene! I’ll shoot you an email here shortly with the details and get your String-Ring out to you asap!

Thanks to everyone who entered and shared their stories! I loved reading them, and I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season! Remember to be kind to a stranger today – even if it’s just a smile. If they ask why? Tell them Lessa told you too.

Happy Saturday!

Happy Friday the 13th, ya’ll! AS for that very large word up there in the title that I cannot pronounce, it’s a mouthful that means “Fear of Friday the 13th”. Ha!

My best memories of Friday The 13th – is watching part 1, 2, and 3 on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday night with my Uncle, then the following Saturday? Going to camp for 6 weeks. On a lake. Yeah, THERE was a smart idea, Lessa! It did foster my love for horror movies though, something that I’ve passed on to my own children.

Anyway – that’s not what I’m reminding you about today! Today happens to be World Kindness Day too – and we still have a random giveaway to sign up for! Go to THIS POST RIGHT HERE and leave a comment and become eligible for the prize! You can comment right on up till midnight tonight, my time (Alaska time) and I’ll draw for the winner tomorrow. Currently, there’s four entries- the odds are good!

So sign up today, and also – be kind to someone too, will you? Need some ideas? Here ya go:

Happy Friday!

In August, Peppermist turned 15. Her birthday was on a week when we had zero cash flow, and she – being the most awesome of awesomeness – accepted that I had a gift in mind, but it would need to wait a bit. I promised I’d surprise her with it soon…ish. That’s not to say we didn’t have us a family party with friends and family and cake and gifts – because we totally did! But she knew there was something coming for her still, and I kept reminding myself to get something awesome.

Problem was – I’d picked something already, and then lost the bookmark, and couldn’t remember what/where it was exactly, and OMG I’m the WORST MOTHER in the WORLD, right? RIGHT. I needed something to remind me, maybe an old fashioned string around the finger would help…

WAIT. THAT WAS IT! I REMEMBERED!

I don’t remember where I first saw the String Ring, exactly, but I remember loving the idea, and wanting to get one for Peppermist for her birthday. The String Ring takes memory one step farther – as it’s built around Remembering to be Kind. It’s a “cue to remind yourself, and those who notice it, to be kind to one another. To do a kind act, or even think something kind.” It comes with colored string, which signify different things from culture to culture – and they even have a handy list of what each color means, for you to chose your favorite one to thread your ring with.

It’s a beautiful ring – and two months later, my daughter is finally wearing one. And she “SQUEE”d when she opened it – so I knew I’d done good! It’s a beautiful ring – and VERY shiny, and we all know Peppermist LOVES the shiny!

This week is Random Act of Kindness week – surrounding World Kindness Day on November 13th. As part of the celebration – I have decided to give one of you lucky readers a gift! That’s right – FREE STUFF! For one lucky reader/commenter on this here blog entry, I’ll purchase and send you a String-Ring of your very own. Keep it, give it to another as a gift, remember to be Kind – it’s up to you!

So, hit up the comment section on THIS ENTRY ONLY, tell me about a Random Act Of Kindness you have done, plan to do, or experienced yourself, and I will enter you into random drawing for a String-Ring of your very own. Entries accepted until 11:59pm, Alaska time, on World Kindness Day, November 13th, I’ll announce the winner on Saturday, November 14th. Please make sure to use a valid email, so that I can contact the winner and get the necessary details for the ordering of your ring.

And today? Try this simple RAK: Say hello to a stranger – and smile.

Ok, so ya’ll KNOW I’m a reality tv junkie. Big time. Big Brother is my first love, followed by Survivor and TAR, but I dabble in just about every Reality Show available – except them trashy VH1 shows. Unless it’s like 2am and nothing else is on and HOW WEIRD is that Daisy of Love chick? And really, Rikki Lake, you’ve nothing better to do then host a bunch of reality rejects and pretend to turn them into real girls on CHARM SCHOOL?! How the mighty have fallen!

ANYWAY. (I have a point, I swear!)

I just realized I’ve missed the first six episodes of Top Chef: Las Vegas. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? You know what reminded me? The fact that our Sweepstakes features GE Appliances and you know who ELSE uses GE Appliances? That’s right! The Cheftestants on Top Chef, since season three! Season five’s runner up, Stefan Richter, won a suite of his own GE appliances after winning the infamous restaurant wars challenge! Oh, Stefan, you Finnish delight, you!

So, want to get one step closer to cooking like a pro? Enter the Strong as Steel Sweepstakes using the widget right over there at the top of the sidebar –> for your chance to win one of five brand new GE Appliances and in no time you’ll be the hottest dish in the kitchen!

Just like Stefan. (raaaaaaaawr!)

Have you entered our sweepstakes today? Why not? It’s right over there —> !

And just in case you’re worried about what to do with your old appliance when you win the sweepstakes (because you totally will – as we’re all about the positive thinking around here, right? right!) – Hank and Lisa have come to our rescue for some fabulous recycling ideas for that old busted up range you can’t wait to kick to the curb! Truth of the matter is, you can help out those in need by donating your used appliance to these national charities:

* The Salvation Army: With thrift stores located throughout North America, The Salvation Army can schedule a pickup from the thrift store nearest you. Check with your local Salvation Army office to see if they accept appliance donations in your area. Learn more at www.salvationarmyusa.org

* St. Vincent de Paul: St Vincent de Paul is a national organization with thrift stores throughout the country. Contact your local chapter to arrange for a pick-up or drop-off. The number will be listed in the Social Service Organizations section of your local yellow pages. Learn more at www.svdpusa.org

* American Council of the Blind: American Council of the Blind has thrift stores in a number of major metropolitan areas. You can call them at 1-800-866-3242 or visit www.acb.org

* Habitat for Humanity: Habitat ReStores are retail outlets where quality used and surplus building materials are sold at a fraction of normal prices. For more information, call 1-800-HABITAT or visit www.habitat.org

See? You can get a new GE appliance, and help someone else get some good use out of your used appliance too! Remember, you can enter once a day every day until NOVEMBER! That’s a lot of entries – and each betters your chance to win! So scoot over to the right and get your entry in for today!

