Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom Giveaway

I couldn't wait to read the Chicken Soup: Thanks Mom. I have a great relationship with my own mother and grandmother, and really wanted to read about other peoples' relationships.

A mother's job is never done, but in Thanks Mom, she gets the praise she deserves. Children of all ages share their words of gratitude and appreciation in this new collection of stories for moms. Daughters and sons retell tales of love and learning, celebrating moms, their wisdom, and all that they do. These stories of special memories, loving and hard lessons, unforgettable moments, laughter and tears, support and encouragement will bring any mom joy, inspiration, and amusement. Mothers of all ages, whether new moms, experienced moms, or grandmothers, will feel good about the recognition they receive. Expect plenty of celebrity contributors!

The book is divided into 9 sections, including Mom Knows Best, Mom to the Rescue, One of a Kind, My Mother's Legacy and more.  Discount Shopping is a cute story with a valuable lesson from mom.  The Note is a very touching story about a mother's love.  Is Anybody Dead? is another touching story, also with a valuable lesson!

I am pleased to offer a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom - 101 Stories of Gratitude, Love, and Good Times  to 3 winners.

For your first (and mandatory) entry into this contest, comment with another Chicken Soup book you are interested in. Please make sure to leave your email address in your comments.

To earn extra entries you can (please leave a comment for each additional entry):

1) Become a follower of my blog or let me know if you already follow (you must follow publicly, I have to be able to see you)

2) Become an email subscriber of my blog or let me know if you already subscribe

3) Blog about this contest (and comment with the url)

4) Mention this giveaway on facebook with a link to this post (comment with your facebook name) 

5) Add my button to your sidebar (and comment with the url)

6) Follow my Becca's Contest List blog

7) Follow me on twitter and tweet about the contest using "@sbshortie Win Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom! http://beccasbackyard.blogspot.com/2010/04/chicken-soup-for-soul-thanks-mom.html" (comment with your twitter name and the url of your tweet)

8) Become my friend on Facebook (click here and comment with your facebook name)

This contest is open to anyone with a US or Canadian mailing address that is 18+. Contest ends Sunday, May 2nd at 11:59 pm pacific time. Winner will be picked and notified by email shortly after.

I was sent a copy of the book to review and the company is sending out the books to the winners.  All opinions are honest and my own.

Aloha Friday #26 / Friday Follow

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog . Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

Yay, 2 weeks in a row!  I am going to Minden, Nevada    Boise, Idaho   and Washington, DC  in the next 2 months.  My question this week is: What should I do while I'm there?  And if you haven't been to any of those places before, what is another place you would suggest I visit?

I'm also taking part in Friday Follow.  Please follow my blog and leave a link so I can follow yours.  Thanks to One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families, and Midday Escapades.

The cheesecake test

You Are a Chocolate Cheesecake

You are both dreamy and decadent. And you can't help but be attracted to luxury. You are a sensual person, and you're easily intoxicated by smells and tastes. People find you to be vivacious and passionate. It's clear that you love living. You can also be a bit moody and dramatic, but when you're happy, you're exuberant.

The Cheesecake Test

I think the lemon cheesecake might have been more fitting...but who knows LOL

Aloha Friday #25 / Friday Follow

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog . Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

OMG, Haven't played since January!  My question this week is: Do you play the lottery?

One of my friends got me into the Mega Millions lottery.  It is across many states, and is often over $100,000,000!!!  I also buy the occasional scratcher.  So far, I haven't won any money on the bi-weekly drawings, but I do occasionally win on scratchers.

I'm also taking part in Friday Follow.  Please follow my blog and leave a link so I can follow yours.  Thanks to One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families, and Midday Escapades.

Winners!!!!

I have two winners to announce today!  The first is for the $25 Kroger Gift Card.  Congrats to dddiva!

dddiva said...77

I'd get the girls eel sushi, some Annie's organic cheddar bunnies for Ian and probably some of their fresh baked bread.
discriminating_diva at xxx dot com

The second is for Spongebobs Boating Bash.  Congrats to anthy!

anthy said...136

I now follow your Becca's List of Contests blog.
anthy_stl [ATT] yahoo [DOTT] com

Both winners have been emailed, and both have 72 hours to get back to me with their names, addresses and phone numbers.

Congrats again!!!

You Gotta See This Video Contest

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Incendia Health. All opinions are 100% mine.

