Something Evil ...

this way comes. Or least I think it's evil and it only comes if you fall for it. Whatever could I be talking about? Magazine Sweepstakes! That's right, you maybe sitting there thinking I'm a few bricks shy of a full load, but let me go into more detail and maybe you will get a better understanding of why I think Magazine Sweepstakes are evil.

One of the main reasons why I personally think Magazine Sweepstakes are evil is because most of the time, especially for a new comer to this hobby, it's very hard or tricky to see that they offer the signup page for the sweepstakes, and it's also a signup to order their magazine! Duping poor innocent people who only want to feel like a winner, into made to feel like a loser when the bill comes in. What? I don't remember ordering Redbook? (Or Martha Stewart, Allure, Lucky, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, etc, etc, etc)

But wait! Oh crap I did, did I? Sometimes when I get in a funk and I really want to get the prize train coming to my house faster, I like to enter sweepstakes that have a lot of prizes being offered. Well, unfortunately Magazines are one of the best ways to get that train started, in my opinion. However, you do need to be very careful when reading the entry page, to make sure that you are not agreeing to order a year (or two) of magazines from that particular company.

Why Magazine companies feel the need to do this, is beyond my true understanding. However, I have had one person explain what their personal thoughts were and I am incline to agree with them. As many of you are aware, print items are slowly going away like the dinosaurs. Newspapers, Magazines, etc. Well, one of the main ways a magazine makes money is not by the subscriptions that they sell, but rather by the revenues made by selling ad spaces in that magazines. That's the bread and butter of the whole thing. BUT they can't get top dollar for magazine ads, unless their subscription rate is high enough. So, one way to make it appear higher is to offer these sweepstakes and end up kind of tricking people into subscriptions. A lot of times people never even get in touch with them and let them know, because screw them because they screwed me. Or, they will either call the company and let them know an error was made, or they will write CANCEL on the first bill that shows up at their house. Regardless of what action you may take, it makes their subscription numbers look higher than what they really are.

I personally dislike this type of sweepstakes trickery. It's rude and crude and horrible on my pocketbook. So I thought I would take a few moments and let you guys (even if it is just my Dad) know that whenever you are entering a sweepstakes that is being hosted by a magazine subscription, please read the fine print very carefully. Redbook is my main gripe. BUT once you train your eyes to look for the link that they offer for you to enter without a purchase (Because by law, there is a No Purchase Necessary way to enter) it does get easier to enter.

I thought I would try and show you a screen shot (From Redbook of course) and also letting you know about a particular sweep that they are hosting right now, in case you may be interested in entering it. This particular promotion, Redbook is giving away (15) $100 Gas Cards.

This is the link for the 1st option, which if you don't look for the link to click to the "No Purchase Necessary" option, you will receive a Redbook magazine subscription.

Also, please note that you can not enter this promotion from this website. I am only using these as an example. If you are interested please feel free to go to their website, via the link I provided above and look for the link to take you to the No Purchase necessary form.

Example A:

As you can see there are two paragraphs above the entry form, along with a cover photo of the current month's Redbook magazine. Well on the second paragraph there is a link to take you to the No Purchase Necessary form. THAT's what you need to look for and learn to train your eyes and your brain, to go for whenever entering a magazine promotion, just to be on the safe side. The link actually says CLICK HERE. I tried entering the website link, that could directly take you to that form, but you have to click on the main page first, and then click it yourself. Once you do, you should see a photo looks similar if not exactly like this...

I hope this has been somewhat helpful. You just would not believe how many times I've ordered magazines by mistake and regretted it. In fact, I quit entering most magazine sweepstakes/promotions because of this. However, every now and then I find something that appeals to me, prize wise and I go back to it.

There is something that I've decided to do with all those magazines that's been delivered (I've been keeping them in a box) and that is to help me find photos to create a dream board. This is something of a craft project that sweepers sometimes do, and it's to help you visualize the prizes that you really want to win. Cars, Cash, Computers, Vacations, Jewelry, whatever.