Ooooooooooooh this is good! Remember that important bit of news I said I had coming? It’s here!

A while back, I was contacted about the new humorous look at the strength of GE’s appliance line, GE Stainless Steel Kitchen Appliances. Strong as Steel is a funny take on the strength of the new appliances, with some fitness experts – AND Ali Sweeny from the Biggest Loser! (LOOOOOOVE HER!)

I was in the process of getting my sites moved and back up to speed, so wasn’t able to participate in the original announcements and discount period – but Deana, lovely lady that she is, made sure we were included in the next step – and it’s a BIGGY…

Here – I’ll let THEM tell it:

Dude – it’s like our name in LIGHTS! It certainly made me grin, as does the entire Strong as Steel site and videos! AND! Parenting Teens Blog was chosen to be one of the places to post this sweepstakes – one of YOU might be the lucky winner! So be sure to sign up using the above bridgit every single day! I would be THRILLED to have one of you win a new appliance!

What are you waiting for? Enter Today – and help me spread the word, too!

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about the giveaway. Those that entered certainly ended up with very good odds, hm? I’d hoped for a bigger turnout, but that’s alright, I know the ones that win will put the books to good use, for sure!

Since there were only 10 entries, I decided to forgo the Random.org, and do things the old fashioned way, with the following three ingredients:

1. a hat – grandpa’s old cowboy hat that the boy loved when he was little
2. names on folded pieces of paper – Homer Bookstore Post It Notes, with little otters
3. and a helper both cute and willing to pick the names out of the hat.

Remember, the first prize gets to choose which of the four books they want, 2nd prize gets to choose from the remaining 3, 3rd prize picks from the remaining 2, and 4th prize gets the remaining book. And here we go – drumroll please…. Without further ado, here are our winners!

1st place goes to Carla Pullum!

2nd place goes to Jewel Girl!

3rd place goes to Pamela!

and 4th place goes to Amanda Sue!

Congrats to all the winners – I’ll shoot you guys an email, in order, so that you can choose your book and give me your addresses so that I can send them to you. Thanks for participating, and enjoy your new reading material!

And special thanks to my cute helper, who – while not a teenager yet – has enough attitude and sass to make me absolutely terrified of the upcoming years. Somebody save me…

As the mom to two (TWO! How did that happen?) teenagers and one rapidly entering that ‘tween’ stage (groan), I’m right smack dab in the middle of “OMG Life is so HARD” land. And it is hard – being a teenager, that is. You want all the independence you think you deserve, yet you still want the safety net of knowing Mom and Dad can and will rescue you if you mess up. It’s a constant struggle between doing what you want, vs. what you need to do/we want you to do.

It’s the epitome of “Life sucks.”

I’m not a big fan of self-help books, of meetings and groups, or people telling me how to do things that I know I should be doing but don’t want to do. I know, it makes me sound like a teenager, doesn’t it, in all my petulant glory, and why is she writing this blog then anyway, right? But it doesn’t mean that I don’t like to help when I can, or just talk and present anther view, or even listen when someone needs a shoulder to lean on.

That’s why I like the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series. Their real stories, of hard times and happy endings. I’m a happy ending type of girl, after all. There’s always something in there that reaches out and grabs you, and reminds you that you’re not alone. They are easy reading, they don’t slam solutions at you, they’re written by real people talking about things that happened to them, and let you come up with your own solutions in your own time.

All this to say that when Phenix & Phenix approached me and asked if I’d like to host a giveaway for the Teen Talk Series of Chicken Soup for the Soul® – I jumped at the chance! That’s how I ended up with four books in my hot little hands: Teens Talk Relationships, Teens Talk Tough Times, Teens Talk Growing Up, and Preteens Talk. And while they are in my hands right now? I want to deliver them to YOU, instead of keeping them all for myself. (mine mine mine! …wait. ok. yours.)

So, in the interest of easy contests, here’s what we’re gonna do. Every comment that you leave on this entry, will enter you into a random drawing for one of the four books. You don’t have to say anything profound in your comment (ME ME PICK ME! works..), or flatter me endlessly (though you know what they say about that…) but if you’d like to leave a little tidbit about your life with a teenager, or being a teen, or ask me questions about me and mine, please do!

I’ll leave the comments open for a week – starting today, September 18 through next Thursday, September 25th, at midnight Alaskan time. (That’s PST -1). The following Friday, September 26th, I’ll use good old Random.org to choose the winners. First drawn gets their choice of the four, second the choice of three, third the choice of two, and fourth gets the last book. I’ll then ask the winners for their choices, their addresses, and send the books.

After the cut, you can read more about the individual books, to help you make your decision on which you might want to choose if you win. So comment away! Tell your friends, spread the word, and join in! It’s a Parenting Teens Comment Party!

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