Women Who Win Enter

Celebriosity is giving away a $25 Visa gift card! Head over to find out how you can enter! Good luck!

Tomorrow 2008 will be in the background of our minds. How did it rush by so quickly? In the blink of an eye I got married, moved across the country, and changed jobs. Time ran away from me!

I didn’t call my sister or my mother enough. I threw too much waste away and I certainly didn’t exercise much! My journal is bare and my apartment is messy. Many books on my bookshelf remain untouched.

What about my heart though? Was it touched? Things I’ll remember about 2008:

-Kneeling for communion at my wedding.
-Crying with my sister during a hard time.
-The spa day of my honeymoon!
-My mother’s visit.
-Being asked to be in a friend’s wedding.
-Fun with my inlaws.
-Making great friends at church.

And that is what life is all about.

I’ve learned it just isn’t about money and winning and prizes and fortune. Sure, I can’t deny that I want all those things. I spend some of my time trying to jockey for those things. But my best time is spent with those I love.

I had one big win this year. I won a $3000 sofa from Bassett Furniture. And you know what? That was the only thing I needed. We truly, honest to God, needed a sofa. We won a few weeks later. I have what I need, I know that. I’m so thankful. Will you try to be thankful for 2008?

It was a hard year, this 2008. Politically, emotionally, financially. It was a mess. Those messes, however, will much sooner be forgotten then we realize. Let’s train our eyes to focus on what we have, who we are, and who loves us.

Could this dress by Banana Republic and this clutch by Kate Spade BE any cuter? I fell in love with the look the moment I saw. I’m considering buying it! Guess I’ll pray to win it first!

My favorite magazine, Glamour, is giving the pair away! Enter to win and you will look fabulous! Hurry hurry! Ends December 31. Glams has a whole gaggle of other cute giveaways too!

So, you want to gain website traffic and increase your exposure and page hits? How about holding a sweepstakes? It is a great way to attract quality readers to your site. Familytime.com has used brilliant logic to tap into the benefits a sweepstakes could bring them.

Familytime has hid little icons throughout their website. The icons look like this: 
This icon appears on every page, but if you find the icon with a whole family, you win!!! This type of search and find sweepstakes is a fantastic way to showcase your website’s content in order to gain interest. I see benefits to both sweepstakes sponsors AND users.  A user must poke through out the website searching for the icon to win. Therefore, the user learns all the functionality of the website and may very well come back in the future. This is the sort of publicity a well-to-do website should desire– active users. A search and find sweepstakes also boosts page views and traffic.

Plus it’s great fun for readers, sweepstakers, and page explorers! I honestly enjoyed searching Familytime ’s website for the winning icon (although I never did find that pesky thing). I learned that they have an extensive database of recipes and a collection of interesting articles about family life. See? It pays off. Plus, the prize is fun!

See if you can find the hidden family icon! You might just win a Nintendo Wii, Smucker’s Dessert Fixings (yum!), and the book The Surprising Power of Family Meals. Sounds like fun! This is how to do a sweepstakes well and gain from what you give away! Website owners, take note!

Many sweepstakes end at the quarter endings- March 31, June 31, October 31, and the most popular sweepstakes deadline: December 31. This year there are countless sweepstakes ending this day. Make sure you get in on the fun!

Sweepstakestoday has nearly 300 contests and sweepstakes ending at midnight on December 31, 2008 in their helpful listing section called “Last Chance Sweeps.” CashNet has 700 sweepstakes and giveaways ending then too in their list of “Sweeps Ending Soon!”

My favorite, of course, is the Cheesecake Factory’s Dining Destination Sweepstakes . One winner will win a trip to anywhere in the U.S. and $1000! Instant prizes include $30 gift cards and $70 home delivery cheesecakes (I already won one of these!!! Get signed up by Dec. 31!

Well, I wasn’t planning to. I visited my dearly missed family in beautiful Arizona for Christmas. I took the whole week off from enter sweepstakes because there just wasn’t the time or a reliable internet connection! I usually slip up with regular things I’m supposed to do everyday while on a vacation (hence, my absence from blogging also!).

Well, that relaxation did cause some slip ups! On Christmas Eve I forgot to take my birth control pill. That, of course, led to cramps that woke me up at 6am on Christmas morning! Now whatever am I going to do with myself this early? I could not sleep. The internet connection (leeched wireless) cooperated and I entered my usual routine of sweepstakes on Sweepstakestoday .

But it certainly felt different.