I've never made one and I think I am going to finally do one very soon. Hopefully before the end of next week, so that I can look at it all year long. I am trying to be more positive in regards to entering sweepstakes and I think having a visual will help me stay on track and more motivated to keep entering.

Trying to change up my ways

of doing things in regards to entering sweepstakes of course. :)

Note: This is a REALLY long post, so I warn you in advance. You can read the first two paragraphs and then skip down to the last six paragraphs to save you some time. I basically just go into more details about the various ways to enter sweepstakes. But if you are already a seasons sweeper, you probably already know most if not all of what I wrote.

I've been entering Sweepstakes for right at nine years. I've won some nice things and had some wonderful experiences and had several opportunities to travel. However, one thing you learn if you stay in this hobby long enough is that sometimes the game changes and you need to be flexible to change with it, otherwise you will be left a loser and wondering why you are no longer winning like you used to. Thus becoming depressed and thinking that once again all sweepstakes are rigged, even when that's not the case.

After my last post, which was all of yesterday (I know I can't believe I've made two post so close together either..back to back basically...will wonders never cease?) I've been thinking of how I should or rather *need* to change my method of entering sweepstakes. Especially if I want to continue to win and maybe win something Big for 2012.

Right now there are so many ways to enter sweepstakes and be a winner. A few of those methods and an explanation of what and how to enter them are:

Snail Mail - (My all time favorite..I know I am a little crazy and alone in feeling that way. But I've always been drawn towards repetitive things, like Data Entry). Snail mail entries is usually your NAZ and maybe other requested information written down on a piece of paper or card, usually a 3x5..sometimes they like to throw in odd sizes like 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 cards/papers..thinking that people won't use them and thus being disqualified. So it's always important to read the rules people! Then you place your card or paper into an envelopes (you will never go wrong when using a plain white #10 envelopes also known as a business envelope) and put a first class stamp on it, and hopefully, Lord willing it will go to the right address and be added to the collection of all the other entries.

Online entries - a fairly cheap way to enter, as long as you have a computer/laptop and an internet connection, which does cost money, but you could also go to a library and enter from there. However, I doubt anyone going that route would get a ton of entries in daily, unless they seriously loved going to their local library!

Contest - This usually involves more participation and it also usually means a lot less competition. This can be anything from recipe contest, video/you tube, essays, talent (singing/dancing) and more. (This is my least favorite..because I feel so totally UN-creative and boring).

Facebook - This is a very popular way for sponsors to advertise their products/services and Facebook has millions of users, so it only makes sense that sponsors are going the route of using Facebook to attract new customers. This is a social type way of entering sweepstakes along with ...

Twitter - This is what is also known as micro blogging. I am sure most people have heard of twitter, even if they haven't posted a tweet. I will be the first one here to admit that I am not very keen on twitter contest. I've been told that it's a good way to win, because a lot of people feel the same way about it as I do, thus meaning the competition is low. I have won one or two twitter promotions, and I have decided to give it another shot for 2012. It still confuses me, especially when there are "Twitter Parties". I will hopefully go into more detail at a later time about what a twitter party really is and what it involves so that you can have a better understanding of it.

Texting - I don't know of anyone, unless they are under the age of 5-6 years old and possibly over the age of 80, who doesn't know what Texting is. Now the older generation probably doesn't use this method of entering promotions all too much, so it can be a great way to enter and win prizes. I've found that beer companies use this method a lot and I've won several nice prizes from texting. One of those prizes was a Cruise! It does involve using a cell phone and if you choose to enter this way a lot, please also remember that texting cost money and to look at unlimited texting plan from your cell phone provider. But if you have a teenager with a cell phone under your roof, you might want to invest in unlimited texting just for that reason alone.

Drop Boxes - You usually see these at grocery stores, but you can also see them at Malls and other places of businesses. Now the ones at the mall, I personally never enter. Those usually end up being given to Time Share places and they call you, trying to get you to come and view/listen to their pitches to sell you a time share property.

Now some people can use this to their advantage, if they have the will power not to buy into the spill they give to you. I've thought about seeing if my husband might want to try this, as we know someone personally who does this and they've received airfare and sometimes even hotels, just to listen to a sales man try to hock their properties. I'm just not sure I would be very good at it. I think once I saw the properties being offered and hearing only the good points of it from the sales person, my eyes would glaze over faster than a hot Krispy Kreme doughnut and I would sign something before my good sense came back.