Abbott Medical Optics, a global leader in laser vision correction, recently hosted a "You Gotta See This"
iLASIK Video Contest.  Entrants had to submit a video in 1 of 3 categories: "My contacts are getting in the way of my good time", "My favorite sport or activity would be so much cooler with better vision" or "You should see life after the iLasik procedure."  The entries are all great!!

The contest has already ended, and winners have already been chosen.  The grand prize winner, Alex, won $5000!!!  You can check out his video here.  You can also check out the rest of the winners at the iLASIK Video Contest by clicking on the link.  They won things like an HDTV package and a Flip UltraHD camcorder.  Rob was one of the first prize winners.  I really enjoyed his video and could completely relate to everything he said!  You can see his video here.

While you are on their website, don't miss out on registering for a free bottle of Complete Multi-Purpose solution.  (Open to US residents only)  You can also search for an iLasik doctor near you.  I found 2 in my town!!

I don't have a video camera (except for on my digital camera) and have therefore never entered a video contest.  Have any of you?

  AMO sponsored all of this content.

Six Word Saturday - #17

Show my Face blog hosts Six Word Saturday each week. Yay, I haven't done this since January.

Here's what you do: Describe your life (or something) in just six words.

I love my new leopard geckos.

More Book Reviews

The good news is....that I'm reading a lot!  The bad news is....I lag at updating my blog about these amazing books.  Oh and before I forget, I am going to be having a few book giveaways coming up in the near-ish future.

"How To Be Bad" is a really cute book about three teenage girls that go on a roadtrip.  It has a few emotional parts, but is mostly very light-hearted.  I kinda read this book because I won it.  It was really good, but I would probably recommend it more for teenagers than for older people.

I love John Grisham books!  They are always so good!  I was totally drawn into this book from the beginning.    It's about a man close to my age.  He is graduating from Yale Law School.  He ends up in a dark world, with his past coming back to haunt it.  This book was amazingly tense and I couldn't put it down.  I highly recommend it to everyone!!!!

Nora Roberts (pen name JD Robb) never fails to disappoint!  This was in insane book about a murdered 16 year-old girl.  Her death was brutal.  This book was really hard to read, but it was really well written.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a good murder mystery.

Okay, this had to be the most intense book of all of the ones on this page.  But while writing this post, I remembered the other book I read, which was the most insane of all.  Anyhoo...back to this book.  It is about a serial killer called the Star-Crossed killer.  He is killing young girls by roping them to trees naked in the snow and leaving them to die.  This book was an amazing page-turner.    I think it only took me a few days to read it, but that is true with most books because of how into the plots I get.  Don't miss this book!

When I get home, I am going to hunt down the final book I have completed so I can share it with you.

5 Random Things Thursday

I was reading blog subscriptions today and saw this fun meme over at Miss Organic's Kitchen.  I just had to play along!

5 Random Things You Probably Don't Know About Me

1. I used to play flute and clarinet.  I did marching band for 3 out of 4 years in high school, playing flute.  I played in concert band every year, most years on clarinet.  I really loved playing flute, and would love to get back into it, even if it was only for fun at home.

2. I love video games!  But, I mostly love the puzzle type games.  I'm not good at intricate ones.  I own a Wii, and some of my favorite games are Cooking Mama, Wario Ware Smooth Moves and Mario Party 8.  I also love the workout games like Wii Fit and Wii Sports.

3. I love doing word games like crossword puzzles and word searches.  I also love game shows like Jeopardy and 1 vs. 100.

4. If you are a current reader, you probably know I have geckos.  But, these are not my first reptiles.  I used to own collared lizards.  They are gorgeous, but extremely hard to take care of.  After I lost the two pictured below, I gave up on lizards (for a short time) and collared lizards indefinitely.  Oh, their names were BamBam and Pebbles.

5. I love a local chocolate store called The Chocolate Gallery.  They have something called Texas Crunch that is the best dessert!  I think it is just toffee in chocolate, but the chocolate is beyond amazing.

I hope you have enjoyed reading a little bit about me.  If you want to participate, click here.

Wii - Spongebob's Boating Bash Review and Giveaway

I don't know if you all know, but I am a huge Spongebob Squarepants fan!  I have loved the show since it came out.  I own Spongebob sheets, blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, board games and more!  I was so excited to get the opportunity to review the new Wii Game - Spongebob's Boating Bash.  Since I am an adult though, I decided to invite over two 7-year old boys whose families' I am friends with.  Their parents happily let them come over since the game is rated E for Everyone.