It was Christmas morning– characteristically one of the most selfish, greedy days found on the American calendar. My family didn’t have much money while I was growing up, but we tried to go all out on Christmas. This got me thinking about greed. A whole pile of presents was waiting for me under the tree. My family was a few hours away from waking up to their own piles. Why was I awake gingerly dreaming about winning money and furniture?

Needless to say, I entered my sweeps and progressed to wake up my family and we thoroughly enjoy Christmas day together. The hype of the presents died down finally, just as any hype from a big win will too. Entering sweepstakes on Christmas morning actually made me think about how much I have to be grateful for– my family, my home.

I don’t enter online sweepstakes because I’m greedy or misfortuned. I enter because there are things my husband and I want to do in our lifetimes that we need a little extra push towards. We hope to travel to China and adopt a little girl from an orphanage. We hope to support our friends who want to start a leadership school for girls. We want to have a large, healthy family. But we are, above all, thankful for everything we have and each other.

Come what may, may 2009 be blessed and full of thanksgiving and not about want!

Here are two fun giveaways sponsored by two hardworking blogging women. I love their blogs, their dedication, and of course, their prizes!

First, Thrifty & Chic Mom is holding a giveaway for not one, but TWO new and nifty showerheads. These showerheads, from Evolve, save water by turning down the pressure until you get in and pull the string when you are ready. Only then does normal wate pressure return. The site says that every minute of waiting for your shower to warm up sends gallons of unused water down the drain. Well, no more! Head on over and enter win one for your self! I’m hoping to win the lovely Tree Frog model, which delivers full coverage and a massage mode!

The second awesome giveaway is over at Aspen Gold Ridge, a quality clothing store catering to women and women plus sizes. Enter by December 22 to win a $100 credit to be used in their on-line store. YOU get to pick your prize! That’s a good prize, if you ask me.

Check out their nice selection of Plus Size Dresses, Plus Size Pants, Plus Size Shirts, Plus Size Swimwear! Also see what in my opinion is quite beautiful: the Aspen Gold Ridge Jessica London collection.

Be sure to be entering sweepstakes during the holidays. December 31 is one of the biggest sweepstakes closing days– because it is the end of a quarter. Take a little time each day to enter for prizes you really want. Happy holidays and good luck sweepers!

The Club at Stonestown Galleria is giving away an incredible vacation to Las Vegas!

You must mail-in a postcard to enter. One entry per person.

Prize includes 3 days/4 nights in Las Vegas, with hotel accomodations either at the Venetian or the Palazzo, tickets to the Blue Man Group and the Phantom, and $6,500 in gift cards for airfare, dining, and shopping!

Must be postmarked by January 31, 2009. Good luck!

I found another scam today– I guess I’m pretty good at finding them. This one is most convincing, so please be careful! Freelancehomewriters.biz makes some wonderful sounding promises….

“Get Paid To Post In Blogs” and “The Perfect Job” and “Get Paid To Write Articles.” Things we all want, right? But this service is BIG BIG SCAM. The site claims a salary of up to $5000 every week, $12-$50 per hour for writing blog posts, $25-$45 per hour for writing articles, and $450 for fiction and nonfiction stories! Pretty astronomical numbers!

That’s the good part. However, to access such jobs the user must PAY for this service. That should send up lots of pesky red flags in your brain. Legitimate services will NOT charge you for job listings. First the company requires $2.97 for a seven-day trial period, and after that it is $99 for membership. (It is currently advertised as half off- only $49!) That is still WAY too much money to find freelance writing jobs. Remember, your target is zero dollars!

The next thing that alarmed me was this chart:

If you wrote 3 articles a day @ $10 per article = $210 per week or $840 per month or $10,080 per year!

If you wrote 5 articles a day @ $10 per article = $350 per week or $1400 per month or $16,800 per year!

If you wrote 8 articles a day @ $20 per article = $1280 per week or $5120 per month or $61,440 per year!

That is way too good to be true! No one makes that much money without incredible effort. To make blogging or article writing a success it takes HARD WORK, just like the rest of us have found. Don’t fall for hype. There are no shortcuts to have success in this. Please be careful!

Accentuate Services follows and reports on online opportunities for writes.  Of Freelancehomewriters.biz they report, “SCAM!” “would not recommend anyone purchase a ’system’ for freelance writing,” and “It is a bad website (spelling, grammar, heck, even the come-on is not very enticing).” Translation: Stay away! 

See more tips for freelance writers here .

Here’s a unique contest website: 99designs. This website gathers and promotes art and logo needs of companies, corporations, charities, and websites. Artists at any level are encouraged to create and submit their design/logo/art. The best entry is picked and awarded anywhere from $60 to $600! That is a great prize for art or design creation!