But not all drop boxes are like that. I especially like the ones that are found at the grocery stores. Or department stores. Even though I just mentioned above about not entering drop boxes at the mall, I don't mean the ones inside a department store. I've found most of them in the ladies department or the teens/kids department, like at Dillards, Macy's, J.C.Penneys, etc.

Blogs - Well, as you know by reading this website (which happens to be a blog) you know a little bit. A blog promotion is usually held by the person who writes/creates the blog. The blogger normally writes a review about a product that was given to them from a sponsor and they are told to either keep it and give away another exact product to one of their readers or just give away the product that they've reviewed.

The biggest blog sweepstakes/promotions are from what is typically called "Mommy blogs" This area has become highly saturated in my opinion and they usually want you to jump through a LOT of hoops to get your entries in. And the prizes are not usually for anything spectacular. Small amounts in Gift Cards like $10, DVD's, Cd's, books, etc. I don't mind entering these occasionally, but I don't spend a lot of time on them, because like I just wrote, they usually want the person entering, to do several different things, to make the entry complete.

Things that range from posting a comment, following their blog, making a tweet and then coming back and posting that status link to that tweet, to prove that you really did tweet about their promotions, and many other things. Sometimes they will give you 5+ entries for each action taken, but then I get really confused about how in the world they could possibly keep up with all the entries for it to be truly legit. Some people have also expressed their skepticism towards mommy blog promotions and think that they either don't send the prizes out, which are normally provided by the sponsor or they give them to their friends/family members, instead of their readers. I am sure some of their fears are correct, but there are honest bloggers out there and it is another way to enter and win stuff. It's just not for everybody. Personally I think it's you either hate them or you don't.

Snap Tags - This is probably the newest on the scene of entering sweepstakes/promotions. You may have seen some odd little black and white photo with a lot of pixels/dots. There are also colored ones too. Well, if you have something on your "smart" phone, called a "Tag Reader", you use that application and take a photo of that picture and it then normally takes you to a special web page on your *smart* phone so you can enter. I can't say that I've been impressed with this method of entering, but it's still in it's growing stages I suppose and I am going to try and be more aware of snap tap promotions around me, and enter. But it's towards the bottom of my list when thinking about entering sweepstakes. Basically, I'm not going to be losing any sleep over it, if I don't enter one of them.

Radio Call Ins - I know you know about Radio call in...The DJ's will announce at a certain time to call to either win something or be put in a drawing for an even bigger prize. These are hard to win in my honest opinion. Basically because you tend to get a busy signal all the time. But some people really really love them. I guess if you spend a lot of time listening to the radio, perhaps either at work or maybe being a stay at home or work at home parent, you can enter these more frequently than other people. I also think that if you listen and enter on the week-ends, you might have a better chance of getting through, since most people like to do things with their families and thus making the competition lower. Or at least, that's my opinion. So far I've only gotten through once to be put in a drawing, which I didn't win. It made me feel the same way inside like I do when I only have one more number left when playing Bingo! It's not a happy feeling either. It's more like I'm on the verge of having a panic attack...so not fun to me!

Radio Remotes - This is where a radio station is at a certain location and they mention where they are and for how long and encourage their listeners to come and visit them and try to win various prizes or get entries in for something great, like trips or a car.

Game Shows - These are harder and probably not a lot of people do these. But some of the Games shows that come to my mind are Jeopardy (which I despise), Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, Deal or No Deal, etc. There is usually a cattle call and long waiting periods and then you get interview basically. They are usually looking for people that are exciting or at least project excitement and that makes for good TV, even if it does embarrass yourself and your children for years to come.

I am sure there are few more ways to enter promotions and if you can think of anything that I might have missed please comment on this blog post or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.

So in answer to what I wrote at the beginning of this blog post, I am thinking about changing my way of entering. Last year I spent most time on snail mail entries and it really didn't pay off for me in the long run, which is most disappointing. My husband was the biggest winner and I think (although I am not certain) that most of his entries was from entering online.