Crash 'N Bash with your favorite SpongeBob character in this exhilarating, fast-paced demolition derby style party game full of excitement for the whole family. Players drive around in cars...er, boats competing within wacky arenas throughout Bikini Bottom to ultimately be the last boat standing! The story draws upon one of the most popular events in the TV Series which is SpongeBob’s never ending quest to earn his coveted boating license. In the game, SpongeBob is tricked into a D.R.I.V.E. course by a shady Shark character to earn his license and is taught the WRONG way to drive.

Because I am a procrastinator, I tried out the game the morning they were set to come over.  I was so relieved at how easy it was to set up and play.  I just knew the boys would love it.  They came over for a kid-friendly lunch (we never eat food like dino chicken nuggets and pizza bagels!!!!), and then they couldn't wait to try out the game.  They had so much fun playing!!  They needed to be told how to hold/operate the Wii remote, but they had it from there.  They had a ton of fun of fun picking out their characters and boats!  They loved bashing into each others' boats and watching the pieces fly off!

For your first (and mandatory) entry into this contest, comment with which character you would choose.  Please make sure to leave your email address in your comments.

To earn extra entries you can (please leave a comment for each additional entry):

1) Become a follower of my blog or let me know if you already follow (you must follow publicly, I have to be able to see you)

2) Become an email subscriber of my blog or let me know if you already subscribe

3) Blog about this contest (and comment with the url)

4) Mention this giveaway on facebook with a link to this post (comment with your facebook name)

5) Add my button to your sidebar (and comment with the url)

6) Follow my Becca's Contest List blog

7) Follow me on twitter and tweet about the contest using "@sbshortie Win Wii-Spongebob's Boating Bash! http://beccasbackyard.blogspot.com/2010/04/wii-spongebobs-boating-bash-review-and.html" (comment with your twitter name and the url of your tweet)

8) Become my friend on Facebook (click here and comment with your facebook name)

This contest is open to anyone with a US mailing address that is 18+. Contest ends Tuesday, April 20th at 11:59 pm pacific time. Winner will be picked and notified by email shortly after.

I received a copy of the game to review and the company is sending out a copy to the winner.  All thoughts, opinions and everything else are my own.  I was not compensated in any other way..

$25 Kroger Gift Card Giveaway

I am pleased to offer a $25 Giftcard to Kroger to 1 winner. 

For your first (and mandatory) entry into this contest, comment with 2-3 things you will buy with this gift card.  Maybe a special treat that you normally wouldn't splurge on?  Please make sure to leave your email address in your comments.

To earn extra entries you can (please leave a comment for each additional entry):

1) Become a follower of my blog or let me know if you already follow (you must follow publicly, I have to be able to see you)

2) Become an email subscriber of my blog or let me know if you already subscribe

3) Blog about this contest (and comment with the url)

4) Mention this giveaway on facebook with a link to this post (comment with your facebook name)

5) Add my button to your sidebar (and comment with the url)

6) Follow my Becca's Contest List blog

7) Follow me on twitter and tweet about the contest using "@sbshortie Win a $25 Kroger Gift Card! http://beccasbackyard.blogspot.com/2010/04/25-kroger-gift-card-giveaway.html" (comment with your twitter name and the url of your tweet)

8) Become my friend on Facebook (click here and comment with your facebook name)

This contest is open to anyone with a US mailing address that is 18+. Contest ends Tuesday, April 20th at 11:59 pm pacific time. Winner will be picked and notified by email shortly after.

The Kroger Family of Stores gift card, information, and giveaway were all provided by the Kroger Family of Stores and General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Winners!!!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

What Flavor Are Your Kisses?

What a weird quiz..but I took it anyway lol

You Have Lime Flavored Kisses

You are an adventurous kisser, and you're always up for trying something new. You crave novelty, and it's hard for you to only have one make out partner. You're not shy, and if you want to kiss someone, you'll just got for it. You think people are too hung up on kissing. They just should relax more and let it be fun!

What Flavor Are Your Kisses?

This might be a bit over the top LOL

Date Night

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of 20th Century Fox. All opinions are 100% mine.