99designs has already awarded $3,289,776 and currently (as of press time) has 233 open contests with $70,910 in prize money! Types of contests range from T-shirt design to blog header design to website design to logo creation and redesign. The jobs seem fun and professional.

This Internet start-up company seeks to empower designers. The copy right of a design remains with the creator until the artwork is bought. If you don’t win a contest, you still own the art work.  (Another rule: Keep it clean! They state, “We admit it: we get offended easily. Please don’t post any content that might make us gasp, blush, or close the browser. We came here to have fun, just like you!” Glad to see a clean site!)

The site also stresses the importance of intellectual property. It is forbidden to use or alter designs that do not belong to you. All work must be original or, if stock images are used, the contest holder must be informed so that he/she can buy the required license(s).

This company’s arrangement seems creative! Matt Mickiewicz, U.S. office representative for 99designs said in the business magazine Fast Company, “It’s a fantastic model that eliminates risk for small business owners and puts designers on equal footing.”

And it opens doors of possibilities to the creative… Good luck! Let me know if you enter or win- I’d love to promote your design(s) right here!

This discount is just too good not to share! I just placed an order- my third ever with E.L.F.

Eyes Lips Face is my favorite makeup company. They produce amazing makeup products that rival Bare Escentuals , Revlon, and Benefit . (all great companies, but too expensive in this recession!)

Mineral Makeup is the new revolution in makeup. Instead of a sticky formula, minerals are applied as foundation, concealer, blush, or eye shadow with a kabuki brush. The minerals glide on and provide great color. They do not clog pores or irritate the skin.

E.L.F. is holding a 50% off sale on ALL mineral makeup! There is still time to place an order and receive it by Christmas. Use coupon code: MINERALCHEER

The E.L.F. mineral makeup starter kit includes cute makeup case, two brushes, foundation, concealer, and blush in your choice of skin-matching colors. What would this same kit cost from Bare Escentuals? SIXTY DOLLARS!! Usually this kit at E.L.F. is $20, but now with the coupon code it’s $10. TEN DOLLARS FOR MINERAL MAKEUP? That’s amazing!

I also ordered extra bottles of foundation and concealer- typically $5 but now only $2.50! WOW. Don’t miss out on this. Be fabulous! Now everyone can afford the mineral makeup trend. Thank God!!

Good grief! Last night’s Survivor finale left me with less hope in humanity and that was because of one particularly lewd and shrewd player named Corinne Kaplan. The world begs you, PLEASE NEVER, EVER GIVE CORINNE KAPLAN A JOB. She is nasty and can’t get along with people. She is shockingly awful. Here’s a sampling of nasty things she said (not to mention all the times she called fellow players “stupid” “mutants” and “freaks” etc.)

“It just goes to show you the level of incompetence we’re playing with.”

“You’re an unemployed, uneducated leech on society, and the only thing I would vote to give you is a handful of antidepressants, so that no one else has to be subjected to your constant crying anymore, and maybe if you got some then it would seem a little more sincere when you are crying about your dead father.”

“Not only do I have to listen to what Sugar is saying, but I have to pretend I care about her.”

“I hate her!”

“I plan on burying her as soon as possible, alive.”

“I want to stab her in the face.”

Of the prize: ““not one penny of it will be going to any kind of charitable organization, that’s for sure.”

“I have no moral compass.” 

“Selling drugs is a lie. I sold drugs that I knew damn well—I sold Vioxx for Merck before it got taken off the market for killing people. I knew damn well it was dangerous; I went around telling them to write it. There’s a lot of serious lying I’ve done in my life.”

“I hope everyone gets injured; I don’t care. Just not me.”

Reality TV Soup didn’t want to give Corinne more attention for her evil ways. “I’m not even going to completely quote her —-as she seems to thrive on the attention,” she wrote. Well said! CBS gave Corinne a lot of airtime with her horribleness.

Survivor’s host, Jeff Probst, blogged about his reactions to the players and as harsh as he was on TV in the finale, he was again in the blog: “Highlight of the night: Corinne. Case settled. She is a bitch and she loves it and she might be nuts and if she’s dating somebody…wow, that must be a crazy life… You were funny and you secured your spot as Queen Bitch of Survivor.”