The biggest change I think I am going to do is continue to enter my husband with online sweepstakes (possibly only, unless it's a local/restricted one) and just enter myself through the mail. I also now get to enter our child, since the birthday that was celebrated last year, makes her more open to more sweepstakes and contest! Whoo Hoo.

A couple of years ago it wasn't unusual for me to start my day entering online sweepstakes. I would normally take about 2-3 hours each and everyday (and yes I do mean every day) and enter online. I would later make time during the evening hours to do my entries for snail mail entries. Last year I tried really hard to enter 11 snail mail entries each day, but I didn't keep to it as well as I wanted to. What can I say? Life got in the way and I just wasn't going to make myself feel bad for not making my goal.

I guess I could make a goal of trying to enter 12 snail mail entries each day if I gave it some thought. I know I have a batch ready for tomorrow's mail and there are only 11 in it. My mind was still thinking 2011. So I guess I will end this post now and enter some more sweepstakes. Who knows..you might even get another post from me tomorrow. I don't want to say that's one of my new year's resolutions, which is to post each and everyday. I will say that I am hopeful that I will write more consistently on here. I mean that was the purpose of creating this blog space in the first place, right?

So bye for now and good luck to everyone that chooses to enter sweepstakes...because you will never be a winner if you don't enter!

~Cheers~

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It's going to be swell in 2012!

Yeah, that's my crappy motto for this year. I try to come up with a new one each year, and after 2012, I've got nuthin! I mean, what rhymes with 13,14,15,16,17,18,or 19? But if the Mayan calendar is to be believed, I am not going to have an issue with it either...so who cares, right? RIGHT!

I really should have written a blog post before now. I was planning on writing something on the last day of 2011, but eh...I didn't. What can I say? 2011 was the year of the lazy for this blogger. Oh who am I kidding? The last 44 years have been the year of the lazy for me! LOL Yeah, I know it's not really funny, but it's my blog and I'll bitch, moan, groan and make cheesy jokes and bad puns if I want to. I'm sure that could have been a song title, but it would have taken too long to print and sing to..so moving along.

Happy New Year!

and yes, I am actually writing this on day 2 of 2012...but it's still the first day of 2012 in California and probably some of western counties or states, like Hawaii, so it counts and it's all good! Right? RIGHT!

Last year wasn't anything spectacular for this little sweeper. In fact it started off pretty grim as my mother in law passed away on Jan 13. And even though we are still having to go through so many things that was brought on from her death, we are still together as a family of three and have somewhat to moderately good health. I pray daily for all my family to stay healthy, safe and happy. It's really more important than anything else, especially a prize....however! I am going to continue to enter sweepstakes and maybe even a contest here and there. I mean, I won't win squat if I don't enter, right? RIGHT!

I actually tried to keep track of my wins from 2011 in a spreadsheet like I've been doing for many years. I believe I am now entering my 9th year of being a sweeper. I still can't believe it to be honest. I never really stick with hobbies for very long, unless you count sleeping for longer than 12-14 hours at a time. That hobby I have always excelled in and probably will continue to do so. When you are a stay at home mom and are disabled, sometimes you get a case of what my husband likes to call "the case of the sticky mattress" which basically means, my fat butt doesn't get out of it until after about 12 hours or more. Yes I'm lazy..let's move on.

Even though I don't have the proper spreadsheet to look at or prove to anyone, I would have to state that it was my husband that was the biggest winner in this household over all of us! Even though we didn't win a trip or anything that made me wet my pants, I would still think or at least like to believe that we stayed in the black and not the red, as far as cost goes. I enter a lot of snails mail sweepstkaes and stamps cost money. I may end up switching my entering methods for 2012 and that will probably be the subject of my next post. Yeah! An idea...cool...something to think about and write...sweet!