I don't know about you, but I love having date night at the movies!  Whether it's with a friend or a cute guy, I always have a good time (especially if popcorn is involved)!  Coming up this Friday, April 9, Date Night Movie starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell is being released!  The previews on TV for this movie have looked hilarious, and any movie with two such funny people is sure to be great!  I have to admit, I have never watched Steve Carell in "The Office."  But, I have loved all of his goofy comedy movies!  Same thing with Tina Fey.  I have never really watched SNL, but I love her comedy skills, and really enjoyed her in "Mean Girls" back in the day!

About the movie: In “Date Night,” which opens Friday, a bored suburban couple played by Steve Carell and Tina Fey go on their weekly dinner date and find themselves thrown into a night of intrigue: there’s breaking and entering, a car chase, a shootout and a showdown with an underworld boss at a strip club. Husband and wife come out of the adventure with some scratches and also with their ardor renewed.



Check out the trailer above, and considering seeing Date Night this weekend, opening weekend!  I know I'm going to!

Computer "Upgrade"

A week or two ago, my friend completely redid my computer!  It was slow and everything was half-broken, so it was very needed!

I now have Windows 7.  I don't know if I don't do enough with my computer or what the issue is, but I never notice huge differences between operating systems.  The biggest differences to me are always appearance wise.  And I am beyond confused by this "library" thing.  My friend said it was simple, but I can't get my old files into my new libraries, so it's obviously not that simple.

My hard drive was reformatted...whatever that actually means.

And finally, I am using Google Chrome now.  This is where I could really use everyone's help!  I used to have NoScript on Firefox, I can't find a similar program for Chrome.  I also had a great fill in program for entering giveaways, which I also can't find for Chrome.  So if anyone has any tips, they would be much appreciated.

So I've learned something.  When your computer is acting up and not working properly, just wipe it and start over and everything will be great (mostly lol).

Passover

Yay, Passover is over!!!  Although we aren't necessarily strict about Judaism laws, we are fairly strict during the week of Passover.

This definitely means no bread.  For us, it also means nothing containing corn (and corn syrup), soy, rice etc.  So basically, we only eat food that is labeled kosher for passover, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Since most people aren't as strict about the holiday as we are, we end up cooking 3 meals a day for most of the 8 days.  Oh, and we observe 8 days, whereas a lot of people only observe 7.

Anyhow, I'm about to leave for Denny's.  I want a grilled cheese and seasoned fries. :)

Geckos!

I was looking at the pets on Craigslist yesterday, hoping to maybe find a dog, and I came across 2 geckos being given away for FREE!  I immediately emailed, and it turned out the guy lived like up the street from me (practically).  So I hurried over, and am the proud new owner of 2 geckos, Chip and Dale :)

This is Dale, the bigger of the two.

This is Chip, he is smaller and kinda crooked lol

This picture shows Chip's face better, but is kinda dark.

They're too cute, I'm so excited! :)


UPDATE on 1/16/11  To see them now, click here

Toyota

Oh man, we are having a rough time of things with Toyota.  About 11 or 12 years ago, my mom got a Toyota Camry and loved it.  We lease cars, so she got two more after that.  When I turned 18, I got a Toyota Corolla and loved it.  I am now on my 3rd one.  We had always had amazing cars.  But this third one is a piece of crap.

When I brought it in about 2 weeks ago, they informed me that the timing chain tensioner and C/V Boot both needed to be replaced.  Everyone I know said those things really shouldn't happen in a 3-year old car.  They also seemed to think it should be covered by the warranty.  So in dealing with the service manager, she went from over $600 to fix it down to about $300 or $350.  She also said something about a water pump being replaced for free the last time I went in, which wasn't in any paperwork they gave to me.  They did tell me my transmission fluid was black though and needed to be taken care of.

Now my mom has been on the phone dealing with corporate, who found another thing that was apparently replaced for free, and that I was never told about.  And, corporate is saying it IS covered under the warranty.

I am beyond frustrated with Toyota.  Not only are they putting out bad vehicles, but now they are trying to rip people off and not honoring warranties.  Sigh!!!!  Any advice for what different brand of car I should get when my lease is up in 2 years?

Update

Okay, I am determined to get back to blogging daily.  I am less determined to have high quality posts, and just want to have fun, along with quality :)

And if anyone wants anything specific, just tell me!!