(Image: Daylife.com)

Mommyko is sponsoring a sweepstakes for bloggers and webmasters! She is offering many prizes (even some consolation prizes, lol!). Check out these sweet prizes to be won:

FIRST PRIZE - $35 + 16,000 EC
$25 - My Online Paradise
$5 - Blessings In Life
$5 plus 1000 Ec - Moi et mon univers
*1 banner - worth $149 - Buytemplates.net
*1 blog layout - My Web-Blog Designs
*cuties for Christmas - So Cute
5000 Ec plus 125×125 ads space for 1 month - Snapshot
3000 EC - Stranded Life
2000 EC plus banner ad for 1 month + text link for 1 month + ebook for bloggers- Kasakk
1000 EC - Crimson Heaven
1000 EC - Heart Random
1000 EC - More on Health
1000 EC - Jenny Talks
1000 EC - Sharing my Thoughts
125×125 ads space for 1 month worth $20 - Contest For Bloggers
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Shopping Blog

2ND PRIZE - $25 + 14,000 EC
$10 - Follow Your Sense of Adventure
$10 - Yennygirl
$5 - More on Heath
*1 banner - worth $149 - Buytemplates.net
*blog layout - The Designer’s Chic
1000 EC plus 125×125 ad space for 1 month - Living on One Income
3000 EC - Sweetytots
2000 EC credits plus 1 month ad space - Pink Hues
2000 EC - The Joy Of Love Forever
1000 EC - Show Me your Interest
1000 EC - Days Of My Life
1000 EC - ArticleSnatch Blog
1000 EC credits plus 1 month ad - Random Chronicles
1000 EC - The Artist In Me
1000 EC - Varun’s Vagaries
125×125 ads for 1 month worth $20 - kahpeng.com-Bits From My Life
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Another Contest

3RD PRIZE - $20 + 11,000 EC
$10 - Wonderful Things In Life
$5 - My Life’s Adventure
$5 - Twinkletoe Writing Space
*complete blog makeover - Designs By Vhiel and Cans Of Thoughts
*Website logo worth $99- Custom Logo and Marketing Materials
2000 EC - Sweet.Pretty.Naughty
1000 EC plus ad space for 1 month - Cheth Studios
1000 EC credits plus 1 month ad - The Positive Side
1000 EC - Show Me Your Interest
1000 EC - Wiehanne Lounge
1000 EC - Medan Daily
1000 EC - Call Center Gal
1000 EC - A Simple Married Life
1000 EC - Programming The Life
1000 EC - Pinay Freelancer
125×125 ads for 1 month worth $10 - Genrya.com
125×125 ad space for 1 month - That Blog 4 Me

4RTH PRIZE - $15 + 9,000 EC
$5 - Life’s Imagination
$10 - The Joy Of Life Forever
1 Blog Template worth $29 - Website Design Services
2000 EC - E-Pamilya
1000 EC plus ad space for 1 month - Thoughts and Obsessions
1000 EC plus banner ad for 1 week - Simplement Belles
1000 EC - Show Me Your Interest
1000 EC - 24×7 Online Diva
1000 EC plus ad space for 1 month - Made Me Glad
1000 EC - Serradinho Blog
1000 EC - God’s Best Gift
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Sherry
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Travel blog

5TH PRIZE $10 + 7,700 EC
$5 - Earning Money Online
$5 - A Message From My Heart
1 Blog Template worth $29 - Website Design Services
1000 EC plus banner ads for 1 week - Kalidadis
2000 EC - Wonderful Things In Life
1000 EC - Definitely MAYBE!
1000 EC - The Joy Of Life Forever
1000 EC - My Life’s Adventure
500 EC - Love’s Haven
500 EC plus ad space - MeiYah/Miah Laborte
500 EC - Chica & Pumuckl
200 EC - Around the World
125×125 ad space for a month - Also Mommy
125×125 banner ad for 1 month - PriZK Dot Com

6th PRIZE $5 + 6,000 EC
$5 - Designers Blog
1 Web design/flash template worth $29 - Flash Template
1000 EC - Life Marriage And Kids
1000 EC - Everything plus the Kitchen Sink
500 EC - Brown Pinay
500 EC - A Message From My Heart
500 EC - In The Eyes Of The Beholder
500 EC - Nierva Dot Com
500 EC - Blog Contest For Pinay
500 EC - Creative In Me
500 EC - Cheth Studios
500 EC - A Zone for Digiscraps
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Dashing Smiles
125×125 for 1 month - That Blog 4 me

7TH PRIZE - 4,500 EC
*1 Web design/flash template worth $29 - Flash Template
1000 EC - One at a Time
500 EC plus 125×125 ad space - Biz-N-Honey
500 EC - Twinkletoe Writing Space
500 EC - My Little Home
500 EC - Journal of Journey
500 EC - So Far, So Good
500 EC - There is Happiness
500 EC plus ad space - Musings of a Pinay Blogger
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Thomas Travel Tales
125×125 for 1 month - Travel Blog