I have realized something else...Voting contest are for the freaking birds! I know I never came back to give any more updates on the last voting contest I was in, but that's because it became very apparent that the people who entered that same contest, well...I hate to say it..but there were CHEATERS! I mean come on! Some of those photos had well over 12,000 votes (and no that is not a typo) in less than 24 hours. Even though the rules stated that it was unlimited voting..after 1000 votes, it wouldn't let you vote anymore. (I know this, because I clicked that dang vote button over and over and over and over, etc) At first they ( the people hosting the contest, which was a local news station) let the number of votes be seen, but they later changed it, so you couldn't see it. (Probably due to other people who entered, bitching about how a few entries had so many votes, so soon after the contest started. They should have stopped the contest and discounted every vote and started over...but they didn't. Well surprise surprise (NOT) that the photo that won, was also one of the photo's that had thousands of votes right at the very first of the competition!

I don't know what it is, but when you offer up a free trip to Disneyland or World, some of the worst can be seen in people! UGG. I am now just about certain I am done with voting contest, unless it states in the rules about no one using bots (computer programs that help cheaters win contest on the internet) and that it's either judged by a panel of judges and not basically a popularity contest. That's really leaves a bad taste in so many people's mouths and honestly, it makes the company (or local news station) look bad. I personally am very tempted to write a strongly worded letter to let them know, but I'm still shaking off the bad case of the lazies!

Soon after posting this blog post, I will be making my new spreadsheet for the wins for 2012. I have also been giving some thought as to what I want to write about here, in regards to this hobby. It's a wonderful hobby and it's given me and my loved ones a lot of pleasure. In fact, some of the wins (i.e. Gift Cards) came in really handy for Christmas.

I am also hoping that I will write on a more regular basis. I would love to be able to say I would commit to a weekly post..but I'm not so sure about that to be honest. But then you never know, so please continue to check back now and then. If you don't see anything new, shoot me an email and, well I was going to say write and tell me to get off my butt, but to write a blog post, I actually have to sit on my butt, so that wouldn't work. But you could say get on it and write something gosh darn it!...It's not like I have a job or anything to go to, right? RIGHT! Ok now I think I may be depressed...thanks a lot! oh wait..I'm probably just talking to myself again, so oh well...moving on...again.

I'm not really sure why I keep doing that right? RIGHT! thing, but it's working for me today, so just go with it, ok? OK! Oh crap...I think this post needs to stop now.

So that's it for today. Hopefully this post has made my Dad happy. (or just confused by his youngest daughter's mentality or personality disorder) He's basically my only reader, and maybe my sister, since it was her post on her personal blog that lite the fire under my butt to actually write...gotta go..two more minutes until 1-2-2012 in California. Bu-Bye

And the race is on...

Yep, the contest for the trip to California for the Disneyland adventure for the best family photo just started, literally twenty minutes ago and runs until November 6th, 2011

I am trying to attempt to add a widget here for my webpage. Please vote us. I do also return votes, for any other sweepstaker that needs votes on their contest entry. Please just send me an email or make a comment here...it does come to me and I will get in touch with you, if you leave your email of course. I honestly do love to support others in this hobby. It's a wonderful way to make friends.

That should take you right to the voting and I will also add, that you may have to actually sign up before voting. I know that this can be a drag, and I hope and pray that this does not discourage anyone from voting. It takes a couple of minutes and then that's it..or at least it should be, and then you vote. Viola! Please pass this one to your family, friends, co-workers, anyone you can think of really. I have no shame, and I need a vacation, so that I am not tempted to embarrass my one and only daughter (and my loving husband) into another contest, just so we can get away from everything and get a break, so I don't break. Seriously, I so either wanna win this contest or sleep for a week.

Nothing else much to write about. It's the beginning of the week and I pray that it's a better one than last week. All I kept thinking was is this PMS or Grieving..kind of like is it real or is it Memorex? You remember those commercials for wait for it... cassette tapes? I know them young-ens have no clue what the heck I'm talking about, right? But last week was not one of my better ones and I am praying that I can focus on more important things, like how to up my votes and maybe clean my house..I don't know about that second choice...it's never one I like to choose...so I think I will be focusing on how to get votes for my wonderful, but scary family photo so I can go to Disneyland!

Can I Sink Any Lower?

Is it even possible for a little person to go lower than what they already are? That's kind of a stupid question I know. What could I possibly be talking about? Well I went and entered another voting contest. You would think I would get it through my thick head that I don't do well in voting contest and never enter another one ever again...However, I tend to forget and do it again and again. Short Memory. It comes with the height, so what can I say really..except please vote for me when the contest starts on October 24th maybe?

This time it's for a local TV Station and it's wanting local people to submit family photo's..like group shots. Well, I looked through all my digital photos on Picasa 3 and do you know what? We only have about TWO of all three of us (My husband, daughter and myself) all in one photo. Pretty sad huh? Well, remember that sadness and take pity on me and vote..Please? Pretty Please? With sugar on top and topped with Chocolate sprinkles? (I hate cherries..that's why it's topped with Chocolate sprinkles)

The grand prize (and I believe only prize, but I could be wrong about that) is a family trip to Disneyland in California. Now my daughter and I did get a chance to go there this past summer to Disneyland because of attending the National LPA convention, which was being held in Anaheim, CA and we got to enjoy California Adventure park (I love the fact that it literally is so close from Disneyland, you can walk to it) and Disneyland itself. However, my husband was unable to attend and I would really love for our family to get a chance to have a break from everything that we've been through this past, well...almost a year now. I still can't believe that time keeps ticking on, when I think of it all...but that's how life is, right?

BUT I will say in advance two things. ONE: The photo that I submitted, please keep in mind I really don't have any other "family photo's", so I went with what I had and TWO: I should be the poster child for NOT taking AMBIEN and then entering contests. Because that's what I had done and then totally forgot about entering. When I got the email today that it was accepted and I clicked on the link, well...I kind of freaked out. But in a good way and I did have to fess up to my husband about it. Thank goodness he's a fun guy and doesn't let things like this embarrass him. Now our daughter on the other hand has made me promise not to link it to her friends, which are also my friends on facebook. So I had to create a group called "Youngsters" which includes all of my daughter's friends, in case I want to post something a bit more mature or embarrassing for her. :) i.e this photo.

I will also be posting it to the "TWITTER" when the voting begins. A few other Twitter people/family/split personalities will also be twittering about it too. Here are some of the names of their Twitter accounts, if you should so desire to follow them.

Angelspice25
Mommybird1998
HandHuggies
LittleSweeper
Mini_Mynx
jsmanning
ShortShopper
Wombatbear

Yes we have quite a few of us on the Twitter, don't we? The main one I've been posting for this blog is LittleSweeper, but I've also been known to post a lot under Mommybird1998. If you have any difficulties finding me/us/them with those names, please let me know your twitter name and we can follow one another and be BFF's! I promise I will be your best friend..HONEST!

So here's the link. I also want to say that I am not responsible if you have a drink in your mouth at the time of viewing and thus spewing your liquid/spit all over your computer/laptop monitor. You might not find it amusing at all. But compare it to the other people's entries and give me your honest opinion about it. I'm bored and I know I don't really update this blog a lot..but we wants more friends and someone out there's reading, right? btw..HI DAD!

Click HERE

Thank you again in advance for any and all votes. Please feel free to share that link on facebook/twitter/blogs/snail mail/ESP and of course the ever popular word of mouth. BUT no verbal Diarrhea. That would stink. No pun intended...well, maybe a little. What can I say, that's how I roll. Seriously..I roll..on a scooter..everyday.

Voting doesn't actually begin until October 24th and runs until Nov 6, 2011. I will also be trying my hardest to start posting more here, since I am now on some better medication and I don't feel like sleeping my life away, like I had been doing. Even though I will admit sleep is my crack and I do have a strong case of the sticky mattress.

In other news, which I will give more details later..but it seems like my husband is in the lead for wins this year in our family. Also is it bad that when my daughter turned 13 a short while ago, I was so happy...because it meant I could enter more sweeps in her name? I even bought her own address labels for the snail mail entries. I was so happy, I almost cried. I think I did actually cry. My baby is growing up. (And it also means that her entering Radio Disney contest/sweeps will soon be a thing of the past) HEY! What can you expect from me on this blog anyways? It's a Sweepstakes blog remember?