8TH PRIZE 3,500 EC
*1 yr domain - Earning Money Online
500 EC plus ad space for 1 month - The Money maker
500 EC - CharTherCT.com
500 EC - Vhiel’s Corner
500 EC - Anything and Everything in Between
500 EC - Love’s Haven
500 EC - EastcostLife
500 EC - Contest For BLoggers
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Bohol Paradise
125×125 banner ads for 1 month - Pinky Posh

9TH PRIZE 3,000 EC
*blog layout - My Collection
500 EC plus ad space for 1 month - Starts at Two
500 EC - Aha Mama!
500 EC - Twins happiness
500 EC - A lonely planet it is not
500 EC - Nita’s Random Thoughts
500 EC from Bits Of My life
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Filipino Online Community
125×125 banner ads for 1 month - Only In Silence

10TH PRIZE 2,500 EC
500 EC plus ad space for 1 month - Beauty Of Life
500 EC - Nita’s Corner
500 EC - Days Of My life
500 EC - Little Soie’s Steps
500 Ec - I Travel here and There
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Batuananons
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Love Is A Perfect Gift

10TH PRIZE 2,500 EC
1,500 EC - Seek No More
1000 EC - Nesting Buddy
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Love Is A Perfect Gift
125×125 ad space for 1 month - A Message From My Heart

Consolation Prizes
1. 300 EC - Healthy Living and Lifestyle
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Life’s All About

2. 300 EC - CompTechGadgets.com
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Erlinda’s Wandering Thoughts

3. 300 EC - Arts and Entertainment Center
125×125 ad space for 1 month - Thomas Web Links

4. 300 EC - Great Finds and Deals
125×125 ad banner for 2 weeks - 24patrol

5. 300 EC - Make Money Online
125×125 ad banner for 2 weeks - Multiply Themes

6. 300 EC - For the LOVE of Food
125×125 ad space - Jocelyn’s Journal

7. 250 EC - Genrya.com
2 weeks link ads SimplyWP

8. 250 EC NetzDesigno.com
Footer text link for 1 month worth $5 - Genrya.com

9. 250 EC Stacykoay.net
Footer text link for 1 month worth $10 - Bits From My life

10. 200 EC - it’s A Woman’s World!
Footer text link for 1 month worth $10 - Contest For Bloggers

Special Prizes:
1. Free Icon set - Custom Icon Design Services
2. Semi-solid light red toddler hat, fits approx 2t-4t - Cherish Sweet Knitted Bottoms
3. 1 book - My Funny Dad, Harry
4. 1 book “Princess Charming” by: Jane Heller - Just Say These Words
5. 1 book “Siren’s Song” by: Trish Albright - Just Say These Words
6. 1 book “Weddings Can Be Murder” by: Christie Craig - Just Say These Words

Hurry over and find out how to enter by December 24, 2008 . This is great for small bloggers and website owners. Thanks so much Mommyko! Good luck everyone!

Woohoo! Although I just started blogging, I have been awarded a Lemonade Award by fellow Today blogger Gregg (see his blog about Telecommuting here. The “lemon” in lemonade may make you think of a dud, but in fact this is an award for hard working bloggers! :)

Thank you very much- I’m honored! This gives me a little burst of encouragement to keep going.

Here are my picks for Lemonade Award winners! Of course, I’m going to take this opportunity to support fellow blogs about sweepstakes. Each of these sweepstakes blogs have a good list of sweepstakes to enter, each within a different niche. =)

Sweepstakes Blogs to whom I award the Lemonade Award:

-Sandra’s Contests Blog (a great listing of many contests and sweepstakes!)
-Win Prizes At Online Contests And Sweepstakes (a neat resource of less popularized contests)
-Catch Opportunity (helpful because it lists separately sweepstakes for the U.S. and Canada)
-Snail Sweeps (listing of sweepstakes to enter by postal mail)

Stop by and give them some congratulations! Hooray! Keep sweeping!
And please, let me know if YOU have a blog about sweepstakes!

If you’re a winner, please:

1.  Create a post including: 

• the Lemonade Award logo
• a thank-you to the person who nominated you, with a link to their blog
• a list of blogs you feel are worthy of the award (ten, if you can, and they don’t all have to be Today.com blogs).  Make sure all the links work!

2. Place a comment on each of the blogs you’ve chosen, telling them they’ve won the award and telling them where to find the instructions on your blog.