But please don't think I am criticizing you or anything like that and you suddenly think "WTF?" and not vote for us...I will totally kiss butt...I can be very good at it, and I think it may have something to do with the fact that I was born to be the right height to kiss your butt.

Back in the saddle again!

Sounds like it could be song, couldn't it? Oh wait..I think it already is. Oh well! LOL.

Basically that's what today has felt like to me. My child started school today and is now in middle school. Soon to be a teenager (Lord help me) While we've all enjoyed the break from getting up early every morning to take our child to school, it's now been long enough to where we were all ready for school to start back. :) Our child wanting to see her friends and she also somewhat enjoys learning. Especially if it involves reading, which makes me so proud, as I was a BIG reader when I was her age as well.

For my husband, I think he's hoping that his pain levels can be sorted out or something, so that he can feel better again. If anyone who reads this blog believes in prayers, please keep my husband in your prayers, that his health can and will improve. He so wants to get back to cooking dinners for us again and he has told me that he feels totally useless, which is totally untrue. However, I do also understand that when you are suffering from pain and nothing you do or take seems to help, it's hard on your mentally. Stevie's been under a lot of stress as well and to be honest, I miss my fun loving, playful husband.

Now as for me, today meant that I am now trying to get back in the saddle of entering my sweepstakes on a more regular basis than what I have done recently. Not that I quit entirely, because I haven't. But I remember a couple of years ago, I used to enter 2-3 hours online sweepstakes each and everyday (including Sunday's) for over a year. I got plenty of small/med and even one or two large prizes during that time, but since I've slacked off entering, so have the prizes coming to my door. I haven't had that sense of excitement when the doorbell rings between certain times ( the times when I know UPS and FedEx delivers in our area) or when I check my mail or e-mail. I would love for that hopefully feeling to once again return in my life, so that it brights up our day, even if it's a T-shirt that we think is cute or make-up that I have to fight over with my daughter.

I haven't done much online entering today, but I did mail my 11+ entries (my # of entries that I decided to try and enter every day during this year, if possible) but I've also been concentrating on entering more Text Sweepstakes. I really enjoy winning those for some reason. But one of the reason's why I haven't entered a lot of online sweepstakes today is because this being our child's 1st day of school, plus we had Merry Maid's coming over to help clean our messy house. I can honestly say even though I hate paying the amount that we do, to have someone clean our house. It sure is a very nice feeling to look around and feel like we live in a nice/clean area and it takes stress that you didn't realize was on your shoulders, off. And in my opinion, that's really important for my husband to feel that right now.

BUT back to sweepstaking. Has anyone watched the TLC High Stakes Sweepstakers show that started on August 14th, 2011? If so, what is your opinion of it? I would love to know what other people think. So please feel free to leave me a comment. I love getting comments on this blog, even though they are few and far between. I am not your typical blogger I suppose. I don't advertise this blog, as some blogs are a dime a dozen and I don't want to be lost in the crowd or try to be something I'm not.

This blog was mainly created to share my love of this hobby. And boy do I love this hobby. It's helped not only us but people close to us, enjoy things that they might not otherwise enjoy or had at all. Especially during the Holiday season. I am also hoping and praying that My lucky sister will win another trip and take me with her.

She called me yesterday to give me some news. The first things she said is "I'm starting to get a little scared" of course, this made my heart skip a beat, as I have no clue what the heck she's referring to, but then the little snit said it was her third day in a row of winning instant wins. The 1st win was a $25 Gift Card to Sports Authority, the 2nd win was a $25 Gift Card to Macy's (I love Macy's and then the 3rd win on that day of her phone call, she won a $100 Gift Card to Sports Authority! That little snot!

Just kidding Sissy! :) I am actually truly happy for my sister, as she had stepped away from entering since our Mom passed away and she told me last week that she finally felt like she wanted to start back with entering. She only enters online sweepstakes and I think she's made a fabulous start and I can only hope and pray that she continues with her winning and maybe will even win a trip and will take me her TB (Travel Buddy)

I think in this week's mail brought a coupon for free skittles to my husband, even though it's our child that will claim it, as she has a big thing for skittles. I don't know if she really thinks she can taste the rainbow or if it's just a big sugar high, but we all have our vices and at least ones that involve sugar, I can handle. I just pray that while she is in her new school God continues to protect her and keep her away from any and all that might lead her down a bad road that she can't come back from. But I know that God does watch over all of us. I just have to continue to remind myself and to keep up my relationship with him, as it's so important.

Well it is now officially past my bed time..or rather my new bed time, and I am so very tired. I keep having acid reflux and I can honestly say..this crud is getting old! I go to my doctor on Wednesday, so if you could also pray that everything goes well for me on that day too, in regards to my health I would be most appreciative

Until next time, which hopefully will be sometime this week!
~Cheers~

Getting back into the swing of things

Well, it's taken me sometime to come back to this blog, but here I am. I thought I would post an update on what's been going on in my life, as well as Sweepstaking news and information to share with those who might be interested.

The last time I posted on here was back on May 11, 2011. Since that time, my child is no longer in school and has been enjoying her summer off from homework, teachers, etc. The only negative thing is she's been bored on more than one occassion and has to suffer with watching Netflix, reading books, surfing the internet, playing World of Warcraft, facebooking, etc etc, etc..such a horrible summer, right?

Actually she really hasn't complained (much) and we even took time, just the two of us to take a trip to California for the National LPA convention. This year it was in Anaheim, CA and we drove out there. Yep! Just the two of us. Thank God my van didn't break down (it did give me a scare when the check engine light came on though) but my scooter charger did break and that caused some problems on the way back through Las Vegas, NV but all of it ended up well..except for a lost beanie hat that I refused to go back for at the 7-11, where my daughter dropped it, trying to pump petrol into the van. (but I plan on buying some love this week-end, when we go shopping for back to school stuff.

The LPA convention was wonderful and I did enjoy myself. I would have loved to have visited more with my many Diastrophic friend's which I've made recently on our facebook group, but when you have a preteen and your have no one else to watch your child, you have to make sacrifices like going to Disneyland and California adventure!

But we are now back at home, still trying to recover from the long drive. School will start very soon and now it seems like our lives are starting to pick up speed in regards of so much going on in our lives. I wish I could share some of that information here, but at the moment I'm not able to. But all in due time.

As far as my hobby of entering Sweepstaking, it's starting to get more press than usual. TLC is starting a series that is beginning on August 14th, 2011. Please check your local listing to see when it comes on in your area, if you are interested in seeing how us "crazy" sweepers are and how far some of us will go to enter to win a sweepstakes. In fact, 20/20 had ran a show last night (08/05/2011) and I believe also tonight and talked to about 4-5 different sweepers. I knew of three personally and the others I've only heard about or saw their post on the sweepstake sites that I read each day.

In case you missed it, I am including the link to see the segment that was aired last night. Click HERE You will see an area beside the video, on the right to scroll down and find "When entering Sweepstakes is a job". I believe the video is just short of 8 minutes. How long it will be posted on there, I am unable to answer. You may be able to do a search for it, in their search box, which is located towards the top of the page.

There is also another segment from 20/20 with tips on entering sweepstakes, that people new to this hobby might find interesting. The title is "Sweepstakes Club Pros Share Their Insider Tips to Winning Big"
I just now watched it myself and found all the information that they shared to be correct and I agreed with all of it. The only thing not mentioned is that you do have to pay taxes on ALL your winnings.

Now as far as my winnings, I've been trying to keep better records, but I have also slacked off this summer. My husband seems to be pulling in more wins than anyone else in this household. I plan on adding a bit more details on this blog regarding our wins hopefully in the very near future, like sometime next week.

Sorry to end this so suddenly, but I've been entering sweeps, while catching up on my favorite soap opera (and I still can't believe that AMC and OLTL got canceled) and it's now after 6 am. Tomorrow is suppose to be a day shopping for school items and my child isn't going to be too happy if I sleep the whole day away. Hopefully a few hours will be enough.

Until next time..keep sweeping...or you won't win nuthin! ;)